Philosopher - A Guide To Happiness

I watched a DVD made by Alain de Booton the other day called "Philosopher - A Guide To Happiness", which is supposedly to be based on one of his books . It was a very interesting documentary.

Alain de Botton is a highly respected writer. He owns his own production company, which regularly broadcasts documentaries based on his own works. The film talks about how theories of philosophers such as Epicurus and Socrates etc. can be applied to our modern everyday lives, especially the concept of happiness. He also talks about ideas of unpopularity, feelings of inadequacy, financial worries, broken hearts and the general problem of suffering as an opposite of happiness. This film has both been praised and criticised for its therapeutic approach to philosophy.

Chaos And The Bible

The topic of LivingRoom tonight was "Chaos and the Bible". The speaker said that water is in the image of chaos in the bible. Some of the verses he quoted include:

• Leviathan (sea monster): Job 41:1
• Yam (sea personified): Dan 7:2,3
• Tanniyn (dragon): Ps 74:13
• Tehom (chaotic ocean): Ps 33:7

Then he went on to discuss the two Greek words used by Aristotle, "Phronesis and Techne". They are two ways of dealing with life. Phronesis is the reality that the earth moves, so we need to move as well. Consequently movement brings growth. "You can only walk through a river once." On the other hand, "Techne" denotes rigid, structure and not changing or moving. He used the treadmill as an example that we need to keep moving in order to move forward, if we were to stay still on a treadmill, we would fall. That really makes sense doesn't it? We also discussed the following questions (perhaps you can let me know of your thoughts too...)

1. Is the dynamic (chaotic?) nature of God part of what it means to be made in his image?
2. Is so, what does that mean for: ethics, forgiveness, and how we approach one another?

Love And Intercession

Today I was thinking about the connection between love and intercession, and I have concluded that love inspires intercession. Do you agree?

I believe an intercessor must have love. Otherwise, their prayer is in vain. As someone said ( I can't remember who though ....), one of the hardest and the most important works for this sinful world is the work of intercession, the work of going to God and taking time to pray and lay hold of Him. Oh may God give us the great gift of intercession, a spirit of prayer and supplication!

If you want to be an online intercessor, please feel free to join Corry and Kc's prayer list here, where we intercede for one another.

What Sets The Cross Apart?

I have been discussing with my friend David about the following question these last two days:
"Is there any significance of the cross (as opposed to a stake) other than being historically and biblically accurate, and more torturous?"

Please understand that the question is not asking about which one is historically/biblically accurate, but what sets the cross apart. David has found information on the web which have all been debates over cross versus stake, not what sets a cross apart. One of an intersting sites David suggested is called Jerusalem Burial Cave Reveals:Names, Testimonies of First Christians, although it was merely referring to crosses as being an early-christian symbol.

Embracing Silence

On Saturday, I spent an afternoon embracing silence and spending time with God, and a group of people (it was just as well during the 40 hour famine, so I got to pray and fast at the same time).

First of all, we had a time of meditation / contemplation led by an accredited Journey Therapist. It was a gentle, meditative healing modality, and it was facilitated with grace and respect and gentleness. According to her, the Journey is about Freedom . . .Freedom to live our life as we’ve always dreamed it could be. It is believed that the possibility exists for us all to become absolutely free, whole and healed. We are capable of getting to the root cause of these issues, resolving them, letting them go completely, and setting ourselves free to live our life at our highest potential, as a full expression of our true self. It was nurturing!

After that, we embraced silence through poetry, art and music. There was the awakening to beauty in nature, people and the arts, the discovering healing, inner peace and joy, as well as offering inspiration in meeting life's challenge. We listened to poems read, and music played while enjoying the images of beautiful works of Monet, Courbet, Turner, Pissarro, Manet, Munch, Sisley, and Constable projected.

The my friends Linda and Marg performed two beautiful liturgical dances, where I could see that their movements were really worshipful acts. They were so inspirational!

Silence is really golden!

Loving One Another

Henri Nouwen wrote the following, which touches me very much:

Jesus' whole life was a witness to his Father's love, and Jesus calls his followers to carry on that witness in his Name. We, as followers of Jesus, are sent into this world to be visible signs of God's unconditional love. Thus we are not first of all judged by what we say but by what we live. When people say of us: "See how they love one another," they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God that Jesus announced and are drawn to it as by a magnet.

If we want to visualize a ‘typical’ contemporary Christian, we should think of a woman living in a village in Nigeria or in a Brazilian favela” As of 2000, only 39% of the world’s one and a half billion Christians live in the industrialized West. By 2025, fully 70% of Christians will live in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania. (Cited by Ian Douglas, “Globalization and the Local Church”, in Stackhouse, p.203).

Father God, may Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Amen!

The Discipline Of Fasting

A number of friends, after knowing that I am going to take part in the 40 hour famine, asked me what fasting involves. So I thought I would write a little entry on the discipline of fasting, and my own experience on it.

Fasting is the abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. Jesus’ teaching on fasting is related to his teaching on giving and praying. Fasting must centre on God, with our eye singly fixed on Him. Jesus cares for the poor and marginalised, and so should we! My experience in terms of fasting has been that each time I do it, God always gives me a renewed sense of conviction to serve Him and His people as I spend time in prayers. So prayers and fasting do go together, and God honours that!

Every time when I fast and pray, I sense an intimate closeness with Christ and feel an increased effectiveness in intercessory prayer and concentration. I believe the discipline of fasting can transform us into Christ likeness as well.

40 Hour Famine

Hi! Guess what!

I'm going to do the World Vision 40 Hour Famine in August this year (this weekend). I'll be going without food for 40 hours to raise money to help feed hungry kids. Just $40 will help feed and care for 8 children in East Timor and Southern Africa for a whole month. To find out more about how the funds raised are going to be used click on http://www.worldvision.com.au/40HourFamine/about_funds.asp.

Could you please support me by giving a donation?If you can, simply visit the World Vision 40 Hour Famine website (http://www.40hourfamine.com.au) and click on Donate Here. Donations are tax deductible and the minimum amount is $2. You will receive a receipt as soon as you've made the donation.When it asks you for the Famine Number, please enter 26183760-3. This makes sure that the donation is recorded against me and that I'm sent a record of your donation.You can also go directly to the donate screen by clicking here https://famine.worldvision.com.au/famine.cgi?a=SPONSOR_&p

Thank you very much!

Trust In The Lord

Proverb 3:5-6 are two of my favourite Bible verses. I was reading a quiet time devotional the other day, and it talked about these verses, here it is:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

If you want God to lead you in life, put Him first in everything!

"He will make your paths straight" - that is, the way forward will be obvious to you, and God will remove the obstacles that would keep you from following His will for you. It sounds wonderful doesn't it? But why are we not experiencing it every day? Notice that there are three conditions to this promise.

"Trust in the Lord". When you sense Him leading you and you don't know where you will end up or how you will get through, obey Him anyway. Act on the reality that God is there. If He leads you, you can trust Him. This is not just verbal trust, but the kind that is with all y our heart!

"Don't lean on your own understanding." Don't try to be the master of your own fate. Don't get the idea that you can plan your way through life. Recognise that you desperately need God's hand in your life, both guiding you and enabling you.

"In all your ways acknowledge Him." Make sure that your life shows that God is the One you honour, love and obey. Meet these three conditions and you can rest in the reality of God's guiding hand.

gO! Cubed

I am going to gO! this weekend, and have been busy preparing for it - hence my absence for the last few days.

Wealth or Wellbeing?

I have been thinking of the concept of the gift of financial wellbeing, which I think is different from finanical wealth, or the common concepts of financial independence, financial security or financial freedom, although I am sure there are overlapping between these ideas.

In the sinful nature of humanity, greed and selfishness is a disease that grips the hearts of many people. We live in an age that tells us that happiness can be found in what we possess and therefore "the more we possess the happier we will be". For many people financial wealth is the goal. Personally, I think our lives are not determined by what we possess but by what we give away, which determines our happiness.

Financial wellbeing, rather than financial wealth, should be the goal. The goal to achieve financial wealth is often based on fear and discontentment, and financial wellbeing is based on generosity and joy. Financial wealth is a grasping, clenched fist, while financial wellbeing is an open generous hand.

