no longer a worship leader and at peace with it.
I dug out an old notebook a few weeks ago and within the first couple pages I found a list of nine things I had wanted to accomplish that year. I recorded these things in 2003, when I was 20 years old, in the final semester of my polytechnic days.
- Get grounded in the Word.
- Learn piano and guitar intensively.
- Stay single until 21st Oct 2003.
- Transfer captaincy of TeamR-AGE.
- Record FhLY album.
- Record Castor & Pollux album.
- Attain driving licence.
- Cultivate a lifestyle of punctuality.
- Learn to be more pastoral.
It’s interesting to note that the items that I’ve made little progress on are #2, #5 and #6, which are incidentally all related to music! Well, seven years have passed and with each passing year the likelihood of accomplishing these three items diminishes. Perhaps I’m not all that passionate or serious a musician after all. What a sad thought.
All right, that silly introduction above has little to do with what I am about to share.
Music is a big part of my life; I’d like to believe that while I’m not musically trained, I am musically inclined because I pick things up pretty quickly – be it percussions, strings or even song-writing. I’m always attracted to worship teams and as I peered into the 3rd Level Hall tonight to check out the worship team in action, I reminisced my days of being a worship leader and how that I spent most (and the early) parts of my ministry in church in CAMY. I progressed from a 14-year-old backup vocalist to a worship leader in both the youth and adult services.
God called me into worship leading when I was 15 years old, at a “Bondage Breaker” conference in Trinity Christian Centre, and I’ve always pursued this area of service. I was confident that I had the anointing of a Spirit-led worship leader. And God is faithful; throughout the years of worship leading, God always sends at least one person to affirm and to encourage me in my calling, usually by someone who was in the congregation; God has never missed out affirming me on any session and I am most thankful for it.
When I went to Shanghai and saw the “state” of the worship atmosphere in my church, I immediately felt compelled to join the worship team to “rescue” and “value-add” it. The Holy Spirit rebuked my prideful self and I quickly dismissed this arrogant attitude of wanting to “fix things” and to “show them how it’s supposed to be done”. I could easily enter the ministry under the pretense of humility but what good would it do if I served with a wrong heart? For months, it was an internal struggle because I knew that I could contribute positively and to even make a significant difference!
I didn’t feel that God was calling me into worship leading for that season of my life in Shanghai so I avoided the music ministry completely and just waited for His prompting of where I should serve in church. I did continue to lead worship, but only in my cell group. (This sounds really haughty and I apologise for it but) word got around of my skill, effectiveness and experience – “This worship leader is pretty anointed!” and a couple of months later, as if to perpetuate the already dire situation with my pride, I was approached twice by the worship pastor and one of the key worship leaders; they invited me to join the ministry. (It must have been painful to read such words dripping with arrogance but I’m just being honest with my struggles and being real with my journey.)
Yet I’ve never moved into the worship ministry ever again because I was convinced that my season of being a worship leader is over. I felt the peace when I rejected both invitations and I also found the non-entry necessary for the development of my own humility as I stepped away from this area of ministry. I wanted to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and I believe I did the right thing, even though becoming a worship leader again felt like the right thing to do by my own logical deduction! (This isn’t a good gauge but worship leading no longer gave me a kick – I didn’t find it a challenge anymore.)
Instead, I felt the Spirit calling me into mentoring and preaching; in fact, I find that mentoring, preaching and leading are my three primary domains of ministry at this point in my life. Just as how God has prospered me as I pursued His prompting in my worship leading days, I believe that God will also give me success as a mentor, preacher and leader, simply because I desire to be obedient to His will for my life. I humbly ask you to pray with me, please; I only want to be a vessel.
Why do I share these inner thoughts tonight? I believe that it is more important to recognise the divinely-designated season of your life directed by God than to do what the ministry demands or what you’re naturally good at or gifted in. It may not make much sense at first but the satisfaction you get when you review your step of faith is immense. I desire always to walk by faith (to do what God directs) and not by sight (to do what Man demands). And the only way to do so is to remain connected with God.
Oh Lord, thank You for reminding me about John 15:5. Indeed, apart from Jesus, I can do nothing and I am absolutely nothing without Christ! I desire to be near You so that I will do the things that You desire and become the man You have designed. I love You.
how do you spot potential?
All right, it’s time for me to make a comeback on WordPress! I’ve struggled to recover my writing momentum after a five-day hiatus and being away in Cameron Highlands over the last few days didn’t help my cause. (It was a great break though!) Nonetheless, I shall give myself an easier head-start with a shorter entry tonight to break the silence.
