Harmsel, Wayne Ten. The Registered Church in China: Flourishing in a Challenging Environment. In Studies in Chinese Christianity, edited by Carol Lee Hamrin and G. Wright Doyle. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2021.
This volume supplies essential information about China’s registered churches by someone who served as a missionary among them for a dozen years.
Introduction
Most literature about the Protestant church in China concentrates upon unregistered or “house” churches, to the neglect of the “official” or “registered” churches working with the government-sponsored “Two Councils” or “Two Committees” – the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Wayne Ten Harmsel seeks to redress that imbalance, provide essential information about the registered churches, and correct some mistaken impressions that have dominated the narrative about these congregations.
The Introduction explains the rise of the rift between unregistered and registered churches in China, beginning with the breakdown of the missionary consensus in China in the late nineteenth-century. Most missionaries were evangelicals (often called “fundamentalists” then), but thousands of new workers from the West came from the “Social Gospel” movement among Protestants. They formed the Western component of what Daniel Bays, in A New History of Christianity in China, called “The Sino-Foreign Protestant Establishment,” (SFPE) composed of Chinese educated in mission universities and affiliated with “mainline” mission churches and organizations like the YMCA.
In the 1920s, a sharp cleavage between these two wings of the Protestant movement in China took place. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the government formed the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and required that all Protestants join it. Those in the “liberal” wing cooperated, but the evangelicals mostly refused to join. Especially at first, but also in the following decades, evangelical Christians pastors often suffered harsh treatment by the government, with leaders of the TSPM playing a major role in their persecution.
Ill feelings from those years, and the dominance of liberal theology in the TSPM until recently, left a lasting legacy of mistrust and even hostility that has influenced the views of many leaders in the unregistered churches, while the mostly evangelical missionaries who began to arrive in China under the “Opening and Reform” movement initiated by Deng Xiaoping largely worked with the “house” churches. They, in turn, influenced the reporting on the TSPM back to their countries, especially the United States.
In recent decades, however, the situation has changed. Aside from its top leaders, most of the pastors and members of the TSPM are now evangelicals whose theology matches that of “house” churches. They are not driven by the old animosities between the TSPM and unregistered churches; they only want to serve God and his church in China and have chosen to work in and with the TSPM as the best way to do that.
As a missionary of the Christian Reformed Church in America, Wayne Ten Harmsel lived and worked in China from 2006 to 2017, and took extended trips there in 2018 and 2019, during which he visited TSPM churches all over China. He met dozens of pastors, elders, and other leaders, thus broadening his already extensive acquaintance with the registered churches among which he had worked in Beijing.
In his years of missionary service, Ten Harmsel engaged in a variety of activities, all with the approval of the TSPM and thus all legal in the eyes of the government. With others he “ran Summer Vacation Bible Schools, . . . led Timothy Leadership Training Conferences, and taught seminars for lay leaders in several churches. We also recruited and translated for foreign scholars lecturing at the seminary. We led many small group Bible studies, taught various courses at seminaries, and led Sunday School teacher training classes all over China” (xvi) – and more.
He thus speaks as an “insider” who is well acquainted with both the strengths and weaknesses of the TSPM churches and well informed about the recent changes since new government regulations were implemented in 2018. He has given us a book that provides essential information, mostly balanced and fair, about a major portion of the Protestant movement in today’s China. His sources include not only his own experience, but dozens of interviews with TSPM pastors and lay leaders, as well as careful reading in the relevant literature.
Each chapter focuses on one aspect of the registered churches. To add a personal note and to give readers a “feel” for what it was like to travel in China during his years there and on extensive trips in 2018-2019, he opens each chapter with a brief extract from his journal.
The Introduction includes a summary of its contents and lays out its basic approach, namely, asking and then answering the key questions that surround the life and work of the registered churches and the main criticisms that have been levelled against them.[1]
Chapter 1 “We Are Christ’s Church”
The author begins this chapter with notes from his visit to a TSPM church in Kunming in 2011. He found that this congregation had four worship services a week, all of them filled to capacity. Like thousands of other registered congregations around China, they engaged in all the usual ministry activities of a Protestant church, including Lord’s Day worship, with preaching, prayer, hymn singing, and a sermon. There were special services for festivals, Bible study and training courses, private devotions, and distribution of Christian literature among the members, as well as regular baptisms and celebrations of the Lord’s Supper.
