LTHE DOOR PERIOD

Study Tour of North China

1930

The purpose of the Bishop of Foochow's sending Dr Sung to North China was that he might learn from Dr. James Yen at Tinghsien near Peking the mass education Dr. Yen was so famous for, and that Dr. Sung should return to Fukien to improve on their own. Upon reaching Shanghai, "China's Grand Central Station," to entrain for the north, Dr. Sung heard that a East China Conference of the Christian Home Movement was about to open at Huchow in Kiangsi Pro­vince. A hundred delegates were expected from the Eastern Provinces.

Though John Sung had no prior arrangement, he felt drawn to Huchow before heading northwards. At the Con­ference the doctor was attired as ever in his coarse Chinese gown. His face was weather-worn. Not conversant in Man­darin nor Shanghainese he was obliged to sit quietly, utter­ing not a syllable. So he was left in a corner by himself and taken for a country bumpkin. No one could know he was an American-trained scientist.

At a prayer session, however, the bashful doctor was moved to pray, and pray he did the best he knew how - not in Mandarin nor in Shanghainese, but in English. And that prayer was so moving that Mrs. Frank R Millican of the American Presbyterian Mission and the Christian Literature Society went to seek him out. Having discovered the Hing­hwa country preacher to be no less a Ph.D. in Chemistry from her own country, Mrs. Millican warmly invited him to join her discussion class. There he was further given an opportunity to tell of his experiences in launching his family worship program. But what led to God's opening a nationwide door to preach the Gospel was when he was asked to give his testimony to the whole Conference. It happened that the speaker on that occasion was not able to come and what better substitute could be found than one so ready of speech? Romans 8:28! Suddenly, the name of Dr. John Sung, Ph.D., one who had given up a professor's appointment to become a country preacher, was on every­body's lips.

From Huchow John made his way to Hangchow, China's most famous resort city situated on the West Lake. This was in answer to a first invitation from a little church. Returning to Shanghai he was entertained in the home of the Millicans. During his short sojourn he was invited to speak at the Christian Literature Society on his three year's experience in rural evangelism, the literacy movement and family worship.

Hastening on his mission to North China John Sung, nevertheless, broke journey at Nanking, newly established national capital under Chiang Kai-shek, to visit with Rev Francis Jones, former principal of the Memorial High School of Hinghwa. Rev. Jones was now on the faculty of the theological school affiliated to Ginling University. This was the College John had earlier aspired to attend but was turned away from it by the sudden death of his elder sister.

Crossing the Yangtse River to Pukow on the opposite bank he was right on course to Peking on the Tientsin Line. For a Southerner like John Sung this was a miserable journey, for he was inadequately clad against the icy winds blowing down the frozen Siberian plains. Knowing a friend in Rev. H E Dewey, an alumnus of Ohio Wesleyan Universi­ty, John got down at Changli, before Tientsin, to warm up a little. A warmer fellowship was kindled when his host advised him against spending too much time on the literacy movement. How this inspired his heart that here was a missionary who agreed with him on the need of revival for the Chinese Church.

Taking advantage of the journey John made a short visit to Shanhaikwan (Mountain and Sea Pass) where the Great Wall reaches down to the sea. From Shanhaikwan he headed for Peking to Rev. R W Backus who had invited him to speak on rural evangelism in Fukien to a pastors' seminar then in progress. As Rev. Backus was a man of God and a fun­damentalist he spoke the same language as John Sung. This gave him further warmth of fellowship to compensate for the freezing northern weather.

When he finally arrived at Tinghsien his destination to meet with the world-renowned Dr James Yen, the southern doctor was mightily impressed with the northern doctor. Dr Yen was a man of energy and sincerity in the promotion of education of the masses. Everyone engaged in this work who wished to succeed must come to seek his advice. His methods of teaching were well in advance of his time, original and thought provoking. The secret of his success was his devotion to a great cause.

Be that as it may, this was not the work God wanted John Sung to do. In a dream during the night the Lord said, "These are beautiful flowers that bloom for a little while, but bear no fruit. Keep that which is given to you and guard it diligently. What you should become is a fig." (In Chinese the fig is called a no-flower fruit.) Instead of staying a month to learn from Dr Yen as previously planned, John took leave of the great educationist the very morning after. From Tinghsien to Peking!

In Peking he found good company with a Presbyterian missionary who intimated he was on the point of writing him to hold a six-month course on Christian workers' training. What a wonderful coincidence that he should appear when he was thinking of him! Though this seemed to be a confirmation, the Lord forbade John to stay: "This is not your ministry. I want you to do a greater work!  Arise, go and revive a Laodicean Church which is neither cold nor hot lest when Jesus returns she be spued out of the mouth. (Rev 3:15,16) Go quickly with the message that Jesus is coming again real soon! Prepare the Bride to meet the Bridegroom! Meanwhile an express letter came from Mrs. Millican to invite him on behalf of Pure Heart Church of South Gate, Shanghai, to speak to their Boys and Girls High Schools. Being persuaded this was the Lord's timely direc­tion John returned to Shanghai immediately by the train that brought him to Peking.

