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AGST MTH(ED) – Making Disciples (4th module)

17 Jan 2011 at 17:50

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Studying is a spiritual discipline – one that helps you to grow spiritually in grace. Yet it was with some apprehension that I entered into a formal program of study. After all it had been over twenty years since I wrote essays with endnotes and bibliographies. And the sight of students studying in the Trinity Theological College’s library always evoked feelings of pity in me for them. The Asia Graduate School of Theology Master’s in Theology (Education) is the only post-graduate course that appealed to me and stoked my long dormant affair with education. Only that my interest had shifted long ago from school to education in the faith community. So the challenge felt like climbing Mt Kinabalu: it’s doable, but you may not make it, and it called for preparation, sweat, money, and perseverence.

Kuang, the town where the Malaysian Bible Seminary(MBS) campus was located is 45 minutes north of Kuala Lumpur Sentral by KTM. MBS had bought over and renovated what was formerly a leisure farm/golf country club. This would lend the MBS the distinction of being the only bible school in all of South East Asia with a swimming pool! The hostel room I stayed in was once a golf driving range and its door open to an open field. There was even a very large indoor stadium for basketball and badminton. The grounds were large and breezy: I liked it immediately on arrival. Though the furnishings were spartan, they were clean and there was an attached bathroom and airconditioning. The AGST program would move among its several affiliated member theological institutions in Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand.

While we were there, the Petaling Jaya Evangelical Free Church was also using the grounds for a two week intensive vacation bible school for school leavers. There were about 30 of them studying the Word in depth in the mornings; workshops in the afternoon and ministry at night. At the end of the school they would take all the services in the church over the weekend, except preaching. Another group that used the place was SIB KL’s worship ministry having a 2 days retreat.

The lecturer was Dr Sylvia Collinson and she had written her thesis on Making Disciples which was then the basis of her published book, “Making Disciples: The significance of Jesus’s educational methods for today’s church”. Having read her book as part of the preparation I was keen to interact with her and the other students. The students were of different nationalities and ethnicity: Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean. They are theological lecturers, pastors and leaders of parachurch groups. We were all at different stages of the course, some near the end, others at the middle, and me and Carlos just at the beginning.

The readings before the course were beneficial and since reading and writing are pleasurable activities for me, doing the reading report and the class presentation were as easy as climbing Bukit Timah Hill. Its the formal essay requiring research, footnotes and bibliography that presents a psychological barrier. To help me overcome that, Benedict installed in my laptop a software called “Endnote”.

We began at 9am each morning and typically ended around 4.30 to 5pm, including Saturday. The course was marked with a good balance of lecture, small group discussions, class presentations. Everyone contributed to the learning but the lecturer was the main contributor and facilitator as well. I look forward to the next course in April on Spiritual Formation. But first I need to complete an essay for this course by the end of February.

Meal times were leisurely and the food was good local fare. Breakfast was mostly Malaysian, and only on one occasion we went Western with bread, bacon, eggs, sausages and baked beans. The banter were usually stories, discussions over lectures and getting to know you stuff. All were mature people with a sense of purpose. It was enjoyable.

the New Covenant Church in KL- from strength to strength

11 Jan 2011 at 15:37

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Malaysian churches

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In about one year, the New Covenant Church, in Kuala Lumpur has outgrown the premises at Atria Shopping Centre and has moved to the Wisma TA on the 1.1.11. They seem to have nearly doubled in six months.

The improvements were visible and audible. The four forbidding video cameras, the mood-shifting lighting, the projection systems and the understated tasteful interior. So has the music, with a worship leader with stage presence, and bold and anointed vocals. These certainly increases the appeal of this church to working young adults. And there were visibly more of them than six months ago.

Saw some familiar faces from Facebook and my previous visit. It was nice just to meet Simon Yap, and catch up with Alex and Karen. This church preaches the gospel of grace but has many “law”-yers. Alex remarked that since experiencing God’s radical grace, he has been more excited, blessed, more active in ministry, and gave more than he had ever in his whole Christian life. Talking about giving, this church does not pass offering bags around and nobody is paid. There are offering boxes around, but giving is a low key thing. Even when they needed more than RM$600,000 to move to this new premises the amount was raised within three weeks without much drumbeating.

The message blessed my heart. It was pastor Barnabas Mam from Cambodia who gave a verse by verse expository message on New Covenant transformation. It was enlightening, helpful, inspiring. Interwoven into the explanations and catchy outline were stories from the church planting fruitfulness of Cambodian indigenous church planters trained and supported by the institute, and regularly supported by the New Covenant Church through teaching teams and finances.

