Proud Representative

I was captured by yesterday's newspaper headline. Ada seorang politician tempatan yang menyiarkan campaign videonya di youtube dan dikecam hebat oleh TV station di Taiwan kerana politician tersebut meniru video campaign presiden negara mereka. It's not 10% copy....but it's almost 100%! Just change few words. Sesuatu yang memalukan apalagi bagi seorang yang berpengaruh. Oleh kerana tindakannya, parti politiknya mendapat kritikan hebat dari penonton youtube dan pemberita di Taiwan. Saya sendiri berfikir, apakah ahli politik tersebut tidak pernah terfikir bahawa tindakannya akan membawa kesan kepada partinya? bahkan kepada negaranya?

Setiap kita mewakili sesuatu organisasi, sama ada keluarga, gereja, office, College, kampung, rumah panjang dan sebagainya. Apa yang kita lakukan, apa yang kita perkatakan, apa yang kita fikirkan, cara hidup kita, menunjukkan siapa kita dan dari mana kita. Sometimes we forgot who we represent. Ini berbicara mengenai kesaksian kita sehari-hari. Bila kita berada di lingkungan kita (keluarga, office, gereja dll), adakah kesaksian kita memberikan impresi (impression) yang baik? atau gara-gara kita, organisasi (keluarga, office, gereja dll) yang kita wakili menerima kritikan dan komen-komen yang negatif bahkan kita menjadi batu sandungan pada orang lain?

Saya beberapa kali mendengar kalimat ini dari beberapa orang pengkhotbah; "berapa banyak jemaat yang pindah gereja gara-gara kamu?". Wow! saya tersentak saat pertama kali mendengar pertanyaan tersebut dan saya masih ingat sampai ke hari ini. Saya selalu bertanya kepada diri saya apakah kesaksian hidup saya membuat orang lain makin mendekat dan tertarik kepada Yesus atau mereka tidak berminat atau makin menjauh dari Yesus? How about you? Are you a proud representative of God's kingdom? Have you become a good representative of His kingdom? Tuhan memberikan Roh Kudus kepada kita agar kita dimampukan untuk bersaksi; untuk menyampaikan kabar baik dan kabar keselamatan Yesus (Matius 28 : 19 – 20) As I always say to the young people of RYC, "You live once, make use of your life to the max". Be a proud of representative of Christ's kingdom.

Feel free to leave you comments or inputs. Have a blessed day

Walking on the water

I was preparing my slides for my preaching this evening at RYC service. Then all of sudden came to my mind the image of Peter walking on the water towards Jesus. (John 6:16-21). This is one of the famous story in the bible. Apparently, not many christians relate this stroy to their life...either they forgot about the story or doesn't see the importance of it. For me, being a musician in this entertainment industry is like walking on the water. Jesus is on it (He rule over the entertainment industry...amen!), and i ask God if i can walk on it...and now, i'm walking on it but i admit, at times i would be anxious about what is happening around me and whether i'll make the next step and reach Jesus. Have u experience the same in your life?

I believe, if Jesus enables me to make the first step on the "water" (i.e. entertainment industry), He will lead me 'til i reach Him..even there's a big storm besides me..or a big creature waiting underneath me...i knew that as long as i have faith and the courage to walk towards Him, I will reach Him...I will end journey.

So friends, whatever it is u'r facing now...make sure...u must be really sure it is Jesus who call u to walk on the water..do you hear Jesus?

Guard your walls

"Orang yang tak dapat mengendalikan diri adalah seperti kota yang roboh temboknya" Amsal 25:28

"Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. " Proverbs 25:28 (NKJV)

Ayat di atas menjadi renungan sejak minggu yang lalu dan sampai ke hari ini Tuhan benar-benar memproses saya di area PENGUASAAN DIRI. Infact, this saturday I'm gonna preach on this topic to all my young brothers & sisters in RYC. Just want to share with them what I've experience fomr this ongoing process.

So, bercakap mengenai PENGUASAAN DIRI, seperti sebuah kota yang roboh temboknya, begitulah orang yang tidak dapat mengendalikan dirinya (his own spirit - NKJV). Tidak kiralah berapa banyak karunia yang ada pada saya, tidak kiralah berapa banyak jiwa yang saya bangunkan selama ini, tidak kira berapa lama saya sudah melayani Tuhan, jika saya tidak menguasai diri saya, segala apa yang saya kerjakan selama ini akan terdedah kepada serangan si iblis. Dan yang parahnya adalah, gara-gara tiada penguasaan diri, saya sendiri mensabotaj apa yang saya kerjakan selama ini. Just imagine a city without walls. Bayangkan jika sebuah kerajaan tidak mempunyai tembok pelindung yang mengelilinginya. Segala kekayaan, segala apa kemajuan yang ada di dalam kerajaan itu akan mudah dicuri atau diserang oleh musuh.

I don't know about you guys, for me, ada 4 area yang perlu saya kuasai dalam diri saya. FIKIRAN, EMOSI, PERKATAAN & PERBUATAN.

I'll share more in details on each of those 4 areas in my next post (when I'm not busy). But for now, let me leave you with this thought :

Your walls that surround you is as strong and as thick as your ability to control yourself in any situation.

Trust your heart?

I used to hear and also used to say this : "trust your heart...". When troubles comes..when we don't know what to do, when you having problems with your bf/gf or family or whoever..."trust your heart...follow what your heart says"...these are common....too common in our society even in church..and i say that there is something wrong here and i hope you will change the way you think after reading this.

Why? read : The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. -Jeremiah 17:9-10

check that out! our heart is the most deceitful...the MOST. So, for me...trust the Lord, trust His word (BIBLE) is the first thing we all should do in life.. When troubles come (any kind of troubles / problems...relationship, financial, studies, ministry etc)...talk to God & look what the bible says about the issue u're dealing with...later, consult to the right person. Imagine what we get after not filling our heart with His words and then we choose to decide things based on what our heart says! what kind of solution would that be?

So, trust your heart or trust your God?

Dikenal kerana karunia atau buah roh?

Well, it has been a while since I update my blog. Been busy with work, studies, ministry and wedding preparation. However, I thank God for His strength, His grace in my life never fade. Few days ago I was invited by Alex & the new RYC leadership team. Just to share on few things. I share to them what I learn from God in this past few weeks.

Saya mengaku bahawa saya diproses oleh Tuhan untuk terus menerus menghasilkan buah-buah roh dari kehidupan saya. Kalau bicara soal karunia…saya puji TUhan kerana pada hari ni Tuhan memperlengkapi saya dengan berbagai-bagai karunia. Sampai hari ini masih ada karunia yang masih dipertajamkan, masih ada juga yang belum ditemukan namun demikian kita semua tau apa itu karunia roh. Karunia bernubuat, menasihati, memberi, memimpin, berbahasa roh, karunia melayani dan bermacam-macam lagi.

Saya selalu “mendampingkan” karunia dengan karisma (charisma). Now, here’s the tricky part. Banyak terjadi di dalam kehidupan anak-anak Tuhan di mana karunia lebih banyak dikerjakan, karunia lebih banyak menjadi fokus dan karunia juga lebih banyak diagung-agungkan dalam diri seseorang. Berbanding dengan buah roh: “kasih, sukacita, damai sejahtera, kesabaran, kemurahan, kebaikan, kesetiaan, kelemahlembutan, penguasaan diri…” Galatia 5:22-23, orang banyak sekali memperkatakan mengenai karunia seseorang. Bila dalam menilai seseorang, selalunya karunia (karisma) dan penampilan seseorang itu yang menjadi taruhan. Namun kurang diperhatikan buah-buah roh yang dihasilkan oleh orang tersebut.

Mengapa saya ingin mengongsikan hal ini? Firstly, I’m no longer in my church’s board of leadership structure. I’m no longer heading RYC, just mentoring them. So, since saya juga sibuk dengan pekerjaan, study & persiapan perkahwinan, saya jarang melayani di gereja..maksudnya, pelayanan mimbar. This is another phase in my life where God is shaping me to another form. Thank God He open my eyes. Sepertinya segala attribute (aksesori2) pelayanan saya sudah ditanggalkan…yang tinggal hanyalah karakter (buah-buah) yang terpancar dari kehidupan saya. Sama ada buah-buah roh atau buah-buah yang busuk yang keluar, itulah yang Tuhan perlihatkan pada saya.

