In Remembrance: Paul Yap (1950-2011)

It was at Regent-College that I first got to know Paul.

Paul enjoys not just food, but good company too.

Enjoying a birthday event at our Somerville House. Paul lives above our unit.  (14 Nov 2005)

Gathering with friends from Singapore (20 Nov 2005)

We invited Paul to a Regent College Retreat back in 2005. He accepted and joined us.

This is our last meal as a family with Brother Paul at White Spot Restaurant @ Richmond. We helped him check in at the airport before proceeding to a sumptuous meal. Paul always liked food. (26 Nov 2005).

We'll miss you. Rest in peace. We will see you again when we all meet Jesus one day.

conrade

Regent College Pastors Conference 2011 (Day 1)

I miss Regent College. I miss the academically engaging environment. I miss the people. I miss the library. There are so many things I miss that endears me to try to keep in touch with that beautiful place through other means. I have been a part of the Pastors Conference throughout my student years there. I have hosted, volunteered, served, and learned many things from many different people. This year, the theme is on leadership, one of my favourite topics. Here is my way of keeping in touch, even when I am not physically there. Thanks to Twitter and a Regent student who has kindly summarized his learning on Day 1 here. Below are some of my favourite Twitter quips from yesterday.

****************

Here are the tweets from 4th May 2011. Thanks to all who have shared.

• "...I needed to be human, to function with integrity, and function in a way that honors God and who he's created me to be." #rcpc2011
• "So much of my life I lived a leadership role of obsessing over codes of conduct. I began to see that in God's presence," 1/2 #rcpc2011
•   "Leadership is all about God, not me. Novel concept." #rcpc2011
• Leaders & Rom 8.23: all creation groans awaiting redemption, and we ourselves. Including Christians. Including leaders. #rcpc2011.
• "ritual is more powerful than teaching" Gordon Smith on sacrament and table #rcpc2011
• "So much of my life I lived a leadership role of obsessing over codes of conduct. I began to see that in God's presence, I needed to be human, to function with integrity, and function in a way that honors God and who he's created me to be."
• Lots here about focusing more on being & receiving, less on doing & controlling, as key to healthy & holy leadership. #rcpc2011

Thanks to all who have twittered. Looking forward to more.

conrade

Book Review: "The Gospel Commission"

TITLE: THE GOSPEL COMMISSION - Recovering God's Strategy for Making Disciples
AUTHOR: Michael Horton
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011, (320 pages).

Is there anything new in this book? No. Is there a more jazzy message in there? No. Is there something hip and clever in the book? No. Horton shows us that we do not need these things to dress up the gospel message and mission. The pure gospel and mission can stand on its own.

Do not let this book's simple innocent title fool you. True to its message, the author base his ideas on biblical foundation. True to the gospel message, he makes the reader more attentive to the gospel itself. True to the gospel mission, Horton exemplifies in this book the words of the great missionary to China who famously says:

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply." (James Hudson Taylor)

What the Book is About
Simply put, the book continues where the author's two previous books have left off. In Christless Christianity and The Gospel-Driven Life, Horton talks about the need to take the gospel seriously, calling on believers toward the gospel MESSAGE. In this book, Horton continues with a renewed focus on taking the MISSION of the gospel seriously. He has several concerns. Firstly, he urges Christians NOT to take the Great Commission for granted. Secondly, he is arguing for a shift away from the tendency in many churches toward 'mission creep.' Such 'mission creep' tends to puff up church mission and strategies instead of sharing God's mission and kingdom. The former is more man-centered while the latter is God-centered. Thirdly, and most importantly, Horton writes:

"There is no mission without the church and no church without the mission." (14)

He announces:

"The Great Commission begins not with an imperative, a plan, a strategy for our victory in the world, but with the announcement that Christ has conquered sin and death." (89)

This is followed by a reminder that the Church need not invent new mission or strategies. Tying together the Great Commission and the Great Commandment, Horton says that Jesus himself has given us the mission and the strategic approaches. Horton interacts widely with leaders of the Emerging Church Movement, like Brian McLaren, as well as the spiritual contemplative writers like Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. He is not afraid to disagree with them when he feels they are out of sync with the Great Commission. Yet, he is respectful of the teachings from these esteemed authors. I appreciate the sensitivity and balanced manner, as well as the measured criticism from the author.

My Comments
One stark observation is that Horton does not lace this book with fancy titles or colourful glossy covers. Neither are there any big name endorsements on the inner and outer flaps that we have gotten so used to, especially for authors desperate to attract more readers to buy their books. If a book is good, the message alone suffices. If a book is no good, no amount of who's who on the covers helps. Horton does not need nice packaging. He lets the message be the message.

Kudos to the author, who is not interested in chasing after the latest fad in spiritual matters but stick to ancient truths that are theological sound, and biblically faithful. I find myself highlighting many powerful statements that hits home. I enjoy the way the author weaves together biblical theology and the mission emphasis of God's love. It is an important book that deserves a wider readership.

One critique I have is that such a book may not appeal as much to the general reader. Leaders and concerned church members who have some kind of theological training will benefit most. Apart from this, I think Horton is very passionate about the Gospel Commission, and sees all manner of Church and Christian Living from this perspective. I am glad to see Horton applying the mission focus on the fundamentals of Matthew 28:18-20. He exhorts the reader to put a renewed energy back into preaching, teaching, baptizing, and making disciples of all nations. Calling these as means of grace, the GC is not something that Christian 'have' to do, but is one that true disciples will love and long to do.

