Our China Stories
Rhetoric and Reality
Leaders in the policy arena face the difficult task of taking constructive action while at the same time being intentional participants in a larger conversation that could directly impact their options. In a similar way, Christians engaged in China are called to expand the larger conversation beyond the currently acknowledged reality, exposing their fellow believers to new possibilities through a deeper relationship with China and its church.
Christianity and the State—Dispelling a Myth
Embedded in today’s evangelical China narratives, particularly the narrative of the persecuted church, is the assumption that regime change will inevitably bring about greater openness for the gospel in China. But is that what Chinese history tells us?
The Pilgrim Principle
Remembering Andrew Walls
While Walls identified strongly with the church in Africa, where he served as a missionary from 1957 to 1966, his scope was global. His reframing of Christian history brings a much-needed perspective to the stories we often tell about God’s mission in the world, including in China.
Finding Themselves in China
It has been said that for the person who has a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
For foreigners who go to China, it is often the case that what they find depends on what they’ve come looking for.
God, Caesar, and the Chinese Legal System
Western narratives about China and its church are built on a fundamental, but often unspoken, assumption about the relationship between law and society.
Formed by Our Narratives
These narratives can also have a distorting effect upon those who employ them, for our China stories speak to more than simply what we think about China; they also reveal what we desire.
End of an Era?
Welcoming a new reality even when it is at odds with the stories we have come to believe about China and about ourselves.
When Our China Stories Ring Hollow
Thoughts about the violent demonstrations on the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.
Variations on a Theme
Our China stories are not merely descriptions of an objective reality manifesting itself in the Chinese church; they speak to where we believe China’s church is (or should be) going.
Seeing Things Differently
In proposing that we need to get beyond the “persecuted church” narrative, I am not advocating . . . that we leave it behind completely, but rather that we recognize its limits.