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the makings of a great boss.
My relatively short working life of six years has seen me through three organisations, one each in the government, private and charitable sectors, both local and overseas. And I’ve had the opportunity to work with and under the leadership of six bosses, so I am able to differentiate a good boss from a great boss. (No, I will not write about the bad ones.) And without over-spiritualising my thoughts, for I know who my real Boss is, I’d like to share my thoughts on the current one – RY – a man whom I admire greatly and one whom I model after.
First and foremost, I consider it a great blessing to be working with my friend and mentor – someone who has seen me through the ups and downs of my life for nearly a decade. He knows me inside out – my strengths and weaknesses – and knows how to challenge and correct me at the same time. RY has been there for me from the day I developed a desire for full-time ministry to the day God confirmed the calling for me to enter. He was with me at the interview with Grace before I left for Shanghai (yes, I nearly joined Grace in 2007). And he was there with me at the interview last October.
The great gifts that a boss could give to his subordinate is to first believe in and sponsor opportunities for him, protect and fight for him, groom and guide him, listen to and let him share his dreams, and whenever necessary, rebuke and humble him. RY has been an excellent boss because he does all that and a little bit more. I know that he looks out for me from behind the scenes but never announces it. I also know that he wisely refrains from telling me what I need not know because he has my best interests at heart. We don’t give enough credit given for these understated attributes, but it certainly affirms my loyalty to him and gives me the drive to work harder for a boss like that. More importantly, it makes me want to trust him and entrust myself to his captaincy.
Something that I greatly respect RY for was how he deliberately chose not to tell me about his ministry plans for me when I nearly joined in 2007. He understood me well enough and knew that if he had let the cat out of the bag, I’d have jumped onboard on impulse, wanting to take on the exciting challenge. Instead, he patiently waited for God to deal with me and for me to make a decision to enter full-time ministry with my motivations fixated on pleasing God alone. Throughout this time, he continued to pray for me and waited two years before I was available to make that decision again.
To be honest, a great pull factor for me in coming into full-time work with Grace, is that I’d be able to work with and learn from RY on a day-to-day basis and on an intimate and intense capacity. It is rare that anyone can find a boss who is able to completely understand the professional and personal struggles that you are dealing with because he has gone through all of it himself. For that, I have the blessing to learn from his journey of both faith and frustration. While I may learn mentoring principles from books and other speakers, I experience mentoring principles lived out firsthand from RY’s God-led handling of me. There have been more times than one that when I mull over ministry decisions, I find myself asking, “Now, what would Ronald do in this situation?” – That’s the extent of RY’s influence in my life.
As he debriefed me today in the office after I delivered the sermon (which I really enjoyed!), I was filled with a deep sense of gratitude for a good and godly boss who leads by example and who takes the effort to work with me on the details. He doesn’t need to go the extra miles for me, but he chooses to. At the end of the feedback session, before we entered the lift, I patted him on the back and thanked him, from the bottom of my heart, for taking care of me. For all the years that I will continue to work with him, I’m penning this moment down because I’ll always want to remember that RY is the best boss that I’ve had, yet. I confidently know that Jesus must have been a great boss because I see His greatness in my life through RY. Thank you Lord, for sending RY into my life.
And thank you, Pastor Ronald, I love you.
the first was a woman.
I have been given the privilege to preach for the entire month of April. First, a traditional Easter message, followed by three consecutive sermons of lessons we can learn from three selected New Testament characters. This is one of the biggest ministry challenges for me (yet) and I absolutely relish it.
The Holy Spirit inspired me to merge the character study series together with the Easter message. As a result, this weekend I will launch the series and present to you my observations of Mary Magdalene – the gutsy lady who was last with Jesus in His humiliation, and the same lady whom Jesus first appeared to in His resurrection. What an impressive reputation to own!
(There’s an external speaker confirmed for the Sunday youth service) So may I invite all who are reading this to head on down to Grace II this Saturday (3rd April) at 3pm, to hear from and learn with me the outstanding attributes of Mary Magdalene. Discover for yourself how relevant her experiences can be for you!
