The Gift of Prophecy...

Thank God so much for a wonderful MSN conversation earlier. A dear bro gave me some feedback, which I really appreciated a lot. Then we chatted a bit more, and we ended up talking about our callings. He shared that he wasn't sure, but had a gameplan on hand. It sounded fine, and it is a sensible plan... but at that moment in time, as I was listening to him share, a particular insight into this brother's situation came into my mind, and had this sense that God wanted me to speak this particular insight to this bro.

So I shared this insight with him, and he shared that he too thot so! And he said that this seems that God has been bringing to his attention recently during one of his quiet times.

Wow! thank God for the insight that He gave me. I'm sharing this, because I thought it would be good to record down and trace out how God gives a particular word of prophecy. Hee. Have been exercising it, ever since God confirmed through one of the pastors during altar call that day during the Global Conference that He has given me the gift of prophecy.

Anyway, this is strictly an impressionistic and experiential journal... so please don't draw any doctrinal conclusions from this entry! All spiritual experiences and conclusions are to be strictly, soundly and rigorously tested against the Scriptures!

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Haha. I guess I've always wondered how do prophets get their insights and so on? Well, the Bible mentions that there are false prophets who see visions of their own imaginations, as well as true prophets. So how do we know which ones are the true ones, and the 'pirated' ones?

The iron rule is: if what the prophet says comes true, that prophet is a true prophet. Otherwise not. And the Law went on to say, terminate the false prophet, because he is leading you astray!

What about New Testament times? Well, in the book of Acts, there are Christian prophets who have foretold future events, like the prophet Agabus who was sent to Paul to let him know what would happen to him in Jerusalem.

Anyway, from what I understand, we're still in the church age today, and yes, there is the office of the prophet, along with the offices of pastor, teachers, evangelist and so on. But there are the gifts of prophecy, pastoring, teaching, evangelism and so on. The gifts are separate from the offices. So it means a pastor can have the gift of prophecy, and a prophet can have the gift of pastor and so on. (Again, please correct me if I'm wrong! Thanks...)

So, about gift of prophecy... how does it look like?

Well, even as a young Christian, I realised I was able to sense whether a person wasn't doing well in his/her walk with the Lord, to the point of leaving church or falling away even. But I wasn't sure, so I just sat down and watched. And gosh, it really did turn out to be so. Even now, I have this sense of being able to sense when one's spirit is not right with God for whatever reasons... be it pride or dryness or disappointment or bitterness, etc. And I've realised that it doesn't matter whether the person is serving in a very high leadership position in church, or is simply a visitor.

And I've also been able to sense the opposite, when a person has a truly good spirit and heart for God, even tho external indicators might seem the opposite. E.g. the guy had to step down, the guy is struggling with some emotional issues or even sins... and yet, I sense strongly through the Spirit that the Lord sees the person's genuine heart of brokenness.

And to my surprise, what I sense spiritually is accurate. It's been very consistent over the years.

So I think it's like having a very sensitive radar. But I need to be walking very closely to God and ask His Holy Spirit to help me make sense of my readings correctly. Like, a radar operator thinking that big blog in the ocean is a killer submarine, but actually, it's just a killer whale. So from time to time, I sense correctly, but interpret wrongly. And I've come to learn that the interpretation needs to be given by the Holy Spirit himself, not the human interpretations of men. In order to know, I need to ask the Lord what He means by this particular sensing.

If i remember correctly, there are two types of "telling" in prophecy: fore-telling and forth-telling. Fore-telling is basically predicting future events before they happen. Forth-telling is proclaiming what is currently happening now, in order to help wake up the listeners' ideas... or open their eyes, or encourage and comfort the listeners. The prophets of the Old Testament did both.

I think the forth-telling part... I discovered something new today. That I can see a set of circumstances, and immediately, God gives me a clear view of what is actually happening in the big scale of things. Sort of like a God's-eye view of a battlefield... How do I arrive at these insights? I don't know, honestly! They just come... of course, sometimes they don't come clearly, so I need to sit down, fast and pray and wait upon God. Only then do I get a clearer sense of what He wants to say, and occasionally, He impresses on me HOW to say it. Hee. Like how God helped Nathan the prophet come up with a creative way to bring the hard truth of judgement to King David when he had committed adultery and murder.

Also, there are plenty of times a particular verse comes to mind. So I need to take time to pray through the verse, and ask God for His input. What is He trying to say to me here? Am I hearing Him correctly or is it just my mind speaking? And so on.

And well, could these "sensings" be due to natural human empathy? I wouldn't discount these, because I naturally have a high level of empathy. But perhaps God also works through the natural. But, yes, I definitely have received supernatural insights into situations that don't seem to be what they actually are. So have to do forth-telling lor. Scary actually. But that's the life of a prophet... sometimes he/she has to be the bearer of bad news.

