NECF Leadership Commission

Do pastors require counseling?

2011-12-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

When members have problems, they seek out the pastors for counseling. When pastors have problems,who they turn to for counseling? "Pastors are supposed to be servants of the Most High, hence they should not have problems", some people naively think. Others think that pastors go direct to God to solve their problems. Unless pastors intentionally build close friendships with other pastors, they do not have someone to talk to when they have problems in their lives. After all, they are not obligated to do so. In this respect, most counseling Code of Ethics require counselors to seek counseling when their personal problems affect their work. For example, section C.2.g of the American Counseling Association states:

"Counselors are alert to the signs of impairment from their own physical, mental, or emotional problems and refrain from offering or providing professional services when such impairment is likely to harm a client or others. They seek assistance for problems that reach the level of professional impairment, and, if necessary, they limit, suspend, or terminate their professional responsibilities until such time it is determined that they may safely resume their work."

I have yet to find any Code of Ethics for pastors that recommend such requirement. If we factor this into the employment contract, pastors will be able to seek counseling and the church pays for it. But again, which church will ever pay for their pastor to seek counseling? Some churches will send their pastors for counseling when they have fallen into some moral failure while others just sack them. Hence, what do pastors do when they have problems? Depending on their personalities, they either confide with their friends or keep quiet and suffer in silence.

Code of Conduct

2010-04-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

Code of Conduct for Fellowship of Churches
(This is a draft done by Elder John Lee for a group of churches he is associated with but you can modify it for your church use)

RATIONALE BEHIND CODE
1. To ensure all churches in the Fellowship, despite their different set-up and management style, are united as one within the Fellowship; in one spirit, with one voice, driven by one mission statement to fulfill the one vision as given by the Lord.

2. To ensure all policies, procedures and practices issued by the Executive Board are consistently applied throughout the churches of this Fellowship.

3. To ensure good governance within the Fellowship as well as within the member churches via a common and uniform code of conduct and hence circumventing potential disputes and disagreements.

This Code is not mandatory regulation. Instead, it sets out the best practices in governance. The Code is operated on the principle of ‘comply or explain’. This means that where a member church is unable to comply with certain Code guideline, they should be able to explain why they are unable to comply in their particular circumstances. In explaining non-compliance, the member church should also indicate what steps they intend to take to move towards compliance or give explanations if they decide otherwise.

The above notwithstanding, all member churches of the Fellowship are encouraged to review or consider amending their governing document, bye-laws and policies where necessary in the best interest of their organization to enable the adoption of this Code. Principally, the Code, as outlined hereunder, is made up of 2 Sections: the character or principle-spelling Section made up of Guiding Code No. 1 to No. 6 and the operational Section, which outlines the mode and functioning aspects of the Fellowship, via Guiding Code No. 7 to 8.

Guiding Code No. 1 - Collective Responsibility & Collective Submission

1.1 It is the collective responsibility of all members to act and render decisions in the best interest of the Fellowship.
1.2 Decisions made by the Fellowship are deemed collectively made and binding on each and every member. Once a decision is made, we shall submit to it regardless of our personal preference. The decision becomes our personal decision and we shall act and behave in submission to it.

Guiding Code No. 2 - Leadership by Example

2.1 All members are expected to be fully conversant with the policies, procedures and practices of the Fellowship and must always be exemplary in the discharge of these policies, procedures and practices in both the Fellowship as well as in their respective churches.

Guiding Code No. 3 - Servant Leadership

3.1 As members we are to be the greatest servants of all. We are to serve each other in the Fellowship and in our churches with all diligence, care, concern and great humility. Always strengthen each other and be supportive in words and in deeds.

Guiding Code No. 4 - Participatory Decision Making

4.1 All decisions made within the Fellowship must be guided by the Holy Spirit and undergirded with prayer and adequate deliberation. Wherever possible, papers will be presented to allow for due and careful deliberation. It is preferable for a decision to be deferred than to rush into it in haste on our own judgment.
4.2 All members of the Fellowship are also expected to take on personal responsibility for each decision, to pray over it, to discern the leading of the Holy Spirit and to apply all due diligence to the decision.
4.3 Decisions shall not be voted on. All decisions shall be deliberated and discussed upon until a consensus is reached. The Holy Spirit is one and there shall be no split decisions.
4.4 Other than our Statement of Faith, policies and decisions made by the Fellowship may be changed as deemed necessary through due process. However, all policies and decisions made can only be changed and altered with the full consensus of the Fellowship as led by the Holy Spirit.

Guiding Code No. 5 – Mutual Love & Submission

5.1 We are accountable to each other in the Fellowship. We grant to each other the liberty and the responsibility to be frank, direct and bold in helping one another mature in the Lord. We shall advise, counsel, correct and rebuke each other with love and gentleness and with integrity and sincerity of heart; always respecting one another. A variety of views and opinions is good. It leads to better discussion and enhances creativity. But it shall not be allowed to be a source of contention among us.
5.2 The evil one will not be allowed to drive a wedge in between us. When we have problem with each other we must take immediate steps to remove the potential arrow of the enemy.
5.3 Uphold each other in prayer constantly. The easiest way for the evil one to destroy the ministry is to cause dissension in the Fellowship. An attack on one of us is an attack on the whole Fellowship. It is better to answer to each other than to the unbelievers.

