D. L. MOODY : American Evangelist Part 1

Dwight Lyman Moody (1837-1899), more than any other, can be said to be the founder of the modern mass evangelism movement. While Whitefield and Wesley before him had attracted large crowds, it was Moody who pioneered evangelistic campaigns with a planned itinerary and funding, had meetings booked at specific venues, arranged publicity, introduced the inquiry room and, with Sankey, broke new ground in the use of religious songs.

The Moody family lived in the farming community of North field, Massachusetts, and were left to struggle as best they could after their father died of too much whisky. Their determined mother, a Unitarian by religion, sent her children to school, but the need to earn money often kept young Dwight at home. Such was his lack of education that throughout the rest of his life he was never able to spell properly and sometimes felt ill-at-ease in the company of educated people.
At the age of seventeen he left home and persuaded his uncle to give him a job in his Boston shoe shop. The following year, during revival meetings at the Congregational Church, his Sunday School teacher visited the shoe shop and urged Moody to come to Christ, which he did. The decision was immediate and real, and Moody was a new man. In 1856 he moved to Chicago with an ambition to become rich. He found work as a travelling salesman, joined Plymouth Church and immersed himself in evangelism, often filling the front pews with men he had pulled in from the streets.
Keen to reach children for Christ, he became a Sunday School teacher at the Wells Street Mission and on his first morning rounded up eighteen slum boys from the streets. Though the meetings were frequently noisy, the children enjoyed the talks and the singing, but were specially captivated by Moody's compassion, good humour and winning ways. As the numbers grew to around six hundred, Moody gave up his job to devote himself to full-time evangelism.
He started week-night meetings for both children and adults, and during the day worked as a missionary for the newly-formed YMCA. Eager to win souls for Christ, he became known in Chicago as 'Crazy Moody'. During the years of the Civil War (1861-65) the scope of his ministry widened still further. His Sunday School developed into an Independent Church, on Illinois Street, and as a YMCA worker he held preaching services for the troops at Camp David; later he ministered at the battlefront to the wounded on both sides, as well as to the freed slaves.
In 1862 he took time off to get married to English-born Emma Revell, whom he considered to be a cut above himself; throughout all their life together they were 'so perfectly one... completely wrapped up in each other'. Mrs. Moody often accompanied her husband on his tours, but their first trip to England was taken on doctor's orders. Emma had developed asthma and was advised to take a long sea voyage, so the Moodys took the opportunity to visit the 'Old Country'.
There were a few speaking engagements, mostly in Brethren halls, but the visit had more far-reaching consequences than Moody could have expected, through meeting Harry Moorhouse, a converted pick¬pocket from Lancashire.
The following year, Moorhouse turned up at the Moody home in Chicago and offered to preach at Illinois Street Church. As Moody had to be away, he reluctantly agreed for him to speak at a mid-week meeting. The church was highly impressed with Moorhouse, as his message was different to that preached by the pastor; whereas Moody declared that God hated the sinner as well as the sin, Moorhouse preached from John 3:16 that God loves sinners.
When Moody returned, his prejudice was shattered; the character of
his message had to be revised, and he even learned from Moorhouse how to read and study the Bible. Later that year at a Convention, he told his listeners how they had to 'conquer by love; for if a man has his heart full of love and a little common sense, he will succeed'.
In October 1871 a great fire destroyed much of the city of Chicago, including the Moody's home, the church and the new YMCA building. But Moody saw the hand of God for him in this terrible tragedy, and he felt led to give up the Mission and undertake a much wider ministry.
Feeling dried up inside and lacking in power, he prayed for some weeks that God would 'baptise him in the Spirit'. His prayer was answered one day when he was walking down a street in New York; as in his heart he surrendered to God, he was overpowered-by the Spirit and from that moment his life took a completely different turn.

Continue to D. L. MOODY: American Evangelist Part 2

John Sung, John the Baptist from China

Pendeta ini berpenampilan unik. Ia kurus kecil. Rambutnya pendek dan selalu terurai di dahi. Mukanya pucat dan selalu menunduk. Ia selalu berpakaian kemeja putih sederhana model Tiongkok kuno. Ia tidak suka tersenyum sana-sini atau berbasa-basi. Sifatnya ketus dan menyendiri. Ia pemalu. Tapi kalau berkotbah, tiba-tiba ia menjelma menjadi nabi yang berapi-api. Orang datang berduyun-duyun sampai gedung gereja melimpah ruah. Itulah Dr. John Sung dari Tiongkok yang membuat ratusan ribu orang Indonesia pada tahun 1935-1939 menerima Injil Kristus.

Siapakah John Sung? Ia lahir dengan nama Sung Siong Geh pada tahun 1901 di sebuah desa miskin di propinsi Fukien di Tiongkok Tenggara. Ayahnya pendeta Gereja Metodis. Ibunya buruh tani. Mereka sekeluarga bertubuh lemah dan sering sakit.

