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Churches in industrial space

23 March 2012 blogpastor 2 Comments

Line drawn with a click

Last week, Mr Khaw Boon Wan, the minister of national development made some comments that would throw many churches off balance. He blogged about wanting to help small and medium enterprises cope with rising industrial rent. One of the causes of the increase in rents, according to the minister, is the improper usage of industrial space by shops, tuition centres, furniture showrooms, offices and churches. This demand had pushed the rents up. Industrial space is meant only for warehousing, manufacturing, production, e businesses, IT infrastructure and software development, and child care centres, as they support the industries nearby. If tenants are found to be using space improperly, the penalty may be a fine of up to $200,000 or jail of up to a year. In the past eyes have been closed to this creeping intrusion, but the line was drawn with a click.

A hidden agenda?

One wonders if the rationale for the stated action is reasonable and able to deal with the root cause of increased rents. As pointed out by a Straits Times reporter in a later article, there were other major factors driving the rents up: the movement of speculators and investors from residential, due to the spiked stamp duty, to industrial space; the farming out of development and management of industrial space to private entities and REITS; and most crucial of all, the tender method used to award industrial space. If they really want the operating costs for SMEs lowered, shouldn’t they be tackling the problem at its roots and with a macro and a multi-prong approach? In the context of what has happened in recent years to churches it is difficult for the affected parties not to speculate if there is some hidden agenda being pushed or whether things are really as stated in the official communiqués. I do not believe there is anything sinister underneath: just a secular government wanting to act rationally and firmly without fear or favour.

Reactions to the line drawn

Reactions from pastors and their churches, usually small and medium sized, have been muted. It ran from a scramble for alternate places of worship this Sunday to a deliberate approach of study and discussion of exit strategy. Some would be indignant, while others would be matter of fact, stoic and practical. Most would be found in a place of prayer and peace, consulting with others, exploring alternative strategies, and looking to the Head of the body for help and guidance.

Off-the-cuff ramifications

When I asked a close friend of mine, what he thought were the ramifications, he emailed me his off the cuff answer. It’s not rocket science but some of the scenarios are sure to pan out over the coming months:

“My immediate off-the-cuff take:

1. More & more churches will be hunting new homes.

2. More & more churches would be thinking of going into “joint-ventures” and partner each other in home hunting. Maybe this will even lead to churches not only combining resources but really combining their congregation together.

3. Industrial buildings is now a no-no; maybe the next best choice is a commercial building.

4. Both of the above are mostly on 30-, 60- year leases. There would be some 99 or freehold – but of course the pricing is different.

6. The other route is to take what some mega churches are doing; a la THE ROCK; building & investing in commercial projects (with auditoriums & church facilities) and at the same time use this facility during weekend”.

Small churches won’t disappear

It is seriously doubtful that industrial rent can be moderated without a concerted multi-prong strategy. On the other hand, I am absolutely certain that such an action cannot break the spirit, resilience, and productivity of the small church, even if this was not the intention of the ruling. Small churches are like mustard seeds and trees. Mustard seeds are tiny and the full grown mustard tree grow to a small 10-15 feet maximum. But the seeds and plants are renowned in ancient days for their quickness in germinating and taking root, and taking over space, and growing in unlikely environments and conditions. Though useful they are treated like weeds and are unwanted. But then, they are almost impossible to get rid of. So the small churches. It’s a reality large and mega-churches and governments need to acquiesce to. Even communist China with all its powers failed to rid itself of the small church! Small churches are muscular, resilient, and omnipresent, and their tiny seeds will disperse with the wind of the Spirit and many more small churches will sprout!

Maid in Singapore: Christian perspective

12 March 2012 blogpastor 11 Comments

She will get rotten

“If she is allowed out every Sunday she will get ‘corrupted’ by other maids”, said a member to me when I shared my view that God cares for maids too and wants them to have a weekly rest. She would learn tricks and be emboldened to resist “mam”. She would compare pay and conditions with other maids and come home with a sour attitude. She’ll spend more money, and worse, get involved with a man outside. What if she gets pregnant? I’d lose my deposit. Which of course I knew were all possible consequences.

Stressed out

Singaporeans are busy people and having a maid costs quite a tidy monthly sum. They want to maximize every cent. They are a tired lot, what with both husband and wife working in normally stressful jobs, and having to tutor the children in their school work. Having a maid around the house was a great help. When the weekend comes the couple is deadbeat and they often are tempted to keep the maid home so that they can snatch some quality rest amidst ferrying the children to all kinds of activities.

The maid needs a rest day

Somehow employers find it hard to look at the positives of maids having a weekly day of rest. The maid needs physical and emotional rest from the grind and stress they face all day and night, six days a week, serving a family of a different culture. Added to that the maid comes from a family she left back home and she may have problems of her own: loneliness, debts, problems back home, and plain tiredness from endless tasks, if not having any problems with her “mam” (which is highly unlikely – even with a Christian “mam”).