Guiding Code No. 6 – Professionalism & Transparency

6.1 The conduct of the Fellowship and each member church shall be of the highest professional level and transparency and giving the highest glory to our Lord in all facets of our conduct.
6.2 Strong Integrity, informed judgement, financial literacy, mature confidence, high standards of excellence are the other facets that each and every member of the Fellowship must have.
6.3 As part of conflict resolution, there shall also be in existence within the Fellowship an appropriate and effective channel for feedback and exchange of information as well as a system that will address grievances and resolve conflicts effectively and efficiently. Nonetheless, all decisions made in a conflict resolution shall be solely guided by the Holy Spirit.
6.4 As an effort to avoid potential conflicts, all meetings of the Fellowship shall be conducted at the highest professional level and minutes of these meetings be properly documented and circulated to all members.
6.5 There shall be procedures for reference checks or internal audit within the Fellowship that will ensure a fair and transparent performance review and appraisal on the usage of resources and fund.

Guiding Code No. 7 – No Adverse Publicity

7.1 No members of the Fellowship shall make public statements of any nature without the prior sanction of the Fellowship.
7.2 No members of the Fellowship shall bring into public disrepute any matters of any kind.
7.3 All information originating from the Fellowship is private and confidential and shall be treated with upmost confidence amongst the members of the Fellowship.

Guiding Code No. 8 – Delegation of Duties & The Executive Board

8.1 The Fellowship is governed by a volunteer Executive Board whose members are appointed through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
8.2 As the highest policy and decision making body, the Board has the responsibility of ensuring that all operations and programs implemented are directed towards achieving the stated outcomes, mission and vision of the Fellowship.
8.3 The Board shall at all times be guided by this Code of Conduct in its management.
8.4 Responsibility, prudency, effectiveness, credibility and sustainability shall always be the nature and characteristics of the Board as well as for all plans and programs initiated by the same.
8.5 The Board shall develop an evaluation system to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the plans and programs implemented and that their outcomes are always in line with and relevant to the mission and vision of the Fellowship.
8.6 The Board should ensure adequate resources and budget for its operations and programs, and that such resources are effectively and efficiently managed. Related to this, there shall always be in existence proper accounting practices in the management of these resources.
8.7 The Fellowship shall be regularly updated by the Board on the progress of its programs and plans.

Adapted from:
1. FGBMF Malaysia National Board Code of Conduct
2. Singapore Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character (churches classified under this category)

Counseling the Depressed

2009-11-19T18:52:00.000-08:00

A report from a Christian organisation reads:

"What kind of personal pain would cause a 42-year-old pastor to abandon his family, his calling and even life itself? Members of a Baptist church here are asking that question after their pastor committed suicide in his parked car in September. Those who counsel pastors say Christian culture, especially Southern evangelicalism, creates the perfect environment for depression. Pastors suffer in silence, unwilling or unable to seek help or even talk about it. Sometimes they leave the ministry. Occasionally the result is the unthinkable".

I did a paper on depression last year and pasted part of it here to provide a general approach to help depressed people be it pastors or parishioners.

In counseling the depressed, we need to adopt a multi-approach since there could be many causes. Firstly, we need to examine the physiological reasons e.g. eating disorders, hypothyroidism, or hormonal deficiency. The counselor may need to refer the counselee for antidepressants (e.g. prozac, paxil, zoloft) to stabilize his mood. According to medical research, low levels of serotonin in the brain lead to depression hence antidepressants works by bringing serotonin levels back to normal. However, while antidepressants raise serotonin levels within hours, it takes weeks before the medication actually relieves depression.

People who have experienced depression face a likely risk of having their negative thinking patterns reactivated under sad circumstances. Thus, for effective treatment, psychotherapy must accompany pharmacotherapy An effective psychotherapy method is the Cognitive Behavior Therapy, which advocates changing the person’s thinking in order to change his behavior and feeling. The counselor must challenge the client’s negative thought patterns (e.g. self-worthlessness, inferiority complex or perfectionism) helping him evaluate them objectively and finally replacing them with realistic mindsets. Interpersonal therapy (IPT) will help him deal with interpersonal disputes, adjust to loss of relationships, acquire new relationships, and improve social skills. Regular exercise, exposure to sunlight and consuming relevant vitamins are helpful ways to prevent relapse. Another way to maintain healing is to practice mindfulness-based meditation i.e. learning how to recognize negative moods before they become overwhelming and letting go of negative thinking rather than getting caught in the spiral of pessimism.

Ministerial Ethics

2009-11-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

From time to time, we hear of the problem of sheep-stealing. Here are some ministerial ethics and courtesies for your consideration:

A. Members visiting other churches

• From time to time, members visit other churches for special programmes, combined prayer meetings, seminars, etc. During such times, pastors should ensure that no conscious efforts (e.g. distribution of church brochures) are made to woo these people to join their church.

