Lutheran Link November 2010

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The Bishops Message

Reformation Starts From Within

In Christ,Bishop Philip Lok

After more than 490 years since Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church, Reformation Sunday has become a special festival for many Lutheran churches around the world. We celebrate the occasion by retelling the story of the reformer, by singing his hymns, and by holding special services with much enthusiasm and pomp. All these external activities are helpful indeed in our effort to commemorate the watershed event that took place on 31 Oct 1517, but it is equally important to remember that Luthers main intention was not so much to create another church festival for celebration. Instead, his primary hope was that every follower of Christ would experience the real reforma-tion a reformation of the heart and of the mind. Luther writes, But the papistswant to reform to the church through external ceremonies and morals. However, if the doctrine has not been reformed, it is futile to undertake the reformation of morals. It is timely to be reminded again that being a Lutheran means more than having our membership in a Lutheran Church. It is definitely much more than having pictures of Dr. Martin on the walls of our homes or offices. Instead, being a Lutheran means faithfully living out our Christian life holding on to the true gospel, as re-discovered by Luther in the 16th century. In other words, we must regularly submit ourselves to be living expressions of the tenets of the Reforma-tion Christ alone, Grace alone, Faith alone and Word alone. As the year draws slowly to a close, and as we prepare for the season of Advent, I pray that our pastors and members would truly experience an inner reformation each and every day. As Luther puts it, we

need to return to our baptismal grace daily to overcome the influence of sins in our lives. My family and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our congre-gations a joy-filled Christmas. Thank you for all the works of your hands in the past 12 months, and let us pray for another fruitful year as we continue our journey with the Master.

2010.10-12 Lutheran L ink 2

NEWS

Dear Bishop Emeritus Gideon

&ODULFH

ministry. Despite ourselves,

his passion for mission and for

the Gospel had inspired us to

join in.

When Rev. Gideon was

elected as the Bishop of

LCMS, he became my imme-

diate boss. During his 12-year

tenure, I witnessed how total

and complete was his dedica-

tion to spreading the gospel.

He always said, Its better to

err on making decision than

to have missed any opportu-

nity to build a new church in a

new ground. But, at that time,

we were often worried for

him.

My heart was overwhelmed with

thoughts when Sister Clarice

approached me to write a short

article about Bishop Emeritus

Gideon.

Bishop Gideon was the one

who led me to Christ and I still

remember vividly his sermons

were always filled with Chinese

culture. For one who had just

come back from Taiwan, I realized

only then that Christianity was so

akin to Chinese culture and I

found myself attracted and

thirsted for more of the truth.

Bishop Gideon was the same

person who encouraged my

husband to be in the full- time

Bishop Emeritus Gideon has now retired and migrated to

U.S.A., I surely miss his kindness and generosity. His total

unreservedness in the ministry of spreading the gospel and his

love for Christ and strong sense of mission are shining

examples to us who are from the younger generations.

Lastly, I will miss Bishops wife for her ready smiles, her

kindness and her soft spoken disposition. May the love and

grace of God be with them always.

By Janis ChongAdministrator of LCMS office

Martin Luther

Feature articles

2000Dr. Christopher Lee earned his Ph. D degree in Historical and Theological Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary. His dissertation focuses on the emergence and impact of the revival movement in the Chinese church in the twentieth century. He joined and served as a lecturer of Singapore Bible College since 1988.

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Why Did

In Reforming the Church?Succeed

By Dr. Christopher Lee

(Lecturer of Singapore Bible College)

Martin Luther


why did Martin Luther succeed in bringing about the religious Reformation in the 16th Century? This is quite an interesting question, because he was not the first person who tried to introduce changes. Since the middle of the 13th Century, leaders in the Church knew that the Church was being corrupted and that changes were urgently needed. Off and on, there would be someone trying to initiate certain changes but eventually to no avail. It was only Martin Luther who succeeded in reforming the Church. Why? Before Martin Luther, there were church reformers who were conscientious, determined, driving and learned.They tried all sorts of ways to eradicate the Church of abuses. But only Martin Luther made it. Some people contribute his success to the support and help of his friends and some noblemen. However, comparing to those before him, Martin Luther did not have that much more advantage. Upon closer study, it is not difficult to note a major difference between his ways and those of his predecessors. His predecessors mainly went after certain corrupt abuses and systems. Of course Luther was concerned about these abuses. However, he was more concerned about the root cause of these corrupt behaviour and systems: the wrong teachings. He

dealt with the abuses from the perspective of the Holy Word and stressed the need to return to the Word. Thats where he got it right! Reformation erupted because of the discussion of the Indulgences (1517-1518). However, the actual event leading to the Reformation was the debate held at University of Leipzig (1519). This discussions did touch on the corruptions in those days; however, it also brought to the surface the doctrinal understandings on forgiveness of sins, the real nature of the Church and the true meaning of salvation. Martin Luthers success was due to the fact that he did not just go after the corrupt behaviours; he also went after the Biblical teachings and doctrines behind those behaviours. As a matter of fact, a person will always behave according to what he believes. The previous reforming attempts focused only on the deeds but not on the faith of the church. As such, it was not thorough enough. Martin Luthers reformation went straight to the faith level, from there then to the deeds, and eventually reformed the Church. We all know the three principles of the Reformation, i.e. sola fide, sola scriptura, sola gratia. These three principles of Faith, Bible and Grace Alones are doctrinal in nature. Some people might have the misconception that such discussions on doctrines have nothing to do with Christians

