The Summon - Joshua Xie

The last song that we sang, The Summons, was a really beautiful song:

Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

As I sang the song, I started to see these past three weeks flash before my eyes, once again. (On a side note, this song is really great for video montages heheh…). From bola bola day 1, lessons at TTC and SBC, Frisbee and dinner at botanical gardens, more lessons at Bethel Presbyterian, cycling at ECP and the last week at the farm, HealthServe and Jubilee Presbyterian Church. All these are precious memories I will cherish forever. These past three weeks been amazing with so many wonderful people coming into my life. Everyday I thank God for this great opportunity, learning and growing together. The joy found here truly cannot be found anywhere else outside the body of Christ. 

Every time I think about how I entered this program, I am convinced that it is not be coincidence that we were gathered here. I was totally unaware of the program until one fine day when Jonathan sent me an email asking me if I was interested. It was (by the way) one whole month past the application deadline. When I looked through the program, I was totally excited! It was like the perfect opportunity for me before I went for CWM EAR (which honestly, I really have no idea what I signed up for but shhh… that's another story). The prospect of meeting other youth leaders from other churches, getting really solid theology classes, experiencing community ministries was really an opportunity hard to give up. And I really thank God for giving me a chance to be here to learn. 

Going through the three weeks, I learnt that our history as Presbyterians and church histories were really necessary in helping me appreciate our heritage. It puts many things into perspective, why and where we are here today has its reason. And as we decide where to go in the future, it is important that we return to the Word, make sure we are rooted in His will, that we are going and growing in His path. If not we would, as Rev. Tan Tiong Ann put it, 失之毫厘 差之千里. Deviate slightly at the beginning and eventually it would be huge.  (I’m not even if that is grammatically sound but you get the point) Lastly, what would it mean to be children of God if we do not be the salt and light of this world (Mat 5:13-16)? What does it mean to be the salt and light of this world? What should we be doing? Honestly, I don't think that there are specific or definite answers that apply to everyone. God has His plan for different people, but are we willing to listen? What would our responses be? Would I be able to step out of the boat, onto the water (Mat 14:29)? I wish I could but have serious doubts whether I would. So how? I really do not know. What I do know is that if the Lord has called me to do something, He would be with me. And if that is not enough to assure me, I really don't know what else would. It would be a shame for any of us who love God, to miss His call, or even worse, turn away from it. Let us turn and follow Him and never be the same.

But I am encouraged to see so many brothers and sisters who are so fervent in their search for the Lord. I am sure that the Lord looks into the deepest corners of our hearts and would never forsake our ever-seeking hearts.  These three weeks were just a start to an even longer journey ahead but I know that our paths would definitely cross again (just look at Grace and Peter, just one day only and they run into each other haha…). It’s just a beginning to lasting friendships. And trust me, the “magic” has taken place. Hehehe…

Joshua Xie

Week Of Experiential Learning - Joshua Xie

This week was packed with experiential learning. On Monday, we went to Gracious Aquaponic Culture where Pastor Andrew Choo gave us an introduction to what his ministry was all about. Setting up a farm, using farming as a therapeutic means to reach out to ex-convicts, an alternative means to educate, most importantly, it was that passion to respond in a Godly manner to the issues in society. During the introductory session, I could feel that passion, that conviction bouncing off his every sentence. And when Charlie came up to share his testimony, it was really amazing to see the way talked about his journey coming to Christ and how it had changed him. I’ve known people like Charlie from my army days. What they’ve been doing has become habits, a lifestyle that is really difficult to change. And Charlie was absolutely right when he said that Christ was the only reason why he was able to make such a huge change. It is the same for me, even being born into a Christian family. Only when I realized the need for Christ to be the Lord over my life could I leave the past behind. Only through Christ can one be free of past sins.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

After a short tour of the farm, we got our hands dirty, weeding the ground. When we were given changkol, in my mind was, “This is shell scrapes all over again… Sigh…” But when we started on the task at hand together, we just rolled. Some of the weeds were small and had really delicate roots, and that was the difficult part! If we did not remove the roots, they would just grow back! But at the same time, we had to be sure not to damage the roots of the plant as well. This analogy has been used many times throughout the Bible and Sunday school class. But nothing beats having that first hand experience in weeding. That slight frustration knowing that if we do not clear that root out, the crops might be in jeopardy (I know it seems a little melodramatic but as a first-time weeder, I think it is excusable). It is the same when we realize that the detrimental effect sin had on our life, we would probably grab on harder to Christ to weed our sins. Hey! That’s experiential learning! 

Similarly, during our visit to Healthserve, we had dinner with the migrant workers from China. During that meal, we had conversations that once again reminded me of the part of society which we conveniently forget. To be honestly, if I were there alone, the conversation would have had a lot more awkward silence. It was not that I could not understand his situation; rather, I was afraid that in my attempt, I might come off as a presumptuous, ignorant kid with a “disillusioned” Christian outlook. Thankfully, there were brothers and sisters who brought him to church. Although he was not yet a Christian, he was considering it seriously and I was touched because he understood that believing in God had to be thoroughly considered and not to be accepted purely for the promise of a better life. After understanding a little more about his background, we did a short prayer with him (trust me, this is where 20 years growing up in a Chinese church comes in handy). Through this experience, I really felt the need to articulate my faith in the Lord and how to encourage others too, especially IN CHINESE! Trying to do a literal translation is not enough. 

