“A MAN IN CHRIST”
2 Cor. XII:2
This simple quote was the inscription on James Hudson Taylor’s modest gravemarker as he was buried in Chinese soil in June 1905.
“The word of the Lord in reference to His various commands is not ‘Do your best,’ but ‘Do IT,’ that is, ‘Do the thing commanded.’ We are, therefore, making arrangements for commencing work...”[1]
China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease-loving men and women ... The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, [and] souls first and foremost in everything and at every time—even life itself must be secondary.[2]
This collection of essays is our humble attempt to honor the legacy of this “man in Christ” whose life has impacted ours so greatly. Jesus is our Lord, our All in All. But we see so much of Jesus in Hudson Taylor. His grave marker is an apt summation of his life—a man in Christ.
As we look back to reflect on Hudson Taylor’s life we see an important link in the chain that connects our life (organizationally and as individuals) to the plans and purposes of God throughout redemptive history.
And, as we look forward, we hear Hudson Taylor’s call to just “do it.” Do whatever the Lord commands. This call feels connected to the urgency of our present hour and reminds us that ad executives do not own the cattle on a thousand hills. Taylor’s call to set aside a life of ease does not feel at all passé when you consider the lost and dying of whatever “China” looms largest in the world as you read this essay. His words feel timeless. Like they still matter today. That’s the nature of legacy.
Hudson Taylor’s legacy dates back three generations before his birth, back to the eighteenth century, when Taylor’s great-grandfather was converted on his wedding day. Each succeeding Taylor generation, from then until now, has made Jesus Christ the Lord of their household. The late Dr. Jim Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s great-grandson, wrote,
One decision to serve God in the 18th century has influenced my family for nine generations. To God be the glory...”As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”[3]
Hudson Taylor waited 17 years to get on board with his calling, but once he did, he never looked back. And, it is doubtful he gave much thought about leaving a legacy. He simply (and literally) spent his life trusting God for the lost souls of China. From beginning to end, Hudson Taylor was an evangelist. Nothing was of higher import than the “salvation of souls.” If he did ever stop to consider the future impact of his life, his unit of measurement would have been souls won for Jesus. In 1900, there were roughly 100,000 Christians in China. Today there are over 150,000,000. To be clear, it was God who opened the door to China. But it was Hudson Taylor’s hand He placed on that door. Historian Ruth Tucker summarizes the theme and the reach of Taylor’s life:
No other missionary in the nineteen centuries since the Apostle Paul has had a wider vision and has carried out a more systematized plan of evangelizing a broad geographical area than Hudson Taylor. His sites were set on reaching the whole of China....[4]
Some day we will fully understand Taylor’s eternal legacy. We will meet the multitudes. But for now, we can at least consider this one man’s impact on our lives through:
The growing importance of his work over time —much like an artist whose work is appreciated more and more each year.
The number of people whose lives were drawn toward serving Jesus by Taylor’s life.
The written and spoken words that reverberate throughout decades and centuries without decay or loss of relevance.
The Christ-like model left behind for us to study and emulate.
The life of Hudson Taylor continues to inspire followers of Jesus to follow his example. The list of women and men who have acknowledged Hudson Taylor as an influence on their lives and ministries reads like a Who’s Who list of Christian leaders:
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, pastor Metropolitan Tabernacle
George Muller, evangelist and director of Ashley Down Orphanage[5]
Amy Carmichael, missionary to India and author;
C. T. Studd, CIM missionary and founder of the Student Volunteer Movement
Olympic Gold Medalist and missionary Eric Liddell (of Chariots of Fire fame);
Jim Elliot, twentieth-century missionary and martyr;
Ralph D. Winters, founder of the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), William Carey International University, and the International Society for Frontier Missiology;
Audrey Wetherell Johnson, founder of Bible Study Fellowship;
Luis Palau, International Evangelist;
Robert Pierce, founder of World Vision;
Billy Graham and Ruth Bell Graham
Countless ministries and missions organizations have been directly and indirectly impacted by Hudson Taylor (including our own). The China Inland Mission was eventually renamed Overseas Missionary Fellowship and later simplified to OMF International. Hudson Taylor’s Brighton Beach prayer for “24 willing, skilled laborers” eventually gave rise to an organization of more than 3,000 missionaries and workers serving in over 30 countries.[6] Remarkably, OMF International has expanded Taylor’s original hope and reach from China’s millions to East Asia’s billions. Taylor would be pleased.
Perhaps Hudson Taylor’s most lasting contributions to modern missions are best seen in the years of building and growing CIM. Taylor was a true pioneer:
He radically trusted God to provide the necessary resources (money, people, opportunity). His approach (along with his friend George Mueller) gave rise to what missiologists now call “faith missions.” He refused to borrow money. Instead of writing support letters, he prayed.