daily life. And thus people tend to overlook these doctrines, or even treat lightly the achievements of Martin Luthers Reformation. As a matter of fact, doctrines are closely relevant to daily life. Let us take these three principles as an example. If one could put the three together in one complete sentence, one would have grasped what the Reformation is all about precisely. For example, we could say: Embrace the Grace of the Bible by Faith. This saying, surely, comes from three doctrinal propositions; however, it is also surely closely related to practices of believers daily life. It is very practical and is inseparable from daily life! This is a classic example of how doctrines influence life. Martin Luther realized the connection between doctrines and life, and thus began his reforming career from this perspective. This is why Luther eventually succeeded in bringing about the Reformation. Christians are descendants of the Reformation. Today, there might be many different Christian groups promoting different sorts of reformations. Definitely, they all hope that their efforts promotion could become long-lasting movements with positive influences and results in the Church. If so, what can we learn from Martin Luther?

Feature articles

When You Sing Next Sunday,Thank luther

By Richard D. Dinwiddie

5

Albert Bailey has written that Luther "gave the German people in their own language the Bible and the hym-nbook so that God might speak directly to them in His Word. And that they might directly answer Him in their songs" (The Gospel in Hymns, 1950). It is for good, reason that Luther has been called "the father of congregational song." For over a millennium between the Council of Laodicea in the fourth century and the birth of the Reforma-tion, the people had not sung in church; only the clergy sang the music. Although over 1,400 religious lyrics in German had been written during the 650 years prior to the Reformation. they were not part of the congregational heritage. Hymns in the vernacular were allowed only for special occasions, but even theseprocessions, pilgrimages, and some major festivals--were held outside the sanctuary. Luther believed a return to biblical practice included the restoration of con-gregational song in the people's own language. He was strongly opposed to what we today call "spec-tator worship." "Who 'doubts," he said, "that originally all the people sang these which now only the choir sings or responds to white the bishop is consecrating." Luther wrote a total of 37 hymns. He drew from many sources, adapt-

luther has damned more souls with his sermons complained a sixteenth-century Jesuit priest. In fact, it is said that Martin Luther's hymns were more significant than the printed word in spreading the Reformation. Few people have read his pulpit sermons, but his sermons through hymns continue to be preached every Sunday throughout the world as they have for four-and-a-half centuries. Luther's influence touched the world's greatest musicians. For example, Johann Sebastian Bach had Luther's works. In his personal library, and he used several of Luther's texts and tunes as the basis of some of his finest music. Bach authority Albert Schweitzer consid-ered Luther's great musicianship pre- requisite to the impact Bach had on church music. Luther's hymn, "Christ Lay in the Bands of Death" was the text for Bach's cantata no. 4---probably the greatest cantata ever written.Whenever we sing as a congrega-tion in church, we participate in one of Luther's greatest contributions: he restored the gift of song to the people in their own language as part of their worship. He said. "I intend to make German Psalms for the people. [that is], spiritual songs so that the Word of God even by means of song may live among the people."

ing Latin hymns, paraphrasing psalms, writing hymns based on Scripture passages, and recasting four German folk songs. He wrote at least five completely original hymns. Luther's greatest hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is based on the Vulgate version of Psalm 46. According to Roland Bainton, Luther wrote the hymn in 1527 after going into a deep depression caused by learning that his friend Leonhard Kaiser had been burned at the stake in the Netherlands for refusing to recant, while Luther himself was safe at home in his own bed. This hymn has been sung in unusual situations. For instance; during the Thirty Years War. Gusta-vus Adolphus had it sung by his army just before the battle of Leipzig in 1631. Composers have also made extensive use of the hymn. Bach used it in his cantata no. 80. Men-delssohn made the tune the theme of'the final movement of his fifth symphony, the "Reformation" Sym-phony. Wagner used it in his Kaiser-marsch. And these are but a few examples. The hymn was not widely sung in English until the ninteenth century. How-ever, by 1900, not only had it been translated into 53 languages, but 63 English versions had appeared. To Luther, "The gift of language combined with the gift of song was only given to man to let him know that he should praise God with both word and music, namely by proclaiming [the Word of God] through music." He wrote his' hymns "so that the holy gospel which now by the grace of God has risen anew may be noised and spread abroad."

To read the full article, go to this web site http://instructor.prairie.edu/C

harterV

http://instructor.prairie.edu/CharterV


use of music was "to the glorifica-tion of God and the edification of man." He said, "We want the beauti-ful art of music to be properly used to serve her dear Creator and his Christians. He is thereby praised and honored and we are made better and stronger in faith when his holy Word is impressed on our hearts by sweet music." Luther himself sought strength and consolation in his music. His own practice can be an example to us when we too face times of great stress. During the dark days of the Reformation, he would turn to his friend Melancthon and say, Come, Philipp, let us sing together the 46th Psalm.

