CHINESE, ETHNIC CHINESE AND WORLD EVANGELIZATION Samuel Ling [ Note. This is an expanded version of an address given at the Fifth Chinese Congress on World Evangelization, held in Hong Kong, July 12, 1996. The author is General Director of China Horizon, a literature and training ministry among mainland Chinese intellectuals in North America, and serves as adjunct professor of history at Wheaton College. ] The topic before us is “Chinese, Ethnic Chinese, and World Evangelization.” In other words, how can the Traditional Chinese Christians and Ethnic Chinese Christians work together to fulfill the Great Commission? INTRODUCTION 1. Clarification of Terms Before we begin our discussion, we need to define our terms. Rev. Hay-Him Chan of the Chinese Coordination Centre of World Evangelism (CCCOWE) has defined “Traditional Chinese” as those living outside China, whose primary language and cultural orientation is Chinese. These “Traditional Chinese” have historically been the backbone of the leadership of the Chinese church overseas. “Ethnic Chinese” refers to those Chinese whose primary language is not Chinese, and whose primary cultural orientation is other than toward Chinese culture. Most Ethnic Chinese are born outside China (or more specifically, outside “Greater China,” that is, in countries other than mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau). In the U.S.A., the Traditional Chinese are called “OBCs,” or overseas born Chinese; here the word “overseas” is used in reference to the U.S.A. – “OBCs” are those born outside the U.S.A.; the Ethnic Chinese are called “ABCs”, or American born Chinese. In Canada, the Ethnic Chinese are called “Canadian born Chinese.” ABCs and CBCs, then, are two among many types of Ethnic Chinese, who have grown up in Britain, Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America as well as North America. I began my own understanding of “Ethnic Chinese” through ministry among ABC’s in the late 1970’s. Twenty years later, I have an enlarged understanding of “Ethnic Chinese.” I have written a new article on the subject, “Understanding Ethnic Chinese?” in Chinese Around the World and Chinese Churches Today (July 1996). Traditional Chinese, Ethnic Chinese, along with Chinese in mainland China, together make up the global Chinese community. Our topic, then, concerns the unity of the overseas Chinese church. How can the Traditional Chinese and Ethnic Chinese, both of whom are members of the Chinese church in Diaspora, work together as partners to evangelize the world? 2. Beyond Pragmatism: From the “How” to the “What” and “Why” World evangelization has been at the forefront of the agenda of the global evangelical church since the Berlin Congress of 1966 and the Lausanne Congress of 1974. For thirty years, evangelicals have approached the task of world evangelization largely from a pragmatic point of view: How can we accomplish the task? How can the world be reached? How can we meet the challenge of the billions who are unreached? Experts on church growth like Donald MacGavran wants us to think that we should assume we know what the gospel is; we should go on to find the most effective ways to “get the job done”: preach the gospel and plant the church in every culture. My challenge to the Chinese church is: We must stop this pragmatism! Yes, we do need to explore the most strategic and fruitful ways to preach the gospel and plant the church around the world. There is nothing wrong intrinsically in improving our methods. However we must never assume that our understanding of “What is the gospel?” is an issue settled forever. It is not. Each generation must discover the gospel afresh, because each generation is faced with its own set of questions, challenges, and assumptions. In each generation, new idols are created, new erroneous beliefs are advocated, and these all constrain the church to go beyond the “how” to the “what” -- what is the gospel? To be more exact, what is the “whole counsel of God” whom he has revealed in Scripture? One of the temptations facing the church, when she focuses on the pragmatic questions of “how to get the job done,” is to become too man-centered in our understanding of the gospel (or in our understanding of the “whole counsel of God”). We tend to base our strategies on human needs, and neglect considerations related to a more God-centered perspective. We also tend to look at culture – Chinese culture or other cultures – as man sees it. The “worldview” of the missionary becomes nothing more than a view of the world as seen by a non-Christian sociologist, anthropologist or psychologist. There is a real danger that we adopt a non-Christian, non-biblical “worldview,” and call it” the world as God sees it.” A God-centered perspective asks: What does the Scriptures say about God’s plan for the world? What is God’s call to the church to evangelize the world? And how does God see culture? Are there Scriptural absolutes we must cling to, and insist on? Where is our absolute anchor? We must, then, go beyond the “how” to the “what” and the “why.” Each generation of Christians must approach Scripture afresh to discover the gospel (the whole counsel of God) and the call to evangelization. If we neglect our responsibility, we run two risks: the first risk is to compromise with the secular world and its worldviews; the second risk is to become static and fossilized, taking the doctrines and conclusions of a previous generation of Christians, and assuming those to be the absolute truth. Mark Shaw speaks of the “classical” church, neither compromising nor fossilized, but holding forth the Word of life for its own generation. We will approach our topic