Sejak kecil Sung sudah berwatak unik. Ia gesit dalam segala hal. Ia keras kepala dan tidak bisa sabar. Ia mudah marah. Ia sering memberontak kepada ayahnya. Ia pernah menjatuhkan diri ke sumur. Ia pernah menabrakkan diri ke buyung besar sehingga buyung itu hancur. Setiap kali ia dicemeti ayahnya ia tidak pernah menangis, ia malah heran bahwa justru ayahnya yang menangis setelah itu.

Sung tampak lebih unik lagi di sekolah. Kecedasannya melewati batas wajar. Ia bisa mengingat tiap kata dari tiap buku yang dibacanya. Ia sudah hafal kitab Mazmur, Amsal, dan kitab kitab Injil. Ia suka menulis karangan yang menentang penjajah Jepang. Ia suka ikut ayahnya melayani kebaktian di desa desa lain. Kalau ayahnya sakit, Sung yang baru berusia 12 tahun sudah bisa menggantikan ayahnya menjelaskan Alkitab dari atas mimbar.

Pada usia 18 tahun Sung berlayar ke Amerika karena mendapat beasiswa bintang pelajar di seluruh provinsi. Ia belajar kimia di Wesleyan University di Ohio. Untuk ongkos hidup ia bekerja sebagai pembersih sampah dan pembersih mesin pabrik. Ia lulus sebagai mahasiswa nomor satu. Surat kabar di Amerika dan Eropa melaporkan prestasi jenius ini.

Namun, Sung tetap gelisah mencari arti hidup. Apa faedah hidupku bagi orang lain? Apa kehendak Tuhan dalam hidupku? Ia bangun pukul 4 setiap pagi untuk mencari kedekatan dengan Tuhan. Ia sering merenungkan cinta Tuhan Yesus memberi makan ribuan orang menurut Matius 14: 13-21. Anak kecil dalam cerita itu memberi lima roti dan dua ikan. Apa yang aku punya untuk diberikan kepada TUHAN? Aku punya sepuluh jari tangan dan sepuluh jari kaki. Itu bisa aku berikan! tetapi bagaimana caranya? Sung termenung memikirkan nasihat Rasul Paulus: "supaya kamu mempersembahkan tubuhmu sebagai persembahan yang hidup, yang kudus dan yang berkenan kepada Allah" (Roma 12:1).

Sementara itu, studi Sung berjalan terus. Ia diterima di Ohio State University. Program Master of Science ditempuhnya hanya dalam sembilan bulan, padahal ia bersekolah sambil bekerja sebagai pemotong rumput di jalan dan aktif dalam gerakan mahasiswa menentang diskriminasi rasial.

Sesudah itu Sung mengambil program doktor. Persyaratan bahasa Prancis dan Jerman dipenuhinya dengan belajar sendiri cukup dalam satu bulan. Ia lulus dengan gemilang dan menjadi doktor ilmu kimia hanya dalam tiga semester. Semua surat kabar Amerika dan Eropa mencatat rekor jenius ini. Banyak perusahaan raksasa menawarkan lowongan kepada Sung. Bahkan pemerintah Jerman membujuk dia untukmengembangkan riset teknologi roket.

Sung menolak semua tawaran itu. Lalu ia masuk sekolah teologi. Program tiga tahun di Union Theological Seminary di New York ditempuhnya dalam waktu satu tahun. Namun, sementara itu tubuhnya semakin lemah dengan penyakit asma, paru-paru, jantung. dan khususnya mata.

Pada suatu siang Sung mengalami gangguan mental. Ia dirawat di rumah sakit jiwa. Selama 193 hari di rumah sakit itu ia menelaah 1.189 pasal Alkitab dari Kejadian 1 sampai Wahyu 22 sebanyak 40 kali dengan 40 sudut eksegese yang berbeda. Ia keluar rumah sakit sambil membawa 40 naskah eksegese dalam bahasa Inggris dan mandarin.

Di sekolah teologi Sung membuat keputusan untuk mengkristalkan pergumulan spiritualitasnya dalam bentuk meninggalkan ilmu kimia lalu menyerahkan jari tangan dan kaki, serta kedua telinga, mata, tangan dan kakinya untuk memperkenalkan Injil di Asia. Ia tahu bahwa sebagai kimiawan pun bisa menjadi saksi Kristus, namun ia memilih jalan lain.

Tahun 1927 Sung pulang ke Tiongkok. Ia langsung bergiat dalam perkabaran Injil dan pembinaan kader kader awam sebagai pemberita Injil. Sepanjang tahun ia terus berpergian. Sebab itu, ia tidak mau menikah. Namun, adat kuno keluarga mewajibkan dia menikah dengan seseorang yang belum dikenalnya sama sekali. Dari pernikahan ini lahir lima orang anak, namun Sung hampir tidak mengenal anak-anaknya ini. Kemudian Sung mulai mengabarkan Injil ke negara negara Asia.

Pada tahun 1939, ia beberapa kali datang ke Indonesia. Acara pemberitaan Injil ini disebut "Serie Meeting" yang terdiri dari 22 pemahaman Alkitab atau khotbah tiap pagi, petang, dan malam selama tujuh hari. "Serie Meeting" ini diadakan di Surabaya, Madiun, Solo, Magelang, Purworejo, Yogyakarta, Cirebon, Bandung, Bogor, Jakarta, Makasar, Ambon, dan Medan. Khotbahnya diterjemahkan dalam bahasa Indonesia dan bahasa Jawa. Pokok pembahasannnya bersambung. Cara penyampaiannya jelas, sederhana, dan memikat. Ia sering menggunakan papan tulis dan alat peraga. Sasarannya adalah orang-orang yang belum pernah mendengar berita Injil.

