PREACHINGI've added a new word to my vocabulary: missionalism. In fact I may have coined the word. All I know is that my spell-checker never heard of it before.Missionalism defined: the belief that the worth of one's life is determined by the achievement of a grand objective. Key word: worth.
I don't know how long the word missional has been in use. I only began to hear it in the last few years as in "we're a missional church." Is missional really that different from being purpose-driven? I like both terms, but I know lots of churches (including ones I pastored) that were acting missional and purpose-driven long before the two words became popular. I remember thinking one day that missional sounds a bit Catholic, and purpose-driven sounds more Evangelical Protestant.
But missionalism is something else. It's a leader's disease. Like a common cold that begins with a small cough, missionalism catches on in a leader's life and seems at first so inconsequential. But let this disease catch hold and you are likely to have bodies strewn all over the place, the leader's and some of the leader's followers.
and then he highlights the lure of missionalism
Missionalism—the passionate need to keep things growing and growing so that one proves his/her worth—can catch hold from various sources. For some of us, it came early in life when we discovered that we got a lot of love when we went forward to dedicate our lives to Christian service.
We were awash with the call to a kind of heroism. If I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times, "The world has yet to see what God can do through a person totally committed to Jesus Christ." It was an inspiring statement, and it conjured dreams of whole nations converted to Christ through preaching. How many times I knelt at altars and begged God for a fervency, an overcoming of the power of the Holy Spirit, a sense of abandonment that would make me willing to take up the cross to follow him. I wanted to be that one person.
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The biblical exhortation to hospitality provides helpful imagery when thinking about the pursuit of unity. Christian hospitality is rooted in the character of God who welcomes us into his family through Christ. Various texts encourage believers to extend that same hospitality to one another and to the stranger in their midst (Romans 12:3; Heb. 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9). This was a virtue already commended in the Old Testament.
Denver Seminary professor David Buschart uses this image as a guide for exploring eight different families or theological traditions within Protestantism. Theological hospitality is the practice of welcoming other Christians whose understanding of Scripture and theology may seem strange or challenging to us. This welcome is appropriate, says Buschart, in light of the ontological reality of the church's present unity in Christ and the assurance of complete unity at the return of Christ. Thus his examination of each tradition (Lutheran, Reformed, Anabaptist, Pentecostal, etc.) is an exercise in careful listening and friendly (but fair) evaluation...
We should understand, therefore, that commitment to a particular theological position or tradition is not in itself a hindrance to the faithful practice of hospitality. A crucial determinant is attitude. Do we see our tradition as a fortress (to be defended against the enemy!) or as a home (in which to welcome friends)? The latter requires us to practice humility, and this "entails admitting that one's theology is neither complete nor free of errors.... Such fallibility is often acknowledged, at least in principle, but theological hospitality requires acting upon this humility."
THE Calvary church in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur, is rocked with controversy over alleged mismanagement of funds.
A group of church members, who call themselves the Truth, Transparency and Good Governance Group (TTG), is demanding for accountability and transparency over the use of church funds from the Calvary Church’s Board of Deacons (BOD) led by senior pastor (SP) Rev. Tan Sri Prince Guneratnam...
Futuristic: An artist impression of space ship-like Calvary Convention Centre (CCC) , a project by Malaysian architect Datuk Dr Ken Yeang.The CCC, the TTG claims, has been dogged by controversy right from the beginning. The project was supposed to cost RM50mil, excluding land cost, but this has now ballooned to RM150mil.
Although the project started with much hope for a new beginning for the Calvary Church, work on the project subsequently took a bad turn.
The project, which was scheduled to have been completed by October this year, is now left temporarily abandoned due to the stoppage of work by the main contractor since April this year. Two Sundays ago, the pastors announced that the church had issued a Notice of Default to the main contractor,
“The church commenced the project, knowing right from the start that there were not enough funds to complete it. Despite selling some properties and obtaining a bank loan, the church still has to continue raising a lot of funds to finish this extravagant project.”
YESTERDAY saw the retirement of Johor's longest-serving pastor, Reverend Nicholas Yeo, 67, after more than 35 years of faithful service in one of Johor's oldest churches, Holy Light Church (English) (HLCE) at Jalan Gertak Merah, Johor Baru.
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| Reverend Nicholas Yeo with his wife, Lee Swee Keng, who faithfully supported his ministry for more than 30 years. |
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| Reverend Nicholas Yeo welcoming Colonel Mustaffa Awang for the Boys Brigade Awards Day on March 20, 1976. |
The Holy Light Church was founded by a young missionary from the Presbyterian Church of England, Reverend John Cook in 1886. Then, Cook was much assisted by a Scotsman, Datuk James Meldrum, who was the son-in-law of Reverend Benjamin Keasberry, a tutor to Sultan Abu Bakar.
