Report from China (7) A Time to say Good Bye!

The last months for us in China were a time of many blessings. Even though we had experienced some pressure, on Pentecost morning we went to the swimming pool to baptize and formally bring six friends into the Household of Faith.  After some thought and prayer the steering group had agreed to proceed with the scheduled ceremony, even though the public pool was almost across the street from the place where our neighbor had been forced to leave the day before.

Two of those baptized were H and E. H is a grade one student and daughter of our deacon. Her family had recently come through terrible hardships, but her mother (M) had remained strong in Christ, and she had diligently taught her daughter concerning the Gospel. After the baptism of baby Anna, M asked us about baptism for H, so we had ‘a little talk’ with her. I was so happy to hear her calm and sincere answers to the questions, and we had no doubt that it was right to have her baptized.  Her close friend E, daughter of D and H, is about one year older. Although she used to be fairly mischievous and apparently disinterested, over the last couple of years we saw how she also matured and grew in her relationship with Christ. We were thankful that several Sisters had taken on responsibility to build a good Sunday school program, and we see these baptisms also as a fruit of this ministry.

It was a wonderful celebration, and after the worship service we enjoyed an amazing dinner with the whole fellowship.  As no new troubles were experienced, our friends began to relax about potential troubles. So, the steering group suggested we attend (and teach) more regularly during the remaining weeks. We gladly did so. During the weeks of our absence, I had continued to write the Sunday messages. I would send them to Brother Paul and our evangelist, and they would then teach the message in English and in Mandarin Chinese.

For several reasons Marioka and I had decided to leave China by way of container ship. Unfortunately, sailing schedules are more liable to change (than schedules for airlines), so two months before the planned departure date, we had to switch to another vessel, which would leave Shanghai two weeks earlier.  So, all activities had to be accelerated: packing up books and clothes in boxes to be sent to Holland. Cleaning out our apartment and classrooms, and organizing many things to make sure that everything would work out on time.

The last week in Guangzhou was a time without a break. It included farewell dinners with colleagues and with our fellowship. Perhaps the most memorable of these was the potluck celebration during the last Sunday night at the house (ground floor apartment) of our evangelist.

In the morning service we had installed two more deacons for the service of the fellowship. Over the years, Brothers D and T had shown diligence and commitment, and during the previous months (while we were withdrawing), they had immediately increased their involvement in service. So, it was a blessing to have their calling confirmed for the strengthening of the work. Although we had always been hesitant and cautious to have women elders or pastors, we reminded them that we had confidence in the gifts of our evangelist and in her understanding of the Scriptures, so if the steering group would –at some point- reach a consensus on this point, we would not be opposed to her teaching, even in the Sunday services. (The male deacons do not nearly have the same level of spiritual maturity and biblical insight.)

During the evening celebration, we were presented with a commemorative book with photos from our last five years with the Vineyard congregation. Brother D had also been busy and created a DVD with pictures and video clips of our years together, including brief “Good bye & Thank you” comments from all regular attendees.  Finally, the steering group decided to have two of them “see us off” in Shanghai, and they had arranged airline tickets and hotel bookings for this. So, we had one more farewell near the bus station before we would take the airport shuttle bus. A few more Sisters joined us to the airport (from where we would fly to Shanghai), and then we were on our first leg of our journey back to Canada. It was a privilege to have our evangelist and Sister H join us for the next few days in Shanghai, until –after another delay of a couple of days- we got picked up by a van to head to Shanghai harbor.  Early the next day we sailed to Busan, Korea, and from there across the Bering Sea to Prince Rupert, Canada.  The sailing time was twelve days, and we arrived at Canada’s west coast while they had perfect weather. After one day in town, we flew via Vancouver to Ontario.  

Praise the Lord.

Report from China (6) The Catholic Connection

Before our China years we had little close connection with any Roman Catholics. We did –at times- have R.C. neighbors and colleagues, but when it came to church or faith, there typically was no communication or sense of unity. Both, they and we, ‘knew’ that we belonged to the true church, and is seemed that nothing could shake each other’s denominational commitment.

While we were teaching in China, we did have some Christian colleagues, from a variety of church backgrounds. Some years there were two or three of them who would regularly join our group in Sunday worship. At one time there was a group of serious young women from Mennonite background, but they preferred to do weekly Bible study meetings with each other. For a lot of young colleagues (even if they had been faithful in attending worship ‘at home’) the temptations were too great, and so they spent the weekends with their friends traveling or visiting Hong Kong.

