Sivin Kit's Garden

BENEDICTION 2003

Before I sleep tonight, I'm planning to "close the loop" for 2003 with listening to the invitation by Richard J. Foster to the journey of "becoming like Christ" again (oh! how we need to hear it again & again!)

But for now, I hear a "benediction" which started from this morning ...

May you now, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
Receive the Spirit of prayer,
May it become, in the name of Jesus Christ,
The most precious occupation of your life.
And may the God of all peace strengthen you,
bless you, and give you joy. Amen.

What a fitting "blessing" for the last day of 2003 from one of my favorite author Richard J. Foster's book - Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home! I pray this "blessing" - benediction will be upon all who read this blog ...

Best & Worst (The Kit Family)

Well before I beam off from BlogWorld again (until 2004) .... I should have a look at the little civilization God has entrusted to us as a young family. Again in no particular order of importance ... because all are important!

BEST
1. PD HOliday
The last 3 days 2 nights were I think the best one we have so far. We just felt so so blessed and well rested... Good food, great swimming, lots of beauty sleep, time to talk, laugh and enjoy the environment. A wonderful pre-climax (still got one more day for 2003) for all the joy we're experienced as a family!

2. Gareth's Growth
He's growing into quite a unique character with his "mini-temper", "stunning intelligence", "fun-loving checkiness", and I believe a "tender heart" for God to work.... plus he's good-looking like mummy (& papa). We're so thankful.

3. Our Growth as a couple
Since starting BLC, we're been thrown into all sorts of uexpected situations (some pleasant & others painful - what's new huh?). At times it's our own journey, at other times it's the "openness" that other people allow us to journey with them. On both counts, these have been molding and maturing processes ... which leaves a deep impression on us!

4. Family & Friends
May Chin's parents have really "blessed" us tremendously by the loving care of Gareth daily. It has been good as well for us to consciously spend time with my Mom as well (caught Daddy & John when both are not out-station) ...

Both old and new friends have really come alongside us ... they make the word "friend" really mean a lot to us! It's also fabulous to have a chance to share in all their joys as well ... whether it's the birth of a new baby, engagement, marriage, a new phase in life, etc. It's simply great!

The Silver Box with a Golden Ribbon was a wonderful gift to us with "love" captured in words and cards for us ... it shows BLC is not a "job" for us but truly family & friends!

5. Needs Taken Care of!
Not too sure about "wants" but our "needs" have definately been well taken care of ... and we experience even his abundance financially, socially, spiritually and personally.

WORST
1. "Blockbusters" with my Wife!
Nothing physical .... :-) we're just learning how to love each other more like the way Christ loves us ... so a lot of "speaking the truth" in love ... Speaking the truth can be uncomfortable even though it's for our growth!

2. Juggling Work Pressures
Our "jobs" each have a different expectations ... May Chin is alone handling a department right now (which is very tough). I'm the only pastor of BLC (though with two part-time helpers which I'm learning how we can work as a team better.) then there's other stuff on our "working plate". Again, a lot of work to to learn a healthy rhythm of authentic spirituality, excellence in our vocation-work and a maturing humanity as an individual!

3. Witnessing Painful-Suffering Experiences of others
On one hand it's an honor to be invited into people's pains, on the other hand it's sad to see our loved ones or close friends awalk a very difficult dark valley in their lives. At times, we feel so helpless & wonder what we can do to help. In times like this, we're drawn again and again to GOD.

4. I'm glad I can just end at No. 3 ... and I will just end at No. 3. Just to remind me that The GOOD God has for us always outweights the BAD we go through ...

Best & Worst (BLC)

Ok ... Malaysian Christianity maybe too big ... not's let's take a look at BLC. Again in no particular order ...

BEST
1. SonShine Kids
Now we're getting our ministry to the children a bit more organized with the help of Phoebe, the leadership of Wai Kin (who got us moving), and I'm pretty happy to try and see how we could integrate them more to worhsip with us.

2. Christian Discipleship School
Wai Kin & I managed to get the process and possible programmes in place, now it's the whole implementation work and fine-tuning especially in 2004.

3. New Members & Friends (Adult & Children)
wonderful to have newly baptized members and others who would like to make BLC their church home. I felt the new member process which included the affirmation of faith to be a good improvement. And I conducted my first water baptism for a child - Darlene!

4. LiFE Groups
2 groups are stable and thriving, 2 other groups have their stuggles and set-backs. But, all are learning and open to learn from the authentic ups-and-downs realities of genuine community building. For that itself, I consider this a best! Plus, I was excited to see guests joining all the parties who are new or old friends revisiting!

5. The Father's House Renovation
There's still some stuff not finished yet. Aren't we all?
Anyway, God supplied the finances and the whole place got a decent and custom-designed facelift which also lifted our spirits and excitement.

WORST
1. Missing People
It's a tough fact ... but with new people we also "miss" other people for all sorts of "reasons". And in this case, we have tried whatever we could humanly possible to keep in touch. And we also need to examine how we can continue to include those at the "borders" of BLC community life ... Pray for our "loving relationships" glue can begin sticking us better not only to one another but more importantly to Christ ....

2. Unexpected Pains
Life is difficult & life is complex. BLC members have not been immune to "painful" events and experiences in life. And they always come unexpectedly! These were truly stuff way out of our control ... how vulnerable we are ... Here's where we reconsider our sinfulness as people and our weakness in handling life.

3. Disorganized Private Worlds
Using Gordon McDonald's kind of phrasing ... many admit that there's a greater need to "live as a called person" (as opposed to drivenness) and I sense in 2004 learning to "order our private worlds" is a must! For survival as well as significant living.

4. Weak Accountability in Discipleship
Apart from sporadic efforts like Godparents, sponsors and classes to strengthen each others walk with Jesus, the ongoing efforts are still weak. This is a primary area I'm praying and thinking about these few days.

