Thoughts from Pastoral Exploration

Attending Pastoral Epistles class was an enriching and insightful module as pastoral care is very much in my heart of ministry. Studying the three epistles and attending the lessons have given me understanding and guidance in approaching and handling leadership and Christian behavior in response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul has indeed laid out clearly the essence and theological basis of our Christian behaviour and leadership selection through these letters. Doing one of the spiritual exercise that on 1 Tim 1:3-7, recalling the people that have influenced me spiritually, brought about much thanks giving in my heart for God’s gracious hand in leading these wonderful people into my life and spiritual journey! I am so grateful to them for all the time, love, grace, patience and perseverance in making an impact in my life, believing in the intended plan that God has in using such a broken vessel as I am! The many areas of influence includes my salvation, understanding the heart of God for evangelism, the perseverance and Christ-centred discipleship, the wonder and faith for mission, the increasing longing for God and His Word, the wisdom, the critical thinking and strategic planning for ministry, etc. During the reflection, which I did not include in my SE submission, is how it also brought about much reminder of humility to be used by God for His purpose.

With the team being a small group of four, including an audit student as part of the team, the workload for the group project seems a little daunting as we went on to prepare for the report and presentation. Thank God for Cecilia who constantly gives many suggestions in doing and improving the project work, not to mention her many goodies that she brought to bless the class with! Her initiative to add ideas to the presentation and reminders for various areas of the report helped our team to keep to our schedule datelines. Thank God also for Angelina who though an audit student, helped with part of the report although she could not join us for the later part of the module. Thank God for Gary as well, the usual reliable team member that is willing to step in whenever the need arises in adding to the report and also the ideas for presentation. It was a tough schedule to take this module as it was in the middle of many work projects going on at the same time, even during the public holiday. Thank God for you Group 2! Indeed, team work is so essential in getting work done, not just for school work but so much more so for God’s work!

In one of the lesson when brother Casey was sharing about saying grace during meal times, the content of the saying of grace was raised for us to reflect. Some say ‘bless the food’, some went on to pray a lot of other things, but the main thing regarding saying grace is the thanks giving for the food that God has provided, and if we expand on that, to thank God for all that He has given us which can include health, finance, time, talent, the people that God has bless us with like our parents, family, friends, brothers and sisters in church, colleagues, etc. Essentially, it is about thanking God and not just about making prayers of request, not even about blessing the food for blessing of food has the association to Chinese tradition or even religious practice of ‘offering’ the food to gods before they can be eaten, or that when the food is blessed, the partakers will also be blessed. Indeed, a thanks giving heart should and must be very much part of a believer’s heart for we are people who have been greatly blessed! We have been blessed with the salvation by the grace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Pastoral Epistles is my last module for my MTS programme. It was great to see many familiar faces and two new faces, Alvin and Angelina. Many of the classmates are people whom I had taken modules with and some even worked with in group projects. Some have become closer friends, people whom I interact with even after the modules ended. It was great to know these fellow serving brothers and sisters in Christ, especially when I hear about God’s miraculous works, provision, deliverance in their lives and the people around them! In deed it has been a blessed journey studying in AGBC. I pray that the friendships started and built during this period would continue on to be a channel of encouragement and godly fellowship that would spur one another in finishing the race of following Jesus and fulfilling His call in our lives! Keep in touch my brothers and sisters in Christ! God bless you much!