Later, we had a relaxed sharing over coffee with pastor Peter and his daughter, Joey. Barnabas was amiable, perceptive and unassuming in person despite his stature as one of the notable leaders of the Cambodian Church. Peter and I talked quite a bit about the church. When asked about what caused the recent growth spurt, he replied that it was God’s grace. Whatever humanly analysed factors you deduced would be of no use if not for the grace of God. In another place or time, with the very same factors present, the growth may never materialise. He was concerned that tNCC became a community, not just a large collection of individuals. He felt that’s an important element in any church that preaches the gospel of grace. That also came across strongly in the course lectures and interactions in class about making disciples I had been attending. The culture in a Christian community is so strong it influences and shapes the groups and individuals in the church: it disciples them.

The extended four generations Sze family celebrated the one year birthday of Esaias at a country club. Well my timing was good. Four nights confined in a hostel room reading and doing my assignments had made me shamelessly bold. So I joined them for makan and they later graciously sent me back to Kuang, not Kluang, not Klang, but Kuang.

Now driving me back was something because Kuang, as I now know, is not part of Kuala Lumpur, but is a town north of the city. The Malaysian Bible Seminary bought over this country farm/golf club and it is located in an ulu kampong area (countryside) that needed three Szes, a Volkswagon and an iPad to locate. The daughter Suzanne was driving to spare the tired father; her husband, Yew Juan was navigating with the iPad; and Peter should have stayed home to rest, but accompanied me. So how do you think it made me feel? I wasn’t even the preacher! Like the labourers in the vineyard who came to work late but got the same wages, I got what I did not deserve.

“Should I feel guilty or what?”, I asked Peter. “Just be grateful to the Lord”.

And I was, as I laid my head on the stiff pillow at 1am that night.

The Francis Yeoh interview

05 Jan 2011 at 19:42

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Discipleship, testimony

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Bear with the short Mandarin prologue before the interview in English begins. This is a powerful testimony of market place ministry, of being salt and light to the world while being in business.

This is Wikipedia’s write up about Francis Yeoh.

Tan Sri Dato’ Francis Yeoh Sock Ping CBE (Chinese : 楊肅斌; pinyin: Yáng Sùbīn, born August 23, 1954) is a prominent business personality in Malaysia, and the eldest son of Malaysian billionaire Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Yeoh Tiong Lay. He obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Degree in Civil Engineering from Kingston University, United Kingdom in 1978.

Francis had his secondary school education at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he was School Captain. He became the Managing Director of YTL Corporation in 1988. Under his stewardship, the YTL Group grew from a single listed entity in 1985 to a force comprising five listed companies, and is now one of the biggest conglomerates in Malaysia.

On January 16, 2003, he was awarded the First Malaysian Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 in recognition of his entrepreneurial acumen. On February 13, 2004, he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from his alma mater, Kingston University. He was awarded BusinessWeek’s “25 Stars of Asia 2003″ on November 6, 2003 in Hong Kong; and was ranked 21 by Asia’s 25 Most Powerful Business Personalities on August 9, 2004.Fortune Magazine Francis married Rosaline Yeoh in 1982, and they have five children. His siblings reside in Malaysia and are fellow directors of YTL Corporation. In 2006, he was conferred Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropic endeavours. His wife, Puan Sri Rosaline died on 5th August 2006.

Riding the elephants and the rapids

27 Dec 2010 at 11:52

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Trek record

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The Chongs and the Shins blessed Simon, Rinda and myself with two days in a four star hotel and two days tour around Chiang Mai. The second day, we just had to do the elephant thing. Watched the elephants do tricks like dance, paint and even take penalty kicks. Touched them, posed with them, fed them and rode on them. It was a 6 out of 10 experience, because of the waiting, waiting waiting. The Tupperware group of over a hundred salespersons from Malaysia were on an incentive trip. They were late and upset the schedules of everyone else.

The highlight of the day came from whitewater rafting the Mae Taeng river. Driven up river to an attap facility, had a light lunch, given a demonstration of safety and teamwork, wore safety equipment and we were off. This was one unforgettable ride on Grade 3 river rapids. Unforgettable for the thrills and spills, getting stuck between two rocks in the rapids, and other incidents. Its about 10 km long and the rafting was close to 2 hours but time just rushed by by as we paddled, squealed, laughed, screamed, had anxious moments and got drenched to the skin.

Sunny Chong shared some lessons from reflecting on the adventure:

1. To move ahead we have to work in unity. Everyone has to paddle together in the same direction.
2. Let our hearts not be troubled, when we go over troubled waters.
3. In our life, there are always “Up & Downs” and “Twist & Turns”.
4. We may move very fast when the Flow is strong.
5. We may feel calm when the river is still and quiet (Psalm 23).
6. Sometimes we can feel depressed and get stuck between the rocks.
7. The Lord delivers us out of danger.
8. Always celebrate and rejoice on reaching a milestone along the journey.

Relaxing in Chiang Mai

19 Dec 2010 at 19:52

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Trek record

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Releasing the tension

A bow bent for too long may break. So after a week of spiritual intensity, it was good to unwind the tension, and relax among friends, both old and new-found, on a one day tour to the waterfalls and to the highest mountain in Thailand, the Doi Inthanon. We set off with our English speaking tour guide, Lino, from Green World Travel, who was friendly, caring and interesting company. The temperature was cool the higher up we went.

Rainbow at waterfall

At the Maeya waterfalls, we saw a beautiful rainbow beyond a “SLIPPERY ROUTE” sign. Certainly apt: we can always find the faithfulness of God, and the sign of better times, beyond danger and risk. With the spray upon us we had a refreshing and fun time just standing there, taking photos and taking the sights in of the beautiful Maeya waterfall, jungle and sky, and giving praise to the Maker.

The King’s garden

We next went to one of the King’s horticultural project along the slope of a mountain. We had lunch at a restaurant overlooking a valley. We gorged on barbecued chicken and salt covered barbecued fish we had purchased earlier at the waterfall stalls. We walked around gardens, among lovely flowers of all kinds, fountains, and pine trees. It was afternoon. The weather was warm but dry. It had not rained since I arrived in Chiang Mai over ten days ago. The waterfalls and the mountain were symbols of what we have experienced in the silent retreat – the refreshing, the rainbow of hope, the spiritual heights.

Lost shepherds in the city

13 Dec 2010 at 08:01

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Pastoring

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Lost shepherds and waiting sheep

The Rt Revd Rennis Ponniah, the Vicar of St John’s-St. Margaret’s Church, and Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Singapore, gave an insightful message to priests and ordinands recently that was excerpted in the Diocesan Digest(Nov 2010). He was reminding the church of what it meant to be an Anglican priest in the church of God –the classical role of Anglican priests. Over the years, this has been greatly eroded, obscured, obstructed, and pushed aside by the pressures arising from expectations of congregations for their priests to function like CEOs. The result: lost shepherds in the church, and the consequence – more lost sheep waiting in the pews for their shepherds to do what they are truly called to do, and other sheep leaving for other pastures. The irony is that members want their priest to act like a CEO so that the church would grow, but the outcomes are exactly the opposite: priests and lay leaders suffering burnout and members leaving because they soul care has been ignored.

Lost shepherds can find themselves

What he said so accurately reflects a clear and present danger in the other churches in Singapore too, not just the Anglican. The unbiblical expectations members have of their pastors to be like CEOs, reminded me of what Goh Keng Swee and his team of systems engineers did to the Singapore education system in the 1970’s (they killed its soul, and teachers felt lost). What Rennis said would resonate with many pastors in this land. The same has already happened in urban churches in the United States too. Shepherds today, like the ones at Christmas, need a fresh and heavenly revelation of who God is. They need to eagerly seek the One in Whom they can find their true self and calling. Here is an excerpt of his message:

So much is expected of the priest in the modern city – chairing meetings, organizing major projects, replying emails at the speed of smartphones and sometimes initiating financial ventures – that it becomes easy to lose our way and neglect the major tasks of our calling. The affirmation of men and meeting the expectations of our congregation for dynamic leadership and management can become our priorities instead of pleasing God through our faithfulness to our calling. As one of my clergy colleagues recently remarked, “If there is a parable to describe our modern situation, it may well be entitled the ‘Parable of the Lost Shepherd.’ The hundred sheep, safely in the fold, wait hungrily for their shepherd to find his way back to them.”

