wfn.org | Chinese church is thriving but faces major challenges in the future

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James Solheim
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2000-216

Chinese church is thriving but faces major challenges in the future

by James Solheim

     (ENS) A generation after emerging from an intense period of persecution, 
Chinese Christian churches are bursting at seams--and experiencing all the 
problems that accompany such rapid growth. The church is desperately short of 
clergy, for example, forced to rely on dedicated lay leadership. It is also 
struggling with some internal theological issues as it attempts to shape a 
uniquely Chinese theology.

     Responding to an invitation from the China Christian Council, Presiding 
Bishop Frank T. Griswold sent a delegation of "personal representatives" in hopes 
that the mid-November visit would "strengthen the strong ties already existing 
between us." Those ties, Griswold added, were bolstered by the "grace-filled" 
participation of Bishop K.H. Ting, the last Anglican bishop in China, in the 1988 
House of Bishops meeting.

     During an intense schedule that took the delegation to Shanghai, Nanjing, 
Luoyang and Beijing, members were greeted warmly by the church's leaders as well 
as members of urban and rural churches, students and professors at seminaries and 
Bible schools, and the staff at the Amity Foundation.

     The delegation included Bishop Richard Shimpfky of El Camino Real, Bishop 
Mark Sisk of New York, the Rev. Patrick Mauney of the church's office of Anglican 
and Global Relations, and the Rev. Brian Grieves, director of the office of Peace 
and Justice ministries.

Shanghai: a search for spiritual meaning

     As the largest and historically the most westernized city in China, with an 
estimated population of 13 million, Shanghai's skyline is changing rapidly. 
Towering skyscrapers and gridlock traffic on the streets offer ample evidence of 
the nation's rapid modernization.

     The same intensity seems to infuse parishes like Community Church, 
originally built by Americans for foreign residents of the city, but now 
thoroughly Chinese, with a vibrant parish life. It is one of 136 churches in 
Shanghai, many incorporating a variety of styles because of a religious tolerance 
that is a primary tenet of the church.

     In a conversation with its senior pastor, Pastor Sun, one of five clergy on 
staff, the delegation learned that the church has three services on Sunday with 
an average attendance of 1,500 at each service. During the Cultural Revolution 
(1966-76) the building was occupied by an opera group and is still being 
renovated. The pews in the sanctuary are in a jumble as a work crew applies a 
fresh coat of paint.

     Despite the "post-denominational" structure of the church in China, Sun says 
that "we still have different traditions." As a former Anglican, he said that 
Eucharists in the Anglican style are still offered, usually once a month, and 
"more and more people like it." Most of the church, he observes, "is more 
evangelical" as the result of its missionary background.

     When asked about particular challenges, Sun said that "the first task" is 
clergy supply. As young people have more options in the developing economy, it is 
difficult to find young candidates for ministry. There is more interest in the 
rural areas, he pointed out, where options are more limited. Candidates indicate 
their interest at the local parish level, must receive the endorsement of the 
governing board and then the China Christian Council.

     The Chinese people seem increasingly interested in a search for spiritual 
meaning, he said, not satisfied with material things. The Rev. Elyn MacInnis, an 
Episcopalian who has been living and working in China for the past 12 years, said 
that there is a strong sense of devotion in the church, one that she finds "very 
beautiful." It is a special piety that members of the delegation would experience 
for themselves.

     The Chinese church practices adult baptism almost exclusively, beginning at 
the age of 18, based on the conviction that believers must make the choice 
deliberately and with great conviction.

      "Pray for us--and tell your people what you have seen," said the pastor in 
parting. He said that "too many rumors" about the Chinese church are spread by 
those who don't know the facts.

CCC leaders describe growth--and ferment

     In a wide-ranging and very open conversation, officials at the headquarters 
of the China Christian Council in Shanghai began by noting that last September 
they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Three-Self Movement, the cornerstone 
concept of a church in China that is "self-supporting, self-propagating and self-
governing."

     At the time of the Revolution in 1949, there were about 700,000 Protestant 
church members--after a century of mission work--and Protestant churches were 
considered "foreign." Today's post-denominational church, freed of the baggage of 
colonialism and imperialism, has grown to a membership of 15 million in 16,000 
churches and 32,000 "meeting places." This growth came despite the "lost decade" 
of the Cultural Revolution. As the image of the church changed, becoming a more 
overtly Chinese church, it grew rapidly. "In the hearts of the Chinese, it had 
become their own church, " one of them said.