And for fore-telling? Well, there are particular times I receive a strong sense that God says something. Recently, I was fasting and praying for my DMM, when God gave me a particular word of prophecy for one of the sisters. So I shared this with the sister, that God said that this will come to pass. Actually, I really was going out on a limb, 'cos I didn't have any reasonable basis upon which to tell that sister. But... a few days later, this sister replied back to me, and told me that God had shown her that the prophecy had come true!

I was stunned, but very encouraged. Haha... so thank God for His grace to me, that He allows an unworthy fellow like me to experience His wonderful power so real! :)

So yah, think these are some ways how I see the gift of prophecy being manifested in my life. But no matter how impressive the gift of prophecy may seem, or how important it may be... the gift of prophecy will fade away. It is possible for me to prophesy without love in my heart. After all, Jesus warned that there will be those who try to say to Him, "Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and perform many miracles?" But His reply to them would be: "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

So I really tremble, because I know that without love in my heart, the gift of prophecy is nothing, and I'll only be a hollow vessel, a clanging gong. That's why it is so crucial that I walk closely with God every day...

Nerf Thy Neighbour As Yourself!

Oh, just to add: I'll be having a nerfwar with Matthew and Jeremy tomorrow at Matthew's place. Matthew's one of the P6 boys in my CG. Weizhu's coming along, and Matthew's dad too. Hope more bros can join us!

But that's not the only thing I want to say. I was very heartened by Matthew's parents' generosity. Matthew's dad helped to book a function room for us to play with our Nerf guns... and Matthew's mum, Marianne, will be baking pizzas for us! Wow. Thank God for Matthew's parents.

So yes, WZ and I are excited, because this is more than a fun game. It's an opportunity to do cross-generational ministry. :) LOL. In a way, I guess I feel like we're taking the "non-official" route of attempting a ministry. Not going the "official" way... but of course I've kept Hong Teck, Soo Feng and the parents in the loop for accountability. :)

Personally, I've found that starting up a ministry is something like starting up a new business. :) You start up a ministry, in response to a perceived need, just like how you start up a business in response to a perceived demand. I'm not saying that ministry = business, for ministry isn't really in the sense of making a profit, but rather, meeting a need (correct me if I'm wrong!). But yeah, sometimes when you try to start up a ministry, there are times you'll not succeed for various reasons:

i. the need is not there.
ii. God says, for whatever reasons, "not now", or "not here".
iii. not enough co-workers / lack of knowledge / skills / finances
iv. discouragement / spiritual warfare / etc
v. there is indeed a need, but the size of the need may be too small to be feasible for a ministry at this moment in time...

But yes, just give it a try, if you feel that God is calling you to go out and minister to a particular group of people. Why not? Just pray, ask God for His assurance and guidance, and then go in the strength you have. Is He not sending you?

And I think one of the greatest joys and thrills of serving in ministry is the feeling of God's pleasure, that you are doing what He wants you to do, and really sensing His anointing come upon you powerfully, as you do the things He wants you to do! :D And it's so awesome to behold, because you see yourself doing the very thing you know is impossible for you... this really is seeing the Holy Spirit working in you and through you! Hallelujah! Jesus is real, He is powerful, He is alive and He loves to use el cheapo jars of clay like you and me! :)

This is really ministry, not by human strength or ability, but by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit! It is so thrilling to see the invisible God visibly working before your very eyes, like how the invisible wind make the trees tremble visibly.

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Anyway, I just want to take this moment to thank God so much for Hong Teck. Learnt so much from watching his life. He's a really great minister of Christ. And I really appreciate how, when I approached him with my ideas, he encouraged me to go ahead and give it a try, instead of critiquing its feasibility excessively! And that he trusts us with the freedom to try things out... even when we make mistakes along the way. And when we make mistakes, he will quickly step in to correct, gently guide and suggest how we can improve. Hong Teck really sets an example for us when it comes to modelling servant leadership. :) He not only leads people... he helps the people under him discover their God-given strengths and callings... and helps them become leaders too! :) Thank God for you, Hong Teck! Really. =D You really set a great, great example for us all both in doing and in being His. :D

Ministry is a Lifestyle

Not much posting since last week... but that doesn't mean nothing much happened! Hahaha... ironic, isn't it? But yeah, there's a time to work and a time to rest and think...

Anyway, just want to thank God for some wonderful things that happened. Haha. Was sharing with Clarence yesterday over dinner how God has been helping me see that ministry is more than just a role or a responsibility or an appointment. Ministry is a lifestyle.

