Saying Farewell 2011

Dec was a mixed bag in terms of weather and work. The month was not as cool despite several floods here. Weather-wise, I asked myself: Is this December? Then I was setting up a new office in SG. This meant visiting potential office spaces, advertising for and then interviewing candidates. And it's hard to interview in festive Dec. But it was fun to be in the MY office for our Christmas event and New Year briefing. The thanksgiving was having one overseas trip cancelled. This meant I had 6 instead of 7 trips in the quarter.

My personal highlight was our
family get away. The four of us took off for four days. With O-levels next Oct, it will be hard to go away in June so we went earlier. We are sure thankful for this memorable time out. Another family highlight was being at the movie premiere of Courageous. This is the ultimate movie on fatherhood... It was great having 7 Christmas and year-end celebrations with friends and family. Barely managed to squeeze time to ponder over decisions for the coming year.

Year-end was very meaningful.
On the night of 31st Dec, Richard and Yuet Mei hosted a farewell dinner for the Ongs. Our dear friends are relocating back to Perth very soon. The day was also Richard's last day of shift work and Pat's last day of work in SG.

That was the story of December and how we bade farewell to 2011.

You're still here?

November is a tail-end month with that pre year-end atmosphere. Very early Nov it dawns on me that 7 overseas trips in this final quarter of the year is dreadful. It is exhausting just to think about it. Then the weather this time of the year is supposed to be nice. A few days was not as hot but it was mostly hot and humid. Nov in 2010 was nicer.

An interesting phenomena is happening more and more as I look back over the past 6 months. Dinah and I keep bumping into friends who go, "You're still here?'. They have obviously not been reading this blog. Or I have not been keeping in touch as regularly. So Dinah or I would naturally re-tell our tale of an extended transition. Most would marvel at the multiple transitions we are going through simultaneously. Our pastor friends are quite different. They would go, "So you can speak for us now". There are several doors opening. Now we ponder over the options.

Let me share some thanksgiving too. One thanksgiving this month was to spend one entire weekend with my brother and sister-in-law, in between a business trip to London (photo). Another was being part of the Ministering Spiritual Gifts workshop here with Serena Shim from Sabah. A third thanksgiving was to have spent one weekend with our Chiang Mai church in northern Thailand. Very memorable Nov weekends indeed.

A big thanksgiving is the privilege to journey with Vincent and Jenny as they leave an established church to plant a new church. It has been a joy to walk with them. I rejoice with them as they venture out to birth a new faith community right here in Singapore. There are exciting days ahead.

Oct in Montreal

Oct is still warm and humid. The first two weeks of October was year-end (final) exams for our twins. I joined them on the study mode on weekends to do thesis corrections. The third week was a business trip to South Korea. This is only my second time in this fascinating nation.

Month-end saw Dinah and I making a ministry trip to Quebec in Canada. This is our first time here. Missing the three flights is a long story. I'll stay with the ministry side of the story. It is cold here even in the autumn. The location is Chambly in the south-shore of Montreal. We spend informal time getting to know individuals and couples on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was the house church worship service. It was a meaningful day that ended with us sealing a covenant by partaking the Lord's Supper.

Over the next 3 days, Eric took us
to the Gaspe peninsula where we meet with new friends in 3 towns. The journey took 9 hours one way but the landscape and scenery was spectacular. We finally arrived back in Montreal and spent our final night on Wed in Chambly with the team. Two guests including Harry joined us. The next day Eric took us to the airport. This was already 3rd Nov. We had 3 flights back to Singapore.

So Dinah and I spent 20 hours flying and then 5 hours in two different airports on transit. We reflected on this amazing trip and were so encouraged and blessed by Eric and the people in this new house church.

Virtual Home Office (VHO)

September is the first month to work from home. I have done this before but now it is a daily reality. This new work environment is another transition. I am still getting used to the virtual office and constant skype conferences. One good thing is no more daily commute to work. Another is more time with our twins. The not so good part is that this was a mostly hot and humid month.

One highlight this month was to hear Gary and Barb Rosberg, a couple who are marriage coaches. Getting to meet them and getting coaching was quite refreshing.

Another high point was having extended time with my new colleagues. Port Dickson was hot and humid like Singapore, except for one rainy afternoon. But it was great getting to know colleagues, training and having fun together. It was so good that this multi-racial and religious team enjoyed each other's company.

