3 SEPATAH KATA Head of Ministry
4 ARTIKEL Your Kingdom Come: Jesus and the Kingdom of God
18 REKOMENDASI BUKU How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels
20 SHARING KAMPUS POKOK DOA SKETCH ISCF: Cycling, BBQ PATH ISCF: Community Service SIM ISCF: SIM Service NTU ISCF: Camp MDIS: “Do We Have Hope?” CUCF ISCF: Camp NUS ISCF: PU HTHT Talk
2
Daftar Isi
PISTOS Edisi Januari 2015
33 SURAT DOA STAFF FES IM Staff
38 GS DESK Partnership in the Gospel: What Does It Take?
40 LAPORAN KEUANGAN FES IM Agt-Nov 2014
41 QUIZ Crossword Puzzle
Sepatah Kata
2015!
SELAMAT
TAHUN BARU
Tahun 2014 sudah berlalu dan tanpa terasa kita telah memasuki tahun 2015. Di awal tahun yang baru ini saya mewakili tim staff FES IM ingin menyatakan puji syukur kepada Tuhan yang Empunya pelayanan ini dalam kesetiaan dan belas kasihan-Nya sekali lagi telah mencukupkan segala kebutuhan di dalam pelayanan kita bersama selama setahun yang lampau. Sekaligus kami juga bersyukur dan bersukacita menyambut bergabungnya Yanti Agustin sebagai staff lapangan baru di FES IM. Secara khusus Yanti akan terlibat di dalam Tim Media yang bertanggung jawab atas penerbitan buletin Pistos, penanganan website, social media dan media resources FES IM, dan selama enam bulan pertama akan mendampingi staff lapangan lainnya yang lebih senior untuk observasi dan mengenal lebih jauh pelayanan ISCF di berbagai kampus. Mari kita terus doakan agar Yanti dapat beradaptasi ke dalam pelayanan sebagai staffworker, dan kiranya Tuhan yang terus memberkati dan menyertai Yanti dalam perjalanan pelayanan dan pertumbuhan sebagai murid Kristus yang mentaati panggilan-Nya. Melihat kedatangan Yanti sebagai staff baru, saya juga teringat akan masa-masa awal saya bergabung dengan tim staff. Banyak hal yang saya tidak tahu atau tidak yakin, dan banyak hal yang harus saya pelajari. Pada saat yang sama, banyak pihak terlibat dan menginvestasikan tenaga, waktu, pikiran, bahkan finansial, untuk grooming saya menjadi pelayan Tuhan yang baik. Demikian kita bisa melihat bahwa pelayanan FES IM dan ISCF pada dasarnya adalah pelayanan yang berinvestasi ke dalam hidup manusia (baik staffworkers, mahasiswa dan alumni). Hal ini adalah investasi yang memerlukan banyak resources dan beresiko tinggi. Tetapi untuk inilah kita telah dipanggil. Sama seperti Allah yang menginvestasikan resources-Nya ke dalam hidup umat yang ditebus, yang seringkali mengecewakan dan mendukakan hati-Nya, namun kasih setia, anugerah dan belas kasihan-Nya tidak pernah meninggalkan kita. Demikian juga, di awal tahun baru ini, saya ingin mengajak dan mendorong kita semua untuk tidak putus asa dan jangan lelah untuk berinvestasi ke dalam pelayanan ini, dalam berbagai kapasitas yang telah Tuhan percayakan kepada kita masing-masing. God has invested a great deal in our life, and so we invest in people’s life, in order to bring God’s life into people.
Soli Deo Gloria, Michael Senjaya Kang FES IM Head of Ministry
3
Artikel
Your
Kingdom Come
Jesus and the Kingdom of God
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee. When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go
So all the evangelists agreed that the burden of the message of Jesus – what constituted the heart of his preaching – was the theme of the kingdom of God.
4
out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the
Vinoth Ramachandra is a graduate
of London University, with bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering. He is the Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement of International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES).
days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear. “To
5
Artikel
what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’But wisdom is proved right by her actions.” Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:1-30 (NIV)
6
What is the “KINGDOM OF GOD”? When John the Baptist was thrown into prison by King Herod Antipas, Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee with these words, “The time has come, the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk.1:15). The phrase “the kingdom of God” appears on the lips of Jesus more often than any other. In the synoptic gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, it appears 104 times. If we look at comparable expressions, for instance, the word “faith” or “believe” appears only 70 times on the lips of Jesus, the word “love” 36 times, and” “the Holy Spirit” 35 times. So all the evangelists are agreed that the burden of the message of Jesus – what constituted the heart of his preaching – was the theme of the kingdom of God. It’s difficult to piece together everything that Jesus said about the kingdom. Nowhere does he give us a systematic explanation of what he meant by the term. But his whole life only makes sense in the light of what he taught about the kingdom. Jesus did not invent this concept. It permeates the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus assumed the ancient expectation of his people that God would one day establish his liberating rule on earth. If we forget the Jewish heritage of Jesus and the cultural framework within which he lived, then we shall err in our interpretation of his message. For instance, there are some Christians who think of the kingdom of God as purely an individual experience, something to do with the interior life of the soul: “God ruling in my heart.” There are others who think of the kingdom as some other-worldly realm into which we pass when we 7
Artikel
die. There are still others who equate the numerical growth of the visible church with the expansion of the kingdom, while at the other end of the theological spectrum; the term is used increasingly as a synonym for sociopolitical revolution of a socialist kind. One verse which has caused considerable mischief in evangelical church circles is Luke 17:21, where we find the words of Jesus often translated, “the kingdom of God is in you” or “the kingdom of God is within you.” That verse has often been used to justify a purely individualistic and pietistic understanding of the kingdom. It’s not surprising to find many Hindus using that verse to argue, “Well, Hinduism is also saying what you Christians say, that if you look into the depths of your soul you will find God there.” But read the context and you will observe that Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, the very people who opposed his ministry. Now it is very unlikely that he would be saying to them, of all people, “the kingdom of God lies in your hearts.” The Greek particle that is translated “in” has many meanings: “within”, “among”, “in the midst of.” In the context of the public ministry of Jesus and the Old Testament religious background which he inherited, it is more likely that Luke 17:21 ought
8
to read “the kingdom of God is [now] in your midst” or “the kingdom of God is [now] amongst you.” There is an illuminating verse in Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring glad tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion ‘Your God reigns!’”Notice the good news is spoken of as “peace”, as “salvation” and as the announcement – “your God reigns.” We see in this single verse how the Old Testament understanding of peace (shalom), salvation and the kingdom of God – “your God reigns” – all point to the same reality. Whether we speak of shalom, or of salvation, or of the coming of God’s kingdom, we are speaking of the same reality: namely, the renewal and reconciliation of all things under the gracious and just rule of God, the re-creation of a broken, fragmented, and corrupt world. The Jews also spoke of this as “eternal life” – literally, in Greek, the “life of the age to come”. This did not refer merely to an unending life that was beyond history, but rather the redemption of history which would be ushered in by a
powerful act of God, when he would bring the rule of evil powers to an end and heal the deformities of his creation. When we come to the contemporaries of Jesus, we find the “kingdom of God” being interpreted more and more in nationalistic terms. In many Jewish writings of that time, we find the hope expressed of Israel’s God taking vengeance on the pagan nations (especially the Romans) that oppressed Israel and then elevating Israel and installing her as judge over these other nations. They looked backwards to the reign of David and Solomon, when Israelite power was at its peak and the surrounding nations lived in awe of her; and dreamed of another David who would restore Israel’s political greatness. Around 6 AD, a man known as Judas the Galilean preached a message of revolutionary nationalism. Since 63 BC Palestine had been under Roman administration, either directly or indirectly through local client-kings. Judas the Galilean claimed that it was high treason against God to pay tribute to the Roman state. To do so was to commit blasphemy against Yahweh, the covenant God of the nation. Consequently, he led a band of motley guerrillas against the Roman authorities, confident that Yahweh would fight alongside them and restore his kingship in the process. Judas may well have announced his programme in words similar to those with which Jesus introduced his own ministry, but with a very important difference: “The time has come, God’s kingdom is at hand; therefore rise up and fight, for victory against our enemies is assured.” Judas’ insurrection was quickly and brutally
Whether we speak of shalom, or of salvation or of the coming of God’s kingdom, we are speaking of the same reality: namely, the renewal and reconciliation of all things under the gracious and just rule of God, the re-creation of a broken, fragmented, and corrupt world. suppressed by the Roman soldiers. He himself was put to death. But the thinking of Judas, the conception of the kingdom of God in purely nationalistic and violent terms, lived on in what was later called the “zealot” movement. Yet there were others who withdrew into the Judean wilderness, turning their backs on a society which they felt to be utterly depraved. They lived in a monastic community alongside the Dead Sea and awaited the coming of a divine kingdom that would cleanse the corrupt Jewish establishment as well as bring judgment on Rome. So, it was in this kind of social and cultural environment, with its different notions of how God’s rule would take shape (and who would be its beneficiaries) that Jesus begins his public ministry. And it is against this background that we must read his actions and his words.
