the Bishop

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Lutheran Church In Malaysia and Singapore

Level 6, No. 6 Jalan Utara, 46200Petaling Jaya, Selangor,Malaysia.Tel 电话: (6)03- 79565992 / (6) 03- 79560014 Fax 传真: (6)03- 79576953

马新基督教信义会

Email : lcmshq@gmail.comWebsite : www.lcms.org.my.

Vol. 3May 2011

会督的话

MESSAGE FROM

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The Bishop

One of the primary tasks of the Church is to be a Christ’s hands and feet to the world. This is clear-ly laid down when our Lord an-nounced that His disciples are the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." (Matt. 5:13 – 14) The Apostle Paul further expounded this when he challenged the early Christians not to look only to their own interest but also to the inter-est of others. (Phil 2:4) Hence, Christians are uniquely called to unleash themselves to be a Church for others by becoming a positive influence in the world. When God’s children are actively involved with others by doing good works, the Name of God is glorified. That, "they may see your good deeds and glorify God." (1 Pet. 2:12).

As such, our involvement in our communities should come forth as a fruit of a living relationship with God. With a genuine concern for both the physical and spiritual well-being for others, we pour ourselves as a refreshing stream unto this arid world. This involvement with

others will naturally open doors of opportunity for us to reach them with the Good news of Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, if we choose to be “a lamp put under a basket”, we are on a sure path to stagnation and probably eventual demise. The inward-looking disease of ‘me-first’ or ‘what-is-there-for-me’ will de-capitate the Church from becoming God’s salt and light of the world.

For the reason above, the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore continue to reach out to our com-munities, by providing holistic care to all those in need. The LCMS Social Concerns ministry is estab-lished with the purpose of sharing Christ’s love through our projects and programs like Rumah Love & Care, Kaizen Children’s Home, Klinik Lutheran and the Orang Asli’s Touching Hearts. We are also greatly encouraged by some of our congregations which are find-ing creative and effective ways of reaching out to their communities.

As we take steps to meet the needs beyond the walls of our churches,

A Church for Others“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matt. 5:16

it is also important to remind our-selves that the ministries that we are providing are NOT to draw at-tention to ourselves. Do the people who receive our care and assistance see us, or do they see Jesus? Do they hear the good news of the Kingdom, or do they simply hear self-serving speeches? Furthermore, are our projects and programs merely a one-time act of ‘feel-good’ service, or that we are totally engaged no matter how chal-lenging the needs are? These are pertinent questions we need to con-sider.

It is my prayer that more of our con-gregations and members would see the need for them to be involved with their communities. May we all have the spirit of our risen Lord and see ourselves as people who have "not come to be served, but to serve." (Matt. 20:28)

Bishop Philip Lok

Lutheran Church in Malaysia& Singapore

会督的话

EDITORIAL BOARD编辑部

ADVISOR 顾问Bishop Philip Lok

EDITOR 编辑 Clarice Wong Zi Yun

PROOFREADING & GRAMMAR CHECKS校对及语法查对Melissa Loovi & Melissa Lin

TRANSLATOR 翻译Bro. Wong Foon

is on

Join the LCMS facebook group. Go to www.facebook.com (Search Lutheran Church in Malaysia & Singapore)

欢迎加入马新基督教信义会facebook 圈子。游览 www.facebook.com (寻找Lutheran Church in Malaysia & Singapore)

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教会其中一个主要的任务就是成为基督的手足，帮助世界。当我们的主对他的门徒宣布他们是“世上的盐”以及“世上的光”时（马太5：13-14），这个道理就很明显的摆在我们的面前。使徒保罗将这道理推上一层楼，他向早期教徒发出挑战，要他们不要单顾自己的利益，还要照顾他人的利益（腓立比书2：4）。故此，对基督徒的宣召是独特的。众基督徒连成教会，要给这个世界带来正面的影响。当上帝的子民积极的参与各种善工时，上帝的名就会得到荣耀。“因看见你们的好行为，便归荣耀给上帝”。（彼前2：12）

因此，参与我们周遭的社区义工，便是我们和上帝活泼的关系的成果。我们真心真意的去关心他人的身心灵的福祉时，我们就成为这个干渴世界的一道甘泉。这种的关怀会很自然的帮我们将人们的心扉敞开，让他们有机会接触到耶稣基督的福音。

