Disabled Idolator Becomes Adventist Pastor in Taiwan

Jack Chen thought he was being punished for his parents’ sins until he met Jesus.

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

When people first met the young boy, their first question was not, “What’s your name?” but “What’s wrong with your legs?”

Jack Chen crawled along the ground in his rural home in central Taiwan until he was 5. Through daily physical exercises, he managed to build enough muscle to stand upright when he entered first grade. But he walked awkwardly on the balls of his feet, prompting teasing and taunts of “Freak!” from the other children. Sometimes, the boys spat on him as they passed by.

Jack was born with a leg disease that puzzled doctors. One doctor blamed a birth defect in Jack’s brain, while another said the problem could be cured by a leg operation. Yet another doctor recommended the daily muscle-building exercises.

Although nobody knew how to treat the disease, Jack and his parents had no doubt about the cause: Someone had done something wrong in the family, and now they were being punished.

“My family worshipped idols, and parents believed that we were being punished for something that they or our ancestors had done,” Jack said.

The young Jack grew depressed as he contemplated an undoubtedly bleak future. His father wondered what would become of his son.

Sent to Adventist School

When Jack was 12, his father learned through a family friend that a nearby Seventh-day Adventist school might be Jack’s key to a normal life. The friend spoke highly of the school and suggested that Jack, who was lagging in public school, might have a better chance there.

Jack heard about Jesus for the first time when he enrolled in the seventh grade. He read the Bible for the first time. Inexpressible feelings overwhelmed him when he read about the abuse hurled at Jesus before His crucifixion. In Matthew 27:29-30, he read: “And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.”

Jack was well-acquainted with the anguish of being spat on and otherwise abused.

“I can’t describe how I felt, but I knew in my heart how He felt,” Jack said.

He decided at the age of 13 to give his heart to Jesus and be baptized. But his father forbade this, saying, “What would your grandfather say? You can think about this later.”

Jack, however, was determined to follow Jesus, and he was baptized a few months later.

“I didn’t tell my parents,” he said. “I just got baptized because I needed Jesus in my life.”

Life had been hopeless without Jesus, he said, and Jesus was providing answers to all his questions about life.

Why the Punishment?

The answer to his biggest question— why he was being punished for other people’s sins — came about a year later when he read of Jesus healing a man blind from birth. He read, “And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him’” (John 9:2-3; NKJV).

Jack felt a heavy burden being lifted as he read those words. He felt a huge release.

“I realized that this was not a punishment but a blessing,” Jack said. “If I didn’t have this disease, my family and I never would have had a chance to know God.”

Remarkably, new vitality surged through his legs shortly after he read the story of the blind man, and he began to walk much better.

Jack went on to graduate from Taiwan Adventist College with a degree in theology and now serves as pastor in the coastal town of Jiading. He walks with a slight limp in one leg but otherwise functions normally. He is married and has two young sons.

While his parents haven’t been baptized, they have accepted his decision to be a Christian and are amazed that he is living a normal life.

“They never expected this to happen to me, and they are very happy,” Jack said. “This actually is from God. I think God has planted a seed that will grow.”

Jack, 32, marvels at how he found Jesus — or how Jesus found Him.

“I wasn’t even a Christian, but I was looking for God, someone who could help me with my problems and save my life,” he said.

“You have to open your mind first to look for God, and then God will tell you what to do next,”” he said. “When you open your mind and ask for the Holy Spirit, then God will come to you, and you will see how God works. That is my experience.”