One downer this month was having to write a 12-page Mission Outcomes Assessment. Its compulsory in order to graduate and we are given 30 days to complete. Thing is that no marks are awarded for this work! And this comes after completing the thesis, so psychologically you feel that you have completed.. then this comes along. So writing was very h-a-r-d going. But its finally done!

My daily September prayer was three-fold: a) Lord, save us from this heat and humidity, b) would you send cooler weather soon, and c) please help me with this 12-page paper.

Pretty Crazy

August was pretty crazy. Dinah and I spent the first few days of August furiously preparing for a super long ministry trip.

First up was the regional
conference in Manhattan. There was actually a pastors' retreat followed by the conference. I remembered to take a photo with first-time conference delegates from Quebec.

Next up was Chicago. The people of Hope Chicago were quite fun. They took us bowling and to a barbeque. Somehow we did not take any photos :( Thankfully some of our friends did and posted them on our Facebook page. You can check it out there.

Final stop was Colorado Springs.
The landscape was picturesque, the people were friendly and the meetings were fruitful. Here is a photo from Dinah's phone.

The last few days of August was spent frantically packing up my office in Singapore. The massive jet lag did not help but our twins were a massive help. Lawrence, Pat and little Jonathan showed up on one Saturday to help. When I moved out on Aug 31, only 7 cartons remained. Not bad after 16 years.

The transitions continue...

July Adventures

Towards the middle of the month, we got to meet Dr Wei-Jen Huang. I was aware that Dr. Huang is a clinical psychologist and a faculty member at Northwestern Uni. School of Medicine. Only later did I realise from Dinah that he is actually well-known especially in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia for his work on couples’ therapy and relationship education... The three of us did discover a mutual fondness - for xiao long bao. It was a blessing getting to know this learned man of God over dinner.

The low point of the month must have been the sore throat in the second week and then the ulcer in the throat in the fourth week. I hardly get sick so being unwell twice in a month was quite sad... Continuing from May and June, the month of July felt exceptionally hot and humid.

One good thing about the hot and humid season of the year is jumping into the pool. Then this is also durian season with cheap durians. Sadly, the unwell throat restricted both swimming and durians. But I did get a good sweat this season (and in the process discharge toxins). The other good thing is that this will be the last of the hot and humid months. This only means cooler months up ahead...

A New Chapter

The month of June in 2011 has been just an awesome month. It marks a new life chapter on several fronts.

The opening story is on rejoining the marketplace after over sixteen years. This caps a three-year journey of multiple transitions. This new career transition is a big learning curve, which I am told will take 6 months or more. Work projects in June included a business trip to Vietnam. This was my first time in this nation. I have never seen so many motorbikes in my entire life. This trip also accorded a special opportunity to visit several old friends too.

The highlight for our family is our annual visit to Sabah. I was so glad to visit my parents and especially to spend Fathers Day here. Dad turns 78 this year. He gives quite a few mangoes among other gifts to bring back to Singapore. (Here's a pic of the mangoes in my parent's home.) It was also a blessing to spend time with my brother's family and my sister's family. The church in Kota Kinabalu took the opportunity to get me to address church members on CATALYSE.

Another high point in June was handing in my 70-page thesis on Global Churches. This month-end submission effectively concluded the MA requirements, bringing my three-year academic journey to a sweet conclusion.

Another Transition

Our family has been engaged in a three-year journey of transition. Dinah and I have spent much of that time reflecting and learning.

This season has been
particularly turbulent. The single biggest issue is the significant uncertainty over our longer-term future. Permanent relocation is very unsettling. This and being stuck in an extended transition feels like one of life's most difficult moments. Being neither here nor there has been our wilderness experience. (Talking about wilderness, here is recent pic of the Egyptian desert.) Practical issues such as visa matters added to the already-heavy human psychological adjustments that change produces. Facing constant questions from friends and family piled on to the mounting helplessness.

The biggest challenge has been to stay true to a sense of destiny. It is so easy to be knocked off course and very tempting to just walk away. But what would I do with this heart for the nations. Recent times have been tough. But it has been an honour to take care of people for 20 years. I desire to continue to live for the good of others.

Through all this the question of, “What next?” remained unanswered. So we found ourselves being brought to our knees so many times. Other times we found ourselves learning how to live positive amidst uncertainty. Through it all, I have just felt so thankful for the friends that He has placed around us who have stuck with us during this journey.