Upon arrival in Shanghai, it chanced that the world-renowned Japanese pastor of the slums, Dr. Toyohiko Kaga­wa, was lecturing at Shanghai Christian University. Having heard so much of him, Dr. Sung went to observed him. A social gospeller, what he said was no different from the old stuff he had got at Union under Dr. Fosdick.

When courteously invited by the Japanese Doctor of Divinity to speak at a prayer meeting, the "Chinese Kaga­wa," as he was so introduced to the audience, boldly testified for His Lord, the efficacy of His Blood to cleanse every sin. He stressed not so much the physical as the spiritual which led to John's favorite theme: The need to be born again, and to be filled with the Spirit. A testimony to the Truth was given despite his sensing a nonchalant audi­ence. Evidently John was a square fundamentalist peg in a round modernistic hole.

Speaking at the South Gate Pure Heart High School of the American Presbyterian Mission where Mrs. Millican had arranged the meetings, Dr. Sung found a more receptive audience. From there he went on to speak to a CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) Church in North Szechuan Road. He felt a real difference between speaking in a big city like Shanghai and among the fisher-folk of his native Hinghwa.

One of the items on the agenda at the back of his mind was to visit the Bethel Mission which had sent a team to Sienyu May 1928 under Rev. Andrew Gih. When he stepped into the Mission compound he was warmly welcomed by Dr. Mary Stone and Miss Jenny Hughes the leaders of the Mission, for they mutually had heard of his good work through Andrew. A Gospel Vanguard of the Mission, the Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band was founded in 1925 with Andrew as the leader.

A door of preaching was immediately opened to him to speak to Bethel High School and nursing students at the daily chapel service. He spoke on his favorite subject "Five Loaves and Two Fishes" to a gathering of seven hundred. Though the message was well received, John felt something was drastically missing. As he searched his own heart, he realized that expounding on "mysteries" could never release the power to save a soul from sin.

Though Bethel extended an invitation to join their Evangelistic Band about to leave for North China, Dr. Sung politely declined, promising to return to speak at their Summer Conference the next year. He felt his first duty was to return to Hinghwa to report back to his Bishop, and of course to see his dear wife.

As he sat awhile in the winter snow to wait for a boat back to Hinghwa, he received an express letter from Nanchang earnestly inviting him to hold a revival campaign. As a civil war was then raging between Nationalists and Communists and the countryside was infested with bandits the Bethel friends dissuaded him from Nanchang. Weighed down by a desire to return home early John Sung' s zeal for revival in Nanchang began to wane. Suddenly he seemed to hear a voice saying to him, "Go! The time to labor in Nanchang has come! Go, fight the good fight of faith." Bandits or soldiers on the way, come what may, John decided without a doubt it was the Lord's call to battle. The next morning John took a Yangtse River boat and sailed upriver to his new engagement - Nanchang!

The Acts account of God leading Peter to Cornelius and Cornelius to Peter is a thrilling story of Divine guidance in missions (Acts 10: 1-22). While we have John Sung' s account on how he felt called to Nanchang, we have on the other hand the words of William E. Schubert telling of the events that led to inviting John Sung. In his booklet, "I Remember John Sung," Schubert writes:

Dr. Sung' s Wider Ministry Begins

The second or "Door" period, being in November 1930, opened a wider ministry in all China. It came about this way: There was a big Religious Education Conference near Shanghai, and John Sung was sent as a delegate, not as a speaker, but to learn from others. However, he took a big suitcase full of religious education materials he had used in the rural districts. A noted missionary lady saw these materials, and asked him to take her place as a speaker the first day. After they heard him, different ones asked him to speak, and he became the main speaker of the Conference.

"One of my Chinese preacher friends from Nanchang was there, and came back enthused, and all aglow with interest and zeal. He said, `Oh, Mr. Schubert, we Chinese have our own Paul. He preaches the Bible like I never heard anyone preach before.' He asked, `Could we have him come to Nanchang?' I replied, `Yes, why don't you invite him; you have your own church.' He said, `I asked the Chinese district superintendent, and he didn't approve.'

"I said, `You don't have to have his approval.' (In those days it wasn't necessary as it is now.) John Sung was also a Methodist preacher. `You can invite him; you have the authority.' He said, `Yes, but how will I finance it?' I replied, `If he is as good as you say, it will take care of itself, but if not, I'll underwrite it.' Which was all was needed.