Then there was N. During the first few years, at our first location, she was quite regular, although often she was too busy. At that time she seemed to have an eating disorder, and she was always dressed in black. She was from R.C. background and she loved Jesus, but she was quite skeptical about the Old Testament. During the last couple of years she returned, even though it involved more travel since our meetings were now in a different location. Sister N became a very faithful attendant, and she had changed in obvious ways. She was clearly happier than before, and she was never dressed in black. She seemed quite agreeable with all the teaching, although she never participated in the Communion.

There was also Sister A, an older Irish lady, also from R.C. background. She had been in a small evangelical prayer group and worked fairly closely with Marioka, and prior to her hip operation she used to go to the city on Sundays for worship at the cathedral. Marioka had suggested to her to join us in worship, but Sister A required (and appreciated) a little stronger encouragement to do so. So, this last year, A regularly came to attend our meetings.  She was already fairly critical about certain things in the R.C. tradition, so she had little problems to adjust to our worship and the teaching. She often remarked how the teaching and fellowship helped her to live closer to Christ.

Last, but not least, there was our new (elementary) art teacher, Ms. T.  She was a young woman from R.C. tradition, who recently had come to know Christ as her Lord and Savior. Although the catholic traditions felt friendly familiar to her, she was fairly critical about some of the teaching, and she loved to worship with us.

All of these three ladies were present the day we were visited by the police. After this event it took some time for everybody to reconsider the alternatives and priorities. First I continued to prepare the messages, and while our Chinese friends would meet at their new address, we would meet with other foreigners in our home. So, here we were: having worship with three Catholic sisters!

In the teaching, I would not seek to stress the differences in teachings in various church directions. Yet, when it was appropriate for the topic, I did not hesitate to explain the differences between Reformed-Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic teachings. So, we dealt with topics such as gifts of the Spirit, like speaking in tongues, the practice of infant baptism, the meaning of the Lord Supper, and the use of the crucifix. I always made a point to try to give a fair and balanced explanation of the different views before listing possible concerns about each side. Then I would explain our point of view. In my teaching, I typically followed the teaching of The Gospel Coalition (as expressed by Tim Keller, Don Carson, and John Piper), yet our church looked like a ‘Charismatic Reformed Baptist church with some Lutheran tendencies’.

Naturally, not all teachers from R.C. background were interested in weekly worship or in active evangelism. Regular readers of our updates know that for almost seven years we have worked with Mary’s students in a nearby Chinese high school.  In the first years Brother Andrew, who taught at the same school, assisted us; in the recent years some colleagues would come with us. The last year, our ‘Catholic Sisters’ A and T worked with us in this ministry.

A few years ago yet, we tried to keep this work ‘under the radar’. The school principal, Mr. Li, had warned me years before not to get involved with local church work, and he had labeled me ‘a religious fanatic’. Mary’s department head, however, loved the work that we were doing. He was convinced that it would benefit the students’ English skills, and he was excited that we did it ‘Pro Deo’!

Last Fall, however, there was a change. Finally, this school had found a way to offer a program through which they could grant Canadian high school diplomas. And they would do so in close cooperation with a Catholic School Board in Southern Ontario!  To boost their English program, they had to hire a number of Ontario teachers. So, suddenly Mr. Li thought it a wonderful idea that students would read the Bible in the English language!

Sister Mary, the coordinating teacher for our program, had great hopes to get the cooperation of the new Catholic teachers from Ontario. Together with them, we could perhaps expand the program to include all senior classes! Although she made several attempts, the new teachers always were too busy or too tired to get involved at all. Mary was disappointed and surprised how Christian teachers could have so little interest to bring the Good News to the Chinese young people who had never heard it.

Things are always changing, especially in China. Only a few months ago Mary told us that the whole school program was going to change, and –as a result- it might be impossible to continue the Bible reading program (that she had first started as an extra-curricular activity seven-and-a-half years ago, after she was just baptized. Yet, she was already creatively looking at new formats to continue with the work. May the Lord continue to keep her, to guide her, and to use her for the Kingdom.

