Salt And Light newsletter (2nd issue)

October 2015

Second Issue

SALT and LIGHT Your VCBC English Congregation Newsletter

Mere Atheism Loving the Creator with our minds in a godless world P. 9 Missionary Impossible Sharing Christ in Cambridge, Guatemala and… at UBC? P. 12 Knocking on Heaven’s Door How our church can be more welcoming P. 18

Salt and Light Your VCBC English Congregation Newsletter Second Issue October 2015

Contents Editor Chris Cheung Wizard Copy Editors Jackson Leung Cindy So Vivian Wong Congregational Life Leader Jeff Jung Cover, Layout, and Logo Shirley Wu Artwork Chris Cheung Tiffany Fong Sabrina Li Mike She Vivian Wong

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esus tells us in Matthew 5 that we are the light of the world.

“A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Imagine that. Christians—knowing who God is and who we are in Him—hiding under a bowl, hiding that truth under a bowl. Imagine VCBC hidden under a bowl, doing its own thing quietly.

Imagine your own faith hidden under a bowl; you go about your own life and it never shows.

There are some challenges in this newsletter and some stories too, all about how we can bring God’s light up on a stand for others to see. Our members

share how faith wrestles against materialism and how Biblical values meet social justice. Our students share how God guides and supports them through their education. And outside of our backyard, VCBC young adults journey with some peers from other churches and, even further still, missions takes our members to the U.K. and Guatemala.

Taking in some of these testimonies, we hope we all examine where our own stories might be headed. What do we need to surrender? If we follow His call to action, we are certain He will shine through us.

Publisher Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church Pastoral Staff John Chen Don Gardner Rita Ho Gilbert Nigh Sam Wong

04 Jerusalem and Antioch

by Pastor John Chen

12 Poster Boy for Jesus

by Jackson Leung

05 Why Go To Church

by Pastor Rita Ho

14 Hearts in Tactic

by Jonathan Lim

06 Staying On Task When I Just Don’t Get It!

by Rev. Don Gardner

16 Rhythms of Grace

by Mike She

07 Two Gospels?

by Rev. Gilbert Nigh

17 Throwsanna in the Highest

by Chloe Chan

08 Getting Rid of Stuff

by Alfred Lu

CHURCH AND STATE What’s up on the corner of Culloden

09 Mere Atheism

by Aaron Bonkowski

18 Knocking on Heaven’s Door

by Chris Cheung

10 Ups and Downs

by Lydia Nigh

19 Park at the Park Alfred Lu

11 Why I Am A Feminist

by Einar Wong

20 God Goes to High School

by Charlotte Choi

22 Degrees of Worry

by Jackson Leung

Previously published as iiConnect.

Contact Jeff at congregational_life@vcbc.bc.ca

BACKYARD AND KINGDOM Brothers and sisters outside church walls

21 Where I Belong

by Sabrina Li

Special thanks to church secretary Cindy So for printing.

Questions? Suggestions?

We are always looking for more stories for future issues of Salt and Light.

ACTS AND APOSTLES Thoughts on keeping the faith

Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church 7474 Culloden St. Vancouver, BC V5X 4K2 www.vcbc.bc.ca/english facebook.com/vcbcenglish

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Why Go To Church

Acts and Apostles Thoughts on keeping the faith

by Pastor Rita Ho

Jerusalem and Antioch

going to love this! If you’re

by Pastor John Chen

spiritually dead, you won’t want

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to read it. If you’re spiritually curious, there is still hope!

Illustration Vivian Wong

hen I dream of what a good church should be, I am led to what Lord Jesus had envisioned for His church and what the two first century churches (Jerusalem and Antioch) embodied.

Jesus said to his first disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18–20) This is Jesus’ vision for His church, a church that carries out His command of evangelism and discipleship, and enjoys His presence with them.

The two first century churches embodied that vision. Acts 2:42–47 describes the life of the first Christian church, following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit and the conversion of 3,000 on the day of Pentecost: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

The Jerusalem church set its focus on God, manifested in its devotion to the word of God (the apostles’ teaching), to fellowship, and to worship; the church is a loving community, sharing life together, and offering to share their possessions when there are needs. All these are important aspects of discipleship. Their witness

Illustration Chris Cheung

If you’re spiritually alive, you’re

Looking to old churches for modern insights.

was so powerful that “the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” From this we see that evangelism is their daily work, and Acts 2 to 8 describes many examples of their active evangelism.

Acts 11:19–26 describes the formation and the early life of the Antioch church: “Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.

Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith,

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and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

The Christians at Antioch not only did active evangelism, they also broke the racial and cultural barriers of their time and shared the gospel to the Greeks. Solid discipleship was carried out in the church (verses 23 and 26), and their new life is so much characterized as followers of Christ that people began to call them Christians.

May we at VCBC, like the Jerusalem and Antioch churches, also embody the vision of our Lord, actively carrying out evangelism and building true disciples of Christ for His kingdom.

This is not a new dream and vision, but an old one, as our church’s vision and mission statement testifies to it. Let it not remain on paper, but lived out in our lives. ■

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received an email recently regarding the topic of why go to church: If you’re spiritually alive, you’re going to love this! If you’re spiritually dead, you won’t want to read it. If you’re spiritually curious, there is still hope!

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When you are DOWN to nothing… God is UP to something!

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Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

“I have gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I cannot remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the priests are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the letters to the editor section. But much to the delight of the editor, it went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: “I have been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work.

“If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

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Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

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When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, “Jesus, could you get that for me, while I forward this message to your children.”

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If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all!

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B.I.B.L.E. simply means: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!

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When you carry the Bible, Satan has a headache; when you open it, he collapses; when he sees you reading it; he loses his strength.

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When you stand on the Word of God, Satan can’t hurt you!

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I hope that this message can give all of us a good reminder and encouragement when we don’t want to go to church. Amen! ■

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Right The Nigh family at Victoria Falls, but the

Staying On Task When I Just Don’t Get It!

real landmark is a young Chris Nigh’s hair.

by Rev. Don Gardner

Illustration Vivian Wong

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ot everything about following Christ is easy or even seems to make sense! Indeed, most things about following Him are not easy, but for me, I usually find a way to “hang in there” even as I continue to try and understand why God is doing certain things or requires certain behaviour of me. How about you?

A day or two ago, one of our church members and I got in a short discussion about the fairness of God and how it would be so much easier to trust God completely if He’d just act in a way that we could grasp as clear and fair. Wouldn’t you agree that it would be nice if everything God did could be easily explained and justified by our understanding? Hmm. Maybe yes? Or maybe no?

I appreciate the concept of Christian discipleship because it provides me guidance and an anchor in a world of conflicting values, awkward gratifications, self-centered thinking, compromising standards, flexible and irrelevant societal expectations, and private gods created in the minds of men.

I need the higher tutorials that are provided by the Creator God. I need to be reminded of my place in the universe. I need to remember that I have my importance because Christ proved this by purchasing me on the cross. I need to find joy in being a servant of the Master. I need to remain focused not on the things of this world but on the importance of the lost coming to know Jesus.

I need Jesus to become more real to me each and every day so that the temporary things that surround me do not consume me.

Reading 1 Samuel 15, one can see that God had a special purpose for His chosen people, the people of Israel. One would expect that the

Israelites would have been willing to go through anything to stay in fellowship with their Creator God, but their stubborn independence led them to ignore the clear commands of God and forsake His direction.

Of all the nations of the world, God has selected these people to give special blessings and leadership. Miracles such as the Red Sea being parted, the protection from slaughter at the hands of other nations, the special provision of the Ten Commandments, the bush that wasn’t exhumed by the fire, food (manna) provided in the desert, and many other evidences existed as signs that God had a unique purpose for these people.

The Israelites would have seemingly have had no choice but to recognize God as dependable and caring of their needs, and yet, they allowed themselves to harden their hearts over and over in history! When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he found not a faithful and worshiping body of Yahweh but a group of idol-worshiping people!

Why? What happened and in such a short time?

