Pastoral Views

If you are a father, a Vicar or head of a department, you own a leadership space.

That is the space you have to lead and make decisions. It is my thesis that for a church to grow healthily, the pastor needs to share his leadership space.

In our Anglican tradition, the Vicar is the focal point of unity in the local church as he serves the parish on behalf of his bishop. There is a leadership space already entrusted to him.

A wise Vicar will learn to share his leadership space as the parish grows. I am not talking about teamwork here, but team leadership, where the Vicar intentionally invites or empowers other leaders to share in his responsibilities. They need to be given space to seek the Lord over the issues and make decisions without having to refer back to the Vicar all the time. And I use the term ‘seek the Lord’ as this is one of a few indications whether leadership space is being shared. If a leader has the space to do so and not dependent on the Vicar to tell him what to do, this is a good sign of healthy leadership sharing. I have seen how some leaders spent weeks praying and deliberating, only for their plans to be turned down over a few minutes in the Vicar’s office.

Before I became a Vicar in 2001, I spent 16 years working as a parish worker and clergy under another vicar. Those were indeed wonderful years but I should add that I can also sense the limitations for someone who is has a leadership gifting.

A leader creates. He dream dreams. He pushes the boundaries. He is prophetic. He see what is not there and ask, "Why not?" It is a God-given gift and he needs to exercise it. While I am not advocating insubordination, the space to pray, plan, create, seek the Lord is essential for these type of leaders.

The question is - In your leadership team, do you have room for this type of leaders?

I am not talking about your youth pastor or language service pastor whom you will happily delegate to. I am talking about a co-pastor who may preach better than you in some way, plan better in some areas and who have a loyal following amongst some lay leaders and members. You are leading your team in such a way that pastors who could be a Vicar (or Senior Pastor) somewhere else chooses to work with you because of your willingness to give space for them to lead.

This is the kind of team leadership which I sense is needed for the church. It may not work in other organizations.

I see this clearly taught and practised in the Bible and history of the church. I see it in the Trinitarian "dance", where there is inter-submission though the authority-submission lines are clear. I see it in Pauline's idea of mutual-submission (Ephesians 5:21) and yet in the same passage, he outlined clearly who the leadership and submissive roles. In 1 Peter 5, Peter called himself a fellow-elder, serving under the Chief Shepherd.

A pastor need to see what the Father is doing. He sees this better on his own and through his fellow leaders.

Don't get me wrong. I am not advocating eldership where no one is clearly leading. That, as we can see in some churches, can lead to chaos. You can't have two fathers in a family, or two CEOs in a company.

However, you can lead the church in such a way that other gifted and strong leaders are fulfilled serving under or alongside you. This is because you are sharing your leadership space.

You are not uncomfortable...

when they dream dreams
when they give you feedback
when members seem to prefer their preaching than yours
when they seek the Lord and catches a new vision

You are at ease...

with a senior leadership team where discussions are robust
when you are being corrected
when you have to make reversals because you have been proven wrong
when you are anonymous and they get the limelight

What are the rewards of leadership-space sharing? You will gather a very strong team of pastors and leaders. They will seldom look for "greener pastures" or seek to be kings of their own hills.

No, they are not even following you. They are following their Master. What you have done is to create a genuine Christian environment in which their calling can be fully realised.

Like me, like them, like you - we are all seeking for an authentic Christian culture to serve in.

Share your leadership space. I don't aways get this right but I do try, by His grace.

It is a space worth sharing that other pastors and leaders may thrive in.

But each one should build with care. 1 Corinthians 3:10

Psalms 23 (Morning Prayer)

Hebrews 12:3-13 (Morning Prayer)

It is very difficult for anyone to face rejection, hostility or be a victim of a hate campaign. If you find yourself in a difficult place, the writer here ask us to:

1. Consider how Jesus has suffered for us and be encouraged by that (Heb 12:3-4). Few of us will need to “shed our blood” the way He did. Even at present, we should also consider the sufferings of other Christians. I find new courage to move on when I consider that whatever suffering I am going through pales in comparison with what my brothers and sisters have to face elsewhere.

2. Do not forget that only those who are loved and "owned" are disciplined. (Heb 12:5-8) If you have all the freedom in the world and no one cares about what you do or how you behave, it may be because you are not loved! We are His children. We are not spiritual orphans. He uses many ways to teach us, discipline us and so on that we may be grow into His likeness.

