ENGAGING WITH THE LARGER CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

A recent discussion I had with a brother-in-Christ pained me that, while people can now turn to the Bible to read freely, some have also started to read a lot of meanings into the scriptures.

          As a result, there are a lot of wrong teachings that have created small pockets of believers who are inclined towards a certain teaching; some bordering towards unsubstantiated claims; others drawing conclusions out of a few isolated verses that they claim to support their own teaching on a subject matter. These 'teachers' are also pretty adamant about their position, and once they have a certain following, this is how cults are started.

           Let's be upfront about this. I have been promoting the learning of the biblical languages as a key to better exegesis of the Bible but I have never come out with strange ideas that Hebrew or Greek is God's mother tongue! However, there are some who go after the "hidden" meanings behind every word or even letter of the alephbet! I have no problem if these so-called "hidden" meanings are merely taught as illustrations to stimulate the human imagination, so long as the doctrine behind it is sound, but there are some who have spent their precious hours to formulate even new teachings out of their lack of contextual reading of the Scriptures. What's worse is when people become mesmerised by their teaching which, if it leads further to both pride and more heresies, a cult or cult-like practices will start to emerge.

          As a Christian for the past 40 years, I have seen enough of this. In a number of instances, I have also refuted these teachings vehemently. But, as we are drawing closer to the day of the Lord's return, we can expect more such wrong teachings being taught. We can only counter this with good teachings from the Bible. The burden is now on the good Bible expositors.

         While working with Monash University, I learnt that one of the three pillars is "to engage with the larger community." Because of the nature of my work, I was also the one driving the many CSR events that helped to create brand visibility and forge greater engagement with the general public.

         Applying this to what I see today, I think it is time for seminaries to work into their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) a whole new area which has largely been neglected. In the past, I know Malaysia Bible Seminary because of one man, Rev Loh Soon Choy. He was MBS and MBS was Rev Loh! These days, most of my friends cannot even name three seminaries we have here in Malaysia. Who is to blame? God, or ourselves? Occasionally, we pride in one or two seminars or exhibitions organised for the larger Christian community, but what about good ongoing Bible exposition or teaching of Christian doctrines to engage with the churches?

          Nowadays, with the digital platform, more people can join a Bible exposition session from anywhere in the world. For example, my former pastor, Rev Dr Patrick Tang is currently conducting a Bible exposition on Matthew 24-25 out of his home in California, United States. Through it, now many people have heard about his Bible Exposition Institute. Although it was planned for Malaysians, I know some people join in from as far as South Africa, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Australia and Hong Kong. Someone told me that she woke up as early as 5.30am in UK just to join this session at 12.30 pm Malaysian time.

         I do not see why seminaries cannot engage with the churches these days using Zoom or any other popular online platforms to conduct a series of good Bible teaching. After all, isn't this supposed to be a calling to equip not only the pastors but also every lay leader? Shouldn't this be part of the seminary's CSR to the Christian community that have been supporting their existence? Should good teaching be confined to only the selected few?

         By engaging with the community, Monash was able to build good brand visibility. When their kids are ready for university, parents would immediately think of Monash as their first choice. We even started the Monash Club to engage with the kids. Likewise, when seminaries start engaging with the larger Christian community, they are casting a big net. These seminaries will automatically come to mind the moment a young person thinks of going into full time ministry.

         The time would be better spent engaging with the community than for some seminarians to spend their precious time arguing over a small theological difference with a fellow colleague or worse, when some enjoy turning a molehill into a mountain.

         Seminaries that are in the marketplace will thrive; those who choose to be monasteries will only attract a few.