It's been very exciting, seeing how God has sent me wonderful like-minded fellow ministers to form a drama team for HopeKids ministry. Very glad, 'cos the workload is so much lighter now, and the joy shared is multiplied! Hallelujah! :D Reminds me of how God sent along brave and mighty men to join David when he was on the run from King Saul, and they became part of David's army.

But not just ministry. Also in the workplace, the Spirit has been prompting me (also reminding me of the great advice that I got from my team leader in my prev workplace) to take the initiative to help my colleagues with their stuff where possible. And same at home. To bless my dad with a good healthy massage - esp so now that he's getting old. Even helping my maid with computer stuff. :)

And various people that God sent along my path. So, putting all these things together, I was reminded of this passage that I read from Matthew, about how as Jesus went around teaching and preaching, He also ministered to the people He met along the way.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them

So, that's what I think God is teaching me recently... that ministry is more than doing roles and responsibilities in church ministry... ministry is a lifestyle, meeting others' needs wherever you are!

Haha. Oh yeah want to thank God too for being able to be a lobang to bless a friend too. 'Cos just found out this week that my boss needs illustrators to do some children's storybooks. LOL. Immediately, this friend's name came to mind, since I'd worked with him/her on a children's storybook before for a competition. So I liaised, and the long story short: he/she'll be meeting my boss tml to discuss the possibility of doing freelancing. :) Really praise God that He can use this particular work that I'm in, to help bless others in their careers too! (And haha, coincidentally, we bumped into each other the next day just near our workplaces and had a good short catchup. God's hand is at work!)

Ok, gotta go off, still got work to clear. But thank God for the joy of being able to be a minister of Christ wherever I go. Let's set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, that we may be able to carry around the aroma of Christ wherever we go. Let's let our light shine before men, so that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven! Amen? =)

Peter Truong, one of our brothers from Hope Brisbane - he's a travelling evangelist btw, has just finished 40 days of fasting from solid food! (Liquid diet)... wow. I'm really inspired by this brother's life of faith and passion to do God's will. :)

And I've experienced so many times the power of a surrendered heart made spiritually more ready by fasting... hmm... maybe I should try going on a liquid fast for a few days this week? :) I'm really eager to see God do more work in and through my life to those around me!

Testimony of Chew Chor Meng

Testimony 2of2 - The best bloopers are a click away

I also want to share another thanksgiving testimony too... it's about my dear brother in Christ, Andrew (my neighbour).

The background to this story is that Andrew has been searching for a job ever since he graduated from poly. Initially, he got a job offer from ST Aerospace... and a few other job offers too! So that's a real blessing already for him, especially considering that he's a fresh poly grad, and had been serving very hard as a unit leader in the PolyDINS ministry.

Still, Andrew decided to pray and think through it before accepting the ST job offer. Since the job would mean that he would be bonded for 7 years (yes... job security, right?) and may need to work very long hours... he was fine with that actually, but was thinking whether it's what God has in mind for him to do.

He realised that he prefers to interact with people and help them... so he decided to try going for a NTUC employability coach career, as it can help others find jobs during this difficult time. Well, that meant that Andrew would have to turn down the ST job. So Andrew did.

But... even tho the NTUC people liked him a lot and wanted him, there wasn't any vacancies left! Sad liao. I asked Andrew how did he feel? He was genuinely fine, and I could sense that he really trusted God with great peace in his heart, having surrendered so completely to God this job search. Wow.

So Andrew decided to try other jobs search and so on. Finally, he decided to take on a temp job in the meantime, and last Friday, he got me to teach him Photoshop and Dreamweaver so that he could be prepared for his temp job, which was supposed to be TODAY - i.e. he would have to sign a contract to work for a year.

But... an hour later after he had left my place, he suddenly called me back. He asked me whether I could help him reply to an email. I sensed from the tone of his voice that he was feeling very ... shocked/surprised/stunned.

When I saw the email that he had received, I understood why. The email was from NTUC. The person apologised for the delay, and told him that they finally have a vacancy for Andrew! Andrew was really so speechless. Haha... he was really so grateful to God, for God honouring Andrew's faith and decision to honour Him with his job search. Because the NTUC job was the one that Andrew really wanted, because it's a job that will bless others and extend God's kingdom even more... and God gave it to him at the very last minute! As Andrew said, "God is so faithful. He has never short-changed me." Haha... AMEN, BROTHER! :D

So I am sharing this testimony with you, dear friends... seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness... and all the things that you need will be added unto you in due time! :) Honour God with your decisions, and He will honour you! :D

Whew. Another fun day at the office. :D Thank God for a good time! Went for a meeting with the good people at KooBits. Really very impressed by their entrepreneurial attitude and can-do spirit. LOL. After being a software developer for 2 years, it's good to be on the customer side finally... but really, they're very professional! :) They actually tested their software for 2 whole MONTHS! Majorly impressed.

