How can you mend this broken nation?

How can you mend this broken nation?

As the nation enters her 52nd year of independence, the dynamics and circumstances within the country have brought about such changes that Malaysia itself has become a mission field!

Over the years, Malaysians have witnessed the rise and fervour of ethnic nationalism that has resulted in racial disharmony. This has led to a fragmented society and an increase in social ills resulting from the erosion of moral standards and disrespect for civil liberties.

Distressed quarters from every side have pleaded for a process of change towards the betterment of society and nation.

What can the Christian community in Malaysia do to contribute to this process of necessary change? How can Christians in Malaysia impact society and the public square, to be "salt and light" unto the nation to effect transformation in Jesus Christ?

The Path to Healing

Current realities and social trends suggest an urgent need to instil a sense of personal integrity and the value of civic responsibility. This is to guard the sanctity of individual freedom and counterbalance the intrusion of the autonomous State while linking individuals with one another so that all may work together for the common good of the nation.

It is here that we discern the Christian community as a whole and churches may come together with their manifold resources to contribute to the common good of the nation. Churches must therefore strive for a vision in nation building as part of their mission and witness to the country and the world.

A vision for nation building must necessarily involve two basic components: (1) Seeking the welfare and well-being of all people and communities in all aspects of life through the local church; and (2) All aspects of life include social, economic, public and spiritual.

It is apparent from this vision that the Church is confronted with two major challenges: (1) in terms of direction, how and in what way are churches to implement this vision? and (2) in terms of practicality, what concrete projects or efforts are to be undertaken for the future and in what way is evangelism a part in this effort?

At a Pastor-Leaders Consultation Nation Building held in 2006, two major responses arose: (1) the need to establish a prayer network¹; and (2) the need to actively engage in nation building.

The consultation revealed a growing awareness and consensus on the part of the Church to mobilise their congregation towards this national agenda of nation building.

This response was due in part to the recognition that the Gospel must not only be preached but lived out.

Christians need to be visible witnesses of the love and compassion of Jesus Christ so that others may be drawn to Him and the salvation He offers.

To enable the Church to move forward, it is necessary and essential to envision the local congregation in integral mission² for holistic purposes and transformation grounded on the Creation Mandate and the Greatest Commandment.

Dr Leong Tien Fock expounds on this concept succinctly,

"Therefore, to fulfill the Great Commission is to fulfill the Creation Mandate to develop a civilisation in which human relations and human institutions are shaped by justice and kindness and are thus submissive to God's reign… This Commission is thus obviously much more than evangelising the world or even "saving souls" and is really about "saving" the world by helping to bring it into the order God intended…Those in every nation who willingly respond to the Gospel of the Kingdom are to bear witness to it in and through every area of their life, so that they will make a difference in and to the institutions of which they are a part, whether the family, church, economy, or even the state. In this way they seek to bring their nation into submission to the reign of Christ³."

To achieve this given purpose, the local church must be empowered with and be prepared to form synergic partnership, which not only requires shared participation and resources but mutual understanding and cooperation undergirded by a common goal, vision and passion.

It is the task of churches to seek to set aside ecclesiastical traditions and practices, remove denomination barriers and inward biases to work together on projects that can bless the community. In doing so, the Church becomes a visible community and witness that demonstrate the reality of the presence of Christ in the world through the good and compassionate work we do.

Evangelism Efforts towards Nation Building

A broad survey of our country will reveal four key areas of needs (not exhaustive) in the quest for nation building; (1) Socio-Economy; (2) Health; (3) Education; (4) Socio-Political. These four areas represent the institutional structures of society with their own attending working order, distinctive norms and sphere of operation.

The aim here is to motivate and mobilise Christians as the redeemed people of the cross to challenge and transform the distinctive norms and sphere of operation governing each particular area⁴. This challenge and transformation is brought about when Christians live out the life of a faithful disciple by commitment and participation in projects or initiatives in social communities that build bridges and communities, and empower people for change in terms of welfare and well being. Dr Vinay Samuel illustrates how this relates to evangelism,

"Constantly relating the social change they are involved in to Christ is evangelism. When they treat a patient, when they are involved in a project, they are sharing about the reality of Christ. You articulate why you do it. If people ask you why are doing this, that is evangelism⁵."

How does all this work in practical terms? A simple example will suffice. After a sharing session at the Johor Baru Pastors Fellowship last October, the pastors were inspired to do something collectively. It is not that the churches were not doing any community projects, but they wanted to do one that would represent the JB Church under the Pastors' Fellowship.

