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MFIS Conference 2024: Shepherding God’s Flock

9 August 2024 blogpastor 4 Comments

I arrived early for the conference. Pastors were around several tables, having their nasi lemak and coffee for breakfast. I sat down with Dora and Pastor Timothy Chow and had casual conversations that normal people have. I feel relaxed and a sense of belonging. The conference began with singing and prayerful worship. The presence of God can be felt. I needed it. The Presence. I am sure other shepherds were drawing down the graces too. These are ministers who carry heavy responsibilities. Some may be discouraged, weary and heavy-laden, and some may be hurt, fearful or frustrated. Only the Chief Shepherd knows their specific needs. We pray the Holy Spirit will expertly tend to each one uniquely.

The fear of the Lord

I was blessed by the first session, “Shepherding God’s Flock in the Fear of the Lord” delivered by Pastor Gabriel Han. Gabriel mentioned how in recent decades the church had flirted with a different gospel: hyper-faith, self-centred favour, prosperity, and pampering emphases, but these days are over and the time has come for the church to heed the message of holy love and holy fear. He talked about what a church with the fear of the Lord would look like, expounding on how Ananias and Sapphira’s deceit with offerings were met with death. “And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard these things.” (Acts 5:11) As shepherds we need to serve in all aspects of ministry with a sense of holy reverence before God. One statement that struck me was: Perfect love casts out all fear of man and inspires a godly fear of the Lord.

I believe the Spirit underlined his concluding words. He appealed to pastors to grow in the fear of the Lord so that their lives would impact the congregation, causing God’s light to shine upon them and inspire growth in the church. “The God of Israel has spoken: the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. (2 Samuel 23:3,4) I could sense the Spirit stirring in the pastors a desire for the fear of the Lord in their lives.

Saint and sinner simultaneously

The second session was a surprise for me. However, it demonstrated the openness of the MFIS leadership team to have invited a Presbyterian pastor, Keith Lai, to speak on the topic of “Understanding Leadership Failures and Avoiding Common Pitfalls”. I have known Keith for some time. He is one of the seven wonders of the Presbyterian church! I wondered how a Presbyterian minister who exercises the charismatic gifts managed to survive, indeed, thrive, in a denomination generally known to be doubtful, if not suspicious, of all things charismatic. In fact, he is open to all the Lord had for him and shared how he learned from the Baptist, the Methodist, and the Catholics, not just the charismatics. Fascinating and mind-opening.

Many notable ministers and ministries have fallen into disrepute and brought shame to the Lord’s name. However, Keith challenged the common reaction of shock and surprise of many Christians when they hear of notable preachers who have fallen into sin. They should not be surprised because theologically all believers are “simul justus et pecator” (“simultaneously saint and sinner”). All believers, including pastors and leaders, are like sheep and are susceptible to falling if not for the grace of God keeping us. We are all works in progress and are still being sanctified. Only in our glorification will we be finally free from the “presence of sin”. In the meantime, we notice the struggle of the desires of the Spirit with the desires of the flesh.

Seven times seven

By the end of the second session, I was full. I had received much to chew on and digest. But in typical Singaporean style, we had to pack in more! This session however was very encouraging. It showed MFIS intention of “connecting the generations and growing together in the 5-fold gifts” (from MFIS mission statement). Seven young ministers will each preach for seven minutes enlarging from the text in Psalm 78:72 “And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hands he led them.”

Straightaway, I happily recognized one of my home church pastors Tom Cannon, and my pastor friend’s son, Jireh Chee. The seven young ministers were clear communicators infused with life and I was blessed as they turned around the verse like a diamond and let the conference see different aspects of shepherding, drawn from the life of David. My brain by this time was bursting with content and I was thankful that lunch was next, and what a sumptuous buffet it was – comparable to the spiritual food we just had.

Afternoon workshop

Now the lunch has put me on screensaver mode, and I wondered how to keep alert during the workshop. There were three workshops on offer: “Your Church is a House of Prayer: From Prayer Meeting to Prayer Movement” by Lai Kheng Pousson; “Shepherd from Rest” by Eugene Seow; and “Staying Fresh in the Ministry” by Pastor Calvin Lee. I have not seen or heard from Eugene for many years so I went for his workshop. It helped that I was in front – it kept me awake.

