Friday, December 31, 2010

Prayers and Wishes, Jan 2011

There is nothing more important to me than wife, health and ministry - in that order. Wife will have a check up next week to determine what the shadow on the other side means. Ministry is at a crossroad because I may have to return to the States by summer to prove domicile in sponsoring my siblings, which the immigration department announces is close. Maybe it is God's way to prevent me from getting too involved in local ministries. I am looking forward to teach my first D. Min. course in Taiwan come June 2011. On the health front, hopefully I can lose some weight as my gut had expanded a few inches since arriving in Hong Kong. Preachchrist.com made a dramatic jump to 49,717 hits last month, which is more than twice 18,403 hits on the last month of 2009. My new book and overseas teaching have certainly helped spread the word. Hopefully by the end of the year it will top 60,000 hits. I have befriended a number of neighbors, and by God's grace I hope I can lead them to Christ or to church.

I had a good start to my teaching and preaching mentoring program. After teaching a dozen of young coworkers over three hours, I had individual tutoring for two of the bunch. They were quite receptive, the atmosphere was great and the two were very teachable. I was bothered by a friend who warned me that I may suffer the consequences if the coworkers do not improve in their teaching and preaching, but I discarded that kind of negative thinking. I remind myself that failure is not a big loss if I tried to help.

We celebrated Wife's birthday this first week of the month. She did not feel like dining out on the big day since we have done it the night before and she was worried about her health, but I persuaded her to go, and we were surprised by the good quality of a restaurant in the village that we have not tried before. We talked a lot this week about what the future is like, especially if I have to return to the States to prove my domicile. I sent out the letter yesterday (8th).

This morning (10th) Frontiers missions organization did a presentation at the chapel that made me pause and reflect on missions. It was not an emotional appeal but it gave me plenty of food for thought. Maybe God is inviting me join missions full-time because the harvest is truly plentiful but the workers are few. I might know quickly enough since my attempt to sponsor my family to the States have ran into a snag. Well, never say never to God.

To my horror today (11th) I realized I wrote five new sermons only last year, two less than what I managed in the first 16 months in Hong Kong. Looking back, I am glad one of the churches I help has designated Scripture passages, making me work harder on passages I missed or avoided. The next day I had a throat infection after mentoring the younger pastors, but it was worth it seeing how much they enjoyed it.

I unexpectedly got the flu traveling to Sha Tin to preach today (16th). It was a bummer because I also had a sore throat four days ago that had not gone away. The good thing after worship was meeting Wife for lunch at Tsing Yi, where I added a salad bowl and a drink to my lunch for HK$23. At first I was critical why customers were allowed one serving only, but later I enjoyed piling all the food in one bowl, which requires a lot of skill, more than going for seconds. This goes to show that moderation can be more enjoyable in practice. The next day the doctor told me I have throat infection, so I am following the medication closely.

Yesterday (19th) Wife resumed her Bible study with Mainland students that was cut short by her illness ten month ago, when she felt something wrong with her body while waiting for the students to arrive. This time the students were an hour earlier. Wife treated the two boys and herself to dinner after the study. It is one of her few unfulfilled dreams left - to start a Bible study group with them.

Today (24th) was an emotional day for me at school as I preached on Gen. 45, where Joseph reunited with his brothers. I shed a few tears singing the song "Psalm 19," which was a special song because that was the song that moved Wife after surgery when she returned to North Point's English worship for the first time. The best thing was a student was touched by the message. If not for North Point's strict preaching calendar and text, I would have no new messages.

Yesterday (28th) I made the decision to accept the challenge of missions. Maybe turning 50 has something to do with it. Local ministry is too slow and stifling. I actually felt relieved and relaxed. It is better to put out the notice earlier so that there is more freedom to explore.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Gentleland, Dec 2010

I returned from my 10-day trip to Gentleland today (10th). It got off to a worst possible start. My ride thought I was coming a day later, so I had to find an inn nearby. The next day (2nd), I taught 60 excited M.A. students over the 20-hour weekend how to preach.

The next week, I was taken to a new location to teach 28 B Th students. Unlike before, where I was staying with a family in a spacious apartment that has a bathroom with enough exercise space, I was downgraded to slum-like conditions near some run-down factories, for less visibility. Churches here are very out in the open, their worship music travels to the streets, and "emmanuel" signs are all over the church exterior.

It was both a boring and a blessed experience. The backward living conditions are similar to the poorest Hong Kong neighborhoods in the 60s. Students live a very simple life. All basics and necessities are met but all else is stripped away. Still they bring their own snacks. They use a basin for washing but, nevertheless, they have meat to go with vegetables.

Since nobody but students live on-campus, I have to request for coffee, fruits, and a ride out. I have a makeshift reused fruit juice glass bottle for a cup to use in class and in the kitchen I use a bowl for coffee. The restroom soap is big and unsightly. The locals do not use toilet rolls; they use wafer-thin sheets of paper the size of our handtowels.

It's been an unforgettable five days with the 25 youngsters ranging from 18 to 25. So far, I have trained 88 students, which would take me 15 years to do in
Hong Kong! Many of them are bright but lacking opportunities. Since it is held in a low-key location, there is nothing to do but sleep during the afternoon recess of 2 hour and 15 minutes, including lunch. Nights are almost unbearable. No TV, no company, no transport. I am virtually a prisoner, but I am thankful for internet. It would have been unthinkable without it. It was time to leave after adjusting to my lodgings. To counter the hard bed and thin mattress I folded the mattress for more padding since I do not need to use the other half of the mattress. On the last day I heard prayers reverberating throughout the building, but to my shock I saw only four women praying. I am tempted to visit elsewhere in the future seeing the field is ripe for harvest. After this ten day trip, I have a fresh appreciation for missionaries ten years in the field.

