The post-denominational era Chinese churches on the way towards unity.(Case study)
Publication: The Ecumenical Review
Publication Date: 01-JUL-08
Author: Mengfei, Gu The achievement of united worship in 1958 was unprecedented. Chinese churches were no longer divided by denominational walls, and Christians started to experience “how good and beautiful it is for brothers and sisters to dwell in harmony”. the China Christian Council was established in 1980 in order to help to meet the increasing need of the churches. CCC is an ecclesial organization which serves as the national organization for church ministries, offering its services to the churches in performance of their ministry. One of CCC’s significant purposes is to “uphold united worship; advocate mutual respect in matters of faith and worship,... Since the establishment of the CCC institutional denominations have not existed officially in China
All churches continue to participate actively in the Three-Self Movement;
In March, 1983, “The New Hymnal” was edited, finished and published. It was the first hymnal in Chinese church history which was suitable for the whole country. The book strove to uphold the principle of comprehensiveness on the basis of the fundamental oneness of faith. Among the collection of 400 hymns, 292 are widely known in the ecumenical churches and had been used in the past in various Chinese churches, 102 were composed – either the lyrics or melodies – by Chinese Christians and the other six hymns were newly translated. The content of the book expressed the CCC/TSPM concept that “we feel that eliminating sectarian prejudices does not imply that we must get rid of the varied treasures of the different traditions, but rather that we should gather them all into the abundance of our one Lord Jesus Christ.” 13 An additional revised hymnal is nearing completion and will be published in the near future.
Another important document is the catechism, or the “100 Questions and Answers on the Christian Faith”, that was edited and published in July 1983. The editing committee “followed the policy of showing mutual respect for the opinions of others, and seeking common ground while maintaining our difference, without forcibly demanding uniformity where various traditions still hold differing views”, because “we are aware that the fundamental source of our faith is grounded in God’s revelation, and not in edicts pronounced by any human being.” 14
In its sixth chapter, “Church”, it indicates that one of the characteristics of the church is “catholicity” which means “all those throughout the world who belong to Christ Jesus belong to the one Church, and should not have divisions or indulge in mutual discrimination”; meanwhile, the church “has its own special gifts and responsibilities, and each has its own characteristic features.” To the different traditions on faith and practice, it advocates “on the presupposition that there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God, where traditions are not uniform, there should be mutual respect, with uniformity neither demanded nor imposed on others” following the biblical teaching “accept one another, as Christ accepted us.” 15
Because the previous denominational church regulations and orders were not helpful in the post-denominational situation, the Chinese Christian Church Order was considered and drafted beginning in the 1980s. In 1992, the trial version of Chinese Christian Church Order was promulgated, and in 1997, the revised version was brought officially into effect.
The basic content of the order is in accordance with the teachings of the Bible, the inheritance of church tradition and the life of the church ecumenical, and it is integrated with the actual context of the churches in China today. It has its own Chinese characteristics, and affirms that “in matters of faith, tradition and liturgy there should be mutual respect and mutual acceptance, not attacks on one another and forced unification. At the same time, efforts should be made to maintain a heart of unity according to the leading of the Holy Spirit”; however, churches “may not independently formulate a church order under a denominational name.” 16
In January 2008, the latest revised Church Order was approved by the joint standing committee of the CCC/TSPM. Compared to the previous one, the articles titled “Chinese Church should be built in love, and be unity in Jesus Christ”, “the Chinese Church insists on united worship … on the basis of Three-Self principle”, “the Chinese Church should seek the common ground and where differences remain, respect one another, accept one another, and not attack and divide one another on faith, traditions and rituals” were added and stated explicitly.
The Rev. Dr Sam Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, visited China in 2006; at that time, he valued highly the post-denominational church through his own witness:
when we think about Chinese Christians, we think about the future, because more and more Christians are realizing that if we are to live the prayer of Jesus Christ that all should be one, then we need to be post-denominational in character … as a post-denominational church, you are in a class of your own, and we want to learn more from you. 24
This kind of expectation was also made strongly at the National Christian Conference in 1922: "we confidently hope that the Church of China thus united will be able to serve as an impetus to the speedy healing of the broken body of Christ in the West." 27