We understand that the gospel contains God s truth which is relevant to all human beings. No one can say that they do not need the gospel. It is avail

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袁牛
6 years ago
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1 Wher here e are e the Chinese Missionaries? I was speaking at the first Trans-world Baptist Missions Youth Conference in August. I think it is relevant for pastors to think through how they nurture and impart a stronger mission-mindedness for their congregations. Below is the excerpt of my talk. I began to conduct a survey with two simple questions. : How many languages can you speak fluently? Languages do not include dialects. Fluently means you can readily engage and converse in that language on a daily basis. : How many cultures can you cross or live comfortably in? By culture, it refers to different sets of worldview and values. The ability to cross or to live comfortably in means that living in a different culture would not generate too much unnecessary stress or discomfort for you. The number of hands showed for question one was higher than those for question two. This usual response shows that acquiring a new language is much easier than acquiring a new culture. Why is this so? The reason is that language is more precise, technical, and systematic. Once the fundamentals of the linguistic system are grasped and mastered, more linguistic semantics can be acquired and built upon. The process of learning becomes easier. Culture, on the other hand, is more abstract. A quick internet search on the definition of culture will show just how many different ideas and ways to understand what culture refers to. Culture is multi-faceted and more dynamic than language. Whereas a language takes a long time to evolve, significant shifts in some elements of culture can occur in just a few years. Take technology as an example, with the advances in social media networks; such as Whatsapp and Facebook, the culture of relating to one another is no longer the same. Also, learning a culture requires adequate relational interactions to understand the contextual realities. It requires us to have both a strong perceptive analysis and a reflective application. Therefore, it may take many years to feel at ease with a new culture but only a couple of years to converse with a new language. info- @alumni.hkbts.edu.hk When we transfer this concept to mission, relating it to the translatability of the gospel, we can conclude that the linguistic translation of the gospel is much faster and easier than the cultural translation of the gospel. Gospel is both trans-cultural and supra-cultural. What this means is that the gospel can be fitted into any cultures on earth. In associate with this, there are two things that need to look into: 1) the nature of the gospel and 2) the power of the gospel. 1

2 We understand that the gospel contains God s truth which is relevant to all human beings. No one can say that they do not need the gospel. It is available to all men as a gift regardless of who they are and where they are. At the heart of the gospel is the incarnation of Jesus Christ: the incarnate word (God) became human. The incarnate Word of God can be spoken in any language on earth. In essence, the gospel is Jesus came (His incarnation) to die (His crucifixion) to give us life (His resurrected life). The gospel will bring forth fruit for the God's Kingdom. The Bible says that the gospel is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). Behind the gospel is the power of God. It is at work when the gospel is shared. We also understand that the gospel is the word of God which is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Then, the key is: someone needs to bring the gospel to the nations. Romans 10:14-15 says that how, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? We need more good and faithful gospel bearers to stand up and take the gospel to the nations. Where are the Chinese missionaries? It is true that Chinese are spread all over the world. They are known not because of their missionary involvements but because of the business opportunities: to open Chinese restaurants or grocery stores, or do imports and exports. In the same way, Koreans are also spread all over the world. They are known not just because of the Samsung (senor) phones and the Korean BBQ restaurants. They are known also because of their missional zeal and passion. When I was studying at the seminary, one of my Korean classmates told me that he would become a missionary to China after his graduation. China just started to be more open to the Western world in the early 1980s. I asked him what he would do. He simply answered training more Chinese pastors. I asked him, Do you speak Mandarin? He did not answer me directly but he confidently replied, I would learn. I asked, why China? His simple reply was, why not? My Korean friend would not give No as the answer, but would rather passionately challenge why not? Now, he is in charge of a sophisticated network of Korean-run seminaries in China. With many Korean missionaries carry a similar passion and mindset like my classmate, no wonder the total number of Korean missionaries as of January 2012 is more than 23,000 according to Korean World Missions Association. The growth rate of the Korean missionary force is doubled about every 10 years (10,422 in 2002 vs. 19,798 in 2012 from the Korea Research Institute for Mission). As for the Chinese missionary force, we may not be able to get a concrete total number of the Chinese missionaries, because no on-going systematic global survey has been done in this area at present. However, according to CCCOWE in 2011, there were 2,167 Chinese missionaries. So roughly, looking at the previous statistics, the number of Chinese missionaries has been constantly been one tenth of the total Korean missionary force. The rate of the Chinese missionary force is about 100 new missionaries per year. The number of Chinese missionaries is much lower than the Korean missionaries. We need to see more Chinese missionaries bring the gospel to the nations! Chinese churches are full of talented individuals and have good financial resources. Yet, where are the Chinese missionaries? This is a very complicated matter. I would like to make two observations here: 1) God s Blessing - we have kept it and enjoyed it well. 2 The word blessing here is in singular form. It refers to God-ordained blessing where it is uniquely given for the purpose of blessing others or sharing with others. But God s blessing is never meant to be kept. Just like Abram in the OT, God told Abram to go to a place where He would show him. This certainly challenged Abram to have faith to trust God to move to an unknown place. On the other hand, God promised Abram that He would make him into a great nation. He would bless him. He would make Abram's name great (Gen. 12:2). Please take note that there is no instruction for Abram to keep the blessing. In fact, God articulated clearly that the purpose of Abram's blessing is to become a blessing to others so that all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. In the same way, for us who are Chinese, we have been receiving the Lord's blessing abundantly and we are to share it. However, we have kept it well for our enjoyment. We have missed to see clearly the original purpose behind the blessing that we have been given.