• If the pastor sees a member from another church coming to his church for more than two Sundays consecutively, he should check out things with the said person and also the pastor of the other church.

B. Members having problems with the church leadership

If we know that the person is having problems with his home church, we should:
• encourage him to resolve the issues with his church /pastor
• not encourage him to transfer his membership to our church
(If however the person still wants to transfer his membership, we must inform his pastor and receive him only after much counseling and prayer - the person will bring his baggage of problems to your church!).

C. Members being disciplined by the church

• If a person is under discipline (on clear scriptural grounds, e.g. adultery) by his home church, we must never accept the person into our membership.
• If however, the person wants to attend your church, he should be subjected to the
same discipline until he is restored.

D. Members needing special ministry

• Pastors who have some special training/gifting (e.g. professional counseling,
deliverance, etc) should refrain from ministering to members of another church
unless they have a written consent from his pastor.

E. New Believers

• If we know that another church is already doing follow up work on a certain person (potential or new convert, new arrival from another town), we should refrain from recruiting that person to your church.

F. Church Splits

• We should try our best to help our fellow pastors to keep their church intact so that the name of Christ will not be dishonoured among outsiders.
• However, if one group of members have decided to come out and form their own
church, we should try to bring reconciliation to both camps.
• In the event one group decides to join your church, they should be counseled and instructed not to talk bad about their former church's leadership.

Key elements of a church constitution

2009-11-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Church Constitution is the document which the church adopts to reflect the fundamental essence of the church and how the church operates. The major parts are as follows:

A) Main Tenets:
1) The mission statement of the Church
2) The name of the Church.
3) A statement of faith and practice
4) A statement of affiliation
5) A statement on the church’s governance.

B) Bylaws
This part contains the provisions upon which the church operates. Bylaws should be modified as a church grows and moves through various life cycles. It should include the following:

1) Process for appointing elders, electing deacons and committees
2) Process for financial and budget operations of the church
3) Process of amending the constitution

C) Policies and Procedures
This part details various policies of the church as per the ministries such as personnel, building, facilities, finances, etc.

While some treat these three parts as separate documents, others compile them as one for easy referencing.

Wise is the church leadership to have a clear understanding in the constitution on the matters raised below as these are potential timebombs

1. Church Government
ABC church shall be governed by an eldership, chaired by the chief elder or the senior pastor (there are pros and cons). This eldership with a minimum of 5 members shall be responsible for the spiritual, financial and administrative matters of the church.

The senior pastor should be responsible for charting out the overall vision and ministry direction of the church. Acting as a check and balance, his fellow elders would help to discern the leading of God in this respect. As they concur with the pastor, they would help to establish systems, policies, programmes and budgets to fulfill the call and direction of God for the church.

The initial eldership shall be appointed by the senior pastor (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) within 3 years from the time of the inaugural meeting to help the latter in the governing of the church. The time frame is necessary as it allows the pastor to examine the life, doctrines and ministry of the potential leaders as set forth in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. Plurality of eldership is also necessary to safeguard the leadership of the pastor himself against pride (2 Chron. 26:16), immorality (2 Sam 11-12), unwise decisions (Prov 11:14) and the deception of his own heart (Jer 17:9)

Subsequent appointment of elders and deacons are appointed by a consensus decision within the existing eldership after a thorough process of observation (1 Tim 3:2-7). Should there be any complaints against an elder, a thorough process of investigation is also needed (1 Tim 5:19-20).

This accountability process should also apply to the senior pastor since he is also subject to the weakness of the flesh (Heb 5:1-2). Thus, if the senior pastor is proven of misconduct in terms of morality, finances or doctrinal error, the longest serving elder shall call for a meeting to take the necessary steps of disciplining him which may include suspension from ministry and compulsory counseling over a period of time. A pre-determined Christian leader(s) should be called in to advise on the discipline process since this involves the senior pastor who is God's anointed servant. Only after all these avenues have been exhausted before any termination of leadership role should take place.

Advisers should be appointed to act as arbiters in the event of irresolvable conflicts which result from moral failures or doctrinal deviations. They should be respected pastors/leaders from other churches/fellowships who are acquainted with both the leadership and congregation of the church.

2. Financial
Trustees should be appointed to help manage the church's funds with integrity and accountability. Besides developing financial guidelines on approval limits for expenditure, they also hold property on behalf of the church. They should be unpaid members of the church who are knowledgeable in legal and financial matters.

A sample of approval limits is as follows:

• Expenditure up to RM2,000 may be approved by the pastor
• Expenditure up to RM5,000 may be approved by any three of the office bearers of the Church.
• Expenditure exceeding RM5,000 shall be approved by the Church Board.
• Expenditure exceeding RM50,000 must have the prior sanction of a General Meeting.