As the Spirit had connected us with Catholics, there was an interesting extension, even during our journey ‘home’. Here we are on our way from China to Canada: on a German container ship, chartered by a Korean company, with a crew that is mostly of (Philippine) Catholic background. The Chief Engineer is Polish, also from Catholic background, and he liked our idea to host a worship service on Sunday afternoon. So, a few days ago we gathered in the officers’ mess. Outside a few officers on duty (on the bridge and engine room), almost everybody came to our meeting. We had been busy selecting songs (lyrics and music in mp-3 format), preparing the message (on The Prodigal Son), and working out the logistics. Near the end of the service I briefly explained the (real) meaning of the Lord’s Supper and the conditions for participation; most of them gladly participated. It was a wonderful time together, and this time of worship was certainly one of the highlights of the 12-day journey across the Pacific!

Report from China (5) To Love your Neighbor

During our eight years in China, there were so many rapid changes in our area. The number of metro lines tripled, so did the number of cars, the number of tall buildings, and the attendance in the churches!  During the same time, our housing situation often changed as well; in eight years we moved five times! When we started out during the first few months, we only had a small apartment with one bedroom. In this humble dwelling we started out with Sunday night Bible studies, first with four people; later with six or seven.  Half a year later, we were able to rent a 3-bedroom apartment. Then, for several years we actually had two apartments: one in the community where we started out (which we used as weekend cottage and for Sunday services), the other was a new luxury apartment, provided by our new employer (a Canadian international school.)  During the last three years we had the privilege to live in a townhouse. In this house we had the luxury of a third floor with two bedrooms and a washroom that was essentially available for any guests. 

Across the narrow street lived an older couple that was involved in the ‘recycling business’. It was interesting to see them always busy with organizing cardboard and Styrofoam, with drying seeds or meat, with bottles and cans and the occasional piece of discarded furniture.  The first year they also used an empty house right beside ours. It looked kind of messy, but at least it was quiet next door. After about a year, however, the place was cleaned a bit, and people started to stop and take a look at it. Apparently it was on the market for purchase or to rent.

After several weeks and about a dozen visitors, a young woman came to check it out. When she stood in front of our place, she seemed to be fascinated looking through our window. Soon we discovered that she signed a lease to rent the place. She was a Christian woman, who had noticed a picture of a cross in our living room. This led her to the conviction that God wanted her to choose this place to live.

Ms. L had quite a job ahead of her; the house was dirty and run down. She had a 7-year old son, and another young woman often came over to help her. We discovered that L was in the ‘Christian home-schooling business’, promoting the use of a certain brand of American curriculum.  Since we had quite a bit of home-schooling experience, we were first quite excited having her as neighbor.  Also, I felt sorry for her; fixing up the house seemed such a big task. So, for the first two weeks or so I tried to be of some assistance. First I helped with some plastering, filling holes and cracks in the walls before she would paint them. Then, I helped her to install most of the ceiling lights that she had ordered through Taobao. (Taobao is a Chinese online market place, which has the reputation of being cheap (through stiff competition and tax avoidance) and cheapish. (It is not uncommon to see brand-name articles advertised; when you order the product you find out they’re fake or of an inferior brand.)

Over time, it became a challenge for us to love our neighbor, Sister L.  After a few weeks, already, we noticed how hard it was to have a rational discussion with her on almost any topic. She insisted that she, as well as her young boy were evangelists or pastors, yet she seemed to be quite lonely. When I suggested she use or include some other materials in her teaching, her face would harden. Invariably, she would inform us that she was following God’s specific directions, so many or most things she did were non-negotiable. Whenever she had another idea about what she would do or what the future would bring, she would have a specific instruction from God. I never discovered her actual method of receiving such ‘revelations’, but I kept challenging her about these things, which at times would result in alienation. As her English communication skills were not so great, we sometimes used church friends to communicate to her. Yet, when they would lose their patience, L would invariably blame our friends for their ‘hostile communication’.  After such an event, she would ignore us for some weeks, and her son would refuse to acknowledge our greetings. She had attended our worship services a couple of times, but she found it hard to fit in with our Chinese friends, and her junior associate-evangelist found it impossible to sit quietly through the worship meeting. She was a lonely woman, who would maintain her role as ‘pastor’ by referring to her virtual flock that would read or reply to her website on Christian homeschooling. 

Yet, L was desperately in need of support and companionship. During times of good relationships, she would –almost desperately- seek our attention, and Marioka would get quite irritated by her demanding attitude. L, however, insisted, for God had told her that eventually we would cooperate with her in her Good Work. At one time, she had started to videotape lessons for the home-schooling, and she expected us to spend hundreds of hours to speak in the lessons that she had selected.

