Posts in Spiritual Formation
Raising Children in the Gospel: Responses to Two Controversial Questions
Raising Children in the Gospel: Responses to Two Controversial Questions

All in all, during the entire process of conceiving, delivering, and educating [children], we should rely on God as a whole. Knowing some knowledge and some general rules is good, but it is not the foundation for raising children. When it deviates from the gospel of the cross, knowledge can only make people arrogant. Only God can make our children grow. As parents, we can only build them up with God’s word, pray for them, and entrust them to God. Only with the cross of salvation, the presence of God, and the supply of God’s grace, can we and our descendants triumph.

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Spiritual FormationChurch China
Raising Children in the Gospel: Twelve Specific Suggestions
Raising Children in the Gospel: Twelve Specific Suggestions

Proactively prepare for marriage and parenting while you are still single. It takes years of learning and training to take secular jobs, let alone the roles of husband, wife, father, and mother of a family with godly values! One does not naturally become husband or wife after getting married, and one does not naturally become father or mother after having kids. These should be assessed according to God’s standards. Of course, it is not too late to learn for parents, as long as the Lord has not come yet; his “slowness” is the opportunity to repent.

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Spiritual Formation, WomenChurch China
Raising Children in the Gospel: Four General Rules
Raising Children in the Gospel: Four General Rules

Speaking of parenting, people may have a lot to share. Nevertheless, as Christians, we are aware that there is no certain method or trick to training by which, we can we achieve the goal; it can only be achieved by God, by relying on his promises and his grace. True, in some well-known parenting books, there might be many applicable rules; however, problems arise through practicing these rules, and the Bible is the only one we can always trust. Besides, relentless war goes on between legalism and anti-legalism. For example, when someone succeeds according to “Method A” from a certain book, it can seem legalistic; on the contrary, it can go to anti-legalism, denying everything in the book, including the good parts, when “Method A” doesn’t work. Both sides depart the will of raising children in the gospel. Thanks be to God who gave me two children, and guided me with his unfailing love and faithfulness during the whole time, leading me back to his cross and grace. Below are some thoughts from my own experience of raising children.

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Spiritual FormationChurch China
True Knowledge and Life in the Gospel Bring True Revival to the Church - An Interview with Pastor Miao, Part 2
True Knowledge and Life in the Gospel Bring True Revival to the Church - An Interview with Pastor Miao, Part 2

As everything starts to unfold, we find that young believers inherit core values from elders. All of the Biblical sermons, church views, and discipleship are the inheritance of faith. Therefore, we need a standard. Without the statement of faith, we still make decisions based on the subjective self. Also every fellowship and church needs a declaration of faith. It serves as a protection from taking in false teachings and a reminder to walk in faith. At this time, we started to teach the Westminster Confession of Faith.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & StoriesChurch China
True Knowledge and Life in the Gospel Bring True Revival to the Church - An Interview with Pastor Miao, Part 1
True Knowledge and Life in the Gospel Bring True Revival to the Church - An Interview with Pastor Miao, Part 1

As the Chinese house churches are in the process of the transition, the contention between “knowledge and [spiritual] life” often comes up. Therefore, I interviewed Pastor Miao who has gone through struggles, thoughts, and exploration concerning this contention. Pastor Miao’s church used to be deeply impacted by charismatic Christianity. As Pastor Miao furthers his study in theology, his faith has changed from subjective, superficial, and mysterious conviction to a Christ-centered, Scripture-based belief. Since Pastor Miao graduated and returned to serve the church, he has implemented a series of changes in the church: revamped statement of faith, membership programs, discipleship systems and etc. The church started to transform, which even influenced other nearby churches. Overall, after Pastor Miao and other staff studied New Testament courses, the movement of “rediscovering and returning to the gospel” has led to significant changes in the church. I believe his experience at church in the past twelve years are nurtured by the grace of God. As readers, we can delve into deeper reflection on the contention of “knowledge and [spiritual] life” and have a better understanding of the revival of the church.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & StoriesChurch China
Becoming “Chinese”: The Problem of Identity in Missions
Becoming “Chinese”: The Problem of Identity in Missions

In China, I have learned that I am especially indistinct. I am an Asian American and on most days, I am able to walk the streets of China as an insider because I don’t look any different than the masses. As I pass by, the fruit cart lady will keep shouting out the day’s deals, the newsstand guy will keep throwing watermelon seed shells on the ground, and customers of the local noodle shop will keep focusing on the steaming bowls in front of them. But, the veneer of me being a native Chinese person is fragile and so easily pierced. All I need to do is speak and my improper tonal inflections give me away. Similarly, the mere presence of my three children at my side causes the hustle and bustle around us to cease and the attention to fall conspicuously on us. The one-child policy makes two children rare, and three a spectacle – a clear reason to doubt their initial impression of me as a native Chinese person.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & Stories春笋 Chunsun
Keep the Charge of the Lord: Six Considerations for Becoming Missionaries
Keep the Charge of the Lord: Six Considerations for Becoming Missionaries

In my previous post, I shared the difficult dilemma my wife and I experienced as we considered whether the Lord was calling us to China. Unlike most missionary couples we knew, our calling did not feel particularly clear and we experienced what felt like a crisis as we struggled to arrive at a shared decision together. After many tears, sleepless nights, long conversations, hours of searching the scriptures, and heart-wrenching prayers, we committed in unity to moving to China. The following are six of the biggest practical lessons and considerations we experienced that enabled us to make the toughest decision yet in our life together.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & Stories春笋 Chunsun
Going When Circumstances Say Stay: Deciding to Become a Missionary
Going When Circumstances Say Stay: Deciding to Become a Missionary

For over a year, my wife and I stood at one of the most significant forks in the road of our family’s life; we were trying to discern the voice of the Lord. Should we leave our home, my career of over ten years, and our family and friends in order to live and serve in China? We prayed for the Lord to shout the answer, but what came back felt more like a whisper in a noisy room. We heard most of the words, but not all, and had to discern the whole message from its parts. At times my wife and I agreed on what we heard; at times we did not. One thing we both knew, though, was that neither of us ever expected to be wrestling with a decision like this.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & Stories春笋 Chunsun
The Demonstration of Gospel Witness, Part 3: Transformation
The Demonstration of Gospel Witness, Part 3: Transformation

Having seen Christ’s confrontation of our hearts that are so prone to hate, and Christ’s expectation to perfectly love our enemies, we turn to our last point: the confrontation of our sinful hearts, and the expectation to love our enemies, can only be accomplished through the penalty-paying and power-providing transformation of grace that only Christ can give. He becomes our penalty-payer and our power-provider.

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Spiritual FormationJulius Kim
The Demonstration of Gospel Witness, Part 2: Expectation
The Demonstration of Gospel Witness, Part 2: Expectation

Jesus not only confronts the matter of our hearts that are prone to hate, he moves on in our text to express the expectations he has for those who want to follow the true meaning of the law.

A second theme Jesus articulates in this passage is expectation. In verses 38-42, he calls on us to not retaliate when provoke but to give up our all – especially our hearts. Remember, these are illustrations to reveal his expectations of our hearts. In verses 38-42 he gives four implicit commands (through illustration) to reveal the radical nature of his expectations.

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Spiritual FormationJulius Kim