Dear all,
I have a few words to say regarding your views. I come from a baptist background and I came to Singapore to study. I attended City Harvest Church. I do agree with many people that during services the preachings lack in the preaching of the true Bible principles to a certain extent. For example, it is not written in the Bible that when Jesus started His ministry He was poor. If He was poor, How could He supply to His disciples needs all the time? The story of the five loaves and 2 fishes and other stories which gives us the message that God will provide is meant to increase our faith in God that He really can do all things, but do Jesus only feed those people in those few mentioned occasions? Are all the food that the ministry team consume all from heaven? The bible would say if it is, just like when God provided for the Israelites during their exodus to the promise land. I believe that Jesus has the ability to feed His people, thus He is not poor during His times of ministry.
I believe some judgements that you made are true also but to a certain extent. CHC encourages everyone to be involve in minitries. Why? Throughout my life as a Christian for 20 over years, I do not see the act of attending church weekly alone is enough for a mature growth in Christianity. CHC also emphasises on attending cell groups and prayer meetings. Yes again, their sermon on Sundays might sometimes be shallow as compared to the sermons preached at other churches in terms of content of the word of God. However, I believe its an unfair judgment to say that CHC is acting against the true way of building a church. They adopt different ways but still the same direction as every other churches.
I am in the Usher Ministry and I can say I learn a lot there. During serving we are taught to rely on the HS when we serve. Yes, the congregation wears differently, some might wear clothes against some of your beliefs but when serving God in ministry, our apparel matters a lot, the way our hair look, even our breath. Who says CHC is compromising on the act of respect serving in God's house? Besides that, I learn a lot about spiritual discipline in the Usher ministry. CHC believes in everyone's capabilities, they build up many leaders, spiritual leaders. My usher zone supervisor, above me but is rank not very high in the hierarchy of the church. Even so, he is exercising on His gift as a prophet, He is a strict person in terms of serving God and our attitude, and spiritual discipline as well. I can see over here that CHC is building leaders in every areas of ministry and levels of hierarchy in church. That is why they might have ways that are different from the conventional church.
Jesus never ask us to follow the word blindly, He is displeased with the Pharisees, where they use the word of God against God's own Son. The Pharisee's mentality is that God only work one way. But Jesus came to introduce to us that we have been freed from the law, which means we are the generation where breakthroughs are taking place. God is changing His ways of reaching out to lost souls all the way from Genesis but with the same principalities. We are praying for breakthroughs but if we keep on sticking to the same old plan, how is it possible for breakthroughs to happen? God is the king of kings, which means we are kings ourselves. God gave us the authority to be His children, doing what He also do, but acknowledging that we can only do what we do because of His power and for His glory out of love. As a Father, would you tie your children to a specific way of living and stop them from choosing their own way but following your principles?
If God is really against CHC then how can the church grow? Its the fruits. Can you say that they are only growing in numbers and not spiritually? No, I see leaders being formed. Many of them are not only successful in their careers but also bear much fruits of labor to the glory of God. This I do not see in conventional churches which I have attended so far in my life and have not heard much about this. Most of the conventional church congregation are church goers, you see them every Sunday but after that they are also in their own worldly life. They are always focused on their own sins, own being Holy, that they neglected outsiders who need to be fed or need to hear the Word. And what kind of word they preach of they do(especially those who are more active in reaching out), "you need to receive Jesus if not you go to hell, you need to change from your old ways which is wrong, you are poor or ill because you are cursed and do not know God" Besides being annoying to their ears sometimes, it is also a wicked act. Yes Jesus did tell those people He healed to change from their wicked ways and follow Him, but when did He said that? Only after He had given them help and talk to them, understanding them, and then He tell them after their heart is open to Him. This is what CHC is doing. :) They are not changing the truth, but they are pursuing the truth by bringing in the love of God which should be our priority. Who said they did not preach and focus a lot on the Word of God, do not judge if you only attend one or 2 services. I remembers once Ps Kong preach that the God magnifies His word above His name, and those who loves God loves the word.
A revelation which God gave me is this, when Jesus ascended to heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. God was with the Isrealites, Jesus with His disciples, then God starts a new chapter with Holy Spirit with Us. Things will change, methods of approaching the lost souls, because human beings changes. God did not deal with us how He dealt with the Isrealites because human beings have been few thousand years old now, we have grown as a species from a young creature on earth to a creature which has dominated the earth for thousands of years. Our thinking has evolved, more and more we are becoming like God as He created us in His own image and wants us to be like Him too. (I do not imply that we should be proud and act God in our actions but we are still His children and creation and we are subjected to His authority)
God loves each and everyone of us, let us all think as a whole big picture of God's plan rather than just based our judgments and accusations on the way God deals with people in the past and expects Him to do the same again just like the Pharisees and Jesus pointed out that it is wrong. Let us be matured in our thinking and not grumble like the elder son in the story of the Prodigal Son, or like an unhappy citizen towards his/her government. But let us embrace the future with love, knowing that God is in control and the Holy Spirit is doing something new here. Changing the earth towards His plan. Let us be humble and seek His will and support our fellow bro and sis in Christ. If you think they are doing it wrongly talk to them personally and be in the church and go through their ways before judging. Let us give constructive ideas like a real man of God which takes into account every aspects before giving a judgment, rather than flood the internet with articles that make non-Christians lose faith in Christianity. Let us be strong inside before we can be be strong in reaching out to the world.
Yours humbly,
CK