Eugene Seow shared with us that he was no longer in F.C.B.C. and is now a pastor with Living Sanctuary. That’s news to me. I was happy to hear him talk about the meaning of sabbath rest for pastors. One thought that resonated with me was that God created man on the sixth day. Then on the seventh day, which God separated as holy sabbath, was Adam’s first day, a day of rest, of being with God. God wanted man for himself. It goes against some common notions we have of the sabbath. It’s not the last day but the first day. It’s not time to wind down but to wind up. It’s not arriving but taking off. It’s not leftovers but first fruits. It’s not closing but a new beginning. This is a refreshing perspective. He ended with two practical applications: Remember (Exo 31:12), and Listen (Isaiah 55:P2,3 Hebrews 3:15, 4:7).

Corporate prayer

The session ended and we sang and prayed in the truths we heard all day. My upper back was aching and Pastor Isaiah noticed it and he prayed for me. That was so good. One more plenary session to go. Can this aching body and saturated mind take in more? Come on!

The grand finale

The new chairman of MFIS is Pastor Samuel Gift Stephen. I heard his father preach long ago in the late 1970’s when he was the pastor of a Finnish Mission church called Praise Evangelical Church. It was wonderful then to see the son on the stage and the dynamism of his preaching.

The topic was “Recognizing False Ministries and Teachings” and he was the right person to carry the last session. He was constantly reaching out and drawing responses from the pastors. He connected and engaged us effectively. He taught about the identifying traits of false teachings and ministries: conflict with Scripture, focus on material gains, lack of fruit, and authority without accountability. He also shared strategies he uses to vaccinate his members: equipping and biblical training, promoting open dialogues and forums, establishing clear doctrinal stands and practices, and fostering a culture of accountability. Effective communication within the time allotted. Great, what a full day! Homeward bound.

As I reflected on the conference the next day, I concluded that the speakers had communicated highly relevant and helpful subjects to the pastors. I wish I had such input earlier in my pastoral ministry. I was glad there were 150 participants from 58 churches in the conference. May these pastors and leaders shepherd their flocks with integrity and skilful hands. Amen and amen!

Resources I Needed For Sustainable Pastoral Ministry

24 December 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

Anybody in the pastoral ministry will be able to testify how challenging it can be, and how equally exciting it can be because you have a front seat to the theatre of God’s activity in the church and in your life and ministry. With so many challenges, how then have I been sustained in forty years of pastoral ministry.

The Support of Loved Ones

Family support was crucial. To have a supportive family, especially a supportive spouse was without doubt an absolute necessity for long term sustainability in my experience. To go into pastoral ministry without my wife Jenny’s support would be foolhardy and risky. Thankfully, my wife knew I was called into the pastoral ministry and supported me to the hilt. In the early years, this included finances for she earned much more than me as a system analyst. Later, when led of the Lord, she gave up her job to be a full-time mum, and she united with me heart and soul to trust God for financial provision, God never failed us, not once.

To have a partner in faith, hope and love was a great strength. She was there to encourage and pray with and for me. She could tolerate my nights away from home, my long hours of sermon preparation, when I would be lost in thought and not fully present for her. She could tell when I feel down and encouraged me. Her presence meant a lot too. As much as she could, she used her gifts of encouragement and evangelism. I could work fully for the church and in peace because she devoted herself to the needs (physical, emotional, spiritual and academic) of the children. I also appreciate my children’s quiet understanding and strength. I once thought they might have suffered much from being pastor’s kids, but they said that they saw it as more of a blessing, than a burden.