Financial wellbeing is not found in the amount of money we have or don't have, the goods we own, the income stream we can achieve or the shares we invest. Rich or poor alike need to receive the gift of being generous like God. It is obtaining the God given desire to be generous and the power to fulfill that desire as we give to others.

For God so loved the world that He sent His only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

John Safran Vs God

We watched part of the John Safran Vs God DVD in Living Room last night. "John Safran vs God" is an informative, funny yet full-on documentary about different religions and theology. It comprises of 8 episodes.

The opening showed John in a black suit coming out from 'a black hole' with his hands during a thunderstorm. Then Revelation 20:7 appeared on the screen, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison". Out of all the epiodes we saw, the one that was most full-on and confronting was the last episode on exorcism. It showed the scene of John's exorcism by Bob Larson. It was really dramatic and realistic.

My Commitment

I am committed to seeking 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.

Six Basic Worldviews

I read in the new life magazine that there are six basic worldviews, which are the ways people view the world. They refer to the framework through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it, here they are:

1. The biblical worldview says: “Serve the one true God – the Creator of the universe – alone. Since God loves you personally, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. God’s rules are good and are for our good.”
2. The Haunted worldview says: “Eclectic. Syncretistic. Don’t judge anybody. Get in contact with spiritual power, which spiritual power works for you.”
3. The What You See is What You Get (WYSIWYG) worldview says: “The physical world is the only reality. You can only know what is material. Any appeal to spiritual reality is outlawed from the start as mere superstition, hype, hokum, wishful thinking, or deception. All morals and ideas of good, evil, truth, and beauty are man-made.”
4. The Dueling Yodas worldview says: “Good and evil are in an eternal battle in a moral universe, but neither side ever wins. It is an eternal struggle.”
5. The Omnipresent Supergalactic Oneness worldview says: “Absorption of all things into pantheism or monism. Evil and good are only apparent opposites. There are no innocent sufferers, since suffering is exactly proportionate to one’s karma. You create your own reality with your mind. You are ‘God,’ but so is that cockroach scurrying across the floor.”
6. The Designer Religion worldview says: “It’s okay to mix and match religions. Never judge anybody. Get in contact with a spiritual power that works for you.”

The Chicken-Eagle

Someone found an eagle egg, and put it amongst the chickens in the backyard. The small eagle and the small chickens came out of the shells, and they grew up together. The eagle looked like the chickens in the backyard, and really thought it was a chicken. It crawled in the mud to find little insects. It crowed and it moved its wings to fly for a few feet in the sky sometimes. Year after year, the eagle grew older and older. One day, it looked up to the sunny sky, and saw a huge bird flying elegantly and majestically, moving its strong golden wings every now and then. The old eagle on the ground looked up intently. “What is that?” it asked. “That is an eagle, the king of birds,” its fellows said, “it belongs to the sky. But we belong to the ground – we are chickens” Therefore, the eagle on the ground lived like a chicken till its death, because it thought it was a chicken.

Imagine you were the eagle, what would you do?

Women In Mission

Women have a long history of responding to God's call to carry out His purposes on earth. From Sarah, wife of Abraham, Miriam, the sister of Moses (Exodus 15:20; Micah 6:4), Deborah, a judge chosen by God to rule (Judge 45), Hannah, mother of Samuel, Mary, mother of Jesus, to Amy Carmichael of the Keswick Movement, Catherine Booth of the Salvation Army, Mother Teresa in her ministry to the poor of India, Eilsabeth Eilliot, the great missionary writer, to Corrie ten Boom, the leader in the Dutch underground, hiding Jews during World War 2 etc., God has chosen and empowered women to do His Kingdom work through the ages.

In preparing for the facilitation of the World Team CLiMAT training, I went back to read one of my favourite books "Guardians of the Great Commission" by Ruth Tucker. She said that women have played an outstanding role in the modern missionary movement. Dana Robert shows that women's mission theory was holistic, with emphasis on both evangelism and meeting human needs. With their holistic approach to missions, women were committed to healing. They have been permitted great latitude in Christian ministry with their work ranging from support efforts behind the scenes, pioneer work, evangelim, church planting to Bible translation, teaching in seminaries, preaching, organisation and training on the home front, women's work for women, orphanges and children's work, health and humanitarian services, linguistics, literacy, missionary writing, fundraising to urban ministry etc. Since women were less involved in denominational activities and more focused on human need, it was easier for them to be ecumenically minded and risk cooperation for common purposes.

Helen Barrett Montgomery's saying decades ago is really challenging to me personally. She said, "We have done very little original work. We have made very few demands upon the brains of the women....and as a result, we have been given over to smallness of vision in our missionary life."

I pray that God will give women in this emerging postmodern age the courage, wisdom and strength to go forward in missional outreach, never forgetting the remarkable heritage that is ours.

Source Of Value

I always want to write and talk about what I think and how I feel, but sometimes I can't find the words that match what is deep inside my soul. I realize the foolishness with my words. Really I have no ideas at times. Who am I after all? I am just an ordinary person with both positive and negative experiences behind me.

Where does the source of my value come from? Does it come from my work? my ministry? my friendship? my performance, past experiences, how much I am loved, cared for or missed?

Stripped of anything that makes me who I am, I reckon my source of value and identity must come from who I am in Christ, not what I do, the ministry I am in, or even the significant relationships that I have with people. I think that is it! It is impossible for me to know even myself fully, let alone people around me. Only God knows me fully! Every one of us is subjective, but who we are in Christ is the truth, the reality of our existence.

How about you? What is your source of value and identity?

My Journey In Missions & Ministry

"Whatever, Wherever, Whenever. LORD I'm willing"...many years ago, I was challenged to think about these words and commit myself to being available for whatever task that God has for me.A time of wrestling with God followed. I didn't understand why God would call me to give up my career and consider 'full-time ministry'. As a result, I ended up studying at Bible College, a time to follow through with that commitment! Throughout my time at College, my burden for mission became stronger and stronger. I believed that God had called me to promote Christ’s cause by mobilizing a generation into mission. I felt that He had wanted me to be involved with global mission, and I had been working as a mission mobilizer with World Team (a global missionary fellowship that seeks to reach the nations for God's glory), along with working as the the creative arts coordinator / translator / interpretor and worship leader in my church for the last 27 months.

Since then, I felt that I had done quite a bit of 'travelling' in terms of my journey in mission and ministry. To simply put it, I am one of many who constantly grapple with issues related to missions and ministry. God called me to mission through Hudson Taylor's biographies many years ago. Without Hudson Taylor, we Chinese people wouldn't have had the opportunity to hear the gospel. I sensed that God was calling me (as a Chinese person) to 'return the debt' to the nations.

More than four years ago, I attended a Christian arts seminar in Cooma in New South Wales. Michael Frost was the main speaker. That was the first time I'd ever heard of the so called 'alternative ways of being / doing church'. I was blown away and challenged by Mike's messages. I came to know a bit more about the concepts of emerging missional church through study, books and blogs.

I really want to "cast off anything that hinders....", and I start to wonder if "church systems or programmes" do hinder more than help in terms of missional efforts in God's Kingdom. They're not evil or necessarily wrong in themselves, but God's attitude towards us is not based on how well you've fit into the church structure (as some believe so). I think 'sacred space' doesn't have to be within the four walls of the church buildings. As a friend of mine said, "Non churched people could actually teach the Church a thing or two about building community, generosity and making a difference in the world we live in. " More and more I think sharing and living out the Gospel in everyday language and in the natural rhythms of life would have more impact than just working in the church office. Mission is really about asking 'what is God doing around me' and then seeking ways to join in those things. That is my intention and my prayer. The process of grappling and wrestling with all of the baggage I put on myself, and the church's role in this has been going on for the last couple of years in my journey.

Hence moving back from being a full time paid Christian worker to a different journey is not beyond question. I must admit though that I am on a crossroad, and still haven't made up my mind......

Tell me oh Lord how You want me to live Your life.....

Paradox

A phrase came to my mind today, which I think is quite true: Paradox both delights and perplexes me!

