Christianity Today on John Stott

John Stott died July 27th at 3:15 London time (about 9:15 a.m. CST), according to John Stott Ministries President Benjamin Homan. Homan said that Stott's death came after complications related to old age and that he has been in discomfort for the last several weeks. Family and close friends gathered with Stott as they listened to Handel's Messiah. Homan said that John Stott Ministries has been preparing for his death for the past 15 years. "I think he set an impeccable example for leaders of ministries of handing things over to other leaders," Homan said. "He imparted to many a love for the global church and imparted a passion for biblical fidelity and a love for the Savior."

Below you'll find our collection of classic pieces from Christianity Today's publications on John Stott and his legacy. Read Christianity Today's full obituary here.

John Stott: The Man Who Wouldn't Be Bishop

Discernment and discipline have enabled him to touch lives worldwide.

By David Neff

Related Articles:

Evangelism Plus

John Stott reflects on where we've been and where we're going.

Interview by Tim Stafford

Basic Stott

In this cover story from 1996, evangelicalism's premier teacher speaks on gender, charismatics, leaving the Church of England, the poor, evangelical fragmentation, Catholics, the future, and other subjects.

By Roy McCloughry

Legacy of a Global Leader

Less known than Stott's earlier work is his ministry with Langham Partnership International.

By Tim Stafford

John Stott, My Inspiration

I first heard John Stott speak when I was a medical student and a very young Christian. John Stott came to Kuala Lumpur to give a talk in the University of Malaya campus organized by the Varsity Christian Fellowship (VCF) which later became Fellowship of Evangelical Students (FES). I remember being very impressed by his message and his passion. I also remembered shaking the hand of this ‘well known’ Christian speaker. I began reading his books which are very influential to my Christian spiritual journey. I remember reading Basic Christianity (1958, rev.1971) which helps me construct the foundation of my faith. I read the revised 1971 version, of course (I am not that old!). It started me on my mission of Bible study and understanding the Scripture. This mission was fortified by another of his book, Your Mind Matters (1972). John Stott’s mastery of the Word and in preaching inspires me to a ministry of Bible-based teaching and preaching. Between Two Worlds: The Art of Preaching in the Twentieth Century (1982) and The Contemporary Christian: An urgent plea for double listening (1992) are books I retreat to when my zeal for the art runs dry.

Another of John Stott’s book that influenced me is Issues Facing Christians Today (1985) and its new edition (4^th ed.) New Issues Facing Christian Today (2006). This book is instrumental in helping me to move into studying and understanding the engagement of Christianity with culture and morality. It moves me into biomedical ethics and Christ-and-culture studies which I am doing now.

One of the highlights of my time in Edinburgh while doing my specialist training is to take the intercity train down to London to listen to John Stott preach at All Souls [Anglican Church] at Langham Place. I also took a course by John Stott at his London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. The London Institute inspired me to set up the Spiritual Formation Institute in Holy Light Church (English) eight years ago.

Through the years, I continue to be inspired by Stott. I read all his writings, listen to or watch the videos of all his sermons, lectures and talks that I can get my hands on. Stott is a prolific writer, publishing at least 50 books. He never married but devoted his life to his ministry. He lived a simple life, donating the royalties from his books to Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in the US) which he started in 1974. This organisation serves to improve preaching and teaching of the Bible in the third world. He rejected promotion to become a bishop of the Anglican Church, preferring to remain vicar of All Souls so that he can devote all his time and energy to teaching and preaching the Word. He is instrumental in the drafting of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974 which is a boost to world mission. In a way, John Stott’s life calls to mind the title of one of Eugene Peterson’s book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Though Peterson is talking about the biblical David, the concept of faithfulness in obedience may equally be applied to Stott.

The Radical Disciple: Some Neglected Aspects of Our Calling (2010), his last book sums up his influence on the evangelical world and also on me personally. The purpose of this book, says Stott, is to consider eight characteristics of discipleship that are often neglected and yet deserve to be taken seriously: nonconformity, Christlikeness, maturity, creation care, simplicity, balance, dependence, and death. Stott went to be with the Lord on 27 July 2011.

Till We have Faces

saw this interesting sculpture in the ward. Did not know who was the artist and the name of the sculpture. Reminds me of C.S.Lewis' book Till We Have Faces.

