The Young People Are The Leaders of the Church Today

by Rev. James Wong

We use to think that young people are the leaders of the future. Today I change my view about this. Young people are the leaders of today. Why do I say this?

Market trend. The market today are driven by young people. They are the trend setters and pace setters. They are the target of world marketers like iPhone, Nokia, fashion designers and … you name it. Young people hang around places that give them a sense of freedom, relaxation, comfort and easy access to Wi-Fi. They are creative and willing to spend. Friendship to them takes precedent over other relationships. They waste no time on things that are mundane and boring, a mindset conditioned by a global viral infection—mobile internet and the multi-media attraction that comes with it.

Revelation. I thought in my age I could still be effective in reaching the young people but I was wrong. The revelation came one day when I was having difficulty holding the attention of a group of young people but as soon as another younger guy took the stage he swayed the crowd. I learn that, it takes young people to reach young people and it takes young people to lead young people today . The guidance of the elderly are valuable but not necessarily relevant. I feel uncomfortable about this but I have to accept the reality. Young people who are educated and exposed to the internet are the new ‘knowledgeable workers age’ a term coined by Steven Covey to describe the current generation. People are well informed because of instant journalism and they had more choices and opportunities today then we had in our younger days.

Church dilemma. Many of our young people in KK have migrated to other churches. I am thinking about cross congregations corporation very seriously especially in the KK parish. If we do not have a good youth leader to lead our youth ministry we would rather encourage our young people to go to another BCCM congregation that has a strong youth ministry led by a strong youth leader instead of losing them to other churches. You see our dilemma? Today I want to raise your attention to the importance of having strong full-time youth leaders to develop our youth ministry in all our congregations. Young people are the leaders today not tomorrow. For those of us who are older, we may have the wisdom but  we need young people to move things. They have strength and energy on their side (Prov 20:29). When we have potential young people who have a heart for God among us we need to encourage them to rise up and take leadership role and give them our greatest support, spiritually and financially.  Only young people can reach young people effectively. I hope you see the clue and the reality of things.

I thank God for our captains and officers who have sacrificed much through the years. I honor their commitment and I will always be inspired by them.

A Call To Tough Duties

By Rev. James Wong

Most Christians have the misconception that serving God is doing noble works and working with pleasant people. This is just a myth. Those who serve God with such a notion will soon discover the truth to their dismay. Serving God with the wrong belief  will lead us to frustration and disappointment.

As I read the Bible I see that all of the people, whether they were prophets or ordinary people, were called by God to work in difficult situations and having to deal with difficult people. In fact, there is no need for any call of God to do easy jobs and to work with pleasant people.

Moses was called to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. God promised to be with him but he had to overcome problems one after another. There was a shortage of water, lack of food, a bunch of complainers, poisonous snakes, unfriendly neighborhood and the rebellion of the people. Moses did what God told him to do but he had to face a mountain of problems.

When Moses died, Joshua was appointed the new leader. He led the people into the Promised Land but there were giants in the land. God promised that there would be abundance of milk and honey in the Promised Land but there was also abundance of enemies everywhere. Joshua spent the rest of his life fighting all the way to conquer the Promised Land, city by city.   There were problems in the Promised Land.

To serve God we must not only have the heart of a servant, but we must also have the heart of a conqueror and be brave-hearted. If we know that the call of God to service is always a call to sacrifice, to work in difficult situations and handling tough people, it is necessary for us to be tough-minded and be courageous. We must rise above all trying circumstances and deal with people who are tough on us. The call of God is not for the faint-hearted.

The real test of a person’s character could be seen when he or she has to work in an unfavorable situation and having to deal with difficult people. Those who curse and mourn have not known what it means to carry the cross to follow Christ.

If you always complain about your working environment and are critical of the people you work with or live with, you are just like anyone else. I believe we are all called to make a difference in our world in everyway, for Jesus says ‘You are the light of the world, … you are the salt of the world.’ This is a tough calling for tough people for tough duties. As the strength of a ship can only be tested in a storm, so is our call to service.

Moving On

By Rev. James Wong

I was transferred to BCCM Sandakan on the 1 January 2008. After spending more than four years in Sandakan I am reluctant to leave. I believe it is true that what people say will soon be forgotten but how people make us feel will remain for a long long time. Many of you have made me and my wife felt welcomed and loved, so it is not easy to leave BCCM Sandakan behind us.

My Church Family.  There is a sense of being uprooted again in a transfer. It is always a sad thing to leave behind good friends. As a pastor, my closest family is the church and sometimes, it is the only family that I have in the real sense of the word. I spend more time with the church than with my family members as they are away from me. In the end, it is the good friendship that I have gained in the Lord that means the most to me and my wife. I have to accept the fact that there is a season for every thing. There is a time to let go no matter how much I want to cling on.

New Assignment. Leaving Sandakan is no more an option for me now due to the requirements of my duty as a Dean and the need for manpower in a congregation in KK. My new assignment will be pastoring an emerging congregation known as Canaanland Mission Centre in KK, just opposite the road of BCCM KK church. I will be serving the congregation there with my able colleague Pr Alice Thien Fui Chu. There are six pairs of twins in that congregation and perhaps it is rightly called a church of twins!