Personality And Spirituality

Recently I have been reading a book called "Personality Plus" by Florence Litteaur (actually D has been reading it out loud to me hehe). That got me thinking about how personality is related to spirituality. The followings are some of the thoughts:

• God gives each of us a unique personality. Most of us don't know much about our own personalities. I think knowing more about our personality -- who we are and how we interact with others -- is very important.
• I Cor. 11:28 says, “Let a man examine himself...”. According to our personalities, our “work” on examining ourselves will differ from another’s. How we perceive reality, how we react to life, how we look at things will impact throughout the frame of our personality. I think knowing our personality type can assist us in knowing how to face difficult situations.
• No personality type is “good” or “bad”, that none is better or worse than any other. Accepting ourselves is the first step in accepting others. Every one has both strengths and weaknesses.
• God has given us gifts according to our personality.

Romans 12:4-8:
Ro 12:4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
Ro 12:5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Ro 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
Ro 12:7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
Ro 12:8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

I Was Tagged

I was tagged by Garth, out of the seven, I have chosen four questions to answer here:

• 4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:

waitress, proof reader, tours coordinator, marketing executive

• 4 Movies You Could Watch Over And Over:

A Beautiful Mind, Beyond Borders, Passion of the Christ, Joy Luck Club

• 4 Websites You Visit often:

Google, Living Room, World Team, CCBC Xanga

• 4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

in my bed, Greek Islands, Taiwan.... come to think of it, I should be quite happy where I am now :s

Feel free to consider yourself tagged!

Gospel

Gospel is:

•Not just in the NT….but in the OT
•Not just a formula….but the heart of God
•Not just to share….but to live
•Not just for heaven….but for this life
•Not just for Non-Christians….but for Christians

Differences Between Modern And Postmodern Leadership

yadah at Yadah Thoughts , in response to my previous post , emailed me an interesting online article which, amongst other insights, included Brian McLaren's ideas on postmodern leadership. He saw a cultural clash - the models that worked in the modern Church no longer function in the emerging postmodern Church.

McLaren uses a scene in the story of "The Wizard of Oz" to make his point. When Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal that the great Wizard of Oz is in fact a very average person hiding behind an imposing image. The 1940's world was a world immersed in modernity. The film exposes the Wizard as a fraud, expressing a relentless doubt and displaying an early pang of discontent with its dominant model of larger-than-life leadership. The answer to this problem appeared in the next scene. McLaren said,

"At first glance, Dorothy is all wrong as a model of leadership. She is the wrong gender (female) and the wrong age (young). Rather than being a person with all the answers, who knows what's up and where to go and what's what, she is herself lost, a seeker, often bewildered, and vulnerable. These characteristics would disqualify her from modern leadership. But they serve as her best credentials for postmodern leadership."

McLaren says that Dorothy is a bit disoriented, and she gathers other needy people in the belief that all their needs can be fulfilled in a common quest. Dorothy doesn't have all the answers and can't solve all the problems, but she believes that somehow they can journey together. McLaren lists a comparison of this post-Wiz leadership to the original modern leadership model, which I am very challenged by.

1. From Bible analyst to spiritual sage
2. From Broadcaster to listener
3. From Technician to spiritual friend
4. From Warrior/Salesman to dancer
5. From Careerist to amateur
6. From Problem Solver to co-Quester
7. From Apologist to apologizer
8. From Threat to includer
9. From Knower to seeker
10. From Solo Act to team builder

As Al Rogers said, "In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists." I think that is very insightful!

Balance Between Mind and Heart

As much as it is important to use our minds and intellectual abilities to understand theology, it is impossible for us to understand God fully. We want to be able to predict Him, to dissect Him, to carry Him around. We have a tendancy to put God in a box and restrict Him. Oh how wrong is that! It is not easy to have a balance between our minds and our hearts is it?

I was reminded today that too much of our time is spent in trying to chart God on a grid, and too little time is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing Christian spirituality to formula, we deprive our hearts to wonder.

As I shared previously in my posts, I have been grappling with a number of paradoxes of faith and spirituality. Today I heard a still small voice telling me: "There are things you cannot fully understand, and you must learn to live with this. Not only must you learn to live with this, you must learn to enjoy this." What a challenge! Well the chances of any of my theology being exactly right are extremely slim, but I know that God has things figured out, and I just need to simply trust Him, worship Him and love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

Organization And Leadership

Many people I know have been experiencing increasing dissatisfaction about 'inhuman organization and leadership', ministries and churches that are run like 'machines'. Controlling, top-down, dominant, non-listening, autocratic or unaccountable and unapproachable leadership has been a problem in many organizations in recent years, but being anti-organization or anti-leadership will also create problems. Often times finding a balance is really not easy!

A. W. Tozer said that organization is necessary but dangerous, and I think that is so true, and offer a wise balance. The key with both leadership and organization is to seek forms, styles, and attitudes that serve, not that dominate – and that are flexible, not new rigidities. This approach, of course, is what Jesus taught and modeled.

I find the following quote from Brian McLaren very meaningful, it gives me a perspective that encourages me to continue seeking balance as I proceed my journey with the Lord, although this journey is never easy:

"we are all in process, and we move forward like inexperienced canoe-paddlers at times, veering toward one bank, over-correcting toward the other, and so on. With experience and time, instructed by both internal self-examination and constructive external criticism, I trust that we will develop a smooth, graceful, and balanced stroke and move strongly forward in our adventure, enjoying both the journey and our companions, in the joyful presence of God."

Melbourne International Arts Festival

Melbourne International Arts Festival is coming soon. I am really looking forward to it :)

Gospel Leadership

The following is a summary of a presentation done by David Riddell, one of our World Team Leaders in Europe, about Gospel leadership:

• A Gospel leader always goes back to the basics. As John Newton said, our hearts are 'prone to wander' and we always need our heart warmed by the Gospel. In the midst of busyness, are the 'eyes of our understanding' on the Lord or are we overwhelmed by the 'stuff' in our lives? The Gospel leaks out of us everyday! We must put it back in! After all, we work, but we work because it is God who works in us, changing our minds and emotions so that we regain our spiritual balance, enabling us to live for the praise of His Name (Phil 2:12-13)
• A Gospel leader asks God to help him or her be willing to lead out of weakness, not out of their strength. Are we willing to let God help us give up the idol of having to control life and live out of our human resources apart from Him? Is our model of a leader the charismatic CEO or someone who really sees his need for Christ? Even people in the church do not want this kind of leader!
• The Gospel leader needs to be willing to take risks. While we often criticize Peter for his lack of faith when he was trying to walk on the water, he at least stepped out of the boat. What does risk-taking look like for the Gospel leader? Just a few ideas: the willingness to lovingly confront and stretch people, to stand for what is right but recognize our own personal failings.
• Leaders living out of the Gospel should reflect an attitude of humility. Both Peter and James remind us that God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. John the Baptist acknowledge that "He (Jesus) must increase; I must decrease." Paul tells us in Ephesians 4 that we must be "completely humble."
• Gospel leaders feel the pain of this sinful world. The more the Gospel works on us, the more we realize we are family. It will drive us to Christ for more grace and draw us to one another in mutual interdependence. It will help us feel the heartbeat of God for the lost sheep which surround us.

The Gospel leader will begin reflecting these characteristics as he aligns himself and herself with our Father. Such attitudes and actions will flow out of workship, going back to the basics, longing for a time of solitude to let God change ungodly attitudes, to learn to live and even rejoice in weakness, to take risks, to walk humbly before our God, and to embrace the pain of this world, knowing that our Savior sustains us and helps us look beyond the pain to the hope that lies before us.

The Seven Steps To Stagnation

Erwin M. Soukup has compiled what he terms "The Seven Steps to Stagnation", which I thinks is quite interesting:

1. We've never done it that way before.
2. We're not ready for that.
3. We are doing all right without trying that.
4. We tried it once before.
5. We don't have money for that.
6. That's not our job.
7. Something like that can't work.

There's probably an eighth step, but we've never looked it up before hehe.

Living Missional Lives

I was pondering what living missional lives would be like after chatting with a friend of mine who lives in a hospitality house provided by her church, with other people in the community, where they have an open door policy to the homeless and poor in the neighbourhood.