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Human-Animals Hybrid Embryos

According to an article in the Herald Sun dated 26 July 2011

UK SCIENTISTS have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.

The hybrids have been produced in secret over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases...

Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 "admixed" embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act. This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; "cybrids", in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and "chimeras", in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.

Scientists say the techniques can be used to develop embryonic stem cells which can be used to treat a range of incurable illnesses. Three labs in the UK – at King’s College London, Newcastle University and Warwick University – were granted licences to carry out the research after the Act came into force.

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I have been struggling with the issue of chimera research for some time. It is difficult to perceive adding human genetic materials to that of animal genetic materials to create a totally new form of life. While is is easy to accept that chimera stem cells are destroyed prior to 14 days as the law required, it is hard to accept adding human stem cells to a chimpanzee brain or chimpanzee cells to a human brain.Where does one draw the line?
Worse case senerio - a baby is the product of fertilisation of a human ovum by a chimpanzee male genetic material and implanted in a human womb and brought to term. Is this baby human?
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The Bible Impossible

Scot McKnight in his post The Problem with Biblicism part one and two made some insightful comments on Christian Smith's new book.

His [Christian Smith's] argument will look a bit like this: the problem is called biblicism (defined below).
1. He sees biblicism in evangelicalism (not all of it) and in most charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity.
2. Biblicism involves belief in the Bible’s exclusive authority, infallibility, perspicuity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability.
3. Liberalism is the corrosion of historic orthodoxy and is intellectually naive and susceptible to some reprehensible social and political expressions, but opposing liberalism — which Smith does — does not lead to or require biblicism. There are other alternatives.
4. What ultimately defeats biblicism is “pervasive interpretive pluralism.” The Bible says and teaches different things — if you listen to biblicists carefully — about most significant topics. It is, he argues, meaningless to talk about the inerrancy of the text if the interpretation of that text is up for grabs.
5. His goal is to become more evangelical, not less, in approach to Scripture.
6. Christian Smith, a notable Christian sociologist, has become a Roman Catholic, but he wrote this book before that move took place. He had these problems with evangelicalism before he became Catholic, but these problems are part of the reason he became Catholic.

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The Bible is central to most evangelical thinking and this has led to biblicism.

What is biblicism? It is a belief that finds expression in this set of ten factors, some holding each factor while others hold most of them. It is characteristic — listen to this — he says of perhaps 100 million Christians! Here are the ten factors of biblicism:
1. Divine Writing: the Bible is identical to God’s own words.
2. Total representation: it is what God wants us to know, all God wants us to know (he quotes JI Packer here) in communicating the divine will to us.
3. Complete coverage: everything relevant to the Christian life is in the Bible.
4. Democratic perspicuity: reasonable humans can read the Bible in his or her language and correctly understand the plain meaning of the text.
5. Commonsense hermeneutic: again, plain meaning; just read it.
6. Solo [not sola] Scripture: we can read the Bible without the aid of creeds or confessions or historical church traditions.
7. Internal harmony: all passages on a given theme mesh together.
8. Universal applicability: the Bible is universally valid for all Christians, wherever and whenever.
9. Inductive method: sit down, read it, and put it together.
10. Handbook model: the Bible is handbook or textbook for the Christian life.
read more.

If we are to approach Christianity with integrity, we will have to admit that the Bible does not have support for many of the claims of Christianity and that many of the major doctrines arises from the interaction of Scripture and the Church (especially Creeds). Reading Karl Barth has helped me to appreciate the relation between the Word of God and God's revelation. So are we really guilty of biblicism? Has the Bible became our God?

What do you think?
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Concerns about National Health Insurance Scheme in Malaysia

From his blog MYHealthMatters, former Malaysia Medical Association president Dr David Quek highlights

ICare medical scheme – a crony treatment?

FMT Staff | July 25, 2011

Private practioners nationwide are concerned about the government scheme, which they fear will only benefit a few private companies.

TAWAU: A proposed medical insurance scheme by the government has raised concern among private practioners here and across the peninsular.

Suspicion has risen over the 1Care scheme which many believe will only benefit a few private companies at the expense of patients and doctors.

The doctors fear that healthcare expenses will increase as 1Care will become a monopoly through a giant managed-care organisation (MCO).

Although the government is yet to reveal the full details of the 1Care scheme, initial disclosures have raised concerns.

read more

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The New Me

Rent or Buy Your Textbooks?

