Why Christianity Has Been Pushed Underground in China?

China's Christians Practice Their Faith in Underground Churches

Millions of Chinese identify themselves with Christianity a reality that President Xi’s administration is fighting hard against. The number has increased gradually and this is seen as a threat to the government which is officially atheist and its power is being put to test.

Under the presidency of Xi Jinping, the government launched a number of initiatives to control and at times limit Christian followers. Chinese Communist Party (C.C.P.) is up in arms to control and fight Christianity. The government constraints and controls religious freedom. Why is the government determined to rob people of their free will to worship?

We are blessed that we have the freedom of worship to our Lord anywhere, anytime and anyhow with no one monitoring of our doings unlike In China where Christians have been pushed to worship underground. China ranked 10th as a country where it is most hard and risky to practice Christianity according to Open Doors, a U.S. based Christian non-profit that traces the persecution of Christians worldwide.

The Lie

Psalms 103:2-3 says, Praise be to the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases.

The Chinese government has been persuading Christians to pull down the pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ and replace them with the photographs of president Xi Jinping.They have also gone ahead to tell them about how Jesus won’t drag them out of hardships or cure their ailments which we all know it’s a lie from the devil!

Our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we have asked for or imagined.

The Christianity crackdown

Over the past 4 decades, there has been a tremendous increase in Christian believers and this has not gone down so well with the government. The Chinese Communist Party is on guard lest Christians invade the country and that’s why they have opted to restrict and put a barrier to free worship. With the crackdown this is what they’ve opted to do against the Christians;

1. The Communist party was very daring in visiting Christians households in Jiangxi Province, removing by force dozens of Christian symbols and images of Jesus from their living rooms and substituting them with the communist president.

2. Bible online sellers like Amazon has been banned so as to suppress Christianity.

3.The government has destroyed churches under president Xi Jinping.The blowing up of the Christian megachurch with dynamite shows how the government has no respect for religious freedom or human rights.

4. Churches across the Zhejiang province were forced to remove their crosses and the government set new limitations that believers must have government approval.

5. Detention of believers, hindering entry to places of worship and interfering with gatherings has forced many Christians to go underground.

6. The Chinese government has actively and openly been popularizing Buddhism and Taoism, as well folk religions while restricting the spread of Christianity.

7. Preachers have also been coerced to show their loyalty to the communist party and have taken to applauding president Xi Jinping and combining party propaganda into their teachings.

8.The new law that took effect on February 2, 2018, says will charge penalties on organizers or unofficial religious happenings and stop them from basic duties like receiving handouts, providing spiritual information online, or teaching children.

9. The Chinese government has lifted up the presidential term limits-you guessed it right on what this means for the church. Lifting up the term limit is a way of allowing the Communist party to suppress the spread of Christianity.

This has forced many Christians to go underground and some members are reluctant to confess their faith. Forcing the removal of crosses from the churches where the preachers could not agree to it, they opted to go underground for the fear of further punishment.

Acts 1:8 says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

“By 2030, China will almost certainly have more Christians than any other country and the Communist party is very alarmed.” Says Fenggang Yang.

With this power given unto us, we can change anything and even make things happen. Let us unite as Christians and pray for our brothers and sisters in China and every corner of the world where Christians are being attacked for practicing their faith.

As Christians, we are blessed to have the Holy Spirit to empower and give us power and authority. In countries where we have the freedom of worship, let’s spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ even to the unchurched.Share the word of God to everyone who cares to listen and save their souls from death.

January 24, 2016July 1, 2022

Small Projects Often Mean Greater Innovation

Small projects often embody more innovation than larger more costly or high profile ones.

Innovation is a wide concept that includes improvements in processes, products and services. It involves incorporating new ideas which generate changes that help solve the needs of a company and so increase its competitiveness. That’s hardly big news. But what may be surprising to some is that innovation has itself, well, innovated and it isn’t what it used to be.

New materials and energy, design approaches, as well as advances in digital technology and big data, are creating a wave of innovation within the construction industry. These new ideas are increasingly often tested and proven on smaller and agiler projects. Investing time and money is well spent on these ideas and technical improvements can then be used on large-scale developments.