Both in this church and elsewhere, the author learned that several “myths” about registered churches were just not true: pastors do not have to have their sermons approved by government officials; they may preach on the books of Daniel and the Revelation; and they may preach on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
As mentioned before, the theology of TSPM pastors is overwhelmingly evangelical. There is a committee of mature members in each congregation that checks the orthodoxy of sermons to make sure that their doctrine accords with the Bible. (The situation has changed since 2018, with more theologically liberal people in leadership.)
Furthermore, regular worship services are similar to those of many churches in the West, with the Lord’s Prayer, traditional hymns, choirs (often in robes), responsive reading, Scripture, and sometimes the recitation of the Apostles’ Creed. As in the West, youth services are less formal and feature more contemporary music.
Baptism is often done by sprinkling and is generally administered only to adults who have been through a period of testing and training, usually lasting a year. Only ordained clergy can administer baptism or lead the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
Since their buildings, though often seating a thousand or more, cannot accommodate the numbers of churchgoers, large churches usually have several – or even a hundred – smaller “meeting points” connected to them, where many more people attend, often in homes. These may be led by lay people, with pastors visiting on a rotating basis.
Ten Harmsel notes that the preaching is usually “problematic,” as it is in most Chinese churches around the world. Legalism and moralism, rather than God’s grace or an intimate union with Christ, form the central message. There are exceptions, of course.
Beliefs: As noted before, most TSPM pastors adhere to traditional, conservative, evangelical theology. They believe in the creation of the world by God; man’s fall into sin, and the incarnation and virgin birth of Jesus. “They profess [Christ’s] atonement for our sins, suffering and death on the cross, resurrection and ascension, rule at the right hand of God the Father, and coming again in judgment and glory, as well as the physical reality of Heaven and Hell, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers” (7). Ten Harmsel says he has never heard a theologically liberal sermon in a TSPM church.
On the other hand, like most liberal and many evangelical churches in the West, the TSPM does ordain women as clergy, simply as a practical expedient, to address the fact that two-thirds or more of those who attend church are women. Youth ministry is similarly hampered, and young people are generally too busy with school to attend anyway.
Though technically illegal, until 2018 Sunday school for children was carried on in most churches, but the endeavor suffers from inadequate materials, poor teacher training, and insufficient facilities.
Evangelism is done mostly at large and elaborate Christmas services, and throughout the year by individual believers.
Since the 1980s, more and more young people, and more and more educated professionals have swelled the ranks of churchgoers. They have been influenced by the new ideas that came in with came with increased foreigners after the “Opening and Reform” started, and especially by the exposure to thousands of Christian English teachers beginning in 1980.
Young people began to dare to doubt Communism, and more and more people no longer viewed Christianity as a “foreign religion.”
Organization
The author confesses that after a dozen years of working with registered churches, he still doesn’t understand their organization very well.
A few things are clear, however: The senior pastor plays a prominent place in the congregation. Seminary curricula resemble those of seminaries in the West, except that Chinese history, social issues, and politics are required courses. Students are taught that “patriotism is fundamental, and religious faith is secondary” (12). Students are given little training in pastoral care or pastoral theology.
The author describes the qualifications and functions of the two orders of ministry: chuandaoren (“preachers” or “interns,” roughly corresponding to deacons in the Anglican system), and pastors, and the stringent requirements for each.
“The intellectual and emotional maturity of the pastors and interns is impressively high,” in spite of the lack of preparation, low social prestige, and minimal salary. Chinese pastors aren’t in it for the money! Unlike in the past, current TSPM churches do not have elders or deacons, so pastoral leadership, worship, and preaching is in the hands of ordained pastors. Most of the work of everyday church ministry seems to be done by volunteers, the number of whom is impressively high.