Today's 8 degrees C (16th) is the coldest day I have experienced in Hong Kong yet . I had three layers of clothing and I was still shivering without head protection when the cold wind blew. The low temperature, however, did not stop me from my pool exercise or a lunch appointment with a student. It was hard to concentrate at work during this lull holiday break without the students or chapel. I was excited over my sermon on Genesis 45 preached last Sunday because it completes my 30 messages on Genesis, which I hope to be published in English for a change.

I thought the cold could not get any worse, but it did and got personal, giving me a full-blown cold today (18th). I have not sneezed like that for a long time. My nose was running and my eyes were red, so I took a nap after lunch to get rested before today's pre-study, which we thought was canceled. My only hope is that Wife would not be infected. Tomorrow we are headed for early worship so that she can join a school party. At night I-Cable showed my favorite Stephen Chow movie just as we were about to rent the last Harry Potter movie, which we missed. We also signed a new contract today with the new landlord that will increase our monthly apartment rent from HK$7k to HK$8,400. There is no stopping inflation or rent in Hong Kong.

It is Christmas day today (25th) and we went for breakfast with a friend visiting from SF. On the way home I figured out how to text 17 friends from my phone contact list a Christmas message, which took me a full 15 mins to type and send. Tonight we will have dinner with a friend who is returning to No Cal after two years of ministry in HK. It did not work out because he has to return to care for his wife and daughter who have medical conditions.

The day after Christmas was mostly relaxing. We spent time with a church coworker and talked for more than three hours. After that we had lunch and a walk outdoors before we headed home. The pleasant day was interrupted rudely by a flu I caught after swimming. I sniffed and sneezed for the next four hours, causing pain to the right side of my stomach each time I sneeze during the final hour. It was so bad I debated if I should see a doctor tomorrow. Let's hope Wife does not catch it from me.

Today (29th) is my last Wednesday off this year before I sign up to mentor pastors in teaching and preaching next Wednesday onwards in the new year. We were lounging around in the Elements' Starbucks when an alumni called me up for lunch. Wife said I had used both days off, including last Saturday, to benefit other people in our sharing. Thinking ahead, I expect work and ministry to be tough next year.

Finally the last day of the year is here. I have been busy restoring the broken links on preachchrist.com. I have no idea what is in store for the next year, but nothing could be rougher than this year. All is good as long as Wife's health keeps up. It has been cold for a few days, so yesterday I got some thermal wear for both of us.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

School Newsletter, Dec 2010

務要傳道
本院碩士科主任
葉福成博士

當我仍在美國時,有一間福音機構邀請我加入他們的夏季短宣教師團隊。我當時幾乎要答應,但一想到是要前往亞洲,我心中有保留。雖然當日我沒有答應,但這次的邀請並沒有白費,因為這就成了我和我太太兩年前決定移居到香港的影響。當日該機構向我們發出呼聲:「釋經講道是今日華人教會最大的需要!」

可悲的是,當今的講道滿有智慧又風趣,但缺乏「道」。講員花那麼多時間講一些對經文沒有直接關係或經文沒有記載的東西。傳講神的道是沒有捷徑,也不能繞道而行。一個人如想得到釋經講道的「產品」(the sermon),就必須瞭解研讀的「生產過程」(the study)。這個過程是最具挑戰性的,但大多數講員很自然又直接的方式是看參考書,而不是閱讀聖經,因此我們認識註釋家比聖經更多。

今日華人教會講道的弱點就是對於經文的文法和文學缺乏瞭解,而這卻是釋經講道的特色:先運用歷史 (historical)、文法 (grammatical) 和文學 (literary) 的方法,來尋找經文的主題、大要概念或中心思想,然後才把它們應用在聽者的身上。 可惜,許多講員不知道怎樣以超過人物、地點和事物的原則,來表達講章的主題和大綱。

在歷史方面,參考書當然有其適當的位置,但教科書 (textbooks) 絕不能取代經文 (text)。聖經 (Bible) 是我們的首要材料,書籍 (books) 是第二的。牧師和神學生必須先是聖經學生,然後才做聖經學者。

在文法方面,如今傳道人可以使用最新的軟件,幫助他們理解原文的語氣 (mood)、時態(tense) 和語態 (voice)。我建議傳道人可以試用一些免費的分析工具(scripture4all.org,http://bible.fhl.net),特別是找出經文中的三大「I」,即是:命令式 (imperatives),不定詞 (infinitives) 和直說式 (indicatives)。

在文學方面,識別經文的鑰字(比較、對比、重複、漸進),能彌補我們有關文學技巧的能力。我建議傳道人能花 80%的時間做釋經的工作,而不是80%做應用,因為「觀察」錯誤,會導致「解釋」和「應用」的錯誤。

好的釋經講道者能教導、吸引、啟發聽眾。著名的釋經講員邁爾博士 (F. B. Meyer),分享早年他的導師比樂博士 (Dr. C.M. Birrell),如何鼓勵他走出專題式講道,同時指導他朝著釋經講道的道路和方向邁進。在一次聚會的結束後,比樂對邁爾說:「今晚你講道的信息非常好,可惜它是一篇專題式的講章,如果你要以專題式講章作為你講道的模式,可能很快你會用完那些主題,接下來你要怎麼辦呢?因此我建議你可不要像我過去三十年的做法。不如讓你自己成為一個釋經講道者吧!這樣你會一直保持神話語原有的新鮮感,並且建造一個健康有力的教會。」 (Listening to the Giants, Warren Wiersbe 97, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980)