Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
great commission
this is something that i've been thinking about.....
i've been involved in several different ministries to understand more about what ministry is about and what the needs are in taiwan. after working with 'em, my experience got me thinking....
what exactly is evangelism? what exactly is missions? what is being a witness? being the church? living it out?
i know people who only tell ppl that Jesus loves them (through words and actions) but never have invested time in anyone to disciple. i know people that only invest in people after they've come to church on a consistent basis.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
i feel that God has called to do BOTH as said in the great commission.
MAKE DISCIPLES...maybe not the with same person, but to do both as a lifestyle. with the first, what happens after they believe and have no one to follow up? for me, i feel like i can't live with myself if i didn't help them try to find a church or someone to invest in them. i know that we can't invest in everyone. it's not practical, but it's also not pracitcal to think that this person can live the Christian life on a solo basis.
GO... when has God told us to stay at church and wait for ppl to come? why haven't we GONE OUT to them? what about those who have no interest because of the fear that overwhelms them?
TEACH....teaching's hard. i know. i majored in teaching. it's another form of investing other ppl. it doesn't require one-on-one investment, but it's a command nonetheless.
i realize that we all have gifts in different places, but i fear that we only use such gifts within the contexts of the church bc we think that's the only place where we can use them. be creative. such gifts can be used outside of the walls of the church. in fact, churches aren't supposed to have walls, figuratively speaking.
i guess some food for thought.....
we live in a SPIRITUAL battle between good and evil, YHWH and Satan. to win, we need to trust and obey what is says in God's word.
i've been involved in several different ministries to understand more about what ministry is about and what the needs are in taiwan. after working with 'em, my experience got me thinking....
what exactly is evangelism? what exactly is missions? what is being a witness? being the church? living it out?
i know people who only tell ppl that Jesus loves them (through words and actions) but never have invested time in anyone to disciple. i know people that only invest in people after they've come to church on a consistent basis.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20
i feel that God has called to do BOTH as said in the great commission.
MAKE DISCIPLES...maybe not the with same person, but to do both as a lifestyle. with the first, what happens after they believe and have no one to follow up? for me, i feel like i can't live with myself if i didn't help them try to find a church or someone to invest in them. i know that we can't invest in everyone. it's not practical, but it's also not pracitcal to think that this person can live the Christian life on a solo basis.
GO... when has God told us to stay at church and wait for ppl to come? why haven't we GONE OUT to them? what about those who have no interest because of the fear that overwhelms them?
TEACH....teaching's hard. i know. i majored in teaching. it's another form of investing other ppl. it doesn't require one-on-one investment, but it's a command nonetheless.
i realize that we all have gifts in different places, but i fear that we only use such gifts within the contexts of the church bc we think that's the only place where we can use them. be creative. such gifts can be used outside of the walls of the church. in fact, churches aren't supposed to have walls, figuratively speaking.
i guess some food for thought.....
we live in a SPIRITUAL battle between good and evil, YHWH and Satan. to win, we need to trust and obey what is says in God's word.
Friday, July 17, 2009
tentmaking
this is something that i feel could be a HUGE breakthrough in Taiwan. I wonder if anyone would read it...haha
tentmaking
think about it. Taiwanese people work 12 hour days normally. Working overtime is pretty common, without pay. If people leave work on time, it says to the boss that they're not working hard enough. The pressure of perfect performance in the workplace is too much! This translates into parents having high expectations of their children. There are children that do perform VERY WELL, but then their parents are never satisfied no matter how hard their children try.
the thing is that, even this christian company i know of makes their workers so tired that when they actually have ministry opportunities, they're too busy or tired to actually put any time/effort outside for it. or the expectations are so high that they take whatever "me time" they can get.
or some Christians that actually want to do more with and for the church can't or are struggling bc they're fear losing their jobs.
here's my hope for the workforce:
if Christian foreign people are willing to go to Taiwan to work in management positions and give their workers a chance for a healthy emotional life not just for themselves but also for their children, i really think things could get better. not just set proper expectations, but also to promote the Gospel in the workplace as well.
it's not going to be easy. many people are capable of taking advantage of grace, but i truly think this could work wonders with God's blessing, of course.
what do you think?
