By Theresa Tan

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUNTEC SINGAPORE

This has probably been City Harvest Church’s best-kept secret in its 21-year-history. The exact location of the church’s new site has been a hot topic that has kept Christians within and outside the church guessing, since it was confirmed on Jan. 16 that a space had finally been procured after a five-year search. Bound by a non-disclosure agreement, the management could not say a word until yesterday afternoon, at the first service of the weekend at the Jurong West church. The revelation of Suntec Singapore International Exhibition and Convention Centre met with great excitement from the church congregation. This location would put all the services of the church under one roof. “When we were looking for a property, there were three major considerations,” said senior pastor Kong Hee.

1.	Size. “It had to be as big as we can go in our small city-state with limited land. Suntec Convention Centre has a total usable area of more than 1 million sq ft—that is 20 times our Jurong West property and 10 times Expo Hall 8. Suntec has the size we need and can accommodate our traffic.”
2.	Location. “We wanted a place that was central and easy to get to by MRT and bus. CHC members come from all over the island. Suntec is centrally located with three major MRT stations nearby: City Hall MRT is a 10-minute walk; Esplanade MRT and Promenade MRT open this April and are even closer by.”
3.	Facilities. “A church is not just a main sanctuary and nothing else. Having extra facilities is critical to the operations of the church. We need areas for children, rooms for Bible study, car park space and eating places. Suntec Convention Centre has more than 30 meeting rooms, and we will have access to over 8,680 car park lots in the Suntec-Marina area. Between Suntec City and the Convention Centre, there are 283 stalls/restaurants for our members to eat at, and 622 retail stores for our members to shop in.”

Through this agreement, CHC becomes a co-owner of Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, and has a share in the annual revenues of all its facilities. The two floors CHC will primarily use are the sixth and seventh floors and include the CHC Auditorium which is column-free and can accommodate up to 12,000 seats. Early plans for this space reveal a stadium-style layout with a sizeable play area for children, and 10 meeting rooms. “All our morning prayer meetings, seminars and conferences will be held here in the future,” explained Kong. The other parts of the Convention Centre will be open to the public, and will continue to be rented by third parties for exhibitions, fairs and performances as is currently the case. Tan Ye Peng, deputy senior pastor, explains to City News what co-ownership of Suntec Singapore means. “Last year, ARA Asset Management Limited announced that its ARA Harmony Fund had acquired the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Harmony Fund’s investors comprise Suntec REIT, which holds 20 percent, and a consortium that holds 80 percent. CHC has bought a significant stake into the consortium.” City Harvest is looking to raise S$310 million, but this sum is not the value of the property, says Tan. “This amount consists of cost of shares; rental; renovation and equipment; professional building, management logistic and maintenance fees; refundable deposits and moving costs.” One of the key considerations for this site is the business model that CHC can and will adopt for Suntec Singapore. “For Singapore Expo, we are in a lease-only business model. As such, what is being paid out does not have any returns or profit-sharing for CHC. The Board and the Building Committee discussed and concluded that with an ‘ownership-and-license’ business model, the rent we pay out will be recovered by CHC in the form of profits and dividends.” “It’s perfect for our church,” says Tan. “This place has everything we need. It’s been around, it’s an established place. It has been the venue for some of the most important events that ever took place in Singapore, like the APEC CEO Summit last November, and the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meeting in 2006. This August it will be the venue for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. It’s got all the facilities, and it’s super convenient. There is no other place that allows us this space size in this part of Singapore.” In the event that there are such key events on the same scale as the IMF-World Bank meetings, Tan says City Harvest will exercise flexibility and vacate the space for such clients. “We are now part-owners,” he explains. “It benefits us too.” Tan points out that although City Harvest will use the space for its services, the building is still a commercial entity, and technically not a “church building”. “The church will lease the space to use for our services,” explains Tan. “The difference is that we are also co-owners of this building.” For Chew Eng Han, who was tasked in 2005 to be the key person on the ground to find out what was available, and to speak to consultants and banks, the success of this partnership with Suntec Singapore is a triumph. “I feel fulfilled,” he declares. The search was far from an easy one. “It required a lot of wisdom,” says Chew. “We needed the right location, central yet big enough, yet it could not be too costly, and it had to earn income, too. At the time we were looking, between 2005 and 2008, construction costs were escalating. When the crash came, property prices came down, but finding a partner became a challenge.” Suntec Singapore was negotiated at the right time, and agreed upon at the right price, says Chew. “It’s the best location because it’s already in existence. Although it may have been around for a number of years, the building is continually being refurbished and in good shape. Since we are not buying a new plot of land, we don’t have the risk of escalating costs—building costs fluctuate. The space is great: it totals over 1 million square feet, the hall is big enough, there are more than 30 meeting rooms and we have access to the Gallery space, and also the 600-seat Theatre on weekends.” “It’s an ideal location for City Harvest, really—but at a much lower price than its original cost.” Suntec Singapore was originally built for a price of S$650 million in the early 1990s. The best news for the burgeoning congregation may be the fact that with the space already built and available, CHC targets to move in by the end of the first quarter of 2011, once its lease at the Singapore Expo expires.

CN PHOTO: MICHAEL CHAN

For some, the announcement brought tears of joy. For others, the location was a complete surprise (See box story: What The Members Say). Kong’s wife, singer Sun Ho, flew back to celebrate the announcement together with the church. Moments after the announcement, she tells City News: “I’m standing in a historical moment when miracles have just happened. God has done it again. My heart is overwhelmed, because this is something in which not just Kong and I, but the whole church have sown, labored, prayed, believed and claimed for, for so long. This is the time, this is the moment—we sowed in tears, and now we are really reaping in joy. Above the location, my heart is just so full of gratitude that we are able to build this house for God, for His glory. I’m grateful I can be a part of it.” The church will fund the S$310 million through freewill donations from churchgoers. The church building fund, Arise & Build, is into its fifth round, with a target of S$17.3 million. There are eight more Arise & Build campaigns planned. Further information on the design and details of the Suntec Singapore location will be released in the coming weeks.

Khoo Lili, banker, in her 30s “I never thought it could be such an awesome place. It’s at the center of Singapore—Formula One, Youth Olympic Games are all held there.”

Jason Jiang, pre-enlistee, 18 “I didn’t expect it, I thought it would be Marina Barrage. It’s exciting for the usher ministry—but greater challenges will come because of the bigger crowd. We’ll need more ushers to rise up for leadership and more members to join usher ministry.”

Ng Yoong Tian, engineer and usher team leader, 27 “The location is great as it brings in revenue for the church without the opportunity time cost. It really is a God-given idea.”

Kenneth Lee, IT director, 40 “Very excited to see such a big place and looking forward to having more quality and longer fellowship with my cell group members.”

Ang Xin Yee, secondary school student, 13 “I came specially for Service  1 though I was supposed to go back to JB. I teared when I heard the news and I can’t wait to worship at our new location.”

Lin Yilan, retiree, 60 “Mind-blowing! Totally unexpected! I believe this is the start of greater things with God bringing us to the next level. It is truly an honor and privilege to be part of history in the making.”

Ee Jia Ying, NUS undergraduate, 21 “I think God is amazing. All these years we’ve been giving and we didn’t even know where it would be! Upon hearing the news, all I can say is that God is indeed faithful!”