3. Distribution of Assets in the event of Dissolution
In the unlikely event of the dissolution of the church, no income or property of the church will be distributed to any member of the church including its leaders. After all wages, debts and liabilities have been settled, the balance of the funds and assets will be given to another church/organisation to be recommended by the elders and decided by the members on a simple majority vote.

How does a non-registered church buy properties?

2009-11-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

For churches that are not registered, consult a lawyer or a company secretary to draft a trust deed.

A trust is an arrangement under which property is given to one or more persons, the trustee or trustees, to use or apply it, and the income from it, for other persons, the beneficiaries. As between trustee(s) and beneficiaries the property belongs to the beneficiaries, in the sense that the trustee(s) can derive no benefit from it.

A trust deed can be prepared by an experienced and competent legal practitioner at the request of the church members or a committee formed for the purpose of appointing a trustee, stating precisely the purpose of such a trust, the subject matter or trust property, and the beneficiaries.

There is no law requiring that the trust-creating entity to be a registered body or a legal entity so long as the basic criteria for forming a trust are fulfilled. Immovable (and movable) property can be held under the trust.

The Trustee Act 1949 sets out the various powers, duties and liabilities of the trustees. Under this Act, trustees are given the power to invest any trust funds in his hand, power to sell property without being answerable for any loss, power to employ agents to transact any business, power to delegate the trust to any person during his absence from Malaysia, etc.

Section 2(2) says:
The powers conferred by this Act on trustees are in addition to the powers conferred by the instrument, if any, creating the trust, but those powers, unless otherwise stated, apply if and so far only as a contrary intention is not expressed in the instrument, if any, creating the trust, and have the effect subject to the terms of that instrument.

It is therefore advisable that, in the drafting of the trust instrument, the trustees’ duties and powers are clearly defined and restricted to minimize abuse. If the powers are to be exercised, certain safeguards, for example, obtaining the unanimous decision of the trustees, may be prudent. The church must ensure that the trustees appointed are capable as well as trustworthy because of the extensive power they hold.

How can a non-registered church open an account with EPF?

2009-11-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Under the EPF Act,

An employer is defined as a person(s) with whom an employee has a contract of service or apprenticeship.

Employer includes:

* Manager, agent or person responsible for the payment of wages to an 'employee'
* Any group of persons whether statutory or non-statutory or incorporated
* Any Government, Government Department, Statutory Body, Local Authority or other bodies as specified in the Second Schedule to the EPF Act 1991

An employee is defined as a person who is employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship. The contract of service or apprenticeship can be written or oral, expressed or implied.

Non-registered churches fall into the category of non-incorporated entities and are therefore obligated to open an account with them and vice versa.

The Anatomy of an Affair

2009-10-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

For those of us who serve in the full time ministry we have one of the few jobs in which our moral ethics can not only crush our marriage but our career as well. Our enemy is sly and patient, he will gladly wait five to ten years if he knows he can get you, destroy your marriage, and your career. We need to build the walls to the castle of our marriage high and strong...To read more, click here

Young Pastors

2009-08-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

During the 70s, responding to the full-time calling as a late teen (between 17-19 years old) was the "in-thing" among the churches I was associated with. Today,many denominations have shyed away from that model, prefering more matured people who holds at least a Bachelor's degree and have worked a number of years in the secular world. Theoritically, it seems to be a good direction to go but in reality, how many young adults in their mid-twenties would be able to respond to full-time calling? Reason is very simple: most of them at this age would have gone into the workforce having a car loan to service. For those who are already hitched, they would also be making plans for their big day and possibly have a joint house mortgage to pay back. basing on the present low salary that most churches offer, no sane person in this age bracket would go full-time! Hence, we still need to challenge young people to view full-time ministry as a career path. Church leaders at the same time should draft out a proper career path for them which involves training in theology, management, leadership, etc and also financial remuneration.

I would also like to highlight an idea that I got while reading Fred Smith "Learning to Lead". How can a young pastor help an auto mechanic, a stock-exchange remiser or a sales executive? It's difficult for a young pastor to have the depth of the necessary understanding that can only be accumulated through years of knowledge and experience. But he can point people to the appropriate resources i.e. older in-house advisers esp. if they are elders of the church. In business, they have staff advisers, consultants and specialists that they can call upon to meet particular needs, why can't we apply the same principle in the church? The church board must stand behind their young pastor and groom him to lead the church. Of course he will make mistakes (plenty of them!)but the wise leader will stand with him.

Shortage of Full-time Workers

2009-03-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

NECF brought together the 3 heads of Bible Seminaries to find possible solutions to meet the shortage of full-time workers in the Malaysian Church. That was 12 years ago - Rev Dr Hwa Yung has since become the bishop of the Methodist Church while Rev Ng Kok Kee and Rev Dr Tan Kim Sai are still faithfully holding the fort at their respective seminaries.

At the request of the Leadership Commission, selected portions of that interview are being reproduced here:

What do you think are the reasons that there are not many Christians who want to enter full-time ministry nowadays?

