Charis - A Gracious, Attractive Community?

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtain wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes" Isaiah 54:2

My Church is Charis Methodist Church. In Greek mythology Charis is the name of one of the Graces. She is known for her charm, beauty and graciousness. In the Christian context the Greek word Charis (χάρις) refers to goodwill, loving-kindness, favour and the grace of God showered upon Christians. As such many Charisians think we are highly favoured by God, our motto being 'A Church After God's Own Heart'. Charis is also a root word for charisma and charity; we aspire to be a church full of vitality, graciousness and charity in service to God and others.

For some time now, I have ranted and lamented about people leaving and changing churches and emphatically stated that there is absolutely no good reason for committing such a 'crime'. Someone alerted me that I may be blind-sighted, that many people are leaving their churches because of our collective failure as a community. He observed, quite rightly, "that much more effort is put into the brick and mortar rebuilding, and into perfecting our worship service flow than into building our love for one another". In short, Charis Methodist Church may have failed to live up to our name.

Pope Francis in one of his homilies said, "Enlarge your tent" we read in the prophecy of Isaiah, so that all can dwell as members of one family. A family where there is one God and Father, one Lord Jesus Christ and one Spirit of life. A family in which no one member is more important than another, neither in virtue of age, intelligence or ability, for all are beloved children of the same Father. In this regard, Saint Paul's example of the body and its members speaks eloquently for us."

Rebuilding Charis Methodist Chu

How do we re-define ourselves? How can we revitalise a waning and tired body? How can we be a more attractive community? 

We can rebuild ourselves spiritually concurrent to rebuilding physically. 

• Rebuilding Community Strength
• Rebuilding Community Support
• Rebuilding Community Service

Rebuilding Community Strength

'All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word of that was preached to you.' 1Peter 1:24-25

The inspirational preaching and consistent studying of God's word is an important ministry of the local church. God's Word directs our paths. It helps the Christian to grow, strengthens him and sustains his faith. John Stott wrote, "The point is that we do not emerge from the new birth with the understanding and character of a mature Christian...but rather like new-born babies -weak, immature, vulnerable and needing above all to grow." (ref 1). 

A fundamental responsibility of Pastors is the pulpit ministry; from whence will come the encouragement and inspiration for church members. The Psalmist proclaimed in Psalms 119:9 and 10, "How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

The Word of God strengthens the church and a local church steeped in God's word will be a formidable force in the community.

Rebuilding Community Support.

'Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed'

1 Peter 4:12-13

Bishop (Dr) Robert Solomon wrote in his book, The Race, "In suffering, we need to find meaning. We need to find love. It is difficult to suffer alone and many people feel they do so. But we are not alone when we suffer. God often offers us His loving presence. And when we allow Him to walk with us, we will find that suffering is redemptive. It changes us and makes us like Him. It gives depth and brings new life". (ref 2) 

Life is not meant to be easy. Suffering and trouble in our lives can swerve us off course. When such times befall us, will the church be there to support? A genuine congregation will have members who can and will support us in days of trouble. Such support structures take a long time to build and we should treasure such friends and church members.

Rebuilding Community Service

'And let us consider how we spur one another toward love and good deeds' Heb 10:24.

Someone said that we come to church the way we drive into a petrol station. We come in to re-fill our spiritual tank and we leave oblivious to the world around us and to its needs. Jesus said that Christians are to be the light and salt of the earth, that is the Church is expected to do good deeds, to be an exemplar to society. Every member should have a duty towards social service. The Church has a social conscience.

Let us be a 'Total Church'. There is a Christian song, 'Making a Difference' that aptly expresses these sentiments;

Won't you Lord 

Take a look at our hands

Everything we have

Use it for Your plan

Won't You Lord

Take a look at our hearts

Mould it, refine it,

As You set us apart

We want to run to the altar

And catch the fire

To stand in the gap

Between the living and the dead

Give us a heart of compassion

For a world without vision

We will make a difference

Bringing hope to our land

Lionel

Ref 1: John Stott, The Radical Disciple Inter-Varsity Press
Ref 2: Robert Solomon, The Race Armour Publishing

Church Under Construction

Sagrada Familia (credit Edith Frost)

"...and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it" Matthew 16:18

There is a church in Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia, the building of which started in 1894 but has remained under construction to date. As one can imagine it has become a tourist attraction. The architect is Antonin Gaudi and Barcelona has several iconic buildings designed by him. When asked why the project is taking so long to complete, Gaudi famously replied, "The patron of this project is not in a hurry".

Pat and Lionel at the Sagrada Familia (2001)

The Sagrada Familia is a grand and imposing structure with lots of promises but it still remains incomplete. In the same vein, the church of God remains under construction. Its members, we Christians are described as living stones, laid brick by brick and cemented to one another, to slowly but surely build God's house.

