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Have you been broken before?

"The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. - 1 Samuel 2:4"

There is an oxymoron throughout the Bible. It says that brokenness is strength. How can this be? How can brokenness be strength? When a person is broken, he or she is often disillusioned and hurt beyond expression. How is then possible?

In order to use men and women to their fullest extent, the Lord has to break His people so that they might have a new kind of strength that is not human in origin. It is strength in spirit that is born only through brokenness.

Paul was broken on the Damascus road. Peter was broken after Jesus was taken prisoner. Jacob was broken at Peniel. David was broken after his sin with Bathsheba. The list could go on of those the Lord had to break in different ways before they could be used in the Kingdom.

Indeed when we are broken, we see the frailty of human strength and come to grips with the reality that we can do nothing in our own strength. Then, new strength emerges that God uses mightily. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.Do not fear brokenness, for it may be the missing ingredient to a life that emerges with a new kind of strength and experience not known before. Ask for a broken and contrite heart that God can bless.

A Chase

Chase – no one can ever run away from the fact that we have always been chased or we ourselves chasing something in life. Some people chase after time, some after money, some after pleasures, some after lust, some after fame, name it…..and you will find people chasing after it.

Well as a seminarian, I have always been chasing after time or rather datelines have always been chasing me. Lecturer chase students to hand in assignment – students chase lecturer for their result. As for thesis writing students, our supervisor to meet our dateline always chases us. Thus, we are always chased or we chase after something in life all the time. I think the episode of “chase” will only end when we die.

Interestingly, this morning as I was riding on my bike to STM, a stray dog chased me. Well, thanks to my Honda Fame Cdi 90 for saving me from being attacked. Anyway, thanks to the dog – my inspiration to blog this morning.

Gifts or Tools?

Some says that ‘mission’ is the heartbeat of God. Some interprets mission to be the work of evangelizing the ‘unsaved’. Over the years various interpretations and methods have been employed to carry out ‘mission’ work. Churches have generally employed many Western strategies in carrying out mission work. But what is actually Christian mission is all about? Is it all about preaching the Gospel and leading the people to Christ? Or, is it doing good works to the needy with ulterior motive of converting them?

At least from my little experience in the Christian ministry, I have come to understand Churches have successfully incorporated social work into missions. We serve the community; provide the needy, shelter the homeless and orphans and other forms of good works in the name of mission with the ulterior motive of converting those who we help. Our motivations for doing good have a hidden agenda in it.

Social work or ministry has become a means of evangelism. We are so pragmatic and result orientated that we want to see instant rewards for money spend from our church treasury (in social ministry). The church has made social ministry as its investment plan to ‘harvest’ more ‘new believers’ into its community.

Some how or rather, I am convinced otherwise. I don’t think it is right to have an ulterior motive in helping people. Social work or ministry should be motivated by love and not used as a means of evangelism. We should learn to look at the world and its people from God’s perspective. Social ministry rendered by the church should always be motivated by Christ’s love for all creation. Thus helping the needy is a ‘gift’ to the society and not a ‘tool’ for evangelism.

Paper doll?

Wonder who these two jokers are??? All dressed up in paper and fighting with each other. Good mascots to express the constant tension between OT & NT Scholarship.

This picture was taken during STM picnic’07 at Port Dickson. Well, it was fun to dress up our lecturers and to get them doing their catwalk on the shore. Some appeared to be like warriors, some like clowns and some like people insane. Well, it’s all up to you, whichever category you may want put these guys in. Ha…ha…ha…..

Theological Education

I really wonder what to write about this picture …ummm. Well, this is my NT Lecturer Dr Lim Kar Yong who is also my Thesis reader. A good friend who ignites passion for NT studies in all his students (or at least me). May be I will write more about Him once he approves my Thesis…ha…ha…ha.

Anyway, he is the latest edition to STM faculty. A great lecturer with a great passion for biblical studies (esp. NT). Well, talking about good lecturer, I think STM has set a relatively good standard in terms of its scholarship. We have many good and in fact outstanding lecturers in STM who have majored in various fields. We have good Biblical scholars (namely Rev Dr Ezra Kok, Dr. Lim Kar Yong, Rev Anthony Loke and others), lecturers who are well competent in Pastoral Studies/Spirituality and Religion (namely Dr.Voon, Rev. Dr. Soloman and others), Missiology (Rev Joseph Kumar) and theology (Mr. Sherman Kuek). [those mention here without the 'Dr' title are all Phd candidates who will be completing their Phd soon]

Having said that, I would strongly recommend STM as the good choice for those who wish to pursue their theological education. I am saying this because I was taken by surprise that there are some institutions (who call themselves as seminaries) in Malaysia with unqualified teaching force. The lecturer themselves does not possess relevant qualification and yet they offer biblical studies and other Pastoral studies. I really wonder how it is possible. It’s kind of hard for me to digest the fact that many students have enrolled into this kind of institution and are trained by incompetent lecturers. I really wonder what kind of theological education system that they can offer to their students? How can we maintain the standard of theological education in this nation if these kinds of so call seminaries keep on enrolling students and producing so call “future Pastors and Seminarians”.

So, why make life difficult, come and join institutions like STM for a good and recognized theological education. Having said that, I must confess that STM is not ‘heaven on earth’ or rather a perfect seminary. But, in comparison to many, STM is a good Seminary with well competent lecturer who are able to produce good students and Pastors.

This is solely my personal view and recommendation.