http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WHo7ehqEVs&feature=related (Chinese National Anthem, clips of mass soldiers, marching...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p63xt5AlahY (Cultural Revolution, English narrative, with scences of destroying churches, temples, accusing nuns)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JTr-MXimVg (a Chinese house church service, maybe this is a city church too!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6DmyijPqRg (Role of Women the first couple of sec. in this has clips of churches (i think house) worshiping and most of the members are women)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un3LJ-BjWVo (0:21-0:54, 4:12-4:21 opium war, fire & smoke & emperor picture)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M84KIsZmA0A&NR=1 (China imperialist video with great imperialist music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRIBbpTDEOQ (0:00-0:16, 0:26-0:35 western soilders smashing vases, firing )

Xiao Min Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSSbIWRtfwQ 58sec -1:33
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrkJY_7qnw8&feature=related 2:45-3:11; 5:25-end
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmnmHTAU8kA&feature=related start -.11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PfppJe0AbQ&feature=related .06sec -1:15
Xiao Min Story

Tiananmen Square http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGJoaHr2QdM 2:11-2:30 (tank)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaWSbVpmCUY (eight nations war against china)

i. INTRO

Chinese Nationalism.

Nationalism is the ideology that informs the political and social construct that perpetuates and sustains the nation.Nationalism has been both the strength of China’s defense against Western colonialism and the legitimizing tool of the Chinese Communist Party.

The rise of the Chinese House Church, a rapidly growing Christian movement among the Chinese people reveals that Chinese nationalism has played a significant role in both the early rejection and the later acceptance of the Christian religion.

ii. NATIONALISM as DEFENSE AGAINST COLONIALISM/CHRISTIANITY

A. HISTORY- CHINESE Nationalism vs. WESTERN Colonialism/Christianity

WESTERN COLONIALISM & MISSIONARY ACTIVITY
In the 19th century, the West viewed China as an ancient empire stuck in a standstill.

According to the “enlightened” nations of the West, it was their responsibility to bring civilization and modernization to a slumbering China. It was this ethnocentric posture that led to an entire century of Western colonial influence upon the Chinese empire, notably characterized by Protestant missionary activity. It began with the arrival of Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary, who began his ministry in present day Guangzhou in the year 1807.

As a result of the Opium Wars, the colonial forces of the West, primarily Great Britain, opened China economically, paving the way for more than 100 years of Protestant missionary activity. For a hundred years, Western missionaries made some progress in bringing Chinese to Christ. But their influence as a whole was limited. (Daniel: Need some help phrasing this sentence! Albert: how about this?).Rooted in the notion that Christianity was a foreign religion, which came along with western imperialism, the anti-Christian tradition of China continued to prevent its widespread acceptance among the Chinese people. Unlike Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, Christianity was not Chinese, but a tool of Western Imperialism. The staunch nationalism of the Chinese proved to be Christianity’s greatest obstacle.

In spite of this, God used the limited mission work to build a foundation for His great and unexpected work in the second half of the twentieth century.

iii. NATIONALISM as LOCAL FORM OF IMPERIALISM BY COMMUNIST GOVT

A. RiSE OF COMMUNIST PARTY

In 1911, the Chinese imperial political structure finally cracked and eventually disintegrated, giving way to a new Republic, which was never able to fully establish itself. When it was first disrupted by massive foreign debt and anarchy, then by war against the Japanese, and finally by hyperinflation and corruption, the Nationalist government was defeated by the Communists in 1949 and Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China (Chao, 1989, 8). Mao and his Communist Party promised great things for China in efforts to create national unity. (video clip of Mao announcing establishment of PRC [already in our wiki])

In order to irrevocably uproot western imperialism, China expelled all foreign missionaries, marking an abrupt end to the Protestant missionary period and the emergence of the indigenous Chinese Christian Church.

B. CULTURAL REVOLUTION AND RISE OF CHRISTIANITY

Although many of the policies of the new Chinese Communist State persecuted Christians, they prepared the Chinese people for the acceptance of Christianity and laid the groundwork for the dramatic rise in Christian churches. The Cultural Revolution was instrumental in this preparation. Mao Tse-Tung initiated Cultural Revolution in 1966 to eliminate his rivals for power. He enlisted the masses to support his ideology by sweeping out all “bad elements” of Chinese society. He painted his rivals and opponents as bourgeois, imperialists, and bureaucrats. Millions of youth enlisted as Red Guards, responding to his call to destroy the old order, removing not only Mao’s rivals to power, but also destroying all cultural icons that represented China’s feudal past and Western Imperial influences. (video clip of young people waving “Little Red Book” [already in our wiki]) However, when Mao lost control of the Revolution, he turned the Army on the Red Guards, killing them or having them sent to work with peasant farmers to have them learn from “the masses.”

