My previous header was cropped from a painting by a Singapore artist, Anthony Y.S. Tan, also a diver and fisherman: Black Coral/ Akar Bahar No. 4 (Abstraction from a rare marine tree acrylic relief on canvas, 2001.
Time to change the header. This one is from “Sea Swirl 1 - The Ocean’s Energy” an oil on canvas, 1998, by the same artist. Either you love it or hate it…..
Add comment December 18th, 2007
After I became a Christian I had to forgive my father. For being irresponsible. For the suffering he brought us through his philandering and gambling. For the anguish, hardship and tears my mother went through. For being absent in my life. Yes absent when I needed attention, approval and direction……when I needed a father’s self-disclosure and love. I don’t ever remember a time when he brought me out alone to do something or just share who he is and what he has done; give me his assessment of and express affection for me; tell me his stories and struggles. I just forgave him recently for this last part…..so many years after he has passed away. What we forgive our fathers of, we will be delivered from.
I am grateful though that I inherited his mild and patient nature and sharp mind. Thankful for a vague but fond snippet of remembering him sitting on the bed reading a fairy tale to me. Of him telling me that I am good at writing. Of him paying for correspondence courses to improve my grades. He was not all rotten; he could be kind too.
Forgiveness helped to turn contempt for my father into honor. It helped me to accept and be at peace with him. I think it helped me to be a better parent. I am not the best father I can be; but a cracked vessel with grace leaking through. I still need to stretch, to 
grow in self-disclosure with my kids. They write nice things about me in the card at every birthday, but I feel there is room, and time (even though they are older now) to ripen in my fatherhood. I covet your prayers.
And if you are a father, bring your children out individually and do something together, even if it is just to eat. Then share your life in self-disclosure. And listen. Silent impact. You can help them fly. I mean for about twenty years these children will be with you and you can’t bring each one out once a year? How many children do you have? I am beginning to preach….a professional hazard….you can’t blame me, can you?
And needless to say if you choose someone to be your spouse do make sure he or she is addicted to Jesus and Jesus only.
3 comments December 17th, 2007
My predictions for tonight’s major clubs’ football games:
Liverpool 1-2 Manchester United
Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
I think both matches will be boring, so I’ll not go to Lewis’ home to watch.
1 comment December 16th, 2007
Read and follow my web designer’s blog HERE. Vee (Vivian) is in Trento, in the northern part of Italy. Get a glimpse of life as a Singapore tertiary student doing research work for 9 months in a foreign land. No known friends. No knowledge of the language. No papa and mama. No church friends. And read about how God helps her in her difficulties….a step at a time.
Add comment December 16th, 2007
Stange. I never saw writing as a gift, much less a spiritual gift. I saw it as a skill I picked up in school. Saw it as something I did with ease and with which I have filled up thousands of journal pages since I became a Christian. Words come easily. Ideas too. And I don’t care too much about proper tense and structure and what not. My father had said, “You can write well” (the only affirmation I had from him and it had such lasting impact). A few with the gift of prophecy have said, Write! I hesitate because I buy books and am given books but rarely read whole books. I think the next generation will read more blogs than books, more Wikipaedia than Brittanica, more Facebook than handbooks. There are exceptions of course, like my son and one smart Alex from across the causeway. Lately I have been receiving substantial affirmation for my blogging. Is God inviting me to a dance? Perhaps I need to look at this skill like playing the piano, a skill that I can consecrate to God, a gift I should seek to develop and a craft I should sharpen. Attend some writer’s workshop or something. Work hard at honing, which I am presently not doing(I feel tired just thinking about this). Blogging suits me fine for I have an excuse for neglecting puntuation, tenses, and structure. I can just ramble on and on …like now, and no red marks from my teacher’s hand. No, I am not going to make a resolution to work hard at perfecting this skill. Haven’t made a resolution in years, will not do it.
Hmmm….the writing is on the wall blog.
6 comments December 13th, 2007
TEXTS: GENESIS 1:25-31;1THESSALONIANS 4:1-8
I. SERMON OUTLINE:
We pick up information about sex from magazines, friends, internet, TV,parents, etc, but what about from the Bible. Does it speak about sex?
A. SEX IS GOD’S IDEA NOT MAN’S(GENESIS 1:25-31)
1. The world thinks the church is prudish, old-fashioned, rigid and frigid about sex and anti-sex. They think that God is a kill-joy and hates sex and views it as dirty, unholy, sinful.
2. How wrong they are? Sex was in God’s mind, God’s idea and design for man in the context of marriage. God saw all he created of the world and animals and said, Its good. But with the additional creation of man and the mandate to multiply God said, Its very good. Sex is God’s idea and its a very good idea.