In Luther's priorities, the text was pre-eminent. The tunes were "to assist the text in becoming living voices of the gospel." Since his hymns were the vehicle of truth, Luther insisted on their purity. Luther put the priority on congregational singing. He would call congregational rehearsals during the week to learn new hymns. In his German mass of 1526, he dispensed with the choir altogether and assigned all singing to the congregation. He wanted small churches that could not maintain a choir to be able to have a complete service. Luther believed that choral singing helped to improve one's sense of hearing and understanding and to develop the musical consciousness of the people. He

also encouraged the use of instru-mental music. He also encouraged the use of instrumental music. He wanted all musicians "to let their singing and playing to the Father of all grace sound forth with joy from their organs and whatever other beloved instruments there are. "I am quite of the opinion that next to theology, there is no art which can be compared to music; for it alone, after theology, gives us rest and joy," he said on another occasion. Music was, in fact, "the handmaiden of theology." He considered music an essential part of a pastor's training. "We should not ordain young men into the ministry unless they have become well acquainted, with music in the schools," he said. Luther insisted that the proper

A script of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God by Martin Luther

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Martin Luther posited that worship should be conducted in German rather than Latin. He thus saw an immediate need for a large repertory of new chorales. He composed some chorale melodies himself, such as A Mighty Fortress. For other chorales he used Grego-rian Chant melodies used in Catholic worship and fitted them with a new German text. A famous example is Christ lag in Todesbanden, which is based on the tune of the Catholic Easter Sequence Victimae Paschali Laudes. Today, many of the Lutheran chorales are familiar as hymns still used in Protestant churches, sung in four-voice harmony. Often the harmonizations are taken from the final sections of cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach. The melodies of the chorales were only in a few instances composed by Johann Sebastian (JS)Bach; the large majority of melodies were based on chorales that were already familiar to his congregation.

The Beautiful Tradition of Lutheran: Chorale

7

X prior to the Diet of Worms]. I am used to bickering. As a child, I accompanied my mother on a visit to India. We went during wedding season. We stayed with numerous relatives and attending wedding after wedding. My main recollections are of bickering, of dredging up old stories of hurts, of denied requests for help, of scandals. The women would sit together and speak of these things, bluntly. The men would sit separately and speak of these things, bluntly. Even I, a five year old kid, would be reminded that years ago my father had not sent the bank draft uncle so-and-so had requested (in writing) for his daughter's wedding. At Worms, Luther's writings were reviewed. In 1520 alone, Luther had published five major books. The titles are revealing: Treatise on Good Works, The Papacy of Rome, Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, Babylonian Captivity of the Church and The Freedom of a Christian. Luther dealt with big subjects. Luther dealt blows to the authorities and Luther dealt blows to the hearts of ordinary citizens. I don't know what Luther wrote about in letters to his relatives. Somehow I think his letters would have said much about God and Godly aspirations and little about gifts.

Luther and his family

Dinner at Uncle Boris's on Reformation Sunday

Reflection

By Rama (Bangsar Lutheran Church)

So what does Reformation Sunday mean for me? It is, most of all, a scheduled reminder that we are to live in the knowledge of our human condition. We are to remember that history is transparent, there for all to see. We are to remember that even Biblical history does not hide the faults of characters God chooses, loves and uses. We are to recognize that unity is a goal, not a present reality. And that living in community, with all the pains including those inflicted by conversations, is an integral part of the Christian life. Reformation Sunday means we are to know our history: not just to learn from mistakes made, but to recog-nize that mistakes are common, indeed inevitable. Observing Refor-mation Sunday helps us remain in churches even when we would like to flee. Reformation Sunday is a day for reflecting on our freedom and on our being under authority. In Luther's words, A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Chris-tian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all. Luther engaged society. Luther attracted followers, who were not all like him and we are thankful for that! For example, this is how Luther described parents who did not promote education of their children: shameful, despicable, damnable parents who are no parents at all but despicable hogs and venomous beasts, devouring their own young. When I read the 'strong' words some of my friends use to describe others, and the anger within me rises, I remember the words and the tone Luther used. And I calm down. Reformation Sunday reminds me that faith is imperfect, always being formed; and that it is dangerous to worship sanitized images. We have real ancestors who bickered like us. We should speak about them. Time for dinner at Uncle Boris's. I hope Luther comes.

i don't know if all large families indulge in such orgies of self-abuse, but we make a specialty of it. I don't think it's pretense either. I mean, it's not like we believe secretly we are really superior and this is just talk. Our family is a story of endless errors of judgment, of bad situations made even worse by bickering. Thus writes Charles Simic in his essay Dinner at Uncle Boris's. Although my age can be expressed in decades, I am a freshly minted Lutheran. The in- scription on this coin is from about two years ago. But I came to faith in Christ when I was in Scotland, a country impacted early by the reformation of the church, and the Scots are not apolo-getic about it: even today you can walk around the city of Edinburgh and observe street plaques declare where Protestants died for their beliefs. And you can observe plaques on churches which declare the names of many denominations. Like Uncle Boris's family, the church does not censor it's history. Reformation faith resulted in many people leaving the Western (Roman) church in the 16th century and forming new, Protestant chur-ches. The modern historian, Mark Noll, lists the Diet of Worms of 1521 CE as one of twelve Turning Points or Decisive Moments in the history of Christianity. At Worms, Martin Luther, whom Pope Leo X called 'the wild boar from the forest,' was declared an outlaw and his writings were banned by the Christian Emperor, Charles V. [Luther had been excommunicated by Pope Leo


