Writings Of and Reflections On the Ministry of Pastor Wang Yi

The Harderwyk Preaching Team has been following closely, praying for and being shaped by the ministry of Chinese Pastor Wang Yi.  All three of our communities have heard him mentioned lately.  With that in mind, I wanted to collect in one place for easy reference a number resources to help others dig into the same sources that are affecting us.

Added Feb 3, 2023

Just this morning I came across the preface to the collection of Chinese House Church writings menitoned below.  It is a very helpful overview of that movement and Wang Yi personally.  CLICK HERE to read that.

Primary Sources

Wikipedia has a helpful summary of Wang Yi's written works that I will borrow in whole below:  (CLICK HERE for entireWikipedia Page.)

Wang Yi is a prolific writer, preacher and blogger. Many of his works have been compiled at wangyilibrary.org.

The following works have been translated into English:

1. Faithful Disobedience: CLICK HERE - Writings on Church and State from a Chinese House Church Movement (Intervarsity Academic, December 6 2022)  

In 2010 Wang Yi compiled a collection of writings about the house church and their relationship to the Chinese government, including prominent voices such as Jin Tianming, Jin Mingri, and Sun Yi. In this English edition, the editors have provided introductions, notes, and a glossary, and included some documents from the time of Wang Yi’s arrest in December 2018. (CLICK HERE for a helpful review of this book from Brent Fulton on TheGospelCoalition.org and CLICK HERE for reflections on the book by historian Thomas Kidd.)

2. "My Declaration of Faithful Disobedience" CLICK HERE - This statement was written in 2018 in anticipation of his arrest. Shortly after his arrest it was posted online in English and shared many times around the world. (CLICK HERE for background on this statement from Joe Carter on TheGospelCoalition.org.  CLICK HERE for my own post with background on the reference to "the Lord's servant John Calvin in Wang Yi's statement.)

3. "Ninety-Five Theses: The Reaffirmation of Our Stance on the House Church" CLICK HERE - In August 2015, Wang Yi posted a document titled "Reaffirming our Stance on the House Churches: 95 theses" in an attempt to reaffirm the Chinese house church's position in the relationship between government and society. Echoing Martin Luther's 95 theses, these Chinese 95 theses demonstrate his opinion of the church-state relationship from the perspective of the house church.  

This document is divided into 6 sections:

• Theses 1–17: God's Sovereignty and Biblical Authority.
• Theses 18–31: God's Law and Christ's Redemption.
• Theses 32–39: Against the "Sinicization of Christianity."
• Theses 40–44: Church as the Body of Christ and His Kingdom.
• Theses 45–72: The Relationship between Two Kingdoms and the Separation of Church and State.
• Theses 73–95: Against the "Three-Self Movement" and Affirmation of the Great Commission.

Overview and Context Information

Outspoken Chinese Pastor Wang Yi Sentenced to 9 Years in Prison - From Christianity Today in December of 2019 - CLICK HERE

Chinese House Churches ‘Crazy for the Gospel’ by Trevin Wax - CLICK HERE for a summary and review of the book Faithful Disobedience.

Why China Might Have Had The Largest Unknown Modern Calvinist Revival Movement In Recent History: A detailed look at how Chinese Christianity revived and thrived under Communism. - Wang Yi first caught my attention with his references to the writings and ministry of John Calvin, of all people!  This article helps put that in fascinating context.  CLICK HERE

John Calvin's Thoughts On "The Wicked Ruler" - I have edited and reposted a previous post of my own.  CLICK HERE for the passage in Calvin's Institutes to which Wang Yi refers in his Declaration of Faithful Disobedience.