Four Decades, Four Narratives: Political Disruption and Contemporary Mission Discourse on China

Abstract

This article brings China’s current clampdown on foreign Christian activity into perspective by showing how the interplay between shifting political winds and the developing internal capacity of the indigenous church have given rise to four dominant mission narratives. Viewed in broader historical context, these narratives’ inability to account for political disruption calls into question the covenantal meta-narrative that equates the Gospel’s advance with progress and political modernization. Other narratives, including those of political leaders, need to be recognized as having a place in the larger missio Dei meta-narrative.