2) God s Blessing - we have kept it and enjoyed it well. When we are not strategic and intentional in nurturing and training more missionaries, it may simply reveal that we have no vision for it.

3 2) God s Blessing - we have kept it and enjoyed it well. When we are not strategic and intentional in nurturing and training more missionaries, it may simply reveal that we have no vision for it. It is so true that we cannot devote ourselves and commit any resources to something that we do not have a vision for. Do we have a heart to nurture missionaries? Pastors and church leaders are too busy and have too many meetings to chair and ministry to attend to. Parents desire to train up their kids to be spiritual and good enough Christians but not to be the "too good" ones so that they may commit themselves to become full-time Christian workers. Even if the church has a missions committee with some missions programs and projects, churches are busy with the missions policy making, setting program objectives, and doing different missions projects. They are so busy to keep up with so many items and tasks. If they can do these tasks well, then they consider themselves to be doing a good and sufficient job already. The above realities reveal that the priority is seldom on missionary nurturing. Good missionary talents are often neglected by pastors, crushed by parents, or suffocated by many missions activities. This may be one of the unaware but critical weaknesses in Chinese churches today. Many missions committee members work on different projects, particularly the short term missions (STM). They see STM as a ministry project. Once the STM is done, the project is finished. They move on to the next STM. They miss seeing the STM as a foundational element in a process of learning and nurturing for missionaries. I would call this process. A global discipleship process does not mean more Bible studies, prayers, Bible memorization, and meditation. Rather, it is a growing process where Christians learn to see the broken world through the lens of missio Dei and embrace a kingdom worldview of living. We badly need to embrace a Christian worldview which our hearts can readily be broken by the things that break God s heart. I propose and encourage a global discipleship process through a 4-E model: 1) : an intentional missional exposure with some specific and appropriate learning objectives according to the participants maturity. 2) : a systematic study on key missional themes such as: missio Dei, the global church, the integral gospel and mission, and the kingdom of God. 3) : an ongoing inspiration from some missional figures which creates a deeper thirst for personal growth and development. 4) : an unceasing support and encouragement from the significant others: particularly from the pastors and parents. This slide suggests the dynamics of a 4-E unit. Though it normally starts with a STM trip or an exposure trip, this 4-E unit can be very dynamic in terms of their cohesive relatedness. The corresponding deeper impacts of the 4-E unit: Experience Interest; Education Understanding; Example Passion; Edification Involvement. The key pivotal one is the cultivation of missional passion which will naturally release greater level of involvement. 3

As we just had our first Trans-World Baptist Youth Missions Conference, my prayer is that in the second and third conferences, we will see younger Chinese missionaries join hands with some seasoned

4 This slide suggests the increase of the sense of kingdom living and being as one goes through the cycles of different 4-E units. The more mature the person becomes, the more he is aware of his unique role and function in the kingdom of God. As we just had our first Trans-World Baptist Youth Missions Conference, my prayer is that in the second and third conferences, we will see younger Chinese missionaries join hands with some seasoned Chinese missionaries in ministry. I believe that the below final encouragement I gave at the conference is also applicable to all pastors as well: You were not only saved from eternal damnation but also are saved for a purpose Don t dream the wrong dream Be strategic and be significant Live out a life of passion for God s kingdom May God use all of us to be disciplers and catalysts to nurture more labourers for the kingdom of God. May God be merciful to us and bless us so that in return we can truly be a blessing to others. ~ END ~ (Rev Pak Loh) 4

