Blog

In my last article about the church gathered and scattered, I wrote that the church scattered is made up of individuals and groups who connect in homes, offices and other spaces to love God, share life together, and reach others with the good news. Today, I will focus on reaching others with the good news, i.e. evangelism and its place in disciple making.

I came to know the Lord in 1993 and subsequently ran into practical problems working with my business partner.

Without being offensive, I had to stop participating in the seventh-month hungry ghost ceremonies which I used to organise. There were also occasions where he wanted to engage a fengshui master to adjust the office layout when business was poor, and disagreements arose when I objected.

Some of you might remember that I spoke about the church gathered and the church scattered on Vision Sunday back in January. Both modes are critical for disciple making. The early church gathered in the temple courts and scattered house to house.

Dinah and I became part of the RiverLife family 2.5 years ago. Walking in that first Sunday, we felt the warmth, love and acceptance from RiverLifers. As a child, I longed for a safe and loving home which my parents provided. As an adult, I have such a home and more within RiverLife.

As I was looking through a report that documented the 50-year economic cycle of Singapore, it reminded me of the uncertain years in the mid-80s when Singapore experienced its first deep recession with negative growth, CPF rate cuts and job losses. I was then a final-year undergraduate, facing uncertain job prospects. Seniors who graduated joined the workforce with reduced salaries. Most of us did not expect such a daunting downturn as employment prospects had been great for years.

Depth is a scary thing for most of us. And we rather not dive deep. The shallow end and the surface level are a lot safer and more comfortable. Yet we know there is such beauty and treasure waiting to be revealed in us when we dive deep, relationally.

I hope this brief sharing of my family’s journey in honouring our Lord by building a family altar will, in some way, encourage you in your journey of nurturing faith at home.