Ideas

Editorial reflection and analysis on issues shaping Chinese Christianity.

Latest

3 Questions: Spiritual Formation in China

In the final segment of the “Walking with Leaders” series on ChinaSource Conversations, our monthly podcast, we looked at the spiritual formation of leaders. One of our guests was John, an expat and trained coach whose14 years of service in Asia have included facilitating retreats and leading people through creative spiritual exercises.

Here John shares his thoughts on spiritual formation among Christian leaders in China.

Spiritual Formation

In the fourth and final podcast in the “Walking with Leaders” series, we want to focus on the topic of spiritual formation—the big picture and landscape of ones journey to becoming more like Jesus.  If coaching is about drawing out and mentoring is about pouring in, spiritual formation is the big picture of our relationship with God.

3 Observations from Teaching Biblical Interpretation

For many international organizations working in China, the transition to local leadership can be a challenging one. In particular, it is not always easy to achieve high levels of spiritual formation when many local leaders are either first generation believers or fairly recent converts. 

Cultural Chop Suey

In the past year, we have heard numerous reports of the Party’s attempts to promote traditional Chinese cultural values and to warn against the pernicious influence of western cultural values. But are the traditional values even there anymore? In the third section of the article ”The Shadow of Chinese History," Huo Shui takes a look at the destruction of traditional Chinese values and wonders on what values will China base her future development.

Choosing a Career

Whether in China or anywhere else around the world the choice of which career path to take is one that elicits no small amount of hand-wringing and late-night anxieties. For the Christian, there are additional concerns of avoiding corruption and trying to be in God’s will. How then should a Christian approach this question?

Recently, a blogger at The Good and Faithful Steward blog site shared some insights into the struggle.

China: Grandfather or Grandchild?

In the first section of the article "The Shadow of Chinese History," writer Huo Shui gives an overview of Chinese dynastic history. We highlighted that section in a post titled “A Long and Glorious History.” In the second section of the article Huo Shui uses the concepts of grandfather and grandchild to help us understand China’s desire for dominance. 

Getting Rid of the B-I-G

The latest episode in our ChinaSource Conversations podcast series continues our exploration into mentoring in the Chinese context.

A Long and Glorious History

If you’ve spent any amount of time in China, you have probably encountered the phrase “China has a long and glorious history.” In fact, you’ve probably encountered it so many times that you are tempted to roll your eyes when you hear it.