For this scripture to have meaning to us today, we must ask if we are willing to let God speak to us in His Word or not.

I would say that these Israelites “just didn’t get it” or “feel it” to the point that they were willing to be faithful and be the people that God wanted!

They knew the facts and had been educated in the ways of God, but they didn’t “hunger after righteousness.” Apparently, their emotional desires overwhelmed their knowledge. They stubbornly persisted in their own ways.

For this scripture to have meaning to us today, we must ask if we are willing to let God speak to us in His Word or not.

We, like the Israelites, are a “chosen and called out people” in Christ. We know quite enough to follow and serve Him but do we evidence that knowledge with our actions? Do we study the Bible without an urgency to apply it to our lives?

Salt and Light ■ Acts and Apostles

Is VCBC a church full of people who welcome challenges, struggles, opportunities, creativity, burden, etc? The Israelites held to their own goals and wishes for their lives only to eventually receive God’s punishment. Will we labour in independence or will we be obsessed (in a positive way) with finding God’s expectations of His people and do whatever He desires with our lives and resources? Is pleasing God our life’s mandate?

Hear His Word and Apply His Word!

As Christians, our primary purpose is to allow Jesus to be our standard and model for the lives we live. The life Jesus lived was one of obedience as He fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures well beyond His own conveniences and what our logic would say was reasonable! Jesus’ values in Matthew 26:39 pretty well sum up our difficulty in following Him as He faced death and still said, “nevertheless, not as I will but Thy will be done!”

1 Samuel 15 presents the prophet Samuel and Saul talking. Optimistically, and without foreknowledge of how Saul would receive or respond to God’s “calling” of him to become Israel’s first king, Samuel boldly spoke words of affirmation, instruction, and direction to Saul.

Samuel was but the tool of God in reminding Saul of their own difficult history with the Amalekites (verse 2). After being instructed to utterly destroy the Amalekites (verse 3), Saul led his army to do “most of God’s Will” but then determined that “he had a better idea!” God had, via Samuel, given clear instruction. Yet, Saul chose to spare Agag and select some of the better animals for his purposes (verse 9).

It is such a common thing that we, with our limited grasp of God’s greater plans, step in and redirect matters with the thought that we can somehow do things better than God! When we pray, we often pray that God will bless our plans rather than actually daring to ask what He wants of us. Could this be because we fear not fulfilling God’s directions for us if we heard His leadership?

What may appear as graciousness or mercy

by Saul was still viewed as disobedience and evil

by God (verse 19). Be it Saul, Paul, or you, God wants to see us stepping out beyond our own limited understanding and trust Him completely.

If God calls you to serve as a missionary, a pastor, an electrician, or whatever, don’t hesitate if you know it is the will of God for your life! Using the excuse of sacrificial animals for worship and mercy for the king, Saul sought to absolve himself of his

sin for disobedience. Could it be that Saul actually believed what he said to Samuel when he stated, “Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have uterly destroyed Amalekites.” Saul may have thought, in his own thinking, that “God would understand” if a little compromise toward God’s Will was done.

Surly God would see his motivation to be good and “let it go?”

Obedience is the Simple Expectation of God! Compromise and excuses for ignoring the commands of God are inadequate reasons for us to do things our way. Anything less than perfect obedience is viewed by God as sin. We all remember, “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God” (Romans 3:23) but we can’t allow that to be a disclaimer for our behaviour.

God doesn’t need to change, we do. Saul heard God’s expectations and chose to manage things his way because he “just didn’t get it” when it came to God’s plan. Even if it was with good intent to do things his way, this did not match what God requested of him and this meant he was disobedient. Yet, before we judge him, we must remember that “as he goes, thus go I!” Just as was true of Saul, all of us are tempted to use our own knowledge and understanding for serving God’s Will. As a prophet, Samuel’s prayers and close walk with God was provided to Saul for guidance. Yet, Saul still was a failure.

Job, no doubt, had his questions related to how his whole family and all of his possessions could be taken from him. For him to have said to God “I just don’t get it” would have been perfectly understandable.

Philemon must have struggled with the financial loss tied to the losing of a slave as Paul requested him to accept Onesimus as a brother.

Mary had to be confused about becoming pregnant prior to lying with her espoused husband and yet, God was in charge.

“Feeling it” or “getting it” related to the Will of God is not nearly as important as our obedience to the Creator. We don’t always know the “whys” of life, but God does! May we, as Christian disciples, learn to apply His Will above our own motivations and understanding. ■

Two Gospels?

Preaching the truth, even if it’s tough to swallow.

by Rev. Gilbert Nigh

We have received a very warm welcome from the VCBC church family, for which we are very thankful!

Over the years we have seen God work in amazing and wonderful ways. He took us from our home in Toronto and sent us off to Zambia.

And during our time there, our youngest, Christopher was born. God led us to start a Mandarin-speaking work in the capital, Lusaka.

Which is amazing because we had no language skills or church planting experience; nothing except a willing heart.

And then God led us to return to Canada and ultimately to VCBC. We thank him for what He has done and we look forward to what He will do as we work together with the saints at VCBC to build His kingdom for His glory.

Salt and Light ■ Acts and Apostles

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ho doesn’t want to be rich? Won’t a whole host of problems disappear when I am rich? Cars and houses will be paid for, children can get the best education, I can travel the world and enjoy all it has to offer. And, I can give lots of money away to feed the hungry, heal the sick, educate the uneducated and give clean water to thirsty!

One of the misconceptions that I have encountered over the years is that the poor in Africa are so happy even when they have so little.

Folks will come on a short-term missions trip (and my take on those will be for another time) and meet lots of people who seem to be very happy.

The hosts are happy to have visitors from the other side of the world, they are happy some brothers and sisters from some far-off country have thought enough to come and help, they are happy for the gifts that usually come with the visitors, and they are happy for the break in the usual routine of life and church that happens when a team comes. So the teams see happy people living in poverty and think they are always happy.

The reality is somewhat different. People are the same everywhere. They see someone with a nice car and they want one too. They see people living in large houses with electricity and running water and they want that too. They see people with the latest cell phone, connected to the world through the Internet and they want that too.

And so the prosperity gospel takes root in the fertile soil of economic hardship and powerlessness in Africa. The prosperity gospel teaches that wealth is a sign of God’s grace and favour on you and that financial blessing is the will of God for Christians. So it is very appealing

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Getting Rid of Stuff

Mere Atheism

by Alfred Lu

Loving the Creator with our minds in a godless world.

by Aaron Bonkowski

Illustration Tiffany Fong

for those who struggle because money has run out before the next pay cheque has come. It is often a word for those itching ears that Paul mentions to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:3–4. You can understand the appeal of such a gospel, but it has been condemned as a false gospel.

Because it is such an appealing message that resonates with many people, it takes courage to stand against it. But a couple of pastor friends of mine in Zambia speak out against the prosperity gospel and their churches are growing. Of course, they and the leaders of the church are doing lots of good things that help a church grow; quality programs that are well run, well-organized, focused on outreach, committed to the careful handling of money. And, they are not afraid to speak out directly against the prosperity gospel.

They can stay true to the gospel of Jesus Christ and not be afraid of scaring off church members.

They don’t need to preach a false gospel to bring people into their churches. So good churches that are being effective in ministry can stand firm on the true gospel and faithfully preach the Word of God. Historically, the church has had to take a stand on false teachers. In over 2,000 years of existence, this is not the first time a church has had to take a stand on doctrinal issues. Even the very early church had problems with false teachings. The apostle Paul talks about this with the church in Colossae (Colossians 2:4) and Peter warns believers about this in 2 Peter 2:1–2. As well as being warned about false teachers, we are encouraged to test the spirits (1 John 4:1–3) to see what they are promoting.

In order to be a church that stands for the true gospel, it takes courage and conviction. The gospel is a hard message to hear. Paul says it will be even be foolish (1 Corinthians 1)! So when we stand for truth, we may find ourselves standing against the mainstream of society. And that is an uncomfortable feeling. More and more as society shifts around us, followers of Jesus find themselves farther and farther from the mainstream. So to be a good church, one that stands for the truth despite how unpopular it is, the church needs to be a church with courage.

