A recent Chinese Church Voices post featured one Chinese believer’s reflections on several related decisions she had made in her struggle to live out an authentic faith. Each decision involved saying “no” to the prevailing social norms, putting the author, Wei Chen, at odds with the expectations of co-workers, family, and even her fellow Christians. While Wei posed her decisions in the negative, they together represent a positive affirmation of the counter-cultural values to which many Christians in China aspire.
Brent Fulton
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July 12, 2017
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Stories
In a culture that values filial piety, how do Christian couples live out the Biblical teaching that “a man shall leave his father and his mother.” Does it simply refer to geographical leaving, or does it also encompass emotional and psychological leaving? It is a common and difficult question that many Christians face. In the following translated article, originally published on the public WeChat account of Green Olive Books, the authors put forth their understanding of what this means in a Chinese context, arguing that “leaving” is a prerequisite to a happy marriage.
ChinaSource Team
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September 27, 2016
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Stories
“She doesn't know me anymore,” my friend Xiao Min remarked offhandedly one day, as though this fact didn't bother her. As the weeks went on, I would slowly discover that this statement reflected a very deep pain in Xiao Min's heart. The first time she brought it up, though, I was surprised she would treat the matter so coolly. After all, she was talking about her own daughter.
Sarah Stone
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August 12, 2016
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Stories
Historical influences on family structure and how this structure has collapsed in recent decades are reviewed. The author then recognizes that family order has been established by God and must be restored. This is essential for China’s transformation. The role the Chinese church should play in this restoration needs to be thought through.
Wei Zhou
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July 11, 2016
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Scholarship
Over recent generations, marriage expectations have changed. For young Christians in China, marriages are taking on new ethical norms that include challenges. Parental pressures in finding a spouse as well as in planning a wedding can create much tension. After marriage, child-bearing and rearing continue to generate challenges between the young couple and their parents. The one-child policy has exacerbated these difficulties. Christian couples are swimming against many secular tides in these areas.
Mary Li Ma
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Scholarship
The following is a translation of an excerpt from a wedding sermon preached by Pastor Wang Yi of Early Rain Reformed Church in Chengdu. In it, he exhorts the couple to remember that they are not entering into this marriage alone, that God is going before them and with them.
ChinaSource Team
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April 26, 2016
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Stories
Depending on the statistics you find, roughly 70% of the church in China is female. This leaves an obvious problem: In a nation where such a small percentage of males are Christian, where does this leave the young, unmarried Chinese woman? Aside from the obvious question of whether or not to marry an unbeliever, there are questions much more subtle and often overlooked regarding how one should see this issue in light of their walk with God. In this revealing article, published in the online magazine Territory, one millennial shares how a broken relationship led to a revelation of something much deeper that was amiss in her own life, and how things began to change once her eyes were opened.
ChinaSource Team
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December 22, 2015
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Stories
One issue for younger Christians in China is where to turn for good teaching on issues related to relationships and marriage. Because there are fewer Christians in the generation that preceded them, there are few role models. Therefore, the need for resources and training for the Chinese church in this area is great.
One man who is speaking to this need is Yuan Datong (Andrew Yuan), a Christian marriage counselor who conducts marriage workshops in churches all over the country. He has also authored a number of books on the subject, including Marriage: A Covenant for Life.
ChinaSource Team
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September 22, 2015
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Ideas
When a child is born in China, the parents must register him/her and obtain a hukou (household registration certificate). When a couple recently went to register their child, they were told that, since they were not married, they would have to pay a 40,000 yuan “social maintenance fee.” Not having that amount of money, they launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to pay the fee. Their story garnered a lot of attention and prompted discussion on social media. It was even covered by The New York Times.
ChinaSource Team
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September 15, 2015
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Stories
How the church in China is seeking to strengthen marriages in the face of an increasing divorce rate.
Brent Fulton
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August 12, 2015
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Ideas
On July 8, Global Times, an English language newspaper in China published an editorial in response to statistics recently released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on the divorce rate in China. It was only one of numerous editorials and comment pieces examining divorce in China. The Christian Times took a look at some of the commentary, and offered their own opinion. It's an interesting look at a difficult problem that we don't often hear about, as well as a reminder to pray for God to strengthen marriages in China.
ChinaSource Team
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July 14, 2015
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Ideas
For first-generation urban Christians in China, social expectations regarding marriage present difficult dilemmas as they seek to remain faithful to biblical teaching regarding the family.
Brent Fulton
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February 27, 2015
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Ideas