About just over half-a-year back, what seemed to be a glimmer of light began to appear at the end of the tunnel. Out of the blue, an opening came knocking. I was approached to join a mobility solutions firm. This came as a surprise, but a pleasant one. I explored this fascinating possibility. My attitude was to be open to what He might be saying, including through those around me and those over me in the Lord. We also considered the prophetic words received from different ministers.

The past three years
has been a long transition. But things are a bit clearer now. It is May and this brings yet another transition. (As I write, I am mindful that our nation experienced a political change in May too.) For me personally, I feel that the Lord has released us. In this new season, I will now once again serve in the marketplace. In fact, here is a pic of a very recent work trip to Cairo. I do believe that the Lord is repositioning His teams, here and around the globe, for a greater purpose. Within my heart, there is a rising anticipation for the new thing that He is doing in our midst.

Interesting People

We have been crossing paths with interesting people in recent months. Recently we had dinner with HB London.

I had heard him teach in Singapore once, quite some years back. That one message made an impact in my life. This was the first time I met HB in person. Dinah and I went to his hotel and took him out to dinner.

It was an early dinner on the 5th April 2011. We got to know each other over a meal. He told about his life, his cousin James Dobson, his ministry as pastor in the Church of the Nazarene and currently in Focus on the Family USA. He asked about our family and ministry. He asked about Singapore.

After dinner we took HB back to his hotel. The next day was our early morning flight to the US for 2 weeks of ministry. We went home to pack but I will remember the time tonight.

Mar 2011

The focus in March is my thesis. This is the final subject in my masters programme. Except for 5 days overseas, the bulk of the 31-day month is spent on this. My hypothesis is Global Churches: Connectional, coordinated and church-planting. I present the case for more global churches to make disciples of all nations in the context of a globalised world. So far one professor and two denominational leaders have said, "There is something here". I think so too :) Draft 1.0 was complete in March though it is 5 pages more than the 70-page limit. The reference list alone is already 14 pages. Well I will not be able to look at this paper again until May.

Another highlight is the trip to Bandung. The purpose was the HIM regional leaders' retreat. This was my first-time here. One memory is having time with Beng and Mel. We catch up. They also expose me to exotic street food. The volcano Tangkuban Perahu is another highlight.

I also turned one year wiser earlier in the month. Overall this was another good month :) This pretty much sums the month of March in 2011. Till the next post then...

Feb 1st in 2011

Never did I imagine what a day this would turn out to be. It starts when our family pray in the car on the way to school. We pray for this first day of February and for the next two years ahead.

The day goes by and is turning out to be a normal Tuesday. In the afternoon my friend Tiong Howe calls. He had already asked to have dinner last week. So I think this call is a reminder about dinner (tonight). Instead he asks if I want to have coffee. I said, "Sure" thinking that perhaps he is busy tonight and has decided to have coffee instead of dinner.

In the next breath he says that we are going to have coffee with Ravi Zacharias. What a surprise.

I travel to the airport and call Tiong Howe. We meet up and the three of us have coffee together. Ravi and Tiong Howe know each other well and I know Tiong Howe fairly well. But this is my first time up close and personal with Ravi. He is such a gentleman and a Godly one too.

Later we send off Ravi to catch his flight. Now Tiong Howe persuades me for an early dinner since we had already set aside the time. We catch up over a meal. After dinner he insists that he needs new bibles. So we go to the Faithworks bookstore. Here he picks up new Bibles including for Dinah and I too. This friend is sure full of surprises. But what a day this has been.

CATALYSE

CATALYSE means to produce fundamental change in or to transform. CATALYSE is also the name of our global master-plan for the five years from 2011-2015. This consists of 6 strategic priorities supported by 16 initiatives. This strategic planning process started in Nov. 2009 and ended in Dec. 2010. This whole process culminated in the recent launch of CATALYSE.

The Strategic Planning Team (SPT) arrived very early in Chiang Mai to prepare for the global CATALYSE launch scheduled at the Jan 2011 Passion Global Conference (GC) and for the implementation meetings straight after the GC. A total of 150 international and 120 Thai leaders joined this GC. An additional 130 Thai leaders joined the night sessions. Children ministry leaders flew in hoping to hear Pastor Bill Wilson, our guest speaker from Metro Ministries. Most delegates came keen to discover how our movement intended to move forward.

