the one true King

Recently I participated at a wedding as a groomsman, and it was truly an honor. On the Thursday before the wedding, I went to pick up another groomsman on my way to the wedding rehearsal. He is a very good friend who lives outside of the country so we don't get to talk a lot. And as he sat into the car, he asked me about my opinion on the protests in Hong Kong, which caught me a bit off guard as I was not expecting a heavy question as our first conversation haha.

This is a topic I have been thinking about for a while, as I want to understand how a Christian should respond to this situation. I lived 2 years in Hong Kong when I was in kindergarten, and my dad and his family lives there right now, so in a way I am connected with this city. To be truly honest, I am not 100% engaged or invested with the situation in Hong Kong as I don't live there and don't have a good understanding of the people's situation to make a stand.

But I do want to learn on how we as Christians should respond because this type of situation could happen in the places where we live in. The question that comes to mind is, whether we Christians should participate in this type of protests. Here are a few points for discussion:

• Submission to authorities, are Christians to always obey authorities?
• Romans 13 is very clear on that we should be subject to authorities, and that God has put these people in power for a reason. We could ask ourselves whether this "command" was only for the people that the letter of Romans was addressed to, or whether it is for everyone. 
• We also know that not everyone in authority in the world will adhere to Christian principles, so we are bound to be in conflict with those in power. I like how Paul speaks about praying for those who are in power, so that the can grow in godliness and holiness (1 Timothy 2:1-2). 
• I think Daniel is a good example on how a Christian should behave when the authorities are imposing something that is not compliance to our faith. He did not revolt or make a big deal out of it. He did disobey the decree (of not praying to any gods other than king Darius), but he readily  accepted this punishment to be thrown to the lion's den, and God saved him!
• How to respond when there is injustice?
• I don't have a good grasp of all the injustices that people in Hong Kong go through, I do know of some like the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the crazily expensive housing prices (that most common people cannot afford), and since the "governor" of Hong Kong is selected from a list of people chosen by the government in China, then there is little probability that this governor will strongly adhere to the interest of the people in Hong Kong. 
• Is it rightful to protest (and in the process disobeying the authorities) until demands are met? I cannot recall any bible passages where it deemed to be rightful to protest against the authorities. Instead I can think of passages where people in influential positions were able to convince kings to do something good for the Israelites (Nehemiah convinced king Artaxerxes to allow him to go rebuild the walls, similar examples with Ezra and Esther). 
• What is the "right" government system?
• I am not an expert of government systems, but many people in the western world do believe that democracy is the way to go. I know that democracy allows people's interests to be represented instead of giving full power to a central political body (or in some situations to a single person). From a biblical perspective, I think the ideal government is a theocratic one, where a king is selected by God to govern by God's statutes. But then, even the closest godly king, David, did very bad things. This is part of the human sinful nature, when given so much power, we can easily be corrupted.

I don't think I am providing any answers as I write, but I am finding more questions without answers.

My current stand is that I would participate in the protest with the aim to express my opinion that I disagree with the injustices people are going through, but I would not incite in violence or have a defiant attitude when engaging with authorities (e.g. police force). I don't think there will be a perfect government system here on earth, and I think there will continue be injustices regarding of the government system, but I think that this is part of God's sovereignty and that there is hope that God will impart justice on His proper timing. As well, I also think that this is a great opportunity to tell others about the gospel, because we have a true King that is just, and He is the savior of our lives. 

During this Thanksgiving, I am really thankful to Christ because:

• Christ is a servant king (Matthew 20:25-28) who came to earth to serve
• Christ is our role model (1 John 2:6) who exemplified how we should live
• Christ is a king who died to saved His people (Matthew 27:42, Jews were mocking Him, but really Christ chose not to save Himself from the cross, to save the world)
• Christ is a victorious king (1 Cor. 15:20-28) who has dominion over enemies and authorities and even death.
• Christ is also a compassionate king and his legacy carries on even now

different roles

Here Pastor Mark speaks about  the three "offices" that Jesus has throughout the bible:

• Priest: offer sacrifices to God on behalf of people's sins
• Prophet: communicates to people truths about God
• King: with authority to reign over a group of people

As we are getting sanctified by the Spirit we are given gifts that would allow us to serve God effectively. Each of us are very different, given different gifts (1 Cor. 12), which will make you more suitable to specific leadership roles, and often the leadership roles are "categorized" into one of these offices. For example:

• Priest: serve others by caring for them, encouraging and support them (e.g. Caring Ministry, one-on-one encouragements)
• Prophet: serve others by speaking God's word to them, and rebuking them if necessary (e.g. Bible study leaders)
• King: serve others by being stewards of the resources to run the fellowship, and executing and planning events (e.g. Program/Event Coordinator)

There is one year when I was in committee, and there were three brothers (the more vocal ones), and the discussion of this came out because each of them were very different. One of them was really organized at planning and running events (so he was the king type). Whenever the other brother spoke about God, one was always inspired by his zeal for the Word of God, and it always brought conviction (so he was the prophet type). The other brother was the person who cares for the people of the fellowship and often made effort to talk as much people as possible and meet up on one-on-one with some of them to encourage them (so he was the priest type). I thought that was cool.

I just wanted to share this (not because I think this is like very important to know since it is kind of technical), but cause of two things:

1. We are sinners, so since we are different it is easy to come to disagreements and hurt one another. So it is important to know how to listen and understand where the other person is coming from. And also to forgive and offer grace when one is offended (just as God forgives and offers grace to us).
2. In the Old Testament, there are great servants of God that fulfills one of the offices of Christ, and I want to dedicate a great portion of my next blog posts to speak about it because it is a way that Christ was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, which is really neat because it gives us a better understanding of the overarching themes of the bible.

More reference for the three offices: http://carm.org/prophet-priest-king

Another reference for Christian leadership: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12913395/Christian_leadership.pdf

seek opportunities

I came across this article from Tim Keller about "Gifts and Talents" (http://theresurgence.com/2012/11/08/gifts-and-talents). It talks about discovering the spiritual gifts given to you.

Pretty interesting as it speaks about 3 ways to figure out what your spiritual gifts are:

• Affinity: in my limited understanding, "what makes your heart beat faster"
• Ability: what you are good at
• Opportunity: doors opened to you, or a need that you see

Tim Keller points that if you are unsure where to start, "opportunity" is a good place because an individual has to try out a few different ministries before really understanding what makes your heart beat faster or knowing what you're really good at, and also God can use that time to mature and mold you.

A good brother of mine has engraved in my mind this lesson: if you see a need in the fellowship, you probably are in the better position to do something about it. It is very easy to not want to step up because we think we might not like it, or we are not good it, etc. I think it is worthwhile to pray and think about the opportunities presented to us, and ask God how He can use us.

It is important though, not to always say yes to the opportunities presented to us. In the past in CCF, many people have the mentality of serving out of a need, and as a consequence we have many people burning out from serving (including myself). After, the leadership started pushing the fellowship to consider serving only when God has burdened with something to avoid this type of issue. But I think that it is easy to go to the other extreme, to the point that we almost ignore the needs that we see. So need to pray and biblically consider each situation.

The important thing is to always be seeking to please our Lord who loves us so much, and has given His Son Jesus to die for us, and that through this gospel we are made to serve for His Kingdom. Be available to God,  have faith in Him, and He use you powerfully.

man of empowerment

I really haven't followed NBA for a long time. I grew up watching Michael Jordan leading the Chicago Bulls to his second 3-championships, and it was so good to watch him own other teams. Another player that I liked (though I didn't really watched him play much) is Steve Nash. Besides the fact that he is an above-average player, his role in assisting his teammates is from another dimension. What is really cool is that when he plays, his teammates perform better by scoring more points. He enables his teammates to contribute more to the team.

Nehemiah 3-4, we can see that the wall is been rebuilt. It is not Nehemiah alone, but many other people are contributing to the cause. All chapter 3 talks about different people building different sections of the wall. The vision sharing in chapter 2 really brought results by making these people take ownership of this task.

