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LOAVES + FISHES
MICA (P) No: 104/03/2013

The Covenant Community Methodist Church Magazine

LET’s
SOAP

Make your
own Loaves
& Fishes
mobile
PASTOR
JOHN’s
FAMILY
SHARES
LIFE STORIES

Busyness or Business

A DAD’s GREAT
EXPECTATIONS

Why are
we building
a church in
Phnom Penh?

Try Mrs Ellice Handy’s Chicken ala King – good-old, tasty, comfort food.
Join the Covenant Community Methodist Church group

sermon notes sharing updates photos reviews

So Rich a Crown
Discover the true meaning of Jesus’ life and
sacrifice this Easter. Come, join us for a sequence
of services during Holy Week as we reflect on
God’s love, Jesus’ death, and the significance of
His sacrifice – our salvation.
Maundy Thursday Holy Communion Service
28 March, 8 pm, MGS Chapel
From Gethsemane to Golgotha
A Service of Reflection and Prayer
29 March, 8 pm, MGS Amphitheatre
Easter Sunrise Service
31 March, 6.30 am, MGS Amphitheatre
Mary Harrsch CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

CONTENTS
WELCOME TO
THE FAMILY
Pastor John Foo
and his family open
their lives to us.

NEW LENSES
FOR THE
MARKETPLACE

5 LOAVES & 2 FISHES
Corrinne May
A little boy of thirteen was on his way to school
He heard a crowd of people laughing and he went to take a look
Thousands were listening to the stories of one man
He spoke with such wisdom, even the kids could understand

How to change your
perspective at work.
18

The hours passed so quickly, the day turned to night
Everyone was hungry but there was no food in sight
The boy looked in his lunchbox at the little that he had
He wasn’t sure what good it’d do, there were thousands to be fed
But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus
The kindness in His smile
And the boy cried out
With the trust of a child
he said: “Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all to feed them all”
I often think about that boy when I’m feeling small
And I worry that the work I do means nothing at all
But every single tear I cry is a diamond in His hands
And every door that slams in my face, I will offer up in prayer

4

So I’ll give you every breath that I have
Oh Lord, you can work miracles
All that you need is my “Amen”
So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
I hope it’s not too small

MY CONFESSION
& CONVERSION

CHRASS AND
NEPAL MISSIONS
Developments & reports.
29

An over-functioning
parent tells all.
10

I trust in you, I trust in you
So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
No gift is too small

GOD & SOAP
Be refreshed daily by
the Divine Mentor.
20

5
Ask Abigail 39
Crafts for Kids (pull out)
Crumbs 48
Good Things 44
Kitchen 46
Manga Hero 27
Songs & Singers 23
Food for Thought 28
To the Point 9

FAMILY
BUILDING
BLOCKS
Three tips to build
stronger families.
14

Promptness Barometer

SCIENCE
& FAITH
A meditation and not
an apology for either.
24

6

When was the last time you were
late for an appointment? Hopefully, the answer was ‘I can’t remember’.
For those of us who are mentally blushing, here are three easy tips
to keeping that next appointment:
1. Be unfashionable. ‘Fashionably late’ is the term coined for
tardy celebrities. The lateness bug
also seems to apply ubiquitously to
Chinese wedding dinners. Unless
you are a celebrity or heading for
a Chinese wedding dinner, make
a commitment to arrive slightly
ahead for your appointments. Others will respect you for respecting
their time.
2. Don’t be optimistic. Can you
get from Point A to Point B in 10
minutes flat? Have you factored
in the time walking to and from
your car? How about traffic conditions? Is your private helicopter
on standby? There is always an
“ideal case” and then there is what
happens most of the time. Plan for
real world delays and give yourself
time to spare to get to your next
appointment.
3. Prepare to revive time.
As ever-efficient people, arriving
early for appointments sometimes
makes us feel as if we created
spots of ‘dead’ time. However,
these pockets of time can be great
for sneaking in some light reading,
preparing yourself for the next activity or just spending some quiet
time with God. Find creative ways

to use these snippets of time and
revive your ‘dead’ time.
For best results, practise these
tips regularly. You can do so every
Sunday when coming to church.
Get to church early and honour
God with the time He has given
you.
Loaves + Fishes will be creating a ‘Promptness Barometer’ to
reflect how we as a church are
honouring God with our time. Look
out for it in subsequent issues.

Loaves + Fishes is published
quarterly by Covenant Community
Methodist Church
Level 4, Methodist Girls’ School
11, Blackmore Drive
Singapore 599986
Tel: 64669652 Fax: 64667470
E-mail: admin@ccmc.org.sg
www.ccmc.org.sg
MICA (P) No: 104/03/2013
Printed by Oxford Graphic
Printers Pte Ltd
EDITORIAL
COMMITTEE

100%
Please wait for the
doors to open!
80%
I think there are some
seats up front.
60%
Someone is in my
regular seat.
40%
Looks like the faithful
remnant are here.
20%
Am I at the right place?

A

ABUNDANT,
SATISFYING,
WONDERFUL!

REGULARS

Editor
Rev John Benedict Foo
Editorial Advisor
Eddie Koh
Managing Editor
Goh Eck Kheng
Members
Chong Cheh Hoon
Lester Ng
Contributors
Alistair Chew
Calvin Chong
Lee Yin Siau
John Ng
Mason Tan
Yap Kian Seng
ON THE COVER
The Seow family: Jin Kiat and Jun
with children, Noah and Esme.

bundant, satisfying, wonderful! That’s the whole
thrust of our newly revamped church magazine!
Those familiar with our previous publication To The
Point will immediately notice the completely refreshing way the articles have been laid out and presented herein.
A season of change is dawning – a change which we believe
God is bringing about to effect a closer alignment to His good
and perfect will for our church. And what better way to herald
that change than to introduce a brand new look to our church
magazine.
The new title Loaves + Fishes draws its inspiration from the
biblical episode in the Gospel of John when the little boy gave
of his five loaves and two fishes for Jesus to feed the hungry
crowd of more than five thousand. (John 6:1-14) So here in
this magazine and in the subsequent issues to come, we hope
to be able to provide you with a diverse coverage of our wonderful church life and ministry that will satisfy you truly and
abundantly. Just as the loaves and fishes in the gospel story of
chapter 6 were supernaturally multiplied by God and used by
our Lord Jesus to bless the thousands of people, it is our desire
that God will use our church magazine to multiply His blessings in the lives of our members and their loved ones as well
as their many friends.
Our maiden issue is set to delight readers with an interesting spread of topics, with family life and parenting taking the
spotlight this round. Our various church ministries and their
respective programs will also be featured regularly so that
readers will get to know what God is doing in our midst. It’s
a wonderful way to testify of God’s goodness and blessings in
our church as we capture in print His sovereign work in and
through each of our members’ lives.
May God bless your reading as He reveals to you a unique
covenant community here in CCMC.

Rev John Benedict Foo
7
+

How did you both meet?
We met in the university. We
were studying the same course,
in the same year, and were both
in Campus Crusade for Christ as
students.

How did you know that it was time
to get married?
We are the serious sort of people
who get into a relationship in order
to get married! John had earlier
decided that we’d work for two
years and then get married. God
paved the way after we made that
commitment as He provided the
finances, friends and family to help
organise the wedding, and even a
fully furnished first home.
How do you as a couple continue
to nurture your marriage and
relationship?
By praying for each other and
openly talking about issues. By
sharing responsibility for the
children and the house. By being
interested and actively involved in
each other’s life and ministry.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
PASTOR JOHN AND HIS WIFE, GRACE, SHARE
WITH US THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON BUILDING
A FAMILY THAT HONOURS GOD TOGETHER.
THEIR CHILDREN, FROM LEFT, ARE BENEDICT,
ANGELINE, CELESTINE AND EVANGELINE.
INTERVIEW BY GOH ECK KHENG

8

Please comment on how the quality
of a couple’s married life affects their
family life.
Children have inbuilt antennas
and will sense if parents are being
genuine. Authenticity is important
to young people. They don’t expect
perfection and can handle it if they
find both parents working on their
marriage but they can’t handle it if
any parent is evasive or puts up a
front. That’s why we are very open
with them regarding our struggles
and difficulties, and we are also
very open about our commitment
to each other and to them.
What are the constants in
the different stages of raising
children?
Quality and quantity time with
each child, and as a family as well.
A listening ear for whenever they

9
(( We believe

that the children
must be given the
chance to own
their schoolwork
early in life.
This sense of
ownership comes
when they realise
that their results
are completely
managed by their
diligence and
prayers.

))

need it. Another constant is we get
the “best news” about their day if
we pick them up right after they
end school!

What is your approach to family
discipline?
We believe that what we do as
individuals at home will affect
the whole family. We also believe
that boundaries set early in life
give security to each member
of the family and hence will not
give rise to misunderstandings
later. However, each member of
the family is seen as having been
created differently, and hence there
is always room for discussion and
negotiation!

What is your approach to the
education and school performance of
your children?
We believe that the children must
be given the chance to own their
schoolwork early in life. This
sense of ownership comes when
they realise that their results are
completely managed by their
diligence and prayers. Each child is
different and is expected to employ
different study and relaxation
methods.

They know we will support
them not just when they receive
academic commendations, but also
in non-academic arenas. They also
know that, as fulltime workers,
our finances are limited,
and that they will not get
the slew of tuition their
fellow classmates are
able to get. Hence they
know they will need
God’s help and presence
a whole lot more!

10

What are your precious family
routines?
Individual time with each child,
birthday celebrations, spending
time at the library, listening
to audio books in the car and

watching inspirational shows
together. And we used to do quirky
family devotions before they
entered the youth ministry and did
their own QTs.

What are your interests and hobbies?
We enjoy books. Grace likes long
walks and John likes to keep fit.
As mentioned earlier, we also like
to watch shows that are familyoriented and inspirational in
nature.
Do you consciously encourage your
children to be involved in church
ministry?
Being involved ourselves, we see
plenty of opportunities in church
for them, and will surface these
to them for their consideration.
Hence, our children have been
involved in all aspects of church
life and ministry since young,
like distributing flyers for church
events, singing in the children’s
choir, leading worship, being
church pianists, being in the flags
and tambourine ministry, hospital
visitations, attending wakes and
funerals, and going on mission
trips.

How does Ps John manage church
ministry and family commitments?
Actually, both John and Grace do
church ministry at full steam.
John pastors and does all the stuff
related to preaching, teaching and
praying. Grace does the music, and
everything else that she can do
to support the ministry. We help
our children to see that church
ministry is our family commitment.
They are very understanding and
have even waited patiently outside
counselling rooms or hospices, or
inside the seminar rooms while
waiting for us to wrap up. To them,
John’s room in the church office is
their favourite hangout place. They
also know that they need to help
one another out when we are tied
up, which is extremely often.

To The Point
God is the object
of our faith
I know whom I have
believed, and am convinced
that he is able to guard what
I have entrusted to him for
that day. 2 Tim 1:12 (NIV)

The gospel of Jesus
Christ is the basis
of our faith

Faith

What is Faith?

Faith is the confidence
that what we hope for will
actually happen; it gives us
assurance about things we
cannot see. Heb 11:1 (NLT)
For we walk by faith not
sight. 2 Cor 5:7 (KJV)

And without faith it is
impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes
to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek
him. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

He called you to this through
our gospel, that you might
share in the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 2 Thes 2:14
(NIV)

Repentance and
obedience to God’s
word is an ACT OF FAITH
For it is by grace you have
been saved, through
faith–and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of
God Eph 2:8 (NIV)

Faith is not a feeling you work up to believe. Faith is a trust and assurance that comes from
knowing God. The more intimate you are with God, the stronger your faith will be.

God is the
source of faith

Faith from the Living Word
Consequently, faith comes
from hearing the message,
and the message is heard
through the word of Christ.
Rom 10:17 (NIV)

Faith is a gift of the Spirit
…to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts
of healings by the same
Spirit, 1 Cor 12:9 (NIV)

Faith is the fruit of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance: against such
there is no law. Gal 5:22-33
(KJV)

Faith is life-changing

Faith and obedience
Through Christ, God has
given us the privilege and
authority as apostles to tell
Gentiles everywhere what
God has done for them, so
that they will believe and
obey him, bringing glory to
his name. Rom 1:5 (NLT)
Faith and purity
Let us draw near with a
true heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies
washed with pure water.
Heb 10:22 (NASB)

Faith expressed in love
…faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is
dead. Jas 2:17 (NIV)
The only thing that counts
is faith expressing itself
through love. Gal 5:6b (NIV)
A life of faith
overcomes temptation
In addition to all of these,
hold up the shield of faith to
stop the fiery arrows of the
devil. Eph 6:16 (NLT)

11
Over-Functioning
Parents…

My Confession
& Conversion
					By John Ng

ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES, SINGAPORE

Your children
are the greatest
gift God will give
to you, and their
souls the heaviest
responsibility He
will place in your
hands. Take time
with them, teach
them to have faith
in God. Be a person
in whom they can
have faith. When you
are old, nothing
else you’ve done
will have mattered
as much.
– Lisa Wingate
12

rime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong calls us kan
cheong (overanxious)
parents. I was more than
overanxious. I was truly a typical
Singapore parent who was overcompensating, over-controlling,
and over-functioning.
Like many parents, I yearn for
my children to be the best or be as
perfect as they can. I will not spare
any effort or resources to give them
the best. My intentions were good
but my methods oftentimes were
the opposite.
To be honest, my wife was less
overbearing and less expecting of
perfection compared to me.

P

Living my dream and feeding my ego
can destroy the child’s passion
I had always wanted to be a
gymnast. But I did not and could
not as my parents never had the
luxury of sending me to any classes.
To compensate, I relished watching
gymnastics and gymnasts. I always
admired the grace, agility and poise
of a gymnast.
I lived in the era of Nadia
Comaneci, named one of the
athletes of the century and the
first gymnast who scored a perfect
10. She was the role model for
my children. So from my first
child onwards, I sent all of them
to gymnastic lessons. I enrolled
them from the age of 5 to do ‘play
gymnastic’, slowly increasing the
lessons from once to three lessons
a week. It gave me self-gratifying
joy to see them represent their
schools and winning medals. All
three of them did their school
proud and won many medals
during their stint doing gymnastics.
Two of them even joined the
Combined School squad, which was
one step away from the Singapore
National Team.
Driven by my dream and
ego, I fought my way to form a
gymnastics Parent Support Group
to ensure that my kids get the best

support from their schools, as it
was not recognized as a core school
sport. I was so driven that nothing
could stop me. Then my oldest
daughter stopped because she had
a back injury. There went dream
No. 1.
My son was the next one I
expected to live up to my dream.
However, after six years of pushing,
cajoling and at times, dragging him
to gymnastics practice, he was sick
and tired of it, and angry. He was
then training 4 hours a day, six
days a week and his coaches saw
great potential in him.
I didn’t care about his gripes
or frustrations. I felt he was not
disciplined enough. He expressed
unhappiness every time he
went for practice. He told me
that he hated gymnastics. I tried
persuasion and incentives. It didn’t
work. I then wield my absolute
authority as a parent. As a twelveyear-old boy, he had no choice but
to obey.
Not satisfied with the school
and association support in
Singapore, I even ventured to
send him to Australia to pursue
my dream of having a world-class
gymnast in my family. In other
words, I was prepared to go all the
way to fulfill my dream and boost
my ego. Fortunately, after much
discussion with some close friends,
I realized that I was feeding my
own ego, more than anything else.
And I was sacrificing my son at the
altar of my ego.
My wonderful and sensitive
wife finally persuaded me to give
up my dream. It was extremely
painful for me when I took my son
out of gymnastic lessons.
Then one day, my son finally
found his ‘flow’ in guitar and
music. It was a chance event. One
Christmas, he asked me to buy him
a guitar, which I did. He asked me
to teach him to play. The only song
I knew was, ‘Silent Night, Holy
Night’. He took to guitar like a swan

to the lake.
As they say, the rest is history.
He discovered his true passion
and joy. He taught himself and
learnt from the best guitarists and
musicians: Stevie Ray Vaughn,
BB King, Eric Clapton, Tommy
Emmanuel, and Tuk & Patti. All
from YouTube.
We didn’t have to push him.
Each day, he would practise his
music with deep passion and
incredible commitment. His zest
for music led him to develop his
own style of guitar playing, Funky
Thumb Stuff (see on YouTube,
www.shunng.com, and page 45
here). He composes his own songs
and has an amazing, soulful voice.
He discovered his bliss in using
music to touch young people’s
lives, to be more compassionate
for the under-privileged. He has
performed in several concerts to
raise funds for worthy causes.
Today he is studying in one of
the top music schools in the world,
the Berklee College of Music in
Boston.
C. JoyBell is right, “I think
that the best thing we can do for
our children is to allow them to
do things for themselves, allow
them to be strong, allow them to
experience life on their own terms,
allow them to take the subway…
let them be better people, let them
believe more in themselves.”
Lesson: Find your child’s
dream and passion, not yours, and
encourage it.
The kiasu (fear of losing) syndrome
can demoralize them.
Being first time-parents, Alison and
I wanted to make sure that our first
child, Meixi, had all the education
and exposure she could get.
Besides gymnastics classes, after
school and during the weekends,
we would send her for art classes,
ballet lessons, and Chinese
enrichment classes.
During school vacations, we

13
(( ALL THE

HURRYING AND
SCURRYING MADE
US AS EXHAUSTED
AS SHE WAS. WHAT
WE HAD WAS A
KID WHO WAS
FRENZIED AND
DISORIENTED.

))

14

ensured that she was ahead by
sending her to leadership camps,
science camps, and special
mathematics camps. We even
bought a piano just in case she was
musically talented.
Poor Meixi was a victim of our
kiasu syndrome. Some things she
enjoyed doing, others she was
obviously bored with and had no
interest in. I was trying to develop
the ‘perfect’ kid.
All the hurrying and scurrying
made us as exhausted as she
was. What we had was a kid who
was frenzied and disoriented. At
one point, she was hospitalized
because she was overly stressed
and was throwing up because she
was over-functioning. It was a
wake up call for us.
I realized that being a kiasu
parent was destroying my child’s
emotional health as I pushed
her to do things. She was unduly
stretched and overly stressed. I
was not sure if she enjoyed her
childhood. (I loved my childhood.)
We seldom enjoyed our parenting.
We were overly stressed.
Today, I have learnt not to push
myself so hard by pushing my kids.
Fortunately, we are grateful that
despite our pushing and shoving,
thank God, she turned out to be a
wonderful daughter. When Meixi
was eleven, one of the things we
did well was to send her and her
brother to experience the slums in
Hyderabad in India. That’s when I
discovered her true passion.
It was indeed a life-changing
experience for her as she learned
compassion. Since then, every
year, our family would go to
Chiang Rai to help a group
of Lahu hill tribe children
and she has channeled her
energy to that. Last year, she
spent a year in Mexico to help
educate the poorest kids there.
She now has developed deep
compassion for education reform,
especially in the most marginalized

communities.
Bill Ayers’ wise axiom is, “Your
kids require you most of all to
love them for who they are, not to
spend your whole time trying to
correct them.”
Lesson: Flurry of activities and
massive over-dose of classes produce
over-stressed and emotionally
unhealthy kids.
Losing face can kill a parent-child
relationship
My youngest daughter, Meizhi,
studied in Methodist Girls’ School.
She was an average student.
We had learnt our lessons from
bringing up the two older ones
and we didn’t want to push her
too hard. Although there was
occasional prodding, we largely
left her to manage her own study
schedule.
When her PSLE (Primary School
Leaving Exam, a national exam that
grades all students in Singapore
and determines her posting to
secondary/high school) results
came out, it was a ‘disaster’! That
year, her school had decided to
raise the bar and only accepted
students of a standard score.
She was one of twelve students
who missed the cut. Being a few
points short, she was sent to a
‘neighborhood’ school.
We were devastated. We
chided her daily for not studying
hard enough. For one week, we
were furious and expressed our
disappointment in no uncertain
terms. She was already feeling bad.
I made her feel more guilty. Our
relationship deteriorated.
I felt I had lost ‘face’. How could
we face our friends and inform
them that she had now gone to
some unknown neighborhood
school? What kind of English
would she learn? We were worried
the environment would be bad for
her polished English from mixing
around with neighborhood kids.
What about ‘gangsterism’ and ‘bad

company’? And what about the
anxiety over boy-girl relationships
now that she was going to a co-ed
school?
We were gripped with
unfounded fear. We went into
a tailspin of what I would call
‘Imagination of The Worst Possible’.
After one week of my
unreasonable and ‘relationaldestructive’ behavior, I came to my
senses and realised that I was more
concerned about myself, my loss of
‘face’, than my daughter’s welfare,
emotional health and most of all,
our relationship.
My wife was more sympathetic
and reminded me that relationship
was more important than results. I
changed my perspective. I adopted
a different posture. I recognized
that the problem was with me
and my ‘face-losing’ trauma. I
apologized to my daughter. We
became more supportive and
encouraging.
All my fears were proven wrong
again. Going to the neighborhood
school was one of the best things
that happened to her and to us, as
parents. Meizhi did extremely well
in the school, academically, socially
and artistically.
Her leadership skills began to
blossom as her school nominated
her to emcee, a privilege normally
given to senior students. For a
Secondary One student to be the
emcee was a rarity in any school.
She mingled well and made
good friends with boys and girls
and developed incredible social
skills. She took part in drama
productions. She really matured!
Today, she is a final year student
at School of the Arts, pursuing
her dream as a theatre major
and completing her International
Baccalaureate. Her self-confidence
is up, her self-esteem strengthened
and most of all, our parent-child
relation is strong, even though
we still have skirmishes and
fights now and then. As Dorothy

Schooling

Parker says, “The best way to keep
children at home is to make the
home atmosphere pleasant, and let
the air out of the tyres.”
Lesson: Relationships are more
important than results.
It is okay to make mistakes
In my parenting experience, I have
discovered that it is okay to make
mistakes. It is most important to
recover and is never too late to
do so. I leave you with a beautiful
poem for your reflection.