Here are three exciting small projects:

Vanke Pavilion - Milan Expo 2015 / Daniel Libeskind — Vanke Pavilion – Milan Expo 2015 / Daniel Libeskind

VANKE PAVILION Milan, Italy — VANKE PAVILION
Milan, Italy

1. Vanke Pavilion – Milan Expo 2015

The corporate pavilion for Vanke China explores key issues related to the theme of the Expo Milano 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”.

Situated on the southeast edge of the Lake Arena, the 800-square meter pavilion appears to rise from the east, forming a dynamic, vertical landscape.

The original tiling pattern would have resulted in thousands of ceramic tiles of different sizes and shapes. The resulting complexity and lack of repetition could have led to high costs and a longer erection time.

Working with Architects Studio Libeskind, Format Engineers (Engineering Designers with backgrounds in structural engineering, coding, mathematics, and architecture) changed the pattern from thousands of different tiles to less than a dozen and simplified the backing structure generating huge cost savings. Format Engineers also proposed ‘slicing’ of the building and then fabrication of the primary structure of steel ribs using low tech flat steel plate elements. These were then used in a series of long span portalised frames reminiscent of the ribs and spars in traditional boat building resulting in a column-free area for the display of Chinese Cultural Heritage.

The frame was built to a budget and without difficulty ahead of the neighboring Expo buildings.

Building Size
12 meters high
740 mq gross floor area (exhibition, service & VIP levels)
130 mq roof terrace

Architect: Studio Libeskind

Engineer: Format Engineers

2. Oxford Brookes Rain Pavilion

The Rain Pavilion is an urban forest sculpture forming the front entrance to Oxford Brookes University’s Architecture Faculty.

“Rain Pavilion artwork is a sensory experience for the community.”

The complex form required extensive wind modeling and comprehensive structural analysis within a generative 3d model. This was allied with Format Engineers in-house code for the self-organization of voids and their subsequent redistribution.

.At each stage of the design process different modeling and analysis techniques were used to exploit the form and to optimise the structure. The considerable challenges posed by the slenderness of the structure and its dynamic behavior under wind were resolved by combining Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) (a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical analysis and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows) with a generative design environment. Conceptual design introduced the ideas of tubular stems and folded steel canopies, both of which were perforated by circular holes arranged to allow the interplay of light and water through the structure. The voids were generated using a self-organizing process.

Grasshopper (a graphical algorithm computer 3-D modeling tool) was used to produce a mesh that could include the voids in both the stems and the petals.

The Rain Pavilion is designed to celebrate the sound of rain, and the noise of water interacting with different sections of the installation is part of the experience of passing through it. The structure has a design life of five years and can be transported to other locations.

Architect: Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK

Engineer: Format Engineers

3. KREOD Pavilion

The KREOD pavilions were first erected on the London Greenwich Olympic site in 2012. Easily rearranged, three pod-like pavilions were formed with a wooden structural framework comprised of an open hexagonal composition.

Standing three meters tall, each double-curved wooden shell enclosed a footprint of 20 square meters, totaling 60 square meters. A waterproof tensile membrane sealed the interior from the elements fully portable with demountable joints, the individual components can be stacked for efficient transportation.

Chun Qing Li the architect required a temporary exhibition or function space that could be erected and demounted mostly by hand and by untrained staff. The quality of finish needed to echo that of handmade furniture and had to be low cost and quick to erect. The continuously changing double curved form of the enclosure meant that in theory, every nodal connection was different. A conventional bolted solution would have cost hundreds of pounds per fixing. Format Engineers suggestion of a ‘reciprocal’ jointed timber grid shell required standard bolts which equated to a fraction of the normal cost. It also allowed the structure to be built from simple and light flat timber elements.

The structure used Kebony timber throughout, a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood. As this material had not previously been used in a structural context Format Engineers undertook load testing of the material and the connections at the University of Cambridge. The timber was fabricated using CNC routing (a computer controlled cutting machine) allowing a highly accurate fit between members and basic erection on site.

Architect: Chun Qing Li

Engineer: Format Engineers

November 16, 2015July 1, 2022

9 Architectural Projects That Busted the Bank Vaults

Since the beginning of recorded time, construction projects have always been a major part of history. In fact, grandiose construction projects to erect the architectural visions of Pharaohs, Kings, Rulers, and Monarchs was used as a way to put the wealth and power of leaders on display for all of the people their lands to see.