I think as a leader, I tend to like to do things all by myself. It is more efficient as I know what I am doing, and also it is a pride issue of relying on my strength and not on others'. But it is so much more edifying to delegate some tasks to other fellow servants of God. It might take more time to train and teach, but when we see them growing and learning to serve God, it is such a joyful experience. 

Also, I realized that I cannot bring a change to the fellowship by doing everything myself, but I need to share the vision that God has given me to convict others, and empower them so that they can also take part on making this vision come true by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Delegating is such a key skill that can avoid someone from burning out. At the same time, we don't want to delegate just because we want to split work to other people. But the reason of delegating is so that other people can take ownership of the fellowship (or any Christian community). When people realize that they can contribute to the fellowship, they feel "more" part of it, they develop confidence, and are encouraged to do more for our gracious God!

man of action

Overall, this is what happened in Nehemiah 1-2:

• Nehemiah is broken by the current situation in Jerusalem, because he sees what God sees, his heart is close to God's (like Hosanna song, "break my heart for what break Yours".So God gives Nehemiah a vision.
• Nehemiah spends lots of times seeking God in prayer and fasting.
• Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king, so he was in a situation of influence to do something.
• Nehemiah takes action to speak to the king in midst of fear (not easy to just talk to the king I guess).
• From the conversation with the king, it seems that Nehemiah has thoroughly planned many things ahead.
• Nehemiah surveys the walls and then shares the vision to the other Israelites, who are encouraged to see God's work in Nehemiah, and are pumped up to rebuild the walls!

I really admire Nehemiah because of his willingness to take action. It's one thing to see that something is wrong and complain about it, but it is another one to really do something about it.

One of my close brothers, Herman, said this quite often: "If you see a problem in the fellowship, you're likely the best person to do something about it". That reminds of my first ministry in CCF, which was welcome team. I used to be very scared of CCF because of its big size, and I felt unwelcomed. Somehow I served in the welcome team in my 1B, and I found that I could relate a lot with the shy newcomers.

This is not to say that we should always serve because of a need (that can lead to burnout), but that a need is an indication of something. If we see a need, instead of complaining about it we should talk to other brothers and sisters, and see God in prayer to see how can this need be met.

In general, the problem is people not taking action in fellowships is quite apparent. I can think of 3 reasons now why people usually don't like to take action: I don't feel passionate about it, it's scary, I don't have enough time. I think I talk about it a bit in one of my past post. I just gonna focus on the first two. 

I don't feel passionate about it

In the past, I have burnt out because there are things that I do are based solely on meeting a need or fulfilling a duty. Some other brothers and sisters from CCF experienced similar problems, so the fellowship put a big emphasis on serving on areas that "you feel passionate for". I agree with the concept, because God  is who works in each of us, and He will accomplish His purpose by using us, so there should not be any room for burnt out. So if we are doing what God wants, then it should be ok. The danger of this statement is that it gives a sense that doing what you're passion for is always being pleasant and smooth, without difficulties or hardships. But the reality is that there will be tough times when I don't really want to keep on doing ministry, but it is only God who pushes me to continue. 

Being "passionate" is not just a emotional feeling, but a willingness and conviction to suffer for the cause.

My point is that we should not rapidly close a door to serve in a certain area because we don't feel passionate about it. There are other factors like fellowship's needs and responsibility that are often neglected.

In the case of Nehemiah, he was indeed emotionally affected by the broke walls, but later on he faced many struggles and opposition, and it wasn't easy. It is the assurance of knowing that God is in his side that carried him through.

It's scary

It must have taken quite a lot of courage for Nehemiah to speak to the king. Like, if someone do or say something "wrong" to the king, he can order that person to be killed. But Nehemiah decided to take action. He spent 4 months praying, and was praying as he talked to the king, so it shows that relying on God carried him through.

One of my greatest joy in serving is that it really puts me in situations where I have no place to go but to rely on our merciful God.