CATALYSE was launched on Friday, 21 Jan 2011 on the last day of the GC. The bright CATALYSE backdrop draped the entire wall on the stage. The Launch started with a meaningful Northern Thai cultural presentation. The Thai drums signaled a community going into battle. This drum presentation was a traditional victory declaration before warriors went into battle. The CATALYSE commissioning documents for our 16 Initiative Leaders were transported on the sedan procession. This procession is a traditional Thai practice for transporting someone or something important. These opening items blended the futuristic CATALYSE with the richness of tradition. The underlying message was a church planting movement that respects the diversity of cultures that God has created.

Next Pastor Simon rallied our pastors and leaders to get behind CATALYSE. He exhorted us to get on board this change process in the next five years. I then presented CATALYSE. I traced back to the Charismatic revival which started in the 70s and continued to the 80s. Our movement's first church was birthed in 1981. I reminded the conference that we are connectional rather than a congregational church. I concluded that our second-generation connectional movement is starting a transformational change process called CATALYSE.

Then Pastor Simon and Dr Wilson laid hands to commission our 16 Initiative Leaders. All our pastors also stepped forward to stretch forth their hands to pray. The CATALYSE Launch was the closing item of the first GC in this new five-year window.

The next day our Initiative leaders and members gathered for Implementation meetings. The room felt electric as excitement filled the atmosphere. God continued to reassure us that we are going down the right path with four prophetic messages. The break out sessions got better. This culminated with team lunch. Thanksgiving was the theme as SPT debriefed after lunch. It has been quite a long week but a very fruitful one.

The launch of CATALYSE was historic for us being the first-ever global master-plan in our movement’s 30-year history. The entire planning process took 14 months but the implementation and transformational change process will take 5 years. With the launch of CATALYSE, the Lord has sparked a transformation in our movement.

Nairobi-flavoured New Year's Eve

Yesterday was quite memorable. It was Friday, the 31st of Dec 2010. This was the last day of the year.

I started the day working on a chapter of my thesis. Next we had a staff year-end lunch. We had Teo Chew porridge whilst catching up with co-workers. All of us were spread across four tables.

Then I welcomed 4 young men at the Punggol MRT station. Maxwell, Ernest, Kinoti and Gibson are from our church in Nairobi here for leadership exposure. We arrive at our place and settle down with afternoon tea. Eager to learn, they ask a wide range of questions over the time we met. They are such fine young men.

Next Dinah, the twins and I enjoyed an extended dinner with Li Chuang and Lisa. We are so encouraged that they have done such a great job with the men. We catch up till late and yes, we crossed into the New Year with Li Chuang and Lisa in a moving vehicle as we drove them home.

Yesterday was indeed special. It was a Nairobi-flavoured New Year's Eve. It is such a rare privilege to be with our young leaders from Kenya and our old friends who are missionaries, as time transitioned from 2010 into 2011.

Here's wishing you a happy New Year, saying good bye 2010 and welcoming in 1-1-11.

Transitions

I still remember the day when my wife and I moved here in January 1991 from Perth. Our church started the following month. Time sure flies. We have already served for almost 20 years and I have served 15 years of that time on our staff team.

Then it has been almost two years that Dinah and I have spent seeking God. Our attitude is to be open to what God is saying, including through those around and those over me in the Lord.

The Lord has been faithful. Here is a recent encounter. Dinah and I just visited our Silicon Valley care group. There we spent time with Tom Lam. Among other things, we asked about how he coped with relocation and transition. He shared that a sermon "In Between Times" spoke to him whilst he was in Singapore.

Curious, I came back and discovered that this was a 2003 sermon based on Acts 18:18-23. The definition alone was quite encouraging. "In between moments are: a) Irregular times when we are caught unawares, b) After endings and before new beginnings and when c) Life is on hold." That sermon in its entirety spoke to me too. Thanks Tom : )

One of several questions that I have been asked a lot during this season is: "What have you been up to?". Well, in the year 2010 I have focused on three main areas. Let me share them in turn here...

1. Regional Ministry
Dinah and I are responsible for HIM region of North America and we make regular ministry trips to our churches there. We are thankful that our twins are understanding of ministry travel and Dinah's sister has been available to take care of them whilst we are away. And there's Simon who has been so helpful with trip logistics.
We are also very glad to be involved with the Canada missions and US missions teams in Hope Singapore.

2. Seminary Studies
Currently I am working on the final Masters subject which is a thesis. Jiadai from our uni service has been a big help with borrowing reference books.
I am so glad that the lectures, assignments and exams phase is over. Pastor Jo has been a big help as exam invigilator. Cara, Kam and James has helped too while Dinah has helped with vetting assignments.

