缅怀林彬牧师
大卫说：“论到世上的圣民，他们又美又善，是我最喜悦的”。（诗16：3）
“在耶和华眼中，看圣民之死极为宝贵。”（诗篇 116:15）
2025年10月1日林彬师母短信上说：“下午3：34主接回家” 。收到这条短信时，我的心中是平静的。尽管与林牧师短暂分离的忧伤阵阵袭来，与他相处的点滴也不断在脑海中浮现，但内心却充满属天的确据：主的忠仆安息主怀了！
9月29日为林牧师祷告时，我在日记里记下两个词：“Mission Completed.”（“使命完成”）
林彬牧师（1941年12月7日-2025年10月1日）是一位属灵的英雄。他在世上的时候，神借着他开拓了四百多间教会。他走南闯北，事奉的脚步从未停歇。当听闻他被主接回家的消息时，有位弟兄说得很好：“作为一位牧师和主的门徒，还有什么比在愛别人的路上去世更好的归宿呢？基督徒是最不应惧怕死亡的一批人，也是最愿意付出愛却不求回报的一批人。”
常有人说：“我宁可死在战场上，不愿死在病床上。”林牧师正是这样的一位属灵前辈，他的人生在属灵战场上凯旋而归。我们深信，当主在天门口迎接他时，就像迎接一位从战场上披荆斩棘、叱咤风云、得胜归来的大将军一样，为他戴上精金的冠冕，并称赞他说：“好，你这又良善又忠心的仆人！”这正是林牧师一生服侍所追求的目标。
感恩神奇妙的预备与安排，使林牧师与师母于 2025 年 9 月 21 日来到小石城以马内利华语浸信会崇拜——那是他人生最后一次崇拜。他将最后的祝福留给了我们，在主日学里分享他最宝贵的教导；我们（林牧师、林师母、张琨、李春海、天意、天成）在 Asian Buffet 一起吃了他人生中的最后一顿午餐，享受在基督里愛的团契。临别时，他温暖地向我们道别，说：“我希望以后还来看你们！”
林牧师是我的属灵父亲。我一直以为林牧师最愛我——后来才明白，凡他所教导过的每一位门徒都觉得林牧师最愛他/她。这或许正是林牧师生命的魅力，也正像我们与上帝的关系一样—我们都觉得上帝最愛的是“我”。也许，一位好的牧者就应该让每一个人都觉得自己是独特而宝贵的
记得 2008 年 8 月 10 日，我来美国的第二天就去三一华语浸信会敬拜，正好遇见林牧师。我去沈阳领事馆面签那天，主给我的经文是出埃及记 23:20：“看哪，我差遣使者在你前面，在路上保护你，领你到我所预备的地方去。”林牧师就是我生命路上的使者之一，引导我前行。
当他第一次见到我时笑容满面地对我说：“太好了，主带你一路来到美国一定有祂的安排。你可以在我们教会边学习、边实习。”那天的信息是“浪子回头”。虽然我不是浪子，却在信息中泪流满面，走到台前再次将自己献给主。
从那天起，林牧师带领了我“师徒关系”的培训旅程——如何在美国服侍、如何植堂、如何牧会、如何建立婚姻、甚至迁移到小石城服侍——一路上都有林牧师的陪伴。我略举以下几个例子
一、林牧师常常请我吃饭
有句西方谚语：“要想得着人的心，先要得着他的胃。”（ “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”）。林牧师确实深深“抓住了我的胃”。刚毕业开始植堂时，他常带我吃午餐：西餐汉堡、三明治、越南的Lee’s Sandwich、越南米粉Pho、中餐……对于我这个单身“大胃王”（Big Stomach，与 King David 的谐音构成中国式笑话）来说非常重要——人先要吃饱，才能有力量服侍。
他和师母也常邀请留学生与访问学者到家里做客、庆祝感恩节。他说：“我以前喜欢请客吃饭，大家互相请来请去没什么意思。但若请那些不能偿还我的人吃饭就有福了（路 14:12–14），所以我愿意更多服侍这些学生学者。”
二、蒙召的人要以服侍主为念
刚到美国时，我经济拮据，连学费都付不起，很想去餐馆打工。林牧师严肃地说：“春海，你和别人不一样。你是蒙召为主所用的人。千万别去餐馆打工，那对传道人不是好见证。你专心依靠主，主会为你预备一切。” 我听从了林牧师的话，专心服侍，从未缺乏。
三、两个人总比一个人好
林牧师像中国老父亲一样“催婚”（ 这也是愛的表达）。他说：“你在美国牧会，一定要成家立业，有帮助协助你。主赐予人间的爱情，要学习了生儿养女之道，才能更好地牧养弟兄姐妹。” 在林牧师和 Kirk 牧师的帮助下，我与莎莎师母的愛情修成正果，正式迈进婚姻的殿堂。如今蒙主眷顾，我们已育有三个儿女。林牧师一生为五十一对夫妇证婚（十对中美婚姻，四十一对华人婚姻），成为多人婚姻的祝福。
四、灰心时的鼓励
在奥克拉荷马植堂十年，我也有灰心想放弃的时候。林牧师总说：“植堂没有失败。这是神的工作，我们只要尽全力配合祂。”我初期常找不到定位，也常会找不准愛心的界限。林牧师提醒：“不能和信徒只是哥们（buddy, buddy）相待。你要做牧师，与羊保持适当界限，才能带领他们走主的道路。”
五、禾场的调整
2008 年在奥克拉荷马服侍的最后一年，林牧师在给同工培训时多次强调：“在美国服侍的华人牧者，不一定一辈子待在同一个地方。主可能带你到不同地区服侍，为兴起更多工人。” 回头看，这正是主借他预备弟兄姐妹的策略。2005 年 5 月，他亲自组织欢送会差派我们全家到小石城服侍。小石城教会从母会独立时，他又来讲道，鼓励我们承担大使命。
六、翻译训练
感谢明日之光制作的纪念林牧师的视频。视频里，第一张照片就是他讲道，我在旁边翻译。当年的我怯懦、不自信。我紧紧盯着林牧师。他讲一句，我紧张地翻一句。那场景就像老兵训练新兵。感谢主借着他一步一步带我成长。原来我根本不知道自己有翻译的恩赐，在他的训练下才被逐渐发掘出来。
七、严厉的愛
“当面的责备胜于背地的愛情”（箴 27:5）。
学习植堂之初，第一次崇拜的 PowerPoint 做错，耽误十分钟，他当面指出：“传道人要提前做好功课，免得浪费大家时间。”第一次组织户外活动，因为学生不准时、地点不合适，他严肃地批评我说：在美国必须教导学生们守时，户外活动必须提前规划好。良药苦口，这些严厉的教导终生受益。
当然，他也有信息掌握不全的时候。记得我从 OUC 毕业后，他带我去加拿大参加 CBF。到了温哥华，我没有加拿大签证被遣返——这是我的低级错误。但当时林牧师也以为持美国留学签证就可以畅通无阻。
由于篇幅有限，许多点滴无法尽述。以下我用十个成语概括林彬牧师一生的服侍：
- 忠心愛主
- 持守真理
- 真诚善良
- 刚正不阿
- 热心植堂
- 惜才若渴
- 睿智应变
