Blog Entries on Serving
Saving Grandmother’s Face and Other Tales from Christian Teachers in China
A Book Review
While it is difficult for foreigners to teach in China today, it is not impossible and still well worthwhile. The book reviewed here will bring back poignant memories for many and, we trust, be a reminder to pray for those who are still teaching in China.
Fragmentation
I’ve never felt so powerless. I’ve never felt so tired. And I’ve never felt more dependent upon a higher power to be the glue that holds my fragile, fragmented life together.
Giving Thanks in the Darkness
This thanksgiving glimmers with the hope that our engagement will help to complete the story…about what China is becoming. But what happens when we ourselves are the ones in need, with neither the opportunities nor the means to enter into the story in the way we thought we were supposed to?
When the “Golden Age” Is Over
A Call for Missiological Reflection on China Missions of the Past Four Decades
If we grasp the opportunity offered by this moment, what might we discover about ourselves and our ministries that could well benefit the Chinese church, as well as the global church, and could even contribute to the birth of a new mission paradigm for the future just as what happened during the second half of the twentieth century?
Yes, Yes, Yes—Member Care Is Part of the Mission
A Reader Responds to the Autumn 2022 ChinaSource Quarterly
While creating awareness for the need of member care for Chinese missionaries, I have struggled to find solid, culturally correct resources. This Quarterly is truly a gift with so much to discover, so much more than a wrapping and big ribbon.
When I Say Fruitful, You Think What?
I wondered, “Did God call you to the field to set others free in Christ while you stay trapped in an unintended form of ministry bondage?” What if collectively we moved our metrics down a peg and allowed walking with the Spirit to be the true measure of fruitfulness?
What if Christianity Is No Longer Successful?
May the stories we tell in this new era be stories of God’s faithfulness and the faithfulness of his people. The gospel is still unique and true, even when it is not clothed in the outward signs of success.
An Unwelcomed Journey Out of China
[T]he Almighty invites us to trust and remember that he appoints the when and where of our life. We struggle in faith to respond as Job did in the face of his own adversity: You brought us into China, and you brought us out of China.
Skills No Longer Needed
Re-entering a country that is “home” can be confusing. There is an unlearning—a releasing of some of the strategies that were only needed in a place with different rules and ways of living. We do not return as people who have stayed as we were before we left. There are things to shed; there are things to keep.