China III: The Church In China

(Note: I have just returned from a three-week visit to China and Hong Kong and am reflecting on some of my experiences and impressions in a series of blogs of which this is No. 3.)

I make no claims on being an expert on the Christian church in China today. I simply reflect upon my personal experience in the churches my wife Jane and I visited there last month. The first Sunday we visited the Beijing Chongwenmen Church. Like all registered churches in China today it does not claim any denominational affiliation, as denominationalism has been declared illegal in China. However, The brochure of the Chiongwenmen Church speaks of it being established in 1870 under the auspices of the American Methodist Church. Today it is a registered “Three-Self Church”. As such it has three important characteristics. One, it must be self-governed, that is, not accountable to any foreign hierarchy or Board like the Vatican or an American Mission Board. Secondly, it must be self-propagating. Foreign evangelists are not permitted and the evangelistic preaching must all be done by Chinese. Thirdly, it must be self-financing. Restrictions for the operating funds of local churches in China are severely enforced.

The service we attended was one of 5 that the congregation held that day. Four were conducted in Mandarin and one in Korean. The church was packed - at least a thousand worshipers. I noted the great diversity. While women were in the majority there were certainly many males present. The age grouping was fairly representative of the general population. The dress was “middle class informal". Two female pastors served the congregation. The beautifully robed women’s choir sang beautifully. The hymns and readings were posted on the overhead screens and the audiovisuals were all done very professionally.

As foreign visitors we were seated in the section equipped with headphones and we could select English as the translated (interpreted) language. We were only 4 Americans among the many visitors who were introduced and the attractive young woman who sat next to me introduced herself (in English) as coming from Russia.

The liturgy was traditional, with the readings the same as those read by thousands of other Christian churches around the world. (Aside: this is one reason I like the traditional designated readings. I can be in a Christian church anywhere in the world on any given Sunday and know that the people of Calvary Lutheran Church, Solana Beach, California will be listening to exactly the same reading on that Sunday. Note: No offering was received, but offering receptacles were at the door as one left.

The second Sunday we went to church in a smaller city some 60 miles west of Xian. We attended there because our Chinese host, Laurie Li,, has a mother and brother who are members of that congregation. It is quite unusual for any foreigners to be in that church and very rare (if ever) for a foreigner to address the congregation. I was very clear that I did not intend to “preach the sermon: The elders did get permission from their duly appointed Government Liaison Officer for me to bring greetings, to lead a prayer, and to speak the benediction. This church, too, had about 1000 in attendance that day. The church was packed. The women and men’s choir was beautifully robed and did an outstanding dramatic presentation of readings and song. Even with several thousand members this church does not have a pastor as there simply are not enough pastors ordained to serve all the parishes. So this church, Immanuel by name, was led by three elders, one of whom is part-time at the seminary and hopes to be ordained and then serve as pastor of this church.

This church, too, had, of course been closed during the Mao years. The churches were all converted to warehouses, factories, even arsenals. But now they are being restored (sometimes even with Government assistance).

Just three asides: 1. When the pastor introduced us he mentioned that we were celebrating our 60th wedding anniversary. The congregation applauded vigorously. During communion tens of members stopped by our pew and used their cell phone cameras to have their pictures taken with us. But most surprising was that after telling about our wedding the elder announced the Psalm reading for the day. And it turned out to be exactly the verses (Psalm 34:1-4) that the pastor had used as homily text when we were married all those years ago in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. 2. After the service Jane and I and Laurie’s family were hosted to a very simple, yet profoundly moving luncheon in a little room in the back of the church. It was just salted peanuts, a green vegetable, some bean curd and a lovely steamed fish, but in that setting and out of that poverty (the lead elder’s monthly salary is $80.00) I was moved almost to tears. 3. Our host’s brother is a member of that church. For years he was a silent member as he was a Communist Party member and dared not be exposed as a Christian. However, the climate has changed, he is “out” as a Christian and even sings in the choir where all can see him

Fact: There are probably over100 million Christians in China today. They come from all classes of society and are of all ages. They meet in registered state-approved churches and in the non-official house churches. Sometimes they are persecuted, jailed and even killed. But generally the church is seeing a renaissance which is affecting all levels of society and the individual stories could fill volumes.