God Leads the Way across Challenging Gullies

　　I started theological studies in 1991. As early as then, I had hoped that God would raise up again a spiritual giant like John Sung among the churches in China. What could I do in view of this? I thought it would be wonderful if I could become a pioneer in serving as a singing evangelist like him. However, when I graduated from the seminary and passed the professional examinations in the Voice and Opera Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, I found that no one in the church cared about my idea. Therefore, I gave up the musical path and turned to ministries in grassroots churches with all my heart and soul.

　　Having served in churches for years, however, a question kept lingering on my mind: why are churches filled with unreasonable people and things? I wanted to find an answer in theology, in the direction of justification or anthropology. After crossing challenging gullies that cannot be named, I finally came to Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary, which I had long been attracted to, hoping that the doubts in my heart could be cleared.

　　Gratefully, I soon met wonderful teachers here. I was very interested in the curriculum and studying here. Having said that, while I came just to seek the truths of faith, I was, however, required to take examinations of candidacy in subjects like English, German and Philosophy. I cannot find the answers I want in these subjects, I thought. Thank God, He carried me through all these challenges.

　　Close to the moment when I had to decide the direction of my studies, I was still lacking a clear direction. President Joshua Cho came to me three times, suggesting I take up the theology of preaching but I turned it down every time. After declining his suggestion for the third time, without knowing why, I was moved to make up my mind to step into this domain of practical theology, which is unfamiliar to me. Immediately after that, I wrote to the president to tell him my decision.

　　The process of studying the theology of preaching was full of pleasant surprises. The church, which I thought I fully understood, turned out to be my blind spot. The doubts in my heart were suddenly cleared when I studied the ecclesiology of Jürgen Moltmann. In my study of Thomas Long’s theology of preaching, I gradually moved toward the complete transformation in my own thinking of preaching.

　　Life is full of gullies and so was my path of studying the Th.D. program, but as written in the Bible: “God…gives songs in the night” (Jb 35:10). Indeed, the more gullies there were, the more grace I received from God. Gladly, I am putting out into deep water.