Lately I have been convicted about the fact that majority of the western church has lost touch with people who didn't know about Jesus. We need to repent and start loving people who are very different from us. I wonder if living missional lives and intentionally befriending people would be the key. The idea is not to befriend somebody just to 'attract' them into going to my church, but to love people just because they exist and that they are made in the image of God. I like the idea of loving people just to love them.

Team

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” (African proverb)

I Want To Know

Kel at the X facta wrote a poem in her blog which I could really resonate with. It challenges me and makes me think. Her meanigful poem is like a hit on my head and a breath of fresh air at the same time, especially when I have been struggling and grappling with the ideas of "religious deconstruction" and "spiritual reconstruction". Truly this process is one filled with many questions, and I must say (quoting kc) "I am willing to struggle with the questions".

Kel's poem is called "I want to know":

I don’t care which denomination or religious community you align yourself with.
I want to know how spiritual you are as a singular person in the daily movement of life.

I don’t care how many fundamental beliefs you cherish in your head.
I want to know what your heart cherishes, for that is what your hands will ultimately do. Show me what you do with your time and how you spend your money and I will know what your real beliefs are.

I don’t care what doctrinal knowledge you possess, or how many times you’ve proved your position through the selective use of scriptures.I want to know how many times you’ve proved God exists by being His helping hand to the lonely, the sick, the poor, and the unseen, unheard voices.

I don’t care if your church building has fancy stained-glass windows, cushions on the pews, or beautifully landscaped gardens.
I want to know about the people inside. Do they act differently when inside those four walls than when outside? Do they use different words, put on different mannerisms, or even dress differently? Do they have any friends outside those four walls?

I don’t care if you pay tithes and offerings to your local CSP [church service provider], or how much you donate to charities or other tax-deductible organisations.
I want to know how the other 90 percent of your income is spent. Your generosity in all of life speaks more to me of who you are and what kind of God you serve.

I don’t care where you are on the ladder, or what your title is.
I want to know how much family time was sacrificed to get there and what you will sacrifice to stay there. Show me how much family time and personal time you spend with God, and I will have a clearer picture of where you are spiritually.

I don’t care which food you choose to eat, or drinks you choose to drink.
I want to know how often you share that food and drink with others. If you practice hospitality - whether your table is groaning with gourmet delicacies, or simply bread and water - that tells me more about your “inner health” than any dietary preferences.

I don’t care what special days, seasons or festivals you observe.
I want to know how you live sunset-to-sunset every day of the year. Your daily pace, rituals and observations reveal more to me than your beliefs about specific days.

I don’t care which books or magazines you read, conferences or seminars you attend, or even how much Bible study you do.
I want to know how all that information is making a difference to your ability to live in such a way that I might be attracted to That Story as my own Truth. kh copyright

I wonder if you have ever struggled with the same questions in your life?

In The Corridor

These couple of weeks I have been a bit unsure about things. I feel like I am wrestling with God in restlessness at the moment. I am at a crossroad, sitting on the fence, and as my friend put it, being in a corridor season. The idea of 'the corridor' intrigues me. It requires me to just sit and wait for a door to open, yet the fact that I am grappling with paradoxes of faith and spirituality is making me feel a bit stuck, and even claustrophobic at times.

I was told that the thing with corridors is that you have to learn to tune into God's voice. I thought I have been doing that, yet it still seems His voice is not that clear. I am struggling, and I have been trying to beat down the doors myself. I almost feel helpless. Am I to just resign and not try anymore, simply waiting on God? Or should I put my feet into the "Red Sea" and trust that God will open the waters for me?

Oh Lord, I need to experience you sitting in the corridor with me, if that is what I am supposed to do. Please help me to be settled with having more questions than answers, and let me enjoy this season of my life with You.

My Own Depravity

There is a poem by C.S. Lewis that is more or less a confession. I was reading it yesterday, and it came as a shock that I identified with his sentiments. It makes me think and feel that I am so flawed. In the poem C.S. Lewis faces himself. And that is like a mirror, and shows me my own depravity when I read this poem:

All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through;
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love - a scholar's parrot may talk Greek -
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.

I sat there in the chapel of a church close to my home yesterday wondering if I was like the parrot in C.S. Lewis' poem, swinging in my cage, or engaging in a valley walking along a narrow road hitting the sides of the road.

More than six billion people live in the world, more than 1/3 have never heard of Jesus, and why am I engaging in thoughts for me? How am I to deal with my own depravity? I know deep down that Jesus feels strongly about communicating the idea of our brokenness, and I do need to figure out what is wrong with the person in the mirror in HIS strength. I really can't do it on my own.

The Pencil Parable

A friend sent me the following story of the pencil, which encouraged me. Would love to share with you all:

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. "There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

• One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.
• Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil.
• Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
• Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside.
• Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

• One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.
• Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.
• Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
• Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.
• Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

Three Streams Of Postmodernity

Gallagher identifies three streams of postmodernity:

1. ‘radical’ postmodernity, based on a head-driven philosophical search
2. sociological search
3. creative postmodernity

The first two of these three approaches are about Deconstruction (A) and one is Reconstruction (B). To get from (A) to (B) is a painful journey, and one that many in the Emerging church have made, are making or are about to make. It is common knowledge that any fundamental shift in the way we go about life will inevitably involve some pain, and is therefore something that requires the support of those around you.

‘Creative postmodernism’ is far more healthy, and akin to a deconstruct/reconstruct approach. In this scenario, people engage both head and heart, and are influenced by the thoughts, experiences, dialogue and interaction with others.

A Jamieson reports that this is the beginning of a process, which relates to Fowler’s Stages of Faith. The greatest mistake that people in ‘deconstruction mode’ make, is to stop praying. The reasons given for stopping praying are usually some form of objection to the mechanics and purpose of prayer. Rather than persevering with it or finding alternative methods of prayer, it has become the first casualty of deconstruction. The approach to faith turns into an exercise in philosophical truth claims rather than a relationship to the divine.

Prayer takes you beyond yourself and your limitations; it enables you to listen and encounter the God that is beyond, and not defined by us. It is believed that deconstruction held with prayer can help us hear and encounter the real Jesus and the real Godhead.

What do you think?

Kingdom-Centered Prayer

Dr Tim Keller's idea of Kingdom-Centered Prayer is very inspiring. He said that biblically and historically, the one non-negotiable, universal ingredient in times of spiritual renewal is corporate, prevailing, intensive and kingdom-centered prayer, which is the following:

1. It is focused on God's presence and kingdom (Acts 4, Exodus 33, Nehemiah 1).

• a request for grace to confess sins and humble ourselves
• a compassion and zeal for the flourishing of the church
• a yearning to know God, to see his face, to see his glory

2. It is bold and specific.

• pacesetters in prayer spend time in self-examination
• in the context of the gospel, it is purifying and strenthening
• pray that the world might see the glory of God through his people

3. It is prevailing, corporate.

• prayer should be constant, not sporadic and brief
• pray withouth ceasing, pray long and hard
• the process will have our hard hearts melted, to tear down barriers, to have the glory of God break through.

New Life

Yesterday I went to visit my Living Room mates Darren and V, and their newborn baby in the hospital. Xavier arrived to the big wide world last Thursday morning, and he is simply cute and adorable. I was so happy to see and hold the new member of our Living Room community :)

We are going to have "New Life" as our BYO worship as the theme next Wednesday during LR, where each of us will bring something such as a prayer, a bible verse, a testimony, a song, or an artistic piece etc to the gathering. I'm still thinking about what to bring...any suggestions for me?

Self-Awareness

What do you think of the following perceptions of self-awareness?

The first one is the thinking that we only need to know God, and we don’t need to spend time knowing ourselves, because knowing ourselves will make us more self-centred.

Calvin thought that “lacking self-awareness will not lead us to knowing God. Almost all the wisdom that we have is real and concrete wisdom, is composed of two parts: knowing God and knowing self.”

The second perception is to achieve self awareness through human psychology. They study diligently and without a doubt have increased their self awareness, but behind that some of the values are contrary to the Christian worldview. For example, they think that they don’t need God to achieve real self-awareness and affirmation of identity. The answer to the meaning and purpose of life can be found from logical thinking. Self-development and satisfaction is the core of personal growth.

