The Gospel in China

There’s not usually time at the Bible study to think much about it, but I often wonder about the students’ motive for coming. Well, not so much “wonder” as “worry.” A Christian guy that comes to our study sometimes has told me before, “They’re all just coming for English. If you change it to Chinese, […]

I went to the Christian bookstore a couple days ago. Yeah, I know – it’s Communist China – we shouldn’t have one of those. But we do. Pretty small operation – but the selection ain’t too bad. Me and St. went and blew about 50 bucks and left with two bags full of books for […]

Who invented college? It has to be one of the worst ideas of all time! Unless you’re trying to brainwash a generation, or mass-produce a sub-excellent model human, it has almost no merits. It’s not the best way to learn, it’s not the best way to mature, and it sure ain’t the best way for […]

Yesterday before the leaders meeting, St. and I whittled the list of potential names down to six, and at the end of our meeting, we presented the names to everyone, along with some verses to explain what the name would mean for our church. Then everyone got to make two choices, and we tallied the […]

D. is a girl that’s been coming to our Bible study since early summer. She’s a local, so she was able to continue attending during the summer break, and, as a result, has learned quite a bit about the Bible. As I was taught, I really believe that she, like all other true believers in […]

There’s a lot of things that I don’t know that I wish I did know (there, I said it). For example, I’d love to know how every person at our Bible study tonight found out about the study and ended up there. This would give us a good idea about how contagious we are, and […]

The other day I wrote down a few names, six or so I guess, that I thought would be good names for our church. A couple of the regulars, with a couple of city names and college-student-ish labels tossed into the mix. It’s really quite a bit tougher than I thought it would be. The […]

Our leaders meeting is nearing the mid-point of its ten lesson basic discipleship course. We’ve been teaching them a lot – granted, a drop in the ol’ bucket of knowledge belonging to a twenty-year American church-attender, but leaps and bound ahead of the average student that finds their way into our Saturday Bible study. And […]

One of the most completely foreign aspects of life here in China is the outdoor morning markets. In all different parts of town, from the small hours of morning to an hour or so before lunch, a few blocks of street transform into a food and clothing market. The house our Bible study meets in […]

My naysaying friend, Sn., reappeared at the Bible study Saturday night after a several week absence. He’s really not all that much of a pain. He’s friendly, genuinely appreciates the Bible study, and tells me that he’s praying for me. Not many of the new Christians are likely spending much time in intercessory prayer, much […]