Paul's Conversion

During the intensive class on the weekend, we discussed the five ways which shaped Paul’s conversion:

(1) Paul was confronted with the living Christ – the fact that Jesus was alive revoluntionalised Paul’s life. His conversion radically transformed his life.
Do you have a conversion experience which transformed your life?

(2) Salvation was revealed as a new way – Paul’s before and after statements (Eph 2): darkness to light, dead to alive! The old way can’t be compared to the new way. On the Damascus Road, Paul encountered God in a radical way.
In the same way, God constantly confronts and reveals Himself to us, and we need to change the ways we do things to be aligned with Christ.

(3) It is God who takes the initiative and people respond.
How do you respond to God?

(4) Reconciling grace was the central issue behind Paul’s theology
How do you see grace? Is that central to your theology?

(5) Jesus is Lord – “Lord” is the same word for “Yaweh” in the Old Testament. The word “Lord” carried with it tremendous meaning for the Gospel and Kingdom of God. Every area of Paul’s life is touched by Christ’s Lordship.
Is Jesus your Lord? Is every area of your life touched by Christ's Lordship?

Three Grand Essentials To Happiness

I read this in an article today, and it got me thinking:

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do,someone to love, and something to hope for."--Joseph Addison

What do you reckon?

Living Room Big Gathering

During the Living Room Big Gathering on Wednesday, we had a time of communion, and we used the following communal prayer that I found very meaningful.

[Call:]What does it mean to be the Body of Christ?
[Response:]It means we incarnate the Gospel, the Word made flesh, who sent us the Spirit, becoming flesh again in us
[Call:]We live as the visible community that carries the Gospel Jesus gave us to the world around us,to the neighbour next door, across the oceans, to the wealthy and the middle class, the working class, the homeless and the oppressed
[Response:]We pursue peace and God’s justice for the broken, the orphan and the widow, the wrongfully accused,the imprisoned, the abused, speaking Truth to Power in Love
[Call:]We practice unity in diversity, with every tribe, tongue, nation, and people praying and pleading for God’s reconciling grace in one resounding voice
[Response:]We enter into the Kingdom life which Jesus declared, the beautiful life where the last shall be first and every tear is wiped away
[Call:]We worship the Living God, declaring the Kingdom is here but not yet,breaking bread and pouring wine, sharing Life or sharing burdens
[Response:]Bearing witness to the presence of Jesus in our lives, in our relationships,in the world throughout history forever and ever, Amen

Kim Hammond, the Victorian Director of Forge , came to share with us his story, and his community. Kim leads an organic missional church planting project called The Junction. And you can read more about it here.

Ten Simple Pleasures

Miss Eaggle over at the Trad Pad tagged me for ten of life's simple pleasures. Since I am in a bit of a hurry (need to go to college for intensive classes on Paul's Theology and Mission Practice very soon), I'll just name them, if you have any questions about these ten things, please feel free to ask me hehe. Here goes:

1. Eating
2. Writing and reading blogs
3. Chatting with people, whether it's in person, on the phone, or online
4. Taking photos
5. Going to theatre shows, art galleries, and movies
6. Enjoying natural settings eg: beaches, mountains, gardens etc.
7. Hanging out with family and friends
8. Listening to music
9. Travelling or driving around
10. Thinking and Feeling

I am going to leave it open for anyone who's interested to do this and be tagged :)

Postmodern Era And Leadership

As a response to my previous post on Postmodernity / Postmodernism, Yadah suggested an article around this subject. I found this article helpful and thought provoking, and I could really relate to it. The followings are some of the main points:

• Postmodern era is really a time of profound change. It has been said that many leaders are finding it hard to engage postmodern culture because they have not understood the concept or the opportunities that it presents. Others have confused postmodernity as an intellectual movement and postmodern culture with its particular value set, like tolerance and moral relativity, and then tossed out the baby with the bathwater - although this is true to a certain extent, I know there are kingdom minded leaders (both in emerging church and in established church), who are making great efforts to engage the postmodern culture.
• This chaotic and uncertain process leads to a neglect to re-evaluate one of the critical pieces in discovering new forms: leadership. While it is critical that we hold on to biblical values and purpose (function) it is equally important that we don't idolize the old forms. Forms change, the message remains the same - I agree that the old forms shouldn't be idolized. Although the gospel is always the same, the ways to share / express / preach it (forms) can change. In fact, I believe that the gospel has to be contextualised in the postmodern era in order to be relevant.
• If we view the kingdom as transforming culture (a process that will only find its full expression and completion with the return of Jesus), then we are not only free to explore culturally relevant ways of expressing our faith, we are actually compelled to continually re-evaluate, re-imagine, and re-tell our story in ways that our listeners can understand and embrace - The kingdom is here but not yet, but it is certainly transformative, so I agree that we should explore culturally relevant ways of expressing our faith. Hence re-evaluation, re-imagination and re-telling stories should be encouraged. This is a time when the need for, and relevance of, the gospel has seldom been great, but the relevance of the Church in the West has seldom been less.
• When cultures collide, as modernity and postmodernity are currently doing, those who find themselves caught in the collision can feel that their world no longer makes sense. Old paradigms collapse, and the frame of meaning is lost. Those who are meaning makers tend to be listeners and observers, and they join the process of communal searching and learn to ride the shock waves. They contextualize meaning and discover a new way of making sense of the new world. They arrive at a liminal place—a place between the two cultures where new possibilities arise - I certainly find myself amongst those who feel that the old and new paradigms of modernity and postmodernity confusing. I long to be one of the listeners and observers in order to arrive at a liminal place. The current credibility gap has made it hard to communicate the gospel with clarity and authenticity. Paradoxically, this is the case even though it is currently a time of almost unprecedented openness to the issues of God. At the moment, I am in between two worlds.
• The challenge is clear: to effectively engage our culture while maintaining our biblical identity as the people of God, a people (community) on a journey. Our failure to do this, and to explore new ways of faithfully expressing the biblical call to discipleship (in both edification and evangelism as missional communities), will result in our becoming increasingly marginalized and irrelevant - I am committed to engaging our culture and exploring ways to discipleship in this postmodern era.
• The role of leadership, as always, is critical. But the word no longer carries the meaning it once had. We need new metaphors, and we need to recognize the communal context of leadership and get beyond the confused entanglement of leadership and authority - This is hard, but essential I think.
• we confront two critical challenges: how to address deep problems for which hierarchical leadership alone is insufficient and how to harness the intelligence and spirit of people at all levels of an organization to continually build and share knowledge. Our responses may lead us, ironically, to a future based on more ancient—and more natural—ways of organizing: communities of diverse and effective leaders who empower their organizations to learn with head, heart, and hand - I believe the inability to confront these two critical challenges are what cause the division between established mainstream church and emerging church in the Body of Christ. I agree that building and sharing knowledge is absolutely important, so is learning with head, heart, and hand.

Finally I am also keen to know how can the emerging church in a postmodern context learn from Paul about the establishment and growth of new faith communities. If you have any ideas, please feel free to drop me a comment or two.

Postmodernity / Postmodernism

Recently, I have been thinking and heard quite a lot about postmodern culture, postmodernity and postmodernist theories.

