Healing – BLOGPASTOR

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Pastor Rony Tan: Evangelist Extraordinaire

18 October 2024 blogpastor Leave a comment

Pastor Rony Tan went home to his Lord and Master on the 16^th of September 2024, aged 79 years old. He passed away peacefully after suffering from sciatic nerve pain for two years and a recently discovered complicated tumour. For the joy of meeting his Master, whom he served faithfully, he endured the pain and suffering. His longing to be with his Lord for eternity is fulfilled. His passing is a great loss to his family, the Lighthouse Evangelism church family, and the whole church of Singapore, but there is much comfort to be derived from reflecting and celebrating a life well lived from start to finish.

Greatly gifted

Pastor Rony Tan is a man greatly graced and gifted by God. He was saved by grace. He was healed and called to his mission by grace. He was a faithful pastor, a passionate evangelist, and an effective channel of God’s healing power. I dare say that he is the greatest evangelist that Singapore has ever witnessed. Over four decades of healing evangelism, his effectiveness is cumulatively greater than any other foreign evangelist invited to our shores, including Billy Graham, Luis Palau and Reinhard Bonnke. The number of healings that have been witnessed during his miracle services and rallies in Singapore are greater in number and quality than the many other healing ministers that have preached in our country, including Reinhard Bonnke, Carlos Annacondia, Roy Durham, Benny Hinn, Randy Clark and Daniel Kolenda. I state all this in worldly terms of comparison, to debunk our tendency to admire the “foreign talent” and to forget our local “prophets”. Let us appreciate what God has gifted Singapore with and be thankful.

What a life and ministry!

I watched the online memorial service and I was moved listening to his daughter Tracy’s eulogy. She shared personal and intimate snippets of her father Rony, which otherwise would never have been known as widely. I felt inspired and gratified that we finally have an authentic testimony of a megachurch pastor who lives out his faith- a godly pastor and evangelist, a loving husband, and a wise and nurturing father. After all the unsavoury news about the fails and falls of megachurch pastors, I am pleased that we have someone here who lived with considerable congruence between what he preached and practised.

Pastor Pacer’s eulogy was less intimate but more instructive and insightful. Many pastors and evangelists would benefit from noting the ingredients of effectiveness and longevity in the ministry. I particularly resonated with his point that his father was very focused and highly disciplined. This would have been something we who do not know him would not have known. I recalled a conversation when I joined Lighthouse Evangelism in one of their Miracle Crusades in Bangkok. Pastor Rony was hospitable and invited my wife and me to his table during lunch. He was relaxed, approachable and friendly. I remembered one thing about that conversation. He mentioned how as the church grew larger and larger, some of the long-time members of the church pined for the early days when the church was smaller. Pastor Rony would be more readily available to be with them, having fellowship over durians. He said, “Who wouldn’t want to have durians and chat with them? I would love to. But now I have to take responsibility for the miracle service every Saturday. I needed to spend much time in prayer and message preparation. I have to pay the price.” I never forgot that conversation. The son’s eulogy triggered my memory of that conversation.

Though Pastor Rony made himself available to the needy masses on Saturdays and Sundays to minister to the unsaved and saved, he was willing to minister to individuals. We had a precious girl of about seven who suffered from an aggressive cancer and I inquired if Pastor Rony could pray for her personally. I was thankful he made time to minister to her on a weekday afternoon in the Tampines office.

Humble and wise

Pastor Rony was a high-profile pastor of a megachurch and this visibility gave rise to a problem. Someone complained to the government authorities about a sensitive comment about a certain practice of another religion in a sermon he preached. Officials spoke with him. It was a critique of idol worship that many pastors would have thought about and even mentioned it. Even the prophet Isaiah mocked the idolatry of Baal. In Pastor Rony’s apology, I saw his humility and reconciling spirit. It was not a compromise as some would have thought. It was wise to contextualise the gospel to society without giving up the freedom of declaring the good news of Jesus Christ. Read more about this HERE.

End of an era?

I wonder if we are witnessing the end of an era. Will we ever see such an outstanding healing evangelist raised in our midst? Or is the era of mass rallies in urban centres a methodology that has passed its expiry date? What do you think? Use the comment box.

If you have personal stories or snippets about Pastor Rony and his ministry that you wish to share with our online readers, please write in the comment box below the title.

Knowing your limits

20 June 2020 blogpastor Leave a comment

There is faith and there is prudence, and then there is wisdom to know the difference. As a Pentecostal I am fully aware of how our faith can break down limits the world sets upon us. However, I often forget the limits God places on us in kingdom positioning, assignment and anointing. There are measures of faith and grace. God sets the limit. Even our physical bodies has limits.

I forgot my physical limits and suffered for about three weeks. My wife and I were walking the park connector near our home. Staying home during the pandemic meant putting on weight and feeling lethargic. We wanted to burn some serious calories by doing a lengthy walk – a three hours walk along the Ulu Pandan Park connector.

I had felt a niggle on my left foot. Since I was a seasoned hiker, I ignored it. After all this was not an arduous hike up Bukit Timah Hill but simply a walk on flat paths. It should be alright. But alright it was not. Two days later my Achilles’ tendon was inflamed and I could not rest my left foot on the ground because of intense pain. I must confess this was not the first time when I over extended myself and found myself moving around the house on a chair with rollers.