A Chinese pastor told this story about the Cultural Revolution: Over 300 pastors came from different cities and towns for a three-day meeting. When the Red Guard found out about it, they were determined to break it up. During the meeting, while the pastors were praying, God spoke a word of warning to them. Quietly and one by one, all 300 pastors left the meeting by different ways. As soon as the last one was gone, the Red Guard surrounded the building. They waited for the 300 pastors to leave so they could arrest them, but no one came out. The Red Guard became impatient, but when they went to break down the door, they found it ajar. The room was empty. The Red Guard leader exclaimed more in amazement than anger, ‘These Christians are different. They know exactly everything that we are doing.’ They left shaking their heads, but no doubt what had happened had made a deep impression on them.” Lawrence, 37.

Leaving a gaping hole in the souls of the Chinese people, the Communist Party, inadvertently aided in the accomplishment of the unthinkable. It prepared the way for the explosion of Christianity (a Western religion in their determination) onto the Chinese scene. The Cultural Revolution and all of its failings, brought dissatisifaction, discontent, and hopelessness to the people. Many Christians considered it a time of church purification and the sowing of seeds. The message of hope in Christianity brought life to many Chinese who had lost faith in its country's government.

C. LOCAL FORM OF IMPERIALISM

For many years, Chinese nationalism fought imperialism and the colonizing forces of the West. Although China is not a colonizing nation, it has adopted tactics similar to the imperialists through propaganda literature and arts to impose their authority and control over every part of life in China including religion. If imperialism is an ideology of expansion and control of foreign nations (Dube, p.297), then Communist China practices a "local form of imperialism". The Communist Party's constitution officially allows religious freedom, but their atheist idealogy assumes that all religion will eventually die out when communism is fully formed in China. Because of its Western origins and rapid growth, the Communists feel threatened by the success and organization of Chrisitanity in China. So many Chinese Christians have experienced great persecution at the hands of the Communist leadership who arrest, incarcerate, and sometimes execute Christian leaders for being counter-revolutionary.

iv. TRANSITION to DISCUSSION OF CHINESE HOUSE CHURCH

Despite the purging of foreign missionaries and the destruction of churches and congregations across China during the early years of Communism, the Chinese House Church has experienced tremendous growth.
(video clip on house churches bro & sis singing songs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGMqFsdEPwI [portion 0:20-1:23])


v. THE CHINESE HOUSE CHURCH

A. Basic Information on House Church Movement in China

The Chinese government regulates religious activity by requiring all collective religious activities to be conducted at registered venues.

"House churches" (jiating jiaohui) are Christian communities that conduct religious services without government approval in the homes of believers.

The statistics regarding the number of Chinese Christians are difficult to obtain due to the hidden nature of many house church gatherings (Lamber 2003, 7). but an estimated 80 to 130 million Chinese worship in house churches. Added to the 20 million today in registered churches, this figure demonstrates the astronomical growth of the church during the second half of the 20th century, considering there were only 5 million Christians in China in 1949.

For decades, house churches thrived in the rural area where they were usually far from the eyes of the government. Majority of the house churches brothers and sisters were peasants. Most of the leaders had only junior high education. Due to a serious lack of leaders, many young Christians had to take up the leadership role and pastor more than one meeting point without receiving any training at all. But this picture is gradually changing.

B. Effect of China’s “local form of imperialism” on Today’s House Church

China’s “local form of imperialism” was fully expressed in her dealing with the Tiennemen Square incident in 1989. The hearts of many intellectuals were disillusioned after they saw the brutal act of the government on the young students and ordinary citizens. The incident actually prepared the hearts of many intellectuals in China to be opened to the Gospel.

From the 1990s until now, different reports show a continue rise in the number of Bible study groups and fellowships in universities. And the number of young believers also increases.