In my previous posts, Emerging Church In Postmodern Context & Clergy and Modernism Versus Postmodernism, I attempted to explore the issues, and tried to make sense of some of the ideas of emerging church in the postermodern context, and realised that this was such a facinating and enormous subject, which could also be quite confusing! To many of us, the word "postmodern" may sound unfamiliar, but it's an important concept. The followings are some of the ideas that I've collected from various sources:

• Crossroad has made a great summary of the differences between modern versus postmodern cultures, as well as biblical versus postmodern thinking. They believe that if we don't understand the postmodern mindset and the changing worldviews of influential leaders and visionaries, we can't really prepare for the impact of this social revolution -- both on faith and evangelization.
• WILLIAM BLAKE AT THE ORIGINS OF POSTMODERNITY claims that "1789 marks the end of modernity and the beginning of the contemporary, post-modern, age. But the French Revolution is merely a surface event. Beneath that surface lies electromagnetism, the most revolutionary innovation of those years. Blake's manifold work follows the lines of force, the patterns of electromagnetism: both introduce into the Western culture an original set of ratios decidedly "irrational"; both depart from the established patterns of "modernity", both will have to wait many decades before further development; both Blake and electromagnetism, at the end of the eighteenth century, enjoy only precarious status as an early form of postmodernity. During the modern age, matter and energy were two different substances with no possibility of interchange. Dualism was constitutive, extreme, permanent. In our postmodern age the two are but precarious, temporary aspects of the same reality. "
• According to A reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory, "the term 'postermodernism' has been the subject of much debate, especially during the 1980s and 1990s. Some see it as simply the continuation and development of modernist ideas: others have seen in postmodern art a radical break with classical modernism; while others again view past literature and culture retrospectively through post-modern eyes, identifying texts and authors as 'already' postmodern. Another arguemnt claims that the project of modernity - which designates the philosophical, social and political values of reason, equality and justice dervied from the Enlightenment - is as yet unfulfilled and should not be relinquished.

So what do you think of these observations / ideas / opinions and assertions about postmodernity / postmodernism?

Photos For The Feast

Feast At The East

More photos of Feast At The East can be seen here. Please enjoy, and pray for the follow up work.

Paul: Fresh Perspectives

Today I started reading a book called "Paul: Fresh Perspectives" by N.T. Wright . I've only read the first few chapters, and already it looks like a very interesting book. The outline of this book is as follows:

• The first chapter froms a general introduction
• The next three chapters look at major Pauline themes - Creation and Covenant, Messiah and Apocalyptic, Gospel and Empire
• The fifth to seventh chapters form a miniature systematic account of the main theological contours of Paul's thought - Rethinking God, Reworking God's people and Reimagining God's Future
• A final chapter looks at some key themes - Jesus, Paul and The Task of the Church

The author of the book Tom Wright claims that reading Paul is like climbing a mountain. Those who are used only to the easy tourist path sometimes forget that scaling the vertical craggs is not only more exciting but might sometimes get you to the top more quickly. There will be surprises and riches in store; just when you think you've got Paul's measure, he chuckles nad forces you to read a passage you thought you knew well in a quite different light.

I am really looking forward to continue climbing 'the craggy mountain' by taking this different path / route through looking at Paul in fresh perspectives.

Liquid - Culture, Spirituality & Justice

I attended the Liquid workshop last Friday. It aimed to integrate Justice, Culture and Spirituality. These three major areas are integral to the practice of Christian mission: (1) Justice: compassionate living & social justice. (2) Culture - engaging culture & community (3) Spirituality: spiritual formation & discipleship.

Many missional events focus on just one of these areas without showing how all three are integral. Other events may dip into a couple without addressing the relationships between them. Yet, one or two of these areas alone does not create a faith framework capable of sustaining people into Christian maturity.

Liquid is a missional training event presented by several agencies, organisations and churches who want to encourage a more holistic approach to mission and discipleship in Australia. By uniting these diverse groups with their unique gifts and experience, we can emphasis all three areas and increase our capacity to significantly shape the practice of Christianity.

There were more than 20 electives that participants could choose from, and I found the workshops and experiential worships very thought-provoking, challenging and inspiring, and helped me to grabble with these three important aspects of mission.

So which out of culture, spirituality and justice can you identify with most? And how? Do you agree that all three are very important in mission?

Feast At The East - Mission At The Marketplace

These last few days I was involved in part of the 60-hour community festival called "Feast at the East" in a shopping centre in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, where many churches , schools and Christian artists are participating in. The community festival happens from the centre stage and is organised by RSVP: to Life! . The Director of RSVP: to Life! and the main organiser of the event has invited me to be one of the MCs during the event.

The vision of this community festival is to use a feast of artforms (including singing, drama, mime, cartoon-making, stand-up comedy, dances, mosaics, jigsaws, quilting, walking with giants, game shows, sketch and tell, art and photo displays, puppets, harp playing, floral art, jazz bands, storytelling, drumming, and various creative and children's workshops etc.) to share life meanings with people in the community.

Aims and Objectives of the community festival:

• To choose a number of themes and issues around popular books, films and subjects of interest – grace, identity, power, addiction, hope, redemption and community.
• To express and explore these stories and concerns through a wide range of high quality, crowd-friendly creative activities on the stage area.
• To engage a cross-section of the public in conversation (we consider this is a crucial part of the whole enterprise, not only our on-stage presence).

We are using an inclusive/inductive approach, exploring life matters and life meanings together (based on our common humanity, God’s image, meeting and befriending people from all walks of life). Given our blend of ingredients, it’s a new model for mission in the market place, and we hope this will become a template, a pattern, for elsewhere in Melbourne.Around 200 people are already involved. And I feel really privileged to be part of it.

Living Room - Tour Of Darren's Life

Last night at Living Room, we had an everyday spirituality night, where Darren shared about the tour of his life. "Tour of life" is an opportunity for a person in the community to show others in Living Room what their life is like. This usually involves meeting at the person's home, having a meal (at their place or going to a restaurant), sharing about their workplace (by telling their work stories or actually going there), and visiting / talking about other important parts of the person's life etc. And we get to hear about how the person encounters God at work in their life, and how they interact with other people etc. We usually stop to pray for the person as well.

For the details of the night, please refer to Darren's blog here.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival

The 20th Melbourne International Comedy Festival is happening right now. 2006 is really a BIG year for Melbourne and Victoria, Australia. After the Commonwealth Games with serious sports and arts events, the Comedy Festival shifts the international sportlight to another of Australian's favourite cultural pastimes - having a good laugh. I read somewhere that alongside Edinburgh and Montreal, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is one of the three largest comedy festivals in the world.

As a person who enjoys comedy and a good laugh, I eagerly anticipate and find the Comedy Festival to be an attractive event. Every year during this time (autumn in Melbourne), the world's best comics join Australia's great talents for the Comedy Festival. In my neighbourhood like the Melbourne Town Hall and the Federation Square, there are events like Umbrella Revolution and the family-friendly Big Laugh Out, free every week, which I sure will find some time to join in.

On Tuesday night, my friends and I went to see Australia's favourite Comedy Duo Live Lano & Wooeley's Goodbye show at Her Majesty's Theatre. The Festival's favourite comedy duo are taking their final bow after an incredible twenty years of working together. I remember seeing their performances two years ago outside the Arts Centre court, and 'fell in love' with their hilarious yet somewhat weird sense of humour (must admit I didn't get all the jokes at the time and needed my Aussie friends to explain at times hehe). This time, I found it a little bit sad that this was going to be their final performance together in the Comedy Festival, but my friends and I did have a fantastic time laughing away. They are truly funny and intelligent, and it is definitely a pity for Australia to lose such a great comedy duo.

People often say 'laughter is the best medicine', and I think it's so true :D I am feeling so much better after the show haha.

Longing For More?

As a result of my recent moody-ness, I have been pondering about my own thinking, feeling, state of mind and emotional vulnerability etc. Today I was in tears, but praise the Lord! I was reminded that I actually yearn for what I already have, and fearful of what I shouldn't be.

OK rather than being sentimental, let me analyse it.

So what do I long for?