My largest take away was Pastor Andrew’s call to each of us, how are we reacting to the issues of society. Are we going to be like the priest and the Levite, turning away from the needy or are we going to be like the Samaritan, who reached out with love? What exactly would “reaching out with love” look like? Do we look at broken families and judge them? Or do we support them lovingly? Most of us (and I actually mean me) may be afraid because we know that we have much to learn to contribute to this broken society. But ever since the first week, we have been reminded constantly that God makes use of the inadequate. So brothers and sisters, let’s work harder together to equip us to do His good works. Let’s put our trust in the Lord and rely on His strength, not ours. 

We love because He first loved. – 1 John 4:19

Joshua Xie

Servant and Subversive Leadership - Hoi Wen

This was the way our Lord Jesus lived, He humbled Himself, taking the very nature of a servant (Phil 2:5-11). 

This week I had the privilege of listening to the leaders of Singapore and witnessing how authentically they shared their experience with us and seeing how humble they are. These are people who have led by example and by God’s wisdom, not their own. The common theme running through the different speakers was how they carry their values into the public square, shaped by our faith.

I wonder how often do we unconsciously position ourselves in the marketplace as self-righteous all in the name of upholding Godly values? 

I think it is important that we live out Biblical values and principles in the public square and voice them. But why and how we communicate them is important to think about. Communicating our stand in love and showing compassion is critical. A key word mentioned was quiet diplomacy.

Quiet diplomacy is a great way to test our motives. Do we shout from the mountain tops so that we can gain credit for the cause that we are fighting for? Or do we be subversive, transforming the system as how Christ transforms us in a slow but steady way under the obedience of Christ. Are we humble and patient enough to journey with God and people?

We learnt about spiritual leadership “in the 21st century” from Bishop Emeritus Robert Solomon. I really appreciate that he didn’t talk about 7 steps to being a good spiritual leader or 7 Bible verses on spiritual leadership. Rather, he grounded it in the ten commandments, focusing on our posture towards God and thus our neighbours. That is what true spiritual leadership is, which is not about certain personality traits that qualify or leading in a way that dominate others, but it is about serving God and His people, respecting each voice, washing other people’s feet.

I realise more and more how God works through the generations. From Genesis we see how God worked through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob … in keeping His covenantal promise. As we explored the history of Presbyterianism and how it came to Singapore, I see how God is faithful through the generations. OMF is another good example where the legacy of Hudson Taylor has been passed down through the different generations in his family in one way or another and now through Jamie Hudson Taylor IV.

When we take steps in obedience to Christ, He honours our obedience and is faithful. But it is not about us, it is about what God is doing. If we want to be a part of what He is already doing, His mission, let us offer our five loaves and two small fish and let God do the multiplication and all glory be unto Him forever! [John 6:9, Matthew 13:23]

Hoi Wen

Christianity and Science - Hoi Wen

This talk by Jose Philips was so intriguing! So often modern culture has seen Christianity and Science as being almost mutually exclusive. The science on evolution and human-induced climate change are often discarded by Christians because when seen from the surface, they doesn’t seem to fit with the Bible. However, if we dig deeper into God’s Word and heart, and find out more about God’s created order, we will see that these do not clash with each other.

Darwin’s theory on Natural Selection may not have intended to disprove a creator but combined with the discovery of Mendelian genetics, the theory of evolution was synthesised. We can observe micro-evolution in natural selection, but not macro-evolution. Through artificial selection, we see how dogs have “evolved” from the Grey wolf, but we also see that mules (a cross between a male donkey and a female horse) are sterile. Mules therefore are not a species in their own right. Artificial selection is of course by design – in this case it’s by humans. Natural selection has not been shown to lead to macro evolution. Hypothetically, even if in the future this is proven, does it mean that God doesn’t exist? Does it mean that God is not involved in evolution? The Psalms and Book of Job tell us of God as the sovereign Creator, Provider and Sustainer (Ps 19:1, Rom 1:20, Job 38-39). 

The theory of evolution also contradicts the law of entropy, where "entropy changes lead to a progressive disorganization of the physical world...while evolutionary changes [produce] progressively higher organization...". Even though these two theories are said to be incommensurable, it shows us that believing in only science itself as the be all and end all requires a considerable amount of faith as well.

Hoi Wen

STEP-Fast Love - Jonathan Lau

This post is special; this is the only post I have put a photo in, and I am dedicating this to STEP. :)

On Friday, we graduated! Yay! It was an intense yet fun three weeks. To the pastors-in-charge, really want to thank you all for organizing this. It is fun, enriching, exciting (especially the first day^^) and great experience to many things that we probably wont explore. Appreciate you all,and especially after pastor Joshua Woo shared about how he had to call here and there for speakers.

