China, Congress, and the Jericho Road

 

By Paul E. Boatman

 

An official with access to the highest levels of government in the People”s Republic of China uttered these words: “We are very pleased with what Christians are doing in our land. We want to invite you to do more. We want to facilitate a more harmonious relationship between religion and our society.”

Is this for real?

 

A REMARKABLE MEETING

We sat in a Beijing hotel meeting room with a view of historic Tiananmen Square on May Day this year. The discussion participants included Mr. Zhen,* a high-ranking government official in charge of communications; Dr. Songdu,* a researcher and sociologist who monitors church activities in behalf of the Chinese government; Jian Zhu, a U.S.-China project facilitator who ministers in America, but works on both sides of the Pacific to encourage the burgeoning home church movement in China; and Bill Redmond, a retired U.S. congressman from New Mexico.

I was only incidentally present as a seminary professor who just two weeks earlier agreed to make my first trip to China.

The official”s statement was not a sudden impulse. Several streams flowed together to produce this watershed moment.

Redmond”s contribution goes back about a decade. He observed, “The most difficult vote I cast as a congressman was my vote in support of China”s status as a “˜most favored nation” for trade purposes. It cost me significant support from key constituents, but I voted the way I thought was right. I believed we should be in healthy interaction with this rapidly developing nation where God has been at work within his church and in the Chinese society.”

Since his congressional stint ended, he has invested much energy, along with Mr. Zhu, in the activities of American China Civic Exchange (ACCE), an effort to provide communication that opens doors for positive engagement between the two countries. For two years, Zhu and Redmond worked toward this summit meeting.

 

THE CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE

A second influencing factor was the event that precipitated my trip to China. In May 2008 a magnitude 8.0 earthquake shook Sichuan Province, killing at least 100,000 people and destroying the homes of 5 million people. The world responded with an outpouring of compassion and aid, but a year later, most of the helpers have turned to other concerns.

However, a very obvious pattern has emerged. Among the most consistent, sacrificial, and effective relief workers are those from Christian organizations, primarily from inside China. This example opened the door for me to be invited to enter the arena to lecture on effective management of grief and mourning, as well as on self-care for the beleaguered and overstressed relief workers. The government was fully aware of my Christian profile, and still affirmed the invitation.

A third factor is the Chinese church itself. Although Christianity did not take root easily on Chinese soil, missionaries persevered up to the time of the Communist takeover 60 years ago. With the repression and persecution of the Maoist regime, the church seemed to disappear.

But as less oppressive Communist leaders succeeded Mao Zedong, reports emerged regarding a thriving “underground church”””small congregations gathering in homes to worship, teach, and provide encouraging fellowship. Reliable estimates indicate that, with more than 100 million adherents, the Chinese church is the largest of any nation on earth.

While this church worships and teaches in secret, it behaves in broad daylight. If the church of the first century drew the comment, “See how they love one another,” it could be said of the contemporary Chinese church, “See how they love everybody.”

The quake provided a case in point. The quake zone was in no way a Christian stronghold. Yet Christians entered to offer a selfless hand of help. This activity is yet another example of the Samaritan principle at work. What the Good Samaritan did on the Jericho Road, Chinese Christians have been doing in abundance in quake-devas-tated Sichuan, China.

Dr. Songdu, referring to his surveying of various influential entities in China, commented, “We noted a growing number of Christians among college students, and that led us to the house churches which are no longer “˜under the radar.” The house church is a very important resource to influence the development of society. Christianity is becoming very popular.” He even noted a need for more translated Christian literature, especially good Bible study tools.

 

CHANGED LIVES

Just a few days before this meeting, I witnessed a vivid illustration of what is happening within this indigenous movement. Two house churches in a large city joined together for that Sunday. Several carloads of people rendezvoused near downtown to travel to a large house in a village in the adjacent hill country. About 40 people joined in a spirited worship service and then moved to a nearby reservoir to baptize 13 people amid swimming geese and swarming fish.

When I observed five people watching from a nearby hillside, I took a photo I shared with one of the ministers. He was relieved to see that they apparently were villagers, and not people who had followed them from the city. (The openness we experienced in our meeting has not spread to some lower-level government officials.) Every baptismal candidate gave a personal testimony””most frequently a testament to Christ becoming “real” through the persistent love of people in the congregation.

 

THE FUTURE?

Where is all of this going? God alone knows. What I know is that these powerful men want to come to America soon to visit with Christian officials in our government and other Christians who influence our society. Further, they intend to invite those leaders to visit China to encourage the healthy development of the Christian movement.

My personal tendency toward skepticism runs very deep, yet in this meeting with the Chinese officials, every indicator””their insightful statements, body language, facial expressions, my spiritual and psychological hunches””led me to believe the plea for expansion of Christianity is a genuine desire. Their motivation may be pragmatic in nature: They see that Christians being Christians is good for society and they want more of a good thing.

What do I plan to do? I will pray for my friends in ACCE as they facilitate communications among powerful people. As high-level leaders of our two societies encounter one another, I will pray the Holy Spirit leads these people of power to fulfill their divinely granted Romans 13 role as servants of God. And as this movement of a gradually opening door to Christianity gains momentum, I will pray for the church in China to keep its vision, its spirit, and its Samaritan character.

________

 

*Pseudonyms used in consideration of the delicate nature of religious issues in the Communist nation.

 

 

 

Paul E. Boatman is dean and professor of pastoral care and counseling at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary.