But Cullen was also quick to share that Eric was not superhuman:
Let no one think that he did not have his temptations, just as we have, temptations to indolence, slackness, compromise, and what not. But he won his way through, by persistent study, regular times of devotion, constant meditation, insistent prayer, getting up early in the morning and spending one hour—two hours—in a concentrated search for God’s will as revealed in the teaching of Jesus and the Bible generally.[78]
During the time he lived with Cullen, Eric worked on the devotional book he’d had in mind by poring over the writings he had come to treasure, the ones that drew his heart and spirit closer to the heart and Spirit of God. The one-on-one ministerial interaction he experienced as he pedaled from village to village continued to inspire him as he inspired others, but he could not stop thinking about and hoping for a discipleship program that would continue after he left one village and cycled into the next.
Something effective he could leave behind.
While Eric and Cullen continued with the good work in China, Hugh MacKenzie made a declaration in Canada. With a fervent belief that his colleagues in China needed him more than ever, Hugh informed his wife and other family members that he wanted to return to his work in the Far East. Based on all he knew, Tientsin was in crisis. With his connections and ministry worth, he could better serve God and others there than at home. He packed his bags, including a recently taken photo of Florence and her three daughters—a gift from a loving wife to her heartsick husband.
Hugh kissed his family good-bye and made his way to San Francisco, where he planned to board a ship for China. But in the early morning hours of December 7, as fog along the dock wrapped around his body, a car struck him and rendered him unconscious.
After a quick trip to the hospital and being given the okay to leave shortly thereafter, Hugh once again attempted to reach the San Francisco docks. Again, he was stopped—this time by the news of a Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
The United States had officially entered the war, and Hugh MacKenzie returned to Canada, never to set foot in China again.
The news of the attack on Pearl Harbor reached Tientsin in the early-morning hours of December 8 (the attack had taken place while Eric and Cullen slept). Before most were awake, Japanese soldiers wrapped Tientsin in barbed wire and closed the gates between the British and French concessions. Chinese soldiers gave up and gave in.
Japan now had control over China.
Three days later, the students at TACC were sent home and the school was closed. The residence where Eric and Cullen lived was searched and a radio was confiscated.
Eric and Cullen were ordered to the Japanese military headquarters to register as British nationals. There they answered questions about themselves and reported all personal property and financial holdings. They were placed under house arrest.
The remainder of the month inched by with little news from the outside and no movement between the French and British concessions. Christmas was celebrated, but not in the same spirit as it had been before.
Never one to waste precious moments, Eric used this time to undertake the arduous task of writing the manuscript that had so often tickled his mind but had yet to make it to paper. He approached the process with his typical gusto. Ironically, while others may have bemoaned living in lockdown, house arrest became the perfect season in Eric’s life to accomplish his unfinished dream. An inordinate amount of time needed to be filled during the day, and it was nice to have Cullen—a fellow theologian—as a constant spiritual wall of wisdom to bounce his thoughts off. And Cullen continued to be inspired and awed by the man he’d watched grow from a young boy into a ministry colleague.
Eric eventually titled his work The Disciplines of the Christian Life, which contains a foundation of Eric’s Scottish Congregationalist–instilled principles as well as eclectic additions from the Oxford Group, other theological writings he studied, and experiences from his missionary work and ministry. Eric’s unique voice provides fresh insights on Christian doctrine.
Like a theologian taking a page from the Protestant reformers of centuries prior, Eric sat at his desk, Bible open, and wrestled with, sorted out, and defined Christian doctrine as he saw it. He read, reread, and edited through what he wanted to retain and what he might dismiss. In doing so, he meticulously sifted until what was left was sound biblical theology on subjects such as “The Life of Jesus,” “The Character of Jesus,” “The Holy Spirit,” “The Kingdom of God,” “God’s Moral Law,” and “The Life of Paul.” Within the pages of his book, Eric shared what he had come to realize about baptism, Communion, and what he titled “The Three Great Festivals of the Church—Christmas, Easter, Pentecost.”
As we know it today, Eric’s discipleship book contains much of the doctrine outlining his unique spiritual path, and it encourages those who read it in following that same path.
Eric’s Congregationalist upbringing had anchored him in a bold, resolute local autonomy and allowed him the freedom to adopt other strains of theological wisdom. His church in Scotland and those throughout Britain had done the same from their vantage points. In time, much of Scottish Congregationalist church doctrine would progress in a different direction from where Eric had set his course of faith to sail.
Eric had lived most of his adult life in China, away from Britain and Congregationalist leadership. Initially varying a degree or two theologically due to context, their bearings would ultimately drift further apart over time. It is not surprising that a missionary and sending church body, with
