Arise & Build is more than the building of a physical structure; it is about building lives. These City Harvest members bear witness that when we build God’s house, He will build ours.

By Lau Quanhan

CN PHOTOS: Bernard Soh, Daniel Poh and Gary Sim.

To the uninitiated, Arise & Build may seem to be no more than a building fund campaign, raising money to pay for a physical structure. While the “hardware” of a church is important, for City Harvest Church, whose motto for this season is “My Church, My Life”, it is the “software” that is far more important.

When Kong Hee, senior pastor of City Harvest Church preached about Arise & Build on the first weekend of Nov. 2011, he shared that the church was really building for “LIFE”, an acronym for love, intercession, family and eternity and encounters. The church understood that Suntec Singapore is not just a venue, but also a spiritual home where “in-reach” (members connecting with members) and outreach (members connecting with the unchurched) takes place, where mountain-moving prayers are prayed, where lives are transformed.  CHC is a spiritual home for many members, the place they found God, experienced transformation in their lives and now live for the Lord. This season,  Arise & Build echoed the call in 1 Peter 2:5 (GNB): “Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple…” The call is not just to build the house of God, but through that process, to have one’s own life built up as well.

In November, CHC members pledged their faith amounts over four months—the Arise & Build season culminates at the end of February.

In the words of Kong, “we can never out-give God”—some members, such the ones below, have already experienced the goodness of God in their lives during this season of giving.

The Obedient Will Eat the Good of the Land

Sharon Tan, 26, calls Arise & Build 2011/12 a time of stretching her boundaries of faith in order to trust God and obey His voice. “When one obeys, the act of obedience ignites greater passion in God and opens a brand new dimension of what it means to live a vision beyond oneself,” she tells City News.

Tan has been faithfully pledging and giving to CHC’s almost-annual Arise & Build campaign since 2003. Last November, she pledged an amount that was 220 percent of one month’s salary. Shortly after making her pledge, Tan received a promotion and a pay increment. Her promotion to marketing communications manager at multinational business solutions company NICE Systems was all the more significant as she had, at that point, worked fewer than 10 months in the company. Her team was awarded Best Support Team in Asia Pacific and Tan was nominated for Best Support Personnel in Asia Pacific at the company’s recent awards.

A Rhema Word From God

Jasper and Shirlena Tong, both 37, experienced God’s blessing during the Arise & Build season, weeks after they pledged a faith amount that God had placed in their hearts. As Christians they had always tithed and given their offerings, but mostly of obligation and duty.

Last year they joined City Harvest Church and were moved by God to participate in Arise & Build. God impressed upon them separately to give S$13,000, the largest offering they had ever given in their lives. “Because we love God, we would have fulfilled our pledge even if those blessings did not come,” said Jasper. But the blessings did come.

Shortly after they pledged the amount in obedience, Jasper’s supervisor recommended him for a promotion and he received a three-month performance bonus—all the more amazing given the economic conditions. Shirlena too, received a three-month performance bonus. On top of that, they sold their investment property in January for a 30 percent profit.

For them, an act of simple obedience through a pledge of S$13,000 brought in return the blessing of God amounting to S$190,000. More than the financial blessing, the couple felt that their faith in God had been greatly strengthened.

February is the final month of this season of Arise & Build—the members of City Harvest Church are eager and excited to finish this season strong, and to bear witness to God’s goodness in their lives.

A group of undergrads from the Uni Campus Ministry in City Harvest Church created their own Fear Factor-style celebration during Halloween.

Contributed By Lau Quanhan

Solving mysteries, making new friends through the Uni Campus Ministry. PHOTO COURTESY OF UNI CAMPUS MINISTRY.

On Oct. 27, a group of 27 students and their friends, from the National University of Singapore convened at their campus at Prince George’s Park for a special Halloween gathering. They belong to the Uni Campus Ministry of City Harvest Church, a group formed to help undergraduates in CHC network and forge friendships.

While Halloween is typically celebrated around the world with activities such as trick-or-treating, costume parties, carving jack-o-lanterns and lighting bonfires, theirs was an evening of costumed fun and fellowship that began with a cozy candlelit dinner at the K Gourmet Café and ended with a game of mystery and an awards presentation.