9
Artikel
In Matthew 11, when John the Baptist first met Jesus, he hailed him as the “Coming One”. He told his own disciples to leave him and to go after Jesus instead. He said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (Jn.3:30). He recognised him as the one who would now usher in God’s rule – “He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” – the fire of God’s purifying judgment. And yet, not long after this, John himself was imprisoned by Herod Antipas. Here he is, then, languishing in prison; and as he looks at the shape that Jesus’ ministry was taking, he is perplexed – “Can this really be the hope of Israel? If so, why am I still in prison? Where is God’s kingdom? Is this man a failure?” John then sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus directly, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (v.3) Observe that Jesus does not directly answer John’s blunt question. His response is simply to point him to what was actually happening: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor” (vv.4,5). In other words, God is at work. His rule was actively shaping a new reality through the actions and words of Jesus. In his ministry, the powers of the new age were already being unleashed. Evil was being confronted; all its results – suffering, disease, death and poverty – were being reversed. But the day of final judgment and deliverance was not yet. It was as if that future realm which the Jews had looked forward to had already been brought into the present, but in a partial way. A little bit of the future had been broken off, so to speak, and planted in the present. Jesus did speak of God’s judgment, but when he did so, it was in the future tense. Look at those fearsome words of condemnation on the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum – here were cities which had seen the signs of the kingdom, the miracles of Jesus had been performed there, but because of their hardness of heart
The scandal of the kingdom:
JESUS AND JOHN
10
they refused to repent; but their judgment was not immediate. He warned them that if they continued in their hardheartedness it would be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for them on the coming day of divine judgment. So, while God’s kingdom was already dawning in the ministry of Jesus, it was not yet full noon. Or, to change the metaphor, the first act in the great drama of the end-times had begun. This truth is also brought out in Luke’s Gospel chapter 4. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went to Nazareth his hometown, and stood up in the synagogue to preach. He chose Isaiah 61 and read from it, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour”
(Lk.4:18,19). Then he stopped reading, rolled up the scroll, and sat down. If we refer to Isaiah 61:1,2 we find that Jesus had not finished the whole sentence, because the “servant of the Lord” (of whom the prophet was speaking) went on to say that he had come to declare “the day of vengeance of our God”. But Jesus stopped with the proclamation of the Lord’s favour. He then identified himself with the “servant of the Lord” referred to in the passage. The people in the synagogue – his kinfolk and those he had grown up among – marvelled at his teaching. But he went on to shock them by saying, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown ... There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon, (in other words, a foreigner). And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed – only Naaman the Syrian, (again, a foreigner).” All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. “They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.” Observe the hostile reaction that Jesus provoked. Why? Because he announced that God’s kingdom is for the outcast and the foreigner, and that mere birth into the Jewish nation did not qualify a person for entrance into that kingdom. Moreover, God does not deal with humans on the basis of religious merit, but rather grace. The new age which Jesus is ushering in is an age of grace to all people. God does not desire the destruction of the wicked, but rather that people should experience the blessings of his rule. If we now return to Matthew 11 and John’s perplexity, Jesus goes on to say, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (v.6). For the self-righteous nationalists of Jesus’ time, this was a hard teaching. It was an occasion for “stumbling”, for being tripped up in their understanding of God and God’s purposes for the world.
11
Artikel
The presence of the kingdom:
FULFILMENT AND CONFLICT As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus went on to observe that the coming of the kingdom meant, first, that the promises of the Old Testament were now in the process of being fulfilled. The greatness of John lay in the fact that he was the last in a long series of prophets who announced the approach of God’s kingdom. But the greatness of Jesus lay in the fact that he actually ushered in God’s kingdom. John stood on the threshold of a new age, he was standing on tip toe, as it were, and peering forward. But he was still living in the old age which
Jesus described as “the age of the Law and the Prophets” (v. 13). Jesus not only ushered in the new age, but he also enabled men and women to enter in and taste the powers of that age. That is why he said “even the least in the kingdom of God is greater than John” – greater, not in terms of moral excellence, but in the sense of being more privileged. On another occasion, Jesus said to his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it” (Lk.10:23).
And then he challenges us to reconstruct everything – our ambitions, our hopes and fears, our values, our structures – around his person and his kingdom. 12
What then of John? Well, Jesus reminded the crowd that John was neither a “wimp” nor a failure. He was not like the reeds on the banks of the river Jordan, swayed this way and that; so it would be foolish to dismiss him as a failure just because he was in prison and going through a period of doubt and inner conflict. John was no less than the “Elijah who was to come” (v. 14). Jesus was referring to a Jewish tradition that before the Messiah established God’s rule, the prophet Elijah would reappear. The John who was lying in prison and facing execution was no less than the Elijah who was to come – not literally, of course, but as the embodiment of the spirit and power of Elijah himself. That was why there was also conflict. This is the second implication of the coming of the kingdom in Jesus. Not only does it mean that this is now the age of fulfilment, but now is also the age of conflict. Look at verse 12: “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, (or in some translations, “suffering violence”) and forceful men lay hold of it.” It is a difficult verse to interpret. There are some who think it refers to the zealots who through armed revolutionary struggle, were trying to establish the kingdom in Israel. But, more
probably, it refers to Jewish religious leaders and to Herod, who had opposed both John and Jesus and were trying to stifle their voices. So what Jesus seemed to be saying is, “This is the way that the kingdom of God advances: it is through conflict, it is through opposition and suffering. That is how the kingdom spreads.” He went on to compare his generation, the people who opposed him and John, to little children immersed in childish games. They called to others, “We played the flute for you, you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn” (vv.16, 17). When we wanted to play weddings, yon did not come and laugh. When we wanted to play funerals, you did not come and cry. John was mocked by the religious establishment for being too ascetic, Jesus was criticised for being too “secular”.
People always hate the man or woman who is different. The whole world-system finds the eccentric person, the nonconformist, deeply disturbing. If he doesn’t fit in, then they want to get rid of him. And the new order which Jesus has introduced just cannot be fitted into the old way of things. We cannot accommodate Jesus into the thinking and structures of this world. As the theologian Edward Shweitzer put it, Jesus is “the man who fits no formula.” We cannot put a label on him. We cannot put him in a box. We cannot fit him into our own private ambitions, our own expectations, our own values and our own structures: he shatters them all. And then he challenges us to reconstruct everything – our ambitions, our hopes and fears, our values, our structures – around his person and his kingdom.
13
Artikel
The blessings of the kingdom: If childishness on the part of a grown man is something to be ashamed of, childlikeness, said Jesus, is truly blessed. Look at verse 25: “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things (that is, the mystery of the kingdom) from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” The coming of the kingdom brings a new vision of God; and this is not received by the “wise and learned” of this age – the lawyers, the Pharisees and the prominent theological scholars of the day. But it is received by those who are (or who become like) little children. What is it about children that made Jesus compare those who perceived and responded to the kingdom to little children? We tend to have very sentimental ideas here. We think that it is because children are innocent, humble or good that Jesus compared those who received his message to them. But the most obvious fact about children is that they have nothing of their own. In the societies of Jesus’ day, children were literally nobodies. They possessed nothing; they had no status, no privileges and no political influence. They had no academic qualifications. They did not even have legal rights. A person could do anything to a child and the law could not touch him. They were literally nobodies, insignificant people, whose social value depended on what kind of adult human beings they became. It is to such hearers that God’s revelation, the new vision of God, is given; because their vision is not clouded by intellectual arrogance, material abundance or religious pride. They do not have preconceived ideas about how God should act, what God should and should not do. They are prepared to receive what comes as a gift because they have nothing of their own to hold onto and parade before others. Jesus continued (in v.27) to make a statement that is utterly revolutionary in more than one sense: “All things have been
14
REVELATION AND FREEDOM committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” It is revolutionary, first because of the way Jesus addresses God as “Father”. The Aramaic word is “Abba”, an intimate term used frequently in the home, the equivalent of “Daddy” in English. It was unthinkable for a Jew to speak of the holy God, Creator and Sovereign of the universe, as “my daddy”. But this is precisely what Jesus did. As A.M. Hunter, a New Testament scholar put it, “the King of the Kingdom is revealed to us as a Father.” But first and foremost, as the father of Jesus. Here perhaps lies the key to the fundamental contrasts between Jesus and all the socalled “messiahs”, like Judas the Galilean, who came before him; the root difference lay in their different conceptions of God. To Jesus, the in-breaking of the kingdom meant the creation of a new human family in which God is acknowledged, loved and worshipped as Father. The second way in which this statement is quite revolutionary is in the selfunderstanding of Jesus. The first half of that sentence is not, perhaps, very surprising. If Jesus had simply said, “no one knows me except the Father,” there would be nothing unusual about that. All of us would readily say, “If God is God, then he knows
me infinitely better than I know myself or anybody else knows me.” But when he goes on to say that no one knows the Father except himself and those to whom he (that is, Jesus) chose to reveal him, he cuts across all religious and intellectual self-sufficiency. We can search all the religious traditions of mankind, all the Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu scriptures, and we shall never come across such a startling and self-centred statement as this. Several of us live in multi-religious societies where there is a very subtle pressure, even from some theologians and church leaders, to play down the radicalness of these words of Jesus and similar sayings of his. We are often exhorted, in the name of humility and tolerance, to simply pool our “religious insights” with those of our Buddhist, Hindu or other neighbours, and cautioned against laying too much emphasis on the uniqueness of Jesus. The logic of these words of Jesus is plain. If they are untrue, if Jesus is not the unique revealer of God as Father to all humankind, then there is no point at all in following one who is either deluded or a fraud. There is nothing unique to Christianity and we may as well cease to be Christians. But if these words are true, then we simply cannot put Jesus on the same level as other religious figures. Jesus possesses a unique revelatory role in relation to God who is the source
15
Artikel
and definition of truth; and we must then evaluate every human worldview and claim to truth against the measuring rod of his words and example. Jesus went on to speak of the “little children” to whom this new revelation is given as those who are also “weary and burdened” (v.28): “Come to me” – he issues the invitation. Jesus brought not only a unique revelation of God to us, but also a unique liberation. God’s self-revelation in a fallen, twisted, broken world has to take the form of a liberating activity. If we were in a sinless world, God could disclose his character in merely propositional terms, a set of statements describing what he is like. But if God is to be known as a God who is not overcome by evil and as a God of grace, mercy and compassion, then we have to experience his sovereign rule and compassion in the context of our slavery to sin. God must do something about sin and its effects. Jesus’ invitation is addressed to all who are broken, crushed, oppressed by sin: the offenders and the offended. Our own sin crushes us. It makes us guilty. It drives us to immersion in all sorts of empty religious rituals of purification. And our consciences are a burden to us and oppress us night and day. But we are also burdened and crushed by the whole weight of other people’s sin directed against us. We hurt emotionally and physically. We are often overwhelmed by a feeling of helplessness before the powerful, inhuman social and political structures within which we live. Caste and class systems, racism, unbridled “market-forces” and consumerism, torture and state repression ... all leave a trail of battered lives in their wake. Traditionally, Protestant Christians have been strong on the fact of human sin: all of us are individually
16
sinners before God, trapped in our rebellious self-centredness. But we have been weak in our understanding of the fact that we are also “sinned-against” people, that sin is social and collective as well as individual. The invitation of Jesus is to humankind in sin: all of us, who are crushed by our own individual sins, the sins of others, and the corporate sins of the economic, political and cultural systems which shape our lives. And he calls us to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (v.29).
The yoke is the wooden bar which is placed on the back of a buffalo or a bull when a farmer wants to plough a straight field. And it’s with the aid of this wooden bar that he guides the animal. It’s a common sight in the vast rural areas of Asia. Jesus tells us that his yoke is an “easy” one. He is replacing the oppressive yoke of the whole religious and social system (of Judaic legalism then and its counterparts today) which crushes men with his easy yoke of discipleship. “Take my yoke and learn from me.” The disciple is the one who learns, who submits his mind and whole life to the authority of Jesus, willingly and gladly, because he knows that his authority is not one that crushes people but one that sets them free.
To sum-up: The kingdom of God is already a present reality, inaugurated through the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. A new order is now at work in the midst of the old. God’s future plan for the world has already been set in motion. The way that the new order makes progress is through conflict with the old – a conflict which leads to suffering and apparent defeat. This is why, if we are to recognise the activities of the kingdom, what is necessary is not intellectual depth or religious fervour, for responding to the reality of the kingdom depends on spiritual insight and discernment.
This article is taken from the monograph “Your Kingdom Come”, FES Singapore, 2013.
And this discernment is given by God to all who are like little children, who are prepared to be stripped of everything, especially their achievements, prejudices and preconceived ideas about God. Such people come to Jesus because they perceive who he really is: the one through whom the kingdom of God is taking shape. And as they submit to his gentle authority, they become a liberated and a liberating people.
