Jehovah Witnesses

During the New Zealand trip, apart from sharing in the New Plymouth church, I also caught up with a relative (my sister-in-law's sister) who is attending JW's meetings regularly. Although she's not a 'full-pledged' Jehovah's Witness member yet, she's quite into the beliefs and doctrine of JW's.

I chatted with Sarah and discussed the Bible with her for a while, then I realised that it's important not to bombard her with so many facts, figures, quotes, and bible verses in rapid-fire succession. Cult member aside, the ordinary person can absorb only so much new information at one time. Especially is this true when the data appears not to fit in with, or even to contradict, other data already stored in the brain. This process cannot be rushed. God reminded me that even though a dry plot of land may be dying of thirst, a sudden heavy downpour does more harm than good. To relieve the drought, gentle rain is needed, even just a sprinkle at first, repeated often and over a long period of time.

I am actually very glad to see that Sarah is really sincere about wanting to know God and to do his will. And I trust that she's in the Lord's hands. I will just have to keep praying for her, caring for her, and repeatedly share with her about the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Back To Melbourne

I just came back to Melbourne from New Zealand this afternoon, and have been sleeping till just now. Had a wonderful weekend over there. It was such a blessing and encouragement to share the Word of God with the brothers and sisters in Christ in New Plymouth. I could really sense the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding me. Praise the Lord for this awesome opportunity. I was really touched when I saw people raised up their hands to commit to the Great Commission. May God be glorified through His people!

Away In New Zealand

I'll be away in New Zealand from Thursday 24th to Tuesday 29th, to visit friends as well as represent World Team. On Sunday the 27th, I'll be sharing at the All Nations Foursquare Gospel Church of New Plymouth about the work of World Team, and will preach on the Great Commission. I pray for 'God orchestrated' moments and for His peace and wisdom as I go before the microphone, and to get to know the church in New Plymouth.

When I come back to Melbourne after the New Zealand trip, I'll be facilitating some upcoming events at CCBC, like '12 days of Christmas' message with the kids and the Christmas Worship Celebration storytelling / drama presentation. I will also plan for next year's events, and organise a Christmas party for friends who don't have family here at my place. Also, there will be a ministry school at CCBC during summer for all leaders of our church. I am really looking forward to that!

On top of these, there will be a World Team Training Camp coming up in late February. This training is for those that are interested in going for short term mission trips, Apprenticeship Programs as well as those that are considering long term mission with World Team. The contents will be mainly cross-cultural life and work. I will help to facilitate the training with my Director and other teammates.

A busy few months coming up.....

Pavement Art In Southbank

Pavement Art

I was very happy to spend some time with Diana, the artist who drew this picture on the pavement. Life on the street, and drawing can be fun, but at the same time, can be tough and competitive too. Unfortunately when you live the life of a busker you need to go busking for many long hours to make ends meet. May God bless her and many other artists in the area.

Remember The Titans

I watched the movie "Remember The Titans" the other night with my friends at my place. It's a Jerry Bruckheimer Production. The synopsis goes like this:

"Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (The Hurricane), gives a victorious performance in this stirring and uplifting film. Based on a real-life drama, REMEMBER THE TITANS is a rousing celebration of how a town torn apart by resentment, friction and mistruct bomes together in a triumphant harmony. After leading his team to fifteen winning seasons, football coach Bill Yoast is demoted and replaced by Herman Boone, tough, opinionated and as different from the beloved Yoast as he could be. How these two men overcome their differences, and turn a group of hostile young men into champions, plays out in a remarkable and triumphant story full of soul and spirit. You and your family will never forget the Titans."

This is a powerful and well written story. Although I don't know anything about American football, I enjoyed the movie very much.The tagline "before they could win they had to become one" is so true. Unity is so important in any teamwork. The lives of the two coaches Herman Boone and Bill Yoast in the film are inspiring. They do their best with their heart for their work, and that had such a great impact to the team.

