THE PARADOX OF WEAKNESS AND HELPLESSNESS!
REV LOH SOON CHOY
Associate Dean, English Department

The World Cup is over, followed by SUKOM ’98, the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, the world’s second greatest sporting event after the Olympics. As many Christians pray for more than gold and earthly glory for the swift, strong and nimble athletes and their largely young and healthy supporters, we could contemplate on either the theology of "PLAY" or the theology of "WEAKNESS". The former engages the philosophies of Sport, Recreation, Entertainment, the Arts (including Drama, Music, Rituals and Symbolic Activity) and Celebration. The latter theology of weakness checks the lusts for Power, perpetual Youth, Strength, Beauty and Prosperity. Without the former theology we become stodgy and dull ("all work, no play"). Without the latter, the world can end up exterminating the "weak", the "unproductive", the mentally "sub-normal", socially or racially "polluted" or "unclean", or "ugly" and "useless". World Cup and SUKOM are important, but so are those who cannot own or kick a ball (nor) run or walk! At a more mundane level, both restrain us from workaholicism, the chase for unbridled "productivity" and "efficiency", and being over-serious about ourselves, our position and importance.

I choose the latter theme because Rev Ho, the Dean, was teasing me about this, my 60th "birthday editorial". So I am getting old! Eventually, weaker and more helpless! Already I have had 2 angioplasties, one "bypass" surgery and am due for a second prostatic biopsy! Sounds morbid, unless we remember that the Lord is with us always, especially when we are "weak and helpless", even "useless" , as the world may think! Even the world of Nature reveals many things that are apparently "useless" to our egoistic minds but the patient, humble enquirer can discover how important they are in the order of God’s creation.

Our Babylonian hearts may not recognise it but the Bible is full of people and situations of weakness and helplessness when God manifests His grace and glory. As regards our initial calling, "not many (of us) were wise,influential,of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; the weak things to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things, the despised things and things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

As regards spiritual service and warfare, He used Shamgar’s ox-goad, Samson’s jaw-bone of an ass, a left-handed Ehud, a bastard Jethro, an adulterous David (after he repented) , and the list goes on! Even the great Moses and the apostle Paul had to learn penitently to serve out of their human vulnerabilities, brokenness and weakness , the experiential foundations in "Pastoral Theology" proper. How else can meekness, deep humility, compassion, sensitivity and gentleness be nourished? His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9a), which was why Paul would "not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor.12:5, 96-10). Is it strange, then, that our Master the Lord Jesus Himself exemplified this on the Cross; that the very moment when He was most "helpless and useless" , unable even to lift a finger, was the moment when He effected our redemption?

"The hands of Christ looked very frail
For they were broken by a nail;
But it is they who go to heaven at last
Whom those frail, broken hands hold fast!"

There is more to "weakness and helplessness", (or their despised relatives) than meets the eye. This is why O. Hallesby, a European Inter-Varsity Fellowship President, in his little modern classic, ‘Prayer’, defines prayer in terms of our "helplessness". Or why Henri Nouwen, a reknown professor at Notre Dame, Harvard and Yale (of ‘The Wounded Healer’ fame), writes so extensively on his and the pastor’s own brokenness and vulnerabilities and how to accept and transform them through faith and submission in Christ: that our "weakness (be) turned into strength" (Heb. 11:34). The famous Swiss psychiatrist, Paul Tournier, says similar things in his ‘The Strong and the Weak’. Thomas Merton, the contemplative, who has explored deeply into the issues of modern man’s inner life, was intrigued by the paradoxes of "uselessness". So vital is this biblical theology of (our) weakness and helplessness (perhaps as part of the ravages of Sin) that God often lets us go through the "wilderness" or "desert" or "dark-night-of-the-soul" or some deprivation experiences like Moses, Abraham, David, Paul and Jesus Himself as an imperative for a lasting spiritual ministry. Selwyn Hughes, (who quotes Eugene Peterson often in his ‘Everyday with Jesus’) calls such an experience ‘confinement’ which has the advantage of a less daunting, everyday tone.

In a word, paradoxically, God cannot use supermen and superwomen, nor the spirit and mentality of the political and corporate world. A deep and humbling awareness of our own weaknesses, or a total surrender of our grasping desire for power, strength and control, are the best recipes for a Christ-like ministry or a Christ-like victory even the state of helplessness and uselessness brought on by illness, old age or a crumbling economy! For at the end of the day, it is our relationship to and identity in the Lord, not in our work or any relationship, status or thing that really matters!

