by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 6, 2024 | 2024, Community, Following Jesus
I was privileged to witness a baptism service last Sunday. There were five baptismal candidates. The oldest was 61, the youngest 24. One spoke in Chinese, the rest in English. There were three men and two women. One was a limousine driver, one an undergraduate, one a...
by Bernice Lee | Nov 22, 2024 | 2024, Articles, Community, Leadership, Soo-Inn Tan
A church member approaches his/her church elders and says that he/she believes God has called him/her to vocational church ministry. How can church leaders decide if an individual is indeed called to that ministry? I prefer the term vocational church ministry rather...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Aug 15, 2024 | 2024, Community, God's Grace, Gratitude, Loving Others, Spiritual Friendship
I am on a mission to thank the friends who stood by me in my darkest moments. Those of you who know me will know of my ten black years, a period that started with the death of my first wife from cancer and ended with a journey through clinical depression, with a...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Jun 7, 2024 | 2024, Aging, Community, Meaning & Purpose, Seniors Ministry
You know you may be speaking at a seniors’ fellowship meeting when: They ask if you need to go to the washroom before you start. You start your talk with a reference to your recent colonoscopy. In a discussion as to what we will be doing just before we go...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Mar 22, 2024 | 2024, Community, Loving Others, Small Groups
How committed are your small-group members? This year I will have a number of opportunities to teach on healthy small groups. I will probably teach about the commitments test. There are at least three levels that small-group members are committed to in their...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Mar 15, 2024 | 2024, Community, Spiritual Friendship
I am in the Malaysia Theological Seminary (STM) for a few days, to teach an intensive course on spiritual friendship and it made me think of old friends. STM was a school that made me feel welcomed and allowed me to work with them at a very difficult point in...