Yes, I really enjoyed myself at the meeting. My colleague feels the same way too! :) Haha...

Anyway, want to thank God for His help with all the work so far. :) And thank God... really had a very good chat with my colleague. I'm very encouraged to see how God has been using me in the workplace... my colleagues like me a lot, and my boss said that people warm up to me very quickly. And yeah, one of my colleagues was saying that she can see that the kids will definitely love me. Wow... praise God... He alone deserves all the glory.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

LOL. I was very pleasantly surprised and encouraged to hear all these affirmations. :) Hee... Thank God too for my boss and my colleagues. Very blessed by them! :D Ah, it's really not I, but Christ who lives in me. I'm very encouraged that God has put me in the right place where He gives me room to flourish and develop the talents He has given me. Praise the Lord for all His faithfulness!

Psalm 18:32-36
32 It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

34 He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

36 You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

:) Anyway, think a door for effective ministry has been opened to me here in this workplace. Can see how God has been giving me opportunities to share my Christian values to my colleagues, both in words and actions. An ambassador of Christ in the marketplace... wow. Really very grateful that God is choosing to use even someone like me. But precisely, not I, but Christ who lives in me. Ha... sigh... I really do hope and pray that I can be more and more Christlike in everything I do, including my work. And erm, that includes coming in on time. :P I still struggle every single day! But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen me with His Holy Spirit daily to do His will and His work! Amen!

Procrastination. What a horrible monster. I really have to struggle against it... and it's so bad that I literally get gastric pain and have to grit my teeth, just to knuckle down and do the work.

Huaqiang and Sarah's baby is a GIRL! :)

How Should One Respond to Someone You're Not Interested In?

You know, for all the great and helpful advice in my church's BGR framework, I think it may not have addressed sufficiently one thing: how we should respond to someone who has expressed interest in us, but we are not interested in them.

I think ignoring them and avoiding any further contact with them may not be a godly thing to do... even if the natural tendency is to avoid (and I have indeed experienced a sister who expressed interest in me before, but I was turned off... and avoided her. I wonder now how she felt.). Perhaps we could do our best to be kind and considerate to the other person's feelings? Of course, some isolation may be necessary in a few cases, but perhaps a gentle explanation may help to reduce or even eliminate any awkwardness. Because ultimately, we are brothers and sisters in Christ, in the family of God. And we are commanded to make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. I believe we are called not to live solely by our natural instincts or reasoning anymore, but to live by the Spirit. Even if our natural response is to withdraw in order to protect ourselves, perhaps it would be the better thing to take the risk to communicate, especially if you know the other person to be sufficiently mature. Not to live naturally anymore, but to live supernaturally.

So, because of this, it seems to me that, generally, we brothers in church are expected to take the initiative (and the accompanying risks that follow with such initiative), but I think... perhaps a lot of the sisters may not respond graciously and with a gentle spirit, actually. So I think a lot of us brothers are very chary about taking the initiative... and it's not healthy in the long run. I don't know... it's just my perception. What do you think? :) I'd be very interested to hear opinions from both sides!

Hmm. Was talking with a dear friend just now, and I did something I thought this friend would find funny, but think the Spirit was urging me to think twice. So thought about it... quickly corrected what I did, and apologised to this friend. And yes, my friend confirmed my niggling doubts.

It's very interesting, because besides prompting me, I think the Holy Spirit also led me to another blog, where something jialat had happened to another friend, and she was terribly upset, and how a brother comforted her. So through that, I think God was showing me how I could respond better, by learning from the other brother's example. :)

So yup... wow, thank God for His grace and mercy despite my ignorance. Teaching me the way that is good and right... think He has taught me a lesson through this experience. Thanks also to my friend for the grace that he/she showed me.

Gosh. Can only ask God for His forgiveness for my insensitivity... and thank Him for his grace too. What a powerful lesson here... I think God has helped me grow in maturity through this experience.

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

The Comfort of the Cross

From John Shore's blog:

Here are six truths about suffering—and four steps to relieve it—that should prove comforting to any Christian in pain:

God didn’t cause our suffering. God never, ever wants us to suffer. He hates it when we hurt. We hurt because pain is part of the human legacy, period. God could, of course, instantly stop all human suffering, but doing so would involve interfering with our free will, which he loves us to much to do. He allows us to suffer, but that we do is agonizing to him.

Christ, who loves us, knows our suffering. Christ proved his love for us on the cross. And on the cross he also proved to us that he knows the depth of earthy, human suffering. When we call upon Christ to comfort us, we can do so confident that He who heals us understands the full measure of human pain.