If this is so, it seems rather strange that Christians are often judgemental about their local churches. Instead of realising that these local churches are still work in progress, some Christians are so dissatisfied with their congregations that they would leave the local church. We are all sinners saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. If the church is made up of people like us, then surely it must be naïve to expect perfection.

So why are Christians often intolerant of their local churches? How often have we broken away from the congregation to move on to seemingly better churches, where there should be better worship, better fellowship, better teaching, better pastors, better leaders, better ministries only to find after a few months in the new church, that the same old church problems resurface?

Sometimes we are led to believe that the New Testament churches were perfect congregations but we have the New Testament letters precisely because these churches were imperfect and required corrections and rebukes. The Galatians were wrong on a basic point of doctrine. The Philippians were suffering from disunity. The Colossian church was suffering from a group within the church who regarded themselves as better than everybody else. Corinth had problems of immorality, of factionalism and unsound doctrine. Martin Luther once said; “The face of the church is the face of the sinner”.

In 2020 and 2021, my church, Charis Methodist Church is experiencing the physical inconvenience of rebuilding a new church sanctuary. Like buildings under construction it looks a terrible mess with all the dust and dirt, chaos and confusion. We are glad to find temporary premises to worship in; the Living Hope Methodist Church lending us their premises in the afternoon.  What worries me is that many of our church members will leave the Charis community to go to worship at more conveniently located churches. This will soon be an excuse to leave the church permanently.

Undeniably, our Charis church community (Koinonia) remains incomplete and imperfect; so are many churches too. Instead let us learn to accommodate and even forgive one another for any wrong doings done to each other.

The children in singing the song 'Kids under Construction' by Gaither and Paxton can tell the adults a thing or two

Kids under construction

Maybe the paint is still wet

Kids under construction

The Lord may not be finished

We're more than just accidents without the cause;

We're more than just bodies and brains.

God made us on purpose; we're part of a plan

He cares and knows us by name

Dear Jesus, please make me more patient and kind

And help us to be more like You.

And make room for all other children of Yours

For they are still growing too

So let us realise that Charis Methodist Church, the building and the people within are all still under construction. God has not finished with us yet. Then let us be grateful for God's patience with us, 'our patron who is not in a hurry.'

Lionel

Our Hymn Of Joyful Praise

As The Waters Cover The Sea

"For the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah 11:8

I had the opportunity to enjoy a morning’s freshness, staring out into the far horizon of the Adriatic Sea from the balcony of a cruise ship. The huge cruise ship seemed so puny when set in the vast expanse of water. Looking at the sun rising out of the distant horizon against the deep blue colour of the sea, I was deeply moved by the thought of the greatness of God. God made this wonderful and vast Blue Planet, Earth, on which we live. 

A New Year has dawned, a new world is expected. In the coming decade, Man will expect to shape this new world. The advances in science and technology will astound us beyond all imagination. This world will become an easy a place to live in. That is when humanistic tendencies will get the better of us and we will pride ourselves with the greatness of Man. Encouraged by discoveries that will unravel the mysteries of nature and inventions that improve our lives, some of us may go so far as to posit that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or god. 

Nothing can be further from the truth. Whilst the achievements of the human race deserve some recognition, we should be careful not to leave God out of the equation. For despite all the advancements in science and philosophy, we have not solved the inherent problems of the human nature; of pride, greed, selfishness and brutality. To some extent, man can punish faults and write new laws. Hopefully, society can hope to become more egalitarian by community effort and education. However, in the end, all these will still fail because the human heart is deceitful and inherently wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and will corrupt all noble intentions. 

There are tragic stories of human excesses committed on innocent victims. I remember one in 2002, a sad story of a young Indian girl who was brutally gang-raped in New Delhi. In Singapore, we are fortunate to be shielded from the violence and gangland behaviours that often pervade the inner cities of some of our neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, this particular tragedy struck home because the poor girl died in one of our hospitals. The Indian government had referred her for medical management in Singapore in view of her critical condition but to no avail. Alongside India, all of Singapore mourned this needless death and repudiated the senseless violence and the depravity of the men who perpetrated this heinous crime. Yet these gang rapes continue unabated in India.

Our saving grace is that God is present. This is still 'our Father's world'. God made it. Another ancient voyager once wrote "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" Psalm 8:3-4. 

So, as I contemplated the vast expanse of the Adriatic Sea and realising how small we humans are, I prayed that "the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" The Bible tells us that this reverential fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. 

We need to look to God. Can our fear and knowledge of God change our hearts? Can we live as friends, brother, sister, parent, child? This should be the prayer for the new year. John Rutter put it better in his canticle 'For the Beauty of the Earth'.

