Category: English

In the previous sharing, we talked about organizations and how organisations have always been a tool used by mankind to bring together the strength of a group of people to accomplish a task that could not be done by an individual. If one does not rely on organisations, but only on the strength of individuals, then the results achieved are very limited and inefficient.

There are two theories in economics. The first is neoclassical economics, which advocates a free market economy and the ability of individuals to make rational choices. They believe in the “invisible hand” of the market, and the market will automatically regulate production according to the demand and supply, so as to maximise the use of resources. However, the market often fails to optimize the allocation of resources because of the operational costs and market operational failure.

The second is the New Institutional Economics which argues that we cannot rely on market regulation. The reason is because of the existent of market operational failures, monopolies, information asymmetry, etc., all these contribute to the failure of maximising the use of resources. They advocate that in addition to the market regulation, people must also be regulated through the management of the corporate hierarchy, that is, the “invisible hand”, in order to maximise the use of resources, and optimize the allocation of resources.

However, regardless of whether it is the “invisible hand” or the “visible hand”, as long as human greed, selfishness, power-seeking, desire, etc., still exist, there will be many self-serving things that satisfy personal interests at the expense of the general public. Human evil nature remains a challenge to maximise the use of society’s resources.

The same happens in the church. Selfishness is the greatest challenge to the church growth. Whether it is a monetary or human resources, church resources are often given by 20% of the members, in order to provide the needs of 80% of the people. As you can see, It is common for the church to have the following:

1. 20-30% of the church parish roll are members who do not attend church services and are missing. Many of them only appear when they are gone to be with the Lord. Certainly, their spiritual life is awful.

2. 20-30% of the members of the church only attend church services occasionally. They didn’t participate in church ministry, but will make some financial contributions occasionally. Their spiritual life is not known.

3. Another 20-30% of the church members attend worship services regularly. They seldom participate in ministry. They may participate in certain church special events, and their spiritual life is not so good.

The common thing that the above have in common is “self-centred”. To put it bluntly, they are selfish and only look at their own interests in church.

What should we do in such a situation? How to mobilize these 80%?

I think the only way for the church to optimise the use of resources is to teach the members to understand the words of God and to motivate them to be more committed to God. Without optimising the use of resources, how can the church accomplish so many ministries? As you can see, the church needs to arrange worship services, arrange various stages of teaching, care for members, promote missions, promote social work, plant churches, train leaders, organize ministries for all ages, and so on. If we do not integrate and optimise the resources of the church, how can we cope with the needs?

Imagine 80% of the church’s manpower is not accessible. Not only are they unable to contribute, but they consume the limited resources of the church. Under such circumstances, how can the church develop? (Of course the elderly and infirm are not in my discussion, they have done their part and now it is time for them to enjoy the life).

This is the reason why in our discipleship training, our primary goal is to improve the level of commitment of our members. As members become more committed to God, they will be less selfish and the less they will seek to benefit themselves. Only then will they be able to contribute and the resources of the church will increase to accomplish the many ministries that need to be accomplished.

Organisation has always been a tool used by mankind to gather the strength of a group of people to accomplish a task that cannot be done by an individual. If we rely on the strength of individuals without an organisation, the results will be very small and inefficient.

However, when a group of people is gathered into an Organisation, it has to be managed optimally, otherwise there will be mistakes, inefficiency, laziness, wastage, corruption, chaos and so on and so forth, which will lead to organisational decline, bankruptcy and so on.

Therefore, how an Organisation is managed becomes the most critical factor for its success. If you look at the CEO of an Organisation, the annual salary can be several million, plus various allowances, benefits, etc., the number can even be tens of millions. Why would the board of directors (or the boss) of an Organisation be willing to pay such a high salary (high cost) to hire a CEO? Apart from the fact that they are the boss’s children, surely the CEO can bring in more revenue for the Organisation. The logic is simple, if I pay $10 million, but this payment can bring in $100 million in revenue, then why wouldn’t I do it?

Of course, it is not uncommon for organisations to have incompetent executives who leave the organisation in shambles. This is the reason why many organisations fall or go bankrupt.