The problems with textbooks especially medical textbooks is that it is out of date even before it is printed. I hardly use my old textbook for reference, preferring the online more uptodate information available on professional websites. So does it make sense to buy hardcopy textbooks? Amazon.com offers an alternative

Amazon Announces Digital-Textbook Rentals

July 20, 2011, 6:09 pm

By Jie Jenny Zou

Amazon has rolled out an e-textbook-rentals program, which could bring more attention to the emerging model of treating textbooks like online subscriptions.

Students can now download temporary copies of textbooks on Amazon’s Web site for reading on a Kindle e-book reader or on a computer, tablet, or smartphone running free Kindle software. The system lets customers specify rental periods lasting anywhere from a month to a year. Amazon argues that the digital rentals can save students up to 80 percent compared with traditional print textbooks.

For example, one textbook, Intermediate Accounting, which retails at $197 in print and $109 as an e-book, would cost $57 to rent from Amazon for three months. Students have the option to purchase the e-book during or after a rental period, and can extend rental period in daily increments.

This makes sense. Wonder if this service is available to people outside the United States and Canada?

picture source

Book Browsing and the end of Borders

 

Getty Images

Borders plans to shut its remaining 399 stores. Above, the exterior of a closed store in San Rafael, Calif.

Come next Monday, the Borders bookstores that I love will be no more; their shelves emptied and their contents carted off. Borders Inc, will be closing its 399 stores and quietly go out of business. No more will I be able to walk in and browse in a store with the name Borders behind the counter with a group of energetic young people shelving, arranging books and answering queries. Online book services without borders have finally done Borders in.

Book browsing in bookstores is one of my many favorite hobbies. I remember fondly my times of browsing in the bookstores of Edinburgh, London, Kirkcaldy, Boston, Sydney, Melbourne, San Francisco, Chicago, Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur and of course, Singapore. I still make a monthly trip to Singapore to indulge in book browsing and my other hobby, book buying.

There is always the sense of anticipation as I walk into a bookstore. What will I discover today? What new books await me, waiting to be read? What wonders within these pages are waiting to unfold? As I browse in the shelves I meet old friends and new. Being there is like being in a quiet party with good friends and amiable acquaintances. It is a serene and peaceful place which is as comfortable as a pair of old shoes or a well worn sofa. A place of escape from the world which locks you in bondage.

I meet some old friends: books that I have read or books that I am familiar with. I marvel at their new covers and new bindings. I open them and read a passage. The familiar arrangement of words sprang up at me, invoking memories of when and where I have read those words and my emotional state at that time. It brings forth old memories of events in my life when I read this book. This old friend was what I read in joy at the birth of my daughter, this one when I was in deep despair in Edinburgh and this, ah, was read in a hotel in Rome.

I also meet new friends. As I browse, I sense the siren call of brave new worlds, new life and new civilizations. My heart leaps from discovering new books from favorite authors that I cannot wait to read. Finding books that hint at offering deeper joy while other pander to my sense of wonder. Yet another promise to expand my knowledge core or break new grounds in my knowing.

The musty smell of old books and overcrowded arching bookshelves are another thing I miss in the modern bookstores. In London are found these wonderful bookstores with its deep warrens and endless passages. Lost first editions stand side by side with trade paperbacks in an endless parade. We can feel Sophia, the wisdom of the ages peering over our shoulder as we browse through these ancient tomes. These bookstores are disappearing and have become an endangered institution. Now even the modern bookstores are in danger.

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Ode to my Dog

He’s gone. He had fought the good fight.

Bundle of joy running under the sky,

watching earthly wonders glowing eyes,

under the earth his treasures lie,

once small but thou grew large in size.

Faithful and gentle to a fault,

loyal and forgiving to all offenses,

proud to thy heritage well worth the salt,

love and forgiveness heartily dispenses.

Content to sit and together be present,

content only with the attention given,

hopeful and waiting in my absent,

seeking the joys of stroking deepen.

Years pass, my friend, seasons too,

more gray, less tan and vision fade,

time pass yet thy heart remain true,

loyalty and love matured like jade.

Ailments of age crushed thee this july,

bent and stricken in body never to rise,

in love I slay thee, suffering deny,

run free now through the clouds in the sky.

