Research

Compilation of responses from workshops (National Pastors & Leaders Consultation, July 2007)

Description: National Pastors & Leaders Consultation, 31 Jul 2007
        Author: Executive Secretary

Workshops_Responses

Nat’l Pastors & Leaders Consultation, 31 Jul 2007

Personal: “Moving Inward”

Main issues & challenges:

  1. Defeated mindset in view of the prevailing structures in our society ⇒ reflected in 'us vs. them' separation.
  2. Lack of love/ownership for the nation and peoples segregation, polarization
  3. Lack of cohesive national agenda in churches
  4. Lack of ‘servant- & kingdom-mindedness’ generally do not view own career as mission
  5. Not motivated/encouraged to think community and go beyond the 4-walls.

 

Strategies:

  1. Strengthen personal discipleship renewing mindset, e.g. think of success as influence, witness & making a difference
  2. Review the personal 'call' of God
  3. Cease propagation of negative ideas on non-Christian communities overcome personal prejudices and learn to see things from God’s perspective

 

 

 

Family: “The Ambassador of Christ”

Main issues & challenges

  1. Change in family culture Generation gap
  2. Parents-children too busy lack of relationship / bonding, lack of appreciation for parents, material things to compensate the lost of time
  3. Change in moral values promote immorality values in society, e.g. openness to homosexual behavior, growing divorce rate, adultery, premarital sex, etc.
  4. Lack of teaching in (a) premarital issues (b) honoring parents (c) how to raise children in God’s way.

 

Strategies:

  1. NECF to set up a family commission
  2. Promote the significance of Premarital counseling
  3. Recognise family as God’s institution, parents must demonstrate godly role-models
  4. Encourage parents to prioritize.
  5. Restoration Mal 4:6. “…restore the hearts of the father to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…”
  6. Christian family as model bearing witness.
  7. Husbands to take serious their role of spiritual leadership in the families.


 

Church (A) + (B) : “The Authentic Christian Community”

Main issues & challenges

  1. Mediocrity in faith; Shallow biblical values, No proper Christian education starting from young. Lack of discipleship/mentoring/role models
  2. The lack of Identity of the whole Christian community.
  3. Busyness Lack of time – struggling with lots of commitments; wrong priorities.
  4. Church/congregation inward looking – affluence, self-sufficiency; complacency è pursue material abundance, self-centred (‘my needs’, ‘how can I be blessed’), individualistic, ‘Sunday Christian’.
  5. Lack of Leadership development leadership crisis
  6. Internal conflicts and disunity
  7. The lack of manpower lack of full time workers/pastors in some churches.
  8. Rural-urban migration
  9. Lack of generational integration

 

Strategies:

  1. Non-confrontational visible engagement in all areas of society/community Be relevant to community Be distinctive but not separated from the community (see section on 'Living out Acts 29')
  2. Restrategise church programmes, e.g. centralised prayer meetings; mobilising the whole church; combined services to strengthen unity among local churches.
  3. Return to the basics: prayer/Discipleship/mentoring/role-modeling.
  4. Leadership development Good church governance; pass on the leadership baton.
  5. Good networking between the rural and urban churches:
    1. Urban churches to challenge members to be 'missionaries' in rural areas; willing to release human and financial resources.
    2. West M churches to help East M churches.
  6. More inter-generational activities to build a godly Church family:
    1. Motivate older generations to be role models at home, in church & work place, to be transparent & accountable.
    2. Motivate younger generation to be godly and passionate for Christ, prayerful.

 

 

Community (A) + (B): “Living out Acts 29”

Main issues & challenges:

  1. The lack of vision & burden for nation-building; lack of actions & conviction of heart, apathetic/indifferent attitude.
  2. The lack of kingdom-mindedness churches inward-looking, bogged down by own activities no time to engage in community activities reluctant to go to the ground level seldom talk about issues and challenges of the community in church è Slow to respond when crisis arises.
  3. The lack of priority in focus and programs Tension in local vs. community needs.
  4. Disunity among local churches makes them less effective in bearing witness to the local communities.
  5. The few churches with money and manpower are not sharing their resources with the majority ‘have-less’ churches to empower them to make a difference in their communities.
  6. Issues faced in local communities: the state of the schools, high crime rate, increasing number of single parents, aging parents and migrant workers; racial and religious intolerance, urban poverty.
  7. Challenges working with government agencies.

