China Missing…

I hope some factual information will help brothers and sisters to discern and pray for the salvation for billions in China and pray for the Chinese Government.

Back in 1988, Leighton Ford, my fellow Board member of World Vision and Ed Dayton, the Senior VP of World Vision, who were in charge of organizing Lausanne 1989 asked and I agreed to be the special envoy to handle the China delegation issue with the Chinese Christian communities and the Government.

By April 1989 all parties concerned including all relevant government departments sign off on the plan to send 300 Chinese Christian leaders, half of them selected by Bishop Ding and half by House Church leaders. We were chartering 2 planes flying direct between Guangzhou and Manila. By early June we have to call off the plan due to the bloody confrontation of the students in Beijing with the Government.

Six months ago I was briefed off the record on the invitation process of the Chinese delegates. I found that the selection criteria were humiliating to the registered church leaders and provoking to the CCC and TSPM leaders. The lot was casted. The conflict was escalated to the State Department level. The Government reaction was predictable.

Despite of the fact that the Lausanne Movement and their very top leaders are not politically motivated, the process by accident or by design entangled into the sphere of the geo-political struggles of China and the West, thus creating impediment to the spread of the Good News in China.

However the Chinese delegation of the registered church leaders invited by Billy Graham Crusade to visit their headquarters last week before the opening of the Congress has no problem with completing their visit.

Extraordinary effort by the Chinese Government to understand Christianity has bear fruit with the help of many who worked with God’s help behind the scene. It is beginning to accept Christianity as a universal faith beneficial to the Chinese society and not an excuse for imperialism of the West.  Many can observe the positive shift in China but structural change takes time.

Why is “China Missing” twice? Only God knows. We rest in His love for the many Chinese and the whole world.