3. And its not just for propagation of the human race but also for pleasure. The way God made the male and female tells us this. Pleasure in sex were built in features.God is not anti-sex; its good not sinful; its God’s design for marriage.
B. SEX IS A SACRED GIFT
1.Some people treat sex like a commodity to be exchanged. They say, Man give love to get sex; and the woman gives sex to get love. Sex is just a medium of exchange.
2. People need to see that sex is God’s gift to the married couple and to be enjoyed, appreciated, received with gratitude and responibility.
4. The world tries to divorce sex from responsibility, its consequences. Do it if it feels right; if you are in love; don’t worry about consequences. That’s why abortion rates for teenagers, and terminated pregnancies among tertiary educated married women are so high. That’s why Sexually Transmitted Infections(STI) among the teenagers have multiplied three times in recent years due to promiscuity and divorcing sex from responsibility.
5. We need to see sex as God’s gift to be treated with gratitude and enjoyed responsibly.
C. SEX IS MORE THAN JUST PHYSICAL UNION
1. Sex is not just “one flesh” as in two bodies fuse into one! It is more than just physical union, otherwise we are no different from animals that copulate by physical instincts and impulses.
2. The two shall become one flesh speaks of union in marriage that is total: not just physical. In sex, the psychological and deeper aspects of man, and long-term memories are involved. Like two pieces of paper stuck together with superglue and torn apart damages and hurt each other, so two who have had sex, when separated will end in hurt and other consequences. We must realize our memories an past hurts can go to bed with the new partner and can haunt and interfere with the sex and the new relationship. Only forgiveness that is found in Jesus can bring healing and restoration and redemption in our damaged memories and emotions.
D. SEX INVOLVES MORALITY
1. Sex is not a neutral choice that you make that does not impinge on morality. It has to do with right and wrong; with keeping or breaking God’s commandments; with doing the will of God or disobeying Him.
2. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. Immorality(sex outside marriage) is sin! And purity and holiness is enjoined by Paul upon the Christian community.
II. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Why does the world have this mistaken notion that the church and Bible are anti-sex and looks at sex as being dirty, sinful and not a gift to be enjoyed? Are Christians to be blamed in any way for this myth among non-Christians. How so? Can anything be done to rectify this falsehood?
2. Why does God want for man and woman to enjoy his gift within the bounds of marriage? Why not let them enjoy it before marriage if both love each other? or enjoy it with people of the same sex? or enjoy it in extra marital affairs or one night stands?
3. What kind of temptations to fall into sexual sin do men and women face in the schools or workplace today? How can a person keep pure and victorious in this area? What practical steps can they take?
4. For those who have fallen, what has Christ made available for their healing and restoration? Do you think these are sufficient? How do you account for those, including Christian leaders and pastors, who despite these resources still fall and sin again and again?
5. Take time to pray for one another and for the church as a whole to be a shining beacon of hope to a world of increasing promiscuity and immorality.
Add comment December 12th, 2007
Philip Ng is the son of the wealthiest man in Singapore. He became a Christian just a few years back through an Alpha Course. It was heartwarming for me to hear that and even more to read this recent interview that he is seeking to practice his faith in the marketplace. May his tribe increase. Enjoy this interview extracted from Eagles Evangelism Nov-Dec 2007 issue:
ON WORK AND REST an interview with Philip Ng from “Eagles Vantagepoint”
The CEO of the Far East Group and non-resident ambassador of the Republic of Singapore to Chile and Argentina, Philip Ng shares how God touched his life two years ago, changing his way of thinking about conducting business, and his views on rest.
What in your opinion is Christian leadership?
I am blessed, I happen to be a CEO, I think very much that I am led by Christ, my values are Christian values, taught by Scripture, and obviously, I would like to lead with the heart. Before I was a Christian, I must confess that clearly Christian leadership was furthest from my mind and what mattered most was organizational process –people being enculturated in a certain way. There was no Christ in my thinking, setting or workplace and that is why I feel that as a Christian today, I have to shine as the Lord calls us to because everybody in my organization now knows that I am a Christian. So I try to bring Christ into the workplace.
How do you practice Christ-centered leadership in your organization?
First of all, it is very difficult. It is a struggle for me everyday, in business as a Christian, leading an organization with many people with different interests and doing different things and coming from all sorts of backgrounds. So I am very conscious of that because I was born with not much to want for. Many of them work a lot harder than I ever did and their livelihoods actually depend on how well we run the business together. I must say that having become a Christian, the decision making process in my organization has slowed down a lot because it is very important as a Christian leader that the process takes precedence over the end result, and one has to have faith that if you abide by the principles that God has given to us during the process, you will get the results that we should have. So decision-making is slowed down but there is a lot more participation.