17
Rekomendasi Buku
HOW
GOD
BECAME
KING
HarperOne / 2012 / Hardcover / 278 pages
Something is missing. You know it – sense it, more accurately – but you can’t quite place it.You begin searching, but of course it’s hard to find what isn’t. More frustrating, you can’t even figure out the vocabulary to describe it. So you learn to live with that feeling, that itch you can’t scratch, that helpless notion of running into the same dead end over and over again. Over time, the itch subsides, the roaring distraction becomes a dull ache, and you move on. Then along comes someone who clearly and succinctly describes not only what you’ve been missing, but how you can replace it. That moment becomes a life-changing 18
one, when everything begins making sense for the first time since … when? Ever? For me, that moment came while reading N.T. Wright’s How God Became King:The Forgotten Story of the Gospels (HarperOne, 2012). For nearly two years, I’ve been studying toward a degree in history and theology. A few books along the way have proven monumental in reshaping my view of God, faith, science, politics, the nature of humanity and the nature of creation. But for all of that reassessment, much of it chronicled in this blog, something was missing. That something was Jesus. More specifically, it was a deep understanding of who Jesus was and why he lived, died and rose again. I was attempting to renew my faith with an old understanding of Jesus, and it wasn’t working. What’s more, I didn’t even realize it fully until
N.T. Wright came along. Wright isn’t the first person to deconstruct the traditional evangelical view of how the gospels portray Jesus and his ministry; Scot McKnight’s King Jesus Gospel predates this book by a few months. For that matter, I’m sure this isn’t the first time the prolific Wright has addressed these topics in print. But it’s the first time for me to hear him do so – and for anyone to do so in such an accessible way. By the end of How God Became King, the conclusion is inescapable: those of us raised with a traditional view of atonement and salvation – one in which Jesus comes so that we can say a prayer, “ask him into our hearts” and procure insurance against the fires of hell – have been sold a bill of goods*. We have become unwitting accomplices to the cheapening of the lifechanging message of Jesus, to the
corruption by Western individualism of what the gospel writers understood to be the world-reshaping entrance of God’s kingdom in the person and ministry of Jesus, a kingdom that calls us to ensure the doing of God’s will on earth, as in heaven. … In other words, this Christianity thing isn’t about escaping hell and this world to go to heaven. It’s about bringing heaven to this world and abolishing hell forever. The message of the gospel, then, becomes much more difficult, especially for those of us in the modern and postmodern comfort of the West. After all, it’s easy to say a prayer and go on with our lives, fire insurance in hand. It’s harder – a lot harder – to understand that the privilege we’ve been given as citizens of God’s kingdom comes with responsibilities to help put this broken world to rights. But it also is much more robust, much deeper, than the shallow “check the box” method of traditional evangelicalism. It is the missing piece we didn’t know was missing. Paul
Full excerpt of “How God became King” written by Paul can be obtained from https://disorientedtheology.wordpress. com/2013/01/07/book-review-how-godbecame-king-by-n-t-wright/#comment-2080. This partial excerpt was taken from the blog without his permission, as he was not contactable before and during the preparation of the current edition of PISTOS. 19
Sharing Kampus
NTU ISCF CAMP “Pursuit of Holiness”
Pada tanggal 8-11 Desember 2014 yang lalu, NTU ISCF kembali mengadakan camp rutin tahunan yang bertemakan “Pursuit of Holiness”. Berbeda dari camp-camp sebelumnya, kali ini camp NTU ISCF diadakan di Johor Bahru, Malaysia setelah beberapa tahun ini diadakan di Aloha Changi. Diikuti oleh sekitar 25 anggota NTU ISCF, camp tahun ini juga merupakan camp gabungan dengan NTU ECF (English Christian Fellowship) dimana sesi games dan beberapa sesi workshop sengaja digabung supaya terjalin persekutuan yang lebih erat dari keduanya. Di dalam camp yang berlangsung selama 4 hari 3 malam ini, tema-tema workshop yang menarik dan dekat dengan pemuda saat ini seperti “A Popular Potrayal of the End Times”, “Scripture and the Public Sphere” serta “ A Dialogue on Catholicism & Protestantism” diangkat sehingga banyak membawa berkat bagi peserta. Dikemas dalam dialog antara seorang pastor Roma Katolik dan seorang penganut agama Kristen Protestan, sesi workshop “A Dialogue on Catholicism & Protestantism” terbukti sangat diminati peserta. Pertanyaan-pertanyaan mengenai kepercayaan Roma Katolik yang berbeda dengan Kristen Protestan, baik mengenai Bunda Maria, keberadaan santo-santa, serta patung-patung Yesus pun diajukan, menambah wawasan peserta mengenai perbedaan antara keduanya. Dalam sesi-sesi utama camp kali ini, tema mengenai kekudusan menjadi fokus. Dipimpin oleh Kak Petrus Budi Setyawan dari Yayasan Gloria, Kitab Hagai dikupas dengan baik sehingga mendorong peserta untuk dapat lebih mempertanggung jawabkan kekudusannya di hadapan Tuhan. Pada sesi pertama di camp ini, peserta diajak untuk kembali merenungkan dimana posisi Tuhan dalam hidup mereka. Belajar dari keadaan bangsa Israel yang buruk
20
Levi Andrea NTU Accounting, 3rd Year
Pokok Doa: 1. Supaya NTU ISCF boleh memberikan impact yang nyata di kampus melalui kehidupan anggota yang kudus dan mau berkorban. 2. Supaya exco NTU ISCF boleh bekerja lebih giat dan sungguhsungguh lagi dalam melayani Tuhan di semester terakhir dalam masa jabatan tahun ini. 3. Supaya setiap anggota boleh tetap bertumbuh melalu wadah-wadah yang telah disediakan oleh NTU ISCF.
karena lebih mengutamakan untuk menghias rumah-rumah pribadi mereka daripada membangun rumah Tuhan terlebih dahulu, para peserta diingatkan untuk meninggalkan mentalitas “Me First” yang mendukakan Tuhan dan membawa akibat buruk bagi setiap orang yang tidak memprioritaskan Tuhan dalam setiap aspek hidupnya. Pada malam terakhir, Dedication Service pun dilangsungkan dimana tiap peserta memperbarui komitmen mereka untuk hidup kudus di hadapan Tuhan. Walaupun singkat, banyak yang bisa dipelajari dari camp tahun ini. Penulis hanya berharap supaya pembelajaran dan teguran yang telah disampaikan tidak dilupakan begitu saja, tetapi komitmen yang telah diambil boleh dilakukan di dalam tahun yang baru ini. Hagai 1 : 2 – 4 “Beginilah firman Tuhan semesta alam : Bangsa ini berkata : Sekarang belum tiba waktunya untuk membangun kembali rumah Tuhan!” Maka datanglah firman Tuhan dengan perantaraan nabi Hagai, bunyinya : “Apakah sudah tiba waktunya bagi kamu untuk mendiami rumah-rumahmu yang dipapani dengan baik, sedang Rumah ini tetap menjadi reruntuhan?”
21
CUCF ISCF CAMP “Chapter 20’s: When Idealism is Collapsing”
teman-teman terutama di Curtin. Terlebih dari itu, pada awal trimester ini kami juga memulainya dengan mengadakan Camp CUCF di Salvation Army. Tema Camp yang diangkat adalah “Chapter 20’s :When Idealism is Collapsing”. Melalui Camp ini, setiap rekan-rekan di CUCF boleh dibekali bagaimana menghadapi dunia Matius 22:39; “Kasihilah kedewasaan yang mendekat sesamamu manusia seperti semakin ketika mereka dirimu sendiri” masuk ke lingkungan universitas dan Oleh sebab itu tema ini kami terlebih lagi menjelang pilih untuk membekali setiap mereka memasuki dunia anggota CUCF untuk boleh kerja. Bagaimana setiap anak membagikan kasih Tuhan bagi Allah tidak boleh ragu untuk
Tak terasa satu trimester hampir usai. Tema kami selama satu trimester ini adalah tentang kasih. Tuhan sebagai By: Andersen Stefanus sang sumber kasih karunia Soeharto telah lebih dahulu mengasihi setiap kita anak-anakNya. Lebih dari itu, Allah sendiri yang memerintahkan kita untuk mengasihi sesama kita seperti yang Ia katakan dalam injil
22
Pokok Doa: 1. Persiapan anggota CUCF untuk menghadapi Final Exam pada Minggu ke-2 Februari. 2. Berdoa juga proses regenerasi anggota CUCF karena sebentar lagi banyak yang akan lulus. 3. Berdoa bagi mereka yang lulus agar boleh terus memuliakan Tuhan dalam perjalanan hidup mereka selanjutnya. 4. Berdoa juga untuk Ko Vibo dan keluarganya, semoga kasih karunia Tuhan boleh terus menyertai mereka terutama dalam pelayanan Ko Vibo.
terus berpegang pada Christian Idealism yaitu Tuhan itu sendiri. Memasuki dunia yang memiliki banyak tantangan bukan berarti kita harus berkompromi untuk beradaptasi dengan lingkungan yang baru. Melainkan kita tetap harus berpegang teguh kepada FirmanNya dan tanpa ragu untuk terus mewartakan FirmanNya melalui setiap perbuatan dan tutur kata kita. Sebagai penutup, mari kita doakan bersama untuk setiap anggota CUCF yang sebentar lagi akan menghadapi Final Exam pada Minggu ke-2 Februari. Semoga Tuhan memberkati setiap kami untuk boleh mempersiapkan diri dan mengerjakan setiap soal dengan baik, dan Tuhan turut bekerja dalam setiap kami. Berdoa juga untuk persekutuan kami (CUCF), yang sebentar lagi banyak dari kami yang akan lulus. Kiranya Tuhan terus memberikan rekan-rekan baru untuk boleh bersekutu bersama di CUCF. Juga berdoa untuk mereka yang lulus agar boleh terus melayani Tuhan dimana pun mereka berada, baik yang akan bekerja ataupun studi lanjut. Terakhir, doakan juga untuk Ko Vibo dan keluarga dalam setiap pelayanan mereka. Semoga Tuhan boleh terus memberkati dan menyertai seluruh anggota keluarga Ko Vibo. AMEN. 23
Sharing Kampus
Stella Aurea MDIS Mass Communication, 3rd Year
Pokok Doa: 1. Give thanks for 2 years of fellowship in MDIS ISCF. 2. Pray for the continuity of every member’s spiritual growth. 3. Pray for unity, harmony and lasting friendship among the members. 4. Pray for God to equip committee members with energy, perseverance, skill and patience to serve in the ministry.