     One of the major challenges is to build and strengthen the church's 
theological foundation, which they say is "stuck in the 1940s" now. They agreed 
that they are in the middle of some theological rethinking and renewal. "Chinese 
theology must be cultivated in Chinese culture," one of them said.

Lay leaders play essential role

     There are 18 seminaries in the whole nation, but only Nanjing Seminary is a 
"national" seminary in the Western style. Today there are about 1,500 students in 
seminaries, but only about 2,000 ordained clergy in the whole church--so lay 
leaders play an essential role in the church. Many regional Bible training 
schools have graduated over 4,000 since the churches were reopened in 1980-81, 
after the Cultural Revolution. Those schools emphasize the training of lay 
workers.

     About 99 percent of the Bibles in China were seized during the Cultural 
Revolution, and getting the Bible back in circulation was a top priority for the 
church as it emerged from that decade of persecution. Church leaders said that 
there are 27 million Bibles available now, with another three million printed 
each year. 

     The delegation learned that Roman Catholicism is regarded as an altogether 
different religion in China. Yet the CCC has a formal relationship of "mutual 
respect" with Chinese Catholics, and leaders meet regularly at the urging of the 
government and offer advice on religious matters.

     As for the so-called "underground churches," CCC leaders said that they were 
no longer secret but, for a variety of reasons, do not register with the 
government. The conservative church known as Little Flock has refused to register 
since the 1920s on theological grounds. Some are now registering as "activity 
places," not churches. 

A new seminary in the suburbs

     For a closer look at how the church prepares its clergy, the delegation 
traveled to East China Theological Seminary in the suburbs of Shanghai. Opened 
last February, it is still under construction and offers several levels of 
education, including a four-year college curriculum with 90 students, a two-year 
Bible training for 30 middle school students, and a three-year, part-time 
theological training at a church in the city. 

     In conversation with students and faculty, Sisk--formerly dean of Seabury-
Western in Chicago--discussed some of the differences in theological education in 
America and China. At one point he asked what was the "integrating factor" at the 
school, mentioning that at Seabury-Western it was worship. The Chinese students 
quickly agreed, pointing out the new chapel, with a cross of glass open to the 
sky in the ceiling, which nurtures the whole community.

     As the delegation debriefed before taking the train to Nanjing, Mauney noted 
the aging leadership of the church, underscoring the critical loss of a 
generation during the Cultural Revolution. Yet he was excited by what seemed to 
be a readiness to explore some other theological directions.

A time of transition

     The Rev. Chen Zemin, vice principal of Nanjing Seminary, pulled together 
members of the faculty for a stimulating conversation. He began by describing "a 
time of transition when young people will take over." It made him "very hopeful 
about the future."

     The seminary was actually founded in 1952 and Bishop Ting has been its 
principal since then. With a four-year curriculum, it provides the church with 
most of its pastors and teachers. But it also offers a three-year correspondence 
course to about 3,000 students, most of them lay workers.

     As recently as 10 years ago, Chen noted, Christianity was still regarded by 
many as an "imported" religion, but now even secular schools offer courses in 
religion and it is much better understood by intellectuals. He said that Ting was 
launching a "theology of reconstruction," a theology in the Chinese context that 
moves beyond Western traditions  in an attempt to update and make it easier to 
understand in modern China.

Ministries of compassion

     The Amity Foundation in Nanjing is the church's outreach into Chinese 
society, supporting work in education, social welfare, medical health and rural 
development for the last 15 years. In that time, Dr. Han Wenzao, president of the 
China Christian Council, has noticed "an encouraging trend for the better" among 
churches in their understanding of ministries of compassion. It is even possible 
now to talk about AIDS, although the topic is still regarded by many as 
threatening.

     Based on a belief that local people are the true agents of change in Chinese 
society, Amity works with the rural poor, providing health training for health 
workers and mobile surgical vans. It supervises a program for foreign teachers, 
usually in English. Han said that those who work at the foundation take "deep 
satisfaction to provide spiritual dimensions, not just meet material needs."

     At a dinner hosted by Han, Bishop Ting addressed the "disappearance of 
Anglicanism" in post-denominational China. Before the Liberation in 1949 there 
were 15 Anglican dioceses in China but a total membership of only 50,000, "too 
small to maintain much influence in the formation of the China Christian 
Council," he said.