He wore Chinese clothes and adopted a Chinese hairstyle. He demanded his missionaries learn the language of those they were attempting to reach. He moved his missionaries away from the coastal cities and away from the protection of British gunships. He located CIM headquarters in China instead of England. Each of these actions bucked the prevailing colonial ministry mindset of bringing both the Gospel and English culture to the Chinese people. Just bring them the full Gospel. Evangelism always came first. Schools and hospitals were platforms for ministry, but they were always of secondary importance.
Taylor elevated the role of women in missions. He insisted that wives of missionary husbands be full partners in language acquisition and daily ministry. Single women were valued, trusted, and sent into the remote interior of China.
Taylor recruited evangelists over scholars and theologians: “Some are jealous of being successors of the Apostles. I would rather be a successor of the Samaritan woman, who, while the Apostles went for meat and forgot souls, forgot her water pot in her zeal to spread the good tidings”[7]
In his later years, Hudson Taylor would write, “I never made a sacrifice.” This is a remarkable statement considering the events of his life. His first wife preceded him in death as did his second wife. He buried many of his children. He was nearly killed in rebellions. He was often sick. He saw dozens of his missionaries martyred. He labored under great pressure. Taylor’s son, Howard reflected on this amazing statement and said, “But what he said was true, for the compensations were so real and lasting that he came to see that giving up is inevitably receiving, when one is dealing heart to heart with God.”[8]
However, Taylor’s daughter in-law, Geraldine Taylor was not so easily convinced. At first, she thought her father in-law was exaggerating. But later she would come to understand. This is the importance of faith lived out over an entire life. This is living legacy. Hudson Taylor’s words came into focus for Geraldine after a riot left her battered:
But now I know that such words are wholly true. Talk of sacrifice, this is no sacrifice! There is no such word to the Christian... Count it all joy — all joy! After a riot, when our lives had been saved by a miracle, when we were sitting bruised and bleeding amidst the ruins of our home, in that hour, believe me, heaven itself was opened to us, and we tasted then and afterwards a joy so marvelous that I scarcely like to speak about it here, as we realized that we had been permitted to suffer something for Christ’s sake... No words can tell you the joy which filled our hearts. We have never known anything like it since, and we would not miss that experience out of our lives for all that you could give us.[9]
Our efforts to compile these essays has been bathed in prayer. We pray that God’s never ending faithfulness will shine brightly through the life of this one man into your own. We pray that you will be both edified and encouraged as you read. Our hope is that you will be both comforted and challenged to do whatever Jesus tells you to do. There truly is no sacrifice to give your all when you are dealing “heart to heart with God.”
Taylor died in his beloved China on June 3, 1905. A simple telegram was sent the next day from Shanghai to England:
The Rev. Hudson Taylor, Founder of the China Inland Mission, died at Chang-sha, Hunan, yesterday.[10]
The impact of his life and death was felt immediately. His legacy did not take long to push through the soil. It had been growing and maturing for decades in China, for generations in England, and for all eternity in the heart of God. His death did not unveil a faith filled life that had been unknown to those who knew him. His death simply transferred the wealth.
That’s legacy.
This was especially true (and important) to those closest to his life. A young Chinese evangelist looked at Taylor’s body just after his death and summed up Taylor’s most important legacy:
Dear and venerable pastor, we too are your little children. You opened for us the road to heaven. We do not want to bring you back, but we will follow you.[11]
God is Faithful. Amen.
Jeff Henderson serves as the Director of Frontier Alliance International, after having served previously as the Chairman of the FAI Board of Directors. He is the Founding Pastor of Maranatha Church of Jacksonville and gives leadership to a number of ministries and pioneers across the globe, as well as co-hosts The Better Beautiful podcast with Stephanie Quick. Find out more at jeffhenderson.global.
[1] J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s Choice Sayings: A Compilation from His Writings and Addresses. London: China Inland Mission, n.d., 69
[2] Ibid.
[3] A.J. Broomhall. Hudson Taylor and China’s Open Century, Book Six: Assault on the Nine. London: Hodder and Stoughton and Overseas Missionary Fellowship, 1988. p. 47
[4] Ruth Tucker. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Bibliographical History of Christian Mis- sions, 1983, p. 73
[5] It is probably more accurate to say George Muller impacted Hudson Taylor‘s life as a mentor/prayer partner/donor. But clearly these two men had great mutual respect and spurred each other toward Christ.
[6] OMF International. Accessed 15 November 2018 from https://omf.org/.
[7] J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor’s Choice Sayings: A Compilation from His Writings and Addresses. London: China Inland Mission, n.d., 69 (It is worth noting that CIM did produce outstanding linguists and writers whose works went well beyond CIM. For example, J. Oswald Sanders authored over 40 books and was world renowned for his writing, teaching and preaching.)
[8] Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor. Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, Kindle location 227. Kindle Edition.
[9] Joy Guiness. Mrs. Howard Taylor: Her Web of Time, 1950
[10] In Memoriam Rev. J. Hudson Taylor Beloved Founder and Director of the China Inland Mission, p. 3
[11] Roger Steer, Christian History magazine Issue 52, Vol. XV, No. 4, Page 10