Hwa Yung:
I would like to say that it is not only nowadays. Over the last two thousand years that there have not been many Christians entering full-time ministry. It is only in special times of revival and in special situations when many people have moved into full-time ministry – for example, in the Korea Church over the last generation and also today a lot of highly qualified people have entered the full-time ministry. That is an exception rather than the norm. Throughout history it has always been difficult to get the right people to go into the ministry. In the Malaysian context there are three main reasons:

The first reason is that going into the ministry always involves an element of sacrifice. That’s always the tough part. If you look at the Malaysian church, you will find that before 1970, there were very few university graduates moving into the ministry. Thankfully, the picture has changed over the seventies and eighties and people are coming to terms with matter of sacrifice. But that remains a big issue. ‘Why go into the ministry and have unreasonable elders/board members working over you when you yourself can become a millionaire at 30 years old?” “Why go into ministry when you are not sure whether you can send your children for university education?” “Why go into the ministry when you may not even have a house to stay in?” These are real questions involving sacrifice that people going into the ministry have to grapple with.

The second reason is the wrong notion that the full-time ministry is only for the drop-out and non-performers. I still remember one incident when a particular bishop was sitting with a group of friends when one of them complained about this son who was academically quite weak, as compared to the first daughter and second son who were doing well in their respective careers. He just didn’t know what to do with him. “Perhaps I will send him to Trinity Theological College”, he said. Of course he apologized profusely when he realized that the bishop was there. That unfortunately has been the image a lot of people have about the full-time ministry: it is meant for those who don’t do well in life.

The third reason is the negative image of the ministry as created by those of us who are already in the ministry. Ministers have failed to uphold the dignity and image of the ministry and allowed themselves to be corrupted by money, sex and power. This power can only be resolved by those of us who are full-time. We have to show to our church members that the calling to full-time ministry is something that we thank God for and something we deeply value. When people are touched by our life’s example and also by our ministry, they too will want to enter the ministry.

Kok Kee:
In my denomination some twenty years ago, there was a high percentage of people that were willing to dedicate themselves, make the sacrifice and go into full-time ministry. But I think materialism has affected the church somewhat over the church somewhat over the last ten or fifteen years and people are finding it harder to make that kind of sacrifice. A lot of my friends have become executives, driving imported cars and making their first million ringgit before they are thirty. Going into the full-time ministry means that they have to sacrifice all these and people are finding it very hard to do so even though they say that they love God. Jesus has said that it is easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle rather than for a rich people going into the ministry. The more affluent you are, the harder it is for you to give up. An example that always intrigue me is that when you earn $100, it is easy to give $10. If you earn $1000, to give $100 away is not so bad; but if you earn $100,000 to give $10,000 can be real pinch and struggle. I think the affluence over the last few years has really affected the church badly and many of our people are not willing to make the sacrifice.

Kim Sai:
All the factors and elements that have been mentioned are very real that made many that have been called not willing to give up. But I like to affirm what Hwa Yung has said earlier that one of the reasons why not many are willing to take up the challenge is because of the many problems, squabbles and fights that exist among the church leadership – for example between the pastor and the church board and so on. If you were to ask around, many of those who are now serving in the ministry most probably come from non-Christian backgrounds; not knowing the many problems that they have in church! They were challenged by the gospel and God’s call and most innocently and zealously took up the challenge. But if we were to make survey among the second or third generation Christians in the church, the number of them going into full-time ministry would most probably be every small –unless it is the very special work of the Lord. In the face of so much church politics, church problems and the lack of integrity and dignity on the part of pastors and church leaders, it is not surprising why second and third generation Christians are refraining from going full-time. To reverse this trend, we as pastors and church leaders must sincerely serve the Lord in all that we do and be helpful to people in general. We need such godly role models in our church today to be the motivational force for more people to enter the full-time ministry.

Poor Enrolment in Bible Seminaries

2009-03-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

We heard that the enrolment in Bible seminaries/colleges is not that encouraging. Besides the reason that not many people are going into full-time ministry, are there any other causes?

Kok Kee:
Within my own denominational setting, there are leaders who think that the traditional bible seminaries and colleges training is just too long – they prefer to send their workers to short-term training, seminars, etc. Hence, young people are discouraged by the leaders to go for seminary training and pursue something that is easier, cheaper and faster! Sad to say, sometimes the perception of certain leaders can be rather selfish – some pastors feel that when young people go through Bible seminary training, they will not return back to the church for they will have their own vision and sense of calling. They somehow want these young people to continue the ministry under them – this is particularly true of those leaders who want to have their own mini kind of denominations and ministries. Therefore, they discourage young people from going through bible seminary training lest after they get trained and ordained, these young people would have the proper papers to do what they want to do as they feel led by God. Those who don’t go to the traditional training have nothing to show as far as paper qualification is concerned, so they are at the mercy of the pastors. This is rally selfish but this is happening. But that may not be the main reason. Most pastors feel that it is easier, cheaper and quicker to send workers for short-term bible college training. There is also this complaint by leaders and ministers that young people who go through bible seminary training lose zeal and become over critical as well. When they return to the church, they are no longer the same vigilant young people they use to be. They become very critical and cynical, finding everything wrong with the church. Thought there may be some justification but it is definitely leaving a bad taste to the local church leadership.