from three perspectives. First, we will make some observations about “evangelization”: what is the gospel? And what is the nature of God’s calling to the church to evangelize the world? Second, we will take another look at “Chinese,” or “Traditional Chinese” culture. Third, we will take a look at “Ethnic Chinese.” In each case, we will introduce two concepts; suggests two ways for prayer, and two actions to take. I. EVANGELIZATION 1. Concept 1: The Goal of Missions What is the goal of missions? If we must “measure” our ministry by results (and I believe that the Scriptures give us warrant to measure fruitfulness), I would offer three goals for evaluating missions: Goal = Decision + Disciples + Doctors The first goal is decisions for Christ, or more specifically, the conversion of a life from sin to living under the Lordship of Christ. The goal is repentance and trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection. James Engel has helped us understand how a person moves in his understanding, in his feeling and in his will toward Christ in the famous “Engel Scale” (see What’s Gone Wrong with the Harvest? By James F. Engel and Wilbert Norton, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975.) A commitment to Christ, however, is often much deeper than an outward expression of a decision. The Westminster Larger Catechism is helpful at this point is offering a definition for faith: Justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and the word of God, whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition, not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin, and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation (Question 72). Notice that faith is a work of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift. It includes (a) man being convinced of his sin and need for Christ, as well as his utter inability to save himself, (b) man coming under the Word of God and agreeing with (being convinced of) the truths presented in the gospel, and © receiving and resting in Christ and His death and resurrection for forgiveness and for justification. For a definition of repentance, let us turn to the Westminster Shorter Catechism for another clear, concise definition (J.I. Packer assigns his students to memorize the entire Shorter Catechism in some of his courses): Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.” (Question 87). Here we also notice that repentance is a gift of the Holy Spirit (a grace). It includes (a) man understanding the seriousness of his sin and his need for God’s mercy, (b) man grieving over his sin and hating his sin (a heartfelt response), and © man turning from sin and committing himself to live for God. In both the definition for faith and repentance, the whole person is involved: (a) understanding of his own sinful situation, (b) understanding of the gospel and the truths contained in the gospel, © a heartfelt response – grief over sin, and resting on Christ, and (d) a decision of the will to commit his life to obey God, and to receive Christ. Nothing less will do. Perhaps some traditional churches over-emphasize the dimension of understanding in conversion, e.g. in confirmation classes, we ask the children of the church to simply recite certain key doctrines. Perhaps some contemporary evangelists over-emphasize the emotional (heart-felt) dimension, or the volitional (decision-making) dimension. All three are needed, and all three – the mind, the heart and the will – must surrender before God’s throne, and yield to the Lordship of Christ. Sometimes we just ask people to respond to Christ, by admitting “Jesus, I need you” – then go on to say “Thank you for dying for my sins.” There is no heart-felt grief for sin, there is no hatred for sin. (Check out your favorite gospel tract: how does it present repentance?) What is the person to think about the demands of discipleship after he receives Christ? He may be surprised! We must not stop short of the profession of full faith and full repentance, for every man, woman and child in the culture we are seeking to reach. The second goal is disciples, or a person who is yielded to the Lordship of Christ, to obey his Master in every area of life, and in every aspect of his culture. We will not elaborate here, for books and articles on this subject are abundant in English and in Chinese. The third goal has been traditionally called “indigenization of the church,” or “indigenization of Christianity.” Since 1972, the term “contextualization” has been advocated, first by the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches, then by missiologists worldwide. I propose that we substitute “indigenization” and “contextualization” with “the mature church” as our goal. In his Ecclesiastical Ordinances for the Church in Geneva (1541), John Calvin thought that there were four kinds of leaders (four offices) in the New Testament, one of which is the doctor (or the teacher). A doctor is one who is gifted, called and competent to proclaim, teach and apply all of God’s truth revealed in Scripture, for his culture, in his generation. Brothers and sisters, we are not finished with the Great Commission until indigenous teachers (doctors) are trained to take their place in their church, to teach all of God’s truth – the “whole counsel of God” – for the benefit of their church’s maturity, and to challenge their own generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason, theological education – the training of pastors, teachers and evangelists – is an integral part of mission. The overseas Chinese church have partially recovered from the anti- theological and anti-intellectual bias imported by nineteenth-century