With hearts and stomachs warmed, the students put on their thinking caps as they took on the role of intrepid investigators put on the trail of a murder case. They were divided into three teams and had to solve clues and complete tasks as they roved around the PGP residences, interviewing key “eyewitnesses” to gather information. Teams raced against time as they combed the “crime scene” and performed a variety of different tasks, from apple dunking to Fear Factor-inspired tests of courage with blindfolded members retrieving items from a concealed box.

Having gathered the necessary evidence and recorded crucial accounts, they attempted to shed light on the mystery by presenting their conjectures on the case to the “jury.” Although the teams all arrived at the same conclusion, the neck-to-neck debate between the teams finally saw one group wresting the Best Team award from the other two with their rigorous argument. The case was closed and the night came to an end after the Best Costume award was given out.

Chen Meijuan, 21, had a fun night visiting the different stations and completing the various tasks. She commented on how the actors were fully convincing in their roles as the eyewitnesses, providing strong alibis to curb suspicion. She also enjoyed the twist in the storyline and how her group only changed their murder suspect at the very last station.

One of the organizers, Liew Yong Qiang, 23, found coordinating the event a worthwhile effort. Coming together with the rest of the committee to plan, execute and see fruition proved to be a thoroughly enriching experience for him.

For the NUS campus ministry, Halloween 2011 was a memorable crime-solving night, one that would linger on as a fond campus memory long after these students graduate.

The Uni Campus Ministry will be having a Christmas caroling outreach event on Dec. 10. For more information, email info@chc.org.sg.

Running with the lessons they learned at camp, the young members of VER Zone started a chain of good deeds.

Contributed By Lau Quan Han

The youth enjoyed the visit as much as the elderly residents. PHOTO COURTESY OF LAU QUAN HAN.

Great things happen when young people catch a vision and run with it. The youth of VER Zone stand testament to this.

During the recent June holidays, the youth members of City Harvest Church were involved in various camps at zone level. They left the camps fired up in their faith, and some took their experiences to the next level by applying what they learned.

30 youth under the pastoral care of Veronica Tang, a zone supervisor in CHC, attended the VER Zone’s Youth Encounter Camp from May 29 to June 2. Having learned about carrying the love of God during their camp, the youth decided to practice their lesson with a group of elderly residents at Our Lady of Lourdes Nursing Home.

There was even a mentorship element to the outreach: the older youth who are studying in tertiary institutions took the younger members, who are in secondary school, under their wings. Leading by example, the older boys and girls taught the younger ones how to engage and connect with the elderly, overcoming hurdles such as language.

As the young ones sang songs and held the hands of the old folk, they realized that the joy they had hoped to bring to the elderly was more than returned to them. The youth left with memories of their beneficiaries’ warm smiles.

This first encounter soon led to a desire to do more. The love for serving the community proved contagious: no more than a month later, the entire zone embarked on Project M.A.D.

M.A.D. is an acronym for “Making A Difference”—a suitable name as the youth went all out to touch as many lives as they could. A total of six homes in different parts of Singapore were cleaned up and made over by 80 volunteers. In addition to a return visit to Our Lady of Lourdes Nursing Home, other homes that were visited by the youth included Green Avenue Home for the Elderly, Jamiyah Nursing Home, Evergreen Place, Rochor Kong Shi Elderly Activity Centre and the Red Cross Home for the Disabled.

Apart from donating food items to some of the homes, the different cell groups in VER Zone performed for and interacted with the residents. The group returning to Our Lady Of Lourdes Nursing Home came equipped to do more: they gave light massages to the bedridden residents.

The group of volunteers who visited the Evergreen Place were pleasantly surprised at how their visit turned out to be more than they expected. They had come to teach the residents how to make handicraft in the form of ceiling mobiles, but ended up being impromptu performers. Some of the new friends who came along found themselves singing Hokkien songs to the delight of the elderly. The senior folk eventually joined in the karaoke on stage. This group of volunteers plans to go back to Evergreen Place again in August to bring even more activities to enrich the lives of the elderly—members and their friends are already preparing games and performances for their next visit.

