China Ruined Church

A controversial title I know and perhaps a little too dramatic, but it is something I have been reflecting on since our return and I can’t help but compare our China experiences of Church to what we are finding back in Africa.

Many don’t understand the religious set up in China and a lot is hidden from international view; but there are three main Christian ‘churches’ operating in China: The first kind are the International Churches – these are similar to western evangelical churches but are open only to foreign passport holders and this is checked at the door every service. These churches also tend to be ‘spread too thin’ in our opinion because they are expected to cater to such a large, varying Christian population with hugely varying degrees of expression and theology. The second type of church is the Three-Self Church or government sanctioned Church which are supposedly Christian and preach good morals and lessons from the Bible but omit to teaching about Jesus (the revolutionary) and His grace and salvation for all mankind. The third type of Church is the house church or underground church which is commonly understood as the persecuted church because these are Chinese Christians who believe in Jesus, meet in secret and hide from the government because the communist government of China does not appreciate radical religious thought.

While in China we had first-hand experience of both the International Churches and the Three-Self Church and although we did meet several people operating within the underground church, generally foreigners attract too much attention for them to worship regularly at these house church meetings. The International Churches were the most disappointing, in our opinion not meeting anyone’s needs while trying to cater to everyone’s spiritual ‘tastes’.  The Three-Self Church experience was very interesting (for Kyle, as it was all in Chinese so it was lost on me) and these services were surprisingly packed in all services on a Sunday. Many people believe that the Chinese are majority Buddhist, but during our time there we found them to be mainly agnostic, with a lack of spiritual awareness at all. Many are searching though, which is why the Three Self Church was so full on Sundays – people were genuinely curious to learn about being more than just a physical being.

However, despite being ‘spoilt for choice’ so to speak, overall we found Beijing to be a spiritually dry place and struggled throughout our first year to find a place of worship to call ‘home’.

That was until an SA friend introduced us to Robert Glover, a man who changed our China and Church experience for the better. Not only did he eventually become my boss and Zipporah’s god-father, but he also introduced us to a group of like-minded families who were also disappointed in the way church was being done in the city, and who were craving an authentic Christian life alongside fellow believers. We began meeting with this group of families every Wednesday, even though the bus trip there and back took us almost 3 hours every time. Those times together were so sweet and so honest: someone bringing a word, a song, a prophecy, and even though no one came prepared, everyone brought their gifts and their vulnerability. It was a special time.

About a year after that God spoke to us as a group about moving our meetings to a Sunday so that more families and children could be impacted. We were one of 5 original “church planting couples” who said yes to the idea, and thus began probably one of the hardest spiritual seasons of both our lives.

Anyone who has ever been involved in a Church plant knows that it is not for the faint hearted, and lots of “stuff” comes to the fore when you start leading others. By the end of the first year only one other original couple remained in the church. But we had grown and new families had joined, and God always gave us enough to go forward – enough encouragement, enough of Him.

By the end of the 2^nd year we were (by complete default) the only original couple left and by that stage were shouldering the heavy weight of the church plant both spiritually and practically. Between running children’s church, band, setting up the chairs and coffee, weekly home groups and choosing the message or preaching the word, we were spiritually spent. But again, God gave us just enough people to encourage us to continue, and although we wanted so often to call it quits, there was the sweet presence of Jesus in the faces of the people who, over time, had really drawn closer to Him, and that we couldn’t deny. And so we stayed, until there was no venue to meet in and God called us back to Africa.

We had high expectations of just being pew-warmers when we got back following our long, hard season in China. We actually spoke of our church-hiatus often in the last few months in Beijing, but now that it’s here our valuable rest is mixed with feelings that we wont ever fit into mainstream church again. It is probably still too soon to tell, but our initial feelings of SA church-life have been less appealing than we originally thought. China has changed our view of Church and of how to “do” church, and our perspectives have really shifted from being that of a consumer, to that of a participant. We believe in doing life together, openly and honestly; of everyone bringing their gifts and actively seeking the Lord’s presence. We don’t understand the appeal of the flashy, slick display you see in most mainstream churches because we have been part of a church stripped down to the bare. Only Jesus. People didn’t come because of anything we did, they came because of Jesus. And when everything in the service went horribly wrong and we were sure that would be the end, people came back. But only for Jesus.