Kadangkala tanpa kita sedar, kita kurang memperhatikan apakah diri kita masih menghasilkan buah-buah roh. Pelayanan tetap jalan, bahkan makin sibuk namun tanpa disedari, karakter kita berubah..tiada penguasaan diri, melayani sudah tidak ada sukacita..sudah hilang damai sejahtera…kalau ada damai & sukacitapun mungkin sebab ada kawan-kawan bersama-sama atau kebetulan hari tu mood baik. Melayani no. 1 namun sudah mulai mau mencari gereja-gereja lain dengan alasan gerejanya sekarang tidak dapat menampung karunianya yang hampir sama bahkan sepertinya lebih banyak dari pastornya…dalam kata lain, hilang sudah kesetiaan akan gereja dan pelayanan. The list can goes on and on…dan saya tidak bermaksud untuk menyinggung sesiapa di sini namun inilah hal yang Tuhan bukakan kepada saya sepanjang beberapa minggu yang lalu. Suatu teguran bagi saya juga kerana ini benar-benar membuat saya merasa sangat kecil dihadapan Tuhan.

Bagi saya, lebih baik kita dikenal dari buah-buah roh yang terhasil dari kehidupan kita, untuk melayani dengan hati yang murni adalah tidak mudah bila kita bersandar pada karunia & kekuatan kita saja. Temptation to pride is always there. So guys, whatever spiritual gifts u have, balance them with your spiritual fruits. Sorry for the mix use of language, I believe u guys got my point . Have a great day. God bless.

INspired to impact,
Wagner

Being ONE

Looking back in my past years ministry in RYC, I was blessed to have worked with so many kind of friends and unique + energetic young people. Selalunya orang berkata untuk memiliki team yang sama "kepala" alias minat benda yang sama atau karakter yang sama. I don't really agree with that. Having people yang sama kepala dlm ministry does help at certain times but it can cause problem in later days.

Sepanjang pelayanan saya di SIBKL Lake City, khususnya di RYC, saya bersyukur kerana Tuhan menghantar leaders yang memiliki karakter dan keunikan mereka tersendiri, ada yang intim, ada yang dominan, tidak kurang juga yang cermat dan stabil karakternya. Saya belajar untuk membawa setiap kami terfokus pada visi dan objective dari perjuangan pelayanan RYC dan bukannya konflik di daerah perbezaan pendapat dan pembawaan.

Sedih sekali melihat youth ministry, gereja2 atau organisasi yang pecah gara-gara gagal melihat visi yang sama. Masing-masing mempertahankan pendapat dan cara kerja masing-masing sehingga jemaat terkorban. And still, they're proud to call themselves leaders. Leaders yang bukannya dipimpin Tuhan untuk "membelah laut" (seperti musa) namun, leaders yang dipimpin oleh keegoan cita-cita masing untuk "membelah jemaat", "membelah gereja".

Gereja Tuhan di mana-mana banyak mendengar khotbah mengenai 1 Korintus 12:12-27 namun pratically, not everybody are living to it...saya sendiri masih diproses dalam hal kesatuan, ada hal tertentu yang saya masih lemah namun saya berusaha terus dan tidak akan mengalah kerana MENYESAL SEPARUH MATI kalau kita mengalah dan kita dapat tahu bahawa we just few steps to the finishing line!...
Here's a video that inspires me. This is a dance group that consist of young and senior...how they manage to get together to practice and focus on their goal despite being different in so many ways. If you're leading a team, encourage your team to focus on the vision and learn to trust your team to do the task their own way, as long as the vision is achieve. If you're in a team, know that your part is as important as the others. Be faithful even if it's just a small part or it might not seem like a popular job. God honor you. Be faithful.

Lastly, marilah kita terus menabur benih yang positif dalam generasi kita. Apa yang terjadi pada generasi akan datang bergantung dengan apa yang kita lakukan pada generasi ini. Tidak mungkin kita menuai generasi yang bersatu jika kita tidak menabur "benih-benih" kesatuan dalam generasi ini. Denominasi boleh saja berbeza, cara ibadah boleh saja berbeza...why not we focus on the same vision? -stay blessed :)

Being Abraham

Gereja kami baru saja mengumumkan ahli majlis gereja yang baru and 90% of them are FRESH! Young and the dangerous (to the kingdom of darkness) and full of energy and vision. Relevant Youth Church (RYC) has been passed to a new generation of leaders led by my bro. Alexson.

Saya bersyukur kerana dalam tempoh 2007-2009, TUHAN telah mempercayakan saya memimpin RYC ke satu level yang boleh menjadi berkat bagi generasi ini malah saya sangat yakin dan pasti bahawa RYC akan dipimpin ke level yang lebih tinggi lagi, merebut “kota-kota” lain di dalam “tanah kanaan” yang sudah Dia sediakan untuk gereja kami. Musa sudah memimpin bangsa Israel keluar dari Tanah Mesir..suatu tugas yang sukar, sekarang tiba masa Joshua untuk meneruskan perjuangan memasuki tanah kanaan dan menakluk kota-kota yang diberikan Tuhan. The same thing happen in our church now including RYC.

Having said that, saya sempat meluangkan lebih 1 jam heart-to-heart talk dengan pastor saya, Pastor Kenny, yang juga merupakan salah 1 bapa rohani saya. Btw leaders, it is VERY IMPORTANT for us to be connected to our pastor. Di sanalah kita boleh mengongsikan visi & mimpi kita dan di sana jugalah dia boleh mengongsikan visinya untuk pelayanan kita bahkan we can build trust and strong bond as we spend quality time with our pastor. So, youth leaders, don’t be “allergic” with your pastor…bertobatlah!

So, as we share our dreams and hopes, we pray and as we pray God spoke to me through His covenant with Abram (before he being named Abraham in Genesis 17:1-9).

“As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.”

Our generation these days needs a father figure. We have a lot of teachers and leaders in our generation but very less father figure. Telah tiba waktunya untuk hati bapa-bapa berbalik kepada anak-anaknya dan hati anak-anak kepada bapa-bapanya supaya ALLAH jangan datang memukul bumi sehingga musnah- Maleakhi 4:5-6

Generasi kita runtuh kerana tiada figure bapa...dan ini berbicara mengenai institusi kekeluargaan. Kebanyakkan keluarga melepaskan tanggungjawab kepada gereja khusunya pastor untuk mendidik anak-anak mereka..sedangkan pastor & pemimpin gereja hanya bertemu dengan anak-anak mereka kurang dari 48jam seminggu berbanding dengan mereka.

As i'm entering a new phase in my life, in my ministry, relationship and career, i believe God is preparing me for His kingdom. How, What, Where and When? I don't know but I'm making a plan and be prepared to be directed by the Holy SPirit. For those of you who read this post, I believe all of us are called to be a father/mother for this generation. I want to encourage all of you to step up to another level in your spiritual life, growing up to be a father...not baby. It won't be an easy process but God says "Pikullah kuk yang Ku-pasang dan belajarlah pada-Ku, karena Aku lemah lembut dan rendah hati dan jiwamu akan mendapat ketenangan. 30 Sebab kuk yang Ku-pasang itu enak dan beban-Ku-pun ringan.."Mat 11 : 28 – 30

Have a blessed day.

BLUR

Bila anak-anak muda melompat2 di dalam gereja sewaktu pujian penyembahan (katanya mengekspresikan cinta mereka pada Tuhan), namun tidak pernah mau mengatur waktu untuk duduk diam berdoa & merenungkan firman. Katanya sibuk dengan pelayanan.

BLUR

Bila anak-anak muda maju ke depan waktu altar-call, dari KKR ke KKR, conference ke conference, camp ke camp, sudah tumbang, di doakan, di kaunseling...lepas beberapa bulan, orang yang sama maju ke depan untuk di doakan. Pergumulan & keterikatan sama...mcm tidak pernah lepas.

BLUR

Bila anak-anak muda di dalam gereja mengaku generasi radikal namun bila di luar, hanya jaguh kampung. Hidup yang tidak memberi impak, bahkan, orang sekeliling tidak menyedari kalau dia wujud.

BLUR

Bila anak-anak muda menaikkan lagu2 yang mereka sukai (memang melodi lagu-lagu sekarang asikk bangett) namun tidak sedar kalau tujuan pujian penyembahan bukanlah untuk membuat mereka rasa aman...pujian penyembahan ditujukan buat Tuhan, bukan manusia. Sadarr!

BLUR

Bila anak-anak muda menanti-nantikan bila lagi ada konsert, bila lagi ada aktiviti luar, bila lagi ada event-event besar...katanya bosan, tiada buat apa2. Alangkah baiknya kalau kehausan sebegini ditujukan buat Tuhan. Tuhan mencari generasi muda yang haus akan DIa & kebenaran-Nya, bukannya haus untuk menyibukkan diri sendiri.

BLUR

sebab pelayanan youth gak jelas, hitam tidak, putih pun tidak. Makanya BLUR. Dasar tidak kukuh, tapi mimpi & cita2 menggunung tinggi.

I used to run RYC through the above, back then I was blur...thank God. He restore my sight.

Love your enemies

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you"
Matthew 5:44 (NIV translation)

Pretty simple video but insipiring. Makes me evaluate myself..am i bulding a connecting bridge between me and my foe? Like in the video, are we using the rocks to build a bridge or are we throwing back to our enemy?

Zig Ziglar Quotes

Zig Ziglar Quotes

Shared via AddThis

Zig Ziglar - Life Lesson

Some of you have seen him on youtube, some of you might read his book...but i guess most of you still haven't know him. He's an international motivational speaker

He was interviewed and ask to give some life lesson. Here's some point that i learn:

-To be 81(He just celebrated his 80th birthday)
-he is not retired but refired..(how many of us can say the same?)
-He believe the best year of his career is still in front of him. (another one..)
-He still learning things. Increasing the importance of relationship in life.
-85% people keep and stay with their job is because of their people skill.
-JOY is a great energizer..that keeps you healthy.
-exercise in order to be in good shape. Most of all eat right.

more can be seen from this video :



also in another interview, Zig ZIglar is asked, why is your faith so important. For some of us who thinks that we have everything and CHrist is second thing..let this video inspires you to change your mind.

The Dirty Feet revelation

Here's another mind blowing revelation I receive today. It's about washing dirty feet. Yep...I believe we've read the famous last supper story in John 13:1-15. And yes, it's about Jesus washing His disciples' feet. And yes, this passage have been used over and over again to teach us about the servanthood leadership. But why is a mind blowing revelation for me? This is why:

1) There's no servant at all in the dining room

-it is not mention in the bible whether there's a servant who washes Jesus & His disciples' feet. If they have washed they feet before eating, why did Jesus want to wash His disciples feet again?

-for an obvious reason, none of His disciples at that time willing to wash his friend's feet or even Jesus' feet. Why? Because they might think "Nah..they can do it themselves". The disciples are taking each other for granted.

-This is a wake up call for me. My family, my fiance, my leaders & mentor, my friends & RYC...these are the people whom I take for granted. Instead of continue to wash their feet (serve them), I just assume that they don't really need me.

-Jesus knew that His disciples still need to be educated on servanthood 101, so...He did a crash course on that before He return Father.

2) "Lord, are You washing my feet?...You shall never wash my feet!" v6 & v8

-we all know how dirty feet look like, especially when you're wearing sandals..who knows what kind of dirt you picked up. So many times in our christian life, we walk on "dirty path", we get our feet dirty with all sort of sins. And when Jesus want to wash the dirt off our feet, we respond like what Peter did, we say "Jesus! are You seriously gonna wash my dirty feet? You don't deserve to do that, I can wash my own feet..."

-whooaa...look who's talking. "I can wash my own feet.." Well, how many times in our life do we try to wash our own sin with our own good self-righteouss work? We think that if we pray and fast for few days, or when we actively involve in church ministry, we will wash our sins off from our feet.

-but sometimes like Peter, we FORGOT to wash our feet. Eventually the dirt became ticker and ticker and germs starts to spread all over our feet and we fell sick...sick spiritually.

-ONLY God can wash the sins off our life. Stop arguing with Him. period.

3) "What I'm doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.." v7

-Poor Peter, he thought he knew Jesus so well. Like him (Peter), we thought after experience divine encounter with JEsus thru church camps, KKR, retreats, seminar, reading books, devotions..we thought that we know everything about Him.

- Reading this verse i remember 1 quote that struck me few years ago when I'm having difficulties in leadership. "Often understanding comes after obedience"..i still remember that quote. We often assume Jesus will work in certain ways that we know but we forgot that He is God. God wants us to learn to be obedient...to grow our faith..not just knowledge.

- For people who're used to do things ONLY after understand what or why he/she need to do it, this might b a challenge for you. You can't ask God to present you with some paperwork of plans, and only then you will obey Him.

4)"Lord not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!", Jesus said to him. "he who bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you're clean, but not all of you." v10

-This I need to explain it in a more polite way. Sudah lah kena cuci kaki, minta lebih-lebih pula...nda cukup yakin sama apa yang Tuhan sudah buat. Yep...often we ask more and more from God, more sign, more miracles, more blessings...we never feel contented (alias nda pandai merasa bersyukur atau merasa cukup) with what God has done in our life.

-we knew God's promises but yet we still ask for more...just to proove that He is true to His words (nda tau malu & nda sedar diri)

-trust God, when He says our sins is washed away, we must believe that our sins is washed away. When God says "nothing is impossible"..learn to really trust His word.

5) Humility is the way

-Jesus knew that Peter would turn his back on Him. Jesus knew that Judas is selling Him. But yet He still washes their feet. This simple act brings a huge impact into Peter's and Judas' life and we knew, because of this simple act, Peter changed into becoming one of the most radical disciples of Jesus while Judas take his own life.

-sometimes we think that we must be dominant just to make our points clear..we think if we use louder tones or harsh words we can let the other party knows what we trying to say. We often forget that humility is the way.

6) "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." v14

-straight forward and understandable...we ought to wash one another's feet. Not pointing at their feet and shouted "Hey everybody! look at his dirty feet!". When we see our brothers sisters sin, aren't we suppose to help them wash their feet with God's love? not condemning them like some modern day Pharisees and Sadducees in our churches.

God rebuke me over and over again as I type out this post. He remind me how He washes my dirty feet and how I should keep my feet clean. I'm not better than all of you, none of us is better than anybody...all of us have our own dirty feet. Let us let Jesus to wash our feet and be ready to wash one another's feet after that. Happy washing!...err...selamat mencuci kaki.

Running away from dogs

I still remember the time when I experience the “love bite” from my neighbor’s dog. That was back when I was 9 or 10 years old. I was innocently hitting the dog cage and being enraged, the dog ram through the tiny door that was tightly closed. The rest is history…thank God there’s not stitches involve but I remember myself running away like crazy after being chased by my neighbor’s dog.

When we’re chased by something that terrify us, we don’t really have time to think where to run or what’s our next move…what we have in mind at that time is to run away from the danger behind us. Well, having said that, I’ve heard stories of people who pee in their pants, hit the wall/trees or even fell into the drain while running away from danger..most of the time, running away from some crazy dogs!

I apply this in my spiritual life and after observing my life and the people around me especially the young people in my ministry, I come to a point where I realize, some Christians trying hard to run away from their sin or temptation for many years…some succeeded, some escaped but in the process of running, they hit on something else or get into worse condition. Some try to escape from smoking but end up being an alcoholic, some escape from being a porn addict but end up in sexual immorality…some tries to run away from gossiping but end up being a bitter person…some running away from wild social life and repent but end up misusing the ministry…making ministry as another version of his/her past wild social life. And when we realize that we’re running and not going anywhere with it, we got frustrated and start questioning God.

I come to a conclusion, when we run away from something, we must not only RUN AWAY from it but we must RUN TOWARDS something or PURSUE something. The Bible says :

“Pursue love and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy” 1 Corinthians 14:1 (NKJV)
“Kejarlah kasih itu dan usahakanlah dirimu memperoleh karunia-karunia Roch, terutama karunia untuk bernubuat.” 1 Korintus 14:1

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“tetapi engkau hai manusia Allah, jauhilah semuanya itu, kejarlah keadilan, ibadah, kesetiaan, kasih, kesabaran dan kelembutan” 1 Timotius 6:11 (mula baca dari ayat 3)
“but you..are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” 1 Timothy 6:11 (NLT)

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“Sebab itu, jauhilah nafsu orang muda, kejarlah keadilan, kesetiaan, kasih dan damai bersama-sama dengan mereka yang berseru kepada Tuhan dengan hati yang murni…” 2 Timotius 2:22
“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22 (NKJV)

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“Berusahalah hidup damai dengan semua orang dan kejarlah kekudusan, sebab tanpa kekudusan tidak seorangpun akan melihat Tuhan.” Ibrani 12:14
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see Lord.” Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV)

So, the next time you plan to run away from temptations and sins, don’t run like mad to any direction, but run towards God…it’s the safest place you can be. Have a great day!

Give me the mountain!

Caleb and Joshua

Mount Hebron

I was inspired by a story of a man of God called Caleb. Some of you might know this guy. “Wait! Isn’t he one of the two guys among the 12 Israelites spies who went to survey the Promised Land (Canaan)?” Yes,the other cool guy is Joshua. Why did I labeled them as the “cool guy” or “cool dude”? Not because they wear the latest fashion or they have the latest 16gig iPhone. For me, they’re cool because they stood against all odds. The other 10 spies gave a negative report to Moses about the Promised Land while they (Joshua & Caleb) are so positive about the Promised Land and fully confident that God has given them the land (Numbers 13:1-33, 14:6-8). “v30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it!”..hey checkout chapter 14:6-8 too! Oh, I think I’ll go “rojak” with this blog post.