"Pastor Hsu promptly wrote to Dr. Sung, who had promised to come if invited. But meantime, the bishop and the lady `archbishop' (the senior missionary) had written that Sung must return to his work in Hinghwa, so he answered Hsu that he couldn't come. This was a great disappointment to us. However, he got sick, and while he was in Bethel Hospital in Shanghai, God told him to come to Nanchang, so he obeyed God, with marvelous results."

That God had diverted John Sung to Nanchang became the turning point in his whole ministry. Having more time to himself on the river boat, he began to take stock of the work he had done in his native province the last three years. While he had been zealous for his Lord, he had no definite objective. He was like one beating the air (I Cor. 9:26). Though he had striven his level best to revive the Church, he was also involved in so many side-tracking movements - religious education, family worship, youth work, literacy, social service, etc. Many of these projects were good, but what he got from their cultivation were only leaves and flowers.

No doubt he had won many to Christ, but without the follow-up of likeminded pastors or resident preachers, these were brought like the lame beggar to the gate of the Temple, not inside it. (Acts 3:2) All this while his efforts were spent within the fold of liberal and modernistic Christianity. To use a Chinese proverb, he was "weeding another man's field." Whatever good he had done in revivalism was consumed by the cancerous cells of liberalism. John Sung resolved henceforth to hew a clean line. If. he was prophet against sin, he must resist the most subtle form of sin lurking inside the Churches - the sin of unbelief. Then, as he called to mind the message on "mysteries" so recently delivered at Bethel with insipid results, he reminded himself to deal rather with the needs of sinners, with the blood of Christ as their only cure.

While John was searching his heart before God and preparing for spiritual battle in Nanchang, it is interesting to note that all this while Rev William E. Schubert and a young teacher-preacher were praying for revival, and for Dr. Sung their speaker. In fact this two-man prayer meeting had begun as early as January 1st, 1931 and continued on and on for fifty days. Just as it ended John Sung came!

Now Nanchang was a stronghold of Methodism. The Methodist Church there extended to seven or eight districts. To call a general meeting was a simple matter. As the Church was in a lukewarm condition all the efforts taken to bring the people to the long-projected revival meetings, by posters and announcements, drew but a handful of hearers. "This really dampens my heart," said John Sung to himself at the inaugural meeting.

Nevertheless he first opened up on the students of Bald­win Girls' School and on the boy students of Nanchang Academy in-the mornings. In the afternoons he went over to Pastor Hsu's place (the man who had invited him) and preached in the Women's and Children's Hospital run by Dr. Ida Kahn. In the evenings he spoke in one of the downtown churches.

For one week he strove apparently against great odds. He re-examined himself and asked the Lord why souls were not yielding to Him'? He realized one reason why the results were meager was that he had not come, to grips with the people's need - their being held in the clutches of sin.

In his mind now, sin was like the shut up city of Jericho. To attack sin he needed the cooperation of the missionaries, the staff of the mission schools. He needed them to join him, like the tribes of Israel under Joshua in the assault. Group prayer meetings therefore were held by the missionaries, by the mission school staff at his request.

As Joshua in the earlier part of the Exodus account was battling the Amalekites in the plain, there was Moses, holding up holy hands praying for him on the hill-top. A revival campaign succeeds or fails, observed John Sung, on the same pattern. For a church desiring revival to leave it all to the revivalist is a great mistake! John Sung says in his Autobiography, "There is nothing that a revivalist can brag about. I have realized that it needs the support of many praying people. It was only after we had united in such a warm-hearted praying session that I felt something great was going to come in this campaign."

What moved John Sung's heart most took place on that memorable night of March 5th, 1931. On that night, as he was about to retire, he heard someone praying upstairs. Not only praying but pleading in tears on bended knees. It was his host, Rev William E. Schubert, crying out to God for a real revival on Nanchang. "0 Lord," he cried, "if You will not revive Nanchang, all the long distance I've traveled to serve You here would be wasted. I had given my life to You to come to this place from the very beginning. 0 Lord, show forth Your power. Glorify Your own Name. Amen." When John heard this supplication above his head, he echoed from below, "Lord, Amen, Amen."

After that long Night of Prayer, John Sung launched out with a full broadside on sin. For the next whole week all he spoke about was SIN. As the Holy Spirit began to focus His searchlight into the deep recesses of hearts, one by one, two by two, until the repentants swelled into a troop, cast themselves before the Lord in tears and groaning. The school principal capitulated to confess his faults to the students. The school staff and the students themselves embraced one another in mutual forgiveness.

As sin was cast out, the Living Waters poured in. If not, the heart chamber that was now swept clean and empty would be taken over by Satan bringing in seven other demons, "and the last state of that man is worse than the first" (Matt 12:45). What is the Living Waters? None other than the Holy Spirit!