5. Unprepared Worship
Integration & preparation is a lot of hard work .... our Worship Gathering has had lots of ups & downs this past year. The Prayer Breakfast is still not well attended by those who are not part of the worship team (hope to include more to intercede for others.) As we try to improve other aspects like Children's ministry, LiFE Groups, and Learning classes, we've neglected our corporate worship life (which i'm glad we're working on again, thanks to James!) What happens to us as a big group might just be a mirror of how we apporach GOD in worship individually ...

Best & Worst (M'sian Christianity)

In no particular order of importance

BEST
1. Bookstores
A round of applause to ...
MPH - for bringing in McLaren's A New Kind of Christian Series & expanding their Christianity section plus some great value buys!
SUFES - for bringing in excellent stuff from Eerdmans, WJK (got some good Brueggemann stuff Hope for the World plus The Bible Makes Sense)
& IVP (a surprise was Kingdom Ethics!)
Glad Sounds - for bringing in gems from Fortress Press (Ted Peter's God—The World's Future, Second Edition: Systematic Theology for a New Era is a good read) & Zondervan (Happy Kimball's The Emerging Church is on the selves!)
Evangel - for providing treasures hidden here and there. Glad to see McLaren's the Church on the other side (for an excerpt) in paperback! C. Norman Kraus' An Intrusive Gospel was one of the nice presents I got myself here!
Equipper - for having a great sale especially for the Message Remix & Renovation of the Heart.

2. Emerging Conversations & Connections (TQ Streamyx)
With a more affordable broadband pricing. My downloads have been much faster. And it makes conversations going on through the internet and blogsphere with friends (especially Jason Clark lately & new friends whom I'm surprised delightfully get connected!) whom have the similar passion, vision & direction in life & ministry much more relaxing without worrying about money! (Still hoping Todd Hunter blogs soon! Miss his insights a lot! For now I'll just read A Kingdom Christmas)

3. Press Coverage
I'm not too sure about the other languages, but at least for the English speaking papers (cf. New Straights Times & The Star) I do see more coverage from Christians involved in social work as well as the recent Christmas celebrations. Occassionally, insightful articles by Christians get some air-play to (at least in this print form!)

4. Asian Mission Conference
Though it was actually organized in S'pore but we Malaysian's were pretty much given a chance to be more involved. It's still too early to see how it has impacted Malaysian Christianity, but it has at least impacted me (For a glimpse of the benefits here's day 1)!

5. Christmas Card from New Prime Minister
Ok ... I got three cards ... one to Pastor, the other to Pastor Sivin, then Rev. Sivin. :-) It's the thought that counts and some effort made to connect with at least 1500 Christian leaders in the country. And it's the first time!

WORST
I recognize it's not very "Christian" (apparently to use the word worst), so as a disclaimer I do believe our weak efforts or sinful attempts are still redeem-able under the Grace of GOD! I'll try to sneak in some good words as well (since it is the end of the year!)

1. Book & Music Publishing
I must admit I'm thankful for the growing quantity of Malaysian Publications both in music and books (check out the loads of new Malaysian produced CDs). However, the quality is still uneven and in some cases need more hard work. My sincere requests :
- please improve the content of writing (cf. more theologically reflective, Biblically informed, and in the case of those already more reflective - please make yourself more accessible).
- please improve on the cover & design as well (cf. here some do better than others!)

special note: An exceptional example to follow is Tan Soo Inn's Making Sense - a quality book that's affordable!

2. Conference Overload
It's an irony some of think the more conferences we organize, the more impact we are making in our nation when in actual fact we may grow "numb" by attending conferences or simply overloaded with information & ideas that stiffles the possibility of genuine creativity that's already within us. Strange but while this is happening, people like me become very "discerning" (or choosy) in deciding what seminar or conference to go to. So, I got mixed feelings with this. Maybe it's not the fault of the organizers (we do need resources - I personally benefitted a lot from the Crossways See Through the Scriptures seminar ), it could be our attitude that needs revising (i.e. we need to do the hardwork of creative & constructive efforts too!).

3. Pseudo-Intellectualism (or hidden anti-intellectualism)
There seems to be more and more Christian leaders with a "Dr." as a title. At times, it's a genuine one (cf. a theological achievement, decent doctorate of ministy, maybe a medical doctor or from some other academic discipline - all this are good and helpful), sadly a lot of what we have nowadays are Doctorates of theology or even ministry that has the appearance of deep thought (with high flying rhetoric) from minds who've skipped the plunge of real hardwork that would truly benefit the Body of Christ in Malaysia in the long term (for more check Free PhD? Short Cut Doctorates?). We leaders are held extra accountable for our teaching & actions! many Christians are mirroring a version of Christianity that might notbe able to out-live, out-think or out-love forces that works against the kingdom of God. Kyrie Eleison ...

4. Fragmented Theological Education & Ministry Training
Organizationally, The good news is there's more opportunities to learn. Bible schools, training centres, even distance learning programmes are beginning to flourish across the Christian community (cf. more organizations). However, we are still duplicating a lot of resources and efforts. There isn't enough sharing of ideas and resources (cf. networking) that would focus our energies...

STM & Malaysian Care's joint programme is a good way forward (there's still a long way to go when it comes to genuine partnership).

Another aspect is our current training either is strong on theological emphasis or methodological emphasis thus another kind of fragmentation. My question is "how can we have some models that bring integration to theological, spiritual & ministerial formation?" (From disicpleship level to leadership level)

Some ideas "bubbling" in my mind .... at least from a local church pastor perspective! Need to talk with some people - sounds like another long term project.

5. Leadership Transition/Succesion Hump
I was encouraged to hear of the vibrancy & longevity of some leaders who in their 50's or even 60's are going strong in their service for God in Malaysia and beyond. People like this easily come to mind.