So I suppose my title isn’t too dramatic. We had a prophesy before we left that we would experience Church in a new way in China, and be able to come back and teach others about it. We had no idea just what kind of ‘new church’ we would discover, and although it wasn’t always pretty, it was God’s. And so for that experience, however difficult, we are so grateful. We can only pray we find that same authenticity in our spiritual walk with believers here in SA. 

Why is it?

Why is it that God chooses to not do things when clearly He CAN? We know God is all powerful so fixing something that needs fixing or finding something that's lost seems like an easy and trivial thing for an omnipotent God. So why doesn't He do those things for us every time? Especially because He loves us enormously and wants what's best for us - why when He is all that does He still choose NOT to do things that would help us out hugely in a time of crisis, things that would make all the difference to our day? For example, our internet played up on Wednesday - one minute it was working, the next it wasn't. God could have fixed it in time for my online lessons (I missed 6!); He also could have chosen to allow the breakage on a weekend when it would've been less inconvenient; but He didn't and I battled at first to understand why. So I asked him and really felt I got an answer from the Holy Spirit: That it's NOT always about ME! We think that God is only in the process of defining our lives and leading us in our destinies, but we forget that He is concerned with the welfare of ALL his children. So if I have to lose a bit on my end over something quite small really - so that another might gain enormously on the other - than so be it. Perhaps God was looking after someone who desparately needed to pick up those classes on my behalf for financial reasons; or perhaps teach that class so that a 'destiny' meeting would take place. And God knew that the only way I was going to give up those lessons would be if I couldn't teach them! My thought is therefore this: When life throws you a curve ball and inconveniences you in a way that you really could have done without; choose to see the positive possibilities. Don't get hung up about it cos you never know whose life God is at work in. Even if you'll never know for sure why He does/doesn't do things; trust that God is always in control of every situation.

The fallen Eve

As a Christian woman and wife I have been challenged by God many times in my walk with Him, tested in the fire and wilderness, and come out the other side knowing that it's through His grace alone that I breathe. But I still seldom like to confess what a fallen Eve I am. By Eve I mean 'woman'; the very basic nature that was designed by God himself and then marred by sin.
I often find myself wandering what Eve must've been like before the fall - completely unselfish, giving toward her husband, not manipulative, needy, prideful or judgmental in any way. She must have been a real sight to behold! But oh how easy all that came crashing down from the moment the apple was taken off that tree! In an instant this beautiful creature - created in the Lord's image, who brought a man like Adam to his knees - was tainted with the pessimism and competition that has driven every women since then. The Holy Spirit convicts and reminds me of my fallen nature when I am behaving in such a manner: when my pride is finding it hard to swallow the fact that my house isn't as big, my body isn't as good, my car isn't as fancy, my kids aren't as well behaved, my job doesn't earn as much money or my husband doesn't dress as well as the next lady's. What's even more disturbing is that the "next lady" is often the women I have around me; my best friends, my colleagues, my family. As women we fall into our most fallen state when we are envious of others, and it is shameful when that envy robs us of the ability to share in the joy and success of the woman around us. So what's the problem with us? Where does this all come from? I read the story of Eve the other night and found 3 interesting passages in the scriptures that stirred me to thinking the following:
1. "You are bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh" - You are natural
You are created precisely the way God wanted, from the very foundation of his creation.
2. "Name her woman for she was made from man" - You have an identity, a name!
You came from somewhere and you are going somewhere, you are niether an accident nor an accessory
3. "The man and wife were naked, but they felt no shame" - You can feel safe, secure and comfortable with who you are. You don't need to be embarrassed by who you are, what you look like or anything else about yourself.