For many of the first-time volunteers, stepping out of their comfort zone to serve the less fortunate members of the community, regardless of race or religion, truly drove home the revelation of God’s all-encompassing love. Lee Jialiang, 25, shared how seeing the sincere and genuine smiles on the beneficiaries’ faces made him feel that whatever he had done was meaningful.

For the members of VER Zone, this was definitely the start of something new, a movement that looks set to grow and inspire people to become more Christ-like by serving the needs of others in a practical way.

At a recent office devotion session by The Marketplace, business leaders learned the importance of putting God in the equation.

Contributed By Lau Quanhan

Devotion in session at Bok Seng Group.

Following the inaugural office devotion for business leaders, members of The Marketplace convened once again at the office of Bok Seng Group for their second meeting.

Traveling to the heart of an industrial estate, 17 business leaders came together to hear and receive the Word on May 13 at the Bok Seng Logistics Hub in Tuas. Following a short time of worship, the chairman of The Marketplace Goh Yock Kiang cut straight to the chase and showed how Christianity and running a business can be married: he handed out a set of notes entitled “Indicators For Company Performance.”

The measuring of Key Performance Indicators or KPIs is key to business owners who know the importance of constantly feeling the pulse of their business in order to accurately understand and gauge its vitality and strength. While most people would gauge the health of a company purely by its profit margin, Goh argued that there are three types of performance which need to be monitored: Intellectual Performance, Emotional Performance and Spiritual Performance.

Einstein’s enduring equation of E = mc2 is used as a mnemonic device to elaborate on the criterion for assessing each type of performance. Goh shared how a company which performs well intellectually has its focus on numbers and can be called a “good to great” company. In this instance, “E” stands for constant earning, “M” stands for quality of market domination while the twin “C”s stand for cash and cost respectively. For such companies, they acquire certain characteristics and reputation after a certain period of time. As business owners, the question to ask is if people would miss their companies if they are gone.

Next, Goh applied the formula to emotional performance: “M” here stands for morality and “C” stands for culture. Morality encompasses the relationship one’s business has with the government and the community at large, as well as work ethics. Culture refers to leadership characteristics in the organization. Companies that do well both intellectually and emotionally are “built to last” companies; they are characterized by their enduring nature and focus on building a reputation around their business.

Goh stressed that more than just good corporate governance, the ultimate aim is to build a company with “God corporate governance” where God is Lord over the company. Here, “M” stands for Man or Management, while the twin “C”s stand for the Creator and creation. He summarized their interrelationship as the management making effort to focus on the Creator, acknowledging the Lordship of Christ while bringing goods and services to benefit creation. Such companies would be known as “built to bless” companies, with belief as a key cornerstone.

Host, Dave Ng shared the testimony of his conversion—a process which spanned 16 years, beginning with the search for answers after his grandmother passed away. He went for an Alpha Course and was moved by the care and support from Christian friends who saw him through his family’s crisis during his wife’s miscarriage. He later attended City Harvest Church just to see how a big church was run. Finally, he was won over, received Christ and became rooted in the church itself.

Force 21. CN PHOTOS: Albert Soh & Michael Chan

Two weeks later, The Marketplace met again for devotion at Force 21, a regional supplier of security, defence and rescue gear. This time, Goh taught on the need for mindset renewal in a world that is constantly changing. The business leaders were blessed by his sermon which touched on the three effects of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, namely dreams and visions, boldness, and creativity and curiosity.

Hosts Daniel and Dorin Cheah shared about CWT Group acquiring a 70 percent stake in their business, Force 21. Selling one’s business is something many business owners feel sentimental about, but the Cheahs determined that the business belonged to God and they were willing to let it go should God decide to expand it in such a manner.

Business leaders can look forward to more office devotions. These sessions encourage the growth of their businesses and also their development as Christians in the marketplace. The testimonies serve as reminders too about the faithfulness of God’s word, blessing and abundance when Christ is the CEO of one’s company.

The next Marketplace devotion will be held on July 15, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Kingsland Development Private Limited, 15 Kwong Min Road. All are welcome. For more information, visit http://themarketplace.com.sg.

The Marketplace’s monthly office devotion brings entrepreneurs together to commit their business to God. City News reports on one session at the Spectacle Hut office.