I do also see some potential younger leaders in the late 20's or early 30's "hidden" somewhere or "emerging" and doing good work. Sad to say, I can't see many in my denomination - at least not enough ...

And we definately lack "mentoring" even "co-mentoring" .... many feel we maybe walking on our own unless conscious effort is made to be accountable to another person. Organizationally, some efforts might be in place but true transition and succession is very much a relational work! And in our case a spiritual process that needs "Spirit-discernment"...

A bit speechless for this one ... more prayer needed!

Monday Munchies

I'm planning to enjoy my "munchies" while "Gareth-sitting" this Monday morning ... got my menu from the Lesslie Newbigin Online Bibliography specifically from this link

2000 Gelwick, Richard
Christian Faith in a Pluralist Society

2000 Hunsberger, George R.
Faith and Pluralism: A Response to Richard Gelwick

2001 Gelwick, Richard
Heuristic Passion and Universal Intent: A Response to George R. Hunsberger

2001 Kettle, David
Newbigin, Polanyi and Impossible Frameworks

Silver Box with a Golden ribbon

BLC - Bangsar Lutheran Church the people never stops surprising me ... and May Chin and I (even Gareth) were delighfully "zapped" for a while!

We got a Silver Box with a Golden Ribbon, an up close and personal prayer of blessing and thanksgiving, and a round of love & appreciation! All this made our last Sunday Worship Gathering even more meaningful and pleasant...

Just glanced through the notes and cards written especially for us (we even got origami shaped ones too!), we felt so encouraged by the personal comments which came straight from the heart of every "sheep" that voiced their love for us! All of this becomes an "energizer" for us to continue serving in the capacity Christ has called us into and play our role in His Kingdom Agenda!

This Silverbox with a Golden ribbon is special because of what's inside - i.e. the personally written cards and notes (& origami + gifts). And the "stuff" is significant because of the lifes that each phrase, each paragraph, each word represents. And some how we're all put together along this journey ... waiting for that day when the Triune GOD Father Son Holy Spirit - Our Great Shepherd opens his "Silverbox with a Golden Ribbon which contains our life-offering" delight GOD's heart for all eternity.

Cooper Christmas Goodies

All these goodies via Jordon Cooper (my regular source for goodies!)

The end of 'Christianity lite' is near (This artilce affirmed my decision to say some stuff for tommorrow's message!) Love the closing .... here it is!
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So consider this the last Merry Christmas in the age of Christianity lite. The new century will see a new Christianity which in fact is the old one. And a very different Christmas. Less sugary, but far more real. And it's about time.
______________

Mars Hill Church :: emergent? (interesting discussion on what emergent means!) and found a recant

This one more by accident ... because Alan Creech is on Cooper's blogroll! Check for Dec 26th on "emerging".

The Word Made Fresh

May Chin, Gareth & I had a refreshing post-Christmas holiday at Port Dickson the last three days & two nights. A much needed time for us as a family to be "made fresh". Gareth was frowning at the strange sands he was trying to walk on! But, he had lots (I mean lots!) of time at the seaside pool! We got some necessary sleep as well. Thanks to wonderful friends we could spend a wonderful time at Avillion Port Dickson. God truly has blessed us through them!

On a different note and yet in the same spirit, here's A Call for a Renewal of the Evangelical Spirit from a group of evangelical thinkers & leaders that want us to keep an environment where we can constantly remain fresh in our reflection & action.

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we call all evangelical leaders and thinkers not to reject out of hand constructive theological proposals that are reverently rooted in biblical reflection, even when they challenge aspects of what some consider to be the "received evangelical tradition." Rather than a sign of decline, constructive theological endeavour and rigorous debate about theological issues are marks of evangelical theological vitality. Premature closure of dialogue and debate by means of condemnations and threats of exclusion, in contrast, disrupts community and often quenches the Spirit who brings new life and leads us toward ever more faithful readings of God's Word. Therefore, we admonish all evangelicals to resist attempts to propagate rigid definitions of evangelicalism that result in unnecessary alienation and exclusion. And we call all evangelicals to affirm the genuine diversity and fresh reflection, rooted in the authority of the written Word and centred on the Word incarnate, that has always been the hallmark of the true evangelical spirit.
(emphasis mine)
_______________

Welcome Eden!

Well, what a joy for BLC and especially to the Tew Family (Edward, Annie & now big bro. Adam) for the arrival of God's gift baby boy Eden! Born on the 26th of December 2003. He just looks fabulous with those big inquisitive eyes. I must say the children's ministry of BLC has grown significantly the last couple of years simply by biological growth (4 babies in 2002, 1 baby in 2003)! Of course, we have those who are new comers as well joining our existing dynamic duo Adam & Eze (both 4years old), they are Khit Yee, Kirsten, and Ryan! All praise to the God of new birth!

Christmas Shalom 2003

I'll be signing off from BlogsSphere for a couple of days ... so before I get "beamed out" from the internet ....

May Chin, Gareth & I wish all friends (including all who visit this garden), relatives and family (including the global family of humans!) --> a Shalom-filled-"Peace-full"-God-Blessed-kind of Christmas.
_____________________

"And this is what will prove it to you:
you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."
(Luke 2:12)

Jesus the Son of Man
by Yu Jiade, China
________________________

Twelve Insights for Xmas 2003

It was good to meet Tim Dearborn in person at the AMC 2003 in S'pore. We just had a short conversation. But, he did leave a deep impression on me. So when I saw the "Short-Term Missions Workbook: From Mission Tourist to Global Citizens" he authored, I got a copy for BLC. Even though it's more specifically for cross-cultural missions but then nowadays it's not so different as we assume it to be ...

My mini-reflections with Dearborn's gems!
1 It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a church in the world.

BLC's John 20:21 Life verse keeps me going .. and I do tend to over-focus on ourselves rather than the God who's called us! He's the subject!

