Does China Need More Leadership Training?
Last week I had two meetings in as many days regarding two proposed leadership training efforts aimed at Christians in China. Both were well thought through and grew out of decades of China experience.
Brent Fulton
Brent Fulton is the founder of ChinaSource.
Dr. Fulton served as the first president of ChinaSource until 2019. Prior to his service with ChinaSource, he served from 1995 to 2000 as the managing director of the Institute for Chinese Studies at Wheaton College. From 1987 to 1995 he served as founding US director of China Ministries International, and from 1985 to 1986 as the English publications editor for the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong.
Dr. Fulton holds MA and PhD degrees in political science from the University of Southern California and a BA in radio-TV-film from Messiah College.
An avid China watcher, Dr. Fulton has written and taught extensively on the church in China and on Chinese social and political phenomena. He is the author of China's Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden and co-authored China's Next Generation: New China, New Church, New World with Luis Bush.
Dr. Fulton and his wife, Jasmine, previously lived in Hong Kong from 2006 to 2017. They currently reside in northern California.
He is currently facilitating a network of member care professionals serving missionaries sent out from China. He also consults with other organizations on the impact of China's religious policy.
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Love Online, Chinese Style
The explosion of China's online Christian community has not only provided believers with a new platform for expressing their faith, it is also helping to meet practical needs within the Christian community. Recently Chinese Church Voices featured an article from the online Christian newspaper Gospel Times about Christian dating websites in China.
Theological Chinese for Non-native Speakers
Chinese language learning opportunities have mushroomed in recent decades. For those seeking to work specifically with the church in China, however it is still not easy to find a program that covers both the requisite theological vocabulary and is accessible to non-native speakers.
When Does a Barrier Become a Destination?
Coming off another Great Wall visit, I am again pondering the paradox of the wall a paradox which is true of both the ancient one as well as the more recently constructed one.
Generations of Church Leadership in China
In a recent post on Chinese Church Voices, a college professor who is a Christian contrasted his own life in China with that experienced by his father. His portrait of these two generations finds interesting parallels in the leadership of China'S church.
China does a lot of things.
It is common journalistic shorthand to attribute any policies, economic action, or military behavior that appears to emanate from Chinese officialdom to "China."
Unmasking China’s “Official” Church
China's "official" churches (those operating under the auspices of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement) are fairly often associated with terms such as "restrictive," "government-sanctioned," or even "Communist-controlled." Granted, one does not have to look too far within China's religious bureaucracy and its associated policies and practices to find evidence that would justify such notions. Unfortunately, however, the perception of the official church which these labels create tends to mask much of what is actually happening on the ground in TSPM-affiliated churches.
What Day Is This?
I'm already two weeks into my current episode of jet lag, so I know there is no excuse. However, I still find myself waking up in the morning and wondering, "What day is this anyway?"
Coming to Terms with the Church
An article that appeared last month in China's official press raises interesting questions about how the church in China is viewed by both the Chinese state and society.
Is Your Organization a Fit for China?
Over the years many foreign faith-based entities have made what might best be described as a "survey trip" to China. The purpose is ostensibly to understand what is happening on the ground and to discern whether, and how, their particular organization could begin a China work.
The Church in China: Asking the Wrong Questions?
The church in China is often viewed through two prevailing and related paradigms. The "persecuted church" paradigm positions the church and the Chinese government in perpetual opposition to one another, while the "Christian China" paradigm sees Christianity as bringing a new moral order to China and foresees the day when the church will usher in political change.
The Challenge of China’s Shifting Labor Market
The new year is upon us, and McKinsey China has come out with a new set of predictions for 2014. A key theme running through these predictions is a significantly changing labor market, particularly as a result of advances in technology and the way it is being utilized both in the workplace and by consumers.