I returned from a short term mission trip leading a youth camp. It was my first mission trip and I always wanted to participate in one. The short-term mission trip was a positive experience as I saw first hand the needs and different conditions people lived in Europe. I received much personal and spiritual growth from the experience by watching and following how our short-term leaders modeled Christ.

As I returned from the trip, my father suggested that my short-term mission trip was becoming more common for those in their careers. The secular world has a name for this type of trip and it’s called Ecotourism. However, the term generally refers to volunteer work that focuses on improving the environment and doesn’t do justice to the word missions. Mission to me means work that is God honoring which can be accomplished locally or abroad. Locally, missions can be accomplished around ones sphere of influence. While missions abroad could mean traveling to another city or country.

The term ‘encore career’ was presented in the Globe and Mail on July 30. The article talks about Boomers who have worked hard in their careers and now considering a new career move instead of retirement, a career with less pay but with with a lot of meaning. I found the article very interesting as it presents an alternative for Christians to spread the gospel in new ways.

In our church we have a few retirees who have considered their ‘encore career’. Some have dedicated their lives to become full-time missionaries instead of riding a cruise ship down the Mediterranean. Some have started business as mission projects in the Chinatown area in hope of outreaching to the underprivileged and neglected community. Their examples serve as an encouragement that sometimes a career doesn’t need to have a fat paycheque. A career can be God-honoring.

Nathan in Ottawa

At the end of May, I went to emergency at St. Paul’s Hospital because my heart was beating irregularly and at a high rate. I had experienced this (atrial fibrillation) before in the past but only for short periods of time. However, this episode lasted about 3 days. So my wife suggested that I go to emergency to have it checked out. The ER team was unable to convert my heart back to sinus or normal rhythm and I was admitted into the Cardiac Care Unit for further examinations. While in the hospital for the next five days, I was given various medications to control my heart rhythm and beat, but to no avail.

Finally, on the last day just prior to being discharged, the cardiologist prescribed a “last resort” medication, which seemed to work. My heart has been mostly in sinus rhythm and at a normal rate. The concern with the medication is the possible side effects that may come with use over a longer term. My prayer request is that I would not have any side effects from this medication or that the cardiologist would prescribe a different and less potent medication for the longer term.

A Christian brother who has organized a number of study trips over the years to the Holy Lands, recently shared about the preparations in the weeks leading up to the groups’ departures. He would have a series of orientation meetings in preparation for these trips, which included schedules, hotel accommodations, places to see, contact information, etc. – which all could be changed at a moment’s notice for various reasons.

For that reason, during the preparation times he always stressed the need for flexibility – a willingness to go with the flow and adjust to whatever changes they might encounter, given the sometime volatile situation in and around Israel. Even life seems to have an element of unpredictability for which flexibility is the best response.

While in the hospital, I spent time reading the Bible. I came across a passage in the book of James in the New Testament that spoke clearly to me as I ‘reluctantly’ rested from my normal activities. In Chapter 4, James expressed a worldview of flexibility, similar to what my Christian brother alluded to. While it is wise to plan for the future, we must do so with the recognition that God’s purposes might be different from ours. Instead of rigidly saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” (v. 13), James counselled us to be flexible to God’s direction in our lives. James continued in verse 15: “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

The adventure of following Christ is one that rests in His perfect plans and not necessarily ours. We still need to make plans, but we also need to be flexible. Flexibility helps us to be prepared (and not be disappointed) for whatever His purposes might take us. Have a great summer!

Blessings and shalom!