We do well therefore as priests to heed the call to vocational holiness – to being true to the central tasks of our calling. What then is our vocational calling as priests? In a word, I would say that our call is not to run an organization or meet people’s felt needs, but to build a community of disciples. I often have to remind myself, “I am not running a church, I am building a community.” With this in mind, the key vocational tasks of a priest can be identified as:

1.     Preaching / proclamation of the Gospel

2.     Discipling/teaching and equipping bands of people

3.     Interceding/shaping and leading corporate prayer and worship services

4.     Pastoral care and spiritual direction(ie the role of the “wise man” in the Old Covenant)

5.     Leading the people out in mission and community service

6.     Oversight of the flock and governance.

The greatest threat to fulfilling our vocational tasks is our management responsibilities in our urbanized parishes. I am not saying that management work is not needed in priestly leadership; however, they should not stand in the way of our primary tasks. This is clear in the early account of the early church where the apostles found themselves diverted from their vocational calling because they were personally managing the task of food distribution to the needy. They learnt to delegate this task to others in order that they may give their “attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Sadly, priests today may be delegating away their primary vocational tasks, while focusing on secondary ones. We are farming out the task of pulpit preaching to frequently-invited guest speakers, and the task of intercession to church intercessors. We are called to “prayer and the ministry of the Word”. We are called to “attend to God” in prayer and the study of His Word, and then to minister to people out of the strength of His presence. Are we attending to the needs of men (emails and mobiles) but ignoring our Lord (eg. Prayers and devotions)?

Growing beyond the tithe

06 Dec 2010 at 08:10

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Discipleship

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Growing in prayer

We talk about growing and discipleship in many aspects of Christian growth. For instance, we talk about growing in prayer. A new believer is taught that prayer is talking to God, and he is taught how to bring his needs and requests before God. Then he learns that prayer is not meant to be a mere personal shopping list. He should also intercede and pray for others. Later he learns how to pray in a group and that required him to observe how others pray in a group and he stumbles and then perfects that. Later he learns that prayer is two-way, and that he needs to listen to God too. He learns the prayer of faith and on it goes. He keeps learning and progressing and advancing.

Growing in the Word

We also talk to new believers about the Bible. He first learn its black in colour with lots of “books” with strange names inside. He distinguishes between Old Testament and New, and soon prefers the new. He learns what are gospels and epistles and the difficult to understand Revelation. He is taught to read. He goes beyond reading to memorizing and meditating. Then he is introduced to Bible study. His knowledge of the Bible and how to understand, believe and apply it increases. He senses there is progression, movement. Even as he admits to being stuck somewhere, he presses on to grow in understanding and faith.

Growing in giving?

When it comes to giving, we hardly help new believers to grow in it. Is it too embarrassing to talk about? We let the pastor do it at the Christian living course or the Sunday sermon when funds is being raised. He is taught to give the tithe or whatever the church believes in; why he is to give offerings and how it is part of worship; how he will benefit and the church and the world will benefit. However we do not encourage a growth, a progression and movement in giving. Many believers are stuck in a rut: they are giving inconsistently, or not giving at all, or meandering at the tithe. They give their tithes regularly and routinely for the last decade and have remained in that status quo. Their expenses have increased. Their standard of living has increased. They have progressed in other areas of discipleship: in prayer, in faith in the Word, in witness, in discipling others, but somehow their giving pattern has not changed one iota except the amount increasing to reflect the increments in his earnings.

Aspects of growing

As their appreciation and gratitude for God’s unconditional love and grace increases, the overflow of grace in their lives will readily be expressed in growth in many areas including giving. Giving grows as believers appreciation and experience of God’s grace grows. Giving can grow in terms of amount or percentages (Yes, why stop at the tithe?). It can grow in terms of faithfulness and consistency; in terms of how giving is a part of worship and not just a routine; in terms of our openness to hearing what the Lord desires of our giving; in terms of the sacrifice or faith involved. These are different aspects of growth in giving. Movement and progress often will bring us to a greater realm of blessing, well being, character formation, faith and intimacy with the Lord. Growing in our giving (and beyond the tithe) is an outgrowth of experiencing God’s grace that necessitates a response of faith, adjustment and planning on our part.

A model of growth in giving

An excellent example of growth in giving is Pastor Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church, the 8^th largest church in USA. Rick and Kay started tithing but sought to grow in giving by increasing the percentage by 0.5% or 1% every year till it became 30%. Then Rick became a New York Times bestselling author and his book “The Purpose Driven Life” became a runaway success which sold more than 30 million copies. Royalties from the book made them multimillionaires (if he got one dollar from each book, that would be 30 million dollars). He credits it to God fulfilling His promise to bless the giver and challenging him to a new level of stewardship. He and his wife made five decisions about their new found wealth:

1.They would not alter their lifestyle one bit. They would not buy a new home. They would not purchase a vacation home. They wouldn’t buy a Hummer, boat, or jet ski. They would keep their life exactly the same as it had been.