72027

Martin Junge

we, the delegates of the Eleventh Assembly of The Lutheran World Federation, met in tuttgart, Germany, from 20 to 27 July, 2010, under the theme, Give us today our daily bread. We shared together a rich variety of experiences and perspectives which have deepened our relationships and strengthened our Communion. This was a praying Assembly. At this first LWF Assembly with a prayer for its theme, the days were woven together by the Assembly hymn, inspired by this prayer. Each day, one word of this petition was highlighted in worship and Bible study. Through creative, multi-lingual liturgies of Holy Communion that expressed the faith we share, the diversity within our Communion could also be celebrated. In these times of worship we felt the deep inter-connectedness of our Communion in ways that are possible on such special occasions. The daily bread theme evoked discussions, particularly in village groups and public hearings, on food security, climate change, economic greed, illegitimate debt, human trafficking, HIV prevention, and gender justice. Today you have heard and honored our story. A high point of the Assembly was this response we heard from leaders of the Mennonite World Conference, as the Assembly asked forgiveness for violence done to Anabaptist Christians in Reformation times and its continuing legacies in Lutheran teaching. With us for this action were a cloud of ecumenical witnesses, who were a sign of the Body of Christ at this deeply moving moment. The experience of the power of forgiveness and reconciliation at this Assembly promises hope for the future with Anabaptists but also as an example for other places where relationships are strained or broken. We returned to this spirit of repentance and forgiveness repeatedly in relation to a variety of issues throughout this Assembly. Finally, we recognized the transitions which lie before us. Rev. Martin Junge, the General Secretaryelect, inspired the Assembly with his visions for the future of LWF.

LWF Assembly

LETTER TO THE MEMBER CHURCHES

9

What is an LWF Assembly?

The Assembly, normally held every six years, is the LWF's highest decision-making body. Between Assem-blies the LWF is governed by its Council, which convenes annually, and by its Executive Committee.The Assembly consists of representatives of the member churches of the Federation. As the principal authority of the LWF, the Assembly: is responsible for the LWF Constitutiongives general direction to LWF work elects the president and members of the Counciltakes action on the address of the president and the reports of the general secretary and the treasurer

What Happens at an Assembly?

Representatives gathered at an Assembly make major decisions on the future direction of the LWF, share experiences about issues facing their churches, and worship together celebrating their cultural diversity.

Who Attends?

The Assembly participants will include 418 delegates from the 140 full LWF member churches around the world. Others attending are representatives from associ-ate member churches; observers from recognized congregations and councils; advisers from LWF national committees and related agencies; non-delegate mem-bers of the LWF Council; local, co-opted and LWF staff; interpreters and translators; stewards; ecumenical guests; visitors; and accredited media.418140

LWF Assembly

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My Reflections.. of LWF Assembly By Linda WongLinda attend the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Ipoh. She work as a HR Manager and also serving actively the in church including as Chairwoman of Sister. She was the delegate of Malaysia for the Lutheran World Federation Eleventh Assembly.

study, then the Assembly

proper and ends with an

evening worship service.

The worship service was

awesome. It was lead by

different groups each day

and in 4 different languages.

The style of the worship was

wonderful with the word of

LWF Assembly

Another great experience for me

was that I was able to see and feel the

brotherhood of Christianity in this

Assembly and the concern of LWF in

community work and the love for its

neighbours. The work of LWF is

commendable. However it a bit sad to

know that the Assembly only gathers

once every 6 years which I felt its a bit

too long. Last but not least, I wish to

once again thank LCMS and God for

this wonderful opportunity.

unexpected! It was an unexpected experience and the exposures to the

different culture and people that were

present at the Assembly. Before I

continue further, I wish to thank LCMS

and LWF Asia Region for giving me this

opportunity to attend the Assembly.

When Bishop Lok asked me whether I

could represent as the Women

delegate for LCMS to the LWF Assem-

bly, I was expecting another usual

Assembly or Conference that we had

here in Malaysia.

It was a surprise as the Assembly

started with a live worship service in

one of the church, a walking distance

from the Assembly. It was my first expe-

rience to see so many people from

different country and region singing

together worship God. It was awesome.

The whole assembly was organized in

such a way that we have morning

worship service followed by group

God shared in a unique setting. The

Assembly itself was smooth sailing.

The small study group was such a

great idea. This is where one has the

opportunity to share what one has

learned from the morning bible study

and anything of concern. All discus-

sions were recorded and submitted at

the end of the day to the Assembly.

However, the most touching experi-

ence I had at this Assembly was the

reconciliation between the Lutherans

and the Anabaptist . Gods love was

manifested that evening.

At the Mennonite Action service, each person mark a cross with olive oil onto another person's hand to signify peace.

Every morning, the Assembly begins with a morning service. Many grains were formed together and many grapes were crushed.