During the second year, God had told her that He would give her a good Christian husband, so that her son would have a father. When she informed us about this, I gave her a copy of “The Marriage Preparation Course” in the hope that she might learn some skills in communication and cooperation.  The course made her even more enthusiastic, and she started working on an extensive website on how she envisioned what her future husband would look like, and all the commitments that she had with God. Until they would be engaged, she would only meet him in the presence of a chaperone, until ‘pastor Aize’ could marry them. I did agree to edit her English manuscript, but we grew quite concerned about our potential roll as chaperones. She expected that I would provide a glowing reference about her, so I tried to explain again our concerns about her communication / cooperation skills. Also, I suggested she should not call me ‘pastor Aize’ if she continued to refuse to join the flock.  Unfortunately, however, she could or would not understand our concerns. After I had another Sister translate our written concerns, L was once more embittered about the callous attitude of our translator. Nevertheless, for a while there was peace again (or cold war?), and no further demands were made on our services.

Although, at times it was hard for us to really love our neighbor, we never doubted her faith in Christ.  I also admired her great boldness in how she shared the Gospel as she advertised her ‘business’. Several times she distributed colorful flyers through the community, probably evangelistic and especially encouraging Christian parents to consider homeschooling (with the curriculum she marketed) as ‘the best alternative’ to secular education. 

It was a week before Pentecost. I was at home for lunch, so I could get a quick bite to eat and a power nap.  After I got up from the table I noticed two men and a young woman standing in front of our house. They seemed to be waiting for somebody. Immediately, I sensed that they were government representatives. About an hour later I was back at school, in the middle of my remedial Math class with a small group of students. My cell phone rang; it was our neighbor. She sounded quite upset. The government officers had been waiting for her. First they criticized her about the small wooden cross that was attached to her garden gate. Then they called the police station. Soon, another ten officers arrived, who walked through her house, commenting on everything that referred to Christ and Christianity. They took her to the police station, where she was told to leave the house within a week. After school, we met with her and prayed with her.

Every day a police officer came to her house to make sure she was getting ready to move out. We helped her with some empty boxes and packing tape, and after two days she had found another apartment in another district. Five days after the confrontation she hired some guys to help her move. It had not always been easy, but we were sad to see her leave, especially in this way. But L was full of courage, and she was ready to continue her work in her new community.  PtL!

Report from China (4) The Discipleship Course

For several years we felt the need to organize a discipleship course. Every year some people were baptized, but aside from the regular teaching in Sunday worship and Bible study there was no ‘course for beginning Christians’. Marioka regularly mentioned this as a need that had to be addressed. Although I readily agreed with her, I was afraid I did not have the time or energy to take this on myself and at the time we did not think any others who could do it.

Diligent readers will know that we tried to do our best in our daily teaching jobs (at the international school). I wanted to be effective as a teacher and so I offered retests for students who would come at lunchtime for extra help and practice. Then we had our weekly Bible study evenings, which we diligently kept, even if attendance at times was fairly low. During most of the school year we also had our biweekly visits to Mary’s class (at a local Chinese high school), where we would teach and practice English reading and pronunciation while we would study and explain the Gospels.

The last two years we had made weekly power points for the worship meetings. Although most of these were later made by cutting & pasting from existing files, it always took quite a few hours to craft a presentation that was clear, informative, and artistically pleasing.  It was fun to find suitable backgrounds and illustrations, but it also took a lot of time. So, most of the Friday nights and Saturdays were used to prepare the message, the liturgy, and the actual presentation.

Sunday morning we would usually be busy with “the church” for four or five hours, including preparation before the meeting and lunch with various groups afterwards. The second half of the Sunday constituted our time of rest.

About two years ago we had a family join our group, where husband and wife were quite mature and obviously spending considerable time studying the Scriptures. They asked us to be baptized, for they had first been baptized in the Mormon “church”.  As we do not view this as a church of Jesus Christ, as He is revealed to us in His Word, we had no problem doing this. Because of their knowledge and commitment, we asked this family S to consider teaching a (Chinese) discipleship course on Sunday afternoons. They accepted, and for a couple of months they did so, until they felt called to leave us in order to assist in the start of another church plant north of the city (about 90 minutes travel with public transit).