Not surprisingly, all of these projects came at a great cost to the leaders that initiated them.

The Great Pyramid at Giza is one example of a grand architectural vision. This massive structure was built under the leadership of Egyptian pharaoh Khufu in the 26th century B.C.E. By the time work on the structure was completed, Knufu spent a great deal of his kingly fortunes on the project. According to sources, it is estimated that this project would cost more than $5 billion dollars to duplicate today.

Since then, there have been many other building projects that have cost significant amounts of money to build, some that were so grand in their scope they effectively broke the bank.

We will examine more of these projects here.

1. The Three Gorges Dam

This massive Chinese construction project took place over the Yangtze River in the Hubei province of Central China. This scope of this project was enormous and came with quite a bit of controversy due to the changes to the environment that were needed to make the project become a reality. When this project was approved in 1992, the Vice Premier at the time, Zoa Jiahua quoted the project cost at $8.35 billion to complete. In 2006, when the project was officially ended, the total cost ended up being closer to $37 billion dollars, or roughly four times more than the original estimate.

2. The Ryungyong Hotel

The ground broke for this 105 story luxury tourist hotel in 1987 in North Korea, despite the country being closed off to foreign visitors. After investing approximately $750 million dollars in the structure, the project came to an abrupt end when the Soviet Union, North Korea’s major economic supporter, collapsed. Today, the building remains unfinished and is recognised as being the tallest unoccupied structure in the entire world.

3. The MOSE Project

This building project was originally intended to help control flooding in Venice. However, it primarily served as a project to sink money into. The original budget for the project was $1.7 billion dollars but jumped to $8.1 billion over time. None of the work that was completed did anything to prevent flooding. Many people involved in the initial construction were arrested on bribery and corruption charges in connection with the project. Venice continues to have problems with flooding and sinking.

4. The Mirabel Airport

This airport was originally opened to serve Montreal, Canada in mid-1970. The Government seized 100,000 acres of land and displaced thousands of residents from their homes for the land that was needed to construct the airport. The cost of the land was $140 million dollars. This amount was eight times more than the costs that were originally projected. Once construction on the airport began, the price skyrocketed to a total cost of around $276 million dollars. Adding further pressure to the Mirabel Airport project was the fact that the Montreal-Dorval International Airport was located within a short driving distance away. While this airport did operate for a number of years, it ceased operations in 2004. In late 2014, demolition of the site began which added another $15 million dollars of cost to the failed project.

5. The Sagrada Familia

There is no doubt that building a Cathedral is no small undertaking. For the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, it is a project that has advanced at a snail’s pace and with a hefty price tag that can not even be calculated due to how slow the project has been to finish. Construction on the house of worship began in 1883. In 2015, it still needs to be completed. In 2011, the President of the Building Committee said that it might be completed in 2026 – 143 years after construction originally began.

6. The Millennium Dome

This is a London based project that has a happy ending, despite a shaky, and very expensive start. When construction of the Millennium Dome began in the 1990’s, the original budget of 758 million pounds was exceeded when it ended up costing 789 million pounds, so it lost money from day one, even without including maintenance costs. However, in 2007 the structure was sold to AEG and renamed the 02 Arena, so some of the initial investment money was recouped. This site is now a top venue for sporting events and concerts in the London, UK area.

7. The Channel Tunnel

Sometimes referred to as the “Chunnel” is a tunnel in the English Channel that links the United Kingdom with France. It’s not surprising that a project of this scope would cost a lot of money and time to complete successfully. In total, it took six years of work and $21 billion dollars to finish. In financial costs, it ended up being 80% more expensive than originally forecast. This privately funded project caused many of the initial investors to lose most of their investment due to over run costs. Today, their diligence to the project has made it widely successful. Hundreds of millions of people use the Chunnel trains to commute between France and the UK, with a travel time of around 35 minutes.