3. Besides, if our earthy fathers discipline us for our temporal good, what more if the discipline prepares us to live well into eternity? (Heb 12:9-11) Here in Singapore we now too well the difference in worth between free-hold and lease-hold properties.

4. And finally, though discipline is unpleasant when experienced, it yield “peaceful fruits of righteousness” in due course (Heb 12:11). There is something about suffering which brings unto a point of humility, patience, love and attractiveness in the way we relate to others. Mention “attractiveness” as that is what sweet and colourful fruits are for - to attract for pollination purposes.

If you are going through difficult times, may you find encouragement in this passage. To be encouraged is simply to find the courage to "lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Heb 12:12)

Hebrews 11:1-11 (Morning Prayer)

Our theme in the cathedral this year is "Pursuing the Heart of God,” something which I have been led to call our members to.

This must be the hardest theme I have used in all my years of ministry. For we are dealing with an intangible. Every verb and noun in the theme is something which we cannot see.

The word “see” used in this passage is actually more than just a word about visual sense. It represents our human way of determining reality through “proving” senses such as touch, sight, verbal communication and even smell.

Hebrews 10:19-25 (Morning Prayer)

John 10:1-10 (Holy Communion)

On Sunday, a  tourist worshipped at one of the Cathedral services.

As she went up for Holy Communion, she left her bag behind. Perhaps in her own church, it is not in her habit to bring her belongings with her during Communion.

Don't steal. Don't follow the ways of the devil. And if you do, repent. Instead, walk in the abundance that our good Shepherd has promised us in this life and in the life to come.

Isaiah 65:17-21 (Holy Communion)

Exodus 1:1-14 (Morning Prayer)
So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves and made their lives bitter with hard service...
The idea of work is introduced with a mix connotation in the first two books of the Pentateuch. In Genesis, the fall made work inevitable as man is now to forced to till the ground (Gen 3:17-19). For Adam, work moved from assigned responsibility (taking care of the garden, Gen 2:15) to one of necessity for survival (Gen 3:23).

John 8:31-47 (Evening Prayer)
"...and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31

This must be one of the more well-known slogans of Jesus which we can be sure has been applied in all sorts of situations. Understanding it in context may be helpful to better grasp its full import.
Firstly, that truth discernment comes to the one who abides in His word or teaching. The idea here is not so much knowledge or even meditation but someone who follows the teachings of Christ and walks in His way. We can consider a few examples:

If we walk in humility, we will be able to better discern truth.

If we walk in holiness and fear of God, we will be better able to discern the truth-consequences of wrong behaviour.

If we take daily worship and prayers seriously, we will have true wisdom to discern how to live.

The freedom experienced from knowing truth is opposed to a life bound to sin (John 8:34-36). Again here, Jesus teaches that to practise sin (deliberately living a life of sin) is to live without freedom for the person is being forced into a cycle of self-destruction or impoverishment. Jesus's answer to that is to ask us to follow His word. The point being made here is that Jesus wants us to live a life which is free to do what is right and in keeping with what is best for us and those around us.

This bondage also arises from following the will of the evil one (John 8:43,44) for to live a lie is to follow the father of lies (John 8:44). For a person who is not following Christ  will be "hard of hearing". He is unable to accept the truth or wisdom of the words of Christ as he is living in deception.

The heart of this passage, as we return to John 8:31, is about a hope and promise. Following Jesus leads us to truthful living, which in return sets us free to be the person we know we are destined to be.

Hebrews 6: 13-20 (Morning Prayer)

Luke 5:27-39 (Morning Prayer)

Matthew made a decision to leave everything to follow Jesus. It seemed like a sensible decision to invite his colleagues for a farewell party so that they could meet his new boss, Jesus. Like a scene from today's Alpha Course, where believers dine with non-believers - there were many good reasons for this dinner party.

As expected, the Pharisees and scribes complained, "Why is Jesus eating with them?” (Luke 5:30)

Jesus' reply was simple: It is people like these who need His help. (Luke 5:31)

Periodically, those of us who have been Christians a long time need to do a reality check. What are my attitudes towards unbelievers? Why am I judging others by the way they talk, dress or whether they smoke or not? Am I, like Jesus, a friend to them or do I, unlike Jesus, stay at a distance?

We thought Jesus’ cryptic reply would satisfy them. They now turn their attention on his disciples. Why are they eating and drinking so much instead of fasting? (Luke 5:33)

Jesus replied that there is a time for everything (Luke 5:34,35). Then he moved on to use wineskins and wine to address what was behind their line of questioning.