Biblical Holism

In preparation for the CLiMAT training, where I will be facilitating the topic "Biblical Holism, where evangelism and deeds connect", I have been reflecting upon Dr John Steward's thesis on the topic. In the New Testament the word "holos' expresses completeness or tatality. Good examples of its use are in Matthew 5:29,20; John 7:23 and John 9:34.

Dr Steward suggests that Biblical Holism is where God, people and deeds connect. He reminds us that the gospel is not bound to either societal tastes or traditional ideals: rather, it stands apart as a timeless message with radically fresh ideas for each age.

Steward retells the salvation story with an eye on the big picture. Creation, the fall of man, and redemption are examined from a 'whole-life' perspective. God is pre-eminent, Lord over every area of life, spiritual, physical, and social. When assimilated into individual and corporate life, it is important to foster a balanced, vital community of faith.

Biblical holism, according to Steward, thrives when every person, culture, and race adds a voice. This blending of perspectives, practices, and priorities makes a glorious choir of God's work on earth. It is based on Christ's lordship over every part of life - where people who are in right relationship with God and one another (relationship) are responsibly managing the resources entrusted by Him (stewardship) in ways that show that those resources belong to God (ownership). Understanding the meaning of biblical holism is essential to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

As a person serving in mobilizing missions, I find this insight very useful for dealing with the ambiguities of different cultural, economic, environmental, and religious paractices in various mission fields (which of course go beyond Western culture).

The Great Commission

In my last post, we discussed what is mission. Most of us agree that mission involves the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20, which was the last words of the risen Lord Jesus before his ascension into heaven.

I was thinking: it must have shaken his disciples to the core when Jesus gave them this mission. Two thousand years later, if we take them seriously, they still both shock us and thrill us. This Commission was given to every follower of Jesus, not to pastors and missionaries alone.

• A never-to-be-forgotten day
  Imagine the scene. 11 men had gathered on a mountainside, and they were emotionally exhausted. Who wouldn’t be, after all they had been through in a few short weeks? They had experienced the heights of hope and the depths of despair, not once but over and over again. They had lived for weeks in fear of their lives. They had endured the shock of having their best friend and inspirational leader publicly executed, and unbelievably, break free from a heavily guarded rock tomb and appear among them on several distinct occasions after his resurrection.
• A never-to-be forgotten mandate
  It is in this highly charged context that the Lord Jesus gives the disciples his final instructions. For centuries, the church has known the concluding verses of Matthew’s Gospel as “the Great Commission”, in the same way that Matthew 22:37-39 is known as “the Great Commandment”.

What exactly is it that Jesus told his disciples? “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matt 28:18-20)

In fact, there is only one command in these verses: “make disciples of all nations” (that’s the only imperative in the original Greek). But, that command is encircled on the one hand by a breathtaking statement of fact (“All authority…) and on the other by a comprehensive promise (“and surely I am with you always,…), and explained by three activities / participles (“as you go”, “baptizing”, “teaching”), which are the inescapable tasks to undertake in order to fulfil the command!

However, I was also thinking - perhaps “going, baptizing and teaching” are illustrative rather than saying all there is to say. Or perhaps, each embraces a significant portion of what is involved in making disciples and God's mission. Hence I also reckon that the other items in the previous post are part of God's mission for His Church universal.

What Is Mission?

Out of the following ten, which one(s) do you think is mission?

(1) go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
(2) to clothe the naked?
(3) to feed the hungry?
(4) to set at liberty those who are oppressed?
(5) to see and name the injustice of the world?
(6) to work to change the conditions that perpetuate poverty and oppression?
(7) to reach out to the hurting in loving compassion?
(8) offering what you have in service to others?
(9) to engage in dialogue with persons of faith wherever they may be and join together in making the world a better place for all of God’s children?
(10) joining with Christians around the world in global partnership and mutual cooperation to do the work of God?

Together And Alone

I enjoy being with people, but I always enjoy being alone at times.

Hey I was wondering - for those of you who have boy friend /girl friend / partner / husband / wife, how do you determine your time together and time alone? Do you have a concensus between yourselves regarding this?

The Missional Church

Sivin quoted the following in his blog, which was taken from Alan J. Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk's The Missional Leader, which is quite thought-provoking:

"God is about a big purpose in and for the whole of creation. The church has been called into life to be both the means of this mission and a foretaste of where God is inviting all creation to go. Just as its Lord is a mission-shaped God, so the community of God's people exists, not for themselves but for the sake of the work. Mission is therefore not a program or project some people in the church do from time to time (the church's very nature is to be God's missionary people. We use the word missional to mark this big difference.) Mission is not about a project or a budget, or a one-off event somewhere; it's not even about sending missionaries. A missional church is a community of God's people who live into the imagination that they are, by their very nature, God's missionary people living as a demonstration of what God plans to do in and for all of creation in Jesus Christ."

New Wineskins For New Wine

I believe that without mission the church dies. Although what we ordinarily call the church may continue to exist as a religious group, a missionless church is no longer an authentic church. The proof of its missionary character will be demonstrated by its response to the world.

W. A. Visser ‘t Hooft proposed that missionary witness is a test of Christian faith because of three requirements:
• In the missionary situation the church must demonstrate that it actually believes in the “happenedness” of
what God has done in Jesus Christ.
• In the missionary situation the church must declare whether it believes in the universal claims of the Gospel.
• In the missionary situation the church must affirm that God’s Word is not bound to any one culture, and especially not to Western cultural forms.

These requirements put the church on notice that it carries special responsibilities in relation to both God and the world. No other body or religious group is defined by these three criteria. When the church no longer makes these affirmations, it has changed character and has forfeited its distinctive purpose.

Do you agree? Why or why not?

The Holy And The Common

In my last post secular and sacred, we discussed the controversial concept that there is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation.

In regards to this, John Fischer suggests that it's all about connections. The more we learn to connect God's truth to the physical world and the culture that surrounds us, the more we will be able to live a life of worship. Worship does not consist in leaving the world to see God, but in learning to see God at all times in the world.

Fischer share about this through our Lord's example, which I found very meaningful:

Jesus busted the whole paradigm because he was the essence of the spiritual – God himself, to be exact – in human flesh and bone. He ate and drank and got dirty walking the road of life, and made it all sacred in the process. He told stories about vines and branches and farmers and merchants and kings and widows. He changed water into wine, sickness into health, death into life. He healed people's bodies and forgave their sins at the same time. He paid his taxes, helped his disciples fish, and cooperated with Roman rule. And even after his resurrection, he made breakfast for his little band of followers and ate with them.

To Jesus, life was a mixed bag of the holy and the common, but mostly the common made holy by his touch. In Jesus, the sacred and the profane meet, resulting in the realization that the profane can be redeemed. Our earthly existence can be given spiritual value. The physical world is not disconnected from the spiritual one, nor is it at odds with it, but the physical world can embody all that is spiritual. The Word became flesh, and since then nothing has ever been the same. Now work, play, recreation, entertainment, and even commerce can contain God's glory. Indeed, the entire physical world is merely a front for the spiritual realities it illustrates.

Mission Mobilization

God is in the sending business. He is seeking to send his people and resources from where they are to where He wants them to be. This process isn't new, but rather the story of the church in mission from the Acts of the Apostles to the present day. We even see this sending process illustrated in the early days of Christ's disciples when Jesus sent them out in pairs on a vital mission (Matthew 10).

Today the term "mobilization" is in vogue and helpfully describes the sending process in all of its aspects. It is encouraging to see churches recognizing that not only should so-called "front-line missionaries" be supported, but also those who are set apart to help mobilize the resources for the task. Whether we call these mobilization specialists "resource advocates," or mission representatives, it is important that we see them as all part of the sending process.

But what is involved in the sending process? One way to look at it is to start from the goal and look back at the required or necessary critical success factors to reach it. The Apostle Paul in Romans 10:14-15 outlines the sending process by starting from the strategic objective (outcome) and outlining the action steps or critical success factors along the way to the goal.