In an organisation, the CEO’s main responsibility is to gather the most current information about the company in order to make the best trade-offs and to make the best decisions. The CEO has to communicate with his subordinates in order to understand the problems faced by the operation and to coordinate with each department to make improvements so that the problems can be solved as quickly as possible. Since all the departments have to take orders from him, he is the best person to coordinate all the departments and deal with the problems so that the organisation can be more efficient. Therefore the CEO has various meetings almost every day to listen to reports, gather information, understand the current situation of the whole organisation and make the best decisions.

The Diocese  is also an organisation and the CEO of this organisation is the Bishop. The church under the Diocese is also an organisation, and the CEO of this organisation is the priest. In the current organisational structure of the Anglican Church, the priest is the Chairman of the church appointed by the bishop, that is, the decision-maker of the church. In short, in the Anglican structure, the priest is the CEO of the church.

Do we agree that the priest is the CEO of the church (church is an organisation)? If we all agree on this point, based on the discussion above, then we have to ask this question: Is the priest the key reason for the growth and decline of the church? If so, then why do we give them theologically training only? Why is it that we didn’t train the priests in administration? Are priests capable of managing churches after graduating from seminaries?

The Diocese current criteria for ordaining a priest are a theological degree, a recommendation from the church and the approval of the bishop, and the passing of the MICPE course and the Spiritual Formation Course, after which the pastor can be ordained. We never evaluate his/her capability in managing a church.

It seems like we have assumed that spiritual life is sufficient for the priest to manage a church. Is this assumption correct?

It seems like we have assumed a good spiritual life leads to good management skills. Is this assumption correct?

Are we sure these assumptions are correct? Are we 100% sure?  If we are not so sure, then why don’t we ever review them? Why do we let this issue continue without any evaluation?

What does Discipleship Training have to do with organisational management? Let me share with you. In fact, discipleship training is a management system. Discipleship training  is not just about teaching and training in the Bible. Discipleship Training is an effective church management system. Through this system, the pastor can have a clear pastoral direction, pastoral philosophy, pastoral methodology, and pastoral skills.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about discipleship training and we always think that discipleship is all about Bible study. This is a big mistake with much regret.

Organisation has always been a tool used by mankind to gather the strength of a group of people to accomplish a task that cannot be done by an individual. If we rely on the strength of individuals without an organisation, the results will be very small and inefficient.

However, when a group of people is gathered into an Organisation, it must be managed optimally, otherwise there will be mistakes, inefficiency, laziness, wastage, corruption, chaos and so on and so forth, which will lead to organisational decline, bankruptcy and so on.

Therefore, how an Organisation is managed becomes the most critical factor for its success. If you look at the CEO of an Organisation, the annual salary can be several million, plus various allowances, benefits, etc., the number can even be tens of millions. Why would the board of directors (or the boss) of an Organisation be willing to pay such a high salary (high cost) to hire a CEO? Apart from the fact that they are the boss’s children, surely the CEO can bring in more revenue for the Organisation. The logic is simple, if I pay $10 million, but this payment can bring in $100 million in revenue, then why wouldn’t I do it?

Of course, it is not uncommon for organisations to have incompetent executives who leave the organisation in shambles. This is the reason why many organisations fall or go bankrupt.

In an organisation, the CEO’s main responsibility is to gather the most current information about the company in order to make the best trade-offs and to make the best decisions. The CEO has to communicate with his subordinates in order to understand the problems faced by the operation and to coordinate with each department to make improvements so that the problems can be solved as quickly as possible. Since all the departments have to take orders from him, he is the best person to coordinate all the departments and deal with the problems so that the organisation can be more efficient. Therefore, the CEO has various meetings almost every day to listen to reports, gather information, understand the current situation of the whole organisation and make the best decisions.

The Diocese is also an organisation and the CEO of this organisation is the bishop. The church under the Diocese is also an organisation, and the CEO of this organisation is the priest. In the current organisational structure of the Anglican Church, the priest is the Chairman of the church appointed by the bishop, that is, the decision-maker of the church. In short, in the Anglican structure, the priest is the CEO of the church.