2 That which is yet to be done in the world is far less than that which has already been done!

It's so easy to complain and complain about what's not done yet ... but much has been done and is still in progress ... for that I'm encouraged and energized! (better than just complaining)

3 People are more alike than their cultures.

Yup ... I find myself connecting with more people globally with the same mindset than I ever thought could have happened. Especially this last year in my interactions with Wolfgang (German), Jason (English), Bob (English-Canadian), the Berry's (Aussie), Tapio (Finnish), and some new contacts from AMC 2003 (fellow Asians). The blogging esperience also agrees with this!

4 Love is the universal language.

That last prayer from a Filipino pastor did wonders for me in S'pore. Still feeling the effect.

5 Short-term missions is a treasure hunt.

Hope to experience this more ... now, it's more at a local level. There's was one short-terms missions I had was not how it should have been. Watch out for the future!

6 In cross-cultural encounters we are meeting long-lost, distant relatives.

My Geneva trip for a LWF meeting comes to mind . The Asian Youth Consultation a couple of years ago. And then the recent AMC 2003, not forgetting one of my first experiences in Nanjing during my 3rd year in Seminary. Somehow most were in conference, meetings, seminar, kind of settings. More learning ahead!

7 God goes before you -- you are catching up on the conversation that God has already begun.

That is absolutely true in my recent encounters with pre-Christians. More and more I feel that I merely need to open my mind to see what's already going on and move from there.

8 God does not send us to be critics.
It takes some energy to be overly critical and it's draining as well ...

9 In the treasure hunt of grace, our encouragement and affirmation of people may be our most significant ministry.

I feel i always underestimate the double blessings of encouragement and affirmation though I've received it so often!

10 Our privilege is to lift Jesus up in deed and word.

Not a duty, not a pressure, not a burden .... an honour!

11 The quality of our love as a team and our incorporation of new team members may be our greatest witness.

Being precedes doing ... finding our significance as a group preceds our successes!

12 God will not call us to do something without also giving us the resources to do it.

As I step into 2004, trying to sort out my books at home and the thinking room, stepping back for a while to re-focus myself as a person, I can't help but be thankful for all the little little teahcings, experiences, moments, up-and-downs, crisis, challenges that have now become resources for me or a link to grow deeper as a human!

Christmas Card from PM!

Yup .. when i told people last Sunday I got a Christmas Card from the new Malaysian Prime Minister, they were all excited!

View image for the cover

View image for the greetings inside

Apparently, there was some reaction in the Malaysian news about the USA's International Religious Freedom Report 2003 on Malaysia (I decided to read the report for myself!) For full 2003 Report click here

How Christianity Created Capitalism

Got article by Michael Novak (author, philosopher, theologian) via Ted Bednar. I've read one book by him entitled "Business as Calling" when i was in my early twenties! since then I've tried to encourage by friends in Business to consider that challenge ... (that itself is a challenge!)

How Could I ...?

Inspired by McLaren's RESPONSE TO SILAS BISHOP’S “COMMUNITY AS THE GOAL (AND THEREFORE THE MEANS) OF MISSION” especially when I'm thinking about the last message for 2003 this coming Sunday.

"...Where else would I be stretched in my compassion and generosity if I weren’t part of this community of flawed, needy, broken people – who, I must realize, include me in their list of flawed, needy, broken fellows?

How could I experience the exalted joy of community if I didn’t also experience the stretching trials and heartfelt tears of real community life? The gospel suggests to us that even God cannot expand the circle of community beyond God’s own Triune Self without enduring the grit and grief of cross, shame, death, and sorrow in the process."

Crossing Generational Boundaries

I found McLaren's answer to the question posed to him very helpful and brings our whole engagement with people belonging to our fast changing culture into perspective.
__________________________________

I'm interested in knowing how you have been able to cross generational boundaries: to what extent? have you published in this area? what are your plans for including older folks/seniors in open dialogues or collaborative efforts? (I'm not quite a senior @ 52, but feel quite at home in "postmodern" settings.)

This is a great question. The church I serve as pastor, Cedar Ridge Community Church, is a multigenerational church. We have people up through 100. But it wasn't always that way. When we started, I was 26 and my partner was about 32, and nearly everyone was that age or younger. When we moved to a permanent facility, more older people started coming. Plus, when I went bald, I think that helped older folks feel more at home too! (What a sacrifice for the cause....) Some people visit Cedar Ridge after reading my books and they're a little disappointed. They expect a young, super-hip, super-cool congregation ... but what they find is a pretty representative cross section of our community - old and young, conservative and liberal (politically), rich and poor, white and blue collar, educated and less so, cool and less so, modern and postmodern. I'm happy about the mix, because I think this is one of the things the gospel is about ... bridging barriers, bringing people together who wouldn't otherwise be together. How is that done? That's a huge question. I don't think there's a short-cut answer, beyond welcoming, loving, accepting, serving, listening. We feel we still have a long way to go.

I think that since most churches are "modern" in their culture and theology, there needs to be special sensitivity to "postmodern" people; otherwise, they're unintentionally excluded. As for the emergent network , it is already a diverse group in terms of age. I'm doing my part to keep the over-40 (and nearing-50) and beyond category going strong. We're constantly trying to correct the misconception that this conversation is generationally limited: it's about philosophy and culture, not birth date. I'll share an idea from the other side of the world that might become a reality here in the U.S. before too long. Our friend Mark Pierson in New Zealand is planning an event there for over-40 people only. He wants to bring them together to talk about mentoring and encouraging and watching the backs of younger sisters and brothers in leadership. A few of us are talking about an event like this in the U.S. and Canada. I hope you'll be part of it! (Stay tuned at emergent website.)
Posted 11:27 PM | Comments (0)

Affirm, Admonish, Alter?