So what then is involved? Let me briefly examine the process:

• The end result of the sending process is simply that people will have an opportunity to "call on the name of the Lord" who alone can save them from the penalty and power of sin. This call to Jesus as Lord (10:9; 10:13) must come from personal conviction as an individual act of repentance and faith.
• Responding to gospel content, people must believe. There is no gospel without giving men and women something to believe. In order to believe we must be able to hear a message. The gospel needs to be preached (orally or in written form). While Christian presence and good works are important, proclamation is essential. God uses living messengers in the process. Preachers or proclaimers are critical. Visions, dreams even miracles may help prepare people, but alone cannot save. Messengers won't show up where they are needed, unless they are sent.
• The sending process then, is the God-given task of the church. Missions mobilization is all about enabling the unreached of our world to be able to "call on the name of the Lord."
• Let's go back to Matthew 10 for just a minute and remind ourselves as to what should be characteristic of the senders and the sent in the mobilization task. Jesus reminds us:To be sent means first to be called (10:1). "Call" is a word that we use or abuse in mission circles. But what is involved in being called? We are reminded first of all that Jesus called his disciples "that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach."
• Regardless of what we think of the so-called "missionary call," it is imperative that we send people who have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. Both the senders as well as the goers need to be linked closely to the Lord of the Harvest or we'll end up sending ill-equipped and unprepared people.
• Mobilization can become simply an exciting program unless we stay bonded to our Lord.Jesus called each of his disciples personally to be a part of the apostolic team. The call to ministry or mission is very personal, and in our rush to get numbers to the field, we need to make sure that we send those who have a deep conviction that they are being sent by God, not just their peers.Keep in mind too that people are called in answer to prayer. There is much we must do besides prayer but nothing we can do without prayer.
• Labor shortages for the Harvest may have many causes, including poor "marketing" or recruitment efforts. However, without prayer, as Jesus reminds us in Matthew 9:38, we will not get the right workers to meet the needs.
• We are called in response to needs. In Matthew 9:36-37 Jesus saw the crowds as harassed and helpless; like sheep without a shepherd. The scribes, Pharisees and priests should have helped, but failed because they lacked compassion. What they lacked, we may lack as well if we are not careful. Those whom we are sending out, need to see the world through the eyes of the Saviour, and respond not just to physical needs, but to the spiritual needs of people that only a right relationship with Jesus can meet.
• There is no higher calling than to participate in the sending process either as a sent one or a sending one. In our day of increasing technical sophistication in mobilization business, we need to heed afresh both the biblical ends as well as the means. It is only then that we truly partner with the Lord of the Harvest in His sending business.

Law Versus Grace

LAW versus GRACE
Self-focus verus God-focus
Self righteousness versus Humble
Self power versus God power
Man pleasing versus Already pleased
Fake/Dishonest versus Transparent/real
Prideful versus Grateful
External focus versus Internal focus
Do (work) versus Done (rest)
Identity (what you do) versus Identity (who you are)

Are you focussed on law or grace?

Christianity And Culture

I read a journal by Timothy Keller in Christianity Today, which talked about a new kind of urban Christian.


Keller asked this important question: ''How can followers of Christ be a counterculture for the common good? "

Two movies mirrored the fractured and confusing relationship between Christians and culture this year. The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe struck fear in many secular hearts. Some journalists saw it as an ominous sign of growing right-wing power that a company like Disney would make a movie that had such profound evangelical appeal (and, arguably, content). And why did Disney pull the plug on the gay-friendly TV reality series Welcome to the Neighborhood? Isn't this, the pundits asked, what happens when you let Christians influence culture?At the same time, The End of the Spear, the account of five evangelical missionaries martyred in Ecuador, upset some Christians when it was discovered that an active gay man was playing Nate Saint, the lead role in the movie.

Major questions about Christianity and culture were raised on hundreds of websites. What makes a movie "Christian"? Do all the actors have to be Christians? If not, which kinds of 'sinners' are allowed, and which are not? Is spiritual compromise inevitable when Christians try to enter mainstream cultural production? The relationship of Christians to culture is the singular current crisis point for the church. Evangelicals are deeply divided over how to interact with a social order that is growing increasingly post-Christian.

Many are attracted to the new culture and want to reengineer the church to modify its adversarial relationship with culture. Many in the "one heart at a time" party play down doctrine and stress experience, while some in the reengineering group are changing distinctives of evangelical doctrine in the name of cultural engagement.

We need Christian tradition, Christians in politics, and effective evangelism. And the church has always contextualized itself into its surrounding culture. There are harmful excesses in every approach, however. I think that is because many have turned their specialty into a single magic bullet that will solve the whole problem. I doubt such a magic bulletexists, but just bundling them all together is not sufficient either.Instead, we need a new and different strategy.

Cultural trends tend to be generated in the city and flow outward to the rest of society.People who live in large urban cultural centers, occupying jobs in thearts, business, academia, publishing, the helping professions, and the media, tend to have a disproportionate impact on how things are done inour culture.

Christians should be a dynamic counterculture in the cities. It is not enough for Christians to simply live as individuals in the city. They must live as a particular kind of community. Jesus told his disciples that they were "a city on a hill" that showed God's glory to the world(Matt. 5:14-16). Christians are called to be an alternate city within very earthly city, an alternate human culture within every humanculture.

Lord, may your empower us to do that!

Lights In The World

God calls the church to be in the world yet not of it. That often means being God’s people outside the confines of our churches and Christian communities and on the edge of our society. The church is the church anywhere and is not limited to a building. Wherever people meet in the name of Christ (coffee lounges, the beach, the business world, or at schools, etc.), that is the church. We are called to build community not buildings.

Do you agree?

Becoming A Servant Of God

My missionary friend and colleague Robb Branch, is now in Melbourne sharing his work with the working class people in Taiwan in various churches here. Robb and his family are World Team missionaries who work closely with OMF in Taiwan. Their ministry focus is amongst the working class Taiwanese, which has less than 1% Christian. Recently many working class Taiwanese men have married foreign brides. Robb and his wife Holly along with some Taiwanese Christians have begun a Chinese class to help the brides learn Chinese along with understand Taiwan culture. They use this as a bridge to know their family to share God’s love. Most the brides are from Vietnam, which the number of Christians in Vietnam are also low.

Last Sunday, Robb preached a sermon based on Jesus' miracles of using five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 5000 people called "becoming a servant of God", which I was inspired by. Apparently it is the only miracle that is found in all four gospels, thus it must be important!

The followings are the six points that Robb shared about based on this miracle which will help us become faithful servants of God.

1. HAVING A HEART OF MERCY (Luke 9:11)

• Jesus is a person of mercy. Luke 7:13 shows us that Jesus has a heart of compassion/mercy.
• God desires all his children to have hearts of mercy.
• We can cultivate a heart of mercy: 1. Pray, ask God for a heart of mercy. 2. Understand our need of God’s mercy. 3. Everyday look for opportunities to practice mercy (at work, school, family, church,..).

2. UNDERSTAND JESUS HAS GIVEN US ALL AN IMPORTANT ROLE

• In Luke 9:12, the 12 disciples told Jesus to send the people away, but Jesus responded and said “YOU give them something to eat”.
• Today God has called all of us to feed the world.
• As Christians, we have the privilege to represent God and evangelize and make disciples.

3. BE WILLING TO TAKE OUR FISH AND BREAD AND OFFER IT TO GOD AND HIS PURPOSES

• The bread and fish represent our talents, gifts, time, and money, etc.
• The bread and fish in the hands of the disciples are not enough to feed the 5000, but in the hands of Jesus it is enough to feed the 5000.
• Are you willing to give over to God your bread and fish to be used for his purposes.? So often we use our money, time, energy, and talents for our work, school, hobbies and we give God our left over. We need to repent. We need to discovery our gifts that God has given us and use them to God’s glory.

4. WE MUST CONTINUALLY GO TO GOD TO BE REFRESHED

• It is important that first the disciples went to Jesus to receive his fresh bread and fish and then they passed it out to others.
• If we forget to first go to Jesus and receive his fresh food, than we won’t have enough to feed the people and our food will be spoiled.
• God gives us a great promise, if we are willing to draw close to him, he is willing to draw close to us. We can than give away his fresh love and mercy.

5. WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GREATLY IMPACT PEOPLE FOR GOD

• God gave the disciples the opportunity to see their impact on the people they served (they were “full”).
• Sometimes God gives us the opportunity to see the impact we have on people.
• Yet, sometimes we share the gospel and people don’t become a Christian, but God sees it. All we need to do is to be faithful.

6. AS WE SERVE WE WILL BE BLESSED

• There were 12 baskets left over for the 12 disciples. God promises us as we step out and serve He will fill us with his blessings.
• If I were one of the disciples and Jesus told me to feed the 5000, I would have said “who me?”, “who is going to feed me?” or “I am hungry too!”. Yet the Bible says in Acts 20:35 “It is more blessed to give than to receive”.
• Let us pray that we will live a life of giving and not just receiving.

Organic And Inorganic

I have been thinking about the idea that church should be organic, rather than just being an organisation. Michael Frost (yes, him again!) once said that so much of what we do in church is 'inorganic'. It often feels like an artificial experience. Come to think of it, that's true to a certain extent. He suggested that the church should allow the rhythms and lifestyle patterns of the people we are trying to reach to determine the shape our communal life and worship meetings take.

I think all Christians should think like missionaries and spend more time listening to, eating with and playing with the subculture or neighbourhood we were trying to minister to. I have heard of a joke a non-Christian made in terms of them being addressed as 'un-churched' - "I'll make a deal with you. If you can first become un-churched, I'll become un-unchurched. Sound fair? The only reason I dare make a deal like that is because I know you can't do it."

According to Frost, the church should ensure that there is close, regular connection between the faith community and not-yet-Christians we are trying to reach. I agree with him, and I pray that in God's strength and grace we will be able to do that more often.

Master Potter & Clay

Potter & Clay

During the CLiMAT this Saturday, I'll be facilitating a discussion about the analogy of the potter and clay based on Jill Austin's book "Master Potter". Jill Austin, a famous potter, takes a familiar image of hers and creates an analogy that helps us to reach a deeper level in our walk with God. Jill has lived a life full of crises, first with an abusive alcoholic father, then as an 'entertainer' in a local establishment. After being accused of theft, she was tossed into Potter's Field, the garbage dump. On the edge of suicide, she cried out for help to 'Master Potter', a person she remembered hearing about from her grandmother. One victory for Heaven, but the battle has only just begun. Master Potter took her home and re-named her Beloved. She was then taken through many stages of learning how to trust, obey, and have faith even when she felt alone, tired, or bored. These stages were the darkest hours of agony and grief, painful and challening, but she came out of them like the diamond whose colours were formed by hot fires.

Jeremiah 18:6 “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand…”

As Christians, our faith needs to be stretched and grown, and through it all, we are able to see that God is always present, though not always visible. The analogy of the Master Potter helped me to see my faith in a new and different light. The concept of a potter and clay being translated into the steps God goes through in molding us is really inspiring. What do you think?

World Team CLiMAT

If you live in Melbourne, and want to learn more about mission, you are invited to the World Team CLiMAT
(Church Linked Mission Awareness Training)

4 Saturdays: 24 June, 8 July, 22 July, 5 August

Venue: 75A Cotham Road (cnr Highbury Grove)
Kew, Victoria (Melways 45 D6)

For more info please leave a comment here. Otherwise you are welcome to just turn up to the venue this Saturday(24 June) at 10am.

CLiMAT: Designed to expose participants to historical, cultural, & Biblical components of the church’s mission

Week 1 (24 June):
The state of global outreach
The Gospel – a timeless message
Biblical view of God’s mission in the world

Week 2 (8 July):
Learning from Mission History
Preparing for Cross Cultural Living
Biblical Holism, where evangelism and deeds connect

Week 3 (22 July):
That Everyone May Hear
Learning from the pioneers
Teamwork in mission

Week 4 (5 August):
Loving one's neighbours, a look at world religions
Poverty, justice and the Gospel
Pioneer church planting

Maintaining A Successful Relationship

I had a day off today, and had the opportunity to watch Dr. Phil, who talked about how to maintain a successful relationship. The followings are some of his suggestions which I found quite useful:

1. Have a solid friendship - "Ask yourself what kind of friend you are being to your friends / loved ones," Dr. Phil says. "If you want a good friend, be a good friend," he suggests.
2. Discover and meet each others' needs - "The success of a relationship is a function of the extent to which it meets the needs of two people," Dr. Phil explains, so learning about your loved ones' needs is extremely important.
3. Set specific goals and make conscious efforts. Even small things will accumulate over time and make a difference. Find a quiet moment each day and come up with a specific goal to improve your relationship, whether it's calling your loved one during the day just to say hi, or telling them that you love him or her more often.
4. Get back to basics."The idea is to have some concept of what a relationship is supposed to be and start doing those things," Dr. Phil urges. Write down your definitions of a successful relationship and live up to those definitions. Focus on the fundamental things that are going to make a difference in the long run.
5. Take responsibility to improve your relationship.You can't control the way your loved one acts in your relationship, but you can control how you react in negative situations, and always do it to improve your relationship.
6. Turn the negatives into a to-do list. For example, if you don't have fun with your partner, you need to make a list of enjoyable activities you can do together. Ask yourself, how you can turn the negatives in your relationship right now to a positive.

Sounds interesting hey? Do you experienced people out there have more hints for me? ;)

How To Love God Out Of Door

According to Gary Thomas', we can love God in the natural settings. We can draw close to God in the outdoors. We must first create a space of time, quiet, and isolation before we can truly see God. We must resurrect the deadened elements of perception. Saint Bonaventure, a disciple of Francis of Assisi, suggested a grid through which we may "school" ourselves to seek God out of doors.

The followings are some suggestions:

1. Consider the greatness of creation - mountains, sky, and oceans - that clearly portrays the immensity of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the triune God.
2. Look at the multitude of creation - a forest has more plant and animal life than you could examine in a lifetime and shows us how God is capable of doing many things at once. Those who wonder how God can hear so many prayers uttered simultaneously have been out of the forest too long!
3. Examine the beauty of creation - see the beauty of rocks and their shapes, the beauty of colors and shades, the beauty of individual elements (like trees), and the beauty of overall composition (like forests). God's beauty cannot be revealed through one form, but is so vast and infinite it can fill an entire world with wonder.

The outdoors speaks of God's abundance. For the true Christian naturalist, creation is a sanctuary, a holy place that invites you to prayer. See how you can awaken your soul with creation. As you commute to work or the grocery store, consider driving a few extra blocks or even miles if it means you can pass through a country road. Take an extra moment to look around you and appreciate what God has made. Decide that traveling will be even more important to you than reaching the next place. Make it an event!

Different Ways People Draw Near To God

Sacred Pathways - Gary Thomas

Have you read this book yet? In the Synosis it says:

"This book encourages readers to see strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies in their devotional approaches to God, and thus learn how to improve their devotional, quiet-time, and personal-worship life with God."

The author Gary Thomas thinks that many Christians seem stuck in a worship rut. He asked an important question, "If God intentionally made us all different, why should everyone be expected to love God in the same way?" He identifies 9 ways people draw close near to God, which I found intriguing.

1. Naturalists - are inspired to love God in the outdoors and in natural settings.
2. Sensates - love God with their senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears.
3. Traditionalists - draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbols, and unchanging structures.
4. Ascetics - prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity.
5. Activists - love God through confronting evil, battling injustice, and working to make the world a better place.
6. Caregivers - love God by loving others and meeting their needs.
7. Enthusiasts - love God through celebration.
8. Contemplatives - love God through adoration.
9. Intellectuals - love God by studying with their minds.

What is your approach to worship and love God?

Circumstances and Change

"We want God to change our circumstances, but God wants to use our circumstances to change us. "

What do you think?

