"Brother Mark" played a key role in coordinating Walking with Leaders a consultation on mentoring, coaching, and spiritual formation in China hosted by ChinaSource last month in Hong Kong. Here are excerpts from a conversation we had with Brother Mark following the event.
History in the making and forgotten history were in the news this week along with Chinese-style self-help and the extension of Chinese consumerism to the US.
There was really only ONE story out of China this week, namely the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Incident. We could have devoted the entirety of ZGBriefs to the marking of that event, but we narrowed it down to a handful. Two of those articles are highlighted here. In addition, we couldn't pass up two articles about the hazards for foreigners who live and work in China.
These are the topics that caught our attention this week pork fat, bound feet, and a Miao festival.
ChinaSource is looking for a part-time (8-10 hours/week) research assistant/translator for our Chinese Church Voices project. The ideal candidate is someone who is familiar with the landscape of Chinese Christian websites and social media, and has the ability to translate content from these platforms into English.
Two of our favorite stories this week are about those on the margins of Chinese societythe poor who struggle to care for sick babies, and the disabled who are shut out of the educational system. The third article is an interesting look at how a the propaganda office in a neighborhood in Qingdao is trying to tackle the problem of "evil cults."
It's hard to learn a skill if you've never seen an experienced person do it.Instructions are great but watching a video on Youtube is better. Better yet, however, is having an experienced person—a mentor—walk alongside you, make suggestions, and give good feedback as you learn. If that is true of simpler tasks like pruning roses or learning tai chi, it is certainly true for learning the far more complex skills and attitudes needed in godly, fruitful church leaders.
Geographic and cultural divides and differences understanding them and bridging them were common themes this week.
If there were a theme to the three articles that we have chosen this week, it would be information.
I'm a documentary lover; given a choice between watching a movie, a TV program (drama or comedy), or a documentary, I will almost always choose the documentary.
As far as most of our readers go, probably the biggest story out of China this week was the demolition of the Sanjiang Church in Wenzhou.
Schools, nostalgia, and explaining the unexplainable these are the subjects of our top picks in ZGBriefs this week.