     Anglicans were "greatly appreciated for better learning and theological 
training," Ting said, exerting a strong influence on the formation of the 
regional councils. And there is growing interest in the Anglican style of 
worship. "Anglicans have produced a lot of church leaders," added Han, especially 
in the China Christian Council.

     Ting said that one reason the church is growing so rapidly is "because of 
its good witness," coupled with a willingness to help those in need. Yet he sees 
signs of a crisis in areas of faith (see sidebar), especially some new kinds of 
heretical teachings. He argued for openness and progressiveness for the sake of a 
healthier church in the future.

Changing attitudes

     In a two-hour conversation later at his home, Ting was even more blunt. "The 
mission of the church in China will be fruitless if it adopts anti-communism as 
our mission--especially these days," he said. He is convinced that the Communist 
Party is changing its attitude towards the church and stated, "I am quite firm in 
my thinking that we can't treat communists as our enemies. It's true that at the 
grassroots some officials can be very rude in their treatment of church people, 
but the higher you go you discover that the attitude has changed. 

     "You no longer hear any talk of religion as an opiate of the people," he 
added. "That doesn't mean that communists are being converted to the Christian 
faith but they know they must respect the church and its leaders," especially if 
they hope to mobilize people to build the country.

     Addressing the touchy topic of human rights, Ting said that organizations 
like the CCC have not made statements "because we are too small. If we do such a 
thing it will not be good for the church in the long run," and it would be used 
by those outside critics of the country and its policies. Church leaders find 
other ways to share their opinions with the government.

     In a debriefing conversation later, members of the delegation said that they 
were impressed by the presence of young people in the ranks of the clergy--
including women. They noted the fears among some church leaders that the church 
is burdened with what Mauney called an "otherworldly, pietistic religion."

     Sisk wondered how the gifts of Anglicanism were being incorporated in a 
post-denominational church. "Our richest gifts don't seem to be appreciated," he 
said, although he admitted he was encouraged by an interest in the Prayer Book 
and liturgy.

A vital church life

     The delegation attended Sunday worship at St. Paul's, a brick and ivy-
covered church that could pass for Anglican almost anywhere--except for the 
hundreds of bicycles parked in the courtyard and the packed house with people 
peering in the windows and others watching on closed-circuit television in a 
neighboring building. The delegation was introduced and Shimpfky brought 
greetings from the presiding bishop and the American church.

     Delegation members drew a crowd after the service with many church members 
asking the bishops for prayers and a blessing.

     The delegation got another glimpse of church life during a stop in the city 
of Luoyang, on the way to Beijing. It visited Thanksgiving Church, built by the 
sheer determination of the "grannies" of the congregation who patiently collected 
180,000 bricks for its construction. The delegation was welcomed by church 
leaders and government officials to a half-finished country church building 
springing up in the fields outside the city, built on the hopes, prayers and 
determination of its 500 members.

     On his last night in Beijing, Grieves brought greetings to a weekly Bible 
study for young people at Gang Wa Shi Church. The parish has five Sunday services 
with over 4,000 people attending. This is his fourth trip to China, Grieves told 
the group, and "each time I feel a deeper love and respect for the people of this 
country. As the world gets smaller, we wear clothes made in China and you are 
eating Big Macs and Kentucky Fried Chicken."

A spiritual time

     The church is smaller but no less vibrant in the nation's capital, Beijing. 
There are about 40,000 believers in eight churches and 200 meeting places, with 
31 clergy, a third of them women. Once again, it was obvious that lay leaders are 
of critical importance.

     Shimpfky asked about attitudes towards women clergy and an ordained woman 
replied that it had not been a problem. It may help that women form a majority of 
church membership, she added.

     As the visit drew to a close, members of the delegation sorted through their 
impressions. Sisk said it had been "a real eye-opener," a witness to the church's 
ability to survive persecution. But he was also struck by what he called the 
"vulnerability" of the Anglican tradition in places like China. 	

     MacInnis said that, for many of the church members in the countryside "we 
may have been the first foreign visitors." 

     "The Three-self Movement hints at where we need to go," Shimpfky said. The 
high point for him was the conversation with Ting. "It was a very spiritual 
time," he said. In a letter to Griswold later he called the trip "a revelation, a 
balm and an inspiration."

--James Solheim is director of the Episcopal Church's Office of News and 
Information and accompanied the delegation.