Bill Wong

At my workplace, God has blessed us with many Christian activities.  Since the 1970s, an Indian Christian prayed to God for a time of Bible study and Christian support in where I am now working, and he met a Chinese Christian during lunch hour.  They started a bible study group.  The rest is history.  It lasted for close to 40 years, and has been expanding since the year 2000 (from one to more than 5 groups in different languages).  More recently in early July, the leader of our Christian group at work just retired, and the following is his reflection as a public servant. His reflection was prompted by his submission of a devotional piece entitled ‘Reflections on Success (Or A Lack Thereof)  to his Church’s website back in 1996.  You will see from his sharing how God turned his career into a ministry.  His sharing ends with a prayer,and my prayer is that this is your prayer too.   He is a gentle and thoughtful brother, and we car-pooled into work often.  I am glad to have him as a colleague.  I will miss him as our group leader, but God has also raised up a new network of leaders to assume the role.  May we see His kingdom expanding in the workplace, not to mention all areas of life. 

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Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

Proverbs 3:6 - He’s the one who will keep you on track. (MSG)

Someone wondered what had happened to some who had submitted devotionals back in the “old days”. My sole contribution was Reflections On Success (Or A Lack Thereof) on December 29, 1996. I just had a look at it to see where my mindset was back then. At the time, I had been a public servant for twenty-two years. I remember farther back, when I was having job interviews back in the early ’70s, one recruiter asked me where I wanted to be in five years. I told this person, “I want to be where God wants me to be.” Now, as I prepare to exit the public service after almost thirty-four years, it’s been a pretty amazing time, and I can see God’s blessing all along the way.

I don’t think I’d have ever dreamed that a public service career could have turned into a ministry opportunity. In fact, for the first six years or so, I just did my job…… Then around 1980, I discovered that some folks at work were meeting over the noon-hour to study the Bible. This was not new to me — I’d been involved in (IVCF) Bible studies at university and in my own church — but in a work setting — this was something new. I joined the group, and within a few years, I graduated to leadership when the founder (the Indian brother) retired. Sometimes, it would be only myself and one other person, but we continued to meet (”wherever two or three are gathered…”) and over a number of years, God honoured our faithfulness, and other groups were formed by some of those we’d nurtured along. Today, there are six different Christian activities happening regularly at the workplace, including a French group, a Mandarin group, a “video group” that grew out of an Alpha program, and one group that regularly looks at some of the “Christian classics” like the Westminster Confession of Faith. Mainly, we explore what it is to be a Christian in the workplace, but this also involves getting to know one another on a deeper level, supporting each other in prayer, and much more. My group has been a rock for me over the years when I was so busy in my own church that I couldn’t squeeze in time in the evenings for Bible study. To see some of “our folk” mature as Christians, wanting to follow God more closely, willing to take on tasks to serve Him, touches the heart.

So, as I prepare to exit my workplace in the next month or so, what is foremost in my mind is what has been accomplished for His kingdom. The rest pales in comparison!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thanks for being our loving heavenly Father and all that this entails: wanting to be there for us through all of our lives, guiding, guarding, scolding, consoling — all those things a father does. Thanks for Your faithfulness in our past and our present. Help us to trust You for our future, to keep us on track, Your track, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Help us to be Your people each day, to show others by our love that we have a loving heavenly Father, and to help them to come to know You too. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.

The Calgary conference was a unique conference in several ways. First, we had four speakers for an attendance of about 50 people – that is unheard of. Three of the speakers were invited to be the panelists to discuss the survey results. Drs. Arch Wong (Calgary), Paul Wang (Vancouver) and Daniel Wong (Toronto) form an extremely effective and balanced team. Their discussion and talks helped to add a special intensity to the whole conference. Those who stayed for the Sunday morning meetings can all testify to that.

Second, the messages on Kingdom Living in the Workplace by Ms. Donna Dong were very helpful. She touched on God’s definition of a fool as listed in Luke 8 and compared that passage with the following sections (lilies in the valley and the watchful servant). The passage is challenging to me. The watchful servant has to plan ahead, getting ready for the Master. The rich fool also has to plan ahead for the incoming crop. On the surface, we may not be able to see much of a difference between their preparations. However, God looks inside our hearts. God is not only interested in what we do, but also why and how we work. If we say work is our worship for the weekdays, worship (and hence work) is important not only as a verb but also as an adverb. Our reason for working (as an offering to God) and attitude at work (“Do as unto the Lord”) are particularly important.