It was very easy in the past for me because it was a family business and there are only three shareholders, my parents and I. My parents have left me largely alone, though my father never lets me forget that he is the founder of the business. Other than that, I do not have to go before a board of directors or shareholders to put forward a case. So before I was a Christian, things could be done very quickly, but I realize today that some decisions were hastily made and while it was with the intention obviously to do the best for the organization, it may not have been the right thing by God’s standards.
I also realized that my people and I were working on Sundays after working five and a half to six days. We would go to our project sites on Sunday, to inspect, and ensure the quality of our delivery. But I was working my employees on Sundays and that was not right. It never occurred to me, obviously before I was a Christian because I did not believe in a day of rest. So when I became a Christian, I realized, “Gosh, there has to be a day of rest and I must do what is right by God,†and so when I told everybody, “You know, something funny happened to me, I became a Christian. Now all of you will get your day of rest,†which obviously made all very happy. What is so amazing is that I did not know until a couple of months later that the wives of some of my Christian colleagues had been praying for their husbands to be released from this curse. God does amazing things. This is a small anecdote, but I think it had a large impact on the organization.
How did the decision to not work on Sundays affect the non-Christians? Were there any monetary concerns?
Well, not all my colleagues had to work on Sundays and the ones who were working on Sundays were not getting the extra money. Basically, what we practice now is that there has to be a day of rest in the week. Actually, some of my colleagues in sales are working on Sundays, because that is when we have visitors. Hence, their day of rest is on a weekday that they choose. I do not want to sound heretical to some people who are very fundamental, but that is the consensus we have arrived at.
What do you think is required in order to live as a Christian in the workplace?
I think most of us today, whether in Singapore or any part of the world, work in multicultural and multiethnic environments and I think we have to be sensitive. Sometimes the Christian message is wrongly conveyed through our actions. I think the first thing is to show love because the Lord has commanded us to love our neighbors and our enemies. We know that people may not agree with us or think like us, and may be different from us – they are both our neighbors and sometimes they are in a way, enemies, alien to us. I think it is important for me as a Christian that they understand that I am what I am. I practice what I do because I am a Christian and I hope that in that small way maybe they will find or discover Jesus. Some people may think that they are being marginalized and we have suddenly become a Christian organization and they do not have a place. We want to let them know that indeed we are practicing Christian values and principles, but there is a place for them. I hope in time that they will come to know Jesus as I have.
Explain how, as a Christian, you can demonstrate true leadership.
I think we all know as Christians we are not whole, only Jesus makes us whole. So, I am not embarrassed or ashamed that I have flaws and weaknesses. I remind myself that I am not the most compassionate of people, certainly not when I compare myself to my wife and the people whom I know and admire. I think we all have little chinks and it is fine, I feel, to share these weaknesses, but not so emotionally. I am, by nature, not very emotional, but I do share my disappointments and my thoughts with my people, including my senior executives. They do know that there are times when we are stumped.
As a leader as well, I remind myself that when people are feeling very exuberant, that is the time when you have to come in and say, “Look, calm down. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.†There is always a need to balance. When people are down, leaders have to come in and lift them up.
Lastly, what is some advice you would give to leaders?
I would say that for me, my leadership has to be an affirmation of my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and I remind myself that I am in a fallen state. I can only be made whole through God and that I am bound to make mistakes. So, I think we should all pray for God’s guidance and wisdom all the time as we lead our people.VantagePoint
(This interview was extracted from the Leadership Forum conducted by Dr John Ng, Executive Vice-President of Eagles Communications, at the recent Eagles Leadership Conference held in July 2007.)
1 comment December 12th, 2007
Our neighbour country, Malaysia, is going through one of its worse periods of political turmoil. Pause and join me in prayer now:
“Our Father, whose eyes are on all peoples, look on this country with mercy for it is in great turmoil. Uphold the cause of righteousness, justice and peace. Give them leaders 
who will serve them with justice, compassion, integrity and wisdom. Help the country find solutions that lead to real and lasting change and progress in righteousness and justice. May your hand keep all the races in forbearance and harmony. Smash all the schemes of malice that may lead to innocent bloodshed. Strengthen your church, O Lord, and give her your peace, and in this darkness let her light shine brightly through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
5 comments December 10th, 2007
In Singapore we are experiencing more and more the effects of affluence on church attendance. The attendances in June and December, the vacation months for most schools, typically drop by about 20%. I think it is probably the same in most churches where the middle class predominate. It wasn’t like that in the past. Today the results of cheap travel, increased affluence, a strong Singapore dollar are felt by most churches especially the smaller ones, as families travel to nearby and exotic destinations, usually over weekends because leave is so precious!