I think the we need more men of action. There are many attendants in a fellowship, but not so much participants who actively contributes to the body of Christ. The reason why a fellowship might not be as impacting is because maybe "one arm" and "one leg" are not taking action. Imagine how beautiful it is, if all the members of the fellowship co-partners displaying the full potential of the body of Christ!

As a child, I really liked Dragon Ball Z. There is this movie called "Wrath of the Dragon: If Goku Can't Do It, No One Can", which I actually haven't watched entirely. Nevertheless, I really like the title. If Goku can't do it, one one can! If we are not doing what we suppose to do, then who will?

man of vision sharing

For those who watch Naruto, you probably know who this person is. He is considered to be one of the strongest and greatest leader of the ninja world, Minato Namikaze, the 4th hokage (leader of the Fire Country). He is really cool and ownage.

In the very first chapter/episode, it is told that he sacrificed his life to protect the village from a fox beast. So we don't get to see much of this cool guy. 

What is really cool is this idea of the "will of the fire". Since the first hokage, there is a vision for the ninjas to use their strength to protect their village. This vision is pass on to all the ninjas of the Fire Country. Therefore, even if the cool 4th hokage died, the "will of the fire" continues with the remaining ninjas, who will fight to protect the village.

In a similar way, leaders gets a vision from God, and needs to share this vision to the rest of the Christian community because:

• a vision from God deals with people (convicting people of sin, challenging people to mature, encouraging more prayer and outreach, etc)
• a leader cannot make a vision happen by him/herself
• Christian community can confirm the vision

I mentioned that a leader's role is to influence people towards the direction of God's vision, therefore a leader has to share this vision to convict people that God is calling them. Let's look at Nehemiah:

"The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.

 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”  I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.

   They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work." 

- Nehemiah 2:16-18

Nehemiah tells them "let us rebuild the wall" because this is the vision God gave him in chapter 1. He also shares that God has shown him grace (gaining king's favors) which confirms that testifies that God is in his side. This encourages the Jews who readily agreed and began this good work.

Vision sharing is quite key in a fellowship, because in order to improve the current state of things, to move towards where God wants, the leader(s) alone cannot take the whole job, but it is also everyone else. Therefore, the vision needs to be communicated in a way that impacts everyone. If everyone "catches" this vision, then everyone will participate in being used by God to move this fellowship to where God wants. Even if the leaders are to "disappear", the rest of the fellowship will be able to continue the good work.

man of responsibility

How does Nehemiah 1 ends? It talks about Nehemiah's job, he was the cupbearer to the king.

Why is this important? Perhaps to state the influence he had, and the possible favor he can ask from the king.

What does this job entail? He served the king wine but he was also responsible for the well being of the king because he tasted the wine to make sure that there was no poison in it.

But how did he become cupbearker to the king? We can infer that Nehemiah is trustworthy (for such big responsibility), reliable (have to be proven to be able to perform such duty), reputable (to gain initial trust), courageous (put his life on the line).

I find it interesting that just before chapter 2 (when there is a time jump of 4 months), Nehemiah's job is mentioned. In a way, this precedes his plan of action to talk to the king in chapter 2. At the same time, it also shows that Nehemiah is not just a random guy, but he holds a very high position, serving closely to the king, and this implies that Nehemiah has shown a good track of record of responsibility and integrity. This tells us something about Nehemiah's character.

I believe that a good track of record is important for someone in leadership. One extreme view is that a leader has to be all equipped for the task, and this often intimidates those who want to step up in leadership but feel unequipped. The other extreme is that the person's track of record is not really an important factor, but more his "passion" to serve.

The problem with the first view is that in the Bible, God often calls people who are not adequate nor equipped to serve Him. God called Moses (who didn't want to talk to people), Jacob (a sneaky person), Elijah (who ran away from his enemies even though God just showed Him that fire can fall from the skies). Jesus came and called fishermen and tax collectors, who are very low-position roles during that time. This shows that these people are not relying on themselves, but on the grace of God (1 Cor. 12:9). God chose Paul, a persecutor of Christians, to be an apostle who brought the gospel to Gentiles.