Your children are not your children.
They are sons and daughters of
Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not
from you.
And though they are with you yet
they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but
not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not
their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house
of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in
your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but
seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor
tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your
children as living arrows are
sent forth.
The archer sees the make upon the
path of the infinite, and He bends
you with His might that His
arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s
hand be for gladness.
For even as He loves the arrow that
flies, so He also loves the bow
that is stable.
― Kahlil Gibran

John Ng, Ph.D, is President of
Meta Consulting, which provides
consultation services to top
international corporations like
Singapore Airlines, American
Standard, Linde, Bangkok Hospital.
He also serves as Chair of Eagles
Mediation and Counseling Centre and
Eagles Communications Governance
Board. He pioneered the mediation
movement in Singapore and has
trained mediators. His latest books,
Smiling Tiger, Hidden Dragon and
Dim Sum Leadership have won rave
reviews. Please visit www.meta.com.
sg for more information.
15
ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY ABIGAIL GOH

FAMILY
BUILDING
BLOCKS
Tips for stronger families

						

16

© 2013. Reprinted with permission from Focus on the Family Singapore.
For more resources on parenting and marriage, please visit us at www.family.org.sg.

Celebrate your
Family Identity
My wife, Cathy, and I stared at each
other in disbelief as our oldest
daughter, Christy, told us she was
moving to Julia’s house across the
street because her mummy and
daddy were nicer. We weren’t sure
if we should laugh or cry — after
all, Christy was only 6. My wife
called Julia’s mother to tell her
what was going on and that Christy
was on her way over.
A few hours later, Julia’s mum
reminded Christy it was Monday
night and that our family always
went for frozen yogurt after dinner.
It was a tradition my three girls
looked forward to. To our delight,
Christy called and asked if she
could go. It was a joyous reunion!
The weekly yogurt run was part
of our family identity — part of
what made us who we were. Even
the neighbours knew our routine
and sometimes shouted take away
orders as we left the house. Our
three daughters are now grown,
but when our family gets together, we still make trips for frozen
yoghurt. It’s one of those simple
traditions that have kept our family
bonds strong.
Not surprisingly, a strong family
identity also helps children develop a strong and healthy self-identity. Studies even show that kids who
identify with their family’s values
tend to be less promiscuous and
face less risk of drug and alcohol
abuse.
How can you build a strong
family identity?
Your presence matters.
Children regard your presence
as a sign of care and connectedness. Families who eat meals
together, play together and build
traditions together thrive. Does

(( CHILDREN

REGARD YOUR
PRESENCE AS A
SIGN OF CARE AND
CONNECTEDNESS.
FAMILIES WHO
EAT MEALS
TOGETHER, PLAY
TOGETHER AND
BUILD TRADITIONS
TOGETHER
THRIVE.

))

your family eat together at least
four times a week? If so, there is a
greater chance your kids will perform better in school and be less
likely to exhibit negative behaviour.
Although it may seem trite, a
family that plays together stays
together. One family I know has
a table tennis tournament each
week. The winner doesn’t have to
do the dishes for a day. Our family
had a “Fun Day” once a month. One
of the girls picked an activity, and
the rest of the family participated.
Celebrate everything.
Don’t miss a single chance to
celebrate your family. You can
celebrate rites of passage and other
events such as sporting victories
and graduations — from any age.
On birthdays, we play a game
called “Affirmation Bombardment”,
in which each family member
shares three words of encouragement for the birthday person.
At some point, storms will come
to every family. But when you
proactively build a strong family
identity, your family can withstand
whatever winds and rains come
your way.
Adapted from Celebrating Your
Family Identity by Jim Burns
This article first appeared in the
Parents Edition of the February,
2008 issue of Focus on the Family
magazine.

17
It Just Takes TimE

(( UNSTRUCTURED,

SPONTANEOUS
FAMILY TIME IS NOT
ONLY GOOD FOR
US AS FAMILIES,
IT IS COMPLETELY
NECESSARY.… AND
NOT JUST QUALITY
TIME, BUT GENEROUS
QUANTITIES OF
QUALITY TIME.

))

18

In our household, the half-hour
before invited guests arrive for
dinner requires a well-orchestrated set of manoeuvres. There is the
setting of the table, stuff to be put
away (or stashed out of sight!) and
the obligatory once-over vacuuming.
On one such occasion, I made
the mistake of moving some
cushions on our sofa just to see if
the absent remote control might
be hiding somewhere. Aghast, I
couldn’t believe what I uncovered:
Lego® pieces, coins, game pieces, crayons, a small, soft brown
item, which I hoped was an M&M,
numerous single socks, and what
appeared to be an entire bowl of
popcorn.
As I turned off the vacuum in a
huff, I had to pause for a few seconds and smile with satisfaction.
Each item could be traced back to
a family movie night, a full-contact
wrestling match, a Sunday afternoon snooze, or one of many games
nights when we finally agreed
there was nothing of value on the
TV. These were treasures of family
time well spent.
Turns out such unstructured,
spontaneous family time is not
only good for us as families, it is
completely necessary. Indeed,
John DeFrain and colleagues from
the University of Nebraska have
been studying what makes families strong for almost 30 years,
and they consistently find that
families who spend enjoyable time
together consistently report more
satisfaction with their family as a
whole. And not just quality time,
but generous quantities of quality
time. One of their studies asked
1,500 schoolchildren, “What do you
think makes a happy family?” The
response was overwhelming: happy families just do things together

and find enjoyment in just being
together.
I think we make the whole idea
of family far too complicated. In uncertain economic times, maybe it’s
good that we have to think twice
before we book that expensive holiday or schedule ourselves to death.
Instead, go grocery shopping together, put on your walking shoes
and go for a hike, or just hang out
with a good movie. It’s guaranteed to make your next half-hour
tidy-up much more memorable!
Adapted from Family: It just takes
time… by Kelly Schwartz © 2009
Focus on the Family (Canada)
Association.

Leave A Legacy

The old, silver-haired man slowly
stood and turned his back to the
tombstone where he had been
kneeling. Rising to stare his wife
in the eyes, he wailed, “Tell me
I’ve lived a good life.” These words
come from the last scene of the
blockbuster movie, Saving Private
Ryan. The old man was reacting to
a dying request made by a soldier
assigned to rescue him. He was the
sole survivor of five adult children.
The war had taken the lives of his
four brothers, and the war department was bent on not allowing the
fifth son to fall victim. So the military sent a specially chosen group
of men to the front lines to bring
him out of harm’s way.
The commander of the group,
having been shot and knowing
he wouldn’t make it, left a dying
request for Private Ryan to see that
he made his life count. Kneeling at
the commander’s grave fifty years
later, Private Ryan wanted someone to tell him that his life was
worth the sacrifice those soldiers

(( LEGACY OF

COMPASSION,
PERSEVERANCE,
FORGIVENESS,
PATIENCE AND
LOVE SHOULD
BE CAREFULLY
CRAFTED AND THEN
PURPOSEFULLY
LIVED OUT AND
PASSED ON.

))

had made for him.
Isn’t that the wish of almost
everyone: that our lives count for
the good of something or someone?
It is a wonderful moment when a
couple has a child. The heritage
process begins immediately. But
are you making today’s decisions
with their impact on tomorrow in
mind? When you’re arranging your
priorities and forming your habits,
do you think about your children,
your grandchildren, about the
kind of character they’ll remember
about you and inherit from you?
When you spend your money, or
sport your fashion sense, or speak
your piece, or spare your time,
does it occur to you that you’re not
just making a choice for yourself in
the moment? But that you’re making a choice which impacts people
who are following behind you?
Most of us might equate a
legacy with an inheritance of gifts
of money or property and possessions. But legacy of compassion,
perseverance, forgiveness, patience
and love should be carefully crafted and then purposefully lived out
and passed on as well. Children are
being powerfully influenced today
by various set of values that comes
hurtling at them daily on full
speed. Just consider the influence
of TV, the movies, music and social
media. Not all of it is good clean
fun.
But how do we come alongside
our children to position ourselves
to make a lasting impact?
Children want unconditional
love and a feeling of connection.
Most children feel they must earn
their parents’ love. We have a
performance-based, meritocratic,
fast-paced culture which has
resulted in children feeling
emotionally abandoned
by adults. But children
desperately want more
time and better communication with their parents. Many
parents think “quality time” is

more important than quantity. But
the reality is that children long for
the quantity.
Model appropriate behavior.
Passing on a legacy requires
transmitting consistent messages in words as well as in actions.
Children don’t miss a thing. They
observe and internalize. They are
quick to pick up on inconsistencies
between what they are being told
and what they are seeing. The best
way to influence children is to be a
great role model. When we fail, we
fail. We need not be afraid. Admit
it, ask for forgiveness and move on.
Seize the teachable moments,
listen aggressively, and communicate effectively
High up on the list of children’s
frustrations with parents and
adults is the fact that they just
don’t seem to listen. Sometimes, as
adults, we underestimate a child’s
thought process ability or wisdom.
Rather than nag, preach, tell or
scold, parents can use everyday life
experiences or examples to speak
life lessons. It requires wisdom and
discernment to identify and use
these teachable moments.
Expect nothing in return. Words
like “KPI,” “value-add,” “return on
investment” are common lingo Singaporeans are too familiar with. We
adults are so bottom-line oriented
that if there isn’t a quick return, or
appear large enough, we begin to
question the value of what we’re
putting into the cause. Yet the ultimate goal of legacy building is the
opposite of self-interest. If children
think we’re more interested in our
own glory than in them as human
beings, they will end up declining
our offers of guidance. It is important that we focus on the child and
not just the end results.
Adapted from Extending Your
Heritage. Copyright © 2000 J. Otis
Ledbetter and Randy Scott and The
Resolution for Women. Copyright ©
2011 Kendrick Bros.

19
ABIGAIL GOH

NEW LENSES FOR
THE MARKETPLACE
By MASON TAN
Mason is a Certified
Public Accountant who
became an entrepreneur
in 2003. Currently a
Venture Capitalist, he
is learning to walk as
a disciple in church,
at home and in the
marketplace. He and his
family attend CCMC.
20

Do you often find yourself juggling multiple balls in the
air at the same time? In today’s fast-paced society, we
have all become accustomed to playing different roles
simultaneously. At one moment, we could be running an
office meeting and at the very next moment, we could be on
the phone with our children listening to their problems.
Multi-tasking has become an essential skill in today’s
society and is almost a requirement to balance the hectic
demands of work with quality time for family and friends.

Putting on a New Set of Lenses
As a Christian, managing the
challenges of life is not only about
the ability to multi-task but also
very much a journey of faith. While
becoming a Christian does not automatically generate a wellspring
of faith in a person in order to cope
with every storm life sends their
way, it is a first step in a long and
joyful journey.
Just as every journey involves a
conscious effort to reach a destination, I have learnt that the journey
of faith also involves making a
conscious effort to put ‘Christ-lenses’ on in place of ‘world-lenses’. In
doing so, life’s challenges become
opportunities for new lessons to
be learnt; lessons that are stepping-stones in the journey toward
greater faith and trust in Christ.
‘World-lenses’ are easy to put
on. Those of us in the marketplace
probably do so everyday. We use
them to make the judgments and
decisions at the workplace.
On the other hand, ‘Christ-lenses’ are more challenging to wear.
But with them, we get to see things
as Jesus would and to answer the
question, “What would He do if He
were in a similar situation?”
Very often, the answers to
life’s questions may be quite
different depending on whether
you are wearing ‘world-lenses’ or
‘Christ-lenses’.
Personally, I have found it very
challenging to put on ‘Christ-lenses’ everyday. This involves me surrendering my heart to His healing
and moulding in order to live in His
presence daily. I am glad to say that
after struggling with this for a period of time, it has led me to draw
closer to God and to gain a deeper
experience of His inner peace.
Setting a Firm Foundation
In 2012, I had the privilege of
attending the Global Leadership
Summit in Singapore. This annual
event is organised by Chicago’s

Willow Creek Community Church
when speakers from different
walks of life – politics, education,
business – shared candidly about
their personal journeys with God.
Interestingly, as the speakers
shared about their experiences in
the marketplace, it became clear
how it was possible to be successful – whether as a business executive and a top leadership coach –
and still live out biblical values. The
various speakers shared how God’s
hand had been intimately working in each of their lives, and how
God’s Word was the foundation
that had shaped their actions.
I discovered that the start to being equipped with “Christ-lenses”
is to feed on the Bible.
As we do so, we can learn to
share with other Christians who
are also in the marketplace. In this,
we will find encouragement and be
able to learn from each other how
biblical values can be applied to the
marketplace.
Negotiating the Non-Negotiables
In business, everything is negotiable. But have you thought about
what is non-negotiable to you?
One major commodity we
should be conscious of is time.
Each of us has only 24 hours a day,
168 hours a week and 365 days a
year. This is regardless of our age,
status in life or profession.
The question we have to constantly ask ourselves is, “Are we
utilising our time to the fullest?”
Whatever choice we make with
our time cannot be taken back, and
each choice comes with a price.
Within the constraints of 168
hours a week, I have learned to
allocate my activities into non-negotiable and negotiable time. For
me, non-negotiable time includes
time spent at His feet, engaging
in discipleship and bible study
activities, and family time. After
deducting the non-negotiable time,
whatever time I have left over is for

‘negotiable activities’.
By determining my non-negotiable time upfront, this allows me
to be more Christ-focused in my
negotiable activities and brings
me a step closer to putting on
‘Christ-lenses’.

Convene an AGM
Another Christian-themed seminar
in Singapore that caters to marketplace believers is the Half-Time
Summit. This ministry has helped
me to sharpen my focus on the
talents and calling that God has for
me. It provides practical tools and
self-assessment tests for Christians
to identify and develop a deeper
understanding of their God-given
spiritual gifts and talents.
In business-speak, these gifts are
analogous to a company’s assets.
Just as how a company has a Board
of Directors which holds it accountable to how its assets are being
utilised, as individual Christians,
we too can set up our own Personal
Board of Directors to guide us on
how we are utilising our spiritual
gifts and ‘life strategies’.
The Personal Board of Directors
should consist of people whom you
respect, have the time to mentor
you, and whom you trust enough
to share your life plan with. You
can convene them as frequently or
infrequently as you like, perhaps
once a year or once a quarter.
With a Personal Board of Directors, you get a trusted sounding
board that can help you live your
life with accountability and stay on
track to God’s calling for you.
Joy for the Journey
As Christians in the marketplace,
we are constantly being buffeted
by worldly influences and temptations from all directions. By taking
small steps everyday to put on our
‘Christ-lenses’, we can stand firm
on our values and focus on what is
right as we embark on this joyful
journey of life and faith.

21
HUBBLE

SOAP
The Divine Mentor
Review by Lee Yin Siau

GOD & SOAP
This picture is of the Soap Bubble Nebula, a planetary nebula in a northern constellation lying on the plane of the

22 Milky Way. The bubble-shaped nebula was discovered by amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich on 19 June 2007.

The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro will bless you in
your daily walk with the Lord as you learn from Cordeiro
how to spend time with our Savior through the study of
The Word. His simple but powerful style of writing makes
this an easy read.
Cordeiro encourages us to take the good and the bad
men and women in the Bible as our mentors who will
instruct, coach, remind and sometimes reprimand us just as a good coach will instruct his players. By studying
the Bible consistently and knowing the characters in the
Bible intimately, we will be mentored by the best, learning
what made them successful, and avoiding the downfalls or
mistakes they made.
Cordeiro recommends that we study God’s Scripture
consistently through a self-feeding habit of daily devotions
and journaling. SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer, requires about 40 minutes a
day (20 minutes for reading the scripture and 20 minutes
for journaling) alone with God so that we can hear Him
speak to us and capture the wisdom of the ages. As we
draw God’s thoughts from the Scriptures, He speaks His
words directly into our understanding and breathes His
life into our hearts.
Just as we can’t have one large meal and expect that
one meal to last us through the week, similarly, we can’t
just go to church and listen to pastor’s sermon once a
week and expect exponential spiritual growth. Growing
deep in Christ requires the spiritual discipline of self-feeding through daily devotions.
God is more concerned about our transformation than
our accumulation of information. He offers the Holy Spirit
to mentor us from the inspired Word any time we are
interested. As we become consistent in our daily devotions,
our words and behaviour will become more like His words
and behaviour and we will slowly be transformed into
spokespersons for God.
God promises specifically to bless the readers of the
Bible. When God had completed His book, He spoke the
following words through His servant John in Revelation
1:3 “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart
what is written in it, because the time is near.”
Let’s claim that promise.
A number of CCMC folk, including the youth in OC, have
been using SOAP since late last year. The following are
some of their SOAP sharings.

+

JUSTIN TAN

Returning to the Norm
S: “These rules may seem wise
because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe
bodily disciple. But they provide no
help in conquering a person’s evil
desires.” Col 2:23
“And whatever you do or say, do
it as a representative of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks through him to
God the Father.” Col 3:17
O: In all we do, we must strive to
be better and to grow in the Lord.
While the rules of the past may
keep us disciplined, they do not
help us to be pure and Christ-like,
which is our goal. I’m reminded
that Christianity is not a religion
governed by rules but a relationship we develop - a relationship
between a Father and His children,
a Teacher and His disciples. And it
is because of this relationship that
we desire to obey Him and become
more like Him.

A: We should stop giving in to
worldly pressures, thinking we
are fine just because everyone else
seems to be doing worse. Instead,
we should aim to return to normalcy with God, where our actions are
for His eyes only, being accountable
to Him alone.
P: Dear Lord, please help me to not
just be content with being a Christian and serving in church, but help
me strive to seek a blameless and
pure life, where I can continually
walk closer to you, be more like
you and be a living testimony for
you.

23
SOAP
chadbrooksCC BY-NC-SA 2.0

JACQUELINE KHOO

EUGENE CHUANG

Mirroring God

S: “And gazing at him, all who sat
in the council saw that his face was
like the face of an angel” Acts 6:15

MASON TAN

God is Holy

S: Make a plate of pure gold and
engrave on it as on a seal : Holy
to the Lord (Ex28:36). They will
know that I am the Lord their God,
who brought them out of Egypt
so that I might dwell among them.
I am the Lord their God (Exodus
29:46).

O: Understand divine holiness is a
mystery. The more we understand,
the more we realize we don’t know.
God is everything we can think of.
In this passage, God taught us how
to treat Him, which is a form of
love.
A: We have to walk closely with
God in order to understand Him
better and experience His holiness.
If we don’t spend enough time in
His presence through His word and
prayers, we will drift away.
P: Thank you Lord for Your willingness to accept each of us as
Your child. Your holiness is beyond
description yet You choose to love
me. I pray You will find joy in our
worship to You, for we are hungry
to know more of You. I pray this in
Jesus name.
24

Working like the Boss

S: “Moses and Aaron performed all
these wonders before Pharaoh, but
the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart,
and he would not let the Israelites
go out of his country.” Ex 11:10

O: Do we reflect the countenance
of the Lord in all that we do? Do we
stand firm for Him and not waver,
amidst falsehood, accusations and
in trials? Do we take the easy way
out or are we like Stephen trusting
in the Lord at all times?
A: To always look to God.

P: Lord help me not to waver, help
me to know you deeply, love your
word and live my life for you.

