10,000 Reasons - Willy Lau

Thousands of starfishes were being washed up the shore and dying under the scorching sun. In a distance, a boy was frantically picking up the starfishes and throwing them back into the sea. A man, laughing at the boy for being silly, mocked, ‘Boy! What you are doing is not going to change anything. Please, just give it up!’ The boy turned around and held one starfish in his hand, retorted, ‘But it matters to THIS one!’ With that, he threw that starfish back into the sea.

Thank you. Thank all of you who made it for this programe. Thank God for all the speakers who made themselves available to teach us!

Each STEP we took, I could only say it was God’s grace. He was the one who made it all possible. Each of you, precious in His sight, all came to bless me. A programme like this? Not through human efforts. We are mere instruments! We just need to open our hands and receive. Tears shed, lives touched, love shared. 

Thank God for friendship, co-workers, old relationships rekindled, new relationships formed, and all the many eureka moments! Indeed, like the little boy in the story above, I knew it mattered to each one of you and all of you experienced something that is so precious in this programme that may you even remember to tell it to your grandchildren when you sit in that old rocking chair.

Where do we go from here?

The show must go on. Let this not be just an emotional high programme. When the music fades, the curtains draw, the clown goes back to the backstage and everything is forgotten. We laughed and played, we saw and heard. Was that just a dream? Just some nice memories to keep and store it somewhere in our memory bank? Let not the passion die. Let’s build this dream together.

Pr. Willy Lau

Synod Youth Executive

Then and Now - Willy Lau

My great grandmother was a preacher at Jubilee Church. She was there during the John Sung Revival. My mom kept this photo of her dad’s wedding. In fact she has a library of photos of each of us (I have 3 other siblings), all our family trips, our birthdays, our growing up years. 

She constantly complains that nowadays, we take photos and keep them in computers and social media and do not develop them. She needs to hold them and feel them. 

I praise and thank God for as I listened to all the participants sharing their own church history. We all stand on the shoulders of giants and many stories of the faithful have been lost. Who am I? What makes the church what it is today? What are the conversion stories of all these grey-haired folks that I see them coming faithfully every Sunday? What was it like during their youth ministry those days? Did they even have youth ministry? What kept them going? What significant thing happened in the past? How did they go through so many years where they didn’t even have a pastor? 

A picture tells a thousand words. Where are the stories? Can I hear them? Can someone share with me? Do I have time to listen? Do I really want to listen? What if I find it too hard to do? What if I ran out of patience? Am I constantly looking for relevance or is there something so valuable that I must listen but pretend that it’s not there? Is there such a great generation gap today that we can’t connect with the old anymore?

Pr. Willy Lau

Synod Youth Executive

We Are Young... Let's Set The World On Fire - Willy Lau

I was at Esplanade to support a friend’s daughter singing with The Acapella Society. A bunch of kids, from different background, races, colors, probably different religions, coming together for one purpose, to sing, in one voice. 

As we enter into the second week of STEP, I saw everyone coming daily for one purpose, to learn what it means to be a Presbyterian. We don’t hold absolute truth as doctrines are merely something we formulate that points to the reality of God. The message in the Bible is more important than doctrines and we can learn and appreciate other traditions as well. Let us move away from extremes of conservative fundamentalism and fluffy experiential simple faith but go deeper into God’s divine truth as we strive to know Jesus as who He really is and not just for what He can do or had done for us. 

Indeed, how many of us know of pastor who has pastored the same church for 20 years, read so extensively about John Calvin and yet continues to be so humble to say that he doesn’t really know a lot? I thank God for examples like that, praise God for leaders like that, who shows us the Bible is not an instruction manual and there is no such thing as the most biblical form of worship why we should constantly reflect on who God is through our worship liturgy. 

Can we design a worship liturgy that allows the congregation to better understand who God is? Worship as a divine and human encounter. What’s the difference between information, knowledge and wisdom? Are we simply stuck at the age where we are only looking for information? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….Lord, help me to fear you so that I begin to have wisdom.

Pr. Willy Lau

Synod Youth Executive

I Have A Date with Spring - Willy Lau

2 days of attending theological lessons left me with a sense of nostalgia. Reminiscing exactly 10 years ago where I graduated from TTC, got married, became a pastor and have my first baby all in the same year, I found myself sitting in a strangely familiar classroom setting but this time, everyone around me are at last 10 years younger than me. #Flashback, #Throwback, where has all my youth gone? What??!!? 3 kids already? Where are the days where I gone diving, sailing and backpacking in Europe/Mongolia/Bhutan/Tibet, etc? 

Looking at the pastor’s kids and pastor-to-be kids among this group of people, I whispered a prayer that my kids will join STEP too when they grow up. Sunrise, sunset and it goes on and on. I thank God for regularity. I thank God for ORDER. Am I a spiritual chemist? Am I a farmer? The choice is mine to take. Is there a correlation of colonization and Christianity? As a person who is against colonization, advising people against bringing Hillsongs to the hills (be it the hill tribes in Myanmar/Camobodia/Indonesia or any parts of the world) or even to our own churches for that matter, Dr. Violet James did make me rethink if there is anything positive that colonization has brought to this region.

Dr. Calvin Chong gave an impressive lecture on youth ministry today and it was truly engaging. An artist indeed while my mind has already transported to the fact that I would be going for Affordable Art Fair that very evening. Interestingly however, while driving to meet Peter before the fair, God showed me that he is the greatest artist by showing me this. 

After that, I can only say the company and friends I met were more attractive and mesmerizing than the paintings on the wall.

Pr. Willy Lau

Synod Youth Executive

Our Lives, A Tapestry of Grace - Willy Lau

Months of prayers and preparation for STEP and when it comes the day where it all began when these precious young Presbyterians first gathered on Monday morning at Prinsep St Presbyterian Church, my heart was filled with excitement and anticipation. 

God has already shown me several miracles throughout the time when I felt it was impossible that I could get this speaker or that, or even when I thought the amazing home cooked caterer for the welcome lunch would not even entertain such a last minute request, I can only say that God has been extremely gracious and merciful. The first Christian group to ever play ‘Bollabola!’ in Singapore, I am thankful that it was a fun time of where everyone showed graciousness, humor and teamwork.

Ice was definitely broken on the first day where we no longer live up to the name of being ‘FROZEN’ Presbyterians, where we played ‘2 truths, 1 lie’. To find out that certain pastor was not an ex-gay but only an ex-convict brought many tears of relief and eased many confused faces.

A casual conversation over lunch on the second day left me speechless and in awe as I can only count myself extremely privileged to be amongst God’s chosen, precious children. Each of them has a unique story to tell and I am humbled by their youthfulness and passion. Hebrews 13:2 kept running in my mind and I kept asking myself, ‘Have I entertained angels unaware?’



"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)

Pr. Willy Lau

Synod Youth Executive