After family S had left, Sister G (one of our deacons) had taken over teaching the course. Although we had never appointed her as teacher, we felt we had no alternatives, so we accepted the situation. A year later the first course was finished, and there was a break before the second part would commence. At that time we had just started the “Blackaby course” on “Experiencing God”. I would do some of the teaching with our evangelist translating. The second part of the evening we would split into groups (if there was enough attendance) and a ‘core group member’ would lead the group discussions in Chinese. One night, while Brother T was leading, Sister G (our deacon) made a strong statement, which showed that she had not understood my teaching.  When Brother T gently tried to correct her, she snapped back that T should not be in leadership because of his personal pride. It was this event that made us doubt whether it would be wise to have her teach the next discipleship course.  The issue was ‘resolved’ some weeks later when Sister G left us after the “Facebook Confrontation.”

Again, it seemed obvious that we should have a discipleship course. Also, it was clear that we did not yet have any leaders to take on this responsibility. So, I finally agreed to take it over. Soon we would lead a discipleship course, on Sunday nights. As the material used so far had been in Chinese, however, I had to find suitable lesson material and a suitable translator.

Several of us had noticed that Sister H (D’s wife) was pretty good in English. She is a friendly and quiet woman, and she would not readily volunteer her insights. When we asked her to consider helping out in the new discipleship course –after some time of deliberation-, she decided to give it her best. Together with Sister M (our remaining deacon), she worked at it very diligently. The first two meetings, she was nervous, and I often had to repeat myself before I got a translation. The third time, H was early. She told us she had come much earlier to pray to God to help her in the work. From that day on, she was more confident and the translation went much smoother.

For our lesson material, I first went to the website of (Timothy Keller’s) Redeemer Church of New York. For preaching, his sermons had provided me with much inspiration, and in extra busy times, I would rely quite heavily on his messages. (This was always properly communicated in our meetings, and we also wrote a letter to Redeemer Church with appreciation for their indirect support.)  Yet, for the discipleship course they had no suitable material for our kind of cultural setting and audience.

I then discovered that a group of American (Reformed & Presbyterian) churches had published a set of material available online. Unfortunately, for non-member churches there was a cost involved in accessing the material. Since I was unable to test it for suitability, I was reluctant to make the payment or to ask our church for money. After two requests, I was granted free access for our work in China. After some hours of preparation, however, I found the material too weak in substance, with too much time wasted on daily life stories from a typical American context. When I read the suggestion to use some (natural) object, like a seashell, to help us focus in our prayers, my mind was made up: REJECTED!

Finally, just a week before our announced starting date, I found the kind of material that I was looking for. “Lion of Judah” is a baptistic church in Florida that focuses on ministry to the Latino population. Their first booklets for discipleship seemed to be clear, to the point, and with many Bible references. So, ‘at the last minute’ we adopted this material, and for the second meeting we spent some time to do the sorting and the binding of our ‘textbooks’. First we were a bit disappointed that about half of the recent converts did not (regularly) attend the meetings. Sister H (the translator) started to invite some of her friends, and a few other regular visitors, who were serious seekers, joined the study evenings. After about a month we had the police visit, so then we moved the meetings to our house. This made the atmosphere more intimate, and we were amazed most Sunday nights, how our new friends were obviously excited to learn all about the Gospel and the Word of God. 

Several times earlier Marioka and I had experienced this kind of situation. I would just share the Gospel and respond to questions, and you can clearly see the Spirit at work.  The first time God used me in this way, I was so excited, I declared, “This is my greatest joy; to see Christians and seekers gripped by the simple teaching of the Gospel truth, so that they are cut to the heart and transformed in their lives. 

P had very little exposure to Christianity when she joined the group, but after just three months it was obvious that she understood the Gospel and committed to follow her Savior.  Her testimonies showed us how the Spirit was powerfully at work in her and in her family.  J was another young woman, who had been searching. She had visited our services before, with her husband A and her friend S. A was at first perhaps a little apprehensive; interestingly he was the son of a Turkish immigrant in France. Yet, he too was convicted by the Spirit, so we were very excited to see that all three of them wanting to be baptized. We had a special service on Pentecost with a visit to the swimming pool before and a fantastic dinner-celebration afterward! PtL!

Report from China (3) The Baptism of Baby Anna

Our friends T and J came to us through Sister Shelley. She had been a friend of this couple for some years when she suggested they should visit our bilingual services. For a while already T & J had been convinced of the Gospel truth, so after a while of worshipping with us, they agreed to get baptized. Just at that time J was pregnant, but things did not look good.  We mobilized the congregation in prayer, but in the end she gave birth to a child already dead.