2.He would stop taking a salary from Saddleback Church. He now served as senior pastor for free.

3.He added up the salary from Saddleback for 25 years of ministry and paid it all back! Pastor Rick wanted to be above reproach so that he could tell the media that he worked for free and did not get rich from serving at a mega-church.

4.They set up three different foundations to help the poor and needy in the world.

5.They became reverse tithers. God brought them to the place in their lives where they were able to give away 90% and live on 10%.

This is what I call growth in giving. John Wesley would have been proud of Rick, though he’s not a Methodist.

Diary of a silent retreat 4

30 Nov 2010 at 08:16

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Prayer

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Thursday, 18^th November:

Squirrels- bushy tailed ones. There seemed to be several families, including little tots, sliding, waltzing and jetting rapidly without brakes nor care from branch to branch and tree to tree. They were amazing to watch. I found it so relaxing to just sit at the balcony and be entertained by their delightful dances in the trees.

Today I looked through the whole gospel of Luke and picked up the emotions of Jesus. His frustration, anger, sadness, tears, sorrow, rejoicing, happiness, rebuke, and distress. I thought David told me to relax but he directed me to do something that required a few hours scan through the gospel.

Obedience yielded treasures, I found out.

Friday, 19^th November:

My birthday. Fifty five, and since 5 is the number of grace, I am expecting grace upon grace this year. The church members quietly wished me well. There were eight from WRPF including Simon and Rinda.The Shins and the Chongs gave me some energizing stuff to make this day celebrated away from home a comfort and a wee special. Others, who found out later gave me some well wishes on notes and candy.

Entered into the gospel story of the man with the withered hand healed by Jesus in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus was very angry. Englightening time.

As I celebrated the final communion, I enjoyed feeding on Christ – His body and blood. What a beautiful mystery – this fellowship meal with the Triune God. Hidden nutrition.

Saturday, 20^th November:

Six days of complete silence ceased at breakfast. I’ve been hearing mini-explosions from firecrackers fired two nights before a festival called Loi Krathrong. At breakfast, there were explosions of joy, and laughter and conversations. The retreat concluded with sessions where they summarized and shared and each one were prayed for in the afternoon.

After saying thanks and goodbye to David, my morning was spent going deeper into the story and exploring further what insights the Lord had for me from the story. By afternoon, I was done and concluded my retreat by myself in praise and song.

The evening was a celebration at Tsunami. The pastors were all honoured and well cared for with a Japanese meal. As we headed to the Night Bazaar, we found ourselves caught in this jam along the river.

As it turned out, the local folks were celebrating Loi Krathrong, a festival where they released decorated boats or 4 feet tall lanterns with light into the river or sky, to symbolize the release of bad luck, sin, sorrow or wishes, prayers and dreams. Firecrackers exploded and the night sky occasionally lighted up with fireworks. Hundreds of lighted lanterns slowly and silently rising up, drifting with the winds and the lights disappearing from sight made the night festive and nostalgic.

I felt like a newly serviced car, a computer that just went through a lengthy de-fragmentation process. A lantern just lighted up. A heart of flesh. Freshened. Enlightened. Encouraged.

(Standing: Francis, Lee Hong, Siew Gin, Kenny, Theresa, Lisa, Irene, Deena, Ethel, Simon. Stooping: Sunny, John, Lye, Bernie, Jenny, Annie, Wendy, Rinda.)

Further information about retreats of different kinds conducted by Simon and Rinda Tan are available through their ministry Listening Inn.

Diary of a silent retreat 3

30 Nov 2010 at 06:53

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Prayer

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Monday, 15^th November:

It was the third day of the retreat. Enter the story, my director tells me. Experience the moment, the whole scene.

The passage he gave me was the wedding at Cana.

Tell Jesus how you are feeling and what you need and listen as he speaks in your imagination.

This Ignatian way of meditation took time. But it was worth it for the Spirit was free to inspire my often unused right-brain to yield insights and applications otherwise missed by normal left-brained, logical, rational interpretation.

Relax, he reminded me.

The silence at mealtimes seemed odd but I got used to it. We avoided eye contact. Eyes can talk too, as lovers and children know. We ate in silence, even if those who sat opposite or beside were friends.

