Africa to Asia: Global Church

December 16, 2012, 10:30a.m., Nairobi: What a blessing to worship with Kenyan brothers and sisters this morning!  The church is a permanent tent facility located just down the road from Rosslyn (Academy) and the US Embassy housing.  I have never felt as though church may be a dangerous place until today.  Military security guards welcomed us onto the church grounds.

As a Christian in the United States, I have grown up hearing the stories of the global church.  These stories frequently caused me anguish, and rightly so, considering the persecution of believers, a need for theological training resources, mass spiritual revivals, and miraculous healings.  In my mind, these stories did not unify my fellowship with the global church but distance its reality.

Friend Tommy Decker and Tour Guide Eve

While in southern China, our group was blessed to have a hospitable tour guide, Eve, who planned our business and recreational visits.  Eve, a 23-year-old woman, works for a high-ranking Communist Party official.  Days before leaving, she communicated that she did not believe anything although her mother was a devout Buddhist.  Regardless of the nature of our visit, the presence of the Spirit in our lives had positively impacted her.

At the conclusion of our time, Eve expressed her gratitude for our kindness and cried as she said goodbye to us.  The reality of the global church became visibly evident. The grace and inclusiveness of the Spirit's presence has led to tears of joy in my life as well.

Church services in Macau and Hong Kong were Westernized and met freely.  An Australian pastor in Hong Kong led the call to the identification and abandonment of idols and the cultivation of real faith based on the character of God.  In Macau, an American minister challenged the small congregation of thirty people to "learn, accept, share, and remember what the Lord is teaching us through communion with us and our fellowship with others."  I have heard the same verses, songs, and prayers before, on the other side of the world.  I was not merely a visitor in these congregations, but a member of the collective global church.

Haidian Fellowship Church, Beijing

And despite my preconceived notions of governmental restrictions, the global church was publicly visible in Beijing.  The Three-Self Patriotic Movement, the only state-sanctioned Protestant church of China, has led to the development of hundreds of congregations throughout mainland China.  Despite affiliation with the government, the service we attended was akin to a typical American service: prayer in the name of Jesus, a theologically-sound sermon, and songs proclaiming "Christ alone."

Conversations with unregistered, underground, church members revealed such illegal gatherings were rooted in a fundamental belief in the separation of church and state and freedom from censorship.  Persecution of such illegal practices are dependent upon regional enforcement policies.  Whether in state-sanctioned gatherings or behind closed doors, the church in China recognizes a need for Christian education, which is a part of my story, a story within the global church.

January 22, 2013, 10:52p.m., Beijing International Airport: The global church has both expanded through this trip as I more fully understand the growth of the church in China, and it has shrunk as I consider the proximity of church issues and contact, even connecting Taylor to the people of China.  This brings me great joy in regard to how the Lord is at work worldwide.

Today, the stories of the global church take on a new light as I consider the notion that the church in China and the church in Kenya hear the stories of the church in the West just as I hear the stories of the church in China and the church in Kenya.  My story also carries the message of grace, redemption, and healing amidst a broken, messy world.  The interconnectedness of the global church truly does traverse borders, oceans, and languages with the universal message of Truth.

Africa to Asia: World Tour

A whirlwind journey has led me from Upland to the streets of Nairobi, Indianapolis, Columbus, Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, back to the snowy cornfields of Taylor University.

I have seen, tasted, felt, heard, and smelled life on three continents, five countries, and in four languages spending 34 of the past 45 days overseas.  Today the world is smaller.

While in Zhuhai, China, I had the opportunity to visit with hundreds of primary school age children.  Some students knew more English than others, but the universality of a game of basketball, smile, laugh, or hug humanized the unknowns of linguistic communication.

St. Francis of Assisi is described as having "discerned the hidden things of Creation with the eye of the heart."  Through this lens, surely the heart of and for man minimizes the magnitude and depth of the Earth.  From Africa to Asia, I realize that the differences of culture have enlightened the realities of humanity in a small world.

January 4, 2013, 8:52p.m., Macau: Many people live among the land I now trek and it is my prayer that I may see the world in small ways through their eyes so I may understand, in some minimal way, their interaction with their Maker.  He has stored hidden treasures and what a joy to see how He has utilized those gifts across many borders and waters.

Through stories, pictures, tears, laughs, and praises, I invite you to join me on this world tour as I reflect on small glimpses of His wonderful creation proclaiming How Great Thou Art and Great Is Thy Faithfulness.