Jurang diantara Gereja dan Komuniti di Malaysia: Adakah Kita Peduli?

[Kuala Lumpur, Metro Hotel, 1hb March 2015, 2.00 pagi]

Di bandar Kuching mahupun di Kuala Lumpur ada jurang diantara gereja dan komuniti. Saya suka berjalan disekitar bandar-bandar yang saya pergi. Di bandar Miri, contohnya, saya mendapati bahawa banyak gereja-gereja didirikan atau ditempatkan berdekatan antara satu sama lain. Semasa saya menginap di rumah sewa kawan saya, saya memandu disekeliling kawasan berdekatan dan mendapati bahawa hanya dalam 10 minit memandu, saya menjumpai lima buah gereja – tiga buah gereja denominasi yang sama dan empat daripada lima adalah gereja yang menggunakan bahasa penghubung yang sama. Di Kuching, gereja juga banyak, sehinggakan jika kita ingin melawat satu gereja setiap minggu perlu mengambil masa 35 minggu atau 8 ke 9 bulan berturut-turut.

Petang semalam saya sampai ke bandar Kuala Lumpur dan mendapati juga disini ada banyak gereja. Kemudian, saya memerhati keadaan sekeliling. Kawasan yang sama dimana sebuah gereja didirikan menjelang malam menjadi kawasan tempat penagihan dadah, minum arak dan mungkin juga (jika pemerhatian saya benar) menjadi tempat dimana pelacur-pelacur ditawarkan dan pengedaran dadah berlaku. “Adalah menjadi kebiasaan bagi mereka untuk ‘berniaga’ di kawasan ini,” kata seorang pakcik kepada saya. Pada siang hari, di sini ada ramai orang miskin, orang buta, orang bangsa asing, anak-anak muda dan kanak-kanak. Saya berfikir, orang-orang yang memerlukan Kristus tidak jauh dari kawasan gereja. Mereka mungkin menanti orang Kristian yang sanggup menerima mereka dan berkata kepada mereka bahawa mereka layak untuk datang ke gereja – datang kepada-Nya.

Saya menulis ini bukan untuk menghakimi – saya hanya ingin membuka mata kita. Tidakkah sedih apabila ketua mengedar dadah tahu nama setiap anak muda yang berada di kawasan gereja lebih daripada pastor yang melayani di gereja? Adakah kamu hairan apabila guru sekolah minggu berpuas hati dengan pelayanan kanak-kanak di gereja dan tidak langsung peduli dengan kanak-kanak yang tidak tahu membaca dan menulis di sekitar kawasan itu? Mereka yang menyesatkan orang selalu mencari dan melayani sesiapa saja yang datang kepada mereka, tetapi umat Kristian dan pintu-pintu gereja hanya dibuka pada hari minggu. Gereja mahukan orang yang kemas dan bersih, tetapi mereka yang menyesatkan orang menerima mereka seadanya.

Saya sudah bekerja hampir 4 tahun dalam pelayanan pelajar Kristian. Para pelajar dan anak-anak muda sebenarnya sangat bersemangat untuk melayani komuniti. Kebanyakkan mereka ingin membawa Kristus dan gereja untuk menjangkau komuniti disekeliling mereka. Mereka rindu untuk menjadi tangan dan kaki bagi Kristus untuk mengkhabarkan Berita Baik. Ada diantara mereka sanggup berpindah ke tempat dimana mereka boleh melayani dan mengenal komuniti. Ada juga yang mengorbankan hujung minggu menjadi guru and mentor di sekolah minggu di rumah-rumah panjang. Mereka sanggup asalkan gereja memberi dorongan dan galakkan, bantuan dan pengelibatan, menjadi contoh dan juga peduli dengan komuniti disekeliling mereka.

Kenapa aktiviti menjangkau komuniti ini jarang berlaku di bandar Kuching, Miri, Kuala Lumpur dan di Malaysia keseluruhannya? Kerena gereja sibuk menyolek dinding bangunan, tidak mahu mengotorkan tangan, menggemukkan diri dengan makan berlebih-lebihan, sibuk mengekalkan umat yang ada, meminta tetapi tidak memberi, ingin menjadi artis dan selebriti tetapi tidak memiliki hati hamba, mendirikan Rumah TUHAN seperti sebuah syarikat, mementingkan kerohanian luaran sehingga melupakan panggilan Kristus ke dunia, dan terlalu asyik mempertahankan iman – iman tanpa perbuatan dan tidak dikongsikan. Jika ini ialah idea ‘gereja’ bagi anak-anak muda sekarang, maka tidak hairanlah aktiviti atau pelayanan menjangkau komuniti jarang berlaku disekeliling kita. Sanggupkah kita membawa seorang pengemis yang kotor dan berbau ke gereja kita? Sanggupkah kita mengurangkan belanjawan gereja untuk membantu orang miskin, mendirikan sekolah, melawat ibu tunggal dan menjenguk banduan di penjara?

Mari kita kembali ke gereja dan komuniti. Saya percaya (dan sedih) bahawa anak-anak muda sekarang mula melihat gereja sebagai satu kelab eklusif yang tidak lagi peduli dengan orang-orang miskin dan orang-orang yang memerlukan di sekeliling mereka. Di mana integriti kita sebagai umat Kristian? Bukankah kita seringkali mendengar khutbah dan kesaksian tentang memberkati orang lain? Tidak pernahkah kita merenung Firman Allah untuk mengasihi sesama kita? Anak-anak muda tidak akan merujuk dan meminta bantuan dari ibubapa, para pemimpin gereja dan guru-guru sekiranya kata-kata dan kepercayaan kita tidak sama dengan carahidup dan iman yang kita pegang. Mereka akan pergi ke tempat lain, tempat dimana kerinduan dan beban mereka akan didengar. Jika ini berlaku, jangan salahkan mereka.  