This positive and great faith of Caleb doesn’t stop there…yeah! (I love this guy) Sewaktu Yosua membahagikan tanah Kanaan kepada suku-suku Israel (setelah mereka masuk ke Tanah Perjanjian), sewaktu suku-suku lain minta tanah-tanah yang subur, si Kaleb pula meminta Hebron. Btw, Hebron is a mountain! (Joshua 14:12). Whoaa! What can you do with a mountain? Well, if Caleb still alive ‘till this day, he can just develop Mount Hebron as Genting Highlands or Kinabalu Park (at least he can still make profit out of it)…but instead, he ask for Mount Hebron meskipun dia tau bahawa ada orang Enak (the Anakims) dengan kota-kota besar dan berkubu, tinggal di Herbon.

Wait…wait, reverse to Joshua 14:6-11. Perhatikan bagaimana Kaleb benar-benar memiliki iman yang besar dan kepercayaan kepada ALLAH yang dia sembah! Bila orang lain memilih hal-hal yang gampang/mudah/selesa, Kaleb memilih untuk meminta the impossibles! Why did he dare to ask for the impossible? Check out verse 14 “itulah sebabnya Hebron menjadi milik pusaka Kaleb bin Yefune (that's Caleb's full name btw)….sampai ke hari ini, kerana dia tetap mengikuti TUHAN, Allah Israel dengan sepenuh hati”

Kaleb punya hubungan dengan TUHAN, dia mengikuti TUHAN dengan sepenuh hati, maka tidak hairanlah dia memiliki keyakinan yang penuh akan kuasa TUHAN yang menyertainya sewaktu dia menduduki Hebron.

Saya sangat terinspirasi oleh ayat-ayat di atas dan semakin bersemangat untuk melayani Tuhan dan meminta the impossibles! I don’t know about you, you might be the kind of person who prefer to take the easy way in life, mengelakkan konflik/kritikan orang, memilih jalan selamat…but I pray today, as you read this post, God will give you the courage and your faith will grow as Caleb’s. What are the mountains (the impossible) in your life? Your studies? Your Career? Your ministry? Your family? Your Relationship? Nothing is impossible with God. Let us ask for the mountains!

The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China

This morning, I was having my breakfast in front of the TV while watching NGEO documentary on Great Wall Of China. I finish my breakfast within 15minutes but decided to stay and watch the documentary until it ends. Here's the link to 39 interesting facts about the Great Wall which i think everyone should read : http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/04/18_great-wall.html

It's so amazing to see how an ambitious leader use their power to protect their ruling. That was the first intention of building the wall..to PROTECT. Here's what i wanna share 2 things that I learn from the Great Wall Of China:

1) Different leaders might have different vision, but they need to think to bring their vision and their predecessor's vision together for the benefit of the organization.

- The Great Wall was built by more than 4 emperor the Qin, Han, Sui, Jin and, most famously, the Ming (1368-1644). Suprisingly, these great wall are not joined! Each dynasty seems to have their own thought of protecting China and they fail to see the main purpose of building the wall at the first place.

-Because the Great Wall was discontinuous, Mongol invaders led by Genghis Khan had no problem going around the wall and they subsequently conquered most of northern China.

-Leaders have their own vision, some might have their own agenda to be famous than their predecessor...but it won't bring any good to the organization/team if they doesn't connect their vision. In fact, it may bring a total destruction to the whole organization

2) Leaders make their vision worth to die for, not die because of the vision.

-During the Ming dynasty, nearly one million soldiers were said to defend the Great Wall from “barbarians” and non-Chinese.

-apart from that, the manpower to build the Great Wall came from frontier guards, peasants, unemployed intellectuals, disgraced noblemen, and convicts. In fact, there existed a special penalty during the Qin and Han dynasties under which convicted criminals were made to work on the Wall.

-This wall building project cost thousands/millions of life! Some even born and die near the great wall without knowing if their hard labour is worthwhile.

-There's a saying "a person's character is known when he/she is given a power over people". I've learn this the hard way during my leadership in RYC. SOmetimes I misused the people who work with me. Yep, MISUSED. Taking them for granted without really asking them what's their vision for the ministry or how they feel about the ministry.

-to this day, I'm still planting the vision among the new leadership of RYC. God may give them an improved version of vision He gave me. I pray that this God-given vision is a vision worth to die for.

To conclude, what really matter is not how BIG the vision is, it's how BIG the heart of the people in achieving the vision.

Stay blessed.

Inspiring the birth of a generation of revolutionist

Can ONE talented people inspires to the birth of a generation of revolutionist? YES, Jesus did. He's not only talented, He is God! His life forever inspires the whole world. In this article, I would like to draw your attention to few guys who i believe very very very few of you know them.

I was practising my chops (drums rudiments that is!) just now while watching X-Games classics on ESPN. I was touched by the courage, persistence and disciplines of the athletes. Btw, this are X-games athletes...making big tricks with skateboard, BMX, motocross bike, rally car, inline skate etc. You might not have heard of a guy named Mat Hoffman. He started revolutionary BMX tricks that inspires today's generation of BMXers. Tony Hawk, a pro skater also did the same thing with skateboard. He come up with lots of tricks that evolved by the later generation of skaters. These two guys inspires a generation of revolutianist among the X-gamers and until today, most of the tricks we see are all inspired by both of them.

Having said that, I want u guys to check out this guy name Danny Way, Jake Brown, Travis Pastrana..watch their videos in youtube and you'll amazed what those people can do to impact their generation & the next generation. They broke their bones, fail to do tricks but yet they still keep on moving, they still keep on believing in their talent. They just focus on their talent and with work hard and persistence, they reach their goal. By the way, Danny Way is the first and only skaters so far, who manage to jump over the Great Of China with skateboard! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdamrGj7bsg&feature=related)

Now, can you imagine in our east malaysian society, a guy who're professional skaters or dancers or singers or movie maker who makes a huge impact in their generation, thus inspiring the birth of a generation of revolutionist. Can you imagine, a person who's talent is to draw comics can make a huge impact in our generation? Can you imagine a person who's life is about futsal can make a huge impact in our nation? I do. I have seen lots of potential in this generation of ours. Church should be alert and discover these hidden talents.

All of us are gifted with talents, never let anybody put u down just because your talent is not famous/interesting compare to others. Don't give up on your talents when people say being succesful is to be a businessman, lawyer, doctor, engineer etc. who earn more than 10k a month! Use whatever talent you have. Starting today, pray to God and believe that He will use you to inspire a generation of revolutionist who will impact the nation. I'm still in the process of sharpening my talents & discovering a new one...this will never stop and i hope the same goes with you too. OK, need to return to my practice now...have an inspiring week guys! God bless

Danny Way

Jake Brown

Travis Pastrana

TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH

Few days ago my dad bought me a book...since he knew that i'm a big fan of John C. Maxwell. He bought a great book titled TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH. I'm still reading it and it was so inspiring. From weeks or months to come, i'm gonna share what i've learned & practiced after reading the book.

I used to think that with my talent i can go further in life...in my career as musician or in ministry. I was wrong...talent alone is never enough..there's another element needed for us to go further & higher. I've also seen many talented people, especially young people who fall..not because they're NOT talented, but they fall because they ARE talented people and the problem is when talented people think that talent is all they need. Talent is just a small percent of what can contribute to ones success. I really recommend u guys to find this book and i believe it will inspires you as much it inspires me.

In conclusion, here's are the thing that complement a person's talent:

BELIEF lifts your talent

PASSION energizes your talent

INITIATIVE activates your talent

FOCUS directs your talent

PREPARATION positions your talent

PRACTICE sharpens your talent

PERSEVERANCE sustains your talent

COURAGE tests your talent

TEACHABILITY expands your talent

CHARACTER protects your talent

RELATONSHIPS influence your talent

RESPONSIBILITY strengthens your talent

TEAMWORK multiplies your talent

What ONE life can do to IMPACT

I have seen in my ministry life many Christians have give up either on their ministry, their church, their friends and their own life. I've seen christians who're once ministering at their top-highest level of spirituality and passion and now, some of them living their life as if they never know who they're once before and what God has done in their life. It's such a sad situation. It bring tears to my eyes as I see my friends & other people drifting away from their calling.

The numbers of youth attending church these days are growing really fast and yet I am not surprise if we gonna lose this generation soon...sooner than we think. Why is this happening in our generation? Most of us can come up with many reasons...which is true but in my opinion, the reason why some Christians can't run the race till the end is because they have not realize what God can do with their life.

