On May 22, the memorial service for Elder Zheng Datong, who coined the phrase "Wenzhou, China's Jerusalem" and was imprisoned for his faith three times, was held at the Wenzhou Funeral Home.
Elder Zheng Datong passed away in Wenzhou at the age of 84. He served as an elder at the Puxieshi Christian Church in Lucheng District, Wenzhou, and had a deep enthusiasm for church history and literature ministry. Holding a doctor of ministry degree, he was a poet and a painter. Since the 1980s, he published books including Revelation Illustrated and The Path of Blessing: A Poetic Life in Christ in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Many couplets of condolences were put up at the memorial service site, and the one in the middle of the hall was “special” because it was a motto by Elder Zheng in his lifetime. The couplet reads, “Great wisdom and courage are all the great grace of God, and unity of heart and mind are all due to walking with the Lord.”
During the memorial sessions, a pastor who knew well of the Elder recalled his life regarding him as a “warrior of the gospel and a soldier of Christ.” He commented that Elder Zheng dedicated himself fully to God for the mission entrusted to him by the Lord, and he was imprisoned three times for the ministry. He testified that Elder Zheng was a warrior of the truth. “If something was wrong, he would point out your mistakes; if you were right, he would point out your correctness.”
A pastor surnamed Hu testified, “We respect him because he was sincere about his faith. Those who have worked with him or contacted him know that he was very sincere with people. He had a profound literary foundation, and his works will have a profound impact. He was a spiritual elder with the demeanor of a pastor.”
As the representative of the family, Elder Zheng’s son expressed his memories of his father, “My father was a man who never retreated. He had a gentle and fearless spirit without any impatience. My father expressed his ideals and beliefs through poetry, depicted the prosperity of China and its people through paintings, and recorded the difficult years experienced by the Wenzhou churches through writings. He was a man full of integrity, prophesying in the order of a prophet and criticizing sharply with sharp words. My father loved his family and deeply loved my mother. He was my mother’s loyal fan, and my mother was my father’s lifelong love.”
An elder surnamed Ye testified that Elder Zheng had always been brave in defending the truth. He recalled that Elder Zheng wrote down the “Wenzhou Church Rules” in 1982, consisting of nine parts with 63 articles, which received support from many. In the early 1980s, when the local churches (gathering places) were impacted by the “Shouters" sect, some church leaders joined hands to prevent it, and Elder Zheng gave a speech to point out the wrongs of the sect, timely protecting the churches. His trainings, such as “Bible and Language” and “Preaching Methods,” made significant contributions to the churches in Wenzhou.
Elder Ye said that it was worth mentioning that the churches served by Elder Zheng had for many years adopted a parliamentary system and stipulations. He and other leaders stipulated that the general responsible person and the members of a small council could not exceed the age of 60. He said, “It has been more than 30 years since the practice was established in 1990, and many things have changed, but this has never changed. The general responsible person of a church must not exceed 60 years old, and the members of a small council must not exceed 60 years old.”
A pastor also surnamed Ye testified about Elder Zheng’s attitude towards money. Once, after the 512 Wenchuan earthquake, they went to Sichuan to participate in disaster relief. As one of the oldest volunteers from the entire Wenzhou church, the elder served there. At the end of his service, as the place they worked for was close to Jiuzhaigou, a famous national park located in the north of Sichuan, some invited him to visit there. The night before they left, Elder Zheng asked Pastor Ye, “Are we paying for this trip personally or through the church?” Pastor Ye said, “We will pay for our own travel.” Elder Zheng agreed with this answer and believed that the church’s money should not be spent on private matters.