tentmaking
think about it. Taiwanese people work 12 hour days normally. Working overtime is pretty common, without pay. If people leave work on time, it says to the boss that they're not working hard enough. The pressure of perfect performance in the workplace is too much! This translates into parents having high expectations of their children. There are children that do perform VERY WELL, but then their parents are never satisfied no matter how hard their children try.
the thing is that, even this christian company i know of makes their workers so tired that when they actually have ministry opportunities, they're too busy or tired to actually put any time/effort outside for it. or the expectations are so high that they take whatever "me time" they can get.
or some Christians that actually want to do more with and for the church can't or are struggling bc they're fear losing their jobs.
here's my hope for the workforce:
if Christian foreign people are willing to go to Taiwan to work in management positions and give their workers a chance for a healthy emotional life not just for themselves but also for their children, i really think things could get better. not just set proper expectations, but also to promote the Gospel in the workplace as well.
it's not going to be easy. many people are capable of taking advantage of grace, but i truly think this could work wonders with God's blessing, of course.
what do you think?
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
appearances can be deceiving
y'know how as young people clean up their room, they try to take a shortcut and put all the dirty laundry in the closet so that as their parents glance in the room, they think it's clean? (i did that once, and my mom opened my closet in front of many aunties thinking it was clean only be undelightfully shocked. )
my point is, if we just glance, yea, it's not bad, but when we take a good look, we'll see that it's not as clean as we thought.
it's the same here in Taiwan.
from the 80s to now, the number of missionaries have dropped significantly. In the early 90s, there were at least 90 OMF missionaries total for Taiwan. now, there are only 30.
the Baptists decided that Taiwan was reached and so moved most of their resources and energies to China leaving their Taiwanese pastors with little spiritual support.
I can't speak for the other organizations, but i won't be surprised if they had a significant drop for Taiwan.
It's true, Taiwan is democratic government. We don't have to worry about getting twitter and youtube blocked from our computers. We don't have to worry about getting arressted and/or deported for passing tracts out to people on the streets. The Taiwanese don't have to worry about the government censoring sermons. Truth can be spoken without legal consequence.
but
most christians here have quite a lot of money and status. there are churches in Taiwan. You come to Taipei, you'll see crosses everywhere in the mix of religious symbols. I'm sure the big cities of Taichung and Kaohsiung have plenty of churches as well. but there's a problem
just because you see churches doesn't mean that they're all healthy. the Presbyterian Church here has been hurt by a certain political party so much that many won't be able to see someone from that party as a brother or sister in Christ. some would go as far to say that if you can't speak Taiwanese, they won't accept you.
unhealthy churches aren't the only problem. Statistics say that Taiwan is 5% Christian. Many missionaries would disagree because some will say they are, but they don't live a Christian life. If you asked a common citizen the difference between Protestant Christianity and Mormanism, they'd say they're the same exact thing. If we're going to give a more precise statistic, I'd say 2%, and most of this percent is made up of people in the middle-upper class economically.
the most unreached are the working class; the taxi drivers, the restaurant workers, the vendors, the sales reps at the mall, etc.
so to answer the question: is Taiwan reached?
the answer is NO.
appearances and be deceiving. we have churches, but many are unhealthy. the working class probably know this Jesus name, but have no clue what He has to do with us, and if and when they do, it'll take them a very long time to accept any of it becaus they've never experienced this Jesus, and they don't know people who've experienced this Jesus. Christian witness is very low.
I believe God will do great things for Taiwan in the future. I hope that you will participate in this great work. I hope God opens your eyes to see that there is a HUGE need in Taiwan. don't let the surface deceive you. if you search deeper, you'll see a huge, dark, ugly void.
my point is, if we just glance, yea, it's not bad, but when we take a good look, we'll see that it's not as clean as we thought.
it's the same here in Taiwan.
from the 80s to now, the number of missionaries have dropped significantly. In the early 90s, there were at least 90 OMF missionaries total for Taiwan. now, there are only 30.
the Baptists decided that Taiwan was reached and so moved most of their resources and energies to China leaving their Taiwanese pastors with little spiritual support.
I can't speak for the other organizations, but i won't be surprised if they had a significant drop for Taiwan.