The new cannot be used to patch up the old. Jesus' ministry and teaching will be radical. It cannot be an add-on.

Those who have drunk old quality wine will not accept the new. Jesus understood that those schooled in the law would not accept Him.

There is some food for thought for us from a passage about food and drink. Change is truly difficult, even for some of the most sincere Christians that I have met. Even if the new is bearing fruit and showing every sign that it is of God, we have a very strange human way of resistance, even if our reactions are biblically illogical.

I have no simple answer to this human condition. But may it help us to be more self-aware that if we really want to see God do new things for a new generation, we have to really search our own hearts and ask if change within us is even possible.

I end with this famous stanza from the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebur:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Hebrews 4:1-11 (Morning Prayer)

A friend who had a near death experience once recounted to me that he found himself in a place where the peace was so perfect that “there was not a care in the world.” I won’t share more details than this less we put to much weight in personal stories such as these.

But it made me think of what the idea of “rest” may mean.

I came closest to that experience in 2015 where after more than 30 years of ministry, I finally took a Sabbatical. The experience was surreal. For the first time, I felt a rest from the daily responsibilities, worries and burdens as a pastor. I could go through the day without having some concerns clinging to my mind. I was going about title-less in a foreign country. No “Canon", no “Reverend”, no “Pastor" - just Terry. I was with people who weren’t relating to me as a clergy.

I cooked, I read, I cycled, I wrote and I walked - a lot. If I taught, it was cooking, not some Christian Seminar.

I was aware that it was just a 6-month Sabbatical. Soon, I will be back to the realities of life. Not that I mind for that is my calling. After all, St Paul spoke about the daily concerns he had for the churches (2 Cor 11:28). I shouldn’t expect anything less for I took up that calling more than 30 years ago.

But having experienced that Sabbatical, I understand now a bit more of what God's eternal rest may mean.

Indeed,”there remain a Sabbath rest for God’s people." (Heb 4:9)

I shall look forward to that day.

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (3:13)

Hebrews 2:10-18 (Morning Prayer)

We have a body. And when it is cut, it bleeds. This sense of being “flesh and blood” is an intuitive experience right from childhood. In the New Testament, it suggests above all the mortal frailty of our human condition.

Jesus took on this same physical existence (Heb 2:14). He identified with us at the deepest level: he became human. The author of salvation is deeply connected to the ones He is saving.

And he is also made like us in every respect (Heb 2:17a). Beyond just having an appearance of man, he is to participate in the weaknesses and sensibilities of being a human. He is to live and experience the human life.

Being human qualified Him to represent us before God. He became like us to save us.

This He did “dia thanatou” - through death (Heb 2:14) Fully human, he experienced the darkness of death that He may free us from the lifelong "terror of non-being.” (Heb 2:15)

This verse is not talking about acute fear arising from a moment of crisis, where you have to summon courage to overcome the fear of not living. But rather it is chronic fear: a slaving life-long fear that stays with us and therefore more fundamentally affects the way we live and the choices we make.

Jesus came to deliver us from this. This is the good news we have. It can fundamentally change your outlook of life as it did for me since I gave my life to Him.

I know my life will end one day. Instead of silence and darkness, I will see and meet the light and warming love of Jesus on that day. This assurance changes fundamentally the way I live.

I pray you will have this assurance too.

Matthew 23:1-12 (Holy Communion)

This is a passage which summarises so much that is wrong with the world. And what is it? The hubris of man.

In every sphere of life, church included, we see this playing out on a daily basis. Many men and women want to be “exalted”: to be recognised, acclaimed, honoured, titled, promoted and so on.

Many want to preach, teach and be heard.
Few want to live it out.

Many want to be seen doing.
Few want to serve in secret and unnoticed.

Many want to sit on VIP tables or the front rows.
Few want to be unnoticed at table no. 36.

Many want to be acknowledged when they walk pass.
Few want to be invisible.

Many want their full titles mentioned when their names are printed.
Few want to be plain John Doe.

Luke 6:36-38 (Holy Communion)

Jeremiah 7:1-20 (Evening Prayer)

If we allow this passage to speak plainly, as it has been for so for many Jews and Christians through the centuries, it is a most unusual message indeed. It flies in the face of all the latest church growth theories.