Mission

Church leaders from Germany and PNG have the vision to reach out to these mine workers. They lived in an enclosed compound any move-ments are monitored so how to go in and work with them is very challenging. Unlike in our country, you can make visitation or invite people to come to church. Early July, Rev Daniel and his family were invited by a hotel owner for dinner. At the dinner, Rev. Daniel was introduced to the senior admin-istrative staff of RAMU NICO, which is the main operating company. It was a rare occasion for a pastor to get to meet officers and it has given Rev. Daniel the opportunity to build relationship with them. The company is open to suggestions to allow ministry to begin for the mine workers.

Rev. Daniel Wong and his family left Kuala Lumpur back in June for Papua New Guniea (PNG) for a new journey. It is a whole new ministry and God has brought this family to serve mainly the Chinese Immigrants who are rapidly growing in PNG due to economic growth. The family settles in MADANG, a fairly small town which is situated at the bay of the ocean surrounded by lushes of greens. After several months, the family is now feeling at home at this new place. The two kids, Yixin and Qian Xin have enrolled into school and are learning to make friends with the locals. However, the political situation can be quite daunting especially for the Asians because of the instable economic and the high crime rate. God is good and on the first month, the family got to know some of local Chinese and it has been a blessing for the family to be able to speed up the adapting process. On 2nd of July, the first meeting by the Chinese group has started. The meeting group is helpful especially for

those who have been Christian but have not received any form of discipleship for a long time. The meeting becomes a consistent platform for them to have bible study and learn about Christianity. At the same time, Rev. Daniel is the English pastor for Memorial Lutheran Church in Madang which had been serving the community for more than 60 years. The church was founded by missionaries from Germany and now they have left the place. Due to the increase in number of Chinese, new ministry for the Chinese immigrant workers is in need. Besides that, in 2004, a mining joint project between China and Papua New Guinea was started. It is one of the biggest nickel and cobalt mines operated by Chinese companies. The project has brought in many job oppor-tunities and improved infrastructures. However, the rapid development has caused some concerns including environment issues. With the influx of Chinese immigrants,

5$081,&2

Rev. Daniel Wong and his family are supported by LCMS Mission and Lutheran Church in Bavaria.

13

Urgent Appeal: Myanmar Rats Disaster

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For more information, please contact Sally Lim at [email protected] and you can send cheques to LCMS office.107

MMF MMF

SALLY LIM

[email protected]

Early of October, LCMS has sent RM 7,000 over to Myanmar Lutheran Church for the relief project. Support and contributions are to be channeled to the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore who has coordinated the relief last year with funds from partners of the Mekong Mission Forum (MMF).

The Mekong Mission Forum (MMF) was involved in the rats disaster project in Myanmar last year through the Lutheran Church in Malaysia & Singapore. Myanmar Lutheran Church was one of the churches accepted as a member of the LWF in its recent Assem-bly in Stuttgart, Germany.

Mission


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Memorial article

Remembering Rev. A. Samuel Muthiah

By Rev. Augusne Muthusamy (Good Shepherd Lutheran Church)

rev. A. S. Muthiah came to the LCMS in 1977, when he was posted to Good Shepherd Lutheran Congregaon. With about 40

people, he started the Tamil service there. But his story did not

start there. It started about 92 years ago in India.

He was born on 18 February 1919 as Asirvatham Samuel

Muthiah (Asirvatham, being the fathers name), at Pandur,

Madras (Chennai), India. He had many relaves who were church

workers, and so, in his early years, he refused to take up the

family trade and tried instead for all kinds of other work. Finally

he went for Teachers Training, Soon aer, he got married and

then both of them taught in a private school. In 1943, he

answered a call from the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in

India, and went into 4 years of theological training. Upon gradua-

on, he was ordained in 1949, at the age of 30. In December,

1950, he came to Malaya and took up the posion of pastor of

Zion Lutheran Church in Brickfields.

In 1973, he completed his Masters in Religion. In 1976, he

resigned from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malaysia and

some months later, joined the LCMS in 1977. Throughout his long

career, Rev. Muthiah has touched the lives of many people, and in

many places. Good Shepherd LC, where he was for over 30 years,

celebrated his 90th birthday just a couple of years ago. It was a

grand celebraon, for the celebraon was also for the 60 years of

ordained ministry that Rev. Muthiah was involved in. His span of

ministry was such that he appears in both the ELCM and the LCMS

history books!

His recent passing was a great loss to the church as well as to

family and friends. At a recent EXCO meeng, several members of

the EXCO remembered him fondly: Rev. Sivin Kit He had that

constant concern for ministry. Rev. Thomas Low: A very good

teacher, solid content, learnt a lot from him, humility, paence,

acceptance the one constant in the LCMS his quiet presence

was very comforng, never contenous. Rev. Devadasan : Very

calm and gentle person, a person who has faced so many dicul-

es in life and yet remained calm. Bishop Lok: Very firm in his

trust and faith in spite of his challenges, very commied, and a

real inspiraon and example to the younger pastors. The EXCO

paused for a minute in respect of Rev. A. S. Muthiah

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15

News

15

TWO SIDESCOME

TOGETHER

The National Pastors & Lay Leaders Forum and Pastors Wives Seminar

(NPLF) started with a warm greeting by the LCMS Bishop Philip Lok. It

was not an easy task to bring all the Pastors and Council Members from all

the congregations under the same roof for two nights. he said.