Years ago, my aim of being a christian is to enter heaven. While waiting for His second coming, I will try my best to be a good christian, living my life according to the bible. And if i'm blessed enough with some talent, I will serve God in church...and apparantly I find myself involve with the music ministry in my church back when I was 13 years old. Playing drums from church service to inter-denomination service. That time being a Christian and a church musician, I thought the highest level of ministry i can go is to play music in the state level youth conference. Those time, any church musician who manage to play at the youth conference is considered as the best musician. It was a big event, held at the capital city of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

Well, God is good...He manage to grab me before I play there (youth conference). I didn't manage to join my team to serve at the youth conference because my whole family move to peninsular malaysia. Why did I say God is good when He grab me away? Well, I will become a big head church musician if I were to play there.

Looking back, I want to tell you that being a christian is not about serving God at the largest venue, popular conference / service, recording album, touring the nation with your ministry group and so on. Well, all these are just part of the ministry but doing it doesn't make us be the highest level or the elite christian. That's not the main reason God created us.

Imagine if you were to reach those level. You'll be thinking, "what else needed? I've reached my goal as a Christian. I've involve in the biggest ministry ever!"...I have impacted the nation. Sounds true, but not quite true. First and foremost, we know that “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is not from works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NET) Nothing that we do can make us righteous other than by the grace of God. So, I thought whatever I do, if it’s big, then I can consider myself making a big impact and inspiring others. But God rebuke me. My life, my renewed life is not solely for doing church ministry, organizing events and stuff…my renewed life is to impact other people 360 degrees through my words, my thoughts, my actions, my music…in fact, EVERYTHING about my life, when I’m at the pulpit, when I’m not serving in church…EVERYTHING about my life is meant to give impact to the people around me.

Some Christians divide church ministry and their daily living. Hey, our life is a ministry! Every single thing that we do is for God (Colossians 3:17). I want to summarize all this through the following lines:

Don’t think that you're making a big impact when you’ve become a great preacher.
Don’t think that you’re making a big impact if you’re a worship leader in a big conference.
Don’t think that you’re making a big impact if lots of people know how talented you are.
Don’t think that you’re making a big impact if your voice can’t be heard by thousands.
Don’t think that you’re making a big impact if you only know how to do ministry but not ministry itself.

But

You’re making a BIG impact when you willing to spend some time listening to a friend who are struggling with his sin.
You’re making a BIG impact when you willing to help your church’s usher to arrange the chairs or clean the church.
You’re making a BIG impact if you willing to take unpaid leave just to take care your sick relative.
You’re making a BIG impact if a person sees you on stage while you worship lead, saying “I know him, he’s not just a worship leader, he’s my mentor”
You’re making a BIG impact if you found yourself praying for your troubled friend over the phone when she called you at 4 a.m.

The list goes on and on…making an impact with your life not about quantity; it’s about the quality of your life. I believe that if a person connected to God, whatever he do with his life is an impact towards others. If you can see how your life can be used to impact others, the word “retire” from ministry will never surface. Let us continue to impact others with whatever we have. Just like the little boy who make a BIG impact by giving his 2 fish and 5 loaves to Jesus.

Have a blessed day.

Time to change

I'm counting my days...asking GOD & myself. Have I done enough for the next gen of leaders? Have I really impacting their life and have they learn something from me? Before I begin a new journey, I have to end this journey. Changing route, heading towards a new land. Changes doesn't always feel good at first but it sure make a whole lot difference in ones life IF it's a good changes. In the past I've made some changes in my life which is not a good changes tho it seems like a right thing to do at first. It's a painful experience.

We all need to change, leaders need to change. We need to move forward and let the new leaders take over our place...don't hold on to your position, but hold on tight to your commitment towards the ministry...that shows what kind of leader you are.

I don't know why, i have this little worry in my heart concerning the young leaders. Not that I don't trust them, but I felt that they're more than just a leader or brothers & sisters to me...they are like my own children. I felt that as a "father", i want to see my children (the young people of RYC) growing up to be a better person...better than myself....achieving BIGGER things in life compare to what I've done. I want them not to repeat my mistake..i want them to remember whatever life's lesson I've thought them and whatever advices i gave.

This is not a "good bye" but this is a "I put my trust in you, i know you can do it without me by your side". Just as we leaving our parents to live a life on our own, so does us, as a leaders giving wings for the younger leaders to fly.

To change to a better condition, we need to leave the old condition of us even if it's a comfort zone for us. Changes requires us to lose some in other to gain. This what scares most leaders...to let go. The fear of losing their so-called "glorious moment" in ministry.

It's time to change to a new wineskin..-"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, “The old is good" Luke 5:37-39

I'm ready for a change. How about you?

What I’ve learned from serving in the youth ministry

Some brief history about my ministry life before I serve in RYC (Relevant Youth Church). I’m a typical church musician. What I know during that time is, playing drums atau pelayanan mimbar adalah pelayanan utama gereja..yang lain-lain tu nda penting, bahkan bukan pelayanan yang sesungguhnya. Basically I’m a typical narrow minded, pemuzik gereja yang berpandangan sempit. Itu dahulu, 14 years ago…thank God He love me and renewed me. I start to serve in church as musician when I’m 15 years old..so u guys can guess my age..haha .

Anyway, when it comes to youth ministry, what I see is a bunch of youth having a service like normal Sunday service but added with games, casual outfit, slightly heavy music and you can jump (IF your church allow such things!) So, that’s how I see the youth ministry. Itu dahulu. Coming to KL, serving in the same church since 1999 until now, I have no interest in the youth ministry because I see it as a boring ministry..sekadar memenatkan ja dan saya sendiri tidak terlibat didalam youth ministry pada waktu itu..kalau terlibat pun, sebagai pemuzik ja..biasalah, “orang-orang seni” di gereja ni kan macam artis, datang bila dijemput untuk nyanyi-nyanyi…hahaha..kalau yang tersinggung tu, bertobatlah..kalau anda yang ketawa tu, puji Tuhan, kita semua pernah melalui zaman2 itu sebelum bertobat dulu.

Fast forward the years, gereja kami tahun 2007 dimentor dan ingin saya katakan, RYC bermula dan tetap bertahan pada hari ini kerana campur tangan Tuhan melalui mentoring di gereja kami. Ntah kenapa, sebelum mentoring masuk, sebelum Relevant Youth Church ada, saya diangkat jadi youth leader gereja. Siapa yang tidak hairan? Saya sendiri hairan sebab saya sendiri tidak pernah terfikir untuk jadi pemimpin. Namun kerana kemurahan dan anugerah Tuhan lah saya ada pada hari ini sebagai leader yang Tuhan percayakan bagi memimpin Relevant Youth Church. Anyway, the details about how I become a youth leader you can ask when we meet la ya.

Anyway, I doesn’t have yearssss of experience in youth ministry. 2 tahun setengah ja pengalaman bah. Tapi saya sangat sangat sangat bersyukur pada Tuhan kerana dalam 2 tahun lebih saya melayani sebagai youth leader, Tuhan membuka hati saya, pemimikiran saya, mengubah hidup saya bahkan, perspektif saya mengenai pelayanan turut berubah. Ingin saya kongsikan apa yang saya pelajari sewaktu melayani di RYC.

1) Youth ministry is about RELATIONSHIP
I realize that youth ministry is not only about wearing funky casual outfit for service, it’s not about playing heavy music and jump to it, not even playing games or the ice breaker. Hey! Youth di luar sana yang tidak kenal Tuhan pun melakukan hal yang sama. That is a very narrow view of youth ministry if you look it that way. As I mention in my previous post, youth ministry is about RELATIONSHIP. VERTICAL RELATIONSHIP (Me & GOD) and HORIZONTAL RELATIONSHIP (Me & the people around me) seperti dalam Matius 22:37-40. The music, concerts, games etc. is just some “accessories” of youth ministry..penting, namun bukan yang terpenting.

2) Youth ministry is about being RELEVANT
As I mention in my previous post (CONTEMPORARY vs RELEVANT). Most of churches think that having the latest hi-tech sound system and music instrument is relevant. Some might think that having lots of activities is relevant. Apa yang saya pelajari, youth ministry yang relevant adalah pelayanan yang memenuhi keperluan youth itu sendiri. Masih ingat Hirarki Maslow (Hirarki Keperluan manusia)? Youth ministry is about being God’s hand in meeting the youth’s need…bukan sekadar memenuhi keperluan rohani mereka. I believe all of us are created for a relationship.

3) Youth minister serves throughout the season
Maksudnya, apapun keadaan yang kita lalui, kita harus tetap konsisten dan bersemangat dalam melayani anak-anak muda ini. Dalam kata lain, setiap yang melayani di youth ministry adalah orang yang TIDAK melayani dengan mood-moodnya. Kalau moodnya hari tu baik, bersemangatlah dia melayani. Kalau moodnya tidak baik, tidak la tu bersemangat.

