Last weekend, a special workshop was held in Ottawa. The speaker was George Chu, a former general manager of Coca Cola in China. He is a strong brother in Christ. He is retired now, and is giving freely of his time and life experience in building up the body of Christ to glorify him. There were lots of gems in the weekend workshop. I just want to highlight some of his observations:

Weakness and Strength of most Chinese professional

1, strong in science and analytical skills, but weak in social skills
2, strong in self discipline, but weak in managing others
3, focus more on self interest (selfish, egotistic), and less on others and public interests
4, strong in doing work right but weak in doing the right thing (communication, persuasive, influential)
5, strong at insisting on own opinion, but weak in compromising
6, strong in IQ, but weak in EQ
7, strong in technology, but weak in other fields : HR, marketing, psychology and finance

Is that who we are and what we are like? Are Christian professionals any different from non-Christian professionals? That is something worth reflecting on.

Important managerial Skill

1, communication skill - listening, persuasive, articulate
2, negotiation skill
3, people skill - observing, leveraging, organizing
4, strategizing skill
5, Planning ability
6, execution ability
7, motivation skill
8, leading team skill

What your company wants form you

1, you are reliable, dependable, can be trusted
2, can keep your promise
3, no surprise, no excuses
4, outstanding capability
5, people relationship strong
6, well plan
7, can focus
8, resource utilization
9, understand complexity
10,exceeding expectation result

These are good insights. In this time of economic crisis and tightening up of the job market, how shall we market ourselves to our employer and differentiate ourselves from other employees? Does our faith and Biblical teachings make a difference? After all, the Bible is the greatest user manual on EQ. Just check out the fruits of the spirit, the Love Chapter, and the second of the greatest commandments. May we all shine for him in the eyes of our employers and colleagues.

Bob Li
Ottawa

I once asked a Christian counsellor what’s the most common root problem that he encountered in his profession. Without hesitation, he replied, “Broken expectations.”

I’m sure we all have expectations in life. We expect that people will be nice to us, that we have good health. We expect to have great marriages, faithful friends, and successful careers. But expectations have a way of not living up to their promises. And if we’re not careful, broken expectations can put us in the ditch.

I was reading a passage from Philippians 1:12-21, where the Apostle Paul demonstrates how he handles broken expectations in a rather victorious way. Let’s consider his perspective as he faced significant challenges in terms of placement, people and uncertainty.

Some of us face placement challenges, asking God, “Why did you put me in this job, or this company, or this hospital bed?” For Paul, it was prison. You’d think with his credentials that he would have expected unrestricted access to impact the world for Christ. Yet, even from prison he acknowledged, “…what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (v. 12).

When it comes to the people in our lives, no doubt we will all face some broken expectations – sometimes even from those whom we would least expect. In the midst of Paul’s hardship, you would think that other believers would have encouraged him, but some were actually glad he was in prison and they began preaching in his absence out of envy and rivalry. To this Paul’s responded, “…whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (v. 18).

Then there’s the challenge of an uncertain future for some of us – maybe a job transfer or a layoff or bad news from the doctor. Paul knew that, at any moment, the Emperor Nero might give the edict for his execution, and yet in the face of that uncertainty, he declared, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21).

What are some of your expectations in life? How do you respond when those expectations are unmet? Maybe we can consider adopting Paul’s one and only expectation – “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body” (v. 20).

Now that’s one expectation that we can control!

Blessings and shalom!

Bill Wong

This is blog lite. I am merely reporting an incidental observation, and raising some questions.

Last Sunday, on Mother’s Day, I was volunteering at a fund raising auction event for a Christian service organization. Part way during the setup, I was asked by one of the auction organizers if I would hold up each item being auctioned as they come up, and walk among the tables where the audience were sitting and having refreshments. They would then be able to have a closer look and inspect the goods, hoping that it would encourage them to participate in bidding for the items. I gave it a quick thought and said OK.