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Watching Stargate Universe

I love watching Stargate SG1, Stargate:Atlantis and now Stargate Universe. Unfortunately Stargate Universe was canceled after two seasons. The idea of a mismatched groups of military types and civilian scientist types trapped in an incredible ancient but technologically advanced spaceship has the fantastic potential for great science fiction television. Unfortunately, this series did not make the grade with two dimensional characterization and poor plotlines that do not correlation with accurate scientific facts. However, I still love watching it.

The spaceship Destiny is great. I am hoping to get a model of it. Anyone knows where I can get one?

Destiny model (source: mikiep)

Kingdoms on Earth Revisited

I commented on my facebook wall at the end of last Saturday that the Bersih 2.0 march is over. I also raised the question whether Christians should be involved (in the context of Romans 13:1-7) and what would Jesus Do (WWJD) i.e. would Jesus has marched?

A dear brother has answered in a posting to Micah Mandate which he has graciously given me permission to repost here.

Bersih 2.0 – Would Jesus have marched?

11 July 2011 | TinyURL ^TM

Dear [Alex],
In your Facebook reference to Bersih 2.0, you said that you are glad the rally is over and you asked the question, “Is this the Christian approach to do things? What will Jesus do?” I guess the sight of so-called “street battles” in our capital city between protestors and the police are too distasteful to you and unbecoming behaviour for a follower of Christ. Furthermore it looks too much like a revolt against a sitting government in which case it would be against the words of Paul in Romans 13:1 that we must all submit to governing authorities.

In case you were not aware, I was there to support Bersih and what it stands for. Let me try to explain to you why I went.

In doing voters’ registration for the past year and a half, I have come across too many irregularities firsthand – people who tried to register over and over again but failed for no reason, people who voted before but deregistered, again for no reason. People in the same house but assigned to different constituencies, people who never registered but found themselves registered in some Felda scheme they have never heard before. I can go on and on.

What about gerry-mandering and malapportionment of constituencies? BN strongholds, fewer voters per seat; opposition strongholds, more voters per seat. E.g. Kapar 112K voters PKR; Putrajaya 6K voters BN. Generally, this has been the pattern nationwide. Boundaries are modified after each election to reflect change in the voting patterns. In fact, the way it is, even if the majority of people voted for opposition by 55% to 45%, BN will still form the government. Is this fair?

What about election fraud? The abuse of postal votes where police and military personnel have to vote under duress of being witnessed by their superiors and their votes are used to shore up key BN losing candidates. The buying of votes is now part of the BN election strategic now, doesn’t mind that it is a clear violation of election rules. Remember the famous “You help me, I help you” offer by the PM, not once but over and over again? He promised and delivered that if you vote for his candidate today, he will personally sign the cheque for millions of ringgit tomorrow, if not, don’t bother to come and collect. Is this right just because the PM does it? It is a known fact that huge amount of money were used to buy votes at by-elections these past few years. Power outages during crucial counting of ballots so that bags of ballots could be swapped are regular occurrences.

The fact that 4.3 million eligible M’sians are not registered as voters (about 1/3 of total eligible voters) when they could be registered at a click of a mouse like in S’pore where every citizen automatically becomes registered on their 21st birthday, is yet another concern. Yet, M’sians have to find out themselves how to register, find a place to register, fill up a form in duplicate, submit it, crossing their fingers hoping that SPR would not reject them. They won’t even be notified if they are registered or not, they have to go online to check on their own. Why should it be so in this day and age of technological advancement? The problem is not the lack of technology or funds but the lack of political will to want to register these unregistered voters. Could it be that these 4.3 million are mainly young voters who are more open to change and are better informed than their parents?

There are many, many more issues as demanded by Bersih 2.0 but I won’t go on.
For me, it is an issue of justice. There is a perversion of justice here. And believe me, the people who made up the Bersih 2.0 committee are not thugs or unlearned people. They have tried for years to get the authorities to reform our electoral system but to no avail. Taking to the streets for a peaceful demo is our constitutional right and that only after all other avenues have been exhausted.

I was there. I saw with my own eyes how the PDRM assaulted ordinary men and women without provocation or warning. The protestors were outstanding in their discipline – 50,000 over people and not a single property damage reported, no littering because we picked up our own rubbish and put them in the trash can. There were no street battles or unruly protestors provoking the police as portrayed by the government and the mainstream media. Despite the continuous assault by the police with tear gas and water cannons, the people did not fight back. There was no anger on the faces of the protestors, no fear, no despondency, just a quiet determination to be heard and for our rights to be upheld. I salute these pakciks, makciks, aunties and uncles, the young generation who came out despite the intimidation and unprecedented attempt by the authority to lock down an entire city. I am very proud to counted amongst them.