Are we a church of courage? First, we have to be like the Bereans (Acts 17) who knew the truth and checked out the teachings they heard against the truth. I am sure it took some courage to check out what the apostle Paul was saying. Second, we need to have courage to want to live out the truth we acknowledge. We can believe but not want to live our life by that belief. Do any of us believe that unhealthy living—overeating, no exercise, smoking, lack of sleep—is good for us? Probably not, but we don’t change our lifestyle. We need to have the courage to know the truth and then the conviction to live by it. ■

“I realize there is never going to be a day when I stand before God and He looks at me and says, ‘I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’

I’m confident that God will take care of me.”

—David Platt

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read a couple of books recently with similar themes. Eugene Cho’s Overrated talks about how much we have, and how much we can give.

He challenges us to donate a day’s wages to charity.

Joshua Fields Millburn’s Everything That Remains talks about minimalism. He questions how much stuff we really need and use. (A quick warning— it’s a secular book and has some swearing in it.)

Here are some questions that have challenged me to get rid of stuff: How often do you use it? Is there a piece of clothing, a kitchen appliance, book, or knickknack you haven’t used in over a year? Maybe it’s time to donate it so someone else can use and enjoy it.

Need it as a backup or “just in case”? Don’t bother with backups. You don’t need two of the same thing. And if you really need something, but only use it once every two years, you can borrow or rent it instead of having it take up room in your home.

Is your stuff bringing joy and value to your life? If your answer is no, get rid of it. Why have stuff that only adds debt or stress to your life?

Is that extra TV or video game system causing you to stay at home away from people and making you feel miserable? Give it away, so you won’t be tempted. Ask yourself: do you own things, or do things own you? Why work extra hours for stuff you don’t need and add no value to your life?

Give experiences. Birthdays, Christmas, and other days seem to add clutter to our lives.

Suddenly, we have stuff we don’t want to give away because someone gave it to us. How about giving experience gifts instead? A trip to the

Salt and Light ■ Acts and Apostles

aquarium or museum, concert or sports tickets, a fitness pass, a “coupon” for a meal out with you?

Experiences create memories especially when you do things together.

Spend time with people who need things.

When you see what people don’t have, you’ll be more willing to part with your stuff. Get to know people, especially poor people, and discover their needs, and you’ll become a more generous giver.

Start seasoning your conversations with “Do you need a __ because I have an extra one I don’t need.”

Give your best to God. Instead of giving something you have in excess, give what is valuable to you.

Go digital. You may have lots of paper—receipts, bank statements, and archives. Let’s face it, you can probably shred and get rid of most of it. What use is a two-year old bank statement? Maybe there is some paper with lots of sentimental value. You can scan or take a picture of it, and then get rid of it.

God doesn’t want us to hoard. He wants us to help others. So hoard less, give more. Consume less, create more. Pursue passions instead of things.

Yes, it’s hard. Maybe you need to call a friend who can tell you honestly what stuff to cut down.

Start today. Go through your home. Pick one thing you don’t need or use. Get rid of it now.

Donate it or throw it away. Then try getting rid of one thing every day for a year. The act of reducing will be more liberating than the act of accumulating. ■

Need to get inspired?

Here are some quotes to help you get started.

From Joshua Fields Millburn: “It’s kind of sad how much value I was placing in the heaps of books I owned. Obviously it was more than their real value. The real value was in the words—in the act of reading—not in the physical books themselves. There’s no value in having a room full of books you don’t need—especially when other people can get value from those books.”

“It’s liberating to not have a TV. Television sucks so much life out of our lives. It takes our money, our time, our attention, our awareness, our freedom, our relationships, and our creativity. And in return it gives us a little entertainment, it pacifies us for the moment.

For many of us it’s our drug of choice.”

“When I got rid of the majority of my possessions, I was forced to confront my darker side, compelled to ask questions I wasn’t prepared for: When did I give so much meaning to material possessions? What is truly important in life? Why am I discontented?

Who is the person I want to become? How will I define my own success?”

From Eugene Cho: “Generosity is what keeps the things I own from owning me. In other words, the point of my generosity isn’t just to bless others; it’s also to liberate me.”

“Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a dry-as-dust religion.”

Illustration Chris Cheung

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lways be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

1 Peter 3:15 gives us this defining statement. I can understand why. Many like myself tend to be on the skeptical side of life, especially if you’ve ever been burned by someone’s deception. There are so many opinions, too many truth claims on the right way to live, and why.

Constant questions and doubts had really begun to weigh down on me over the years. Many wondering thoughts and sleepless nights. Also I have come across many people mocking my God, and entertainment is riddled with it.

Thankfully God intervened and showed me wisdom and mercy. The day before I was set to leave on a lengthy trip to Asia, I visited my cousin and vented my spiritual stresses. He introduced me to Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It was really surprising because neither of us were really into reading.

Instantly I dug into the first two chapters, prompting me to purchase my own copy before flying off. This book brought so much comfort and encouragement to me, affirming the muddled ideas already in my head and communicating Christian philosophy in a new light.

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C.S. Lewis wrote, “Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what made evil possible. Why then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.”

All I needed was an old, blunt, British warrior poet to help me understand.

Upon returning to VCBC from our travels, I found myself eager to share apologetics (derived from the Greek word apologia) and began teaching grade 11s Sunday school.

After some classes on other beliefs, I asked if Christianity wasn’t an option would you choose to follow another belief, take a pantheistic view, or choose atheism?

To my surprise, all but one chose atheism. This communicated to me that the kids rely heavily on knowledge, facts, and popular opinions rather than any deeper process of feeling, heart, or sense of something beyond.

This was intriguing because the church for so long has placed a strong emphasis on faith, prayer, and a personal relationship rather than enriching our knowledge on history, archeology, or current Christian theology. This isn’t to say that these spiritual topics aren’t of great importance, but I believe Christians have shied away from the academic field far too much, and we with our personal studies.

Jesus gave us his greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” I believe “the mind” is neglected in our belief and that we must bring it back into focus to enrich our Christian lives. This was my experience.

In giving nourishment to my mind, I have enriched my soul and am now aimed to give the Lord so much more of myself. ■

Illustration Sabrina Li

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Why I Am A Feminist

by Einar Wong

Illustration Chris Cheung

“Men think it’s a women’s word and it’s only for women, but really it just means you stand for equality. If you stand for equality, you are a feminist.”

—Emma Watson

Ups and Downs

by Lydia Nigh

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t’s a fact of life that relationships are super important. Our relationship with God should be top priority. But second in line is the marriage relationship which plays a huge part in whether our lives are happy and fulfilled.

This might explain why we are so obsessed from early teen years with finding “the One”, our soulmate, the “love of my life”. Why do I keep hearing, “Happy wife, happy life”? (There’s no such saying about husbands, just because nothing rhymes with “husband”.)

So all names have been changed but these are real life situations: Brianna is 28 years old, keeps count of her relationships, now at number 53, and has a wedding dress in her closet. She is an extreme case of someone who feels they are doing everything right but finding the results are all wrong. She is not alone.

Many of us struggle to find a suitable partner.

We have major baggage but hope getting married will resolve our loneliness and fill all our empty spaces.

Even couples who love each other have hard and unhappy times. They hurt each other. They become resentful. They hum, “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.” Sophie and Dave are spiritually mature and been happily married for a long time.

They love God and serve Him in their churches.

That’s the problem. They can’t agree on which church to attend so they go to different churches, have different circles of friendship. Will they drift apart even more?

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Without strong, vibrant marriages, families suffer and churches suffer. Children worry about their parents not getting along. When Joe has an affair with another church member, his wife and his whole family are devastated. We feel a sense of failure, we should have recognized the signs, we should have said something. Too late, so sad.