 

Strategies:

  1. Change of mindset – break down secular vs. spiritual divide – begins with pastors è lifestyle witness to effect change
  2. Holistic ministry models in community development
  3. Mobilize & share resources & enhance networking between local churches and para-church to effect change as one Church in the community e.g. pulling together resources to build children’s home or daycare centre for the elderly people, set up tuition centres to cater to the needs of those less privileged, encourage missions among the poor.
  4. Be part of the community and work alongside the NGOs.
  5. Identify those who have the heart for community development
  6. Holistic Christian education (1) Teach and equip the local church leaders (2) Provide worksheets to empower churches (3) encourage Christians to consider practical professions, e.g. social worker, teacher, etc. or to get involved with NGOs & civil societies.

 

 

Marketplace (A) + (B): “The Lambs among the Wolves”

Main issues & challenges:

  1. Business ethics Bribery, Self-interest.
  2. Debts.
  3. Discrimination.
  4. Balancing priorities God and Mammoth.
  5. Do not see that marketplace is a calling, serious lack of spiritual engagement in work
  6. Sunday-Monday divide businessmen feel pastors don’t understand business and ignorant of realities faced in marketplace; pastors deemed as controlling, lack secular training and not supportive
  7. Church-centric  Too many programmes in church.
  8. Effective influence in the office especially from lower level positions.

 

Strategies:

  1. Recognise that marketplace is a calling
  2. Begin reconciliation process pastors to recognize the Sun-Mon divide and sentiments of corporate people mentoring system.
  3. Pastors to get secular training/experience, to be educated/coached on marketplace è to understand challenges faced by those in marketplace, and to effectively teach kingdom perspective the concept of marketplace as ministry office is the church.
  4. Obey Sabbath Church leaders set example, corporate ppl follows
  5. Christian business groups mentoring system  discipleship system character-building strengthening the role of FGB.
  6. Prayer meeting at workplace / Christian fellowship / strengthen networking among fellowships.
  7. Biblical blueprint or business model or model for financial stewardship that helps to encourage integrity and elevate poverty.
  8. Setting up women business group.
  9. 2 Tim 4:2.

 

 

Government (A) + (B): “The Call to Make a Difference”

Main issues & challenges:

  1. Youth disinterested in the affairs of the nation and civil service.
  2. Islamisation/intolerance.
  3. Corruption/abuse of power.
  4. Racial polarization.
  5. Inequality in education system.
  6. Lack of press freedom/info.
  7. Inequality in wealth distribution.
  8. Constitutional issue.
  9. Environmental/social issues.

 

Strategies:

  1. Encourage youth to enter civil service & educate them on politics – Politics 101 sense of calling
  2. Establish support system for Christian civil servants.
  3. Christians to be on the offensive, standing up for their rights as well as for others regardless of ethnicity Be seen and heard with discernment boldly take up the prophetic role in transforming the nation.
  4. Change attitude towards Muslims & compassion for other people groups
  5. Engage international pressure.
  6. Strategic prayer.
  7. Be informed and vote strategically.

 

 

Global: “Moving Outward”

Main issues & challenges:

  1. Complacency.
  2. Preoccupation with own agendas.
  3. Fundamentalism – fear.
  4. Information distorted or lack of it.
  5. Apathy.
  6. Nations at our doorstep.

 

Strategies:

  1. Challenge and mobilize the next generation.
  2. Change worldview on missions.
  3. Inspire faith from the pulpit.
  4. Effectively disseminate information.
  5. Proactive engagement and networking in economic projects.

 

 

Key steps:

  1. Pray for gate-keepers of the local churches.
  2. Further homogeneous group discussions.


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