Contributed By Lau Quanhan

The group of entrepreneurs praying for hosts Gary and Sara Khoo. CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

On this particular Wednesday morning, 17 business owners were gathered in a conference room, and it seemed all talk was centered on business. However, it soon became clear that this meeting was different than other business meetings: focus went beyond profit maximization to emphasize the need for God-centeredness in businesses.

This was The Marketplace’s monthly office devotion, which takes place every month at a different business office. On April 20, the group was gathered at Spectacle Hut’s new headquarters on Henderson Road.

The Marketplace’s chairman, Goh Yock Kiang, told City News the rationale of rotating venues was to allow the attendees to see how different businesses operate. Although this was not the first time office devotions had been held, the target was different: in many cases, business owners would conduct devotions for their staff, but this series of office devotions is specially created for business owners.

Goh explained that bosses are responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of their staff. What The Marketplace office devotion does is to strengthen the bosses so that they can do business righteously and learn to take care of their workers.

BUSINESS LESSONS FROM THE BIBLE

Following a short time of worship, Goh shared a message from Genesis 41 and 42, focusing on Joseph, son of Jacob, who, being a prisoner, was promoted to the role of prime minister of Egypt, having successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dream. God speaks to His people in dreams, Goh expounded, before asking his audience, “What is God speaking to you?”

He shared the amazing story of George Washington Carver (1864-1943), an African-American “Renaissance man” who was an educator, thinker, scientist and botanist. Carver heard from God to grow sweet potatoes and peanuts at a time when there was no existing market—there was a dominance of cotton crops in 20th century America. Going against conventional wisdom, Carver obeyed God, who then gave him ideas for 300 marketable products from sweet potatoes and peanuts. To this day, Carver is most famous for his research into and promotion of alternatives to cotton; some of his many inventions and projects include cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin made from peanuts.

Goh followed up with contemporary examples of businesses which have prospered through God-given ideas and strategies. He stresses how these business owners have obeyed God in maintaining honest dealings such as avoiding bribery and paying all their taxes and debts.

The message was simple: apart from areas of life that people always pray for, God also cares about the way that His people conduct business. Being a marketplace believer is not about getting rich quick, but about hearing and obeying the voice and purpose of God which covers every aspect of life. Goh declared that there is no separation between what is spiritual and what is work, and concluded his message by leading the group to recommit their lives and businesses into God’s hands.

More than just networking, the office devotion also provides a source of mutual support—business owners can come together as Christians, sharing and praying for each other’s business needs.

WITNESSING FOR GOD IN THE BUSINESS WORLD

At this particular devotion, Ee Boon Kiat of Kianson Private Limited gave testimony that as a Christian businessman, he continues to serve God while prospering in the marketplace. He shared how he had graduated from the School of Theology in 2008 and serves actively as a cell group leader in church—all the while running his growing business in composite timber.

Hosts Gary and Sara Khoo of Spectacle Hut shared their business experience and answered questions from the group, which ranged from how to break into the burgeoning China market, to staff training practices, and even biblical advice on conflict management between husband and wife who are partners in business.

The Marketplace office devotion is more than a cell group meeting at a workplace venue, being both business-centric and also God-centric in its orientation. First-time attendee Andrea Koo of MuRho Private Limited said she benefited from the sharing and interaction as it reinforced her belief of applying biblical principles, including that of putting God first in all her activities.

Another first-timer Thomas Wang of iWorld Services said he was most impacted by Ee’s testimony; it inspired him to believe that both serving in church while prospering in business was something
achievable.

Members of the Marketplace can look forward to more such enriching office devotions in the months to come.

The Marketplace office devotion happens monthly. The next devotion will be held on Friday, May 13, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Bok Seng Group, 5 Tuas Avenue 3, BS Logistics Hub. All are welcome. For more information, visit http://themarketplace.com.sg.

In this era of fast love, it is heartening to find extraordinary men who love till the very end. Here are their inspiring stories.

Contributed By Lau Quan Han

CN PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN. Steven Lee on one of his daily visits to his wife at the nursing home.

It was under rather tense circumstances that 76-year-old Steven Lee Weng Kee met his wife, Wong Ah Chee, 77, some 52 years ago. She was a worker on strike and he was the reluctant reporter assigned to cover the strike.