Encouraging and Complementary Co-workers

I was blessed to grow up in a church culture that practiced body-ministry. Whether in full-time vocational Christian work or not, every believer has been assigned gifts and roles to fulfill different functions needed in the body of Christ. Therefore, I had wonderfully complementary gifted “lay-leaders” that served as my co-workers in the Lord’s work: in the board (eg Abraham Sim, Paul Chan, Francis Shin), children’s church, cell groups, worship teams and many other areas. I do not have all the gifts. In fact, I have but “five loaves and two fish”. The Lord knew I needed people with gifts I lack (especially strategy and administration), and indeed they were always around and I found that their participation helped me to serve over the long haul. The pastoral staff I worked with were also supportive, co-operative, and superb team players, and I always had a Barnabas (“son of encouragement”) among them. For example at the beginning, Pastor Johney, my predecessor was a mentor and encourager. At the tail end, I had Ps Thomas. Lord, thank you.

Outside Comfort and Prayer

I needed pastor friends outside the church to serve faithfully over the long haul. My seminary classmate Raphael Samuel (now a bishop) was one. After he left for Bolivia, I joined an ecumenical group of pastors and priests led by Rev Dr Lorna Khoo who met monthly for faith-sharing and prayer accountability. Then followed a period where I was bereft of such faith sharing groups. I prayed the Lord would give me some. He did. There was Rev Dr Norman Wong, Rev Vincent Hoon (who was my random roommate in a Love Singapore Pastor’s Prayer Summit), Rev Kenny Fam, Rev Cheng Eng Hwa with whom I studied with for Masters program. Near the tail end of my pastoral ministry I had the input and wisdom of Ps Koh Seng Chor (who retired ahead of me) and Rev Dr Jimmy Wong, a Trinity Theological College lecturer. These were my peer mentors, friends and accountability groups. I needed them, and I still need such small faith communities. Since retirement, I have joined a pastors’ group in the Ministers’ Fellowship International, Singapore, and a Catholic community of friends with a passion for facilitating silent retreat and caminos.

These groups were vital for me because I needed a place where it was safe to share my hopes and joys, and my burdens and frustrations, and not be judged but get input and prayer. We met once a month, over one or two hours and sometimes more. These were the small groups that strengthened my faith, hope and love. They were reliable sources of comfort, strength and wisdom. Without them it would have been so much tougher.

Spiritual Disciplines

The Lord is the one who lives within me and sustains me. People were his instruments. Spiritual disciplines were the means that helped me connect with God and experience his grace, strength and insights. For many years, the bread and butter for me had been the practice of slow meditation on God’s word and prayer. In the second half of my pastoral ministry, journaling, reflective prayer (examen), weekly sabbaths, annual retreats, have been a great help, especially in those latter years of dryness, church conflicts and hitting the wall. I needed more time, and different prayer practices, and the guidance of a spiritual director to help me pray over and process the many emotional upheavals and regrets that surfaced and required attention and healing. These practices taught me to pay attention to my inner life, to soul-care and to spiritual discernment. They taught me to trust God more and be freed from the “besetting sin” and burdens that weighed me down(without my knowledge) as I ran this marathon of a race.

I suppose there are many other helps that have not come to mind and given time, I could add more. I am sure other pastors reading this may have other ideas of what contributes to sustainable pastoral ministry over the long haul. Perhaps a wise philosophy of ministry…a rule of life….a way of managing your work. Please share in the comment box above.

Pastoral Ministry Challenges I Faced

17 December 2021 blogpastor 2 Comments

There are many challenges in the pastoral ministry. Like all challenges they can be overcome or lived with by grace through faith.

Inadequate Salary

Low salary was a challenge I faced in my first decade of ministry. I began with $300 a month without CPF. Living by faith was not a cliché. I lived it and I have many stories of God’s provision. A conviction grew over the decades of pastoral ministry that the right attitude towards this reality is to look to God as my Paymaster, and the church as merely one of his many instruments through which God pays me.

In the beginning, the church of 120 was financially stretched, with many being students, and having to support about four missionaries and as many local ministry staff, while at the same time pay for rental of worship space and office, and later on, loan repayments for a church property. Despite this, I remembered feeling indignant that a sales assistant’s salary was higher than mine. Thankfully, the salary improved when a committee was formed to look into the welfare of church workers and as more members joined the workforce.