Do we agree that the priest is the CEO of the church (church is an organisation)? If we all agree on this point, based on the discussion above, then we must ask this question: Is the priest the key reason for the growth and decline of the church? If so, then why do we give them theologically training only? Why is it that we didn’t train the priests in administration? Are priests capable of managing churches after graduating from seminaries?

The Diocese current criteria for ordaining a priest are a theological degree, a recommendation from the church and the approval of the bishop, and the passing of the MICPE course and the Spiritual Formation Course, after which the pastor can be ordained. We never evaluate his/her capability in managing a church.

It seems like we have assumed that spiritual life is sufficient for the priest to manage a church. Is this assumption correct?

It seems like we have assumed a good spiritual life leads to good management skills. Is this assumption correct?

Are we sure these assumptions are correct? Are we 100% sure?  If we are not so sure, then why don’t we ever review them? Why do we let this issue continue without any evaluation?

What does Discipleship Training have to do with organisational management? Let me share with you. In fact, discipleship training is a management system. Discipleship training is not just about teaching and training in the Bible. Discipleship Training is an effective church management system. Through this system, the pastor can have a clear pastoral direction, pastoral philosophy, pastoral methodology, and pastoral skills.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about discipleship training and we always think that discipleship is all about Bible study. This is a big mistake with much regret.

In the previous sharing, we talked about how all objects, bodies, institutions, organisations, and universities are systems. There must be three parts in a system, which includes 1) the elements that make it up, 2) the connections of the elements, and 3) the functions that are brought out. We’ve also talked about how the connection of the elements is crucial in a system because it is the connection that allows the elements to function.

In this sharing, we’re going to talk about the importance of system function.

It is important to be very clear about what function a system is to perform, and if the direction is wrong, then all the hard work will be in vain.

Take an example: the function of a hospital is to save lives. If the function of the hospital is to make money, then the hospital becomes a commercial organisation. Even if the patients die at the door, if there is no money, the doctor will not save them.

Similarly, the function of a school is to provide education so that the students can become better people and contribute to society. If the purpose of a school is to make money, then the school is a commercial organisation and teaching is a commodity.

The function of the system determines the direction and operation of the system. If it is a theatre, then the function of the theatre is to provide entertainment, so that the audience can be entertained while watching the play. Therefore the theatre will sell popcorn, snacks and drinks at the door to increase the entertainment for the audience. The theatre will never hold an academic talk at the door to explain the point of view of the play, or to discuss the philosophical significance of a certain sentence in the actor’s dialogue, or to discuss the inner world of the actor’s expression, and so on. Can you tell me which theatre has done this?

Would a theatre hold a symposium in front of its doors? No, they don’t! Why not? Because the function of the theatre is not academic. This shows that the function of the system determines where the system goes.

In the same way if we don’t understand the function of the church, then we don’t know where we are going. What is the function of the church? Is it a place to provide fellowship for members? Is it a place to help members deal with difficulties? Is it a charity? Is it a place of care? Is it a place of counselling? Is it a place for leisure and enjoyment?

If we don’t know what the function of the church is, we don’t know what to do in the church. How do we know what the function of the church is? What is our rationale? I think we can all agree that we must base it on what the Bible teaches.

If you understand the Bible, I think you will agree that there are two things that Scripture holds in extremely high regard. The first is God’s salvation, and the second is the change of life after salvation (which includes worship, holiness, righteousness, etc.). Therefore, the function of the church is to fulfil God’s mission (evangelism) and to teach and train the members to obey God’s teachings.

Discipleship is to help the church function. Discipleship is a system that connects members so that they can function. If the members can all function, then the church can function. Otherwise, the church will only be scattered sand, which is very unfortunate.

Why can’t the church function?

Because the pastor and the members cannot function.

Why can’t the pastor and members function?

 Because pastors and members cannot connect and function.

Why can’t pastors and members connect and function?

Because the function of the church is not clear.

Why is the function of the church not clear?

