China: More than Meets the Eye

Lots of great stuff today. This post is basically about the Church in China (with some general mission stuff on the side). The lecture was over an hour long, so I'm just going to include some of the stuff he went over (the lecture was done by Doug Birdsall- a colleague of Dr. Kuzmics). He starts with some general mission stuff, and then goes into more specific stuff (concerning Asia).

First, some scripture.
Luke 10:
At this point, Jesus's ministry has been going really well. He's speaking with the 72, giving them specific instructions about how to build the church. After sending them off, they come back really excited. In verse 17 they say, "Lord, Even the Demons submit to us in your name!" You'd think that Jesus would respond in Joy, or something along those lines. His people have been doing great things for his name, so shouldn't he be congratulating them? That's what we think should follow, but it doesn't.What he does say is this:
             “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Jesus isn't saying that driving out demons is a bad thing. He just shifts the focus from works, to salvation. When it comes to missions, (Birdsill's words): "Who we are in Christ is more important than what we do for Christ".  I LOVE this. Mission work is great, in fact- it's at the center of God's heart, but even Christ puts Mission work second to salvation. The point is a relationship with Jesus. Mission work is just a means to an en]  

Or take for example Martha and Mary. If I was hiring people for a Missionary Position, I'd go with Martha. She's hardworking, dedicated, loyal, etc. So why does Jesus pick Mary? It's sort of humbling. He explains that even though doing things is good- being with Jesus is better. That relationship with Christ is something working hard can't produce. In the words of my youth pastor Jon Duey- it's about Drawing Closer, not Working Harder.  

Another thing that I've heard a thousand times, but ceases to get old: Your theology will drive your doxology. What you think- study- believe, drives how you act. It's the same way with mission work. Without a sturdy, solid theology, mission work falls apart. 

Shifting gears a bit.... China. 

When you hear the word China, what comes to mind?? 
Communism?
Factories?
Technology?
Red?
Mulan? (At least, that's what comes to my mind...)

China may be some of those things- but it's boundaries extend far beyond our stereotypes. It is a seriously complex society- billions of people- hundreds of cultures and languages- and recently: millions of Christians. 

Here in America, we're really blinded. We think fancy Churches and Sunday morning attendee's make a Christian nation. Honestly? We're pretty far behind. I'm confident that when I get to heaven, America will be the minority. Not that I'm ok with that- I desperately want the people of this nation to know Christ- but it's a truth I've had to face. Right now the fastest growing Churches are in Asia. It's a hotspot for miracles, revivals, and new Christians. They're sending missionaries, growing churches, and producing Christians at a rate of 10,000 a day. It's mind blowing. Here's a link to some reading on the Church in China: http://www.chinapartner.org/church-china

What used to be one of the slowest growing Churches in the world has boomed like never before. In the course of about 50 years, millions have come to faith. Two main events showcase this boom.
     1. 1949- Communistic Revolution- "Foreign Devils" (Christians and other foreigners) are removed. 
     2. 1989- Missionaries have slowly been integrating themselves back into the population, and the Tianaman square massacre takes place.  http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/06/01/tiananmen/
This basically marks the death of "true" communism, and ushers in an age of growing Christianity.

There are three parts to the Church in China:

A. The "Registered" Church. If you're ever in China, and you see an actual Church building- it fits under this category. Not that these are bad, but sometimes they have to compromise a bit in order to be recognized by the government. 

B. House Churches. This would be groups of people gathering in homes to study God's word. Often they meet in secret, and are persecuted if found out. Though the Tianaman square incident led to the death of true communism, communistic ideals still prevail, and this sort of a Church has become rampant as a result of Government persecution. 

C. Urban Intelectual House Churches. This one is a bit different from just "House Churches". These are gatherings in the city, and are primarily made up of College educated individuals. There have even been reports of Bible Colleges being set up because of these groups. Beijing is the intellectual center of China, and houses a huge chunk of these "intellectual" House Churches.  

There has also been a growing commitment to missions. In America, I think that sometimes we forget that we're not the only country besides Europe to send out missionaries. There's this thing called Movement to Jerusalem, which is based in China, and aims to send over 100,000 missionaries to the middle east.  

As a whole, this lecture has put several things into perspective for me. (I've also been reading the book Radical, and that's given me TONS of insight. Read it. It's incredible. But back to China...) Taking a look at other countries is always humbling. We may think we're high up on the totem pole, but in reality, America is below a lot of countries as far as Christianity goes. We're an important player, but we need to remember our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ that live overseas. We all have a common goal, and a common leader. 

Next time you step into one of those fancy churches, say thanks to God for that privilege. It may feel like a small thing- but the fact that we have places to worship- beautiful, expensive, giant- churches, is incredible. It's an enormous blessing. There are millions, if not billions of Christians who don't have that. They meet in homes, in secret, in fear of persecution.  God has blessed us beyond compare. Don't forget that.

Also, to recap the beginning part of this lecture- Mission work is great. Wonderful. At the center of God's heart. But- first comes being with Jesus- drawing closer to him. When we get that part right, the doxology of mission work just kind of falls into place. 

Stay tuned- I hope to have another "Ravi" post up soon. Thanks for reading. :)