As Rev William E. Schubert was host to John Sung and chief supporter of the Nanchang Campaign, let him give an on-the-spot account of the Nanchang Pentecost:

 "During that first week practically all the students were converted ....

"The second week Dr Sung preached three times a day in

Baldwin Girls' School chapel. Students and teachers from both high schools, missionaries, doctors and nurses from our Nanchang Hospital, and many from our four city churches attended. The interest deepened, and some of the teachers were converted.

"Dr Sung preached much from Mark, on `Sin.' But one day he spoke from Luke 15, on the Prodigal Son, who fed husks to pigs. He said, `If in your school here, you teach only English and History and Mathematics, and don't let the young people find God, you are just feeding husks to pigs.' Some of the teachers were quite upset and said he was insulting our students, calling them pigs. They told the Chinese lady principal she should not allow him to preach in her chapel. She was inclined to agree with them. That night, however, she got under tremendous conviction of sin her­self. She wrote a letter to Dr John Sung saying, `Not only are we feeding husks to pigs, but I am a pig myself.'

"Dr Sung showed me this note, and I suggested, `Why don't you have a time of testimony today?' So he asked if anyone had anything to say. The Chinese lady principal got up in front of everybody --- the students of her own school and of the boys' high school, teachers and missionaries --- and she said, `I objected to Dr Sung saying that we were feeding husks to pigs. But I decided I was a pig myself. I knew that I wasn't good enough to be principal of this Christian school; however, I thought I was good as any of the other Chinese teachers and I might as well have the salary and the nice house, and wear the good clothes. But from now on my purpose will be to help my students find God and salvation.'

Teachers Wept All Night

"One night two of the men teachers, both preachers' sons, got under terrific conviction. The cries and loud prayers of one wakened the other (one lived upstairs and one down) and they both wept and prayed most of the night until they found peace with God. One of them, Paul Wang, was the son of the Chinese district superintendent I had worked with several years. Rev Wang Shih-tsing was a very capable administrator and preacher, but there were some questions about his ethics and morals.

"Now the son talked to the father about repentance. I happened to come into the room just then, and I believe if it had been the old days in China when the father could kill the son, Pastor Wang would have done it. But he finally broke down and confessed his sins. His wife was released from her inhibitions, and he told me, 'Aggie is happy again like she was before we were married.'

"The other young teacher was in war work with me in West China in 1945, and he handled millions of dollars honestly, a rare phenomenon in those times. These were some of the social benefits of Holy Ghost evangelism.

The Nanchang Pentecost

"During this time Dr Sung preached three times a day, and every time like a house afire. He wore out the paint on the platform, and they asked him to wear rubber-soled shoes. He would come back to our house, take off all his wet garments, and throw them `plop' out of his room into the hall, as I had suggested, and our amah would wash them - three sets a day!

"One noon we had all our Fu River pastors come to our house for lunch with Dr Sung, including Hsiung Fei, our district superintendent. Hsiung was a bright and capable man, but he was very proud. He asked Dr Sung: `This morning you said that some leaders in our work would betray Christ as Judas did. What advice would you give us, so that we would not be that leader?' Dr Sung replied like a flash: `Don't be a leader!' Hsiung Fei dropped his head like he had been shot. No one said anything, for all knew that leadership was Hsiung's *temptation ....

"At the end of the first two weeks, Dr Sung announced on Sunday morning that he would not preach that night, that he would pray, and any who wants to pray with him could come: `If six or eight or ten come, that is all right.'. .. .

"In the afternoon 193 students and teachers went to a village, Bean Sprout Lane, about two miles outside the city. I had conducted a `Thousand Character School' there in previous years, but nobody had been converted. The students and teachers went two by two into the village homes to witness. They would come out of the houses with the villagers bringing their idols. The stone idols they threw into the river. The wooden ones they burned. The entire village gave up idolatry.

Water Baptism and Holy Ghost Baptism

"On the way back it `rained pitchforks,' a tremendous rain. Only one student had an umbrella, and the wind turned it inside out. The water was running down over their faces, and their hair was plastered down over their foreheads. But they came to me with shining faces, saying, `Mr. Schubert, John the Baptist said, "I baptize with water, but Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Ghost." We are getting our water baptism now; maybe we will get our Holy Ghost baptism tonight.' And that is exactly what happened.

"That evening, instead of the six or eight or ten coming, there were 250 to 300 present in the Baldwin School chapel. The place was filled. Dr Sung had us sing some choruses about prayer. Then he told us to pray. But nobody prayed. It was rather embarrassing at first. Then two little high school girls stood up and began to pray at the same time. I can still see their double braids. We had never had that; never more than one person prayed at the same time. I remembered what Gypsy Smith had told about when he was preaching in a `Gothic' church in Virginia, controlled by a `Gothic lady.' When two persons prayed at the same time, this `Gothic lady' said, `Mr. Smith, you tell them to stop; we can't have two persons praying at the same time.' He told. her, `Sister, God has two ears.'