1. love? of course I have a yearning to love and be loved; with the desire to know I am accepted and valued. I have the greatest love of all - the love that is sacrificial and unconditional. God's great love sent Jesus to the Cross for me.
2. hope? of course I long for security and hope that will last! Jesus is my living hope. Truly a relationship with Him brings genuine hope into my life.
3. worth? of course I long for self worth. God thinks I worth a lot. I matter to Him and can make a difference in the world as I serve Him.
4. forgiveness? I know well what it is to live with regret and guilt! Jesus' death opened the door to forgiveness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.

Thank you Father God for Your great love. You are the source of life. Please strengthen me, watch over me, guide me and protect me from all harm. Help me not to fear as Your love casts out all fear. Lord I love You with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my heart. I long to see You more clearly, to love You more dearly, and to follow You more nearly, day by day! In Jesus' name, amen!

Christ's Resurrection And Ours

On Easter Sunday my mentor Professor Brown came to preach at CCBC on the topic of Christ's Ressurection and ours based on Romans 6:1-11. The following is the summary of the sermon.

In conversion, the Holy Spirit unites us with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. We are raised to:

1. Christian Fellowship (1 Corinthians 12:13)

Baptised one by one, we are brought unot an amazing togetherness, Christ's body, His children. A body is closely bonded together. Fellowship is not a Sunday exercise, but a daily experience.

2. A Christian Lifestyle (Colossians 3:1)

Living on earth, our heart is with Christ in heaven. We are to show in daily life what heaven is like. Be like Jesus, he was with the crowd, one with them; the only difference is he was kind, helpful and generous.

3. Christian Service (1 Peter 2:3)

Like living stones we are being built together into a house for God, a holy temple. God lives there. Peter's 'house' also means 'household'. So the stones are priests. The lowliest service is priestly.

E.A.S.T.E.R

I wrote a poem based on the word E.A.S.T.E.R., which I shared during Living Room Easter BYO Worship, and hope to share with you.

Easter is a time of love,
A time of death and pain undone,
So we may know the power of
The love that lives in everyone.
Each love we feel, unstained and free,
Redeems us--as with you and me

Have a blessed Easter everyone! God Bless!

Starry, Starry Night

I dont know if you know this or not, but the famous song "Vincent " by Don McLean is about Vincent Van Gough the famous painter. The words are very moving, it talks about his paintings and his struggles with life....

Starry, starry night:
paint your palette blue and gray.
Look out on a summer's day
with eyes that know the darkness in my soul
Shadows on the hills
sketch the trees and the daffodils;
catch the breeze and the winter chills
in colours on the snowy linen land

Now I understand
what you tried to say to me
and how you suffered for your sanity
and how you tried to set them free
they would not listen, they did not know how
perhaps they'll listen now

Starry, Starry night;
flaming flowers that brightly blaze;
swirling clouds in violet haze
reflect in vincent's eyes of china blue
colours changing hue;
morning fields of amber grain,
weathered faces lined in pain
are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

For they could not love you
but still, your love was true.
and when no hope was left inside
on that starry, starry night
you took your life as lovers often do
I could have told you, Vincent
this world was never meant
for one as beautiful as you,

Starry starry night
Portraits hun in empty halls;
frameless heads on nameless walls
with eyes that watch the world and can't forget
like the strangers that you've met
the ragged men in ragged clothes
the silver thorn, a bloody rose
lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know
what you tried to say to me,
and how you suffered for your sanity
and how you tried to set them free.
they would not listen, they're not listening still.
Perhaps they never will.

Sometimes I do feel like Van Gough - weak, fragile and even insane!

Expressing Feelings

In our cell group materials in CCBC, there is an article about the importance of expressing our feelings, which I think is quite spot on:

1. Expressing feelings helps us to understand others, and help others to understand us more.

• 5 levels of communication - greeting, exchange information, share opinions, express some feelings, express all feelings. The best levels are the last two.

2. Expressing feelings helps us to be healthy.

• when we are emotional or stressed, our physical health is affected negatively. The pituitary glands of our hypothalamus will secrete a hormone called adrenalin during fight or flight conditions, which is harmful to our bodies. Therefore, it's important for us to deal with our emotion by sharing our feelings.

3. Expressing feelings is the first step of self-acceptance.

• When we courageously express our feelings, we are honestly facing ourselves, and accepting ourselves.

My mother was saying to me tonight that I am normally quite an expressive person, but at times when it comes to conflicts, I can go into avoidance mode. I have been feeling moody, emotional and vulnerable lately, yet I praise my Lord that He will never leave me or forsake me, no matter what! I pray that I could express my feelings in loving ways, not just good feelings, but bad ones as well. Sometimes I find it difficult to be honest.

Wedding Message

Zoe and Tony's wedding

It was my church mates Zoe and Tony's wedding last Sunday. It was lovely to hear Tony saying "I love you" to Zoe in French.

Our pastor shared a short message about "acceptance and forgiveness", which was quite meaningful. Below is some of the points in the address:

• Marriage is a relationship. Like in all other relationships, unpleasant feelings and hurts are not uncommon.
• When there are conflicts and displeasure happen in the relationship, the couple needs to pray about it.
• Although it's important for husband and wife to show each other that they are important and significant, the deep need of satisfaction of heart can only be met by God ultimately.
• Love forgives and accepts. Acceptance and forgiveness are crucial in any relationship.
• The freedom Christ provides includes the freedom to require nothing of our mates.
• We will hurt when a spouse disrespects and rejects us, but God's love and grace empower us to love and give no matter how little we receive.
• That is one of the secrets of marrage - a love that forgives and acdepts. But the source of strength is Jesus Christ.
• God meets our needs and we can approach life with the resources to give out of fulness.

Precious?

What do you think "precious" means? Have you thought of someone as precious before? How do you define the word "precious"?

Retreat

Santorini

I feel like having a retreat. Feeling quite tired. Came across this painting and really hope to have a break there in the Greek Islands. Has anyone of you been there before?

Modernism Versus Postmodernism

Do you think you're modern or postmodern?

Backyard Bard

If you are in Melbourne, you're invited to come experience the story of Jesus told through the world-famous Broadway musical, Godspell through the Backyard Bard!

With incredible voices, entertaining performances and a moving Easter message, it is guaranteed to be an amazing musical production.

Directed by my friend Simon Camilleri, this is definitely the largest scale production that The Backyard Bard has ever produced, so don’t miss out!

For more details, see: http://www2.shaccommunity.org.au/w_page.php?id=596&type=group

10 Hints On Communication

I received an email this morning from a caring friend, who wanted me to know about some important hints on communication based on the Word of God, which I found very useful:

1. Learn to honestly express your feelings, don't attack the other person. (Proverbs 11:9)
2. Choose gentle words and tones, don't offend by using harsh words. (Proverbs 15:1)
3. Don't exaggerate or twist the facts. Avoid using extreme phrases like "never" or "always". (Ephesians 4:25)
4. Point out concrete examples. If necessary, write down the main points before you communicate. Don't be vague.
5. Try to seek solutions, and not just express your negative emotions. Your goal shouldn't be to win an argument, but to handle the conflicts (Romans 12:17-21)
6. Listen carefully what the other person says, empathise with their feelings and needs. Try to understand what the other person doesn't say and the underlying thoughts. (Song of songs 1:19)
7. Refuse to dwell on bitterness, anger, avoidance and conflicts. Although these emotions are normal, once they are to the extreme, they become sin. (Ephesians 4:26)
8. Don't hesitate to confess your weekness immediately, and forgive the other person quickly. Never let yourself become bitter. (Luke 17:3-4)
9. Continually communicate with the other person, ask them questions until you are certain that both of you understand what the other person's thoughts and feelings are. During the process of seeking the solution, encourage one another. (Romans 14:19)
10. Train your mouth and heart, so that you can speak the right things, using the right ways for the right reasons, in the right time.

What do you think of these points?

