BLOGPASTOR – Page 93 – blogging since 2004

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Website problem resolved, but not the blogging problem

8 July 2019 blogpastor 2 Comments

Apologies for the website problems recently. I was about to write a post last week when I realised my website had vanished and been replaced by something else. I asked my friend Vee for advice and she said it is because I had not paid for the domain name. The last time I paid was five years ago and must have forgotten. I am now thankful its back again thanks to the belated but successful intervention.

I am struggling with writing posts as a discipline, and sometimes am blank for some weeks, like in June. I write a draft but just do not post it because I was not convinced its worth putting out. I struggle to write about the latest happenings like the attack on the mosque in New Zealand, significant news reports like Taiwan’s acceptance of gay marriages, etc. It just feels tiresome. So I am asking the Lord to help me, guide me, and inspire me. And if He so leads, to stop writing for a season. More likely He seems to be helping me find my unique voice in a space that is full of better informed writers, researchers, academics, pastors, and creatives. So pray along with me.

The earth was void and empty and the Spirit was hovering over the mess. Then God spoke, and sparks flew, and something beautiful, useful and meaningful came out of it. Praying this will happen to my blog.

Rev Dr John Sim

26 May 2019 blogpastor Leave a comment

This morning my Tung Ling Bible School classmate came to preach in the church service. He is John Sim and we renewed contacts through Facebook a few years back. Rev Dr John Sim had been in the pastoral ministry for at least three decades and currently lectures and administrates at Vanguard University, California. He holds several theological degrees, including the MDiv and MTh(Princeton), and a DMin (Fuller). He is featured in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Religion, and Who’s Who Among Asian Americans. John works at Vanguard University, a Christian Liberal Arts university belonging to the Assemblies of God, where he teaches Bible and Theology. We met up after our Facebook contact, and I have been inviting him to take the pulpit whenever he came to visit family.

This would be the third time he preached in WRPF but this time I added two afternoon lectures. He preached on the subject, “Can I trust the Bible?” during the Sunday service, and in the afternoon he lectured on “The Land of the Bible”, which explained the significance of knowing some geography to better understand the Bible. We were blessed and enriched by all the sessions.

John, myself and Ben at a cafe in Jurong

Before this, we had met for lunch, three of us, all classmates from Tung Ling Bible School when it was still situated in the borrowed premises of the Church of Singapore, Marine Parade. There was John, myself and Benjamin Foo, who studied in Moody Bible College, planted a church locally while working in the Stock Exchange of Singapore. We talked a little about everything: the past, the Celebration of Hope, our families, the future, and what we were currently doing. We met for a meal and fellowship every time John is around. It was a blessed and encouraging time.

Looking forward to silent retreat in Seven Fountains

21 May 2019 blogpastor Leave a comment

Air fares to Chiangmai are daylight robbery. Direct flights would easily cost upward of SGD$300 even rising to SGD$600 in peak season. For anything under SGD$300 you would have to include a stopover, which meant a long wait at a Bangkok airport.

This was what I was rudely made aware of as I tried to book a flight to Chiangmai in mid-July. It’s not the school holidays; it is the rainy season, so I thought it would be inexpensive. SIA’s direct flight was close to SGD$500. By God’s grace, the God must have brought to my mind Scoot. Thank the Lord, I have finally managed to get a Scoot ticket for SGD$350. I was over the moon.

I am heading to Seven Fountains Ignatian Center for a 8 days retreat and rest. The pastoral ministry does take a toll on most of us, and we all do need that time-out to rest, sleep, eat, drain out and process the negative emotions and experiences, deal with the shadows in our life, draw closer to God and feel His unconditional love, practical care and the peace that passes all understanding. To know Him more, to love Him more, to follow Him more closely.

One feature of the prayer grounds in Seven Fountains

Why is it important to have an experienced priest or minister trained in spiritual direction to accompany you? Most times, we are violent towards ourselves – condemning ourselves, pitying ourselves, angry with ourselves, regretting missed opportunities and mistakes. It can get depressive and self-harming. A director would be quick to spot that, alert you, and direct you gently to green pastures and still waters of God’s mercy and grace. They will help you be more gentle with yourself. No more bashing of oneself but rather basking in the grace and love of God.

I am thankful the church I serve, World Revival Prayer Fellowship, gives its pastoral staff five days paid leave and a reimbursement of up to $600 for directed retreats annually. This has been very helpful. I wish such an enlightened policy had been around when I was new in the ministry. The purification, the healing, the strengthening of faith, and simply the rest of mind, body and emotions all add up to a restorative, redemptive, regenerative time in the Lord. I always return with more grace, more peace, more love, more resolve, more energy. Always! And the church people benefits when their pastor is renewed in the Lord, or is more in love with the Lord, or simply more rested in body and soul.