Repost: As we start 2009

Hi guys,

Even as Project Y is starting again in 1.5 weeks time, it's a good time to reflect about what this church is all about and what this year holds for us. And so, in the name and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, I have a few words to say to this church:

1. This "church": Our church, the Outreach, as it stands is a really itsy-bitsy church. =) We're not even a "Small Medium Enterprise", we're an "Itsy-Bitsy Enterprise". At least in terms of numbers, venue, and the usual things that in our culture defines a "church". Nonetheless as our Lord Jesus has said--"where two or three gather in my name, there I am among them". He also said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it."

I think this is important. Jesus is saying that i) we (the two or three) are his church; the people of God are the church, not any building, creed, or organisation; ii) that he will only build his church. This church is not mine, or Chris', or Ben's, or anyone else's. It belongs solely to Jesus and Jesus alone. He calls the shots. We (the elders) are just his employees, and honestly, if we fail to do his bidding, in the words of Donald Trump, "we're fired". iii) "the gates of hell will not prevail against it": know this, folks, that this church will not have any easy times ahead. The devil doesn't like this project, neither does he like the idea of people hearing about Jesus and discussing Jesus. So expect bombardment from him: sudden urgent matters, sudden cancellations from people, an overload of work/homework, family members being difficult, etc. But remember that Jesus will build his church. And if we are building his church, then he is for us, and no matter what may come our way, "the gates of hell shall never prevail against [this church]". So in all this, just rejoice, persevere--and when the devil realises you're not reacting the way he wants you to, these interferences will suddenly start to go away. Speaking from experience here =) In my words, he's gonna get bored and leave. Lol.

Paul said to the church in Corinth, "do you not know that all of you together are God's temple, God's alternative to life as usual, in the city of Corinth, in that the Spirit of God lives in all of you together? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple." (1 Cor 3:16-17) It's obvious that God takes the local church very seriously indeed. The most important point though that I got from that is the very protective stance of God over the believers, i.e. his church, in that if anyone dares to touch and destroy his people, he's going to stand up for them in no equivocal terms. In the same way, I hear God speaking to us: do we not know that we are God's church, an alternative to life as usual, in SMU, and wherever else we choose to meet? In our midst people, ordinary folk like all of us, get to experience who God is, get to hear him, and get to see life as it usually isn't on earth. People who are searching, who don't know God, who come into contact with all of us together will get to see God, and God's community as it is supposed to be lived.

Thank God for the many churches in Singapore, doing their job to feed the people of God and to reach those in their midst. But there are people only you and I can touch, who will come only because it was you and I who invited them, who will not feel comfortable discussing religious topics with anyone else except us, who for some reason or another feel safe talking with us about these things, and who know that we can accept their differences without judging them. These are people only we can talk to, and who deserve a chance to evaluate Jesus Christ properly for themselves, not getting their info from hearsay or from insensitive sources.

This being said, the rest of the points are easy to say:

2. For the whole church, this year the priority is for all of us to know God more and more, and to find new ways to contribute to each other's lives. God has given us different abilities, to be used for the benefit of all. So let me announce some things that are in the works:

i) Proj Y: Most of this year will be spent letting our friends know about Jesus and letting them take their time to know God better. (I include Mohan here under this category, i.e. take your time to know God better at your own pace. =) ) The roles have been assigned for the 1st Proj Y. I wanna emphasise again that I don't wanna be a taskmaster, so really, if anyone's in a tough spot, or the task really isn't a good fit for you and it's counterproductive, please let me know in the frankest of terms. We'll see if we can do a switch or do without it for that week altogether. Aims? Just to hear them out, let them know about Christ, and see if any of them decide to go with Christ. If any of them come to Christ, then there'll be more of other stuff to do, but if not, it's a good exposure for everybody.

ii) Teaching: God has given most of us a pretty good foundation in the knowledge of Him. Thus moving with what God has given us, the Christian Education (CE) dept is practically set up. 2 courses will be run and is open to the public: one on Romans, and the other on Biblical Interpretation. This takes place on Tues evenings. Besides that, a basics class will also be run for those who have just started to know Christ. This basics class will only start after the first Proj Y, and is on the usual Sunday slot that we use for Proj Y.

iii) Prophecy: Recently God has given some of us the ability to hear, supernaturally, God's will for ourselves and others. It isn't a magical ability that we command at will, but rather, whenever the situation calls for it, some of us will be able to deliver God's specific command for the people involved. As part of helping everyone, we wanna give more room for those having such an ability to bless the people more, rather than making it a reactive thing where it's only exercised in an emergency. So as often as we can, anyone who feels led by the Lord to share a message, just mention it first to Chris or Dan, and after that we can allow you to share it with the church. There will be some specific church meetings that will allow certain people we call Prophets (people who specialise in spending time with God and knowing his will) to exercise their gifting in a deeper manner.

iv) In line with this, we will also be making some major changes by the end of this year (I hope, if not early next year):
1. We will probably be getting a room for the church, partly as a form of care in case any of you are filled with the Spirit (we have no desire to publicly embarrass you, praise God :)
2. The order of service will change. There will probably be different programmes for different weeks of the month, so that we'll get to learn (and more importantly, experience) different things about God. Check the blogs for bi-monthly updates about the schedule. In line with this, I will also be explaining about the 5 different types of elders (what we call the 5-fold ministry) and how God uses them to be a blessing to your lives. I will encourage all of you to make it a point of conviction to come every week, particularly when we start this new order of service. Come every week so that you will have some kind of "balanced diet". The last thing we should see is people becoming unbalanced and becoming spiritually stunted children. :D
3. Stay tuned for timing changes as well. So far it's not been confirmed, but it is a possibility.

I trust that this blog will be useful for your spiritual education. May the God of peace and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you safe in His arms, and shower you with more love and grace for the year ahead. God bless all of you richly.

Yours faithfully,
Daniel Ng
Presiding Elder
Outreach Church Singapore