Hadn't Wanted to Do Pastoral Visiting

       Once when I suggested that we might call on the church members, he said, “That is what we have the Bible woman and colporteur for, to tell the church members on Saturday that tomorrow is Sunday, and to come to church.”  Soon after that, Bishop Birney came and wanted to call on the church members, not just the rich leaders, as Pastor Wang suggested, but the poor in the hovels, the bishop said.  So Pastor Wang had to go with him. But his heart was not in it of course. This was more or less the attitude of most of the pastors. They did call with me, rather unwillingly, but they didn't want to sell Scripture portions, or hand out tracts.

       Pastor Wang also told me that that day in Oxford University, “something” told him that if he would keep on and do the best he could, someday it would all come clear, “and that,” he said, “is what I am doing.”  Eight years later, after we had prayed for him all these years, Pastor Wang got back to the Lord in the meeting in Nanchang when the Holy Spirit fell.  He really found God, and became a fervent evangelist.  He was so zealous that a visiting bishop was afraid of him and appointed him way out in communist territory in Kingtehchen.  This was a city of 300,000, but with only twelve Methodist church members in a rented street-front chapel.