A Man of Integrity

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Rev Ting was a thoughtful man. In the past the Board of Directors of MTS was considering to work with Singapore Trinity Theological Seminary to solve MTS’s shortage of teaching staff. However the proposal was shelved due to various factors. Rev Ting persistently insisted that the cooperation between the two seminaries was urgent and of significance. True enough, two or three years later, MTS sent their theological students to Singapore Trinity Theological Seminary to complete the last 2 years of their course. That helped to solve the problem of shortage of teaching staff in MTS.

A reticent and quiet, observant and calm man, he never forgot to be with God daily no matter how busy he was. He was always ready to offer help even late at night. He always cared about church ministry and was very concerned about salvation of souls. After his retirement, though he was no longer preaching or visiting, he witnessed by his life example. He believed that life and faith should go hand in hand and that works of mercy should be the fruit of one’s faith. He was always concerned whether church members lived by faith and were truly saved.

Rev Ting tried his best to get rid of traditional superstitious beliefs. He set an example by doing away with many superstitious wedding customs during his daughters’ wedding ceremonies. He also taught church members to do away with folk worships such as burning incense and paper ‘money’ during Ching Ming Festival. He strongly opposed dualism between the spiritual and the worldly, firmly believing that there is only one life after being born again. One should not consider going to church, teaching in Sunday school or leading worship to be spiritual while doing household chores or conducting business in a worldly manner. Things that are truthful and glorifying God and beneficial to others are spiritual.

Rev Ting was a simple and hard-working man and cared a lot about environment conservation. He never wasted any food. He always recycled and reused. To their children he was the all-able dad because he would repair all damaged objects by himself. One time the church’s roof needed mending and he climbed up the roof with a church member to repair the roof; witnessing this, other church members also came and assisted them. He also knew how to repair houses, cut trees and farm. He worked hard and never complained about laborious work.

Rev Ting was honest, careful with work and abided by his principles and never easily compromised. A straightforward man who would express his opinions boldly, at times he might have inadvertently offended some people.

Rev Ting suffered a stroke in 2016 followed by a second stroke in January, 2018. He passed away on 13th April at 78 years of age.

By Grace Lau Meng Hung
Translated by KT Chew