在另一方面，如果我们选择“将灯放在斗底之下”，肯定的，我们就不会成长，并最终可能走向灭亡。那种凡事‘我优先’及‘我能得到什么’的毛病心态会使到教会瘫痪，不能成为上帝要赐给世界的光和盐。

基于上述的原因，马来西亚和新加坡信义会努力不懈的参与社区的工作，对有需要的人提供整体的照顾。成立LCMS的 社会关怀部的宗旨就是要通过我们的计划和活动，例如：‘爱与关怀之家’，‘不停改善儿童福利之家’，‘信义诊所’及‘贴心关怀原住民’。我们当中的一些堂会以创新和有效的方式参与社会义工，大大的激励了我们。 当我们走出教堂的四道墙壁，以行动来帮助有需要的人时，我们要切切记住我们的事奉不是要自我标榜。那些得到我们帮忙的人，他们眼中所见的是我们呢，还是耶稣呢？他们耳朵所听到是上帝国度的福音呢，还是我们的自吹自擂呢？更重要的是，我们所做的计划活动，只是一次过‘让人好受’的服务呢，还是虽然困难重重，我们还是全心全意的投入贯彻呢？这些相关的问题我们都要好好的思考。

我祈求有更多的堂会和会友看到大家需要参与社区义工。但愿我们每个人都有我们复活的救主的精神，将自己看成是“不是要受人的服事，乃是要服事人”的人。（马太20：28）

为人着想的教会

“你们的光也当这样照在人前，叫他们看见你们的好行为， 便将荣耀归给你们在天上的父。” 马太5：16

陆爱平会督

of a former church planter and pastor in the city of Kuala Lumpur

by Rev. Sivin Kit

On April 1, 2000 a small group of us sat in the living room of 4A, Jalan Utara to begun the unforgettable journey of ‘resurrecting’ Bangsar Lutheran Church (BLC), growing as a Christian community in Kuala Lumpur, and learning (or re-learning) previous lessons along the way. I write this article on April 1, 2011 after more than ten years since that memorable day. A decade is a good period for one to look back afresh on what has been helpful, and what needs further attention.1

How often do we hear whether it’s at the de-nominational level or congregational level the ABC’s of church, in our conversations? A for attendance, B for buildings and C for cash. We are often impressed by churches which large attendances where thousands come every Sunday to impressive buildings and collections. We may feel discouraged when our attendance is struggling, our build-ings are old or modest, and it’s hard to even collect enough to pay the pastors’ salary! Success for many churches often is unfortu-nately limited to looking at our attendance, building and cash.

The pioneers of the renewed BLC were young (mostly below 35) and inexperienced (no one planted a church before). The Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS) provided the building at 23, Jalan Abdul-lah, Bangsar, gave initial funds for renova-tion and supported the pastors’ basic salary and housing for a little above 3 years. Like a newborn baby, this was the needed support before BLC could stand and walk on her own later.

For me as the pastor, it freed my mind from focusing merely on attendance, the building and monetary concerns. Every year we still need to give statistical report, but for me that was for accountability and reporting through base measurements more than a pressure to perform. Then we as a small growing com-munity could then turn our attention to peo-ple, facilities, and resources.

It’s more than changing words, it’s a change of mindset and motivations, and frees us to imagine new possibilities in the methods we experiment and use.

People are more than numbers. People have names, personal stories, problems and pos-sibilities. Luther helpfully reminds us that we are saints and sinners at the same time, we are always in a position in need for God’s grace. We are made in the image of God, be-loved children of God, and seeking how to be faithful followers of Christ in this messy world we live in. We have the potential by the transforming power of the Spirit to grow into instruments of change to make the prayer of God’s kingdom and will to “come here on earth as it is in heaven” real in our personal and public lives.

Different people have been and are still part of the BLC community. In the early days, you would see mostly Chinese looking fac-es. But, in God’s own timing and wisdom, he added a healthy mix of Australians, Eu-ropeans and Americans (occasionally Afri-can) to diversify and beautify our common life together. Each brings a uniqueness of their original culture to enrich a new culture within the church where Christ has indeed broken down every wall. “Unity in diversity” is in danger of becoming an empty slogan these days, but every congregation who seeks to be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ will need to wrestle with how we can be united even in the midst of our individual uniqueness. It starts with the church being a ‘safe space’ for different people to come together.