On the other hand, the positive effects of godly, happy marriages also go beyond just those joyful couples with smiles on their faces. Their kids feel secure. Singles in their circle of influence have great models and mentors, and are hopeful for their own future marriages. The church is blessed, families are blessed, communities are blessed.

Be on the lookout to support each other because it’s a long, hard road. Disciple children!

Teach teens the Biblical principles for dating and marriage! Encourage singles to seek God first and let the rest of life fall in place! Strengthen couples!

Give parents a high five and say “Hang in there!”

Be blessed as we walk in God’s ways! ■ “Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.”

—Psalm 128:1–4

Salt and Light ■ Acts and Apostles

Many of us struggle to find a suitable partner. We have major baggage but hope getting married will resolve our loneliness and fill all our empty spaces.

ay back in September 2014, Journey Fellowship was planning its allotment of Bible studies and the suggestion of “controversial topics” came out.

Funnily enough, feminism was considered a controversial topic. So, having some strong opinions myself, I chose to lead it.

A week before I was scheduled to deliver said Bible study, Emma Watson delivered a speech at the United Nations about the importance of gender equality. Generally speaking, when Hermione Granger starts dropping truth bombs supporting my point of view, I tend to take it as a good sign.

In my Bible study, I took a look at the whole issue of what kinds of inequalities women tend to face and the different kinds of sexism (ranging from hostile to benevolent) before diving into the Bible itself. What’s clear is that, when read a certain way, the Bible can come out on either side of this issue, but ultimately, I believe that I am called to firmly plant my feet on one side of the fence.

To be sure, the Bible, when read a certain way, does not seem to support the notion that women and men are supposed to be equal.

For example, in 1 Timothy 2:11–15, Paul explicitly denies women the right to teach or to have authority over men in the church. This passage has led to a whole lot of questions about the role of women in church, one famous example being the issue of whether women can or should become pastors, which is still being argued and debated today.

1 Corinthians 11 tells us that women need to cover up their heads in church and chapter 14 tells us that women need to be silent in church.

In context, this was a very Corinthian issue that Paul was warning his listeners about, but it seems to be pretty black and white that, in Paul’s time at the very least, women faced a few restrictions in church that men didn’t.

The book of Ephesians tells us that wives should submit to their husbands in all things. That last part in itself is worthy of its own Bible study (and probably seven-part sermon series) so I will leave that to more Biblically educated minds, but even with the follow up verses of husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church, there is a very stark image of the wife always submitting to the husband as the head of the family.

These are just a few examples I pulled, but I am sure that you can think of a few more.

However, the Bible, when read another way, does seem to reveal a lot more about feminism and equality than the average churchgoer might think and the examples I am using all come from Jesus himself.

In Luke 10, we get the very famous story of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha runs around doing all the housework. What gets lost in translation is the cultural context of Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning exactly as a Jewish student would do from a Rabbi, a privilege that only existed for men. In a way, Jesus is condoning Mary having equal access to an education she would not have been allowed to in her society. In Luke 8, we get a very broad picture of Jesus’ followers and supporters and find out that women played a fairly significant part in his ministry.

Now, there were no female disciples, but I am not sure that has a much weight as some other Christians might think. Gender seems like a very arbitrary category of exclusion.

Salt and Light ■ Acts and Apostles

For example, what about occupations? Some of the disciples once caught fish for a living, so does that mean that the church needs a percentage of its leadership to be ex-fishermen? Also, as Vicky Beeching points out, why not appearance? The disciples were all probably brown-haired, so what of blonde-haired Christian leaders—are they unbiblical?

There is also the category of education, namely that the disciples had none. If so, should our church leaders be uneducated as well? If those categories of exclusion sound ridiculous (which they are), then why is there such an emphasis on gender?

Finally, there are the stories of Jesus ministering to women who would have been cultural pariahs in their day, from the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), the woman of ill repute (John 8), and the unclean woman who touched Jesus (Luke 8).

When Jesus addressed the needs and the social concerns of these three women, he was breaking a lot of cultural taboos and Old Testament regulations, but he did it anyway. Jesus clearly did things that no other male religious leaders would do during that time and he clearly favoured a more equitable approach to combat the injustice and the inequality women faced in his day.

As someone who has been brought up in the church all my life, my view of the world is largely shaped by seeking to fix the injustices and the inequalities I see. Even if we take the politically charged term “feminism” out of the picture, there are still a lot of issues around women and equality that Christians should take more notice of.

Should Christians be OK with the average woman making 74 cents for every dollar a man in Canada makes (Statistics Canada 2011)?

Should Christians be comfortable with the fact that in 2014, only 12 per cent of the top 100 grossing films had female protagonists (womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu)? Should Christians condone a culture that blames women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted by asking what they wore to provoke an such an attack? Or a culture that emphasizes counselling young girls to not go out alone rather than teaching its young boys to treat women with respect?

If the answer is no to any of these questions, then I think that means that Christians should be advocating for a more equitable treatment and representation of women in society.

If nothing else, that is why I consider myself a feminist. ■

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Backyard and Kingdom Brothers and sisters outside church walls

Poster Boy for Jesus

by Jackson Leung

G

rowing up, I loved Peanuts. Especially the part when Charlie Brown goes to kick the football and has it pulled away from him.

Sometimes, he’d get closer than others, but one thing was certain: Try as he might, no matter how he tried, he’d never be able to kick that football.

Be it Charlie Brown or the Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, when it comes to sharing about my faith, it sometimes feels the same.

Sometimes you wonder, “What must Charlie Brown or the Coyote be thinking as they plan their approach to achieve their intended goal?

How do they feel? Do they realize they’ll fail each and every time? And if they do, why do they keep on trying?” It ultimately boils down to this: Why bother trying if you know or think it won’t succeed?

No one likes being thought of as weird, no one likes being judged, no one likes being rejected.

And yet at the same time, when we go out sharing about our faith, more often than not that is what will happen.

I have been attending Power to Change Bible studies since my second year in university (How long ago was that? They were still called Campus for Christ back then!). One of the things they constantly encourage their members to do is to go sharing, where you would go out with a partner to share about your faith with complete strangers.

Approaching strangers is always a nervous experience, no matter how many times you’ve done it. Think about those people at the Skytrain stations with their pamphlets when they approach you and how you feel. I don’t know about anyone else, but when it happens to me, I’m part-amused and part-appalled. Regardless of how I feel though, I know that the feeling is not a positive one and it is often very awkward.

Now reverse it and imagine you’re the one in their position. And add on the fact that I’m a person who does not warm up to or open up to people quickly, and you have a recipe for disaster. So as you go out, you think to yourself:

How can I make this less awkward? What is a seamless introduction I can use to get into a good conversation? Do I know any Christian pick-up lines? And… it ends up awkward anyways.

And the awkwardness is something you can live with. If it leads to a good conversation about faith, then it’s all worth it. At least there is some consolation in the overall result. What’s worse is when you not only start awkward, but they also tell you they don’t want to talk to you about it.

What’s worse than awkwardness? Awkwardness and rejection.

As a person who is very self-conscious and hates failing, nothing is worse than being rejected. Not only have you failed, you also start questioning and doubting yourself. Was it me or was it them? Would the outcome have been different if I approached it differently? What if I said this instead of that at that reply or that instead of this when they asked that? The cycle is endless.

And as people reject you, your “success rate” goes down below numbers you’re used to seeing on your school assignments. One person rejects you and you’re down to 50 per cent. A few more, and you’re at your favorite hockey player’s shooting percentage. Then you feel pressure to “raise your average” and do better with the next person you approach, which, from experience, makes the approach even worse because you come across as desperate. (Sidebar: If for some reason, you started reading this story in the middle and think I am sharing about my dating struggles, I assure you, that is not what’s going on here.)

So the question then becomes, “What’s to be done about this?” The answer: Don’t go sharing your faith. (Sidebar two: If the above line is the only part of what I have written that you read, please don’t take what I have written out of context!)

Watching Charlie Brown, I sometimes wondered if he was stupid. Why would you keep trying to kick the ball knowing you’re going to miss?