The problem with the second view is that it is easy to let everyone become a leader because we see his/her enthusiasm for the Lord, but we haven't seen him/her serve in other roles to observe his/her character. Therefore, it is easy to let people who are not matured in Christ in leadership roles. And that is dangerous for the person (might get burn out, discouraged, character issues in leading), and affect the fellowship (bad leadership, stumbling others, discouragement).

Therefore, I believe it is important to consider one person's track of record, which shows his/her character, whether that person is responsible or of integrity, that would allow him/her to do a good job in leadership by God's grace.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." - Luke 16:10

man of prayer

This is from Francis Chan,  Prayer as a Way of Walking in Love: A Personal Journey. Very cool, as I am reminded the importance of prayer. It is so easy for me just to go ahead and do all these things for God, but am I really getting to know God more. Am I abiding in Him? Am I loving God more?

Going back to Nehemiah, we can see many elements of prayer that we can learn from: confession, sincerity, humility, persistence, recognizing God's mightiness, claiming promise that believers are entitled to. It seems that Nehemiah knows much about prayer, and that's possible when a man walk with God in prayer.

It is interesting to note that from chapter 1 (month of Kislev) to chapter 2 (month of Nisan), they are four months apart. That is like a school or coop term. What was Nehemiah doing during this time? The bible doesn't say, but one can infer from chapter 1 that Nehemiah could have spent more time praying and fasting since there were not any clear directions from God. Perhaps he also spent time planning and preparing his next course of action.

Also, in chapter 2 verse 4, before Nehemiah answers to the king, he prays to God for help! It shows that Nehemiah really draws strength from prayer, and that He relies on God.

man of vision

In the anime Gurren Lagann, mankind is suppressed to live underground because there are "monsters" living on the surface. Mankind is powerless against the constant hunting from the surface monsters. Therefore, humans were not able to enjoy the beauty of the skies and the refreshing gentle morning breeze. But, a man named Kamina did not conform to this hopeless reality. He saw the possibility of doing something about it, he saw the place that he can reach, he saw that mankind can strive to overcome this situation by piercing to the surface! And because of him, the "Dai Gurren" movement was born to free mankind from the suppression of the monsters.

Kamina is one my favorite male anime characters. Besides that fact that he likes to say "who do you think I am?", he sees things that not other people can see. He is able to perceive the place that his followers and himself should head towards for a better tomorrow.

As I read Nehemiah, chapter 1 talks about the great distress in Jerusalem because of the walls are broken down. Historically, the walls of Jerusalem holds a great significance of the prestige and greatness of Israel. But because of sin, outsiders were able to invade and break these walls, creating an environment of hopelessness and disgrace. This is Nehemiah's reaction:

"The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
   In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

   They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

   When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:

   “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

   “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

  “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

   I was cupbearer to the king." - Nehemiah 1


Nehemiah was a man of vision. He saw things as God saw them and was convicted deeply in his heart even to the point of fasting and prolonged mourning. It was not a trivial matter that his nation, God’s chosen people were in shambles because of sin. He took to task, planning and praying for a good time to act when the God would grant him the king’s favor.

magnets

Now I want to transition from serving to leadership (an appropriate topic since it is CCF committee elections!).

What is leadership? I let some experts define it:

"Leadership is influence" - John Maxwell

Dave Kraft on Leadership

Here Dave Kraft mentions the existence of a "vision". Furthermore, Blackaby defines spiritual leadership as "moving people on to God's agenda".

When I first served in committee, an older spiritual brother introduced to me John Maxwell, a Christian author  who writes book about leadership (his audience aren't only Christians, but also general corporate leaders). So I read Developing the Leader within You. And on my following work term, I read Spiritual Leadership by Blackaby.

Definitely, I learned a lot from these experienced Christian authors about what leadership is all about. And as of now, I define leadership as "influence to move people to a place described in a vision". In the Christian context, this vision is given by God.