Yet this is not something to moan about since a family vacation does strengthen family ties and communications. Tired minds need rest and rejuvenation. As a pastor I don’t fight it or tell members, “Be back for the weekends so we can have a nice worship experience and the average attendance can look good.” I rather tell them, “Have a good time and be refreshed.” But I must admit the lowered attendance affects me some, and I am so tempted to just cook and serve those still present for worship “three minute noodles with a fried egg”. After all, like any homemaker would think, since not everybody is home for the meal, why bother to spend so much time cooking a balanced and full meal.
Thankfully most of them will be home for Christmas!
Come, Christmas, come quickly!
14 comments December 7th, 2007
Continuing from Scott Thurman’s paper on the megachurch, I will apply the remaining characteristics he listed, to the Singapore church scene, based on my observations.
The sixth characteristic is that the megachurch has something for everyone. There is a rich diversity of programs and ministries to meet every need and offer avenues for service. These are usually structured, well planned, polished programs. So like the shopping mall, under one roof it provides an array of offerings to cater to all kinds of needs and interests. It takes resources to do these, and the megachurch have these resources. In Singapore, the ‘conventional’ expressions of the megachurch may not have the same penchant for such high quality programming. Anyway, Willow Creek has found that participation in such programs does not effectively build disciples.
Seventh, the megachurch is led by an innovative spiritual entrepreneur. Scott’s research noted that a “highly gifted spiritual leader” usually helms such a church. One third of them do not have formal seminary education. And he usually called the shots even if the organizational structure shows otherwise. This is very true in the largest of our Singapore megachurches: there is always a very gifted charismatic leader at it apex. One unfortunate result is that smaller churches’ expectations of their own pastors have become highly unrealistic and warped because of foolish comparisons (they like to call it ‘benchmarking’)with such megachurch pastors. Such expectations only add further burdens on their own pastor the way the Pharisees of old added unnecessary burdens on the ordinary folk of their time. This can be a big problem because about 75% of US churches have average weekly attendance of 150 or less, led by ‘differently’ gifted but nevertheless faithful pastors. (Its probably the same in Singapore though I have no statistics to prove it). Imagine the number of Singapore pastors living in discouragement in the shadow of such giants, made to feel inferior not by their Master but by the people they love, instead of taking flight on the wings of their encouragement.
If I may put my neck out on the chopping board and be provocative, which I habitually do, in my Monday insanity, my speculation is: the size of a church is inversely proportional to the amount of formal seminary education the lead pastor has!!
Eighth, the membership profile of the megachurch in USA is like this: 60-70% are women. Mostly middle-class highly educated, and upwardly mobile and yet multi-cultural and diverse economic levels. They want space for anonymity to rest and recover from burn-out or over-committing in the former church. There are many structures for people to get involved, which then determines membership. The church focuses on those who commit and “free-loaders” are encouraged to get involved or leave though several megachurches see free-riders as fulfilling the role of providing critical mass to attract others. Finally, the “data seem to indicate that a majority of megachurch members arrive by switching from other churches or denominations, rather than having been converted.”
Is it the same here in Singapore? One question I habitually ask a megachurch member is, “Which church were you from previously?” Try it and make your own observations.
It is also folklore among pastors that when Christians suffer burn-out from serving in high-demand churches like Faith Community Baptist Church or Calvary Charismatic Church or City Harvest Church, they then go under the Rock to recover by soaking and resting in encouragement and grace. It is a credit to New Creation Church that it does not allow demands of commitment to overtake the grace its members are experiencing: too many megachurches of the past did that, and they have learnt wisdom the hard way: their taxed leaders and members left them in scores! Others find recovery in more formal undemanding settings (read denominational!) very opposite of the emotional charge-ups they had experienced: with clockwork services that end liturgically and predictably in an hour and a quarter, two minutes more or less; and no demands on your wallet or packed schedules.
Lastly, megachurches tend to form networks of like minded congregations. Examples are the Vineyard association, the Willow Creek Association which has 1,400 affiliates, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church. Resources are shared, direction and instruction given and a successful model for others to follow. Calvary Charismatic Center, now Victory Family Church is perhaps an example, though slightly different, with its extensive international network of church plants as well as ‘affiliated’ churches.
So, does size matter? Maybe not….but I am convinced megachurches are here to stay and thrive even more and put even more pressure on smaller ones. But I’ll blog about that on another Monday!
10 comments December 6th, 2007
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