missionaries. We are well on our way to develop well rounded, competent faculties in our Bible college and seminaries. We need to keep our goal focused: to train up pastors and teachers for the church of Jesus Christ, and evangelists for the world. Today, we often hear a challenge to mission which consists only of the first goal. We often define mission as pioneering a field, sending missionaries to a field, and establish a beachhead (an infant church). We may even feel that the job is done when people have heard – or when a few disciples have emerged. My friends, the task of mission is not complete until the church can stand firm against every wind of error (Ephesians 4:11-16). Let us not mistaken “half the Great Commission” (or one third) for the whole. Brothers and sisters, has God called you to be a doctor, a teacher of God’s Word, faithfully dividing the word of truth and feeding Jesus’ sheep with solid meat? Has God called you to teach through an official (ordained) ministry, or through an informal (lay) teaching ministry? The sheep of Jesus Christ are hungry, and will go wherever food is found. 2. Concept 2: What is the Gospel? Let us now turn to the message of mission – what is the gospel? In this generation wherein hearts and homes are broken, we are called upon to be compassionate, understanding, and reach out and listen to people’s heart-cries. I have had precious experiences doing so, and will never forget them. People are hurting, and people need the Lord – and we are the Lord’s representatives. Whether in serving people and walking them through divorce, recovery from harassment and abuse, or death and loss, we are Christ’s aroma among those who come to God. Listening is an art, an indispensable part of the missionary’s “equipment.” Having said that, however, we must not confuse the benefits of the gospel with the gospel itself. We also must not confuse the results of conversion with conversion itself. Traditionally, we speak of the results of conversion as peace, joy, purpose and meaning in life. Today, we tend to speak of the results of conversion as healing, wholeness, healthy family living, and liberation from bondage by evil spirits. Seventeenth century Christians were not unaware that there are many positive benefits to salvation in this life. Listen to their list: The benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification, are, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end (Shorter Catechism, Question 36). Notice how these “benefits” have more to do with our appreciation of God’s gifts, than solution to our own problems! However, what is the gospel? The gospel is not God delivering to man the goods of health and wealth! The gospel can be summed up in three words: The gospel = God + saved + sinners (Cf. J.I. Packer, “What is Evangelism?” in Harvie M. Conn, ed., Theological Perspectives on Church Growth, P&R Publishing Company, 1976, 91-105; “The Heart of the Gospel”, chapter 18 of Knowing God, Inter Varsity Press, 1973; and “’Saved by His Precious Blood’: An Introduction to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ,” in The Quest for Godliness, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990, 125-148). The gospel is about sinners – sinners who are, according to Paul in Ephesians 2:1-2, dead, not just sick. In using a medical model and treating people’s minds, hearts, lifestyles and relationships as (mentally) sick, we run the risk of discounting the reality and the seriousness of man’s fall into sin. Man is not just sick (though he is certainly sick, in the words of Jesus). Man is dead – in his thinking, he has exalted himself, or other creatures above God (Romans 1:18-23); in his heart, in ignoring God, hating God, or staying away from God; in his will, in decisions to break God’s law or be negligent in obeying it. Man is dead and needs regeneration – he needs to be born again, to receive life in every part of his being. When we concentrate on people’s needs, we can run the risk of sidestepping the seriousness and the horror of sin. May we be found faithful in our gospel presentations. The gospel is about God’s saving act – salvation! In contemporary Bible translations and gospel presentations, we have downplayed certain aspects of the gospel. For example, the doctrine of propitiation (clearly taught in Romans 3:23-26) has been re- named atonement. What is atonement? It is God’s solving man’s sin problem. The problem is man’s sin; the solution is Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. What is propitiation? Propitiation is God solving God’s problem. What is God’s problem? A holy God responds to sinful man, and he can only pour out his wrath on man. God loves his people, but God hates our sin. What Christ did on the cross, was to pay the full penalty for man’s sin, so that he (Christ) turns aside God’s wrath. God now responds to man in grace and mercy, justifying the sinner who trusts in Christ. In the footnotes to the NIV Bible, the meaning of propitiation is given, though not the word – turning aside the wrath of God. (Cf. J. I. Packer, “The Heart of the Gospel,” in Knowing God, Inter Varsity Press, 1973; and Stephen Tong, Sin, Righteousness and Judgment, Taipei: China Ministries International, 1993.) We tend to think that contemporary men and women are so hurt, wounded and sinned against, that they cannot respond to a God of wrath and anger. The truth is, when men and women are really in despair, they need to face up to a God of truth and justice, and a true and just God will respond to sin in holy wrath – though that is not the end of the story; we continue to present to men and women Jesus Christ, dying on the cross, paying