Nothing gives me more satisfaction, more joy, more happiness than being a worker for God. I’m deeply grateful for the calling to be a pastor.

My Village

I was born in 1955 in a Taiwanese village of several hundred people. The village had an elementary school and a temple of the local religion. Besides going to the temple to pray, the villagers celebrated the birthday of the deity they worshiped. Their celebration included putting on a show, offering food to be enjoyed by the deity, and inviting relatives and friends to the feast they had prepared for the occasion. On the birthday of the temple deity, my grandma, with the help of her daughter, would cook a great amount of food to offer to the deity and to share with my relatives. My brother and I would help by running errands to and from grocery stores, buying whatever was needed either for the cooking or for the worship, such as paper money and incense.

For me, the most important event during the festivity was the puppet show, which was performed for the deity. In those days, there were no TVs and the village we lived in had no cinemas. The puppet show was almost the only entertainment the villagers had once or twice a year. I was attracted to the show and would sit and watch from the beginning to the end, usually until midnight.

There was only one elementary school for four villages, and I was lucky that the school was located in my village. Some of my classmates who lived in other villages had to walk quite some distance to and from school. Education was the school’s business. Parents seldom participated in school events. My parents didn’t even attend my graduation, when I graduated with the highest honors. The only event parents took part in was the school’s annual sports event. They came to see which kid could run the fastest. In general, I enjoyed living in a quiet neighborhood.

In those days, compulsory education was six years. To continue on with junior high school, children had to take entrance examinations. In order to prepare for the competitive entrance examination, when I began the fourth year, I joined a special group, consisting of some 50 kids. The group was referred to as “further education class.” My parents had to pay a monthly fee of NTD 50 for extra lessons in this class. When I was in the fifth grade, I topped the class, received the highest honor when I graduated, and was able to attend the best junior high school in the neighborhood.

For a time, in order to save the transportation fee of NTD 90 per month, I had to ride my bicycle to and from school. A single trip was 22 kilometers. I was often exhausted after I got to school. But one benefit from this was that I got plenty of exercise—the cause of my general good health. I seldom got sick and was kept safe and sound. No accident of any kind happened.

Grammar and the Bible

A schoolmate from my senior high school told me that if I wanted to learn English well, I had to study grammar. Following his advice, I bought a grammar book and began studying it. The grammar book said that the definite article “the” is needed before the word “Bible.” I didn’t know what “the Bible” was and was curious to find out.

I brought the grammar book with me wherever I went. When I was fifteen, it was time for me to continue with my high school education. Because my family could not afford to financially support me through senior high, I entered the Army NCO School in northern Taiwan, which had a program equivalent to a high school education. During this time, I continued studying grammar on my own. At 17, after graduating from the NCO school, I was sent to the army aviation center to be trained as a helicopter mechanic. Once while visiting my brother who was attending a private high school in central Taiwan and living in the school dorm, I noticed that he had a copy of a bilingual New Testament given by Gideons. I asked him if he was reading it, and he said he was busy with his schoolwork and had no time. So, I borrowed his copy and started reading it enthusiastically.

I read the Bible for two reasons. The first was to improve my English. Somehow, I sensed that English was important, and I made up my mind to learn it well. I had the idea that language is not separate from culture: English had to do with Western culture, and the Bible was part of it. The other reason I read the Bible was to satisfy my curiosity. I didn’t know what the Bible said, and it was my intention to find out!

With these two purposes in mind, I read the New Testament in both Chinese and English. Because I read in both languages, I was able to communicate with others using both languages. I was able to read the maintenance manuals in English and did well as a mechanic. Later, I became an instructor, teaching test pilots how to troubleshoot flight problems. I even went to the Military Assistance Advisor Group (MAAG) in Taipei to test my qualification to get further training in the Transportation School in America. I scored the highest of those who took the test, but my commanding officer decided not to let me go. He feared that, because I had no living parents, I might desert while in America. All the while, I continued reading the bilingual Bible on a daily basis. I didn’t understand everything, but I went on reading anyway.

Meeting Miss Sue

The day after I finished taking the qualifying test in MAAG, I was on the train, returning to my military base in Tainan, and met Sue Knight, a missionary with China Inland Mission. I began asking her questions about the Bible that I didn’t understand. I asked how a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years could be healed by just touching Jesus’ garment. She told me that Jesus had the power to heal because He was the Son of God. But I still didn’t get it. When Miss Knight had to get off at Taichung, she asked for my address and said she would send me Bible correspondence courses, which she did, and which I completed. When I learned that I would not be sent to America for training, Miss Knight helped me deal with my hurt and disappointment. She counseled me that God is sovereign and has a purpose for even the bad things that happen in our lives. Looking back, I can see God’s providence: Had I been sent for further training, I would not have been able to take the university entrance exam in 1979.