Differences for most congregations would also include our opinions on different sub-jects from our opinions on styles of ministry compared to how we want to respond to is-sues of politics, economics and education in our setting. And one-way forward is to know what is essential, and what is non-essential, and lovingly discern the difference. This re-quires maturity and humility.

While as a congregation in the city, BLC was undeniably more middle class and above economically, we slowly grew more in touch with the concerns of the wider society. Of-ten, it will take time and effort to fully un-derstand people and what is the concern for each person. Because we value creat-ing a ‘safe space’ where and open to see the “breaking down” of divisive and discrimi-

nating walls. For others and also for ourselves. And when each of us receives the bread and the wine, and participates in the Holy Communion together, Christ’s real presence becomes the origin and re-source for our unity.

We rediscovered resources like the church year and the revised common lectionary, practices like stations of the cross and the Maundy Thursday meal, as well as re-appropriating insights from the Lutheran tradition especially during the Catechism classes, are ways in which this real pres-ence is worked out in our thinking, wor-shipping and living.

Learning to reflect theologically puts God at the ultimate reference point over our personal preferences, and with a good dose of humility (as an antidote to un-thinking dogmatism) we then can go far together. Living in Malaysia today, espe-cially in a place like Kuala Lumpur, we are exposed to thinking educationally, ec-onomically, socially, and nowadays even politically, but one what is often neglected is learning to think theologically.

This means returning to a theological way of approaching the Bible, but also a fresh appreciation of church history and the various doctrines related to daily life. It involves a better understanding of our the strengths and weaknesses of our culture, a greater awareness of our own psychol-

It’s more than chang-ing words, it’s a change of mindset and motiva-tions, and frees us to imagine new possibili-ties in the methods we experiment and use.

ogy and personalities. In short, we cannot stop growing holistically and remain stag-nant in our forms of thinking. As new cre-ations in Christ, our minds are in constant renewal as we engage thinking alien and

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Confession

Rev. Sivin Kit is on sabbatical to pursue his PhD in “Religion, Ethics and Society” at the University of Agder, in Norway for three years. And a father of four kids and a wife.

often uncomfortable to us. But thinking theo-logically means we trust in the leading of God’s spirit, and the mutual affirmation and correc-tion of the Christian community. Practically, this is experienced right from the small groups to the yearly congregation general meeting to-gether with the council meetings and commit-tee meetings in between.

I like the word facilities more than building. “Facilities” help us turn our attention to what facilitates ministry. This move redirects energy from unhealthy debates to creative use of our premises for church life and mission to our sur-roundings. The key question is, “How can this room, this building, or this space facilitate a particular ministry of work we want to do bet-ter?”

Some memorable events we have had at BLC were where the renovated bungalow was used to facilitate worship, community life and out-reach. We adapted versions of the stations of the cross during holy week a number of times. Different rooms in the building were trans-formed into creative stations by small groups to help people meditate on Christ’s journey to the cross and anticipated resurrection. The church premises was transformed into a muse-um-like environment where through the arts, music and silence, we could encounter God out of the regular ways we are familiar with. Two unforgettable events for me was a pancake party for Shrove Tuesday introduced by the British family who had been worshipping with us for many years and the full Maundy Thurs-day meal where we see the connection between the Old Testament Passover meal with the Lord’s supper. Organizing and participating in these events facilitated the theme of community life to the surface.

For outreach, BLC learnt precious lessons when we were able to cooperate even with non-gov-ernmental organizations like Protect and Save the children2 on a common issue of concern, such as ‘child abuse’ and faith inspired organiza-tions like Friends in conversation3 on a variety of social and theological topics. The buildings we are blessed with must never be just to privi-lege only our members. We have been blessed to be a blessing to our community. When we use our buildings to facilitate that, then not only doors will be opened, but hearts and minds as well through the church to God.

Money occupies our minds so often. Congrega-tions are not immune to this. Often the longest discussion in an annual general meeting is dur-ing the treasurer’s report. But the mindset fo-cused on cash, perhaps distracts us from seeing money as part of the wider resource that God has blessed us with.