As fate would have it, he interviewed her and that serendipitous meeting marked the beginning of two years of courtship, half a century of marriage, six children and numerous grandchildren.

Wong has been living in a nursing home as she requires specialized care due to feeble legs that have rendered her wheelchair-bound. Lee visits her rain or shine every day. Even the recent bout of unusually wet weather did not deter him.

During his visits, he prays for complete healing of her body and mind, as she also has mild dementia.
He tenderly recalls how she smiles when he makes playful jibes at her. Lee fondly remembers their shared wanderlust in their younger years when they visited different parts of China and England together. He then proudly produces a yellowed, 20-year-old photograph taken with his wife on a famous floating restaurant in Hong Kong. His secret to a lifelong marriage is: mutual respect.

PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN LEE. The Lees see through thick and thin in their marriage.

To many, the love shared between couples of the older generation is typified by a sense of utilitarianism, a rite of passage as they eke out a living during the formative years of Singapore. In other words, the image that comes to mind tends to stem from the stereotype of an older generation suffused with stoicism, where love meant nothing more than the provision of a roof over one’s family and food on the table.

And yet, demonstrations of love that goes the distance by men like Lee are a stark contrast to modern-day romances that are often plagued with extra-marital affairs and hiking divorce rates.

LABOR OF LOVE

Loke Chun Seng may be 90, but he has yet to enjoy his twilight years. His broad, unassuming smile and spirited demeanor conceals the tremendous labour of love he undertakes in being the primary caregiver to his wife, a dementia patient.

Loke, an ex-mechanic, met his wife, Guan Nian Hao, 92, through friends and tied the knot when she was only 17 and he, 15. They have had three sons and two daughters.

Loke spends his Sundays at City Harvest Church’s Dialect Church services, the only respite he gets during the week. The other six days are devoted to taking care of his ailing wife. His day begins at 6 a.m. He cooks, feeds and cleans his wife, even assisting her in going to the toilet.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOKE CHUN SENG. Loke (seated, third from left) and his wife during a Dialect Church outing.

To make matters worse, Guan’s mental capacity makes her verbally abusive and incapable of obeying simple instructions.

Loke goodnaturedly recalls Guan accusing him of adultery even though she has been the only woman in his life. The fact that the unconditional love showered on his wife is unreciprocated makes it all the more poignant.

Although both men are no longer in the prime of their life, they demonstrate what it means to love with an agape love that never leaves nor forsakes with the passage of years, even when beauty has faded and health has failed.

Developing a renewed appreciation for the biblical knowledge through text and type at The Source photography exhibition.

Reading the Holy Scriptures is one thing; to see the places where it all took place is another. In The Source, a photography exhibition presented by the Embassy of Israel, Singapore, at The Arts House from Dec. 8 to 10, Israeli photographer Hanan Isachar captures Israel as the cradle of the world’s three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, through 30 different sights and sites bearing historical-religious significance. At the same time, he dedicates a significant amount of focus to sites of Christian importance, as the third millennium of Christianity approaches.

As a melting pot of religions fleshed out in the co-existence of mosques and minarets, chapels and spires, synagogues and shrines, the images include shots of Al Aqsa Mosque, the “farthest mosque,” built in the Noble Sanctuary; Haram al-Sharif, the third most sacred place in Islam; the Church of All Nations, also known as the Basilica of the Agnoy in the Garden of Gethsemane; as well as the famed Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.

These images will seem almost alien to most Singaporeans who are used to the urban and secular. The sense of the sublimity so absent in cosmopolitan living dominates the imagination in images such as the one of a Greek Orthodox Monastery situated above the Kidron Valley. The dates and the centuries marked tell more than the preservation of relics, as they capture the persistence and endurance of a people’s faith, unchanging even as the centuries drift by.

There was also a video projection showcasing Israel as a secular Jewish state that allows for the freedom of worship, where what is sacred to one religion is sacred to all. It also captures the ministry of non-Jewish affairs regularly conducting interfaith dialogues, and facilitating meetings amongst teens who hold different beliefs.