8. The Central Artery Tunnel Project

In 1991, Boston began construction of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, also known as the Big D, to provide commuters with an alternative to using the main highway through the City. This project is one of the most expensive construction projects in the history of the United States with a ‘real’ cost of $22 billion dollars once interest on the funding for the project is paid off in 2038. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project included the construction of roads, bridges, and even a tunnel that was built under the Boston Harbor. While this project did have the original effect it was supposed to have by alleviating traffic congestion in parts of Boston, overall traffic in the areas where the Big D serves has also increased.

9. The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is another example of a building project that came with many personal and financial losses during its construction in the early 1900’s. The project was hexed with obstacles including outbreaks of deadly malaria and mudslides that, according to hospital records, resulted in over 5,600 labourers deaths. Today, the Panama Canal remains a key part of the shipping industry between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. In 2014, work at the Canal ground to a halt after a dispute between the Panama Canal Authority and a conglomerate of European construction companies disagreed who would pay for a $1.16 billion overrun in costs. All parties involved in the dispute agreed on stop-gap funding that put the project back in action. In 2015, expansion work on the Panama Canal continues and the overall costs of the project continue to rise.

October 21, 2015July 1, 2022

Construction Begins on Sip Sports Center in Suzhou

Images: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)

Construction of the SIP Sports Centre has started in the Chinese city of Suzhou. The sports centre in Suzhou Industrial Park was designed by Ham burg’s star architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partner, and has been scheduled for completion in 2017.

The sports venue will be surrounded by residential quarters, a hotel and a leisure district offering community sports facilities and public spaces.

The development is being funded jointly by Sizhou City and Jiangsu Regional authorities and when complete, the complex will form part of the larger Suzhou Industrial Park.

Image: von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (GMP)

Hamburg Architects Designs for China’s Garden City

A spokesperson for architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners said: “Suzhou is famous in China for its landscape design, and the masterplan for this new sports park is based on this tradition and reputation. In a modern interpretation of the city’s traditional gardens, an informally designed park landscape flows around the podiums that rise in straight lines from the surrounding streets and support the stadiums.”

The beautiful conspicuous undulating roofs that on all three stadiums make the ensemble into a landmark visible from afar. As visitors walk along the curved pathways, various viewpoints open up to pavilion architecture, stunning water features, and a breathtaking landscape. Its curved silhouette stands out from the urban environment, blending harmoniously with the landscape and the park at the Xietang River. In addition, the succinct character of the stadiums is reinforced by a uniform faÃƒ§ade design. The faÃƒ§ades of both stadiums and the podiums are structured by horizontal lines, which follow the shape of the buildings in elegant curves.

The roof of the covered 15,000 capacity multi-purpose hall located to the north-east of the site is supported by v-shaped columns which provide a rhythm to the transparent glass faÃƒ§ade of the hall.

The Heart of the Community

The multi-functional sports centre will include three national-standard venues includes a 45,000-seat stadium, an indoor pool with 3,000 seats and a 15,000-seat indoor arena. With its wide range of functions, the park has been designed to ensure a permanent and sustainable flow of visitors.

The facility is well connected to the Metro and offers the Suzhou residents not only a park, but also various shops for day-to-day needs, thus creating an attractive centre for the new part of the city.

October 13, 2015July 1, 2022

34 Thought Provoking Change Management Quotes

Change is good. It’s also often hard. The status quo can be so much more comfortable. But to succeed in business, you must run toward change. Companies most likely to be successful in making change work to their advantage are the ones that no longer view change as a discrete event to be managed, but as a constant opportunity to evolve the business

Here are 34 thought provoking change management quotes:

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change — Charles Darwin
One key to successful leadership is continuous personal change. Personal change is a reflection of our inner growth and empowerment — Robert E. Quinn
Change before you have to — Jack Welch
You must embrace change before change erases you.
— Rob Liano
Change before you have to — Jack Welch
Too few leaders have the emotional fortitude to take responsibility for failure.
— Paul Gibbons, The Science of Successful Organisational Change: How Leaders Set Strategy, Change Behaviour, and Create an Agile Culture
People don’t resist change. They resist being changed! — Peter Senge
If you want to make enemies, try to change something — Woodrow Wilson
The key to change is to let go of fear — Rosanne Cash
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress — Charles Kettering
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things — Niccolo Machiavelli
Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future — John F. Kennedy
Even those who fancy themselves the most progressive will fight against other kinds of progress, for each of us is convinced that our way is the best way.
— Louis L’Amour
Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times — Niccolo Machiavelli
Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business — Mark Sanborn
Change your thoughts and you change your world — Norman Vincent Peale
If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less — General Eric Shinseki (U.S. Army Chief of Staff, 1999-2003)
We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn — Peter Drucker
Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times
— Niccolo Machiavelli
All is connected, no one thing can change by itself
— Paul Hawken
Learn to adjust yourself to the conditions you have to endure, but make a point of trying to alter or correct conditions so that they are most favorable to you — William Frederick Book
We would rather be ruined than change
We would rather die in our dread than climb the cross of the moment and let our illusions die — W. H. Auden
Every generation needs a new revolution — Thomas Jefferson
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has — Margaret Mead
I’ll go anywhere as long as it’s forward — David Livingstone
Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself — George Bernard Shaw
Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win— Max McKeown
You can’t build an adaptable organization without adaptable people–and individuals change only when they have to, or when they want to — Gary Hamel
People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second, blowing new opportunities in all directions, including yours — Ken Hakuta
A wise man adapts himself to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it — Chinese Proverb
The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change — Bill Clinton
Each of us has the opportunity to change and grow until our very last breath. Happy creating — M.F. Ryan

Change or die? we choose life! How about you?

October 1, 2015July 1, 2022

43 Great Quotes To Inspire You To Be a Better Christian Leader

Anyone who has responsibility for the work of others understands the unique challenges that come with managing people.

Over the years, various thought leaders have come up with pearls of wisdom in the form of quotations that when given some thought, have a lot to teach us. Sometimes a simple quote is just the thing to lift our spirits, to make us smile or to give us the energy to keep going when we’re feeling low.

Here are 43 such quotes to make us better Christian leaders.

“The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self.” – Unknown
“In most cases being a good boss means hiring talented people and then getting out of their way.” – Unknown
“The good news is, God has provided us with a LifeBook to help us – the Bible.” – Unknown
“Encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.” – John Maxwell
“There’s only two things you can start without a plan: a riot and a family, for everything else you need a plan.” – Unknown
“Rejection is an opportunity for your selection.” – Unknown
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – John Maxwell
“Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated.” – Fred Price
“Running a project without a work breakdown structure is like going to a strange land without a roadmap” – J Phillips
“You don’t have to hold a position in order to be a leader.” – Henry Ford”
“Have a good plan, Execute it violently, Do it today” – General Douglas McArthur
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that is has taken place.” – Unknown
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” – Winston Churchill
“A project without a critical path is like a ship without a rudder.” – D. Meyer
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“What’s measured improves.” – Unknown
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint Exupry 1900-1944, French writer and aviator
“If it is not documented, it doesn’t exist. As long as information is retained in someone’s head, it is vulnerable to loss.” – Unknown
“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things.” – Machiavelli 1446-1507, Italian statesman and philosopher
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra.” – Unknown
“Luck is for the ill-prepared.” – Unknown
“Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb
“Of all the things I’ve done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them towards a certain goal.” –Unknown
“PMs are the most creative pros in the world; we have to figure out everything that could go wrong before it does.” – Fredrik Haren
“Why do so many professionals say they are project managing when what they are actually doing is firefighting?” –Unknown
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” –Unknown
“Ensure your documentation is short and sharp and make much more use of people-to-people communication.” –Unknown
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” – Henry Ford
“Leadership offers an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter what the project.” – Bill Owens
“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” – John C. Maxwell
“Leaders have two characteristics: first they are going somewhere, and second they are able to persuade other people to go with them.” – John Maxwell
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” – Kenneth Blanchard
“The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” – Warren Bennis
“The best example of leadership is leadership by example.” – Jerry McClain
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
“The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.” – John Stott
“We can be tired, weary and emotionally distraught, but after spending time alone with God, we find that He injects into our bodies energy, power and strength.” – Charles F. Stanley
“Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” –Unknown
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
“The greater your knowledge of the goodness and grace of God on your life, the more likely you are to praise Him in the storm.” – Matt Chandler
“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence — is the key to unlocking our potential” – Winston Churchill
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” – John Piper

If you know a great quote or scripture that will inspire others to lead their churches better, please feel free to share it in the comments below.