Christ wants to love and comfort us. Christ’s purpose is to comfort and heal us. He loves us—and heproved he loves us. He is our friend, our bringer of peace, our soul’s physician. God cares; he is theopposite of indifferent to our suffering.

Through suffering we can grow in our identification with Christ. As Christians, we want nothing more than to as fully as possible identify and commune with Christ. Christ purposefully suffered for us on the cross. Our suffering provides us with a means of more fully appreciating the depth and reality of that sacrifice.

Suffering clears a way for God. Suffering has a way of clearing our minds of superficialities, of focusing our attention on the core essentialities of life. When we’re suffering, Channel God tends to come in a lot clearer than when we’re not.

God sees our suffering in the context of eternity. A big part of our suffering is the fear that we won’t get better. But God already knows just how fantastically better we’re going to get. We see ourselves as earthly creatures; God sees us, already, as the angels we will become.

If you’re suffering, here are four things your can do to help yourself heal:

Pray. Ask for God’s peace. Don’t be shy about asking for it; don’t be hesitant about asking for it; don’t in any way qualify your desire for it. God is there for the suffering. And He can bring to you what you cannot deliver to yourself; God, and only God, can make 2 + 2 = 5. When suffering, you need something extra, something beyond yourself, something unfathomable: You need a miraculous calming of your waters. Calming stormy waters is what God does. Ask, and you shall receive.

Share your troubles. Suffering tends to make us crawl into ourselves, to isolate with our anguish. Resist that counterproductive impulse, which only serves to coddle and thus empower pain. Instead, reach out to others when you are hurting. Share your troubles with your spouse, your friends, your family. With them be honest and open; free yourself to be as vulnerable as you feel. Receive their input, their sympathy, their care. Receive their love. Allow God’s greatest power to come to you through God’s greatest creation: People.

Seek the support of others afflicted as you are. The value of being in a support group with others who share your specific affliction cannot be overstated. There’s nothing like communicating with others who know exactly what you’re going through to relieve the psychological stress that is often the worst part of suffering. Look for a local support group to join. Start one if you have to; there are sure to be others in your area going through whatever you are. Join an online community. Do anything to begin sharing your story with others who are already living so much of it.

Become informed. If idle hands are the devil’s playground, ignorance is his factory. Fear and anxiety naturally thrive in the vacuum of unawareness.  Learn what there is to know about whatever’s grieving you. When you actually know about something, it is never as bad as you think it might be when you’re only guessing about it. Knowledge really is power. Get all of it you can.

I thought this is such a beautiful piece. In what is possibly one of the most powerful passages on how to live in the light of God's love:

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Oh Lord. Teach me this verse in my life. In Jesus' name amen.

Heart-Gripping

Hmm... just feel my heart being gripped again. Luke 4:18-19. And so many thoughts again. Distracted. But remember the sermon, YA? :) about overcoming distractions with conviction. Fight on, YA, fight on! Fight the good fight of the faith! Up and at 'em!

The Primary Purpose of the Church

From "The Primary Purpose of the Church":

"If I were to ask you to tell me the primary purpose of the church, what would you say? Is it to make Disciples? Is it fellowship with ONE ANOTHER?

According to Matthew 28: 19-20 (The Great Commission) the primary purpose of the church is to make disciples. Yet in my work with churches, about 60% of members say the primary purpose of the church is fellowship with ONE ANOTHER.

Don’t get me wrong, fellowship is important. It is vital to the fulfillment of the primary purpose of the church (to make disciples), but it is not the Biblical primary purpose of the church."

Thought about it. Think the writer makes a lot of sense. What does it mean to be a disciple? Love God with everything that's in you and with all you've got - without any reserve! And love the guy next to you, regardless of race, language or religion, as you would love yourself. Walk close to Him and do whatever He tells you to do. And live your life in such a way that other people will see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Live your life with faith, hope and love.

Just a thought... am I living out this life of a disciple? Putting God at the centre of everything I do? Thinking about others, and serving and honouring them in Jesus' name - no matter how lowly they might seem? And am I teaching others to do the same, both in words and deeds? Even more than that... am I helping them know God personally for themselves? To seek God? To seek to PLEASE God? To love God? Love others?

Hm... another thought. I think also about making disciples... is also about providing the necessary support and encouragement to nurture and encourage every hurting soul to get up back on their feet again, as far as possible. And from my own experience, and what I've read in Christian counselling... the first and foremost thing in helping any hurting Christian get back on their feet is not more fellowship with other people, but first and foremost with God, Jehovah-Rapha, the One Who heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds... Because once you make peace with God, you are able to make peace with men. I find it so true - and I testify from my own experience as well.