Unity in Ministry was the theme for the NPLF. It was the very first time

for LCMS to organize such a forum where Pastors and Lay Leaders come

together with the Council Members and also to have a dialogue with the

Bishop. At the same time, the Forum was also dedicated to the Pastors

Wives which was guided by Dr. Lee Bee Teik and Sister Lisa Sum, who were

the speakers of the forum.

The purpose of this Forum is five-fold: to foster deeper understanding

and meaningful relationships between LCMS pastors & lay-leaders for the

furtherance of Gods Kingdom, to strengthen the cooperation between

the congregations and the National Office, to create opportunities to

develop new relationships for pastors and lay-leaders, to receive input

from pastors and leaders concerning the future direction and plans for

LCMS and lastly to provide support and encouragement to our pastors

wives.

The first night, Dr. Lee drew the attention of

the participants to think deeper about the

theme: What are the implications of His new

commandment to His disciples to love one

another as He has loved us? And the same time,

we looked into what Unity is Not.

On the next day, Dr. Phillip Baker led the

morning devotion. The very word Unity is not uniformity lingered with us

throughout the day.

One of the purposes of the Forum is to understand the LCMS ministries.

The Ministries consists of Mission, Social Concern, Youth, Education, Stew-

ardship, Special Projects, and the Orang Asli. The representatives of each

committee shared their concerns.

Dr. Lee gave her second talk in the night. The topic is Forgiveness and

Reconciliation. Thinking through what are the signs and symptoms of Unfor-

giveness. Indeed, it is relevant subject not to be

taken lightly. The next day, we have Bishop Emeri-

tus, Daniel to lead the morning devotion. Then it

followed by a closed session between the Bishop

and all the Council Members. Bishop spoke on the

concerns and challenges faced by the LCMS.

Overall, the Forum served the purposes and

provided a safe space to share concerns.

Dr. Lee Bee Teik

WDGLNDKDUPRQL#JPDLOFRPThere were 30 families sign up for the camp.For more information, you can contact through this email WDGLNDKDUPRQL#JPDLOFRP

Bangsar11

2004Tadika Harmoni Pertubuhan Pendidikan Kanak-kanak Istimewa HarmoniPKIHhttp://pkih.blogspot.com/

News

Special Needs Children Family Camp

the parents must take the first step, only then the children will have hope because of this belief, the Special

Needs Children Family Camp kick off for the first time in

Malaysia. This is a unique set up because the camp is

dedicated for the parents primarily and the children will be

taken care by trained volunteers. The parents can stay focus in

learning and able to be with their children at the same time.

Madam Linda Chung, whom is also known as Wang Mama

from Taiwan is the main conductor along with Dr. Ng from

Help Institute. Wang Mama raised the daughter together with

her husband, they had came out an unique way of care and

nurture their daughter, Wang Huixin, who suffered congenital

brain injuries that led to multiple disabilities at birth and

become a singer today. Wang Mama founded the baby class

which is a tailored educational content for special children.

She started with her daughter and found the secret of

treating a group of special kids through love.

Overall, the camp turned out to be a blessing to many

families and not just to those who come, but also to those

who serve in the camp. Many inspiring stories were shared,

many tears were shed and many friendships were built.

We are determined to organize this camp because we

strongly feel that the needs for parents who have Special

Needs Children are not been fulfilled all this while. Many

parents are living in silence and not knowing how to deal

with children who needs special care. Yong Yoon Yen, the

organizing chairperson.

17

Celebrate the love of God.two tents were up, water coolers are prepared, empty chairs were slowly filled up and the children were getting excited about the day regardless of the hot weather. On 26 September 2010, the Kaizen Children's Home celebrated its first anniversary. Bishop Lok pointed out at the opening speech, this very Sunday was the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, it was an appropri-ate time for us to reflect the question "why we are what we are doing". Kaizen Children's Home was first started by two warm-hearted donors who sees the needs of children who are under-privileged. Eventually, this vision turns into an action plan. Kaizen Children's Home carries a simple purpose is to share the love of God through the children who is underprivileged. Through this act of sharing, the love of God is demonstrated. Currently, there are 6 children residing at this Home. Our Homes are ready to serve more children." said Sister Agatha, the Chairperson of the Home. The children at Kaizen are encouraged to learn to cultivate a prayerful life, self-motivation and a sharingheart. The afternoon was a fun one as the kids were having good time watching magic show, singing songs and also the Kaizen's kids were sharing their essays with the crowd.

$JDWKD

The Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore (LCMS) is the trustee of the home and it is managed by a group of Social Concern Committees together with Sis. Agatha and a few dedicated staffs. The ministry is also supported by the Taman Midah Lutheran Church.Agatha


19

News

Live out the faithReformation Day Seminars Report

brought about by the reformation.

At the morning session of Theme

talk with the pastors, the partici-

pants all found it informative. Dr Lee

used simple language and lively

illustrations to expound on the

definition of Luther about the

Church, the relationship between

the pastors and the believers, the

renewed meanings of baptism and

Holy Communion.