To be honest, I thought that would be amusing. The first imagery that came to mind was a scantily clad lady in high heels walking around a boxing ring with a big number sign announcing the round coming up. How willing or reluctant was I to accept the job detail? Well, I didn’t think it was that bad. On a scale of 1 to 10, it only rated 1.5 on reluctance. Basically I was gamed. Having think skin also helps, I guess

So that’s what I did, showing off Chinese paintings, calligraphy in picture frame, various jewelry and other items. When the auction was over and I sat down to have some refreshments, a male guest remarked to me that I looked like Vanna White, the game show sidekick of Wheel of Fortune. I just smiled back at him and nodded. As I was leaving, a lady asked me how I was able to do that with a straight face. She said she would have giggled all the way through. Now what were they saying about their thinking concerning what I just did. I didn’t ask them to clarify so I can’t say for sure. Was the man thinking that it was a job suited only for women, dumb blonds to be exact? Was the lady thinking basically the same thing, and that it would be beneath us intellectuals to do that? Why was what I did almost scandalous in their estimation? Are their reactions typical of the general North American Chinese population? What about the general NA Chinese Christian population? How should we have reacted? Does this reveal how sexist we are? After all, it was for a fund raising event for a Christian service organization. When we are asked/called to serve, and it is something obviously within our capability to do so, a cake walk even, how do we decide to accept or to wiggle out of, and why?

I hope I haven’t gone overboard with this. I just thought that sometimes, we care too much about our image, of how other people think of us. The example from Christ Jesus is a picture of a humble servant. To imitate Christ, we need to take on his attitude. So would you have gladly done what I did? I hope so.

I was at a conference today in Gatineau, Quebec, and I met a friend who is now a Professor in an Ontario University.  He is originally from Mainland China, and over the years when he was my colleague, I had invited him to attend our lunch hour video series on the book of John and even to an evangelistic meeting at church.  It was sad to see him leaving us for BC to become a Professor there.  I did send him a subscription of Overseas Campus, a popular evangelistic magazine for those from China.

In due process, I did meet him in various conference settings, most recently in Calgary back in March.  At the Calgary conference, we chatted about different things at the hotel, but I made the point to ask him about his search for meaning in life.  He then shared with me his struggle re his son needing to attend a Catholic School in Toronto, and the requirement is for him to become a Catholic.  He started to ask me whether I am a Catholic and what the difference is between Protestanism and Catholicism. We had a nice discusion, but then we ran out of time. He went back to the SW Ontario area, and I to Ottawa.

Surprisingly,  I met him again in the conference in Gatineau this morning; during the day, we were  busy with different sessions and talks.  However, after a whole day of conference, there he was sitting on the coach.  We started chatting about different things.  While I needed to rush home for supper, I struggled whether to talk or not to talk to him.  I decided to walk him back to Chateau Laurier hotel next to the Parliament Hill.  I figured out that this should give me some opportunity to go deeper with him.  On the way, at the interprovincial bridge right around the Museum of Civilization, I led the conversation again to faith issue. He then shared that he should slow down from his quest for tenure (as he seems to have a promotion lately) and to spend more time with family and to reflect on life issue.  Then, we talked about his son and his need to join the Catholic church, and I explained to him about why Jesus has to come.  I explained to him the most important is our relationship with Christ.  I also gave him an overview of what happened from Genesis to the New Testament.  He seems ready to receive more literature on faith matters, and I plan to pass him the testimonies of Dr. David Liang, Dr. David Lam and Professor Charles Lee.  (Clement, do you have a testimony that we can use to share with seeker?)

Also, I plan to connect him with a pastor-friend in Toronto to follow-up.  This is exciting.  God works in mysteriour ways.  When things seem that they won’t work out, God will surprise us again and again.

Ed from Ottawa (Tulip festival is now on; and my friend and I passed by quite a few displays about Dutch things.  Welcome to Ottawa, if you can visit to take in the Tulip Festival)