When we turn our focus to resources, then this includes time and energy people who are not that rich financially to contribute to the life of the church. In the BLC journey, we have dis-covered how resourceful we are when we are willing to be creative and think out of the box. One principle we found helpful was rather than starting many ministries from scratch since we

are already small and limited especially the early years, we can join others who have already started the work. We do not have to reinvent the wheel for everything.

This approach opened up our relation-ships with a variety of ministries within the LCMS; for example, the companion-ship program with the Orang Asli con-gregations as well as the work of United Voice, a self-advocacy organization for people with learning disabilities4. We may not be able to boast of so many ministries we have started, but the real-ity is that more of our time, energy and also money can be channeled to support existing work – good work. It has been most rewarding and fulfilling for us too, because we are able to see how our col-laboration with others truly extend the in-terests of the Kingdom of God more than our own local church.

Increasingly as the seasons and times had changed, some in BLC realized that we as individuals and clusters of individuals are learning what it means to be a resource or catalyst for spiritual and social change in society. This would mean for me as the pastor and church leaders to reconsider how we organize our church programs and balance the internal needs of the con-gregation and the external mission of the church to the world.

each of us individually can manage our own fi-nance, which is humanly speaking earned, but theologically ultimately God’s blessing to us.

In a world where we are defined as consum-ers and defined by our spending power to ac-quire symbols of wealth, the healthiest things to deal with that challenge is the simple act of giving. BLC members through the last ten years have been faithful and generous in giv-ing financially. Then the pastor does not need to worry about finances and can focus on the ministry and mission of the church. As a pas-tor I had to learn how to work with church leaders who are more expert in matters of fi-nance to make this work. Here is where we see each of us with our spiritual gifts contributing to the health of the congregation, and each of us being a “gift” to the church and the world by the role that we play.

Perhaps you would have noticed the ABC’s of church is not thrown away, but rather the place of attendance, buildings and cash are understood in their proper place. Today in 2011, BLC has a larger attendance than the year 2000, the building has just completed a major renovation, and the financial steward-ship of the church is healthy. There is much to be grateful and to give thanks to God for. But that is merely the surface, and does not tell the whole story. It must not be the end of the discussion and focus.

When all is said and done, I found myself hav-ing a fresh appreciation of people, facilities, and resources especially in my own journey the past slightly more than ten years of be-ing the pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church. I believe different congregations of the LCMS throughout the country can retell the story of their congregation in different ways. My hope is that by sharing our journey a little it may inspire others to take a fresh look at their own.

Whether one is doing well or struggling per-sonally or corporately, we can focus back on what is more important in the wider scheme of God’s plans and purposes for the church and the world. The focus on my last three sermons before I came to Norway to start my doctoral program was “Jump first, Fear later”, “You are not Alone” and “Walk On”. It has been very helpful for me personally at different seasons of my life and ministry to connect me to the various spiritual and theological themes of grace, faith, community, accountability, cre-ativity and perseverance. I offer these words as gifts to encourage all pastors, church lead-ers and members for a better today and to-morrow.

There is no one formula that will fit into every situation. The key question is, “What do we prayerfully discern what God wants us to do in this time and in this place?” We must be ready for mistakes or failed experiments, to correct ourselves along the way, sharpen our strategies and have a healthy humility to learn along the way. When we are confident in God’s grace that not only accepts us as we are, but also guides us in our growth, we press on without fear but in faith. Faith always involves risk. One of the phrases that have been on the lips of BLC members is “Jump first, fear later!”

The turn to “resource” however is not to ignore finances but to open our attention to see beyond money while including it. For BLC, to be faithful in giving our be-nevolence to our mother church that gave birth to us has always been important. We needed to learn financial stewardship where money is not spend wastefully on less essentials so we can focus on the pri-ority concerns. Learning to manage mon-ey as a corporate body is a reminder of our

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一位吉隆坡的前任教会开荒者兼牧师的自白

（又称‘牧师对二十一世纪马来西亚的教会及教会工作的观点’）

2000 年四月一日那天，我们一小撮人在Jalan Utara， 门牌4 A的客厅开始了永不可忘的路程，就是要让BANGSAR 的信义教会复苏，并成长为吉隆坡的基督徒群体，同时学习或重温一路走来所学的一切。我在2011年4月1日写这篇文章。事隔十年，是回顾的好时候，看看有什么经验是有帮助，有什么是需要跟进的。 很多时候，我们常会听到不同宗派或者教会在谈论教会的ABC。A是出席人数，B是教会的建筑，C是教会的财务。我们看到主日时，出席人数数以千计的教会，和其宏伟的建筑及丰硕的奉献时，我们会感到很佩服。当我们自己的教会出席人数稀少，教堂的建筑普普通通，所收到的奉献甚至不够发薪水给牧师时，我们会感到沮丧。一间教会是否成功，很多时候，很不幸的就是看教会的ABC.