As a conclusion of his talk, Dr Lee

encouraged believers to emulate

the example of religious reforma-

tion pioneer Martin Luther: 1. The

courage to hold on to the Bible; 2. To

sacrifice for the belief; 3. To reform

where it is most important.

for this years Reformation Day, LCMS has invited Dr. Christopher Lee to give a

two- day Reformation Day Seminars. The

theme was Reformation and Spiritual

Formation. Dr. Lee has been teaching in

Singapore Bible College for more than

twenty years, he has rich experience in

teaching, preaching and with his wisdom,

he brought new insights on these topics.

Reformation is not merely a five

hundreds year old history, the doctrine of

reform has brought focus to the believers

life and spiritual growth. Dr Lee said What

you believe in the content of beliefs , will

lead you how you live your life. He

pointed out that todays believers have

encountered crisis of in spiritual forma-

tion. He hoped that with the help of the

spirit of religious reformation, believers

can be reminded of this and will respond

accordingly. He also quoted a number of

practical ways of reflection and taking

actions for believers to have a better

understand of the religious reformation,

as well as the influence and reminder

Bishop Lok, Dr. Lee and pastors

--You can take "tradition" as two different ways:The living faith of death, or the death faith of living. --Dr. Christopher Lee

Bishop Lok, Dr. Lee, & Mrs.Lee

Bishop Lok, Dr. Lee and pastors


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Getting to know

A brief background of yourself.0%6,FRPHIURPDVPDOOWRZQLQ.HGDK,DPWKHRQO\FKLOGDQGP\IDWKHUGLHG ZKHQ , ZDV VWLOO D EDE\ , JUHZ XS ZLWK P\ PRWKHU DW P\JUDQGPRWKHUVKRXVH$WVL[WHHQ,GURSSHGRXWRIVFKRRODQGWKHQ

Do you still remember when you first accepted Christ? How was it like?

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Getting to know

A brief background of yourself.

Do you still remember when you first accepted Christ? How was it like?

What do you think you would be, if youre not a Pastor at thistime?

What are the challenges as a clergy to serve in your area?

He is currently at New Life Lutheran Church, Ipoh.

If I am not a pastor, I think I should continue to be an engineer.

What do you like to do in your free time?

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P e r a k ( K u a l a Sepetang)

I came from a fishing village near Taiping, Kuala Sepetang in Perak. Kuala Sepating is very attractive place as well as my house. I followed my parents beliefs, which is the tradition folk religion until I went to study abroad in Taiwan. I accepted Christ there and currently I am the only one in the family. I have four sisters and two brothers. I left Malaysia for Taiwan for almost ten years. Three years in study, and I found a job and worked for another three years. Then I took my master degree in Theology and graduated in June.

It was during my university, a friend of mine invited me to church and since then I get to know Jesus and received baptism.

Pastor Goh Hooi Pin

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Pastor Goh and his wife.

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Getting to know

Terangkan latar belakang ringkas tentang diri anda.

Anda masih ingat bilakah anda pertama kali menerima Kristus?

Kamu suka bacakah? Ada buku yang kamu ingat itu memang bernilai untuk kamu? Mengapa?

Apakah makanan kegemaran?

Pastor Juison Gumpok

Saya lahir di sebuah kg. bernama Kg. Pahu Tamparuli pada 17/5/1950. Saya anak ke 6 dari 7 adik beradik 5 perempuan 2 lelaki.

Saya merenima Tuhan Yesus sebagai Tuhan dan Juruselamat saya dalam tahun 1973 ketika usia saya 23 tahun di sebuah Gereja baptist di daerah Tawau. dalam kebaktian Pemuda-Pemudi.

Apakah makanan kegemaran?Andaikata awak bukan serorang Pastor, apakah yang anda mahu lakukan?

Makanan kegemaran: Sayur-Sayuran hijau, dan buah-buahan.

Bertani (Bercucuk tanam)

Buku yang pernah saya baca yang sangat bernilai bagi saya ialah: The Purpose Driven Life. Ia memberi ajaran bagaimana kita dipimpin untuk kehidupan yang digerekkan oleh tujuan.

Apakah cabaran-cabaran yang anda dan keluarga hadapi dalam pelayanan di daerah Tapah?

Dari segi kebudayaan yang berbeza, dan hidup Kristian lambat bertumbuh. : Kebanyakan anggota Gereja di ketiga Gereja ini, (di Zon Tapah ) tidak lancar membaca dan mung-kin juga tidak faham Bahasa malaysia (BM)

Apa yang anda suka buat semasa waktu luang?

Masa luang saya, saya gunakan untuk membaca buku-buku Rohani, mendengar lagu-lagu rohani, nonton TV dan mela-yari Facebook.