C. Effect of Globalization and Urbanization on Today’s House Church
Due to the failure of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiao Ping announced an Open Door Policy in 1978. Since then, China has gradually transformed itself from an opponent to an advocate of globalization.

As a result of the reform, China is sending many elite youth abroad for education. These overseas graduates help China adopt foreign technology, corporate management techniques, and other economic practices. Many become Christians when they study abroad. They often come back with a heart to contribute to the development their country and to serve God. As a hybrid of western and Chinese cultures, they contribute to the latest house church movement by establishing Bible study groups and house churches among intellectuals.

China's globalization has initiated both rural-to-urban and west-to-east migration. In the 90’s, China’s urban population was augmented by 100 million migrant workers. Many of these rural workers are Christians who continue to witness to Christ, contributing to the rapid increase of house churches in the cities. As a result of globalization and urbanization, Chinese people are becoming more open-minded about religious beliefs.


D. Role of Women in Chinese House Churches
One major factor in the stunning growth of Christianity in China is the receptivity of the gospel among women. Some sources estimate that close to 80% of Christians in China are women. One reason for this is the large numbers of female missionaries who came to china during the late 1800’s who established girls’ schools, made home visits, and offered medical services. In addition to that, the teachings of Jesus which elevates the dignity and worth of those marginalized in society, also attracted women who lived in an oppressive male dominated society. Historically, the church in China has helped women in terms of education, liberation, and leadership. Today, women have helped Christianity to survive under communism through their sacrificial leadership. One source indicates that up to 85 percent of the pastoral leaders of China’s house churches are women (Frances Hiebert, “Missionary Women as Models in the Cross-Cultural Context” Missiology l0:4 [1982], 459–460).

story
Women also contribute to the growth of the House Church through spiritual expression. Xiao Min, a woman who grew up in a little farming village neither completed Junior High School nor learned to read music, but God has used her to compose numerous Chinese hymns that are sung nationwide. She has written an estimated 930 hymns, which are appreciated by small underground house churches and professional composers alike, and have contributed to the Chinese churches ability to express their faith with indigenous songs.

E. Ethnicity: Minority Groups

In China, there are 55 minority groups, which comprise of 8% of population. According to a report in 2000, 11 minority groups have no Christians, 27 minority groups have fewer than 10%, and 7 minority have are at least 16% Christian. The percentage of Christians among the minority groups is lower than 5% on average. Some of these relatively highly-Christianized minority groups such as Jingpo and Lisu are the result of western missionary work.
Living under the same communism regime, the most effective people to reach out to these minority groups are members of Chinese House Churches.



F. Conclusion: An Emerging Chinese House Church

STORY
One summer afternoon, I had a chance to worship in a Chinese church in United States. After the worship, two elders of the church came up to talk with me.

The first one who knew I was from Mainland China, asked sincerely about our situation in the Mainland. He urged me to be very careful because he read from the newspaper recently that Christians from one of the house churches were arrested by the government. I heard, from his words, sympathy and support for the house church, and criticism of the Chinese government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fw7stIzPAU&feature=related
(0:34-0:55)??

Another elder came to talk with me. He spoke of a time when he went back to Shanghai, he attended some activities of the Three Self Church. He had good impression of them. The Three Self Church also gave him an impression that they would very much like to accept the house churches, but the house churches were too sealed up that they would not want to reconcile with the Three Self Church. I heard, from his words, sympathy and acceptance of the Three Self Church, and bad impression on the “underground”, “sealed up”, “un-cooperative” house churches.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwEHibmCCk (:55-1:07)

From the one to two years of my association with overseas Chinese and Western churches, I begin to realize these two common attitudes towards Chinese house church.


In fact, Chinese house churches are no longer hidden. A new generation of house churches in the cities is becoming more confident in establishing constructive dialogue with the government. A number of house churches are actively seeking registration with the government, and many hope to be registered separately from the official Three Self Patriotic Movement.


Chinese Christians are seeking to redefine Chinese nationalism in a way that incorporates the Christian faith, with the belief that Christians serve a vital role in Chinese society.

Also, young intellectual Christians love China and hope to have positive influence on the country with Christian values and love. This calls for an open and inclusive government to accommodate them!

It is the dream of the Chinese house churches to share the Gospel with as many fellow Chinese as possible. Brothers and sisters of house churches are the light in the society, especially when moral is declining, injustice is prevailing, and people are losing hope in what they previously believe.