Because they cannot commit themselves to the Word of God.

Why can’t they commit themselves to the Word of God?

Because pastors are not clear about their function and therefore do not teach God’s Word intentionally.

Core issue: If pastors continue to be unclear about their functions, the church will continue to be dysfunctional.

There are so many things, for example, human bodies, institutions, organisations, schools are all systems. So, what is a system? There are three parts in a system, which includes 1) the elements that make it up, 2) the connection of the elements, and 3) the function that brings it out. Put it simply, a system is elements + connections = functions.

Take an example. The elements that make up a furniture are the woods. When we connect the woods, its become a furniture. A furniture functions so that people can live comfortably. It’s all about elements, connections and functions. A system is elements + connections = functions.

Take another example. A company is made up of shareholders, management, employees, etc. What connects these elements are the company’s mission, goals, philosophy, principles, products and so on. The function of these connections is the profitability of the company, its growth, and the economic development of the country.

Similarly in a university system, the elements are professors, students, management, etc. What connects these elements are the university’s curriculum, the various studies, the degrees awarded, and so on. The function of these connections is to train people in various fields.

The church is also a system in which the constituent elements are the members, the pastors, and so on. What connects these elements are God’s mission and God’s teaching. The functions of these connections is to increase the number of disciples of Christ and to spread the gospel to the nations.

The most important thing in a system is the connection of the elements. Without the connection of the elements, the system cannot function. Without the connection of the elements, the elements themselves, standing alone, have no functional value. For example, if the woods are not connected, then they are woods and do not provide value or function. Only woods that are connected can be furniture, providing value and function.

In the church, members and pastors can be replaced, but God’s mission and God’s teaching cannot be replaced. As long as the connection of the elements (God’s mission and God’s teaching) still exists, then it does not matter if the elements of the church (members and pastors) are changed, even several times, the church still exists and functions. As long as the mission and the teaching of God still exist, the church will continue to exist, even the pastors or the church members have changed thousand times.

Therefore, the focus of the church should be on God’s mission and God’s teaching, not on members or pastors. We should recognise that it is not the members or pastors who make the church exist, but the mission and teaching of God that make the church exist.

This is very easy to understand and let me give you an example. I graduated from university in 1990. The students, professors, and staff during my time are no longer at that university, but the university still exists. The university doesn’t cease to exist just because I graduated or my professors left. The university exists because of its recognized courses, its academic standards, its research, and the degrees it awards.

The same goes for churches. If St Peter’s Church Ipoh is to survive beyond a thousand years, then God’s mission and God’s teachings must be passed on. It must not only be passed on, but it must continue to grow and become the mother of all churches. To be the mother of all churches means to plant new churches and to continue.

Discipleship training emphasizes in God’s mission and God’s teaching (the connection of the elements of the system). As members or pastors (system elements), we must be willingly connected so that we can function. Otherwise we are just scattered sand, even though valuable but not functional, what a waste.

Is there value in a pile of bricks? Of course it does! But it doesn’t fulfill the function that bricks should have. The only way for the bricks to function and provide value is to connect them to build a house. Are you ready to be connected through the teaching of God, and function as the salt and the light of the world?

There are several events in modern history that have had a profound impact on mankind.

1) The Industrial Revolution – The Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century led to the replacement of human labour with machinery on a large scale, which greatly increased the productivity of the economy, and led to a rapid increase in both industrial and agricultural productivity. This also led to economic growth that increased the living standard of humankind. This has also generally increased human happiness. The standard of living of an ordinary person in modern times may be comparable to that of an aristocrat in the olden days.

2) Population Revolution- The Industrial Revolution was followed by a population revolution. Due to the advancement of knowledge and technology, the medical standard has been greatly improved and diseases that were once fatal can be cured in modern days. The death rate of babies today is very low, and the chances of women dying in childbirth have also been greatly reduced. As a result of this improvement in medical care, life expectancy has increased from less than 50 years in the mid-19th century to more than 80 years today. This population revolution has increased the general sense of happiness.