Contrary to reports, it seems that all TSPM churches are funded by voluntary offerings from the people.
Next, we are introduced to the Two Associations (Committees) that govern the churches: Lianghui: The China Christian Council (CCC) and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, each with its own distinct role and function, though the top leadership tends to overlap.
Chapter 2 Changes and Challenges
This chapter opens with a brief description of the massive changes that took place in both society and church in the 1980s. For more than a decade, Christians had had to meet secretly, in small groups. As the government began opening churches, they asked, “Can we trust the government now? Should we associate with it as part of the TSPM?”
Different people and congregations made different decisions. Those who chose to join the TSPM did so in order to worship and do ministry openly and without government hindrance. They were usually not trusted by those who remained outside the TSPM. But, as noted before, a new generation of Christians and pastors has arisen. For many of these, the question is not how to relate to unregistered churches, but how to meet the pressing demands of huge numbers of people flocking to their churches.
For both registered and unregistered churches, the main problem is the cults that have sought to seduce Christians away from biblical truth and ensnare them in manipulative, coercive, and sometimes even violent rivals to true Christianity. For centuries, heterodox religious groups have threatened the stability of Chinese society. Sometimes they have come close to overthrowing the regime. For that reason, the Chinese government exercises strict control over religious organizations that refuse to register with the authorities and that do not belong to the five authorized organized religions (Buddhism, Daoism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Islam), each of which has its own government-sponsored oversight body.
These cults can be very aggressive, even trying to lure church members into their societies, which are usually secret and claim exclusive authority, with a strong leader who often also has political ambitions.
A second challenge for churches, registered and unregistered, is the shortage of qualified pastors and Bible scholars. For a variety of reasons, there are far too few pastors. Often, one pastor must care for more than one thousand parishioners. They are also poorly trained in the Bible and theology. The result is that the vast majority of churchgoers don’t really understand the Bible and can’t share their faith cogently with unbelievers. Furthermore, the lack of training in practical theology, including pastoral care and especially matters of marriage and family, means that pastors are ill-equipped to help couples who struggle in the new social environment, which, as in the West, has little regard for biblical, or even traditional Chinese, norms of family life.
Since pastors aren’t trained in preaching that leads to spiritual growth, many lay people complain of a low spiritual state in their church. Pastors are lonely and burnt out, with few resources to encourage them in their arduous task.
Meanwhile, unregistered churches usually offer better preaching, more lively worship, small group fellowship, and ministries to young people. They are growing, often at the expense of the TSPM congregations.
The author describes other challenges as well, noting both negative and positive developments. Overall, the main challenge is how to be relevant to society, especially how to combat materialism and consumerism; collapsing sexual standards; the breakdown of marriages; the lure of success, money, and power; and the all-pervasive influence of the Internet.
For a more recent look at the registered church in China, see the Autumn 2020 issue of the ChinaSource Quarterly.[2]
Chapter 3 Church-State Relations – Who’s in Charge?
After briefly surveying the history of the relationships between the government and Christian churches, which tended to be marked by domination by the government and resistance by the church, the author describes the recent situation. He uses Karsten Vala’s paradigm of “domination-negotiation” to explain how the government continues to seek domination through force or control by the Two Associations. Ten Harmsel outlines the distinct functions and roles of these two, as described before, with a bit more detail.
In general, the Christian Council, run mostly by pastors, governs religious and church activities, including training of leaders, while the TSPM governs the relationship of the churches to the state and to society, and it is a Party organization. Formerly under the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA), the TSPM now comes under the purview of the United Front Work Department, a Party organ. The UFWD exercises more stringent control than SARA did.
Communist ideology insists upon atheism, in direct conflict with Christian faith. The Party intends to control all of society, while the church tries to remain independent of government control over the most important aspects of Christian life. After the Mao era, the churches tried to negotiate a way to have more space and freedom to operate within the government’s atheistic ideology. They could do this because, for the most part, the government was willing to tolerate limited liberty by the churches to engage in strictly religious activities inside approved buildings, under approved personnel, at approved times, and in approved ways.
