On January 31, Rev. Jack K. Chow, a journalist-turned pastor and author, died of coronavirus infection at the age of 90.
About half a month ago (January 16), Pastor Chow and his wife Nancy who is still in the hospital bed were diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia in Dallas, USA.
Many pastors from mainland China mourned for his death. Pastor C from East China shared the news of Chow's death on his WeChat Moments, "Pastor Chow, the father of Christian inner life of Chinese and my spiritual father, returned to heaven this morning. May the Lord commemorate the service of His old servant." He also recalled how his devotions and his book Inner Life contributed to his spirituality and service.
Another pastor who had participated in the 2013 Hong Kong Inner Life Training Camp shared on his official WeChat account "Looking back on my interaction with Pastor Chow,' His life is very memorable, as he is a person in Christ.' "And he quoted an article Looking Up to Jesus compiled by Pastor Chow and said, "Looking up to Jesus are only four words, but the secret of life is hidden in it... We can live like Jesus when we look away to him every hour and every day."
"He is a good model of a loving family, as he took his wife wherever he went to preach and also he said he should be very kind to his wife every day in a sermon in Hong Kong during 2013-2014 at the age of 83." recalled by Jacob. The latter had attended three live sermons given by Pastor Chow.
Born in Nanjing, Chow's ancestral home is in Dongguang County, China's northern Hebei Province. Having studied in the United States and specialized in Radio and Television Journalism at an early age, he held important Chinese and foreign media positions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Washington. He authored many books on the Holy Spirit, charity and inner life, including Waiting on God, The Anointing Teaches Us in All Things, and The Inward Christian Life.
He taught Waiting for God and Inner Life in Agape International Leadership Institute, with many of his series of sermons widely circulated in Chinese churches.
Establishing the JMI (Jesus Ministries International) team in 2006, Rev. Chow held inner life courses in North America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Mainland China.
Chow once explained in his article: "In short, building inner life is to let Christ live in us, so we can live like him. Having an intimate relationship with God, we can communicate and unite with Him spiritually. It is just like the connection between a vine and its branches. If the branches are connected to the tree and absorb the juice of the tree, they will naturally bear more fruit. "
He said that it was necessary to spend time with God every day, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and have a close relationship with the Lord to build the inner life. He witnessed that since he learnt to be quiet before Jesus every day starting from 1985, he did his ministry better.
Invited by Rev Ernest Chen Zhonghui, the Agape Renewal Center president, he wrote an article titled Talking about Charismatic Movement: Review and Prospect. He said that he had encountered two large churches that loved the Lord very much but both split at last. One had only spiritual knowledge but lacked inner life. With obvious gifts and miracles, the other focused on spiritual grace but also lacked mature inner life.
He thought that the loss of balance caused the failures of these two churches. He exhorted Evangelical Christians to focus on the fullness of the Holy Spirit, intimacy with God and inner life, in addition to pursuing the Biblical truth and carrying out ministry. "Gifts will pass away, only life in Christ lasts forever." He encouraged the Charismatic brothers and sisters who love the Lord.
He listed three expectations for the Charismatic Churches: pursuing the indwelling Holy Spirit and Christ, not just the gifts of the Holy Spirit; focusing on the Bible, not only the Holy Spirit and life, not just the advantages and highlighting the Lord, who uses the utensils and works with us instead of the knives and work.
"Whether you are in Charismatic, Evangelical, or Fundamental churches, you need the thought that like of John the Baptist: 'He must become greater; I must become less.'" he said.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