The blacks and whites work hard to overcome differences and become a winning team. The Titans teaches the people in the town community how to come together as one, despite their differences. The idea of winning together for a common goal reminds me of the essential core value of teamwork in World Team.

Teamwork – together we accomplish what none of us could do alone. Ministry is best done in teams. If we try to do all alone what is better done as a team effort, the effort will be limited. With all of us pitching in and pulling in the same direction toward a goal, we reap huge dividends from our individual investments. “But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (1 Cor 12:18)

Making The Right Choices Through DVD

My Papa (Professor Basil Brown) gave us a DVD in his sermon today in CCBC's connect worship, which is very inspiring. Below is a summary of it.

Making The Right Choices (Matthew 4:1-11)

D - Decision needed

• Jesus facing his mission: food; a sign from heaven; world dominion; short cuts to glory
• Our challanges and decision: Compulsion of colleagues; inward pressures; demands of “love”

V - Vigilance required

• Jesus knew the presence and power of Satan
• Our struggle is not with flesh and blood (Eph 6).
• The devil is the prince of this age, eager to trap you.

D - Direction accepted

• Choice is directed by what we want to achieve.
• Jesus is directed by God’s will, and so must we.
• His Will is found in the Scripture.
• Our weapon against Satan is the Word of the Spirit – the Word of God.
• How well do you know and use Scripture?

The Journey To the Margins (2)

Andrea from Adventures of an Ordinary Christian sent me a comment in my previous post and asked me how I knew God gave me new eyes to see, and how God revealed Himself to me. Well I think these questions deserve a post to answer them.

I believe that God reveals Himself to us through His Word, His Spirit, people and even through circumstances etc. I agree that God makes known to us His will readily if we respond to Him with obedience, and when we seek Him with all our hearts.

Since I started studying at Bible College, God has been teaching me a lot about the Incarnation - one of the chief reasons why Jesus became human was so that he might display what God is like in terms human beings could comprehend. I have had lots of reflection through my studies, reading, ministry and discussion with other Christians about these theological concepts and ideas.

Indeed many missionaries worked hard to practise incarnation, contextualisation, and discipleship as they follow God's will in their lives. I always ask this question: how am I to be engaging in the culture around me? As I walk around my neighbourhood, I see a number of artists busking as they entertain, draw, perform in the public place not knowing how much they would get as a result of their work. I've been moved to pray for them for a while now, yet recently I sensed that the Holy Spirit wanted me to get to know them, and to share God's love with them. I was grappling with issues of contextualisation! I am committed to contextualising the good news of Jesus in this environment. This, I feel, is part of loving the Lord with our total personalities, and our neighbours as ourselves (the Great Commandment).

God is the Ultimate Artist. After all, He is the Creator of the whole Universe. And we are made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), so when people create (draw, compose, sing, perform), they are actually reflecting God.
Hence God has revealed Himself to me through these artists very vividly. I can see God in these people. More and more as I get to befriend and spend time with these artists, God has truly given me new “eyes to see, and ears to hear”. I see their emotions, their hearts and passions, and I understand their hurts, their needs and their lives through listening to them. Although they are seen to be the centre of our culture (since arts is prominent in Melbourne), they are actually the marginalised as not many people understand them. The Lord also has given me a heart to love these artists, and I look forward to sharing the gospel with them, just as a begger telling another begger where to find food.

The Journey To the Margins

Melbourne is a city with concentration of the values and ideas which our society and culture embodies and embraces. A question that keeps coming to my mind recently is 'where are the central spaces, and where are the marginal spaces in our city?' The notion of 'centres' and 'margins' is really worth exploring and considering I reckon. Out of that questions comes an extremely important question, 'where is God?'