As a Christian, it was the biblical names and places that spoke to me the loudest. I found my eyes being directed to the captions first before allowing myself to be drawn into the corresponding image, as I mentally reenacted the biblical events. There were beautifully composed shots of the Mount of Olives, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes, Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle, as well as Via Dolorosa and Golgotha. Many of these images do not feature human figures, allowing for the mind to populate them with historical figures. More than just invoking biblical events, there is also mention of sites associated with the Crusades, reminding me of the bloodshed and conflict which is inseparable from modern-day impressions of Jerusalem and Israel.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMBASSY OF ISREAL, SINGAPORE

For me, the exhibition was an expression of diversity while reminding Christians of the reality of their faith. At the same time, it whetted my photographic taste buds for fresh subjects and adventure in a foreign land.

A word in season for the staff and leaders of City Harvest Church.

CN PHOTO: Michael Chan

On Aug. 24, A.R. Bernard, senior minister of Christian Cultural Center in New York City, met some of the staff and leadership of City Harvest Church at the church’s Jurong West complex. This was his second time sharing at CHC’s weekly leaders’ meeting and he came with a message to encourage and exhort the people.

Bernard spoke on the topic of God’s loyalty and dedication to the good work He starts among His people. Even though there may be crises preceding a turning point in a person’s life, the response of the believer is important as a decision usually has to be made at such junctures in a person’s life. He added, “[Sometimes] crisis for the believer serves as an opportunity to reveal the cracks or areas in life that require change.”

GOD’S HOLINESS VERSUS GOD’S LOVE

Bernard emphasized two opposite aspects of God’s character: His holiness and [the nature of] His love. Whereas God’s holiness separates Him from evil, His love allows Him to extend His full favor, compassion and care upon His creation.

Bernard explained how the opposite poles of His holiness and the sinful nature of man are reconciled through His love and acceptance, illustrating that in relating to sinful Man, God balanced His standard of righteousness and holiness with a self-sacrificial love in order to make the relationship work.

Likewise, Christians should demonstrate sacrificial love to the people around them. For example, when children disobey their parents, even though the latter may be upset, no parent in their right frame of mind would want to destroy the child.

At this point Bernard offered crucial insight—that even though the child has fallen short of the parents’ standards and expectations, love always seeks a way of redemption because the parents value the relationship.

“In other words,” said Bernard, “if you don’t place a value on the relationship, you won’t be committed to it.”

TURNING POINTS IN LIFE

Bernard introduced the Hebrew word khesed from Micah 6, which means “mercy”; expressing passionate undeserved loyalty as the defining quality of God’s goodness.

He emphasized how God is a “diehard loyal to whatever He creates, initiates, begins, builds and establishes.” In this vein, loyalty is a gift which cannot be bought; true loyalty exists regardless of title or position.
Bernard then defined a turning point as an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or else making a deeper commitment to an existing course of action already chosen.

Using marriage as an example, he stressed that a turning point for a marriage in trouble need not necessarily have to lead to divorce. Instead, how each spouse responds to a turning point in their marriage shows what each of them is committed to: Whether are they willing to fight for their marriage or have they decided to give up on each other.

GOD’S COMMITMENT TO MAN

Illustrating God’s commitment to Man, Bernard traced an outline of the creation, fall and degeneration of Man, highlighting God’s decision not to annihilate mankind completely but to start again through the family of Noah. He also expounded from the post-creation account where God faced a turning point in Genesis 6:6 (KJV) where “it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.”

As he concluded the session, Bernard succinctly summed up the lesson through Philippians 1:6, that the Church can be confident that God who has begun a good work in them, will be faithful to complete it. “All God needs is the smallest degree of hope in order to start an incredible work,” he affirmed those in the auditorium.

City News spoke to attendees who were at the session to find out what they had learned.

Sharon Tan, 25, a marketing executive shared, “When Dr. Bernard talked about the true meaning of loyalty, it struck a chord in me. You don’t give loyalty because the person deserves it; khesed in Hebrew means undeserved loyalty—it  is a gift of mercy given when someone doesn’t need to earn it, rather, you choose to stand with the person.”

Poh Yang Hong, 23, a university student, concurred and shared that his greatest takeaway was the revelation that “true loyalty is a gift given willingly without expecting a returning favor.”

Said Matthew Chee, 42, “I learned that a healthy organization must have a clear goal, but more importantly, the ability to renew itself at different milestones.”