I'm listening to my friend Jason Clark's workshop review of "Liquid Church" and my mind got connected to the "Affirmation/Admonishment" framework I heard from a preaching seminar some time ago. But to move beyond this double A framework, I caught Jason's word "Alternative". in his approach to the book. I liked that because after Affirming what's good in what we "read", and Admonishing it with reflective& tough questions , we need to move towards an Alternative where some revised thinking can be translated to concrete Action which makes a difference. One thing that really encourages me is Jason's emphasis on us to look beyond the surface, re-check our belief systems, appreciating "solid forms" as well and keep the focus on what the Gospel is really all about. That's Freeing! Thanks Jason ...

The Medium is the Message

Here's the website of the man who gave us this quote!

N.T. Wright Page

Here's the Link

Meet the Creative Commons

Another one via Cooper (he really posts cutting edge stuff!)
2 Flash movies. Excellent. Fabulous!

Get Creative & it's sequel Reticulum Rex

The "horniest" guy in the world

Thanks to Jordan Cooper. This Link really lightened my heart! (according to him it's safe for family viewing - I agree 100%)

The Man behind the Myth

Lord of the Rings Fever is here with the final movie installment. Check out a special Tolkien section from Christian History

a DNA model of Missio Dei

Stumbled on "A theological study of a D N A model of Missio Dei" by Robert E. Sachs (a pastor to a rural congregation, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Cordova, Nebraska whose history of mission and ministry began with Danish Lutheran Immigrants in 1883.)

AMC 2003 Photo

View image

From fragmentation to Integration

Ok ... I must admit most of my exposure has been from more "Evangelical" (cf. Lausanne) sources. I have had some exposure to the so called "Ecumenical" wing (cf. World Council of Churches).

I know labels aren't that useful nowadays to describe where many of us are at on our journey (in fact I like both words). But this is one way we can look back at our history and have a fresh look at ourselves!

To plunge deeper I am part of the Lutheran tribe! :-) and the past few years have had a growing appreciation of that heritage! I did "Methodism" for an elective in seminary (had three for room mates!). I was taught by Anglicans as well in seminary. I did spent a couple of years in the Assembly of God church before returning to the Lutheran church of my parents. Rather than being fragmented, i find myself enriched by all the experiences and learning given me through different phases(& pit-stops) of my spiritual growth. And I feel more confident now that will be the case in my on-going journey as a Christ-follower

Back to Ecumenical stuff ... here are some WCC resources:
Edinburgh to Salvador: Twentieth Century Ecumenical Missiology by T.V. Philip

Mission and Evangelism -- An Ecumenical Affirmation

Mission & Evangelism in Unity Today (preparatory paper no.1)

A Is for Abductive

I think we Asian Christians can learn from the efforts of this Sweet, McLaren & Haselmayer collaboration.

For example, there are many important insights I've gleaned from the recent Asian Mission Conference and of course more and more reading some of the "Transformation" Journal articles especially in matters of development, culture and other religions. But I believe to go one step further, we need to write more for the church (starting with church leaders) to resource the change that we envision for the Emerging "Asian" Church. One interesting comment by one of the presenters in the conference is how we Asians is often overwhelmed with the material produced by our western Christian brothers & sisters. We all laughed at that comment. I appreciate those efforts of course, but we need to start working out things for ourselves not just at the macro level (cf. producing home-grown Asian Theologies, Bible commentaries or study guides, and Missiological reflections & proposals, etc) but also at the most micro level (cf. One of the hopes I have is for pastors like myself to not only engage on these issues on a personal level but intentionally seek to work in out at the most grass-root local congregational level. For now, as far as writing is concerned I can merely blog *grin*)

A is for Asia ... A is also for Africa ... :-) A is for ALL of us!

Postmoderns for Jesus

Here's the site

Stuff I'm reading

Nothing to say today so I'll just post some links to stuff I'm reading!

Crossing the Bridge: Church Leadership in a time of change by Alan J. Roxburgh with Mike Regele

The Church as Resonating Interval by Don Golden

Beyond Duty by Tim Dearborn

Witness to the World By David Bosch

The Gospel of the Kingdom By George E. Ladd

A lot of the artilces are from Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Lessons

Post Xmas party Bubbles ...

Young Ezekial was having so much fun blowing bubbles tonight at the Xmas party. I guess I'll blow some "metaphorical" bubbles to celebrate so stuff to "rejoice" in.

This morning when I was reading the Philippian 4 text on "rejoicing in the Lord" I found it hard because lately I've been in touch with numerous not so "rejoicing" incidents and it's difficult to rejoice. Not because I don't want to, it's simply because there's a time for "mourning" as well. Both "mourning" & "rejoicing" are part and parcel of a growing "Christ-like" humanity (even though pain is not such a welcome experience).

Sometimes the "mourning" bit can be overwhelming. I'm thankful that in my interactions with many of the guests (I tried to personally talk to at least 10people) opened opportunities for "genuine" conversations. I feel experiencing the grace and work of the Spirit in those "encounters" is simply beautiful. And seeing how this particular LiFe Group has gone all out to invite friends and have positive response is really .... wonderful! Surely we're on the right track!

I pray the Christmas carols and the combination of some of the authentic sincere stories of how we see God at work in our lives would open the way for the Good News to be heard and appreciated!

Even the time of prayer during the worship practice today before the party turned out to be a beautiful sprinkiling of God's grace upon feeble, broken, sinful & weak human beings like us. And the conscious choice to worship Jesus during the practice was very precious to me. Even if I mess up or might have hiccups leading tomorrow's worship gathering, I'll still treasure the "private" time we had today during our practice - ultimately it's for the Audience of one!

Random Thoughts B4 I Sleep

I was happy for the three Survivor girls for voting out Burton! May Chin was even happier.

Tapio's Apartment is really cool! I'm looking forward to the Christmas Tea party there.

Delighted to a couple of positive responses to my invitation to the party.