EDDIE KOH

Prepared for Service

S: “You are to clothe them - your
brother Aaron and his sons with
him - and anoint them and ordain
them and set them apart as holy,
so that they may minister as my
priests. Ex: 29: 41

O: God called Aaron and his sons
into His service for an assignment
that was so important that God
Himself directed how they were
to be washed, clothed, anointed,
forgiven, fed and dedicated.

A: We are also called to be a holy
priesthood. When God calls, we will
also, like Aaron and his sons, be
prepared by God for His important
assignment. We will be washed by
His blood, anointed by the Spirit,
fed by His Word and be led by the
Spirit. Are we prepared to respond
when God calls?
P: Lord when You call, I will say,
”Here I am Lord.” Prepare me to
serve You and Your people

O: Exodus is full of miracles. From
the Ten Plagues of Egypt to the
parting of the Red Sea and the Pillar of Fire, we can infer one thing;
God does work in glitzy ways.
God wanted the Israelites to
appreciate His active involvement
in their escape from Egypt. He
also desired for the Egyptians to
fear Him, resulting in them being
favorably disposed toward their
slaves, allowing them to plunder
Egypt before departing. From the
surface, it would appear that His
purpose was to show a glimpse of
His power to both Israelites and
Egyptians. But why was there a
need to harden Pharaoh’s heart?

A BOY SHARES HIS FOOD

John 6:1-14 tells about the boy who
gave his five loaves and two fishes
to Jesus who used it to feed five
thousand men.

You can make a mobile of loaves and
fishes to remember this miracle.

A: I believe God was simply facilitating a process that Pharaoh himself already initiated. After all, the
Bible also repeatedly states that
Pharaoh hardened his own heart.
This shows that God works in subtle ways as well. He might already
be functioning quietly in our lives;
actively moulding the hearts of the
people we interact with, helping us
achieve favorable results.
Imagine God simply sweeping
aside a banana peel that you might
not have noticed in your path, to
protect you from minor mishaps.
Though subtle, it is still God’s miraculous intervention in your life.

P: Lord Jesus, I yearn for You to
work in my life in glitzy ways too
- to experience Your spectacular
miracles. But I thank you for actively working behind the scenes and
providing for me.

25
MAKE YOUR OWN
LOAVES AND FISHES
MOBILE

What you need:
Scissors, ribbon, glue, hole puncher,
coloured pencils, vanguard sheet
What to do:
1. Colour both sides of the loaves
and fishes.

2. Cut out the loaves and fishes and
punch holes on them.

3. Cut a 60 x 20 mm piece of
vanguard sheet and write “God
Provides’ on it. Glue the width ends
of the sheet together, words facing
outside, to form a ring.

4. Punch seven holes evenly spaced
out on one edge of the vanguard ring
and four holes evenly spaced on the
other edge.
5. Tie the loaves and fishes with
varying lengths of ribbon to the
seven holes of the ring.

6. Tie equal lengths of ribbons to the
four holes to hang your mobile.

26

27
Songs & Singers

TEARS IN HEAVEN
erik forsberg CC BY-NC 2.0

Eric Clapton

(( I had no

notion whO I
THOUGHT I WAS
TALKING TO, I
JUST KNEW THAT
I HAD COME TO
THE END OF MY
TETHER.

))

28

On 20 March 1991, Eric Clapton’s four-year-old son Conor fell from the
53rd-floor window of his mother’s friend’s New York City apartment.
“There was a moment when I did lose faith,” admitted Clapton. He questioned: What they teach us in church and what religion talks about was a
reality? Whether we just become energy, what is it all about? So I mean, it
was a question, you know, will I see you again?
Still, he mustered enough strength to talk about “handing your will over
to the care of God” in his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. A woman went
up to him after the meeting and said, ‘You’ve just taken away my last excuse
to have a drink. I’ve always had this little corner of my mind which held the
excuse, that if anything were to happen to my kids, then I’d be justified in
getting drunk. You’ve shown me that’s not true.’ He was suddenly aware
that there was a way to turn tragedy into something positive and said, ‘If I
can go through this and stay sober, then anyone can.’ From that moment he
realised that there was no better way of honouring the memory of his son.
When Clapton and Will Jennings were engaged to wrote a song for the
movie Rush, Clapton said, ‘I want to write a song about my boy.’ He wrote
the first verse and wanted Jennings to write the rest, but was told that the
song was so personal that he should write all the verses. Clapton demurred,
so Jennings completed the song. Of this, Jennings once said, ‘This is a song
so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs.’
On his part, Clapton stated, “I almost subconsciously used music for
myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great
deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music.’
A live performance of ‘Tears in Heaven’ is on Clapton’s 1992 Unplugged
album. It topped charts and garnered nine Grammy Awards. Clapton worked
to raise public awareness for childproofing windows and staircases.
A 2008 article in Christiany Today states that Clapton never set himself
up as a model Christian. Indeed he had many battles with drugs and alcoholism but overcame the addictions. He had a ‘Road to Damascus’ experience in
1969. After a performance, two young Christians went to Clapton’s dressing
room probably drawn by his rendition of ‘Presence of the Lord,’ the showstopper of the concert. The two asked Clapton to pray with them. As they
knelt, he saw “a blinding light” and sensed God’s presence.
In his autobiography, Clapton elaborated on the beginnings of his prayer
life in 1987 at a rehab treatment center when he hit rock-bottom. “I was in
complete despair,” Clapton wrote. “In the privacy of my room, I begged for
help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had
come to the end of my tether… and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that… I had found a place to turn to, a
place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to
believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my
life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need
to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do. If
you are asking why I do all this, I will tell you… because it works, as simple
as that.” || GOH ECK KHENG

29
29
Science & Faith
NEWTON BY WILLIAM BLAKE

DR ALISTAIR CHEW

30

John Hritz CC BY 2.0

A Meditation and Not an Apology for Either

W

e try to walk by faith
and not by sight; yet
sometimes we fail,
and that might be
because we know neither faith nor
sight. But I get ahead of myself; my
father taught me to begin at the
beginning and that is where I shall
begin. I begin by paying tribute to
a lady who served the Methodist
Church well as Christian Ministry
staff for well over 30 years, Miss
Grace Kwee. It was she who
made me roleplay a Buddhist
during a Christian Fellowship
session when I was a student
at Barker Road many many
years ago; it was she again
who made me teach the
students who wanted to know
more about the Christian faith,
when I was a science teacher at
ACS(I), during Religious Emphasis
Weeks over several years. Those
were formative experiences in
a way: they informed my ideas
on faith, belief, science and
conscience. What is shared here
owes much to people like my
father and Miss Kwee, and many
students I’ve spoken to over the
years.
This is a hard piece to write
because the meanings of faith
and science have become totally
different over time. Thus, I must
inflict more beginnings on you, and
hope you will stay till the end.
Faith, from Latin fides, used to
mean ‘loyalty towards a person,
based on responsibility or duty’
— it slowly became a legal term,
and it was only in the 14th century
that it began to mean ‘what is held
true because of religion’. Belief,
on the other hand, used to mean
‘loving trust in God’; from the 16th
century, it became ‘the state of
thinking something to be true’.
Science, however, is a much
older word. It is descended
from the Greek skhizein, which
means ‘to divide or split’ (as in
‘schizophrenia’ — a divided mind).

In its later form, the Latin scientia,
it meant ‘knowledge’ — implicitly
obtained by making distinctions,
by breaking things apart (Greek
analüsis), by correctly dividing and
parsing what is already known.
When we are ‘rightly dividing
the word of truth’ (2 Tim. 2:15,
KJV), we are applying a science
to our doctrine, the science of
hermeneutics.
It’s clear that there was a time,
perhaps relatively recently, that
faith (holding things to be true
without requiring exhaustive
evidence) and science (applying
careful analysis to what is
presented as evidence) were
still allies in the battle for truth.
Indeed, we owe much of our
modern science to the hakims of
the Dar el-Islam, who believed that
Allah made the world intelligible
to humans and thus made it our
duty to know God through the
world; it was they who invented
the extensive use of the empirical
and experimental method in the
period 1000-1250 AD or so. The
Greeks, Indians and Chinese never
quite got modern science off the
ground because they were missing
a coherent approach: empiricism,
extensive experimentation, and the
dominant faith that the world had
indeed a Grand Design crafted by
one Designer.
The Christians caught on
around 1100-1500. Sure,
Charlemagne asked the abbeys
in 797 to build schools for the
neighbourhood children. But it
wasn’t until 1088 that the world’s
first university, at Bologna, was
established. And the Christians
were fighting each other and
everyone else part of the time. But
they learnt much through trade
with other cultures, as ideas and
material passed westward along
the curve of the Indian Ocean
and into the Mediterranean.
Scholasticism was born in that
period, and before anyone knew

31
Hoshea born the son of Nun (1 Chronicles
7:20,27) (Numbers 13:8). Moses renames
him (Numbers 13:16) ...

During the Exodus, he becomes Moses’
military commander (Exodus 17:8-16).

GILLIAN GOH

JOSHUA

(( He had never

shied away from
science, nor from
faith. but faith
always came first,
and taught him
how to deal with
science.

))

32

it the Italian city-states were
starting a Renaissance. To the
people of those times, a theological
debate was public entertainment,
a great show that was at least on
par with the unveiling of a new
Michelangelo work. Science was all
about revealing the work of God’s
hands; art was all about paying
tribute to the beauty of such works.
In 1517, Martin Luther
submitted his 95 Theses and gave
the power-mad princes of Europe
an opportunity to break with
Mother Church and the Holy Roman
Empire. The madness ended in
1648, with the Treaty of Westphalia
and the establishment of modern
secular European states. And
then came the Enlightenment and
the work of many great scholars,
including Baruch ‘God is impersonal
and evil doesn’t exist’ Spinoza
(1632-1677) and Isaac ‘God made
a beautiful machine and man’s fall
ruined it’ Newton (1642-1727).
Why the history lesson? It’s
simple: man has always had faith,
and man has always had science.
But the faith of man is flawed, and
so is his science. When we have
silly beliefs like ‘the existence of
God can be proven by science’,
we understand neither God nor
science. God is not to be put to
the test, and if not, then how can
science ‘prove’ Him? And modern
science, which admits to nothing
supernatural, cannot ever confess
to God’s existence. Perhaps the
best way to be ‘scientific’ and live
with a good conscience is to assert
that science cannot in the end
contradict the truth.

What of faith, then? The faith
we confess, if we are to be true to
it, asserts that our God is beyond
science and philosophy. He has
made man upright, but we have
gone in search of many schemes
(Ecclesiastes 7:29). We are not
called to use science or endless
philosophical disputes to defend
our faith, but to be ready to
testify that we believe and will be
witnesses to that faith in the way
we behave towards others. This is
a common theme in many of Paul’s
epistles.
I will not end at the end,
because there is no end. But I shall
end at an end. My late grandfather
died of cancer in 1994. He was a
medical doctor, and ever curious
about the things of science and
faith. As we mourned our loss, I
had a quiet moment in his study.
Apart from his rows of Bibles
annotated in a painstaking and
very spidery hand, he had also
been reading a book on cloning and
the ethical issues related to it. He
had never shied away from science,
nor from faith. But faith always
came first, and taught him how to
deal with science.
Dr Alistair Chew is an education
consultant and researcher,
specialising in multi-disciplinary
curriculum design, development
and deployment. He has been Dean
of Sciences at a local independent
school as well as a lay preacher at
Bethesda (Frankel Estate) Church.
His current field of research includes
the globalization of education and
Singapore’s educational history.

Manga by GILLIAN GOH
Moses makes Joshua leader of
Israel (Deuteronomy 31:23).

Joshua explores the Promised
Land with 11 others (Numbers
13:16-17). Only he and Caleb says
‘Let’s claim it!’
Joshua parts the River Jordan and the
Israelites cross over (Joshua 3:15-17).

SPLASH

ROAR

ROAR

SPLASH

He takes Jericho God’s way
(Joshua 11:18-23, 12:24).

ASH
CR

And in disobeying God is
defeated at Ai (Joshua
7:1-26).

OT

BLO

O
BL
OT

Joshua conquers the Promised
Land and divides it among the 12
tribes of Israel according to God’s
instructions. (Joshua 11:23)
Chrass & Nepal Missions

Food for Thought

Kian Seng’s Thoughts
Eric says, “There’s no
need to keep the Sabbath, or to worship God
on Sundays. I worship
God every day! Why
make only 1 day holy?
I make everyday holy!”
How will you respond
to Eric?
-------------------What if one day, you are
told you do not have to
run anymore. You do not
have to be so busy anymore. You do not need to
compete so hard anymore. How will you feel?
A) Relieved and Happy?
B) Confused?
C) Suspicious?
D) Sad?
E) Lost?
-------------------Reading the Bible. There
is a difference between
reading to accumulate
information vs reading
with a readiness to obey.

34

+

Where is your
Citizenship?

BY CALVIN CHONG

Their mind is on earthly things. But
our citizenship is in heaven…
Phil. 3:19b-20a
	
Life in the 21st century straddles geographic and digital spaces.
Sociologists who first introduced
the terms “first, second, and third
places” (physical homes, workplaces,
and shared community spaces) now
talk about their digital equivalents.
Whether we like it or not, we live
in a moment in history where both
physical and cyber existence are
accepted expressions and extensions
of everyday life. Within these two
arenas, social behaviour is learned,
values and identities shaped, and
active citizenship encouraged.
As we bury ourselves in the affairs
of the physical and digital realms, we
do well not to forget our citizenship
in a third domain – heaven! While
he was on earth, Paul reminded the
Christians in Philippi that beyond
their earthly citizenship, they also
had a citizenship in heaven. To be

granted citizenship in heaven is to
be given a privilege with responsibilities. It is first an invitation to have
intimate fellowship with the Creator
of Heaven and earth. But it is also
an invitation to live life as though the
concerns and commands of the King
mattered. Conversely, the invitation
is also to reject and oppose earthly-minded habits, behaviour, and
lifestyles which distract from and
compete with the purposes of our
King.
As life traverses the porous
boundaries separating geographic and digital spaces, red flags are
continually raised signaling the dire
need for Christians to develop a
greater consciousness of their identity as citizens of heaven. If, as one
writer put it, “citizenship defines a
person’s ethical behaviour and true
allegiance”, how seriously do we take
our citizenship in heaven? How well
do our actions, behaviour, thinking in
physical and digital spaces reflect our
true allegiances and affections?

THE CHRASS JOURNEY
BY Alvin Andrean
Suzanna Lee
Lee Ming Ying
Yeo Hwee Lan

BACKGROUND The Methodist Missions Society (MMS) is the
mission agency of the Methodist Church in Singapore. As of
date, it has established indigenous churches, preaching points
and other ministries in many countries in South and East Asia.
In Cambodia, the MMS ministries include 12 churches, one
of which is the Chrass Methodist Church; the COSI Children’s
Village, a home for young orphans and disadvantaged children;
the COSY Hostel, a hostel for grades 10-12 students; the Emmaus
Women’s Centre, a training centre for women aged 16 to 25; the
Methodist School of Cambodia, a full school from kindergarten
to grade 12; and the Methodist Hostel, a hostel for college and
university students. CCMC, as a member of the Methodist Church
in Singapore, had in the past been showing its support for MMS
by sponsoring up to 12 students of the Methodist School of
Cambodia under the MMS Student Sponsorship Scheme through
its CK4CK (Covenant Kids for Cambodian Kids) project. It was
with the aim of furthering our support of MMS work that CCMC
decided to embark on mission trips to Cambodia.
35
Chrass & Nepal Missions

Chrass & Nepal Missions

1st Trip: 26 to 30 June 2008

3rd Trip: 2 to 6 Dec 2009

CCMC’s journey with Chrass
Methodist Church began
when a team comprising
Yeo Hwee Lan, Adeline Ee,
Seow Jin Kiat and Jun Chan,
went to Phnom Penh to
visit the 12 students that
CCMC was sponsoring and
to explore possible mission
opportunities for CCMC in
Cambodia. Besides visiting
MMS ministries, the team
also visited Chrass MC, a
fledgling church located in
a village about 5 km north
west of Phnom Penh.
Back in Singapore, the
team formed a Cambodia
Sub-Committee to assess
and follow up on its findings, including the possibility of partnership with
Chrass MC.

The team returned to
Phnom Penh with 19 members: Yeo Hwee Lan, Mark
Chim, Esther Lim, Hannie
Wong, Adeline Ee, Koh Kee
Ang, Yeo Poh Hong, Wee
Ghim Choo, Suzanna Lee,
Angelia Poon, April Lee,
Alvin Chang, Claris Mok,
Zoey Giam, Rachel Giam,
Ryan Wong and Jil Ong.
The objectives of the trip
were to continue efforts in
supporting MMS in Phnom
Penh, especially in Chrass
MC, and to increase mission awareness in CCMC.
With more members on
board, the team was able
to conduct more activities
for both Chrass MC and
the Methodist School. The
team painted the inside

and outside of the church
building, conducted English classes for the children, visited some church
members’ homes, and held
a Christmas party for some
130 children. A puppet
show was performed by the
younger team members,
games were played, a gospel message was delivered
by Hwee Lan, and a nativity
play was presented by the
entire team. A small library
was set up with books donated by CCMC members.
Rev Philip Lim informed
the team that MMS was
considering getting a permanent home for Chrass
MC, and invited CCMC to
consider partnering MMS in
building this new home.

2nd Trip:
18 to 22 March 2009
A follow-up trip was made
to gather more information
and to assess if such a partnership would be feasible.
The team of seven (Yeo
Hwee Lan, Desmond Ee,
Adeline Ee, Mark Chim,
Esther Lim, Hannie Wong
and Shawn Tan) held discussions with MMS Country
Coordinator for Cambodia
Rev Philip Lim, a MMS
missionary Vimala Devi,
a teacher in the Methodist School of Cambodia
Samneang, and Pastor Rath
Phirun of Chrass MC.
The team learnt that
Chrass MC had started

36

Church Leaders’ Trip:
30 July to 1 Aug 2010
In response to the proposal
submitted by the CCMC
Missions - Cambodia SubCommittee for partnership
with MMS for Chrass
Methodist Church, a trip
was made by Pastor Peter
Wong, Eddie Koh as LCEC
Chair, Michelle Chian
(Mission Committee)
and Yeo Hwee Lan (Lay
Ministry Staff) to gain a
better understanding of the
mission, vision and needs of
Chrass MC, and the scope
of collaboration with MMS
Cambodia. A proposal
was presented to LCEC for
consideration after the trip.

4th Trip: 17 to 21 June 2010
about 5 years before and
comprised about 30 adults
and 30-40 children. The
church occupied a rented
single-storey two-room
building of about 40 sq m
which doubled up as the
residence of Pastor Phirun,
his wife and four children.
It was located in an area
designated as New Phnom
Penh, with much potential
for growth.
There was a general
consensus among the team
members that CCMC could
indeed play a greater role in
helping this fledgling church
to attain its potential.

This trip was organised
mainly for the youths in
OC (One Community).
The eight youths were
Sean Wee, Kakit Foong,
Brian Wong, Tan Chung
Hong, Foo Yihui, Chrystal
Lee, Andrea Lim and Alvin
Andrean, accompanied by
four adults: Yeo Hwee Lan,
Daren Lee, Hannie Hay
and Suzanna Lee. Besides
giving the youths mission
exposure, the trip also
aimed to establish a closer
relationship between CCMC
and Chrass MC.
It was certainly an
eye-opening experience
for the youths as they
conducted English lessons

for the children of Chrass
MC through songs, games,
stories and craftwork.
Through these activities and
through the prayer walk
to the church members’
homes, our youths
endeared themselves to the
Chrass folk and children.
The team learned from
Pastor Phirun that he
had started a Bible study
class for seven youths on
Saturday afternoons. The
team also met with two
MMS missionaries who gave
a better understanding on
the structure of Cambodia
MMS and their working
relationship with the local
pastors.

Pastor Phirun

MOU Signed
21 Nov 2010
A MOU was made between CCMC and
MMS, for a period of 5 years. Its main
points were:
• The vision of the Partner Church
(CCMC) is to help Chrass Methodist
Church grow through ministry
partnerships like mission trips, Christian
education, training and financial
support.
• The vision of MMS, through
cooperation and collaboration with the
Partner Church, is to help Chrass MC
become a financially self-supporting,
disciple-making and multiplying local
church.
• CCMC agrees to support the ministry
by sending mission teams, by providing
annual financial support for Chrass
MC’s maintenance (pastor’s salary,
social & welfare fund, rental, etc) and
by supporting the project of building a
permanent home for Chrass MC.
37
Chrass & Nepal Missions

(( WITH LCEC

LCEC Approval
CCMC’s Local Church
Executive Committee in
their meeting of 25, January
2011, approved raising
funds to purchase land for
Chrass MC.

