Casey Treat, Senior Pastor of Christian Faith Center in Seattle returned to preach at City Harvest Church on the weekend of 26 and 27 July. He taught that a fulfilling Christian life requires a process of change, and an intentional renewing of the mind and attitude — it is a lifestyle of becoming more like Jesus. We are called to renew our minds to live as God intends, said Pastor Casey, using every endeavour to win battles, overcome pain, and move on to abundant life. City News sat down for this conversation with him.
Firstly, Pastor Casey, it’s good to have you back preaching at City Harvest Church. Could you tell us a little about your friendship with Pastor Kong and Sun?
Well, decades keep going by, huh? So Kong has been with us in Seattle, and of course, I’ve been here (in Singapore) and growing church together, serving God together. Dayan and Sun were at our house when he was little, and now, decades have gone by, so I feel like we’re part of the family.
Friends in the Lord: Pastors Casey and Wendy Treat with Pastor Kong Hee.
This year, you turned 70. Happy birthday! How does it feel?
I feel the same. Wendy and I enjoy being grandparents, being older than most people around us. It happens so quickly, you know. But we love it. We love helping, mentoring, and in this season, our kids are leading church, which we get to be a part of, right? So it’s good, yeah.
I must say you don’t look 70. Your energy, definitely not 70.
We must pray in tongues more.
Is there a special birthday wish for this year?
Well, no birthday wish, but we are building new sanctuaries in Seattle. So my prayer is that our church continues to grow and our young people continue to rise up.
Pastor Casey, you often talk about the renewing of the mind in your teachings. What do you think is a significant barrier keeping believers today from renewing their minds?
You know, people are people, and that the problems that we have don’t change that much. Technology changes, so it may affect us. Politics and things around us change, but we seem to struggle with the same issues, which have to do with identity, self-worth, confidence, overcoming fears, anxieties, worries. Maybe what we worry about changes a little bit, but it’s the same struggle. So it’s the human problem of keeping our mind clear, and thinking the thoughts of God. John wrote in 3 John that we prosper and live in health, as our souls prosper. So the soul, the mind, the emotions, those things are so controlling of our health, our life. I’m still encouraging people to think God’s thoughts, believe the Word more than the circumstances, and prosper in their souls, so they can prosper in all aspects of life.
Speaking of the soul, Pastor Kong has been teaching us about the soul, having Sabbath, resting and then returning to ministry. What’s a typical Sabbath or rest day for you?
Well, Wendy and I’ve never been very good at resting. Of course, Sunday is a work day for us, but we do have a good balance. Wendy loves hiking. I love golfing, and once in a while I’ll hike with her. We have a favourite lake that we like to walk around, and we’re resting at home without children, except for one or two days a week when we have the grandchildren over. In our age and our time, rest is not the problem. But when we were younger, I think it was more of a struggle, because we were trying to do everything, so we probably weren’t very good at rest. I was ordained in Los Angeles with a church led by Pastor Fred Price. And he was very disciplined with rest, education, getting away from church, not turning your phone on. Of course, when we started, there was no cell phone, but then it came along. So Pastor Price was very disciplined, but maybe I failed.
I think you wouldn’t be the only one struggling with that.
I think in Asia, our Singaporean friends and our Korean friends are very driven, especially young people, to succeed and to prosper. Wendy and I were driven to grow the church. So it may be a little different, but still, always a challenge. Balance of life is always a challenge.
Looking back, was there anything you would have done differently when it came to ministry, growing the church?
We lived our dream and are still living our dream, not only in Seattle with our church, but our friends around the world. You do wish you would be better. Maybe not struggle so much over finances, or over people who may have left church or said the gossip. Maybe we should have been better. But seeing the big picture: we lived, and are living our dream.
I think not many people would actually say that right now, what they’re living is already the dream that God has given to them.
Our kids went through their own struggles as young adults, but then they got on track with God, and now are serving in church, and those kinds of things are the win. Those are the victories. Maybe in the midst of the struggle, we could have been more confident: “It’s going to be fine”, because in the moment, you’re like, “Oh, Lord!”
This year you are celebrating 47 years of marriage. Congratulations! What’s your secret?
So Wendy’s favourite line for marriage is “who you marry matters”. You know, marry someone with your same heart after God and passion for God’s will. I make jokes in our church—don’t marry somebody because they’re cute, because that can go away. You marry the heart, not the physical body. So, yeah, having the same vision, same dream is important.
Marriage is hard for everybody. Some people say, “Oh, you guys are so lucky.” No, we have the same challenges everybody has. Be quick to talk. You can’t get quiet and sulk and just be frustrated with each other. Be quick to forgive. If you’re struggling to forgive your spouse, you probably don’t know yourself very well, because we all need forgiveness, so we should be quick to give forgiveness. I think communication and forgiveness are the two big things. Have fun together! We’ve ridden bicycles over mountains all around Seattle and the West Coast. We’ve ridden our Harleys to different places. We go hiking. We’ve now playing with the grandchildren. So yeah, have fun. Do stuff. Don’t be stuck in a small, little world.
You’ve been pastoring Christian Faith Center since 1980 and that’s a pretty long time. Do you sense God is leading you towards something new for the church?
The word never changes, the Lord never changes, and people’s needs don’t really change. So the things around us are the variables. Governments change, economies change. Pandemic comes—that was a big change. We’ve had to sell buildings, tear down and build new ones. We never got attached to a building, because it’s just a tool, just a place, but what we do there is the important thing. So yeah, through the years, I think we’ve been able to continue to learn and grow and not get stuck. Maybe some of our peers don’t like new music, thinking “Ah, this new music is not as anointed as those I like”. Stay young, stay fresh. Don’t get stuck hanging on to something old.
You know, in the Psalms, many times the Lord said “sing a new song'” I think it has to do with God staying fresh, staying relevant, and being present with us no matter what. And we should be like God, right? Bring a new song. Have a new attitude. Don’t get stuck in old things where you just become a grumpy old person. That’s the one thing that I’ve held on to through the years: staying fresh, staying relevant. Sing a new song. Don’t hang on to the past.
You’re doing a series on Romans in your church right now. What inspired that?
Well, our son Caleb (Executive Pastor of Christian Faith Center) sets the agenda and the plan for teaching. So he put Romans into our plan for this year, and we’ll spend two months going chapter by chapter, which I love. We love teaching books of the Bible, but we try to cover all important topics throughout the year. You know, marriage and parenting, faith and renewing the mind. Romans may be my favourite New Testament book.
And what would be your favourite Old Testament book?
Genesis. To me, the way God started is the way He will finish. So the book of Genesis is amazing. (The book of) Joshua, also amazing. And I spend a lot of time on Proverbs, it’s the book of wisdom. I can’t pick just one. Too much good stuff.
Pastor Casey, any last words of encouragement for those reading this interview?
Kong asked me to focus on renewing the mind and healing for battling cancer, etc. Wendy and I’ve had to fight those fights, so we understand the struggles. But my main message for the weekend is a lesson I call RED: Renew, Excel and Discipline. So those are three big words in my life. I think we try to live that model of continuing to renew, learn, grow and change—don’t get old in our mind. Excel: don’t compromise, don’t settle for less, but press for God’s excellence. The Bible said Daniel had an excellent spirit, so that’s our desire. And then discipline. Life always takes discipline, right? It’s so easy to get lazy or just give in and just allow the world to press you down. So stay strong, stay disciplined.
