Confucian songlines of dignity and community

Authors

  • Brian Quan

Keywords:

Chinese traditions, Buddhist beliefs, Chinese heritage, Confucianism, decolonial discipleship, Confucian, worship, Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church, songlines

Abstract

This conversation from over a decade ago remains vivid as I continue wrestling with what it means to be Christian—and Mennonite—within Chinese heritage. What do our history, culture, and context teach us about God, community, and peace? Which cultural values and practices align with biblical witness? And when culture and faith feel misaligned, how do we navigate that tension?

What follows is a praxis of decolonial discipleship in our intercultural church. When we recognize the deep ethics of Confucianism within our culture, we discover living songlines1 that can guide our faith journey toward healing and solidarity without colonial assimilation.

Author Biography

Brian Quan

Brian Quan is a native of Toronto, Ontario, the son of immigrants from China. He serves as the lead pastor of the three worshipping groups at the Toronto Chinese Mennonite Church. He holds a BS degree in pharmacology with a background in addiction research. His master’s degree in pastoral studies is from Tyndale Seminary. He is a husband, dad, friend, photographer, cyclist, hiker, and tinkerer, a big sinner enjoying an even bigger grace, and an unlikely pastor.

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Published

2026-07-02

Issue

Vol. 27 No. 1 (2026): Decolonial Discipleship as an Intercultural Church

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Canadian Mennonite University.