full penalty for our sin, and rising from the dead to offer everlasting life, hope and triumph over sin and death. Can contemporary men and women understand that? Yes. We need to learn how to speak their language, yes; we do not have to give up all the Bible’s language, no. Finally, the gospel is about God. The Gospel speaks of a God who is absolute, infinite (limitless and reigning over the universe) and eternal (beyond time). God is not so absorbed in his relationship with man, that he is vulnerable to the twists and turns of history. God is not “open” in the sense that Clark Pinnock defines him in the controversial book, The Openness of God (by Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, John Sanders, William Hasker, and David Basinger, Inter Varsity, 1994). Pinnock was to make God, the “social trinity,” an open and dynamic structure” (p. 104); having created an open universe filled with human beings with free will, God becomes “an ‘ad hoc’ God, one who responds and adapts to surprises and to the unexpectd. God sets goals for creation and redemption and realizes them ad hoc in history. If Plan A fails, God is ready with Plan B” (p. 113). And for Pinnock, God lives in a universe “in which there are real choices, alternatives and surprisees” (p. 104). Brothers and sisters, God is not surprised by man’s surprises! God has an eternal plan, and he is in the business of carrying out that plan (Ephesians 1:11). The goal of God’s plan is that the universe become one, and submitting under the Lordship of Christ (Ephesians 1:10). Does God care about our hurts and pain? Yes, he sent a sufficient high priest and savior for his people (Hebrews 2:17-18, 4:15). But this does not mean that God is vulnerable and surprised by our circumstances. Brothers and sisters, theologians today want us to believe in a limited God, in order to relate to hurting people. Do not yield to that temptation! The gospel, the truth of scripture, is at stake. The gospel is about God – an almighty, sovereign God – saving sinners from sin, and giving them the gifts of justification, pardon and eternal life. The gospel is healing, it is therapeutic in that sense – God heals men and women from the results of sin (hurt and pain). However therapy is not the gospel. Therapy often (a) diagnoses man’s problem as a fallen sinner in all his individual uniqueness, and (b) leads man to follow Christ and change his behavior once the Holy Spirits works the new birth in him. But therapy cannot be a substitute for being born again by the Spirit. The gospel is therapeutic. But therapy is not the gospel. 3. Prayer 1: A Great God, A Glorious Gospel If the gospel is about a great and sovereign God stooping down to save miserable sinners dead in their sins, if the gospel is indeed glorious beyond measure, then the church must recover the discipline of praise and worship. Traditionally, Christian hymns have guided Christians to think of God’s mercy in the third person; the gospel song has turned the third-person discourse into a personal conversation with God in the second-person: How Great Thou Art! Great is Thy Faithfulness! Contemporary praise and worship songs constrain Christians to add the first-person dimension: I love you, Lord; Father, I adore you; I worship you. The second person is retained: There is none like you; you are beautiful beyond description. But the first person is accented: the hurting and healed sinner can now openly tell his/her Father, “I love you.” This is important; this is essential. The Chinese church needs to liberate herself from the confines of what we call “traditional worship.” What we call “traditional worship” and “traditional hymns” are nothing other than a particular style from 19th century England and America. There are many styles; we need to minister and serve 21st century men and women and let their hearts cry out to God in joy and celebration. However, we must not neglect the fact that the gospel is a solemn and glorious address by the divine King to his subjects. Along with joy, a solemn and contrite heart in worship should be cultivated as well. How do we pray? How do we perceive God in our prayers? How great is God when we sing, “How Great Thou Art!”? 4. Prayer 2: Seek the Church’s Doctrinal Purity Another way to pray, often neglected, is intercession for the doctrinal purity of the church, that the doctors (teachers) of the church be faithful to the truth once delivered to the saints. We have come through, in our history, a period in which fundamentalists battled liberal theology (in the 1920s and 1930s), and now we as evangelicals are a powerful bloc, whether in America or in Asia. We tend to think that we have settled the issues of doctrine, and can move on to figure out the “how” of evangelism counseling, social action and missions. Brothers and sisters, for reasons given above, and more below, we need to be faithful and keep watch, lest the human philosophies of the secular world infect the Chinese church. Let us pray that pastors and seminary professors be alert as they read, think and prepare their presentations. Pray that we will be faithful in our creativity; pray that we will be faithful as we reach out to hurting people in the 21st century. 5. Action 1: Study and Meditate on All God’s Attributes A practical step we can take, is to do a study of all of God’s attributes. Books and materials abound – J.I. Packer’s Knowing God has been re-edited to make it more readable. A thorough reading of the book, once every two years, will be a good beginning. Meditate on all of God’s attributes, not only your favorite attributes. It will enlarge our minds, it will enlarge our prayers. People who know their God have great thoughts of God (Knowing God, chapter 2). 