Paul's 4 Missionary Journeys

Living Room this week was at Forge's "Postcard from the Edge" with Neil Cole. Neil Cole is one of the leading organic leadership practitioners in the world. He is the Executive Director of CMA and a board member. Neil helped found the ministry and has helped lead it from its inception. Neil has been in pastoral ministry for fifteen years and is an experienced church planter, author and consultant. Neil is also a founding leader of the Awakening Chapels and of organic church planting movements.

He talked about Paul's 4 missionary journeys, and the lessons we could learn from them. The followings are some of the main points he shared during the night, which I found very insightful and challenging.

• Paul's First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:1-14:28)

First Journey Lessons: The first journey leader often tries to do it all himself, which leaves weak churches who are susceptible to domineering leadership (Galatians). The apprentice leader on his first journey begins to flex his own leadership muscles and become a leader in his own right stepping out from the shadow of his mentor.• First journey leaders often seem in a hurry to move on.• The first journey is where the leader gains the know-how to later pass on to others. You can’t skip the first journey.

• Paul's Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36-18:22)

Second Journey Lessons:• The emerging leader often shows less respect for the mentor leader as he steps out on his own to do things his way. This usually lasts about one year and if the mentor responds graciously he will gain even greater respect afterward. Ralph Moore refers to this as “adolescent rebellion syndrome” because it so closely parallels the struggles of a teenager coming of age.• The 2nd journey leader often finds his plans are not God’s plans. The quicker he learns to listen and follow the better. Strategy is not a bad thing, but it is second to listening to God’s voice and obeying.• The lesson of the second journey is learned through conflict, pain, loneliness and fear.• You can’t skip the second journey either.

• Paul's Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23-21:16)

Third Journey Lessons:• Many leaders do not reach this journey, because of arrested development in earlier phases.• Writing is often more prolific in this phase. • God entrusts third journey leaders with more quality emerging leaders because they are valued and given great opportunities.• Third journey leaders have an expanding influence because others take their message further than he/she could themselves. • Though the third journey leader may find he/she is doing less things they are more focused and more is accomplished through the multiplication of new leadership.

• Paul's Fourth Missionary Journey (Acts 21-28)

Fourth Journey Lessons:• Most Christian leaders will never get to the fourth journey. They usually plateau or die on a previous journey.• The fourth journey leader cares less about daily provisions than they used to. They have learned the secret of contentment and trust (Phil. 4:10-14)• The fourth journey leader’s reputation increases even in the eyes of secular leaders.• The fourth journey is one of greater expansive influence, beyond what expectations or circumstances would dictate. • The fourth journey is when the leader often expands his/her written influence so that countless others are benefited by their experience and maturity. Books written in this journey are longer-lasting works. • The fourth journey leader still faces life tests of character growth.

What do you think of Paul's 4 Missionary Journeys? And how can they be applied in your life, leadership and ministry?

Love - The Greatest Commandment

When I was at Tabor, I did a research paper which identified and outlined the ‘centre’ of my personal theology for ministry. I remember asserting that "love" had to be the centre of any ministry and relationship. I collected a list of quotes (from the bible and books) on love, and the followings are some of them.

• Love is the very nature of God (1 Jn 4:8, 16) and the greatest of the Christian virtues (1 Cor 13:13), essential to human's relations to God and people (Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:28-31; Jn 13:34-35). On it hangs all the law and the prophets (Mt 22:40). It is the fulfillment of the law (Rom 13:8-10). Love found its supreme expression in the self-sacrifice on Calvary (1 Jn 4:10). The Bible makes the unique revelation that God in His very nature and essence is love. God not only loves, He is love. In this supreme attribute all the other attributes are harmonized.
• God’s supreme command is ”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’, and `Love your neighbor as yourself." (Mk 12:30-31 NIV). We do it by choosing to love God and to love others. Love for God and love for people are the two great pillars of the Christian philosophy and practices. They are the ‘first two commandments of God’ (McGarrigle, 1962: 3).
• Love is the ultimate truth about God, the characteristic and attribute that sums up everything else and draw together all the aspects of His nature. God loves us. Love flows out of who God is (McClung, 1993: 36).
• The greatest idea ever to reveal from God to human beings is love. There is faith and hope and love, but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13).
• Jesus said, “love each other as I have loved you." (Jn 15:12). Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8).
• C.S. Lewis thinks that God can awake in people, towards Himself, a supernatural appreciative love. This is of all gifts the most to be desired. This is not in our natural love, nor even in ethics, but the true center of all human beings. With this all things are possible (Lewis, 1977: 128).
• Love, generally, is that principle which leads one mortal person to desire and delight in another, and reaches its highest form in that personal fellowship in which each lives in the life of the other, and finds his / her joy in imparting himself / herself to the other, and in receiving back the outflow of the other’s affection unto himself / herself. Such is the love of God. (Peison, 1994: 23).
• We can demonstrate our love for God by living out our part of the Great Commission and bringing the Author of love Himself to our loved-starved planet. We can determine to love others like Jesus loves (Zschech, 2002: 36).

So which of the above quotes do you like most? And which can you identify with?

Unconditional Love

C.S. Lewis describes God's love in these terms:

"Divine Gift Love is wholly disinterested and desires what is simply best for the beloved."
Not uninterested, but disinterested. That is, with no desire for personal gain or benefit. The whole object of agape is the welfare of the one who receives love. This is why we can call it unconditional love. And this is how God loves us. There is nothing that we need to do to prove ourselves worthy of His love. We only need to accept it. He loves us, not because of what we are, but in spite of what we are! A simple way to express this is to say, 'I love you anyway.'

While agape is a matter of choice and decision on our part, we can also ask God to help us so that we can fulfil the choice that we make and truly love as we should. Barry Chant, the founder of Tabor College, said, "our decision and commitment must be to exercise agape at all times. Our prayer must be for the Holy Spirit to help us to do it!" In the ultimate example of agape - the Lord Jesus Christ's death on the cross - there was a totally commitment. Agape is always like that. It must have all of us, or nothing. There is simply no middle ground!

Dear Father God, may your love increase daily and overflow through me to others, and may the Holy Spirit help me exercise agape all the time. In Jesus' Name I pray, amen.

Friendship And Affectionate Love

According to C.S. Lewis, the co-existence of Friendship and Affectionate Love (in greek: philia) may help us to realise that friendship is in reality a love. Affectionate love is a reflection of the image of God. I think we need to learn how to be more spontaneous and warm in our love for one another. The relative importance of the two kinds of love (philia and eros - physical love) is graphically expressed by Lewis in these words: :

"Supposed you are fortunate enough to have "fallen in love with" and married your friend. And now suppose it possible that you were offered the choice of two futures: "Either you two will cease to be lovers but remain forever joint seekers of the same God, the same beauty, the same truth, or else, losing all that, you will retain as long as you live the raptures and ardours, all the wonder and the wild desire of Eros. Choose which you please." Which should we choose? Whice choice should we not regret after we had made it?"

How would you answer these questions? How would you choose???

What a choice to make! Fortunately, most of us do not have to make it. If I did, I would (should) choose philia. One can live without eros and still be content. But without philia life is almost impossible to bear. What do you think?

Love

On Sunday at CCBC, the passage on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 was shared. I am sure many of you know what this passage is about. Yes, it's about "LOVE".

1Co 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1Co 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1Co 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
1Co 13:7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1Co 13:8 Love never fails.

The speaker used some visual images / pictures to help us understand the key words for 1 Cor 13:4-8 to explain what love is:

• never gives up - always there
• cares more for others - not selfish
• is content - doesn't want others' things
• forgives - doesn't keep score (puts up with anything - whatever happens )
• trusts - firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person
• prays to God - that's the most important thing we can do to those we love

What do you think of these points? And how do you define love personally?

Tabor Graduation Ceremony

This afternoon I attended the 2005 Graduation Ceremony of Tabor Bible College. World Team is one of the award sponsors for this occasion, and I was there to represent the mission family.