It's true, Taiwan is democratic government. We don't have to worry about getting twitter and youtube blocked from our computers. We don't have to worry about getting arressted and/or deported for passing tracts out to people on the streets. The Taiwanese don't have to worry about the government censoring sermons. Truth can be spoken without legal consequence.
but
most christians here have quite a lot of money and status. there are churches in Taiwan. You come to Taipei, you'll see crosses everywhere in the mix of religious symbols. I'm sure the big cities of Taichung and Kaohsiung have plenty of churches as well. but there's a problem
just because you see churches doesn't mean that they're all healthy. the Presbyterian Church here has been hurt by a certain political party so much that many won't be able to see someone from that party as a brother or sister in Christ. some would go as far to say that if you can't speak Taiwanese, they won't accept you.
unhealthy churches aren't the only problem. Statistics say that Taiwan is 5% Christian. Many missionaries would disagree because some will say they are, but they don't live a Christian life. If you asked a common citizen the difference between Protestant Christianity and Mormanism, they'd say they're the same exact thing. If we're going to give a more precise statistic, I'd say 2%, and most of this percent is made up of people in the middle-upper class economically.
the most unreached are the working class; the taxi drivers, the restaurant workers, the vendors, the sales reps at the mall, etc.
so to answer the question: is Taiwan reached?
the answer is NO.
appearances and be deceiving. we have churches, but many are unhealthy. the working class probably know this Jesus name, but have no clue what He has to do with us, and if and when they do, it'll take them a very long time to accept any of it becaus they've never experienced this Jesus, and they don't know people who've experienced this Jesus. Christian witness is very low.
I believe God will do great things for Taiwan in the future. I hope that you will participate in this great work. I hope God opens your eyes to see that there is a HUGE need in Taiwan. don't let the surface deceive you. if you search deeper, you'll see a huge, dark, ugly void.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Ministry 101
Before moving here, my purpose was to 1) learn Chinese, 2) check out different ministries, and 3) get to know the people of Taiwan and their needs.
Something that God has been teaching me since moving here is how to do ministry.
1) Always, ALWAYS do ministry WITH PURPOSE. routine, popularity, and even fun, are secondary to the purpose set before us. all the components/activities of the day should serve that purpose: sm groups, games, crafts, etc.
2) the purpose should gear towards the needs of the people you are ministering. it sounds easy, but what i'm trying to say is that sometimes over time, we need to change our purpose according to the needs of the people. people change.
3) Sin boldly, make mistakes boldly...because that's when grace is even greater and we experience God's love, forgiveness, and grace (or let's hope that our co-workers can do the same)
4) If you're in a team, teamwork is ESSENTIAL. as a team, we need to know who's in charge, what is most important for what we want to teach that day, and to know each other as humans, individuals, friends. we need to trust each other's motives and hearts. but also be able to accept constructive criticism and be able to speak the truth in love.
5) Open and honest communication is important.
6) Be flexible.
7) Plan ahead. If you're in charge of a certain lesson, give yourself ample time to plan out what you will say and do and if unexpected things come up, how you'd respond. bring this lesson before God. Let him do the work. if you're nervous, ask God to calm your heart. Not planning ahead is not just a disadvantage to yourself, but you're cheating the people you're ministering out of some good things. but remember, God's grace is sufficient as well.
8) Let go. sometimes as leaders we don't feel like our coworkers can do the work; only we can do it effectively and right. this will lead to a burnt out soul. it's the same as not trusting God to work through them.
9) you don't need status to have an impact. we don't have to be on the forefront to be influential. we don't have to be on stage all the time or up front and center to have an impact on their life.
10) be teachable. granted we're doing the ministry of Jesus Christ, He still has stuff to teach us on how to teach and love like He does. our love for Jesus Christ is never perfect.
10 seems like a good number for now.
Something that God has been teaching me since moving here is how to do ministry.
1) Always, ALWAYS do ministry WITH PURPOSE. routine, popularity, and even fun, are secondary to the purpose set before us. all the components/activities of the day should serve that purpose: sm groups, games, crafts, etc.
2) the purpose should gear towards the needs of the people you are ministering. it sounds easy, but what i'm trying to say is that sometimes over time, we need to change our purpose according to the needs of the people. people change.