Another pastor recalled that several years ago, when he visited Elder Zheng in his later years, Elder Zheng said, “I am old now. Jesus needs to shepherd His sheep, and the little sheep need to be shepherded. I, as an old sheep, also need to be shepherded. You need to shepherd me now.” From then on, he and his wife attended the evening worship of Pastor Zhang’s church every Sunday. Moreover, in April, Elder Zheng was hospitalized again. After returning home from the hospital, Pastor Zhang and his wife visited him. The first thing Elder Zheng said was, “Christians are destined to go to paradise.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
5月22日，郑大同长老追思礼拜和告别仪式在温州殡仪馆举行。
告别仪式现场悬挂了多幅挽联，位于正中间的一副挽联显得分外“特别”，因为这幅挽联是郑大同长老在生前为自己所作的——“大智大勇都是神大恩，同心同德皆因主同行”。
追思环节上，一位熟悉郑大同长老的牧者总结郑长老的一生是成为“福音的战士、基督的精兵”，他为了主所托付的使命决志把自己全职完全奉献给上帝，并在这个过程当中曾经三度被关押。他见证说，郑长老是一位真理的勇士，“如果这个事情是错的，他就指出你的错误；如果你是对的，他就指出你的对的。”
一名胡姓牧师见证说：“我们尊重他是因为他对信仰动真格。与他同工过接触过的人都知道，他对人很真诚。他在文学功底深厚，他的作品会有很深远的影响，他是一个具有牧者风范的属灵长辈。”
郑大同长老的儿子作为家属代表，发表了他对父亲的追思：“我父亲是一个从不退缩的人，他有一种温和无畏的气概，身上没有一丝焦躁造作。我父亲以诗歌抒发理想和信念，以画作描绘中华盛景与人物，以文字记录教会温州所经历的艰苦岁月。他是一个充满正直的人，他以先知的形式预言，以犀利的言语批判。父亲热爱他的家庭，并且深爱我的母亲。他是我妈妈忠实的粉丝，母亲是我父亲一生的挚爱。”
一位叶长老见证郑大同长老一直为了捍卫真理勇敢在前昂首挺胸。他回忆说，郑长老在1982年写了"温州教会规矩"，有九个部份共63条，得到众人拥护；1980年初地方教会(聚会处)受到"呼喊派"冲击，后有一些温州教会的负责人携手，由郑大同写稿并在一教堂宣告指明"呼喊派"的错误，及时护卫了教会；郑长老的"圣经与语文""讲道法"等培训为温州教会做出了巨大贡献。
叶长老说，值得一提的是，郑长老多年服事的教会采用的是议会制，并且与其他领袖一同制定议会制及教会章程，规定总负责和小议会人员都不能超过60岁。他说：“从1990年定下来到现在已经30多年了，很多的东西都改变了，但是这一点却从来没有改变过，教会的总负责人不得超过60岁，小议会人员也不能超过60岁。”
一位叶牧师见证郑长老对待金钱的态度。一次他们一起在512汶川大地震后，郑长老作为整个温州教会最年长的志愿者之一去四川参与救灾，服事结束后因他们所去的地方离九寨沟比较近，所以就邀请郑长老去九寨沟看看。去之前的一个晚上，郑长老问叶牧师说，“今天我们到这个地方是个人出钱还是教会出钱？”叶牧师说“我们去旅游就自己出钱”。对这个回答，郑大同长老非常赞同，认为不能花教会的钱办私事。
一位张牧师回忆起一个小事：几年前他去探访晚年的郑长老的时候，郑长老说：“我老了，耶稣说要牧养祂的羊，小羊要牧养，我这老羊也需要牧养，你们要牧养我”。从此，每周主日他和师母都参加张牧师他们教会的晚堂礼拜。并且，今年4月份，郑长老又一次因病住院，从医院回到家以后张牧师夫妇一起去看望他，郑长老的第一句话就说，“基督徒是要去乐园的”。
郑大同长老追思与告别仪式温州举行
On May 22, the memorial service for Elder Zheng Datong, who coined the phrase "Wenzhou, China's Jerusalem" and was imprisoned for his faith three times, was held at the Wenzhou Funeral Home.
