A Preliminary Study on the Paradigm Shift of Pastoral Youth: Indigenous Consciousness

Two months ago, Pastor Ou Xinghua invited me to participate in a camp called "Pastoral Youth Awakening Camp" (for internal invitation only), where I worked with more than 20 frontline church pastors and institutional co-workers who shepherd college students. , to share the experience of shepherding college students and explore how to promote the revival of college students. The most unexpected thing is that the camp started on June 12, the day when the police used more than 150 tear gas canisters, about 20 beanbag rounds, and several rounds of rubber bullets to deal with the five "rioters". I) was also absent-minded for three days and two nights. However, the Lord set a scene for this camp where an important topic for pastoring young people in Hong Kong was discussed: local consciousness. I tried to organize some and share them here. (Also thanks to teacher Chen Fenglin from Niu Tau Jiao Chaoren Life Church for his analysis in the camp)

The so-called "local consciousness" refers to people's identity on the earth, and construct their own identity through language, words, symbols, behavior, landmarks, culture, customs, lineage, history, beliefs, beliefs, core values, etc. Especially when a nation is oppressed by outsiders and its identity is challenged or even invaded, the local people will emphasize the above-mentioned various elements inherent in the nation itself to distinguish the uniqueness of their own identity as a confrontational response to foreign invaders . ¹ Isn't this what the young people in Hong Kong have felt deeply in recent years? In the past, Hong Kong was proud to be known as an "international metropolis" or "a fusion of Chinese and Western cultures". Hong Kong people also embraced the "Lion Rock Spirit" of hard work, solidarity and indomitable fighting spirit. Home from scratch! Therefore, many elders' advice to younger generations is mostly "Don't take care of so much, read your books well, get a good job when you leave Li, buy a house, get married, have a baby...". However, facing the harsh environment of skyrocketing property prices and the challenges of the unique identity of Hong Kong people brought about by various conflicts between China and Hong Kong, the situation of young people in Hong Kong today has not been understood by many elders, and the elders continue to Responding to the younger generation with a similar attitude of "Look at me, I work hard to build a family from scratch!" Millennium BB, the post-90s born before and after the 1997 return, and even the post-80s (that is, today's middle school students and junior college juniors), but Feeling increasingly disgusted with these arguments. In fact, when they were young, they had been constantly facing challenges to their identity as Hong Kong people (especially the challenges from the Chinese mainland government and culture), and then a number of social actions were taken to make Hong Kong's local awareness stronger and stronger, including: three Ten years of vindication of the June 4th rally, opposition to Article 23 legislation in 2003, defense of Star Ferry in 2006, Queen's Wharf in 2007, Caiyuan Village Movement in 2008, Anti-National Religion Movement in 2012, Anti-locust Action in 2014... Even today in 2019 During the anti-extradition campaign, the local consciousness of Hong Kong has been continuously strengthened. The new generation of Hong Kong is constructing its own identity, proclaiming "I am a Hong Konger not a Chinese!" It is politically incorrect, but this is the reality of Hong Kong teenagers). ² Therefore, the "all" of Hong Kong youths is to maintain their identity as "Hong Kong people". For them, they risk their lives or risk their future to attack the government because they have nothing left. There is no future to speak of. ³ However, in the capitalist economic life, in the past, Hong Kong people were utilitarian with economic supremacy, as long as they did not "stop me from eating", so those who attacked the police or occupied the streets were regarded as "messing up Hong Kong." These sentiments can be seen in the remarks made by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Chen Jianbo, to the media on June 14, which reflected the sentiments of some elders who "have already landed": "Destroy my harvest period!" ⁴

How does the Bible respond to native consciousness? Of course, we know that the saints look to the ultimate hope in the coming, embrace our identity as citizens of the kingdom in Christ Jesus, and agree that we are only "travelers" on earth (1 Peter 2:11). Nonetheless, I don't think the Bible intends to replace and obliterate our earthly national identity by being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. In the well-known book of Exodus, the Hebrew nation was suppressed by the Egyptian regime. On the one hand, Jehovah’s salvation and covenant made the Hebrews embrace their “kingdom of priests” and “holy nation” (Exodus 19). 6) On the other hand, he also became a national of Israel, and used various laws, rituals, and land boundaries to reshape his identity on earth. Although the salvation of Jesus on the cross of the "New Testament" is manifested on the basis of the "Old Testament", and human beings all over the world can directly enter the Father through Jesus, the gospel of the "New Testament" declares that people can still Embrace your own nationality in response to the love of God. Ephesians 2:14-15 points out that Jew and Gentile are one in Christ: "The two became one, and the dividing wall in the middle was torn down . Even so, the "one new man" also maintains the uniqueness of "two lowers". The Jewish Christians of the early church required Gentiles to be circumcised to become a "Jew" before they were eligible to enter the ranks of "Christians". But the Gospel is against this fallacy: Gentiles have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ as their own nation, without having to go through becoming a Jew. In the vision of John in the Book of Revelation, "I saw a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, and tribe, and people, and language, standing before the throne and the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with hands Take the palm branch” (7:9), in the presence of the Lord in the end, we still maintain our nation, tribe, and nation.

For me, "local consciousness" is not a political issue but a theological one: people respect God's creation of us as being "local", and the process of thinking about "who I am" and "who I am not" is to know oneself and also At the same time know the Lord. One cannot go beyond the grasp of one's earthly identity and enter into the heavenly calling. Today, when we want to shepherd this generation of young people who "leave the church", the key is no longer how lively the worship model is and how diverse the fellowship activities are, but whether the gospel preached by the church can respond to the situation and whether it can adapt to the situation. A biblical and theological approach is proposed. Faith cannot be separated from context. How can we shepherd our new generation in the construction of their own identity under the local consciousness of Hong Kong youth? May the Lord Himself guide us! I also appeal to participate in the prayer meeting next Wednesday (8:00-9:30 pm on June 26, 2019), the theme is "Hong Kong, our generation of young people" (the theme is "Juvenile Ministry"), try to use From the perspective of Hong Kong's social situation, pray for young people. I am trying to invite some young people to attend (especially those who have participated in the parade), and share some views and feelings that night, so that the participants have the opportunity to listen to and understand the voices of young people. All brothers and sisters who care about the next generation are welcome to pray together that night.

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1. The article "Non-Reading Local" by Professor Ye Mei from the Chinese Academy of Theology, based on her 18 years of witnessing the local resistance movement of a local ethnic group in Sudan, examines the local movement in Hong Kong. ( https://www.cgst.edu/hk/cht/cbulletin_20161112_01)

2. Law Wing-sang, a famous Hong Kong cultural studies scholar, pointed out that Hong Kong’s history has experienced three waves of local consciousness, see “The Past and Present of Hong Kong’s Local Consciousness” (2015).

3. During the clash between the police and the people on the night of June 9, 80% of the 385 people arrested by the police were teenagers (16-25 years old).

4. See the Youtube clip titled "(Live) Chen Jianbo Explains the Reasons for the Finance Committee to Condemn the Opposition for Using Politics Over People's Livelihood" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED2lu-csY3Q ).