ANNOUNCEMENTS & MINI REPORTS

WELCOME

Rev Hwa Chih, B.Sc. (Hons) & M.Sc. (Canterbury, N.Z.), M. Div. (Gordon-Conwell), M. Sacred Theo. (Yale), who joined us as lecturer with effect from September 1, 1998. Hwa Chih was a teacher at the Royal Military College and a senior assistant in Cameron Highlands before embarking on theological studies at Gordon-Conwell and at Yale in USA. He served in Anglican parishes in Penang and KL before teaching at Seminari Teologi Malaysia. He also served as the General Secretary of Scripture Union, West Malaysia for 3 years. He is married to Toong Yin and they have two children. We praise the Lord for him and covet your prayers and support for him and his family.

The following new/upgrading/audit students who commenced studies in the third term:

Kong Man Chuan (M.C.S.), Ronnie Yeap (M.C.S.), Michael Ng (M.Min.), Dr Alex Tang (M.Min.), William Toh (M.Min),. Andrew Kulasingham (Dip.C.S.), Benny Mun (Dip.C.S.), Phyllis Darren (Dip.C.S.), Frankie Yap (Cert.Th.Ext.) and audit students, Lim Poh Fa, Margaret Raj, Hang Kwee Chen and Selva Rani Subramaniam.

CONGRATULATIONS

Pastor Dais Rukuman (B. Min. ’94) & Sonia Puyang Ding (B. Min. ’95) on the birth of their daughter, Deborah, on 1 September, 1998.

MISSION EXPOSURE TRIP ‘98

This year the MBS mission exposure trip was to the Ranau region in Sabah. There were 7 of us in the team (Rev Eddy Ho, 5 students and a member of the church). We left the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the evening of Friday, July 24 for our flight to Kota Kinabalu with 10 boxes of used clothes for distribution in Sabah. A former student of MBS, Sauna Relly Giong (B.Th., 1995), helped in the planning of the trip. She is now pastoring the church in Narawang SIB, together with her husband, Jaket. Because of this we undoubtedly began our mission trip at Narawang SIB, where we stayed for 2 nights and conducted 4 services and a Sunday School for the children at Narawang church. We not only ministered the Word of God with some songs and a sketch, but we were also able to tap the resources of a team member who had experience in agriculture to give some advice on planting.

After Narawang we went to Poring church, where the team members were able to take some time off in the afternoon to enjoy God’s creation at the Hot Springs. God provided for us and we were able to enter the Hot Springs free-of-charge. After a good soak at the Hot Springs we had an evening service at the Poring church. However, by then half the team members were down with diarrhea and/or food poisoning. We praise the Lord that we were still able to present our items with minimal interruptions. From then on we were on practically the same routine. We went to a new village in the afternoon and held services at the village. All together we visited churches at Nampasan Baru, Waang, Badukan, Tudangan, Bandar Ranau and Bongkud. We also had a chance to visit the Maktab Teologi Sabah at Namaus and was able to have fellowship, present some items and preached the Word to the faculty and students of the college. At the Bandar Ranau church we took over the Dusun and the Bahasa Malaysia services in the morning. At Tudangan we went to visit a home where the elder passed away the morning we went to the church.

The team members were richly blessed by the Lord on this trip. We were able to encourage the members of the churches we visited and also visited some who had been Christians for a long time but had not been going to church. We were glad to see them come to church to attend the services we attended. At time we did regret that we did not have sufficient time to spend with the members. There were even some villages that had specially requested us to visit them but because of time we were not able to. We hope we can visit them again in the near future. Do pray for the churches in Sabah, especially for those in low lying areas, because of the La Nina phenomenon which will cause large scale flooding in some areas.

ASIA THEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The ATA General Assembly is held once every 3 years and this year it was held in Seoul, South Korea, at the Chong Shin University and Theological Seminary. This year there was a record number of participants of 113 from about 54 theological schools. Representatives had come from all over Asia and even Jordan, Australia and USA. Since MBS is an accredited institution of ATA, we were represented by Rev Eddy Ho. The meetings were held from August 19-22, ending with elections for new office bearers. The new chairman of ATA is Dr David Kim, the President of Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology in Seoul, Korea, and the General Secretary is Dr Ken Gnanaken.

There was good discussion on the direction of ATA and how ATA is to help member institutions. The delegates to the Conference were impressed by the hospitality of the Korean church, which had provided for the food, accommodation and internal transportation of all the delegates to the conference. They had gone out of their way to make the delegates comfortable. There was also good fellowship with delegates from other countries, like India, Indonesia, Japan, etc. We are glad that MBS degrees are accredited by such an international body.

On my part, I was very glad to be able also to participate in the commissioning service of a Korean missionary at the Onnuri Presbyterian Church in Chun Chon City, which is about 150 km. From Seoul. South Korea sends out approximately 6,000 missionaries to various parts of the world and they aim to send out 10,000 by the year 2000. This is very admirable. The growth of the Korean church has been due in part to the persecution of the church during the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1945-1951). Many pastors and church leaders were martyred during these years because they would not bow down to the worship of other gods, nor become atheists. Indeed true is the statement of the church fathers that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." Let us pray that we too will be able to withstand persecution when it comes and may the church grow in these times.