- 锲而不舍
- 孜孜不倦
- 凯旋归家
回首过去，其实林牧师从未走远。他在基督里对我们的愛已经深深融入我们的血液中、我们的骨髓里！愿这份愛继续从我们每个人的心田流入另一个心田里。
《林前》13：13 如今长存的有信、有望、有愛，其中最大的是愛。
愿这份愛继续一代接一代传下去。
In Memory of Pastor Ted Lam
David once said, “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” (Psalm 16:3)
“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15, ESV)
On October 1, 2025, Pastor Lam’s wife, Jane Lam sent a message: “At 3:34 p.m., the Lord took him home.” When I received the message, my heart was calm. Though waves of sorrow came as I recalled our moments with Pastor Lam, yet inwardly I was filled with a heavenly assurance: the Lord’s faithful servant has entered his rest!
On September 29, as I prayed for Pastor Lam, I wrote two words in my journal: “Mission Completed.”
Pastor Ted Lam (December 7, 1941– October 1, 2025) was a spiritual hero. During his earthly ministry, God used him to plant more than 400 churches. He traveled far and wide, never once slowing his footsteps in serving the Lord. After hearing the news of his homegoing, one brother said it so well:
“As a pastor and a disciple of the Lord, what better ending is there than to finish one’s life on the path of loving others? Christians are the people who fear death the least and who give love the most without expecting anything in return.”
People often say, “I’d rather die on the battlefield than on the sickbed.” Pastor Lam was exactly such a spiritual warrior—he finished his life triumphant on the battlefield of faith. We firmly believe that when the Lord welcomed him at the gates of heaven, it was like welcoming a general returning victorious from the front Lames—crowned with gold, honored by the King, and hearing the commendation:
“Well done, good and faithful servant!”
This was the goal Pastor Lam pursued all his life.
We thank God for His wonderful timing and arrangement that brought Pastor Lam and his wife to Little Rock Immanuel Chinese Baptist Church on September 21, 2025—his final worship on earth. He left us with his final blessings, shared his most precious teachings in Sunday School, and afterward the six of us (Pastor Lam, Mrs. Lam, Zhang Kun, Chunhai Li, Tianyi, and Tiancheng) enjoyed his last earthly lunch together at Asian Buffet, tasting the fellowship of Christ’s love. When we parted, he said warmly, “I hope I can come visit you again!”
Pastor Lam was my spiritual father. For a long time, I thought I was the one he loved most—until I realized that every disciple he mentored thought the same. That was the beauty of his life, just as in our relationship with God—each of us feels that God loves “me” the most. Perhaps a good pastor is precisely one who makes every person feel uniquely cherished.