3. Strategic Planning
Dinah and I are part of the HIM Strategic Planning Team. Our team of six is charged with developing the first-ever global master-plan for HIM. With our movement now in 41 countries, guiding this process has been quite exciting. I am thankful to Adeline for her help when we first started out. You can get updates on this 2011-2015 strategic plan at byHim.org

In closing, this season has been quite a journey. This has been one of the longest transitions for me and my family. Being neither here nor there has been very unsettling. We thank God for the precious friends He provides in our lives who support us as we face the stress and psychological adjustments that uncertainty brings. But I know in my heart that this season will prepare us for what is ahead.

In this season, let me also wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.

Looked like the Danube

Like many guys who have reached shaving-age, I've cut myself shaving on more occasion than I would like to admit. Today I topped that. I cut myself showering... during my regular morning shower.
Today was not unlike other days. I was showering. I was squeezing the bottle of liquid soap. After a few squeezes, the soap bottle somehow flew out of my hand and into my face. Boing!!
Like a man, I continued lathering after keeping the bottle. The water felt good. Then I began to smell fresh blood. Perhaps I scratched my scalp, I thought.
My lathering continued. The smell of blood persisted. I had to look from the corner of my eye into my face. It was then that I saw redness flowing down my face. It looked like a mini-version of the Danube images I've seen on the news. In an instant I jumped out of the shower to inspect the mirror. My nose was bleeding. I looked closer and saw it... a gash on the ridge of my nose.
No choice. Had to dry myself, leave the bathroom and get a plaster to put over the wound. This should do! This I did this and then continued showering.
Just as I finished showering, I was sure there was someone at the door. There was. I open the door and there was our new part-time cleaner. She sees me in a towel with a plaster across my nose. I welcome her in hoping she will not choke. Then I call Dinah.
Today is also my beloved's birthday. So far, the day is turning out to be quite a day : )

Tentmaking

Our Tentmaking Approach
Love Singapore Missions Summit
Benjamin Lee on Thursday, 10th May 2007


As a church we practice church planting through tentmaking. My wife worked in Public Relations and I worked as an external auditor when our church here started.

As a new church plant we started to plant churches. Let me share five lessons on how we turned the corner from a church with missions into a missions-driven church. This journey began in 1997.

First is vision. We articulated the vision to turn the unchurched into church-planters.

Our goal was to be a missionary church rather than a church with missions. Missions would be the main thing rather than the side show.

We kept talking about the church's 'S' capacity. This is not seating, speaking, singing capacity but sending capacity.

Second is infrastructure. We set up a high-level, cross-functional leadership task force. We put up a budget and recruited two missions staff.

We mobilised our small groups to pioneer care groups in the city and mid-size groups (100 people up) to pioneer in an overseas city. Mid-size groups would prayerfully select cities with our missions staff.

I was encouraged that our students also began to do missions through overseas education.

Third is outreach. Our mid-size groups started clubs such as Friends of South Africa and Friends of Peru.

Our staff organised Missions Conferences, Missions Week and Missions Month. We featured regular live tent-maker testimonies during worship services.

Fourth is preparations. We focused on equipping, exposing and engaging.
For example we held mission classes and children mission lessons, language classes in Spanish and business workshops. We encouraged Teaching English as Second Language and even driving lessons.

Our staff held monthly briefings with potential and to-be tentmakers and with mid-size group leaders.

Our mid-size groups also started home missions. We began reaching and discipling internationals so they in turn touch their nation. We currently have Nepalese, Filipino and Vietnamese groups.

Fifth is communication. Missions work is far away and so easily falls to the bottom of the agenda.

So we ensured all communication avenues emphasise missions. There needed to be a constant stream of missions news and tools. Bulletins, website, brochures, book store, camps, banners keep missions at the forefront.

We also challenged each member to give more of their lives to international missions every year. We constantly looked to provide diverse church planting opportunities for members constantly. For example we started Weekend Missions. We started three church plants in South Malaysia. We promoted Holidays for Jesus for further away cities so we published annual brochures with airfares and holiday ideas. Now we have various Short-term missions (a week) in Thailand, East Malaysia and Indonesia.

Let me conclude. The next phase for us is organic church planting. This is based on the belief that living things grow naturally. Kingdom things are organic things. They start small and reproduce.

Organic church-planters don’t think about planting a church. They think like the apostle Paul – to church an entire region.

