Yu Chen[1]
After the failure of the Hundred Days' Reform, Liang Qichao (1873-1929) went into exile in Japan and later traveled to Europe for studies. When the Republic of China was established, he returned to China and founded publications like the New Citizen Journal. He described his writing style as "The stroke of the pen often carries emotion, and the tip of the pen directly points to the conscience", which was known as the "New Citizen style". His journal was the essential reading for intellectuals. After reading Pastor Hong's article, I want to respond using Liang Qichao's writing style.
Pastor Hong Yujian's writing is driven by strong emotional devotion, particularly his love and reverence for God. He was among the first group of mainland scholars who studied in America and came to faith. Having experienced the Tiananmen Square massacre, he especially cherished the salvation of Jesus Christ he received after his disillusionment – he perceived it as a life-saving grace, not just religion or philosophy. Secondly, he emulates Christ's love, engaging in a spiritual battle of thought and culture. He is determined to break through atheistic communism, protect God's gospel and church from being captured by the world, and save the people trapped in snares through his pastoral love.
Thirdly, following his passion for the Three-fold Vision, Pastor Hong mentions raising the banner of Evangelization of China, Kingdomization of the Church, and Christianization of Culture. He explains why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hates and resists this Three-fold Vision. This is because each aspect of the Three-fold Vision blocks the CCP's religious policies and their total warfare in Chinese churches. We use the vision of "Evangelization of China" to spread the complete, pure gospel throughout China, resisting the CCP's attempt to change the essence of gospel truth through "Sinicization of Christianity." We propose "Kingdomization of the Church" to show that God's church must grow in Christ as a "model of the kingdom of heaven" rather than being reshaped by the CCP to conform to socialism. "Christianization of Culture" is the church's total mobilization to advance into the world. First, we use God's word to "demolish every stronghold that prevents people from knowing God." These obstacles are the human-centered, "politically correct" ideologies like "scientism, communism, nationalism, progressivism, etc." Second, we encourage Christians to be set apart as "salt and light" by behaving in a way that guides social trends.
From 2011 to 2013, Pastor Hong conducted training on the "Cultural mission of Christian Faith" for mainland fellow Chinese workers in Hong Kong. In 2014, the first decade after Pastor Jonathan Chao's passing, Chinese Ministries International (CMI) in Canada and the United States jointly held four consecutive Three-fold Vision retreats in Hong Kong. In 2018, the CCP issued stricter religious regulations, and on December 9, 2018, Pastor Wang Yi and over 100 fellow workers were arrested. In 2020, the promise of "one country, two systems" during Hong Kong's handover was replaced by the "Hong Kong National Security Law," which led to the termination of the Three-fold Vision retreats. In Pastor Hong's articles, one can see the joy of overcoming difficulties amid ups and downs. Particularly in 2017, when all previous retreat attendees were blacklisted, warned, under house arrest, or intercepted and unable to attend, God prepared 150 new first-time participants.
Despite the retreats’ abrupt ending, I believe these four Three-fold Vision retreats were especially meaningful because they captured the crucial moment before the darkness fell by gathering like-minded people of the Three-fold Vision globally. The Three-fold Vision is not just CMI's vision; it has become the vision and direction embraced by mainland China's house churches. Through these retreats, the vision united like-minded people from across the country. Even though the overall environment today in mainland China seems to have returned to a state of isolation reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution, for Korean missionaries or any missionary who can't obtain visas, the most painful thing is being unable to return to the churches we consider as family and the harvest fields we consider home. However, God's word is not bound. Like the story of mashed potato - although we can't pick up a whole potato, it can still seep into every believer's home.
Today, as we commemorate the second decade since Pastor Jonathan Chao's passing, how should we remember him through actions? We are about to publish a quarterly journal, Gospel! Culture! Kingdom! in electronic format for circulation in mainland China. When Pastor Chao founded CMI, he summarized the Three-fold Vision as the direction Chinese churches should strive for. While few responded to his call for the Three-fold Vision during his lifetime, twenty years later, many Chinese churches have embraced it. However, implementing the Three-fold Vision, whether by tracing historical context or developing current strategies and future directions, is urgently needed. Because the world has experienced dramatic changes over the past twenty years, we face a crucial opportunity to cultivate fertile ground for the Three-fold Vision.
Liang Qichao's second saying is, "The tip of the pen directly points to the conscience.” May we, through today's advanced technology, use our "pen" through the power of the Holy Spirit to point directly to the conscience of every church and Chinese believer. Hebrews 4:12-16 says: "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Finally, may we "approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
We look forward to your participation in the promotion and realization of the Three-fold Vision in various forms.
Dr. Yu Chen serves as a senier research fellow at Christianity and China Research Center in Taipai. ↩︎