As we marched together, one elderly Malay gentleman turned to me, looking into my Chinese eyes, he said in Malay “This is the real 1Malaysia”, I agreed and said it is. It is not a slogan, not a logo, not a jingle without any reality. It is a walk. When people come together not to defend their own race or religion but to ask for their most fundamental right to be respected, the right to justice and to be heard, we are one, for we are. When every now and then we broke out into singing our national anthem, it was never more meaningful, especially when we came to the part “Rakyat hidup bersatu dan maju” – The People live in unity and in progress. We are Malaysians, we are all God’s creation, loved by Him.

For too long our nation has been divided when after fifty-three years of independence we should be more united and integrated. I still remember those times before politicians put their dirty fingers into the cultural pot and muddle it up, we were more 1Malaysia. There was no slogan or logo or PR firms to tell us how to be united but just a human decency to respect and accept each other’s differences, be it religion, race or social standing. Most of my best friends in school were people not of my own race and we never thought or talk in term of race or religion. We were Malaysian.

But today, after 30 years of “engineering”, we are so polarised that we have formed our own little “ghettos”, cut off from people not of our own race. We do not understand each other’s cultures, traditions, manners and customs like we used to or we should. In many of us, there is a deep-seated suspicion, resentment, and some, even hatred of the other races. We have forgotten that we are just people, who by divine providence, found ourselves sharing the same homeland. This is OUR home.

That day, as I marched with my fellow Malaysians, it all came back to me – we are as we should be, just honest, decent human beings who care for the future of this nation. I saw elderly pakciks and makciks being rudely spoken to, roughly man-handled and some arrested for simply being there. Have we lost our decency that we have to behave this way even if we are only discharging our duties? The protestors were peaceful but the provocateurs were the police. Have they forgotten who pays for their monthly salaries and who chose the political masters they are now serving? The very people they are now calling and treating as traitors, chasing them around like animals, firing tear gas and water cannons on! We are the rakyat, as you are.

Coming back to your question, [Alex], what would Jesus do? If Jesus were to be living in this country and in this time, what would He have done? If he had known about the injustice done to the people through a flawed and corrupt electoral system, would Jesus have kept quiet and looked away and perhaps plan to migrate to “greener pastures”? If he had wanted to speak up but was told that he needed to apply for a permit and that permit was turned down, would he have just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I tried”? Would Jesus have said, “But the Bible said I have to submit to all governing authority, I can’t go against the government”? You know what. If Jesus had turned the other cheek to all the wrongs and evil in his days and submitted to the governing authorities, He would probably have lived to a ripe old age, gotten married and have children and grandchildren. So would all his disciples – Peter, Paul, Stephen, James, and countless others, they would not have been killed by the governing authorities. Jesus was framed by the politicians of his day, the Pharisees, accused of high treason and executed or as we would like to call it, crucified. Most of the early disciples were martyred because they spoke up, that is, became a “security risk” to the governing authorities. They refused to submit to their demands to be silent and they were executed.

But [Alex], you may be saying, “But Jesus didn’t hold illegal rallies and go on street marches”. Well, he spoke to thousands when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount and when He fed thousands with only two loaves and five fishes. And wherever He went, hundreds, if not thousands followed Him. But He has permit, you say. Well, we don’t know if He has permit or not, though I doubt it. What if He needed to apply for permit and was not given? Would He still have delivered the Sermon on the Mount and fed thousands? I’ve a feeling that Jesus would still have gone ahead. What if in the middle of delivering the sermon, the governing authorities fired tear gas into the crowd and charged at them with batons, turning an otherwise peaceful gathering into a riotous scene. Was Jesus to be blamed though He offered no resistance to the police?

As a man, Jesus was a fire-brand speaker and a radical social reformer and He has asked us to follow in His footsteps. You are right to ask, “What would Jesus do?” I am just not too sure that I would agree with your assumption that Jesus would not be involved in the Bersih 2.0 rally. It was just as well that tear gas and water cannons were not invented during Jesus’ time, otherwise the Gospel pages would be rather scant and most of His speeches would have been interrupted by those same governing authorities He was condemning. Providentially for us, He was able to speak freely even though it offended the authority greatly, enough to plot His death.