Kim Sai:
I would say that the reason why not many people come for bible seminary training is that it might be a reflection of the problematic state of churches around – especially that of the church leadership. As I look back, I notice this kind of phenomenon, that in a particular time under a particular pastor, there would be a good number of young people raised into the ministry. This same phenomenon also occurred in another place under another pastor during a different period of time. If we do a case study on the places where these people were raised for full-time service, you would probably identify pastors who loved the Lord, served Him faithfully and provided a good role model. So I wonder whether the unsatisfactory situation of people going into the ministry might be due to the unhealthy state of the church in our country today. If there is a problem here, it is time for the church leadership across all denominations to search our hearts and see if we have failed in this regard. Another reason is that the pastors themselves do not see their ministry as the highest calling of the Lord, thus not making a good performance on it. Hence, they are not too concerned when they do not see others going into the ministry. They would prefer to see things as they are and maintain the status quo and show themselves to be indispensable rather than challenging the church members into the ministry.

Hwa Yung:
I think what brother Kim Sai said about role models is very crucial to raising up more people into the full-time ministry and I like to say more on that later on.

Arrest the Decline

2009-03-26T00:46:00.000-07:00

What can be done to arrest the decline of Christians going into full-time ministry?
Hwa Yung:
From the main-line church point of view, I won’t say that there is a decline in Christians going into the full-time ministry because the numbers has never been very high. From our observation, the quality of people who have come to our seminary has gradually risen. Generally speaking, more matured people and some with university or other professional backgrounds have entered full-time ministry. I would also like to point out something that Kok Kee has brought out earlier, that is rightly or wrongly, some Churches perceive that seminary training is not very useful.. They think that studying theology is the waste of time. But the quality of preaching and messages in our churches today is generally very poor because full-time workers and even pastors don’t have a solid understanding of the Bible, church history and theology. On the other hand, the seminaries have themselves to be blamed because we have locked ourselves too much into the Western model of training which is basically very academic. We are still wrestling with this problem and slowly getting ourselves out of it because it is not an easy task. For examples, there is not a single text-book on Systematic Theology which relates to Asian society, culture and the needs of our society. Most books are neither written in the Asian context nor pastorally-orientated. Hence, we hear complaints from church leaders who say that there are workers who have been to seminary for four years who cannot even conduct a proper Bible study. I am not saying that seminaries have not done their jobs but that they are doing their best within their limited resources because most of the text-books are from the West.

Kim Sai:
So in this regard, there is a need not only of godly role models i.e. pastors and preachers who have immediate influence over the potential people who may be called to serve the Lord full-time, but also the need of role models of theological educators and scholars to improve the situation.

Kok Kee:
I like to emphasise that role models are very important. The role model may not necessary be a dynamic preacher, great administrator or the person who is always up front but one who makes an impact upon the church members’ lives – the godly pastor. He is the one whose life the church members want to emulate.

Hwa Yung:
In this regard, I think of Rev Peter Hsieh. Everywhere that he has gone and pastored, many people have gone into full-time ministry. The Air Itam Methodist church in Penang alone have produced quite a number of pastors because of his influence. I think we lack such traditions of godly role models in our churches. In the West, we can think of the Guinness’ and Hudson Taylor’s families where successive generations of them have gone into mission fields. I think one test as to whether the person has a real calling to full-time ministry is whether he really desires and prays for his own children to go into the full-time ministry too. We need to build up such traditions in our country. Some of the reasons we discussed earlier on why people are not going into full-time ministry are the same reasons why we don’t have such traditions in Malaysia. I have people who say to me, “I saw what my father went through as a pastor and I told myself that I will never become a pastor.” I think it is partly the church’s fault for we have not really taken care of those who are in the ministry. It is also partly our fault – we have not shown ourselves to be godly role models. When both parties begin to take up their responsibilities, this problem can be resolved.

Kok Kee:
One way to compensate for this lack of godly role models is to challenge our people to read biographies of outstanding men and women of God and understand some of the sacrifices that they have made in serving God as missionaries and so on. Our people are reading too much ‘junk’ in the form of all these ‘bless me’ stuff.

Does a pastor need to have a university degree?

2009-03-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

The expectations of pastors seem to have gone up in recent years in view of the more educated and intellectual congregation as compared to the less sophisticated folks of yesteryear. Would you say that this present middle class congregation are harder to shepherd? In view of this, would it be necessary for a person to go through university training before he even goes to bible seminary to be trained as a pastor?

