I function senior pastor of a medium-sized church in Cary, North Carolina. Besides being multicultural and multiethnic, we’re also politically diverse: There are Democrats, Republicans, and plenty of politically “homeless” individuals who have a difficult time identifying with either party.
This 12 months, like many pastors and church leaders within the United States, I find myself yet again leading my congregation through a season of deep division over the political way forward for our country.
But I actually have received useful lessons in navigating these troubled waters from what might seem like an unlikely source: Christians in China.
In the US, we frequently take into consideration China in economic or political terms: trade deficits, global manufacturing, or the rise of Xi Jinping’s authoritarianism.
Narratives often pit the 2 countries as strategic rivals, breeding a way of fear and competition. More than 4 in 5 American adults (83%) have an unfavorable view of China and its geopolitical role, in keeping with a Pew Research Center survey last 12 months. Survey respondents felt that China interferes in other countries’ affairs and that its actions don’t contribute to global peace and stability.
As American Christians, nonetheless, we want to consider carefully about our relationship with China. Instead of allowing cultural rivalry to turn into our driving perspective about China and its people, we’re called to be Jesus-first, not economy-first or America-first.
The gospel has taken root in China, despite the indoctrination of materialistic atheism at every level of society and severe persecution under President Xi. Conservative estimates put the number of Christians in China at 40 million, while others say it’s closer to 116 million.
How can the church in America support our brothers and sisters in China as they undergo these trials? We can refrain from escalating anti-Chinese rhetoric, embrace political advocacy, and learn from their example.
Sowing goodwill
Ongoing competition between the US and Chinese economies will likely fuel anti-Chinese rhetoric, aimed toward swaying the American middle class within the voting booth within the upcoming November 5 election.
The vitriol often directed at mainland China inevitably impacts Chinese people living within the United States. Many of my East Asian congregants worry that there could also be more incidents of anti-Asian violence if presidential candidates turn to anti-Chinese speech to motivate their support bases.
Their fears aren’t unfounded. Xenophobia against people of Asian descent has surged worldwide because the pandemic. Nearly 3 out of 4 Chinese Americans reported experiencing racial discrimination last 12 months. And a growing variety of Asian Americans are considering buying guns for self-protection, in keeping with a CNN report.
As followers of Jesus, we will select to not fuel conversations that bear anti-Chinese rhetoric online and in real life. Ephesians 4:29 charges us not to interact in unwholesome talk but to make use of our words to encourage others. James 1:26 says that if an individual doesn’t keep a decent rein on their tongue, their religion is worthless.
In learning to think Jesus-first, we will muster up the courage to verbally correct misconceptions and reject stereotypes about China and its people during election season. We can grow in loving our Chinese neighbors in America. Rather than engaging in speech that escalates anxiety about China and its people, we will sow goodwill in times of animosity by helping others discover how God is at work through the Chinese diaspora to expand the gospel inside China and world wide.
The power of advocacy
Refraining from anti-Chinese rhetoric is a technique we will use our words correctly. Another way is to talk up on behalf of brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution or repression of their freedoms.
Within the Chinese house church network, pastors are routinely called in by police for “tea time” and are warned against preaching the gospel. Many consider it the norm to undergo home surveillance, face unannounced evictions, or lose access to basic utilities without warning.
Chinese Christians like Yang Xiaohui and Chen Shang (who use pseudonyms for security reasons) were thrown into prison in 2022 for participating in an alleged illegal religious gathering. While there, they ministered to their fellow inmates and jailors through sharing stories about Jesus and singing hymns.
They are usually not the one daring ones in a rustic that has banned evangelism: Chinese churches proceed to send mission teams to share Christ on many Chinese university campuses, regardless that access to school campuses is more restricted than ever.
Our Chinese brothers and sisters are willing to face these trials due to their love for Jesus Christ. They proceed to plant churches, raise up young pastors, and serve their local communities.
When we hear about these injustices facing Christians under China’s repressive government policies, we’ve a chance not simply to experience or express anger but additionally to extend our love and compassion for the people of China. As we Americans know, living in a rustic doesn’t robotically mean we’re endorsing its leaders.
Moreover, as individuals who don’t live in a nation-state where Christians are being persecuted, we’re called to advocate for individuals who suffer for his or her faith in Jesus.
We can turn into a voice for the voiceless, encouraging our leaders to induce the Chinese government to act as God’s servants for the nice of the nation (Rom. 13:4). We can share concerning the plight of Chinese house churches in our small groups or sermons to assist other American believers realize how costly it’s to follow Jesus in China.
The way of the cross
Discouraging anti-Chinese rhetoric and advocating for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ are vital ways to support the Chinese house church. But we can even achieve this in learning from their example.
In America, identifying ourselves as either blue or red is becoming central to our Christian identity. I face pressure from the best and left to align myself, and my church, with various political causes or candidates.
In China, tensions exist inside house churches concerning learn how to faithfully reply to the repressive regulations that Xi’s government is placing on religious groups. Some pastors feel that a more careful approach is required, which suggests limiting in-person church gatherings or meeting online only. Other church leaders consider that greater boldness is warranted and that increased evangelism and church planting needs to be pursued.
Both American and Chinese Christians can find common ground here: We should prioritize the dominion of God over the pursuit of our political privileges.
The Chinese house church, through the lifetime of distinguished pastor Wang Yi, can teach us about what this looks like. Wang was arrested on December 9, 2018, for preaching the gospel. He is currently serving a nine-year prison sentence on the trumped-up charges of “subverting state power and illegal business operations.”
Before Wang was arrested, he was warned again and again to stop preaching. Instead, he intentionally gained 30 kilos to arrange himself for prison. He also readied his soul to suffer for Christ.
“The Church should be willing to fight to the death, not for the civil rights and legal statures that we will see, but for the keys to the dominion of heaven and the facility of the Gospel that we cannot see,” Wang and other pastors and elders from the Early Rain Reformed Church wrote in “95 Theses,” a document that outlines the church’s theology amid suffering.
“The Church should never hand over her most vital asset … the Holy Word.”
Wang Yi’s approach to living under political duress is an example of what it looks prefer to live fully surrendered to Jesus. While America and China could also be experiencing geopolitical conflict, Wang exhorts us to do not forget that our highest allegiance is to Christ. Believers in each countries share and hold on to hope in Jesus, who has torn down the dividing wall of hostility (Eph. 2:14).
A surrendered life
Becoming Christians who’re Jesus-first, quite than economy-first or America-first, is a process that requires humility, self-reflection, and conviction.
As American believers, we will consider how the alternatives we make, whether in public rhetoric or private voting, impact not only our economy and our security but additionally the expansion of gospel witness within the United States and world wide.
And as we follow our Lord Jesus, who endured the cross in order that a world people may very well be reconciled to God and to one another, we will resist perpetuating discriminatory speech and actions against people of Chinese descent. We can advocate for our brothers and sisters in Christ in China and pray for God to guard, encourage, and embolden them as they suffer for his name. And we may be renewed in our desire to evangelise the gospel and to live a life that’s given over completely to constructing the dominion of God.
Corey Jackson is senior pastor of Trinity Park Church in Cary, North Carolina, and founder and president of The Luke Alliance.
