初谈宋尚节
宋尚节（John Sung, 1901–1944）是20世纪上半叶最有影响力的中国布道家，被誉为“中国的布道王”。他的布道对中国教会和海外华人教会产生了深远影响。
第一次听到宋尚节这个名字，是我1998年夏天参加鹤岗市教会举办的义工培训班上。有一位叫贾兰菊的神学生在“讲道法”那门课上提到宋尚节的讲道很有特点，比如：宋尚节会把棺材带到现场，告诉人要及早悔改信耶稣。又比如：当宋尚节讲乃缦得医治（王下第5章）时，他当场从讲台上跳下去、再上来7次，用以表达乃缦到约旦河里沐浴7回。这是我对宋尚节的初步印象：一位讲道方式灵活的传道人。
在南京神学院读书期间，老师和同学偶尔会谈到宋尚节，然而他的形象在我心中若隐若现，并不明晰。 在2003年南京神学院读研究生时，陈泽民副院长（1917年10月15日—2018年10月15日）上课时见证：我小时候在宋尚节布道会上决志信了耶稣。“基督时报”上也记录过这件事：
“一篇报道记载，1931年宋尚节在汕头伯特利教堂举办布道会，此时年仅14岁的陈泽民被深深震撼——‘他的眼睛和视野被扩大了’，他‘开始第一次看到一个中国人，以中国化的方式宣讲福音所能彰显的能量’，这段经历对他的一生产生了重大影响，从此萌生了尽快成为全职传道人的念头”。
陈副院长学识渊博，对神学各家各派的思想也颇为熟悉。尽管他后来的神学路线倾向于自由主义神学，但他对宋尚节却心存敬意。
- 为何研究宋尚节？
43岁这个年龄将宋尚节和我联系起来。宋尚节43岁被主接走；我43岁做了开胸手术，生命得到更新和复兴。
我自幼患有先天性心脏病，15岁时因心衰开始寻求信仰，受圣灵感动，认罪悔改，接受耶稣基督为救主，并将一生奉献给福音事工。主奇妙地保守医治我活了下来。2020年2月13日的开胸手术后，我再次将自己奉献于主。作者是阿尔伯特·本杰明·辛普森（Albert Benjamin Simpson, 1843–1919）所唱：“前要的是祝福，今要主自己，前要的是医治，今要主而已；前我贪求恩赐，今要赐恩者；前我寻求能力，今要全能者”。
术后修养康复期间正值疫情肆虐、闭门不出时，我听到完整的宋尚节见证。 他的见证点燃了我祈祷的火焰和圣洁的热忱。宋尚节27岁在美国获得化学博士学位后，因受主呼召毅然决然地返回中国，并在横渡太平洋、临近中国海岸时，他将象征世上荣耀和身份证明的盒子和金钥匙抛掷到大海，宣告自己彻底向世界死、向基督活。想到这些使我心潮澎湃，巴不得自己也能爱主不顾一切。
宋尚节的布道像使徒保罗那样大有能力。他的布道使一个个灵魂获得救赎，脱离罪恶，甚至经历大神迹、大医治。愿主在二十一世纪想起更多大有能力的工人，在这黑暗的时代唤醒一个个将死的灵魂，使更多人经历救主死里复活的救恩。
宋尚节英年早逝。他在43岁完成主所托付的使命后被主接走。圣灵借着他的死更多唤醒我灵性上的觉醒。主说：“我实实在在地告诉你们，一粒麦子若不落在地里死了，仍旧是一粒；若是死了，就结出许多子粒来”（约12:24）。若不死后不能生。经历心脏大手术死里复生的我，在今后的日子里怎能再苟且偷生、为自己而活呢？
王明道称：宋尚节是中国近代历史上中国教会的“铁柱子”。宋尚节的见证让我流泪。一日在小区作晨祷时，圣灵感动我博士论文要研究宋尚节。我的祈祷是，愿我的研究不仅是知识上的探讨，更是灵性上的进深！愿感动宋尚节的灵加倍地感动更多神所呼召的仆人！
- 宣教学课
2022年秋天，我修一门宣教学课程。Dr. Dean Sieberhagen教授建议我，如果要研究宋尚节，必须要从教会历史的角度先探索宋尚节之前他的老家福建省的传教史。当时我的学期论文题目是：“这人撒种，那人收割：探索宋尚节之前中国福建的新教宣教历史”（ “One Sows and Another Reaps”: Exploring the Protestant Missions History in Fujian China before John Sung’s Ministry）。关于这方面的资料很难找。时间短，任务重，在一个半月内写出一篇25页的学术性文章并非易事。我恒切祷告，求主带领。很奇妙，主预备我在网上认识了Dr. Bill Brown教授。我写邮件向他寻求帮助，他第二天就把大量早期去福建的宣教士及相关材料发邮件给我，并在邮件中说：
“我还有两篇关于他（宋尚节）的传记，并且采访过一位中国的年长弟兄和一位姊妹。他们在孩提时代曾参加过宋博士在鼓浪屿的聚会，至今仍清晰记得当时许多人不喜欢他，但他们亲眼看见一位校长的儿子——自出生起就瘸腿——被人推着上台，却当场得了医治，走下台来。整个鼓浪屿为之轰动。我本人是个非常怀疑的人，尤其是在电视上看到那么多的欺骗（保罗的时代也同样如此），但听他们如此生动的分享，真是一个祝福。”
（未完待续）
An Initial Reflection on John Sung
John Sung (1901–1944) was the most influential Chinese evangelist in the first half of the 20th century, hailed as the “Evangelist King of China.” His preaching had a profound impact on the Chinese church and the overseas Chinese church.
