IPC Messenger
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V olume 18 • N o 35
SEPTEMBER 2018
China
I dislike travel. I dread getting into a metal
box and spending hours on the highways. I
know that some of you enjoy driving. The
automobile spells freedom for you. For
me it means confinement. It means I am
trapped for hours in a tiny space, unable
to stretch my legs, needing to stop, etc.
Worse is being trapped in an aluminum
tube traveling at 550 mph for 12-15 hours.
Okay, it’s a first-world problem. I’m not
working in the fields for 12 hours a day or
living on a subsistence diet. I’m just saying
it’s not my first choice. I’d rather not.
Then why do it? Why not just stay home?
Then I could quit assaulting us with my
gripes. Good question. Here’s why. I go
on these trips (Kiev, Taipei, St. Petersburg,
Chengdu) because I perceive an obligation
to do so. If career missionaries are willing
to pick up their roots and spend decades
overseas in an unfamiliar country with an
unfamiliar culture, how can I possibly say
no when asked to go to distant parts for a
week or two? My answer is, “I can’t.”
Lectures
The study of worship is my avocation, one
might say. I have pushed myself to learn
all that I can about the history and practice
of worship, especially as understood in the
Reformed church. I’ve written books on
the subject. So I get asked to give lectures
on the contents of my books for the sake of
burgeoning Reformed churches that lack
resources. The Early Rain Presbyterian
Church is the sponsoring church behind
the Western China Theological Seminary.
Their pastor, Wang Yi, is one of the leading
“house church” ministers in mainland
China. House churches may or may not
actually meet in a house. Instead the label
is how churches that are not approved by
the Communist government are identified.
Most of them began in houses, hence the
name. Yet many have grown into large
congregations. There are about 700 in
attendance and membership at Early Rain.
I taught a class of 19 with a translator. Most
of the class was made up of future pastors
and some of their wives. A Chinese edition
of my Reformed Worship was available,
but most of what I had to say was new to
them. We met for six hours a day for five
days, or 30 hours in total.
Jet lag was a problem. The time difference
with Chengdu is 12 hours. That is the most
that it can be. In other words, Chengdu
is as far away from the United States’
Eastern Time Zone as one can get. I
started my journey at 6:30 AM on Friday
from Savannah International Airport and
my head hit the pillow in the Holiday
Inn Express in Chengdu at 2:30 AM on
Sunday morning. I was upside down for
days. The return flight started at 10:00 AM
on Saturday with a stop in Beijing and a
total of over 15 hours flying, arriving in
Newark at 4:00 PM on Saturday! The
world is a strange place.
Chinese Christianity
I was very impressed with the Chinese
Christians. The house churches are under
constant threat. The police send officers
to their services which they observe and
take photographs. My original translator,
Ben Chen, was not allowed back into
Continued Page 2
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3 IPC Day Camp
4 Moral Concerns
5 Family Corner
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