The Holy Spirit Fell on All Present

"Just then the Holy Spirit fell on everybody. All began to pray at once. There was no rushing wind, and there were no tongues that I know of. But God spoke to everyone in Chinese, and it seemed the natural thing to pray in Chinese, with utterance beyond what I had ever experienced. God spoke to me in Chinese, and I prayed in torrents of Chinese.

"At first, Dr. Sung was very much surprised, and not pleased. He called out for us to stop: `We don't want any fanaticism here.' I don't think he had ever been in a place where all prayed at one time, though later in his meetings it often happened. Later, it became common, and still is practiced in Taiwan and among most evangelical Chinese groups everywhere. But at the time we had never seen or heard it before. The whole outburst was unplanned and spontaneous --- a moving of the Holy Spirit. But that night in March 1931 Dr. Sung stopped us.

"He asked all to go to their rooms and pray quietly. He said, `Now I'll pronounce the benediction.' But as he prayed, the Holy Spirit fell the second time, and everybody began to pray in chorus again. Again he stopped us: "You didn't understand; I didn't say to pray here; please go quietly to your rooms and pray there.' I later asked him why he stopped us, and he told me, `I didn't want the missionar­ies to say "That crazy Sung made all the students crazy."

Communist Students Converted

"Then, as he began to pronounce the benediction again, the Holy Spirit fell upon the whole congregation the third time. So he finally let us go on, and the spontaneous prayer must have continued forty-five minutes to an hour. Christ­ians got under conviction and confessed their sins. There were about seven or eight communist students, who later confessed that they had been paid to come there to school to cause trouble:

"These communist students were in the center of rows, scattered throughout the audience where they could make the most disturbance. When they got under conviction, they tried to get out, but the Christian students wouldn't let them   out of the rows. The Christian students had been praying for them. I can remember seeing the Christian students beating their own knees for joy when the young communists got so under conviction. All the agitators could do was to stand up and beat their breasts and cry out, `Oh, my unspeakable sins.' They all become earnest Christians.

All My Preachers Born Again That Night

"When the Holy Spirit fell on us that night in Nanchang, all the Chinese preachers from my Fu river District had come in for the district conference. The Kan River and Nanchang District pastors were there also, as well as the students and teachers of both high schools and the doctors and nurses of our Methodist Nanchang Hospital.

"Up to that time most of my pastor friends had not been born again, I fear, though I had worked with them for several years, and had prayed for them, and had talked and preached the New Birth. But that night I think every one of them was born again, including Pastor Wang Shan-chih. I had been his assistant pastor several years before, in the big institutional church in Nanchang. He once confessed to me: `Mr. Schubert, I don't even know if there is a God,' I exclaimed, `Why, Pastor Wang, how can you be a Method­ist pastor when you don't even know if there is a God?'

"He replied, `I believed in God until I went to America. But there I lost my faith while in Union Theological Seminary. Later, when I was visiting in England during the war, I went to see Oxford University. There I saw the pictures of the great preachers, and I thought, 'It is all empty.' But something said to me, "No, anything that can produce men like this, there must be something to it."

"That was the extent of his theology: ‘There must be something to it.' Someone asked me, `What did he preach?' He preached Comparative Religion. In his big institutional church, which he patterned after some he had seen in America, he had an English school (which I ran the year 1 was with him), a library, a reading room, and many social activities. In that way he eased his conscience, but he wasn't able to preach any Gospel of salvation.

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 the 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 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.

A Self-supporting Indigenous Church Developed

"Pastor Wang went out there, but his wife refused to go. She hated the church and the bishop, and talked against them. As a result, their little adopted son grew up to become a communist. Twenty-some years later, when I was in communist China, in Chungking, Pastor Wang's son was a communist leader there. But Pastor Wang Shan-chih went to Kingtehchen and built up the church from a dozen members to a hundred communicants, with over two hundred attend­ing. He also led three denominations in evangelism.

"Then entirely with Chinese funds, and no American mission aid, they built a three-storey brick building, with a preaching hall and reading room on the first floor, sanctuary on the second (and a room for the visiting missionary) and children's school on the third floor with quarters for the women teachers. He had a young men's gospel team, mostly his own converts, who went everywhere preaching through the countryside. The last I heard, about 1967, Pastor Wang Shan-chih, then over 80 years of age, was still preaching in that self-supporting church under the communists.

"But Pastor Wang was not the only one: Whatever is left of our work in that part of China is the result of the Holy Spirit working in that first great meeting of Dr Sung's ministry. This is true in many other places in China and throughout the Far East. But it was in Nanchang in 1931 that the Holy Spirit fell in a new way on Dr Sung and our students, teachers and preachers, and on all of us who were present.