While members and leaders of unregistered churches refuse to have anything to do with the government, and accuse registered churches of compromise or worse, registered church leaders insist that they do not compromise the essentials of biblical Christianity. They are only giving in on secondary matters in order to continue to engage in their primary tasks of worship, teaching, and building Christian fellowship; they even do evangelism, though discreetly, as noted above.
Since new regulations came into force under the vigorously Marxist leadership of Xi Jinping, however, churches have seen their freedom of action greatly reduced, and government intrusion has grown. The national flag is displayed in the church building or on the grounds, the national anthem must be sung, political teaching must take place, and some churches have been closed down.
In recognition of new realities, Ten Harmsel proposes a new paradigm for understanding church-state relations: domination and circumvention. Often, church leaders would try to get around regulations by calling things by different names: Sunday school was termed nursery school, a sermon was a lecture, etc. Sometimes, church leaders simply ignore government directives as long as possible, counting on the sheer difficulty of governing so many Christians with so few government personnel.
Chapter 4 A New Reality
The “New Reality” is the set of new regulations that went into effect in 2018. How have these changed the life of the registered churches in China?
Ten Harmsel opens with an entry in his journal describing a visit to large registered church, then provides a good summary of the new regulations. Article by article, he explains what they say and what they seem to mean, and how they might affect Christian activity.
In general, these regulations are similar to the long-familiar Document 19, which governed Christian activity before. There are some new emphases, but the basic principles remain: The church may conduct “normal” religious functions within the physical spaces that have been approved. Sunday school, always illegal but often allowed, is now really illegal.
In particular, foreign involvement in Chinese churches has been severely restricted, so that almost no foreigners can work with churches as they did when the author served in Beijing. Unregistered churches now face much more stringent controls. As for registered churches, it seems that the rural ones will feel the effects of the new regulations a bit more than those in the cities.
Some terms have been altered in possibly ominous ways. The new categories are “inside the system” and “outside the system,” referring to groups not by whether they have registered with the government but by who they are.
The author thinks that heterodox sects may be the special targets of this new categorization. But who decides which group is “orthodox”? How can an atheist government make such religious adjudications? Ten Harmsel sees this as both anomalous and ominous.
Finding a Way Around
Chinese citizens have always been adept at finding ways to circumvent government control. So, though Bibles are not now sold legally online, you can get them in various ways. Pastors can still post sermons online.
The chapter concludes with a stirring quotation from a pastor who says that the main task now, pastors say, is not to focus on the restrictions they face, but on their duty to preach the gospel and make disciples of Christ in a spirit of love. They must concentrate on Jesus and what he calls them to do in this world. They expect that God will see them through this, as he has in the past.
Chapter 5 The Debate over Sinicization
Sinicization is the natural process by which non-Chinese societies, or in this case, religions, come under the influence of Chinese culture. Missionaries typically refer to this as contextualization, and everyone sees it as inevitable, predictable, and a good thing. . . . In China, however, Sinicization has become a broiling controversy because, ironically, the molding of Christianity into Chinese culture seems to be emerging, not in its normal progression, from a grassroots, gradual change, but rather from a top-down, government-launched initiative . . . [by which] the government has determined that it should take the initiative and assertively mold Christianity into its culture. [Some argue that] the government has launched this drive in order to mold Christianity in such a way that it is not only supportive of Chinese socialism, but, more seriously, that it is intended to change the very nature and heart of Christianity”(60).
The author points out the theological roots of this program in the campaign undertaken by the late Bishop Ding Guangxun (K.H. Ting) called “Theological Reconstruction” “to facilitate the adaptation of Christianity to socialist society.” Ding’s agenda drew criticism particularly from his radical reinterpretation of the doctrine of justification and his emphasis on “God is love” to the detriment of the doctrines of sin and judgment. The church’s message became one of social responsibility and work ethic.
This campaign failed in the face of massive opposition by the pastors and people of TSPM churches.
Sinicization has also produced great controversy, with some seeing it as an insidious government plot and others seeing it as a natural adaptation of Christianity so that its testimony becomes truly Chinese.