A recent email from the spokesman, Pr Tay Wah Seng, says, "The JB Pastors' Fellowship has launched the "Helping Hands" project to help the poor. We are collecting usable second-hand goods, clothing and books to give to poor families. Money will also be collected to buy groceries for the poor in JB - we are targeting to give to Chinese, Malay, Indian families and immigrant workers."

A project like this means there is personal engagement with the community and this gives ample opportunity for the churches to know the community and to share the good news about Jesus Christ.

That ample opportunity will arise for churches to impact the community as well as for the Gospel to penetrate the people is borne out by another simple testimony.

In this case, a church in Kota Kinabalu has built an asrama (hostel) to house 12 child students from the interiors for their studies. The hostel is managed by a warden cum pastor. The project cost RM60,000 and has been in operation the last three years.

Chin Chi Kiong, who is involved in the project, testifies that as a result of the project, a church has been planted there. To sustain the project, churches need to adopt the asrama and provide vocational training for the students. For example, students are taught how to repack rice from their villages and sell it to earn their allowances.

Moving Forward

Scripture tells us that churches and Christians, irrespective of race or creed, are gifted with their own unique strength and talents to fulfil the purposes of God. There are many churches that have started and successfully managed ministries that have contributed to the value of society and in evangelism.

Some of the more successful works managed by churches are:

1. Feeding programme at Rifle Range Flats in Penang
2. Drug rehab centre at JB
3. Youth centre in Kluang, Johor
4. Dialysis centre at Cheras

The success experienced by these churches should cause churches and Christians to re-think and re-evaluate their view and understanding of evangelism and nation building, and consequently re-strategise new approaches and find fresh ways to express their identity and influence in a manner relevant and impactful to people, communities and society at large.

This may require a 'paradigm shift' in terms of thinking and it certainly calls for an honest evaluation of our priorities and commitment and more importantly, our relationship with Christ as Lord and understand why He has placed the Church on this earth.

In this respect, Dr Ng Kam Weng's prophetic challenge should strike a chord in our hearts,

"The Christian community does not exist to cater only for the needs of the well-off and socially adjusted. The remarkable role of the Church lies precisely in its ability to attract and integrate the socially marginalised groups and the underprivileged of society. The message of hope in the Gospel motivates them to release suppressed energy and redirect them constructively towards building a common community. Marginalisation should not generate social apathy. Believers are to strengthen their communal identity and through their caring relationships, testify to an alternative and more attractive society⁶."

Conclusion

In times like this, when the economic crisis will create more hardships for people across the board, the Church of Malaysia needs to be visible and proactive.

Richard Mouw reminds us that we are called to await the coming transformation. But we should await actively, not passively.

Scripture reminds us that as Christians, we are set apart on grounds of our special and unique experience in Christ and a commitment to different principles and values of life. Our actions should not be an escape from the social situation and realities of life in isolation, but rather to move and place ourselves strategically to ensure our ability to engage with the world on kingdom values with Christian insights.

Only then will the Church succeed in displaying a superior form of social and religious witness in this global era with post-modern or modernistic tendencies.

May the Malaysian Church rise up to her true witness.

Footnotes

¹ After the conference, efforts were made to continue with spearheading the national prayer movement. This effort was partially fulfilled through the establishment of the Malaysian National Prayer Network on 19th.March 2008. It is a prayer movement that will link Children and Youth Prayer Move­ments that have started in recent years. It would also have net­working on prayer with countries around this region.

² The idea and concept of integral mission was developed by participants of the Micah Network's consultation on Integral Mission held at Oxford in September 2001. As a result of the consultation, the Micah Declaration on Integral Mission was drafted. For further thoughts and experience underlining this Declaration, see the book by Tim Chester, Justice, Mercy and Humility: Integral Mission and the Poor. (Carlisle: Paternoster Publishing, 2003).

³ Dr Leong Tien Fock, "The Great Commission and The Creation Mandate" in NECF Forum V1.

⁴ This is also the position of the Evangelical Alliance in para­graph 4 of the declaration, Iguassu Affirmation, October 1999, which emphasised the holistic Gospel and the concern for the whole person in the whole of society.

⁵ "Mission as Transformation" in Mission as Transformation: A Theology of the Whole Gospel, eds., Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden. (Oxford: Regnum, 1999), 233.

⁶ Dr Ng Kam Weng, Bridge-building: Building Consensus in a Pluralistic Society. (Kuala Lumpur: Pustaka SUFES, 1994), 12-13