"That was the beginning of the `Door' period of Dr Sung's ministry, of which Jesus had told him in his seminary room in New York City. He later said it was in Nanchang that the Lord gave him his special anointing. It was the first of many great meetings he held all over China and Southeast Asia. It was not-planned by Dr Sung nor worked up by anybody. It was a great surprise to him, as it was totally unrehearsed and spontaneous. It showed Dr Sung and us that there is a Holy Ghost power far beyond man's ability. It is no glory to any human, but it is available to anyone.

A China-Wide Ministry

"We asked all those who were converted or filled with the Spirit in the Nanchang meetings to write out their testimo­nies. Our Chinese teachers copied them, and we posted them around the school chapel for all to see and read. Then we sent copies of these testimonies to the Christian papers throughout China. The news went everywhere, and as a result John Sung was invited to preach in many places. The `Door' was opening."

Now that we have Schubert's firsthand report on the Nanchang Pentecost, let us hear another missionary giving his to the Church in the summer of 1931 which is recorded also by Leslie Lyall in John Sung: Flame for God in the Far East. This missionary said, "We are having a Bible revival in Nanchang (and Kiukiang) .... Dr Sung can take any Bible passage you suggest and make it live as I have heard no other man do. He still spends hours daily with the Book, and that is the secret of his success."

As for the doctor himself, he was convinced more than ever before that the work God had appointed him was that of a John the Baptist. His job was to denounce sin wherever he went, that men might. be prepared for the coming of the Lord. He was merely His herald, "a voice crying in the wilderness." The particular lessons he had learned from Nanchang were: 1) utter confession of every sin; 2) prayer for the filling of the Holy Spirit; 3) witness everywhere for Christ. He had read the life of John Wesley how every time he preached people were convicted and turned to the Lord. He had longed for Wesley's power and now he had experi­enced it. Nanchang was just the beginning of a new dimen­sion in the Chinese Wesley's ministry. Nanchang was the commencement of the Door Period of his five times three years of a quick changing life. "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." (Rev 3:8)

Like Joshua winning victory after victory in campaign after campaign after his setback at Ai, John now kept up pursuit of his enemy SIN as invitations poured in from every quarter. Between the two series of meetings in Nanchang he had pressed in an equally successful campaign at Kiukiang. Now he raced down to Wuhu on the Lake for a short skirmish before swinging back to Shanghai.

In Shanghai he took on several engagements in a row, the first one at the Bethel Mission. More confident of the Lord's mighty presence with him, it was here that he first began to call sinners to the front to bow their knee to God. Three hundred were so slain by the message that they went forward in deep sorrow for their sins. Then when they had confessed their sins item by item at the behest of the evangelist, they were filled with the joy of salvation and the fullness of the Holy Ghost. But no one spoke in tongues. The only tongue present at such a conclusion was praise and singing with choruses of "Chey Mei Tze, Chey Mei Tze" = Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord! in Shanghainese. A new lesson John Sung learned in the first storming of China's megalopolis was that an evangelist must help a troubled soul to come to Christ by giving him an opportunity to make public profess­ion and to confess his sins. He must then follow up with words of comfort and assurance for the broken hearted. An evangelist is like a midwife to bring a new life into the world. (Attorney James E. Bennett, a Bible-Presbyterian elder and soul-winner of New York City, when challenged by hyper-Calvinists in such a procedure, would rather agree with John Sung. He quoted the case of Jesus asking Martha, "Believest thou this" in respect of His Resurrection Power as the basis for calling for a decision at the end of a Gospel Message).

From Bethel Dr Sung caught up with an All-Shanghai Campaign held at Moore Memorial Church, a Protestant Cathedral opposite the Race course that could seat two thousand. Again the Lord's House was packed to overflow­ing and again several hundred were saved, openly confessing their sins.

The campaigns in Shanghai had barely concluded when a call was received from Nanking. Five Methodist districts had united to invite Dr Sung to speak at a retreat for pastors and Bible women. As there was another speaker, a professor from Yenching University in Peking, Dr Sung was appor­tioned one hour.

By popular demand, however, his speaking time was doubled, for from his lips flowed living waters that could quench the parched and thirsty. Now the Yenching profess­or, after delivering his message, stayed behind to hear John Sung out of curiosity. Though rather skeptical at first, the Holy Spirit began to convict his heart. At a luncheon held in honor of the speakers the two doctors sat together. To show his appreciation, the one said to the other who was known to read eleven chapters of the Bible everyday, "I confess I have not read my Bible as I should." No wonder the people would rather hear the doctor from the country­side, for he had richly the Word of Life to give to his hearers.

