A Chinese Brother Wants to See the Vastness of the World With Us
For me, it is deeply inspiring that a Chinese house church pastor would encourage his flock to embrace the whole world. Pastor Wang ended his letter, “A brother who wants to see the vastness of the world with you.” This is a sign that Christians in China are increasingly engaging Christians worldwide.
What can we offer each other? One of the single greatest challenges for global Christians is navigating fragmentation and diversity. On top of this is the challenge of interacting with people in other religions. Chinese Christians live in one of the most religiously diverse countries on earth. They can speak to the global Church about their own experience, sharing good practices and lessons in living in religiously diverse settings.
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9/11, China, and the Weight of Eternity
Before going to China, we were given a smooth, flat rock. We were told that, if you dropped the rock into a completely still body of water, the ripples would spread across the water from the point of impact. Our life is that rock; the ripple is the impact our words and actions have on those around us.
I still have that rock. It sits today on my desk at work, even after having worked with China for the past 15 years. That small rock is a reminder that my words and actions matter, and that it is not up to me to change the hearts and minds of others. Only God can do that. I get the privilege of seeking to be salt and light, and of loving, serving, and caring for those around me.
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We Get the Smile of God Before Our Performance
Our organization focuses on creating relational space for women in ministry, encouraging them to engage a robust gospel that frees them to embrace and to live their truest identity…Knowing so little about Chinese culture, let alone the intricacies of the many ethnicities and micro-cultures represented, I couldn’t fathom how effective our training would be. I would be asking women to donate their trust, to share stories of wounding, to begin tracing the thread of redemption through their own journeys, to listen to one another without trying to fix them, and most importantly, to consider how the truths of the gospel affect their daily living. Oh yeah, and I didn’t speak Mandarin!
But God…
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Prayer for the City in Light of COVID-19
This day of humbling will only become a day of hope if Christ’s people unite with a common voice to intercede for the church and the city.
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Learning About Suffering from the Margins
The church in the U.S. must engage in precisely this kind of indirect suffering to better appreciate what Scripture passages like this mean. The more we invest in learning the stories of the persecuted and oppressed church, keeping their struggles a part of our daily prayers, and connecting with their suffering, albeit indirectly, the better we can make sense of the experience of suffering and persecution.
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A Theology of Persecution from the Iranian and Chinese Church
Persecution is suffering, but it is not useless suffering: it is suffering in sacrifice for others. Through the suffering of the persecuted, others are set free to grow in their faith, to “live every moment” for Christ, even to be “ready to die” for Christ. That is the power of Christ’ death and resurrection to so motivate our lives. We partake in that power every time Christians, whether in China, Iran, or elsewhere, are persecuted.
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May You Strengthen Them by Your Spirit
Lord, I also pray for house church leaders, especially for pastors who are going through persecution, pressure, trouble, anxiety, and stress. Lord, I pray that you will help them to have inner fortitude to speak as a great witness to a watching world, that they would not waver in their commitment, that they will not be tempted by materialism and the opportunities for going it the easy way.
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Praying for International Students: Resources for Getting Involved
One of the things that is so crucial about international ministry is about 90 percent of the people we interact with are Chinese intellectuals. Let’s be honest, if I went to China as a missionary, I would never have access to these people. Even if I did have access, they would never have time for me, because their lives are so busy. What would they care about what some stay-at-home mom from America has to tell them? International student ministry is critical, because you have people from the upper echelons coming to the United States. They have more freedom and more security to ask these questions. And more time.
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Praying for International Students: A How-To Guide for Getting Involved
I used to think hospitality meant inviting people over for a meal. It’s way bigger than that—thankfully! The word hospitality literally means “love the stranger.” Pray God would show you how to love strangers around you. We work this out by being intentional and frequent.
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Praying for International Students: How One Mom Committed to International Student Ministry
“I love sharing the gospel with people. I love talking about Jesus, I love answering questions about the Bible. That was what hooked me from the beginning. Evangelism and discipleship light me up. Evangelism is what got me interested in ISM, but what has kept me in ISM are the people, the gospel opportunities, and the potential global impact that international student ministry has.”
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