Don't allow the serpent to trick you into disbelieving God's truths about yourself. Don't let the little foxes come into your heart and mind and tempt you into wanting more than what God has given you. That was Eve's mistake, she wanted more, more wisdom, more...
We look at her and think "What possessed her! She had everything, a loving husband, Eden as a home! Yet she wanted the 'more' that the snake was offering her!" Well I want to say to you today that God has given each of us enough, exactly what we need to be complete women; don't go wanting more; because the result is a fallen Eve who always hides from God and is ashamed of herself, ashamed to be in the presence of the God who made her. Be an Eve that steps out before God and says, "I resisted temptation, Lord! The serpent came but I didn't give in because I have enough, everything I need is right here in this garden with you and I don't need any more that what you give me."

What I landed up missing

A few months ago, when I was naive and unaware of the life that awaited me here in China, I made a list of the things that I thought I would miss about home on this very blogsite. But now almost 6 months down the line, with our Weltevreden Park home a distant memory and our 1 year anniversary looming ahead of us, I feel compelled to share the truth of the matter. I came to BJ completely ignorant of the things I needed and brought along with me the things I could very well do without. Now that I am here I am strangely surprised at the simple things that make my mouth water; and am shocked at the things that I took for granted all my life and can now appreciate with the delight of a child...

Bovril on toast, roast chicken and potatoes...cheese and biscuits with a touch of gherkin. Sunday afternoon tanning and SA radio, shopping with a trolley and travelling in a car. Big English breakfasts and Tuesday night movies; the platter for 2 at the Ocean Basket and soapies on TV. We took sport on TV and greek yogurt for granted; muesli and milkshakes and cuddling at the drive in. Family dinners and Rosie doing our ironing, picking up the telephone and going to church...
It's not quite the full list, but it gives you an idea of the things we've had to do without. Looking at it now it doesn't seem all that bad, in fact finding replacements for these foodstuffs and rituals was quite a delight at times (we have had it wonderfully easier than we expected).

But there has been something no Chinese copy could imitate, and that is time away from our wonderful family and friends. Nothing tests relationships and shows them as pure gold like the fire of time and distance. We are delighted to know that after all these months our solid friendships are still around and blessing us abundantly with their love and support. So here's to the irreplacable things in life, and the moments we should never take for granted.

It takes real Commitment

There are things about living in China that take real commitment. For one, as believers, we have to be proactive about our faith and the spiritual input that we get. Times of prayer, worship and the Word are all things we have to work hard at cultivating in our home and in our hearts - and for the moment, do not have the luxury of having these things handed to us at a Sunday service. Kyle also has to be proactive in the language - finding every opportunity to emerse himself in his learning and bare the most fruit from this experience. Even though we live in Beijing, finding this emersion takes constant effort which is why we are so pleased that just this week he managed to find himself a language partner. And finally we have to be proactive in our support of our National team during this Rugby World Cup; because not only do the Chinese not even have a name for this game called "Rugby", but they do not make results or games accessible on their Chinese TV.

We are 6 hours ahead of everyone in SA...and let me tell you that 6 hours is a big difference when main rugby games are being aired at 9pm European time. It took quite a lot of determination and effort to get out of our toasty warm beds (remember it's Autumn here...brrr) at 1:30am on both Sunday and Monday morning this past weekend. When most people were stumbling home and talking to the taxi drivers in slurred speech to get them safely home to bed - we were surprising our security guard by LEAVING our building and getting in a taxi to be heading OUT at that hour. And all in the name of patriotism; to feel close to those of you at home who at 9pm at night snuggled up in front of your TV's to watch England beat France and SA thrash the Argentineans. If we wanted to feel like real supporters we had to watch the game in the smokiest 24 hour pub in the whole of Beijing, walk 30 mins in the cold at 5am, catch 2 subways and then a taxi home - just in time to eat breakfast and freshen up before Kyle headed out to uni for 4 hours of Chinese. Talk about commitment! We're still trying to get back into regular sleep patterns; and despite the fact that Kyle is running his first marathon on Sunday at 8am, the madness will continues again this weekend for the final - because we wouldn't miss it! So think of us when you're watching England getting beaten on Sunday (3am our time) and know that even across the miles we're screeming like true South Africans right along with you all and holding the SA flag high...Go the Boks!!!!