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6 收入香港浸信會神學院校友會收支報告日期摘要金額 ( 港元 ) 日期摘要金額 ( 港元 ) 13 年 3 月 4 日職員退修會收費 HK$ 年 3 月 4 日校友會詩班午膳津貼 HK$ 年 5 月 6 日利息收入 HK$ 年 3 月 4 日影印 HK$ 年 5 月 8 日文展圖永久年費 HK$1, 年 5 月 8 日譚平斌校友花圈金 HK$ 年 5 月 16 日黃嘉儀年費 HK$ 年 5 月 8 日招待方惠芬校友午膳津貼 HK$ 年 5 月 31 日鄭國邦永久年費 HK$1, 年 5 月 8 日影印 HK$ 年 5 月 31 日梁永生永久年費 HK$1, 年 5 月 24 日牧靈專訊印刷及郵費 HK$2, 年 6 月 3 日劉其盛永久年費 HK$1, 年 5 月 27 日專題講座講員費 HK$ 年 6 月 3 日陳碧儀永久年費 HK$1, 年 6 月 20 日會員大會午膳費 HK$1, 年 6 月 3 日黃道昌年費 HK$ 年 7 月 4 日校友會原子印 HK$ 年 6 月 3 日劉福全年費 HK$ 年 6 月 3 日莊淑慧年費 HK$ 年 6 月 3 日會員大會午膳收費 HK$ 年 6 月 7 日林惠珠永久年費 HK$1, 年 8 月 6 日利息收入 HK$ 年 8 月 23 日鄧頌思年費 HK$ 年 8 月 30 日司徒嘉敏永久年費 HK$1, 支出 HK$8, HK$8, 本期盈餘 HK$6, HK$2, HK$8, 截至 31/08/2013 恆生銀行往來戶口存款 HK$66, 截至 31/08/2013 恆生銀行定期存款 HK$85, ( 到期日 :6/11/2013) 截至 31/08/2013 現金結存 HK$ 司庫 : 容志偉核數 : 張澍佳

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8 香港浸信會神學院校友會浸神一家親, 你我齊關心校友聯誼活動津貼申請表目的 : 鼓勵校友加強校友之間或與班會之聯繫活動時間 : 年月日 ( 禮拜 ) 早上 / 下午 / 晚上 / 全日地點 : 內容 :( 摘要 ) 參與人數 : 校友名 + 其他人名 = 總數人校友姓名 : 畢業年份 : 至 ( 出席者可屬跨屆校友 ) 班長 / 班代表 / 負責人姓名 : ( 年畢業校友 ) 電話 : 傳真 : 電郵申請日期 : 申請人 : 8 1) 此申請表應在活動後一星期內電郵到 allenyung@ymail.com 注給司庫容志偉傳道 ; 意 2) 同單位每年最多可申請兩次津貼 ( 不管是否分批舉行 ); 每次港幣壹百元 ; 出席校友人數不得少於五人

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12 (President Jeff P. Iorg) 12

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17 (1970) (1980) (1985) (1988) (1988) (1991) (1997) (1997) (1999) (2005) (2010) (2011) (1997) (2000) (1992) (1965) (1991) (1995) (2002) (1975) (1989)

18 相片 1: 方惠芬校友訪港, 與三位校友晚膳 :( 由左至右 ) 羅耀芸方惠芬胡文俊陳志強相片 2: 趙璧礎校友應香港浸聯會邀請擔任第 74 屆年會崇拜會的講員相片 3: 方惠芬校友訪港, 與八位校友午膳 :( 前排左至右 ) 黎蓮好方惠芬陳平明王敏芝張蘊英 ;( 後排左至右 ) 方林偉朱維亮胡文俊何家倫 18 相片 4: 張順堯校友 ( 左 3) 接受香港主恩堂按牧, 禮成後與家人及主禮人合照

19 相片 5: 校友會舉行周年會員大會, 校友會詩班 12 位詩班員獻唱聖詩相片 6: 會眾專心聆聽余雋瑞牧師的專題信息相片 7: 曹院長代表校友會向講員余雋瑞牧師致謝相片 8: 舉行下屆職員選舉 : 曹院長監票, 葉偉洪校友協助唱票 19 相片 9: 新一屆職員, 與出席者拍攝大合照留念

20 相片 10: 聚會結束前, 校友先分組彼此代禱, 互相支持相片 11: 聚會結束前, 校友先分組彼此代禱, 互相支持相片 12: 參加午膳的校友, 於席間分享近況並享用美食 20 相片 13: 參加午膳的校友, 於席間分享近況並享用美食

21 相片 14: 校友會招待校本部新生午膳, 並由曹偉彤院長謝飯禱告相片 16: 師生共享愛筵相片 15: 副會長葉偉洪校友分享相片 18: 曹院長於席間勉勵新同學相片 17: 黃滿麟校友分享 21 相片 19: 午膳後新同學與老師及校友會職員大合照

