The Gospel in China

Some thoughts about the kind of drills that result in real language-learning progress… 3. DO NOT MEMORIZE VOCABULARY There is a certain kind of personality that gets a rush out of making flashcards. Normally this is a person with an exceptional memory who, with just a few cycles through the cards, can nail down a […]

Pardon the delay – I was in Mexico last week. And, in case you’re wondering, Mexicans don’t understand Chinese. Believe me, I tested the hypothesis repeatedly and with the same outcome. But I wanted to share some of my own conclusions about language learning, particularly Chinese. Not sure how much I’ve written about this in […]

A common question people ask about ministry in China is how willing most people are to receive Christ. The truth is, there’s a sense in which people are very ready to receive Christ, but it is unfortunately not in the only sense that the Gospel calls for. There’s a lot of Chinese people that are […]

So one of the big issues in witnessing in China is supposed to be this problem with the word ‘sin.’ It’s definitely a problem, but I’m not sure it’s for the reason that is normally presented. The reason usually given is a linguistic one (most attempts to explain people’s mentality by their language are pretty […]

First-time visitor came up to me after church last night and said, ‘I have a question, but I hope it’s not offensive.’ Okay… ‘Why would you say that all people are sinners?’ He was relieved that his question was welcome, not offensive. Guy thought he was going to offend me by not agreeing completely with […]

I read recently (in The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb) about a study done by Science about national identity. The basic finding of the project, which surveyed members of 49 cultures, was that there is basically no correlation between nationality and character. Or, in other words, your bad temper has nothing to do with your […]

Well, our police troubles still haven’t completely disappeared. The same officer has been back several times, including yesterday just before church again! He wants money, is what it boils down to. Of course, this can’t be said in so many words. It is an elaborate dance of intrigue and aggravation. We’ve had to learn a […]

When witnessing in China, you find yourself crashing into the same roadblocks time and again. Tiring, but it’s not that different from anywhere else in the world. Critical work, then, for a missionary, is discovering what particular things are problematic for many in believing the Gospel. And learning how to answer them in an understandable […]