5th Trip: 15 to 20 Dec 2010
This mission team
comprised eight adults:
Yeo Hwee Lan, Daren Lee,
Hannie Hay, Suzanna Lee,
Adeline Ee, Mark Chim,
Jason Tan and Elin Er, and
nine youths namely,
Kakit Foong, Tan Chung
Hong, Foo Yihui, Chrystal
Lee, Tan Jiaqi, Keith Ho,
Shaun Tan, Andrea Lim and
Alvin Andrean.
The team’s main focus
was on education and
outreach, especially among
the youths and children of
Chrass MC. With this aim in
mind, the team members
performed a number of
gospel skits and organised

38
38

an outing for the Chrass
youths. The outing was
to a water park located
some distance away from
Phnom Penh where the
team witnessed the water
baptism of five Chrass MC
members. The team also
staged a nativity play during
a Sunday worship service.
Five core members of
the team discussed the
future plans of the church
with Pastor Phirun. It was
learnt that the Youth Bible
Study Group had increased
from 7 to 12 members,
and that Pastor Phirun was
teaching the adults to hold
small fellowship groups

in their homes for church
members and neighbours.
The church’s weekly
programme was as follows:
• Thursday: small group
meeting and house
visitation
• Saturday: Sunday school
for children and youth bible
study
• Sunday: church service
• Monday to Friday
afternoons: English
enrichment program
Besides the on-going
Bible study group, Pastor
Phirun hoped to hold a
youth camp in 2011 and
requested that the team
help him run it.

APPROVAL,
CCMC AND MMS
IDENTIFIED A
PLOT OF LAND
AND PURCHASED
IT TO BUILD A
PERMANeNT PLACE
OF WORSHIP FOR
CHRASS MC.

))

7th Trip:
29 Aug to 6 Sep 2011
This trip had three teams.
Youth Camp Team
29 Aug to 4 Sept 2011

March to May 2011
CCMC with MMS proceeded
to purchase the identified
plot of land. The total cost
was US$80,310 (land cost
of US$74.460 plus legal
fee of US$5,830). The land
title deed was held by Penh
Holding Co, the company
established by MMS to hold
all in-country assets.

Ground Breaking Team
3 to 4 Sept 2011

6th Trip:
25 to 28 March 2011
The team consisted of the
Cambodia Sub-Committee,
comprising Hwee Lan,
Hannie, Esther, Adeline and
Alvin, together with Lena
Quek, the architect for the
building project. The team’s
primary task was to scout
the campsite for a Youth
Camp, to plan its program
together with Pastor Phirun
and work out the logistics.
On arrival, the team
discovered that Chrass
MC had moved to a small
2-storey house across the

Adults: Yeo Hwee Lan, Mark
Chim, Angelia Poon and
Adeline Ee. Youths: Alvin
Andrean, Keith Ho and
Cassandra Yeap
26 youths from Chrass
MC, inluding about 8 new
comers who were friends
of the Chrass youths and
leaders attended the youth
camp together with two
youth leaders and Pastor
Phirun. The campsite
was the Emmaus Women
Centre.

road from its previous
building which had been
sold by its owner.
The team met with
Rev Philip Lim to follow up
on the land and building
project and was informed
that the land identified
would cost US$74,460, not
including transfer fees and
other government and legal
costs. The team visited
Preak Tual MC, which
was built by Barker Road
Methodist Church, to gather
ideas.

Pastor Peter, Robert Chew,
Eddie Koh, Desmond Ee, Tan
Chee Seong and Finnie Tan.
The ground breaking
ceremony was held on 4
September 2011. Pastor
Peter conducted the service
with Pastor Phirun with 30
Chrass MC members and
youths as well as our Youth
Camp Team in attendance.
The ceremony was followed
by a lunch fellowship.
It was a joyous occasion
as we committed the land
and the future church
building to God and to
His glory. Prayers were
said with our Cambodian
brothers and sisters in
Christ that they would
remain faithful and strong
in the Lord.
39
Chrass & Nepal Missions
9th Trip: 4 to 9 April 2012

8th Trip:
14 to 19 December 2011
Building Planning Team
5 to 6 Sept 2011
Robert Chew (volunteer
overseeing the project), Yeo
Hwee Lan and Desmond Ee.
God’s timing allowed the
Building Planning Team to
attend the ground breaking.
A preliminary discussion on
the building plan was held
with the MMS missionary,
contractors and Pastor
Phirun.

The largest team of 21,
including 11 first-timers
comprised Yeo Hwee
Lan, Hannie Hay, Jason
Tan, Lawrence Sew, Elsie
Low, Adeline Ee, Tan Bee
Cher, Regina Wong and
13 Youths: Alvin Andrean,
Anton Chan, Larisa Cheng,
Ernest Chuang, Eugene
Chuang, Foo Yi Hui, Keith
Ho, Magdalene Lee, Rachel
Tan, Ryan Wong, Tan Chung
Hong, Tan Jing Min and
Zoey Giam.
Although primarily a

mission exposure trip, the
team held evangelistic programs for the children and
the youths, and conducted
a Christmas service for the
adults. About 130 children
and 40 youths attended the
evangelistic programs where
the team shared the gospel
through songs, dance, drama and testimonies.
The team had the
privilege of witnessing the
baptism of seven youths
from Chrass Church during
an outing at the water park.

(( THE

CHRASS YOUTH
ORGANISED AN
EVANGELISTIC
OUTING TO
SHARE CHRIST
WITH THEIR
FRIENDS.

))

10th Trip: 4 to 9 Sep 2012

Seven of the 11 on this
mission exposure trip were
first-timers. The team
comprised Yeo Hwee Lan,
Chung Kong Mun, Mark
Chim, Adeline Ee, Tim Tan,
Lee Ming Ying, Luke Tan,
Sim Mui Ping, Raymond
Chow, Joycelyn Chow and
Lisa Lee.
The team conducted an
art & craft session with the
children, ran a Good Friday
movie program, visited
some Chrass MC members,
and hosted a river cruise for
18 members, and adult and
youth leaders.
By then, Chrass MC had
moved to a wooden stilt
house further away from
the main road.

This team comprised veteran trippers: Yeo Hwee Lan,
Mark Chim, Angelia Poon,
Lawrence Sew, Jason Tan
and Hannie Hay. The youths
were Alvin Andrean, Kakit
Foong, Luke Tan and Cassandra Yeap. The objective
was to run a youth camp to:
• challenge the Chrass
youths to do outreach and
evangelism, and be committed members of Chrass MC.
• train the youths in personal evangelism, leadership
skills and team work.
• build bonds with the
youths and church members.
19 youths from Chrass
MC (aged 12 to 22 years),
two youths from another
church invited by Pastor

Phirun, three assistants
to help run the program
and translation, and Pastor
Phirun attended the camp.
As a follow-up to the
training program, the
youths organized an evangelistic outing to the zoo at
Takmao Mountain for their
friends. The youths led in
worship, games, drama and
testimony sharing. They
then broke into groups to
share the gospel using the
evangelistic tools they had
learnt from the camp. In
total, 25 youths heard the
gospel, 13 indicated that
they prayed to receive
Christ, while 8 indicated
their interest to know more
about the Christian faith.

8 Sep to end Dec 2011

11th Trip: 22 to 28 Nov 2012

A Chrass Building
Committee was formed
to look into the structure,
design and tender for the
contractors. The tender was
called in mid-November
and eight contractors
responded, of which six
returned tender documents
by the December deadline.

40

Jan to March 2012
Three contractors were
shortlisted and the Building
Committee comprising Eddie
Koh, Robert Chew, Edward Chye,
Lena Quek and Oh Ming Choo
conducted the tender interview.
After much prayer and
negotiation, the Committee
awarded the contract to Venture
Company with the contract sum
of USD$330,000. The contract
was signed on 2 April (dated 21
March as the official contract
agreement date) between Penh
Holding Company (under MMS)
and Venture Company.
Hwee Lan was assigned by
CCMC to be in Phnom Penh
for a year to help in the Chrass
Church ministry, to coordinate
the building project.and to be
the liaison person for CCMC for
the building project.

Primarily a mission
exposure trip for 4 families
from the Blest West Small
Group, the team comprised
Suzanna Lee, Adeline Ee;
Kenneth, Joanna, Kimberley
and Timothy Foo; Tim
Tan and Lee Ming Ying;
Nick, Shirley, Deborah and
Hannah Au-Yong; and Roger
and Corine Heng. 10 were
first timers.

The team visited the
Methodist School of
Cambodia, distributed
clothes to village children at
COSI, visited the hostel run
by Aldersgate MC, did art
& craft with the Chrass MC
Learning Centre children,
shared testimonies at the
Chrass Youth Fellowship and
organised a Christmas party
for church members.

Summary of Church Building Fund

1) Total Land Cost:		
US$ 80,310 				
(Fully paid up)
2) Total Construction costs	 US$ 330,000 +10%= US$363,000	 (approx S$446,490)
									
Amount raised through fund-raising events				
(excluding funds raised by CK4CK)					
S$284,424.67cts
						

Shortfall 		

S$162,065.33cts
41
W

MISSION TRIP TO NEPAL
25 Nov to 3 Dec 2012
BY Raymond Chow

WHAT IS MY PURPOSE?
By Ralph Lau

At the beginning, when the idea to join the mission trip
to Nepal was brought up by my family members, I was
hesitant to go. I have never been on a mission trip before
and I definitely did not hear God’s calling. I am a banker by
profession and I always thought that people with practical
skills, e.g. medical doctors or civil engineers, are the ones
whom God uses on mission trips. Well, that’s not the case.
God is truly amazing and showed me how He used me, a
common and ordinary person with no obvious skills. Dr Chung
Kong Mun, our team leader, encouraged the team to keep a
personal journal of the mission trip. I would like to share one
of my entries:
First day of dental camp ends. My added value today is
not visible. I know that I have a purpose, but what is my
purpose?
On my third day back to the office in Singapore, I bumped
into a colleague whom I’ve hardly spoken to before. From
a simple question “How are you?”, I shared for 20 minutes
what I have experienced and witnessed during the mission
trip. I have since shared my testimony with many other
colleagues and friends, too. I strongly believe that the sharing
and testimony to friends, colleagues and whoever asks me
about my “last holiday” is the purpose God has given to me.
As Gopal Sebastian, missionary in Nepal, said, “The mission to
share God’s Word starts right at our doorstep at home.”

42

hen I flew off from Singapore on 24 November to
Kathmandu, Nepal, together with my family and
6 other mission trippers, I was excited
and at the same time did not really know
what to expect as it was my first shortterm mission trip to Nepal. In my heart,
I was praying that God would speak and
reveal His plans for us at Nepal.
On the very day that we touched down
in Kathmandu, we went to Sophia Home,
shortly after we deposited our luggage
at Bethel Guest House. We met Grace,
the houseparent in charge and about 30
young girls who were residents of the
home. They were there to receive dental
treatment . Although all of them came
from unfortunate background, they all
impressed me with their good behaviour
and love for the Lord. Their ages ranges
from 3-18. They were warm, friendly and
spontaneous albeit a little shy. When I led
them into singing praises to God, I was totally thrilled as they sang with much zeal
and gusto. It’s the best voices of praise I
have ever heard. The home also treated
us to a sumptuous traditional Nepalese
meal. I also tasted their local milk tea
which was smooth and nice. I was impressed by their hospitality. Though they
have little, yet they gave so much from
their heart. I was blessed.
We spent two days at Ilam at the
Victory Church doing dental camp and
sharing the gospel to the local villagers
together with the local pastors, leaders
and youths. About 50 villagers turned
up each day and all had the opportunity
to hear the gospel and being prayed for.
I was particularly impressed by the zeal
and passion showed by the youth church
members. They sang and they shared
so naturally and fervently. I understand
from Pastor Chandra of Victory Church
that he sent out teams of 10 youths to the
villagers to share the gospel every week.

(( I HAD LEARNT

THAT WHAT IS
IMPORTANT IN A
CHURCH IS NOT
THE SIZE OR ALL
THE WONDERFUL
FACILITIES BUT
THE FAITH, LOVE
AND ZEAL OF THE
MEMBERS.

))

The church was about 50 strong and they
were already doing church planting at far
away places from their church. One lesson
I had learnt is that what is important in a
church is not the size or all the wonderful
facilities but the faith, love and zeal of
the members. The church was actually a
simple structure of bamboo and mud. Yet,
it really shines out ever so brightly for the
Lord in the midst of a dark and idol-worshipping village. They were truly the light
of the world for their community.
We also spent one day at Jappa doing
dental camp and sharing the gospel at the
Mahimit Church. About 60 villagers received dental treatment as well as heard
the gospel.
I was really being touched and challenged once again to be a bold witness for
God. I wanted to be an active witness for
the Lord once again in obeying the great
commission by our Lord Jesus Christ
(Matt. 28:19,20). I asked Pastor Chandra
and Pastor Gopal to pray for me to have
the zeal and boldness to share the gospel
once again. I also made a covenant with
Pastor Chandra and Pastor Gopal to pray
for each other and our churches. I will
continue to pray for more churches in
Nepal to be planted and established.
For me and my family ( I went with my
wife and 2 teenage children), this has
been a spiritually inspiring and fulfilling
trip and we intend to go back Nepal again
especially the area of Ilam to support the
church planting effort there.

Chrass & Nepal Missions

(( I WAS REALLY

BEING TOUCHED
AND CHALLENGED
ONCE AGAIN TO BE
A BOLD WITNESS
FOR GOD.

))

43
ABIGAIL GOH

Dear Abigail,

My Love Gift
to Chrass
Full Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Dr/Mdm
______________________________
Address: _______________________
______________________________
______________________________

ALTHOUGH THE CHRASS CHURCH BUILDING IS DUE
TO BE COMPLETED and handed over IN March
2013, CCMC’s journey with Chrass has barely
begun. Will you join us on this journey to help
Chrass grow in its faith, its strength and its
numbers, that it may attain full maturity in
Christ?
You can do so in many ways:
1) by praying for the church, its pastor and
members, and their spiritual growth
and witness in the neighbourhood of Chrass
village and beyond.

Phone Number/s: _______________
______________________________
Amount: Cheque $*
______________________________
Signature:
______________________________

*Please make a crossed cheque
payable to Covenant Community
Methodist Church and mail the
cheque together with this form to
the church office: Level 4, Methodist
Girls’ School, 11 Blackmore Drive,
Singapore 599986
44

2) by joining us on our mission trips to
Cambodia .
3) by donating money (see left) .

ASK
ABIGAIL

I’m peeved with the young lady
who sits in the row ahead of me in
church. She’s always on her iPhone
during the sermon. It’s totally
distracting, extremely annoying and
utterly disrespectful to God. The
incessant pings from the stream of
SMS notifications and the swiping
of finger across the screen for FB
updates totally drive me nuts –
especially when I am trying to tune
in to God. How do I communicate my
displeasure without coming across as
judgemental and angry? And please
don’t tell me to change seats. I have
been sitting in this same spot for the
last ten years and I will do anything
to defend my right.
Yours truly,
Ann Oyed

Dear Ann Oyed
I appreciate your wanting to take
a firm bottom line from your seat
about this.
Most young adults thrive only
when they are tethered to their
mobile devices. This strong urge to
be connected is fashioned by the
need to be the ‘first-in-the-know’
from news and updates. They like
the sensory overload and prefer to
multi-task. Just like you need quiet,
they need all the stimuli to think!
Yet, the Bible says, “Be Still and
Know that I am God…”. This is lost
in translation in the iFashionista
culture where noise rules over
spiritual serenity and where the
iGods beckons over the Covenantal
God who calls us into His presence.
So you have a point that that
lass could do with a gentle nudge
about church etiquette.
I suggest fighting fire with fire.
Show her that one can be tuned in
to God without being tuned out.

Share your sermon notes tapped
into your device electronically with
her. Speedily research that obscure
Biblical reference with the Google
search engine. Why stop at that?
Procure the latest Bible application
by download and challenge her to a
swipe out. It’s better than swiping
one pointing finger at her with the
other while making tsk tsk sounds.
Connectedly yours,
Abigail on What’s App
Dear Abigail,
My pre-school son has been asking
me to sing a song from Sunday kindy
worship about love and ‘that’s the
bird and the bee’. I wonder what
they are teaching in Sunday School!
Concerned Mummy

Dear Concerned Mummy,
Let not your heart be troubled. The
song your son wants you to sing
has the lyric: God loves you and
God loves me and that’s the way it
should be.
Busy Abigail
Dear Abigail,
Is SOAP biblical?
Camay Lim

Dear Camay Lim,
Yes, there are many references to
soap in the Bible. For example, Jer
2:22 - For though thou wash thee
with nitre, and take thee much
soap, yet thine iniquity is marked
before me, saith the Lord God. And
of course you will recall Bath-she-bar.
Abigail White as Snow

45
Who’s

AFRAID
of a

Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

MARRIAGE
COURSE?

46

T

he Marriage Course that CCMC is using was
developed by Nicky and Sila Lee who wrote The
Marriage Book and The Parenting Book. The
British couple have been married for over thirty
years, and have four children. Nick and Sila are on the staff
at the Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London
– the church that started the Alpha course. They started
The Marriage Course in 1996, and the courses continue to
spread with thousands being run around the world.
They have spoken to numerous couples on the subject
of marriage, and The Marriage Book has sold over 52,000
copies since it was published in 2000.
The Marriage Course is presented via DVD talks featuring Nicky and Sila. The talks are interspersed with film
clips of couples sharing about their marriage experiences,
and street interviews with people from around the world.
The course will help couples discover practical tools to
enrich marriages. Learn how to understand each other’s
needs, communicate more effectively, grow closer through
resolving conflict, heal the ways you’ve hurt each other,
recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship,
improve relationships with parents and in-laws, develop
greater sexual intimacy, and discover each other’s love
languages and much, much more!
The course has seven sessions. Each session begins
with a dinner at which you can either choose to sit with
other couples attending the course or sit alone with
your spouse. However, the seating arrangement for the
course proper is tables for two spaced apart for privacy.
There is no place for sharing among couples. The course
is focussed for each couple to talk and discuss the points
raised in the DVD just with each other.
The seven topics for the sessions are:
Building Strong Foundations
The Art of Communication
Resolving Conflict
The Power of Forgiveness
The Impact of Family – Past and Present
Good Sex
Love in Action
The CCMC Marriage Course, organised by the Family Life
Ministry, runs once a week for seven weeks, includes
dinner and a night snack. Watch out for the next one in
about August and September and go for it!

YEAP SOON LEONG
& WENDY YEAP
Married for 25 years
What did you learn about marriage
from the course?
YSL - There’s always something
new to learn about your partner,
no matter how long you’ve been
married.
WY - It is good to regularly take
stock of your marriage. Yours and
your spouse’s perspectives change
so subtly that you may not even be
completely aware of the changes.

What did you learn from the course
that has helped you relate better to
your spouse?
YSL - Nothing new. We had covered pretty much everything in the
church’s pre-marital and marriage
enrichment courses.
WY – I liked the ‘Effective Lis47
tening’ exercise. It is a tool that
bridges ‘Deep Listening’ and the
‘Peacemaking Process’ which we
have been teaching in our church’s
pre-marital course. It allows the
person with an area of concern to
be heard and understood without
being judged.

There is a common perception
that marriage courses are only for
couples who have problems in their
relationship. Do you agree after
attending the Marriage Course?
YSL - There are no problem-free
marriages, so it is true in a sense.
There’s always room for improvement, no matter the length of the
marriage. Attending courses such
as the Marriage Course can help
any marriage, so long as both
partners attend with the common
goal of wanting to work at their
marriage. Even if only one spouse
is motivated, who knows? That
spouse’s positive action may in
time have an impact on the other
spouse.
WY - Marriage courses are generally for marriages that do not have
serious issues. For those marriages
with a lot of baggage, a marriage
counselor would be more helpful.

Why would you recommend the
course to other couples?
YSL - Because of its content and
format. The content covers all
the essential areas of marriage
in a practical way, with sharing
from real couples and humor. The
format of a dinner date with one’s
spouse is refreshingly different.
Having all the sharing done strictly
between husband and wife and not
requiring any public sharing makes
the course non-threatening and a
lot more palatable to couples and
spouses who are averse to public
sharing.
WY - A definite yes! because it will
strengthen the marital relationship.
48

RAYMOND CHOW
& JOYCELYN CHOW
Married for 18 years
What did you learn about marriage
from the course?
RC - That we cannot take our
marriage for granted. It needs to
be constantly nourished and we
can and must continue to grow and
strengthen the marriage relationship. We cannot afford to be complacent because it can get ‘stale
and dry’ if no effort is being put in.
And also, the relationship can be
easily crowded out by a hundred
and one distractions of daily life.
JC - We need to spend time alone
with our spouse no matter how
many years we have been married.
What did you learn from the course
that has helped you relate better to
your spouse?
RC - The most important thing I
learnt is how to communicate with
my wife by listening better and
being more sensitive to her needs.
Also, both quality and quantity
time spent with our spouses are
equally important and we need to
intentionally set aside time for it
and give it priority. Just like a plant
requires nourishing, a marriage
requires nourishing as well.
JC - Chatting with my spouse.

