John McCall - February 2020 Update
Taipei, Taiwan
Dear friends,
I am writing this letter from China, where I have been teaching seminary students for the past two weeks. It is always a privilege to travel to this vast land to accompany both future and current pastors. This is my sixth year teaching here, so each time I come, in addition to getting to know a new class of students, I also am able to visit with some of my former students.
Two words come to mind when you arrive in China: change and people. China continues to change dramatically each year as the skyline is full of new buildings and new infrastructures are being built. This dramatic change can be unsettling at times, as the old landmarks, both literal and figurative, disappear and folks have to continue adjusting to the new. The other striking thing is the number of people on the streets, riding the subways, driving on the highway, and also filling the churches.
A good Chinese pastor friend took me to a city about an hour and a half north of Nanjing to meet church leaders there and preach on Sunday. The gospel was brought to this area by missionaries from the Episcopal Church and the Baptist Church. After the Cultural Revolution, the original church buildings were returned to the Chinese Christian Church. There are two church buildings in the center of the city of Yangzhou, one built by the Episcopalians and one by the Baptists. The Chinese Christian Church is post-denominational, meaning there is only one Christian Church here, without denominations. But the two sanctuaries reflect their history. The church where I preached looked more like an Anglican cathedral with chandeliers and a vaulted ceiling. The former Baptist church, where my friend preached, had a baptismal pool with a painting of the Jordan River at the front of the church.
Sunday morning I walked from the inn where I was staying to the church. It was about 6:30 a.m. and the sun had not yet risen. In the darkness, hundreds of folks were riding their electric scooters or walking in the darkness to worship. The church has two sanctuaries, the one where I preached and the second one for overflow with a big screen that broadcasts the service. People were already packed in the pews. The first sanctuary holds about 500 and the second sanctuary holds about 1,000. The striking thing each time I preach in China is the eager hunger for God’s Word among the worshipers. They literally lean forward with expectant faces. It is a life-giving place to preach!
There are three pastors serving this church along with three evangelists. Two of them are former students. The lead pastor is a woman in her forties who exudes both warmth and confidence. She shared with me both the joys and challenges of ministering to so many people. They use social media as a means to create small groups who read the same Bible passage and then comment on the passage on line.
Teaching here is also a joy. The students are eager to learn and stay attentive and invested throughout the five hours of class each day. I don’t tend to get tired, because their energy gives me energy. At first, they are not used to asking questions in class, but I encourage them to ask questions and slowly they begin to ask good questions. When they ask a question, they stand. I also have students lead singing and prayer in the morning and in the afternoon. I use skits where they play the pastor, and I play the church member. I ask a challenging question, and they have to use pastoral wisdom to respond. This often brings a lot of laughter to the class.
Each day after lunch in the cafeteria, several students join me to hike up the small mountain behind the seminary where there is a small pagoda. Yesterday the air was especially clear and clean so we could see in the distance. One of the students asked me to give a blessing to the graduating class whom I am teaching. He videotaped me on top of the mountain and will play my blessing at their graduation ceremony in June.
These students, 2/3 women and 1/3 men, will leave the seminary this year and return to serve in their home churches throughout this vast province. Some will serve in high tech cities and some will serve in rural areas where their church members till the soil and live simply. There are 10,000 baptisms a year in this province. In the midst of rapid change, people long for meaning in life. The Gospel brings this meaning. As I listen to the faith stories of my students, I hear how new life in Christ has brought them joy and purpose.
Since today is a holiday and we did not have class, six graduates hosted me for lunch. We then spent time having each graduate share their joys, hopes, and challenges both in ministry and in their families. I then prayed for each young evangelist. Their honesty and openness always move me. As I looked around the table at their faces and thought of the impact they are having, I was very grateful. We then drove to a park by the river and walked and talked together.
Please pray for these pastors and students and for the churches which they are serving in this amazing land.
John McCall
Read more about John McCall’s ministry HERE.
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