I was very touched by the whole ceremony. It was such a joy to see graduates' smiling faces as they have reached another season of their lives, commit to seek God's presence and to pursue an ever closer and deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, to continue to faithfully follow Him, and relying upon Him and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and to serve God in His Kingdom.

The guest speaker Mark Connor (Senior Minister of CityLife Church) gave an insightful and encouraging address. He reminded us that we are not only saved, but called. His message was based on Acts 20:28 "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." He claimed that in order for the leaders to keep watch over themselves, they need to have the following 5 habits:

1. Retreat and Pray (Luke 11 where Jesus was praying in a certain place)
2. Deal with internal stresss (that comes from unrealistic expectations, negative emotions and conflicts)
3. Keep growing in the Lord (we should never stop growing)
4. Develop close network of friendship (a good support network is vital for a leader's health)
5. Look after yourself physically (Sabbath Principle, rest and recreation and exercise)

What do you think of these 5 habits?

Arts A-live

Arts A-live logo

These few weeks saw me busy preparing for the Arts A-live courses at work. These courses are going to take place on Monday 17 April. The vision of the Arts A-live is to develop genuine and dynamic worshippers through various training courses. The courses were planned and conducted throughout the year to enable brothers and sisters to learn arts in its various forms, and minister to the church as well as amongst the crowds in the wider community.

I believe that we can move from being just a spiritual seeker to being a creator (as an artist), sustainer, and nurturer of the beloved community, working to provide a home for to friends not yet met. We aim to raise Christ-like disciples and communities to impact all nations through creative arts.

God wants us in creative ministries to fulfill his purposes in Worship, Evangelism, Discipleship, Ministry and Fellowship. He has given us a ‘set of tools’ to carve out His craftsmanship. There are three types of courses provided – short courses (to allow people to gain knowledge of creative arts), training events / seminars (run by the professionals in the field of creative arts locally or overseas), and learning through participation in the creative arts teams (project base).

On April 17, we will be having workshops on the following:

• CCBC Creative Arts Ministry – what is creative arts? vision, mission (purpose), core values, worship and creative arts ministry, philosophy of ministry, strategy & the attitudes of serving.
• Drama – the 7 basics of drama, expressions and emotions

May God use these courses to build up more faithful, diligent and effective ministers of Christ!

What do you think of the "A" logo above? It was designed by a good friend, and it's very meaningful.

Lessons Learned

I read in a Christian magazine today about the life lessons that a minister learned, before he went to be with our Heavenly Father recently. And these lessons are very important and inspiring:

1. The Importance of Understanding the Basis of our Acceptance by God
2. The Importance of Having a Sense of Purpose and Vision for our Life
3. The Importance of Family
4. The Importance of Depending On and Honouring the Holy Spirit in Christian Service
5. The Importance of Personal Devotional Life

What do you think of these 5 lessons?

Way Of Life According To The Celtic Church

At Living Room we had a gathering where the practice of the Celtic church was shared. Below is a summary of it:

The Celtic church affirmed and used the ministry of the Anamchara or soul friend. A Soul Friend needs to be a mature Christian who is in sympathy with the aims of the Community. (S)he does not need to belong to the Community of Aidan and Hilda but it is clearly helpful if they do. Each member of this Community will have a Soul Friend to work with them in developing a Way of life that is personally suited to them. The Way relates to the following ten areas of life, and is reviewed at agreed intervals.

1. Life-Long Learning

• Daily Bible reading is at the heart of this way of life.
• It is essential that study is not merely as an academic exercise.
• Whatever is learned should be lived.
• Celtic practice of memorising Scriptures, and learning through the use of creative arts is encouraged.

2. Spiritual Journey

• Meet with our Soul Friend at least twice a year.
• (S)he is someone who is familiar with the Community of Aidan and Hilda and seeks to discern with us where we are on that journey, what the Spirit is doing in our lives, and how God is leading us.
• The Soul Friend gives guidance on two disciplines which the Community considers to be important:
  (a) Regular retreats, with regular days of quiet and reflection, and also an annual retreat. (b) Pilgrimage to tread in the shoes of Christ or his saints in order to make contact with the many rich experiences which are to do with being a pilgrim. Such pilgrimages draw us into deeper devotion to our Lord Jesus and will inspire us to mission. Members might seek out communities of prayer.

3. Rhythm of Prayer, Work and Re-creation

• Prayer: The use of daily patterns of worship and regular prayer is encouraged. Ways of praying will vary according to temperament. The Community encourages a renewal of 'all kinds of praying' (Ephesians 6.18), from contemplative prayer to celebratory praise.
• Work: We welcome work as a gift from God. Every member should engage in work, whether it be the routine activities of life or paid employment. Work motivated by values which conflict with the Way should be avoided as much as possible. In humility we accept what God gives us.
• Rest: The hours of rest and recreation are as valuable as the hours of prayer and work. The Lord Jesus reminds us that 'the Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath' (Mark 2:27). In the Scriptures even the land was given a Sabbath in the seventh year (Leviticus 25: 3-5). The need for rest was built into creation (Genesis 2: 1-3). A provision for this kind of rest, which is both holy and creative, should be part of each member's personal Way of Life.

4. Spiritual Initiatives through Intercession

• Engaging in and becoming familiar with intercessory prayer is important. We do not project on to the supernatural what belongs to the sphere of human responsibility. We affirm national initiatives in intercessory prayer.

5. Simplicity of Life-style

• We wish to 'live simply that others may simply live', to avoid any sense of judging one another
• Common responsibility is to regularly hold before God our income, our savings, our possessions, conscious that we are stewards, not possessors of these things, and making them available to him as He requires.
• A simple life-style means setting everything in the simple beauty of creation. Our belongings, activities and relationships are ordered in a way that liberates the spirit; we cut out those things that overload or clutter the spirit.
• We are not seeking a life of denial for we thoroughly rejoice in the good things God gives us. Our clothes and furniture should reflect God-given features of our personalities.
• There is a time to feast and celebrate as well as to fast. Our commitment is to openness. We stand against the influence of the god of mammon in our society by our life-style, by our hospitality, by our intercession, and by regular and generous giving.

6. Care for Creation

• God's creation as essentially good, but spoilt by the effects of human sin and satanic evil.
• Ecologically aware, to pray for God's creation and all his creatures, and to stand against all that would seek to violate or destroy them. We look upon creation as a sacrament, reflecting the glory of God, and seek to meet God through his creation, to bless it, and to celebrate it.

7. Healing Fragmented People and Communities

• The spirit of self-sufficient autonomy is renounced, and holistic approach and ministry of Christian healing are encouraged.
• Seek to become more fully human as we grow in Christ, and we believe that 'the glory of God is seen through a life fully lived' (Irenaeus).

8. Openness to God's Spirit

• Allowing God to take us where the Spirit wills, and being open to the leading of the Spirit are essential.
• The gift of prophecy is honoured.
• Seeking to cultivate an interior silence that recognises and sets aside discordant voices, to respond to unexpected or disturbing promptings of God, to widen our horizons, to develop 'the eye of the eagle' and see and hear God through his creation.

9. Unity

• All fellow Christians are not 'strangers but pilgrims together'.
• The Celtic church honoured, trusted and went with the grain of the human communities it worked amongst, and seek to cultivate a solidarity with all people in everything except sin, to value all that is truly human in them, and to shed attitudes and practices that put up barriers between the church and the people.
  

10. Mission

• 'The whole created order may be reconciled to God through Christ' (Colossians 1.20).
• Living as one Christian community so 'that the world may believe' (John 17.21).
• The goal of the way of life is to develop a disciplined spirituality to be effective in witness to Christ in the world.
• The Celtic church evangelised from grassroots communities which springs naturally from the community of the local church, and out of the Community.
• Believing that the Holy Spirit leads the church into new initiatives to bring God to the people.
• Faith is shared wherever opportunity is given. Evangelisation is not simply a duty, but because the Spirit of God is giving us a heart for the lost.
• Mission also includes speaking out for the poor, the powerless and those unjustly treated in our society, and to minister to and with them as God directs.

So which out of these 10 points do you see as important for your faith communities?

A clearer picture of the 'flying angel' 

Flying Angel

"Flying Angel"

This beautiful 'flying angel' was in the Myer Music Bowl during Festival Melbourne who was performing during the intervals of the musical performances. This image of her reaching down to the kids reminded me of God's love and His Incarnation. What do you reckon?

The Tribal Expressions

The Tribal Expressions - the business of art and culture in Indigenous Victoria, Australia was one of the highlights of Festival Melbourne. The Showcase was presented by the Koori Business Network for the Office of Commonwealth Games Coordination under the Respecting Indigenous Communities Strategy.

These expressions include various materials like quotes, statements, painting, sculptures and performing arts. Most of the art works were inspired by the Australian Indigenous culture, and were representations of people's perspectives, how they saw the world through Aboriginal people's eyes.

I could see that the XVIII Commonwealth Games have had a profound effect on Melbourne. Like the motto of the games, "united by the moment". This event has been a unifying and inspiring force, as it has presented opportunities for people to connect. Experiencing Indigenous Victorian culture through the Tribal Expressions exhibition and showcase events was great. The artefacts, ceramics, visual arts and performing arts at different venues in Melbourne surely showed me how talented our Aboringinal people are, and it was an awesome way to celebrate the diversity of the cultures not only in Melbourne or Australia, but across the Commonwealth too.

I am thankful I have had the opportunity to enjoy the Tribal Expressions - as to me the concept of a 'tribe' is extremely important, even in EC / faith communities. You know I now see that I have various circle of friends in various 'tribes' and you blogger mates are certainly one of them. Thank you all for being in my tribe! :)

Emerging Church In Postmodern Context & Clergy

Garth from emergingBlub emailed me a very interesting link to The Krow's site about "The Fallacy of Ordination" , which talks about the origin of the term 'clergy' & 'pastor'. According to these people, the origin of 'clergy' came from 3rd and 4th century Roman influences, rather than Paul's understanding.

I am doing an essay on emerging church (EC) in a postmodern context based on Paul's examples about the establishment and growth of new faith communities, so this is quite relevant. The EC (which is often without 'clergy') may well be more closely aligned with Paul's teaching than the current models of church institution. Wow that is really a challenging thought to me personally! I will need to chew on it and do more research on it.

If you have any ideas on EC, postmodern context, Paul's examples, clergy etc, I would be very interested in hearing them. Please send me a comment on your opinions.

Conedancers

Conedancers

One of the street theatre performances during the Festival Melbourne that I enjoyed was "Conedancers" outside the Arts Centre. It was really interesting! Two aerialists bathed in music and light perform a duet in and around a high inflatable cone. Conedancers begins with a boy and girl caught in a ritualised folkdance halfway up the side of the cone. As they become carried away by their passion, they express their love to each other. Acrobatic and upbeat, passionate and moving, this was really a spectacular performance of suspended choreography.

This performance got me thinking about expressing love and being authentic. Gandhi said: “A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave”. Let's be brave and tell your loved ones that you love them!

My blogger friends, I love you!

What Is Your Love Language?

I enjoyed reading Dr Gary Chapman's book "5 Love Languages". He said that to truly connect with a loved one there is one simple fact: you need to know and speak his or her love language. A love language is the way we express our commitment, and it can be learned or changed to touch the hearts of those we love. Whether you’re a child, a spouse, a parent, or a single, the five love languages are the same:

1. Love Language #1: Words of Affirmation
   Verbal compliments, words of appreciation, and encouragement
2. Love Language #2:Quality Time
   A central aspect of quality time is togetherness, which has to do with giving our full attention to the other person.
3. Love Language #3:Receiving Gifts
   Gifts are visual symbols of love, which have great emotional values.
4. Love Language #4:Acts of Service
   Acts of service are things that you do for your loved one. Such actions as cooking a meal, washing dishes, cleaning the house, mowing the grass etc.
5. Love Language #5:Physical Touch
   Holding hands, kissing and hugging are all ways of communicating emotional love.

So what is your love language?

Festival Melbourne 2006

Festival Melbourne 2006 is twelve days of non-stop music, dance, circus, street theatre and visual arts from all the corners of the Commonwealth that are adding an extra sparkle to the whole Commonwealth Games experience. I have been taking part in some of these arts events, and they are great! Best of all, everything's free during the Games!

Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone, especially the international visitors to Melbourne. I pray for all those athletes participating in the Commonwealth Games, that they would be safe, and that their eyes would be open to the witness of Christ's love and grace during their time here! Lord Jesus Christ, shine through Your people in this city that people would see You! Pray that all the venues for the Games would be protected by the Name that is above all Names. May your Kingdom come, and Your will be done right here in Melbourne. In Jesus' Precious Name, Amen!

Where Does Your Heart Go?

Where Does Your Heart Go?

Today my mentor Professor Brown was preaching at CCBC on the topic of "where does your heart go?" based on the Scripture from Matthew 6:24-34.

Mt 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Mt 6:25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Mt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Mt 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
Mt 6:28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Mt 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Mt 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Mt 6:31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Mt 6:32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Mt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Mt 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

The following is the summary of the sermon:

Your “Heart” is in the driver’s seat - it controls your whole person:

Fancies
What Jesus says is up to date.

1. Finance
   The passion to become wealthy: you can’t take it with you!
2. Food
   The media appeal to our desire to eat well. 20% of Australians are overweight.
3. Fashion
   Big business. We cannot rival nature. To be neat and clean is sufficient.

Futility

• Our world shows us the folly of our fancies.
• God provides adequately for birds, flowers etc.
• Our interference is futile – fertilizers foul rivers; Cane toads have become a threat.

Focus

• To fill our hearts and minds with our fancies leads to disaster.
• God or mammom. “God’s Kingdom” is where God alone is King;
• Righteousness is Godly living.
• Don’t try to carry excess luggage.
• We are not to sit and be idle, but do what the King commands.

This was a great reminder for many of us. If we focus on God's kingdom and righteousness, even our fancies (finance, food & fashion) which are by themselves futile, will be added to us!

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. " (Matthew 6:33)

Decision Making

There are times in my life where I go back and forth to decide whether I should do this and that, while often times I just make up my mind and go for it. This morning, I received an email forward from a good friend, and it really got me thinking. I would like to share it with you:

Elijah went up before the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal is God, follow him." But the people said nothing. (1 Kings 18:21)

A long time ago, when the world was young, the birds and the beasts were engaged in a bitter war. The bat, not wanting to be on the losing side, whichever that might be, tried to be on both sides. Whenever the birds won a battle, he would fly with them, telling everyone he was a bird. When the beasts won, he would walk around, assuring everyone that he was a beast. It didn't take long for the bat's hypocrisy to be discovered. He was rejected by both the birds and the beasts. From that day on the bat has had to go into hiding. To this day, he lives in dark caves, only daring to come out at night."

Don't waver between two opinions today. Instead, follow God wholeheartedly. It could well be that at work or at home today you will be very tempted to flit back and forth from one 'camp' to another 'camp'. I encourage you not to do that. Make up your mind right now whom you will serve and live for today - and then stick to it. Will it be Almighty God? Or will it be the other enticements around you that can trap you in their web - money, pleasure, position, power, 'saving face' even when you know you are wrong, and so on. It's your call - your choice. But remember, eternal consequences could well be at stake here either for you or for other people. Yes, let's make wise and God-honoring choices today, and everyday!

