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Rev Daniel Wee: Vicar of Church of Our Saviour

17 February 2025 blogpastor Leave a comment

I read this interesting and encouraging interview with Rev Daniel Wee, the Vicar of the Church of Our Saviour, an Anglican megachurch, once led by Rev Derek Hong. I enjoyed reading this interview because Daniel gave straightforward authentic answers to the questions. He sometimes opened up to personal vulnerabilities, which is rare for a senior leader. He shared his experience of overextending himself and experiencing burnout.

In addition, I love the bit where he shares his experience working in a small church and the big ones. The comparisons and contrasts he made show the different challenges faced by pastors. Pastors have to adjust their leadership styles according to the size of the church. Here is an extract:

“When I first started, I pastored a small church. It was very challenging and difficult. I didn’t have anyone to guide me and help me figure things out. Going it alone meant making many mistakes and learning things the hard way. Amazingly, as I look back – God has seen me through all those challenges, however great they may have seemed to be at that time. Pastoring a small group meant I could deal with people more directly since the number was usually small. Yet in smaller churches, pastors are so much part of the ground that you sometimes fail to think about strategic directions and plans for growth.

When pastoring a large group, you often have to work through different layers of leadership and delegation. It is inevitable because it is increasingly difficult to address issues directly simply because of the sheer number of things to take care of. As a result, the skills needed for leading a larger church often include managing people and group communications. In a larger church, a pastor’s work tends to move towards managing and strategic direction – running the risk of becoming increasingly disengaged from the ground. Yet with a larger group of people also comes increased collective resources, which will require tighter processes and policies to steward them.”

Here is the link to the full interview of Daniel Wee in Shema Rhema.

Watchman Nee’s influence on me

1 February 2025 blogpastor Leave a comment

I have been influenced early in my Christian life by spiritual giants from China and India. These were Watchman Nee, John Sung, Pastor Hsi from China, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Bakht Singh and Zac Poonen from India.

I would think the books of Watchman Nee have influenced me the most since he has written scores of books about spirituality. His influence on me can be seen in my posture reflected in my book, “The 26 Gifts of Christ’s Finished Work”. I hope this book will be published by the end of February. Here are some quotes about Christ’s finished work from a few of Watchman Nee’s well-known books:

From his classic book “The Normal Christian Life”:

“God makes it quite clear in his word that he has done all that is necessary on his side. Now he is waiting for us to take an attitude that will bring us into the experience of what he has done.”

“The normal Christian life must begin with a very definite ‘knowing’, which is not just knowing something about the truth nor understanding some important doctrine. It is not intellectual knowledge at all, but an opening of the eyes of the heart to see what we have in Christ.”

“Our old history ends with the Cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.”

“The blood can wash away my sins, but it cannot wash away my ‘old man’. It needs the cross to crucify me. The sinner needs forgiveness, but the sinner also needs to be delivered from the power of sin.”

“Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner, but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious.”

From his classic book “Sit, Walk, Stand”:

“Christian life does not begin with walking; it begins with sitting. We begin our spiritual life by resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian era began with the ascension of the Lord Jesus, not with his crucifixion. He sat down at the right hand of the Father, and that is where we begin – we are seated with him in the heavenly places.”

“If we merely try to imitate Christ’s life, we will be exhausted. The secret of the Christian life is not imitation but participation. Christ has already done everything; we simply step into the reality of what he has accomplished.”

From the less-read work “The Spiritual Man”:

“The Christian life is not about trying to live for God but allowing Christ to live through us. It is not self-effort, but Christ’s power working in us.”

“Many try to crucify themselves, but we cannot crucify ourselves. God has already crucified us with Christ; we must simply reckon it so.”

From his book, “The Overcoming Life”:

“Victory is not something we work for; it is something we receive. It is not our victory – it is Christ’s victory, which he has freely given to us.”

“To overcome means to rest in Christ’s victory, to reckon upon what he has done, and to allow him to live out his overcoming life in us.”

A Year of Pruning and Fruitfulness: Reflecting on 2024

6 January 2025 blogpastor 2 Comments

This has been a satisfying and exciting year for me. If you had asked me earlier in the year, I would not have said so. Upon reflection, I see patterns that give meaning and joy to my journey.

I read my journal leisurely, covering a quarter each time. After reading, I took notes of repetitions, prayers, desires, laments, and anything that stayed on my mind. I noted my reactions, feelings, gratitude, and pain points. After collating these notes, I prayerfully reflected and saw two main themes of what God did in my life in 2024: pruning and fruitfulness. “…every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2 ESV).

Trials and triumphs

This year has been personally trying for both my wife and me. My wife was in the hospital for 51 days due to a bacterial infection that affected her spine. It required several months of antibiotics and a spine operation for her to be completely well and able to resume her active life. God’s grace was upon us, and the verse that comforted me during my wife’s illness was fulfilled. “When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2 ESV). It meant that my wife would go through this difficult trial but would not be harmed and would come out fine. Praise the Lord, that was exactly what happened.

In the third quarter, I experienced several weeks of pain in my right back shoulder and arms. It was so bad in the first few days that I found it difficult to sleep. An X-ray indicated some narrowing of C3, and C4 causing nerve pains. I was given muscle relaxants, plasters, and referrals to a physiotherapist and spine specialist. The stages of my healing went from intense pain to annoying pain to irritation pain to finally vanished pain.

Besides the medicine, there was a spiritual aspect to the healing. “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6). This poor man also asked many pastor friends and church friends to pray for him. The Lord also gave me a verse that brought me to my knees in contrition. “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word” (Psalm 119:67). It was a time when the Lord opened my eyes to my sinfulness and poverty. I experienced a mini-revival: “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7). By the time of my physiotherapy appointment, I was completely pain-free and decided to skip the specialist appointment.

The pruning yielded more fruit. The Lord God is the gardener, and he prunes the branch that bears fruit so that it bears more fruit. My soul was stretched, stitched, healed, and revived. Even amid painful trials, God was present, and I saw his providence, provision, interventions, empowerment, and many answers to prayers.

Fruitful year

I noticed a few answered prayers about the book I was writing. God gave me the grace to edit and sometimes rewrite my draft, professional help to design the book cover, and publishing guidance and assistance from a Tung Ling classmate. My pastor friends read the draft and gave me their comments and endorsements of the book. I was elated at the sudden spurt of progress and saw God’s hand upon it.

I also saw more fruit and expansion in itinerant preaching and spiritual direction. God kept opening doors and giving me opportunities in both of these ministries.

It was a joy to have my adult children and grandchildren return from overseas to spend considerable time with my wife and me. It was a deeply meaningful year for me.

One of my classmates in the formation program shared an apt image that pictures what I experienced in 2024: “IN A YEAR, YOU HAVE GROWN, OVERCOME, AND BEEN SHAPED BY HIS GRACE”