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

And at the same time, I can ask myself the same question. Why do I bother going out to share when I know that I’m probably going to be rejected a bunch of times and bring no one to Jesus?

And it ultimately boils down to this: I have found something amazing and worthwhile in my life, and I want others to find it too. As the owner of a fledgling small business, I understand. When you first start your business, one of the biggest challenges is having people find you. Thus, for us, word of mouth is very important. If someone has had a good experience with us, they’ll tell their friends. If these friends have a positive experience with us, they will tell their friends also. The reason Jackson with the rest of the team at Zion Baptist Church in Cambridge.

It ultimately boils down to this: I have found something amazing and worthwhile in my life, and I want others to find it too.

we share the gospel with others is because we have seen God do great and miraculous things in our lives and believe that putting your trust in Him is worth it and will bring you happiness and joy. And what you’ve found is so amazing that you simply want to share your joy with others too, strangers or not. And what you’ve found is so amazing that it is worth the rejection or awkwardness, that it is worth looking a bit silly or stupid or embarrassing from time to time.

Personally, none of the people I have talked to have come to Christ. And at times, we feel bad about that. However, it is important to remember

that when we tell others about our faith, it is not a “gotta catch ‘em all” mentality, where we need to convert every person we ever see and meet.

We get caught up in the numbers of how many people have I led to know Christ, how many of the people who ended up coming to church with me ended up staying at our church, becoming a member here, or serving here? We are at times too caught up in statistics that we miss the point.

In Luke 15:4, Jesus says, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” The parable continues to talk of the joy and celebration that will occur when that one lost sheep is found.

I feel sharing our faith is the same, in that each and every person we share with is important because each and every person is important to God. Perhaps yes, only one of the 100 people I shared with came to know Jesus (one per cent).

But is not even that one per cent worth it? Much like winning a lottery ticket makes up for all the losing tickets you’ve ever bought (Disclaimer: I have never won the lottery. Nor have I ever bought

a lottery ticket before) or finding your future spouse makes up for all the painful relationships you’ve experienced in the past (Disclaimer: I have never been in a painful relationship either. I am just assuming this is how it would feel), sharing with that one person who comes to Christ makes all the failures and bad experiences of the past worth it.

It is important to remember, that nothing we say will convert anyone to become a Christian. As it says in 1 Corinthians 3:7, “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” It is by the grace of God that people come to know Him, not through anything we say or do.

When I went to the U.K. to talk with university students about Christianity at Cambridge, no one came to Christ. None of us ever saw any of the fruits of the labor we did over there. However, it didn’t mean it was a waste, as I became more confident in talking about my faith, more articulate in sharing what God has done in my life, and more humble in the realization that it is God who works through me. While none of the

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

people I talked to in Cambridge ever came to Christ, it has given me opportunities to share with my non-Christian friends about my faith, talking about why I went and what I did there. It has also become more natural and easy for me to be more intentional about my faith when talking to those around me, both strangers and friends alike.

The question to ask therefore, is not “how” to do it, but if sharing the gospel is a worthwhile endeavor, given the high probability of rejection and awkwardness and the odds of someone coming to Christ being as high as the Canucks winning the Stanley Cup in our lifetime.

I’m sure that Charlie Brown and Wile E. Coyote would agree with me, but my answer would be a resounding “Yes!” ■

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Opposite Left A local sinkhole that is a popular location for worshipping Mayan gods that is still in use today.

Opposite Right Many members of the Lim family went on this trip together. Here’s Jonathan with his dad Wi-Guan.

Hearts in Tactic

by Jonathan Lim

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

I

was on a plane heading towards Guatemala, considered by some to be the most dangerous country in Central America. As I looked out the tiny airplane window, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of apprehension at what was to come throughout the next 10 days. I was so content being sheltered within the stability and safety of life at home that I was eagerly awaiting the plane ride home before the trip even began. Luckily, God had other plans for me.

As we travelled up the mountains along a winding two-lane highway, we eventually hit Tactic, a region of 30,000 people, and the heart of Impact Ministries’ work. During our four days there, I got to know the people of Tactic, as well as the work of the Impact Ministries through a multitude of activities.

Firstly, as our team was lucky enough to have two doctors and a dentist going, I was able to help out with the medical clinic. It was both inspiring and heartbreaking to see the strength of the people. Due to their circumstances, they have not known anything but hard work, and although they lived healthy, active lifestyles, their bodies were simply wearing out at a young age. I was also able to aid the ministry through the luxurious task of hand washing rocks for a septic tank. Needless to say, an hour long coffee break was required for that back-breaking job!

We were able to interact with the community through the VBS afternoon camp that we were fortunate enough to run. The children and teachers there were absolutely amazing. I did not

hear one child complain about being bored of the program, I found it particularly interesting how the teachers are told that teaching is not their main goal (it’s still a goal though!), rather, it was discipleship and sharing God’s love for the children which really showed me the true nature of the ministry.

Teaching is not their main goal, rather, it was discipleship and sharing God’s love for the children which really showed me the true nature of the ministry.

It wasn’t all real-world, practical experiences in Guatemala—there were many instances throughout my trip that I feel really deepened my faith.

My absolute highlight of the trip was the worship sessions in the mornings at the schools.

Imagine having a full blown worship session at the beginning of every day of school. That’s what happens in Tactic.

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

Now imagine a bunch of Chinese people standing there with earphones and tears in their eyes listening to Christy Lew translate the lyrics for them. That was our team.

The children simply worshipped with such passion and unity and I undoubtedly believe that at that moment, God was pleased with His children. Going to Guatemala also showed me the reality of the spiritual world. Many first-hand experiences were shared regarding the power of witch doctors and spirits. We also visited a sinkhole where people had been worshipping the Mayan gods as recently as the night before!

However, although these things are real, and may be scary, it is reassuring to know that the God we believe in is stronger than all of these things, and has already guaranteed us victory through the cross.

Although Guatemala could not be called an “easy” trip, it was deeply rewarding. In spite of having been told before, it was not until this journey that I really understood that one of the best ways to grow in our faith is to allow God to take us outside our comfort zones, where we must learn to simply trust Him. So whether you felt a calling to go and didn’t act on it this time, or have an interest to go on a missions trip in the future, I encourage you to take that leap of faith and see how His word is being shared and acted upon across the world. I promise you won’t be disappointed. ■

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Throwsanna in the Highest The making of an interchurch ultimate frisbee team.

by Chloe Chan

A

Photo Chris Cheung

Rhythms of Grace

by Mike She

I

never thought that I would eventually be a lead worshipper when I started serving in worship ministry all those years ago. 18-year-old me (even 22-year-old me) was quite happy taking a backseat role on a team, contributing with rhythm guitar and maybe occasionally starting a song here or there.

But God, as always, had something else in mind that didn’t involve me staying where I was comfortable.

I felt Him gradually prodding me toward more of a leadership role. Just to note, I had never considered myself good “leader” material.

Coupled with my stage fright, this meant that the prospect of me leading a team and the congregation in worship on Sundays was entirely out of my comfort zone. But God, with His awesome grace, provided encouraging fellow worship ministry team leaders to help me.

So here I am, standing in front of the congregation, though still with some nervousness and trepidation.

I usually call on the same people to help lead when I lead worship for Journey Fellowship, either on a regular night or if we have intimate chapel nights in the sanctuary. When we had our first interchurch fellowship event last year, it was the same story. So when we had another interchurch night a few months ago, and it was suggested that the teams be mixed up with members from

different churches, I was a little hesitant and worried. Since most of us didn’t know each other and were playing together for the first time, I was concerned that our worship would be messy and distracting.

When it came time for our two-hour practice before the night began, I worried even more, as our pianist was late and didn’t arrive until almost 7 p.m. But throughout practice, and as we sang and played together, God reminded me that He is very much in control of everything and that I had nothing to worry about.

We didn’t sound messy or uncoordinated at all, and as we led our set, with the rhythms of God’s grace flowing through the small crowd, I was reminded that when we are united in our faith and our passion to serve and worship the Lord, God will take care of the rest.