3) Sin boldly, make mistakes boldly...because that's when grace is even greater and we experience God's love, forgiveness, and grace (or let's hope that our co-workers can do the same)
4) If you're in a team, teamwork is ESSENTIAL. as a team, we need to know who's in charge, what is most important for what we want to teach that day, and to know each other as humans, individuals, friends. we need to trust each other's motives and hearts. but also be able to accept constructive criticism and be able to speak the truth in love.
5) Open and honest communication is important.
6) Be flexible.
7) Plan ahead. If you're in charge of a certain lesson, give yourself ample time to plan out what you will say and do and if unexpected things come up, how you'd respond. bring this lesson before God. Let him do the work. if you're nervous, ask God to calm your heart. Not planning ahead is not just a disadvantage to yourself, but you're cheating the people you're ministering out of some good things. but remember, God's grace is sufficient as well.
8) Let go. sometimes as leaders we don't feel like our coworkers can do the work; only we can do it effectively and right. this will lead to a burnt out soul. it's the same as not trusting God to work through them.
9) you don't need status to have an impact. we don't have to be on the forefront to be influential. we don't have to be on stage all the time or up front and center to have an impact on their life.
10) be teachable. granted we're doing the ministry of Jesus Christ, He still has stuff to teach us on how to teach and love like He does. our love for Jesus Christ is never perfect.
10 seems like a good number for now.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Learning the Hard Way
My Bible reading partner and I have been going through the book of Daniel, and we're at Daniel 5. After reading and listening to some of Chuck Swindoll's thoughts on this chapter, I am reminded of something a friend of mine said to me that i couldn't agree with, 覺得不以為然. she said, "I find it more meaningful if I learn something the hard way."
I remember clearly how I was telling her about my parents and how I (hopefully most of the time) heed their advice because for some reason they're pretty much right all the time. She looked at me and was nodding her head as if saying, "okay, i guess that works well for you, but not for me." And we don't just hear advice from parents, we hear it from other brothers and sisters in the Body. At such times, it's even harder to hear than the advice and exhortations of our own parents.
sure, learning something the hard way is effective in teaching you what you need to learn, but it also brings so much unnecessary baggage. I am reminded of the Israelites who lived 40 years in the desert. Learning the hard way meant that they would never get to see the Promise Land. And as I read Daniel 5, I am reminded that not heeding advice or not learning from the mistakes of others is not only something that disallows you from experience something great, but it is a mark of arrogance.
Israelites were hesitant to go in because they were fearful. They didn't believe in God's promise that this was it. In another way, Belshazzar knew of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar's 7 years of turmoil (see Daniel 4). He knew of all the warnings that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar in dreams. I'm not sure if Belshazzar knew this, but the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians was recorded in both Jeremiah and Isaiah, YEARS before Babylon was ever established. Nevertheless, he was forewarned.
Yet in the midst of being attacked, he still held a banquet for 1,000 as if being under seige was nothing serious. He even fearlessly took vessels that were meant to worship YHWH and use it in his boisterous and shameless party. Talk about not giving any heed to anything he's seen since childhood. He's seen and heard of the Most High God's acts and deeds. He's seen how God did certain things to show of his omnipotent power. Yet he still acted as if the God Most High didn't exist, as if he was the "master of his own fate, the captain of his soul."
Not heeding advice is like saying,"Yea thanks for telling me, but I think I'll still do it my way because I know better and you have no clue what you're talking about. It is a possbility you're right, but I'll still do it my way thank you very much." There's so much arrogance in these words. We say and feel this stuff many times, and yet we're still deaf and blind to our own arrogance.
O Lord, open our eyes and ears. May we receive your Word with open hearts, may we heed your warnings, may we hear it as an act of love and not condemnation.
I remember clearly how I was telling her about my parents and how I (hopefully most of the time) heed their advice because for some reason they're pretty much right all the time. She looked at me and was nodding her head as if saying, "okay, i guess that works well for you, but not for me." And we don't just hear advice from parents, we hear it from other brothers and sisters in the Body. At such times, it's even harder to hear than the advice and exhortations of our own parents.
sure, learning something the hard way is effective in teaching you what you need to learn, but it also brings so much unnecessary baggage. I am reminded of the Israelites who lived 40 years in the desert. Learning the hard way meant that they would never get to see the Promise Land. And as I read Daniel 5, I am reminded that not heeding advice or not learning from the mistakes of others is not only something that disallows you from experience something great, but it is a mark of arrogance.