To all the speakers, thank you for taking time to come down to speak to us:) It was really enriching hearing about stuffs like christianity in southeast asia, christianity and science. And also for all the theological lesson, calvin and what is it to be theologically educated.

And for what we call ourselves, the STEPers (so much pun), thank you for all the devotions that you all led, it is super applicable. Thank you all for sharing your laughter and joy with me. Without you guys, I think STEP would be quite quiet:) Fun fact: I am an introvert^^ I also thank you guys for joking around and really I am still very amazed by how God brings all of us from different churches together and make a STEP out of it!  

 

Firstly,as I looked back, wow, I wouldn’t have join STEP if Grace didn’t tell me about it. I was busy finding a job to earn money, but somehow, I couldn’t find a job suitable for me. Those suitable for me dao me -.- and then I realise that maybe I could join STEP, and when I actually look at the timetable, I was like 'let's go man'. The thing that caught my eye was the theology of worship and sacramental theology, but throughout the three week, I learn that theological education doesn’t separate both the theological knowledge and the practical part. 

Anyway, the point is that I believe that everyone in STEP is not by chance. We were chosen to learn and fellowship with one another. We were CALLED to be here for a purpose for God's mission. We could have been doing other stuff but we chose to join STEP, and that is one point I really cherish in this program, that all of you are not here by chance, but God putting each and everyone of you in my live. And I could say the same of all of you too, right?

I pray that even after STEP has ended, we will still continue to hold on to one another, always keeping in touch. And of course, we must hold on to God. As we depart to our future journey, let these memories always be in our heart, cause there will never be much opportunity for us to fellowship with other church's brother and sister. Let us continue to serve God, to help people and to fellowship with one another.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Jonathan Lau

The Mission Of God - Jonathan Lau

We have reached the last week of the STEP program and I guess it is kind of sad that it will end soon. Maybe next year STEP program can be a little bit more than 3 weeks? (Idea!) Looking back, I find it hard to really bond with 25 over people, and from so many different Presbyterian churches in such a short amount of time, but I guess God really work in amazing ways. Firstly, all of us had a goal in mind,that is to learn about God's words. Secondly, all of us really love and cherish the time of fellowship-ing with one another. That short lunch and dinner break, and the trip to botanic garden, everyone wants to get to know each other well and that is so amazing.

In that short amount of time, I have learnt a lot about how God works in many different people's lives. It doesn’t require a lot of knowledge of theology (although theology is important too), all you need to do is to see that problem and 'bang!', that is where you need to go, just like the Samaritan in Luke 10. The Onesimus farm is a place I have never been to or known about,and the first impression it gave me was WHY IS IT AT SUCH AN ULU PLACE!(Cause I have to go there myself :'( ) I like the fact that they uses the simple farming things to convey spiritual message, and how they appreciate small little plants that are growing as a blessing. The Onesimus farm helps to transform many people's live, for e.g. drug addicts.

Also, we went to Aljunied learnt about HealthServe. I was a bit reluctant to go to HealthServe initially as it clashes with the discipleship lesson I had in my church, but still went due to peer pressure. But the amazing thing was that when I stepped into HealthServe again, I actually realize more stuff than the last time. (Maybe I was daydreaming the last time.) HealthServe serves the migrant worker, work as a clinic for them. Then after, we broke up into groups and had dinner with a migrant worker. The one that was following my group was a guy whose one eye is blind. He had an accident and a nail struck his eye. He hasn't receive any compensation yet, even though his accident is closed to a year now. Due to his blindness in one eye, he is going to go back to his country. It is rather sad to hear about his story and I just pray that he will continue to hold on to God as he return back to his home. After that, we went to walk around Geylang red district. It was my first experience and it makes me wonder about why they are doing this. Some for money? I don’t know.

Through Onesimus garden and HealthServe, God opened my eyes to see that there are many people in the society, or rather in the world, that need help. What are we, as Christian, doing? 1 Peter 4:10 'As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace' Then I ask myself, what am I doing? How easy it would be if God can just tell me the direction. And that is something I struggled this week with.

The talk on missional church and missional discipleship was very interesting and refreshing. God is the missionary and we are involved in the mission of God! Never have I thought of God as the missionary, but it is true. He wants us to spread the gospel, spread the good news and we are living testimonies for him! From the past few days of exploring different social work, the area of mission is everywhere! The mission of God is a holistic mission! So what are we doing with our live now! 

For me, I really feel that missions in important, but there is one obstacle in front of me, which is whether I am willing to commit long term. People helping in healthserve and those in onesimus farm never fails to amaze me, because they had given their live to God. They have answered God's calling for them. And I am wondering, whether will I obey God's calling. Well it is really an eye opener to see the areas that I can help in, and I will slowly pray to God for his direction.

Jonathan Lau