Now, what about someone who’re burnout? Obviously he/she need to rest…TETAPI…selalunya apa yang saya lihat orang-orang yang berehat dari pelayanan ni tidak dimonitor progress mereka oleh pastor/pemimpin gereja, dan youth leader yang burnout itu sendiri tidak mau submit dengan pemimpin mereka. This happen in most of our BM churches. Kurangnya follow up pada orang yang sudah burnout/jatuh. Makanya tidak hairan kalau orang yang sama burnout pada tahun-tahun berikutnya…burnout nya pun kerana hal yang sama.

Serving in the youth ministry kita harus bersandar pada kekuatan dan kemurahan Tuhan untuk tetap bersemangat melayani Dia dalam apapun keadaan. Saya sendiri pernah merasa mau berehat dari memikirkan RYC atau pelayanan lain, namun saya ingat bahawa saya ni hamba Tuhan…HAMBA TUHAN. Yang namanya HAMBA, mana boleh suka-suka berhenti dari pelayanan kan? So, we rest when God wants us to rest…He is the Master and we’re the servant.

4) 24-7
Praying for the youth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Pray for the youth in your church as much as possible…while driving, while watching tv, while reading, while in class...anywhere, pray for God’s covering upon the students in your church. That’s the responsibility of the youth leader…bukan sekadar sibuk mengatur program.

Oh btw, your phone need to be on 24 hours a day and please don’t put it on silent/vibrate mode unless you’re required so. Why is this important? This is from my experience, some of the youth will sms / call you around 2 or 4 in the morning. Telling their problems…cry over the phone..ask you to pray for them..even hal-hal yang kecil pun mereka akan hubungi kita. Why? Because they see us not only as leader…but as a friend, a brother…even as father. Bertobatlah kalau anda merasa itu hal yang membebankan. Being a youth leader, I’m seeing myself not only as a leader, but as a brother and father. So, 24-7 you make yourself available to your youth…of course you got work to do, but you got what I mean right?

5) Youth leader MUST have a BIG heart
Dalam RYC, saya belajar bahawa tiada istilah “saya bagi kau 3 peluang saja”. Anak-anak muda memang cenderung untuk buat kesilapan. Seperti dalam Amsal 22:15 Kebodohan melekat pada hati orang muda, tetapi tongkat didikan akan memgusir itu daripadanya”. Sewaktu mula-mula menjadi leader RYC, banyak sekali “kebodohan-kebodohan” yang melekat pada hati saya dan saya puji Tuhan, mentor-mentor, pemimpin-pemimpin dan teman-teman sepelayanan saya banyak menegur dan membantu saya.

So leaders, expect the unexpected. Kita memang mempunyai harapan yang tinggi pada anak-anak muda kita, namun kita harus tahu bahawa mereka juga spesis seperti kita yang pasti ada kelemahan. So, milikilah hati yang BESAR untuk menampung kelemahan dan kesalahan mereka. Ingat, seperti Yesus membenci dosa dan mengasihi orang yang berdosa, begitulah hendaknya kita membenci dosa generasi ini dan mengasihi mereka yang berdosa.

6) Youth leader always want others to improve
Ini yang saya pelajari pada tahun ini. Memberi dorongan dan sokongan (doa, moral & kewangan) kepada youth leaders dari gereja lain. Kita sama-sama melayani di ladangnya Tuhan, kalau hanya kita sabotaj/memburukkan/tidak menyokong pelayanan youth di gereja lain, bukan kah itu mementingkan diri sendiri?

Kita bermati-matian berdoa agar Tuhan melawat generasi muda di Negara kita yang terdiri daripada 14 buah negeri. Adakah gereja kita sendiri dapat menjangkau semua anak-anak muda di 14 buah negeri ni? We need TEAM! We need youth leaders from other churches to work together with us. Makanya kita perlu mendorong satu dengan yang lain dan saling me’network’kan diri agar generasi kita dapat mengenal Tuhan.

7) Youth leader connected to their pastor
Saya banyak mendengar keluhan dari kawan-kawan sepelayanan saya dari gereja-gereja BM yang lain. Mereka mengatakan bahawa pelayanan muda-mudi gereja mereka tidak diberi kebebasan untuk melakukan aktiviti. Ada 2 hal yang dapat saya perhatikan dari situasi seperti ini. Pertama, youth leader itu sendiri tiada hubungan bapa-anak dengan pastor mereka. Kedua, pastor mereka sendiri memiliki pemikiran yang lama (ini perlu kemurahan Tuhan dan doa-doa yang terus menerus ni).

Namun, selalunya masalah didapati pada hal yang pertama tadi. As a youth leader, I’m seeing my pastor not only as my pastor, but as my spiritual father, my mentor, my friend and my leader. We need to build the father-son relationship…build the trust. Bila ada hubungan, kepercayaan akan mulai timbul. Saya pernah melihat youth leaders yang sepertinya “allergic” dengan pastor mereka. Tidak tenang kalau duduk dekat…dalam kata lain, kepahitan sama pemimpin alias memberontak sama pemimpin. Nah, makanya tidak hairanlah kalau youth ministry di gereja mereka tidak maju, pemimpin youthnya sendiri tidak berada di bawah payung gereja (pastor gereja). So friends, kalau anda merasa bahawa Roh Kudus menegur anda di area ini, bertobatlah. Kongsikan visi anda kepada pastor anda dan dengar pastor anda menyatakan visi dan harapannya untuk pelayanan muda-mudi di gereja.

This is another long post of mine. But I hope you’ll be inspired by this as much as I’m get inspired by God while serving Him in RYC. Until then, have a blessed day.

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

Yep...you spell it right, ATTITUDE. I recently dig in on of my dad's favourite writer; John C. Maxwell. I read his book titled "The Difference Maker". That book talks about our attitude. Our attitude make things look differently. Here's what I've learned and I want to share them to you:

What ATTITUDE can do for you :

1) Your attitude makes a difference in your approach to life
-The happiest people in life don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just try to make the best of everything.

2) Your attitude makes a difference in your relationships with people
-The Lense Principle : We are determines how we see others
-The Pain Principle : Hurting people hurt people and are easily hurt by them
-The Elevator Principle : We can lift people up or take them down in our relationship
-The Learning Principle : Each person we meet has the potential to teach us something

3) Your attitude makes a difference in how you face challenges
-no society has ever developed tough men during time of peace. We all grew as the result of overcoming diffculties. The better your attitude, the more likely you will be to overcome difficulties, grow, and move forward.
-When a problem comes into contact with someone who has a positive attitude, the result is often something wonderful.

4) Your attitude is the difference maker
-your attitude has a profound influence on how you see the world-and thus on the way you live out your life

So folks, always remember, the problem is not the problem itself, it's the attitude of us towards the situation. We only live once, maximize the use of our life to inspire & impact other life. Be blessed :)

We Reap What We Sow

It has been a while since my last post. Pretty busy with stuff. For those of you who have been reading my blog since day 1, i hope you're blessed & inspired.

Well, as mentioned in the title, We reap what we sow. Kita menabur apa yang kita tuai..kita tidak akan menuai hal-hal yang baik jika kita tidak menabur benih-benih yang baik. Impossible! Berdoalah berbulan-bulan, hoping for miracles...kita hanya akan menuai apa yang telah kita tabur. This is biblical (Galatians 6:7 Don't be deceived. God will not be made fool. FOr a person reap what he sows)..not just a positive tagline.

For example, katakanlah kita menanam benih buah jambu, tapi kita mengharapkan untuk mendapatkan buah durian. Mustahil kita menuai buah durian kan? meskipun kita berdoa dan puasa..kita tetap akan menuai buah jambu dan bukan buah durian. Seringkali saya sendiri hidup dalam angan-angan dan yg parahnya, tanpa saya sedari, saya cuba mempermainkan Tuhan dengan mengharapkan untuk menuai hal-hal yang saya ingini padahal lain yang saya tabur.

Apa yang kita "tuai" pada hari ini adalah akibat daripada apa yang kita "tabur" pada masa lalu. So, if we want to reach our dreams, we need to start sowing the right seed today.

This is a pretty short post but i hope this post can inspire you as it has inspire me.

few seconds that inspires me today

I read this a couple hours ago and this is just an inspiring statements for me today.

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who are able to read the tone and those who are able to set the tone. It’s the difference between being a thermometer that measures the temperature and being a thermostat that sets the temperature.

Hope this inspires u as well. Be a history maker, one renewed life can make a big changes.