Hasilnya memang luar biasa. Ribuan orang dengan setia mengikuti 22 pertemuan itu. Pada tiap pertemuan ribuan Alkitab, nyanyian rohani, dan buku renungan terjual habis. Di tiap kota, gereja-gereja membentuk komite tindak lanjut karena ribuan orang mendaftar untuk mengikuti katekese.

Watak Sung sejak masa kecilnya tetap tampak. Ia serba cepat dan tidak sabar. Ketika memasuki ruang yang gaduh ia langsung menggebrak meja sambil berteriak, "Apa ini ruang ibadah atau gedung komedi?" Di tempat ia menginap, dituntutnya suasana sunyi. Ia meminta seisi rumah itu bangun pukul 4 pagi dan berdoa untuk pertemuan "Serie Meeting" hari itu. Ia menolak pemberian atau hadiah dalam bentuk apa pun. Kalau diajak mengobrol atau berbasa basi ia langsung menegur dengan ketus, "Jangan ganggu pikiran saya!"

Kekuatan tubuh Sung semakin rapuh. Perang dunia dan kemiskinan yang melanda Tiongkok menekan dia. Berkali-kali ia masuk rumah sakit untuk pengobatan dan pembedahan. Pada tahun 1944 dalam usia 42 tahun Sung meninggal dunia. Di kalangan akademik ia dikenang sebagai kimiawan jenius calon pemenang hadiah Nobel untuk ilamu kimia. Namun, di hati banyak orang lain, ia dikenang sebagai pembawa berita Injil.

Generasi masa kini gereja di Indonesia tidak mengenal John Sung. Tetapi sebenarnya banyak di antara kita merupakan buah dari benih Injil yang ditaburkan Sung kepada generasi-generasi pendahulu kita. Ayah dan ibu saya pertama kali mendengar berita Injil pada "Serie Meeting" John Sung di Bandung pada tahun 1939. Ketika itu, saya masih berada dalam kandungan lima bulan. Kemudian ketika masa remaja saya diberi buku oleh seorang "zendeling" yang pulang ke Belanda, yaitu Cornela Baarbe. Buku itu adalah karangannya sendiri. Isinya tentang John Sung. Judulnya, "Dr. Sung Een Reveil op Java" terbitan Voorhoeve Den Haag. Zendeling ini dulunya adalah komite penyelenggara "Serie Meeting" John Sung. Lalu zendeling itu dengan perasaan haru memberikan kepada saya sehelai potret John Sung yang ditandatangani sendiri oleh John Sung. Karangan ini saya tulis sambil memandangi potret itu.

Source:
Book title: Selamat Berkembang: 33 Renungan tentang Spiritualitas
Author : Dr. Andar Ismail
Publishing : BPK Gunung Mulia, Jakarta 2003
picture: www.amoymagic.com

Robert Morrison

On this day two hundred years ago, Robert Morrison boarded the ship, the Trident, in New York to complete his journey to China as the first Protestant Missionary.

He was born in 1782 in Scotland and was brought up in the Scottish Presbyterian Church. He took a dissolute detour from the faith but was converted in 1798 and began to dream of being a missionary. His mother made him promise, however, not to be a missionary while she lived. She died in 1804 and Morrison applied to the London Missionary Society that had been founded in 1795 and was accepted. January 8, 1807 Morrison was ordained in the Scots Church in London. He was appointed for China while still a single man and set sail from England the last day of January, 1807.

The only ships sailing for China belonged to the East India Company. It was the Company's policy not to carry missionaries. Finding no ship bound for China that would carry him, Morrison took passage on board the Remittance, bound for New York. He arrived in New York on April 20. On May 12 he set sail for China. After 113 days at sea, he arrived in Macao on September 4, 1807.

He served for 27 years in China with one furlough home to England. He married Mary Morton in 1809. She died in 1821 when Morrison was 39. He married Eliza Armstrong in 1825. Morrison died nine years later at the age of 52 in his son’s arms in Macao.

After baptizing the first Chinese Protestant Christian on May 14, 1814 (seven years after his arrival!), Morrison wrote prophetically in his journal, “May he be the first fruits of a great harvest, one of millions who shall come and be saved on the day of wrath to come.”

Give thanks today to God for the triumphs of his grace in the lives of ordinary men and women who, by his grace have done amazing things for the glory of Christ. Pause now and be willing to say yes to the stirrings of God in your heart to be a missionary. If he calls, do not stoop to be the CEO of Microsoft or the President of the United States. When Morrison was asked if he expected to have a spiritual impact in China, he answered, “No sir, but I expect God will.”

“We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

The best source of information on the web for Robert Morrison appears to be at Bablestone. Also visit Pray for China to help you engage today with the work of God in that great land.

Source: http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/627_200_years_in_china_today/