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies

Over and around us lies

Lord of all to thee we raise

This our hymn of joyful praise

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thoughts and mild

Click on the title and hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing this hymn. Then raise to God your hymn of joyful praise.

  

Happy New Year!

Lionel

Luke - Gift from God

Luke@4Months

 'Children are a gift from God, they are a reward from Him.' Psalms 127:3 (NLT)

Our third grandchild, Luke was born on 23 April 2015. I am glad that he is named after the gospel writer and the book of Acts as well as a faithful early Christian disciple. Luke was a young man when he accompanied Paul on the missionary journeys and chronicled the acts of the early Christian church. He was the bearer of truth. It is our prayer that our grandson, Luke will follow after his namesake, become a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and become a bearer of truth and the good news of the gospel.

By the time Luke came along we were all less anxious about his birth. Nevertheless, I remember that we pray everyday for his safe arrival, not being presumptuous, and when Luke came we thank God for His bountiful blessing: A Gift from God!

The striking feature about young Luke is his curly hair, this make for a photogenic photo along with his stare into the camera. 

We welcomed Luke into our family and introduced him to the family of God, just as Jesus said in Matthew 19:14,

'Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'

Christianity has much to say about little children, how the Lord loves them and how they are truly blessed

• Children are blessed by God. Mark 10:16 'And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.'

• Children are gifts from God. Psalm 127:3 'Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.'

• Children need nurture and guidance. Proverbs 22:6 'Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.'

• Children need correction. Proverbs 29:17 'If you correct your children, they will bring you peace and happiness.' 

When Luke came, his parents and grandparents felt a duty to pass our faith down to him as we did for his two older siblings, James and Eleanor. Like the gospel writer, we pray that our little Luke will carry the torch of our faith.

So whenever I had the opportunity to put Luke to sleep, I would sing him a praise lullaby, 'I Love You Lord' followed by 'To Get A Touch From Lord Is So Real.' 

I love you, Lord
And I lift my voice
To worship you
Oh my soul rejoice
Take joy, my king
In what you hear
May it be a sweet sweet sound
In your ear

To get a touch from the Lord is so real

To get a touch from the Lord is so real

If you draw nigh to Him

He will draw nigh to you

To get a touch from the Lord is so real

Hallelujah, Hallelujah Jesus is coming, is coming again

Hallelujah, Hallelujah Jesus is coming, is coming again 

I prayed that these songs will be prophetic for Luke and become his legacy.

Lionel

Celebrating the Flights of Life

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His faithful servants" Psalms 116:5


There used to be death-houses1 tucked away in the dark alleys of Sago Lane in Chinatown, Singapore. People living out the last days of their lives would be left at these death houses to die. There, solitary and terminally-ill Chinese immigrants could rent a bed space for their dying moments. They had pre-purchased their coffins and funeral rites. The funeral parlour would be below these rental spaces.  In those days, the dying person faced terminal illnesses alone often without the prospect of family and community support.

Not anymore.

Dover Park Hospice (DPH) was set up in 1992 to provide care for patients at the end of life. Now, these patients can live out their last days in comfort and dignity – lovingly cared for by an expert team trained in palliative care. What’s more, the hospices in Singapore have been engaging the public and community, creating awareness and societal support.

One example is the recent “Hospice Is….” Art Project initiated by DPH and the LaSalle College of the Arts (LCA). The project involved people from all walks of life, ranging from hospice patients and their families, staff and volunteers from the hospice fraternity, community partners and the general public. They were encouraged to express their feelings about end-of-life issues and Hospices and paint these thoughts onto pre-molded dove figurines. The dove is the symbol of the Dover Park Hospice.

Art Therapy is a creative way to express emotions, thoughts and states of being that may be difficult to share and communicate with others. There is an intrinsic therapeutic value in creating something with one’s own hands and then to share this with others.

Thus, using art to transcend barriers, the project and the ensuing exhibition from 3 to 7 Oct 2103 served as a platform for Singaporeans to share their perceptions on hospice care. It was hoped that the public will become more aware of these end-of-life issues and help de-mystify the concept of the hospice movement.

The success of the open art exhibition in contrast with the hidden death houses in the past, indicates the gradual change in societal attitudes towards taboo subjects such as the death and dying in Singapore.

So, why do we care and why are the dying moments important? In DPH our motto is “Every Moment Matters”. This means that whatever time is left for life should be lived in the most meaningful way. The hospice offers support and specialist care to achieve this aim. No one is left alone to die.

In the same way no Christian will face death alone. Psalms 116:5 informs that God will always be with us.

Lionel

1. Click on hyperlink to view You-tube of Death-Houses of Sago Lane