While in Nanking Dr Sung received an invitation from Miss Ella Leveritt of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Changchow, a small town near the silk manufacturing city of Wusih. At first he thought of going, but owing to a heart ailment he gave the excuse of needing a rest. Moreover he had received a telegram requesting him to return to Hing­hwa. Returning to Shanghai he was told by the doctor to stop work for six months, as the heart trouble was getting worse.

One night the Lord indicated to him he must go to Changchow, for a door to an ever widening sphere was opened to him. Pride was the cause of his sickness! The real reason why John Sung had declined the Changchow invita­tion was it was too small a place. One lesson he had to learn from the Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band was their willingness to go to any place, big or small.

Meantime the Bethel Band had returned to their base in Shanghai to attend the funeral of "Mother" Stone who was called home April 25, 1931. As they accepted the Chang­chow invitation which John Sung had declined, he felt obliged now to go along. This was the first time he went out under Bethel's banner.

At Changchow his heart troubled him the first day of campaign. The second day, it troubled him again. Brushing it aside John preached with all his might, saying to himself, "Should this be the last time I'm preaching, I will not mind. To God be the glory." When he got down from the pulpit after much jumping and thumping, he said to his colleagues, wiping away a bowlful of sweat, "Praise the Lord my sickness is all gone." "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matt 16:25).

Rev. Andrew Gih who had been detained in Shanghai by his mother's illness now caught up with the team, to interpret for John Sung. This was the beginning of a cooperative ministry between two evangelists with multiplied results. "One man of you shall chase a thousand," (Josh 23: 10) "and two put ten thousand to flight" (Deut 32:30).

It was raining heavily when Andrew Gih arrived at the meeting place. As he entered the hall he found a young lady weeping profusely with John Sung about to kneel to pray for her. This lady prayed for by the two evangelists later became the composer of John Sung's Autobiography. A further confirmation of the Lord's pleasure upon this joint ministry!

The next field awaiting the Bethel Band was Tsingtao. Now, Tsingtao means "Green Island". When Andrew asked John if he would go along, he immediately said yes, because he had prior indication from the Lord that the next place he should go would be an "island".

At Tsingtao the Band came to a head-on clash with a number of charismatics. These stressed a great deal on speaking in tongues, spiritual songs, visions and dreams, as signs of being filled with the Holy Spirit. John wanted to straighten them out, but on the spot he had no ready answer. He prayed earnestly for understanding to deal with their problem.

When they came to Tahsingting, the home town of Pastor Ting Li Mei, China's first revivalist, John recalled after­wards, his mind was so preoccupied with answering the charismatics that he had no heart to preach. So, he sat in the pew to hear Andrew preach on the Samaritan Woman. Suddenly, he saw the light! The fullness of the Holy Spirit is not tongue speaking or any of the other phenomena that the charismatics stressed, but rather the living waters springing up like a fountain from within every born again believer. Tongues and other so-called spiritual gifts are not God's blessings. Once a person's sins are cast out from his heart through the saving grace of the Lord Jesus, immediately there spring the living waters of the Holy Spirit from within him, which flow on and on without quenching. Every Christian must become an empty, clean channel through which the living waters of the Holy Spirit might flow to many a parched and dried up, heart. This was the answer he later passed on to the Tsingtao charismatics.

When the Band came to Tsimu they heard of the death of Miss Dora Yu Tsi-tu, one of China's leading Christian women and a mighty evangelist in her younger days. It has been mentioned she was one who led the author's mother to Christ, as well as Watchman Nee. As one generation of God's chosen workers was passing from the scene, there was need of a new generation like the Bethel Band to take their place. Simultaneous with news of the passing on of Miss Dora Yu came another of the serious illness of Andrew Gih's grandmother. This obliged him to return to Shanghai immediately so that leadership of the Bethel Band now fell on John for the time being.

Repudiating the charismatics, John had a better presenta­tion of the work of the Holy Spirit. Seeing such a potential spiritual power in his converts, he first organized them into Preaching Bands at Tsimu, covenanting with them to go out for Christ at least once a week.

From Tsimu John advanced to Tsinan, provincial capital of Shantung. Having found the key to the Holy Spirit's power, he preached on the Samaritan Woman with a newfound freedom. His preaching was becoming more and more confident as he advanced under the Door Period.

After Tsinan the Band headed for Taian where nearby lies the grave of Confucius. A centre of Christian schools and missions, Taian had of late been ransacked by anti-Christian forces. Churches were attacked, schools were closed, mis­sionaries and pastors were dispersed. Houses left unguarded were stripped to the last stick of furniture, except for the k'ang bed. Now the k'ang bed is made of brick, within which burning charcoal is stoked as in a furnace to warm up for winter use. In one of these looted houses was the Bethel Band stationed. Here the message delivered by Dr Sung was one of consolation which encouraged the gentry not a little. One hundred and three publicly came to the Lord after three days' meetings.