I was encouraged by the "full participation" of our latest LiFE Group addition. Sad though some others have been missing.

Excited to check out the articles from the TRANSFORMATION journal at least until 31st December 2003.

So much that's going on around us is out of our control ...

An early Christmas e-mail greeting was a nice glimpse of sunshine in these gloomy times.

Amazed by the love and care of some people.

Gareth is really growing up fast.

Still recuperating from the Asian Mission Conference ... the work ahead is vast!

Lies, deception, untruth, secrecy, hidding, lack of transparence, ..... is becoming deeply embedded in our culture (unless it's already embedded ... Lord have mercy on us!)

Got a wedding to attend tomorrow ...

wow! I'm gonna lead worship this Sunday at BLC after a long break ...

Asia Mission Conference Papers

Got this link via Oxford Centre for Mission Studies in UK.

For those who were asking what on earth was I doing in Singapore from 8am - 10pm for a week. Read on ...

The Conference theme was: Mission As Transformation in 21st Century Asia: Asia Mission Conference on the Theology and Practice of Holistic Mission

Partnership in Mission Asia, a founding and sponsoring body of OCMS, with the Centre for the Study of Christianity in Asia, held a consultation on Mission as Transformation in 21st Century Asia from December 7-10 in Singapore.

Papers presented may be accessed at http://www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/ by logging on to the CSCA Department section.

Touched by an Angel

God truly is a God of surprises! I didn't expect one of the last conversations here at the Trinity Theological College Canteen would impact me this much and give a beautiful transition before I get on the bus to go back home at 2pm.

"Angel" usually gives the picture of beings with wings. But, originally it conveys the meaning of a "messenger". Sitting down with a pastor from the Philippines and just catching a glimpse of his heart - compassion for people & passion for Christ, the whole about 30-40 minutes together just nourished me as a human beyond words. We talked about relationships between Roman Catholics, Protestants & Evangelicals and how all this relates to Mission as Transformation. We wrestled with the whole need for repentance for our past as well as present sins.

He shared some stories that shook me to the core about what it means to be church in this time and age. The last story related to the ministry he was involved in that was reaching out to the prostitutes in their area. He was driving a van load of prostitutes to the chruch so they could celebrate Christmas with singing Christimas carols, etc. When they arrived he went to park the van while unloading the passengers so they could enter the church premises. As he was walking towards the entrance he overheard the conversation between the prostitutes which basically said this "Why are we here? what are we doing here? we are prostitutes, we are sinners. This is a holy place, we shouldn't be here!" This broke my new found pastor friend's heart (during a number of times in our talk I could see the tears in his eyes). There's such a desperate need for us to work through what it means to be church today. And the starting point what the church means to others is already a challenging one to begin with.

Before we bid each other farewell, he initiated to pray for me. And this is the only time during this week I've been here that I was offered to be prayed personally. He held my right hand as he prayed. I felt truly touched by an angel - a messenger from God to me. It was a fitting post-conference "transition" for me to bring me down from all the "constructive reflection" I've been climbing around & "creative action" that I've been imagining to simply just "authentic living" with Christ's mind, manner & mission as the life-giving core & spring to wash away stuff in me that breeds death & brokenness. I believe this was given to me as a "gift" through this Filipino brother. If the phrase "corporate transformation begins with personal transformation", we need more and more of this kind of "touch" in our relationships here on earth. For now, I'm just thankful and full of gratitude for such grace, what a gift!

AMC Day 5: The beginning

It may be the end of the Asian Mission Conference but it's definately the BEGINNING of much more CONSTRUCTIVE REFLECTION & CREATIVE ACTION on our part.

I found this to be one of the most enriching conferences I've participated in and it has planted so many seeds that need time to grow and bear fruit in due time. I enjoyed the "German"-"Western" perspectives by Wolfgang (my fellow companion) to the conference just conversing and bouncing all sorts of heartfelt ideas and insights.

Working through the draft statement was also a rewarding statement and I'm please to have tried to contribute in a small way. I wonder how did the early church work out the creeds? and we were talking about the landmark Vatican II process of the Roman Catholic church, how did they manage? so, this was a useful exercise for me. The last one I was part of was probably the LWF Youth in Church & society Asian Youth Consultation. the AMC was totally at a different level.

Here are some memorable moments for me:

- The first night my heart was just warmed when i could hear my African-Ugandan fellow delegate sing and improvise a little behind me. It enriched my worship tremendously.

- the conversations, the eaves-dropping, the meals together, walks to 7-Eleven, sitting in the computer room and in the words one delegate - "a gathering of email-junkies!" ....

Sad in some ways this has to end (for a while), but glad that new beginnings would sprout up in the 17 Asian nations represented here (and of course there are some African and a couple of western countries with us). What a "pit stop" ... and now we move on!

AMC Day 4: Imagine

I'm going to slip into bed soon and possibly drift into deep sleep and dream a little. I found Dr. Tim Dearborn to be helpful in modeling how Mission partnerships can be viewed from the angle of World Vision and I found their whole process of rethinking and shifting to a more theologically reflected mindset to be most helpful. I feel I need to do that firstly as a local church pastor and slowly develop this further layering the insights after experimentation. I think I need to work a little harder to process through every topic we've tried to "think through" through the lens of a local church and ask ...

"What does this mean for me personally and specifically for BLC?"

"What are some bigger steps for the long term?"

I guess I just don't want to leave this place overloaded with mere information but I'd like to go one step further to play my part in this whole mosiac of possibilities. Not only stirred to think constructively but also willing to creatively do something about it.

AMC Day 4: Turbo Reflecting

My mind is in turbo-reflecting mode. So, i felt that putting some comment suggestions and proposed revisions for little bits in the draft statement for the conference would be therapeutic!