What do you think?

Friendship

Dear Lord,

My friends are important to me!

Lonely roads are hard to walk!
When I fall down, I need someone to hold me up
When I am hurt, I need someone to comfort me
When I am alone, I need someone to keep me company
When I am happy, I need someone to share with me

Good Friends:
When I am in pain, they share the burden with me
When I succeed, they won't be jealous of me
When I fail, they won't leave me
When I am proud, they rebuke me
When I am wrong, they correct me
If I have wronged against them, they forgive me

My Dear Lord:
Before I have others' friendship, please teach me how to be other's friend
Not looking at others according to:
what they wear
how much knowledge they have
how wise they are
how pretty / handsome they are

Help me:
not to be proud of my strengths
not to look down on others' weaknesses
not to boast about my success
not to forget others' blessings

Teach me:
to speak gently
to have a kind attitude
to be cheerful
to be faithful

Even though I may not do anything big for my friends, lead me to give my care, concern and prayers !
I long to be a blessing to all of my friends, my loved ones!

Four Things Meme

CB had a four things meme on his blog, and he had an “open tag” invitation, so I volunteered to tag myself, as the questions are quite interesting. So here we are:

• Four jobs I’ve had: 1. Proof-reader 2. Waitress 3. Marketing Executive 4. Tours Coordinator / Guide
• Four movies I enjoy: 1. A Beautiful Mind 2. Romero 3. Lost in Translation 4. Jesus Film
• Four places I’ve lived: 1. Kowloon, Hong Kong 2. Windsor 3. Hoppers Crossing 4. Thornbury
• Four shows I watch: 1. The Great Outdoor 2. Dancing with the stars. 3. Home & Away 4. Amazing Race
• Four places I’ve vacationed: 1. Malaysia 2. Paris 3. London 4. Gold Goast
• Four websites I like: (apart from all of my lovely blogger friends' blogs, which are too many to list) - 1. Google 2. One Year Bible Blog 3. Prayer List 4. World Team International / World Team Australia
• Four of my favorite foods: 1. Sashimi 2. Soy sauce or fried pigeon & Salad 3. Durian 4. Chicken's Feet
• Four places I’d like to be right now: 1. Peru 2. Switzerland 3. India 4. actually, come to think of it, I am very happy where I am right now - Melbourne is a great city!!! I am content :D

Ok, I'm going to make this an open tag invitation too. If you are interested, you can just do this on your blog, and let me know. Hope to hear from you soon.

United By The Moment

Commonwealth Games Live Site @ Federation Square

Today (15th March) was the first day of the Commonwealth Games, and although it wasn't a day off for me, I went straight to my neighbourhood - the Federation Square - after work where one of the Commonwealth Games Live Sites was.

A friend and I went to "Time Out Cafe" in the square to have dinner, and it turned out that there was a TV screen in there right in front of us. We got to see the opening ceremony there, with some performances (it was quite interesting to see a Melbourne tram with wings, as well as many other things with wings hehe). The Melbourne skyline erupted in a blaze of fireworks as the city celebrated the groundbreaking Opening Ceremony to mark the start of the XVIII Commonwealth Games. Athletes and people from 71 nations have come to Melbourne to take part in this event.

I had a great night! And I am so glad that although many of us are not in Melbourne, I can share with you on my blog here. :) You know what? I feel that truly the mission field is on the door steps of Melbourne. During my days off, I will be serving as a volunteer for the 'Word Art Games Exhibition' with a visual artist David White. His works will be exhibited at three city locations. The Games' motto is 'united by the moment'! May we pray and serve together, so that people are not only united by the moment, but eternally in Christ! Please pray for those who outreach and serve during the Commonwealth Games.

Lent and Everyday Spirituality

Today I was reminded of the season of Lent again. Lent has traditionally been a time for followers of Christ to deny themselves of a worldly desire or pleasure. It's a time in which we focus ourselves more intently upon God without all the distractions of our normal lives. The self-denial of Lent enables us to more fully understand Jesus’ self-denial in going to the Cross. Lent reminds us of our reliance on the Holy Spirit, and not our own achievements, to keep us in relationship with the Father and His Son. Even though Lent is an old tradition, I believe it does allow people's spirituality to be awakened if they engage with it. I believe that Lent shouldn't be celebrated only by a few followers of Christ, it should be accessible to everyone, as I think it can help people to grow in God's Presence.

Apart from denying ourselves of pleasure (or fasting), we can actually do something proactive to celebrate Lent. You can get some good ideas through the Lent Calendar 2005. There are some really meaningful activities worth participating.

One of the examples of the activity was this: Think of a disease that has affected those you love. Press the mute button during TV commercials, and spend the minutes praying for people who suffer from that disease.

I went to St Paul's Cathedral yesterday, and I was invited to write down a prayer for people that I knew who were sick. I didn't do that in the church, but when I saw this suggested activity on the Lent Calendar, I thought of my dad, my grandma and some friends who had died of cancer.....and I spent time praying for those who suffered from cancer right now. Really life is so short and unpredictable! We need to treasure everyday, and cherish the people that we love. Just the other day, I was discussing with a friend about what we would do if we only had one day left to live.

What would you do if you only had one day to live? What's the priority of your life?

World Team Camp Photos

World Team Camp participants

More photos can be seen for the great weekend here :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittycheng/search/text:World+Team+ZAP+Training/

Please pray for World Team Australia as we continue to promote Christ's cause by mobilizing His children to live and work cross-culturally in mission for His glory.

Show Your True Colors

Geographic Channel states that all animals show their inner feelings through outward behaviors, but only human beings can choose not to show their true colours. It is possible for misperceptions or misunderstanding to occur. What we don't know about others may weaken the relationship. At times, our actions don't necessarily reflect our genuine feelings or personality. The potential trouble lies in not being willing to drop the facade of being your best possible self to reveal your usual self. Some people seem to fear that such a metamorphosis would be far too frightening and threatening for the other people to take.

I read somewhere that the truth seldom hurts as much as trying to avoid the truth. Many of our problems can be resolved only after we take a long, clear look at ourselves and the personalities of the people we care about. Do you agree?

Finding God Everywhere

Have you ever realised that God can be found everywhere, from the most obvious places, to the most unexpected places? This idea came to me as I started reading Philip Yancey's book about it. God is not only to be found in great majestic cathedrals , supernatural visions or inside the four walls of the church building. We can find God in the wonders of His creations (eg: koala, polar bear, beautiful sceneries, the blue sky, platypus, elephant, the beach, the clouds, the sun and the wind, butterflies and people etc), in the middle of idealism, renaissance or cultural revolution, in the oppressive prisons of Peru and Chile, in the slums of Manila or Calcutta, even in the plays of Shakespeare and Hollywood movies (eg: Bruce Almighty), and of course in God's Word through the Bible, and His people. And yes if you look at the mirror, you can even find God in yourself, because we are all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). As we discover God's fingerprints or footprints in all different places, so our understanding of God's beauty, love and power continues to grow. Truly God can be found everywhere. He is really close to us, and may not be as far away as we think. Praise God for that!

So where are some of the unlikely places that you have encountered God?

Money Talk in LR

This Tuesday at LivingRoom we had our big gathering where a sermon on money and generosity was preached by Darren Rowse. The following is a summary of the sharing:

• There are 2350 verses on money in the Bible. In fact, the topic of money and possessions appears more than almost any other topic (it's second only to 'the Kingdom of God'). So we can see that money is something on God's mind quite a bit.
• Some words / ideas of what the group thought of when they thought of money include consumerism, security, power, happiness, status, evil, sign of achievement or success,"If you have it, spend it!", "if you don't have it, there is something wrong!", money is a private thing.
• Messages that the church tells us about money include: money is a sign of blessing, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: (1 Timothy 6:10), it's hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, prosperity doctrine, poverty theology, tithing etc.

