Youth Camp 2009

DAY 1

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DAY 2

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DAY 3

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Download the whole album here (130MB)

Thanks to Arthur for taking them =)

Important: Youth Camp 2009

For those going for Youth Camp, please be at church by 9am, Saturday.

We will be arriving back 2pm, Tuesday.

For any other information, email Isabel or call/SMS her @ ZeroOneTwo-3705779.

There will be no MYF this week (you sorta figured that one out yourself, didn’t you?)

Being A Malaysian Christian

Article by Ian Lam

This is quite an interesting topic that I have to give quite some thought before writing about it. To start of, maybe the definitions of ‘Malaysian’ and ‘Christian’ have to be properly defined. ‘Malaysian’ is someone who is a citizen on Malaysia (duh…:P). ‘Christian’ is someone who knows and believes in the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of the world and now sits at God the Father’s right hand after his resurrection. A Christian has also the Holy Spirit, the third person in the Triune Godhead, who is actively at work in sanctifying the believer’s life to be more like Christ. A Christian is also committed to his fellow believers and to the Body of Christ. Note that going to church does not make one a Christian just as much as being in a garage does not turn one into a car.

The majority race of Malaysia is the Malays and the official religion of Malaysia is Islam. In Malaysia, there is law that no one from other religions can evangelize to the Malays, including Christians. This law has led to Christians to being fearful of evangelizing to their fellow countrymen. We Malaysian Christians have indirectly proclaimed to the Malays that the message of salvation is not for them just because they are Muslim (Malays born in Malaysia are automatically Muslim from birth). For any Christian event, we put a clause in the bottom that says “For Non-Muslims” and yet ironically, it is at such gatherings that the people are called to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth! What hypocrisy! Is this what it means to be a Malaysian Christian?

Were not the apostles persecuted by the Sanhedrin when the Pharisees and Sadducees had warned the apostles not to speak the name of Jesus ever again? Did not the apostles defy the official command of the Sanhedrin and continued to preach even in the temple? Did they not suffer floggings for proclaiming the gospel and yet they rejoiced for being counted worthy for suffering for the gospel?

Why is the situation in Malaysia any different? People may say we should not get into trouble with the authorities because if we do, people would see Christians as troublemakers and Christianity in Malaysia will be jeopardized. On the contrary, I beg to differ. Were not the apostles branded as troublemakers yet their teaching continued to spread like wildfire? Christianity will not be jeopardized either in Malaysia, Afghanistan, Europe, China or whichever country. Quite the opposite, it is their earthly possessions that the institutional church is not willing to lose. If the church gets into trouble with authorities, our grand buildings, our expensive equipment and our self-gratifying activities are going to be lost. Nay, for the Malaysian church, this must not happen. Therefore, they will go to great lengths to preserve this even if it means keeping Malays out of Christian gatherings and disobeying the very command of God to share the gospel to them.

Am I saying the Malaysian Christians should go against the authorities? Yes, to a certain extent. We should obey the laws of the land as they are placed to preserve order in society. Nevertheless, if a law of the land stands in direct opposition to the command of God, the command of God takes the highest authority. There is without a doubt that there are Christians working with the majority race and bringing many to Christ at the risk of their own livelihood. These people should be commended for their courage and willingness to give up their own lives for the sake of the gospel. Note that Paul, when he was addressing to the Greeks in the Areopagus, he did not refer to the Mosaic Law and Old Testament prophecies as he did with the Jews. Likewise, we should present the gospel to our majority brethren in a way they can understand and accept.

What else does it mean to be a Malaysian Christian? As stated before, Malaysia is made of a myriad of races, cultures and traditions. Yet, we Malaysian Christians have become like Western Christians. We gobble up everything that comes from the West: music, Bible resources, theology, etc. This situation has made many people to think that Christianity is a ‘white man’s religion’! I have encountered people before that ask me something like this:

“Are you a Christian?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh? Is that why can’t speak Chinese?”

Here, I shamefully admit that I can’t speak any Chinese dialect fluently enough to carry a conversation. But that has nothing to do with me being a Christian. I am to blame as I did not take interest in learning the language when I was young. The point is that people associate Christianity with the West! How far can that be from the truth when Christianity came from the Middle East! Look at how much Malaysian Christians have imitated the ways of the West! Our instruments and our songs are exactly like the West and we try so hard to replicate even the style of playing!

What happened to the instruments of Malaysia? Where are the ‘kompangs’, ‘gu zhengs’, ‘er wu’, etc? If our musicians are so talented or ‘gifted’ (to use a Christian term) as they claim they are, cannot the songs be at least adapted to fit traditional instruments? Nay, they are talented/gifted for being able to replicate how Planetshakers or Hillsongs style of playing. Malaysian Christians, therefore, face a dilemma. How would they correct the misconception that Christianity is not just a ‘white man’s religion’ and yet continue to do what they are doing? As a realist, I admit that the Western culture has become too entrenched in Malaysia. Only really committed Christians can break this norm. Does this imply that being a Malaysian Christian means imitating the West?

To summarize, what does it mean to be a Malaysian Christian? Does it mean to be hypocritical and to imitate the West? I jolly well hope not. If it is not, then what does being a Malaysian Christian mean? In my opinion, the truths of Christianity cross over boundaries of race and culture. Even in Scripture, the Apostles did not force the Gentile believers to follow the Jewish style of worship nor were the details recorded in the New Testament. Rather, Paul exhorted and taught the churches to do things in an appropriate manner. It is my guess that probably the Gentile churches adapted the style of worship to their various cultures while maintaining the truths of the gospel and the teachings of the Apostles. Therefore, to be a Malaysian Christian means to be proud of our diverse cultures. Also, it means to be ready as a witness in a majority Islamic country even if it means persecution in any form.