Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs.
Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Chinese Culture and Communication at Wheaton College (IL) and Taylor University (IN).
Joann has a BA in Social Sciences from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and an MA in teaching from the University of St. Thomas (MN).
She is the author of Survival Chinese Lessons and The Bells Are Not Silent: Stories of Church Bells in China.
Her personal blog, Outside-In can be found at joannpittman.com, where she writes on China, Minnesota, traveling, and issues related to "living well where you don't belong."
You can find her on Twitter @jkpittman.com and on Facebook at @authorjoannpittman.
She makes her home in New Brighton, Minnesota.
An Interview with Sean Cheng, Asia Editor of Christianity Today
ChinaSource is thrilled to partner with Christianity Today (CT) to help inform global Christians about the church in China and tell the stories of God’s faithfulness to his people. Learn more in this “3 Questions” video interview with CT’s Asia editor.
ZGBriefs | September 8, 2022
An Unusual Scottish Missionary: William Burns (August 25, 2022, Field Partner Blog) William Chalmers Burns (宾惠廉) lived from 1815-1868. A fellow missionary said after his death that “all China knows him; he is the holiest man alive”. Because of his itinerant ministry, he left an impression on thousands of people across wide stretches of China.
ZGBriefs | September 1, 2022
Filled with the Spirit amid the Hungry Ghosts (August 25, 2022, Christianity Today) This month serves as an important time for the church to reflect on its own convictions about spirits and the Holy Ghost himself.
ZGBriefs | August 25, 2022
China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk (August 24, 2022, The Guardian) Local authorities told to take measures and ‘use every unit of water carefully’ in effort to save autumn harvest.
The Culture Tree
Culture Learning: A Book Review
“One of the beautiful things about symbolizing cultures with trees is that this picture captures the essence of variation and uniqueness among groups… The image of the tree allows you to first think about commonalities by acknowledging all trees have the same parts, and then to address differences by thinking of the many different types of trees.”
ZGBriefs | August 18, 2022
5 Truths We Must Defend: Lessons from China (August 11, 2022, The Gospel Coalition) Although the experience of Christians in the U.S. is vastly different, we can learn from the faithfulness of our brothers and sisters in China.
Internet Regulations Six Months On
Due to the licensing and real-name requirements, these regulations… certainly make it more difficult for individuals and unregistered churches to put religious content online.
ZGBriefs | August 11, 2022
The Major Questions About China’s Foreign NGO Law Are Now Settled (August 8, 2022, China File) Foreign NGOs still tend to focus on work congenial to Beijing and eschew “controversial” issue areas like media, human rights, or religious issues.
A Conversation from Down Under
3 Questions Video Interview with Peter Anderson
Learn more about the Chinese diaspora in New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands with Peter Anderson, editor of the spring 2022 issue of ChinaSource Quarterly and our own Joann Pittman.
ZGBriefs | August 4, 2022
Confucius through Christian Eyes: Kenneth Scott Latourette and Charles E. Farhadian (August 2, 2022, Global China Center) Whether Confucianism is, or has ever been, a religion is a consideration that has been hotly debated for centuries, with evidence for and against its religious nature presented by those who answer either “Yes” or “No.”