MDIS ISCF NATAL “Do We Have Hope?”
24
Pada tanggal 10 Desember 2014, MDIS ISCF mengadakan acara natal bersama dengan tema “Do we have hope?” Persekutuan ini dimulai dari pukul 7 malam hingga pukul 10 malam. Orang yang hadir berjumlah 26 orang, termasuk didalamnya 4 orang dari NUS ISCF dan 2 orang staff. Kami mengucap syukur kepada Tuhan karena Ia telah menambahkan jumlah orang yang hadir dan menyertai kelangsungan acara natal ini. Acara dimulai dengan doa bersama lalu diikuti dengan ice-breaker. Game pertama yang dimainkan adalah mengenai alkitab.
DO WE HAVE HOPE
Peraturannya adalah masingmasing kelompok harus menemukan ayat yang diminta oleh MC dan membawa benda nyata dari ayat yang dimaksud. Kelompok yang paling cepat dan paling banyak menjawab adalah pemenangnya. Selanjutnya, game kedua adalah mengenai kerjasama. Jadi, masing-masing kelompok diminta untuk memegang tangan anggotanya (tidak boleh bersebelahan) lalu dari pegangan tangan yang berantakan itu, mereka diminta untuk membentuk sebuah lingkaran. Tentunya, anggota yang berhasil membentuk lingkaran dengan rapi, tidak terputus dan tidak terbelit adalah pemenangnya. Hasilnya, suasana menjadi lebih hangat dan teman-teman yang hadir bersukacita. Kemudian, acara dilanjutkan dengan pujian dan penyembahan dan Firman Tuhan. Sesuai dengan tema yang sudah disebutkan sebelumnya, Ko Ian berkotbah tentang pengharapan.Yesus datang ke dalam dunia adalah bukti bahwa Ia membawa pengharapan kepada semua orang. Namun, masalah seperti perang, kelaparan, kemiskinan, hubungan yang rusak
dengan keluarga dan teman, ataupun masalah lainnya seringkali menghapus pengharapan yang kita miliki. Maka dari itu, tugas kitalah sebagai anakanak Tuhan untuk menyampaikan pengharapan ke tengah-tengah dunia yang sudah hancur dan rusak ini. Lalu, sebagai bentuk aplikasi dari Firman Tuhan yang telah didengar, kami mengadakan kegiatan follow-up bertemakan Acts of Kindness. Kegiatan ini bertujuan untuk menghadirkan kerajaan Allah kepada lingkungan sekitar kita yang sedang membutuhkan pengharapan. Kegiatannya sederhana yaitu mendengarkan pergumulan teman. Pada dasarnya, kegiatan ini sering dilakukan oleh semua orang, tetapi yang membedakan adalah kenapa kita melakukannya. Kemudian, Acts of Kindness kedua adalah membangun kesatuan di antara mahasiswa Indonesia dengan mahasiswa yang berbeda kewarganegaraan. Cara melakukannya yaitu dengan menyapa mahasiswa tersebut dan membagikan makanan khas Indonesia. Karena seringkali terlihat di lingkungan kampus MDIS, mahasiswa baik berasal dari Indonesia maupun bukan hanya bergaul atau berkumpul dengan orang-orang yang asal negaranya sama dengan mereka. Acara pun diakhiri dengan persembahan, persembahan pujian dari exco, tukar kado dan makan bersama. Kami juga mengucap syukur karena bisa mengakhiri tahun 2014 dengan bersekutu bersama saudara seiman di dalam Kristus.
25
Sharing Kampus
SKETCH ISCF OUTING Cycling and BBQ
It was a celebration, an end to a semester of school. And indeed we needed to celebrate! There were much to be grateful for. The intense projects and sleepless nights were over! Though there are more to come, for now it is time to feast and enjoy each other as one community in Christ. It was time to be joyful. We started our day with a simple exercise. We went cycling to East Coast Park and amazingly it did not rain. The weather had us worried because it had been raining for days. We were ecstatic when the sun came out. We took pictures and shared laughter while we enjoyed the breeze. After we finished our cycling at East Coast Park, we went back and got ready for our BBQ. While waiting for the charcoal to heat up, we started our barbeque with songs and praises. With thankfulness in our hearts we shared stories with one another. The rest of the night went on without a hitch. The food was delicious and we even shared stories and laughter. In the midst of the celebration, we also share what we were thankful for. And one thing that I am truly thankful for is having the chance to be part of this community, to be able to enjoy one another, enjoy Christ through this fellowship. A fellowship like this is not easy to find and I am truly grateful for these past few years I was able to learn more about Christ, to watch my brothers and sisters grow in Christ. And be part of this fellowship, this family.
26
Amelia Kho Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Interior Design, 3rd Year.
Pokok Doa: 1. Berdoa untuk regenerasi SKETCH Fellowship. 2. Berdoa untuk pergantian kepengurusan tahun 2015. 3. Berdoa supaya SKETCH Fellowship tidak putus harapan karena jumlah orang yang ada, tetapi semakin semangat untuk menjadikan persekutuan ini persekutuan yang memuliakan Tuhan dan berkenan di mata Tuhan.
27
Sharing Kampus
NUS ISCF PU HTHT Heart To Heart Talk
Ines Christy Satyawan NUS Chemical Engineering, 2nd Year
“Karena itu pergilah dan jadikanlah semua bangsa muridKu…” Matius 28:19a Amanat Agung untuk bermisi adalah satu aspek penting dalam hidup orang Kristen yang justru sering diabaikan. Selain berfokus untuk menjadi murid Kristus yang sejati, tahun ini, NUS ISCF berfokus juga untuk menjangkau teman-teman sekitar kita untuk menjadi murid Kristus. Tanggal 7 November 2014 kemarin, NUS ISCF memiliki persekutuan yang lain dari biasanya, persekutuan khusus untuk menjangkau teman-teman di kampus. Tema persekutuan kali ini adalah “Heart to Heart Talk: Boy Girl Relationship”. Pasti banyak dari kita yang bertanya-tanya, “Loh? Menginjili kok jadi membahas tentang BGR?”.Ya, misi bukan hanya mencakup proclamation of The Gospel secara langsung, tapi juga meliputi semua aspek kehidupan. Kami rindu untuk menyampaikan nilai-nilai kekristenan dalam semua aspek kehidupan, salah satunya, dalam hal berpacaran. Topik ini dirasa relevan dan menarik untuk dibahas bersama temanteman yang ingin dijangkau. Puji Tuhan, Tuhan mengirimkan 5 orang yang nonKristen untuk ikut hadir dalam persekutuan tersebut.
28
Pokok Doa: 1. Tolong doakan untuk teman-teman yang mengajak non-believers ke PU HTHT ini agar mereka bisa diberikan kebijaksanaan dari Tuhan untuk bisa keep in touch dengan mereka dan bisa share the Gospel pada mereka. 2. Di semester depan, NUS ISCF mau fokus dalam menumbuhkan passion for individual growth. Doain ya supaya exco boleh dipimpin Tuhan untuk memfasilitasi ini dan supaya members boleh memiliki passion yang berkobarkobar untuk bertumbuh semakin serupa dengan Kristus. 3. Doain juga untuk KTB-KTB yang sudah ada supaya bisa menjadi wadah pertumbuhan member-member.
