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I was raised in Taiwan without any religious belief. My family migrated to The United States in 1970 when I was eleven years old. At the age of twenty-five, I came to know the Lord. Right after my conversion, I began to pass out tracts and witness in the streets, parks, school campus, malls, jail, and wherever the door was opened to me. During that time, I sensed the call of God in my life to preach. In 1984, I left my engineering field at Nortel and went to Rhema Bible Training Center to prepare for ministry. It was during my two years at Rhema, the Lord completely healed me of all my emotional wounds and hurts that I have suffered during my teenage years. I experienced the power in the Word of God. The Lord then gave me a burden for Chinese people and laid on my heart to return to my homeland. I knew I was to preach in China one day. After I graduated from Rhema, I served as a volunteer in several ministerial positions and ministered wherever the door was opened to me.
In 1990, I was married to my wife from Hong Kong and had one child. I went back to Nortel but continue to be active in the church. In 1996, the Lord began to open the door for me to go to China. Since then I have the privilege to minister in China on couple occasions. The burden for Chinese people became intensified each time I responded to His prompting. In 1997, I served as an Associate Pastor in Victory Fellowship while continuing to work at Nortel. During a summer mission trip to China in 1998, the Lord begins to speak to me about China missions. It became evident that the Lord was leading me back home. In June of 1999, I resigned from Nortel and sold our house. We liquidated our assets, and moved to Taiwan in obedience to His calling. We believe we are here for a time of preparation and adjustment to the culture. While we are here, we will be active in reaching out to the people. We believe the doors of China will be opened, and a great harvest of souls shall take place. We believe we are here in the Kingdom for such a time as this!
There are many wonderful books and articles written on mission by both experts and novices. Many practical books on survival in the mission field have been released. I will make no attempt to add or take away anything from what has already been said about mission. However, I do have some personal convictions that I would like to share regarding to my missionary calling. I cannot speak for others, but I will speak out of my own personal conviction and practice. There is a vast difference between a burden and a calling to the mission field. A person with a burden will respond to a need and be emotionally involved in a particular cause. It usually lasts only for a season or until the person is confronted with an obstacle. He or she eventually fizzles out. The one who has a calling not only has a burden, but there is a passion that goes with it. That passion never goes away even in the face of adversities and oppositions. He or she will literally go through hell to carry out the calling that is in his or her heart. Like Apostle Paul, the one with a calling will cry out, "Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel." In the face of danger and even death, he or she will declare, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." A person with a calling in his life has a genuine love for people. They seek the well being of the people. They are not out to control or manipulate people to further their own agenda or "ministry." They have a genuine interest in helping others to fulfill what God has called them to. They are not so much concerned about "their ministry" but the ministry of the Lord. They are not out to build their own kingdom but the Kingdom of God. We are only steward of what God has entrusted us. We do not own ANYTHING (or anybody)! We need to guard ourselves from overly concerned about "our ministries" and thinking that "our ministries" are the only ministries that are doing something. We need to beaware of what I called the Elijah syndrome. God has many choice ministers and ministries out there. We are not the only one. When we begin to think that we are the "it," we will begin to go down. Pride comes before destruction. We are what we are only by the grace of God. And if it is indeed by the grace of God, where is the boasting then. We are not called to compare or compete, we are all called to be co-labors together for the same cause. If anybody can do more and preach better than I can, I rejoice! More power to them! This is the attitude that we must cultivate. We often forget who the real enemy is out there. We need to take on the attitude of Apostle Paul, who in regard to the ministers with impure motive says, "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice." I rejoice over ANY soul that came to the Lord. I do not care what vessel that it came through. All glory goes to the Lord anyway. I do not want to be caught up in competition and comparison. I will only concentrate and fulfill that which God has called me to. Ministries should exist for a sole purpose of reaching out to people. If the existence of a ministry is not because of people, there is no reason for that ministry. A ministry is birthed out of a relationship with God and fueled by our fellowship with Him where love and compassion flow. There is fire, passion, and zeal. A person with a missionary calling is consumed with a burden for the lost. If people dying and going to hell do not move us to tears, I am speaking as a missionary, we are either not called, or we have backslided. The burden in Apostle Paul was so great that he cried out, "I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren..." Only with this kind of compassion can one succeed in the mission field. God does not look at our ability or talent, He looks at our heart. His grace will make up the differences. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. |