Break down our pride And all the walls we’ve built up inside Our earthly crowns and all our desires We lay at Your feet When the world is trying to tear down our faith, we tear down our walls. I really believe that a revival is possible, and it starts when we as Christians lay down our pride and unite, putting God first in all that we do. ■

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

God, as always, had something else in mind that didn’t involve me staying where I was comfortable.

s someone who grew up at VCBC, I went through all the programs that the church had offered—Pioneer Club, VBS, and EDGe youth fellowships.

Sometimes I would think back on my past experiences, especially that of EDGe, for reflection as I discuss church life with my friends. For the past few years, my current fellowship, Journey, has helped me realize just how little interaction VCBC had with the other churches back when we were youth. I can’t recall there being any events that were joined with other churches. The closest thing we had were ones where we’d invite our friends to VCBC for a night of worship.

Journey took a big step towards connecting with the young adult fellowships of other churches and that was when I better understood the meaning of having a church community. My own community was no longer confined to the walls of VCBC, but was now one with those who have the same love for God. That night, I met all sorts of people. Some were talkative, some were quiet. Some seemed to know almost everybody in the sanctuary.

Others, like me, had no idea that these people even existed before today. Despite all these differences, I learned during prayer time that a lot of the fellowships present had the same goals and thankfulness for God. After a lot of chatting and connecting with each other, an interchurch ultimate team was formed, allowing friends from many churches to learn the sport, play together, have fun, and most importantly, show God’s love to other teams during the games. Word of this new team spread, even to those who weren’t at the interchurch fellowship night. Just as the objective of our team was to be Christ-like to others, teammates who were meeting each other for the first time were no different to each other. There was no exclusivity nor boundaries, only love. We practiced together, encouraged each other, helped one another, even supported each other in our walks of faith by attending each other’s baptisms and fellowships!

It’s been an amazing experience being able to meet other Christians and getting to know what God has been doing in their lives, and it’s definitely nice to have a larger and more varied church community. As one of the more experienced team members, I—along with several other co-captains and vice-captains—

organize a lot of the practices and do a lot of field coaching. However, it is through these times that I am humbled by others members. The other experienced players step up to help the beginners out, and pitch in a few constructive comments here and there. The teammates who are picking up the sport more quickly than others have their own refreshing point of view as well, supporting the team even more.

Not only has God been doing His work in this team, but I can see God at work in the lives of the friends of teammates. Friends who have left the church are now coming back. Non-Christian friends can see what it’s like to have a relationship with God. I may have no clue, whatsoever, as to how God plans to show His love, but as long as I continue to live out my faith, He’ll make something happen.

Being able to serve the team has been a real blessing. As my first time captaining, starting the team up and taking charge was a bit nerve-racking.

The weather was sometimes uncooperative, scheduling 35 people for a practice was difficult, lack of field space was a problem at times, injuries occurred, competitive attitudes came into effect, but God has shown me that everything is in His control, that He really does know best; and inspired me to continue to live my life for Him with this same unwavering trust. ■ Top photo Hollim Lei Bottom photos Chris Cheung

Salt and Light ■ Backyard and Kingdom

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Park at the Park

Church and State

by Alfred Lu

Illustration Mike She

What’s up on the corner of Culloden

Knocking on Heaven’s Door How our church can be more welcoming.

by Chris Cheung

Illustration Sabrina Li

W

hen I was young and my parents had people over, I remember gathering books, DVDs, quality snacks, and hiding upstairs until they left. I guess you can afford doing that when you’re young, but I can’t imagine any decent host hiding in their own room when guests trickle into their home. If VCBC is indeed our home, we can’t do that either.

I don’t think I did a very good job welcoming people when I was a teen here. I was lucky because I grew up in the church. At fellowship, I had my nice circle of friends who I’d known all my life. I didn’t feel I had to include anyone new.

Being in new places is always hard, whether it’s a new class, a new job, or some sort of social function where you’re expected to small talk.

Imagine you’re looking for community. You’re looking for a church. You hear about one and wonder whether or not you should go. Eventually, you finally muster the courage to do so. You go, people say hi, they’re nice, you sit through a service, but no one really shows interest in you.

Wouldn’t it be such a terrible shame for someone like that to come to a church, and for a church, of all places, not to acknowledge their presence? Even Starbucks asks for your name.

Even the Apple store people want to know what you’re up to (yes, I know they just want to sell you shiny thousand dollar computers, but still).

God took me out of that comfort zone when I started helping out at my fellowship. I didn’t grow up with people who attended. We had small numbers, and I would always wonder why there weren’t more people.

But our team realized that every time we asked where other people were, we were devaluing those who were right in front of us.

And the people who did come were exactly the ones I mentioned earlier: looking for community, looking for a church to grow. So it was important not to deny them that. In those days I tried to put on a smile when I met new people, but inside I would really feel like a clam.

One day, someone from church told me that a friend of theirs was coming to fellowship to see if it was a good fit. It was a complicated day for them to visit because we were sending someone off at the airport and then heading to a park, but I said, “Hurray! New people!”

But then that person from church said she wouldn’t be attending that evening.

And so somehow it came to pass that I was to pick up this new person—whom I’ve never met before in my life—from a Canada Line station and take him to the park.

I don’t know why I found it so terrifying but I did. My heart pumped cold water into my veins.

Naturally, I complained all week. “Why would someone say they’re bringing a friend to fellowship and then disappear and let their friend come along?” I whined.

But the moment came. I went to the station. I saw a guy there, standing with his phone, looking around. We made some jokes about stranger danger, but there wasn’t any ice to be broken. We chatted like fond friends. And not just me, but with everybody else too.

It reminded me of Acts 2. We might’ve been strangers, but in Christ, we had everything in common. I felt like God made a fool out of me that day. I worried and whined but after meeting this guy—who is now one of my most treasured friends—God seemed to say, “Aha! I told you you had nothing to worry about! The joke’s on you for complaining!”

Salt and Light ■ Church and State

We try to pounce on newcomers now. When our fellowship was told that some young guy was coming to town for four months for an accounting gig, I instantly sent him a message: Where do you live? Oh, you live there! You should eat here, here, and here! When you are here, you must do this.

You like this? You have to see this. You’re good at this? Oh, this person is good at it too, we must get you together.

We need to think about this more. We need to melt away our comfort. You have a good circle of friends at church? That’s fantastic, bring a new person in!

We can’t expect every newcomer to be overwhelmingly inquisitive about our programs.

We should make that effort to reach out to them first. How can we expect to share Christ’s love with the world if we can’t even do so within our own church body?

We can’t expect every newcomer to see eye to eye with us either. Jesus didn’t go out and only spend time with the talkative people, the charismatic people. In fact, he did the opposite.

If you’re thinking, “Oh, who are these people, I might ask?”, I invite you to check out a little volume called the Bible. I assure you it’s a really great read.

There are also many in our congregation who might be new to us. We might’ve seen someone sit in the same place week after week, but realize that we don’t even know who they are.

Some days I might feel cranky. Some days I might still feel like a clam. But if there’s someone who has come to our house, taken the effort to come visit us and are wandering around, looking for the people who live there, I don’t think we can hide comfortably in our rooms eating snacks.

We have to welcome them in with open arms and introduce them to our family. ■

J

How do you measure the health or the success of a church? Should it or could it even be measured or quantified? That’s a discussion for another day.

But sometimes it’s the little things that reveal who we are, and who we can be.

A few years ago, I wrote a little article about parking at the park as a way to be nice to our neighbours. Since then, I’ve certainly noticed an explosion of people parking further away. I don’t think the article had much to do with it, as much as God impressing upon people’s hearts. But it got me thinking: Can we do better? Can we be even nicer? Yes, I think so.