The past few weeks saw me spending time on my days-off with some artists (the centred and the marginalised) in my own locality (namely the neighborhood of Southbank and Southgate), chatting with them, having coffee with them, and getting to know them. This makes me ponder over the important concepts of incarnation, contextualisation, discipleship, engaging culture, and where God calls me to be and do. As I walk around my proximity space (using Michael Frost's term), I realise that God has indeed given me new “eyes to see, and ears to hear”. May the Lord help me not to only see and hear, but respond to what I see and hear in His love and wisdom.

12 Days Of Christmas

In preparation of a children's Christmas presentation at CCBC on "12 Days of Christmas", I found myself drawn into the symbolism of it. The story behind is just so wonderful! It is really refreshing and constantly putting a smile on my face as I sing the song and reflect on the special spiritual meaning behind the gifts from 'my true love'. Pray that the kids will be inspired and blessed by it.

The symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas are as follows:

1 True Love refers to God, A Patridge in a Pear Tree refers to Jesus
2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Love
4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history of man's fall from grace
6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming refers to the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Which one do you like best?

More Than Just Talk

Recently a returned missionary shared an experience that he had at a workshop on Christian spirituality in a church. In the workshop, all the right words were being used, but with real pain he said, "I had my hurts and needs, but no one seemed to be even aware of me, let alone my hurts and needs".

Words, especially pious words, can sometimes shield us from people and their needs. Like the first disciples, we have been challenged by Jesus' words. To rely on words alone would be like building a house on the bed of the Yarra River in Melbourne. Almost without warning the dry river bed can become a raging torrent and wash everything away.

It is faithful obedience to Jesus' teaching which provides the solid basis for the Christian life. Without that obedience fatal collapse will inevitably occur. Lord, please help me not to just use words, but help us to know your will and to do it with courage and faith.

Spirituality Tour

I've been thinking recently about everyday faith - especially faith in the places where we live, our neighbourhood, where we work and socialize. I think it is important for us to emphasis on our homes, proximity spaces, workplaces and the place that we socialize as being as much legitimate places where we know and experience God as the places that we gather for worship at church.

I really enjoyed Living Room tonight. One of our core community members shared the tour of his life and it was quality stuff. We bought dinner at one of his favourite places (a noodle bar close to where he lives), and then we had dinner in the footy club where he is part of, while chatting and looking at people playing footy.

Then we walked up the street to a pub he regularly visits with his footy mates. Then we jumped into his car and he took us on a tour of his life, including the primary school that he works in and the place where he plays touch footy. We also prayed for him, and the people in these places where he experiences and witnesses God.

We heard about his daily routine, the interesting stories about the students in the primary school (which is a very interesting school with children from various cultures and religions). He also told us things that he's passionate about, some of the history of his life, and a little about his family and friends. It was amazing where our conversation went as he shared his spirituality tour and as we asked questions of his life. We saw a different side of someone we have known for a number of months now - it was actually quite special.

Incarnation

Mark Sayers, an emerging missional church leader (Red Network) has written a bible study guide called "Ignition", and in it there was a topic of Incarnation. What he said really got me thinking:

“Jesus in order to complete his mission on earth chose to live amongst us. He lived the life of a human man in a particular time and place, he spoke particular languages and he lived in a particular culture. The gospel writers apart from his first and last few years see his life as so ordinary for that time and place that they do not even record it in any detail. When he begins to preach in his hometown people are shocked, and see him as only the carpenter’s son.”

Isn't it a radical concept? I grapple constantly with the idea and theological implication of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, which was the way Jesus went about his life, faith and mission. The question I keep asking is: how should that shape my approach in mission and ministry? What is God up to? And what should I be up to? And how should I live my life in a particular context / culture / sub-culture so that the gospel can be seen through me? Really challenging questions and thoughts!!

So what is your idea of Incarnation?

Ken Duncan

Ken Duncan is my favourite Aussie photographer. You'll know why if you look at his work (and his website).
I got chatting with him in his gallery(which to me is really like a Sanctuary) during his book signing in Southgate. I was very inspired by what he had to say. He said that his own love for photography was kindled when he borrowed his dad's camera, and became very excited by the possibilities of photography as an art form. His idea of using photos to share 'the journey of life' is fantastic.

