Swells in the Middle Kingdom
A Chinese Voice from 120 Years Ago
The following is a suggestion made by a Chinese pastor to the rest of the attendees at the 1890 Shanghai conference of all the Protestant missionaries in China. It must have taken a lot of courage and strong convictions for him to address the room full of foreigners in this manner (there were only a handful of Chinese delegates at the 1890 Conference). Yan's purpose in speaking was to remind the missionaries that in addition to attracting new converts, there was still much work to be done to care for the believers already in the churches.
Keeping a Proper Perspective
From the opening chapter of his work on the proper method of mission practice (Nevius was at least partly inspired by Timothy Richard's work in Shandong), the following quote is a reminder for those of us who have found what we believe to be a better method for working in China to keep a proper perspective:
Are You “Among the People”
The following is a quotation from James Hudson Taylor, speaking to a gathering of field workers Pingyang, Shanxi in 1886.
Hold to the Tension
Cross-cultural work is all about living between two poles and keeping them in juxtaposition. The problem is that modernity - our western Enlightenment culture - drives us to resolve that tension.
A Different Kind of Challenge to Effectiveness
I have recently been struck by how susceptible my attitude is to being influenced by my environment. This sounds obviousalmost tautologicalbut let me explain a bit about the kind of influences I am thinking of.