Gereja (ini termasuk saya juga kerana kita adalah satu tubuh dalam Kristus) harus peduli dengan komuniti disekeliling kita. Untuk menjangkau anak-anak muda kita harus menjangkau komuniti kita, kerana melalui cara ini anak-anak muda boleh terlibat dan mereka secara langsung tidak lagi menjadi boneka tetapi mereka juga turut serta dalam pelayanan gereja. Bukan mereka saja, tetapi semua umat akan didorong dan dibangunkan. Komuniti disekeliling juga diberkati. Bukankah ini idea gereja yang sebenar? Iman tanpa perbuatan, mati. Kebenaran tanpa kasih, beban. Berita Baik tanpa kesaksian, sia-sia. Gereja tanpa impak kepada komuniti adalah – hipokrit. Lebih baik tiada gereja daripada menghina Yesus Kristus dan nama-Nya dihadapan orang ramai.

Ini cadangan saya:

Ambil satu masa dengan para pemimpin dan/atau rakan-rakan seiman,

Tidak perlu berdoa secara formal, hanya buka mata dan hati,

Pergi ke luar gereja and lihatlah sekelilingmu.

Apakah beban yang TUHAN telah berikan kepada gereja kamu?

Kenapa gereja ada disini? Dan kenapa komuniti ini ada disekeliling kamu?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

(Don't) Reducing Spirituality to Moral Benchmarks

Without question, one of the principal stumbling blocks the world has when it comes to the Christian faith has to do with Christians themselves, and specifically the question of hypocrisy.

And rightfully so.

The word hypocrite is taken from an old Greek work that refers to the wearing of a mask. In ancient Greece, actors often wore masks according to the character they played. Their character’s appearance on the stage was a façade, an ‘act.’ Hypocrites, then, are mask-wearers. They appear to be one thing, but it’s all a front – behind the mask they are someone else.

The only way this will be addressed is if Christians themselves get a grip on what it mean to follow Christ, and then convey that authentically to the world. What is behind many – not all, but many – charges and accusations against the character and integrity of Christians is the demand for perfection in the life of anyone who claims to be a Christian and urges others to consider Christianity as well. This is not, of course, the true meaning of hypocrite, but even more to the point, it is not an accurate understanding of what it means to enter into the Christian life.

Yet the world holds us to it, because we hold ourselves – and others – to it. We fall prey to the charge of hypocrisy because we have reduced spirituality to a list of moral benchmarks coupled with a good dose of judgmentalism.

The only way to regain our footing is to remind ourselves – and others – that an authentic Christian is simply someone who has made the decision to believe in Jesus as his forgiver and then attempt to follow him as his leader. But nowhere in this series of events is perfection or sinlessness. Rather, there is simply the intentional effort and sincere desire to recognize God as, well, God.

And then we must convey that to the world. Authentically, I am reminded of the words of the great nineteenth-century Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, who wrote in a personal letter,

“Attack me, I do this myself, but attack me rather than the path I follow and which I point out to anyone who asks me where I think it lies. If I know the way home and am walking along it drunkenly, is it any less the right way because I am staggering from side to side!”

Simply put, we must stop presenting ourselves as the message and begin presenting Jesus as the message. There will be disappointment with Christians as long as there are imperfect people. Since all Christians are imperfect, there will always be disappointment. So we must stop having the message of Christ tied to our butchered efforts.

Jim White

Author

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 65-66

Original title as ‘Reducing Spirituality to Moral Benchmarks’

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Softening a Heart

Refer to previous post. Here is the continuation of another story on how Jewish rabbis (or teachers) were always encouraging people to be charitable. They felt that charity improved the life of whoever received it, and it also improved the spirit of however gave it. Here is a tale of a Jewish rabbi who have found a way to softening a heart…

A rabbi asked a wealthy man to give charity. The man scornfully tossed him a penny. As the rabbi picked up the penny, he praised and thanked the wealthy man.

The rabbi’s assistant asked,

“How can you be so kind to such an unkind person?”

The rabbi answered,

“That man has never given even a penny before now. I must encourage him ever if he only gives a little. He needs to be taught how to be generous.”

And so it happened. Each time the rabbi returned, the man gave a little bit more. Each time the rabbi praised and thanked him.

On the fourth visit, the man burst into tears, and to everyone’s surprise, he gave the rabbi a tremendous sum. The rabbi was about to praise and thank him, but the man shook his head and said,

“You deserve my praise and thanks, Rabbi, because you kept believing in me. You have taught me how to be generous.”

We can force people to give,

Or we can teach people how to give.

Forceful will harden a heart; praise, thanksgiving and encouragement will soften a heart.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Changing a Mind

Throughout the centuries, almost all governments did not take care of the poor or the sick justly. Instead, families and communities had to take care of their own. As it is difficult for the poor and needy in Malaysia (maybe not that worst) it was especially difficult for the Jews of Eastern Europe. I read the Jewish history, many were poor and few were rich. So Rabbis (or teachers) were always encouraging people to be charitable. They felt that charity improved the life of whoever received it, and it also improved the spirit of however gave it. Here is a tale of a Jewish rabbi who have found a way to changing a mind…

A wealthy miser refused to help anyone in the village (Miser means a stingy, money-hoarder person). The rabbi came to visit and told the miser,

“Look out your window.”