BLC复兴先锋队都是年轻人（大多数不到35岁），毫无相关经验（他们没有开荒殖教会的经验）。马星信义会（LCMS）将位于BANGSAR 的建筑物提供出来,也提供装修费用以及3年多一点的牧师薪水. 像一个新生的婴儿,BLC有了这些必须的支持,才能自己站立举步。身为牧师，我可以不必单为出席人数，教堂建筑和财务伤脑筋。我们每年还是需要作统计报告。这对我来说，这只是职责，以及职务报告，并无工作表现的压力。因此，我们这小群人，可以专注于会友，设施和资源方面的事。 我们变更的不只是语言，更是要变更我们的思维，动机，好让我们可以自由的设想，试验和使用各种的方法去做事。

会友不是数据。会友有名有姓，有自己的故事，问题和机会。路德给我们有用的提醒。他提醒我们，我们是圣人，同时也是罪人，我们无

时无刻不需要上帝恩典的辅助。我们是按照神的形象被创造，是神所最爱的。居住在杂乱的世界里，我们切要忠心跟随耶稣。我们有圣灵改变生命的力量，使我们成长为神的器皿，在我们个人和社会的生活里，体现上帝国度的祷告，让“神的国度降临”。

各种各样的人加入BLC的团体。早期加入的人以华人为主。但是，上帝按照他自己的时间，将不同国籍的人，如澳洲人，欧洲人，美洲人（偶尔有非洲人）注入我们的团体，让我们共同的生活健康，多样化和更加美好。每个到来的人，会带来他本族独特的文化，使到教会内部的文化得到滋润，这是基督打破各族之间隔墙的地方。在现代的社会，“ 分而合一“这句话有流于空谈的危险。但是，每个寻求忠于基督耶稣福音的教会，必须在大家个人独特的地方，奋力合一。要做到这点，教会首先要是个“安全”可以让不同的人相聚的地方。

会友之间的不同，包含了对不同的事情有不同的个人意见，例如不同事奉的作风，对政治，经济和教育不同的反应。要向前迈进，我们得要知道什么是必需的，什么不是必需的，并且用爱心来区别这两者。这是需要成熟和谦卑的心。

BLC在城市的教会中，无可否认的，在经济上，算是中产阶级。我们也慢慢的开始接触和关心更广阔的社会的层面。通常，我们需要时间来充分了解别人以及每个人切身的问题。我们很珍惜我们所创造的“安全地带”，我们要在其中“破除”一切将人隔离和分类的篱墙。这样做，是为了别人，也是为了我们自己。因此，当我们在圣餐时领受那饼和酒时，基督是真正的与我们同在，并且成为我们团结一致的根源和资源。

我们也从新发掘出一些的资源，如教会年历、经课(或称三代经课）；还有一些的做法如十架苦路，最后的晚餐以及要理问答。在”在我们的思想，敬拜和生活中动工的途

径。 学习从神学的角度，将上帝摆放在最重要的参考点，作为我们个人做事为人的参考，加上足量的谦卑（ 以针对凡事不假思索的态度），我们可以达到远大的目标。今天，生活在马来西亚这个国家里，尤其是像吉隆坡这样的地方，我们会接触到教育性，经济性，社会性，甚至政治性的思想，不过经常受到忽略的是学习从神学的角度来思想。

这意味着，我们要回到以神学的方式来看待圣经，同时要以前所未有的方式来认识教会历史，以及一些与我们日常生活有关的教义。如此做需要有能力去认识我们自己文化的强点和弱点，同时对我们自己的心理和性格有更大的醒觉。简言之，我们的思想不能在整体上停滞不前。身为在基督里成为“新造的人”，当我们接触到不同而又令我们不安的思想时，我们的思想必须要随时准备去变改适应。以神学的角度来思考，必须要对圣灵的领导有信心，同时在基督徒的群体里彼此鉴证和检讨。事实上，这种的体验是从小组开始，一直延伸到每年的会友会员大会，以及间中的理事会议和委员会议。

