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Century Christian Fellowship: moving on in faith

30 April 2012 blogpastor 1 Comment

Pilgrim church

Century Christian Fellowship is a small church on the move. It is a pilgrim church. When God says, Pitch up tent, let’s move on to another leg in the journey, a new chapter in the book, we can either say, “Lord if it is possible, take this cup from me”, and stay there….or we continue with, “…. but not my will, but yours be done”, and move on in faith. This extension of Chapel of Resurrection has chosen to do the latter. In a month, they would be moving from their current premises in Simei, to be the Sunday evening English service of Church of Epiphany at Jalan Kayu, between masterstroke Punggol and conventional Sengkang. It will be a convenient English service option for Anglicans living in either of these estates.

Pastor Peter Chang

My wife and I were early for the 9.30am Sunday service, and we caught up with what’s been happening with the church. Pastor Peter has enjoyed his over 2 years of leading the church. The congregation has been around for about 20 years and there were a handful of faithful members who have been with them for more than a decade.

They were doing a series of messages on the book of Joshua and as it turned out the passage allotted to me was Joshua 18. It was an interesting passage pregnant with relevance to the move in front of them. Seven tribes had not yet moved in to possess the land that God had given to the descendants of Abraham. Joshua urged them to do so, and I love the King James Version of it because it shows how much the version has contributed to our use of the English language. “And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD god of your fathers hath given you?”(verse 3). Notice the word “slack” – a favorite among young people even today! Anyway, I had a good time connecting with the people and encouraging them to press on into all that God has planned for them in terms of blessings as well as calling.

Pastor Lawrence Koo of Agape Community Church

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Stalled car and stalled mind

My thoughts jumped about like monkeys in a tree. I had to tell pastor Lawrence Koo of Agape Community Church about what happened. He may have to be prepared to speak instead, as I was to be the guest speaker in his 4pm church service on Saturday. Maybe I should call for a tow truck. I should get a cab, but can I leave the car here on busy Bukit Timah Road? I could not get him, so I messaged him and hoped he read it.

My car had stalled in the middle lane near Eng Neo Avenue, but I managed to slowly guide it to the side with my hazard lights on. The stalled car was hampering traffic on lane 3. Somehow I managed to get the car going again, with the air-con switched off, but the car stalled again along the main road, and I managed to guide it into quiet Dunkirk Road. Hailing a cab, I dashed to Toa Payoh where the church meets in a cozy red auditorium, that could easily pass off as a cinema.

Pastor Lawrence Koo

The singing had already begun and Pastor Lawrence was glad to see me and I was glad I was only 10 minutes late. My thoughts still wandered about while others worshiped. Lord, give me Your peace and I entrust the situation to You. Before I knew it, I was graciously introduced. Pastor Lawrence and I first met when we went together to visit Willow Creek Community’s Church conference about a decade ago. He is a widely respected Assemblies of God minister who during his Bible college days planted a church in Seremban, Malaysia which today is one of the more notable churches in that town. We have caught up on various occasions since then . He went frequently to the annual Leadership Summit hosted by Bill Hybels’ church. What a wonderful thing it was when he actually brought the Global Leadership Summit (an abridged video version of the Summit) to Singapore several years ago and chaired the executive committee for several years. He provides able and loving leadership to Agape Community Church and chairs the denomination’s Bible college, A.G.B.C. It was evident there was a strong bond of love between pastor and congregation.

The Father’s love for us

Before I knew it I was at the sleek modern pulpit and despite a slow start managed to gradually connect with the congregation that comprised mostly young families. I preached to them some fundamental truths of what the Father has done for us from gospel-rich Ephesians 1: 3-7. I talked about the Father’s love for us: how He wants to bless us; how he had chosen us, and adopted us as his children. The message was peppered with lots of relevant illustrations and analogies and applications.

Chong’s car diagnosis

The service ended and the people were friendly and Lawrence introduced me to Chong, an expert with cars. They were very kind and drove me to my stalled car. Chong took about 25 minutes to investigate the problem thoroughly. His diagnosis: radiator problem. You can drive back but do so without air-conditioning and keep sight of the temperature gauge. As I drove off, I thank God for this kindness, and was happy to be safely home and to have the car to use on Sunday.

Doing part-time formal studies and ministry together

23 April 2012 blogpastor Leave a comment

Can be deeply enriching

Doing part-time formal studies and ministry at the same time can be deeply enriching. The reality of doing both simultaneously forces you to reflect on your actual ministry situation and make relevant applications. We often get so absorbed in ministry, we develop tunnel vision and silo mentality, and do not take a step out of our situation and reflect on what and why we are doing what we are doing. Or our heads could be so into our books and laptops in the seminary library, we hardly reflect on the practical ministry implications of what we were learning. The press of time could even be worse when we do both together. However if the assignments were well-designed and the subject you were researching relevant to ministry, you would be forced to reflect and act in ways that were deeply enriching for yourself and for the ministry.

A case in point was a piece of assignment I had to do in a spirituality module (AGST MTh) which had to do with crafting a Rule of Life. It is simply a growth plan of soul-care tailor-made for your unique self. It is specific to your temperament preferences, ministry situation, stage of life and needs. It outlines a rhythmic cycle of daily offerings of yourself to the Lord. It is holistic and includes a rhythm of prayer, silence and solitude, reflection and other areas of growth. It does not bind but puts you in a place of enjoying spiritual liberty. The paper was done with enthusiasm tempered by realism as I was still in the ministry. It was most helpful, and till serves as a reference point for my reflection and prayer.

Can stretch you to the point of scream

It is enriching but at times it stretches you to the point of scream. The ministry is always more urgent and demanding. A new sermon is due in a fortnight, if not this Sunday. Its always keeping you on your toes. Besides this Sunday key task, there are other programs and members’ needs that call for your attention. Part of my ordination vows include a vow to be in fellowship with other ministers, so meeting with other pastors has been a part of my ministry. As much as I have tried to keep all my assignments done on time, over the last two modules I could not meet the deadline. Blame it on Christmas, Chinese New Year, Holy Week, the nature of the assignments and poor time management and motivation…..and the devil. We need to have the peace that passes all understanding and a patience with ourselves. The food on our plate is more than we can handle but somehow the Lord does enable us by grace (his and the lecturers’) to finish the assignments.

Choose a course that grabs you and do it for his greater glory

With all the challenges of doing formal studies and ministry at the same time, you have to choose a course that interests you and helps you in your goal of seeking God’s greater glory. You have to be clear about what you want, and the course has to grab your attention, and when you pray about it your desire grows and persists over time. It would be wise to have done one or two modules to get a taste and feel of the weight and demands of doing formal part-time studies and ministry together. A trial period like this helps you make a better and firmer decision and will increase the likelihood of finishing it. Because your goal is the greater glory of God, should you be unable to finish the course for some unforeseen reason, it does not matter, because your interest is in being a better servant of God and his people.