Never liked food for the masses. Especially hotel food in church camps. The Thai food here was mostly rice, vegetables with slivers of pork or chicken, and gourd (and good) soup, and the occasional spicy dish(we had chicken curry once). But no complaints from anyone, which was unusual for Singaporeans, even Christians. Maybe the enforced silence.. haha. For me, I was happy with the food. Slowed down, with no distracting talk, my senses, including taste, became sensitive.

Tuesday, 16^th November:

Be gentle with yourself, was his mantra to me. Was I so harsh with myself, or was he just warning me in advance, knowing my tendencies to condemn or judge myself? Be gentle, he kept saying.

You are suffering from burn-out, he said.

This was after having heard me for a few days. He had thus joined a chorus of pastor friends who had sung the same song. Well, that was why I was there.

Do not make any major decisions until after you have taken your sabbatical. Certainly, don’t make any major decisions here.

Was that a relief for me to hear? Not really, I did not enter into retreat with any intention of praying about making any major decisions.

Just enjoy Me, the Lord had said to me the morning before I left, and I have stayed with that word, since day one of the retreat.

Wednesday, 17^th November:

Holy Communion every night. Eucharist sounded better. It means “thanksgiving”. Our reasonable response to his gifts of blood and body is, Thank you Lord.

Tonight was special. The Lord whispered, Everything I have is yours. My faith was stirred and joy bubbled up in song within.

Learned to doodle (see right) with my Samsung Jet Dynamic Canvas, some sketch software in my mobile. Yep, I guess I just had to touch something electronic. No laptop, no TV, no newspaper, no radio here in the desert.

Diary of a silent retreat 2

29 Nov 2010 at 08:17

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Prayer

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Saturday, 13^th November:

The mornings and evenings were lovely and cool and the birds and squirrels always came alive with their song and dance routines. The afternoons were warm but not so humid.

“Relax, do whatever relaxes and refreshes you. Don’t force the scripture passage to yield anything. Just relax”. This was the advice my spiritual director Fr David Towsend, SJ, kept repeating over the next few days. Yes, we Singaporeans are always in the productivity game. Since walking relaxes me I took several long walks….and jogs. The Chiang Mai University is a mammoth campus, as I found out, during these explorations.

The other retreatants were going through a whole morning and afternoon of talks. The returning retreatants only needed to attend the morning sessions conducted by Simon and Rinda Tan. They each would meet with spiritual director Simon or Rinda daily for thirty or more minutes. Simon and Rinda were gracious to allow me to join the community as and when I wanted and to have the priest as my spiritual director. There were four pastors at the retreat(see pic below).

Silence began at dinner time. It would continue for the next six days. It’s the spiritual equivalent of not opening the oven too often to see if the cake was baked. Sharing prematurely would dissipate the depth to which the Lord wanted to work with us on an issue.

Sunday, 14^th November:

Attended the Sunday morning mass. An hour and ten minutes. A liturgical service with scripture and sermonette interspersed with songs and climaxing with the Mass. Fr David Townsend spoke about why the Creeds were so important to the church and how it often required courage in the ancient days to recite them. There was certainly a price to pay for speaking the truth. John the Baptist knew that. When he saw Jesus he declared, Behold the Lamb of God, and straight away he lost two faithful members. Later he would lose his head, literally, again for speaking the truth. This business of truth speaking was serious stuff.

David had already given me a passage to meditate on and as it was Sunday, I did not meet with him.

Eat. Pray. Journal. Sleep. Getting into some kind of rhythm.

They tell me reading biographies is sort of okay during a silent retreat, unlike reading books on spiritual stuff that might lead me on a detour from what God is saying or doing inside me. The same goes for MP3 messages. So I brought along and finished “Born for Blessings” by Bishop Moses Tay. It was a straightforward account of his life and career as Bishop and then Archbishop. Was impressed that the Bishop, later Archbishop, was very committed to the Lord’s work in his youth and later as a general practitioner. He received his University of London theological education via correspondence and was ordained a priest while still in medical practice. Bi-vocational- this is something the church will see more of in the future, I believe! Anyway this book offers an insider’s view of what happened in the upper echelons of the Anglican communion during the denomination’s recent turmoils.

b l o g p a s t o r . n e t

AGST MTH(ED) – Making Disciples (4th module)

the New Covenant Church in KL- from strength to strength

The Francis Yeoh interview

Riding the elephants and the rapids

Relaxing in Chiang Mai

Lost shepherds in the city

Growing beyond the tithe

Diary of a silent retreat 4

Diary of a silent retreat 3

Diary of a silent retreat 2

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