14/2/2017 (call: gifts)
RevDr. Ross Clifford kicked
off the orientation week with Romans 12:1-13!
Offering one’s body as a living sacrifice,
being transformed by the renewing of the mind, using one’s gifts
enthusiastically, never lacking in zeal, keeping one’s spiritual fervour,
serving the Lord.
So it’s a time to explore our talents and enhance
our gifts (by the way, this day happened to be my birthday, and this verse is a pretty good birthday gift).
It’s also a time to ask, “Are you obligated
to do God's will for our lives? You don't walk out just because you don't enjoy
it?”
I previously attended a church where tasks were
clearly set out and distributed amongst many people. Information was spoon-fed
and I felt spiritually hungry. Despite having done a “spiritual gifts
questionnaire”, there weren’t enough feedback to convince me of my spiritual
gifts. Malphurs observes that many pastors are good managers but not good
leaders.[1]
There is a fine line between running a church and leading a church!
Discussions with others:
I have observed that sometimes a church may
be in such a hurry to expand that they raise up many new Christians to become
small group leaders. Some of these leaders may have known God for less
than a year. However they have the ability to get things moving and good
interpersonal skills, thus they can keep things running pretty well for a while.
Sadly, I observed that some have stepped down after less than a year of
serving, or even switched churches.
Rev. Fu shared with me a story about diseased
plants. She’s got some plants that seemed very strong with abundant green leaves. However, on close inspection, there are small black spots of disease. Being an
experienced botanist, she knows this is a highly contagious condition. Although
the plant looks great from a distance currently, if left to its own devices,
disaster will happen because diseased plants will rapidly produce more
diseased plants. She has to pluck out all the diseased leaves, replant the
plants at a distance apart from each other, so that they have a chance to recover
from their diseases and grow abundant leaves again.
I’ve recently caught up with a friend whom
I’ve known for 17 years. He is a Christian who grew up in a Christian family
but is not keen on getting too involved with the church. When I asked him what spiritual
gifts he thinks I have, he thought it could be teaching, because he thinks he
has been inspired by my energy to strive for growth and seek meaning in life. However,
he cautioned that many years ago in our university days, I told him to exercise
more. We didn’t know each other that well back then, so he actually interpreted
it along the lines of “she thinks I’m fat huh?” and got a bit offended. When he
reflected on this several years later, he thought that I wouldn’t have wasted
my saliva to say this type of thing if I didn’t actually care about him. So he
reminded me that I may have to package some of the things I say to people
better, and avoid making too many comments to people whom I am not very familiar
with, otherwise they may wall up defence even before I get to know them, and
whatever I say to them will not be taken in. He then asks me what I think his
spiritual gifts are. I thought hard and couldn’t give any answers. After all,
he hasn’t been that involved in the church, and his occupation is in a field which
I do not know much about. He then said he doesn’t know what his gifts are
either. I guess this is a very personal matter and he has to seek God more fervently
himself to find the answer.
It is quite interesting to note that there
has been a rapid influx of seminary students in Rev. Fu’s congregation. Seven seminary
students in one congregation is really abundant grace. Discipleship in the
church was something she had been praying about for a long time. God gives us answers
when we seek Him fervently.
26/2/2017 (relating to others)
Ezekiel is called to speak to a group of rebellious
people. (Ezekiel 2:1-10)
First of all, this is a reminder that we need
to listen to God, and need the Spirit to enter into our lives so we have the
presence of God with us. After all, Ezekiel’s called to speak to a group of people,
rebellious by nature.
Leading means affirming the people you’re
leading. This requires an effort to make careful observations in order to give
genuine and accurate affirmations. The observer has to be healthy spiritually
to be able to see the positive aspects in people. I encountered a few people who
invaded my boundaries repeatedly despite me trying to renegotiate new boundaries
with them repeatedly. It is hard for me to see these people positively. Yet we have
a duty to speak God’s words to closed ears. What if the rebellious people
become too disruptive? A person leaving can often act as the catalyst for more
disgruntled people to coalesce.[2]
Then, countless meetings are conducted by church staff to explain themselves.[3]
Discussions with others:
There seems to be no easy solution when
you’re speaking to closed ears. Sometimes people interpret your comments
differently from what you actually mean and start spreading negative rumours
about you behind you back instead of clarifying things with you face to face. This
is very disruptive to the ministry. Rev. Fu says there doesn’t seem to be a
right or wrong answer to these things, as each case is unique. Sometimes it
may be thanking God for placing people in our lives whom we can learn from,
and if we detect that someone may not be happy with ourselves, we keep communicating,
clarifying, and apologising as needed. Other times, things may become so
disruptive to ourselves that we have to set a strong boundary and really keep a
distance to keep ourselves functional.
2/3/2017 (personal devotion)
… eat this scroll… it tasted like honey… (Ezekiel
3:1-4)
We should immerse ourselves with God’s
words. The Scriptures is a difficult read, with sad histories of mankind, repetitive
cycles of ascent and descent, which directly correlates with repentance and
rebellion. However, knowing the Scriptures brings sweetness in our lives, as it
is a revelation of God himself. As we get to know God and communicate with God
through the Scriptures so that we encounter God personally and build a personal
relationship with God, our lives are consummated by the Scriptures and we become
a living sacrifice as well as a living revelation of God.
Developing
a spirituality of presence can be challenging for busy congregational leaders, as
it is easy become task-orientated, relating to people solely to accomplish jobs.[4]
11/3/2017 (call: gifts)
I give… you
forehead as hard as their foreheads. (Ezekiel 3:8)
It’s like
bulls butting heads, the one with the harder horn wins, as RevDr. Andrew Sloane
puts it in the Hebrew exegesis class. Yahweh assures Ezekiel that he will equip
him fully with the emotional resources needed for the challenge. If we are
called into ministry, God will equip us as such.
Malphurs
believes there are five general church functions: teaching, fellowship,
worship, evangelism, and service (Acts 2:42-47).[5] Rev. Fu believes teaching and caring are the
most important. Therefore, we need a strong grasp of the Scriptures, and love
for others.
Bibliography:
Malphurs, Aubrey. A New Kind of Church. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.
Osmer, Richard R. Practical Theology: An Introduction. Grand Rapids: William B.
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008.
[1]Aubry Malphurs, A New Kind of
Church(Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), 42.
[2]Malphurs, A New Kind of Church,
7.
[3]Malphurs, A New Kind of Church,
8.
[4]Richard R.Osmer, Practical
Theology: An Introduction(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2008), 34.
[5]Malphurs, A New Kind of Church,
79.
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