Ideas

Editorial reflection and analysis on issues shaping Chinese Christianity.

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Is There a Role for the Western Church in China?

I have been reflecting recently on Brent Fulton’s challenge to rethink partnership between Western and Chinese churches. I have had an interest in the church in China for the past twenty years and have traveled there frequently for a variety of reasons—including work with several Chinese churches. My PhD thesis focused on historical efforts to reach the Chinese intelligentsia for the Christian faith. China has always been near the top of the list of places where exciting things are happening and where I, as a pastor of missions, would like to see our church make a contribution.

Why Divorce Is on the Rise in China

According to The Economist, China is "among the cheapest and easiest places to get a divorce." What are the factors behind China's increasing divorce rate?

Avoiding Extremes

When it comes to China reporting, two of my favorite writers are Peter Hessler and Evan Osnos, both of whom write for The New Yorker. They recently took part in a forum hosted by Asia Society to examine four decades of reporting on China by the magazine. Editor David Remnick moderated the event, and joining the conversation were three other New Yorker writers, Orville Schell, Zha Jianying, and Jiayang Fan.

China’s Urban Christians: A Light That Cannot Be Hidden

Brent Fulton, president of ChinaSource, Joann Pittman, senior vice president of ChinaSource, and Mark Swallow, host of ChinaSource Conversations, discuss the urban church in China and Brent’s new book, China’s Urban Christians: A Light that Cannot Be Hidden.

3 Questions: G. Wright Doyle

A ChinaSource "3 Questions" interview with Dr. G. Wright Doyle, director of Global China Center, editor of Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, and co-editor of Studies in Chinese Christianity, published by Wipf and Stock.

Partnering with Churches in China

How can churches outside China that seek to make a meaningful contribution to the church in China continue to serve effectively? Here are some initial suggestions.

What Is a Disciple?

Recently the mainland-based The Good and Faithful Steward blog published a short post about what it means to be a disciple, reminding readers that being a disciple is more than just taking on the name of Christ (“Christian”), but actually following Christ.

Chinese Indigenous Missions

On December 31, Christianity Today published a piece titled “Made in China: The Next Mass Missionary Movement.” This article provides an excellent introduction to the topic and some of the related issues.

To help provide context and background, we thought now would be a good time to highlight some of the resources that ChinaSource has published on the topic over the years. We hope these will be helpful to those wanting to learn more.

The Changing Face of Political Leadership in China

Since rising to power three years ago, President Xi Jinping has frequently been called the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. Such comments often refer to the way Xi has consolidated power by bringing the various Communist Party organs firmly under his control and to how he has eliminated possible opposition through a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign and emphasis on rule by law.