Some supporters view it as a chance for churches to think about, and engage in, social transformation, so that their faith finds expression in tangible contributions to society. Others welcome the challenge to point out similarities between traditional Chinese culture and the Bible, and to use examples from Chinese history and culture in preaching. Many support the new insistence upon independence from Western churches. The author seems to agree with those who are glad for the opportunity for the church to work more closely with the government in social transformation, and to draw clear lines between the orthodox churches and heterodox cults.
The main thing is that pastors do not intend to acquiesce in any alterations of basic Christian beliefs or an inaccurate translation of the Bible. They will obey the law, but not at the expense of their allegiance to Christ.
Chapter 6 The Great Divide
The ongoing distinctions – and divisions – between registered and unregistered churches receive excellent coverage in this balanced chapter.
Ten Harmsel traces the history back to the early days of the communist government, when churches had to decide whether to join the TSPM or remain unregistered and thus illegal. Things got worse later when, after the Cultural Revolution, many pastors who had gone to prison for their refusal to join the TSPM again faced that choice and decided to remain outside the system, often to face harsh persecution that was abetted by the TSPM.
Relations became less tense around 2000, though some unregistered church leaders, especially in the cities, have become more open in their opposition to the government and also to the TSPM, deepening the rift.
Today, the situation is quite complex, and often different from the usual narrative of Western media. In general, individual Christians do not suffer persecution, and, in general TSPM churches are not forced to compromise their faith.
“Persecution” from the government tends to focus more on buildings: These may be demolished, shut down, or have crosses removed from them. In addition, unusually outspoken leaders were imprisoned in 2018, when four large unregistered churches were forced to disband.
Relations between registered and unregistered churches are still marked by ignorance, prejudice, and tension, though leaders on both sides often collaborate and cooperate on common projects.
The author markedly enhances our understanding of the relationship between the two by allowing pastors of registered churches to “speak out,” offering illuminating quotations from many of them.
“The registered churches continue to resent the unregistered churches for their unwillingness to register, for what they see as unregistered churches’ constant efforts to pull members away from registered churches, and for their determination to accuse the registered churches of being politically motivated” and of not preaching orthodox theology (75).
Registered church leaders also accuse unregistered churches of being unruly in worship, exposing a vulnerability to intrusion by cults, seeking to steal members from their churches, expressing vocal criticism of registered churches, encouraging hasty baptism of seekers, and lacking in integrity in the use of money, much of it coming from overseas. The author notes that most of these charges apply especially to cults, but “house” churches are not totally without these faults.
Positive signs: On the other hand, many registered and unregistered church leaders do work together cooperatively, helping each other out as much as possible. He quotes pastors who lament the misunderstandings between the two sides and call for more communication. And he observes that when CoVid caused them all to shut down for a while, their online messages were basically the same.[3]
Chapter 7 Strengths and Weaknesses
“Nearly everyone agrees that the registered church in China has entered a new and difficult era. The government is more and more insistent on claiming complete control over all aspects of society, and this includes the church. Under these circumstances how does the registered church go on? . . . The pastors’ responses were almost all ecclesiological and theological rather than political” (82).
This chapter evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the registered churches as they seek to serve Christ in this increasingly difficult environment.
Weaknesses
One major weakness is “the inability of the church to meet the changing needs of Christians” (82). Younger attenders want more than elementary sermons and repetitive music straight out of the 19th century. They seek answers to life’s questions for themselves and for society, and desire to have role models for spiritual growth. Sadly, pastors aren’t equipped to provide this kind of spiritual nourishment, and, in any case, there aren’t, and won’t be, enough pastors to serve these large congregations.
Another weakness is the lack of meaningful community. The churches are just too large for people to get to know each other. Though some are beginning to form small groups, unlike unregistered churches, they have no history of meeting in small groups or for deep sharing and intimacy. Progress is slow.
The busyness of life makes it almost impossible for pastors and people to engage in deep spiritual discipleship. Nor are pastors equipped to offer counsel and practical answers to questions about work, marriage, finances, grief, etc.