Elder Zheng Datong passed away in Wenzhou at the age of 84. He served as an elder at the Puxieshi Christian Church in Lucheng District, Wenzhou, and had a deep enthusiasm for church history and literature ministry. Holding a doctor of ministry degree, he was a poet and a painter. Since the 1980s, he published books including Revelation Illustrated and The Path of Blessing: A Poetic Life in Christ in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Many couplets of condolences were put up at the memorial service site, and the one in the middle of the hall was “special” because it was a motto by Elder Zheng in his lifetime. The couplet reads, “Great wisdom and courage are all the great grace of God, and unity of heart and mind are all due to walking with the Lord.”
During the memorial sessions, a pastor who knew well of the Elder recalled his life regarding him as a “warrior of the gospel and a soldier of Christ.” He commented that Elder Zheng dedicated himself fully to God for the mission entrusted to him by the Lord, and he was imprisoned three times for the ministry. He testified that Elder Zheng was a warrior of the truth. “If something was wrong, he would point out your mistakes; if you were right, he would point out your correctness.”
A pastor surnamed Hu testified, “We respect him because he was sincere about his faith. Those who have worked with him or contacted him know that he was very sincere with people. He had a profound literary foundation, and his works will have a profound impact. He was a spiritual elder with the demeanor of a pastor.”
As the representative of the family, Elder Zheng’s son expressed his memories of his father, “My father was a man who never retreated. He had a gentle and fearless spirit without any impatience. My father expressed his ideals and beliefs through poetry, depicted the prosperity of China and its people through paintings, and recorded the difficult years experienced by the Wenzhou churches through writings. He was a man full of integrity, prophesying in the order of a prophet and criticizing sharply with sharp words. My father loved his family and deeply loved my mother. He was my mother’s loyal fan, and my mother was my father’s lifelong love.”
An elder surnamed Ye testified that Elder Zheng had always been brave in defending the truth. He recalled that Elder Zheng wrote down the “Wenzhou Church Rules” in 1982, consisting of nine parts with 63 articles, which received support from many. In the early 1980s, when the local churches (gathering places) were impacted by the “Shouters" sect, some church leaders joined hands to prevent it, and Elder Zheng gave a speech to point out the wrongs of the sect, timely protecting the churches. His trainings, such as “Bible and Language” and “Preaching Methods,” made significant contributions to the churches in Wenzhou.
Elder Ye said that it was worth mentioning that the churches served by Elder Zheng had for many years adopted a parliamentary system and stipulations. He and other leaders stipulated that the general responsible person and the members of a small council could not exceed the age of 60. He said, “It has been more than 30 years since the practice was established in 1990, and many things have changed, but this has never changed. The general responsible person of a church must not exceed 60 years old, and the members of a small council must not exceed 60 years old.”
A pastor also surnamed Ye testified about Elder Zheng’s attitude towards money. Once, after the 512 Wenchuan earthquake, they went to Sichuan to participate in disaster relief. As one of the oldest volunteers from the entire Wenzhou church, the elder served there. At the end of his service, as the place they worked for was close to Jiuzhaigou, a famous national park located in the north of Sichuan, some invited him to visit there. The night before they left, Elder Zheng asked Pastor Ye, “Are we paying for this trip personally or through the church?” Pastor Ye said, “We will pay for our own travel.” Elder Zheng agreed with this answer and believed that the church’s money should not be spent on private matters.
Another pastor recalled that several years ago, when he visited Elder Zheng in his later years, Elder Zheng said, “I am old now. Jesus needs to shepherd His sheep, and the little sheep need to be shepherded. I, as an old sheep, also need to be shepherded. You need to shepherd me now.” From then on, he and his wife attended the evening worship of Pastor Zhang’s church every Sunday. Moreover, in April, Elder Zheng was hospitalized again. After returning home from the hospital, Pastor Zhang and his wife visited him. The first thing Elder Zheng said was, “Christians are destined to go to paradise.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Memorial Service Held for Elder Zheng Datong, Who Coined the Phrase 'Wenzhou, China's Jerusalem'