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24 香港浸信會神學院校友會會員登記表表格請以正楷填寫, 以便電腦處理之用所提供的資料只供母院及校友會聯絡之用新 / 續期會員申請資料更新 ( 請於適當的或內加上 ) 姓名 : ( 中 ) ( 英 ) 牧師 / 先生 / 女士 / 伉儷通訊地址 : 電郵地址 : 傳真 : 工作機構 : 機構地址 : 電話 : ( 住 ) ( 辦 ) ( 手提 ) 修讀課程 : 裝備傳道課程畢業年份 : 神學碩士道學碩士宗教教育碩士基督教研究碩士教牧輔導碩士 / 文憑跨文化研究高級文憑宗教教育高級文憑文學士教牧學 ( 教會音樂 / 宗教教育 / 神學學士 / 道學學士 ) 造就信徒課程畢業年份 : 神學學士教牧進修課程聖經文憑聖工學士文學士 ( 宗教學 ) 基督教研究碩士其他 : 基督教研究學士會費 : 一年會費 $100( 獲發為期一年之校友證 ) 年 x $100( 獲發相等年期之校友證 ) 永久會費 $1000( 獲發永久校友證 ) 付款方式 : 銀行入賬 ( 請附入數紙 ) 支票 ( 編號 : ) 金額 :$ 備註 : 1. 支票抬頭香港浸信會神學院校友會, 或自行存入恆生銀行戶口 : (HKBTS Alumni Association), 已辦銀行入 / 轉賬者請將收據副本連同申請表遞交本會, 有關友誼會員資格可致電向母校同工羅佩珊姊妹 (Sanny) 查詢 2. 填妥後請傳真 (852) 或寄回香港新界西貢北西澳年明路一號香港浸信會神學院校友會收 (Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary Alumni Association, 1 Nin Ming Road, Sai O, Sai Kung (North), N.T., Hong Kong) 申請人簽署 : 填寫日期 : 持校友證優惠憑香港浸信會神學院校友會發出之會員證, 校友除參加校友會收費活動可獲折扣優惠外, 亦可享有母校下列提供個人之優惠服務 : 八折優惠 (* 無校友證者, 可享九折優惠 ) 1. 收費之公開學術活動 ; 2. 神學院出版之書刊物品 ( 只限自用 ); 3. 短期租用母校地方設施自用 ( 只限個人及直屬家眷 ), 包括 :(1) 營舍房間 (2) 大中小課室 ( 西澳院舍及市區教育中心 ) 特別收費 1. 西澳院舍練琴室按時收費與本院非裝備傳道課程學生相同 2. 於西澳院舍大禮堂舉行婚禮, 收費與浸聯會堂會會友相同 ( 只限個人 ) 3. 西澳燒烤場收費與母校教職員及學生相同 ( 只限個人及直屬家眷 ) 24 如有查詢歡迎致電或透過 info- @alumni.hkbts.edu.hk 與羅佩珊姊妹 (Sanny) 聯絡詳細之優惠一覽表可於浸神網頁進入校友會內之消息通告欄中下載

2013.11.25 ( 禮拜一 ) 浸神校友會校友會郊遊郊遊 : 西貢海岸遊觀賞海岸海岸優美優美景色, 享受結伴同遊結伴同遊樂趣!

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元 ; 其餘費用費用全部全部自付 ( 出處 : Localbug 網站 ) 報名查詢 : 浸神同工 SANNY (2768-5117) 或胡文俊校友

25 ( 禮拜一 ) 浸神校友會校友會郊遊郊遊 : 西貢海岸遊觀賞海岸海岸優美優美景色, 享受結伴同遊結伴同遊樂趣! 集合午膳 :11:00AM 西貢海旁街 53 號全記海鮮菜館午膳西貢碼頭坐船出發遊覽路線 : 1:00PM 橋咀洲吊鐘洲滘西洲 ( 出處 : 約下五時回到西貢碼頭西貢碼頭解散費用津貼 : 繳費會員教授教授及全時間神學生, 每位津貼船費 40 元 ; 其他每位津貼每位津貼船費 20 元 ; 其餘費用費用全部全部自付 ( 出處 : Localbug 網站 ) 報名查詢 : 浸神同工 SANNY ( ) 或胡文俊校友 ( ) 或黃滿麟校友 ( ) 截止報名 :16/11 ( 名額有限, 報名從速 ) ( 出處 : 住 free 啲網站 ) 浸神一家親, 你我齊關心 25

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hks298cover&back 2957 6364 2377 3300 2302 1087 www.scout.org.hk scoutcraft@scout.org.hk 2675 0011 5,500 Service and Scouting Recently, I had an opportunity to learn more about current state of service in Hong Kong