Pastors lack companionship and cooperation among each other, so most suffer from loneliness and isolation. One result is that more and more are falling into sexual immorality.
Strengths
Still, there are many genuine strengths.
The large numbers are a sign of at least some spiritual vitality and proclamation of the truth. Chinese churches are rightly known for their zeal for evangelism, and this is true also of registered churches. And they are going beyond a simple “Jesus saves” message to sharing about how Christ can transform all of life.
As before, purity and intensity of faith mark all Christians, including those in registered churches. They love God and each other. As with unregistered churches, faith is often not matched with much knowledge of the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, but there has been some slow growth.
The author greatly admires the resilience of these Christians as they face unprecedented changes in society and constant pressure from the government.
They are also becoming more and more involved in society, seeking to meet the practical needs of those around them. There is more theological reflection, and recent seminary graduates seem to exhibit “higher levels of theological, social, and emotional maturity than previously” (86).
Finally, they have hope that God will enable them to be faithful into the future, and they hold to a more conservative and evangelical faith than did the previous generation of pastors.
Conclusion
So, what of the future? How will the registered church survive, much less thrive, in coming years?
Ten Harmsel responds to this key question with powerful and inspiring quotes from pastors. They see a bright future for the church because of the purity and intensity of the faith of the people and the promises of God’s presence and power. They believe that he is in control and will protect the church, come what may.
They admit to problems, however. One is the contentious relationship with unregistered churches, which does not seem to be abating.
Some believe that younger Christians, with their exposure to foreign conditions, will bring new vitality and that the number of believers will continue to grow until they reach a critical mass in society.
At the time of writing, the author could not say how Sinicization would impact the churches. It is possible that the government could really try to change the doctrines of Christianity, perhaps forcing a new synthesis of Christianity and traditional Chinese culture.
Furthermore, the government has stepped up its efforts to control the organization and life of the churches, including the meeting points, which now come under the supervision of the larger churches. More ominously, the state’s ability to use face recognition software enables it to control the actions of millions of individuals and to track their involvement in any group, including the church. The social credit system could conceivably lead to penalties for participation in Christian activities. Orwellian control is now possible.[4]
Still, Ten Harmsel detects little fear among Christians. They believe they are ready to face any future, confident in God’s care. “As many pastors said, the church in China is God’s church, and he will take care of it” (94).
An Appendix at the back of the book contains the full translated text of the Religious Affairs Regulations of 2018.
Evaluation
The Registered Church in China is an extremely informative and mostly encouraging book.
Like most Western Christians, because of the dearth of objective reports about the state-sanctioned churches, I have read mostly about the unregistered churches. This volume, filled with quotations from pastors, church leaders, and church members, has greatly widened my perspective and given me a much more positive understanding of this large section of Chinese Christianity.
Wayne Ten Harmsel’s long association with these churches, his ministry within the church, and his extensive interviews all infuse his study with both interest and authority. He knows what he is talking about, and he gives us direct communication from Chinese Christians.
Though brief, the book is comprehensive, well-organized, and well researched. The conversational style makes it easy to read, but the contents are not shallow. I recommend it as a necessary resource for understanding Christianity in China.
Let me close with the assessment from this author following a review in the ChinaSource Blog: Wayne Ten Harmsel’s book, The Registered Church in China: Flourishing in a Challenging Environment, is a must read for anyone who wishes to work with the registered church in China. This book should be a required primer for all who consider cross-cultural work whether with the registered church or the house church. (GAW)
Wright Doyle
Disclosure: Wright Doyle is co-editor of the Studies in Chinese Christianity series and read an early draft of this book.
[1] For an outstanding review of this book, see https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/blog-entries/the-registered-church-in-china-3/.
[2] (https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/chinasource-quarterlies/chinas-registered-church/).
[3] For more on how “house” church leaders view the registered churches, see https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/blog-entries/a-house-church-pastor-responds-to-chinas-registered-church/
[4] For more on how Christians must seek to navigate these difficult times, see https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/articles/the-church-in-china-living-in-babylon/