So here’s the article again. Should we measure how many people parked further away? No, not needed. But it’s just a crazy dream that one Sunday, we’ll have no one parking in front of a house; we’ll have no litter on the ground; we’ll have no one trekking across lawns; and we can see who we can be.

esus challenges us to walk the extra mile, and parking a few blocks away at Ross Park or Moberly School and walking to church is a great way to help relieve traffic, congestion, and parking woes in and around our church. Although it is true you can legally park on the street in front of a house, it’s not necessarily a polite thing to do.

It can frustrate our neighbours who wish to park or have their guests park in front of their own house, and it prevents us from developing good relations with them. Sadly, our neighbourhood would be happy if our church would disappear since parking spots would open up and traffic congestion would disappear.

I’m worried about my safety if I park so far away.

Let’s begin by focusing our efforts on the daylight hours of Sunday mornings. Walking extra blocks also helps us see our church neighbourhood and interact with neighbours even if it’s a simple nod or hello. The neighbourhood children, teens, and adults live and walk around these blocks every day—the least we can do is walk a few minutes in their shoes once a week.

I have elderly relatives or small children who can’t walk that far.

It may require a little more effort, but there is a pick-up/drop-off system at church. For those elderly who drive or those who are single with small children, there are enough spaces on the church parking lot available for these special exceptions.

I don’t like to walk in the rain and parking far away will make me late for church.

As Christians we are called to give. In addition to money, we can also give our time and give up some of our comfort level for the sake of others.

Waking up a bit earlier and tolerating the rain for a few minutes are just little sacrifices we can make.

Salt and Light ■ Church and State

My car is more likely to be broken into when it’s so far away.

Even if this is true, it would appear to be human nature to be more concerned about our personal possessions than being a good neighbour. Part of the Christian message is to place less emphasis on our belongings, and more on hospitality and helping those who live near our church.

Only a few vocal neighbours are upset, most don’t mind the parking.

Even if this is true, the sacrifice for those few neighbours is worth it. Changing our parking habits isn’t about trying to make certain neighbours happy, it’s about changing our mindset. It’s a commitment to do what we can to love our neighbours and to be considerate for others. In addition, relieving traffic congestion will also be a tremendous help in terms of safety and noise.

Walking by a house with a parking space available may seem like a “missed opportunity”, but there is also the satisfaction of seeing a homeowner happy that a strange car is taking up room in front of their house.

Changing our “me-first” parking culture will take the combined efforts of all of us. If you are determined to park in front of someone’s house, there is nothing anyone can say or do to stop you. But collectively, when we work together, we can make a small difference. If everyone were to relocate our cars every Sunday morning, the neighbourhood will notice. The positive effects and good will generated can only improve our relations. If you’ve never been on a mission trip, you can view this as a whole church mission to our neighbourhood. ■

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God Goes to High School

Where I Belong

by Charlotte Choi

by Sabrina Li

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T

hinking about the end of my five years in high school, I’m not very sure it’s fully hit me yet. I rushed into high school. I rushed out of high school.

During my very last week, almost every class showed a movie of some sort. It was supposed to be relaxing as the year winded down, but my mind was a scramble with errands and issues.

And in a flash, the last day arrived, and still I was scrambling. It seemed everything was a race against time. Time before teachers made final adjustments to marks. Time to bring up my marks one last time before UBC looked it over in July (well, that was more my fault but we’ll get to that in a bit).

Yet every time I made a mess, God helped me clean it up. A friend had told me, “If God means for you to be in university, then He will make a way. No matter how many times you screw up.”

Looking back, God really guided me to where I am now.

In our lives, He always knows the exact way that will guide you back to where He meant for you to go, even if you strayed the first time.

Through hugely individual situations that are unique to ourselves, God molds us. At the same time, through these situations, God says, “I’m here. I am in control. Trust me.”

Sad to say, it’s only when my results exceed my personal effort that I realize that God had been in control all along. I often run around in circles, trying to do everything at once, putting things off until the last minute, when God transforms all my efforts into something for His glory.

So when a teacher agreed to write me two reference letters with a day’s notice (future grads, never, never resort to this. Please), or when I did well on a test that I procrastinated studying for, there wasn’t any luck involved.

But rather, God stepped in, and took control of this mess that was becoming my life and used it for His greater good. Then I would become frazzled and overwhelmed by the sheer relief by how things turned out, humbled by how God had so easily made everything right, and also disappointed in myself because, well, I was making such a mess that God had to step in.

That was how I felt the entire school year. It was an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

Another thing that God used to guide me was the community in VCBC. This living Body of Christ that grew with me, supported me, and were my signposts to God. When He knew I wasn’t looking for Him, He used my friends and family to point back to Him. Everything that happens when we’re together is because of Him. God is so good to even place VCBCers at my school. It really is special to be able to encourage each other with inside jokes and advice from youth fellowship or Sunday school, while walking along a hallway or waiting for class to start. These little reminders from God kept me surviving and bobbing along the waves of high school through the years.

Sometimes I can’t believe the amount of love and support I’ve been given, but to think, it’s all a mere trickle effect from the great love of God Himself. And it is through these interactions that

Salt and Light ■ Church and State

I have been shown how to be more Christ-like— how to show love, how to be patient, how to think of another person’s needs before your own. Truly, what a blessing it has been to be able to call VCBC a home.

I will surely miss the predictability of high school as I struggle to make order of my new role in life as a university student. But I’m so honoured to have been brought this far and I know He will bring me through it as well.

There will definitely be times when I will question my purpose and the plan He has for me.

And I am certain that I will stray yet again, but He Who is Almighty will have already taken that into account, and that gives me assurance that no matter how out of control things might seem to me, it will never be out of control to God. ■

typical theme of the teenage years is finding an identity. What is your place in this world?

Who are you even?

This identity hunt was something that started ever since I entered the daunting high school hallways five years ago, clutching my timetable for dear life. I believe it will continue as I enter the daunting university campus, clutching my timetable for dear life.

After acquainting myself with a vast spectrum of personalities, darting between different people, and desperately seeking a “label” I would be proud of, God showed me how an identity through Christ is an identity that outlasts all.

This identity is not defined merely by the people I hang out with, rather, by my every action. While I tried, and still continue to try, to really live out this identity in Christ, I found that I was also surrounded by many others who sought to have an identity through their actions and advocating for other beliefs and values.

The lessons I have learned the past five years are countless. And later on in the future when I reflect on my high school experience, I’ll probably recognize even more.

Prayer is something that God has made an evermore essential part of my life this past year, so I decided to use the prayer acronym ACTS to organize my thoughts and reflections on this past year as a graduate.

ADORATION I learned how much more I needed to honour God with the adoration He’s due. God demonstrated to me a mere fraction of His incredible control and power through the storm as the once distant finish-line of graduation came. Some of my initial plans for the future collapsed, leaving me at a complete loss to what I was going to do and who I even was.

God is so great—He had the steering wheel the whole time. As a result, one of the things I often found myself praising God for while praying includes the way He remains Lord over everything even during the confusion as time passes by both faster and slower than we want it to.

CONFESSIONS No matter how strong we think we are, we are still very weak and fragile and need God’s strength. It was humbling to see what I once considered one of my greatest strengths collapse, revealing my true frailty.

I have always taken pride in my overall ability to be motivated and self-disciplined. Where people have procrastinated, I have remained on task and productive. Ha! How I laugh upon my pride now. “Fie on’t, ah fie!”

I confess I have been much too arrogant about the skills God has blessed me with, motivation and self discipline among others. I came to take them for granted, holding my head high at compliments about my work ethic. I forgot God is the one who gives us the abilities to do amazing things. This past year, He opened my eyes to my weakness, and not just in my work ethic but also in other areas in life, and I came to better understand how much I need Him. THANKSGIVING To name everything I am thankful for from this past year would be a huge reflection project for me and a pain for you to read. But just know that everything, down to every second and breath of life, is something worth being thankful for.

I am thankful God has helped me choose to learn and grow from these experiences, rather than become bitter. Every cringe-worthy experience was a training exercise to bring me a step closer to being the person He wants me to be.