The church grounds in Jalan Gertak Merah were given by the late Sultan.
At the time, the Sunday worship services comprised Chinese (Teochew) and English sessions, and many British civil servants and servicemen based in Johor Baru attended them.
However, when Meldrum passed away in 1908, the English service also came to a halt. It was not until August 1952 that the new resident moderator of the church, Reverend George Hood, revived the English service.
Between 1952 and 1973, foreign missionaries -- Hood, Richard Shad, Robert Elder, Derek Gill, Gilbert Lum, Cecil Gracey, Donald Elliot and Robert Irving -- continued to minister the English-speaking congregation as it was difficult to find an Asian who was prepared to serve as a pastor.
Their prayers for an Asian to take over the ministry were finally answered in December 1973 when Yeo, then 31 years old and a former secondary school teacher who had just graduated from the Singapore Bible College, was inducted as a preacher of the English service.
Hood, 92, who now lives in Scotland, later wrote that when the hopes of getting an Asian pastor were realised, it was like rain falling on dry ground, bringing new life and growth of the seeds that the foreign missionaries had planted.
Then on Aug 31, 1979, Yeo was officially ordained as the church's first Asian minister.
In his more than 30 years of ministry at Holy Light Church (English), the Batu Pahat-born Yeo was ably supported by his wife, Lee Swee Keng, who hailed from Klang, Selangor. Apparently, the couple met in 1969 at a Teachers' Christian Fellowship Conference and soon fell in love and were married on July 29, 1971 in Batu Pahat. In 1977, Swee Keng also gave up her teaching career to assist Yeo in their ministry at HLCE.
Even though he does not undertake aggressive proselytisation, nevertheless the depth and breadth of Yeo's impact on the lives of the many who came to know him is a testimony of the pious life which he leads and a role model which he plays as an exemplary pastor to his colleagues as well as a religious patriarch to his congregation.
Yeo possesses a multiplicity of gifts. He speaks and writes impeccable English, and has a mellifluous voice that always warms the hearts of the congregation whenever he sings.
I find Yeo to be extremely humble despite the many honours and accolades paid him over more than three decades of ministerial service. I still remember how I once informed him that I should write to the authorities to nominate him for a Datukship especially when he was also instrumental in setting up the English Speaking Presbytery (ESP) within the Presbyterian Synod, and was the ESP's first moderator. Yeo declined, for he always seeks to please the God he serves rather than men.
I also remember Yeo as someone who does not retaliate or speak evil of those who disagree or criticise him. Faced with a litany of accusations against him during a church crisis in the 1990s, there was never a single moment when defending himself did Yeo retaliate or attack his accusers -- a virtue of forgiveness which many of our politicians today seriously lack and ought to emulate.
Perhaps his life and service at HLCE are best summed up by Elder Dr Koh Seong Kooi.
"If you look at his life, he is a patient guy. He is kind and does not envy. He is not rude. He is not self-seeking. He is not easily angered," said Dr Koh, 56.
"He does not delight in evil. He rejoices with the truth. He keeps no record of wrongs. He always protects; always trusts; always hopes and perseveres. As a shepherd looking after the flock in Holy Light, we have the best pastor with us."
Paul Juby, 77, a captain of the Johor Baru 1st Company of Boys Brigade in the 1970s and who now lives in England, agrees.
"I well remember when Nicholas came to Johor Baru when I was the Captain of the Boys' Brigade. He gave whole-hearted support to the Boys' Brigade and I know full well that he has been a great pastor for more than 30 years. He is a wonderful man who has done so much for so many people," said Juby.
In his last official sermon to the congregation as their pastor, Yeo reminded them this: "While we move along with change, there are absolutes which we should not let go of. The absolutes are those of God -- do not change His Word which is steadfast as our life manual."
In appreciation of their services, HLCE will hold a special retirement service and appreciation dinner for Yeo and Swee Keng at New York Hotel, Johor Baru, at 5pm on Sunday.
To Pastor and Swee Keng who have been a great inspiration to many as well as my family and I, we thank you and wish you happy retirement and many, many more years of good health and happiness.
sharing
a small young church with a big heart
A beautiful frontage
nice balcony facing the garden for small group activities
open air main gathering place in the centre of the building
My recent car accident has distracted me a bit from my routine. And though I am not scheduled to preach this month, I have been busy with a number of pressing ministry matters that have also been distracting. So I am grateful for a long preaching break where I have had a lot more time to pray, reflect and try to figure out what to do!!! Sometimes the tunnel seems pretty long and dark and there is no indication of any light showing that the tunnel is near.
ges and no membership dues. It is not expensive.' Then if that person persists, "What about your church's expansion plans? New building projects. What will it cost you, as a member? How expensive will it be to remain in your church?" 