The man saw a street full of people. The rabbi then said,

“Look at your mirror.” The miser saw only himself.

The rabbi asked, “Your window and your mirror are both made of glass. What makes them different?”

The miser said, “The window glass is clear, so I can see outside. The mirror glass has a silver coating behind it. The silver stops me from seeing through. It reflects back so I see myself.”

The rabbi said,

“Your love for sliver has changed your soul. Once, your soul was a clear as the glass of a window. You could look out at the world and see everyone. But you have coated your soul with silver. You no longer see anyone but yourself.”

The miser understood. He was overcome with shame and changed his ways.

Look at your soul, what do you see?

A window glass or a mirror?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Allah itu Bukan Pendusta (Renungan tentang 1 Yahya 1:10)

Orang yang tidak mahu mengakui dosa mereka, tidak kira samada mereka mengatakan bahawa diri mereka orang Kristian, ialah bukan pengikut Isa yang sebenar. Oleh itu, Rasul Yahya menulis: “Namun sekiranya kita mengatakan bahawa kita tidak pernah berdosa, kita menuduh Allah itu pendusta, dan Firman-Nya tiada di dalam diri kita” (1 Yahya 1:10, Kitab Suci Zabur dan Injil, KSZI)

Orang yang tidak mahu mengakui dosa mereka mungkin sangat jelas melihat dosa orang lain dan mereka mungkin sangat marah dengan keruntuhan moral dalam masyarakat yang berlaku disekeliling mereka, tetapi mereka cukup ‘buta’ untuk melihat keadaan rohani dan dosa mereka sendiri. Selagi mereka mengatakan dalam hati (mungkin mulut mereka berkata “Saya pendosa”) bahawa mereka “tidak pernah berdosa,” selagi itu mereka tidak mendapat pengampunan dari Allah.

Apa yang lebih teruk dari itu ialah, apabila mereka berkata, “Saya tidak pernah berbuat dosa,” mereka menuduh “Allah itu pendusta.” Kenapa? Kerana Allah itu benar Dia tidak pernah menipu; kerana Allah itu kudus Dia tidak tahan dengan dosa; kerana Allah itu cahaya Dia tidak pernah menyembunyikan kebenaran; dan kebenaran itu ialah – kita semua pendosa. Jika Allah yang Maha Tahu mengatakan bahawa kita berdosa, dan jika kita menyangkal-Nya dengan berkata “kita tidak pernah berdosa” maka kita “menuduh Allah itu pendusta.” Jika ada dua pendapat yang sangat berbeza, maka hanya salah satu adalah benar.

Ramai diantara kita menilai diri sendiri secara luaran. Kita menilai kerohanian kita berdasarkan aktiviti agama yang kita lakukan seperti berapa kerap kita pergi ke gereja, disiplin membaca Alkitab, berdoa dan berpuasa dan melakukan kebaikan. Kita lebih memberi perhatian tentang bagaimana pendapat dan fikiran orang lain terhadap kita tetapi kita jarang tergerak hati untuk mengakui dosa kita dan peduli tentang TUHAN. Saya selalu melihat orang menangis semasa di kem dan kebaktian di gereja (malah di televisyen siaran sudut agama) kerana dosa mereka, tetapi selepas itu kebanyakkan daripada mereka kembali sama saja. Kenapa? Mereka, saya berpendapat, menangis kerana kesan dosa itu terhadap mereka, tetapi bukan kerana menyesal atas dosa yang dilakukan terhadap Allah. Bagi orang kita kelihatan sangat rohani… bagaimana dengan TUHAN?

Semua orang pernah berbuat dosa dan orang Kristian tidak terkecuali dari hal ini. Apa yang membezakan kita dengan agama yang lain ialah kita dibersihkan dari dosa bukan disebabkan oleh kebaikkan atau usaha kita sendiri. Kita dibenarkan dihadapan Allah kerana Putera-Nya, Isa al-Masih telah mati bagi dosa kita. Oleh itu, Rasul Yahya berkata lagi, “Anak-anakku, aku menuliskan hal-hal ini kepadamu supaya kamu tidak berbuat dosa. Dan jika sesiapa berbuat dosa, kita mempunyai seorang Pembela ke hadirat Allah Bapa, iaitu Isa al-Masih Yang Benar itu. Dialah korban pendamaian bagi dosa kita, malah bukan dosa kita sahaja tetapi dosa seluruh umat manusia” (1 Yahya 2:1-2, KSZI).

Allah itu bukan pendusta,

Akuilah dosa kamu terhadap-Nya dan kepada-Nya,

dan Dia akan mengampuni dan menyucikan kita.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

The 8 Net Generation Norms that Every Youth Worker Should Know

These are 8 Differentiating Characteristics the Net Generation (1977 – 1997) Norms. Each “Norm” is a cluster of attitudes and behaviours that define the generation. These norms are central to understanding how this generation – my generation – is changing work, markets, learning, the family, and society. I, as staffworker in Student Ministry, personally think that these characteristics are very important and helpful for me (and you) to understand the Net Generation Christians and youth in general today. You can read about them thoroughly in Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital in which I quotes at length here. I highly recommend this book!