World Missions Church

How to Build a World Missions Church

Our church started with 5 people in 1991. We started planting churches in 1992. Initially we planted within Asia and Oceania. From 1998 onwards we started planting in all continents of the world. We started as a local church, then we became a regional church and now we are becoming a global church.

Before we go into how to build a world missions church, allow me to debunk common misconceptions about world missions.

First, it is simply not true that some churches have a call for missions but others don’t. God calls all of us to make disciples of all nations. When you read the Bible, you get a clear sense that God loves the whole world. That He thinks globally and He redeems globally. Jesus was and is pre-occupied with the world.

There is only one instance in the Bible the church is told not to do missions. It was in Acts 1:8, where Christ told the disciples not to go out into the world until they had received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus told all of us to “go”. Some churches miss the word “go”. Jesus told us to start at Jerusalem then go to Judea, Samaria and outer parts of the world. Some churches get stuck in Jerusalem.

Some Christians resist missions actively ("I'm already meeting many needs here") or passively (applauding church planting enthusiastically with minimal personal response). What is the risk of being inward looking? When a river has no outlet, it becomes a dead sea. It is important to personalise Jesus’ heart for the nations.

Second, it is not true that only larger churches can plant churches. Every 100-person group in our church targets to plant a church in an overseas city every 3 years. A small church can partner with another small or medium church to plant churches.

Third, it is said that “we can’t possibly go to all the 238 countries and territories”. No one said to go to the whole world at once. I will answer this in the next section.

Now allow me to share some key elements to build a world missions church.

A world missions church has missions-hearted leadership. The top leadership has got to be convinced we have a responsibility beyond our home shores. Our leadership, teaching and modeling is what makes this work. That’s why it is said “as the leader does, so goes the church”.

“There is only one among the twelve apostles who did not become a missionary. He became a traitor” Adam Brown.

Here are four practical tips. Plan the annual church calendar around missions. Missions work is far away and easily falls to the bottom of the agenda. Always set missions goals first since local issues will always get prioritised. Ensure every local ministry and church department has a global vision so every one becomes a global outfit. Start every management and leadership meeting with a global missions review. Ensure there is a constant stream of missions news in your website and church bulletin and missions testimonies in your worship services.

A world missions church has a world missions strategy. Most churches just do Short Term Missions (STM). People come back excited. The question is always ‘so what next’? How do we move them to the next level? Here are three pointers. Prayerfully adopt a city for church planting. Make a commitment that we are going to do whatever it takes to see this people coming to Christ, and being discipled and churches planted that will lead to other churches being planted. Develop strategy with your Regional Missions Coordinator. Form a team.

A world missions church is sacrificially funding missions. We thought we were doing quite well in world missions. Then we realised that another local church in Singapore spends 50% of its annual budget every year on world missions. That blew my mind. Here is the lesson - Don’t use God’s blessings for ourselves. Give your best leaders for missions. If you take care of the world, God will take care of your church.

A world missions church cares holistically for church planters and churches. Be willing to take the responsibility of mothering. Giving birth is hard but mothering is harder. It is also for life.

A world missions church is thoroughly preparing church planters. Offer introductory missions courses in Word for Life, special seminars and specialised training for language acquisition.

A world missions church grows global Christians. Challenge members to give more of their lives to world missions every year. Ask members to stop and think about how their purpose in life fits into God’s purpose of making Him known, praised and enjoyed among all people of the earth.

The current global era now upon us is a new kairos. In the final analysis, what brings radical change and transformation in a city is two feet walking into a city.

“What are churches for but to make missionaries” Augustus Strong.


First published in the August 2007 issue of the H.I.M. Advance newsletter.

Overload

Living in Overdrive
By Ben KC Lee
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009


What is living in overdrive? Perhaps this may give a clue - the average office worker is interrupted 202 times a day. Then Ecclesiastes 2 talks about anxious striving.

In the past, most people took two weeks off work, went back to work and were okay for a year. An Israeli study on burnout I read some time back showed that people take two weeks off a year, return to work and after three weeks in the job, they are on baseline burnout.

Living in overdrive is like overloading an electrical outlet and blowing a fuse. It happens when anxiety grows for fear of being unable to accomplish all the tasks at one's usually high standards. As anxiety grows, a sense of hopelessness sets in. Insomnia, especially awakening in the middle of the night and worrying about the uncompleted tasks, leaves one exhausted the next morning. Many are exhausted but do not drop activities because they want to avoid the stigma of being a quitter.

Watch Out For

The symptoms are insomnia, depression, anxiety, and chest pain. For some it is migraine headaches, withdrawal, irritability and work dread.