Inspiration. The commitment and sacrifices of many individuals and the church council members have been most inspiring to me. The Sandakan church is complex and her ministries are many. No one individual can do it all. Like the clock that keeps ticking forward, our unity of purpose has enabled us to move forward in the circumference of our limitation and imperfection in many areas. Any progress in the church is always the result of good team work, support and encouragement for one another.

Moving on. My transfer will be in stages beginning 1 May. By the first week of July when the Alpha 3 run finishes on  6 July 2012,  I should have relinquished all my duties to my successor Rev. Johnny Wong. I urge everyone to give your undivided support and encouragement to Rev. Johnny Wong and all the staffs of the church. Those who are serving the church are primarily motivated by encouragement and appreciation. The Bible says, “Encourage one another daily …” (Heb 3:13).

We are heading towards a greater future of open doors. "When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us." (Alexander Graham Bell). Let us pray for each other that “God will open a door for our message” always (Colossians 4:3).

The Alpha Invitation

by Rev. James Wong

Would you invite a friend to the coming Alpha  Introductory Dinner and Fellowship on Thursday, 12 April 2012? We have included an Alpha Invitation Card in the Weekly Bulletin for the past two weeks for your use. What you need to do is to send out the invitation card and invite your friends to come to the dinner. The following are some useful information.

What is the Alpha Introductory Dinner and Fellowship night all about?

It is a night we invite our friends to church for dinner. After dinner there is a brief talk about the Alpha Course that helps us to explore the meaning of life, dealing with question like, “is there more to life?” So, we encourage the people to sign up for the course.

Who can attend the Alpha Course?

Alpha is for everyone. Non-Christians, non-church going Christians, new believers and also believers. However, for our church members we encourage you to bring your friends to attend.

What are some of the issues that the Alpha Course will deal with?

Alpha gives us a chance to explore the big questions of life such as ...

1. Is there more to life than this?

2. What are the purposes of life?

3. Why does God allow so much suffering?

4. How can I know God really exists?

5. Why do I need God?

6. What really happens when I die?

7. Is there really one true faith, one true God?

What would be the regular weekly session look like?

7:00pm Makan Time

7:45pm Sing along . Ice-breakers

8:00pm Life Talk (In English and Cantonese)

8:45pm Small group discussion

9:30pm End

Last year we had 92 people who attended the Alpha Introductory dinner. 52 of them were guests and after the dinner 24 guests signed up for the Alpha Course.

A research has shown that 75%-90% of people come to know Christ through their friends or relatives. A friend inviting a friend is the most effective way to share the love of God. Inform sister Yet Far at 215615 if you are bringing your friends.

Becoming Perfect

by James Wong

Becoming perfect is a process working towards improvement and a better end. A perfectionist  is a person who believes that work or anything less than perfect is unacceptable. If you don’t know, very few people can live with a perfectionist!

Jesus teaches about being perfect but not being a perfectionist. He says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). To understand the meaning of this verse we need to read the preceding verses starting from verse 43. It is a passage that contains the most concentrated expression of the Christian ethic of personal relationships. What does “Be perfect” mean?

1. To be perfect is to be like God. Our heavenly Father is perfect (see v.48). How can we imperfect mortals match up with the standard of God? We sometimes even hate ourselves because we know we are not perfect human beings. No one is. What is Jesus asking us to strive for when he says “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How can we can become perfect like God? Is this possible?

2. God is perfect because he is gracious. God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45 NIV). God is a perfect God because he makes no distinction between the evil and the good, the righteous and the unrighteous. He gives them equal opportunity to survive by providing them sunshine and rain. Our ethical thinking demands that the good be rewarded and the evil be punished. Not so in the eyes of God. Then God must be unfair! God is not unfair, he is just good and full of grace. He gives to those who do not deserve it. This is grace!

3. To be perfect is to love our enemies. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:24). The great Jewish tradition and law taught one to love one’s neighbor and hate one’s enemies. It is a fair deal. To love one’s enemies and pray for them is contrary to all cultures. The Greek Word for love, ‘Agape’ used here means a determination of the mind. It is an unconquerable goodwill even to those who hurt and injure us.  To love our enemies is an act of the will. It is a decision we have willed ourselves into doing. It is a victory over that which comes instinctively to the natural man. This is possible only when Jesus Christ enables us to conquer our natural tendency to anger, bitterness and revenge.

4. To be perfect is to do more than conventional belief. There is no need for a religion to teach us to love those who love us. Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Matt 5:46-48). Robbers, thieves, extortionist, extremist, murders, sexual perverts, human traffickers, drugs dealers, law breakers, jail breakers,  … they love those who love them. To love like them is just human. To do more is to be perfect like our heavenly Father. Are we doing more?

Why I Join A Life Group

by Rev. James Wong

A life group provides a structure for church growth and for members to love and care for one another in a practical manner. The followings are the benefits that I have found joining a life group.