#1: The Net Generation want freedom in everything they do, from freedom of choice to freedom of expression. We all love freedom, but not like this generation. Choice is like oxygen to them. While older generations feel overwhelmed by the proliferation of sales channels, product types, and brands, the Net Gen takes it for granted. Net Geners leverage technology to cut through the clutter and find the marketing message that fits their needs. They also expect to choose where and when they work. They use technology to escape traditional office constraints and integrate their work lives with their home and social lives. Net Geners seek the freedom to change jobs, freedom to take their own path, and to express themselves.

#2: They love to customize, personalize. When I was a kid, I never got to customize The Mickey Mouse Club. Today’s youth can change the media world around them – their desktop, Web site, ring tone, handle, screen saver, news sources, and entertainment. They have grown up getting what media they want, when they want it, and being able to change it. Millions around the world don’t just access the Web, they are creating it by creating online content. Now the need to customize is extending beyond the digital world to just about everything they touch. Forget standard job descriptions and only one variety of product. As for government portals, they want “my government” customized online.

#3: They are the new scrutinizers. When I was young, a picture was a picture. No more. Transparency, namely stakeholder access to pertinent information about companies and their offerings, just seems natural to the Net Gen. While older generations marvel at the consumer research available on the Internet, the Net Gen expects it. As they grow older, their online engagement increases. Businesses targeting the Net Gen should expect and welcome intense scrutiny of its products, promotional efforts, and corporate practices. The Net Gen knows that their market power allows them to demand more of companies, which goes for employers as well.

#4: They look for corporate integrity and openness when deciding what to buy and where to work. The Internet, and other information and communication technologies, strip away the barriers between companies and their various constituencies, including consumers, activists, and shareholders. Whether consumers are exposing a flawed viral marketing campaign or researching a future employer, Net Geners make sure company values align with their own.

#5: The Net Gen wants entertainment and play in their work, education, and social life. This generation brings a playful mentality to work. From their experience in the latest video game, they know that there’s always more than one way to achieve a goal. This outside-the-box thinking results from 82 percent of American children aged 2 to 17 having regular access to video games. It’s a fast-growing industry: in the United States, video game sales were $8.4 billion in 2005, with worldwide sales expected to hit $46.5 billion by 2010. This is a generation that has been bred on interactive experiences. Brand recognition alone is no longer enough, something leading companies recognize.

#6: They are the collaboration and relationship generation. Today, youth collaborate on Facebook, play multiuser video games; text each other incessantly; and share files for school, work, or just for fun. As evidenced by sites such as Yub.com, they also engage in relationship-oriented purchasing. Nine out of ten young people we interviewed said that if a best friend recommends a product, they are likely to buy it. They influence each other through what we call N-fluence Networks – online networks of Net Geners who, among other things, discuss brands, companies, products, and services.

#7: The Net Gen has a need for speed – and not just in video games. In a world where speed characterizes the flow of information among vast networks of people, communication with friends, colleagues, and superiors takes place faster than ever. And marketers and employees should realize that Net Geners expect the same quick communication from others – every instant message should draw an instant response.

#8: They are the innovators. When I was young, the pace of innovation was glacial. Today it’s on hyperdrive. A twentysomething in the workforce wants the new BlackBerry, Palm, or iPhone not because the old one is no longer cool, but because the new one does so much more. They seek innovative companies as employers and are constantly looking for innovative ways to collaborate, entertain themselves, learn and work.

*Quote without permission from Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital: How the Generation is Changing Your World (McGraw-Hill: New York, 2009), 35-36

Freedom. Customization. Scrutiny. Integrity. Collaboration. Entertainment. Speed. Innovation.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Siapa Yesus Menurut Surat Paulus kepada Jemaah di Kolose

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

God Loves the Homosexual

I have braved a few real-life conversations with homosexual friends. I distinctly remember how I felt on each occasion. Queasy mostly. Knowing that Christians often have a head start in the race of bigotry, I had no desire to win us any additional medals. In each conversation, my Christian affiliation betrayed me. Hence, my homosexual friends gestured knowingly at the back pocket of my soul where I had temporarily stuffed the fact that homosexuality does not fit with my faith.

On one rare occasion, I even initiated the conversation… only because my friend hoped our Christian group would embrace his homosexuality and faith and perhaps join him in championing homosexuality as a non-sin.

Fearing he might be emotionally stir-fried in group, I offered a gentler “CliffsNotes” of the responses he might encounter. This forced me to disclose the contents of my back pocket. To pull out, unfold, and display the wrinkles and stains on my evolving take on homosexuality and faith. There were dozens of tangible traits I cherished about my friend, and I told him so. But – in a voice trembling with nervousness and compassion – I confessed I was afraid my friendship might seem insincere if I couldn’t affirm what he held to be the central part of his identity: his sexuality.

“As far as I can tell,” I gulped, “the Bible only introduces one kind of sexual union, and that is between a man and a woman. So, I have to believe this is the course that leads to the fullest life – the life the Creator intended for us.”

When I spit out these defining sentences, I worried all my friend could hear was Blah-Blah-Christian-Blah-Blah. But he stared back at me kindly, so I continued, thankful there were no microphones or flashbulbs as I struggled forward in my statement about homosexuality.

“I want you to know I believe God loves every person deeply and equally. That includes the homosexual. It would be dishonest for me to pretend I agree with or understand the path you believe is right, but I accept that you are free to choose your own life course. That is not because I’m especially charitable or generous, but because God is.”