Rachel Lim, AIA financial services consultant, 26
]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/chcs-new-home-suntec-convention-centre/feed/ 0 Kong Hee Bldg_Junction_Day jwcrowd2 http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/new-building/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/new-building/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:16:26 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=113 ]]> In the Holy Scripture, Jacob encountered the Lord in a dream. When he awoke, he proclaimed, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (Gen. 28:17) He called the name of that place Bethel, which means “the house of God.” What a beautiful description of the church—an awesome place, the gate of heaven. Jesus Christ Himself says, “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). After five years of seemingly endless property searches, City Harvest Church has finally purchased a new property to serve our next phase of growth and development. Our members have been giving faithfully and sacrificially, seeking to own a venue where God’s people can gather to worship, pray and serve His kingdom purpose. Next weekend, we will make that location known. While CHC members (and I suspect, some in the public) sit on the edge of their seats in suspense, awaiting the release of this vital piece of information, I too, am anticipating the various reactions that may arise after the location is known. As such, I have generated a list of Frequently Asked Questions for those whom may have some queries weighing in their minds. Whatever the case, I hope that we will share the same conviction as King David that the house “for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, famous and glorious throughout all the lands” (1 Chr. 22:5).

1.	Why is there a need for CHC to secure such a huge facility?
	We need a facility that will be able to accommodate the congregations from our English Services, Children’s Church, Chinese Church, Dialect Church, JAMs (Jesus for All Minds) Church, Indonesian Service, Tamil Service, and Filipino Service. By God’s grace, we have been growing steadily and our database name list currently stands at 32,731.
	At the same time, the cost of hall rentals in Singapore has been increasing. It therefore makes financial sense to have our own facility in the long run. What’s more, our ability to rent halls for worship depends on their availability and other contractual terms. Having our own property means we will no longer subject our congregations to the risk of not being able to rent a facility for use, or having to move from time to time to different venues.
2.	Why does the project cost S$310 million?
	There are three factors to consider regarding the cost of a project:
a. The size of the property: the land size of the property is large enough to contain a 12,000-seater auditorium to accommodate the needs of our growing congregation. b. The location of the property: CHC has members coming from all over the island. Centrality and ease of access via public transportation is important to us. c. The facilities of the property: The building will have many meeting rooms and restaurants, with sufficient car parking space for our congregants and the general public.
3.	What type of building will the facility be housed in? Integrated mall? Or purely a place of worship?
	It is not purely a place of worship. This property has a 12,000-seater auditorium, and many other meeting rooms and F&B outlets.
4.	Why does the church need to be in the CBD area?
	We already have an existing church building at Jurong West. But our members come from all over the island. Proximity and accessibility by public transportation is the key factor behind our decision to find another facility that is in the central district of Singapore.
5.	How does CHC plan to finance the project?
	We will finance the project from the free-will contributions of our members.
6.	CHC is planning to spend S$310 million on their building, shouldn’t CHC take care of the poor and needy instead?
	CHC spends 20 percent of its annual budget on local community and overseas humanitarian work to help the poor and needy. This work has been ongoing since the church began in 1989. For example, in the aftermath of the Aceh tsunami and Haiti earthquake, CHC volunteered teams of doctors and disaster relief workers with medical supplies, tents and water filters to help the victims. In addition, CHC has been actively giving to missions work and supporting its network of churches all over Asia. With a facility to house the church’s growing congregation and multifaceted ministries, we can serve the needs of the community in an even greater way.
7.	Economically, wouldn’t the church save more money if its facility is outside of CBD or in the suburbs of Singapore?
	Properties are scarce and property prices are generally high throughout Singapore. The key consideration behind our choice of location is proximity and accessibility for our members.
8.	What does CHC plan to achieve in undertaking this massive project?
	The facility is meant to meet the needs of our growing congregation for a place of worship. It also allows CHC to move from its present expensive rental model to a more financially sustainable ownership model for the long term.
9.	Since majority of the activities of the church are on weekends, how will the building be used during the weekdays? Isn’t it a waste of space?
	The facilities of the property and F&B outlets are open to the public daily. During the weekdays, the auditorium will be used from time-to-time as a venue for seminars, conferences, arts and cultural performances.
10.	According to the laws of Singapore, can worship services be held within the Central Business District?
	There is no legal restriction against conducting worship services in the CBD area, provided zoning and other legal requirements are met. Currently there are more than 30 places of worship in downtown Singapore. These include churches, temples and mosques such as St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Wesley Methodist Church, Orchard Road Presbyterian Church, Sri Mariamman Temple, Masjid Jamae Chulia, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Maghain Aboth Synagogue; just to name a few. We will ensure that use of our new facility does not breach zoning restrictions or other legal restrictions applicable to the facility.
11.	Since CHC already owns a property in Jurong West, why does it need another facility?
	CHC has long outgrown the facility at Jurong West as its capacity is limited to 2,300 people.  Our present congregation is more than 14 times the maximum capacity of our Jurong West building. Since 2005 we have had to rent premises at Singapore Expo to accommodate our congregations.
	It should also be noted that the new facility does not mean the Jurong West church building will be redundant. Activities such as outreach to the elderly and children living in the Jurong area will continue. The property in Jurong West will still be utilized for training, counseling, prayers, etc.
12.	Should CHC elect to have its facility in the downtown area, would there be a potential for crowds and traffic jams in the already crowded CBD?
	This is an important consideration which we factored into our planning for the new facility. There is ample car parking space, and the roads surrounding the property are wide enough to ensure smooth traffic.

]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/new-building/feed/ 0 Kong Hee chc-crowd chc-newloc http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/the-power-of-fasting/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/the-power-of-fasting/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:09:45 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=104 ]]> I have been fasting regularly since 1986. In the early days, I would fast once a week for 24 hours, from 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday to 6:00 a.m. on Thursday. However, since 2004, I have been going on 21-day full fasts once every 6 months. Once, in 2007, I fasted for 40 days. Many people have asked me, “Kong, why do you fast so often?” This blog is dedicated to that question. There are many wonderful benefits of fasting:

1.	Biological: The physical benefits fasting has toward the body have been so well documented that even non-Christians these days fast regularly for better health. According to World Health Net, a study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, shows that regular fasting can reduce risk of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, insulin resistance, immune disorders, and more generally, the slowing of the aging process, and the potential to increase maximum life span.
	In Japan, “fasting clubs” are now in vogue. A June 16, 2003, issue of Newsweek states that “for decades Japanese doctors have treated obesity, diabetes and some psychiatric illnesses with fasting.”
	During a fast, the body takes the opportunity to eliminate a lot of toxins (harmful substances) that have been built up over the years. The toxins are predominantly stored in fat and mucous cells. The body is “resetting” itself. A common detoxification reaction is headaches. This occurs because the toxins in the blood cause it to thicken and hence cause a headache. A simple remedy is to drink more water or have a bowel movement. In fact, a three-day fast has been used as a standard means of detox recommended by nutritionists the world over.
	In America, it is now common to have a 28-day detox program. Books such as Get Healthy Through Detox and Fasting: How to Revitalize Your Body in 28 Days by Don Colbert, and New Again! The 28-Day Detox Plan for Body and Soul by Anna Selby, describe detoxification plans which remove harmful toxins from the body and revitalize it.
2.	Spiritual: There are a number of very good reasons why we Christians should fast:
	a. Breaking the power of the carnal flesh. Our fallen nature is so tightly linked to the physical appetites of our human body. The more inordinately we yield to our physical drives (such as hunger, sleep, sex), the more we embolden the carnal nature of our undisciplined flesh. Apostle Paul himself was fully aware of the power of the flesh, and constantly disciplined his body “to bring it into subjection” (1 Cor. 9:27). One of the ways he did this was “in fastings often.” (2 Cor. 11:27). As I deprive my body of its craving for food, I am taming my flesh and bringing it into subjection to my spirit. By the end of my fasting period, I often find myself more spiritual, more heavenly minded, more in tune with God, and more sensitive to His voice. In fact, the Scripture records that the reason the church leaders of Antioch were so sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, concerning His plan to reach the Gentile world, was a direct result of prayer and fasting (Acts 13:2).
	b. Self-humbling before the Lord. This is the reason why the saints in the Bible fast (Ps. 35:13). They were reminding themselves that they were weak in their own human strength to achieve the big visions and goals that God had set before them. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). Therefore if our God-ordained dream is going to happen, it must be by a supernatural work of the Lord.
	Fasting heightens that awareness. When I fast, I feel so weak in myself. I can’t workout in the gym. I can’t run five km (three miles) each day. After every service during my 21-day fasting season, I often felt like “crashing.” I would then cry out to the Lord, “Jesus, I can’t do it, please help me by the power of Your Holy Spirit!” God will always give grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
	c. Increasing the anointing level. Jesus says that certain demons can’t be expelled except by prayer and fasting (Matt.17:21). Last month at the Kuala Lumpur Emerge (our annual youth conference in Malaysia), many commented that the preaching of the Word and the ministry time were some of the best they have ever had. Honestly, I didn’t feel any different. In fact, I felt I didn’t preach too well in a couple of the sessions because I was tired due to my long fast. However, many attendees sent me text messages and emails to say that their lives were so impacted and irrevocably changed. As I reflect on this, I can clearly see that God Himself was doing the work. He had so anointed my voice and let His power flow freely through the laying on of my hands. The presence and power of God made a huge difference in my time at KL.
3.	Revival & Church Growth: In the Bible, whenever the people of God stopped fasting, they became dull and complacent. However, when a fast was decreed, the whole nation underwent revival and deliverance (2 Chr. 20:3-25; Esther 4:16; Ezra 8:21; Jonah 3:5-10). Last month, I fasted and prayed for three specific purposes: (1) 30 percent growth in every pastoral zone, (2) CHC to get its 10,000-seat arena in the city, and (3) my wife Sun to excel in her American singing career. Fasting greatly adds spiritual momentum to my prayer and faith.
What to Do When You Fast? If you have a sickness, if you are pregnant, or if you are a nursing mother, please don’t fast. If you have a history of weak health, please seek medical advice beforehand if you want to fast. If you are on regular medication, please consult a doctor before you fast. If you can’t fast throughout the week, just go for a three-day fast. But please don’t fast intermittently (stopping a few meals, eating a few meal) as this will affect the rhythm of your gastric flow and may hurt your body. Once you start fasting, don’t eat until you have finished the fast. You must drink a lot of water when you fast. Be careful of juices and beverages (such as, coffee) that may give you gastric problems because of the acids they contain. For some people, milk may result in a lot of gas. Yoghurt may cause stomach rumblings, and is generally considered food. The best is electrolytes like 100-Plus, H-2-0, Pocari, et cetera. You need the minerals contained in them during a fast. Drinking clear soup in moderation is good when you need extra energy for work or ministry. Don’t do anything strenuous like run 10 km, house-moving, dance performances, etc. Adopt a commonsense approach to fasting. Brush your teeth often as you will tend to have bad breath (again, due to the release of toxins). I normally carry a toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere I go when I am fasting. Most of all, when you fast, try to start or end the day with a time of deep personal devotion and prayer. Fasting must go with prayer. Otherwise, it is just dieting or a “hunger strike.”
How to Break a Fast?
After fasting, always begin with a light meal, even if you have fasted for only a short period of time. Don’t begin with anything too greasy, fatty or heavy.
The next thing to keep in mind is that the longer the fast, the more gradual it takes to break it. Somebody has said that you must take as long a time to break your fast as you do the period of fasting. When you have fasted for a long time (over three weeks), your stomach becomes like that of a baby’s. Feed yourself after that fast as you would a baby. It may take up to a week to get back to consuming normal food.
When you are in a fast, you usually don’t feel so hungry after the first three days. However, when you start to eat again, your hunger comes back. That is when you must really hold on to yourself. Exercise self-control. Fasting causes your stomach to contract. It is unwise to expand it again to the same extent. Fasting is a great way to change our eating habits, which many of us need to do. However, if you are planning to slim down or reduce your weight, fasting alone will not do that normally. You will get a few kilos off, but you will put them on just as quickly unless you combine it with a changed program of eating and exercise.

]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/the-power-of-fasting/feed/ 0 Kong Hee food_fasting2 http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:33:07 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=101 ]]> Recently I was invited to speak at an Indonesian church an hour outside of Jakarta. The senior pastor was diagnosed with liver cancer a year earlier. The doctors attending to him explored the possibility of a liver transplant. After much effort, the money needed for the operation was raised and a liver donor was found. On the eve of the surgery, as the doctors were doing a final pre-op examination, they discovered that the cancer had spread throughout his body. It was now too late to do a liver transplant and the procedure was called off. The pastor and his family were devastated by this unexpected turn of events. Upon hearing the news, the assistant pastor was so grief-stricken that the next day, he suddenly collapsed in the middle of the church service and died. Forty days later, the senior pastor passed away. Without any clergy in this fledgling church, the housewifely widow of the senior pastor had to conduct the funeral service on her own. Some finger-pointing members started questioning if the untimely deaths of the top leadership were due to divine retribution, or whether the church was cursed. Over the next few months, attendance began to dwindle. As I ministered in the church, I could sense an unspoken question in the air—why do bad things happen to good people? There are many wonderful blessings that come with belonging to the Faith/Charismatic circle: the belief in signs and wonders, divine healing and health, success and financial prosperity, living a life of influence and purpose, et cetera. However, one area that most Charismatics do not handle too well is the issue of suffering. The prevalent reasoning is that if God is a good, healing, delivering God, whose desire is only to protect and bless His children, then a Christian should not have to suffer. And if a believer does suffer, then there must be something wrong with his/her life or faith. As such, it is not uncommon to hear prominent Faith/Charismatic ministers making rhetorical statements like, “Our heavenly Father will never allow Christians to suffer. I reject sufferings and claim only God’s blessings!” When this kind of simplistic thinking is embraced, it can make a person judgmental and mean-spirited. If one is faced with an incurable disease or experiences a tragic accident, it must be the result of an unconfessed sin, a generational curse, or that God is giving up on that person. It is a judgment from God, a divine retribution. Years ago, one of my Bible college classmates died unexpectedly. Instead of consoling and comforting her father, who was a minister in the Assemblies of God, some Christians wrote accusatory letters condemning him of being the cause of his daughter’s untimely death. They speculated the existence of secret, unconfessed sins that had resulted in this “divine punishment.” Otherwise, it must have been his “lack of faith” that failed to raise that girl from the dead. Shortly after Seow-How and Cecilia co-founded Heart of God Church in 1999, there was a terrible accident that took place outside of their church premises one Sunday. Two teenage members were walking across the road when a sleepy bus driver rammed into them. One of them died on the spot, the other died in the hospital hours later. It was a heart-wrenching tragedy for this very young church and its congregation. One lady from a local Charismatic church berated Seow-How and Cecilia, saying that the church had been divinely cursed. How else could they explain the unexpected death of the two teenagers? If God’s blessing was on the congregation, there should never have been any form of suffering. In an overly simplistic view on suffering, the logic usually goes like this:

If you are good, there will be no suffering for you. If you are bad, you will suffer. So if there is suffering, then you must be bad, cursed and judged!