我个人比较喜欢 ‘设备’，多过‘建筑’。‘设备’让我们注意到事奉工作上的推行。这个动作，将能量从不健康的辩论中释放出来，改而注入有创意的使用教会的设施产业来改善我们的教会生活和对周遭人事环境的使命。关键的问题是：‘如何用这间房间，建筑，或者空间，来改善我们从事某个使命的工作？’ 一些值得我们缅怀的回忆是发生在装修过后的BLC别墅里。我们在这里敬拜，促进团体生活以及向外传道。在圣星期中，有几次，我们使用十架站某些的概念。建筑里不同的房间，被用作不同的创意站，由小组来帮助参与者默想基督走上十架的路途，以及那预料中的复活。教堂的建筑被营造成博物院的氛围，通过艺术品，音乐和静默，我们能够在我们熟悉的平常的方式，接触上帝。

我有两件难忘的事，是在一个忏悔星期二的节日中，在一个英国人家

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郭晓鸣牧师

里举行的一个煎饼派对中经历的。这家英国人在我们的教会中聚会有多年的时间。另一件发生在洗脚星期四的节日中所吃的一顿饭。当时我们感受到旧约中的逾越节和圣餐的联系。筹备和参与这些活动，大家都看得出，能够促进团体生活的意义。 为了向外宣教，BLC得到一些珍贵的经验。我们和社会组织，如‘保护拯救儿童’这组织，基于共同对‘虐待儿童’一事的关注，我们合作起来。我们也和激励信心的组织，如‘和你谈心的朋友’在不同的社会和神学课题上交换意见。这些蒙恩造福的建筑物，不能只限自己人会员使用。我们得福，也要给周遭的群体带来恩典。当我们使用我们的建筑物来促进这点时，人家的门会向我们敞开，人家的心怀意念也会通过教会，直通上帝。 许 多 时 候 ， 我 们 的 心 被 金 钱 占

成的事工，良好的事工上面。能够看到我们和其他的人合作，将上帝的国度推展到我们自己教会以外的地方，我们感到有成就和有回报。 渐进的，随着春去秋来，日子一久，BLC里面有些人也晓得我们这些的个人和小群，已经学习到成为改变社会属灵和属世方面的资源和催化剂。对身为牧师的我及教会领导们来说，大家应该检讨我们计划教会活动时，须在照顾会友，及教会以外世界之间，取得平衡。

我们没有解决问题的万灵药。关键的问题是，‘我们如何虔诚的分辨出，此时此地，哪些是上帝要我们做的，哪些不是上帝要我们做的？’我们必须准备接受错失以及试验失败，边走边修正，提升我们的策略，同时拥有健康的谦卑来向前迈进。当我们对上

据 了。教会的会员也不例外。通常，年度会员大会花最多的时间讨论财务报告。但是，如果心思都专注在现金，也许我们就不能看到上帝所赐给我们其他更多的资源了。

当我们将注意力放在时间，力量和不是很富有的人们等资源上面时，教会的生命就得到辅助。在BLC所走过的路上，当我们用创意和突破来思考时，我们发现我们拥有充沛的资源，有一个原则是，在早期，与其用我们那有限的人数和力量，从头去做许多不同的事奉，不如和那些已经开始了事工的别人合作。我们何必要再将车轮从新再来发明多一次呢。

这种做法，使我们和LCMS内部的一些事工，发生了的新的联系。比如说，我们之间共同的原住民事工，以及和‘心声一致’，一个协助有学习障碍的人的组织的事工。或许我们不能宣称我们开始了多少多少的事工，但是事实上，我们却能够将更多的时间，精力和金钱专注到现

帝的恩典能够接受我们个人的限制，并且能够指引我们成长有信心时，靠着信心，不管前面的路有多崎岖，我们总会勇往直前。我们BLC会友嘴上常挂着的口头禅就是：‘先跳後惧’。 转向注意‘资源’并不意味着我们忽略经济，只不过我们在留心金钱的当儿，也注意金钱以外的事。对母堂尽忠报恩是绝对重要的，因为没有母堂就没有我们BLC。我们必须学习如何管理财务，将钱投在重要的事工上，不浪费在不重要的事上。学习如何管理法人的财务，也提醒我们要管理好个人的财务。从人的角度来看，钱财是我们挣回来的；但是从神学终极的角度来说，钱财是上帝对我们的祝福。

