Mentored by Pastor P.J. Johney

I was influenced by the Navigators, and one important value I imbibed was the importance of having a mentor. Mentoring is a relationship in which the mentor, an experienced person, guides a less experienced person to deepen their relationship with God and develop their personal and ministry skills. So I prayed earnestly for a mentor. Pastor P.J. Johney was my first mentor. Before I went into full-time ministry, I asked him to help me grow spiritually. In fact, I remembered asking if I could stay a day in his home to get a feel of what a Christian home is like. Surprisingly, he graciously consented. The night I stayed overnight, I remembered hearing him and his wife praying. I forgot if they prayed before retiring or after they awoke. It could be both. They were accepting, gracious and hospitable, and I must have imbibed that.

Later, I served with him on the church management committee. There, I saw his prudence, as well as his circumspect and spiritual approach to handling church problems and issues. I learned from observation. In fact, there was no syllabus to cover, no topics to discuss, but observation and learning by watching and working together. We also served together as church elders. You could say I was mentored into full-time vocational Christian ministry by him.

It was non-formal mentoring: non-structured learning, similar to discipleship in Jesus’ time when disciples watched, imitated and learned.  What I learned came from observing him, being with him, interacting with him, and discussing problems with him. I absorbed his attitudes, approaches and insights about life and ministry. He gradually delegated more responsibilities and journeyed with me during some of the toughest times in ministry.

Mentored by Dr Gam Shae

During my theological education in Trinity Theological College, I admired the New Testament lecturer Dr Gam Shae, a Burmese biblical scholar, whose Caucasian wife, Alice Shae, founded the Christian Outreach to the Handicapped. I approached him, and he was willing to meet with me, despite his busy schedule. We met a few times, but busyness took a toll, and the sessions simply petered out. Academic pressures always trump spiritual formation.

Mentored by Rev Norman Wong

Later in ministry, I needed someone who could hold me accountable for my prayer life and offer advice on church matters, as well as guidance on my personal spiritual growth and prayer life. Being a pastor forces many competing priorities upon us, and often our prayer life suffers as a result. I was glad that he was available to meet with me once a month. We met for several years. He shared various spiritual disciplines and practices. He emphasised making Jesus central in my meditations.  A gospel passage and some other Bible books, but always a gospel passage to feed upon every time I pray.  I learned how to meditate on Scriptures, pray set prayers, journal, think about my future retirement, and resolve emotional issues. I found our sessions life-giving, affirming and encouraging.  He helped me through a few trying times, and I am grateful for his humble and down-to-earth practical advice and approaches. The mentoring relationship evolved into peer mentoring and then a friendship.

Peer mentoring

Then I met Vincent Hoon at a Love Singapore Prayer Summit. That year, none from the pastoral staff went, so I availed myself to room with someone else in the same situation as me. It turned out this roommate was an Anglican priest, Rev Vincent Hoon. We connected well and soon began to meet once a month for peer mentoring and accountability. It proved to be a wonderful divine appointment. Later on, we invited Rev Kenny Fam to join us, and it became what is now known as a 321 spiritual friendship. The three of us met monthly for about two hours each time. This mentoring friendship lasted about twenty years. We were honest in sharing our lives, and we prayed for one another. We were mutually encouraged and blessed.

Then there was this 321 friendship group that began seven years ago with Rev Dr Jimmy Tan and retired Pastor Seng Chor. This was before my retirement. It was a great blessing to have friends like these journeying and processing my retirement with me in prayer and encouragement.

Now that I have retired, I continue to meet with three pastor groups for sharing and prayer. They are my community, my life-giving friendships, and I am thankful for each of them. Proverbs 27:17b states: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another”.

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