Hwa Yung;
I think that it is true that to minister to a more educated audience, you need a tertiary level of education. On the other hand, we must also guard against an over-emphasis on education else we slip back to the Western mode of education. After all, the ministry is not just about knowledge. One doesn’t need to be a first class honours university graduate to become a good preacher. You may just be a B.Th. holder but if you prepare your message properly, you can do an equally good job. While I am a firm believer in godly scholarship, spirituality must never be neglected too. We must not say that unless you have been to university, you cannot minister to a middle-class congregation. We need a certain level of training but beyond that we have to go back to the basics. For example, ‘How much time do I spend preparing my sermons?” “How much time do I bother to read?” The problem is that some pastors don’t bother to keep up with what is happening around them so their sermons become out-of-date. To keep up with the current affairs, they just need to read the newspapers and a good magazine (e.g. Time or Newsweek) on a disciplined basis and their messages can then have the impact and relevance. Hence, we must hold spirituality and scholarship in balance and not to overemphasise one at the expense of the other. If a person has the opportunity to go through university, the rigour and training will definitely broaden his mind. But I am not going to suggest that he is a better pastor than one who had not been to university. I have colleagues in the Methodist Church who are first rate pastors and they have never had a formal university training. Besides expanding the mind to understand the world better, university education also helps to lift up the image of the ministry. When people see qualified lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. entering the ministry, the wrong concept that the full-time ministry is only for dropout will be dispelled. However, we must not pursue university education for the wrong reason i.e. to make ourselves confident to face the crowd. We should be depending on the Lord and not our degrees. After all, church members are not going to judge us according to our knowledge in medicine, law etc. but whether we prepare our sermons well and make them interesting, whether we really love people and live godly life, etc.

Kok Kee:
I won’t say that pastoring a middle-class congregation is much more difficult – it will have its different set of difficulties and challenges. Pastoring a urban church is different from pastoring a rural church. The church is not a school – education should not be the main focus. Nevertheless a large part of the training of the pastor has to do with the pastor himself. If he thinks that seminary training is the end of his education, then he most probably will be a failure. Self-discipline, continuous study, hard work and feeling the needs of the members will make him an effective pastor. Going for university education is definitely an asset but we cannot make it a necessity. It is not necessary for a person to go through university to be that kind of first rate pastor. But I will encourage young people to go to university if there is a opportunity before they even consider going into seminary. We need university educated pastors and pastors that rise up to the ranks because God has given us a variety of gifts to meet the variety of needs in our churches. Those people who think that one should go straight for seminary training and not waste money on a university education is rather short-sighted. God deserves our best. University education can help prepare a person for ministry and should not be seen as wasted time even though it might be very costly. After all, we should be getting the best people into the ministry. Going back to the subject on continuous education, I must say that there are pastors today who are doing it for the wrong reasons-thus they go for their masters and doctorates in order to get better pay, gain entry into larger churches and seek recognition and acceptance. Actually, it is a waste of time, money and effort for a person who already has a Bachelor in Theology to study for the Masters in Divinity because the syllabus is almost the same except that the latter is just more rigorous and wider in its scope. The sad thing is that a lot of pastors are now pursuing this path – and for the wrong reasons.

Kim Sai:
I agree with what Kok Kee has said concerning the M. Div. degree that it is a duplication of effort. I normally advise those students who wish to further their theological studies to do an M.A. instead – for example in Old Testament Studies, New Testament Studies, counseling, missions, etc. On the question of the middle class congregation, I think whether he is serving in a town or a village context, the essential thing the pastor or Christian worker must have is the conviction that God has called him into the ministry. This is definitely different from the people in the world where if they work hard enough to pick up the skills and knowledge, they may end up as doctors, lawyers, accountants, scientists, etc. In terms of full-time ministry, the servant of God must need the special call and anointing of the Spirit of the Lord. Whom God has called, He will also equip so that he can minister effectively whether to the middle-class or even the top class! Of course during these days where the general level of education has risen so much, the pastor (no matter whether he has university background or not) has to constantly be keeping up to date in terms of study, reading and self-improvement in whatever knowledge that is available so that his ministry can be more relevant to meet the needs of the peoples. It will also be good for a person who have just graduated from high school and not pursuing university education to work in the society for a few years before he goes for seminary training so that he will become more mature and be better acquainted with reality. The middle class congregation can be an advantage to the pastor because as professionals they know and understand the need for professionalism in the ministry of the pastor and they wouldn’t treat the pastor as a jack of all trades requiring him to do everything. Hence, when the pastor says that he needs time for his study and preparation of messages, such a congregation would understand what the pastor, as a professional, is talking about. So in this regard, the middle class can be an asset to the ministry.

Hwa Yung:
In line with the maturity of age and university education that we have been discussing, I like to bring out some advice I often give to university students: “If you know that the Lord has called you into ministry, don’t do three things:
1. Don’t get the wife or husband who doesn’t share the calling
2. Don’t get yourself locked into a housing loan,
3. Don’t buy an expensive car.”