For example, I became friends with one cringeworthy person. Under no willing circumstances would I ever have associated with people of that personality, but it happened. There have been moments with her that still make me want to rant and complain. Yet by God’s power, I still felt a deep love for this friend of mine. I still somehow managed to be there to listen to her troubles even though she has rejected my friendship, because I know God has done the exact same thing for cringe-worthy little old me countless times and to a much greater degree.

Salt and Light ■ Church and State

God is amazing in that He provides exactly what you need when you need it. At the end of every exhausting week, winding down with more insane activities at fellowship has been one of the highlights of my high school weeks. I continually thank Him for an incredible community I can lean back on and find support. I cannot see myself getting through high school and staying rooted without this anchor.

SUPPLICATION It will be very strange this upcoming school year to bus right past the place that has (whether I like it or not) become my second home—past the cozy, claustrophobic hallways, dusty nooks with rat traps (yes, my school has a rat problem), and the guarantee of gum and scandalous drawings under desks.

As we journey from different stages of life, exiting one door and entering another, we do so freshly molded and changed by past experiences, ready to be transformed in the Potter’s hands even more. It is normal that we are filled with fear, confusion, cluelessness, but my request is that as we undergo such journeys, we would remain humble and surrender to God’s Will fully.

So, at the end of the day, prayers prayed and requests made, what can we take away as we exit a chapter in life and enter another? For me, I have definitely discovered the importance of including God in all areas of your life and to make Him the ultimate center. I’m not close to where He wants me to be, but at least the journey to strive for this centredness in God has started. God has also taught me how He’s in control all along of everything in my life, big or small. I hope to keep this in mind so that I can remain humble at heart, and so that I won’t be blind to His presence in my life. ■

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Vancouver Chinese Baptist Church English

Degrees of Worry

Congregational Life

by Jackson Leung Come get connected with our church family in various groups welcoming all ages Illustration Chris Cheung

I

n March, I got a call from the National Student Loan. They were informing me that my sixmonth grace period had expired and that it was time for me to start paying off my student loans.

It turned out that there was a complication in the way I distributed my credits, which meant an extra six months of interest had been applied to my loan.

So while I was still a full-time student, because the proper documentation had not been submitted in time, $1785.55 in interest had accumulated. As a student, that was a large sum of money. It was especially tough to swallow because I was actually still qualified as a full-time student; just that the proper documentation was not submitted in time.

I spent multiple mornings on the phone with the student loan representatives and they all gave me the same answer: not submitting the proper documentation in time is your fault (curses, procrastination!) and there is nothing we can do to reverse it.

“You can call however many times you want, and the reply will still be the same,” they told me.

I was frustrated, upset. I didn’t want to see $1785.55 go to waste like that. I thought about how that money could’ve went to organizations that did Christian ministries on campus. Instead, it was going to the government as interest for my negligence in reporting my studying status. I was out of ideas and saw no other option than to grudgingly pay off this amount, so that’s what I did.

It was at this time that I remembered what Jesus had said in Matthew 6, where he says “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear… so do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall wear?’… for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

I also came to the acknowledgement, though hesitantly, that all I have isn’t actually mine, and that this money is God’s.

So I said to myself (and indirectly, to God), much like God said to Jonah, “This money belongs to God and isn’t mine to begin with, so I’m giving it back to you. If you want it in the hands of the government in the form of interest, then so be it. But if you want to give it back to me, so that I can use it responsibly (to buy myself a new laptop… just kidding; to use it on missions), then so be it also. I’ve done what I can, and the rest is yours. You don’t need me worrying about your money for you. You can do that yourself.”

As Christians, we always talk about trusting in God and completely relying on Him. And while true, for me it is oftentimes way harder to do in the midst of life’s struggles.

And off I went. I sent in a letter of appeal, paid off the loan and put the whole incident behind me, keeping only the lesson. If God wanted His money back, He’ll get it Himself.

A few weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail. It stated that although it was not an administrative error on their part, they have verified that I was still a full-time student during the six-month grace period and decided to overturn the interest that accumulated those 6 months. A week later, I got a cheque in the mail for $1785.55.

Now I can put the money into ministries that need it! (And maybe buy a new computer.)

Salt and Light ■ Church and State

Although academically, I’m a pretty fast learner, it often takes me forever to learn life lessons. I’ve often struggled to understand what trusting in God truly means. This whole incident has led me to reflect on my life and has left me in awe at how faithful God has been in every step of my life, especially in university. If you had told me at my high school graduation that I would end up with four degrees, I would’ve thought you were crazy. But it has been amazing, seeing how God has miraculously worked in my life.

No one watches their marks drop near the end of high school and still end up in UBC. No one that applies late to university—and to the wrong faculty—gets accepted anyway.

No one who chooses to begin an extra major at the end of their undergrad actually gets accepted.

And yet here I am. I say this not to brag, as I know that I don’t deserve any of this. I say this because it is a testimony of the things that God has done in my life. Not everything makes sense (in fact, more often than not, they didn’t), but things always worked out in retrospect.

As Christians, we always talk about trusting in God and completely relying on Him. And while true, for me it is oftentimes way harder to do in the midst of life’s struggles, when it takes every bit of me to convince myself that this is true.

If there is one thing I learned in university (along with the fact that it probably isn’t a good idea to take engineering calculus when you’re a music major who didn’t take pre-calc in high school…), it is that university, like life is tough and won’t always go the way you plan, expect or want it to go. But in those moments, remember that God is still in control, that there are those around you who feel the exact same way you feel that you can confide in, and that as it says in Philippians 1:6, “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Don’t panic (easy for me to say, ha). Everything will be alright. You’re in good hands. ■

SUNDAY

TUESDAY

SATURDAY

English Service

Toonie Tuesday Badminton

Journey Fellowship

9:30 to 10:45 a.m.

Moberly School 8:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Bring your own racquet, birdies, friends, and family.

7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

High school grads to working young adults who answer big questions and journeying through life together. Bubble tea included.

Open 9:15 to 10:45 a.m.

Babies and toddlers, up to age 3.

FRIDAY

OTHER

Sunday School

Pioneer Clubs

Homebuilders

For children of attending parents

Nursery

9:30 to 10:45 a.m.

Preschool to Grade 6

Ages 4 to 11 7:30 to 9:15 p.m.

October to June Games, arts and crafts, and making Bible learning fun.

Junior Worship

11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Free play, snacks, praise, and Bible adventure stories.

Life Groups Sunday School

Various times Family and couples’ small groups for those in life stages from newlyweds to families with adult children.

EDGe Youth Fellowships

Grade 7 to adult Moberly School 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Learning the Word of God from knowledgeable teachers and building relationships after service.

7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

The Elim, Daniel, Gideon experience is a place to make friends, hang out with people your own age, and experience God’s love. ◆◆ ◆◆ ◆◆

Elim for Grades 6 and 7 Daniel for Grades 8 and 9 Gideon for Grades 10 to 12

For more information, please visit vcbc.bc.ca/english

MY HEART IS ON THE ISLAND

BY TAMMY YANG

IT’S WEIRD BEING TWO HOURS FROM VANCOUVER, YET FEELING LIKE YOU’RE IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT WORLD.

Tsawout is one of five bands that make the Saanich Nation on Vancouver Island. For the past nine years, a small team of 30 to 40 from our church—teens, young adults, families—hold a weeklong day camp for the children and teens of Tsawout. It’s a week of organized chaos. It’s hard to say goodbye every Friday, no matter how many years you’ve been going. Tsawout is where I saw changes in other people. It’s where I heard the testimonies of people I saw every week, unaware of the turmoils and struggles beneath polished surfaces. You realize the world isn’t and will never be perfect, but that you can always try to make it better for those around you. I saw true joy in the midst of brokenness. There were countless stories of broken families, drug or alcohol addictions, and pain stemming from years of persecution by the government. These stories are theirs to tell so I won’t, but I keep them in my heart and will for the rest of my life. If home is where the heart is, then my home is on a small reserve on Vancouver Island, two hours from my house, and fifteen minutes from Victoria. originally appeared on tamarayang.me