In one of his sermons of a later date, Dr Sung recollected his visit to Taian near where lies Confucius' grave. Quoting Confucius' search for the Truth that if he found it in the morning he would gladly die in the evening, (子曰：朝聞道，夕死可矣) he concluded, "Had Confucius been born five hundred years later (Chinese speak in round numbers) so that he could know Christ, I'm sure he would become a Christian." What a contrast with some missionaries he met during his days in Shantung. These who were sent from a Christian country and were supposed to teach the Truth rejected parts of the Old Testament, and spurned the Blood of Christ. Not knowing Dr Sung's background he was asked to comment on science and religion. To which came the reply, "Science is good up to a point. One thing it cannot do is to deliver a sinner from his sins!" When it was suggested to him that Dr Fosdick and Mahatma Ghandi were fine types of Christian­ity, Dr Sung replied, "Confucius' teaching is far greater than theirs, yet what China needs is Jesus and His Cross. People quote Fosdick but what do they know of him? I have studied under him in New York City, but I totally repudiate his teaching and philosophy."

Any Christian coming to Shantung in those days must visit Tenghsien, not because it was a tourist attraction or some great metropolis. A mediocre city it was nevertheless "the chief centre of one of the biggest missions in China". Tenghsien was the stronghold of American Presbyterianism as Amoy was of English Presbyterianism. Tenghsien was famous for North China Theological Seminary which produced a great pastor and evangelist like Ting Li Mei and a great theologian like Chia Yu Ming. Not only a theologian, but also a reformer, for he was one of the founding fathers of the International Council of Christian Churches which was inaugurated in Amsterdam, 1948. Both these senior minis­ters were friends of John Sung.

Now none of the four young "lions" had completed a theological training, but with the Lord by their side they gathered courage to enter "Daniel's Den of Theology."

The morning meetings were given over to high school students. A good many of these who were burning with anti-Christian feelings and were come to look for trouble completely capitulated to the Gospel message. The evening meetings were held particularly for the Seminary students. One by one of the student body came under deep conviction of sin, and these were helped in making public confession. The final battle was won when as many as three hundred souls sought the Lord's mercies, amidst scenes of deep contrition and bitter tears of repentance.

As the revival fire spread the campaign had to be shifted to the largest meeting hall in the city. This city of a cool and dignified Presbyterianism was taken by storm. When sins were confessed and wrongs made right, waves of joy and choruses of praise swept through the whole congregation. One senior pastor confessed to a sin that had lurked in his heart for thirty-seven years. The Registrar of a hospital confessed to stealing public funds which he now returned to the authorities in complete restitution. That God had used babes in theology to speak to men with formal training reminds of Jesus' observation of a theological paradox, "Because thou hast hid these from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Matt 11:25,26). The sovereignty of God was now taught to Calvinists from outside of the lecture hall! "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty. .... That no flesh should glory in His presence." (I Cor 1:27-29)

As August 1931 the month of Summer Conferences was drawing near and the Bethel Band had fulfilled several more appointments in Shantung Province, it was time for them to return to base --- not to rest but to enter into another battle. Particularly Dr Sung, for he was slated to be chief planner and one of the speakers at the Shanghai Bible Conference. Other speakers were Rev Andrew Gih and Rev T.C. Ting. The theme of the Conference was REVIVAL. As for the sub-themes they were Prayer Revival, Song Revival; Bible Revival, Service Revival, Testimony Revival. Dr Sung, speaking on Bible Revival, restated it: "A Bunch of Keys to the Word." Under Service Revival he used Acts as his text.

Although Civil War was raging unabated and banditry was a terror to travellers on every hand, delegates were coming from all the places visited by the Bethel Band. These numbered between seven and eight hundred. Plus four hundred from the Shanghai Megalopolis the enrolment exceeded a thousand two hundred.

With the Civil War on and with Japan threatening inva­sion any day, the Conference felt a pressing need to evangel­ise all of China "while it is day" (Jn 4:4). At the conclusion of every message a redhot fervour was engendered whereby the congregation would rise as one man and pray with apostolic unction, "lifting up their voice with one accord," (Acts 4:24) and pleading for God's deliverance of China now in their time. At this Conference every province was represented save one. The last session was given to testimo­nies. As the people were so blessed by the messages and by such fellowships as never experienced before, extra time was given which went on for hours. Many young people gave their lives to the Lord and vowed to take the Gospel to the uttermost borders of China, even to Mongolia and Tibet. But, Bethel Worldwide Evangelistic Band was now setting its sight on Manchuria. Now called the "Three North­eastern Provinces," Manchuria was on the young evangel­ists' immediate schedule because signs in the North-east looked ominous.