Extracted from John 20:1-18 (New Living Translation)
Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”
Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple outran Peter and got there first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying to the side. Then the other disciple also went in, and he saw and believed—for until then they hadn’t realized that the Scriptures said he would rise from the dead. Then they went home.
Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels sitting at the head and foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
She glanced over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said. She turned toward him and exclaimed, “Teacher!”
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
Tomorrow will be my first Good Friday as a full-time staff and I’m filled with even greater awe of what Christ has gone through for me. See you this weekend!
leaving a legacy.
For this blog, I refrain from narrative writing, but I want to testify of God’s goodness, so here it is.
This afternoon, just before my champs headed for lunch, I taught them Steve Green’s “Find Us Faithful”. For some reason, I was impressed to do this last night when I was seeking God for them. As it turned out, this simple one-song singspiration unexpectedly evolved into a powerful time of ministry. As the tears streamed, hearts responded, eyes turned, emotions stirred, hands raised and commitments evoked, I’d like to believe that God was doing a work of renewal and refreshing in their perhaps jaded journey.
I prayed over them and challenged them to remember why they have decided to be a part of REAL. And as I prayed, I was convinced that we cannot and will not be able to accomplish the upcoming work and undergo the remaining training by our own strength and motivation. We have to and must turn to God, for it is His grace that would see us through and His power that would be perfected in our weakness. I felt so much passion dripping in my prayer and God’s anointing really moved me to tears.
In a week, three would depart from this group and in a month, I’d graduate the remaining 12. (I anticipate it to be a bittersweet sentimental moment.) I reminded them again that the success of REAL is not about what happens or is completed in these two months but about who they will turn out to be in the years to come. What is the legacy that they desire to leave behind for future REAL participants and the current and next generation of young people? What is the legacy that you want to leave behind for others who would come behind you?
So before the REAL team writes their own song, I hereby declare this timeless classic to be REAL programme’s official theme song. The ministry in L4R7 was undoubtedly the highlight of today. God’s presence was so strong in the room; I believe we were standing on holy ground.
Find Us Faithful
by Steve GreenWe’re pilgrims on the journey of the narrow road
And those who’ve gone before us line the way
Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary
Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining graceSurrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us, let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly livesChorus:
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithfulAfter all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we’ve left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must findRepeat chorus
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
built for ministry.
I’ve been tremendously busy (an understatement) leading the REAL programme and playing the role of G2 youth community overseer (amongst other 6 other roles) but I’ve never felt more fulfilled in my working life than now. I consider it a wonderful privilege to be able to marry work and ministry into the same hours. I’m basically doing for a living what I’ve always loved and getting remunerated for it.
Each time I see a young person take positive steps towards becoming more Godly, each time I witness a young person change for the better, I thank God that He’s doing His work through me. It’s an amazing feeling to wake up each day knowing that you may have an opportunity to impact the life of a young person under your shepherding. These experiences cannot be purchased with money or substituted by material gains. Besides, God has more than provided for me in the last few months. Of course I could always have a little more but I am more than contented with what I have.
On a daily basis, I look forward to meet my beloved REAL 2010 super kids and on a weekly basis I look forward to meeting my RLs and CMs. It’s time to buckle down to seeking God and interceding seriously for these precious ones. I thank God for how my sheep have responded to me so far – open, honest and teachable – and I truly believe that that’s God’s grace and favour upon me.
I’ve been telling HY of late that I’m more and more convinced that I’m designed and built for ministry. I thank and praise God for allowing me to be a part of what He’s doing in the lives of the young people under my care.
I will try to update more regularly. Please bear with this period of inactivity. Thank you.
P/S REAL Super Kids – As promised, I’ve updated my links so you can find the links to your fellow super kids there.
a decade of lessons learnt.
A few weeks ago, MF approached me to send her some lessons learnt while I was growing up. It wasn’t difficult coming up with content and I could write a lot more but here are 10 lessons that rolled off the top of my head. Seven of them were published in the R-AGE bulletin, so I’ll add three more here.