1. A Life Group Helps Me To Find Power For Living. Mc Donald reminds me of hamburgers and KFC helps me to think of fried chicken. Invariably there will be a time of worship in a life group. The lyrics of the worship songs remind me of the grace and faithfulness of God. This gives me a proper perspective on life’s challenges. I can then rest assured that ‘There is no problem too big that God cannot solve it. There is no mountain too tall that He cannot move it. There is no storm too dark that God cannot calm it. There is no sorrow too deep that he cannot sooth it.’

2. A Life Group Helps Me To Develop Proper Life Values. Value is a belief system. It is influence by our past experience, childhood up bringing, culture and our own cultural traits. A boy who refuses to go to school unless he has a pair of Niki is a reflection of his value which affects his choices. Proverbs 10:2 says, “Ill-gotten gain has no lasting value, but right living can save our life” (NLT).  The discussion in the life group based on the Sunday sermon is a powerful way for us to learn the truths to ensure right thinking and right living

3. A Life Group Helps Me To Discover My Talents In Serving Others. God has given everyone of us gifts or talents and we are to use them well to “serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10 NLT). The life group gives me the opportunity, not only just to receive like a consumer, but to contribute in serving others like Jesus did. Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20::28 NIV). It is very often in serving and giving that I discover the gifts that God has given me and thus, develop my potential.

4. A Life Group Helps Me To Build Meaningful Relationships. I cannot have conversation with 60 people but I can have meaningful conversation with 6 or 10 people in a small group. It gives me the opportunity to develop deep and meaningful friendship rather than superficial relationships with many people. Proverbs 27:10 says, “Do not forget your friends or your father’s friends ...” (NLT). This is the importance of friendship that the Bible teaches but good friendship can only develop among a small number of people.

Our understanding and attitude towards life group makes the key difference in our life and the lives of others. When you think of life group, think of the benefits as well.

From Cell Group to Church to Cell Group

by Rev. James Wong

The concept of cell group or life group is not a modern invention of the church. During the first two centuries of the Christian era church buildings did not exist at all. So Christians met in the homes of members.

In  writing to his friend Philemon, Paul said in his letter, “to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home.” He also said to the Roman Christians, “please give my greetings to the church that meets in their home” (Romans 16:5 NLT).  To the Colossians Christians Paul requested, “Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house” (Colossians 4:15 NIV). So the early Christians met in the homes of believers and the churches were house churches.

When the church becomes more organized and structured and financially able, church buildings become necessary for corporate worship to hold a bigger congregation and to facilitate the smooth and effective development of church ministries. As the number of members of the church increases the relationship with each other becomes more and more superficial. Therefore the church must grow larger and smaller at the same time.  It is necessary to structure the church with cell groups for the development of meaningful fellowship and effective outreach.

The two agendas of the cell group are as follows. Remember them.

1. Loving those who are within. This refers to loving those who are already Christians—those who have given their life to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35 NIV). The life group is an excellent setting for believers to love and care for one another. It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ without consciously and intentionally loving another believer. The cell group is not there to entertain you but for you to love others.

2. Loving those who are outside. This refers to loving those who are non-Christians. God’s heart is always with those who do not know him. God has called us on a mission to share his love to those who are outside the church circle. This is how Jesus describe the joy of heaven when the lost sheep is found; “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7 NIV). The home setting provides a friendly environment for friends to drop by and have fellowship with us in a non threatening environment. But we need to be nice to people and invite them to our cell group.

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

By Pr. Timothy Lo

This year, our life group ministry started off with a combined potluck dinner on 10 February. Brothers and sisters from all the different life groups came together for a fellowship meal. We had a good time of worship and Rev James Wong shared a short message. After that, there was a planning session, whereby all the brothers and sisters gathered into their respective life groups to plan their life group meetings and activities. The mission of the life group ministry is to ensure that every member has a loving, caring family of friends to help him or her grow into a fully devoted follower of Christ. The following points sum up the purpose of life group.

1) A Life Group is a Discipleship Group.

It is a place for brothers and sisters to grow together to become fervent followers of Jesus Christ through the process of discipling, teaching and mentoring. There will be a discussion of the Sunday’s sermon whereby brothers and sisters can edify each other towards growth to be a passionate follower of our Lord Jesus.

2) A Life Group is a Care Group.

It is a place to care for one another through encouragement and practical expressions of love and kindness. In the setting of the life group, the members will show care and concern for one another and also to pray for one another. It is also a place to have fellowship together.

3) A Life Group is a Ministry Group.

It is a place to develop and use God’s given gifts and abilities to help and serve others. God gives spiritual gifts to all His children. The life group is a good venue for brothers and sisters to exercise and utilize these gifts to bless others.

4) A Life Group is an Outreach Group.

It is a place to bring friends, neighbours and relatives in order for them to experience the life that is in Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters are encouraged to invite non believers to life group meeting. The home setting is non threatening and is suitable for us to invite non believers to join us in order for them to have exposure to Christianity.

We are reminded in the book of Acts regarding the first century Christians. “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Let us all make efforts to join a life group this year.