So yeah, leaders are like magnets that exerts a magnetic field which cause atoms to be aligned in the same direction and creates an attraction force (I am forgetting a lot of this stuff learned from school!). To a certain extent, I think everyone should be a leader in a certain area (relationships, small groups, ministries, fellowship, leading someone to faith, etc).

The first bible study I helped write is about the book of Nehemiah, which brings back interesting memories. And I want to go through it, to dissect what the bible tells us about leadership, which I really like to talk about.

Trial by fire

For many people in my year who had stepped up for leadership in CCF, we weren't always properly trained or prepared. Even though I had many encouraging upper years who I constantly learned from, I wasn't mentored to lead things like bible studies, prayer meetings, committee, etc. I suppose formal mentorship is not a strength in the fellowship. Though I can see more improvements now, it is still an issue.

Therefore, many of us had a considerable rough time in our first serving experiences in CCF. I remembered that the first bible study I lead was very intimidating, especially since there was a particular upper year who was always quiet and had that serious look =P. I was asking myself if this upper year was upset at my poor bible study leading skills. My first time in committee was rough and tough like an overdone steak. I was appointed on a summer term, and it was my 2B term in Engineering (and I took an extra course haha). Most of the committee was inexperienced, and somehow pretty much all our fellowship leaders were struggling with something that term which cause most of us to burned out. Definitely, there was some spiritual influence. Furthermore, I was in the elected committee for next year, and it was a very inexperienced committee (only one person had previous experience as appointed). To add more to the fire, an issue came out which caused hurt and division among us. That issue escalated when finals came, so I had to bus to Toronto for a meeting in between exams.

Those times were frustrating and discouraging, and some of us were losing sleep because of our concern for the fellowship. It would have been so nice if I was more prepared to handle the situation, or that we had experienced leaders who could intervened and lead us in unity to solve this issue. But, it was pretty much this group of blind inexperienced committee going through the a tough trial. By the grace of God, things eventually were resolved, and CCF hasn't seen an issue of similar magnitude ever since.

Even though those times were really difficult, I rejoice (Philippians 4:4). I experienced quite a bit of growth in Christ during those times as I felt very pressed and it really pushed me to rely on God alone. Reading the bible seemed so refreshing especially during those times. Many of my leadership skills were developed. And I will not change anything to make things easier because of so many valuable lessons learned.

I am not writing to say that leadership is always this difficult :P, as this was a very unique situation. But that in all circumstances, God is in control, and it is only by His grace and power that leading is possible.

Currently, CCF still struggle with the lack of leadership. And I just want to encourage for those who haven't serve in the fellowship to step up in obedience to the Lord. Each of us who called ourselves disciples of Christ, is blessed with a new life in Christ, and we live for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31). Let's devote ourselves fully to the work He has entrusted to each of us, and God is faithful and He will always supplied more than enough for us.

Not everyone has to be in committee or leading bible studies in CCF, but there must be something that God is calling each of us to do. The more we read His word, and  the more we spend time knowing Him, the more likely we are able to discern what we should be doing.

In the end, God does not need us to do His work, as He is all powerful and He can make anything happen within less than a second. But God chooses to use us as carriers of the message of the gospel, so that through us, the power of the Holy Spirit flows to change people's lives. So serving is not a duty nor something that raise our status, but it is a privilege to be co-partners serving God for His Kingdom and Glory! We were dead in our transgressions, and objects of wrath, but by God's grace we are made alive with Christ (Eph 2:1-5) so that we are reconciled to Him and we can partake in God's work here on earth.

As Christians, we are in the process of being conformed into the image of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. This process often faces obstacles, and can be painful and slow. Part of this process is that we are used as instruments by God to do His work so that we exercise the gifts that He has given to us, so that our character can be molded, and that in our weaknesses His strength will be displayed in us.