(3) Social Welfare Revolution – The democratic activities of modern society, the abolition of racial discrimination, the equalization of genders, the greater emphasis on human rights in national politics, and the provision of various types of national welfare and the reduction of the social poverty rate have all contributed to an increase in the sense of happiness of the general public. Many countries provide free education, social health insurance, government assistance mechanisms, various scholarships to train talents, and other benefits to the people. Some of the Northern European countries offer even more attractive social benefits, so generally speaking, the general sense of happiness of the citizens is also higher.

4) 21st Century Technological Revolution – The technological development in the last 20 years has been rapid and has greatly improved the convenience of life, which has led to a better quality of life. The development of modern technology is heading towards a geometrical development and no one can estimate how human life will change in the future. What was impossible or merely science fiction 50 years ago has now become a reality.

However, has human happiness increased? Has material growth, increased life expectancy, increased social benefits, and technological advances really increased human happiness? How can we be sure that modern humans are happier than those of the past?

Happiness is very subjective and relative, and usually varies when we make comparisons with others, or with one’s own expectations.

Example 1: (A situation of comparison with others.) If my monthly income is $10,000 and my friend or classmate’s income is $5,000 per month, then I feel happier. However if my friend or classmate’s income is $20,000 and my income remains the same, I am no longer happy, even though I still receive $10,000 monthly.

Example 2: (A situation of comparison with own expectations.) When my expectation is to buy a Proton Saga, and I succeed in buying one, I feel happy. But when my expectation is to buy a new BMW, but I can only afford to buy a Proton Saga, I feel unhappy even though I still get the Proton Saga.

The happiness of the world is unreal. It is a personal feeling that can be manipulated psychologically. Personal happiness should not be an indicator of life, nor is it the purpose of our lives.

The only thing that is most valuable in life is living according to God’s will. The only purpose in life is to understand God’s will and to live in God’s teachings. The only way to be happy in life is to live out God’s great commission.

Discipleship training is to help you find happiness in life. Discipleship training is to help you find the meaning of life. Discipleship training is about finding your calling in life and living out true happiness.

Discipleship helps you move toward happiness.

The church is a group of people, a community living in reality. Since it is a group of people, it must have good management. Without good management, it is difficult for the church to grow effectively and fulfil the Great Commission entrusted to it by Christ.

What kind of management is suitable for the church? Is it a corporate style, or a family style management? Or is it a comprehensive one?

Corporate style management focuses on maximising the interests of the whole enterprise, and everything is led by the interests of the enterprise. The logic behind is that only if the interests of the enterprise are maximised, then the interests of all the members of the enterprise, including shareholders, management, workers, and related parties, can be fairly protected. Only by ensuring that the interests of the enterprise are maximised, can we avoid some people violated the interests of everyone due to their own personal interests. Therefore, the corporate management only talk about efficiency and performance, and avoid talking about personal interests in order to maximise the interests of the enterprise.

Corporate management maximised profit by focusing on Meritocracy, Pragmatism and Honesty. The favouritism is usually not considered. (This is why we are opposed to the bumiputera quota system). Individual interests are not considered when they jeopardize the interests of the enterprise as a whole. Only then can the enterprise make the best decisions in terms of performance, practicability and integrity to maximise the interests of the company.

Of course corporate management to maximise the profit is often being criticized as impersonal and sometimes exploiting human rights.

Family style management is not like business style management. Families are relationship-focused. Families don’t measure the value of individuals in terms of performance. Families also don’t think about what works practically, because in a family, a cat that can’t catch a mouse is also a good cat. In the family, we emphasize loving one another rather than productivity. We may even give up our own interests to safeguard the interests of other family members.

Of course under family style management, performance, growth and other corporate goals are often empty talk.

So should the church use corporate management, or family-style management, or integrated?

If it is family style management, then why do we set goals and pursue achieving goals? Don’t we often like to compare ourselves with other denominations? We often think that other denominations are better than Anglican in all aspects of development. Don’t we also often compare ourselves with other religions? We always think that other religions are doing better than we are doing in Christianity, especially in social works. If we don’t focus on performance, then why do we compare ourselves?