Haiizzzzz... I think we really can do so much more to help bring people back to the Father... and closer to Him through our Lord Jesus Christ. Really. Really.

A Church of a Different Kind

Ooh! Came across this on Christian News. Haha... just thought it's interesting, so posting it for your reading too.

A conversation on the Church with Wee Tiong Howe, Senior Elder and Pastor of City Missions Church, is likely to discomfit most traditional Christians.

According to him, the hierarchical system that defines many established churches today was not a thing of the loose fellowship Jesus formed with the disciples and the fellowship of the early believers after the original Day of Pentecost as described in the concluding passage of Acts 2.

In fact, he wonders if the Church of Acts even knew of anything remotely similar to a pastor. He set that to the acid test by asking this reporter if he could show where in the Book of Acts the word appeared.

There were apostles, elders and deacons, but not pastors, in the Church of Acts, Wee pointed out.

And City Missions Church or CMC is a bold attempt to emulate that model.

There is no ‘controlling’ and ‘single-leader’ structure in the congregation; only a ‘relational’ and ‘plural’ one, according to the middle-aged man. And instead of the usual cell-group system, which doesn’t ‘fit’ it, CMC divides its 400-odd members into house churches each led by a pastoral team.

Furthermore, every member is a candidate for world mission; the church has the vision of bringing the message of Jesus Christ to the world and dispatching marketplace people as its ‘missionaries’.

After all, the New Testament Church comprised marketplace believers, says Wee, who describes his congregation as a ‘uniquely’ marketplace church different from hierarchical churches – and proud of it.

Brother Wee should know. Prior to an adventurous journey of faith that saw him starting a church, company, Bible school and world mission agency, he was just another ‘successful’ business professional. Though he took ten weeks every year to go on mission trips around the world, he recalled being a ‘powerless’ Christian, reaching none of the nearly 1,000 people in his workplace.

And then, one day, he had a vision of the marketplace as a harvest field. He saw a company of employees changing into hands reaching out to God... [read more]

Marketplace Musings - Self-Marketing & Christian Humility: Are They Compatible?

A fantastic article that I think would be a great help to Christians going for job interviews - even for seasoned job-seekers! :)

Is it OK for Christians to engage in self-promotion? When we work with job-seekers on their resumes, cover letters and interview preparation, we address the issue of how they can best "showcase" their qualifications for their particular job target. Some job seekers, however, are uncomfortable with this idea, feeling that they are somehow not being humble-and risk being seen as prideful-when they talk about their abilities and accomplishments. They are not alone; many Christians struggle with what is appropriate in marketing themselves in the world. [Read more!]

Of Living Theology, Biblical Churches and Old Age

I bumped into this interview with a Bible teacher on Christian News. Thought I'd just share some of the interview with you... it's very long, yeah, but worth a good read.

Yeah, HQ, HY, Elvis, WZ... haha... I was thinking of you men when I posted this! Thank God for your hearts to see the Word of God taught properly... and for your hearts to see that our church remains safely grounded in proper Bible theology. I guess, to me, you guys, though you may be in very different life-stations, be it student, fresh graduate, working adult or father-to-be... think God has stirred in your hearts and souls a desire to study God's Word systematically. Be the color-bearers for the next generation of the church... may the Lord make you strong and reliable men, who will be qualified to teach others, especially the younger ones... especially in these last days.

Conner: [...] I would say in my mind the most important subject I would say for any minister any teacher any ministry at all is sound theology and sound hermeneutics or principles of interpreting the Word.

Because now I look back over if people ask me what would be the most important thing I would say as I look back over 60 years of ministry all our preaching, teaching, counselling, witnessing lifestyle, it all comes down to theology, right or wrong.

And hermeneutics and theology is like a coin to me, two sides. Your theology affects your hermeneutics; your hermeneutics affects your theology. If they are wrong then most of our preaching, everything is faulty theology, it’s out. So I would say they are the two most important subjects.

And to me all my preaching teaching whatever I do it all comes out of my theology. So sound theology, sound hermeneutics, they would be the two major things in my mind, and I think they are two subjects that are lacking today because people say, ‘Ah theology, we don’t want theology’, I say we do because everything comes out of that.

CP: What makes sound teaching? Would you be able to perhaps summarise?

Conner: [...] Does doctrine really matter? Doctrine of God, doctrine of Christ, doctrine of Man, doctrine of sin, doctrine of redemption, doctrine of eschatology. I left ecclesiology out because that’s in a separate book itself. So it’s that basic thing, but the approach I don’t think it’s theology that’s dead, I think a lot of the theologians are dead. I don’t know, they’ve killed. And they’ve killed it because they’re not alive and it’s just mind to mind thing, whereas not because of me, it’s just my gifting, people say I make theology alive, so exciting, so alive, that’s people’s comments.