The thing is we have got threshold line called a 24-hour day. Health problems are nature's way of saying, "slow down". God designed our bodies to be very adaptable. He also invented the stress mechanism. Low or no stress can be very boring. Hyper-stress can make a person very sick.

When we are going too fast, we cross a line of dysfunction called hurry. This hurry sickness is the new epidemic in urban society. When we are going at the speed of light, there isn't time to think, reflect and pray.

Some times it is the schedule. Sometimes it is an internal workaholic compulsion. Overload takes the spiritual vitality out of us. When God taps us on the shoulder, and we give him the busy signal. We don't have any more emotional fuel to give to family or friends.

Usually the hardworking, previously optimistic people are most prone. They are most often asked to take on extra roles. Know any one like that?

Defusing the Overloaded Life

That Israeli study shows we can't store up all our needs for holidays. We got to learn the secret of renewal on an ongoing basis. Here are three ways to restore emotional, physical, spiritual and time reserves to overloaded lives.

01. Come to Christ

He offers solutions to those whose lives are out of control.

Jesus: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Jesus offers resources to make our lives worth living. He says, "Come to me." When you feel depleted and wonder how you will face another day; tell Jesus how you feel. Recover some green pastures and still waters where He restores your soul.

The habit of quiet keeps balance in a frantic world. Schedule conversation times where you offload stresses unto the shoulders of Jesus and leave them there. Prayer times can be therapeutic. Enjoy time with Jesus.

02. Learn from Christ

Jesus: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29

Trusting Jesus is learned behaviour. And learning takes time. There is no quick fix for a life out of control. Jesus constantly withdrew from the frantic pace of ministry to a lonely place where he would recharge.

If we are angry, grumpy most of the time and dream of escape, these are the cries of our soul, reminding us of our limits. No one can continue running on empty and not suffer the consequences. Perhaps it's time to start learning the life of Jesus.

03. Rest like Christ

Jesus: "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mathew 11:30

Schedule times for rest and for relationships. Jesus spent time in a safe house with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Friends save us from sinking under overload. Schedule times to be with family. This is our natural support system.

Hebrews 4:10 remind us that we need God's rest inside my soul and we also need physical rest. It's wise to rest like Christ.

In closing, we all live in overload from time to time. The point is not to live there all the time. This does not mean avoiding additional challenges when they can be managed adequately.

This means to ask God for an awareness of our priorities.

Have you noticed that ministry, for Jesus, was the person in front of him? He did not heal every sick person. He healed the person in front of him. He loved the person. Similarly God wants us to love this person in front of us. In the end, it's about love.

"This is all that I have learned: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated." Ecclesiastes 7:29 (Good News)


First published in The Christian Post Singapore. Online: http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase/editorial/419/section/1.htm

The Singapore missions movement

Reflections on the Singapore Missions Movement
by Ben KC Lee
Monday, Apr. 26, 2010

Like most Singaporean Christians over the years, I have been to my share of mission conferences. We have all heard the prophecies that Singapore is "the Antioch of Asia". It is also likely we have discussed what this means for the Singapore missions movement.

Recently I thought about this again and began penning down reflections. I noted the positives and then some challenges. Here I share them with the hope that it can stir us all towards greater participation to fulfill our role as “Antioch”.

The first positive is relief work. I notice that Singaporeans readily give towards natural disaster funds. We even send medical mission teams. Second, many churches set aside ten or more percent of giving towards missions. This is positive. Third, more churches are doing more outreach among internationals living and working in Singapore. My friend Chris Cheah tells me the Methodists call this “Reverse Missions”. After all, two thirds of the people in Singapore (me included) were not born here.

Fourth, churches are sending more missionaries as compared to mission agencies. These are mainly medium or larger churches. Fifth, a 2007 SCEM (now SCGM) survey discovered that over thirty percent of churches here have missions-dedicated personnel. This means that these churches already have missions staff or a missions board. Sixth, tentmaking missions is a huge opportunity. Singapore must rank as one of the best places to explore tentmaking – great access to job markets, a well regarded workforce and English speaking people. My home church is actively involved in church planting through tentmakers.

Challenges also exist. The first is vicarious missions. We can be tempted to send money or train others rather than do the strategic things like sending qualified people long enough to learn the language and make an impact. The second risk is missions by proxy. We can be tempted to put up money to pay a person from the two-thirds world to go to Africa or South America in our place. Third, life is good in Singapore. This creates inertia making us reluctant to rough it out overseas.