Day of rest refreshes

The day of rest gives her time to connect with her own kind, de-stress by talking about her problems, gain practical advice on how to cope with the Singapore family expectations and cross-cultural difficulties. The maid may even by her own initiative get enriched through training courses. She returns home refreshed after eating comfort food from home and just being with friends and acquaintances who are going through the same hardships, problems and joys. Employers who look at the positives of letting the maid have a day off are rare. They are mainly “angmohs” and the more enlightened Singaporeans.

Law to make rest day mandatory

Finally after 10 years of appeals by the The Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants & Itinerant People (ACMI) and the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), and other groups like Transit Workers Count Too (TWC2) and the Singapore Committee for United Nations Women, such a day of rest is finally going to be reality. Hong Kong and Taiwan already has such laws. So beginning 1 January 2013, all maids given contracts will by law have a weekly day of rest. However all 206,000 maids in Singapore already under contract will not benefit from the force of this law. Since Christians are a good 15% of the population of Singapore and most of the families with young children would hire a maid we are talking about a good number of maids employed for Christian families. As family is one of the key areas of transformation that Love Singapore churches are seeking to influence with kingdom values, what is the ideal stance towards this day of rest issue? A look at a bit of ancient legislation in a tiny Middle East nation may offer wisdom:

¹² “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. ¹⁵ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day (Deut 5).

God’s compassionate heart for maids

Interestingly the concern of God for his creatures to rest goes beyond the family and the children at home: it included the servants. And the foreigner. And even the animals that work the farm. Note that in the verses above Israel’s law code revealed God’s heart for the powerless: “male and female servants” was a repeated phrase, as though to underline the most vulnerable. Secondly, the rationale was that the Israelites were slaves in Egypt and never had a rest day, and should of all peoples, understand the need of rest of those in their own community, both the foreigners and servants (just as they were foreign workers/servants in Egypt). It does remind one of Jesus saying, Do to others as you want others to do to you. Lastly, that little phrase “as you do” at the end of verse 14 is telling. Just as the employers need rest, so do the servants.

Walk in the Spirit

Of course, Christians are no longer under the civil law code of ancient Israel. However, the spirit of the law is what Jesus would have today’s believers discern and exercise. It invites us to treat animals, foreigners, and in particular, servants (or maids) with due concern for their their physical welfare, one that mirrors our concern for adequate rest for our own sons and daughters. A believer of radical grace would go even farther. And this farther does not mean coercing them to go to church on Sundays with the family, so that they get “saved”! The intention may be pure and noble, but if the means to the end is morally wrong, it is wrong. On the other hand the intention may just be a pretext and excuse to have the maid relieve the family of child care burdens. There are of course maids who prefer to go with the employer out of love, for economic and other reasons, and there is no quarrel with that. There are also those employers who give them a choice and even paid them more for the extra day of work, as suggested by a panel that $15 be paid for making Sunday an additional workday(with the maid’s consent). One way the second mile can be walked by Christians transformed by grace is to not wait till the law is enforced in Jan 2013. Grant them the day off or option to work with pay, not later in 1 Jan 2013, but with immediate effect. My hope is that this is not necessary because you have been doing so all along, in which case you have been walking in the Spirit!

Recreational trekking

5 March 2012 blogpastor 4 Comments

Refreshing exercise

Trekking is a relaxing and refreshing form of recreation and exercise. It is not so vigorous like jogging nor too pedestrian like walking. There is that exertion that will make you perspire as you climb up slopes. However for the most part you trek at a steady pace. After two hours your shirt is drenched. The air is usually fresh and cool in the morning at Bukit Timah Hill and the sunlight hardly hits the ground as you walk most of the time under an emerald umbrella of branches and leaves. When completed you always felt good that you pushed yourself to get out of bed at 7am on a Saturday. As you ate your brunch, you felt gratified that you have had a gentle but long workout.

Rock trail

The Rock Path trail is off the bitumen main path from foot to summit. It is called thus because there is a steep slope of granite rocks that you have to climb and you need to hold on to vines as large as a bodybuilder’s biceps on your way up. Most kids would enjoy this stretch and find it challenging but doable.

Secret spot

The other day I chanced upon this lovely view from the top of the disused granite quarry. A lovely little grove that overlooks a quarry pond, and in the distance HDB flats. I did not know of this place until recently and not many others know of this place, so I’d like to keep it so.

Good company

Acquaintances easily form during and after this activity. There are those breaks when we drink, rest and talk. During the trek all kinds of pleasant and serious conversations take place. And after the trek, we eat at a hawker centre and chat about life, politics, and religion and…. the next overseas trek. The trekking group have been together for quite some time with departures and additions over the years. And they have gone several overseas trek every year. The last time I was with them on such a trip was several years ago in Nepal. Now I plan to join them on a rough Gopeng trail in Cameron Highlands. I find I need a goal to give me the motivation to be diligent in preparation. The benefits are health, recreation, fun and good company.