At the end of the Bible courses, I was invited to accept Jesus as Savior. But there was no way I could believe in Jesus. I believed in Confucianism—a system of personal and political philosophy which had been popular with the Chinese people for nearly 2,000 years. When I went to my uncle, my mother’s elder brother, for advice, he warned me not to betray our ancestors by joining the Christian faith. He was afraid that if I became a Christian, I would not worship our ancestors, and I would be an alien to our society.

At this point, my belief system was being challenged! I was torn between the philosophy of Chinese scholars for 2,000 years and Christianity which claimed to be the truth. I knew if I accepted the Christian faith, I would have to abandon my belief in Confucianism. The struggle was not so much in the choice between the two, but more the matter of not knowing what to do once I became a Christian. As a believer in Confucianism, I knew how to behave, but as a Christian, it seemed I would lose my footing.

Then one night in a dream, it seemed that Jesus appeared to me. He asked, “My child, why do you reject Me?” After having this dream, my faith was quickened to believe that Jesus was indeed a real person—and I sensed His presence with me. At age 19, I received baptism at a Presbyterian church in Tainan, and my friend Sue Knight was there with me. Although I was baptized, I was just a baby Christian. For several years I went to Bible study classes, attended Sunday school classes, and participated in Sunday services at First Baptist Church in Tainan, where everything was done in English. I was slowly learning, but it took years for me to grow.

More Language

At age 23, I was discharged from the army and decided to go to college. I prepared for the university entrance examination, passed it, and went to study at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at National Taiwan University. I tutored students on weekday evenings and the weekends to earn money for my daily necessities. My studies acquainted me with both domestic and foreign literature—good preparation for my work later as a pastor.

One year after I graduated from the university, I became an English teacher, helping high school students to score high in English on the university entrance exam. As I had to give tests and provide sample compositions for students, I developed the art of short essay writing, a skill I have found useful in writing sermons. After teaching high school for five years, I decided to pursue a master’s degree at Michigan State University in the U.S. During the 18 months in the States, I participated in the MSU host program and was assigned to a local Christian family. But because I was older than most other students, I focused on my studies and didn’t attend many of the church activities.

Returning to Taiwan with a degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), I became a research fellow at the College Entrance Examination Center in Taipei. I did research in improving the administration of the test of English at the university entrance level, including defining the English word list for high school students and a scoring guide for grading compositions.

A New Calling

Now, as I write this, I’m looking back some twenty years to when my wife Frances and I had just moved into our newly-purchased apartment. We thought we would find a spiritual home and attend church services regularly. But during one session of early morning prayer at the church, I felt touched by the Holy Spirit and was overcome with emotion. My mind raced back to the time, after graduating from the university, when I had a desire to attend seminary. Now, it was as if my soul was thirsting for a greater knowledge of God. There was so much about the Bible that I wanted to know—so much more about Jesus that I wanted to know. With the Holy Spirit touching my heart again, I knew it was time to make a decision. I decided to study at the seminary.

The four years at the seminary helped clarify my previous struggle between Confucianism and Christianity. While Confucianism emphasizes cultivating one’s moral character, it lacks a clear model for one to imitate. In Christianity, the model is clearly Jesus. While Confucianism advocates a utopian community (a Da Tong world), the Bible declares the Kingdom of Heaven with the Triune God as Sovereign King, Savior, and Lord.

Afterward

Today at age 60+, after pastoring for many years, I look back on my life and see that a meaningful picture has formed. Like a detective story, I won’t know the final outcome until I reach the end. But now I know why my life has turned out like it has. God has a purpose, and everything that has happened in my life means something. For example, I was inspired to study English. By studying English, I came across the Bible, and by studying the Bible, I became a Christian. I even became a preacher years after I became a Christian. As a pastor, my ultimate concern is to glorify God. I have found real satisfaction and joy in preaching God’s Word, spreading the Gospel—the Good News that Jesus paid the price for our sin, was resurrected, and reigns today from His throne in Heaven. Just as God providentially brought me to know Him, I want others to know Him and to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I am honored to be one of God’s laborers in His harvest field. Nothing gives me more delight!

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7).

Ken Chen and his wife Frances live in Taipei, Taiwan, where Ken pastors a Baptist church. Finding Christ through studying the Bible in English, Ken has maintained an interest in language throughout his life. As a pastor and student of theology, he has studied at Methodist Graduate School of Theology and is currently completing his doctor of ministry degree at Gateway Seminary.