Lawrence Khong (2008) Give me the Multitudes! Obeying God's Call into the Media World, TOUCH Ministries International: SingaporeLawrence Khong is the Founding Senior Pastor of the 10,000 strong Faith Community Baptist Church in Singapore. He has been commissioned as an Apostle by Dr Peter Wagner of the International Coalition of Apostles and is a member of Pastor Cesar Castellanos' International G12. He is also the Founding Chairman of TOUCH Community Services, a registered non-profit welfare organisation that serves the needy, and the Founding Chief Execuitive Officer of Gateway Entertainment, an entertainment production business that stages mega magic shows like Magic of Love (from the book burb).
This little booklet of 119 pages, large fonts with 1.5 spacing format and a few pages of black and white photos is an autobiography by Khong about the last six years in which he was involved in his magician/illusionist Magic of Love stage magic/dance/musical production.
Though an autobiography, it comes across as an attempt to justify his involvement with the Magic of Love. As I was reading it, I was wondering why is there a need to justify his actions if the call from God for him was to begin an apostolic ministry in the 'media and entertainment scene' to win the lost. It is good to know that his interest in magic/illustionist acts began when he was a child and remained his hobby. It is also good to know that he thinks that his Magic of Love may be a platform for him to share Christ with unbelievers. The telling of his daughter's out of wedlocks pregnancy and the neglect of his son by the show is of human interest but did not further the justification of his action.
It is my personal opinion that after reading this book that Khong may need to let go of being a pastor if he is to seriously consider entering into the world of media and to win it for the Lord. Being a pastor is a handicap because no non-Christian will take his shows seriously if he is still linked to the church. To them, this is just another Christian evangelism gimmick.
Khong also need to be careful in his choice of theme for his shows. The Magic of Love is a good them because it tells of the love between a father and his daughter. However, the "Spooky Show" may be a gray area.
Finally, Khong must realise that he is not alone. Maybe he has been a pastor too long that he has forgotten that thousands if not millions of Christians are involved in 'marketplace ministries' and many of them in the media. He writes as if he discovered the marketplace ministry all by himself.
On the whole, it is a good book to read. I have a better understanding of Lawrence Khong and his ministries.
.
Dear Alex, This is a book I love to read. From what I gather from his interview in Straits Times and the advertisements on TV of his magic shows (June & July 08), this magician-pastor has caused much controversy and consternation among some Christians I know here. I seriously doubt a Christian let alone a pastor can be involved in the kind of magic he practises.
ReplyDeleteHi Tony,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this is a thin book and Khong did not elaborate on his magic.
I am hoping, Paul from Auckland will help us to shed some light on his magic.
Sorry Alex. I do not know Lawrence Khong nor have any first hand knowledge of his "brand of magic-illusion".
ReplyDeleteWhat I have heard from some "Christian magicians" that I respect very much have not been positive ... that is as afar as I think I am willing to comment.
And even my "style" of magic using it as a ministry while greatly appreciated by my church leaders is still "controversial". I was just asked a few hours ago to not use my calling card anymore even though it is my own personal calling card - no church address or phone number because it states on it the words "Gospel Entertainer" (not even Gospel Magician" :-)!)
The reason is that they think it this association of "entertainer" with their pastor is controversial....
Hi Alex,
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I saw the book a couple of time but didn't get to read it.
The organization that I'm working in has been doing 'media-evangelism'.
The founder blew her trumpet to preach the gospel in the immediate post-war era in China and Taiwan.
So Lawrence is deeply disillusioned if he thinks he is the first to discover or attempt this task.
Hi Paul,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your frank comment. I am surprised about not allowing you to use the term 'Gospel Entertainer'
Hi Sze Zeng,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. Sometimes one can be so wrapped up in what one is doing that one does not know what the rest of the world is doing.
Alex
ReplyDeleteI was rather surprised myself about the opposition against even the term "gospel entertainer", especially since what I do has been openly acknoweldged as a key factor in the growth of many of our church ministries, especially with the unchurched (not just with children). A few leaders are very conservative in their thinking....
For the record, my former pastor is okay with my calling card... :-)
Wasted money but on the brighter side my church leadership is happy to pay for a new more conservative and traditional card to be printed :-)