I think the conversation changed me more than my friend, because it forced me to acknowledge parts of God’s will I sometimes overlooked. To accept that God doesn’t want me to do things even he does not choose to do – to control or hijack someone else’s freedom. I am not asked to impersonate the Holy Spirit but to live a life that gives of God’s fluorescence. And I resolve to remember that God often allows us to learn just as much as we travel our chosen paths as we would have if we had walked only his lighted portions.

But wait, we protest, that is like saying that God allows learning even when we go the wrong way. But wait, we continue, now that we think about it, that sounds a whole lot like grace.

Sarah Raymond Cunningham

Author, Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 113-114

As for me, Richard, I believes that God loves the homosexual

Yet, I also believes that God in the Bible disapproved homosexual relationship

But wait, God’s grace is big enough for homosexuality… it just take time to change

Jesus can do the impossible. He is able.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

I Know Who I Am, I Don't Know Where I Am Going

I read, Albert Einstein, the celebrated, renowned physicist, was honoured by TIME Magazine as the “Man of the Century.” Einstein was travelling one day from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of each passenger. When he came to Dr Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his other pocket. It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. The conductor said, “Mr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively.

The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, “Mr. Einstein, Mr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.” Dr Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going!”

Many today, are knowledgeable about the things of God, have been active in many humanitarian endeavours and are recognized by their friends and peers as good upright people. Sadly, many do not know, nor have the assurance of where they are going. They may even be members of a church, active in its ministry, faithful in attendance, giving, and other outreach projects, but still without any assurance that they have a righteous relationship with God and heaven is their final destination. Many hope so, others think so, and others are trying their best through their works to make sure they make it so.

But God through Christ give His children – us – the inner witness of the Holy Spirit that we belong to Him and we have the assurance of a glorious relationship with Him and entry into Heaven. Are you sure you have a righteous relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ? Will you go to be with the Lord in heaven if you die today? If you confess your sins and turn God through faith in Christ, you will have a living hope and assurance in your heart. Peace be with you.

Do you know where you are going?

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Students Need to Experience Something Beyond Church

Eight out of ten students participate in church during their teenage years, but most of them will take a permanent detour from active faith at some point soon after they get their driver’s licenses. That’s right: only two out of ten of those celebrated teenage converts maintain Christian belief and practice between their teens and the end of their twenties.

The vast majority will cross over to the other side: pronouncing Christianity boring, irrelevant, and out of touch. We’ve tried too long to educate their minds instead of engaging their lives. The more we try to change the way we do church so this generation will join us, the more they seem to stay away. Although we’ve tried many ways to keep church from being boring, our best efforts are doing little to improve the image of the church.

Some of us are convinced the system is fundamentally flawed because we don’t know what our goal is. We creatively market our programs, design innovative and relevant productions, and organize events that will capture the student imagination so we can get them into church. What if our goal should be not to get them into church? What if the same energy could be applied to mobilize them to be the church?

We have discovered a short window of time during the teenage years when students need to experience something beyond church as a spectator sport. If a young person is not challenged by hands-on personal ministry, their faith will likely be side-tracked and even sabotaged. For some, that hands-on experience is a mission project across the ocean. For others, it’s a role in a family production or a place behind the ladle at a soup kitchen.

Students moving from the teenage years to their own college and post-college lives want to try out what they’ve been learning. They don’t want to practice being better church people for when they grow up; they want to start now. We all know that our faith grows when our faith is challenged to do something (for Christ).

Reggie Joiner

Founder, ReThink

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 142-143

Original title as ‘Do Something’

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

"TUHAN Mengerti": My Observations during Sii Chung Huei's Funeral Ceremony

Picture from: www.utusan.com.my

I, FES Sarawak team and a graduate attended “Joe” Sii Chung Huei’s funeral ceremony yesterday, the sole Malaysian passenger of Air Asia flight QZ850 plane crashed last December 2014, at Nirvana Memorial Park in Siniawan, Kuching. There were about two hundreds people paying their last respect and give supports to the family members. It was a very heart-moving ceremony and I want to share some highlights during the prayer service.  

I know this family through Prof. Madya Annie Wong Min Ngiik, wife of late Joe Sii. She lectures at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) where I was studied. We use to be in the same church and she is one of the big influences during my student life. Because she always bring students to her house for lunch after church, I then also get to know the family. Not intimately, of course, but quite close back then. That was why when Madam Annie and her children shared about their life with their father, I somewhat very moved.

After pastor Lim Gee Tiong of Blessed Church Kuching conducted prayer service, he called the family to share their personal testimonies. First, Stephanie Sii shared about how her father encouraged her to achieve her dreams as medical doctor, business woman and property investor. She read her father’s favourite passage of the Scripture, Psalm 23. Then Samantha Sii, second daughter of the family, shared a poet that she wrote during the difficult period of waiting. I wish I can share it here. Nonetheless, it was very personal and intimate portrait of daughter-father relationship. Samuel Sii open his speech by saying, “I’m the son of my father…” When he first heard about the news, he texted his father: “Where are you dad? I love you.” All of the children testified about how their father always texted and called them at least twice a week. Late Joe Sii was indeed a family man. A loving father.