I learned mainly with trial by fire, just jumping to the water, taking a leap of faith trusting that God will work. I don't think this should be the case for everything. The truth is that, when we put ourselves in challenging situations (outside of our comfort zone) is when we learn the most. But always seek guidance from experienced people (if they are available), take advantage of the resources you have, and do the best you can for the Lord. Trust Him, and He will not give you more than you can handle. Remember, it is not by our power, but by His, so it is ok.

The point is, what are you doing with what God has entrusted you with?

Pillar of support

I enjoy watching the anime Prince of Tennis. It is quite entertaining, and it is a living proof of how the physics I learned in class doesn't apply at all. But yeah, there is a phrase that I am attached with from this series, and I remembered including it (with proper reference) in a serious email that I wrote about CCF:

"Become a pillar of support..."

Basically, the about-to-leave captain says this to the freshman to encourage and challenge him to become an integral part of the tennis team.

As a about-to-leave leader, I feel very compelled to say that same phrase especially to the younger members of CCF. If you consider CCF as your family in Waterloo, I challenge you to become an integral member of this family. To generalize, become an integral member of your local Christian community.

Don't be just a bystander or someone who just attends, but be someone who gets involved, who actively engages, who gets to know other members of the family. Exercise the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you in the place that God has placed you in to manifest more and more the new life in Christ Jesus.

It is very rewarding to actively partake in a community because we learn how to love, we are encouraged and challenged, we learned to be humble and vulnerable through the invaluable relationships we formed. God can use this community to mold us and make us realize the potential and the privilege we have to co-partner in His Kingdom. All for the praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Become CCF's pillar of support.

(this video is automatically time-stamped at 4:15m)

Investment

5 years of Waterloo has taught me soooooooo much.... like being numb to any pain inflicted by the department of Electrical Engineering =P

One of the greatest lessons I learned is to invest in people. I have been graced by God to be part of this wonderful family in CCF. And it has been a privilege to serve in many leadership roles which has challenged me to depend on God more and more. Due to the nature of CCF, there are many meetings, logistics, emails back-and-forth involved in serving... and they can so distract me from seeing the main purpose of leadership. I believe that it is about people. Christian leadership is to influence people to move towards the God-ward direction. It is all about investing in people's lives. To encourage, support, challenge, rebuke, teach, guide, train, mentor the people who God has entrusted you with. One big reason is because Christianity is about faith expressing itself through love (Gal. 5:6), and this love is expressed and refined through relationship with people.

As leaders, we are to serve willingly as shepherds for the flock entrusted to us (1 Peter 5:2). I personally like to arrange to meet up with different people every week for a meal or coffee to chat and share how God has been working in our lives. Living at the CCF house (westcourt) gives me many opportunities to do that.

One key factor is to be intentional. It is so easy to get distracted, busy, or complacent with superficial conversations. It is important to have the intention to engage in edifying conversations.

After 5 years, an extra note of joy is to see how God has been actively working in the lives of the people who God has entrusted you with. You might not see fruits or results right away, but that's ok as God is who makes the seed grow. All the glory and praise is for God. It is really extra grace that we are vessels to be used by God to impact other people's lives. When you see that a person is bearing fruits from the Spirit and gaining more mature in Christ Jesus, it is a real joy.

Be intentional and mindful in your investment.

Vision

I am currently watching the anime Gurren Lagann and it is a very manly anime! That is not the point on this post. One of the main characters said something that I found interesting. He said that the reason why our eyes are on the front of our face is so that we can look forward to what is ahead.

It is a simple fact, but by knowing the context of what happened in the anime, I realized that it is easy for us to get stuck in the struggles and sadness of the past. And this hinders us in our spiritual growth. We need to remember our identity in Christ! We ought to learn from the past, but move forward by being full in the present and looking forward to the future since we are have the assurance that God is with us.

When we get to know the Lord more and more, we start seeing things that God sees, and a vision will be revealed to us. And we work towards that goal that God has entrusted with.

In the anime, the other character replies that we can use our eyes to see our leaders' back, so that we can follow to where they are going.

Vision is key.

"Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." - Proverbs 29:18

"For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins." - 2 Peter 1:9

Partnership in the Gospel

I listened to the sermon Living a Life that Matters - Living Courageously by Francis Chan from the Cornerstone Church. It is a very encouraging message that talks about community and the deep relationships that can be formed among brothers and sisters through the unity in the gospel. It reminded me of a sermon I heard a few years ago from Pastor Tim. Both sermons used these verses from Philippians:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:3-6

What is the partnership in the gospel?

One main aspect of fellowship is that we have a partnership in the gospel. We gather and serve together because there is a common mission that keeps us united. Our lives have been bought with the a high price, the precious blood of Christ. We live for the Christ's sake, and we live to serve Him, to consecrate ourselves to expand God's Kingdom with the power of the Holy Spirit. This partnership is a strong bond of unity.

A strong aspect of CCF is community. We like to study together, eat together, see each other almost everyday, live together, hangout often after fellowship in Westcourt, and stay up late playing board games or having deep discussion until sunrise. All these are good times that I cherish and keep close to my heart.

I believe we can go beyond this community. There is a deeper bond that I have formed with some brothers through serving for this gospel. We have come to the understanding that our hearts beat at the same rate for the gospel, that we are willing to fight with all we got, that we are willing to suffer for the cause of Jesus Christ. And this bond is so encouraging that even if I don't see these brothers for a long time, I know with confidence that God is working powerfully through them.

This is a beautiful bond because it is not just during the fun times that we enjoy each other's company, but also during the tough times. Seeing each other's zeal for the gospel really brought a deep unity. I remembered a particularly 4am morning when we were shedding tears because we were so pressed on every side (but not crushed)... but we were filled with joy knowing it was for the sake of something greater.

Sharingan obsession

Sharingan is a word that I say a lot =P.

Sharingan is special trait that is passed through the bloodline of a ninja clan in the anime Naruto. It is a special eye technique that has the ability to see through, decipher, and copy the enemy's technique. Since it can decipher so much information about the enemy that it is able to predict what are the enemy's future steps. The sharingan user gains such a great insight in a battle.

I find this special eye ability very cool, and the word sharingan sounds cool too. So I start saying it at random times especially when there is awkward silent times in meetings or conversations.

At the same time, I find the abilities of the sharingan are important for leadership. To be sensitive to your environment is very key in leadership. To know what obstacles you will face, to foresee what can go wrong, to know the condition of the people you are leading (whether they need encouragement, guidance, or even rebuke), to know where to attack next (attend a need). This insight allows the leader to plan and act accordingly.

Why koino-warrior?

My home youth fellowship is named "Koinonia" which is the Greek word for "fellowship" used in Acts 2:42. It is in that youth fellowship that I experienced God's love for the first time. I remembered how shocked I was when this fellowship showed so much care and had an authentic interest in me, a complete stranger. That is how God found me.

As I grew in this fellowship, I was always encouraged to see the unity and community within the group despite the wide range of age (includes middle school to university). I was challenged by the sense of common-ship and selflessness. Anyone was willing to supply any needs that any other member required. It definitely brings back good memories :)

I also had the privilege to serve in the servant group (committee) as the chairperson during my last year in Guatemala (before coming to the legendary land of Waterloo). It was extremely challenging, and I faced many struggles and remembered getting burned out.

But I learned a very valuable lesson as a leader. The same lesson I am relearning now while serving in the CCF committee. It is so easy to be caught up with the ministry itself and the logistics, that I can forget that I am serving real people. It is so rewarding to be a people-oriented leader who truly cares for the welfare and health of the people. For sure it takes time to invest and care for people, but the joy of forming relationships, to get to know people more, to be part of their lives, to mutually encourage one another in Christ, and to take partnership in the gospel is an amazing experience for the human being.

Because the existence of "fellowship" has taught me so much that I want others to experience the same goodness from God through fellowshipping with brothers and sisters. This is a cause that I fight for. Therefore, I decided to use "koino" (which is a short form of "koinonia") and "warrior" which expresses my intent.

A true leader cares and acts on behalf of the people who are entrusted to him/her.

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5:2-3