LESSON I HAVE LEARNED

FROM REV. TING'S HOMILETICS

By Rev. Lee Chi An

I. REVIVALISTIC PREACHING. The first time I came in contact with Rev, Ting was over a decade ago. The atmosphere of the revival meetings was fervent yet restrained, to God's glory and men's salvation. His method of revivalistic preaching may be classified under five headings.

1. His topic was Bible-based. He expounded Scripture with Scripture, interspersed with his spiritual experiences, and moving anecdotes. His sermon lasted about one hour. It came to an abrupt ending when the climax was reached, when the audience was most attentive.

2. His demeanour was natural and kindly, though he might sometimes strike the pulpit to arrest attention, when the audience tended to stray. Otherwise he would be like a steady flowing river, neither swift nor sluggish. He spoke the Word of God most sincerely.

3. In a week's campaign he would generally divide his objectives into three. The first three days he would preach on the problem of sin. The middle day of the campaign he would speak on nurture of the spirit. The last two nights would be devoted to consecration and responsibility, appealing for covenanters with the Lord. If there were no students he would give the congregation a final opportunity to learn how to pray and read the Bible.

4. In meetings with students he could not avoid answering their questions. If questions were genuine he would give a satisfactory answer. If questions were queer and off on a tangent he would ask the questioner to answer them himself. By this soft reply the one bent on trouble-making would beat a hasty retreat.

5. On the last day he would report on those who had asked him to intercede. There was once when this list of names in his prayer register nearly touched 5,000. He declared he would still pray for them all.

II. Sunday Sermon. 

1. It lasted half an hour.

2. Topics were appropriately chosen like in the discharging one's stewardship. No old topics. Though some were preached before, the contents included new ideas.

3. Objective: Spiritual nurture. It included one or two steps on spiritual progress. It pointed out to those who lost their way.

4. His delivery was terse and to the point, a method he used also in revivalistic preaching. This was more evident, however, at worship service. He spoke for half an hour. Verbosity would take away much of the precious time.

III. I heard little of Rev. Ting's outdoor preaching. But there was once when he joined the Preaching Band of North China Theological Seminary on a preaching excursion. There I saw him standing on a table preaching away with a loud voice, testifying Jesus to be the Christ. As I look back I can draw three good methods from this style of preaching.

1. His demeanour was earnest, quite different from his usual appearance. Every word was power-charged to draw the bystanders' attention.

2. The aim of the theme was to declare Jesus to be the Saviour.

3. Time taken was half an hour. It is to be noted that a sermon longer than that would lose its effect, and moreover usurp the time allotted to other preachers.

IV. In Bible study and lectures, I was under him for two years. Once we met at Hunan Bible Institute, Changsha.  There I had Bible study under him once or twice. Whether Bible study or lecture, the method employed was more or less the same.

V. Whether it be one book, or several chapters, or one chapter, he would give it a very arresting title. This he would chalk on the blackboard. There could be no haziness in what was to be discussed. Moreover, he would subdivide the body of the message and write it on the board. He would read these and repeat them so as to impress them more firmly in the mind. He would explain the contents of each section and proceed to lecture along three lines.

1. The outline of the sections

2. The important points of sub-sections

3. The main idea of each sentence to be explained in simple language and by parable and by pertinent Bible verse to substantiate its Biblical meaning.

In personal conversation, evangelistic correspondence, or personal evangelism while travelling, he had his way of expression. In conclusion the gift of evangelism that God had bestowed Rev. Ting was many sided. Thus he had done a good work for God during the last thirty years. Glory be to God.