在这个世上，我们被定义为消费者。消费能力大的就算是富有的标记。对付这种的挑战最健康的做法就是施予。在过去十年中，BLC的会友忠心慷慨的奉献，免得牧师要为财务挂心，因此能够专心在宣教和教会的事工上。身为牧师，我必须学习如何和教会的领袖们同工事奉，

因为他们对理财更加有心得。在这里我们能够看出我们使用每人自己的恩赐，使到教会能够健全。扮演好我们本分的角色，我们就成了一份‘礼物’，送给教会和世界。

或许你有注意到我们没有将教会的ABC丢掉，我们只是将ABC（出席人数，建筑物和现金）放在更适当的定位。在2011年的今天，BLC的出席人数比2000年时更多，教会建筑也刚完成了大项的装修，教会的财务管理也更健全。有很多地方我们要感恩，要感谢上帝。不过，这只是表面的地方，不能观全貌。我们的讨论和注意力不能只停留在这里。 讲足做够之后，我发觉自己对人，对设备和资源有新的认识，特别是对我个人在略超过十年在Bang-sar信义会牧师的事工的历程，更有

新的认知。我相信，LCMS在国内的许多教会，会有他们自己不同的故事。我盼望，将我们的历程略略分享出来，其他的人会受到激励，以新的角度来看待他们自己的事工。

不论我们目前在个人方面或是在法人方面满有成就，或是挣扎求存，我们可以放眼在更重要更宏观的一面，就是上帝对教会和世界的计划和目的。我在来挪威攻读博士学位之前，在教会所分享的三堂讲道的中心点是，‘先跳後惧’，‘你非独自一人’和‘向前走’。对我个人来说，在我人生和事奉的不同的季节里，我能够接触到，在信心，社群，责任，创意及不屈不挠 等

事不同的属灵和神学的主题。这，给我很大的帮助。我愿意将我衷心之言和其他的牧师，教会领袖以及会友共勉之，让今天明天会更好。

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Bringing concreteness of our Christian faith into the concrete jungleWe have been taught since we were young that we exist in a 3-di-mensional world – height, width and depth; longitude, latitude and eleva-tion. Eventually, we learnt that time is also a dimension of our reality – instead of only three coordinates; we have four coordinates to describe an event in spacetime. Einstein showed us that our world is where time and space make one united fabric that is curved, stretched and twisted by the distribution of matter and energy in the fabric. As we continue to unravel the truths of the cosmos, we now ar-rive at “M-theory” – a possible “theo-ry of everything”, leading our under-standing of our physical world to an astounding 11 dimensions! Drawing this as an analogy, Chris-tians have been discovering the many dimensions of our Christian faith as we journey through history. Far from being a matter merely between “a man and his Maker”, our flourish-ing faith is one that is magnificently multi-dimensional – from the eternal to the temporal, from the personal to the public, from the self to the other, from orthodoxy to orthopraxis, from the phenomenal to the existential – and we have by no means arrived at the cul de sac.

Kuala Lumpur Lutheran Congrega-tion (KLLC) is an LCMS congregation that is strategically stationed in the center of Kuala Lumpur’s concrete jungle. In order to be meaningful and tangible to this thriving cosmopolitan

metropolis, KLLC has to effectively bring “concreteness” to the dimensions of the Christian faith – inter alia our value sys-tem, worldview and ethos – to the com-munity around us.

pathy, towards our fellow human beings. Empathy suggests that we “enter into the emotional state of another’s suffering and feel his or her pain as if it were our own” which in effect conjures up an active will-ingness “to become part of another’s ex-perience, to share the feelings of that ex-perience” (Jeremy Rifkin, The Empathic Civilization).

Many Christians are inadvertently preju-diced and intolerant against people of dif-ferent backgrounds – being incapable or even unwilling to empathize with others as fellow human beings. The concreteness of Christ-likeness is possible by fostering sincere empathy towards others beyond all boundaries and conditions, by shar-ing in their sufferings and experiences as Christ did for all.