The crowd that evening left challenged not only to rethink the definition of loyalty, but to give of it freely and fight for it passionately.

At a meeting for CHC ministry leaders and School of Theology students, A.R. Bernard taught on crisis and self-renewal.

A.R. Bernard addressed a capacity crowd of CHC leaders and School of Theology students on Tuesday, June 29. His message was one of encouragement and edification, urging the crowd to constantly renew themselves.

Preaching from Isaiah 43, Bernard taught that every living thing is designed to perpetuate itself. “Death occurs,” he said, “when an entity cannot renew itself from within. What is true of the individual is also true of organizations.”

Quoting Jim Collins, author of Good To Great, Bernard explained that the longevity of an organization depends on its ability to renew itself from within, and how organizations that are long-lived are structured to be so. He quoted his own mentor, the late Edwin Louis Cole, that “fame comes in a moment; greatness comes with longevity.”

In his many visits to CHC, Bernard often shared that “life is lived on levels and arrived in stages.” Citing from his own experience, Bernard has observed through 32 years of ministry that growth to the next level is often a result of going through crisis.

He encouraged the congregation that a crisis for the Christian is not a negative experience because there is hope in Christ. In fact, the Bible also states that every branch that has been fruitful is pruned in order to bear more fruit.

At this point, Bernard reiterated that each new stage demands a new level of knowledge, understanding, responsibility and authority from the individual. “Moving from level to level, individuals are only as strong as their character. In other words, our character is our inner strength,” Bernard said.

He taught that revival is never initiated by man; it is only discovered when believers manage to discern that it is God’s providential activity. Jesus Himself walked in an awareness and consciousness of God’s intentions and activities. Bernard then gave two examples from the gospels which showed Jesus’ own discernment during His earthly ministry.

In John 9, Jesus encountered a man born blind. His disciples questioned whether he or his parents had sinned, resulting in his blindness. Jesus

replied, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

Many people often misinterpret this episode—they believe God put blindness on the man for Jesus to heal him. Jesus identified that God did not make the man blind, but rather, sent Jesus to bring the healing to him.

In Matthew 26, a woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. Even as His disciples saw it as a waste of resources, Jesus discerned that while the woman could have been moved by love, the anointing was God’s way of telling Him that He was fast approaching the time of His death and sacrifice.

In John 5:17 (NLT), Jesus said “My Father is always working, and so am I.” God is constantly at work, doing things all the time that are often indiscernible. With this verse, Bernard then shared that his constant prayer is for God to teach him to discern His activity, His hand, His presence and His providential activity all around him.

 CN PHOTOS: Aaron Low and Kenneth Lee

Referring to Isaiah 43:19, Bernard explained that God first initiates revival and then draws attention to it. As Christians go through life, God prepares things for His children before they even know they need it because He loves them. Even if believers make bad choices and end up in the Valley of the Shadow of Death (Ps. 23), believers need not fear anything as He is with them. Oftentimes, “God uses His rod to hit us on the head to ask us ‘What are you doing here?’ and His staff to lead us out again,” said Bernard.

Listing the five stages of renewal that are applicable to an individual or an organization: personal renewal, relationship renewal, renewal of purpose, structural renewal and cultural renewal, he added that revival and renewal begin internally before an external revival happens.

Firstly, personal renewal comes through introspection. Through crisis, a person develops an awareness that he or she has not arrived at the next level. Secondly, this will lead one to assess the influence of the close relationships around him or her, and examine if these influences are positive. Thirdly, there will be a renewal of purpose, where a person will re-examine the value of his or her activities and make the adjustments where necessary.

Bernard acknowledged that the first three areas will then lead one to renew himself or herself structurally, which then begs the question: are these activities structured for progress or are they just empty movement? It is also important to ask oneself if the current structure which brought him or her this far, can take him or her to the next level.

This is structural renewal at work. Once the internal renewal is complete, the church or organization can then focus on making an impact in culture and in the society at large through cultural renewal.

Bernard subsequently drew reference to his home church and shared the four fundamentals of CCC, New York, around which the church is built: its core values, its core purpose, a relentless drive for progress and an emphasis on strength beyond the presence of any one individual.