The first time I heard the name John Sung was in the summer of 1998, when I attended a Christian volunteer training program held by the church in Hegang City. A seminary student named Jia Lanjü mentioned in the “Preaching” class that John Sung’s preaching had some very unique features. For example, Sung would bring a coffin to the site, telling people to repent and believe in Jesus right away. Another example: when he preached on Naaman’s healing (2 Kings 5), he would actually jump down from the pulpit and climb back up seven times, to demonstrate Naaman dipping himself seven times in the Jordan River. This was my first impression of John Sung: a preacher with a very flexible style of delivering sermons.
During my studies at Nanjing Theological Seminary, teachers and classmates would occasionally talk about John Sung, but his image in my mind was vague and indistinct. In 2003, while I was a graduate student at Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, Vice President Chen Zemin (October 15, 1917 – October 15, 2018) testified in class: “When I was a child, I made a decision for Christ at one of John Sung’s revival meetings.” Christian Times also recorded this event:
“A report noted that in 1931, John Sung held revival meetings at the Bethel Church in Shantou. At that time, 14-year-old Chen Zemin was deeply moved— ‘his eyes and vision were broadened,’ and he ‘for the first time saw how a Chinese person, preaching the gospel in a Chinese way, could display such power.’ This experience had a significant impact on his whole life, and from then on, he developed the desire to quickly become a full-time preacher.”
Vice President Chen was very learned and familiar with the thoughts of different theological traditions. Although his later theological orientation leaned toward liberal theology, he nevertheless held John Sung in high respect.
Why Study John Sung?
The age of 43 connects John Sung and me. John Sung was taken by the Lord at the age of 43; I, at 43, underwent open-heart surgery, through which my life was renewed and revived.
I was born with congenital heart disease, and at the age of 15, because of heart failure, I began to seek faith. Moved by the Holy Spirit, I confessed my sins, repented, accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and dedicated my life to the gospel ministry. The Lord wonderfully preserved and healed me so that I survived. After my open-heart surgery on February 13, 2020, once again, I dedicated myself to the Lord. As American pastor and hymn writer Albert Benjamin Simpson (1843-1919) sang:
“Once it was the blessing, now it is the Lord; once it was the feeling, now it is His Word;
once His gift I wanted, now, the Giver own; once I sought for healing, now Himself alone.”
During my post-surgery recovery, which coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, I heard the full testimony of John Sung. His testimony ignited in me the fire of prayer and a holy passion. At the age of 27, after earning a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States, Sung, compelled by the Lord’s call, resolutely returned to China. While crossing the Pacific Ocean and nearing the Chinese coast, he threw into the sea the box and golden key that symbolized worldly glory and his identity credentials, declaring that he had died completely to the world and now lived only to Christ. Thinking of this stirred my heart greatly, making me long to also love the Lord without holding anything back.
John Sung’s preaching was powerful, like that of the Apostle Paul. His messages brought salvation to souls, delivered them from sin, and were accompanied by great signs and healings. May the Lord in the 21st century raise up more mighty workers, awakening dying souls in this dark age, so that more people may experience the salvation of the risen Lord.
John Sung died young. At the age of 43, having completed the mission entrusted to him, he was taken by the Lord. Through his death, the Holy Spirit further awakened me spiritually. The Lord said: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Without dying, there can be no life. Having experienced death and resurrection through open-heart surgery, how could I in the days ahead live carelessly for myself again?
Wang Mingdao once called John Sung the “iron pillar” of the modern Chinese church in China’s recent history. John Sung’s testimony moved me to tears. One morning during my neighborhood prayer walk, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that my doctoral dissertation should focus on John Sung. My prayer is that my research will not only be an academic exploration but also a deepening of my spiritual life! May the Spirit that moved John Sung also move, in double measure, more servants whom God has called!
Mission Class
In the autumn of 2022, I took a course in mission. Professor Dr. Dean Sieberhagen suggested that if I wanted to study John Sung, I must first explore, from the perspective of church history, the history of missions in his home province of Fujian before his ministry. At that time, my term paper was titled: “One Sows and Another Reaps: Exploring the Protestant Missions History in Fujian China before John Sung’s Ministry.” It was very difficult to find materials on this topic. With little time and heavy workload, producing a 25-page academic paper in just one and a half months was not easy. I prayed earnestly, asking the Lord for guidance. Miraculously, the Lord prepared for me to meet Professor Dr. Bill Brown online. I wrote him an email seeking help, and the next day he sent me a large amount of material on early missionaries to Fujian, as well as related resources. In his email he also said:
“I’m glad to hear you are writing about John Sung. I have the very large volume of his diaries, which were thought to be lost. I also have two bios about him, and I interviewed an elderly Chinese brother and sister who attended his meetings on Gulangyu Islet when they were children, and remember vividly how he was disliked by many, but they saw the son of a school principal who had been lame since birth wheeled on stage, and then healed and walk off. The entire island was abuzz. I’m a very skeptical person, after so much fraud on TV (and in Paul’s day as well), but it was a blessing to hear them both share so vividly.”
(to be continued)