pastors – Page 4 – BLOGPASTOR

Tag: pastors

Combining Two Pleasures

8 April 2022 blogpastor Leave a comment

To be able to combine two pleasures is a great blessing. I enjoy catching up with pastor friends and cycling, so to have these two pleasures combined is time well spent. I have had the pleasure of doing this recently in two cycling trips with pastors. One was from Khatib MRT to Labrador MRT following the Round the Island route. A second was from East Coast Park (car park D1) to Changi Point and back.

Khatib to Labrador (RTI)

When National Parks published the partially completed Round The Island (RTI) route, it inspired me and I asked a more experienced pastor, cyclist and YouTuber, Eng Hwa if he would like to do this route. He said yes and we agreed on the date. Later I invited one pastor Paul Loh to join us. Paul was a pastor in charge of logistics in New Creation Church before he began his own regional ministry of equipping pastors and church planting. They both lived in the north, one in Sembawang and one in Yishun. I lived in Jurong East. So I folded my Brompton bike at Jurong East MRT and took the train to Khatib MRT station. It was 23 Feb at 7am when I boarded the train. The ride all the way to Changi Point was predictable with a few familiar scenic places, where we stopped at to take pictures and rest.

At Changi Point we ate at the hawker center and we got to know each other better, lingering over cans of 100 Plus, a necessary isotonic drink for such long-distance rides of over 70km. It helps to prevent cramps.

After lunch we continued our ride and took regular timeouts to rest, drink and chat. We were stuck for about 15 minutes at a bus-stop along the East Coast because of sudden rain. After that we kept going all the way to Marina Bay and passed the many bridges along the Singapore river.

Fatigue began to set in along the Alexandra PCN. From then the going was tough but somehow by God’s grace, sheer perseverance and 100Plus, we finally reached our destination with great joy and a sense of satisfaction. We reached Labrador MRT station at 5.23pm. From there we took the train home with our folded bikes. What an unforgettable trip. I now have a deeper respect for those who do the full round the island route like it was a piece of cake.

East Coast D1 to Changi Point

There were more pastors on this trip because it was organised on a Monday so a still-working Anglican pastor Vincent could join us. Another pastor Richard Wong is executive director of T-NET, a disciple-making ministry. Although he is working, he has a flexible schedule. The rest of us are retired pastors Eng Hwa and Seng Chor and myself. We enjoy doing whatever the Lord bids us to do in this new season of our lives. We have the greater flexibility.

This was not our first pastors cycling trip. We met at a free car park D1 at the East Coast Park. The day was beautiful but according to the weather report, sunny at noon and rainy in the afternoon. It was one of those days when the weather forecast was highly accurate. We had fun riding all the way to Changi Point and chatting over Tiong Bahru chicken rice, and later downed with chendol dessert at another location opposite the hawker center. The talk over the table was about the church during the pandemic, catching up with each other about what’s happening in our lives, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

*Richard, myself, Vincent, Seng Chor, Eng Hwa*

On the way back, the rain hit us in the afternoon, and we had to speed up and ended in the exact same bus stop as during the February cycling trip, all wet from the rain. After a while we decided to ride in the drizzle until we reached the hawker center near the Bedok Jetty. There we loitered for quite a while over hot teh tarik, and left under a drizzle because the rain refused to stop.

I gave a ride to pastor Vincent who lived fifteen minutes from my home. Thankfully we could put two foldable bikes in the car. Although we were drenched, it was an eventful outing, and I enjoyed the ride of 40km, and the camaraderie. This is one kind of environment that helps men to build relationships: doing things we enjoy together and tossing in some meaningful conversations. We are planning another cycling trip, this time from Jurong East to Marina Bay and back.

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.

Persevering From Coast to Coast

16 November 2021 blogpastor Leave a comment

The morning was cool and cloudy. The weather report predicted rain in the late morning. We have planned to cycle from Jurong East MRT to Coney Island and from there to Yishun MRT, where we would both fold our bicycles and return home by MRT. We met at about 7 am but there was a problem: his folding bike’s brakes were not working well. He had tried to repair it the night before but it did not seem to be good enough. Abort or continue? We decided to continue but with caution. When there were slopes he would dismount and walk his bike. For sure the sole of his shoes would be worn off more than usual.

*We began our journey from Jurong East MRT*

*The Dunearn Road stretch was cumbersome with its many breaks in the pavement*

My mistake was to ride on the wrong side of Dunearn Road. I took the one heading towards the city. I should have taken the route away from town. There were too many streets where we had to wait, and pavement bumps we had to negotiate on the route we used. I believe the other route would be smoother, since it had more institutions and less residential areas.

I was familiar with the route from Jurong East to Adam’s Road hawker center, where we planned to have their famous nasi lemak for breakfast. However from there on Eng Hwa would have be the guide. I queued thirty minutes for nasi lemak and we had to park our bicycles outside but within sight. My Brompton is expensive so I was relieved that Eng Hwa had a lock and we parked near the entrance where an ambassador assured us he will keep a lookout.

*My first time at MacRitchie with a bicycle instead of hiking backpack*

From there we went a roundabout way via Kheam Hock Road to MacRitchie Reservoir, and then to Marymount Road. We did a detour through Bishan Park as the construction diversions and activity along the National Parks recommended route was unpleasant. We finally reached Buangkok Park Connector and from then on it was park connectors all the way to Coney Isaland.

*The detour brought us through road underpasses*

While enjoying our laksa and kway teow mee at Happy Restaurant, a kopitiam, it began to drizzle so we rested longer than usual, and chat about what’s been happening since we last met. When the drizzle was lighter we headed out with raincoats and reached Coney Island. From there we headed to Seletar via the park connectors and reached Rower’s Bay and finally Yishun MRT. It was a 49 kilometre ride. I was not particularly beat. I was surprised I was okay. Maybe it was the cool temperatures and cloud cover throughout the day. Or the many occasions when we had to slow down because of the several slopes along the route.

*Coney Island is the official end point of Coast to Coast*

*We did extra kilometres to make up for the fact that we should have started at Lakeside MRT*

I was happy and satisfied that I did this. I tried a few times but could never attempt it because of Covid restrictions, or my pastor friends were not able to make it. The highlight was riding through Bishan Park, which I find to be a lovely gem in the heart of Singapore.

My reflection of this whole ride was that if we had allowed poor brakes or rain to deter and defeat us, we would have had regret hanging over our heads whenever we recall our aborted trip. We would always be thinking and talking about “What if we had just gone despite all the obstacles we faced?” Glad we persevered. Sometimes when a major decision needs to be made, one of the considerations can be, “Will I regret this choice on the day of judgment when I stand before the Lord?” Making a choice that brings a smile on the Lord’s face or a “Well done!” from him, will give us the power to persevere even through fiery trials. “For the joy that was set before him”, Jesus endured the trial and suffering of the crucifixion (Heb 12).