Page 9 - Chap2-牧長篇
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Grace and Grace Alone
Pastor Emmanuel Tung 童偉傑 傳道
he year was 1988. It was a different
Ttime, it was a much simpler time. For
many of us, we would consider 1988 as “the
good old days” and understandably so. It was
a time when a gallon of gas cost less than a
dollar (average cost was 91 cents), the price of
a movie ticket was $3.50 and all it took was
$21.50 for a person to spend an entire day at
the happiest place on Earth (AKA Disneyland)!
Other than being able to enjoy things at a much, has become a place where lives were changed.
much lower price, 1988 was also the year Little did I know, I would be one of the lives
when God has called a group of immigrants that God would change through this church.
to plant a church in the city of Whittier, called I grew up as an atheist in a Buddhist family.
“Whittier Chinese Christian Church.” In the All throughout my childhood and most of my
years that followed, God did many wonderful teenage years, I’ve had a very negative attitude
things both to and through this faith community. towards religion. In my mind, religions were
And the most wonderful thing is how God has manmade ideas/concepts that target the weak-
enabled RHCCC to push onward with the Great minded individuals. And I for one; had no
Commission (Matthew 28:18-20): need for them. Ironically towards the end of
my high school career, my life started falling
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All apart. Long story short, I’ve found my way
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to RHCCC (or rather, looking back on it now,
to me. Therefore go and make disciples of God led me here), and it is at this little church
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the that God has placed on this busy street, Colima,
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, where God met with me.
and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you I’ve made a lifelong commitment to follow
always, to the very end of the age.” Christ on November 21, 2004. At the time, I
thought God was done with most of the “major
In fulfilling the Great Commission, many renovations” in my life, after all, I had already
people had the opportunity to receive Christ experienced a relatively extreme makeover,
into their lives. Over the years, God has coming from an atheistic background into
enabled RHCCC to be the place where healing, becoming a follower of Christ, but boy was
reconciliation, and deliverance took place; it I wrong. In the years that followed, God
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