My Inputs

"Jika ada seorang menyangka, bahawa dia mempunyai segala "pengetahuan", maka ia belum juga mencapai pengetahuan, sebagaimana yang harus dicapainya" 1 Korintus 8:2



"and if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2

Everyone should read, leaders should read...even a drummer like me should read. We stop progressing when we stop learning and reading is one of learning process. I would like to thank my dad, Mr. Daniel Raut for he is the one who bring me into this habit of reading. I'm not a bookworm actually...but it's when i heard my dad say "Son, you need to read, leaders must read"...that day is a turning point for me :). Until now, i still enjoy reading. I have books almost everywhere, toilet, my drum room, living room, guest room..everywhere. So i wanna share to all of u what book i've read for the past few years...and God really shaping me becoming who i am today through this book. These books i read as inputs for youth minstry, music ministry, self-motivation, leadership & christianity.
















Well, some books can't upload the images here. ANyway, i read The Battle for A Generation by Ron Hutchcraft, Mentoring by Ir. Eddy Leo, The Power of Influence by John C Maxwell, Mentoring : How to INvest Your Life in Others, The New Worship - Straight Talk on Music and The CHurch by Barry Liesch and many more...

So, read...

Use What You Have, Use It Well

I was inspired by the story of David when he kill the mighty Goliath (not mighty after all). Ada satu hal yang telah mengubah persepsi (perception) saya mengenai mengalahkan Goliath di dalam hidup saya dan sebenarnya, menjadi pemimpin di RYC selama 2 tahun lebih, there's so much work to be done, there's so many challenges, there's so many difficulties and limitations in order to bring RYC to where it is today..thanks to God for giving me this wonderful experience kerana melalui cerita Daud & Goliath, ada satu prinsip yang saya pegang sehingga ke hari ini.

We read 1 Samuel 17:20-39. Beberapa prinsip yang saya pelajari dari kisah keberhasilan Daud melawan Goliat anda i believe you'll benefit from this.

1) Daud mengenal Tuhan dan pekerjaan-Nya

Bayangkan kalau kita di posisi Daud, tiba dimedan peperangan dan melihat askar-askar israel ketakutan kerana si Goliat sudah mara ke depan. Jika kita ada pada waktu tu, memang kita pun akan merasa takut bukan? Berbeza dengan Daud, dia sempat berkata "..Siapakah orang Filistin yang tak bersunat ini, sampai ia berani mencemoohkan barisan dari pada Allah yang hidup?" Walaupun Daud tau bahawa Goliat itu seorang yang berbadan besar, dia lebih tau siapa Allahnya dan dia terlebih dahulu tau kemenangan ada di pihak Tuhan. Dalam kehidupan kita sehari-hari bahkan dalam pelayanan, berhadapan dengan sang goliat dalam hidup kita, dapatkah kita berani berkata "apakah yang dapat dilakukan oleh masalah ini terhadap aku bila Tuhan ada dipihakku?", Daud punya hubungan denga n Tuhan, makanya dia berani berkata demikian. Dalam ayat 32 juga, saat Daud berhadapan dengan Raja Saul, dengan yakin berkata "Janganlah seorang menjadi tawar hati kerana dia (Goliat); hambamu ini akan pergi melawan orang FIlistin itu." Now that's what i call Faith!

2) Daud dipandang rendah kerana keadaannya-tentangan datang dari orang terdekat, abangnya.

This is something that all of us have to go thru. Being looked down by others. Saya sendiri pernah dan sampai ke hari ini, masih ada mengalami saat-saat di mana orang lain meragui kemampuan saya. Abang Daud, si Eliab mengatakan "Mengapa kau datang?...aku kenal sifat pemberanimu dan kejahatan hatimu.." ayat 28. Kesian Daud, datang-datang ja kena marah. Kesian kau, dengan hati yang berkobar-kobar untuk melayani terus kena marah, kena pandang rendah. Baru mau bercita-cita besar, sudah dipandang rendah oleh orang lain, diejek, diperkecilkan...kesian. Lebih menyedihkan kalau tentangan itu datang dari keluarga / orang yang paling dekat dengan kita (our spouse, friends, church leaders / team). I've been through this. Anyway, respon Daud waktu menerima tentangan dari abangnya cukup positif dan innocent.

3) Daud tau akan kemampuannya (Self analysis / self evaluation) Ayat 34-37

Untuk berjaya, untuk mengalahkan "Goliat" dalam hidup kita, kita perlu menganalisa diri kita sendiri, tau akan kemampuan dan kapasiti kita. Tau siapa identiti kita dihadapan Tuhan dan mintalah dimentor oleh orang yang lebih matang dalam kerohanian / hal-hal teknikal/pengetahuan. Minta nasihat dan bimbingan dari mentor kita untuk menemukan potensi diri kita. Namun di atas segalanya, minta Tuhan nyatakan pada kita kemampuan dan potensi diri kita. Kerana iman percaya Daud pada Tuhan, dia telah mengalahkan singa dan beruang. This is impossible for young shepherd like David. Saya sendiri telah melalui saat-saat mencemaskan berhadapan dengan "singa" dan "beruang" dalam hidup saya. Looking back, I'm so amazed and thankful because God has lead me through all this. Jika kita dapat mengalahkan "singa" dan "beruang" dalam hidup kita, tiada yang mustahil bagi kita mengalahkan "goliat". Just know what your identity in Christ and you will be able to be strong and bold like David.

4) Daud tidak bergantung pada formula dunia untuk berjaya (ayat 38-39

This is an eye opener for me. Daud dibekalkan dengan pedang, baju zirah, baju perang dan ketopong tembaga. Dan perlengkapan seperti inilah yang menjadi "formula" / alat untuk menang dalam peperangan pada waktu itu. Dalam kehidupan kita, untuk berjaya, dunia sudah meletakkan standard bahawa untuk dikatakan berjaya, kita harus kaya, memiliki rumah besar, kereta besar...pokoknya segala-galanya. Kalau mau berjaya mesti sekolah tinggi-tinggi..pegi study oversea..lagilah orang respect. Now, before u go "huuhaa"/stop reading my blog.. Just wanna let you know that I'm not saying education/being rich is bad. What i'm trying to tell here is how some of us (tanpa kita sedari), terperangkap bahkan taksub dengan "formula" kejayaan yang ada didunia sampai kita lupa bahawa ada Tuhan dan adanya janji-janji Tuhan yang harus kita pegang. Sebelum kita berdoa dan tanya TUhan, kita terlelbih dahulu berusaha dengan hikmat kita (kononnya pandai) dan pengalaman dan kemampuan kita untuk mencapai kejayaan..nah, bila gagal dan tidak mau ke mana, baru nangis-nangis cari Tuhan minta Tuhan tolong tunjukkan jalan. Just look at David, dia menanggalkan segala pakaian dan perlengkapan perang kerana that is just not him. That is just not how he is trained. How about u? Apakah perlengkapan perang yang Tuhan sudah bagi dengan anda?

5) Daud menggunakan apa yang dia sudah kuasai (batu dan lastik) ayat 40

CUba bayangkan di medan peperangan, apabila pedang menjadi senjata utama, Daud hanya menggunakan 5 ketul batu kecil dan lastik dan kita tau akhirnya kerna ROh Tuhan ada bersama Daud, dia dapat mengalahkan goliat dengan hanya sebutir batu. Apa "batu-batu kecil" dan "lastik" dalam hidup anda? Mungkin bagi orang lain, apa yang ada pada anda hanya benda yang remeh/yang tiada nilai/tidak mampu melakukan hal-hal yang besar, tetapi percayalah, bila Roh Tuhan ada pada kita, tiada siapa yang dapat melawan kita. Amen!

I want to end this writings with my own testimony. Saya seorang pemuzik....ya pemuzik. Untuk berjaya dalam bidang entertainment, rules nya ialah : NETWORK, TALENT and HARDWORK. Now, HARDWORK dan TALENT saya boleh usahakan. But NETWORK? well, pada mula-mula penglibatan saya dalam dunia entertainment, saya sempat bertanya pada Tuhan, "Tuhan, kalau memang Kau yang mau saya dalam bidang entertainment, biarlah Kau sendiri yang mengangkat saya. Biar kau sendiri yang membuka peluang bagi saya".

Kenapa saya berkata demikian? kerana selalunya, untuk membina NETWORK, masa yang sangat sesuai adalah weekend alias hujung minggu. You have to go to clubs, socialising yourself, marketing yourself, get to know as much entertainment people as you can and do whatever it takes to be known. Nah, inilah ground rules bagi dunia entertainment. Namun yang demikian, saya melakukan sesuatu yang against "formula" dunia. Hujung minggu saya digunakan untuk pelayanan di gereja. Jumaat malam kalau bukan latihan muzik, pasti ada pelayanan lain. Sabtu pula ada latihan untuk hari minggu/perlatihan di gereja dan 6-8pm, RYC service. So, there goes my weekend...digunakan untuk melayani Tuhan di gereja.