Jason posted an interesting link on "Emerging churches in post-Christendom". I feel what I'm going through here is focusing my journey as a pastor in "Emerging churches in post-western Christianity in Asia" (more specifically Malaysia). And there's so much constructive thinking needed and creative proposals that would make a difference. At times in the conference I feel totally overwhelmed by the enormosity of the the task laid before us. I also realized that the Asian & African church is also largely absent in the discussion in the "emerging church" movement. I believe that would surely enrich all parties. A more global view of World Christianity surely is unpresidented and yet critical in these times.

when I was flipping through A History of Christianity in Asia: Beginnings to 1500 by Samuel Hugh Moffett during tea break this morning, I was struck by this two words "hidden" & "history" - i.e. how Asian christian history is largely hidden from Christians. In many ways, I know more about history of Christianity in the west more than my own historical heritage. I'm thankful now things are changing. Here's a mini OMF article "2000 years of Christianity in Asia" to start off!

I hope this generation won't make the same mistake in our pilgrimage until the final appearing of Jesus and the last day! The words of the OMF article encouraged me.

"The gospel has been proclaimed in Asia for at least 17 centuries. It could be that in the 21st century we’ll see an indigenous and culturally-Asian Christianity at last beginning to transform the whole of Asia, as many become citizens of heaven."

AMC Day 3: Surviving

Well, I survived a total of 9 plenary sessions so far and 1 workshop, plus a short spell of tummy-ache. Of course, today's trip to the Singapore Zoological Gardens was a nice change but physically and intellectually this is one of the most demanding conferences I've ever been part of. The level and standard of the presenters and the papers are very high. So, I'm looking forward to get some better rest tonight.

It's impossible to put the massive amount of information and insights I've gleaned through listening and conversing with different people. One personal highlight worth mentioning is a discussion over lunch with two other Malaysians who work in a NGO for poverty alleviation & holistic mission (incidently was the first plenary session this morning) in urban KL and my main concern was how a local congregation, a pastor like me and fellow church members can see our role in this aspect. If the way we have always done it is not the way, or at least is not going far enough, then how can we proceed forward?

Dr. Carver T. Yu's session on "Christian Mission in what may be the golden age for Buddhism" was fascinating in helping me understand the relationship between globalization and the postmodern age. Using that as a springboard to link with the growing Buddhist resurgence in Asia. He challenged us in three fronts:
1. We need to develop a holistic concept of the human person - a kind of theological antropology.

2. We need to critique globalization (or work towards a radical transformation?!)

3. We need to equip ourselves to enter into meaningful discourse with:
- Postmodernism
- Buddhism, etc.

He was one of the few speakers whom I had a chance to interact with (I thoroughly enjoyed his workshop), and he's one of the few who bring an Asian perspective on Postmodernism!

check out: his Sabbath with a mission and HOW should Theological Education respond to the 21st Century?

A quick note on last night's talk on "The challenge of Mission in the context of religious pluralism" by Dr. C.V. Mathew (here's an article by him on Nation building & another one on Indian theology). I'll just post a quote from his paper which had a very strong GOD-emphasis:

"It is God who saves, not religions or the religiosity of humans. God's salvation is always a gift. It is grace... Jesus Christ can satisfy the deepest longings of anyone's heart and give meaning to life. But Jesus Christ is not the fulfillment of any religion nor all the religions together. He is the God-appointed solution to the problems of humans; the God-ordained way to get back to God-given humanity ... The religion that has these principles enshrined in its system points to the way of salvation but does not save anyone. No religion has the power to save; onlt God does. He does that in and through Jesus Christ. Religion that is deficient in this cannot ultimately point to the way of salvation. It is at best a fallen human effort which is devoid of the kind of faith that God calls for, and worst a cleverly masterminded demonic device to turn humans away from God." (p. 6)

Dr. Mok-Chan Wing Yan's paper on "Issues in Holistic Urban Mission with Christian Drug Rehabilitation as a case study" also left a deep impression on me especially reminding me on the issue of "addiction" and the whole painful and costly process of recovery. Again as a pastor, I caught some idea of how we as a local congregation can change our own "culture" for the benefit of those in need. She said, "If a local Christian chruch wants to reach out to marginal people, she has to either change her own culture or facililate the founding of new churches specializing in marginal people groups. Long-term community building is possible when local churches work alongside para-church organizations to achieve comon mission goals."

AMC Day 2: After Dinner ...

Ok ... I've had five meals today! Got drenched in the S'pore rain a while ago, that was pretty fun! Used up my complimentary TTC phonecard to call May Chin and was amused by Gareth singing away (from my point of view) in the background.

Allow me to unload some stuff from my brain so I've got some space for tonight's session. Dr. Hong, Young-gi's "The theory & practice of Church Growth" session was my first time listening to an Asian-Korean perspective - in fact almost all the perspectives presented first are from Asians except for Sanneh's African appetizer during the keynote address .

Ian Prescott (here's a sample article from Urbana) the respondent threw out some noteworthy paths "Church growth" research could take. In my own phrasing (as I understand him)

1. How's does the existing or proposed "church growth models" relate to the socio-political context and culture in the different countries and context?

4. What is the relationship between "church growth", the wholistic gospel and social transformation?

Phew ... even before I could unload more. It's already time for next input.

(here's Dr. Hong's articles on "The Charisma of Cho Yonggi and Its Routinization in the Yoido Full Gospel Church of Korea" & " Modernity, Tradition, and Korean Protestantism: Church Growth and Pastoral Leadership" for 2 samples of his work).

AMC Day 2 : My stomach & mind - full!

Last night's key-note address by Prof. Lamin Sanneh was a dense historical-insightful exposition on Mission. Two things really caught my attention, primarily after Dr. Vinay Samuel's response and questions from the floor.

The first was when Prof. Sanneh made this statement that we are living in unprecedented times, where we live with a post-western Christianity and a post-Christian west.