Sometimes after many years together, we tend to talk only about
serious matters. This course taught
me to chat with Raymond on many
other things, some of them may
sound nonsensical; but we were
having a fun time.
There is a common perception that
marriage courses are only for
couples who have problems in their
relationship. Do you agree after
attending the Marriage Course?
RC - I totally disagree with it and
it is a myth. Marriage courses are
not meant to heal marriages but
to enrich marriages. There is still
so much to learn about having a
good marriage as it is a life-long
learning journey. Also, we need
such courses to rejuvenate our
marriages. Nowadays, there are so
many threats and external forces
that put pressure on marriages. So,
all the more, we need to have such
courses to help us face up to all
these challenges and come out on
top of it.
JC - I believe that marriage is a work
in progress and not a finished product. It needs to be worked on all
the time and such courses provide
opportunities for us to rediscover
the sparks of love and to narrow the
gaps of misunderstandings.

Why would you recommend the
course to other couples?
RC - I like it because it is very
systematic and the materials used
are really relevant. I like especially
the speakers. Though they were
video-taped, I still found them
very engaging and I did not feel
detached at all. Also, the fact that
there are so many other couples
going through the course at the
same time gives you the added
motivation. We can also learn from
other couples who provide good
role models – as the Bible says ‘iron
sharpens iron’. I believe we can
learn a lot from each other too. The

(( THERE IS

STILL SO MUCH
TO LEARN ABOUT
HAVING A GOOD
MARRIAGE AS
IT IS A LIFELONG LEARNING
JOURNEY.

))

course was also very well organised by members of our church’s
Family Life Ministry. They were
warm and caring and the food and
venue were excellent too. It was
a really good use of time for our
marriage and relationship.
JC - I liked the way the course was
carried out. Much effort was spent
to ensure the couples were relaxed
and were able to focus on each
other. The pace was good and the
course material is based on God’s
principles. I benefitted much from
the course and believe other couples will find the same.

SEOW JIN KIAT
& JUN SEOW
Married for 5 years
What did you learn about marriage
from the course?
A strong and loving marriage
cannot be left to chance. It requires
commitment to make it a priority and regular time together as a
couple needs to be intentionally
planned and protected.
What did you learn from the course
that has helped you relate better to
your spouse?
The ability to make a list of common habits to avoid in order to
become a more effective listener.
Common sense is so uncommon!

There is a common perception
that marriage courses are only for
couples who have problems in their
relationship. Do you agree after
attending the Marriage Course?
Absolutely not. Attending the
marriage course is just part of a
lifelong commitment to keep working and investing in a marriage
Would you recommend the course
to other couples? Yea!

STEPHEN YEUNG
& SHERLYN WONG
Married for 20 years
What did you learn about marriage
from the course?
SY - That marriage is a continuous
work in progress.
SW - Communication is key.

What did you learn from the course
that has helped you relate better to
your spouse?
SY - To listen and make time for
your spouse.
SW - Spending quality time together.
There is a common perception
that marriage courses are only for
couples who have problems in their
relationship. Do you agree after
attending the Marriage Course?
No. Marriage courses should be
seen as enrichment courses, not
unlike the self-improvement books
or courses we take.
Why would you recommend the
course to other couples?
The course work is light and provides a regular schedule to spend
time with your spouse. It also provides a neutral platform to discuss
sensitive issues. For example, it
would be rather abrupt to tell your
spouse what you like and dislike
about the things done or not done
for you but is par for the course as
part of the course work. Another
plus point is that communication
is only between spouses, with no
group sharing or discussions at all.

49
Loaves+fishes jan march 2013
Loaves+fishes jan march 2013
Loaves+fishes jan march 2013
Loaves+fishes jan march 2013

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Loaves+fishes jan march 2013