CP: During your message this morning, you talked about how certain groups have been criticising the church and trying to get out of this mold. How would you respond to the criticisms in the sense of what are the areas in which truly the church has failed and needs to recover?

Conner: I think just recently I read about eight textbooks on the emerging church so some people asked me in America when I was there, what do I think about the emerging church. I haven’t read enough to evaluate anything so my big concern is what do you mean by the word ‘church’? I think we need to reclaim the original meaning of the word ‘church’ because today it’s become Presbyterian Church, a building. It’s not.

So we need to reclaim what’s the original meaning of the word ‘church’ in the Greek culture and the Roman application. And a lot of these young people, when you talk about emerging church, what are you emerging from, and what are you emerging into?

And then the more I read these textbooks which I personally think is such a mixture I get concerned about the theology so where is sound theology in the thing, and then what do you mean by the church? Then I think reading a lot of their experiences, I think a lot of their criticisms, instead of saying the church, they should say against institutionalism, denominationalism, dead orthodoxy. Like I said this morning, don’t knock the church because the church is the body of Christ, the church is the bride of Christ. And Paul was willing to suffer and die for the church.

So I believe every minister that has a real vision and understanding of what the New Testament as a body of Christ or bride of Christ is should be willing to live and suffer and die for the church the body of Christ. But not knock the church. And so I would say to these people, you are leaving the church and you are emerging from what into what, and then when you get a hundred people a thousand people what’s that? Are you part of a church, or are you doing something outside the church?

So I disagree very strongly. Some of the preachers today said that God is finished with the church and He is doing something new outside the church. He’ll never be finished with His body! He’ll never be finished with His bride! So we need to reclaim that.

So just recently, I’ve done an article on reclaiming the word ‘church’. Church is not a building, it’s not a denomination, it’s not institution. What is the biblical revelation of the church? So when He said I will build My church what do we really mean?

That to me is foundation. I have very strong convictions on the church. I am part of the church, I love the church. So when people run the church down I say what are you punching yourself in the face for, what do you belong to? Some new thing outside the church? There is no new thing outside the church. So all these things it may be marketplace ministry it may be orphanages it may be leprosy centres it may be hospitals all of these are ministries of the church but they do not constitute the church.

Cell churches, my body is made up of cells, but no one cell is the church, but my body is made up of many cells like the church. So we just need to reclaim that and I think that ministers need to be talking about that and just reclaiming what does the church really mean in the Greek thing what did Jesus mean, and what the church is not.

So in some of my studies church is not a building it’s not a denomination it’s not Judaism and I do that to get what the church is. So I have very strong convictions on that, so it disturbs me very much when I hear people running down the church and saying God is doing a new thing outside the church. Where is that in the New Testament? Not there.

CP: I would like to return back to the two sides of the coin you talked about. Firstly, the sound teaching and secondly the interpretation of Scripture. What are some of the principles behind good Bible teaching?

Conner: Well, I think first main thing would be what I’ve already said. It would be sound theology, if we don’t have sound theology, we can make the Bible say anything.

And one brief illustration like I heard people teach on the parables of the kingdom that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal I’ve heard ridiculous things on parabolic teachings the three measures of the meal are the three divisions of the human race, Shem, Ham, Japheth, three sons of Noah, and the woman is the church and the leaven is the gospel. That ends up in universalism that everybody is going to be saved.

So unless you have sound theology you are not going to interpret the parables of the kingdom right, so your theology affects your hermeneutics, so in the hermeneutic textbook we did that, two countries in word studies character studies place studies interpreting the parables of the kingdom, interpreting prophecy, all those types of things so much that I have to look at my books again, but my theology governs that, otherwise you can make the Bible say anything.

CP: You mentioned earlier that your textbook which goes into so many countries around the world and there are people that said that you make theology alive. What’s your secret?

Conner: Well, I think any teacher should do this, teacher, preacher, whatever. When the Holy Spirit inspired the Word, then that is as real to Him now as it was then. And I like one definition said years ago that when we have the communion he says we often say do this in remembrance of Me and we in ourselves try to project our memory back to when Jesus died and trying to project back then doing it in remembrance but he said the real Greek meaning of that is the Holy Spirit bringing the power of the past into the present and making real what was in the past, making real in the present. I believe that’s the key to the whole ministry of the Word... [Read more!]

From Single Men: Carry The Colors:

Resolve is the faith that keeps you moving even when the fog of battle overwhelms you. Jesus had resolve in going to the Cross. Paul had resolve in pressing on toward the goal. Resolve looks ahead. Resolve is clear-eyed, level-headed, sober-thinking. It is fueled by the burning reality that service in this life is the only battle that matters, and that God himself has placed you in it. So spend it all here. As the famous missionary motto proclaims, "No retreat, no surrender, no reserve."