Third, there were 350 responses for our online survey. Though not a big number, this is still significant. It seems that we were able to reach out to the young professionals. The somewhat lengthy survey probably steered away many high schoolers and most younger ones. We will need more time to digest the data, recognizing that most of the samples came from Ontario.

Fourth, this CCCBPA national conference came at a time when many local chapters are going through their transitional phase. The parent generation is graying away and the emerging generation is seeking direction. In anticipation of this transition, Contempo was formally launched in Toronto in 2005. Both Toronto and Vancouver now have their annual Contempo events while the Winnipeg chapter hosts the “dinner-with-a theme” events twice a year.

At the Calgary conference, I again emphasized the two characteristics of the Contempo movement : intergenerational and incarnational. To be intergenerational is not so much about the passing of the baton from the old guards to the young professionals but more about how the different generations can challenge one another to grow together in Christ. To be incarnational, we need to learn how to live out our faith in a pluralistic society. I particularly like Peter’s exhortation for wives that have become Christians. He advised them to win their unbelieving husbands over “without words” but by the “purity and reverence of their lives” (1 Peter 3:1). This same principle would work well in the contemporary workplace where open communication of our faith is discouraged or forbidden.

Preliminary planning for the 2010 national conference has started. Both CCCBPA and Contempo are facing significant challenges as well as unforeseen opportunities. There are also new partneship in sight. We need to pray and wait upon the Lord for guidance. The Calgary conference has ignited a spark in many hearts. God willing, this will continue to burn and spread. These are exciting times. “Your kingdom come!”

Clement Yeung

Ah, busy summer. This is the time for travels, conferences, relaxation, and perhaps all of the above. This is a quick post of a couple of gems from two conferences I attended, both dealing in part with workplace spirituality, or the term preferred by us Ottawa folks, Faith@Work.Gem 1 – from the Annual Meetings of the Chinese Entrepreneur Association (www.ceaa.org)One can always serve God anywhere by helping out. But to serve in a substantial way in church, there is a high cost of entry, e.g. to teach Sunday School, you need to know your Bible. There is no equivalent high cost of entry to serve God at your place of work. Any Christian, new or old, can serve God by living out his Christian faith and witnessing. There are plenty of examples in the New Testament where new Christians immediately went about spreading the good news.

Gem 2 – from the Biennial Meetings of the CCCBPA (www.projectcontempo.ca)There is no secular-sacred duality, in work or in calling. Your vocation is your calling. God puts his people in all walks of life, to serve him where they are. What if besides having a map of the city with flags pinned at where members live or meet for fellowship, that churches would also have a map with flags where members work and spend a large portion of their days, serving God where they are?

During the Father’s Day weekend, I was re-reading an old email from a dear brother, which was sent to me in August, 2005. It has been almost three years, but it is still one of the most touching email I have ever received.

…I was reading Nouwen’s “Return of the Prodigal Son” the other day. I read how Nouwen at different stages took up the role of the bystanders, the prodigal son, the elder son, and the father as he was contemplating on the painting. I thought about you specifically when I was read the role of the father.

You are now the father of AFC. The feeling came strong especially at the memorial service of Rev. Knights. He, Rev. Mak, Benny, Victor all ran and complete their turn at AFC. It’s your turn now.

You switched from fathering the students to fathering the staff…..It is so easy to revert back to the role of bystander, the prodigal son and the elder son instead of being the father.

I pray that despite of all the joys and difficulties that you are facing, you will continue to love your two sons unconditionally: the younger one who never listened to you and walked out, the older one who was full of anger, bitterness and self-righteousness.

…May you boldly journey on this role and bring healing to every staff and among staff. be patient and hopeful, you will experience the joy when you see both sons return to your embrace.

Reflection: As more people are paying attention to the relational and emotional aspects about leadership, there is much more we can relate between leading and fathering (or mothering). May we all be encouraged to become more than a bystander in the leadership journey!