6. Action 2: Appreciate the History of Doctrine We need to take a fresh look at how Christian doctrine developed over the centuries, as the church battles error and heresy, and re-establishes her understanding of the system of doctrine taught in Scripture. Systematic theology, as traditionally understood, is not fashionable today. There are some very popular biblical scholars who want us to abandon systematic theology (or the study of doctrine); we can just let the Bible speak for itself! The fact is, biblical scholars often cloud our understanding of the Bible by casting doubt on the meaning of words and the meaning of Scriptural truths. Though Old Testament and New Testament studies are important, and often they help shed light on the meaning of a word or passage, we must ask our biblical scholars: How faithful are you in nurturing convictions in the lives of the church’s pastors and believers? Or are we taking away the confidence of people in the Bible? What is doctrinal study? It is the study of the whole of Scripture on a particular topic. The topic, or questions, can be old ones or new ones. Traditionally, the church through the centuries ask: what does the whole Bible say about God? About man? About sin? About Christ? About salvation? The church? And the last things? We can add new questions: what does the whole Bible say about abortion? Genetic engineering? The role of women in the church, at work, and at home? Capital punishment? The environment? Nationalism and imperialism? Doctrine is applying the fruits of biblical scholars, and looking at the whole of Scripture in order to answer our questions. It is indispensable. The temptations of theology is to make it freeze in a particular time in history, and become fossilized; or to become so fashionable that we throw away biblical absolutes. Study the history of doctrine. It will help us appreciate the hard-fought battles which resulted in the convictions we take for granted; it will encourage us to be faithful and keep watch, studying Scripture in a fresh way for new questions in the 21st century. II. TRADITIONAL CHINESE When the “traditional Chinese” church gathers to strategize on world evangelization, we understand the “traditional Chinese church” to be made up of Christian leaders raised in Taiwan and Hong Kong, many of whom were originally born in China. These Taiwan and Hong Kong-based leaders, in turn, have in large numbers immigrated to North America. In the language of sociologists, we are “vagrants,” having wandered from one place to another, to a third place. As Chinese, we have a very strong emotional attachment to China – the more we immigrate, the more “Chinese” we become. It is curious what we mean by attachment to “Chinese” culture. Which China? When we probe further, we discover that the world of Chinese culture is very diverse; and unless we take this diversity seriously, there will be serious problems in unity and mission in years to come. 1. Concept 1: China Was Always Diverse Let us go back to ancient Chinese history and face a very important fact: China has always been a land of diverse tribes and sub-cultures. The First Empire, under the Ch’in (Qin) and Han dynasties, sought to unify many tribes and principalities. Beyond the Han people, we recognize four major minority-groups (Manchu, Mongols, Moslems, Tibetans) and fifty smaller ones. Add to that the fact that each province has its own capital-city dialect, and many other dialects for the smaller towns and villages, and the “feel” of diversity becomes more familiar. Can we once and for all agree that China does not have a monolithic culture? What is culture? When God created man and woman, he commissioned them to fill the earth and to take care of it (Genesis 1:26-28, 2:15). It was God’s intention that man scatter and fill the earth, and while doing so, glorify the Creator and serve fellow men and women. We are stewards of our brothers and neighbors – contrary to what Cain thought, when he asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The implied answer from God: Yes! Man, however, fell into sin and sought to glorify himself with a unified culture, by building the Tower of Babel. Man seeks a uniformity which exalts man – China’s search for unity may be a version of this. Result: God came down with a curse, confounding languages and forcing man to scatter. These two experiences – the diversity of dialects and the pain of forced emigration – have been very close to the Chinese experience. True unity comes through a common obedience to God’s call. In the Old Testament God called the people of Israel to be a light to the nations; in the New Testament Christ fulfilled Israel’s calling by living out a life of obedience and servanthood. In Christ, the Second Adam, we receive our renewed call – to be servants in the world (taking care of the earth) and to make disciples of all nations. As we carry out the Great Commission we are sensitive to cultural diversity among the nations, yet we proclaim the one Creator (who created our one common ancestor, cf. Acts 17:16-31), and the one Savior for all nations. In the New Testament there is diversity yet unity – witness the Pentecost event, where the diversity of languages was met with the one message of the risen Christ! As we consider God’s call to Israel, fulfilled in Christ, we need to pause and ask a question of biblical interpretation: Can we Chinese Christians legitimately take passages about Israel’s longing for Jerusalem, and apply them directly to our own overseas nostalgia and prayer for China? Is China really the equivalent of Israel? Or rather should Israel be a better model for the church (e.g. the Chinese church)? We run the risk of re- building Chinese culture for its own sake, rather than building up the people of God, the body of Christ. The latter is our goal. Let us recognize our diversity, and seek to build unity through Christ and His grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit. (The Institute of Chinese Studies, 1605 E. Elizabeth St., Pasadena, CA 91104, collects and disseminates informatiion on China’s minority people groups for mission-minded Christians.) 