I still remember August 10, 2008—the second day after I arrived in America—when I visited Trinity Chinese Baptist Church and met Pastor Lam for the first time. On the day I went to the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang for my visa interview, the Lord gave me Exodus 23:20:
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.” Pastor Lam was one of the angels God sent along my life’s journey to guide me.
When he first saw me, he smiled warmly and said, “Wonderful! The Lord brought you all the way to America for a purpose. You can study and intern at our church.” The sermon that day was on the prodigal son. Though I was not a prodigal, I wept through the message and walked forward to rededicate myself to the Lord.
From that day on, Pastor Lam began a mentoring journey with me—teaching me how to serve in America, how to plant churches, how to pastor, how to build a marriage, and eventually guiding my move to Little Rock. I offer a few examples below:
1. Pastor Lam often took me out for meals
There is a Western saying: “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
Pastor Lam truly “won my stomach.” When I first graduated and began church planting, he frequently took me out for lunch—burgers, sandwiches, Lee’s Sandwiches, Vietnamese pho, Chinese food…
For me, a single young “big stomach”—a nickname that sounds like “Big David” in Chinese—this meant a great deal. A person must first be fed before he can have the strength to serve.
He and Mrs. Lam often invited international students and visiting scholars to their home, especially during Thanksgiving. He once said, “I used to host dinners with friends, but inviting one another back and forth didn’t mean much. But it is blessed to invite those who cannot repay you (Luke 14:12–14). So I want to serve students and scholars more.”
2. Those who are called must set their hearts on serving the Lord
When I first came to America, I was financially struggling and couldn’t even pay my tuition. I wanted to work at a restaurant. Pastor Lam said firmly, “Chunhai, you are different. You are called by God. Do not go to work at a restaurant, that is not a good testimony for a minister. Focus fully on serving the Lord; He will provide everything you need.” I followed what he said, and I never lacked anything.
3. Two are better than one
Pastor Lam urged me to marry—like a typical Chinese-style dad full of love (
this too was his expression of care). He said, “If you serve in America, you must build a family. You need to have a helper. It is great that the Lord grants you a loving partner. Learn how to raise children, and you will better shepherd the flock.” With the help of Pastor Lam and Pastor Kirk, Shasha and I entered the covenant of marriage. Today, by God’s grace, we have three children. Pastor Lam officiated 51 weddings in his lifetime—10 Chinese American and 41 Chinese marriages—becoming a blessing to many families.
4. Encouragement during discouraging seasons
During my ten years of church serving and planting in Oklahoma, I sometimes felt discouraged. Pastor Lam always said, “There is no failure in church planting. This is God’s work. We are only responsible to do our best to cooperate with Him.”
In the early years, I often struggled to find my footing or the boundaries of love. Pastor Lam reminded me, “You cannot simply be ‘buddy-buddy’ with the flock. You are the pastor. You must keep healthy boundaries in order to lead them in the Lord.”
5. Adjustments in ministry fields
During his final year in Oklahoma in 2008, Pastor Lam repeatedly taught the coworkers, “Chinese pastors serving in America may not stay in one place forever. The Lord may lead you to different fields to raise up more workers.” Looking back, this was exactly God’s strategy spoken through him.
On May 2005, he led to organize the sending service and commissioned our family to Little Rock. When the Little Rock church became independent, he returned to preach and encourage us to take up the Great Commission.
6. Translation training
I am grateful for the memorial video produced by Pioneers. The first photo shows Pastor Lam preaching while I translated beside him. Back then, I was timid and unsure of myself. I clung to him—he spoke one sentence, and I translated one sentence nervously. It was like a veteran training a rookie soldier. I never knew I had a gift for translation until he helped to discover and cultivate it.
7. Loving discipline
“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.” (Proverbs 27:5)
In my early church-planting days, we made the PowerPoint incorrectly and delayed worship by ten minutes. He rebuked me: “A minister must prepare thoroughly so as not to waste people’s time.”
When I organized an outdoor event and it was chaotic due to students’ lateness and poor planning, he sternly corrected me: “You must teach students in America to be punctual. Outdoor events must be planned in advance.” These corrective words were bitter but life-giving.
Of course, he also had moments of imperfect information. After I graduated from OUC, he took me to Canada for CBF. When we arrived in Vancouver, I was denied entry because I had no Canadian visa—that was my rookie mistake. But at the time, Pastor Lam also assumed that an American student visa would allow smooth entry.
Because of space, many memories cannot be recorded here. Instead, I summarize Pastor Lam’s life of ministry in ten Chinese idioms:
- Faithful to the Lord
- Firm in truth
- Sincere and kind
- Upright and fearless
- Passionate in church planting
- Eager to train workers
- Wise and adaptable
- Persevering
- Diligent and tireless
- Triumphant homecoming
Looking back, Pastor Lam has never truly left us. His love in Christ has flowed into our blood and into our bones. May this love continue to flow from each of our hearts into the next heart.
1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
May this love continue from generation to generation.