2010 Orang Asli Library Project

Children need education for a brighter future/&06KDVDERXWRUDQJDVOLFRQJUHJDWLRQVLQ&DPHURQ+LJKODQG/XWKHUDQ


Uftujnpoz

I grew up in the church and since young I have been serving God. Thank God that during the school holidays, He allowed me to join Youth For Christ after I submitted myself to serve Him when I was in Form Three. At that time, my mentality in serving Him was different. When I finished school, I was hoping that I could serve Him full time, so I joined a gospel mission. I enjoyed very much working in that mission. Though there were moments of unhappiness, with God, everything was overcome. Thanks to God, when I served in the mission, I had the opportunity to study mass media for two years. From the studies, I had a clearer picture that I studied to serve God. Two years later, I went back to the mission to work. Somehow, my character changed for the worse: I called it my rebellious years when I was down spiritually. Things were not going my way both in serving in the church and working in the mission. After some time of adjustment, I calmed down eventually and the idea of studying Theology dawned on me. Initially, many tried to dissuade me because some of them thought that I was not mature enough. I therefore put things on hold and waited upon the Lord. During the waiting period, I left the mission and worked in the secular world. God showed me the difference between doing secular work and serving Him. I prayed to God and offered to serve God full time. At the end of 2006, I submitted by faith my application to the Theological College and by Gods grace I was admitted to the college.

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Uftujnpoz

She enrol to Malaysia Bible Seminary (MBS) in 2007 and graduating in 2010 Curently, she is doing her practical in Balakong Lutheran Church.

and the dream of god

how would you know if youre dreaming (or not) at this very moment? During those times when you were dreaming, did you know that you were asleep? If you couldnt tell you were asleep then, how can you be sure now?

(Do not look) only on the surface of things...(2 Corinthians 10:7)

by Alwyn Lau (Luther House Chapel)

Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan (who also helmed the mega block-buster Dark Knight) and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is about a team of dream-infiltrators tasked to enter the dreams of an heir to a huge business empire to sway him to make a critical business decision. The project involves inception i.e. penetrating a target persons dreams in the hope of planting an idea into this person so when he wakes up he would act upon it as if it were his own. This project, in order to be successful, must occur inside many dreams within dreams i.e. the dream invaders need to enter one of their targets dreams and within that dream cause him to dream another dream in which he would have to dream yet again (thats three dreams, if youve been counting). As if this isnt enough of (literally) a mind-trip, the movie introduces even further complica-tions resulting from the dream-defences set up by the target persons sub-conscious mind; the dream architects will be attacked by the sub-conscious creations of the targets mind whilst inside his dreams. How (if at all) the team managed to complete their mission whilst navigating all these problems is what keeps the suspense going. From a Christian perspective, the movies key concept of doing battle within dreams could be seen as symbolizing the struggle of the Christian between his flesh, enslaved by sin, and his newly created being, enlivened and enflamed by the Spirit of God in Christ. As Inceptions characters are continually on their guard against the threats and attacks which occur inside their dreams, likewise the Apostle Paul admonishes us to take captive every thought in the work of demolishing strongholds (2Cor 10:3-5). As the movies dream architects are fully aware that radical change can be effected via manoeuvres below the level of consciousness, the Roman Christians were similarly called to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Rom 12:2). Doesnt the act of a malicious inception i.e. invading someones mind with harmful ideas, in fact sound like what the Devil has done by blinding the minds of the unbelieving world (2Cor 4:4)? The movie is merely making spectacular what happens many times everyday. It highlights the fact that what we are today is very much a product of the messages, the hints, the suggestions, the symbols, the stories, all the information that has been bombarded

(and whispered) into us over the years. Media, the Internet, our peers, novels, movies, billboards, our relatives and family what have they been saying to and/or implanting in us? Also importantly, what message have we been inserting to their minds, through our words and our actions - our very lives? The human mind is the site where Gods Word and the Devils lies fight for the right to total inception. The worlds cravings and deceptions (of power, greed, lust, selfishness and so on) will always seek to embed themselves deep inside our hearts only someone who has set up adequate spiritual defenses can wage an effective fightback. Conversely, Gods life- changing Spirit is working non-stop to mold us to think, imagine, act and love like Jesus but its never easy because its a thought by thought battle fought inside each and every one of us. This is surely why people like the psalmist had to pray that God regularly conducts a mind-scan on him, testing and trying him so all the viruses of sin and wicked-ness are destroyed and only designs of everlast-ing life remain (Psalms 139:23). We are blessed by God, and the world is blessed through us, when we open ourselves to be incept-ed by His Word despite and throughout all the frustrations, temptations and pain we undergo. We are blessed when we can see beyond the surface of things (2Cor 10:7) and our marching orders are to go forth and do inception-battle for the glory of God, getting the message and love of Christ through and in to peoples hearts over against the force of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Sure, dream inception as per the movie may be techno-fiction. Spiritual inception, however, is a moment-by-moment reality. In this already-but-not-yet kingdom of God, between Resurrection Sunday and the day Christ returns, in some sense, were ALWAYS dreaming until God raises (wakes?) us up fully renewed and glorified in His likeness. For now, the Spirit-led kingdom, the heavenly domain - the Christ-filled dream - of God beckons.

Movie Reflection

25

The Movie Reflection column is open for submis-sion. No limitation in movie selection, a reflection of faith and life from a movie. Limited to 500 words or less.

EDITORIAL BOARD


Movie Reflection

ADVISORBishop Philip LokEDITORSis. Clarice Wong Zi YunMANAGING EDITORSis. Chen Hsin JuTRANSLATORSBro. Wong FoonPROOFREADINGRev. Augistin Muthusami

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Join the LCMS facebook group.

Go towww.facebook.com(SerchLutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore)

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Lutheran Link November 2010