Author: 王建国 Wang Jianguo

We must first answer two simple questions.

First, if someone who had never encountered the Christian faith came to your church on Sunday, heard a sermon, earnestly listened and took notes, would he then be able to clearly know what the gospel of Christ is by the end of the service?

Second, when our brothers and sisters witness [for Christ] at their jobs or share about their faith in their circles of friends such that those friends and coworkers are willing to discuss matters of faith, how many of these brothers and sisters have enough faith in their church to say to their friends and workers, “Come to our church this weekend?”

The first stop on this trip to America was Charlottesville, Virginia. (The local Chinese affectionately call it “Xiatsun” for short, so I did as well, as “Charlottesville” has far too many syllables.) We were invited to a local PCA church called Trinity Presbyterian Church, hereafter referred to as “TPC.” There, I listened to the introductions of the various ministries, met with all of their elders, and got in contact with the person responsible for managing the Chinese overseas student ministry. These things were not unfamiliar to me as almost every 1000+ member church in America is like this and the churches in Korea easily outdo any of these churches in terms of buildings and ministries.

This September, I was able to visit several American churches and got quite a bit out of [the trip]. When I came back, I was inundated with the nitty-gritty of life, but I also knew that if I didn’t write something down, I would never get started. So starting today, I hope that you urge me to record what I saw and experienced, both to help precipitate my own thoughts and to help the churches around me expand their outlook.

Only after putting my faith in the Lord, did I realize that I have intelligence, but no wisdom. I have foresight, but not insight; am shrewd, but not smart; enlightened, but not civilized. Actually, when I become proud, I could not compare with Zhuge Liang’s humility. [Zhuge Liang was an ancient Chinese strategist and very famous historical figure.] He was advanced in knowledge and wisdom, but called himself孔明 (Kongming, or “slightly lit”). I, on the other hand, pretended that I could see through everything under the sun.