Israelites were hesitant to go in because they were fearful. They didn't believe in God's promise that this was it. In another way, Belshazzar knew of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar's 7 years of turmoil (see Daniel 4). He knew of all the warnings that God gave to Nebuchadnezzar in dreams. I'm not sure if Belshazzar knew this, but the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians was recorded in both Jeremiah and Isaiah, YEARS before Babylon was ever established. Nevertheless, he was forewarned.
Yet in the midst of being attacked, he still held a banquet for 1,000 as if being under seige was nothing serious. He even fearlessly took vessels that were meant to worship YHWH and use it in his boisterous and shameless party. Talk about not giving any heed to anything he's seen since childhood. He's seen and heard of the Most High God's acts and deeds. He's seen how God did certain things to show of his omnipotent power. Yet he still acted as if the God Most High didn't exist, as if he was the "master of his own fate, the captain of his soul."
Not heeding advice is like saying,"Yea thanks for telling me, but I think I'll still do it my way because I know better and you have no clue what you're talking about. It is a possbility you're right, but I'll still do it my way thank you very much." There's so much arrogance in these words. We say and feel this stuff many times, and yet we're still deaf and blind to our own arrogance.
O Lord, open our eyes and ears. May we receive your Word with open hearts, may we heed your warnings, may we hear it as an act of love and not condemnation.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
God's always on our side, but the real question is...
are we?
Joshua is about to go take the promise land back from Jericho. In his past experience, it's always been about war whoops, swords, horses, and bloodshed, just like any other war. but Jericho seems impossible. They've got the thickest walls that anyone has ever seen. How could they ever penetrate that monster of a wall?
Then this dude comes up to him while he's alone, and this dude's got his sword drawn. my first thought would be, "shoot. i'm gonna die." the other would be "is he on my side or Jericho's?" Joshua asks this question to this man (which i think is kinda brave of him, and the angel says "neither."
neither....
normally, a man like that would say his or his enemies, but he says neither and proceeds to say he's a commander of the army of God....
neither...
i mean, why would he say that? it's so strange. i've never really known the meaning of it until this past week when Vickie shared from the pulpit.
the question shouldn't be whether God is on our side, but if we are on His.
God will always be on our side. He always has been. We may not think so bc of the wars, poverty, famine, and broken hearts, but y'see...it's bc we don't choose him. It's bc we as a human race are not on His side. The scary thing is is that what happens if we choose to be on His side? will we get what WE want?
my question is, does that really matter? how long will that last you? most likely just this lifetime you have here on earth, but we have a chance to have something GREAT that will last for eternity.
nothing is ever more important that our relationship with God.
Joshua is about to go take the promise land back from Jericho. In his past experience, it's always been about war whoops, swords, horses, and bloodshed, just like any other war. but Jericho seems impossible. They've got the thickest walls that anyone has ever seen. How could they ever penetrate that monster of a wall?
Then this dude comes up to him while he's alone, and this dude's got his sword drawn. my first thought would be, "shoot. i'm gonna die." the other would be "is he on my side or Jericho's?" Joshua asks this question to this man (which i think is kinda brave of him, and the angel says "neither."
neither....
normally, a man like that would say his or his enemies, but he says neither and proceeds to say he's a commander of the army of God....
neither...
i mean, why would he say that? it's so strange. i've never really known the meaning of it until this past week when Vickie shared from the pulpit.
the question shouldn't be whether God is on our side, but if we are on His.
God will always be on our side. He always has been. We may not think so bc of the wars, poverty, famine, and broken hearts, but y'see...it's bc we don't choose him. It's bc we as a human race are not on His side. The scary thing is is that what happens if we choose to be on His side? will we get what WE want?
my question is, does that really matter? how long will that last you? most likely just this lifetime you have here on earth, but we have a chance to have something GREAT that will last for eternity.
nothing is ever more important that our relationship with God.
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