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"In His law he meditates day and night" Psalm 1:2
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China Okays Church in Time for Summer Olympics
Volume 13, Number 8
Wayne Burger |
August 3, 2008 |
Meditating on the Word
"In His law he meditates day and night" Psalm 1:2
"Meditating on the Word," edited by Wayne Burger, is a work of the Columbine church of Christ, 7453 S. Zephyr Ct., Littleton, Colorado, 80128. E-mail: burgpreach@prolynx.com -- Suggested topics are welcomed.
Vol. 13 No. 8 August 3, 2008
The following article appeared in the December 2007 issue of the Gospel Advocate and is printed with permission. Since the Olympics begin this week I thought it would be appropriate to run this article at this time. Of course, some of the information shall have already occurred.
China Okays Church in Time for Summer Olympics
By Aubrey Johnson
What will you be doing Aug. 3, 2008? My hope is that you and your entire congregation will be joining Christians around the world in a prayer of thanksgiving for the first meeting of the Beijing Church of Christ.
Christians have been gathering underground in house churches in China for many years; now for the first time ever, a legally sanctioned congregation will be established in the capital city of The People’s Republic.
The spark behind this epic undertaking was the announcement that Beijing would host the 2008 Summer Olympics, Aug. 8-24. The question of where Christian athletes and attendees will worship during the games arose.
As consideration was given to arranging temporary worship facilities for visitors, a bold new vision emerged. Could this be the time for churches of Christ to rise from the shadows and seek recognition by the government? The world was coming to China; might Christ be welcome too?
An elder from Georgia’s Peachtree City Church of Christ traveled to China and met with provincial leaders in September. The timing was perfect as prayer and providence united to bring indescribable blessings to citizens of the world’s most populous country.
Approval was granted for establishing a permanent congregation and preparations are now underway to make that dream a reality. The inaugural assembly will take place on the Sunday preceding the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games.
Imagine the Possibilities
The name “Beijing” (formerly Peking) literally means “Northern capital.” The city is located 100 miles from the coast in northeast China, just west of North Korea. Beijing has been the country’s capital on and off for 2,000 years. According to 2005 statistics, the metropolitan area is home to more than 15 million people, three times the population of Atlanta, GA!
From there, the gospel will radiate to a nation of more than 1 billion lost souls. Who could have imagined that every hotel room in Beijing could soon be displaying a copy of the Bible in both English and Chinese? And a few months ago, who would have dreamed that a congregation of the Lord’s Church would be approved by the Communist government? Yet both are true!
E-mails are being sent to every known congregation in the world to inform those attending the Olympics of the location and meeting times of the new church in Beijing. The rented facilities will hold 500 worshipers, and the services will be translated into 10 languages to be determined by responses from Christians who confirm they will be present for the games.
Though space is limited in the government-designat-ed facility, four classes will be able to meet during the Bible school hour to accommodate the needs of children. With so many languages and nationalities represented, assembly times will be a bit confusing but gloriously uplifting and eternally unforgettable.
Consider the Opportunities
In a short while, the most awe-inspiring attraction in Beijing will no longer be Terra Cotta Soldiers, the Forbidden City or the Great Wall. The most inspirational sight n China will be the smiling faces of worshipers praising Jesus without fear of reprisal.
Let us thank God for touching the hearts of Chinese leaders so that the gospel may win the hearts of the Chinese people. To him be the glory!
Pivotal moments in history like this one call for cooperation among Christians who are passionate about taking the gospel into all the world. Barnabas and Paul worked closely with the church in Antioch as they undertook the first great mission journey recorded in Acts. Imagine if Barnabas himself approached you and requested help for his groundbreaking journey. Not one of us would miss the chance to make such a monumental difference in the world.
Like the Macedonians who pleaded with Paul to be part of the Jerusalem relief effort – we would simply refuse to take “No,” for an answer.
Such an unprecedented opportunity is yours today. You can be a son of encouragement and help to carry the gospel to China. This once-in-a-life-time exper-ience will be a memory to cherish as long as you live and a moment to celebrate throughout eternity. Don’t let this rare and precious opportunity pass you by!
How Can You Help?
There are two things every Christian can do to encourage the work in Beijing. (1) Pray for God to raise up supporters equal to this matchless moment in history. (2) Pass the word to as many friends and churches as you can.
And on Aug. 3, 2008, don’t forget to join kingdom encouragers from throughout the world in an international-prayer of thanksgiving for the first worship service of the Beijing Church of Christ!
For more information, contact the Peachtree City Church of Christ, 201 South Peachtree Parkway, Peachtree City, GA 30269; 720487-9246; ptccoc@bellsouth.net, ptccoc.com, and visit beijingchurchofchrist.com
Bible Ignorance in the U.S.
It is a sad commentary on the United States that just as the gospel finally has permission to be preached in China, the United States’ Bible knowledge is at an all time low. There was an interesting article about Bible knowledge in the U.S. in the August 2007 issue of the Gospel Advocate. The article was entitled “Will the Church Be Ready for the Bible in Public Schools?” by Debbie Bumbalough.
She writes, “Daily newscasts indicate an upsurge in interest of adding the Bible to public school curriculum Nationwide, popularity in studying the Bible is increasing. Last year (2006) Georgia became the first state to allocate funding for high school courses in the Old and New Testaments.”
This has come about because educators are saying that “students are ignorant of even references to biblical text in classic literature and other foundation works such as the Declaration of Independence.”
Lee Cowan, a correspondent for CBS talked to Bart Ehrman, a University of North Carolina professor and biblical scholar. “I actually begin my class every term by giving a pop quiz on the Bible, just basic infor-mation. And I tell my students that if they can get nine out of 11 of my questions, I’ll buy them dinner at the Armadillo Grill. And over my last 15 years, I’ve only bought four dinners,” Ehrman said “he thinks it’s essential for educated people to know something about the Bible. He points out that the Bible’s influence is impossible to ignore with biblical references appearing in the writings of William Shakespeare, John Milton and Ernest Hemingway and in the paintings of Rembrandt, Chagall and Da Vinci.”
“Because our country was founded upon religious principles, how did our society as a whole get to this point of biblical illiteracy? Stephen Protero, the head of the department of religion at Boston University, has written Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t. He stated that through his studies he found that Bible courses and the teaching of religion started to go away in the mid-19th century as a result of the debate over which Bible to read. Another change was in the churches themselves, when they started focusing on loving Jesus rather than on listening to him. The Bible slowly became a kind of ornament and a source of authority rather than a book you actually read. Sermons became more about ordinary life and less about biblical narratives, while Sunday schools focused more on morality than on learning.”
Of course, we need to accept the Bible as the word of God, rather than just as literature, but this article has several good points. Do our children or do we as adults know the basic facts of the Bible? It is interesting that this college professor found that Bible knowledge began to diminish when adults began talking about loving Jesus rather than listening to Jesus. Also, much of children’s Bible school material deals with stories and applications rather than facts. During childhood is the time to learn basic Bible facts. Later on, applications of morals can be drawn from those basic facts.
Wayne Burger
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