If this line of reasoning is true, then what about Jesus Christ, the apostles and all the heroes of faith? They all suffered greatly for the gospel. Obviously the “suffering-means-accursed” logic espoused by many is greatly flawed. I feel strongly that we need to re-look the whole concept of suffering, especially through the life of Job, a man who went through an unparalleled magnitude of suffering. The Scripture introduces Job as someone who was “blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1). In fact, Job’s morality was so legendary that he was listed twice as one of the three most righteous men in the Old Testament (Ezek. 14:14, 20). He was a spiritually mature man, not a novice in the things of God. Job was blessed with seven sons and three daughters, all grown up with their own families and homes. He was incredibly wealthy with thousands of livestock. His ownership of 3,000 camels meant that he ran the largest transportation business in the region during his time. The sheer number of his sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys meant that Job also owned a lot of farmlands for the animals to graze on. Without a doubt, he “was the greatest of all the people of the East” (1:3), a man professionally respected by all. Beyond his material success, Job was a caring father to his children. Like the patriarchs, he functioned as a priest over his family. He took his sacrificial obligation seriously, viewing it as expiation for sin. To Job this included even sins of the heart, for he made special offerings just in case his sons had secretly cursed God (1:5). Even God Himself acknowledged that there was not a better man than Job in his day (1:8). If ever there was an outstanding man, it was Job. Yet, very bad things happened to him. In one day, severe calamities befell him and his household. Out of nowhere bandits came and pillaged all his oxen and donkeys, murdering all his farmhands in the process (1:15). Then a lightning bolt came out of the sky causing a forest fire, and all his 7,000 sheep and herdsmen were burned alive (1:16). At the same time, robbers came in three raids and took away his 3,000 camels and slew all their handlers (1:17). And before the dust could settle, a freak storm struck the house wherein his ten children were dining. The roof fell on them and they all died instantly (1:19). Within 24 hours, Job lost his entire business and family. Without anyone to help him, this 70-year-old elderly man had to bury all his children by himself. As if what happened was not bad enough, Job now became very sick. His body was inflamed with ulcerous sores (2:7). Bible scholars believe that he had a severe case of elephantiasis, an illness that causes swelling and the disfiguration of face, causing him to be unrecognizable (2:12). He began to lose appetite and spiraled into depression (3:24-25). His body was covered with scabs oozing out pus and there were worms crawling all over him (7:5). He developed difficulty breathing (9:18), darkening of the eyelid (16:16), severe weight loss (19:20) as well as continual pain and anxiety (30:27). The high fever and blackened skin (30:30) indicated that he was probably having some form of kidney or liver failure. For the next nine months, Job was in constant delirium. Because he was totally bankrupt, Job was now living at the city dump where they burned garbage and human excrements. He was the absolute personification of misery. The richest man in the East was reduced to nothing. He was now a social outcast—shamed, disgraced, rejected and despised by all. Very bad things happened to this very good man! It is never easy for anyone to go through difficult times and tough situations. However, when terrible things happen to us, here are a few things we need to bear in mind:

1.	Know that God is not angry with you. Job was an extremely righteous man, yet he suffered like no one else. Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” The apostle Paul, who himself is no stranger to suffering, says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12). You could be going through a hard time because you have been righteous and godly. So do not condemn yourself or think that God is displeased with you.
	By the way, the word “afflictions” also means physical suffering and mental anguish. With all my heart, I fully believe in divine healing (Mark 16:17-18). However, I also submit to the sovereignty of God in any given situation. Like Job, many great men of faith (with strong healing ministries) have themselves been afflicted with terrible illnesses. Elisha the miracle worker died of a terminal sickness (2 Kin. 13:14). The apostle Paul was said to have had an incurable disease (2 Cor. 12:7). Epaphroditus was so sick he almost died (Phil. 2:27). Billy Graham and Yonggi Cho are both diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Reinhard Bonkke struggled with prostate cancer a few years ago. Casey Treat was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2003. A week ago, on November 22, megachurch pastor Billy Joe Daughterty succumbed to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and passed away. All these ministers are godly men of faith, with impeccable integrity, but have themselves been suffering with severe illnesses. The next time you see someone who is sick, please do not be quick to judge him/her for having little faith. We do live in a fallen world with imperfect bodies.
2.	Realize that you are in a spiritual warfare. The Bible makes it very clear that the source of Job’s suffering was Satan the devil. He has come to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). Through tragedies and calamities, Satan constantly seeks to tempt us to reject God, to “curse Him to His face” (Job 1:11). When you are faced with hard times, do not get mad with God. It is not His fault.
3.	Believe that God is ultimately in control. To touch Job’s possessions, family and health, Satan needed permission from God (1:12; 2:6). We can be assured of this one thing: nothing can ever happen to us without His permission. As a good God, He never enjoys seeing His people suffer. Yet sometimes, He allows bad things to happen to bring about a deeper change in us. In the case of Job, Satan may have thought that he was provoking God; but really, God was simply using Satan to complete His own perfecting work in Job.
4.	Offer up the sacrifice of praise. Despite being grief-stricken, Job “fell to the ground and worshiped,” acknowledging God’s sovereignty over his life to give and take away (1:20-21). Even when he was made bankrupt and saw the irrational death of his ten children, never once did he “sin nor charge God with wrong” (1:22). Job’s trust in God’s goodness was astounding.
5.	Understand that God is seeking to make you better. God is more interested in our character than our comfort. He is a very purposeful God and never arbitrary in His treatment concerning us. That is why when we do not see His hand, we must learn to trust His heart. If not, we will become confused, resentful and bitter. That is precisely why we need faith in our walk with Him. The silence of God will make you wonder if He even cares, but He does. The silence of God will make you wonder if He is even there, but He is. Faith is never for the good times, it is always for the difficult times.
	One cannot appreciate Job’s love for God unless one understands Job 29, which is a description of Job’s life before the tragedies befell him. Way back then, the counsel of God was already a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his path (29:1-3; Ps. 119:105). He was walking in revelation. By Job’s own admission, he considered himself as one who had already “arrived” at advanced spiritual growth and maturity: “I was in the days of my prime” (Job 29:4). He was living with great material abundance and God’s presence (29:6).
	When he spoke, everybody listened. Job was the “eyes to the blind,” the “feet to the lame,” the “father to the poor,” the provider to widows, and the defender of justice. The people loved, admired and looked up to him. He was their guide, commander and king. Really, there was nothing more for Job to achieve. He had done it all! He was living the dream!
	I know that for most Christian businesspeople or “kingdom professionals,” this is the kind of life we all aspire to live—blessed with wealth, a great family life, and status in society. We desire to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, and at the same time, a spiritual leader that everyone looks up to in the church and community. Yet as far as God was concerned, Job was not completely mature. There were many inner struggles he had that nobody knew of. For one, Job never felt safe or secure in life in spite of all his achievements. He had a lot of restlessness and anxieties in his soul (3:25-26).
	Here was a man who knew and sensed God, but never had real, deep, life-changing encounters with God. He had heard from God, but had never seen the Lord (42:5). Although he loved God with all his heart, he had not yet reached the point of total abandonment toward Him. Job is like the Christian who has not come to a place where he can say, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), or “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
	Job was successful, spiritual and blameless, but he was not broken unto the Lord. He felt he had “arrived” (materially, parentally, socially, spiritually), but he was terribly deceived—a victim of his own illusion. God wanted to change that in him. In His sovereign wisdom, the only way to break Job was to take him through a period of abject suffering.
6.	Develop the capacity to obediently endure. This is the key purpose of all God-ordained sufferings. James 5:11 exhorts us to experience and learn the “perseverance of Job.” Perseverance is the “capacity to endure,” which is critical to our maturity and destiny. Very often, when we are exposed to certain viral sicknesses (for example, chicken pox), our body develops immunity against it thereafter. Similarly, while suffering does not originate from God, He allows it to build in us the spiritual capacity to handle intense pain and stress, and an immunity toward discouragement and depression.
	Romans 5:3-4 says that “we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” No one in the right mind will ever wish for suffering.We do not rejoice in suffering unless we know there is something greater that God has purposed in our lives. God’s ultimate purpose of putting us through crisis, heartbreaks, misunderstanding and persecution is so that we develop perseverance (the capacity to endure), character (moral strength) and hope (a positive outlook of life).
	How great a life do you want to live? Well, how much pressure are you able to take? When Job lost all his wealth and ten children, and his resentful wife blamed God, he was able to keep on worshiping Him. When his physical body was suffering from sores, swellings and multiple organ failures, and when his psychological state of mind was in severe depression, Job was able to keep trusting God. His capacity for pressure was amazing. Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Trusting God is when you do not need an explanation from Him for whatever is happening in your life.
	When his three friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) turned against him and persecuted him, telling him that his predicament was a punishment from God for his sin, Job held on to his faith: “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
	Even Jesus Christ went through sufferings to “learn obedience” as a Son (Heb. 5:8). Obedient endurance is the crowning mark of maturity. When you can obey the will of God even in the midst of crisis, heartbreaks, misunderstanding and persecution, you have become truly mature.
	Sufferings refine our faith in God like nothing else will. That is why the Scripture encourages us to “count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). As your capacity for endurance grows, and you can keep on obeying the will of God in spite of stress, hardships, criticisms and pain, you will become “perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (1:4).
7.	Get ready for the double portion. Suffering is a prerequisite for sonship. Only true sons inherit the Father’s estate. Jesus was willing to suffer and become “obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11). Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, became the heir of all things and inherited His Father’s estate. It is the same for us: “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). This is what obedient endurance does: giving us the sonship to inherit the double portion.
	Ultimately, God’s purpose of Job’s suffering was to qualify him for the double portion. True enough, God doubled all his possessions. He was blessed with 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, and 1,000 donkeys (42:10-12). He was blessed with ten other children (42:13-14). God then doubled his length of days by adding another 140 years (70 x 2) to his life. Moreover, Job became God’s example of obedient perseverance for all eternity.
Like Job, it is one thing to be blameless but quite another to be broken unto the Lord. True maturity is the absolute abandonment to God and His will. When there is no capacity for obedient endurance, we are not yet ready for the double portion. If you are going through a period of intense suffering, wisely do everything you possibly can to overcome it. And having done all, hold on steady and stand before the Lord in faith (Eph. 6:13). Obediently endure through the fire, trial, pain, disappointment, sickness, financial lack and persecution by faith. God is working out something beautiful in your life.

]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/when-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/feed/ 0 Kong Hee badthings2 http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/wholesome-shallowness/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/wholesome-shallowness/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:06:38 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=96 ]]> In 2007, my wife Sun released a music video of the hit single,“China Wine,” the result of a creative collaboration with reggae wunderkind, Wyclef Jean. That video garnered a lot of attention on YouTube with more than two million hits over two dozen fan sites. It received rave reviews from industry insiders as well as youths who love dance pop the world over. Not surprisingly, the video also raised quite a few eyebrows within the religious fraternity who felt it was inappropriate for a Christian to be featured in a dance video. Although Sun is married to me, she herself was never formally ordained as a minister. She never felt gifted with a pulpit ministry. But ever since Sun was a child, she had participated in many singing contests and won quite a few of them. As a preacher’s wife, Sun functioned faithfully from behind-the-scenes as my helpmate, becoming an effective counselor and a singer in the church. At the turn of the millennium, as I began formulating my doctrine on the Cultural Mandate, challenging my generation to come out of isolation and engage the marketplace, I urged Sun to help me embody that message. In 2002, she launched her new career in Taiwan as a pop singer. Since then, she has done very well with more than four million units sold, five multi-platinum records, and over 30 number one songs in five different countries. Today, she is known in the Far East as a bona fide singer, entertainer and humanitarian. From her royalties, Sun has built eight schools, two orphanages, two medical centers, one rehabilitation clinic, and two housing projects. Through her connections, she has helped with the establishing and fund-raising of four other orphanages, two hospitals, two community services, and one charity foundation. For all these humanitarian achievements, Sun was awarded the Top Outstanding Young Person of the World in 2003, and became China’s Charity Ambassador of Children since 2004. In 2007, she sang the theme song for the Special Olympics at Shanghai. Last year, she sang the 2008 Olympic Anthem during the pre-game launch at Beijing. The unchurched throughout Asia loves Sun and views her as an exemplary model to the youths of society. Yet, in spite of all her secular and creative achievements, many conservative pastors find it hard to accept Sun in any role outside of church ministry. But the reality is that she is no longer a church staff or a gospel singer. She doesn’t work for any religious organization. As a professional artist, Sun has to take on many dramatic stage personas. This is what entertainers do. In the “China Wine” video, she happens to be acting in one such role. Fiction must be separated from fact. I think the struggle many pastors have is the difficulty to separate her association with me (as a pastor’ wife) and her career as a singer. I agree that if she is a “pastor” or “preacher,” perhaps the video would have been inappropriate. But Sun is not a pastor. She is an entertainer. All her music videos were not produced by the church but by her secular music label, the company that she is working for. “China Wine” is a music video about a girl who has to take up an extra job at a nightclub to make ends meet for her family. Some pastors immediately took offense at the club scene and sexy dancers around her. As for her costumes, she wore gym clothes which was not inappropriate for the set she had to act in. At the end of the music video, she caught her boyfriend cheating on her in the night club and confronted him in Mandarin. If you understand what she said, her words were neither crude nor profane at all. She basically shouted at the guy, “Hey, what are you doing with this mistress?” Unfortunately, the video translator subtitled that as “Hey, what are you doing with this b****?” That final b-word caused a further uproar among pastors, who were quick to condemn her for uttering profanities. A few of them wrote me angry emails calling Sun a “whore,” “hooker,” and other nastier, derogatory terms. Some said she was promoting free sex and immorality. But any intelligent, objective viewer would know that the whole drama is not about sex; if anything, it portrays the reality of a fallen secular world. All these storms in a tea cup set me thinking of a bigger question: Are Christians living a sanitized life? Why have “Christian” productions been so ineffective in their reach to the unchurched, to the extent that even believers are not interested in their products? In his book, Eyes Wide Open: Looking For God in Popular Culture, author William D. Romanowski talks about a 1993 survey, which reported that over 80 percent of all churchgoing Christians regularly go to the movies. When they were asked what they thought about Christian films, TV productions and Christian Contemporary Music, this was what they said:

1.	Christian popular arts are inferior imitations as compared to mainstream culture. To many, Christian music is substandard guitar pop and happy-clappy lyrics about Jesus. This is not surprising as many Christian artists feel that their main job is to preach the gospel and proclaim the faith. As such, artistic quality or creativity is not so important. But what they forget is that when people go to a movie or buy an album, their first desire is to be entertained. If they want to be preached to, they would have gone to church.
2.	Christian popular arts are unrealistic, sanitized versions of the real world. Some reviewers even use the phrase “wholesome shallowness” to describe them. Christian entertainment has come to mean movies and music appropriate for “family-only” audiences. That basically means kids-oriented programs or old-time TV reruns for senior citizens. Are Christians that naive and immature, living in a perpetual time warp of a bygone era, that we can’t handle the realities of the 21st century?
	As early as 1916, Hollywood had already discovered that 60 percent of theater owners wanted pictures that portray the real world—even if they contained themes on violence, sex and greed. This is because moviegoers want films that honestly and artistically address the issues of life.
3.	Christian popular arts are limited in content and purpose. If you listen to most CCM, you would think that all Christians do is worship and evangelize 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But people in general, Christians and non-Christians alike, don’t want to be preached to 24/7. They want a pop culture that is fun, entertaining, artistic and innovative. They are also concerned with the issues of life—and they enjoy it when those themes are addressed with artistic flair.
Everybody knows the trials and temptations of daily living. We are not immune to problems and tensions. We are all concerned about love and relationship, life and health, career and finances, the global economy and politics, war and peace, and our future. We are all trying to understand why things happen the way they do and how we can live our lives properly. Pop culture helps us to navigate through all that.
People get inspired and moved by U2, the biggest band in the world today. Their music captures a sense of religious longing and the struggle of living in a world torn by war, injustice and poverty. They enjoy movies like The Matrix, which speaks of an invisible world behind our natural world. They are moved by Schindler’s List (rated R) which touches on courage, sacrifice, and overcoming racism. CHC member, Jack Neo, is arguably the best movie director in Southeast Asia. His films, I Not Stupid I and I Not Stupid II, were box office hits because they realistically deal with the pressures of the rat-race in Asian societies.
Listeners and viewers cry buckets over these powerful songs and films. They may be secular, but people get touched by such productions more so than most Christian ones. If Christian pop culture is artistically inferior, unrealistically sanitized, and limited in content and purpose, is there any surprise that surveys regularly show that even churchgoers are not excited about them? No wonder Christian artists have such a difficult time selling their products beyond small book tables in churches.
The beautiful truth is that God is not against pop culture. There is a section of the Old Testament known as “The Writings,” covering books like Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Lamentations. Honestly, aren’t they the popular songs, dramas and musicals of biblical times? Psalms are songs of frustration, regret and anger, yet sung with love to a sometimes hidden God. Aren’t they like most tracks on the Billboard Chart? Job deals with the sufferings of life, and the desire to find meaning through them. Isn’t it like the Hollywood hit movie, Forest Gump, or the long-running Korean serial drama, Jewel In The Place? Proverbs deal with the danger of shortcuts, the snares of temptation, and the rewards of honesty. Aren’t they just like the cartoon series, The Simpsons? The Song of Solomon is about the obsession with love and the sensual. Just turn on any pop radio and we have our modern-day Song of Solomon being broadcasted 24/7. Ecclesiastes deal with the weariness of daily living in an imperfect world. Isn’t that portrayed in movies like Signs and The Pianist? Lamentations deal with grief. When one listens to most of Eric Clapton’s songs, aren’t they all about the dealing of grief?
Like the Old Testament writings themselves, pop culture is the collective wisdom of our generation. Popular arts explore social injustice, songs of sorrow, and even tributes to women. Like the Book of Esther, they may not even mention the name of God. Like Ecclesiastes, they suggest that in this life, bad things do happen to good people. Or like the Song of Solomon, they may celebrate romance and sex. These songs and movies may not have a salvational purpose, but nonetheless, they offer us the essential comfort and wisdom for living. As such, pop culture represents a powerful means of communicating to us what the real world is like, and how to live in it.
We are all products of our personal theological persuasions and convictions. Pop culture affects the lifestyles of the masses. Venturing into the realm of secular culture is certainly not for the weak or the fainthearted. What Sun is seeking to do is to show us how to be a modern-day Daniel or Joseph to our contemporary Babylon and Egypt. Daniel took on Babylon’s language, education, fashion, name and persona, and yet he didn’t compromise his own value system. According to the New Bible Commentary, Joseph was thoroughly “Egyptianized,” and yet he lived a great life of purpose. Esther, the super celebrity, was also similar. Sun simply wants to emulate these heroes of faith.
Can you remember John the Baptist questioning the authenticity of Jesus’ ministry when he heard about the latter’s working style? Jesus had become widely known as a friend of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes and drunkards. He was even seen going to parties and events that the Pharisees themselves wouldn’t set foot in. John the Baptist was concerned that Jesus was becoming worldly, immoral and compromising—a bad example to the disciples. Our Lord’s reply to him was simply this: “Look at My fruits. Look at how the gospel is preached. ‘And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me’” (Matt. 11:6). The Greek word for “offended” is scandalizo, which means “to trip up, stumble, or be enticed to sin.” I would say the same to those religious critics who may be offended by Sun.
The “China Wine” music video was never meant for a church event. Neither was it ever intended to be an evangelism tool or a gospel video. It is simply pop entertainment. People watching the video and regarding it as just that will never get offended or stumbled, which explains the millions of hits and thousands of good reviews on YouTube.
So to the religious and conservatives who have used nasty, derogatory and expletive terms to describe Sun, my parting shot are the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 21:31, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.”

]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/09/24/wholesome-shallowness/feed/ 0 Kong Hee ChinaWine sunho http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/racial-religious-harmony/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/racial-religious-harmony/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:40:04 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=82 ]]> On August 16, 2009, I was invited to the National Day Rally held at the NUS University Cultural Center. The National Day Rally is akin to the State of the Union Address delivered by the President of the United States. In our case, it is an annual address that the Prime Minister of Singapore makes to the entire nation. That night, I was seated on the second row, directly behind Rustom Ghadiali, the vice-president of the Inter-Religious Organization. Among those around me were the Methodist bishop and the Catholic archbishop, Buddhist monks and Muslim leaders. I must say that I was very impressed by the podium design, multimedia incorporation and technological gadgetry that PM Lee Hsien Loong used. The discipline and excellence in which the entire NDR was organized is indeed commendable. This year is the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s self-government. The PM spoke first in Malay and then in Chinese. The following two hours, he spoke in English, issuing a call for unity across different races and religions. I was amazed by the content of the PM’s speech as it is consistent with the value and philosophy of ministry we practice in City Harvest Church. In a sense, it is comforting to know that our approach is not antagonistic to the society we are planted in and seeking to reach. PM Lee: Critical to our long-term success is maintaining social cohesion, particularly racial and religious harmony. We have discussed potential fault lines in our society – between rich and poor; between Singaporeans and new arrivals. But the most visceral and dangerous fault line is race and religion. As far as racial harmony is concerned, this should be second nature to us Christians. The Bible says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Jesus Himself exhorts us to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). That word “nations” (Gr. ethnos) literally means people of diverse races and ethnicity. We can’t reach them with God’s love if we don’t engage, befriend and build meaningful relationships with people of various cultures and customs. God created the world as a collage of various colors, hues, “nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” (Rev. 7:9-10). For us to live and operate within our own racial enclave is certainly against the spirit of New Testament Christianity. One of the things I am very proud of about City Harvest Church is that our membership is made up of 24 different nationalities (based on a 2007 internal survey), and within them a further multiplied variety of ethnic races. This racial mix enriches us and gives us a more global outlook as a community. PM: [In a multi-religious society, we] need good sense and tolerance by all sides, and a willingness to give and take. Otherwise whatever the rules, there will be no end of possible causes of friction—noise, parking, joss sticks, stray ashes, dog hair, etc. We have been saying for years that God expects His people to thrive and prosper even as they mingle with people of different faiths. A good example is Jeremiah 29, when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. The Babylonians had thousands of gods that its citizens worshiped and revered, with religious values that were diametrically opposed to that of the Jews. Yet, God instructed His people,

	“Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jer. 29:5-7).
They were to put down their roots, establish businesses and profit from them. They were to assimilate themselves fully into the culture by raising their families, to increase and not diminish in their presence and contribution to the society. They were not to be antagonistic as a community but to seek the peace and prosperity of the world God had placed them in, knowing that if their city prospered, they too would prosper. It was precisely in that setting of a multi-religious culture that God promised His people,
	“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (29:11).
This is a promise to all Christians who are living in this present world. In fact, our greatest value to God is right here in our society, not when we get to heaven. Truth be told, heaven is just a temporary holding place for us before we return to earth to rule and reign with Christ. Like the Bible heroes Joseph, Daniel and Esther, we need to adopt a non-antagonistic stance toward our multi-religious world. Relationship precedes ministry. In our interface with people of different faiths, the central issue is always one of trust. Do non-Christians trust us enough for us to speak truth, wisdom and blessing into their lives?
The PM talked about “noise, parking, joss sticks, stray ashes, dog hair, etc.” Let us ensure that our weekly cell group meetings are not a constant source of noise pollution and nuisance to our neighbors. Let us not park indiscriminately (or illegally) when we come for church gatherings. Let us live the words of Jesus Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). May our neighborliness and consideration be evident to all.
PM: In itself, there is nothing wrong with people becoming more religious. Religion is a positive force in human societies. It provides spiritual strength, guidance, solace and a sense of purpose to many, especially in our fast-changing and uncertain world. But stronger religious fervor can have side effects which must be managed carefully, particularly in a multi-religious society. [For example:] Aggressive proselytization: pushing one’s religion on others, causing nuisance and offence … the distribution of Christian tracts with contents that are offensive to other faiths … Groups trying to convert very ill patients in hospitals.
The PM is certainly not against conversion or the sharing of our faith, but he is exhorting us to do it in a civil manner. In our zeal to win others to Christ, we should not be “pushing” our faith on others, “causing nuisance and offence.” I can’t agree with him more. Never once in the Gospels do we find Jesus scolding, shaming or condemning people into believing in Him. If Jesus ever got agitated, it was always to rebuke the religious scribes and Pharisees in the synagogues—people who shared His belief, who had the form but not the substance of the faith. But when it comes to the general public, Jesus was considered a friend to those whose lifestyle and religious beliefs were very different from His (Matt. 11:19, Luke 7:34). He was a natural in befriending, relating and communicating with them.
We see the same with Paul when he was in Athens. Though he was in a city whose citizens worshiped many different gods and idols (Acts 17:16), Paul remained gracious and polite in his interaction with the Athenians, even commending them for their religious longing (17:22). Sure, he was uncompromising in his presentation of the gospel, but he did it with great sensitivity, civility and in a non-pressuring manner, allowing his newfound friends to decide for themselves if they wanted to embrace his faith (17:32-34).
“Evangelism” is the sharing of good news. It is a good word. This term is even used in secular arenas today. For example, Google has a “chief internet evangelist,” tasked to promote and market the products and services Google is offering. On the other hand, the word “proselytization” evokes a negative connotation. It is the inordinate, overly zealous pushing of one’s religion at the expense of causing offense. In some societies without religious freedom, proselytization is the enforced conversion of the masses by the dominant local religion. It is insensitive and borders on harassment. Personally, I get very upset if someone aggressively tries to push his religious belief upon me or puts down my own Christian beliefs. Just like the indiscriminate touting of commercial products by insensitive salespeople at shopping malls can be irritating, proselytization is a huge turn off to many.
The way we grow CHC is not by “selling” the gospel, but by “serving” people. Jesus gives us the New Testament model of effective evangelism in Luke 10. He says that whenever we interface with nonbelievers, we must learn to be gracious, to bless and be encouraging in our words (10:5). We should build a genuine friendship with the people of different faiths, fellowshiping and sharing meals with them (10:7). We must then seek to serve them and meet their practical needs (10:9). And only when their hearts are open to us can we share the gospel of the kingdom of God to them (10:9). The pattern is clear: be gracious, befriend, meet needs, and then when they are open, share the gospel. Again, the underlying principle is clear—relationship precedes ministry.
The impersonal, indiscriminate “handbill saturations” done by Singapore churches in the 1980s have never proven to be effective. Instead, it has made a nuisance out of Christians in the community, giving us the image of being an overzealous bunch of religious fanatics. Yes, as Christians, we do believe that people without Christ will go into a godless eternity; but there is always a right time and a right way of sharing the gospel to nonbelievers. When we serve people lovingly and unconditionally with no ulterior motives, the opportunity to evangelize will naturally present itself.
PM: Intolerance—not respecting the beliefs of others, or accommodating others who belong to different religions, sometimes even within same families. Children who have converted from their parents’ religion, and decline to fulfill funeral rites of parents, or even stay away from the funerals [is] the ultimate unfilial act.
Again, Bible heroes like Joseph, Daniel, Esther and Paul have proven that being with people of different faiths does not “contaminate” their spiritual purity to God. Joseph had a diviner’s cup given to him by the Pharaoh (Gen. 44:5). Daniel worked among the magicians and sorcerers of Babylon (Dan. 4:7-9; 5:11-12). Esther was a beauty queen who lived in the harem of the Persian king (Esther 2). Being with Athenian idol worshipers didn’t mean that Paul had become one himself (Acts 17:16-17).
In fact, one of the greatest ways to demonstrate the reality of Christ is by loving people who are radically different from you (John 13:34-35). Loving people means accepting them just the way they are and treating them with respect even when you don’t agree with them.
The PM talked about filial piety. Honoring our parents is not only an Asian culture, it is a sacred biblical value. The Fifth Commandment states, “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut. 5:16). To stay away from our parents’ or grandparents’ funerals because the rites are unchristian is truly the “ultimate unfilial act.” At moments of grief, as loving Christians, we need to stand with our family and walk with them “through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4). We should “fear no evil” (grieving the Lord, being demonized, etc.) having the confidence that God is with us (23:5). Remember, we are already covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit in us.
The trickier part is the fulfilling of funeral rites. This is where we need to be more spiritually discerning because not all portions of a funeral rite are religious or superstitious in nature. Showing honor and respect to the dead doesn’t mean you are worshiping them. Whenever possible, in the non-religious traditions, we should do them in solidarity with our families.
PM: Exclusiveness—segregating into separate exclusive circles, and not integrating with those of other faiths. This could be a direct preference to stay within own group or an indirect result of intolerance. Example, preferring not to share meals with others, or disapproving of yoga and taiji practices, because they allegedly contain religious elements.
First of all, Jesus tells us to share meals with nonbelievers (Luke 10:7). This should be a nonissue for us Christians.
But what about yoga and taiji? Yoga is often associated with Hinduism, and taiji with Taoism. But it is undeniable that the health elements of these physical disciplines are beneficial to the human body. So again, the question lies in whether is there anything religious in them. It all depends on the context they are practiced in and the instructors who teach them. In Singapore, as with many metropolitan cities around the world, yoga and taiji are taught as forms of physical fitness systems in sports gyms, just like aerobics and Pilates, devoid of any superstitious elements.
John Calvin (1509-1564), in his Commentary On First Corinthians, teaches that any good contribution by nonbelievers to society, as long as it is free from religious superstition, should be freely employed by Christians for his or her own enjoyment, for the glory of God.
I personally know of Spirit-filled pastors in Taiwan and Indonesia who regularly practice qigong. They certainly don’t pray to idols, recite chants, believe in magical powers, or embrace Taoism. And they certainly don’t get possessed by demons. None of the Christian leaders I know who practice yoga and taiji regularly have lost their spiritual consecration to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But aren’t the roots of these ancient exercises unchristian or even anti-Christian? Well, if you go by that reasoning, then we shouldn’t even celebrate Christmas with Christmas trees. There is no dispute that the origin of Christmas trees is pagan. The ancient Egyptians decorated their homes with tree branches during the winter solstice as symbols of the afterlife. Heathen Greeks used them to worship their god, Adonia. Pagan Romans decorated their trees during their midwinter festivals in honor of the sun god. In Northern Europe, the ancient Germanic people tied fruit and attached candles to evergreen tree branches in honor of god Woden. (By the way, this is the deity after which Wednesday was named.)
In fact, the English Puritans long condemned the use of the Christmas trees, yule logs, hollies, mistletoes, etc. Oliver Cromwell preached against “the heathen traditions” of Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated “that sacred event.” Yet, over the years, the Christmas tree has been “de-idolized” to become a major Christian symbol celebrating the birth of Christ. To people everywhere, it is a symbol of hope for the New Year and the future return of warmth to the earth. Churches today have “singing Christmas trees” and carols are sung to herald the birth of Christ. What originated as something totally unchristian has become very Christian over time.
Titus 1:15 says, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” Don’t do anything you are uncomfortable with in your heart. But at the same time, don’t condemn others who do not share your personal preferences or convictions, or think of them as lesser followers of Christ than you.
PM: All groups must exercise tolerance and restraint. Christians cannot expect Singapore to be a Christian society, ditto Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and other groups. Many faiths share this island. Each has different teachings and practices. Rules which apply only to one group cannot be made into laws that apply to everyone. Muslims do not drink alcohol, but alcohol is not banned; ditto gambling, which several religions disapprove of. All must adopt “live and let live” as our guiding principle … Secondly, religion must stay separate from politics … Third, Government must remain secular. Government authority derives from the mandate of the people. Laws are not based on divine authority, but enacted by Parliament based on the public interest.
The Bible teaches repeatedly about the “royal law” (James 2:8), commonly known as the Golden Rule: treat others in the same manner you wish to be treated yourself. I often ask myself, as a Christian, if I live in a state whose dominant religion is say, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Mormonism, do I want the values of those religions to be legislated as laws and imposed upon me? Definitely not. Even as a lover of the Holy Scripture, do I want the ceremonial, dietary and civil laws of Old Testament Judaism to be imposed on me? Definitely not. Now, putting myself in the shoes of the adherents of other faiths, how would they feel if they hear us spewing rhetoric about a Christian state where biblical commandments are enforced as law to all? I am sure the reaction would not be dissimilar to mine if the table is turned.
Look, even among the body of Christ we can’t all agree to the style and philosophy of ministry. If we have a Christian government seeking to establish a Christian state, whose denominational doctrine are we going to follow? Anglican? Baptist? Assemblies of God? Roman Catholic? Church of Christ? I shudder just to think of the amount of religious legalism that would be mandated upon Faith-Charismatic, contemporary churches if that happens.
Is it God’s will to have a Christian geopolitical state in this dispensation? I doubt it. Even after the resurrection, the ever zealous disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” To that, Jesus answered, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:6-7). Looking at the Holy Scripture, that is not going to happen anytime soon in this dispensation.
The beauty of a democracy is that human rights and freedom can be pursued for the common good of all. I believe in the separation of religion and politics. Christianity is a freewill religion. I wouldn’t want our commandments to be enforced on others who don’t follow the teachings of Christ. As much as he was persecuted for his faith, Paul didn’t advocate the overthrow of the oppressive Roman government.
	Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience. Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. (Rom. 13:1-7)
Paul endorsed the secular state of Rome even with Nero Caesar on the throne. Paul teaches that we should submit to secular laws, pay taxes, respect and honor the political leaders in authority, even if they are secular in nature. In fact, Paul wants us to regularly pray for them.
	Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
When a secular state guarantees “The Four Freedoms” enshrined in the United Nation Human Rights Charter: (1) freedom of speech and expression, (2) freedom of worship, (3) freedom from poverty and lack, and (4) freedom from fear, the gospel can thrive in that society. I certainly wouldn’t want any government to legislate what I should believe, and how I should worship or carry out my faith. I greatly doubt that the unchurched public would appreciate us forcing them to embrace our spiritual convictions either. Let us continue to keep religion and politics separate as much as possible.
PM: [Concerning the recent AWARE controversy:] On homosexuality policy or sexuality education in schools, there can be strong differences in view; but government’s position on these issues is clear.
My position on this hot button issue is this: gay or straight, heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual, we want to introduce everyone to the love of Jesus Christ. But how are they going to encounter that if gays and lesbians perceive the Church as hostile toward their community? As the shepherd over my flock, I don’t want my members exposed to any unwelcome, predatory sexual advances made by anyone—be that person straight or gay. But if he or she doesn’t pose a direct, negative influence over the congregation, we should indeed adopt a “live and let live” attitude. We are all sinners saved by grace. I want City Harvest Church to focus on the issue of salvation, not sexual orientation. Once someone is saved, I trust the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth and sanctification.
PM: Hence, we also invited religious leaders to be here with us tonight. Help your flocks to understand our limitations and guide them to practise their faith taking our context into account. Please teach them accommodation, as this is what all religions preach. I look forward to religious communities continuing to do good for Singapore.
“Tolerance,” “accommodation,” “mutual respect” and “being accepting” are all buzzwords of City Harvest Church. These are not foreign or new concepts to us. These are the values of new covenant Christianity. This is how we have always run CHC. They are an integral part of our DNA. In the last 20 years, we have grown our church by loving and serving people, not by knocking down other races, religions or communities. Let us continue to stay engaged to our culture as the salt and light of the earth (Matt. 5:13-16), promoting the common good for all.

]]> http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/racial-religious-harmony/feed/ 0 Kong Hee RallySpeech2009 http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/what-city-harvest-church-is-all-about/ http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/2009/08/11/what-city-harvest-church-is-all-about/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 04:05:14 +0000 chckonghee http://chckonghee.wordpress.com/?p=78 ]]> This is the 20-minute message I shared on August 2, 2009, at the second 20th Anniversary service held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. What an awesome thing it is for us to be celebrating our 20th Anniversary as a church. Let’s face it, to have come through all these years, against incredible odds, is nothing short of a miracle.