If it is corporate management, then why do we never review the effectiveness of our goals? Why do we set goals every year, but never seriously pursue for it? Why are ineffective pastors never been criticised and asked to improve themselves? Why are indifferent church members never been reprimanded and asked to repent? Why do personal interests outweigh the interests of the church? Why does the interests of the church seldom been emphasized?

In fact, there are advantages and disadvantages to any kind of management model. A correct church’s management model should inspire members to serve with a servant’s heart. The church is a place to serve one another. The church is a place to give to one another. The church is a place to work hard for one another. The church doesn’t have to emphasize in its interests, but neither should the church have cats that don’t catch mice. The church doesn’t need to maximise its interests, but neither should the members have their own interests as the main focus. Everyone should always look out for one another.

How can the church reach such a state? These will always be theories unless everyone keeps growing. For everyone to grow, then everyone must grow spiritually. The goal of discipleship is to help you grow spiritually. NO one in the church should remain stagnant. Everyone must grow.

One of the problems that economics deals with is how to maximize the usage of limited resources to produce the most valuable product. What does it take to maximize the usage of resources to produce the most valuable product? Why are certain countries more productive than others? Why is the per capital income of some countries several times comparing with others? What are the factors that make some countries developed, some developing and some poor?

The key factors are knowledge and technology. As we all know, a country with knowledge and technology is the king. Countries that do not have knowledge and technology can only working for them or be exploited. The more sophisticated technology a country have, the more it can maximize its productivity and reap the greatest rewards. Whether it is industrial production or the professional services, those who have knowledge and technology can maximize production capacity and maximize economic efficiency.

Take an example:

Country A has natural resources, but it does not have the knowledge and technology to make it into a valuable final product, , so it can only export its natural resources to obtain an income.

Country B has natural resources and limited technology to make it into half produst. Since it does not have the advance industrial technology, it can only export semi-productions for economic gain.

Country C does not have natural resources, but it does have high level industrial technology and is able to manufacture all kinds of machinery and automobiles and export them all over the world. In addition, they provide financial services and business consultation services. They import raw materials from country A  and B and export machinery and automobiles back to them, earning a huge trade differences.

So what do you think? which country has the highest economic capacity? Which country has the richest economy?

The answer is obvious. The country that has the knowledge and the technology is able to maximize capacity and bring the most economic benefits. Simply put, Whoever has the ability to take a piece of raw material and sequentially process it into an advance consumer product is the winner.

Let me ask you a question: do you make more money selling raw materials, or selling advance high-tech products?

So now let us go back to church environment. Can these economic principles be applied to the church? Can economic principles lead to more progress and growth in the church?

I believe the same principles can be applied to the church. The church can only grow by maximising the productivity of its members. However, how can we increase the productivity of our members? There is only one answer, and that is through teaching and training. The more the church focuses on teaching and training, the higher the productivity, and the less the church focuses on teaching and training, the lower the productivity.

If our country is to progress and prosper, it must increase its intellectual and technological capacity. Not just the knowledge and technology of a few, but the knowledge and technology of the whole nation. Then foreign investors will be willing to come and invest in our country. I think when a company is considering whether or not to set up a factory in our country, the first factor they consider is whether we have the relevant talents to support their production here. If we do not have the relevant talents, and if we do not have the support of the upstream and downstream industries, then even if there are tax incentives or business packages, they will not come to our country to set up factories. Quite simply, would you go to Laos to set up a high-tech electronics factory?

Similarly, how can a church grow if it does not have the teaching and training to make the members grow in spirituality?

Here we can conclude that without knowledge and technology, a country’s economy cannot grow. In the same way, the church cannot grow without teaching and training, and neither can the ministry.

In order for the church to grow, we must improve the spirituality of the members as a whole, especially in these four areas. The first is their total commitment to God. Second is their willingness to serve with a servant attitude. The third is their willingness to actively involve in evangelism. The fourth is their ability to have Christ-like character.

When we empower all members in these four areas, we can increase the productivity of the church and lead more people to believe in Jesus.

