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Young parents discipling children

1 February 2018 blogpastor 2 Comments

Young parents sharing their thoughts about discipling children

It was a significant meeting: pastoral team, children’s ministry core leaders, and the young parents. We wanted to share our thoughts about discipling children, the respective roles of the different partners, and our modest hopes and aspirations, and especially to gather feedback from them.

There were a few things I picked up from the feedback they gave:

Young parents are deeply appreciative of the dedication, care and sacrifices of children’s ministry lay volunteers.
Young parents are eager to disciple their children and give them what’s best for them spiritually and developmentally.
Young parents know the importance of their role in discipling parents and want to be better than what their parents were with them.
Young parents want to disciple their children but are short on time, energy and know-how to actually do it.
Young parents prefer informal learning to formal classroom learning. They rather have a picnic or informal meal with other young parents and be able to exchange ideas, share problems and solutions, and get to know one another and let children grow up together.
Young parents want to connect with other young parents at the same stage of parenting as they can identify with and comfort and encourage each other along a similar journey.
Young parents find little edification in being part of a cell (which has nothing planned for children) as they would be too occupied with minding their child.

Interesting information and feedback for the pastoral team to ponder over. Wonder what you think of their feedback?

Early train to Busan

28 January 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

I was not keen on visiting the DMZ. Boring, I thought. My wife and I were attracted to an alternative proposal to go to Busan on the 29^th October 2017. (Yes this is a belated post of a last year’s travel experience). So off we went on an early train from Seoul to Busan. We were relieved that there were no zombies on the train. We got off there and hopped onto a bus that would bring us to the famous and popular tourist spot Gamcheon Cultural Village. This village is an example of the power of the arts upon living spaces. Artists moved into a depressed area to take advantage of cheaper rent and their creativity and art uplifted the surrounding physical environment and gave a community in decline, some progress and hope. It is now a “must-go” place for tourists. The village is a mobile phone photographer’s paradise.

At the entrance of Gamcheon Cultural Village: Yenny, Joy Lian, Eunice Lian, Jenny, Y.K., Kenny

The must have shot that’s evidence you were there

I’m climbing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day

Lots of lovely colourful spots for photography

Having a coffee break at a cafe with a nice view

After a whole morning exploring the village we made our way to the local market for seafood lunch. After all, Busan is a seaport. Seafood for sure is the must-eat food of Busan. After asking around several restaurants and weighing the pros and cons we settled on a restaurant along the main entrance into the local fish market. It was a satisfying meal, especially the crab. Oh, the crab which has legs that has more meat than the body. Sweet meat, from the fresh, sea waters of the eastern sea.

Delicious finale: rice fried with crab juice and seaweed

At Haeundae beach in the evening before heading back to Seoul

Monday sabbath

25 January 2018 blogpastor Leave a comment

I do not keep the sabbath as a law, but I live by the wisdom of sabbath. Christ is my sabbath. In Christ I have entered a spiritual rest from all works and labouring to earn salvation. However there is wisdom to be drawn from God’s idea of rest, remembering, and relishing one day a week.

One day in the week, usually Monday my day off, I choose to slow down to rest and avoid the kind of work which I usually do. I take time to meditate and pray. I try to delight in everything throughout the day. I rest.

The noise without and the noise within is stilled with quiet waiting before God

This Monday morning, I cycled to the Japanese Garden and found a bench facing the disused golf course of the now defunct Jurong Country Club. The government seized it for its vaunted development of the rapid rail station and peripheral mixed development.

Slowing down takes time. I was sitting there still and silent for 40 minutes. My thoughts were everywhere. So I sought to focus on my physical senses especially the sense of sound and touch. It helped. I shut my eyes, felt the cool breeze, and listened. Immediately, I heard the distant and faded pounding of a piledriver– thud, thud, thud. I heard something that sounded like a motor boat in the distance. There was the sound of excavators at work. There was the chirping of small birds and sometimes the squak of the heron. A golf cart rolls by behind me and I can hear that too. Must be the park management staff. Even the crickets whistle incessantly. A lot of construction work is going on at the fringe of the Jurong Lake and some even in the Chinese Garden.

Slowly my wandering thoughts which were like distracting monkeys jumping all over the branches of my mind, calmed down and quietened, as though asleep. Finally I did come to a place of restfulness and I meditated on the stages of prayer and the life of prayer that Jesus lived. Some lovely thoughts and took some notes of the insights.

Parents coaxing their child to smile in a child photography session in open air

I rounded off my time with the Lord cycling around the Chinese Garden and saw this couple having a photo shoot of their infant child. It was the first time I have seen a child photography session in the Chinese Garden.