Lastly, Madam Annie gives thanks to AirAsia Group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and staffs for their “professionalism and transparency” in handling the incident. I have to tell you that Tan Sri Tony is a very humble person. His physical present in the midst of his busy schedules during the ceremony was a great encouragement to the family. He even walked to the burial area when he can easily go by car (No publicity too). Madam Annie testified that she prayed to God for her husband to be home safe or if not, at least, let her husband’s body be found. Tan Sri Tony, she said, was very committed to find her husband’s body. She also appreciates family of Blessed Church and SIB the City friends for their continuous support and prayer throughout her family mourning period. Madam shared about her grieves and sadness of losing her beloved spouse but at the same time glorifying God in the midst of her lost. She quoted Jesus as saying, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).  She then said, “I believe that my husband is happy now with the Lord in heaven…” She looked at all those present and asked this burning question, “Do you have an assurance of place in heaven?”

I concludes that it was more than a funeral ceremony – it was an evangelistic funeral service. Indeed, Christians are able to rejoice in the Lord in the midst of our suffering and lost because Jesus is in us, and us in Him. This is Christian privilege. The service end with a song “TUHAN Peduli” by Jonathan Prawira:

TUHAN Peduli (God Cares)

Banyak perkara yang tak dapat ku mengerti

(There are many things I cannot understand and accept)

Mengapakah harus terjadi

(Why must they end up that way)

Di dalam kehidupan ini

(In this life we are living)

Satu perkara yang ku simpan dalam hati

(But one thing I keep deep in my heart)

Tiada satu pun ‘kan terjadi

(Nothing will ever occur)

Tanpa TUHAN mengerti

(Without God’s concern and care)

*TUHAN mengerti, TUHAN peduli

(God understands, God cares)

Segala persoalan yang kita hadapi

(For all the doubts and questions we are facing)

Tak akan pernah dibiarkannya

(He will never abandon nor forsake)

Ku bergumul sendiri
(or leave me alone to struggle)

S’bab TUHAN mengerti

(because God understands me)

Shang di zai hu wo

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Be a Generation that Wants to Make God Happy

I am hopeful about the future of Christian engagement because I think Christians are merging faith and action more than ever. I’ve been reading a book called What Have You Done for Me Lately? that documents the history of Christian contribution to culture. Anyone who is a serious student of history would have to say that Christianity and its underpinnings have been, in most cases, the fuel in the engine of social revolution.

Even though Christians have historically been at the forefront of these kinds of movements, I believe in these days it is being embraced as much as ever – it’s all about faith plus works. You will show me your faith by your works… it is the merging of these two things together that brings amazing power.

Our organization, Passion, recently hosted a global gathering in Atlanta of over 23,000 college students who consider themselves Christians. Instead of the typical Christian conference with a consumerist appetite for great speakers and music, we made the centrepiece of these four days the “Do Something Now!” campaign. We put eight global opportunities on the table and said to students, “We think you have money in your pockets to change the world.”

And sure enough, they responded.

Those poor college students pledged or gave over one million dollars to build fifty-two wells in Africa, to provide New Testament translations for six people groups of Indonesia, and to combat the human sex trafficking industry.

It is clear to me that something significant has absolutely shifted with this generation. I think it is God’s great kindness stirring our hearts to show his great kindness to the world. With this behind us, the students at Passion aren’t the ones who look good, and this generation doesn’t look like a hands-on, get-involved, do-something generation. God looks good. And God looks like a hands-on, get-involved, do-something God. I think that is what this generation wants – an action-based worship. There is nothing wrong with jumping to a David Crowder tune and telling God he is great – that is worship. But worship is also doing the right thing and sharing with others in need. Those are the things that make God happy, and this is a generation that wants to make God happy. They demonstrate this by moving in action to touch the last and least of these in the world.

Louie Giglio

Pastor, writer and founder, Passion

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 143-144

Original title as ‘Emerging Faith and Action’

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Promote Jesus, Not Politics

The religious leaders of the day attempted to trap Jesus by challenging him on his political stance. They asked him, “It is right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Scripture tells us that Jesus saw through their duplicity, telling them to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

Historically the church has struggled with the paradigm of two kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. Trying to combine the two is like attempting to mix oil and water. Church history has been consistent on this matter. Every time Christianity has fallen into the trap of using politics to achieve its means, it has lost its power and effectiveness.

Relevant Christianity never loses sight of the reality that in the kingdom of God, everything is upside down when contrasted with the world’s pursuits. In God’s kingdom the greatest is the least; the first is the last; we are to love our enemies; and to be most effective, we are called to servanthood rather than to positions of political power and correctness.

John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Church movement, once said that if people truly have a relationship with Jesus, they will always (want to) vote for the right things (“right” as in ethically and morally correct). He said that our job as followers of Christ was to promote Jesus, not political bias. Getting involved politically can potentially derail our effectiveness, causing us to lose focus on our true vision, thus weakening our cause.

As an involved participant in the Christian environmental movement, I have endeavoured to stay non-political. For me, the care of God’s creation is purely a biblical matter of obedient stewardship. The world has politically polarized an issue that should be of great concern to every human being. The global environmental condition is an issue that has become a primary cause of human suffering in developing nations.

Knowing that Christ has called his people to a ministry of compassion, mercy, and social justice, we cannot allow ourselves to be caught in the duplicity of religion and politics at such a crucial hour. Our effectiveness will come only through authentic biblical conviction and the faith to act on it.

By Tri Robinson

Pastor, Vineyard Boise, Idaho.