I was afraid they would be so disappointed that God had not given what we had so earnestly asked for, that they would turn away. Yet, T and J were strengthened in their mutual love and in their faith in God. For this we were thankful, and we praised Him.

Two years ago we hosted the (Alpha) Marriage Preparation Course. This material was available in the Christian bookstores and online at low prices, and we were encouraged to photocopy the participants’ booklets for our use.  It was a very good experience for bonding families and congregation. Several participants told us later that the course had been a real blessing in their relationships.  After the first run, we decided to repeat the course, this time inviting members of other churches and their friends. This time, we asked T and J to do part of the teaching. Although our evangelist felt that they were not mature enough in faith, I suggested that it would be very important to involve such a couple in the teaching. I felt it would be much more powerful, for instance, to have this Chinese couple encourage the participants to hug their partners twice a day than if we were to say such things!  I had hoped that T and J could teach the course the following year, but by that time other things demanded our attention.

I guess it was last year in the summer that we learned that J was pregnant again. Throughout her pregnancy we prayed, and –thank God- all went well!  In the end of March, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!  The second day we went to visit them in the hospital. As we left, three ladies were waiting at the nurses’ station to go in after us. Sister J greeted us loudly and came towards us, but I noticed how (our former deacon) Sister G turned away, apparently to study something on the nurses’ counter. I left J to Marioka and walked up to G. As I placed my hand on her shoulder, she looked up.  I spoke to her with sincerity and warmth, “It’s good to see you again, G!”

During our seven-and-a-half year of ministry, I have only three times spent significant time on the topic of infant baptism. Our regular audience knew that Marioka and I had been baptized as babies, and we were not afraid to talk about it. Yet, as none of our Family seemed to be familiar with this practice, I was careful not to push it or to demand the introduction of it. The few times I discussed it in some detail, I was careful to mention the main arguments in favor as well as against, pointing out the possible misunderstandings for accepting and rejecting it.

Although several babies had been born in our congregation, we never had any request for their baptism.  After a birth, I always made sure to point out that, as the parents belong to the Good Shepherd, so do their little lambs!  And I would urge the parents to teach the children to know and to love Jesus.

I was delighted when T and J informed me that they would like to have their baby baptized. Our Chinese co-workers had no objections, so, about three weeks after her birth, we were privileged to baptized little Anna! After the service we all got into cars and went to Sister J’s restaurant for a wonderful meal and celebration!  SDG!

Report from China (2): The Pressure is On!

It was about three weeks before the Chinese New Year’s holidays. We were going to start a new preaching series; this time on the letter of James. Several years earlier we had covered this letter in our Bible study group, but the membership had changed quite a bit, and I was convinced that –enriched by Timothy Keller’s insights- it would be good to have the whole congregation involved in a kind of discipleship course, as James’ letter offers great advice on practical Christian living.

So, as usual, we had spent the whole Saturday on preparing the service. I prepared the message, “Don’t be surprised when you face troubles and temptations!”  Marioka selected the songs and the readings, and then I spent a few more hours crafting a power point presentation with the liturgy, including songs and readings, selecting the children’s song, and writing a series of slides to summarize the message.

This had been our routine for over two years, but on January 25, 2015 everything changed.

That Sunday morning, as usual, I packed the heavy laptop, my sermon notes, and a few other things. Just before we left our house to ride our bicycles to the meeting place, I remembered to bring my passport. “You never know, I might need it today!”  As a foreigner you have to carry passport, visa, and residence permit with you at all times. On average perhaps once a year we had been stopped by special police, usually at the bus station, where they would demand anybody who did not look Chinese to present their papers.

We were about ten minutes into the sermon, when the doorbell rang. I was not alarmed, for it happened quite regularly that visitors came late- even half an hour or more.  Soon, however, it was clear that something was different.  The word “police” was whispered. Right away I had to think about the neighbors. Over the past few weeks we noticed how at the next-door apartment, the balcony doors were open as the neighbors seemed to enjoy the “fresh air”.  As we had lost our piano player, we liked to sing some praise songs with musical accompaniment of music tracks, and typically this would be fairly loud. Our friends had always enjoyed the singing!  Already I had wondered if we, perhaps, had gotten new neighbors, and if they could accept the Sunday morning music next door. The police might want to leave us in peace, but one complaint from neighbors would be enough to warrant their involvement, and then the law books would be opened!

