Through their blows, the persecutors and the persecuted came to know one another. This is an important gain for both of us, as we continue to walk through persecution. This is what it means when we Chinese say: “Out of blows, knowledge grows!”
There will always be conflicts for people who grow up in a traditional Chinese education, because a Chinese education is an atheistic education. But I never doubted the existence of God. The existence of God was as natural to me as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. It was as natural to me as getting up in the morning.
I am a subversive patriot because, despite the progress we have made as a nation, America is not my best hope for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." My ultimate allegiance is to a King who gave up his own life, liberty, and happiness to redeem us from the tyranny of sin.
The first few years I was a Christian, I hardly ever saw anyone come to Christ. After that I saw revival, with more and more people coming to Christ. I also started connecting to other believers from the house churches and even the government churches.
Read MoreAfter one year, I slowly found my life was changed. I didn’t feel the need to smoke, or have a desire to get drunk. When I felt lonely or stressed, I could go to God. At about this time, I started sharing my faith with other students and faculty. Some people believed, and we formed a Bible study.
Read MoreMany Chinese families have a tradition of worshipping their ancestors. The older generation, my grandparents, always told us stories about how they met their ancestors in their dreams, and encouraged us to show respect to those ancestors. It was mysterious for me to think about it. I was a little bit scared of spiritual things.
Read MoreWe also covet your prayers for the revival of the church, for you know that the Chinese church is growing at a very rapid pace. We are not facing issues of monetary need. Rather, we are short of laborers in the field. We lack a firm foundation in the Bible.
Read MoreWhen we talk about the problem of fear, this new regulation would be a greater threat to the pastors than to the believers. If they were to apprehend any, it would be the pastor; thus, the pastors face the greatest risk. Thus, this is a test to the generation of pastors in house churches, in order to test their courage in the gospel. If they are timid and weak, how can we help them? We should not rebuke. On the one hand, we should have fellowship with them in the gospel, but on the other hand, we should be courageous.
Read MoreThe problem with testimonies from the past are, first, not very many people know about them, and second, they are in the past. But how the Chinese house churches react to the new regulations and bear witness for Christ today could have an unimaginably positive influence on the future of the gospel movement in China.
Read MoreSome churches’ responses are not based on theology, but are based on different sources of information, different understandings of the situation, personal experiences, and even fear. There is lots of worldly stuff here that we try to dress up as theology, and this is extremely dangerous.
Read MoreMy biggest concern is the response to the New Regulations by downgrading into small groups. Christ built up the church, not to fulfill personal needs, but to fulfill the need to worship God… This in essence is a struggle for power between God and man. Small groups reflect human power while the church reflects God’s power, that is, hallowed be your name.
Read MoreWhile all metaphors have limiting factors, especially if they are overused, the teenager metaphor applied to the house church in China seems to work quite well. The metaphor is extremely useful because it helps us better understand not only how the church identifies itself, but it also helps us understand more comprehensively the interaction between the church and societal forces that shape it.
Read MoreI think it is because of God’s passion, rather than our passion for China, that God is transforming China through his gospel and through the death and resurrection of his son… Prayer can effect continual change on our spiritual environment, and the gospel can reach any part of this nation.
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