Being salt and light to influence society
Many Christians in China today are seeking to be salt and light in their communities and in society. But what does that look like? In the translated article below, originally posted on the mainland site Christian Times, the author summarizes a talk given by a pastor in Henan Province on the topic of being salt and light.
https://www.chinasource.org/resource-library/chinese-church-voices/being-salt-and-light-to-influence-society
Returning home with a degree and disillusionment
When Ethan Liu received his master’s degree from a British university, he thought it would be a ticket to success back home in China. Instead of enrolling in a two-year master’s program that would have cost $3,000 in China, Liu opted to spend $60,000 on a 12-month course abroad. Upon his return, the 28-year-old business management graduate spent hours scrolling through job listings in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. After an excruciating 10-month hunt, including dozens of interviews, Liu landed a job at one of the largest state-owned companies in the capital. The position came with a 4,000-yuan ($600) monthly salary — about half the average income in Beijing.
http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001154/chinese-grads-return-home-with-degrees-and-disillusionment
One in a billion video – Engineer
When Eric was deciding whether or not to turn down the high paying job of his dreams that would require lots of travel and likely impact his church life and marriage, he asked me for advice. I did not want to be the one to make such a big decision for him. It was challenging — I had been discipling him for the last year, training him up as a small group leader, seeing him grow to become a mature believer, and a capable leader — I wanted to say ‘Don’t take it! Don’t sell out! Don’t leave this ministry that you are really great at!’ And yet, I knew how much pressure he was facing from his family. He was everything to them. His success would be their success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c4ZSfM-r3w
Salary and job expectations unmet
Why fewer Chinese go east to prosper
In China’s second-tier cities, a battle is raging — a battle, that is, to attract new graduate talent. Despite being considered a step down from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou on the glamor and prestige scale, lesser-known names like Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Hefei, Changsha, Tianjin, Xi’an, and Chengdu hope to tempt the next cohort of university graduates to settle within their limits.
http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001164/Why%20Fewer%20Chinese%20Grads%20Go%20East%20to%20Prosper
Missionaries and bribes by R. Koteskey
This book is written for Missionaries serving in places where creative accounting is common. The background and resources would also be helpful for people returning to China. Missionaries and returnees often face situations in which bribes seem to be expected, and they are confused about what to do and may feel guilty whether they pay or don’t pay a bribe. This book contains eight chapters written by the author as well as ten appendices by other people. The book will not tell you what to do in every situation but you will find much useful information as well as questions to ask in order to reach a decision. You can download the book for free from this link: www.missionarycare.com/e-books.html
Trust at work: a study on faith and trust of protestant entrepreneurs in China
There is much talk about the trust crisis in China and the possible role of religion in rebuilding China’s moral order. This study is an attempt to examine religion’s impact on the emerging market economy in China, focusing on trust in business relations that might be generated by the Christian faith. Based on 43 in-depth interviews with Christian entrepreneurs in China, our study shows that the majority of our respondents tend to be: (1) more willing to be trustworthy after becoming Christians; (2) trusting people who share their faith more than others; (3) perceiving religious persons, regardless of what that religion is, as more trustworthy than the non-religious. Our study shows that religiosity is used by many Christian entrepreneurs as a category to guide their decision-making and that it is significant in stimulating and maintaining trust in and from others.
Note: This is an academic article of 10 pages
http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/7/12/136