One of the officers came inside to look into the room. He must have heard a foreigner, speaking English. Looking in, he noticed the presence of several foreigners: three Roman Catholic teachers joined us in the worship, and then there were the two of us.  Brother D went outside to talk with the officers, trying to convince them of our innocence, but the law was recited to him: (1) You may not rent a building for religious services*, and (2) Foreigners were not allowed to be involved in the teaching of religious services.  He returned inside to tell me that we had been instructed to immediately stop the meeting. Encouraged by God’s Word and Spirit I was reluctant to stop the message, but I did not want to bring trouble to our colleagues, so I gave him my passport and papers. One more time he returned, and so Marioka gave her passport too. Then the officers left, and we could continue our meeting. Some of us had been praying, but I had felt at peace and continued preaching, “Don’t be surprised, my brothers and sisters…”

*(I think, the law states that you may not rent out space to be used for religious services.)

A few days later we had a meeting with the unofficial core group. Brother D explained how the previous Sunday he had tried to pacify the officers with his answers. Oh, we just started a few months ago. It’s really English class, but we do discuss religious topics… ) Over the next weeks I tried to coach them in this way: ‘It may be wise at times to withhold some information or at least not to volunteer giving all kinds of facts, if it helps to protect each other. Nevertheless, it is essential that we do not twist the truth, for we must rely on God to guide and protect us, not on our skills of manipulation. Learn from the early church, as described in Acts, and trust in God!’

Upon our recommendation, we made the following arrangements. From then on we (as church planters and coordinators) would have an advisory role only; the actual decisions should be made by a steering group, consisting of two committed families, our evangelist and deacon.  Brother D was appointed as their chairman.  Although formally the evangelist had our trust and approval for teaching, upon their request I would continue to provide sermons, which they could expand on and translate.  For the coming three Sunday mornings we would meet at a local restaurant. (The owner was a Roman Catholic brother, who loved to help us without any payment.)  During that time, they should pray and work to find a new location for our meetings. We would only visit them once a month, perhaps at the end of the meeting for communion. On Wednesday nights we had our “Blackaby course”, where we would study the book “Experiencing God.” Our evangelist had suggested we study this book, as she had done at her (registered) church. Although we had assisted in the teaching and organization, from now on she would lead it by herself. This would allow us to focus on the Sunday message and the Sunday night discipleship course.

Brother D was invited by the local police department for an interview about our meetings. The officers first warned him not to get involved with foreigners; they should not be trusted. Then, they asked him how much money we had received, but D told them we had never asked for or received any money for our work. D insisted that ‘these foreigners’ had been very good and helpful all the time. The officers informed him that they were under instruction from the district office (which had received instructions from Beijing) to close all unregistered churches in town.  Then D was asked how we had paid for the apartment rent. The officers thought it quite strange when our Brother told them that we had an ‘offering box’; voluntarily people would put money in it to pay for regular expenses and to support a local foster home.  D was then urged that we stop meeting at this place; if we would refuse to do so, the apartment owner could lose her right to sell it. So we made arrangements to terminate our lease with Sister M, the owner, who lived in America.

The situation looked very bad. Yet, it seemed like another confirmation that our work in China was coming to an end. Nevertheless, we were concerned how our friends could continue.  After a few weeks, however, we could see the bright side of the problem. Until then our friends refused to take on new responsibilities in anticipation of our departure, but now they had little choice. The steering group took their task very seriously, and everyone took on a responsibility in the work. Brother T and his wife focused on prayer ministry, brother D. made the power points, while his wife (Sister H) selected the songs for the services.  Meanwhile, Brother Paul (from Canada) took over the English reading, while our evangelist became the worship coordinator and continued doing the Chinese translation of the message.  We realized that God had used the government interference to work for the good of Vineyard Fellowship. Praise to God for building his Church!

Report from China (1) On Discipline

As we become aware that we all too often still cling to (little) idols in our lives, it becomes more difficult to exercise church discipline. As our Lord warned us, “It’s far easier to see the splinter in another’s eye than the log in our own!”  Personally, culturally, and as a church denomination, we tend to create our own particular set of criteria for ‘Christian living’, thereby becoming ‘judges with evil thoughts’.  We especially came to realize this when we were put and kept under discipline on the charge of heresy. 