The polyclinic appointment schedule was full all the time. I had no choice but to self-medicate. As I said, this was not the first time. I roughly knew it would take about a week to fully recover and regain my mobility. It was okay because I can still work from home. I was supposed to start recording my sermons in church, but couldn’t because I couldn’t walk. Not even from the home to my carpark. So my wife helped me record my sermon from home. – God bless her she had to serve me as I was virtually immobile.

What worsened things was I had a fall after a shower. I tried to hop on one foot over a low threshold but slipped and sprained of all places, the ankle of my left foot already inflamed at the heel. I suppose it was good to have all the pain on the left so at least my right foot was okay.

Reminds me of what St Paul said about how every member of the Body of Christ is vital to the full functioning and health of the whole. So too each member needs to be healthy and functioning to obey the Head and do God’s will.

Now I can walk on both feet – with a slight limp and with my left foot not fully flexible. I am very grateful to God, for when the pain was at its worse I would cry our earnestly for the Lord to have mercy and to heal. He has heard my cry. No instant miracle but a slow gradual healing, so that I could reflect of what wisdom He wants to impart to me and for me only.

Who knows, maybe this applies to you too? But I am convinced its for me. I NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY PHYSICAL LIMITS AND GIVE ATTENTION TO THEM. At 64, I cannot run around the basketball court for hours. I cannot jump as I hard as I used to when I was 17 years old. Not even do what I used to do ten years ago, when hiking mountains and hopping downhill like a mountain goat. I must build up and condition my body from one level of intensity to the next gradually. I must also do proper warm-ups and warm-downs. These have to be mandatory. I used to be able to escape punishment from ignoring these – but not any more. I must listen to my body. My body is telling me but my memory is refusing to listen. My memory tells me, Come on, you have climbed mountains – what is this? A walk in the park. I forget my body is no longer as physically in tip-top condition like it was 10 years back . Back then I was training regularly and my legs were conditioned to take a lot of punishment. Not any more.

When I get well, and I am able to walk without the slightest tinge of pain. I will need to patiently and gradually build up the distance and intensity my legs will be able to cope with. No more sudden Increases in kilometres or incline. And proper warm-ups too. It may be weeks before I hike Bukit Timah Hill again. Maybe months, but I hope not. I fear that I would never hike the hills again.

I treasure mobility. I appreciate being able to walk free from pain. This is priceless.

Have you ever learned a similar lesson of accepting your limits? Share your story in the comment below.

Meeting Professor Lawrence Chan at a wedding

5 August 2013 blogpastor 7 Comments

A doctor with a heart for pastors and missionaries

I have sometimes wondered what had happened to that wonderful gynaecologist who delivered all my children. Dr Lawrence Chan, a Christian elder in a Brethren church, was very gracious towards missionaries and pastors. He delivered their babies free of charge. If the wife was working, they would still get a very special rate for his services. I am sure he delivered many pastors’ and missionaries’ children.

Pleasant surprise at a wedding dinner

So it was a pleasant surprise when we met him at the wedding of my nephew. Professor Lawrence Chan also delivered all the children of the bride’s and the groom’s parents. His name was mentioned from the podium and my wife and I decided we must meet him. This was a wonderful surprise meeting. Dr Lawrence Chan has reached a ripe old age. He looked healthy and he had more hair than me! We introduced ourselves and our son Joshua Chee to him, and chatted for a while.

A traumatic and dramatic delivery

My son Joshua who is the surviving twin in a traumatic and dramatic birth was keen to meet him too. For several weeks, my wife Jenny, and the twins, Joshua and the late Caleb, were all in Intensive Care Units, fending for their lives, as doctors and specialists tried to save them. By the grace of God, at the end of much prayer and suffering, Caleb was taken home to God through respiratory problems and I had to bury him without my wife’s knowledge as it may affect her adversely if she knew. Joshua was discharged but due to the fact that he was born blue without oxygen for many minutes as the incubator equipment was rushed from one ward to the room where my wife was warded for Hepatitis non-A, non-B. You see, the births were sudden and unexpected, and at that time (mid 1980’s), Singapore General Hospital did not have maternity wards.

Joshua will be gong-gong

When Joshua was discharged the doctors warned that since Joshua’s brain had been deprived of oxygen for too long, he would be intellectually disabled. One of the specialist even said that Joshua will be “gong-gong”. Every time we met with the head of paediatrics for Joshua’s medical appointments we were being prepared for the worse. “He will need to go to a special school when he grows up…..etc.” But God had other plans. We prayed for him constantly, laying our hands on him, praying in tongues over him, and commanding the brain cells to be activated with his life and resurrection power (we were desperate and tried everything we knew!). Well, the Lord has answered prayer and Joshua has since graduated from NUS with a second upper honours and is now working in the civil service and active in the church. Praise God.

God’s ways are higher: trust Him

As to the twin that went home to God, the peace of God and faith in His infinite love has helped us to reconcile with what has happened and we believe that God works all things for good and for His glory. Sometimes we do not fully comprehend His ways. However we can go on trusting in Him even when we don’t fully understand the things happening around us that seem to contradict His loving character.

Meeting Prof Lawrence has reminded us of God’s many blessings and the channels God used. To Prof Lawrence Chan we wish God’s blessings of health and satisfaction in the afterglow of a life of faithfulness, integrity and generosity. May his tribe increase!