  • 1. LOAVES + FISHES MICA (P) No: 104/03/2013 The Covenant Community Methodist Church Magazine LET’s SOAP Make your own Loaves & Fishes mobile PASTOR JOHN’s FAMILY SHARES LIFE STORIES Busyness or Business A DAD’s GREAT EXPECTATIONS Why are we building a church in Phnom Penh? Try Mrs Ellice Handy’s Chicken ala King – good-old, tasty, comfort food.
  • 2. Join the Covenant Community Methodist Church group sermon notes sharing updates photos reviews So Rich a Crown Discover the true meaning of Jesus’ life and sacrifice this Easter. Come, join us for a sequence of services during Holy Week as we reflect on God’s love, Jesus’ death, and the significance of His sacrifice – our salvation. Maundy Thursday Holy Communion Service 28 March, 8 pm, MGS Chapel From Gethsemane to Golgotha A Service of Reflection and Prayer 29 March, 8 pm, MGS Amphitheatre Easter Sunrise Service 31 March, 6.30 am, MGS Amphitheatre
  • 3. Mary Harrsch CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 CONTENTS WELCOME TO THE FAMILY Pastor John Foo and his family open their lives to us. NEW LENSES FOR THE MARKETPLACE 5 LOAVES & 2 FISHES Corrinne May A little boy of thirteen was on his way to school He heard a crowd of people laughing and he went to take a look Thousands were listening to the stories of one man He spoke with such wisdom, even the kids could understand How to change your perspective at work. 18 The hours passed so quickly, the day turned to night Everyone was hungry but there was no food in sight The boy looked in his lunchbox at the little that he had He wasn’t sure what good it’d do, there were thousands to be fed But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus The kindness in His smile And the boy cried out With the trust of a child he said: “Take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you will I surrender Take my fears and my inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all to feed them all” I often think about that boy when I’m feeling small And I worry that the work I do means nothing at all But every single tear I cry is a diamond in His hands And every door that slams in my face, I will offer up in prayer 4 So I’ll give you every breath that I have Oh Lord, you can work miracles All that you need is my “Amen” So take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you will I surrender Take my fears and my inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all I hope it’s not too small MY CONFESSION & CONVERSION CHRASS AND NEPAL MISSIONS Developments & reports. 29 An over-functioning parent tells all. 10 I trust in you, I trust in you So take my five loaves and two fishes Do with it as you will I surrender Take my fears and my inhibitions All my burdens, my ambitions You can use it all No gift is too small GOD & SOAP Be refreshed daily by the Divine Mentor. 20 5
  • 4. Ask Abigail 39 Crafts for Kids (pull out) Crumbs 48 Good Things 44 Kitchen 46 Manga Hero 27 Songs & Singers 23 Food for Thought 28 To the Point 9 FAMILY BUILDING BLOCKS Three tips to build stronger families. 14 Promptness Barometer SCIENCE & FAITH A meditation and not an apology for either. 24 6 When was the last time you were late for an appointment? Hopefully, the answer was ‘I can’t remember’. For those of us who are mentally blushing, here are three easy tips to keeping that next appointment: 1. Be unfashionable. ‘Fashionably late’ is the term coined for tardy celebrities. The lateness bug also seems to apply ubiquitously to Chinese wedding dinners. Unless you are a celebrity or heading for a Chinese wedding dinner, make a commitment to arrive slightly ahead for your appointments. Others will respect you for respecting their time. 2. Don’t be optimistic. Can you get from Point A to Point B in 10 minutes flat? Have you factored in the time walking to and from your car? How about traffic conditions? Is your private helicopter on standby? There is always an “ideal case” and then there is what happens most of the time. Plan for real world delays and give yourself time to spare to get to your next appointment. 3. Prepare to revive time. As ever-efficient people, arriving early for appointments sometimes makes us feel as if we created spots of ‘dead’ time. However, these pockets of time can be great for sneaking in some light reading, preparing yourself for the next activity or just spending some quiet time with God. Find creative ways to use these snippets of time and revive your ‘dead’ time. For best results, practise these tips regularly. You can do so every Sunday when coming to church. Get to church early and honour God with the time He has given you. Loaves + Fishes will be creating a ‘Promptness Barometer’ to reflect how we as a church are honouring God with our time. Look out for it in subsequent issues. Loaves + Fishes is published quarterly by Covenant Community Methodist Church Level 4, Methodist Girls’ School 11, Blackmore Drive Singapore 599986 Tel: 64669652 Fax: 64667470 E-mail: admin@ccmc.org.sg www.ccmc.org.sg MICA (P) No: 104/03/2013 Printed by Oxford Graphic Printers Pte Ltd EDITORIAL COMMITTEE 100% Please wait for the doors to open! 80% I think there are some seats up front. 60% Someone is in my regular seat. 40% Looks like the faithful remnant are here. 20% Am I at the right place? A ABUNDANT, SATISFYING, WONDERFUL! REGULARS Editor Rev John Benedict Foo Editorial Advisor Eddie Koh Managing Editor Goh Eck Kheng Members Chong Cheh Hoon Lester Ng Contributors Alistair Chew Calvin Chong Lee Yin Siau John Ng Mason Tan Yap Kian Seng ON THE COVER The Seow family: Jin Kiat and Jun with children, Noah and Esme. bundant, satisfying, wonderful! That’s the whole thrust of our newly revamped church magazine! Those familiar with our previous publication To The Point will immediately notice the completely refreshing way the articles have been laid out and presented herein. A season of change is dawning – a change which we believe God is bringing about to effect a closer alignment to His good and perfect will for our church. And what better way to herald that change than to introduce a brand new look to our church magazine. The new title Loaves + Fishes draws its inspiration from the biblical episode in the Gospel of John when the little boy gave of his five loaves and two fishes for Jesus to feed the hungry crowd of more than five thousand. (John 6:1-14) So here in this magazine and in the subsequent issues to come, we hope to be able to provide you with a diverse coverage of our wonderful church life and ministry that will satisfy you truly and abundantly. Just as the loaves and fishes in the gospel story of chapter 6 were supernaturally multiplied by God and used by our Lord Jesus to bless the thousands of people, it is our desire that God will use our church magazine to multiply His blessings in the lives of our members and their loved ones as well as their many friends. Our maiden issue is set to delight readers with an interesting spread of topics, with family life and parenting taking the spotlight this round. Our various church ministries and their respective programs will also be featured regularly so that readers will get to know what God is doing in our midst. It’s a wonderful way to testify of God’s goodness and blessings in our church as we capture in print His sovereign work in and through each of our members’ lives. May God bless your reading as He reveals to you a unique covenant community here in CCMC. Rev John Benedict Foo 7
  • 5. + How did you both meet? We met in the university. We were studying the same course, in the same year, and were both in Campus Crusade for Christ as students. How did you know that it was time to get married? We are the serious sort of people who get into a relationship in order to get married! John had earlier decided that we’d work for two years and then get married. God paved the way after we made that commitment as He provided the finances, friends and family to help organise the wedding, and even a fully furnished first home. How do you as a couple continue to nurture your marriage and relationship? By praying for each other and openly talking about issues. By sharing responsibility for the children and the house. By being interested and actively involved in each other’s life and ministry. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY PASTOR JOHN AND HIS WIFE, GRACE, SHARE WITH US THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON BUILDING A FAMILY THAT HONOURS GOD TOGETHER. THEIR CHILDREN, FROM LEFT, ARE BENEDICT, ANGELINE, CELESTINE AND EVANGELINE. INTERVIEW BY GOH ECK KHENG 8 Please comment on how the quality of a couple’s married life affects their family life. Children have inbuilt antennas and will sense if parents are being genuine. Authenticity is important to young people. They don’t expect perfection and can handle it if they find both parents working on their marriage but they can’t handle it if any parent is evasive or puts up a front. That’s why we are very open with them regarding our struggles and difficulties, and we are also very open about our commitment to each other and to them. What are the constants in the different stages of raising children? Quality and quantity time with each child, and as a family as well. A listening ear for whenever they 9
  • 6. (( We believe that the children must be given the chance to own their schoolwork early in life. This sense of ownership comes when they realise that their results are completely managed by their diligence and prayers. )) need it. Another constant is we get the “best news” about their day if we pick them up right after they end school! What is your approach to family discipline? We believe that what we do as individuals at home will affect the whole family. We also believe that boundaries set early in life give security to each member of the family and hence will not give rise to misunderstandings later. However, each member of the family is seen as having been created differently, and hence there is always room for discussion and negotiation! What is your approach to the education and school performance of your children? We believe that the children must be given the chance to own their schoolwork early in life. This sense of ownership comes when they realise that their results are completely managed by their diligence and prayers. Each child is different and is expected to employ different study and relaxation methods. They know we will support them not just when they receive academic commendations, but also in non-academic arenas. They also know that, as fulltime workers, our finances are limited, and that they will not get the slew of tuition their fellow classmates are able to get. Hence they know they will need God’s help and presence a whole lot more! 10 What are your precious family routines? Individual time with each child, birthday celebrations, spending time at the library, listening to audio books in the car and watching inspirational shows together. And we used to do quirky family devotions before they entered the youth ministry and did their own QTs. What are your interests and hobbies? We enjoy books. Grace likes long walks and John likes to keep fit. As mentioned earlier, we also like to watch shows that are familyoriented and inspirational in nature. Do you consciously encourage your children to be involved in church ministry? Being involved ourselves, we see plenty of opportunities in church for them, and will surface these to them for their consideration. Hence, our children have been involved in all aspects of church life and ministry since young, like distributing flyers for church events, singing in the children’s choir, leading worship, being church pianists, being in the flags and tambourine ministry, hospital visitations, attending wakes and funerals, and going on mission trips. How does Ps John manage church ministry and family commitments? Actually, both John and Grace do church ministry at full steam. John pastors and does all the stuff related to preaching, teaching and praying. Grace does the music, and everything else that she can do to support the ministry. We help our children to see that church ministry is our family commitment. They are very understanding and have even waited patiently outside counselling rooms or hospices, or inside the seminar rooms while waiting for us to wrap up. To them, John’s room in the church office is their favourite hangout place. They also know that they need to help one another out when we are tied up, which is extremely often. To The Point God is the object of our faith I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Tim 1:12 (NIV) The gospel of Jesus Christ is the basis of our faith Faith What is Faith? Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Heb 11:1 (NLT) For we walk by faith not sight. 2 Cor 5:7 (KJV) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thes 2:14 (NIV) Repentance and obedience to God’s word is an ACT OF FAITH For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Eph 2:8 (NIV) Faith is not a feeling you work up to believe. Faith is a trust and assurance that comes from knowing God. The more intimate you are with God, the stronger your faith will be. God is the source of faith Faith from the Living Word Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Rom 10:17 (NIV) Faith is a gift of the Spirit …to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 1 Cor 12:9 (NIV) Faith is the fruit of the Spirit But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Gal 5:22-33 (KJV) Faith is life-changing Faith and obedience Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. Rom 1:5 (NLT) Faith and purity Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb 10:22 (NASB) Faith expressed in love …faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. Jas 2:17 (NIV) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Gal 5:6b (NIV) A life of faith overcomes temptation In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Eph 6:16 (NLT) 11
  • 7. Over-Functioning Parents… My Confession & Conversion By John Ng ALL ILLUSTRATIONS: NATIONAL ARCHIVES, SINGAPORE Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you, and their souls the heaviest responsibility He will place in your hands. Take time with them, teach them to have faith in God. Be a person in whom they can have faith. When you are old, nothing else you’ve done will have mattered as much. – Lisa Wingate 12 rime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calls us kan cheong (overanxious) parents. I was more than overanxious. I was truly a typical Singapore parent who was overcompensating, over-controlling, and over-functioning. Like many parents, I yearn for my children to be the best or be as perfect as they can. I will not spare any effort or resources to give them the best. My intentions were good but my methods oftentimes were the opposite. To be honest, my wife was less overbearing and less expecting of perfection compared to me. P Living my dream and feeding my ego can destroy the child’s passion I had always wanted to be a gymnast. But I did not and could not as my parents never had the luxury of sending me to any classes. To compensate, I relished watching gymnastics and gymnasts. I always admired the grace, agility and poise of a gymnast. I lived in the era of Nadia Comaneci, named one of the athletes of the century and the first gymnast who scored a perfect 10. She was the role model for my children. So from my first child onwards, I sent all of them to gymnastic lessons. I enrolled them from the age of 5 to do ‘play gymnastic’, slowly increasing the lessons from once to three lessons a week. It gave me self-gratifying joy to see them represent their schools and winning medals. All three of them did their school proud and won many medals during their stint doing gymnastics. Two of them even joined the Combined School squad, which was one step away from the Singapore National Team. Driven by my dream and ego, I fought my way to form a gymnastics Parent Support Group to ensure that my kids get the best support from their schools, as it was not recognized as a core school sport. I was so driven that nothing could stop me. Then my oldest daughter stopped because she had a back injury. There went dream No. 1. My son was the next one I expected to live up to my dream. However, after six years of pushing, cajoling and at times, dragging him to gymnastics practice, he was sick and tired of it, and angry. He was then training 4 hours a day, six days a week and his coaches saw great potential in him. I didn’t care about his gripes or frustrations. I felt he was not disciplined enough. He expressed unhappiness every time he went for practice. He told me that he hated gymnastics. I tried persuasion and incentives. It didn’t work. I then wield my absolute authority as a parent. As a twelveyear-old boy, he had no choice but to obey. Not satisfied with the school and association support in Singapore, I even ventured to send him to Australia to pursue my dream of having a world-class gymnast in my family. In other words, I was prepared to go all the way to fulfill my dream and boost my ego. Fortunately, after much discussion with some close friends, I realized that I was feeding my own ego, more than anything else. And I was sacrificing my son at the altar of my ego. My wonderful and sensitive wife finally persuaded me to give up my dream. It was extremely painful for me when I took my son out of gymnastic lessons. Then one day, my son finally found his ‘flow’ in guitar and music. It was a chance event. One Christmas, he asked me to buy him a guitar, which I did. He asked me to teach him to play. The only song I knew was, ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. He took to guitar like a swan to the lake. As they say, the rest is history. He discovered his true passion and joy. He taught himself and learnt from the best guitarists and musicians: Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King, Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel, and Tuk & Patti. All from YouTube. We didn’t have to push him. Each day, he would practise his music with deep passion and incredible commitment. His zest for music led him to develop his own style of guitar playing, Funky Thumb Stuff (see on YouTube, www.shunng.com, and page 45 here). He composes his own songs and has an amazing, soulful voice. He discovered his bliss in using music to touch young people’s lives, to be more compassionate for the under-privileged. He has performed in several concerts to raise funds for worthy causes. Today he is studying in one of the top music schools in the world, the Berklee College of Music in Boston. C. JoyBell is right, “I think that the best thing we can do for our children is to allow them to do things for themselves, allow them to be strong, allow them to experience life on their own terms, allow them to take the subway… let them be better people, let them believe more in themselves.” Lesson: Find your child’s dream and passion, not yours, and encourage it. The kiasu (fear of losing) syndrome can demoralize them. Being first time-parents, Alison and I wanted to make sure that our first child, Meixi, had all the education and exposure she could get. Besides gymnastics classes, after school and during the weekends, we would send her for art classes, ballet lessons, and Chinese enrichment classes. During school vacations, we 13
  • 8. (( ALL THE HURRYING AND SCURRYING MADE US AS EXHAUSTED AS SHE WAS. WHAT WE HAD WAS A KID WHO WAS FRENZIED AND DISORIENTED. )) 14 ensured that she was ahead by sending her to leadership camps, science camps, and special mathematics camps. We even bought a piano just in case she was musically talented. Poor Meixi was a victim of our kiasu syndrome. Some things she enjoyed doing, others she was obviously bored with and had no interest in. I was trying to develop the ‘perfect’ kid. All the hurrying and scurrying made us as exhausted as she was. What we had was a kid who was frenzied and disoriented. At one point, she was hospitalized because she was overly stressed and was throwing up because she was over-functioning. It was a wake up call for us. I realized that being a kiasu parent was destroying my child’s emotional health as I pushed her to do things. She was unduly stretched and overly stressed. I was not sure if she enjoyed her childhood. (I loved my childhood.) We seldom enjoyed our parenting. We were overly stressed. Today, I have learnt not to push myself so hard by pushing my kids. Fortunately, we are grateful that despite our pushing and shoving, thank God, she turned out to be a wonderful daughter. When Meixi was eleven, one of the things we did well was to send her and her brother to experience the slums in Hyderabad in India. That’s when I discovered her true passion. It was indeed a life-changing experience for her as she learned compassion. Since then, every year, our family would go to Chiang Rai to help a group of Lahu hill tribe children and she has channeled her energy to that. Last year, she spent a year in Mexico to help educate the poorest kids there. She now has developed deep compassion for education reform, especially in the most marginalized communities. Bill Ayers’ wise axiom is, “Your kids require you most of all to love them for who they are, not to spend your whole time trying to correct them.” Lesson: Flurry of activities and massive over-dose of classes produce over-stressed and emotionally unhealthy kids. Losing face can kill a parent-child relationship My youngest daughter, Meizhi, studied in Methodist Girls’ School. She was an average student. We had learnt our lessons from bringing up the two older ones and we didn’t want to push her too hard. Although there was occasional prodding, we largely left her to manage her own study schedule. When her PSLE (Primary School Leaving Exam, a national exam that grades all students in Singapore and determines her posting to secondary/high school) results came out, it was a ‘disaster’! That year, her school had decided to raise the bar and only accepted students of a standard score. She was one of twelve students who missed the cut. Being a few points short, she was sent to a ‘neighborhood’ school. We were devastated. We chided her daily for not studying hard enough. For one week, we were furious and expressed our disappointment in no uncertain terms. She was already feeling bad. I made her feel more guilty. Our relationship deteriorated. I felt I had lost ‘face’. How could we face our friends and inform them that she had now gone to some unknown neighborhood school? What kind of English would she learn? We were worried the environment would be bad for her polished English from mixing around with neighborhood kids. What about ‘gangsterism’ and ‘bad company’? And what about the anxiety over boy-girl relationships now that she was going to a co-ed school? We were gripped with unfounded fear. We went into a tailspin of what I would call ‘Imagination of The Worst Possible’. After one week of my unreasonable and ‘relationaldestructive’ behavior, I came to my senses and realised that I was more concerned about myself, my loss of ‘face’, than my daughter’s welfare, emotional health and most of all, our relationship. My wife was more sympathetic and reminded me that relationship was more important than results. I changed my perspective. I adopted a different posture. I recognized that the problem was with me and my ‘face-losing’ trauma. I apologized to my daughter. We became more supportive and encouraging. All my fears were proven wrong again. Going to the neighborhood school was one of the best things that happened to her and to us, as parents. Meizhi did extremely well in the school, academically, socially and artistically. Her leadership skills began to blossom as her school nominated her to emcee, a privilege normally given to senior students. For a Secondary One student to be the emcee was a rarity in any school. She mingled well and made good friends with boys and girls and developed incredible social skills. She took part in drama productions. She really matured! Today, she is a final year student at School of the Arts, pursuing her dream as a theatre major and completing her International Baccalaureate. Her self-confidence is up, her self-esteem strengthened and most of all, our parent-child relation is strong, even though we still have skirmishes and fights now and then. As Dorothy Schooling Parker says, “The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tyres.” Lesson: Relationships are more important than results. It is okay to make mistakes In my parenting experience, I have discovered that it is okay to make mistakes. It is most important to recover and is never too late to do so. I leave you with a beautiful poem for your reflection. Your children are not your children. They are sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The archer sees the make upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness. For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He also loves the bow that is stable. ― Kahlil Gibran John Ng, Ph.D, is President of Meta Consulting, which provides consultation services to top international corporations like Singapore Airlines, American Standard, Linde, Bangkok Hospital. He also serves as Chair of Eagles Mediation and Counseling Centre and Eagles Communications Governance Board. He pioneered the mediation movement in Singapore and has trained mediators. His latest books, Smiling Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Dim Sum Leadership have won rave reviews. Please visit www.meta.com. sg for more information. 15
  • 9. ALL ILLUSTRATIONS BY ABIGAIL GOH FAMILY BUILDING BLOCKS Tips for stronger families 16 © 2013. Reprinted with permission from Focus on the Family Singapore. For more resources on parenting and marriage, please visit us at www.family.org.sg. Celebrate your Family Identity My wife, Cathy, and I stared at each other in disbelief as our oldest daughter, Christy, told us she was moving to Julia’s house across the street because her mummy and daddy were nicer. We weren’t sure if we should laugh or cry — after all, Christy was only 6. My wife called Julia’s mother to tell her what was going on and that Christy was on her way over. A few hours later, Julia’s mum reminded Christy it was Monday night and that our family always went for frozen yogurt after dinner. It was a tradition my three girls looked forward to. To our delight, Christy called and asked if she could go. It was a joyous reunion! The weekly yogurt run was part of our family identity — part of what made us who we were. Even the neighbours knew our routine and sometimes shouted take away orders as we left the house. Our three daughters are now grown, but when our family gets together, we still make trips for frozen yoghurt. It’s one of those simple traditions that have kept our family bonds strong. Not surprisingly, a strong family identity also helps children develop a strong and healthy self-identity. Studies even show that kids who identify with their family’s values tend to be less promiscuous and face less risk of drug and alcohol abuse. How can you build a strong family identity? Your presence matters. Children regard your presence as a sign of care and connectedness. Families who eat meals together, play together and build traditions together thrive. Does (( CHILDREN REGARD YOUR PRESENCE AS A SIGN OF CARE AND CONNECTEDNESS. FAMILIES WHO EAT MEALS TOGETHER, PLAY TOGETHER AND BUILD TRADITIONS TOGETHER THRIVE. )) your family eat together at least four times a week? If so, there is a greater chance your kids will perform better in school and be less likely to exhibit negative behaviour. Although it may seem trite, a family that plays together stays together. One family I know has a table tennis tournament each week. The winner doesn’t have to do the dishes for a day. Our family had a “Fun Day” once a month. One of the girls picked an activity, and the rest of the family participated. Celebrate everything. Don’t miss a single chance to celebrate your family. You can celebrate rites of passage and other events such as sporting victories and graduations — from any age. On birthdays, we play a game called “Affirmation Bombardment”, in which each family member shares three words of encouragement for the birthday person. At some point, storms will come to every family. But when you proactively build a strong family identity, your family can withstand whatever winds and rains come your way. Adapted from Celebrating Your Family Identity by Jim Burns This article first appeared in the Parents Edition of the February, 2008 issue of Focus on the Family magazine. 17