Once you get yourself locked into any of these or worse still, all of these, you’ll never be able to get out alive. For others who have already tied themselves with various financial commitments and then sense God’s call for full-time ministry, they might need to seriously consider selling their properties and perhaps to get something less expensive! If we are really committed about God’s call and ministry, we will have to take Jesus’ words seriously that those who put their hands on the plough and look back is not fit for the kingdom of God. There is also this tendency among some middle-class professionals who want to save enough money for their children’s education before they enter the ministry. This kind of thinking boils down basically to a lack of trust in God’s ability to provide.

Who rebukes the Pastor?

2009-01-27T18:31:00.000-08:00

In churches where the pastor is the founder cum chairman, there is the danger of him falling prey to the autocratic trap i.e. he is above all and nobody can correct him. The danger of being unaccountable is that he can fall into sin and continue therein to the detriment of the church.

Of course God can remove him as in the case of King Saul and some modern day pastors - both locally and in the West. But scripture actually has a mechanism for the church leadership to check against such abuse of authority. I Tim. 5:20 tells of those elders who sin (Greek is present continuous tense i.e. those who are sinning) need to be rebuked in the presence of all so that others may take heed. Whether they are to be rebuked publicly (as in NIV) or in the presence of all the elders (implied), this provision will save both the pastor and the church from alot of misery and embarrassment.

Recognising the human frailities, pastors should be proative to protect themselves from the deception of sin. On the other hand, pastors also need to protect themselves from being maneuvered out by some crafty and carnal lay-leaders who are smart on playing church politics. What do we do then? Put the provision in the church's constitution - see below for sample

Church Government
The church shall be governed by an eldership, chaired by the Senior Pastor. This eldership with a minimum of 5 members shall be responsible for the spiritual, financial and administrative matters of the church.

The senior pastor should be responsible for charting out the overall vision and ministry direction of the church. Acting as a check and balance, his fellow elders would help to discern the leading of God in this respect. As they concur with the pastor, they would help to establish systems, policies, programmes and budgets to fulfill the call and direction of God for the church.

The initial eldership shall be appointed by the senior pastor (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5) within 3 years from the time of the inaugural meeting to help the latter in the governing of the church. The time frame is necessary as it allows the pastor to examine the life, doctrines and ministry of the potential leaders as set forth in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. Plurality of eldership is also necessary to safeguard the leadership of the pastor himself against pride (2 Chron. 26:16), immorality (2 Sam 11-12), unwise decisions (Prov 11:14) and the deception of his own heart (Jer 17:9)

Subsequent appointment of elders and deacons are appointed by a consensus decision within the existing eldership after a thorough process of observation (1 Tim 3:2-7). Should there be any complaints against an elder, a thorough process of investigation is also needed (1 Tim 5:19-20).

This accountability process should also apply to the senior pastor since he is also subject to the weakness of the flesh (Heb 5:1-2). Thus, if the senior pastor is proven of misconduct in terms of morality, finances or doctrinal error, the longest serving elder shall call for a meeting to take the necessary steps of disciplining him which may include suspension from ministry and compulsory counseling over a period of time. A pre-determined Christian leader(s) should be called in to advise on the discipline process since this involves the senior pastor who is God's anointed servant. Only after all these avenues have been exhausted before any termination of leadership role should take place.

Advisers should be appointed to act as arbiters in the event of irresolvable conflicts which result from moral failures or doctrinal deviations. They should be respected pastors/leaders from other churches/fellowships who are acquainted with both the leadership and congregation of the church.

How much do we pay our pastors?

2009-01-20T07:00:00.001-08:00

There was a period in the history of the church when the oft prayer of the church board was," Lord, you keep our pastor humble while we keep him poor!" If this mindset is based on God's command that the priests be given no possession (Num 18:20), it must be balanced by the parallel text in Eze 44:28-30

vs 28 - it shall be in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.

The context tells us that God wants his priests (pastors) to serve him whole-heartedly hence they should not be distracted by tilling of the land for crops cultivation, hence they be given no possession. But God is a very practical God in that He commanded the people be feed the priests with the food from the offerings. (vs 29) Furthermore, they must give the priests the best of all fruitfruits (vs 30). Compliance would result in God's blessings to rest upon their house. This implies that failure would result in a curse. Guess who suffer when we keep the pastor poor!

Chairman and CEO

2008-11-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

Traditionlly, most organisiations have a CEO who also act as Chairman.From the church's perspective, I believe Presbyterian churches, Home Missions AG churches and most Independent churches also practise this model. There are pros and cons. In the corporate circle, many have moved away from the old modle and practise what is called a CEO-Chairman split model. Here's a good article from the Institute of Directors (U.K.)for us to interact:
http://www.cfo.com/printable/article.cfm/3490146/c_2984395?f=options

Leadership Commission Meetings

2008-11-26T23:46:00.001-08:00

The LC has its inaugeral meeting on 26 Nov 2008 and agreed on the following objectives:

1. Research on leadership issues facing the Malaysian Church
2. Gather and make known available leadership resources
3. Impart vision to raise up Christian leaders for the nation

The focus will be on 3 areas viz.

1. Restoring Burnt-out or wounderd leaders
2. Revitalizing plateaued leaders
3. Developing younger leaders