Quote from Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Fermi Project (Baker Books, 2007) pg. 175-176

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Don't Miss the Point: Seek the Healer First, Not the Healing (Reflection on Mark 6:53-56)

“As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once. So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats. And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well” (Mark 6:54-56, GNB).

Jesus and his disciples “crossed the lake and came to the land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat” (Mark 6:53). There must be many people recognized Jesus as the Christ or the Messiah. But their understanding of the Messiah is not complete and different from what they first expected. At least, in my opinion, they believed that the Messiah come to heal their deceases. So when they heard that Jesus is coming, they determine to grasp the present opportunity. They all seems to come for what they can get – healing, not necessary the Healer. They have little understanding of who Jesus really is and what his message is all about.

I work in student ministry. I just want to say that there are many individuals who are so obsessed with healing and deliverance ministry that it sometime become the centre of their message. I understand that many individuals who are involved with these kind of ministries are very sincere and well-meaning people (Some however are obviously false teachers). It’s not my intention to pass judgment on the kindness and sincerity of others who are trying to help people through these ministries, I just deeply concern with the unbiblical practices that take place in student fellowships and even churches.

For example, before the service there will be a special initial prayer going on as to ‘bind’ evil spirits and praying around the campsite area (doa sekeliling) as to ‘seal’ it from invincible dark spirits. Before the service end, minister calls for altar calls with the heavy sound of music and exorcist demons by laying of hand with olive oil, etc. All of these examples are more to black magic rather than Christianity to me. Can you imagine Jesus did all of these? People are so obsess with what they can get from God. Like the people of Gennesaret who seem to only care about getting something from Jesus, we should be careful that we might not desire healing more than the Healer or the delivering more than the Deliverer Himself, Jesus Christ.

Sadly as I read this part of Mark’s gospel, even though Jesus spontaneously and unselfishly healed all of them from their sicknesses, there is no reference that Jesus ever preach or teach them. Because Jesus is compassionate, it is possible for people to be healed of their sicknesses without even having personal faith in him. Also, because Jesus is not forceful, it is possible for Jesus to be in our midst and not speak to us. When we’re busy seeking healing rather than the Healer, we might acknowledge His power but not His Person. When we’re busy performing deliverance and not proclaiming the Deliverer, we miss the point of Christian fellowship. When God’s Word is not open and read to the people, Jesus will simply become a celebrity to us rather than the Lord that we should worship with all our hearts, souls and minds.

Don’t be like the Gennasarites.

What’s the point of having a healthy body but losing Jesus?

Jesus, only Jesus you must seek.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

5 Important Lessons I Learned from the Movie "Unbroken"

Louie’s older brother Pete advised him: “If you can take it, you can make it”

I watched the movie Unbroken today. Some of you, my friends, might say, “Why you didn’t call to watch the movie together with me?” or “Why you didn’t wait for me?” My simple answer is: If I wait for you, I’m not sure when I will be able to watch it. So I just went and watched it without you. The movie initial released was on November 2014 but in Malaysia, it was February 2015. The movie is based on real story about a man named Louis Zamperini, the Olympic athlete, World War II bombardier and prisoner of war. As I watched the movie, I learned 5 important lessons that inspired me personally:

#1: If You Can Take It, You Can Make It

Early on in the movie Louie’s brother, Pete, convinced him to try running as a way to get him focused, out of trouble and into something positive. At first Louie wanted to quit when it got hard. But his brother gave him advice that helped him through this journey – he said, “If you can take it, you can make it”. That advice become his life tagline. What’s yours?

#2: If You Have Someone Believes in You, You Can Do it

Louie is not a self-made champion. He wouldn’t be Olympic athlete if he didn’t get support from his parents, his brother, his track coach and even the policeman. When he was stranded in the ocean after the crashed flight, he then became the support person by telling the other two survivors about his mother’s cooking and other sweet memories to improve their morale and to keep their spirits high. Surrounding yourself with the right people who believe in you, support you and will rally for you when you’re off track. Treasure them. And in the same way, be the one who believe in others. We all need people to believe in us to help us achieve our best.

#3: If You Have Found the Meaning in Life, You Have the Will to Survive

In this movie, Louie stayed strong in the midst of difficulties, trials and pain. He have strong vision for the future. He demonstrated what Viktor Frankl author of Man’s Search for Meaning wrote, you can take a man’s health, you can put him in unimaginable horrific conditions, you can beat him and starve him, but you cannot break his will. Will is strengthened by having a meaning in life, a strong reason to survive.

#4: If You Feel Like Giving Up, Remember Self-Respect

A notoriously sadistic and brutal Japanese guard, Mutsuhiro Watanabe (a.k.a. The Bird), was obsessed with Louie. He singled Louie out from all the other prisoners. Almost every day he bullied Louie with horrific beatings along with other de-humanizing tasks. Louie refused to be broken by Watanabe. He have self-respect in himself. There is one scene where he ask to stand with heavy beam of wood as long as he can or the guard will shoot him if he let down the wood. He remain strong and standing as long as he could until Watanabe impassion with his determination and hit him until he passed out. This act of self-respect from Louie not only strengthened his other fellow prisoners but empowered them to survive and the exemplified life of Louie made them stronger.