One of the difficult tasks in discipleship training is how to effectively motivate members to be committed in discipleship for a long term. Helping members to be committed in discipleship cannot be done by rewards or punishments, because we, as a church,  not like commercial organizations, has no way to give material rewards or any substantial punishments to the members.

In order to make good disciples, we must strengthen their inner motivation. Only by stimulating the inner motivation of the members can they be effectively trained to become a committed disciple. In order to change the hearts of our members, we must pay attention to the following things:

1) Emphasize in the autonomy of the member, i.e., let the member make his or her own decisions, and never force or threaten, or inspire guilt in the member to make him or her comply. For discipleship to be effective, members must be motivated voluntarily without being controlled. No one wants to be coerced. As the saying goes, what is forced is not sweet, and discipleship training under coercion is meaningless.

2) Make known to the members that discipleship training is something they can do competently. This will boost their confidence and bring them a sense of achievement. All people want a sense of accomplishment in everything they do. A sense of accomplishment is the best internal motivation, and it is what motivates people internally. Human beings always want to progress, and become a person who can bring greater contribution to others. Once members experience growth through discipleship training and bring greater contribution to the church or community through service, their inner satisfaction is the greatest inner motivation.

(3) Discipleship training must strengthen the connection between members, enable them to support each other, and provide for their need to love and be loved. When members find inner support through discipleship training, they will be motivated and be in a better environment to support and complement each other rather than attack each other.

4) The members must have the conviction of the important of discipleship training. The conviction must be their own, not “pastor’s conviction”. Members must internalize the discipleship philosophy as part of themselves, not as an interjection. We want internalization (identification with the philosophy), not interjection (imposition). Only internalized concepts can bring long-lasting motivation. Interjection is only a short-term motivation because it is not from their hearts. Therefore a careful sharing of the biblical concept of the discipleship training is a must.

This is my sharing. I will continue to share with you the reasons why do we want to emphasize in discipleship training. Stay tune.

A common plot in a film: a single mother who works hard to raise her children. But when the children grow up, they feel that she is a burden to them, making them too heavy and unable to breathe. She has to live alone in poverty when she is old.

When parents raise their children, do they have to return their love?

God brings us blessings, do we have to return the blessings?

When I shared with you how to make St Peter’s church stronger, some people may feel indifferent. Why? They may think that:-

1. What does St Peter’s have to do with me?
2. What does it matter to me if it is stronger?
3. Whether St Peter’s grows or not has nothing to do with me!

Anyway, there are more than 200 churches in Ipoh. Isn’t it the same to go to any church? They are all churches, so there is not necessary to go to St Peter’s Church. If St Peter’s Church does not meet my needs, why should I go there?

This reaction is a normal human behaviour. You may think that you are right.

But you forgot one thing. You forgot that you are part of the church. In fact, you are a church. You can be at St Peter’s Church, you can be at any church, but you are a church and you must grow, you must progress, you must become more committed to God, and therefore you must be a disciple of Christ.

Your responsibility is to make the church stronger. Which means you have to make yourself stronger. Not only you have to make yourself stronger, you have an obligation to make the church stronger too.

Why? This is because we must gather our strength and unify our resources so that we can maximize our effectiveness to extend God’s ministry. We cannot work alone, we are parts of the body and we must co-operate with each other so that the  church can function well.

There is no such thing in this world as just being a Christian. If you think there is, that is a proof that you need discipleship training because you are completely ignorant of what the Bible teaches. All you have are prejudices, or incomplete teaching of the Bible.

Wherever you are, which can be at St Peter’s, or any other churches, you must contribute to make the church stronger.

Back to the plot. As the saying goes, things can happen for many reasons. Perhaps the mother, in the process of raising her children, unknowingly also raised them with much sorrow, resentment and bitterness within her heart, creating their distorted personality.

Perhaps the children are white-eyed wolves, ungrateful persons.

Human love is not perfect. But what about God? If God is not the problem, are we the problem? Why are we indifferent to the development of the church? Should we repent?