“Karena itu pergilah dan jadikanlah semua bangsa muridKu…” Matius 28:19a
Persekutuan dibuka dengan beberapa lagu pujian dan game Ice-Breaker. Satu hal yang berbeda lagi dari persekutuan kali ini adalah adanya perjamuan kasih, semua members ISCF datang dengan membawa makanan untuk dibagikan kepada temanteman. Sebelum masuk lebih dalam ke topik yang akan dibahas, Ko Tjeli membuka dengan sebuah video tentang berpacaran untuk mengajak semua yang hadir untuk mulai berpikir. Bentuk persekutuan kali ini adalah diskusi, bukan Firman Tuhan yang disampaikan satu arah saja. Persekutuan ini memfasilitasi members ISCF dan teman-teman nonKristen untuk bertukar pikiran, ini merupakan salah satu bentuk misi in Dialogic
HEART TO HEART Model. Dialogic Model adalah salah satu cara yang penting untuk Engage the University as a Whole. Bisa dilihat interaksi yang hidup antara members ISCF dan non-Believers. Anak-anak NUS ISCF bisa belajar untuk share apa yang kita percayai khususnya dalam hal Boy Girl Relationship, bagaimana kasih Kristus pada jemaat bisa menjadi landasan kita dalam hal ini. Bersyukur juga non-Believers dengan berani mengutarakan pendapatnya ke banyak orang. Di saat yang bersamaan, mereka juga bisa mendapatkan pengertian bagaimana Firman Tuhan mempengaruhi cara orang Kristen berpikir dan berperilaku dalam isu Boy Girl Relationship. Diskusi mengenai Boy Girl Relationship dilakukan dalam kelompok-kelompok kecil yang dipimpin oleh fasilitator yang telah diperlengkapi sebelumnya. Namun, sesudah itu dibahas lagi dalam kelompok
besar yang dipimpin oleh Ko Tjeli. Ada beberapa isu spesifik yang dibahas seperti tujuan pacaran, batasan fisik ketika berpacaran, dan isu pacaran beda agama. Beberapa pasangan yang sedang berpacaran juga membagikan pengalamannya tentang berpacaran kudus yang berfokuskan kepada Tuhan. Persekutuan misi ini bukanlah satusatunya wadah untuk menjangkau, tapi ini merupakan sarana untuk bisa membangun hubungan yang lebih dalam dengan non-Believers. Tugas members ISCF selanjutnya adalah untuk terus mendekatkan diri dan melakukan follow-up. Menjangkau teman-teman disekitar kita merupakan panggilan untuk setiap kita. 29
SIM ISCF NATAL SIM SERVICE
Shalom semuanya Bersyukur kepada Tuhan akhirnya untuk pertama kali SIM ISCF punya kesempatan buat melakukan SIM Service. SIM Service ialah suatu kegiatan untuk membagikan sukacita natal dengan memberi bingkisan kepada security yang mendedikasikan diri mereka untuk keaman kampus. Bingkisan yang kami beri berupa kacang, biskuit, dan beberapa bungkus kopi. Dan kami juga menyertakan Christmas wishes dalam bingkisan tersebut :))
Heryanto Jaya SIM (University of London) Accounting Finance, 3rd Year 30
SIM punya 4 blok; A, B, C dan D. Kami terpecah dalam dua grup untuk memberi bingkisan
tersebut. Grup pertama mencari security di Blok A & B dan grup kedua di C & D. Security di blok A & B mudah untuk ditemukan, blok C & D sebaliknya. Maka dari itu, tugas grup pertama hanya selesai kurang dari 1 jam sementara grup dua terus berkutat. Akhirnya grup 2 merge sama grup satu untuk mencari security di blok C & D. Dan ternyata, setelah kami tanya salah satu security di blok B, security di blok C & D berkumpul di satu ruangan yg gak ada di denah gedung. Dan, Puji Tuhan, akhirnya kami menemukan mereka and they are glade
to receive our gifts. Berhubung itu adalah acara terakhir SIM ISCF di akhir tahun 2014, kami lanjutkan dengan makan malam bersama di Sixth Avenue ^^
“And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for God is pleased with such sacrifices” - Hebrews 13:16 (NET) Kami berharap berikutnya punya kesempatan untuk melakukan hal yang sama Soli Deo Gloria
Pokok doa: 1. Pergantian kepengurusan yang akan diadakan sekitar bulan Februari. Kiranya Tuhan memberikan hikmat dan kebijaksanaan untuk pengurus agar dapat memilih pengurus selanjutnya dan kiranya pengurus selanjutnya diberikan Tuhan kerinduan untuk melayani di SIM ISCF. 2. Camp SIM ISCF yang akan diadakan pada tanggal 1618 Januari 2015. Kiranya acara dapat berjalan dengan baik dan peserta diberkati Tuhan. 3. Exam-exam yang akan datang, baik untuk UOL, DMS, Birmingham, dan RMIT. Kiranya kami selalu diberikan kesehatan dan kekuatan oleh Tuhan agar kami dapat belajar dengan baik dan kiranya Tuhan memberikan hikmat kebijaksanaan dalam proses belajar kami.
The highlight of ISCF events this semester was our local community service. On 8 October 2014, our Christian Fellowship decided to cooperate with Willing Hearts to serve the needy community by preparing and providing them food. Willing Hearts is a 100% volunteer-run, non-profit organization set up to help providing the needy in Singapore, regardless of race or creed. On that day, we woke up around 5am because we needed to reach Willing Hearts
PATH ISCF LOCAL COMMUNITY SERVICE WILLING HEARTS
31
location by around 7 am. Upon our arrival, we split into smaller groups to help the Willing Hearts team. A few of us helped to prepare the raw materials, some helped to cook the food, and others assisted to package and deliver the food to the needy people. During that day, Willing Hearts together with our team and other volunteers managed to provide food for around 3,000 needy people including the elderly, adults, and children. It was really a fruitful and rewarding experience for all of our members. From this experience, we learned to be grateful for what we have been given by God. There are still many people who could hardly meet their basic needs such as food. Therefore, we believe that it is indeed our privilege and our obligation to be a channel of God’s blessing for them. We were very grateful for the opportunity to help them as we were confident our labor was not in vain. We hope we could continue to do this community service initiative again next semester. We also want to encourage more students in SMU to join this initiative as we feel the experience is truly priceless.
Pokok doa: 1. Please pray so that God always sustains non-profit organization such as Willing Hearts to continue to make positive impacts to our community. 2. Please pray for us so that God strengthens and guide needy families in Singapore. May God always continue to give them His peace and encouragement. 3. Please pray for us so that we continue to have an open heart that is eager to help others and be a channel of His blessings.
32
Surat Doa Staff
VIBO
Bersyukur untuk pembelajaran dalam setiap pelayanan yang sudah dijalani selama ini. Bersyukur untuk setiap teman mahasiswa, alumni, dan staf yang menjadi kawan-kawan seperjalanan yang memberikan penguatan di dalam menjalani suka dan duka dalam pelayanan di FES. Untuk 3 bulan ke depan akan menjadi masa transisi untuk persiapan menjalani sabatikal selama setahun ke depan yang akan dimulai April 2015. Berharap dalam sabatikal ini saya boleh menyelesaikan studi di TTC sekaligus merenungkan kembali hal-hal yang bisa dikerjakan dalam pelayanan FES setelah menyelesaikan studi dan sabatikal.
Bersyukur untuk tugas semester lalu yang sudah diselesaikan pada waktunya dengan hasil yang cukup memuaskan. Untuk 3 bulan ke depan, akan ada satu essay lagi yang harus dikerjakan. Bersyukur juga untuk kelahiran Leviel di bulan November yang lalu. Masa penyesuaian selama 2 bulan ini juga boleh dijalani dengan cukup baik. Pengaturan waktu antara keluarga, pelayanan dan studi akan menjadi salah satu tantangan khususnya untuk punya waktu istirahat yang cukup. Mohon dukungan doa teman-teman: 1. Untuk transisi pelayanan di mana pendampingan pelayanan kampus akan diserahkan ke staf yang lain. Bila tidak ada perubahan SKETCH akan didampingi Yanti dan Curtin akan didampingi Darryl. 2. Kesehatan di dalam masa-masa yang cukup hectic dengan tanggung jawab keluarga, pelayanan dan studi.
