A New Kind of Church 1

BY REV DR FOREST KOH

I was called to serve in a church without really grasping what church is supposed to be. In fact, many of my friends also didn’t understand why I left the entertainment scene to become a pastor! 

It all happened in this way. First, I went to seminary to find out about my faith in response to a group of Christians encountering a lot of brokenness in their marriages. I was thinking at that time, what is the difference between a Christian marriage and a non-Christian one? We seemed to go through the same struggles of fragility, helplessness and hopelessness. Is there something wrong with our faith? The divorce rate among Christians is almost as high as that of non-Christians. What can we do about it? Perhaps, we have believed wrongly?

So, I left my work as an artiste and went to seminary, with no plans to serve in the church.

Three years later, I came back. From an artiste, I became a preacher. What changed me? God’s Word! My perspective of church changed, particularly through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, zeroing in on these two verses:

“And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)

Christ is the head of the church, and we are His body. Jesus saved me, He loves me dearly and I belong to Him. I wanted to stay close to Christ, and the closest place to Christ is the church. Logically, church is the best place to be with Christ.

With this simple understanding of church, I joined the church. Simple understanding produced simple faith. I think Jesus loves my simple faith, and He strengthened me as I had a real taste of His body. I encountered many conflicts as I served, partly because of my naivety and our sinful nature. Sometimes it was hard to distinguish between God-seeking and self-seeking: we claim to rely on God and then we move on in faith, but some leave the faith altogether. I thank God that, by His grace, I moved on.

I believe Jesus loves my simple faith, one in which I just look upon Him and commit my all in all to Him. And especially in times of helplessness and hopelessness, I believe in Him and move on and trust that miracles will happen. He has either transformed the whole situation, or He has changed me into His likeness. Never walk away.

In fact, this was also the answer I found in response to the broken marriages among Christians. Before I went to the seminary, I did not know what to do. After 3 years of equipping, I was made aware that I can’t do anything, and this was a great relief! Because it is always the Holy Spirit who convicts and changes us. (John 16:8) So, I prayed with God and relied on Him as I walked with these couples. I prayed that they would see their sins of self-centeredness and selfishness in the marriage. I know it is not me who changed them, but the Holy Spirit.

I have gained insight into the profound mystery that Paul mentioned regarding Christ and the church (Eph 5:32). Just as Christ loved the church unconditionally, husbands are called to love their wives. In the same manner, we are to love one another. This mystery revolves around the continuous act of loving in the Spirit and eagerly anticipating how He would transform us. Christ is the head of the church, and we are intimately His body. This should be the church we are working towards -- a loving and intimate church!

But I have yet to mention an important part of what church really is…  [To be continued]