Did Michael Horton do a good job in 'recovering God's strategy for Making Disciples?' The answer is a resounding YES!

I strongly recommend this book.

---

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Doing Church or Being Church?

Church work is tough. Whether it is paid or unpaid, the challenges that come with it are quite daunting. In times of confusion, we need to ask ourselves whether we are 'doing' Church, or are we 'being' the Church God has called us to be. Here is a brief list of differences. For more, please read my reflections on Sabbath Walk this week here.

Doing church is content in doing exactly what is expected.

• Being church brings to the table what God expects from the community.

Doing church only goes to add stress to people's stressful lifestyles.  

• Being church recognizes the stress, and encourages one another to cast our cares on Jesus, to carry the burdens together.

Doing church is tiring and performs a circular rotation from one church activity to another.  

• Being church is energizing, and is constantly on a trajectory of gospel spreading both inside and outside of church.

Doing church is content with "I have done this, or I have done that." 

• Being church goes beyond the first, and begins with the community. It uses words like 'we, our, us.'

Doing church locks one in to maintaining church.  

• Being church frees one to sharing the love of Christ to all, both within and without the Church walls.

conrade

Sick of Your Job?

It is common to hear people complaining about their jobs. When they are unemployed, they yearn for an interview which will eventually land them a job. Some, after a while working at their jobs, they get bored. Some get frustrated. Others start to look for another job. Sometimes, the new job is better. Other times, it is worse. A common question for anyone in their mid-life is this: "What is your vocation?"

The word 'vocation' comes from the latin vocatio, which primarily means 'called out' or 'summoned to.' It is something that is unchanging, even though our jobs may change. Vocation is not equal to a job. In fact, a vocation is a calling. It is like a doctor. His job may be with a hospital, a clinic, or a medical researcher in an organization. That job as a doctor is NOT his vocation. His vocation is described more or less in his Hippocratic Oath, a pledge to use his skills and knowledge for the betterment of mankind, in the medical arena. Rev Bill Haley contributes a good article entitled, "When Your Vocation and Your Job Don't Match" that talks about the difference between vocation and a job. In it, he identifies 5 major distinctions about vocation, in particular how Christians should understand vocation.

1. It is a calling to Jesus Christ;
2. Our deepest vocations are NOT paid;
3. See all our work as 'kingdom work'
4. If we understand our vocation, we will pursue it regardless;
5. Those who follow their vocation, their call, are prepared to take risks to fulfill the calling.

From time to time, it is good to remind ourselves again to make a distinction between our jobs and our vocation. Our jobs do often change. Our vocations do not.

conrade

Good Friday Meditation

Today is Good Friday. At 11am this morning, my wife and I went to Church to participate in the "Stations of the Cross" walk through the neighbourhood. There were about 30 of us. With one of us carrying a giant cross, the rest of us solemnly walked to seven different stations. At each station, we would pause to hear the leader announce the significance of the station. He read a short phrase, followed by a common reading response from all. A volunteer among us read a passage of Scripture. Finally a hymn was sung.

I thought about the whole process. The hymn "Were You There" remained in my head.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
      Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
      Oh . . .
      Sometimes it causes me to tremble
           Tremble
                Tremble               
      Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

I tried to visualize myself there at Calvary when Jesus was crucified. Somehow, my imagination failed me. I tried to see Jesus suffering at the cross. I tried. Later, this story hit home.

A Story from "Bridge Over the River Kwai"
In the book, "Bridge Over the River Kwai," there was a WWII incident about 10 British Prisoners of War forced by their Japanese captors to build a bridge over the River Kwai in Thailand. They were given tools like shovels before the beginning of the workday, and at the end of the day, to return all of them. Any shovel that was missing would result in brutal punishment. One day, the officer in charge found only 9 shovels at the end of the day. Furious, he asked the POWs to own up. None responded. He threatened the first prisoner, and that he would not hesitate to kill. There was silence. After a seemingly long time, a man in the middle stepped forward. He was immediately shot dead.

It was soon realized that the officer had actually miscounted the number of shovels. There were none missing at all. The prisoners were shocked and moved to learn that their compatriot had given up his own life to save the rest.

This story reminded me of Jesus, who a perfectly innocent man, chose to bear all the consequences of sins of the world on his shoulder. He had given up his own life to save us. This is why Good Friday is remembered.

May we tremble. Tremble at our sinfulness. Tremble when we have been delinquent in recognizing God's Greatest Sacrifice. At the cross.


conrade

Maundy Thursday Reflection 2011

TITLE: A Half-Way Belief is Not Faith at All 
Written by: Conrade Yap
Date: 21 Apr 2011

"My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished. The grave is ready for me. Surely mockers are with me, and my eye gazes on their provocation." (Job 17:1-2)

MAIN THOUGHT: Our inability to grow strong in faith stems not from an absence of faith, but from a presence of half-belief.

For some of us, we cannot wait for Easter to come. Sunday School teachers tell kids to come in their 'Easter best.' They are told things about Easter egg hunt, Easter bunnies, and all things fun. Along with it, they say things like "He is Risen," "Jesus lives!" or "He is alive!"

All things rejoicing! All things wonderful! All things celebration!

That's just the icing on the cake. We still need the cake. The cake of pain and suffering. The cake of despair and utter loneliness. The cake of carrying the weight of the world's sins on one's shoulders. Easter is nothing without the suffering. Easter is not meaningful without Jesus' sacrifice and death at the cross. If Christ has not died, how can one then say He is risen?