- You will make mistakes. Just don’t make the same ones.
- You will only get busier and busier, so start the habit of serving God as early as possible.
- School friends are friends for a season. Church friends are friends for life.
- Accountability doesn’t imprison you but sets you free.
- Having someone believe in you is the greatest gift you’ll ever receive.
- Never underestimate the power of encouraging someone else.
- No amount of ministry can compensate for failure in the familly.
- The quantity of close friends decreases as you age, but the quality of friendship increases. Invest more time in less people.
- You cannot please everyone, so stop trying. There is nothing more assuring than God’s approval.
- The higher you rise in leadership, the more you need to be comfortable with being alone.
I guess I could go on and on with a plethora of thoughts, really. That’s precisely why I have decided to resume blogging – to capture one thought a day, everyday, from an otherwise overwhelming influx of ideas. It’d be an achievement if I could capture and expand on 365 thoughts annually. Let’s see how far this blog would take me on my cognitive journey.
never forget that it’s ministry.
Last week, as I routinely called the 80-over potential REAL candidates, I found myself repeating the same lines and asking everyone the same question, just phrased differently. My purpose in calling them was to put a voice to a name and to put a name to a programme. At the same time I also wanted to acquaint myself with more young people.
Most of them responded in the same manner; they confirmed their contact information and acknowledged that they would be awaiting my email before they respond from there. On a side note, I was reminded of the massive responsibility that a preacher has and how crucial it is to exercise his influence well. People KNOW and REMEMBER who you are once you go on stage and your public profile increases significantly whether you realise it or not.
When I met with my first and only “I am not interested” response, it caught me offguard. I simply, like a professional telemarketer, responded with a polite “thank you” and “maybe another time then”. When I put down the phone, I still hadn’t realise that with every new phone call made, I am starting to miss the whole point of calling in the first place.
CX snapped me into place. She had overheard my conversation and asked me why I didn’t ask the person why he wasn’t keen on REAL. “Maybe he backslided? Maybe something happened? Maybe he needs someone to talk to him?” I sobered immediately and realised that I should have been more pastoral in my approach instead of being just professional and polite.
It was a good nudge on the purpose of ministry. It’s been a week since and this anecdote still lingers in my head. May we never forget that it’s always about ministering to people and not about the task to be completed.
P/S – Yes, I am attempting to revive this blog by writing more regularly.
just as blessed.
We all have our own journeys of faith to take. Every person who goes into full time ministry embarks on a different route. And it doesn’t mean that a person who does NOT go into full time will end up any better or worse (however it’s being defined) as a full time staff. Do I struggle with the possibility that I might not have enough? I might if I consider the lives of the current full time staff that are seated beside me. But why should I look upon their lives as a probable outcome of me? That would totally limit God to operate – I want to offer up a clean sheet of canvas for Him to paint on.
However, on the topic of material well-being, I think that it doesn’t matter at all. By fixating our eyes on temporal things, which pass away after all and which we bring not with us when we die naked just as we were born, we would have completely missed the whole point of what following Christ is about. I think that a call to ministry and a call to the marketplace is JUST as important. There isn’t a “greater” or more “noble” calling. We’re both as privileged and as empowered to carry out the Great Commission. I’d like to think that Jesus wasn’t asking for some, or asking you to be rich or to be poor to follow Him – He was asking you to give your all and be nothing. So that He can be everything. I’m learning this daily.
As I wait for the torrential downpour to subside before I head off to work, I am reminded that God’s rain falls on everyone – full time ministers, marketplace ministers, students, parents, Christians, non-Christians. It doesn’t matter. Hence I’d like to think that our destiny is really in our own hands, just as it was in Adam’s hands. The crux of the matter is in where and who we are turning our eyes to. I don’t expect everyone to see sense in my decision because sometimes I struggle to see sense too. But I know this for sure – I want to obey God. And I think (for now), that’s all that matters.
Have a blessed day. Obey God. That’s all that matters.
joey asher | misunderstoodsunshinekid 