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When the story of the stupendous growth of the protestant church in China is fully told, the part played by overseas Chinese believers will surely be a prominent theme. This autobiography of Theodore (“Ted”) Choy (Tsai ), written by his wife Leona, contains in the life of one intrepid man the various ways in which Chinese living outside of Mainland China have contributed to the spread of the Gospel there.
The stories in Witnesses to Power come from one end of China to the other. They speak of rural and urban evangelism; healing and exorcism, compassionate care for needy children, community life of the Jesus family, church planting and growth in remote areas not penetrated by outside Christian witness, and the impact of the gospel to produce economic prosperity.
Faith is not just a set of beliefs – which we shall talk about in the next lecture – but also a way of life. In fact all belief systems present us with a way of life. In a faith for the 21st century, this way of life must be seen as conforming to a pattern which is beyond culture; an absolute standard grounded in the way of the universe and in the fundamental nature of every man. This entire subject is called “ethics” in classical Western philosophy.
In this paper, I shall try to show that these were all natural products of one basic motivation: the desire to imitate Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word of God, who “became flesh and dwelt among us.” Hudson Taylor believed not only in the theological truth of this creedal affirmation, but also in its missiological necessity and the numerous practical advantages which flowed from following the example of Christ.
We shall ponder the rise of China in the context of history, in order to reflect upon our possible responses and roles in this tectonic geo-political shift. Moving quickly over continents and centuries, I shall make five observations about rising China, and conclude with some suggestions for both Western and Chinese Christians.