2. Concept 2: Understanding Modern Chinese History: Pain, Penitence, Power As Chinese people sought to build a man-centered culture through Confucianism and Taoism, mixed with imported Buddhism, God brought a series of painful experiences to us in the past 150 years. We may truly say that the Chinese people have faced an identity crisis throughout her modern history since the Opium War (1839-1842). Who are we? Are we the “tian-xia” (t’ien-hsia), a cultural universe unified with Confucian-Taoist concepts of man in harmony with nature? Or are we truly a nation, carved up by the western powers and Japan (e.g. after the Sino-Japanese War, 1895)? (Cf. Joseph Levenson, Confucian China and Its Modern Fate, and Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China.) Traditional Chinese often say that Ethnic Chinese (i.e. the children of the second, third and fourth generations) have an identity crisis. It is more accurate to say that we, the traditional Chinese, have an identity crisis by virtue of China’s painful search for a modern identity; we then proceed to pass on this identity crisis to our children born overseas. As China experiences defeat, natural disaster and revolution, three realities hit the Chinese people: pain, penitence and the search for power: Pain. There was no pain in the Garden of Eden. After Adam’s fall, however, God pronounced a curse on man and nature (Genesis 3:15-17): there was now enmity between man and woman, and between man and nature. Pain, then, is a result of sin. The Chinese people are acutely aware of pain. Mainland Chinese still remember pain from the Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s and 1970’s; overseas Chinese have memories dating back to the Japanese occupation and the Civil War of the 1940’s and 1950’s. God is capable and willing to heal our pains. We need to uncover our pains and recognize them as results of sin, and come to the cross. Penitence. Since the days of the May Fourth Movement (1915-27), writers such as Lu Xun (Lu Hsun) have helped us understand the sins of the Chinese people against themselves. These authors cry out in penitence against the dehumanizing effects of feudal society. In 1988, coauthors of the television miniseries River Elegy (He Shang) laments the Great Wall, symbol of Chinese cultural tradition, as an instrument to limit rather than to open the Chinese people to the whole world. There is much anger in these cries (read any novel about the Cultural Revolution!), but little liberation, joy and freedom of spirit. The Bible tells us that there are two kinds of sorrow: the sorrow of the world, which leads to death; and sorrow according to the will of God, which leads to repentance, life and joy (II Corinthians 7:10). Is it possible that the Chinese people have experienced the worldly sorrow – penance is a more accurate term – and have yet to understand and experience the joy that comes from true repentance? (Cf. C. John Miller, Repentance and Twentieth Century Man, Christian Literature Crusade; and Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance, Banner of Truth Trust, 1987.) Power. The Chinese people’s search for a solution to identity crisis, war, natural disaster and revolution has taken them through a twisted journey marked by varieties of power: power through technology (1862-1874), the power of institutional and political reforms (1898), the power of overthrowing the imperial government (1911), the power of new western ideas (1915-27), the power of a unified government (1927-37), the power of a revolutionary army ruling China (1945-49). Today we are witnessing economic power as post-Deng China and Asia become the focus of global economic development – not without problems. Overseas Chinese are increasingly in the news as a network of leaders with power (John Naisbitt, Megatrends Asia, 1996). Jesus teaches that power comes through serving and giving. Will the Chinese people grow in servant spirit, as they grow in economic muscle? Will we learn the life- principles of John Wesley: earn as much as you can, save as much as you can, and give away as much as you can? In giving, we receive – this is Jesus’ principle. Will the Chinese people sweep the snow in front of other people’s houses (i.e. care beyond one’s own family)? The Chinese Christian church must take the lead. There is power in serving and giving. Let’s discover this power, and exercise it. 3. Prayer 1: Healing by the Holy Spirit If we can face up to our identity crisis, there is healing available through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the Spirit of Christ; the Holy Spirit brings to our hearts the healing ministry of Jesus, our high priest. Some of us who have grown up in a more traditional, hierarchical type of church structure, are used to hearing exhortations to duty, rather than invitation to healing. The contemporary emphasis in various church circles on inner healing is a welcome renewal (though not without extreme manifestations and pitfalls). Will Chinese pastors, elders and deacons take advantage of the current climate, and promote the work of the Holy Spirit? Or will many Chinese live up to the criticism by some of our charismatic brothers and sisters – that the Trinity we believe in, is the Father, the Son and the Bible? When the Holy Spirit heals us of our wounds and all which they accompany – a sense of inferiority and inadequacy, unwillingness to forgive and forget – we are free, free indeed. 