I have seen many things in my time as a journalist. Despite reporting on all manner of crimes, deaths, and heartbreaking tragedies, few things have stirred my emotions in the last 11 years of writing. One exception was a video posted online during the summer of 2014. It shows Chinese Christians singing the hymn "Near The Cross" while watching government workers remove a cross from their church building. Though China’s constitution allows for “freedom of religious belief,” the Council on Foreign Relations says the Chinese Communist Party is on record as being atheist. As a result, individuals and organizations from all faiths are still persecuted and the removal of crosses is part of an ongoing campaign by government officials. In some cases, churches have been demolished and people detained by law enforcement. Regardless, it moves me to hear people weeping and wailing, and yet still finding it in them to praise God singing:
