Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am Won KIM, voicing Pastor Caleb Soo Lee Chong. Shalom.

Today, we will continue to talk on “Ministry/Service View of a Disciple”. He who follows the Lord serves Him as well. “To serve someone” is not a concept; it is a type of action, a type of life. Today, we will be looking into several ministries / services that we will have to carry out.

How are church leaders to serve believers?

First of all, let us see how church leaders are to serve or minister to believers.  Church leaders need to have the mindset of a servant and become a servant-leader. That was how Jesus Christ taught His disciples in the Bible in the book of Matthew chapter 20 verses 25-28, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant….” This is the way God wants things to be. So, how should these so-called church leaders go about this? I suggest the following:

One: To minister believers through prayers. These days, it is not uncommon to see Christians running to us to seek help as their marriages are in crisis, even sinking into states of despondence and helplessness. However, there are times when the problems are beyond what we can do to help. In such situations, our Lord would lead us to support them in prayer.

Throughout my pastoral experience, I have seen some cases where all I could do was to offer silent prayer for those involved as I could not do anything else. Some of these involve marriages that have turned much too sour; the parties concerned have taken the stand to turn a deaf ear, no matter what you say. I would just ask them to open their souls to God. Others are patients in the terminal stage of their illnesses. Again, the little I could offer was a word of prayer for them to touch and hold the hand of God, feel the power of His Presence as He leads them to their place of eternal rest. As we lay our hands in prayer on the sick person to bless him through total dependence in the Holy Spirit, you will be amazed by the changes taking place. His life becomes blessed because of our ministry, offerings and prayers.  That is the first way to minister our flock – by offering our heart-felt prayers.

Two: To help believers to truly know God, so that she will experience His leading deep within her heart. All of this has plenty to do with the spiritual experience and knowledge of the spiritual leader herself. The believer can then walk along more steadily ahead in these times. They have to go through various trials and temptations, as they face various pressures at work within our society. How can we help them to hold tight to God under these trying circumstances? We need guidance from the Almighty for them to move on.

On the other hand, some others are facing temptations from cults and heresies, and need the Word of God to help these people see through the evil in these tempters. Henceforth, they would cast them boldly aside and have absolutely nothing to do with them. Church leaders are to play this role and lead these believers to move ahead as they know God in greater depth.

Three. Love and care for your fellow believers. Not only does a man need strict supervision from others, as well as to be enlightened on the meaning of life with help from the authority of God, they also need to feel love coming from their fellowmen, to cry and laugh along with them along the journey of life – these are the traits of a good leader. A leader would never, ever be far away from his flock. Rather, she would live amongst her people as one of them, do battle alongside them and show care towards them through real deeds that complement her words.

Allow me to share this slice of my personal experience here. I was not in Singapore when the life of an elderly believer was ebbing away fast. Her doctor thought she would be breathing her last anytime, but she did not, much to the surprise of her children who would rush to her bedside in the dead of the night on several occasions. Tenaciously she had held on, if only to wait for me to visit her. When I was back, the first words from her son when he saw me was: “Pastor, my mom is waiting for you!”  This reminds us that once true relationships have taken root between the two of you, that person would sorely miss you and yearn to see you again.

I prayed, blessed her and chatted with her when I eventually caught up with her. The hospital called her son in the wee hours of the next morning, but he did not make the trip as he had been there far too often, even to the extent that fatigue was taking its toll. Soon after 6 a.m., the hospital called again to inform him that his mom was no more. He failed to bid her a personal final farewell. When we were to meet again, he said, “Pastor, didn’t I say before that Mom was waiting for you?” Many of us in pastoral care often come across similar situations, because the connections of life and love with our flocks have intertwined over time.

As church leaders, therefore, we are to serve our flocks with our prayers, even as we edify and guide them with the Word of God. More importantly, we use our lives to show care for them, share their moments of ups and downs, sobs and joys, weal and woe.

How are church members to watch out for their leaders?

How are church members to watch out for their leaders? We are talking about the converse of the earlier relationship here. How can we do that? I suggest three points for you to chew on:

One: Serve them with joy and in obedience. Both the pastor and other church leaders are doing pastoral work looking after the flocks. Of course, they have the responsibility to help us seek the path to please God. As believers, we should be all ears to their sincere advice, corrections and guidance as we submit to their authority. Dear brothers and sisters, obedience is a very important trait for believers, especially when the church elders are showing you the way ahead. Inasmuch as they are using the Word of God to guide you along, your submission to them is also a submission to guidance from God Himself. This brings great blessings to these church leaders; in much the same way an obedient child brings great consolation to his parents.

Two: To serve these church leaders by offering constructive comments and suggestions. Note that doing this with great joy does not equate to going along in blind obedience. There are times where the spiritual leaders need our care and love through such feedback, too, because no one is infallible. At the same time, we must show humility and harmony as we work alongside them. That, itself, is a type of ministry, too.

Sometimes, people ask me why the pastor is not willing to listen. The reason is simple: it is not a case of these pastors ignoring his advice; there may exist some unhealthy relationship between the pastor and that person. For instance, he may be carrying tales frequently behind the pastor’s back, and the latter is aware of it. The pastor would not lend his ears as this person tries to approach him, as he suspects there is some ill-will in this.

I still accept harsh words and even beatings from my father, as I know these actions stem from his love for me. However, I would be wary when the person who is talking to me nicely is known to have been throwing dirt at me from behind all this while. Who won’t react like this? Thus, it is important for us to serve our church leaders with sincerity of heart and in true obedience, and offer constructive opinions rather than taking pot-shots at them in the dark.

Three: Sustaining these leaders through prayers. We, too, are to pray for them even as they pray for us. Church leaders have their needs – and underbellies, too.  Generally, they face fiercer attacks, which are from the devil. Thus, we understand that constant prayers offered out of love for our church leaders are an extremely effective and important service. It is something we cannot afford to be without. Let us serve them well, and with a willing heart.

Let us be the serving congregation and shepherding flocks to the church leaders. Being congregants taking on the role of the sheep as such, let us look back and constantly wait on our leaders, care for them, cheer them on – and say silent prayers for them.

How should parents and children serve one another within the family?

As we talk about service and ministry, we must go one step forward and look at how parents and children are to serve one another in the family. Yes, not only are we to serve one another in church, we should serve one another at home, too.

What are parents to do for their children for a start?

One: Serve them by introducing discipline that is rich in love. If we fail to state clearly to our children what constitutes acceptable behaviour, fail to establish reasonable and clear directions for them, they would be uncertain as to where the limits of their behaviour lie. This will invariably lead them into serious harm in areas such as resting hours, eating habits, making friends and responsibilities towards the family.

It is important to let them feel that the welfare of the entire family is impacted by everything they do.  Hence, discipline is a means to minister to our children. One should never, ever fall into the trap of believing that there is no need for children to come under discipline. The bible makes it clear that all of us are sinners, our own children included. We should discipline them using the word of God right from the beginning to guide them along; in this way, they will fear God. That is a very important ministry.

Two: Parents are to minister to their children by building up their own self-management abilities in gradual steps. In other words, parents have to inculcate in their children the virtue of responsible independence, and also how to handle matters and conduct their own behaviour. When they come of age (21 years of age, or from 18-21 years of age), we need to let go of our parental authority completely.  We would be glad to put forward our opinions and advice, but only when requested to do so. Nurturing our children for their future by availing themselves of a growing independence as time goes on is also a type of parental ministry.

Proper discipline, guidance and support are to be provided for children during their period of growth to build them up. As they are guided into adulthood, there would come a time when they can stand on their own feet. This is the time for us to let go, and for us to loosen our control over them. We will have to accept the fact that the future is for them to decide! A good example is their choice of their life-long partner – leave the decision to them! We can only offer our views upon their request, and are not to make the decision for them. Dear brothers and sisters, this is important advice in the ministry of wise parenting towards one’s children. On no occasion should parents interfere into the rights of the grown-up children as this will lead to a serious stalemate between both parties.

Three: Parents should avail their children of adequate time to nurture them at will. Should a mistake crop up in the process, parents should tell their children the whole truth, saying, “I am wrong, my child. I am sorry.” Approaching service in this manner is extremely critical and effective.

There is an old saying stating that no parent in this world can ever go wrong. However, we are aware that we are prone to making mistakes ourselves. Ni Tuo Sheng倪柝声 (1903-1972) popularly known as Watchman Nee, was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. He lost his father as a very young child; as a result, his widow-mother had to take on paternal duties as well. She was very strict when it came to disciplining this first male descendent in the family. On one occasion, she gave him a brutal thrashing, only to realize that she had done him wrong. That very evening, she walked to his bed and picked him up, saying, “I am sorry, child! I did you wrong to thrash you up like this!”

This incident had a strong impact on Ni. This was because he knew that his mother was not one to admit her mistake, but the gospel has changed all that. The mother who he had known all along to be stern and strict to him was now admitting that she had wronged him! The young Ni was astounded by the power of such faith. It was by no means coincidental for Ni to eventually become a great leader in the church many years later. Credit is due to the ministering by his mother that led to his wonderful transformation and achievements. Indeed, we have to minister well to our children in order for them to fear the LORD. Amen? Let us serve together!

Let’s pray

Dear Heavenly Father,

We are truly thankful for your blessings, because we are able to serve the LORD. We can serve the flock in church, serve the leaders in church and also serve one another. As parents, we can render assistance to and lead our children at home so that they will fear the LORD. In that way, they will walk alongside you throughout their lives, and receive your blessings as a result. O, LORD, may we not let these opportunities pass us by, but to hold all the blessings from you close to our breasts. We offer these prayers in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Recommendations by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” by Rev. Dr Caleb SOO Lee Chong are worthy books to edify disciples. In order to minimize differences in the qualities amongst Christians, our churches need to set up basic courses to address these issues. In turn, this will enable all disciples to incorporate their faith into their lives and allow changes to take place through renewal of minds. May God make use of these basic courses to edify more disciples to strengthen His soldiers and claim victory on His battle-ground!

The three books “The Gospel for the Modern Man”, “Faith of the Modern Believer” and “Values for the Modern Disciple” are suitable course materials for anyone who wish to acquire understanding of the Christian faith in a more comprehensive manner. The contents are easy to grasp and relate to the real world that we are living in. They are written with an eye for the man-in-the-street and explore how to make our faith come alive in our daily social interactions.

In particular, these are suitable if you  

1. are someone who wants to understand the Christian faith or,

2. are someone who has just accepted the Christian faith or,

3. have been a Christian for many years but still hungering for a firmer grounding in the faith or,

4. are a pastor or co-worker who plans to use these materials for teaching purposes.

If you need to take up learning or use these materials in a systematic manner, please us contact at this email address.：[email protected]