Unstable Church Facilities

Second was the challenge of facilities. Securing a space that could be used for worship and church activities was difficult. Hotels welcomed us but the rental rates were high. Proper HDB sites went through open tenders among churches and that made it impossible for small churches to make a successful bid. Industrial sites were a risk because the rules for religious use were unclear. We had to move from residential properties, to YMCA, and from hotels to hotels, until after twenty years of existence, by God’s grace and miraculous provision, the church purchased a freehold property that allowed religious use.

Expectations and Comparisons

A third challenge was the high expectations and comparisons of church leaders. I felt pressures, through overt as well as subtle remarks, about the rate of growth of our church compared with other newer faster-growing churches. That was the period of the rise of the megachurches in Singapore – Victory Family Church, F.C.B.C., Trinity Christian Centre, Church of our Saviour, Lighthouse Evangelism Church, City Harvest Church and New Creation Church. Such comparisons were always ill-advised, unwise and sinful and exerted unnecessary pressures and discouragement on pastoral staff. Thankfully, the church growth movement, like the story of the Emperor’s new clothes, has been exposed for its theological and existential emptiness and nakedness.

Consumerism

The fourth challenge is related to the third: consumerism. Internet informed members looked for what benefitted them and their family: for what excited, glittered, and impressed. The size of the building and the congregation, the worship and preaching experience, the excitement of the children’s program, the big-budget events, the fame, influence and accolades that the church or pastor exuded. Over the last forty years of ministry, I have seen how the traditional loyalty to denomination, gratitude to the local church that gave you birth and nurture, and the eye of God, no longer had the same weight among young people in their decision-making process about where to worship. It has become, “Will it excite, benefit and bless me? Will it be convenient? Does it have the right kind of people that I can gel with, or will potentially advance my career, or give me a higher chance of finding a suitable life partner?”

The Slow Work of God

A fifth challenge in pastoral ministry for me is that building spiritual maturity is a slow work of God. I get impatient. It’s discouraging when you put in a lot of digging, weeding, fertilizing and the growth in character and love of God is so slow. Worse, for some, regression takes place or there is no evidence of spiritual growth even after many years of active church participation. A physical project has a start point and a finish point and evidence is clear for all to see. Not so with this slow spiritual work of God. When a spurt of growth shows up suddenly it was like a rare miracle. Sometimes this lack of spiritual progress led to discouragement and frustration.

Unclear Leadership Roles

A sixth challenge was when the roles of Board and pastoral leadership were not clear or agreed by all. Who had the final say, and on which issues (programs, finances, policies, vision and strategy)? This of course had led to misunderstanding and friction. Vested interests and entrenched beliefs made it difficult to sort matters out. In addition, the government has its set of recommendations that did not agree with the biblical view of leadership as some pastors and denominations would see it.

My Lack of Inner Growth and Freedom

For me the biggest challenge was that the demands and expectations of pastoral leadership outstripped the rate of my inner growth. Even with Tung Ling Bible School, and seminary training, there were many faults, blind spots and disordered affections (idols) present in my life that were like viruses in my operating system, influencing my behaviour and decisions, and blocking me from leading, feeding and caring for the church effectively. It was in the last decade of pastoral ministry that I became more aware of the soul-care and freedom that I badly needed to in my life. It was in the spiritual desert and in silent retreats that God invited me to tread this path towards freedom. I am glad I said Yes to him. Praise the Lord.

What About You?

These were my main challenges. They were frustrating but they were interestingly the means of growth. They stretched me, tested me, exposed my weaknesses, and drove me to my knees, closer to God; they made me wiser, tougher and drew me closer to God. It was good I had no idea at the beginning of my call that it would be this challenging. The coward in me would have responded to God’s call this way, “No Master, this is not for me. I won’t be able to cope”. The good news that I have learned is that when God calls, his rhema word has packed within it the grace, poise and resources to overcome or endure all hardships and challenges we would face in the assignment he gave us. I have experienced this. We need to believe this.

What about you? What are some of your personal challenges you face in pastoral ministry? Why not take some time to reflect and list them down, label your feelings about them, and have a coffee chat of the Lord about the list. After your chat with God, notice and reflect what you were feeling and thinking? Were there any new perspectives, Scriptures, images and emotions that moved or gently arose in your consciousness during prayer. Journal them. If you found that helpful, repeat the process. God bless you and be with you.