4. Prayer 2: Liberation to Love and to Serve When the Holy Spirit liberates our hearts, we are ready to love, laugh, hope, and give away this joy. May our worship experiences in corporate church services, as well as in private prayer, be filled with joy! Hope comes to us because Jesus rose from the dead. Our hope is in His power to overcome death, and therefore making all things new. Too many Chinese church leaders and Christians are living with/in the past. A whole new world is dawning in the 21st century. Complete with exponentially growing needs and challenges. We desperately need servant-leaders with liberated hearts to meet the challenges of the day. As we come to Christ in worship, we will be renewed to face tomorrow. 5. Action 1: Adopt A Minority People Group Some mission-minded Chinese churches in North America have begun adopting a people group in their ministry of outreach. They are following the example of Southeast Asia’s Chinese churches (e.g. in the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia) which have reached out in the past 30 years to their neighbors, the indigenous people groups of Asia countries. My brother in Christ travels to a minority people group in China, and seeks reconciliation between the Han people and their group. He offers repentance and seeks forgiveness from this Central Asia people group, which has been historically oppressed by the Han majority. Hearts and homes are opened; my brother is able to move on to demonstrate this spirit of repentance with good works, which bring blessings to the community. Many of us will experience deeper joy and liberation as we reach out to a historically alien sub-culture: mainland and Taiwan Chinese; Han majority and minority groups (Tibetans, Muslims, etc.); North American born and Asia born. What we have perceived as problems (e.g. the “American born Chinese problem”), let us welcome as opportunities for partnership. 6. Action 2: Appreciate Your Children The best place to begin this lifestyle of reconciliation and liberation, is with our children, who were born outside mainland China, and who will be the leaders in the churches, businesses, schools, and governments in the 21st century! Most of them have a “postmodern” mindset, and to understand and appreciate them is an exercise in cross- cultural ministry! Let us adjust ourselves, and be willing to let go of some of the “lenses” through which we look at our children. If we open our hearts to Christ, we will have taken the first step. The next step may be an honest effort to listen, really listen to what they are saying. III. ETHNIC CHINESE An understanding of the history and culture of China is essential to understanding “Ethnic Chinese.” We have lived through two centuries of crisis – war, natural disaster, revolution and dispersion. We have an identity crisis which can be overcome only in Christ. Liberated by the Holy Spirit, we will be empowered to meet, and to serve alongside our Ethnic Chinese brothers and sisters. 1. Concept 1: Appreciate Unprecedented Diversity and Change in Our Time There are two basic concepts we must wrestle with, and they are very difficult for many traditional Chinese church leaders – diversity and change. We have seen above that China was never one monolithic culture. We a. What complicates things even more, is the fact that this diverse group of cultures which we call China, has been undergoing tremendous change. Elsewhere I have outlined the tremendous changes taking place, as we Chinese live in a modern, urban world (see my article, “Case for Innovation” in CCCOWE-North America Bimonthly, 1990), as I listed 25 critical trends Chinese churches are facing today.) As we approach the 20th century, the implications of these and other changes are accelerating. We are entering a post-modern period in which there is no truth, no fact, and no absolutes (see my recent article, “Facing the Crisese in Our Time,” Chinese Around the World 1997). Change is a reality, and we must face it. We simply cannot go on using the methods of rural China for the urban world of the 21st century; we cannot repeat models from pre-revolution China for the diaspora, the overseas Chinese living in the west; we cannot simply borrow strategies from the modern world, and expect them to work in the postmodern In the article, ””Understanding Ethnic Chinese” (Chinese Around the World and Chinese Churches Today, July 1996), I listed eight factors – each of which creates a spectrum – which differentiates ethnic Chinese people: (1) the language a person speaks, (2) the history of their (or their parents’) immigration from China, (3) are they bicultural? (4) are they premodern, modern re a diverse people or postmodern in orientation? (5) how do they react to Chinese culture – positive, negative, or indifferent? (6) whom have they married? (7) in what kind of worship service/church do they worship? (8) how evangelized is their subculture of ethnic Chinese? We the Chinese people are rapidly becoming a conglomerate of people groups similar to the Jewish people. We are spread through all six continents; we speak different languages, and have adopted different cultural orientations. We are different from each other! Let us accept and receive this diversity as a gift from the Lord of history! Traditional Chinese need to understand Ethnic Chinese, one person at a time. Ethnic Chinese must