Spiritual Formation on the Run by Dr Alex Tang(see last para)
Spiritual Formation on the Run by Dr Alex Tang(see last para)
Dr Alex Tang has kindly consented the Editor to post his sharing on Spiritual Formation (extracted) on our site. He is also the author of this book Spiritual Formation on the Run, which is available in our Library( donated by him). Read more of him in the websites below
Now read on and you may print it to read in your quiet time. This may be what each and everyone of us badly needs.
By Dr Alex Tang
The Call
A Call to Spiritual Formation
San Antonio, 2009
Christian spiritual formation is the process of being shaped by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ, filled with love for God and the world.
Spiritual formation happens in community. As we long to know and follow Jesus and be formed into his likeness, we journey with those who share this longing. God is calling the church to be a place of transformation. Here we struggle to fulfill our calling to love. Here we learn to attend to the invitations of God’s Spirit. Here we follow the presence of God in our midst. Spiritual community is the catalyst for our transformation and a sending base for our mission of love to the world.
Participants at this week's Leadership Network-sponsored Ideation Experience began their 48 hours together by developing a "top 10" list of top kingdom ideas over the last decade. The original poll to help determine the list of nominees can be found here.The winning ideas were . . .
• Externally focused churches as key idea for evangelical churches
• Shifting opinions on social issues in the 18-35 year old demographic that are shaping the emphases of the church
• Multi-site churches
• The rise of networks as the key focus for church planting and resourcing in other ways
• Open source content freely given away for church resources via computer
• The rise of church websites/pastor blogs/podcasts and videocasts as church communication tools
• Social networking tools (facebook/twitter/myspace/custom tools) being utilized by churches and parachurch groups
• Bringing management and leadership focus into church in a fresh way
• Greater awareness by U.S. megachurches and others to international missions and humanitarian efforts around the world
• From “marketplace to ministry” as strong source of staff members of churches. Emphasis on “homegrown”
• Deeper penetration and shifts in small group models (life groups, cells, etc.) into a broad variety of churches
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How much sin should we expect in the church? We have gauges for other elements of church life. We generally monitor attendance. We know how many people are in small groups. Somebody counts the offerings. And often we don't just measure what we're interested in—we set goals.
Anybody hear of a church that set a goal for a 5-percent sin reduction next year?
I don't mean to be glib about this. Sin is, somehow, at the root of all human misery. Sin is what keeps us from God and from life. It is in the face of every battered woman, the cry of every neglected child, the despair of every addict, the death of every victim of every war.
Pastors have historically understood their primary battle to be not the battle to build a big church, but the battle against the power of sin. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood … ." Christians have measured the seriousness of the battle by the suffering and bleeding of Calvary.
And sin doesn't seem to be going away, either outside or inside the church. So how should we be thinking about sin, in our congregations and in ourselves?
If you are a Leadership Network follower - #leadnet for all you twitter devotees – you’ve heard about the newly released mega church research study and report - Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America's Megachurches, If you haven’t read the report, here are a few quick facts:
Prominent Findings of Megachurch Study
- Young, single adults are more likely to be in megachurches than in smaller churches.
- Nearly two-thirds of attenders have been at these churches 5 years or less.
- Nearly a quarter of attenders hadn't been in any church for a long time before coming to a megachurch.
- Newcomers almost always attend a megachurch because family, friends or co-workers invited them.
- New attenders were first attracted by the worship style, the senior pastor and the church's reputation.
- These same factors influenced long-term attendance, as did the music/arts, social and community outreach and adult-oriented programs.
And here’s a graphic illustration of some of the points included in the report:
Not just a Boomer Phenomenon –
Megachurches Draw Twice as Many Under 45
On June 23, 2009 the topic of Leadership Network’s THE SHOW focused on the findings from this report. Scott Thumma, one of the primary researchers, was our guest. If you missed it, here’s a link:June 23, 2009 - Megachurch Attender Research Findings
with Dr. Scott Thumma
Here’s a link to the June 23, 2009 issue of Leadership Network’s Advance, with cover story entitled Major Study: Younger Crowds Flocking to U.S. Megachurches.
And if you still haven’t had enough, here’s a link to our beloved Warren Bird’s previous Leadership Network Learnings blog post on the report – Not True: "Megachurch attenders volunteer less than other churches" - June 12, 2009.
