February 18, 2013 -
Monday
Our friend, Lena, arranged for us to have breakfast at 7:30 AM. We reunited with our team-mate, Rie, and met many of the other foreigners teaching English across China. Then we went back to our room (after a walk to 7/11), where I began to catch up my journal while Deb read. Lunch was also provided. After reading and napping, it was time for the evening barbecue – steak!!!! Wow! [One of the great things about the annual conference is that we get to eat American food all week!] Then the whole evening was worship and instruction.
I'm not going to write much about the conference, although it is a highlight of the year for all of our teachers! I will, however, include one vignette: (February 20)
VISITING SAMUEL LAMB
We were
ushered to a small room on the second floor where we met Pastor Samuel. He insisted that we sit close to him around a
small table. He greeted us and gave us
gifts: his testimony and about six of
his sermons in pamphlet form. He is a
very gentle man, yet quite proud of his accomplishments. He repeatedly reminded us that his church
includes over 4,000 people, who meet in groups of 1,000 at four different
times. He walked us through some of the
pictures in his book of testimony.
He speaks
English quite well, but at times didn’t seem to understand questions (it may
have been a hearing problem). One of our teachers translated some of our questions for him and that seemed to help. He was curious to know where we were all from
and asked about our home states. His
father had been a Baptist preacher in Detroit for many years. He seemed surprised that several of our group
could speak Chinese and that over half of us lived in China!
He talked
about his years in prison briefly. He
was held in a prison in the extreme western province and was forced to work
eight hours a day in the coal mines. He
was fed well because they needed the men to stay healthy to be able to do the
work. When he was released, his church had
grown significantly! He is proud of
those who have been baptized under his ministry!
Today he
preaches the first week of every month;
his associates take care of the other Sundays and train the people! He is presently 88 years old and assumes he
will be going to Heaven soon [he died August 3, that year]. He told us
that the police used to bother him quite a bit.
One particular officer would come to his services every Sunday and
insist that he join the Three-Self Patriotic Church. Each time Pastor Lamb refused to do so. Finally the officer insisted that he
join! Pastor Lamb looked at him and
said, “Arrest me!” The officer left and
didn’t come back until four years later.
Today, local
police often direct foreigners to Pastor lamb’s church. It is the only reason that foreigners come to
this particular part of Guanzhou! J
The government hasn’t bothered him since 1999.
He spoke
with pride of having Billy Graham preach in his church; he translated for
him! He has been interviewed by 180 news
organizations and 80 heads of state.
This now has become a barrier of protection for him and his church
because if he was to be arrested again, it would become an international news
item!
We toured
his building at the courtesy of his young assistant. We sang some hymns in his upstairs
sanctuary. He is an accomplished pianist
and wrote forty hymns (he gave us a copy).
He reports that they have no difficulty getting Bibles now that they are
being printed in China! A few of our
members brought Bibles and presented them to him. Debbie and l left a gift in his hands as we
said our good-byes! Others may have done
so, too.
Glenn Teal and Samuel Lamb
– 2nd floor meeting room.
Third floor sanctuary where the preaching originates.
A
bench slides out when as the room fills to capacity!
Outdoor
seating behind the 3rd floor sanctuary.
The 1st floor
sanctuary.
The church’s foyer – notice the tree.
Front of the church –
looking one way……………………………and the other way.
Some thoughts on
visiting a Chinese mega-church!
I remember the first time I visited a friends' large church in central Ohio. I was so impressed! It blew me away! The building looks like a mall with 360
degree parking. It has a café and
children’s departments with play areas that equaled anything you’ve seen at
MacDonald’s. The youth area was
cavernous and was set up like a night club with refreshments and pool tables
and fooz-ball tables! The sanctuary was
a massive double gymnasium with a platform that is bigger than most
churches. Everything about the place
impresses you! It is home to close to
4,000 worshipers.
Now I’ve visited Samuel Lamb’s church. It is tiny.
It is inconceivable that 4,000 worshipers gather here at four services every week! Most sit on floors
where they only get a video feed of the message and worship! The restrooms are tiny and crude and
accommodate one person at a time. The
stairways are narrow and steep! The
building is old and the rooms are small.
There is no parking at all! You
could easily walk by the building and not recognize that it is a church! The whole building would fit inside the Ohio church at least 100 times!
How did buildings become so important when the New Testament Church went for its first 400 years without any????
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