  • 10. It Just Takes TimE (( UNSTRUCTURED, SPONTANEOUS FAMILY TIME IS NOT ONLY GOOD FOR US AS FAMILIES, IT IS COMPLETELY NECESSARY.… AND NOT JUST QUALITY TIME, BUT GENEROUS QUANTITIES OF QUALITY TIME. )) 18 In our household, the half-hour before invited guests arrive for dinner requires a well-orchestrated set of manoeuvres. There is the setting of the table, stuff to be put away (or stashed out of sight!) and the obligatory once-over vacuuming. On one such occasion, I made the mistake of moving some cushions on our sofa just to see if the absent remote control might be hiding somewhere. Aghast, I couldn’t believe what I uncovered: Lego® pieces, coins, game pieces, crayons, a small, soft brown item, which I hoped was an M&M, numerous single socks, and what appeared to be an entire bowl of popcorn. As I turned off the vacuum in a huff, I had to pause for a few seconds and smile with satisfaction. Each item could be traced back to a family movie night, a full-contact wrestling match, a Sunday afternoon snooze, or one of many games nights when we finally agreed there was nothing of value on the TV. These were treasures of family time well spent. Turns out such unstructured, spontaneous family time is not only good for us as families, it is completely necessary. Indeed, John DeFrain and colleagues from the University of Nebraska have been studying what makes families strong for almost 30 years, and they consistently find that families who spend enjoyable time together consistently report more satisfaction with their family as a whole. And not just quality time, but generous quantities of quality time. One of their studies asked 1,500 schoolchildren, “What do you think makes a happy family?” The response was overwhelming: happy families just do things together and find enjoyment in just being together. I think we make the whole idea of family far too complicated. In uncertain economic times, maybe it’s good that we have to think twice before we book that expensive holiday or schedule ourselves to death. Instead, go grocery shopping together, put on your walking shoes and go for a hike, or just hang out with a good movie. It’s guaranteed to make your next half-hour tidy-up much more memorable! Adapted from Family: It just takes time… by Kelly Schwartz © 2009 Focus on the Family (Canada) Association. Leave A Legacy The old, silver-haired man slowly stood and turned his back to the tombstone where he had been kneeling. Rising to stare his wife in the eyes, he wailed, “Tell me I’ve lived a good life.” These words come from the last scene of the blockbuster movie, Saving Private Ryan. The old man was reacting to a dying request made by a soldier assigned to rescue him. He was the sole survivor of five adult children. The war had taken the lives of his four brothers, and the war department was bent on not allowing the fifth son to fall victim. So the military sent a specially chosen group of men to the front lines to bring him out of harm’s way. The commander of the group, having been shot and knowing he wouldn’t make it, left a dying request for Private Ryan to see that he made his life count. Kneeling at the commander’s grave fifty years later, Private Ryan wanted someone to tell him that his life was worth the sacrifice those soldiers (( LEGACY OF COMPASSION, PERSEVERANCE, FORGIVENESS, PATIENCE AND LOVE SHOULD BE CAREFULLY CRAFTED AND THEN PURPOSEFULLY LIVED OUT AND PASSED ON. )) had made for him. Isn’t that the wish of almost everyone: that our lives count for the good of something or someone? It is a wonderful moment when a couple has a child. The heritage process begins immediately. But are you making today’s decisions with their impact on tomorrow in mind? When you’re arranging your priorities and forming your habits, do you think about your children, your grandchildren, about the kind of character they’ll remember about you and inherit from you? When you spend your money, or sport your fashion sense, or speak your piece, or spare your time, does it occur to you that you’re not just making a choice for yourself in the moment? But that you’re making a choice which impacts people who are following behind you? Most of us might equate a legacy with an inheritance of gifts of money or property and possessions. But legacy of compassion, perseverance, forgiveness, patience and love should be carefully crafted and then purposefully lived out and passed on as well. Children are being powerfully influenced today by various set of values that comes hurtling at them daily on full speed. Just consider the influence of TV, the movies, music and social media. Not all of it is good clean fun. But how do we come alongside our children to position ourselves to make a lasting impact? Children want unconditional love and a feeling of connection. Most children feel they must earn their parents’ love. We have a performance-based, meritocratic, fast-paced culture which has resulted in children feeling emotionally abandoned by adults. But children desperately want more time and better communication with their parents. Many parents think “quality time” is more important than quantity. But the reality is that children long for the quantity. Model appropriate behavior. Passing on a legacy requires transmitting consistent messages in words as well as in actions. Children don’t miss a thing. They observe and internalize. They are quick to pick up on inconsistencies between what they are being told and what they are seeing. The best way to influence children is to be a great role model. When we fail, we fail. We need not be afraid. Admit it, ask for forgiveness and move on. Seize the teachable moments, listen aggressively, and communicate effectively High up on the list of children’s frustrations with parents and adults is the fact that they just don’t seem to listen. Sometimes, as adults, we underestimate a child’s thought process ability or wisdom. Rather than nag, preach, tell or scold, parents can use everyday life experiences or examples to speak life lessons. It requires wisdom and discernment to identify and use these teachable moments. Expect nothing in return. Words like “KPI,” “value-add,” “return on investment” are common lingo Singaporeans are too familiar with. We adults are so bottom-line oriented that if there isn’t a quick return, or appear large enough, we begin to question the value of what we’re putting into the cause. Yet the ultimate goal of legacy building is the opposite of self-interest. If children think we’re more interested in our own glory than in them as human beings, they will end up declining our offers of guidance. It is important that we focus on the child and not just the end results. Adapted from Extending Your Heritage. Copyright © 2000 J. Otis Ledbetter and Randy Scott and The Resolution for Women. Copyright © 2011 Kendrick Bros. 19
  • 11. ABIGAIL GOH NEW LENSES FOR THE MARKETPLACE By MASON TAN Mason is a Certified Public Accountant who became an entrepreneur in 2003. Currently a Venture Capitalist, he is learning to walk as a disciple in church, at home and in the marketplace. He and his family attend CCMC. 20 Do you often find yourself juggling multiple balls in the air at the same time? In today’s fast-paced society, we have all become accustomed to playing different roles simultaneously. At one moment, we could be running an office meeting and at the very next moment, we could be on the phone with our children listening to their problems. Multi-tasking has become an essential skill in today’s society and is almost a requirement to balance the hectic demands of work with quality time for family and friends. Putting on a New Set of Lenses As a Christian, managing the challenges of life is not only about the ability to multi-task but also very much a journey of faith. While becoming a Christian does not automatically generate a wellspring of faith in a person in order to cope with every storm life sends their way, it is a first step in a long and joyful journey. Just as every journey involves a conscious effort to reach a destination, I have learnt that the journey of faith also involves making a conscious effort to put ‘Christ-lenses’ on in place of ‘world-lenses’. In doing so, life’s challenges become opportunities for new lessons to be learnt; lessons that are stepping-stones in the journey toward greater faith and trust in Christ. ‘World-lenses’ are easy to put on. Those of us in the marketplace probably do so everyday. We use them to make the judgments and decisions at the workplace. On the other hand, ‘Christ-lenses’ are more challenging to wear. But with them, we get to see things as Jesus would and to answer the question, “What would He do if He were in a similar situation?” Very often, the answers to life’s questions may be quite different depending on whether you are wearing ‘world-lenses’ or ‘Christ-lenses’. Personally, I have found it very challenging to put on ‘Christ-lenses’ everyday. This involves me surrendering my heart to His healing and moulding in order to live in His presence daily. I am glad to say that after struggling with this for a period of time, it has led me to draw closer to God and to gain a deeper experience of His inner peace. Setting a Firm Foundation In 2012, I had the privilege of attending the Global Leadership Summit in Singapore. This annual event is organised by Chicago’s Willow Creek Community Church when speakers from different walks of life – politics, education, business – shared candidly about their personal journeys with God. Interestingly, as the speakers shared about their experiences in the marketplace, it became clear how it was possible to be successful – whether as a business executive and a top leadership coach – and still live out biblical values. The various speakers shared how God’s hand had been intimately working in each of their lives, and how God’s Word was the foundation that had shaped their actions. I discovered that the start to being equipped with “Christ-lenses” is to feed on the Bible. As we do so, we can learn to share with other Christians who are also in the marketplace. In this, we will find encouragement and be able to learn from each other how biblical values can be applied to the marketplace. Negotiating the Non-Negotiables In business, everything is negotiable. But have you thought about what is non-negotiable to you? One major commodity we should be conscious of is time. Each of us has only 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week and 365 days a year. This is regardless of our age, status in life or profession. The question we have to constantly ask ourselves is, “Are we utilising our time to the fullest?” Whatever choice we make with our time cannot be taken back, and each choice comes with a price. Within the constraints of 168 hours a week, I have learned to allocate my activities into non-negotiable and negotiable time. For me, non-negotiable time includes time spent at His feet, engaging in discipleship and bible study activities, and family time. After deducting the non-negotiable time, whatever time I have left over is for ‘negotiable activities’. By determining my non-negotiable time upfront, this allows me to be more Christ-focused in my negotiable activities and brings me a step closer to putting on ‘Christ-lenses’. Convene an AGM Another Christian-themed seminar in Singapore that caters to marketplace believers is the Half-Time Summit. This ministry has helped me to sharpen my focus on the talents and calling that God has for me. It provides practical tools and self-assessment tests for Christians to identify and develop a deeper understanding of their God-given spiritual gifts and talents. In business-speak, these gifts are analogous to a company’s assets. Just as how a company has a Board of Directors which holds it accountable to how its assets are being utilised, as individual Christians, we too can set up our own Personal Board of Directors to guide us on how we are utilising our spiritual gifts and ‘life strategies’. The Personal Board of Directors should consist of people whom you respect, have the time to mentor you, and whom you trust enough to share your life plan with. You can convene them as frequently or infrequently as you like, perhaps once a year or once a quarter. With a Personal Board of Directors, you get a trusted sounding board that can help you live your life with accountability and stay on track to God’s calling for you. Joy for the Journey As Christians in the marketplace, we are constantly being buffeted by worldly influences and temptations from all directions. By taking small steps everyday to put on our ‘Christ-lenses’, we can stand firm on our values and focus on what is right as we embark on this joyful journey of life and faith. 21
  • 12. HUBBLE SOAP The Divine Mentor Review by Lee Yin Siau GOD & SOAP This picture is of the Soap Bubble Nebula, a planetary nebula in a northern constellation lying on the plane of the 22 Milky Way. The bubble-shaped nebula was discovered by amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich on 19 June 2007. The Divine Mentor by Wayne Cordeiro will bless you in your daily walk with the Lord as you learn from Cordeiro how to spend time with our Savior through the study of The Word. His simple but powerful style of writing makes this an easy read. Cordeiro encourages us to take the good and the bad men and women in the Bible as our mentors who will instruct, coach, remind and sometimes reprimand us just as a good coach will instruct his players. By studying the Bible consistently and knowing the characters in the Bible intimately, we will be mentored by the best, learning what made them successful, and avoiding the downfalls or mistakes they made. Cordeiro recommends that we study God’s Scripture consistently through a self-feeding habit of daily devotions and journaling. SOAP, which stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer, requires about 40 minutes a day (20 minutes for reading the scripture and 20 minutes for journaling) alone with God so that we can hear Him speak to us and capture the wisdom of the ages. As we draw God’s thoughts from the Scriptures, He speaks His words directly into our understanding and breathes His life into our hearts. Just as we can’t have one large meal and expect that one meal to last us through the week, similarly, we can’t just go to church and listen to pastor’s sermon once a week and expect exponential spiritual growth. Growing deep in Christ requires the spiritual discipline of self-feeding through daily devotions. God is more concerned about our transformation than our accumulation of information. He offers the Holy Spirit to mentor us from the inspired Word any time we are interested. As we become consistent in our daily devotions, our words and behaviour will become more like His words and behaviour and we will slowly be transformed into spokespersons for God. God promises specifically to bless the readers of the Bible. When God had completed His book, He spoke the following words through His servant John in Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Let’s claim that promise. A number of CCMC folk, including the youth in OC, have been using SOAP since late last year. The following are some of their SOAP sharings. + JUSTIN TAN Returning to the Norm S: “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily disciple. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.” Col 2:23 “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” Col 3:17 O: In all we do, we must strive to be better and to grow in the Lord. While the rules of the past may keep us disciplined, they do not help us to be pure and Christ-like, which is our goal. I’m reminded that Christianity is not a religion governed by rules but a relationship we develop - a relationship between a Father and His children, a Teacher and His disciples. And it is because of this relationship that we desire to obey Him and become more like Him. A: We should stop giving in to worldly pressures, thinking we are fine just because everyone else seems to be doing worse. Instead, we should aim to return to normalcy with God, where our actions are for His eyes only, being accountable to Him alone. P: Dear Lord, please help me to not just be content with being a Christian and serving in church, but help me strive to seek a blameless and pure life, where I can continually walk closer to you, be more like you and be a living testimony for you. 23
  • 13. SOAP chadbrooksCC BY-NC-SA 2.0 JACQUELINE KHOO EUGENE CHUANG Mirroring God S: “And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel” Acts 6:15 MASON TAN God is Holy S: Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal : Holy to the Lord (Ex28:36). They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God (Exodus 29:46). O: Understand divine holiness is a mystery. The more we understand, the more we realize we don’t know. God is everything we can think of. In this passage, God taught us how to treat Him, which is a form of love. A: We have to walk closely with God in order to understand Him better and experience His holiness. If we don’t spend enough time in His presence through His word and prayers, we will drift away. P: Thank you Lord for Your willingness to accept each of us as Your child. Your holiness is beyond description yet You choose to love me. I pray You will find joy in our worship to You, for we are hungry to know more of You. I pray this in Jesus name. 24 Working like the Boss S: “Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country.” Ex 11:10 O: Do we reflect the countenance of the Lord in all that we do? Do we stand firm for Him and not waver, amidst falsehood, accusations and in trials? Do we take the easy way out or are we like Stephen trusting in the Lord at all times? A: To always look to God. P: Lord help me not to waver, help me to know you deeply, love your word and live my life for you. EDDIE KOH Prepared for Service S: “You are to clothe them - your brother Aaron and his sons with him - and anoint them and ordain them and set them apart as holy, so that they may minister as my priests. Ex: 29: 41 O: God called Aaron and his sons into His service for an assignment that was so important that God Himself directed how they were to be washed, clothed, anointed, forgiven, fed and dedicated. A: We are also called to be a holy priesthood. When God calls, we will also, like Aaron and his sons, be prepared by God for His important assignment. We will be washed by His blood, anointed by the Spirit, fed by His Word and be led by the Spirit. Are we prepared to respond when God calls? P: Lord when You call, I will say, ”Here I am Lord.” Prepare me to serve You and Your people O: Exodus is full of miracles. From the Ten Plagues of Egypt to the parting of the Red Sea and the Pillar of Fire, we can infer one thing; God does work in glitzy ways. God wanted the Israelites to appreciate His active involvement in their escape from Egypt. He also desired for the Egyptians to fear Him, resulting in them being favorably disposed toward their slaves, allowing them to plunder Egypt before departing. From the surface, it would appear that His purpose was to show a glimpse of His power to both Israelites and Egyptians. But why was there a need to harden Pharaoh’s heart? A BOY SHARES HIS FOOD John 6:1-14 tells about the boy who gave his five loaves and two fishes to Jesus who used it to feed five thousand men. You can make a mobile of loaves and fishes to remember this miracle. A: I believe God was simply facilitating a process that Pharaoh himself already initiated. After all, the Bible also repeatedly states that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. This shows that God works in subtle ways as well. He might already be functioning quietly in our lives; actively moulding the hearts of the people we interact with, helping us achieve favorable results. Imagine God simply sweeping aside a banana peel that you might not have noticed in your path, to protect you from minor mishaps. Though subtle, it is still God’s miraculous intervention in your life. P: Lord Jesus, I yearn for You to work in my life in glitzy ways too - to experience Your spectacular miracles. But I thank you for actively working behind the scenes and providing for me. 25
  • 14. MAKE YOUR OWN LOAVES AND FISHES MOBILE What you need: Scissors, ribbon, glue, hole puncher, coloured pencils, vanguard sheet What to do: 1. Colour both sides of the loaves and fishes. 2. Cut out the loaves and fishes and punch holes on them. 3. Cut a 60 x 20 mm piece of vanguard sheet and write “God Provides’ on it. Glue the width ends of the sheet together, words facing outside, to form a ring. 4. Punch seven holes evenly spaced out on one edge of the vanguard ring and four holes evenly spaced on the other edge. 5. Tie the loaves and fishes with varying lengths of ribbon to the seven holes of the ring. 6. Tie equal lengths of ribbons to the four holes to hang your mobile. 26 27
  • 15. Songs & Singers TEARS IN HEAVEN erik forsberg CC BY-NC 2.0 Eric Clapton (( I had no notion whO I THOUGHT I WAS TALKING TO, I JUST KNEW THAT I HAD COME TO THE END OF MY TETHER. )) 28 On 20 March 1991, Eric Clapton’s four-year-old son Conor fell from the 53rd-floor window of his mother’s friend’s New York City apartment. “There was a moment when I did lose faith,” admitted Clapton. He questioned: What they teach us in church and what religion talks about was a reality? Whether we just become energy, what is it all about? So I mean, it was a question, you know, will I see you again? Still, he mustered enough strength to talk about “handing your will over to the care of God” in his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. A woman went up to him after the meeting and said, ‘You’ve just taken away my last excuse to have a drink. I’ve always had this little corner of my mind which held the excuse, that if anything were to happen to my kids, then I’d be justified in getting drunk. You’ve shown me that’s not true.’ He was suddenly aware that there was a way to turn tragedy into something positive and said, ‘If I can go through this and stay sober, then anyone can.’ From that moment he realised that there was no better way of honouring the memory of his son. When Clapton and Will Jennings were engaged to wrote a song for the movie Rush, Clapton said, ‘I want to write a song about my boy.’ He wrote the first verse and wanted Jennings to write the rest, but was told that the song was so personal that he should write all the verses. Clapton demurred, so Jennings completed the song. Of this, Jennings once said, ‘This is a song so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs.’ On his part, Clapton stated, “I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music.’ A live performance of ‘Tears in Heaven’ is on Clapton’s 1992 Unplugged album. It topped charts and garnered nine Grammy Awards. Clapton worked to raise public awareness for childproofing windows and staircases. A 2008 article in Christiany Today states that Clapton never set himself up as a model Christian. Indeed he had many battles with drugs and alcoholism but overcame the addictions. He had a ‘Road to Damascus’ experience in 1969. After a performance, two young Christians went to Clapton’s dressing room probably drawn by his rendition of ‘Presence of the Lord,’ the showstopper of the concert. The two asked Clapton to pray with them. As they knelt, he saw “a blinding light” and sensed God’s presence. In his autobiography, Clapton elaborated on the beginnings of his prayer life in 1987 at a rehab treatment center when he hit rock-bottom. “I was in complete despair,” Clapton wrote. “In the privacy of my room, I begged for help. I had no notion who I thought I was talking to, I just knew that I had come to the end of my tether… and, getting down on my knees, I surrendered. Within a few days I realized that… I had found a place to turn to, a place I’d always known was there but never really wanted, or needed, to believe in. From that day until this, I have never failed to pray in the morning, on my knees, asking for help, and at night, to express gratitude for my life and, most of all, for my sobriety. I choose to kneel because I feel I need to humble myself when I pray, and with my ego, this is the most I can do. If you are asking why I do all this, I will tell you… because it works, as simple as that.” || GOH ECK KHENG 29 29
  • 16. Science & Faith NEWTON BY WILLIAM BLAKE DR ALISTAIR CHEW 30 John Hritz CC BY 2.0 A Meditation and Not an Apology for Either W e try to walk by faith and not by sight; yet sometimes we fail, and that might be because we know neither faith nor sight. But I get ahead of myself; my father taught me to begin at the beginning and that is where I shall begin. I begin by paying tribute to a lady who served the Methodist Church well as Christian Ministry staff for well over 30 years, Miss Grace Kwee. It was she who made me roleplay a Buddhist during a Christian Fellowship session when I was a student at Barker Road many many years ago; it was she again who made me teach the students who wanted to know more about the Christian faith, when I was a science teacher at ACS(I), during Religious Emphasis Weeks over several years. Those were formative experiences in a way: they informed my ideas on faith, belief, science and conscience. What is shared here owes much to people like my father and Miss Kwee, and many students I’ve spoken to over the years. This is a hard piece to write because the meanings of faith and science have become totally different over time. Thus, I must inflict more beginnings on you, and hope you will stay till the end. Faith, from Latin fides, used to mean ‘loyalty towards a person, based on responsibility or duty’ — it slowly became a legal term, and it was only in the 14th century that it began to mean ‘what is held true because of religion’. Belief, on the other hand, used to mean ‘loving trust in God’; from the 16th century, it became ‘the state of thinking something to be true’. Science, however, is a much older word. It is descended from the Greek skhizein, which means ‘to divide or split’ (as in ‘schizophrenia’ — a divided mind). In its later form, the Latin scientia, it meant ‘knowledge’ — implicitly obtained by making distinctions, by breaking things apart (Greek analüsis), by correctly dividing and parsing what is already known. When we are ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV), we are applying a science to our doctrine, the science of hermeneutics. It’s clear that there was a time, perhaps relatively recently, that faith (holding things to be true without requiring exhaustive evidence) and science (applying careful analysis to what is presented as evidence) were still allies in the battle for truth. Indeed, we owe much of our modern science to the hakims of the Dar el-Islam, who believed that Allah made the world intelligible to humans and thus made it our duty to know God through the world; it was they who invented the extensive use of the empirical and experimental method in the period 1000-1250 AD or so. The Greeks, Indians and Chinese never quite got modern science off the ground because they were missing a coherent approach: empiricism, extensive experimentation, and the dominant faith that the world had indeed a Grand Design crafted by one Designer. The Christians caught on around 1100-1500. Sure, Charlemagne asked the abbeys in 797 to build schools for the neighbourhood children. But it wasn’t until 1088 that the world’s first university, at Bologna, was established. And the Christians were fighting each other and everyone else part of the time. But they learnt much through trade with other cultures, as ideas and material passed westward along the curve of the Indian Ocean and into the Mediterranean. Scholasticism was born in that period, and before anyone knew 31
  • 17. Hoshea born the son of Nun (1 Chronicles 7:20,27) (Numbers 13:8). Moses renames him (Numbers 13:16) ... During the Exodus, he becomes Moses’ military commander (Exodus 17:8-16). GILLIAN GOH JOSHUA (( He had never shied away from science, nor from faith. but faith always came first, and taught him how to deal with science. )) 32 it the Italian city-states were starting a Renaissance. To the people of those times, a theological debate was public entertainment, a great show that was at least on par with the unveiling of a new Michelangelo work. Science was all about revealing the work of God’s hands; art was all about paying tribute to the beauty of such works. In 1517, Martin Luther submitted his 95 Theses and gave the power-mad princes of Europe an opportunity to break with Mother Church and the Holy Roman Empire. The madness ended in 1648, with the Treaty of Westphalia and the establishment of modern secular European states. And then came the Enlightenment and the work of many great scholars, including Baruch ‘God is impersonal and evil doesn’t exist’ Spinoza (1632-1677) and Isaac ‘God made a beautiful machine and man’s fall ruined it’ Newton (1642-1727). Why the history lesson? It’s simple: man has always had faith, and man has always had science. But the faith of man is flawed, and so is his science. When we have silly beliefs like ‘the existence of God can be proven by science’, we understand neither God nor science. God is not to be put to the test, and if not, then how can science ‘prove’ Him? And modern science, which admits to nothing supernatural, cannot ever confess to God’s existence. Perhaps the best way to be ‘scientific’ and live with a good conscience is to assert that science cannot in the end contradict the truth. What of faith, then? The faith we confess, if we are to be true to it, asserts that our God is beyond science and philosophy. He has made man upright, but we have gone in search of many schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29). We are not called to use science or endless philosophical disputes to defend our faith, but to be ready to testify that we believe and will be witnesses to that faith in the way we behave towards others. This is a common theme in many of Paul’s epistles. I will not end at the end, because there is no end. But I shall end at an end. My late grandfather died of cancer in 1994. He was a medical doctor, and ever curious about the things of science and faith. As we mourned our loss, I had a quiet moment in his study. Apart from his rows of Bibles annotated in a painstaking and very spidery hand, he had also been reading a book on cloning and the ethical issues related to it. He had never shied away from science, nor from faith. But faith always came first, and taught him how to deal with science. Dr Alistair Chew is an education consultant and researcher, specialising in multi-disciplinary curriculum design, development and deployment. He has been Dean of Sciences at a local independent school as well as a lay preacher at Bethesda (Frankel Estate) Church. His current field of research includes the globalization of education and Singapore’s educational history. Manga by GILLIAN GOH Moses makes Joshua leader of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:23). Joshua explores the Promised Land with 11 others (Numbers 13:16-17). Only he and Caleb says ‘Let’s claim it!’ Joshua parts the River Jordan and the Israelites cross over (Joshua 3:15-17). SPLASH ROAR ROAR SPLASH He takes Jericho God’s way (Joshua 11:18-23, 12:24). ASH CR And in disobeying God is defeated at Ai (Joshua 7:1-26). OT BLO O BL OT Joshua conquers the Promised Land and divides it among the 12 tribes of Israel according to God’s instructions. (Joshua 11:23)
  • 18. Chrass & Nepal Missions Food for Thought Kian Seng’s Thoughts Eric says, “There’s no need to keep the Sabbath, or to worship God on Sundays. I worship God every day! Why make only 1 day holy? I make everyday holy!” How will you respond to Eric? -------------------What if one day, you are told you do not have to run anymore. You do not have to be so busy anymore. You do not need to compete so hard anymore. How will you feel? A) Relieved and Happy? B) Confused? C) Suspicious? D) Sad? E) Lost? -------------------Reading the Bible. There is a difference between reading to accumulate information vs reading with a readiness to obey. 34 + Where is your Citizenship? BY CALVIN CHONG Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven… Phil. 3:19b-20a Life in the 21st century straddles geographic and digital spaces. Sociologists who first introduced the terms “first, second, and third places” (physical homes, workplaces, and shared community spaces) now talk about their digital equivalents. Whether we like it or not, we live in a moment in history where both physical and cyber existence are accepted expressions and extensions of everyday life. Within these two arenas, social behaviour is learned, values and identities shaped, and active citizenship encouraged. As we bury ourselves in the affairs of the physical and digital realms, we do well not to forget our citizenship in a third domain – heaven! While he was on earth, Paul reminded the Christians in Philippi that beyond their earthly citizenship, they also had a citizenship in heaven. To be granted citizenship in heaven is to be given a privilege with responsibilities. It is first an invitation to have intimate fellowship with the Creator of Heaven and earth. But it is also an invitation to live life as though the concerns and commands of the King mattered. Conversely, the invitation is also to reject and oppose earthly-minded habits, behaviour, and lifestyles which distract from and compete with the purposes of our King. As life traverses the porous boundaries separating geographic and digital spaces, red flags are continually raised signaling the dire need for Christians to develop a greater consciousness of their identity as citizens of heaven. If, as one writer put it, “citizenship defines a person’s ethical behaviour and true allegiance”, how seriously do we take our citizenship in heaven? How well do our actions, behaviour, thinking in physical and digital spaces reflect our true allegiances and affections? THE CHRASS JOURNEY BY Alvin Andrean Suzanna Lee Lee Ming Ying Yeo Hwee Lan BACKGROUND The Methodist Missions Society (MMS) is the mission agency of the Methodist Church in Singapore. As of date, it has established indigenous churches, preaching points and other ministries in many countries in South and East Asia. In Cambodia, the MMS ministries include 12 churches, one of which is the Chrass Methodist Church; the COSI Children’s Village, a home for young orphans and disadvantaged children; the COSY Hostel, a hostel for grades 10-12 students; the Emmaus Women’s Centre, a training centre for women aged 16 to 25; the Methodist School of Cambodia, a full school from kindergarten to grade 12; and the Methodist Hostel, a hostel for college and university students. CCMC, as a member of the Methodist Church in Singapore, had in the past been showing its support for MMS by sponsoring up to 12 students of the Methodist School of Cambodia under the MMS Student Sponsorship Scheme through its CK4CK (Covenant Kids for Cambodian Kids) project. It was with the aim of furthering our support of MMS work that CCMC decided to embark on mission trips to Cambodia. 35