On his T-shirt that day (which is not clear from the photo that I posted in my previous entry), it said that 'life is an adventure, not a worry!' And I like that motto. To Ken, sharing 'the journey of life' has become his driving passion as a photographer, and it led to many adventures along the way. He said that the best way to learn to take photos is to actually take photos. And I want to do the same! I am going to commit to taking more photos from now on.

Ken Duncan's Book Signing

Ken Duncan's book signing

The "M" Word

Speaking of the "m" words in my last post, another popular "m" word is money of course! I was chatting with a dear friend about money last night. This morning, God spoke to us through Matthew 6:19-24 through our devotion together. Matt 6:19-24 talks about storing up treasures (money) in heaven, which is the same as the importance of investing in eternal business.

In the book "The Kingdom and the World", Richard Appleby said the following:

A difficult problem that Christians consistently face is the temptation to put some trust in God and, because their faith is not as complete as it should be, also to rely on things of this world, such as money or possessions.

The detachment from wealth is a great goal to reach for. What do you reckon?

Meeka & I

Amongst many other blessings (like my mum and my mood hehe), another one of which is my world team mate meeka, she always puts a smile on my face and makes me laugh. We work so well together, and we balance each other, and we are both mission mobilizer! Hmmm.... all these m words.

Lord, thanks for this great reminder once again to count my blessings! Praise God for a great Focus Night and World Team End Of Year Party tonight!

(music please) give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the holy one, give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His son ....

Do you like our photo with the colourful background above? We do have a colourful and meaningful ministry together with World Team, despite constant difficulties and struggles.

World Team End Of Year Party

You are invited to World Team Australia's End Of Year Party - Focus Mission Asia Night
6:45 pm to 7pm Start - Thursday 10th November

Presenters:

Chor Ing Ang and Kitty Cheng
(Central Asia with Uygur Focus)

Tomika Finch (Storytelling)

Brian Billing and Phil Barnden (Cambodia and Laos)

Venue:
36 Barton St, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia
Venue of Hawthorn West Baptist Church

Free oriental finger food and drinks

You are very welcome to bring others along. We look forward to welcoming you along with others to encourage and to be encouraged in the Lord.

www.worldteam.org

Moses' Life and Mine

I'll never forget the fear I felt while worrying that I was missing some important step in my search for a treatment to end my suffering. In hindsight, it is obvious that my loved one added months to my suffering due to his ignorance of not knowing the best approach to take, and the fear that others might find out. Fear is caused by ignorance (a lack of knowledge) about a subject. A better understanding of what you need to be doing, and not doing, will help one to overcome.

Ultimately my loved one abandoned me. It was then that I realised, when I asked God to use me as His instrument, all things that occurred, no matter how bad they turned out to be, were all permissible under His will. Jeremiah 10:13 declares : “I know, Oh LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps”--- throughout the next four years I would come face to face with immense and untold suffering and pain way deep down inside my heart. It was all too much---so much to the point that it was just impossible to describe---I cannot even come to terms with myself since I never can understand why all this is happening to me. Nevertheless, I believe that God Himself is already working in me now, amidst all my suffering and life torn apart.

I give thanks to God because He has always been caring for me. No matter what my situation might be, His love remains. No one can measure how long or wide or high or deep His love is---such is the wonder of His unfailing love. Throughout the difficult times I came to understand how it felt to be despised and rejected, and I also recalled Jesus who also “was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering” (Isaiah 53:3). I came to realise that Jesus left heaven and all glory behind Him and came to earth to suffer and to die for me on the cross. Although I was in great despair and without hope to the extent of giving up my faith and myself altogether, yet God Himself never leave me nor forsake me---He continues to lead me through, heals me and places together all the broken pieces that were once in my life and my heart. I am forever grateful for that!