In China, we had a strong awareness of cultural differences. Even though the main idols were the same as “at home”, yet Christians seemed to operate with a somewhat different set of criteria. Also, our gatherings seemed to have a great diversity of people regarding their spiritual state. A few regulars had been Christian believers for ten years or more, while many others had more recently converted. Then there were serious seekers as well as curious types, and finally we had one young woman, who was determined not to accept the Gospel. Since we had no official membership, it seemed difficult -if not plain wrong- to set strict criteria for all to adhere to. Although we always had a clear warning for attending the Communion, and although we tried to have a serious examination before administering baptism, real church discipline was mostly restricted to the preaching. Personal confrontation about lifestyle practices happened more informally by our Chinese partners and only formally with us where it involved leaders appointed in the church.

While trying to be considerate of cultural differences, I always endeavored not to water down the apostolic teaching, also where it relates to godly living. Nevertheless, I believe we have to be careful not to create a culture of peer pressure where certain dos and don’ts are (formally or informally) enforced. So easily this results in a subculture that is driven by wrong motivations. What good is it if people follow a prescribed lifestyle in order to win or keep the approval of their family or friends or church community? For good or for bad, we should not be ‘pleasers of men’ but rather to seek out how to please God in genuine personal thankfulness for his amazing grace!

Early 2014 we already told our Chinese co-workers that we would leave the ministry in the summer of 2015. During the fall and winter of last year it finally dawned on the group that big changes were on the way. At that time we had -besides ourselves (as church planting couple and coordinators)- three female co-workers: one evangelist and two deacons. Earlier we had a male elder, but he left us with his wife when we had to ask some serious questions regarding attitudes and lifestyle.

During the winter, the question on everybody’s mind was: ‘What will happen when we lose the planters and our teaching pastor?’  Over time I had the sense that the preaching did not get through to some of the regular attenders. Behind the surface of nice and friendly folk, there was at time, for instance, a strong yearning among the single and divorced women to find a foreign partner. In this yearning, as I once suggested in the sermon, there seemed to be more desire to be sexy than to be godly. When it became clear how this idolatry was promoted in a certain group of friends, I became quite sad and disappointed. I sensed that God was telling us, “Look, if we are willing to be transformed by God’s Word and Spirit, and get rid of our idols in our lives, then God will bless this congregation, even when the leaders leave. On the other hand, if we refuse to do this, and we cling to our idols, our church will become weaker, and soon it will fall apart.”

Even when I made it clear that this ought to be a matter of real concern, one of the deacons, Sister G, seemed unresponsive to the preaching. When I, almost accidentally, found her Facebook page, I was deeply grieved. Apparently, the only Christian she had invited as a ‘friend’ was an American brother, who had contact with a lot of foreigners (due to his job in the local entertainment industry). Besides him and his Chinese wife, there was a long list of foreigners, almost all guys and most of them quite obviously not Christians.

After a number of weeks the time was finally right to confront Sister G on this issue. After our Sunday meeting, I stopped her for a chat. Only Marioka and our evangelist were present when I talked to her.  For a few minutes she maintained that her Facebook page was inactive and she no longer cared about maintaining it. When I made some suggestions to stop it and to start a new life, she flew into a rage: it was none of our business what she did in her private life. I warned her that we could not have a church leader, who would privately follow worldly desires. Sister G walked out on us and never returned to any of our meetings.

Although it’s always saddening when people seem to harden themselves and walk away, soon afterwards, we actually felt the church was strengthened and renewed. It also produced another –perhaps unforeseen- blessing. The deacon who had left had on several occasions pushed her personal position in a leadership discussion. For instance, when our Chinese co-workers had an open discussion about switching to a more clear and contemporary Chinese Bible translation, this deacon had vetoed the discussion. Without further listening to others, she insisted we should continue with the old translation. At that time I had decided not to pursue this issue. I would rather continue using an older translation than risking a split among the leadership.  Later we realized that her departure helped to build a stronger leadership that would not so easily be challenged by unnecessary conflicts.

Soli Deo Gloria

Continental Transition: Status Update

The last half year have been extra hectic, as we were wrapping up our eight year stay in China.

Regarding the series on "practical theology", I really wanted to tackle the topics of "The New Perspective on Paul". Yet, the related topics were too diverse, time was too short, and the available resources (in China) insufficient. Time permitting, I like to work on that in the nearby future.

Next month we plan to move to The Netherlands.
We like to be of assistance for my aging parents, and I got a senior Math teaching job.
It will take some time to understand and assess the current options for our church affiliation there.
Also, we hope to be involved in (English language?) ministry...

Since I have just written a short series of stories from our last half year in China, I will post them here.
If you want to reply, you can e-mail me at: aize.smit@gmail.com

God bless you!