Darren talked about 7 themes of money and giving:

1. Everything is God's, including money of course (Psalms 24:1, Haggai 2:8)
2. Motivation is more important than the act (2 Cor 9)
3. Giving is in the same context as needs (Acts 2 and 4)
4. Secrecy and humility (Matthew 6)
5. There is an impulse towards simplicity
6. Reward and blessing (Matthew 6)
7. Sacrifice (Luke 21)

So what are your ideas about money, and how do you feel about money personally?

The Games Is Coming To Town

When a big event like the Commonwealth Games comes to town, it's really exciting, not only for the locals, and also people from many nations (there are athletes coming from 71 nations for the Games). There will be numerous activities going on during the time, whether it's table tennis, aquatics diving sport, swimming, squash, synchronised swimming, gymnastics or non-sporting events like arts or shopping, really Melbourne city is going to be 'a happening place' from next Wednesday onwards for over 10 days. And I heard a rumour that ballroom dancing will be destined for inclusion in the next Commonwealth Games. Wow! All the more reason and motivation to learn ballroom dancing right?

Apart from sports, arts is going to be another big thing during this period. Groundbreaking work by artists from many countries across the Commonwealth will be available during the games, which include special exhibitions, artist and curator talks, live performances, film screenings and education events etc. Visiting International and local exhibiting artists will provide insight into their practice.

My visual artist friend David White will have the 'Word Art Exhibition' during the games. His works will be exhibited at three different location in city venues, and I'll help him be the greeter for the exhibition. I am so looking forward to all these. Let the games begin!

Bruce Almighty

Last night the movie 'Bruce Almighty' was shown on national television. And I really enjoyed watching it! The story was about Bruce Nolan, a TV reporter, who is not satisfied with almost everything in his life, and always complains about God. God appears in human form, giving Bruce the almighty powers, and challenges Bruce to take on the big job of running the world to see if he can do it any better.

One of the central messages and the tagline of this movie is "if you want a miracle, BE A MIRACLE!" And that really hit home to me! I do believe that we can be a miracle and make things happen with God's help, and in God's strength. Towards the end, Bruce realised that he needed to trust in God, and not try to be god himself. It's probably a common mentality that if people could run the world, they would certainly make it better. Some would end world hunger, some would make world peace, and others would just fix the problems in their own lives and relationships etc. But few people would ever consider the burden and awesome responsibility of the universe's most absolute and supreme power, and how would prayers be answered? Surely only God can do that as He is the Creator. I liked the fact that Bruce learned what was important in his life, and he said a really good prayer from his heart, wishing the best for his girl friend before going back to the 'earth'. That was really touching!

I think `Bruce Almighty' is both meaningful and humorous. It also reminds me that God does have a great sense of humor. Do you agree?

Paul The Theologian and Missionary

Yoohoo!! I've gone back to Tabor Bible College again, after over two years since my graduation. This time I'm doing a special intercultural studies elective called "Pauline Theology and Mission Practice", which is a subject that will help the students to:

• Outline the basic principles of Paul's missional theology and practice;
• Examine the process of conversion in the two-thirds world and the western world from a Pauline perspective;
• Discuss specific issues and problems relate to new church communities in a variey of contexts.
• Assess the role and ministry of a missionary or missional practitioner in a variety of settings;
• Understand the qualities appropriate and convictions required for those working in a missional context; and
• Evaluate approaches to the establishment of new churches in the light of Paul's theological and missiological perspective.

I had such a great time during the weekend schools on Friday and Saturday. The notes, class discussions, powerpoint presentations, DVD, and informal interactions with other students were all so enjoyable. I am really looking forward to learning more about Paul - the great apostle, theologian and missionary.

As part of the assessment of the module, we have to do a creative project about one aspect of Paul's life, mission, ministry or theology that has impacted me. We can write a poem or a song, make a video, poster or painting for it. I am stratching my head now!! :-) Please send me a comment if you think of any good idea for my project hehe.

Wonderings About Luke 5:1-11

I'm wondering:

Verse 1: what people had heard about Jesus that made them want to come and hear Jesus teach, and what God's message is? What would Jesus tell people?

Verse 2: how hard nets are to wash? if the fisherman enjoyed themselves?

Verse 3: what Peter was listening to and what he thought about that?

Verse 4: what goes through Simon's mind when he heard Jesus asking him to row the boat out into the deep water....what goes through your mind when you heard Jesus speaking here? I was very challenged by Jesus here, what about you?

Verse 5: what makes you too tired as to make you start complaining even before you realise who it is you're complaining to?

Verse 6: what rips your nets?

Verse 7: if you ever ask for help?

Verse 8: how it feels to know the truth about yourself and to know its wrong and to be guilty?

Verse 9:how surprised you would be to see a miracle, the power of God at work in your life?

Verse 10: what the oppsite of fear is?

Verse 11:what it means to leave everything to go with Jesus?

Tell me what your answers are to these wonderings if you like.

BYO Worship in Living Room

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent. After a bit of rest, I attended Living Room last night again. It was another BYO Worship night. The idea of these nights is to bring along something to do as a group that will engage people in some connection with God (the last BYO Worship we did was recorded here).

This time, we did it without a set theme, but interestingly what we came up with seemed to have a common theme. The followings were what we did:

• we had a teaching on what Lent is, and then some ash was being put on our foreheads as we were told to "turn away from your sin, and turn towards the gospel".
• The other BYO worship was a visual presentation on Jesus' 40 days in the desert (representation of 40 days of the season of Lent). The pictures were drawn by a Christian illustrator, and they were very inspiring!
• we had a guided imagination & meditation on Luke 19:27-44.
• I shared some of the wonderings I had from Luke 5:1-11 (email me if you are interested in what they are).
• A poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay was read. This poem had been shared by Brian Mclaren the previous week when he had been in Melbourne. The images of the poem were beautiful. Then we were also reminded of Psalms 119:105 and John 8:31-32.
• someone shared some tomato relish that she had made which was a tradition from her grandma, who used to give away jars to the family.
• Our last BYO worship was the story of how a member of LR worships God through his involvement with sports - in playing in a touch footy team in his neighbourhood and his involvement as a coach of a cricket team of young kids in the school that he teaches at.

I really enjoyed the night. It was very inspiring and challenging. May God Bless you all during this Lent Season!

More Wedding Photos

The Couple With The CCBC Family

Received an email from Kevin the groom, who sent us the following link
of over 350 photos from the wedding (obviously it was chosen from over 1500 photos all up!!)

Please note, there are TWO volumes (2 albums) in this link.

When clicking on the link, select VIEW PICTURES, and then click on SLIDE SHOW.

http://kawedding18thfeb.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8AcMmrFyzbtGIu&notag=1

Enjoy.....

Beyond Borders

During the World Team mission camp, we watched the Hollywood movie "Beyond Borders". Beyond Borders is a romance film focusing on two people who are in the world's most dangerous places. Angelina Jolie acts as an American living in London, who is married to a wealth British guy. When she encounters Clive Owen, who acts as a doctor, whose impassioned plea for help to support his relief efforts in war-torn Africa moves her deeply. As a result, these two embark upon a journey of discovery that lead to danger, heartbreak and romance in the far corners of the world.

This film also talks about the differences between the wealthy and the poor. As the movie suggests, people often discover that the materially poor are often spiritually rich while those that are wealthy physically are often (or can be) spiritually poor. That is really an irony! It reminds me of the fact that our lives in the wealthy west are so trivial and we need to understand just how blessed we are. We can all grow richer when we reach beyond borders, and share what we have. Together we find new meaning for our lives and the strength to build a world where God's peace and justice reign. May God's Kingdom come (beyond borders) on earth, as it is in heaven.