Missional Church

The Krow sent me a comment in regards to my previous post about Don't think church, think mission , and that really got me thinking more about the missional church. I learned that the missional church has the following characteristics:

• "The missional church is reading both Scripture and culture with new eyes. It sees that what is determined by the Christian faith is more than being a good, upright citizen. This emerging church calls for honest, authentic faith that seeks to be church in the way of a more radical discipleship.” (Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Evangelism)
• “A missional church is one whose primary commitment is to the missionary calling of the people of God. . . it is one that aligns itself with God’s missionary purposes in the world. . . The missional church is a sent church, incarnating Jesus’ life and values in the culture it is embedded”.(Frost and Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come)
• A missional church has the following defining values: (1) externally focused.(2) culturally engaged without being absorbed.(3) incarnationally not institutionally driven.(4) about discipleship not church membership.(5) patterned after God's missionary purpose in the world.(6) seeks to establish Kingdom outposts to retake territory under the control of the Evil One.(7) seeks to plant,grow, and multiply missionary communities.(8) trains and equips new leaders to learn in the context of mission not in the security of our comfort zone.(9) highlights character, virtue, and compassionate deeds as the most effective witness to God's Kingdom.(10) connects to Jesus through mission not doctrinal precision.(11) adopts an organizational structure and internal forms based on mission not ecclesiastical traditions.(12) sees itself as organic and not in static institutional forms.(13) pursues relationships across generational, ethnic, economic and cultural lines of distinctions.(14) seeks to partner with the community to "seek the shalom" of the community.(15) assembles to seek God's presence and to be realigned with God's missionary purpose. (16) seeks to reawaken a movement ethos as together we engage our cultural context.

Mission-Shaped Church

In recent years, there are many interests in the emerging church conversation. Some think the term emerging church is used to express that we need new mission-shaped churches that relate to the emerging culture . Others believe that the future of Western Christianity is hidden in the genesis and genius of emerging communities seeking to engage the Christian faith. Some like to call it the experimental faith communities.

Whether you agree with the emerging church 'movement', there is clearly something fresh and important happening as people think adventurously about being the church in ways that are missional to the core. I suppose the terms 'emerging' or 'emergent' tell us that such groups are not fully formed, but one thing is quite clear, these groups want to encourage 'new missional communities'.

I learned that one of the biggest buzz words in missiology today is 'missional', which means different things to different people and needs careful definition. Every disciple of Christ wants to be missional, of course, whether seen as narrowly evangelistic or engaging more broadly in transformative ways in society, whether its personally, locally or cross-culturally / globally.

I like the term 'mission-shaped church', which I was told is the title of a recent report by the Church of England. I think a missional church is one that is shaped in all parts of its life by its sense of mission. That is, it exists for the world more than for the comfort of its members. It is outgoing to the core. I think mission-shaped church is a clear way of expressing what the emerging church is on about.

What do you think?

The Church Must First Repent

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." (Revelation 3:19)

The occurrence of the word "repent" in the messages to the seven churches is truly remarkable. I don't know about you, but I used to think that the word "repentance" was only connected with unbelievers and not with Christians. And yet I was reminded that the word used throughout the New Testament in the presentation of the Gospel message to unbelievers is exactly the same word repeated by our Lord in His messages to the churches.

• Ephesus - an energetic church and sound in doctrine. Nevertheless Jesus said they had left their first love, so need to repent.
• Pergamos - holding of the hated doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Our Lord said, "Repent!"
• Thyatira - also rebuked and repentance urged.
• Sardis - the dying Church commanded to repent.
• Laodicea - neither cold nor hot - need to repent.

The word in Revelation 3:20, which so often is preached to people who don't know the Lord, is in fact to the believers in the church.

Therefore, the church must first repent. Let us be in earnest, change our warped mind, change our heart and wrong attitude, change our contrary direction. Let the church repent!

Silence Is Golden?

In an increasingly busy and stressful world, more and more people are visiting retreats in an attempt to calm their souls. Many people just desire to have peace, solitude and quietness - for some, it means a space to be alone.

As much as I am an extrovert, and need to be with people to get 'energised', I am also aware that there are too many external stimuli around me. At times, my head would continue to keep spinning and asking questions, and thinking about issues and stuff. So even if I stop being stimulated externally, my inner world needs to be silent as well. I feel that I am so often reactive. I do believe that silence is of great value in the right contexts at the right times. "A time to be silent and a time to speak."

So do you believe that silence is golden? and if so, when?

The Principles Of Ministry

Dr Warren Wiersbe 's suggestions on the principles of ministry are very insightful:

1. The foundation of ministry is character.
2. The nature of ministry is service.
3. The motive for ministry is love.
4. The measure of ministry is sacrifice.
5. The authority of ministry is submission.
6. The purpose of ministry is glory of God.
7. The tools of ministry are prayers and the Word of God.
8. The privilege of ministry is personal growth.
9. The power of ministry is Holy Spirit.
10. The model for ministry is Jesus Christ.

Which out of these 10 principles can you identify with, or think is most important?

Don't Think Church, Think Mission

Michael Frost's saying, "don't think church, think mission!" has really challenged me, and got me thinking personally. The following is a summary of what he said in a meeting, I'd be interested in what your comments are, and I'll tell you mine:

Stop thinking conventionally about how to do church, as if there is some presupposed purpose for church in the contemporary scene here in Australia. If many, many Australians don't see any great usefulness, far less relevance, for the church today, how can they see churches as anything but anachronistic and quaint? Start thinking mission. Start thinking in a missions-to-the-first-world kind of way. Start thinking of the church in Australia as an uninvited, intrusive missionary movement in an uninterested, sometimes even hostile, pagan land.

We are only now getting used to the idea that the church in the west must become a missionary church in its own milieu if the church is to survive. Institutionally, of course, this is a massive paradigm shift from our standard ministry focus. Before reading any further, pause for a moment and ask yourself the following question, "If we could completely dismantle everything we now know as church (its structures, its ministries, its institutions, its traditions etc.) and literally begin everything from scratch, would you still do it the way we do it today?" I am not asking you to question the biblical basis for Christianity, the teachings of Jesus. I am asking, if we took Jesus' teaching seriously and if we really cared about the eternal destiny of Australians, would we do church the way we're currently doing it?

Literally everyone I have asked that question of has responded with a resounding "No, I wouldn't do it the way it's being done." So why do we put up with an approach to being church that neither reflects the radical thinking of Christ nor makes a way for the lost to encounter him?

The seemingly steadfast refusal or resistance by the western church to seriously contextualise the gospel is one of its greater mistakes and will sadly hasten its declining influence on Australian society. We are not taking the gospel seriously. And we are not taking our cultural context seriously either.

I Am Tagged

My dear sister Audrey tagged me :)

I AM: in love

I SAID: 'I need nothing', but......

I WANT: to glorify God in all that I do

I WISH: I could swim

I MISS: my dad

I HEAR: my inner noise

I WONDER: if my dad knew the Lord before he passed away.

I REGRET: being selfish and silly at times

I AM NOT: going to quit

I DANCED: with D in our good friends' wedding

I SING: when I lead worship celebration

I CRY: when I feel upset and depressed

I AM NOT ALWAYS: cheerful

I WRITE: all the time

I CONFUSE: others when I have mood swings

I SHOULD: spend more time with God and my loved ones

I START: to cry when I don't know what to do

I FINISH: dinner just now

I LOVE: to be able to love better

I TAG: you if you are reading this. (Please send me a comment once you've done it hehe)

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Christian Community

I reckon the early church had a real Christian community, an environment in which people could live strong Christian lives. The more these Christian communities grow, the greater the effect they have upon society. I learned that the followings are some of the reasons of their success:

(1) Mobility of the church
(2) Use of new words or metaphors
(3) The Contextuality of the Church
(4) Faith in the Holy Spirit
(5) Focus on unity
(6) Fivefold ministry
(7) The importance of discipleship and training in ministry

What do you think?

Emerging Church & Incarnation

On the weekend, someone at college said this: "at the heart of the emerging church is the practice of incarnation. God is a part of what we see, hear, touch, taste, and smell every day. God is relevant! Relevancy is not an assumption but rather an expectation in alternative worship and the emerging church."

That really made me think and wonder - how do we as followers of Christ practise incarnation? If we did have the mentality that God is in the every day, would we live differently? Are we relevant? Do we in our churches expect relevancy in our worship and being church?