The second was how in contrast with the development of Islam, Christianity has walked a very different path and walked through many shifts and will continue to do so (e.g. from a primarily Jewish context --> Gentile world --> Roman Christendom --> etc. another lens is the modern missionary movement and how Christianity settles in our a variety of cultures)

Dr. Hwa Yung pointed out a Christianity Today Interview where some of these thoughts are shared.

Loads of us checking emails here (me blogging?! hahah!)

Sat through two insightful and stimulating sessions this morning:
1. The theory and practice of church growth by Dr. Hong Young-gi, President, Institute of Church Growth, Seoul, Korea

2. Signs, wonders & spiritual warfare and Holistic Mission in Asia by Dr. Paulson Pulikottil

more later! BTW, as usual in conferences we eat and eat - tea breaks, lunch, breakfast, etc. But, in this one, we don't get much time to sleep ...

AMC Day 1: Upper Bukit Timah Road

well ... first, I'm deighted to still be connected (oh! the wonders of the internet!) Secondly, the bus ride was fantastic and the second link to S'pore from Malaysia is so much smoother then the one I'm more familiar with. Third, we get to go to S'pore's Famous Zoo free on Monday! yeah! (especially after looking at the amount of sitting, reading, listening & thinking I'll be going through the next week!) This Asian Mission Conference is heavy weight indeed!

I'm staying in a single student room in Trinity Theological College (TTC) at Upper Bukit Timah Road. The facilities here are good. We just finished a simple tea reception at 4:30 and some orientation at 5pm.

During the bus journey, I managed to read two chapters of Crossing the Bridge (church leadership in a time of change) by Alan J. Roxburgh. I felt very energized with the way he presented the ideas and found the message, metaphors and models the book explores to be a tremendous help in my own wrestling of what church leadership means in the context where I serve now!

Dinner time! Must get ready for Lamin Sanneh tonight!

Singapore I come!

I'll be off to Trinity Theological College Singapore from 6 - 11 December for the "Asian Missiology Conference on the Theology and Practice of Holistic Mission with the theme Mission as Transformation in 21st century ASIA". I was informed that the schedule is mega-packed!! I'll survive ... I think ...

Life is complex!

It's almost yearly we have to go through a series of events, conversations, meetings, and experiences to remind us again - life is so full of complexity. Quite often it's overwhelming, other times it motivates us to resolve conflicts, many a times we fall flat on our face in despair (awaiting God's re-fill of energy to get up!).

After reading Alan J. Roxburgh's The Shape of our Known World and introduced to a humurous "Cats" analogy and the closing mention of "Complexity theory" (surfed the net and got linked to this comprehensive website), I felt a little comforted with the possibility of seeing the world I live in with a new probably more "realistic" lens (informed by the insights of systems & complexity theory).

But, then life is full of complexity and often chaos .... after just short moment of calmness, an unexpected turn of events can always surprise us again!

A Kingdom Counter Culture

“Will we be people who are most shaped by our affluence, our wealth and class position, or by our identity as followers of Christ?” ~ Jim Wallis

That's how Ben Pattison's article A Kingdom Counter culture- Following Jesus in a world of Global capitalism starts.

I've been very attracted to what Bevan calls the "Counter cultural" model & "Transcendant" Model of Contextual Theology ... thus, when I saw the words "a Kingdom Counter Culture" ... it's a must read for me!

Brow's back with a Bang!

Well ... at least a couple of responses to some letters from surfers. It's good to know my friend is publishing online again. He's been so kind to me these past years and taught me the importance of being simple. I really appreciate him! so here goes simple stuff nothing fancy:

________________________________

Is there a conflict between Christianity and culture?

Why do Jews and Christians seem to think so differently?

I came into your site via your review of Capon’s Astonished Heart. Can you explain your vision.
__________________________________

Plugged In!

I'm back to Blogworld from Seremban. Just arrived about an hour ago and played with Gareth and tried to make him sleep (not very successfully - Grandpa has to take over!) Looking forward to invite people to any of the Christmas open house parties and Christmas Eve event so more can be "pluggin into" His kingdom!

(Thanks James for the invitation insert below!)

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Plugged Out!

I'll be plugged out from Blogworld from now until Thursday.

But before I'm off I am delighted that Brian McLaren has new website - finally! http://www.anewkindofchristian.com/ (Thanks Jason for the link ... he's been updating daily the past week ... cool!).

Ordering Your Private World

The first time I read this book was when I was in my late teens. I somehow grasped the general idea. I read it again in my twenties, I think I got a clearer idea what Gordon McDonald was trying to convey. Now, I'm Thirty-One (phew! time flies) and I'm still reading this book (again! this time it's an updated version and I'm using the study guide!) - it's a life-long struggle.

And more and more I feel Christian leaders MUST work through the concerns and concepts in this book. In fact, humans must struggle through with what he's highlighting here. The past few years, the chance to be in touch with numerous "crashes" in people's lives, marriages, work, etc, convinces me that the cultivation of the "inner life" is critical and crucial. It saddens me again and again when one is engrossed in so called "busyness" (which is a symptom of something deeper) it's like termits eating away the "hidden" structures of our lives quietly but surely. There are warning signs. There are ways to prevent (and recover from) such "disasters" (read about the Sinkhole Syndrome) and it's got to start now.

Consider the maturity of McDonald's thoughts: "Now, there is a busyness that reflects a plan of activity, a pattern of priorities, and a sense of purposefulness. It is good and satisfying busyness through which one grows and increases competence... But there is also the busyness (destructive busyness, actually) that reflects a chaotic way of life - a way of doign in which one is simply responding to the next thing in the day. The next thing! It makes no difference whether or not it has significance; it's just the next thing, and one does it because it's there to do." (p. 1)

But, of course the whole issue of "busyness" is just scratching the surface. The deeper concern lies beneath the surface inside us!