MASTER OF MINISTRY PROGRAM, KUCHING

The second intensive module, "Living Theologically" by Mr Tan Kong Beng will be from Sep11-13, 1998, in Kuching.

BACHELOR OF MINISTRY PROGRAM, MIRI AND KOTA KINABALU

The next courses for the above program are "Advanced Bible Study Methods" by Rev Eddy Ho from Sep 21-25 at Malaysia Evangelical College, Miri, and "Missiology" by Dr Tan Kim Sai from Sep 21-25 at Maktab Teologi Sabah, Kota Kinabalu.

Our thanks to Dr Allan Harkness for his lectures on "Christian Spirituality" at MEC in June and Dr Tan Kim Sai on "The More Excellent Faith" at MTS in July. Both courses were well attended.

EAST MALAYSIAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND

Our East Malaysian Scholarship Fund is to help needy students from East Malaysia (mostly from the Sidang Injil Borneo or SIB) at MBS. We thank the various churches and individuals who responded to our appeal for support. We look forward to your continued partnership.

STUDENT WELFARE

Our thanks to all who contributed towards the medical costs incurred by our SIB student, Usun Anyi Ngau who underwent surgery recently. We still need about RM450.00 to cover the shortfall.

COMING COURSES

1. MASTER OF MINISTRY (M. MIN.)

(10 courses of 3 credits each plus a Thesis/Project Paper with credit transfers from other accredited programs also considered.)

Diploma in Christian Studies/Master of Christian Studies students may also take these for their practical modules, as also recommended mature Christians for audit.

1999: M. Min. candidates (especially in the Klang Valley) are also encouraged to join the appropriate day courses/modules at MBS.

New Library Hours (M. Min. students : please take note!)

The library hours announced in our last newsletter have been changed. The library will not be open on Saturday afternoons due to a lack of response but will be opened on Tuesdays, 7.00 - 8.00 p.m.

TERM 1/1999 EVENING CLASSES

Christian workers & active lay people are welcome to our Evening and Day classes on a credit or audit basis (1 credit = an hour period per week for a term of 9 or 10 weeks)

(i) ELEMENTARY GREEK (2x)

Lecturer: Rev Hwa Chih
Date: To commence w.e.f. Jan 11, 1999
Time: 7.45 - 9.30 p.m. (Every Monday)
Venue: PJEFC
8-10, Jalan SS24/13 Taman Megah, 47301 Petaling Jaya
Fee: RM50.00 (RM45.00 for full-time workers) excluding library fee

PASTORAL THEOLOGY & MINISTRY (3x/2x)
- Master of Ministry/Open to Public

Lecturer: Rev Loh Soon Choy
Date: To commence w.e.f. Jan 12, 1999
Time: 7.45 – 9.30 p.m. (Every Tuesday)
Venue: MBS, Klang
Fee: RM105.00 (for M. Min. students) excluding library fee
RM 50.00 (others) excluding library fee
RM 45.00 (for full-time workers) excluding library fee

IV. TERM 1/1999 DAY CLASSES

(i) CHURCH HISTORY I [3x] (combined B. Th./Dip. C. S./M. C. S./M. Min. Elective Class on Early & Medieval Christianity open to public) by Mr Tan Kong Beng

Every Mon, beginning Jan 11; 9.00 a.m.-12.30 p.m.

OTHER REGULAR CLASSES will be announced later.

SPECIAL MODULE (combined B.Th./Dip.C.S./M.C.S./M.Min. Elective Class)

. Time: 8.55 a.m. - 12.35 p.m.
Fee: Undergraduate level credits charged at RM15.00 per credit hour.
Graduate level credits charged at RM35.00 per credit hour.

Enquiries for 1999

We welcome enquiries/applications for our 2-yr Cert. Th. & Cert. Th. (Ext.), Dip. Th. (3 yrs); B. Min./B. Th. (4 yrs); Dip. C. S. (1 yr); M. C. S. (2 yrs); M. Min. programs.

Admissions are also considered at the beginning of each academic term for suitable candidates. The graduate programs, Dip. C. S., M. C. S. can also be taken part-time but is offered to those with a degree or equivalent only.

The M. Min. is also offered part-time on a modular basis (min. 2 yrs). in combination with appropriate day or evening classes/special modules for B. Th., Dip. C. S. & M. C. S. programs w.e.f. 1/1/99.

PENTATEUCH [3x] Tentatively Jan 25-29, 1999

by Mr Low Chai Hok
VENUE: MBS