33
Surat Doa Staff
DARRYL
34
Dalam beberapa kesempatan di semester lalu, ada waktu-waktu di mana saya merasa khawatir dan cenderung takut. Salah satunya nampak dalam Camp NTU Desember kemarin. Dengan setting yang baru, dan juga jumlah keikutsertaan yang menurun, membuat banyak kekhawatiran di awal camp tersebut. Namun, saya bersyukur untuk menyaksikan interaksi antar anggota, komitmen dari panitia yang jumlahnya kecil dan juga bagaimana peserta diberkati lewat sesi. Sekali lagi menyaksikan dan mengalami penyertaan Tuhan dalam hal-hal baru. Memikirkan ulang peristiwa-peristiwa seperti itu, tolong doakan supaya saya terus diberi courage di dalam pelayanan ini, agar berani melangkah dan melakukan apa yang seharusnya dilakukan dalam tugas dan peran yang saya jalankan (baik ketika mendampingi mahasiswa, membawakan renungan, juga menjalani role-role baru). Juga mohon doanya, supaya terus diberi ketahanan dalam memimpin KTB-KTB yang ada, agar bisa membimbing adik-adik KTB dan terus berupaya agar mereka (dan juga diri) terus bertumbuh seperti Kristus. Thank you buat dukungan doa dan support-nya.
Kalau napak tilas tahun 2014 kemarin, saya bersyukur untuk banyak hal :-) 1. Bersyukur karena kalau dibandingkan dengan tahun-tahun sebelumnya, saya merasa lebih banyak bertumbuh secara rohani melalui pelayanan setahun ke belakang ini. Saya merasa lebih mengenal diri, mengenal Tuhan, mencintai Tuhan, dan peduli sama orang lain dibanding waktu-waktu sebelumnya. 2. Bersyukur untuk pertambahan jumlah mahasiswa yang ikut MDIS ISCF dan juga kehangatan persekutuannya yang juga dirasakan oleh teman-teman yang belum percaya di MDIS. Doakan supaya ada proses pemuridan yang solid dan konsisten dan juga motivasi yang benar ketika ikut ISCF.
IAN
3. Bersyukur untuk student-initiative yang berkembang di NUS ISCF. Doakan supaya mereka yang terkonviksi akan visi misi IFES dan merasa terpanggil menjadi staff boleh menggumulkan dengan sungguh-sungguh di hadapan Tuhan dan tidak melarikan diri ;) 4. Bersyukur karena akhir Desember lalu bisa liburan sama beberapa teman dan keluarga dan merasa liburannya diberkati Tuhan :-) 5. Bersyukur karena lewat pergumulan saya yang berat di tahun 2014 kemarin, saya makin boleh mengalami Tuhan dengan real seperti lagu “Blessings” karya Laura Story di bawah ini... We pray for blessings We pray for peace Comfort for family, protection while we sleep We pray for healing, for prosperity We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering All the while,You hear each spoken need Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things (Chorus) ‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears What if the thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise We pray for wisdom Your voice to hear We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love As if every promise from Your Word is not enough And all the while,You hear each desperate plea And long that we’d have faith to believe Chorus When friends betray us When darkness seems to win We know the pain reminds this heart That this is not, this is not our home Chorus What if my greatest disappointments Or the aching of this life Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy What if trials of this life The rain, the storms, the hardest nights Are your mercies in disguise
35
Surat Doa Staff
Yang terkasih Saudara/i sepelayanan di FES IM, Salam di dalam kasih Kristus. Pertama-tama saya mau mengucap syukur kepada Tuhan dan Raja kita, yang telah menyertai, memimpin dan mencukupkan pelayanan kita di FES Indonesian Ministry sepanjang tahun 2014 yang baru saja berlalu. Mewakili tim staff, saya juga mau bersyukur karena kami dapat mengadakan retreat tim staff FES IM di bulan Desember lalu, untuk mengadakan perencanaan pelayanan ke depan selain untuk refreshing. Mewakili Working Committee dan Badan Pengurus Harian (BPH) dari FES IM, saya hendak menyaksikan kasih setia dan belas kasihan Tuhan bagi pelayanan ini, khususnya
MIKE
secara finansial yang sempat kembang kempis memasuki kuarter terakhir tahun 2014. Dalam hal ini, kami sangat bersyukur atas kerja keras rekan-rekan di BPH dan Tim Zakheus, yang sejak bulan November lalu mencurahkan tenaga dan waktunya untuk fund-raising, baik untuk menutupi defisit, menyediakan Annual Wage Supplement, maupun untuk penyediaan dana di tahun 2015. Sekali lagi kami bersyukur dan memuji Tuhan! Saya sekeluarga sangat bersyukur untuk kesempatan liburan di Indonesia di akhir bulan Desember lalu, sehingga kami merasa lebih refreshed memasuki tahun yang baru. Kami juga bersyukur dan memohon dukungan doa dari rekan-rekan untuk Anaiah yang sejak awal tahun ini masuk ke pre-school jenjang Nursery 2. Kiranya di minggu-minggu awal ini khususnya, proses adaptasi Anaiah ke sekolah dapat berjalan baik. Dan kiranya Tuhan terus memberikan saya dan Cindy kekuatan dan bijaksana dalam membimbing dan memberikan teladan yang baik bagi Anaiah, selain juga terus menjaga hubungan kami sebagai suami-istri. Untuk studi saya di SBC, saya bersyukur karena anugerah dan penyertaan Tuhan, saya dapat menyelesaikan dua subyek (Greek I dan Church History) di semester yang lalu. Semester ini saya akan melanjutkan dengan 2 subjek lagi (Greek II dan Missiological Perspectives). Sekali lagi saya mohon dukungan rekan-rekan sekalian di dalam saya menyelesaikan semester ini dengan baik. Selamat tahun baru 2015!
36
YANTI
WELCOME!
Pada tanggal 5 Januari lalu,Yanti Agustin resmi bergabung di FES IM sebagai full-time staff.Yanti lahir dan besar di Medan sejak 22 Agustus 1992 hingga akhirnya pindah ke Singapura pada tahun 2010 untuk menjalani studi Product Design di Lasalle College of the Arts. Di persekutuan kampus, dia melayani sebagai ketua SKETCH Fellowship (Lasalle – NAFA Indonesian Student Christian Fellowship) periode 2013. “Alasan kenapa saya menjadi staff adalah karena adanya konviksi tentang pentingnya discipleship terutama bagi mahasiswa dan saya pribadi merasa sangat terberkati dengan kehadiran para staff yang membantu spiritual journey-ku semasa studi. Adanya kerinduan untuk membagikan berkat itu kepada orang lain, namun ada juga rasa gentar dan takut ketika berkomitmen mengambil langkah ini” Yanti bersekutu di Gereja Kristus Yesus Singapore dan melayani dalam pelayanan sekolah minggu serta pemimpin pujian di pelayanan pemuda.
Surat Doa
Merupakan suatu privilege bagi saya untuk bisa bergabung dalam FESIM sebagai staff dan saya sangat bersyukur untuk keluarga baru yang Tuhan berikan ini. Jika dipikir-pikir lagi, sungguh luar biasa penyertaan dan pengarahan dari Tuhan selama masa pergumulan dimana Tuhan yang memberi saya kekuatan untuk mengambil langkah ini meskipun saya sendiri sebenarnya sangat takut ketika melihat tugas para staff. Namun saya bersyukur untuk kehadiran staff-staff senior yang membantu dan membimbing saya yang masih newbie ini.