Fourth is the emphasis on short-term missions. Our Antioch Call is not a 2-week in a year calling. When I was at Urbana ‘06 in St Louis, short-term mission is defined at up to two years on the field. Fifth is the expansion and multiplication focus. Many churches naturally focus on church growth and expansion. Church planting or multiplication may not always be on our radar. Sixth, pastors are so busy. Missions seem distant compared to the ‘real’ pressures of weekly worship services, problem-solving or fund raising for new facilities.

Overall, things are looking up because the positive factors are growing. There is an acceptance of our call to be an Antioch nation. From GoForth NMC, I also see a great resolve among the Singapore missions fraternity. Several reports show that Singapore is sending many overseas missionaries per capita of Christians.

I thank God for the many pastors and leaders with the Antioch DNA. I encourage all pastors to intentionally put missions on the fore-front of church life and ministry. We can expect great things to happen through our church. My home church started planting churches eighteen years ago, just one year after we started. We have never looked back. I also encourage all Singaporean Christians to invest more of our lives for missions every year. Get behind your pastor, church missions board and missions pastor for world missions. Together with God, we can anticipate a very bright future for the Singapore missions movement.

First published in The Christian Post Singapore. Online: http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase/editorial/624/section/1.htm

Personalising missions

Missions and Me
by Ben KC Lee
Saturday, Jul. 18, 2009


Strangely, the word 'missions' does not appear in Scriptures though the whole idea pervades the Bible. From the Old Testament God sends His messengers to call His people out of sin back to a right relationship with Him following to the New Testament the Bible's symphonic theme of mission. Jesus was a missionary from heaven coming to earth.

Christianity is defined as a missionary religion according to a popular encyclopedia. In other words, Christianity is missions. Missions is Christianity. In this article you will notice that I mean church-planting when I say missions. A church was always planted when Paul did missions. Missions is church planting because wherever evangelism produces converts, churches are planted.

The church is to cross all barriers to reach out to all ethnic groups, clans, tribe, social classes, and cultures. The great message of salvation is to be shared with all people everywhere. Since the Great Commission is a mandate, the church is expected to be obedient.

How does world missions specifically relate to the Singaporean Christian? Consider seven areas.

The first and foremost reason is simply that there are over four billion people in the world yet to know Christ (Rev. 7:9). People need Christ. This is our business. If it is not our business, we need to make this our business. We need to stand and be counted.

Second, Singapore presents us with a reach of 4.5 million people. 15% of Singaporeans consider themselves Christian. This is good considering that there are negligible number of churches in large cities and countries (Gen. 1:28). With over 560 churches in our city alone, you could say that there are already many players here.

Third, we cannot concentrate on national missions and downplay world missions. We cannot because there are no states or provinces here. Singapore is a city state.

Fourth, the emphasis on a bilingual school curriculum has benefits. Many folks here are bilingual. A related benefit is the development of bicultural people and therefore bicultural Christians. We are comfortable or at least sensitive to multi-lingual and multi-cultural environments. We are people ready to go into new cultures.

Fifth, is the high level investment in education and training of its people. Human resource here is highly educated, highly skilled and highly motivated. Such human potential when humble and harnessed well can be a potent missionary force (Eph. 2:10).

Sixth, is the strategic location of Singapore as a platform for launching church-planting teams. We reside in a nation that has excellent infrastructure, telecommunications and is a financial hub. We have every reason to build powerful missions churches in a country where everything works.

Seventh, is the spiritual growth from missions. Our personal experiences in the starting of our home church and starting churches in Asia would have taught invaluable spiritual lessons. The process of directly participating in missions has brought the Bible alive. Now, we know Biblical truths intimately because we have seen it come to life. We can speak with a great deal of conviction because I have come to know and trust the Lord much more. Now we can go beyond the region to go global.

I believe that a Christian misses our basis for existence when we do not participate in discipling the nations. I believe that our churches will plateau and face dryness when we do not enroll in God's plans for the whole world. When the river has no outlet, it becomes a dead sea.

Some may say, "I will send money". Others might say, "I will pray". God wants our heart. Let's pray, "Lord, please let me go". God is looking for people willing to obey His Commission. Pray for a vision for church planting. Missions is our life. 'M' does not just stand for 'missions' but it stands for 'me'.


First published in the Christian Post Singapore. Online: http://sg.christianpost.com/dbase/editorial/488/section/1.htm