And the writer goes on to say:

God made you a man for a purpose. Inherent in your masculinity is a call to step forward, not simply to take the flag, but first to ask for it and reach toward it. Masculinity is the raw material of leadership in God's government, but you don't need to wait for a tap on the shoulder to express your innate leadership call. You can lead by influence and example. If you are not being trained to lead, get your Bible out and train yourself! Your Christian single sisters are always looking for men to step out in leadership in areas such as purity, discernment, decisions, and godly conversation.

There are times when we come to God with a lot of things on our minds. We're very tired and just rattle off a list of requests. And when we read the Bible, we expect to receive something groundshaking. But maybe that's not the most important thing at that time. Maybe God just wants us to sit down and simply enjoy His Word. To "[b]e still and know that I am God."

Last Saturday, I dropped by Huanyan's CG. I was free that day, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to catch up with HY and Elvis and Shuyi and Minchen and well, basically the rest of their CG haha.

But I did feel a bit worried. 'Cos was wondering whether I'd look a bit out of place there. But when I reached there, HY and Elvis welcomed me with big chimpanzee-like grins and big hellos. With amigos like them, how can one not feel blessed? Haha.

Then I said to Huanyan, "Hey bro, thanks for letting me drop by." He looked rather surprised, and said, "This is our church family lah! Of course you're welcome!" Mich (Elvis' cousin) said the same thing too. Haha... so we went over to join them at SMU... and saw that it was a unit gathering! Haha. Very fun. :D Lots of music, singing and playing... carefree, and so on. Felt like uni days again LOL.

Anyway, what Huanyan said made me think. Actually, it's part of a whole bunch of observations... or rather, perceptions. :) Haha. I'm very much more intuition-based rather than sensing-based. :) So I intuit a lot.

Anyway, think some of us in church have this mentality (correct me if I'm wrong) that once you move on to a new ministry / services, you have to cut down on your contact with the old groups of friends you made in your previous ministries/services, so that you can focus on your current ministry. (Not cut off lah, but cut down.) But I think that might be a bit imbalanced...

Maybe it'd be good to encourage more inter-ministry minglings. Just to drop by different units, different CGs, and so on. 'Cos we're one big family. Of course let them know before dropping by, but I think I shouldn't feel paiseh about dropping in. It may not be easy to make the effort to keep in touch, especially when there's restructuring here and there. But well, ultimately, we're one big family. And that's a biblical doctrine, last I heard. :)

I did go down to NUS to catch up with Joyce and Edmund Lee. And while I was there, one brother came to HQ, and he saw me. He was so surprised, and said (I quote it verbatim), "What the hell are you doing here?" (Aye, that's his style.) Haha. The surprise comes from the fact that the seniors usually don't come back to intermingle and connect with the juniors. Of course, it does take extra effort, as obviously we don't know the younger ones, and there's probably the generational barrier.

Personally, I think we make too much out of generational barriers. Gen-X this, Gen-Y that, Gen-Z etc... but honestly, I think cultural, language and social-economic barriers do make a more significant difference. But whatever barriers there may be, perhaps just because they're there doesn't mean that we shouldn't make the necessary effort to cross these barriers. There are some young people (like the freshman sister who went into Medicine - she's 10 years younger than me) who have a stronger and more vibrant faith than some believers 10 years older than her! Of course, there are believers 10 years older than us, whom we can learn SO much from. We can learn from one another. God is the God of all generations!

I remember Weizhu talking with me about the importance of cross-generational ministry. I think it's something so important too, and something that our church currently lacks. Yes, I know, it does seem strange to drop by just like that... so I check to see if it's ok to drop by, to meet up with existing friends in the different ministries, and in turn get to know more new friends. And I think life and the community is so much the richer for it. Not only having friends from the same life-stations, but across different life-stations, add a new dimension and richness to your perspective of life. Not to mention that you get unique cultural exposure, get to have your finger on the changing pulses of society and so on.

Of course, it's important to also build up your own CG. To that, I think there's a time for everything. I remember HQ telling me that there are times you have to find support outside your own CG. I was reluctant initially, but yah, it's really helpful advice. :)

Anyway, I'm just sharing all these thoughts, because I think the different congregations in our churches can do so much more to intermingle and minister to one another more... so that the whole body of Christ may grow together in unity. So, I guess I have yet to make closer friends with our brothers and sisters from the Filipino, Indonesian and Mandarin services. But at least I have made friends from Children's service... Family service, Uni, PolyDINs and so on. Thank God for the joy of renewing old friendships, and building new ones.

By ourselves, we can do so little. But together we can do so much.