The compassionate Christ was also a mas-ter interlocutor, adept in articulating his message by employing logic, paradoxes and dialectics. Many have rigorously challenged his discourse but were futile; some even believed in him eventually. However, simplistic responses by today’s Christians towards many issues are dis-

Jason Lee

Bringing concreteness to Christ-likenessWhenever we think about being like Christ, many would arrive at the imagery of a devout life resembling an ultra-mor-alistic person shrouded in sacredness, liv-ing in an impenetrable bubble of religious and spiritual bliss, and virtually imper-vious to worldly matters. This, however, is a grossly inaccurate imagery of being Christ-like, even for 1st century Greco-Roman believers, and by and large inap-plicable to 21st century people like us. So, what does it mean to be Christ-like?

Compassion is a major theme that runs through the thread of our Gospel narra-tives. When Jesus began his ministry, he “saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matt 9:36) Compassion in this context connotes a deep feeling of pity and sym-pathy towards the predicament of an in-ferior party, with a deep yearning to de-liver the latter from misery and suffering. Jesus our God is constantly moved with compassion towards his people.

However, we must realize that we are not Christ, and are not in any way supe-rior to others to manifest such compas-sion. Therefore to be Christ-like, we must transpose this compassion to mean a deep sense of empathy, rather than sym-

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Bringing concreteness of our Christian faith into the concrete jungle

missed by antagonists as patronizing and being inept at addressing the complexities of reality. Concrete Christ-likeness, hence, involves articulating our faith through sincere moral and ethical deliberations and propositions that make real sense to contemporary society, and avoid being disregarded as sanctimonious-parochial chauvin-ists or rigid religious robots.

Bringing concreteness to the Christian call to public life

The Gospel of John began with, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Fa-ther, full of grace and truth”. (John 1: 14) We must always be mindful that the prime function of Christ’s incarnation is to fulfil God’s promise in Exodus 25:9 to tabernacle with his people – his dwelling is in the midst of human kind. Similarly, Christians who are called to reflect the glory of our Lord must do so concretely by dwelling in the midst of society. We are not called into isolation but into public life! Many exclaim, “Politics has nothing to do with my faith!” Au contraire, politics – i.e. the art and science of govern-ing society – inevitably runs up against profound moral and ethical issues that demand us to draw on conceptions and commitments derived from our Christian value sys-tem and worldview. The same goes with economics. The Lutheran “two-kingdoms doctrine” must be understood as a highly dialectical and paradoxical view of God’s two-fold – not separated – rule.

This leads us to a “public theology” which is about encoun-tering and engaging with grounding questions of pub-lic morality – political, economic or social – in explicitly Christian terms. The church is called to apply the dynamic law of God to all the structures of social life, not only with abstract critiques and commentaries but with concrete propositions and actions.

Bringing concreteness to the Lutheran tradition

We are richly blessed with “the living faith” of those who came before us. Central themes of Lutheranism including justification by grace, law and gospel, 3 ‘Sola’s, freedom of a Christian, and priesthood of all believers have been resonating resiliently throughout Protestant history, pro-viding reform dynamics founded on Lutheran notions of creation, cross, sin, and human response and action for a sustainable world. Lutherans live and act faithfully out of lively freedom and the assurance of God’s redeeming promise rather than skillfully out of a method. Notable Lutherans include Soren Kierkegaard, Dietrich Bonheof-fer, Max Born, and Jaroslav Pelikan.

The Lutheran church of today must continue to realize the concreteness of Lutheran ethos, a way of life shaped by a vision of God’s activities and purposes. We must take up this task with some sense of urgency and seriousness, or risk disintegrating the Lutheran church itself into a ge-neric amalgam of declining Protestant groups. This may occur if we are unable to transmit the distinctiveness of this living tradition to new generations, especially in the face of postmodern culture. The perennial themes that I have mentioned cover only a few dimensions of our Christian faith. As KLLC brings concreteness to more dimensions and engage our modern society, we meet challenges that demand serious reflec-tion and even reconstruction. Above all, we shall depend on whether the Spirit continues to bless KLLC with life and power to be God’s beacon of light to the city.

Jason runs a telecommunica-tions company. He worshiped and served in Taman Midah Lutheran Church since young; called to be the founding com-mittee chairman of new congre-gation Kuala Lumpur Lutheran Church (KLLC).

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The Youth Centre was officially launched on 10 April 2011, which is also the