#5: If There Is No Christ, There Will Be No Forgiveness

At the end of the movie, it was told that Louie finally achieved his dream to come to Tokyo, Japan for the Olympic. Not as athlete of course, he was very old by then, but as a touch runner. The movie also told that Louie have learned to forgive his enemies. But I wonder, how? How can he suddenly become a forgiving person when in the movie it shows that he and others are up for revenge once the war is over? How? Well, Angelina Jolie, the director, might not get very comfortable with this fact, that (this part was left out of the movie) Louie Zamperini had attended a sermon of Rev. Billy Graham and found that through dedicating his life to Christ he was able to make his mission forgiveness and not revenge. It wasn’t Louie’s strong will after all, it was Christ who have sustained, believed, and gave him the meaning of life. I love to know this truth.

You should watch this movie.

As for the ending, read the final chapter of the book.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus, Only Jesus

My Expended ‘Edition’ from FES Praise & Prayer letter (March-April 2015)

I had a student-friend in college who allowed himself to get side-tracked spiritually by a dangerous line of thinking. He told me and some other friends that he was having a hard time believing that Christianity was true. He thought, why Jesus doesn’t appear to him physically personally, why God doesn’t send an angel to prove that the Bible is true, why he don’t feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when he prayed, why, why, etc. He was serious. So we talked for over an hour and I tried to assure him that the Christian life is a walk based on faith, not on superficial physical manifestations or a visit to heaven. We opened the Scripture and also point to him historical facts. Pray. But our conversation ended eventually and he walked away disillusioned.

Later I discovered that three other student-friends had each talked with him on the same subject. When I asked them, I learned that each of us had counselled him in the same way: cling fast to Jesus Christ as the Bible revealed Him. But our friend didn’t listen to us. This story says so much about our generation today and the people who actually had experienced Jesus the Son of God first-hand. People of Jesus’ day “asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” But Jesus answered, “No sign… except the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 16:1-4). Then Jesus went away.

This is important realization for me that today many people are seeking for and false teachers will appear, especially among our students, to perform miracles, signs and wonders to ‘prove’ the validity of Christian faith but they lack of “the sign of Jonah,” that is the fact truth and the accomplished work of Jesus in his death and resurrection. Oh pray that we will be faithful and “resolved to know nothing… except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Yes, I do believe in miracles but the miracle that I want most in students is the miracle of life-transformed and the difference the living Christ makes in their lives. In Bible Study, Christ. In our call for Jambatan Anak Malaysia (JAM), to be agent of transformation and reconciliation, Christ. In friendship evangelism, Christ. Even in our failures, pray that we will refocus on Christ. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Out of Saltshaker & Into the World (Free Books Inside)

"Christians and non-Christians have something in common," writes Rebecca Pippert.

"We're all uptight about evangelism."

So begins the bestselling book on evangelism as a lifestyle. Through stories, biblical insight and plain common sense, Pippert helps us feel relaxed and enthusiastic about sharing our faith. She offers an inspiring view of what effective, engaging evangelism might look like – for individuals as well as for churches through memorable stories, like this one:

When I first came to Portland, Oregon, I met a student on one of the campuses where I worked. He was brilliant and looked like he was always pondering the esoteric. His hair was always mussy, and in the entire time I knew him, I never once saw him wear a pair of shoes. Rain, sleet or snow, Bill was always barefoot. While he was attending college, he had become a Christian.

At this time a well-dressed, middle-class church across the street from the campus wanted to develop more of a ministry to the students. They were not sure how to go about it, but they tried to make them feel welcome. One day Bill decided to worship there. He walked into this church, wearing his blue jeans, T-shirt and of course no shoes. People looked a bit uncomfortable, but no one said anything. So Bill began walking down the aisle looking for a seat. The church was quite crowded that Sunday, so as he got down to the front pew and realized that there were no seats, he just squatted on the carpet – perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, but perhaps unnerving for a church congregation. The tension in the air became so thick one could slice it.

Suddenly an elderly man began walking down the aisle toward the boy. Was he going to scold Bill? My friends who saw him approaching said they thought, You can't blame him. He'd never guess Bill is a Christian. And his world is too distant from Bill's to understand. You can't blame him for what he's going to do.

As the man kept walking slowly down the aisle, the church became utterly silent, all eyes were focused on him, you could not hear anyone breathe. When the man reached Bill, with some difficulty he lowered himself and sat down next to him on the carpet. He and Bill worshiped together on the floor that Sunday. I was told there was not a dry eye in the congregation.

The irony is that probably the only one who failed to see how great the giving had been that Sunday was Bill. But grace is always that way. It gives without the receiver realizing how great the gift really is. As this man walked alongside of his brother and loved him with all that he had received from Christ's love, so must we. This man was the Good Samaritan. He made Bill feel welcome, feel as if he had a home. So he also knew the secret of the parable of the prodigal son: there finally is a homecoming, because we really have a home to come to.

This thoroughly revised and expanded edition of Out of the Saltshaker is now even more valuable, with new chapters on the natural stages of evangelism (cultivating, planting and reaping), new stories of God's work in people's lives and added material on meeting the challenges of the new competitors to Christian faith. Out of the Saltshaker is more than ever a rare book – one that is both fun and deep, light and life changing.

[Taken from: http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2220]

Get You Copy of Out of Saltshaker & Into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life

For this month of February 2015: Free Monthly Book, I would like to offer two new books for serious students and disciples of Jesus & for those who want evangelism as a way of their lives. Do these: comment below “I want to read this book because…” (no less than 10 words). E-mail me your name, phone no. and postal address for me sends the book. This offer is available until 28^th February 2015.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.