Frustrated? Ya, pada mulanya kerana saya terperangkap dengan "formula" keberhasilan dunia entertainment. Nah, akhirnya Tuhan mengingatkan saya bahawa saya harus cari dulu kerajaan-Nya dan kebenaran-Nya maka SEMUAnya akan diTAMBAHkan (bukan diberikan..tetapi diTAMBAHKAN..maksudnya sudah ada...cuma diTAMBAHKAN) kepada mu (Matius 6:33). So, saya belajar untuk setia dalam hal-hal yang kecil. Nah, setelah beberapa tahun..Tuhan membuka peluang, sehingga ke hari ini. Tanpa saya sendiri mencari peluang, Tuhan yang bagi, saya berkesempatan untuk bermain drum untuk Jacklyn Victor, Vince Chong, Juwita Suwito (permanent drummer sampai hari ini) dan beberapa artis lokal bahkan bermain di event-event besar seperti Penang Jazz Festival bahkan ke Gumi, South Korea! Amazing! dan ngomong2....kalau Tuhan buka jalan (sudah ada tiket pun), saya dan jazz band saya akan beraksi di Jarasum International Jazz Festival, South Korea. Puji Tuhan! Dan peluang-peluang yang ada ini bukan kerana saya sibuk-sibuk mempromosikan diri saya dan sibuk keluar masuk bistro / club untuk dapatkan peluang untuk bermain...Tuhan yang bagi. Ramai kawan2 pemuzik yang tertanya-tanya bagaimana saya dapat main untuk artis-artis dan sampai pegi oversea lagi tu, yang saya tau, saya diberkati Tuhan. Yang saya tau, saya dengan setia melayani Tuhan dengan apa yang saya ada. Glory to God. I know what i have, and until now, i still working on how to us it well. How about you?

Contemporary VS Relevant

Can we be relevant by being contemporary?

Puji Tuhan kerna hingga ke hari ini, Tuhan masih bekerja lewat Relevant Youth Church. Jujur saja, di awal pembentukkan RYC di SIBKL Lake CIty (dulunya SIBKL Chow Kit) saya masih belum menangkap sepenuhnya maksud RELEVANT bagi generasi ini. Yes, it is a process my dear friends..and until today, God has expand the word RELEVANT.
Last time i used to have this image of what a youth church should be : A youth church must have a happening event every week, the music must be really up to date...so the media (media is very important in youth ministry), the youth who serve in youth church also must have the latest fashion update. Why? Because the young generation today is always evolving..they changed. Tatu yang dulunya taboo dikalangan orang-orang kristian, kini mula diterima di beberapa gereja..khusunya gereja anak muda. Bagaimana di RYC? haha...belum ada lagi yang ada tatu..anyway, that is different topic..just don't make any conclusion. What i'm trying to say is, youth these days are evolving, mereka sentiasa mau sesuatu yang baru, mereka cepat boring...selalu haus akan sesuatu yang baru. Now, most of us also flow with them in terms of finding the most updates for our youth ministry. Kita berusaha untuk menjadi youth church yang contemporary...menjadi contemporary tanpa bertanya sama ada perubahan/update tersebut RELEVANT / connect tidak dengan youth kita.
Some example, hillsongs, planet shakers, united, TW...these are the names of influential ministries yang memberi impak pada pelayanan RYC. Now, Tuhan bekerja dengan luar biasa melalui pelayanan mereka namun harus ingat, pelayanan mereka sudah jauh 10 tahun ke depan dari pelayanan youth ministry di malaysia. Selalu kita dibayangi dengan konsert di dewan2 besar, lampu2 spotlight yang canggih, smoke machine, creative dance, sound system canggih with huge subs...pakaian & rambut yang funky2...wow! this is it man! the true image of a succeful contemporary youth ministry. Now, before u start condemning for being sarcastic etc, let me tell you, i'm not against all these..infact, dalam RYC sendiri kami berusaha untuk ada benda2 ni semua. Semua benda-benda tu perlu..tapi bukanlah esensi alias inti, daripada pelayanan youth ministry yang sebenarnya.
If u could ask TW, Planet Shakers etc..mereka bermula awal..lebih awal dari kebanyakan youth church di malaysia yang sedang naik. Mereka bermula dengan beberapa puluh orang youth, tapi disebalik apa yang kita lihat pada hari ini ialah jam-jam doa puasa dan pemuridan yang mereka lakukan beberapa tahun sebelum mereka ada pada hari ini. In other words, mereka terlebih dahulu invest dalam menguatkan dasar mereka...setia dalam hal-hal yang kecil dan hal-hal yang paling utama iaitu doa & puasa.
In RYC we still focusing on building the foundation of the youth..menanam value dan karakter Kristus. As leaders, we're called to raised new leaders...we're called to look after the young souls in our church...setelah anak-anak muda ini bertumbuh, terpulang kepada Tuhan untuk memimpin mereka menemukan panggilan mereka, ada yang jadi musician, singers, ada yang jadi pengkhotbah..ada yang tidak terlibat dalam pelayanan di gereja langsung..so, it's up to God. Kita hanya menanam...jangan dipaksakan. Memang kami akan mengadakan event-event yang menggunakan multimedia yang latest, music yang canggih arrangementnya dll, namun itu bukan hal yang terpenting. Apa la guna kita buat event yang besar dan canggih kalau TUhan sendiri tidak berkenan dengan apa yang kita lakukan?
Berbalik kepada contemporary. Menjadi contemporary tidak semestinya RELEVANT. Example, bila berbicara mengenai MTV, not all our young people watching MTV, eventho it's the "in" thing for the youth today, but in our church, maybe not so "in". EMm..latest fashion..skarang ni skinny jeans is the hippest thing...hahaha...but hey, rata-rata our youth doesn't come from rich family, kita pula youth leaders berusaha memaksa anak-anak muda kita untuk membeli pakaian2 yang up-to-date...akhirnya mereka belanja wang saku mereka di salun untuk event youth kita kerana itulah yang the latest trend but again, bila kita balik ke church masing-masing, adakah kita akan melayani dengan rambut yang funky2 / soundsystem yang canggih dengan lampu2 spotlight yang megah gah gah? Tidak kan? so, striving to be a contemporary youth church is not neccesary relevant.
If u ask me, apalah yang relevant bagi generasi muda kita sekarang? Bagi saya, 1 perkataan, HUBUNGAN. RELATIONSHIP. Vertical + Horizontal Relationship. Hubungan Vertikal (Antara saya dengan Tuhan) dan hubungan Horizontal (antara saya dengan orangtua saya, keluarga, kawan2, pemimpin gereja, komuniti dan orang lain) seperti dalam Lukas 10:27. Bila bahagian ini (RELATIONSHIP) dipenuhi, saya percaya, kita tidak akan memecahkan kepala memikirkan idea-idea yang kreatif untuk menarik youth-youth ini. CUkup mulakan dengan membina jabatan hubungan dengan mereka.
Tanya saja anak-anak muda yang melayani di dalam pelayanan youth anda, tanya hubungan mereka dengan TUhan bagaimana, berapa jam doa & firman mereka dalam seminggu, tanya saja bagaimana hubungan mereka dengan orangtua/keluarga/kawan/gereja/orang di sekitar mereka...rata-rata jawapan mereka di antara gred B - D. Jadi inikah yang ingin kita mau impartasikan kepada anak-anak muda yang kita layani?
Another example, kita mungkin berlatih lagu2 terbaru dari GMB & TW & PLanet shakers, bila kita masuk ke perkampungan orang asli...adakah kita bawakan lagu-lagu yang latest ni? siap dengan intro muzik yang happening dan solo-solo yang mengiurkan? (ni saya tambah2 ja :P) Kamu rasa orang-orang asli ni boleh connect dengan kita kah? Tidak! (mereka lebih minat lagu-lagu joget dan dangdut, pakai gitar kapok pun mereka boleh berjoget sampai pagi...serius!) "Tapi kami membawakan lagu & muzik yang up to date"...well, ini lah yang saya ingin sampaikan, menjadi contemporary tidak semestinya relevant.
Cara TUhan bekerja dan formula UNITED, Planet SHakers, TW & CHC mungkin berkesan bagi gereja mereka namun tidak semestinya berkesan bagi kita. Kita pelajari inti dari pelayanan mereka, bukan meniru bulat2...hey, jangan pandang rendah kemampuan Tuhan! Dia boleh bagi kita idea-idea yang fresh. So, again..Vertical connection enables us to be inspired by God with fresh ideas. SO, let us strive to know how God define RELEVANT in our generation rather than go for what the world say about being contemporary.
I want conclude this, also as a reminder to myself and to my faithful friends in youth leadership, 1 Korintus 10:23 "Segala sesuatu diperbolehkan, Benar, tapi bukan segala sesuatu berguna. Segala sesuatu diperbolehkan, benar, tapi bukan segala sesuatu membangun."