Posts in Spiritual Formation
Conference 2016: Interview with a Pastor from Mainland China
Conference 2016: Interview with a Pastor from Mainland China

What will you take home with you from this conference?

Because of the fifty years [the Chinese church] was separated from other church communities and because the Chinese culture is very closed, most Chinese churches just think, “We are the Chinese church.” They don’t think about being part of the whole, world Church. This is something we need to think more about and pray more about. Coming here, we really feel the brotherhood, and the big picture, and being part of the whole, universal Church. We understand more about that. We are more aware of how we are all for the same goal and joined together for that goal. 

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & StoriesChina Partnership
Holy Living or Holy Thinking? Reflections on Sanctification Going into 2016
Holy Living or Holy Thinking? Reflections on Sanctification Going into 2016

While working in campus ministry, I routinely find that my conversations with international friends cast new light on the things I believe. Conversation with others is always stimulating to thought, but cross-cultural dialogue is particularly fruitful. Conversations with my Chinese friends are fascinating and difficult. Recently I have had semi-regular lunches with a Chinese friend who is a PhD candidate studying philosophy at Harvard. He is not a Christian, but is very interested in Christian faith and ideas. Although I am not a philosopher and he is not a theologian, our disciplines try to answer similar questions, and the history of western philosophy and western theology is entwined. The cultural differences add another layer to our discussions; ways of thinking I take for granted are often not obvious to him, and vice-versa. Every time we meet, we are both surprised and intrigued by our discussions. It’s great fun.

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Spiritual Formation, Testimonies & StoriesTrey Nation
Celebrating 1 Year of the China Partnership Blog – Theology in China
Celebrating 1 Year of the China Partnership Blog – Theology in China

The China Partnership Blog is 1 year old! Join us during the month of October for a glance back over our favorite posts from the year. This week, we revisit our posts related to theology and pastoral training in China. Listen in to the reformed house church as it works through such issues as church polity, gospel centered preaching, church-state relationship, and suffering. These are major theological themes in today’s Chinese house church and a rich theological tradition is robustly developing. 

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Spiritual FormationChina Partnership
1 Way to Pray for China this Week
1 Way to Pray for China this Week

Over the past year, you may have read about a "cross demolition" campaign among churches in China. Though this campaign has often been overemphasized and misrepresented by the Western media, it does signify changing relations between the church and government in China. Both the government and the church are seriously considering one another and considering what stances to take towards each other. Additionally, as China’s house church continues to grow, it also continues to diversify. As with any advance of the gospel, Chinese Christians are struggling with questions concerning Biblical interpretation, historic theology, indigenous theology, and church polity. These are just a few large categories of issues that the Chinese house church is now working through. As you can imagine, there is a plethora of topics within each category that must be contextualized for Chinese culture.

In the light of these developments, the Chinese church is starting to robustly theologize from many different sectors. Please pray this week for God to give his children in China immense wisdom as they search the scriptures and begin to systemize their theology, interpretation of scripture, and presence in the world.

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Spiritual FormationChina Partnership
95 Theses: The Reaffirmation of Our Stance on the House Church
95 Theses: The Reaffirmation of Our Stance on the House Church

On August 30, 2015, Early Rain Reformed Church in Chengdu published their own version of Luther’s 95 theses in an attempt to reaffirm the Chinese house church’s position on faith before government and society at large, and with a fearful but humble heart, defend the church. This document is a bold statement reflecting the maturity of the Chinese unregistered church. It argues the church’s theological position thoroughly; with the doctrine of creation as its starting point, it places the gospel and God’s salvation plan at the center of the church’s call.

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Spiritual FormationEarly Rain Covenant Church
Heaping Plates of Grace: Returning from China to the United States
Heaping Plates of Grace: Returning from China to the United States

Perhaps you’ve worked and lived overseas and were required to attend a debriefing session. It’s very possible you heard a story that goes something like this: “I went to the grocery store to pick up cereal, but when I got to the cereal aisle, I was totally overwhelmed with all the choices. I just had to sit down and cry!” Not to belittle those who have experienced these emotions, but when I heard this story at my own debriefing a few days before returning home, my exact thought was, “HA! Tears of joy, maybe.” I had just spent a year in Sichuan, China, as a university teacher and, for the most part, loved it. From what I’ve seen and heard, spending a single year in a country seems to be somewhat of a gamble, because if things start out terrible, there is not much time to turn it around. My coin flip ended happily. I lived on campus with my fun and functional team, which enabled us to interact with our students frequently. My classes were well behaved and the subject (oral English) relatively simple to plan. I became friends with students and visited their hometowns, along with other major cities in China. I got to constantly enjoy spicy food and become pals with the restaurant owners. My teammate and I even had the opportunity to lead a study on the Word for our students. Some of them came to know Christ, and all of them heard things about Christ they never knew before. All in all, it was a very positive experience, but I was also very excited to come home and enjoy some of the aforementioned cereal benefits.

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Spiritual FormationLisa Speckhard
Reformed Theology: A Christian Thought Movement to a Church Movement
Reformed Theology: A Christian Thought Movement to a Church Movement

During the past fifteen years, these influences have resonated among mainland Chinese Christian intellectuals, which is quite remarkable. When asked why reformed theology appeals to them, their answers generally fall into categories such as: it resolves the cognitive problem between faith and reason; it offers a comprehensive worldview; it provides useful tools in responding to many schools of secular thoughts. Thus, more and more Chinese Christians have become familiar with reformed doctrines, theologians, and literature. Nevertheless, the spread of reformed theology has also brought trouble among Chinese churches, to the extent that many church leaders frown at the mention of it. Their concerns are due to a variety of reasons: a preoccupation with doctrines has overtaken pastoral care; some self-acclaimed reformed believers do not commit themselves to church life, or they have not been spiritually guided in a local church; many are prone to critique rather than to build others up, a trait especially noticeable among those who are active in cyber space.

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Spiritual FormationPaul Peng