Doakan agar saya bisa menyesuaikan diri dengan tugas-tugas staffworker. Dalam menjalankan tugas, doakan supaya lebih bersandar kepada Tuhan dan bukan kekuatanku sendiri. Doakan juga agar kiranya semangat melayani ini terus berkobar dan bisa tetap setia menjalankan panggilanNya. 37
GS Desk
PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL:
WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. (Phil 1:4-5) When I read the name list of FES donors and supporters, I often ask myself why they could be faithfully there for years, and some, for decades. What does FES have in our ministry that compels them to stay supportive? As I look at several of those names in more details, I could also recall several experiences in the past together with them up and down for the sake of student work in FES. They not only gave financially, but also availed much of their time and energy. Why should they do that? This reminds me on a sweet and prominent thought in Paul’s epistles to the Philippians. Partnership in the Gospel. Paul writes a very intimate letter to the Philippians. In the thanksgiving section, he expresses his joy because of their partnership in the Gospel. And he consistently describes this throughout the letter. The word “partnership” used by Paul is koinonia. In some English translations, the word “fellowship” is used. However, koinonia means more than mere fellowship. Koinonia basically means sharing something together or partnering together for a common purpose. This is an expression of closeness or intimacy in which there are many things being shared in common. Paul mentions at least four areas throughout the letter in which the Philippians are called to partner Paul in the Gospel. The first area is the invitation to partner Paul to stand for the Gospel. In Philippians 1:7, Paul mentions that the Philippians have been “the partakers ... of grace … in the defence and confirmation of the Gospel”. Also in verses 1:27-28, he calls the Philippians to “[stand]ing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel” and to wholeheartedly “let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ”. Knowing that Philippi is a colony of the Roman Empire,
38
and most of the Philippians are Roman citizens, Paul challenges their allegiance by showing that the way they should live is for the Gospel, and not for the Roman Empire. Secondly, as there are many opponents of the Gospel (as described in 1:12-16), the partnership is also to suffer for the Gospel (1:29-30; 4:14). Thus, Paul calls them not to be frightened, but instead believe that they are also granted “not only [to] believe in Him but also [to] suffer for His sake” (1:29). Thirdly, Paul’s plea is for the Philippians to partner him in praying for the Gospel (1:19). Paul encourages the Philippians to pray for him as he is confident that “through [their] prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”, it will turn out for his deliverance. Take note that most likely Paul wrote this letter when he was in jail. In other words,
Paul believes that God will use the Philippians’ prayer for him while he is in captivity to help him persevere. How much Paul appreciates the prayer ministry! Lastly, Paul also acknowledges the Philippians’ partnership through their giving (4:15-18). He stated that no one in the Macedonian church had been involved in “giving and receiving” (4:14), except them. Nevertheless, though he is very grateful to those gifts, he seems to distance himself from relying on this material gift, saying, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (4:11). Stephen Fowl in Philippians: Two Horizons New Testament Commentary noted that Paul never thanked the Philippians directly for their gifts, as “to do so would invoke social conventions concerning reciprocity and the status of Paul and the Philippians.” In the GrecoRoman world, expressing thanks for a gift would bind the receiver to pay with some sort of reciprocal act and even could risk damaging the relationship between the giver and the receiver. Therefore, Fowl argues that Paul, instead, tactfully writes his appreciation of their gift in 4:10-20 by linking it as something that is “congruent with the Gospel, in ways that recognize that the partnership Paul and the Philippians enjoy is founded, enabled, and maintained in Christ.” Similarly, here and now, with much thanksgiving for your partnership in the Gospel in past years, let us continue: Standing for the Gospel
Suffering for the Gospel
Praying for the work of the Gospel
Giving materially for the cause of the Gospel.
In His grace, Lisman Komaladi General Secretary 39
Laporan Keuangan
FES IM Agustus-November 2014
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 Kami senantiasa bersyukur pada Tuhan atas penyertaanNya terhadap pelayanan FES IM. Puji Tuhan di akhir tahun 2014 ini, keuangan FES IM lebih baik di bandingkan dengan periode sebelumnya. Seperti yang dapat dilihat dalam data di bawah ini, selama bulan Agustus – November 2014 FES IM mengalami surplus sebesar $3,657.86. Hal ini di karenakan ada
Agu’14
Sep’14
Okt’14
Nov’14
Total (Agu’14-Nov’14)
Pemasukan
$ 18,419.62
$ 19,201.27
$ 18,181.37
$ 25,925.26
$ 81,727.52
Pengeluaran
$ 18,151.84
$ 19,394.97
$ 21,160.20
$ 19,133.88
$ 78,069.66
$ 267.78
($ 442.47)
($ 2,978.83)
$ 6,791.38
$ 3,657.86
Surplus/Defisit
40
beberapa sumbangan one-time dari donatur-donatur di bulan November dan masuknya donatur-donatur baru. Kami terus bersyukur atas para donatur yang terus setia mendukung pelayanan FES IM. Kami percaya bahwa Tuhan setia dan akan terus mencukupi kebutuhan FES IM sebagaimana Ia telah lakukan selama ini.
Pokok doa: 1. Bersyukur atas penyertaan Tuhan terhadap pelayanan FES IM. 2. Kami juga bersyukur atas donatur-donatur yang setia men-support pelayanan FES IM, kiranya Tuhan yang terus memelihara mereka dalam menjalani panggilan hidupnya masingmasing. 3. Berdoa untuk kebutuhan dana di 2015 yang akan meningkat dengan bertambahnya jumlah staff, kiranya Tuhan saja yang terus mencukupkan kebutuhan FES IM.
KUIS BERHADIAH
bagi 5 orang pemenang yang akan diundi secara acak
QUIZ Crossword Puzzle
Caranya adalah isi crossword puzzle yang dibawah ini, kemudian kirimkan ke email
[email protected] dengan subjek “Jawaban Crossword Pistos Edisi Jan 2015”. Deadline submission:
8 Februari 2015 (jam 23.59)
41
Are we aware of current affairs, challenges, struggles in Singapore and how do our identities as the people of God have anything to do with them? What are our responsibilities? Are we ready to be salt and light, engaging and transforming our surroundings (campus, society, and Singapore) for Christ? Year twenty fifteen. Fellowship of Evangelical Students(FES) biennial National 42
Conference(NC) is here. Let’s participate in a one day Equipping Conference on 7 March, and journey thereafter, as a community of His people. Let’s seek to explore what does Shalom look like in Singapore, with mentors from Incubators. Wondering what is an Incubator? What are Shalom Movement, and Passing the Torch? Find out more on NC15’s official website: http://www.fessingapore.org/nc2015/ and register yourself today! (Registration ends on 28 February)
“I simply argue that the Cross be raised again at the centre of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a Cathedral between two candles, but on a Cross between two thieves; on the town garbage heap; on a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and in Greek; at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died and that is what He died about. And that is where Christians should be and what Christians should be about.” 1 George McLeod, founder of the Iona Christian Community
Fellowship of Evangelical Students Indonesian Ministry Address : 420 North Bridge Road #05-05 Singapore 188727 Tel: 63383665 Fax: 63382054 Website: www.fessingapore.org FES IM Affiliates • Nanyang Technology University Indonesian Students’ Christian Fellowship • National University of Singapore Indonesian Students’ Christian Fellowship • Singapore Institute of Management Indonesian Students’ Christian Fellowship Pioneering Work at Curtin University, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore Management University, Management Development Institute of Singapore FES General Secretary • Lisman Komaladi FES IM Head of Ministry • Michael Senjaya Kang PISTOS Januari 2015 MIC (P) 141/10/2014 Editorial Team: • Theo Ariandi, Olivia Wong, Christiana Novianty, Manoel Yohanes, William Jason (Comic Cover), David Giovanni (Crossword Puzzle), Adrian Nugroho, Rika Widjaja,Yanti Agustin PISTOS terbit tiga kali setiap tahunnya, dengan tujuan membagikan informasi terkini mengenai perkembangan pelayanan FES Indonesian Ministry dan mendorong pemikiran yang lebih mendalam dan luas mengenai berbagai aspek yang berpengaruh terhadap kehidupan dan kesaksian orang Kristen.
1
George McLeod, Only One Way Left, quoted in Donald E. Messer, Contemporary Images of Christian Ministry (Nashville: Abingdon, 1989) p.170. McLeod uses “churchmen” instead of Christians; I have amended his text.
FES is an interdenominational Christian organization that seeks to reach, nurture, and equip tertiary students in Singapore to be a faithful evangelical witness on campus and in society, making and building disciples of Jesus Christ who will be effective salt and light of the world.
43