[Alex], it is my hope that you would realise that it is not easy for us as Christians to live a pluralistic society like ours and to try and figure out what Jesus would do if He was here. One thing for sure, Jesus was not one to avoid controversies or be cowed by those who opposed Him or is one who avoided taking action when the occasion calls for it; I think of Him overturning the money-changers’ tables in the Temple.

Let me close with this quote by Jesus when He was asked about John the Baptist. In Mathew 11:12 – And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. By “violent” I am sure Jesus does not mean those who would hurt others just to get what they want but Jesus meant that in order to advance the kingdom of heaven, it must be by people who have an inner character quality of quiet determination and discipline to pursue after that which God has called him to. With that I conclude and hope even if taking to the streets is not your cup of tea, you would at least stand with us for what Jesus stood for – freedom, justice, fairplay and love, for that is what Bersih 2.0 is about.

Another thing that I realised when I marched with fellow Malaysians of all races and religion, I am staking a claim to the future of Malaysian on behalf of my children and their children and on behalf of my race and religion. For now we are still defined by our race and religion but may there come a day when we are not. Maybe I will write to you again to explain further about this. Till then, take care.

Your brother in Christ,

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What do you think?

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Kingdom of Heaven, Kingdoms on Earth

Christians and Governments
Text: Rom. 13:1-7

Sermon statement
Christians are to take care of the Kingdom of Heaven and let God take care of the kingdoms on earth.

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Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Address

There are some inspiring speeches that we need to read or listen to again and again. This is one of them.

Stanford Report, June 14, 2005

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

This is a prepared text of the Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005 here

You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle....

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary...

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

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Debts and the Spiritual Life

Often when we read the Lord's Prayer, we take note of forgiveness rather than the debt. One question we need to consider is the role of debts in our spiritual life. This is an interesting article from Sojourners

What Does it Mean to ‘Forgive Us Our Debts as We Forgive Our Debtors?’

by Tim Kumfer 07-06-2011

photo © 2011 epSos .de | more info (via: Wylio)“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12
Smack dab in the middle of the Lord’s Prayer, obscured by old translations and otherworldly assumptions, is a radical cry for Jubilee justice.  In this most stripped down form of Jesus’ teaching — the bare essentials of what a disciple should bring before God in prayer — freedom from economic debt for all of God’s children plays a central role.  Why is this? And what might it mean for the millions of Christians who weekly pray the Lord’s Prayer to live more deeply into this dimension of our faith?

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What do you think?

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Life is Hard

 

My online reading group will be reading this book for the month of July. Looking forward to some interesting discussion and in gleaming some gems of wisdom from them.

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What is the ROI of a child in a church?

SFI Seminar 2011/3

 What is the ROI* of a child in church?

                 -The Challenge of Ministry to Children

Date      :            2.00pm- 9.30pm, Saturday 20 August 2011

Place     :             Berea, Holy Light Church, Johor Bahru

Programme:            

 

Session 1: Children's Church or Sunday School - What's in a Name?

We will look at the characteristics of a teacher as well as the reasons for Christian education programmes in church.

Session 2: Classroom Management and Curriculum Development

We will look at how we handle God's truth and apply it to the church setting for children of different ages.

Session 3: Hands-on lesson preparation and delivery

We will look at an actual Bible passage and look at the different methods used for the child to learn the Bible truth.

Speaker:

Mona Lee Chia was born in Malaysia, became a Christian in England and returned to work in Singapore.  She is married to Rev Christopher Chia and they have two grown-up children, Han Shen and Han Mae. She has been involved in Children's ministry for more than 25 years and has been serving in Adam Road Presbyterian Centre since 1990.  Seeing children grow into strong adult Christian leaders is the fruit that keeps the passion strong.

*ROI - return of investment

 (Seminar cost RM20.00 includes refreshment,dinner and seminar notes).

Spiritual Formation Institute Seminar 2011/3      

What is the ROI of a child in church?

Name: …………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………….. Church…………………………………………

Tel    : …………………………………………………………………………………. Email:………………………………………………………………………………………..

Please register with Sister Grace Soon of HLCE (Tel:07-2243285)