Since PIERCE ended, I’ve had youths indicating their interests to be emcees, cell mentors, ushers and basically to serve in R-AGE. Of course, this delights me (and my shepherds) to no end! More significantly, this morning, I’ve had the privilege of welcoming the latest member to my beloved GII leadership family – NC! She shared with me her journey with God enroute to the DoYouLoveMe cell group and I just sat there at Ya Kun, and acknowledged the good work that the Lord is doing in her life. Her addition to the GII Shepherds means that “Plug & Play” will now be a monthly feature in the R-AGE @ GII services. (And everyone says “HURRAY!”) I can’t wait for the first installment in July!
I’d also like to record my answer to her question – “How do you spot potential in a young person?” I thought about it for a short moment and this was my response to her.
First and foremost, before you even identify any potential, you must get to know who the person is and this takes time and effort. The young people in this day and age are generally less likely to initiate approaching you, hence it’s important that you take the first step to be acquainted with them. Without any prior (or basic) knowledge of their background, personality and unique talents, you’d never get an idea of who they can become and how they can contribute to God’s kingdom.
Once that is established, it’s really about observing them. Again, this takes time and effort and most people write youths off very quickly, before they get a chance to express what they’re capable of and show you a glimpse of who they can become. I always believe that if you stick around long enough and are regular enough, young people will open up to you by the sheer virtue that you are ever-present; I’d like to believe that it’s never about charisma, but about consistency. No excuses for the introverted phlegmatic.
Now, I think I have an almost “blind” belief in young people because I trust God. I know He’s in charge of the process and I believe that He is in control of the outcome. Everyone is different and every person will become a unique jigsaw in the masterpiece of God; while some may have more significant roles and are more active than others, there is no one who is more or less important than the other – that’s my conviction, at least. So I tell myself that all I can do as a leader in authority, is to sponsor opportunities for young people to reach their potential, just like how my mentors have done so for me. I’m not afraid of making mistakes – even errors in judgment – and I think this helps the youths under me to feel that the pressure is off them. I always tell my youths that the only thing I expect them to do is to make mistakes – because I did and screwing up did me a world of wonders. Of course, I’ll try to prevent it, but I do not strive to stop it from happening. Some walls are meant to be crashed into; I always believe that God uses every single experience for His glory.
Often, I ask God to give me a vision of the “developed state” of the young person or leader that I am journeying with. I take a step of faith to believe that whatever I envision, I will play a part in helping that young person to realise his or her potential. The sense of satisfaction I enjoy when I see a youths soar in their capacities and capabilities is beyond what money can buy and what the world can offer. In an almost divine manner, God has been faithful to me – for most of the youth leaders and youths that I’ve worked with, they do eventually turn out to be what I’ve envisioned them to be. I thank God for giving me a “radical audacity” to dream and to see beyond what others can see – sometimes I even have the privilege of seeing beyond what the young person I’m journeying with can see. Don’t get me wrong – I’m far from being a soothsayer – I just try to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and act upon what is prompted in my heart.
Of course, there are some youths who didn’t quite develop the way that I had hoped that they would. Did I despair? I used to. But the older I get, the more I learn to trust God, because I know His plans for that young person are far greater than mine. God’s detours are better than Man’s direction. I’m reminded time and again that God is God, and I’m just a privileged mentor. I’m a risk-taker though, and I love to see young people lead young people. To an extent, I find myself in the process of lowering the average age of leaders in R-AGE and somehow, that gives me an immense sense of gratification – more than half of my key leaders are barely 21 years old!
After I finished my breakfast appointment with NC, I had lunch with SY and I remember telling him how he carries the potential to be one of the pillars of the cell mentors corps. He shared with me his keenness to take on the role of a service emcee (which thrilled me greatly!) and I told him that I can’t wait to retire from being an emcee because it’s such a powerful sight for him (and his peers) to take ownership of the ministry.
As if it’s not obvious enough already, R-AGE @ GII is on the threshold of revival. I feel it!
day two – the shirt that represents our unity.
I don’t know about you but it is my prayer that R-AGE @ GII never wears the PIERCE t-shirt without thinking about how they’ve earned it. Tonight’s structured experience was probably the first shocking encounter for some of the youths – I saw a myriad of emotions and I kept praying while I was in character. No one except the Holy Spirit knew there and then how much I was depending on Him to see me through – to give me the right words to speak at the right time to ignite the right emotions. I’m guessing no one saw my fears through my fierce facade but I can honestly say that if not for Jesus I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. I thank God for His grace in my delivery of the lesson.
