Snapshots of a New Generation in China - 5 Dec 2006

The door is open in China.  Deng Xiaoping, China’s leader who entered power in 1978, initiated an “open door” policy that flung China wide open to every wind of political, social, and philosophical thought.  David Aikman, in Jesus in Beijing, writes, “It is hard to find anyone in China today who truly believes in the theoretical truth of China’s official political ideology.”  Especially among this young generation of Chinese, there is a massive ideological vacuum. This is a unique time in Chinese history as a generation of young voices resound by declaring, “We don’t believe in anything.”  Chinese young people, unlike many other Asian youth, are still rather secluded. A shield of naiveté remains as a guard to their hearts, but year by year this is chipped away at by Westernization and globalization in devastating measure.  In a world that the Chinese are increasingly aware of as global, modern, and urban; youth are clamoring for something to believe in.  They are searching for purpose with real meaning and true hope.

And like a backdraft of fire in the wake of an opened door, Jesus is winning Chinese men and women with unusual swiftness.  There are an estimated 90-100 million believers in China today, and there’s a Jesus revolution taking place in this nation that is capturing the attention of the most learned historians.  One Yale historian, who believes that the growth of the Chinese church is the one that we must watch most closely, said, “The Chinese [Communist/socialist] revolution will prove to need the Gospel to keep it radical.”  He is convinced that precisely because of China’s Communist history over this last century, Christianity will explode in China in a way we haven’t yet seen in any other nation.

I sat in China at a secluded table in a Western café with an underground house church pastor – a wonderful 40-year old Chinese man who I’ll call Larry – and a good Chinese friend and sister of mine, Lucy.  This was my sixth trip to China in as many years, and the two people whom I sat with were representative of so many that I’ve formed friendship with over the course of this decade.  Larry reached in a bag, pulling out a beautiful black tin full of loose green tea, saying, “This is a gift from the church and me.  Thank you for introducing 24-7 prayer to us.”  It was a holy moment – one I’ll never forget, and a little seed that I pray multiplies millions of times over.  I believe the 24-7 movement is one of the keys to our generation in China.

    I listened to Larry and Lucy speak together in Chinese for an hour and a half, with Larry addressing the deep questions that remain high barriers to faith for her.  She fears bringing her questions to other Chinese believers; out of fear and a lack of discipleship, more than once Lucy has received the harsh injunction to “just believe”.  She’s longing for a spirituality that has answers and that addresses our lives as holistic.  She wrote me, “I am thinking, why can't our [church] group do some practical things like in the USA. For example, helping deviant children to find themselves, helping lonely elders or forming a troupe [that brings music or theater]. Save people's body and save their soul. I think it is more meaningful. And, we may know more about DAD through it.”