Elaborating on the fourth fundamental, Bernard said, “Even if one person is incapacitated, it should not lead to a complete breakdown of the organization. It is important that we do not get our egos involved.” He warned that it was dangerous for leaders to think and act territorially.

Bernard concluded his message by talking about the secret to longevity which has to do with two things: continuity and change, whereby managing continuity means having uninterrupted succession and flow to have “business as usual”; while managing change is about moving from one level and structure to the next.

While the core values and purposes are to be kept, Bernard added that methods, systems, operating practices and business strategies could be reshaped at this point.

By the end of the session, leaders and members were greatly encouraged. Lee Jialiang, 24, a university undergraduate, was reminded to “constantly evaluate ourselves on our mission, and to be on the lookout to do things better [as] these changes make room for God to bring renewal and continued growth.”

Esther Yap, 26, a junior college teacher, felt that Bernard’s sharing “helped me to view crisis differently, seeing crisis as an indicator of the renewal process.”

Bernard’s sharing brought about great encouragement to all who were in the meeting. His timely message also served to lift the spirits of its congregation and motivate the church toward achieving greater works in time to come.

CN PHOTOS: Alvin Low

Dr. Richard Bernal of Jubilee Christian Center shared a simple but powerful truth with the delegates who attended the Effective Missions elective, where they learned that being effective is going where God has sent you. This was no lesson on organization, crossing national boundaries or running mega-crusades but rather, a wise word in season from an experienced minister to a younger generation of believers eager to serve God in the mission field.

Beginning with a quick survey of the different nationalities represented in the room, Bernal opened the session with the first verse, 2 Peter 1:10, relating how Peter exhorted the believers to make their call and election sure. This formed the cornerstone of Bernal’s message—that effective ministry and missions is all about understanding and walking in God’s calling and leading. He elucidated this point by making reference to the Great Commission and the actual mission work carried out by the apostles. Jesus’ last words prior to His ascension were His instructions to the disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Yet in the book of Acts, Paul found himself forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia.

Bernal explained that while the Body of Christ is called to all the world, believers are individually each called to specific places. Bernal shared his belief of how he would not be able to duplicate the success of his ministry outside of San Jose, California, because that was the place that God has specifically called him to.

Bernal regaled everyone with the story of his first crusade in Gutour, India, where by accident, he found himself entirely unprepared to preach to a crowd of unbelievers numbering thousands. The hilarity of his inexperience and the circumstances leading to near-disaster served to underscore the miracle which God performed as he eventually preached and performed healings and deliverances under the power of God.

The crucial lesson Bernal learned from this experience was to be sensitive to the leading and anointing of God under varying circumstances, to preach or to heal, ultimately trusting the Holy Spirit to show up. Bernal also shared about a minister he knew who left his own flock of 5,000 members to attempt to plant churches in other places. This minister encountered frustration and unfruitfulness as a result. It was the same person with the same talent—but the ineffectiveness lay in the basic fact that ministry and church planting are not acts of franchising. Rather, they have everything to do with the specific call of God.

Sharing from 2 Corinthians 10:13-16, Bernal showed how even the great Apostle Paul understood the boundaries of the sphere in which God had appointed him, fully aware of his call and ministry to the Gentiles.

Finally, Bernal posed a question to all the delegates, asking them if they were a “king” or a “priest,” a trick question with reference to the knowledge that believers are called to be both—as royal priesthood. He posed the question once again, asking the delegates if they were a priest-king or a king-priest before explaining from Revelations 1:4-6 about the different primary roles to which believers are called.

The believer called to be a king-priest would be someone primarily called to serve and shine in the marketplace, who still performs priestly duties by serving in a church. The converse is true with the believer who is a priest-king. With this, Bernal stressed how service in the marketplace and service in the ministry are not mutually exclusive. Receiving salvation in Christ does not automatically mean that one is called to serve the ministry in a full time capacity. This would also mean that one should never despise the calling of God to a secular vocation as it does not indicate a lesser degree of personal spirituality.

For Bernal, effectiveness in missions and ministry begin even before serving. It begins with the believer’s surety of his/her call and election in Christ.

Other Effective Missions elective sessions featured Dr. David Sumrall, Bobby Chaw and George Ong.