Wishlist for All Saints

I had a nice lunch with the folks I work with @ All Saints Anglican church - where I have been Treasurer for the last 4 years. I am very thankful for their partnership in the gospel, the opportunity for me to serve alongside - and their love for God's people in Indonesia.

During lunch John S asked me an interesting question - what would my wishlist be for All Saints. So I gave it some thought, shared it. So, if I were to come back in 10 years (say), I would love to see

1.Breaking down of walls within
Through the years, I see some "walls" being built up. It was good to see the wall between Menteng and South Jakarta broken down.
I would like to see Outreach ministry and All Saints be much more integrated. I kinda kick started the process just, but I hope to see that we are one, one church, one body of Christ, doing what God wants to do in Indonesia.

2.Breaking down of walls without
I still think there is a lot of distrust/wall with GAI and Diocese of Singapore - both of which we need, and are in a legal way - the parent church/entity - although we are pretty much self sustaining.
All Saints needs to keep think outside of All Saints, the gospel work outside of the church.
GAI as a denomination isn't at all thriving, short of pastors and funding - and I think we have a big role to play in building the whole denomination, taking in pastoral interns, encouraging GAI pastors, supporting them however we can.

There's also a lot of distrust with the Diocese of Singapore. They move slowly, very very slowly. They don't seem to trust us, and most people in All Saints think we don't need them - except for Constitution changes, otherwise, they are a thorn in the side, of no help, only hindrance.

Well, I would like the Diocese to be much more responsive - treat All Saints as one of their congregations as we are. It needs to be a 2 way street. Our communication isn't as good as it can be.
I would like for All Saints to work with GAI and Diocese - use the network All Saints have (rather than just reinvent the wheel) - and together build up the Anglican church in Indonesia, and see the gospel grow.

If GAI fails, we will suffer.
If there is poor communication with Diocese, we will suffer.
And God's work will suffer.

3.Be all things to all men
I would like to All Saints to have a new service that is less liturgical, bit more lively, less formal - but still good bible teaching. Just as there is a place for liturgy - some people are more comfortable with it - there is also many people who wish to have less liturgy (like me!), and attract that group of people raised on Hillsongs - but will solid bible teaching.

With the change of demographics, I would like to see All Saints grow also Indonesian service it has. We are no longer just an "expat" church. We are part of the gospel here in Indonesia, and I would like to see us bring more Indonesians in, have full time Indonesian ministers.

4.Vibrant Youthwork
I think what is lacking is a vibrant youth ministry. As many know, my kids have decided to go IES for church instead of All Saints. It's a pretty sad state, there aren't many kids.
A good solid youth ministry is key to grow of the church. You would attract families. People will come and hear the gospel.

5.Good use of Menteng
This is new (I didn't mention this yesterday).
The land we have in Menteng is a tremendous resource, and a valuable one.
It has in the past been a thorn in the side - and I would like to see the placed used for more than just All Saints meeting.

Past leaders had vision to redevelop the land. I see a new building, used by GAI and other Christian organizations, maybe a place for Langham to conduct its training; a place to equip the saints, a place to to be used for God's glory. And if it becomes such a burden, a source of contention, an idol - then maybe sell it for better use. The church cannot be about a piece of land, or a building, but the people of God. Let's not lose our focus on that. I pray.

ok, 5 things on my wishlist.
All in God's good hands, and in the hands of his people.

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 The Message.

A slice of Heaven?

I love my bible study group.
Last night was rare, to have all men - our study on 2 Corinthians 13:12 on giving each other "Holy Kiss" didn't go so well....

As we were sharing prayer points with each other, it occurred to me that just in our midst, us 9 guys were folks from 7 different countries! England; US; Japan, Holland; Iraq; Indonesia (of course)... and even Singapore!

Over the many Sundays, I've met people from Iran; Australians; Nigerians; Afghanistan; South Americans; Canadians; Scottish; Irish; Chinese; Malaysian; Bulgarians; even a Russian of Korean decent.

There are many things which I think could be better at church, but that diversity is something which I've never quite experienced before.

And it seems that right there (back to my bible study) - it is perhaps a picture of what Heaven will be like. And it'll be pretty neat.


After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV) 

The Switch

I flirted with doing BSF whilst in Vietnam -but the traveling demands were rough, and there was no way for me to commit.


The 2 months lull in Singapore in July/August 2011, was... a bit chaotic, and certainly disruptive. Towards the end, I felt like I lost the discipline of wanting to read God's word, and slipping on the edge of complacency.

Coming to Jakarta, besides trying to find a good church, which I wrote here, one of the 2 things I was to start a read the bible in a year, which in my 20 years of being a follower of Jesus, I never did (ok, I started just before coming to Jakarta, but details details...), and thought to; and the other was to enroll my self in BSF, also to see what it is about, and get me into the discipline of reading the Word of God.

Read the Bible in a Year

The thing I like about this, is that whilst you don't really study the Word of God in depth, you read chunks of the bible at a go. Sometimes, breaking a book into tiny bits to study, you lose the whole flow of what the author is saying. And some books are really, really long.

I do confess that after about 7 or 8 months doing this, I'm kinda behind about 6-7 weeks. I read when I can... hmm, maybe I should be reading when I should - but that's another story... I'll try and catch up next week!

BSF

BSF is interesting. You have daily homework, meet up, and over 40 minutes, go through the answers, gather for a 40 min talk, then you take home notes on that passage to read.
You go over that passage in 4 different ways. It's a great way to get someone to start reading your bible, with a "guide" along the way to help you navigate.

No "format" is perfect. Strangely, I don't think it teachers a person how to read/study the bible; maybe a bit too much ground in a week. And fellowship time is quite limited. 

Being Efficient and Effective?

It's terrible to think of ministry in terms of secular concepts of being efficient and effective - but I'm going to try and think out loud in these terms for a while.

Time is limited. Weeknights with the family/kids are precious. I think committing to something that involves sacrificing that, the limit for me now is probably 1 weeknight.

I've enjoyed being part of the church (All Saints) we go to now. The people are nice, welcoming, I see lots of potential in terms of ministry and fellowship. So the question I ask is, what can I do, be serve the body of Christ at All Saints? One of the things I've stepped up on, is to be part of the "worship" team, in leading/playing the piano. There are a few more things, I'm mulling over, which involves me to be much more involved in serving.

But at the end of the day, it's about fellowships and relationships - not about "activity". (One of my "regrets" in my time in Vietnam is to have lots of Christian activity, but not a lot of deep meaningful relationships).

So one of the things for me to be more "efficient" in my ministry at All Saints, is to build bridges/friendships/relationships. I wasn't building any at BSF (we meet once a week, go through questions, then leave). I've been praying about this for a few weeks, and realize that one way was to be part of the All Saints bible study group/cell group. Time on Sundays are great! But the way we interact is also limited. Studying the word of God, praying for each other, is a way to really get to know people and fellowship with them. It builds a bond, quite different from just meeting and saying "hi" on Sundays.
So I gave it a go last week, and I'm quite pleased to say that I did "like" "Sweddish" method of studying the bible which was used, and just getting to know others on a deeper level.

So I'm making the switch, dropping BSF, and joining an All Saints cell group. It's more "efficient" and "effective" in building relationships in my humble opinion.

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.