likewise take the time to understand Traditional Chinese church leaders, to gain their trust and support—one at a time. 2. Concept 2: Change Your Definition of “Chinese” Since we have dispersed all over the world, and the above eight factors define so many kinds of ethnic Chinese, we need to re-define the word “Chinese.” Who is a Chinese person? I would like to propose a radical change in our definition of Chinese-ness. Who is a Chinese? A Chinese person is a person who is conscious that he/she is Chinese. Tu Wei-ming reminds us that there are three symbolic universes in “Cultural China”: mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwan Chinese; overseas Chinese; and journalists and economists (and we may add, missionaries) interested in China affairs. They are all Chinese! Some of the third group have married Chinese men and women. At CCCOWE’s Fifth Congress (where the message was given, on which this article is based), I spoke of people who may be called “post-Chinese” or “pre-Chinese,” in a jesting way. What I am saying is: the borders of the Chinese community are fuzzy, and we can rejoice in that. Our highest purpose on earth is not to preserve some static notion of culture (e.g. Confucian China before 1911); our highest purpose on earth is to reflect the Image of Christ through the Body of Christ, where there is plenty of diversity, yet a unity which does not demand uniformity. 3. Prayer 1: Confess Our Own Arrogance and Identity Crisis We need to confess that we have acquired a sense of inadequacy and inferiority, as part of our history and culture. Let us confess how we have hurt each other with our words or or silence, our action or inaction. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to shed light in our hearts, that we may see the pain, pride, anger, and despair which prevents us from true and full liberation in Christ. Let us confess this to the Lord, then to each other. 4. Prayer 2: Pray that We Love Ethnic Chinese as Our Partner Then, let us embrace each other as partners. Ethnic Chinese are reaching the unreached people groups in the 10/40 window, often representing the Traditional Chinese churches. They need the support of the Traditional Chinese! Traditional Chinese churches need to see Ethnic Chinese as their partners, missionaries, and “family.” Let us all pray that we love a larger family than we have learned to. This includes opening the doors of our hearts, churches and budgets to second- and third-generation Ethnic Chinese, and those who have married non-Chinese. The children of these interracial marriages also are increasingly growing up in traditional Chinese churches, and becoming missionaries. Since they have come to us, they are part of us. Pray for an honest, fair, and non-discriminatory attitude in the church for these brothers and sisters. 5. Action 1: Adopt an Ethnic Chinese Mission/Church One of the best ways to love Ethnic Chinese is to support church-planting in their midst, or cross-cultural missions by them! We need to do more than send money; let us learn all we can, listen as best we can, that we may understand their ministries – then pray for them. There are areas in the world where Traditional Chinese church leaders still do not understand the spiritual needs of Ethnic Chinese, and why they need their own churches. The cultural difference between traditional Chinese and ethnic Chinese is such, that ethnic Chinese need to worship in their own cultural setting. They need to be reached for Christ in their own culture, and grow in their own culture. 6. Action 2: Appreciate Non-Chinese Culture Beyond supporting Ethnic Chinese, traditional Chinese churches need to appreciate that we live among non-Chinese neighbors – Asians, North Americans, Europeans, and people from all over the world. Let us visit their neighborhoods; try their foods; make a friend perhaps at our workplace or school; and get to know one church, one Christian, or one pastor. In this way we will begin to break down walls. I was visiting a Chinese church in the midwest region of the U.S., and during that visit came to know some young men (Caucasian and Korean) serving in Korean churches. It turned out that both the Chinese and the Korean church have needs to reach and disciple their second-generation, American-born young people. By God’s grace, the leaders from both the Chinese church and the Korean church came together for a meal. They came to know each other, appreciate each other as well as their common needs. They went on to plan some common activities together, involving their children. CONCLUSION As the 21st century and post-Deng China dawns, the Chinese church overseas is faced with tremendous challenges. World evangelization requires that the entire Chinese church, both the traditional Chinese and the ethnic Chinese, work together and get mobilized for cross-cultural ministry. How will this happen? By God’s grace, as the Holy Spirit liberates our hearts. By God’s grace, as we understand our cultural baggage, and the pains that we all bear. By God’s grace, as we learn to appreciate and love each other, whether traditional Chinese or ethnic Chinese. One final word. Some readers may feel very frustrated, or regret that it is too late in their lives to make a difference, to break down a wall, to heal a wound. It is not. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is, that we, Christians – how much more church leaders! -- have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Every day is a new day. God will yet use us. As long as he gives us breath into the 21st century, we will learn to partner with each other, to make Christ known. February 28, 1997 Evanston, Illinois