Looking back, I came to realise that my life is a bit similar to that of Moses. This is because when I was young I spent much of my time growing up in a ‘well-off’ family, much loved and protected by those around me, very much like Moses’ growing up in Egypt’s palace. Then turmoil and chaos came into my life, which I found myself similar to that of Moses after he had to leave his life of luxury and had to flee into an unknown and uncertain realm that is the wilderness. Finally, Moses responded to God’s calling to lead His people out of Egypt, so now, like Moses, I have chosen to obey God’s calling and to be of service to Him. May the Lord continue to keep me in the centre of His will through His grace and power.

Jonathan And His Young Armor-Bearer

Susan from a Booklook wrote this very meaningful post about moving in the direction of our passion. She wrote:

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, '… Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.' 'Do all that you have in mind' his armor-bearer said. 'Go ahead; I am with heart and soul'" 1 Samuel 14:6-7.

Jonathan's young armor-bearer encouraged Jonathan to do what God had put in his mind and what a great victory it was. How valuable it is to have those around us encouraging us to do those things that God has put in our hearts and minds. Jesus gave opportunities to uneducated fishermen, quick tempered brothers and a dodgy tax collector. Jesus also appointed Judas as treasurer even though it turned out that he was a thief. Perhaps Jesus was less worried about failure than we are. At Jesus' arrest when Peter cut off the ear of the high priest's servant, Jesus touched him and healed him (Luke 22:51). Jesus still has the power to fix and heal the mistakes we make.

Lord I am going to follow Jonathan's example, to take risks to move in the direction of the passion you have given me, and encourage others to do the same.

Thanks Susan for your sharing!

Anniverary

Today was CCBC's 15th Church Anniversary. We had a great time celebrating it. Kanae and I really enjoyed serving in the drama today. Through the process of putting the drama together, I am reminded once again that it's not the results that are most important, but the lesson learned, lives touched and moments shared along the way. I am particularly grateful for getting to know Kanae, and sharing our hearts together for the passion of using drama to serve God.

Papa (Professor Basil Brown)'s preaching was fantastic! It was based on the Acts 2:41-47; 1 Peter 2:9,10 titled "The church as the family of God"

Matt 5:45: “Pray…That you may be children of your father who is in Heaven.”
Eph 3:14-15: “I bow my knee before the father, from whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named.” The following are the 4 insightful points:

1. Membership in the family
It has no human source. It is from God – a new birth, and at the same time, adoption.

2. The family relationship
It is close; they share the same genes – LOVE.
The sick and trouble need prayer -- that is, actions reinforced by prayer.

3. The family members
All are different. So there is tension, which means energy and life.
Dealing with the problem member.

4. The nourishment of the family
You will find the family at the meal table
The Lord’s Table: It is not a new essential ritual. It is a meal – bread and wine. Feasting on the living Christ.

Open House

Today during my 'art date' I attended the Open House at both the Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria. It was a fantastic day of discovering the treasures and secrets of these two venues.

There was also a special collaborative work between Melbourne's leading art and cultural venues. Besides the Arts Centre and NGV, there were also Artplay, Australia Centre for the Moving Image, Immigration Museum, Melbourne Museum, State Library of Victoria, and the Ian Potter Centre.

Of special interests were the tour of the Arts Centre, especially the tour of the back stage of the Fairefax Studio, the wardrobe, the make-up room and all the other major theatres. It was such an enjoyable experience! The Australian Collection of art in the Ian Potter Centre has over 30,000 items and includes paintins, decortaive arts, photography, prints and drawings, sculpture, fashion and textiles and jewellery - a collection of great depth and complexity, which reflects the manyb histories of Australian art from the famous to the unfamiliar.

Be Thankful....

Tonight at CCBC, I had such an awesome time with Kanae, not only rehearsing for the drama which we will present on Sunday for CCBC's 15th Anniversary, but most importantly we had dinner, fellowship, sharing and prayed together. Moments of interaction and connection were so special! It was such God-ordained time, and I felt that the Holy Spirit was with us as we walked this journey together for the last few weeks preparing for this special occasion through the drama "count your blessings".