  • 19. Chrass & Nepal Missions Chrass & Nepal Missions 1st Trip: 26 to 30 June 2008 3rd Trip: 2 to 6 Dec 2009 CCMC’s journey with Chrass Methodist Church began when a team comprising Yeo Hwee Lan, Adeline Ee, Seow Jin Kiat and Jun Chan, went to Phnom Penh to visit the 12 students that CCMC was sponsoring and to explore possible mission opportunities for CCMC in Cambodia. Besides visiting MMS ministries, the team also visited Chrass MC, a fledgling church located in a village about 5 km north west of Phnom Penh. Back in Singapore, the team formed a Cambodia Sub-Committee to assess and follow up on its findings, including the possibility of partnership with Chrass MC. The team returned to Phnom Penh with 19 members: Yeo Hwee Lan, Mark Chim, Esther Lim, Hannie Wong, Adeline Ee, Koh Kee Ang, Yeo Poh Hong, Wee Ghim Choo, Suzanna Lee, Angelia Poon, April Lee, Alvin Chang, Claris Mok, Zoey Giam, Rachel Giam, Ryan Wong and Jil Ong. The objectives of the trip were to continue efforts in supporting MMS in Phnom Penh, especially in Chrass MC, and to increase mission awareness in CCMC. With more members on board, the team was able to conduct more activities for both Chrass MC and the Methodist School. The team painted the inside and outside of the church building, conducted English classes for the children, visited some church members’ homes, and held a Christmas party for some 130 children. A puppet show was performed by the younger team members, games were played, a gospel message was delivered by Hwee Lan, and a nativity play was presented by the entire team. A small library was set up with books donated by CCMC members. Rev Philip Lim informed the team that MMS was considering getting a permanent home for Chrass MC, and invited CCMC to consider partnering MMS in building this new home. 2nd Trip: 18 to 22 March 2009 A follow-up trip was made to gather more information and to assess if such a partnership would be feasible. The team of seven (Yeo Hwee Lan, Desmond Ee, Adeline Ee, Mark Chim, Esther Lim, Hannie Wong and Shawn Tan) held discussions with MMS Country Coordinator for Cambodia Rev Philip Lim, a MMS missionary Vimala Devi, a teacher in the Methodist School of Cambodia Samneang, and Pastor Rath Phirun of Chrass MC. The team learnt that Chrass MC had started 36 Church Leaders’ Trip: 30 July to 1 Aug 2010 In response to the proposal submitted by the CCMC Missions - Cambodia SubCommittee for partnership with MMS for Chrass Methodist Church, a trip was made by Pastor Peter Wong, Eddie Koh as LCEC Chair, Michelle Chian (Mission Committee) and Yeo Hwee Lan (Lay Ministry Staff) to gain a better understanding of the mission, vision and needs of Chrass MC, and the scope of collaboration with MMS Cambodia. A proposal was presented to LCEC for consideration after the trip. 4th Trip: 17 to 21 June 2010 about 5 years before and comprised about 30 adults and 30-40 children. The church occupied a rented single-storey two-room building of about 40 sq m which doubled up as the residence of Pastor Phirun, his wife and four children. It was located in an area designated as New Phnom Penh, with much potential for growth. There was a general consensus among the team members that CCMC could indeed play a greater role in helping this fledgling church to attain its potential. This trip was organised mainly for the youths in OC (One Community). The eight youths were Sean Wee, Kakit Foong, Brian Wong, Tan Chung Hong, Foo Yihui, Chrystal Lee, Andrea Lim and Alvin Andrean, accompanied by four adults: Yeo Hwee Lan, Daren Lee, Hannie Hay and Suzanna Lee. Besides giving the youths mission exposure, the trip also aimed to establish a closer relationship between CCMC and Chrass MC. It was certainly an eye-opening experience for the youths as they conducted English lessons for the children of Chrass MC through songs, games, stories and craftwork. Through these activities and through the prayer walk to the church members’ homes, our youths endeared themselves to the Chrass folk and children. The team learned from Pastor Phirun that he had started a Bible study class for seven youths on Saturday afternoons. The team also met with two MMS missionaries who gave a better understanding on the structure of Cambodia MMS and their working relationship with the local pastors. Pastor Phirun MOU Signed 21 Nov 2010 A MOU was made between CCMC and MMS, for a period of 5 years. Its main points were: • The vision of the Partner Church (CCMC) is to help Chrass Methodist Church grow through ministry partnerships like mission trips, Christian education, training and financial support. • The vision of MMS, through cooperation and collaboration with the Partner Church, is to help Chrass MC become a financially self-supporting, disciple-making and multiplying local church. • CCMC agrees to support the ministry by sending mission teams, by providing annual financial support for Chrass MC’s maintenance (pastor’s salary, social & welfare fund, rental, etc) and by supporting the project of building a permanent home for Chrass MC. 37
  • 20. Chrass & Nepal Missions (( WITH LCEC LCEC Approval CCMC’s Local Church Executive Committee in their meeting of 25, January 2011, approved raising funds to purchase land for Chrass MC. 5th Trip: 15 to 20 Dec 2010 This mission team comprised eight adults: Yeo Hwee Lan, Daren Lee, Hannie Hay, Suzanna Lee, Adeline Ee, Mark Chim, Jason Tan and Elin Er, and nine youths namely, Kakit Foong, Tan Chung Hong, Foo Yihui, Chrystal Lee, Tan Jiaqi, Keith Ho, Shaun Tan, Andrea Lim and Alvin Andrean. The team’s main focus was on education and outreach, especially among the youths and children of Chrass MC. With this aim in mind, the team members performed a number of gospel skits and organised 38 38 an outing for the Chrass youths. The outing was to a water park located some distance away from Phnom Penh where the team witnessed the water baptism of five Chrass MC members. The team also staged a nativity play during a Sunday worship service. Five core members of the team discussed the future plans of the church with Pastor Phirun. It was learnt that the Youth Bible Study Group had increased from 7 to 12 members, and that Pastor Phirun was teaching the adults to hold small fellowship groups in their homes for church members and neighbours. The church’s weekly programme was as follows: • Thursday: small group meeting and house visitation • Saturday: Sunday school for children and youth bible study • Sunday: church service • Monday to Friday afternoons: English enrichment program Besides the on-going Bible study group, Pastor Phirun hoped to hold a youth camp in 2011 and requested that the team help him run it. APPROVAL, CCMC AND MMS IDENTIFIED A PLOT OF LAND AND PURCHASED IT TO BUILD A PERMANeNT PLACE OF WORSHIP FOR CHRASS MC. )) 7th Trip: 29 Aug to 6 Sep 2011 This trip had three teams. Youth Camp Team 29 Aug to 4 Sept 2011 March to May 2011 CCMC with MMS proceeded to purchase the identified plot of land. The total cost was US$80,310 (land cost of US$74.460 plus legal fee of US$5,830). The land title deed was held by Penh Holding Co, the company established by MMS to hold all in-country assets. Ground Breaking Team 3 to 4 Sept 2011 6th Trip: 25 to 28 March 2011 The team consisted of the Cambodia Sub-Committee, comprising Hwee Lan, Hannie, Esther, Adeline and Alvin, together with Lena Quek, the architect for the building project. The team’s primary task was to scout the campsite for a Youth Camp, to plan its program together with Pastor Phirun and work out the logistics. On arrival, the team discovered that Chrass MC had moved to a small 2-storey house across the Adults: Yeo Hwee Lan, Mark Chim, Angelia Poon and Adeline Ee. Youths: Alvin Andrean, Keith Ho and Cassandra Yeap 26 youths from Chrass MC, inluding about 8 new comers who were friends of the Chrass youths and leaders attended the youth camp together with two youth leaders and Pastor Phirun. The campsite was the Emmaus Women Centre. road from its previous building which had been sold by its owner. The team met with Rev Philip Lim to follow up on the land and building project and was informed that the land identified would cost US$74,460, not including transfer fees and other government and legal costs. The team visited Preak Tual MC, which was built by Barker Road Methodist Church, to gather ideas. Pastor Peter, Robert Chew, Eddie Koh, Desmond Ee, Tan Chee Seong and Finnie Tan. The ground breaking ceremony was held on 4 September 2011. Pastor Peter conducted the service with Pastor Phirun with 30 Chrass MC members and youths as well as our Youth Camp Team in attendance. The ceremony was followed by a lunch fellowship. It was a joyous occasion as we committed the land and the future church building to God and to His glory. Prayers were said with our Cambodian brothers and sisters in Christ that they would remain faithful and strong in the Lord. 39
  • 21. Chrass & Nepal Missions 9th Trip: 4 to 9 April 2012 8th Trip: 14 to 19 December 2011 Building Planning Team 5 to 6 Sept 2011 Robert Chew (volunteer overseeing the project), Yeo Hwee Lan and Desmond Ee. God’s timing allowed the Building Planning Team to attend the ground breaking. A preliminary discussion on the building plan was held with the MMS missionary, contractors and Pastor Phirun. The largest team of 21, including 11 first-timers comprised Yeo Hwee Lan, Hannie Hay, Jason Tan, Lawrence Sew, Elsie Low, Adeline Ee, Tan Bee Cher, Regina Wong and 13 Youths: Alvin Andrean, Anton Chan, Larisa Cheng, Ernest Chuang, Eugene Chuang, Foo Yi Hui, Keith Ho, Magdalene Lee, Rachel Tan, Ryan Wong, Tan Chung Hong, Tan Jing Min and Zoey Giam. Although primarily a mission exposure trip, the team held evangelistic programs for the children and the youths, and conducted a Christmas service for the adults. About 130 children and 40 youths attended the evangelistic programs where the team shared the gospel through songs, dance, drama and testimonies. The team had the privilege of witnessing the baptism of seven youths from Chrass Church during an outing at the water park. (( THE CHRASS YOUTH ORGANISED AN EVANGELISTIC OUTING TO SHARE CHRIST WITH THEIR FRIENDS. )) 10th Trip: 4 to 9 Sep 2012 Seven of the 11 on this mission exposure trip were first-timers. The team comprised Yeo Hwee Lan, Chung Kong Mun, Mark Chim, Adeline Ee, Tim Tan, Lee Ming Ying, Luke Tan, Sim Mui Ping, Raymond Chow, Joycelyn Chow and Lisa Lee. The team conducted an art & craft session with the children, ran a Good Friday movie program, visited some Chrass MC members, and hosted a river cruise for 18 members, and adult and youth leaders. By then, Chrass MC had moved to a wooden stilt house further away from the main road. This team comprised veteran trippers: Yeo Hwee Lan, Mark Chim, Angelia Poon, Lawrence Sew, Jason Tan and Hannie Hay. The youths were Alvin Andrean, Kakit Foong, Luke Tan and Cassandra Yeap. The objective was to run a youth camp to: • challenge the Chrass youths to do outreach and evangelism, and be committed members of Chrass MC. • train the youths in personal evangelism, leadership skills and team work. • build bonds with the youths and church members. 19 youths from Chrass MC (aged 12 to 22 years), two youths from another church invited by Pastor Phirun, three assistants to help run the program and translation, and Pastor Phirun attended the camp. As a follow-up to the training program, the youths organized an evangelistic outing to the zoo at Takmao Mountain for their friends. The youths led in worship, games, drama and testimony sharing. They then broke into groups to share the gospel using the evangelistic tools they had learnt from the camp. In total, 25 youths heard the gospel, 13 indicated that they prayed to receive Christ, while 8 indicated their interest to know more about the Christian faith. 8 Sep to end Dec 2011 11th Trip: 22 to 28 Nov 2012 A Chrass Building Committee was formed to look into the structure, design and tender for the contractors. The tender was called in mid-November and eight contractors responded, of which six returned tender documents by the December deadline. 40 Jan to March 2012 Three contractors were shortlisted and the Building Committee comprising Eddie Koh, Robert Chew, Edward Chye, Lena Quek and Oh Ming Choo conducted the tender interview. After much prayer and negotiation, the Committee awarded the contract to Venture Company with the contract sum of USD$330,000. The contract was signed on 2 April (dated 21 March as the official contract agreement date) between Penh Holding Company (under MMS) and Venture Company. Hwee Lan was assigned by CCMC to be in Phnom Penh for a year to help in the Chrass Church ministry, to coordinate the building project.and to be the liaison person for CCMC for the building project. Primarily a mission exposure trip for 4 families from the Blest West Small Group, the team comprised Suzanna Lee, Adeline Ee; Kenneth, Joanna, Kimberley and Timothy Foo; Tim Tan and Lee Ming Ying; Nick, Shirley, Deborah and Hannah Au-Yong; and Roger and Corine Heng. 10 were first timers. The team visited the Methodist School of Cambodia, distributed clothes to village children at COSI, visited the hostel run by Aldersgate MC, did art & craft with the Chrass MC Learning Centre children, shared testimonies at the Chrass Youth Fellowship and organised a Christmas party for church members. Summary of Church Building Fund 1) Total Land Cost: US$ 80,310 (Fully paid up) 2) Total Construction costs US$ 330,000 +10%= US$363,000 (approx S$446,490) Amount raised through fund-raising events (excluding funds raised by CK4CK) S$284,424.67cts Shortfall S$162,065.33cts 41
  • 22. W MISSION TRIP TO NEPAL 25 Nov to 3 Dec 2012 BY Raymond Chow WHAT IS MY PURPOSE? By Ralph Lau At the beginning, when the idea to join the mission trip to Nepal was brought up by my family members, I was hesitant to go. I have never been on a mission trip before and I definitely did not hear God’s calling. I am a banker by profession and I always thought that people with practical skills, e.g. medical doctors or civil engineers, are the ones whom God uses on mission trips. Well, that’s not the case. God is truly amazing and showed me how He used me, a common and ordinary person with no obvious skills. Dr Chung Kong Mun, our team leader, encouraged the team to keep a personal journal of the mission trip. I would like to share one of my entries: First day of dental camp ends. My added value today is not visible. I know that I have a purpose, but what is my purpose? On my third day back to the office in Singapore, I bumped into a colleague whom I’ve hardly spoken to before. From a simple question “How are you?”, I shared for 20 minutes what I have experienced and witnessed during the mission trip. I have since shared my testimony with many other colleagues and friends, too. I strongly believe that the sharing and testimony to friends, colleagues and whoever asks me about my “last holiday” is the purpose God has given to me. As Gopal Sebastian, missionary in Nepal, said, “The mission to share God’s Word starts right at our doorstep at home.” 42 hen I flew off from Singapore on 24 November to Kathmandu, Nepal, together with my family and 6 other mission trippers, I was excited and at the same time did not really know what to expect as it was my first shortterm mission trip to Nepal. In my heart, I was praying that God would speak and reveal His plans for us at Nepal. On the very day that we touched down in Kathmandu, we went to Sophia Home, shortly after we deposited our luggage at Bethel Guest House. We met Grace, the houseparent in charge and about 30 young girls who were residents of the home. They were there to receive dental treatment . Although all of them came from unfortunate background, they all impressed me with their good behaviour and love for the Lord. Their ages ranges from 3-18. They were warm, friendly and spontaneous albeit a little shy. When I led them into singing praises to God, I was totally thrilled as they sang with much zeal and gusto. It’s the best voices of praise I have ever heard. The home also treated us to a sumptuous traditional Nepalese meal. I also tasted their local milk tea which was smooth and nice. I was impressed by their hospitality. Though they have little, yet they gave so much from their heart. I was blessed. We spent two days at Ilam at the Victory Church doing dental camp and sharing the gospel to the local villagers together with the local pastors, leaders and youths. About 50 villagers turned up each day and all had the opportunity to hear the gospel and being prayed for. I was particularly impressed by the zeal and passion showed by the youth church members. They sang and they shared so naturally and fervently. I understand from Pastor Chandra of Victory Church that he sent out teams of 10 youths to the villagers to share the gospel every week. (( I HAD LEARNT THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN A CHURCH IS NOT THE SIZE OR ALL THE WONDERFUL FACILITIES BUT THE FAITH, LOVE AND ZEAL OF THE MEMBERS. )) The church was about 50 strong and they were already doing church planting at far away places from their church. One lesson I had learnt is that what is important in a church is not the size or all the wonderful facilities but the faith, love and zeal of the members. The church was actually a simple structure of bamboo and mud. Yet, it really shines out ever so brightly for the Lord in the midst of a dark and idol-worshipping village. They were truly the light of the world for their community. We also spent one day at Jappa doing dental camp and sharing the gospel at the Mahimit Church. About 60 villagers received dental treatment as well as heard the gospel. I was really being touched and challenged once again to be a bold witness for God. I wanted to be an active witness for the Lord once again in obeying the great commission by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:19,20). I asked Pastor Chandra and Pastor Gopal to pray for me to have the zeal and boldness to share the gospel once again. I also made a covenant with Pastor Chandra and Pastor Gopal to pray for each other and our churches. I will continue to pray for more churches in Nepal to be planted and established. For me and my family ( I went with my wife and 2 teenage children), this has been a spiritually inspiring and fulfilling trip and we intend to go back Nepal again especially the area of Ilam to support the church planting effort there. Chrass & Nepal Missions (( I WAS REALLY BEING TOUCHED AND CHALLENGED ONCE AGAIN TO BE A BOLD WITNESS FOR GOD. )) 43
  • 23. ABIGAIL GOH Dear Abigail, My Love Gift to Chrass Full Name: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Dr/Mdm ______________________________ Address: _______________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ALTHOUGH THE CHRASS CHURCH BUILDING IS DUE TO BE COMPLETED and handed over IN March 2013, CCMC’s journey with Chrass has barely begun. Will you join us on this journey to help Chrass grow in its faith, its strength and its numbers, that it may attain full maturity in Christ? You can do so in many ways: 1) by praying for the church, its pastor and members, and their spiritual growth and witness in the neighbourhood of Chrass village and beyond. Phone Number/s: _______________ ______________________________ Amount: Cheque $* ______________________________ Signature: ______________________________ *Please make a crossed cheque payable to Covenant Community Methodist Church and mail the cheque together with this form to the church office: Level 4, Methodist Girls’ School, 11 Blackmore Drive, Singapore 599986 44 2) by joining us on our mission trips to Cambodia . 3) by donating money (see left) . ASK ABIGAIL I’m peeved with the young lady who sits in the row ahead of me in church. She’s always on her iPhone during the sermon. It’s totally distracting, extremely annoying and utterly disrespectful to God. The incessant pings from the stream of SMS notifications and the swiping of finger across the screen for FB updates totally drive me nuts – especially when I am trying to tune in to God. How do I communicate my displeasure without coming across as judgemental and angry? And please don’t tell me to change seats. I have been sitting in this same spot for the last ten years and I will do anything to defend my right. Yours truly, Ann Oyed Dear Ann Oyed I appreciate your wanting to take a firm bottom line from your seat about this. Most young adults thrive only when they are tethered to their mobile devices. This strong urge to be connected is fashioned by the need to be the ‘first-in-the-know’ from news and updates. They like the sensory overload and prefer to multi-task. Just like you need quiet, they need all the stimuli to think! Yet, the Bible says, “Be Still and Know that I am God…”. This is lost in translation in the iFashionista culture where noise rules over spiritual serenity and where the iGods beckons over the Covenantal God who calls us into His presence. So you have a point that that lass could do with a gentle nudge about church etiquette. I suggest fighting fire with fire. Show her that one can be tuned in to God without being tuned out. Share your sermon notes tapped into your device electronically with her. Speedily research that obscure Biblical reference with the Google search engine. Why stop at that? Procure the latest Bible application by download and challenge her to a swipe out. It’s better than swiping one pointing finger at her with the other while making tsk tsk sounds. Connectedly yours, Abigail on What’s App Dear Abigail, My pre-school son has been asking me to sing a song from Sunday kindy worship about love and ‘that’s the bird and the bee’. I wonder what they are teaching in Sunday School! Concerned Mummy Dear Concerned Mummy, Let not your heart be troubled. The song your son wants you to sing has the lyric: God loves you and God loves me and that’s the way it should be. Busy Abigail Dear Abigail, Is SOAP biblical? Camay Lim Dear Camay Lim, Yes, there are many references to soap in the Bible. For example, Jer 2:22 - For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God. And of course you will recall Bath-she-bar. Abigail White as Snow 45
  • 24. Who’s AFRAID of a Rev. Xanatos Satanicos Bombasticos CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 MARRIAGE COURSE? 46 T he Marriage Course that CCMC is using was developed by Nicky and Sila Lee who wrote The Marriage Book and The Parenting Book. The British couple have been married for over thirty years, and have four children. Nick and Sila are on the staff at the Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton Church in London – the church that started the Alpha course. They started The Marriage Course in 1996, and the courses continue to spread with thousands being run around the world. They have spoken to numerous couples on the subject of marriage, and The Marriage Book has sold over 52,000 copies since it was published in 2000. The Marriage Course is presented via DVD talks featuring Nicky and Sila. The talks are interspersed with film clips of couples sharing about their marriage experiences, and street interviews with people from around the world. The course will help couples discover practical tools to enrich marriages. Learn how to understand each other’s needs, communicate more effectively, grow closer through resolving conflict, heal the ways you’ve hurt each other, recognise how your upbringing affects your relationship, improve relationships with parents and in-laws, develop greater sexual intimacy, and discover each other’s love languages and much, much more! The course has seven sessions. Each session begins with a dinner at which you can either choose to sit with other couples attending the course or sit alone with your spouse. However, the seating arrangement for the course proper is tables for two spaced apart for privacy. There is no place for sharing among couples. The course is focussed for each couple to talk and discuss the points raised in the DVD just with each other. The seven topics for the sessions are: Building Strong Foundations The Art of Communication Resolving Conflict The Power of Forgiveness The Impact of Family – Past and Present Good Sex Love in Action The CCMC Marriage Course, organised by the Family Life Ministry, runs once a week for seven weeks, includes dinner and a night snack. Watch out for the next one in about August and September and go for it! YEAP SOON LEONG & WENDY YEAP Married for 25 years What did you learn about marriage from the course? YSL - There’s always something new to learn about your partner, no matter how long you’ve been married. WY - It is good to regularly take stock of your marriage. Yours and your spouse’s perspectives change so subtly that you may not even be completely aware of the changes. What did you learn from the course that has helped you relate better to your spouse? YSL - Nothing new. We had covered pretty much everything in the church’s pre-marital and marriage enrichment courses. WY – I liked the ‘Effective Lis47
  • 25. tening’ exercise. It is a tool that bridges ‘Deep Listening’ and the ‘Peacemaking Process’ which we have been teaching in our church’s pre-marital course. It allows the person with an area of concern to be heard and understood without being judged. There is a common perception that marriage courses are only for couples who have problems in their relationship. Do you agree after attending the Marriage Course? YSL - There are no problem-free marriages, so it is true in a sense. There’s always room for improvement, no matter the length of the marriage. Attending courses such as the Marriage Course can help any marriage, so long as both partners attend with the common goal of wanting to work at their marriage. Even if only one spouse is motivated, who knows? That spouse’s positive action may in time have an impact on the other spouse. WY - Marriage courses are generally for marriages that do not have serious issues. For those marriages with a lot of baggage, a marriage counselor would be more helpful. Why would you recommend the course to other couples? YSL - Because of its content and format. The content covers all the essential areas of marriage in a practical way, with sharing from real couples and humor. The format of a dinner date with one’s spouse is refreshingly different. Having all the sharing done strictly between husband and wife and not requiring any public sharing makes the course non-threatening and a lot more palatable to couples and spouses who are averse to public sharing. WY - A definite yes! because it will strengthen the marital relationship. 48 RAYMOND CHOW & JOYCELYN CHOW Married for 18 years What did you learn about marriage from the course? RC - That we cannot take our marriage for granted. It needs to be constantly nourished and we can and must continue to grow and strengthen the marriage relationship. We cannot afford to be complacent because it can get ‘stale and dry’ if no effort is being put in. And also, the relationship can be easily crowded out by a hundred and one distractions of daily life. JC - We need to spend time alone with our spouse no matter how many years we have been married. What did you learn from the course that has helped you relate better to your spouse? RC - The most important thing I learnt is how to communicate with my wife by listening better and being more sensitive to her needs. Also, both quality and quantity time spent with our spouses are equally important and we need to intentionally set aside time for it and give it priority. Just like a plant requires nourishing, a marriage requires nourishing as well. JC - Chatting with my spouse. Sometimes after many years together, we tend to talk only about serious matters. This course taught me to chat with Raymond on many other things, some of them may sound nonsensical; but we were having a fun time. There is a common perception that marriage courses are only for couples who have problems in their relationship. Do you agree after attending the Marriage Course? RC - I totally disagree with it and it is a myth. Marriage courses are not meant to heal marriages but to enrich marriages. There is still so much to learn about having a good marriage as it is a life-long learning journey. Also, we need such courses to rejuvenate our marriages. Nowadays, there are so many threats and external forces that put pressure on marriages. So, all the more, we need to have such courses to help us face up to all these challenges and come out on top of it. JC - I believe that marriage is a work in progress and not a finished product. It needs to be worked on all the time and such courses provide opportunities for us to rediscover the sparks of love and to narrow the gaps of misunderstandings. Why would you recommend the course to other couples? RC - I like it because it is very systematic and the materials used are really relevant. I like especially the speakers. Though they were video-taped, I still found them very engaging and I did not feel detached at all. Also, the fact that there are so many other couples going through the course at the same time gives you the added motivation. We can also learn from other couples who provide good role models – as the Bible says ‘iron sharpens iron’. I believe we can learn a lot from each other too. The (( THERE IS STILL SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT HAVING A GOOD MARRIAGE AS IT IS A LIFELONG LEARNING JOURNEY. )) course was also very well organised by members of our church’s Family Life Ministry. They were warm and caring and the food and venue were excellent too. It was a really good use of time for our marriage and relationship. JC - I liked the way the course was carried out. Much effort was spent to ensure the couples were relaxed and were able to focus on each other. The pace was good and the course material is based on God’s principles. I benefitted much from the course and believe other couples will find the same. SEOW JIN KIAT & JUN SEOW Married for 5 years What did you learn about marriage from the course? A strong and loving marriage cannot be left to chance. It requires commitment to make it a priority and regular time together as a couple needs to be intentionally planned and protected. What did you learn from the course that has helped you relate better to your spouse? The ability to make a list of common habits to avoid in order to become a more effective listener. Common sense is so uncommon! There is a common perception that marriage courses are only for couples who have problems in their relationship. Do you agree after attending the Marriage Course? Absolutely not. Attending the marriage course is just part of a lifelong commitment to keep working and investing in a marriage Would you recommend the course to other couples? Yea! STEPHEN YEUNG & SHERLYN WONG Married for 20 years What did you learn about marriage from the course? SY - That marriage is a continuous work in progress. SW - Communication is key. What did you learn from the course that has helped you relate better to your spouse? SY - To listen and make time for your spouse. SW - Spending quality time together. There is a common perception that marriage courses are only for couples who have problems in their relationship. Do you agree after attending the Marriage Course? No. Marriage courses should be seen as enrichment courses, not unlike the self-improvement books or courses we take. Why would you recommend the course to other couples? The course work is light and provides a regular schedule to spend time with your spouse. It also provides a neutral platform to discuss sensitive issues. For example, it would be rather abrupt to tell your spouse what you like and dislike about the things done or not done for you but is par for the course as part of the course work. Another plus point is that communication is only between spouses, with no group sharing or discussions at all. 49