Here Jeremiah was told to stand at the temple's gate and start preaching (Jer 7:2). Imagine being greeted by a preaching preacher rather than a smiling usher. We are more accustomed to being given time to get adjusted, sing some songs, sit down and then, the preacher takes the pulpit.

The message is confusing as well. "Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,” the prophet is told to proclaim. Every church I have been has signs, roadways, many welcoming ushers to assure visitors that “this is the church of the Lord.” Here Jeremiah was almost told to say, “Wrong place. Wrong place. Don’t come in!"

The message is demanding as well. Sort out your life before you come in. Don’t come hoping that by being in God’s House, your unreformed life can be excused. Worship is no replacement for obedience.

The people came to the right place and used the right words. But their lives were not right (Jer 7:9).

Jonah 3: 1-10

The three-day Fast of Nineveh is a practice that originated in the Eastern Church. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament stated that the city of Nineveh will be overthrown in 3 days (instead of 40) and it is likely that it is from this translation that this tradition came about. Usually, Christians would abstain from dairy foods or meat.  

In the Western Church, these three-day fasts are known as Ember Days and it is listed as such in our Provincial lectionary from today till Friday. 

A good question to ask is: Why do Christians fast? Today we see fasting as a Christian discipline to help us grow in holiness through abstinence. Some may practise it for health reasons.

Here in Jonah chapter 3, the inhabitants of Nineveh were threatened with divine punishment (Jonah 3:4). The king asked them to fast from food and drinks, call out on the Lord and turned away from their evil deeds (Jonah 3:7,8). As a result, God did not judge them. 

Christians today tend to read a passage like this and translate it into a doctrinal framework such as “we no longer need to work for forgiveness”. Or that fasting as an act of repentance belongs to the old covenant and should no longer be practised in the new. While the doctrine of salvation by grace is certainly true and we should no longer mandate human acts as conditions for divine forgiveness, it will be to our loss if we stop the practise of fasting as an act of repentance. 

The practise of penance can sometimes help a person to find forgiveness experientially. It is a process which can help a person find healing. Undoubtedly, God is ready to always forgive, but such disciplines can be an unhurried way for a person to enter into true contrition of heart and through that, experience a deep forgiveness and healing. 

Perhaps one of the best illustrations of this joy of forgiveness is found in the 1986 movie, The Mission.

Matthew 25:31-46 (Holy Communion)

A parable is a story. You may have heard the saying “What is the point of the story?” That is a good question to ask when you hear a parable. So, what is the main point which this parable is making here?

Let us look at the use of "sheep and goats.” The main reason why both are used here is that they look similar. Yes, sheep are often dirty and brown like goats, and from afar, you can't tell the difference.

Like the other parables in this chapter (ten virgins, talents) the difference is only revealed at the “last day.” Till then, you can’t tell the difference. Here, Jesus surprised his hearers. The basis of separation or differentiation, righteous and unrighteous - rests on how the people treated the king incognito (Matthew 25:35-36).

It has often been shown that in Matthew’s gospel the expression “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine” can only refer to the least of his followers (See Matthew 10:42; Matthew 18:6,10,14). In other words, the sheep and the goats as exposed for what they are by the way they treat Jesus’ followers, especially those who are marginalised. When people persecute the followers of Jesus Christ, they are persecuting Jesus Christ himself (Acts 9:4).

Jesus’ continual identification with members of His own body should affect the way we see another brother or sister, especially those who are powerless or persecuted. Metaphorically speaking, Jesus is being nailed all over again all round the world, even today.

The point of this parable is how love (again) is at the heart of true discipleship. As I have mentioned in the devotion on Ash Wednesday, our relationship with God and our fellow bothers and sisters is inextricably bound, here and into eternity.

This is similar to John 13:34-35. How will people know that we are His disciples? You should know the answer.

Romans 10:8-13 (Morning Prayer)

I was speaking with a person of another faith. “Why aren't those who share your faith active in telling others about it? We Christians try to do this all the time.”

Her reply was simple. She said they had no hope of salvation to share about. Their faith is about proclaiming God’s judgment and how sinful we all are. “We are in fear all the time and our religion is about escaping or lessening our punishment. We have no good news to share.”

This reminded me again of how wonderful the gift of the gospel is. As St Paul says here:

It is near us.
It is in our mouth.
It is in out hearts.
Confess and believe and you will be saved.
Everyone can.

The Book is still being written