I’ve probably said this a million time but I think I’m a really blessed youth minister – I’m surrounded by a group leaders who are sold out for Jesus and who are loyal to their youth group; shortly before I typed this, I saw YX and KJ writing encouragement cards, preparing for the next day and even as I am writing this, CK and MY are sorting out the photography and videography coverage and NC is getting ready for “Plug & Play”. It’s amazing, their level of dedication!
I’m convinced that for a youth group to thrive, they have to be united and to do so by taking ownership of it. It is my earnest prayer that my boys and girls at GII will become a body of young believers who love God, His word and each other more everyday. As I disciplined them tonight, I thanked the Lord for reminding me how much I love these young people and how much I desire for them to grow and fulfill their potential in life and in the ministry.
It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished in less than 48 hours. God is good and worthy to be praised indeed! It’s true; in a camp we can attain the unity in three days what it would normally take for three years of weekly meetings. Thank You, God, for this awesome privilege to pastor this precious flock of sheep. I love You, Lord.
day one – the dynamics of teamwork.
It’s amazing what we have accomplished, by the grace of God, in a mere 15 hours. As the committee sat down for a debrief, we ended up counting our blessings and feeling really grateful to God for what He’s done so far. We look forward to the day ahead and we pray that the first day’s lessons on being dynamic and the importance of teamwork. Should the Gladiators (campers) require an example, let them look no further than the Knights (marshals) and Generals (committee), who, I can confidently say, have put in a tremendously commendable effort and to accomplish all their undertakings with such joy and positivity.
It truly is our prayer, as shepherds of GII, that the youths will learn the real lessons in the hidden “left-hooks” of every activity. We anticipate God to move in a powerful and divine manner in the remaining two days and we believe that He will change lives and turn hearts back to Him, for His glory! Do keep us in prayer if you’re reading this.
day zero – the labour of shepherds.
It’s nearly 3am, we’ve worked since 10am and we’ll be up and ready to go 4 hours later; I love my shepherds so much. They are such a dedicated bunch of leaders who really love their youths and it is my delight to be able to serve with them. God has blessed me with an amazing team. Despite the stress and fatigue, they are still raring to go, positive and excited about the camp. The vibes in this room is inspiring. I’m so proud of each one of them and I look forward to see our synergy in motion!
I’m convinced – this WILL be the best youth camp, EVER. God, we are anticipating Your work amongst us! Pray for us if you are reading this! May His Word and His Spirit pierce our hearts for His glory!
off the record, for the record.
I’m genuinely stunned by the level of interest in my celebratory announcement – 335 hits! That’s madness, really. This is a record-breaking number of hits and it beat the previous record-breaking day by two-fold. Anyway, HY says it’s an anomaly and I concur. Nonetheless, thank you for sharing in our Dawson joy! God is good and I praise Him.
I had planned to write in advance and schedule posts during the course of the coming youth camp but since I enjoyed blogging by email via my mobile phone during Retreat, I shall attempt to retain this practice because I believe that God will continue to speak to me during Pierce, and I want to register it.
I shall leave you with a slideshow of a series of 30 encouragement cards which I have specially designed for Pierce; these will be the main vehicles of an improvised “Angel and Mortal” game that the campers will enjoy and learn from throughout the three days and nights. All pictures are original and were taken during my recent travels.
A slight sidetrack here. I believe God has begun to develop a new gift in me – prophecy. I shall withhold details for now but I think it’s a landmark I’d want to journal down for it will demarcate a new journey in my spiritual development. I look forward to a breakthrough in my spiritual gifts. I desire to walk and live by the Spirit!
announcement! change of address in 2016!
I had intended to post a very (x 1 million) long entry, which I am currently still writing, but I can’t contain the joy anymore and I must declare it immediately. I promise though, that the elaborated entry will arrive in the coming days (if not, weeks). For now, HY and I are delighted to announce that we have, by the amazing grace of God, successfully selected a four-room flat in the coveted HDB Built-To-Order project called SkyVille @ Dawson, and we cannot wait to receive the flat in the coming years. I PROMISE – details to be released soon! But for now, here’s what our future home will look like!
The following pictures were all taken from here; this link is also the official website for this project. Our address in 2016: 87 Dawson Road #11-XX, Singapore 141087. (I ought to keep the unit number secret for security reasons…) Oh man, HY and I are super overwhelmed by God’s goodness! We have had one crazy journey with the Lord and we have so much, so much to thank God for! Thank you for all your prayers! HY and I are on our way to becoming property owners! Can’t wait! Can’t Wait!! CAN’T WAIT!!! (((:
joey asher | misunderstoodsunshinekid 