It's a fairly simple drama skit, yet it has reminded me to really give thanks to God for His wonderful blessing over the past 15 years in CCBC, and in particular letting me serve HIM in this family of God. At times I am guilty of complaining about things that don't go smoothly in ministry or whatever, yet I am reminded once again that God is in control of everything, and I am His co-worker. And I am forever grateful for that!

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something.
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations.
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge.
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary.
It means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles and they can become your blessings."

Chariots Of Fire

Tonight our LivingRoom group watched the film "Chariots of Fire" at Tim & Suse's place together. The film tells the true story of two UK track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian who compete in the 1924 Olympics. Eric Liddell, a missionary in China, who runs because he believes it glorifies God (he said, "I believe God made me for a purpose in China, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.") . Harold Abrahams is a Jew who competes as a way of proving his worth, and he always wants to win (he said, "if I can't win, I won't race"). Both are driven by an inner fire, and yet respect their rivals. This film traces Eric and Harold's paths to the Paris games, where their motivation and character development are portrayed. Yes, it's important to know that Abrahams and Lidell win, but the real theme of the story is contained in what leads up to the races.

Chariots of fire highlights such commendable qualities as commitment, perseverance, and fraternity. The characters were believable. In fact, to a certain extent, I could see myself in (and identify myself with) both Eric and Harold (although I am not a sporty person, or a man for that matter). I appreciated this movie as it gave me a more understanding of human nature, and my own weeknesses and frailty. And the theme of using your gifts to glorify God even if other people around you don't want you to, was wonderful. It spoke to me as a Christian struggling to do what I believe God has led and gifted me to do, in my world. I was encouraged by Eric Liddell's faithfulness to his God, his family, his country, and his friends. And in the end he triumphs by tapping that reservoir of inner strength from God that sustains him.

Learn to dream as a Christian

Although I am enjoying working with World Team and CCBC, I miss studying at Tabor. I really do! Yesterday I received their yearly magazine "Tabor Life" and finished reading the whole thing in an hour.

An article that I particularly enjoyed reading in the magazine was one from the head of Mission Studeis Dr Les Henson entitled "Learn to dream as a Christian". Les shares that dreams play an important part in the lives of the Momina people (the people that he used to work with in West Papua), and how in that context it was important for Les to teach the elders of the indigenous church to screen and critique people's dreams to see if they were from God, and that everything, including dreams must be brought under Christ's lordship. An example that Les gave was about this insightful elder Daniel, who realised that one of the Momina believers' dreams were not from God, told the person to go away and learn to dream as a Christian.

Les wrote the following as the conclusion of his article, which really inspired me:

'Perhaps there is a lesson in all this for us busy Western Christians seeking genuine spirituality. Perhaps we too should learn to "dream as a Christian."'

I pray that the Lord will give us (me) the wisdom and strength to dream as a Christian, and to bring everything under His lordship.

Well the World Team Ringwood East office is only 5 minutes away from Tabor, so it's convenient for me to drop by every now and then to catch up with friends and faculty. I feel blessed by that! :-)

How Do You Spell Faith?

It was Melbourne Cup public holiday today. While everyone in Melbourne was having a day off (well except some students who are facing exams), I was working flat out in the office preparing for the World Team End of Year Party coming up next Thursday, the play and the presentation. Through working on the presentation on some unreached people groups and reading about various stories, I was reminded again that many great people of God have one thing in common, and that is that they have tremendous faith, and they are willing to take risks for their Lord.

Kel over at the X facta posted a very meaningful entry called Water walking. She suggested that according to Simon Peter, faith was spelt as Risk as follows:

R relinquish your doubts
I increase your dependence on God
S step out of your comfort zone
K know the miracle will come

So do you spell faith as risk?