A family church

October 3, 2010

Newer may not be always better just as older may not mean wiser. A newer generation who refuses to learn from its past will become steep with stupidity. An older generation that is closed to new ideas runs the danger of being irrelevant and useless.

In our world, individualism is almost deified. Though craving for community, inter-generation contacts have been diminishing as more young couples are choosing to live alone. The media labelling the different generations such as ‘Gen X’, ‘The Yuppies’ and the ‘Baby-boomers’, etc. further polarises the generations and creates unconscious disdain and distrust among the different age groups.

If we heed the word of God, the church will have the real ‘feel’ of a healthy functional family.

I Timothy 5: 1,2
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

Coming from a dysfunctional family myself, I found God’s love most evident when I was introduced to a church in Singapore. I found the older folks accepting, guiding and loving me like responsible parents. Many of the uncles and aunties took me into their lives and homes and gave me a feel of how it was like to be protected and cared for. Many of the young teens under me looked up to me as their big sister and that taught me how to love and nurture others. In all aspects, I was healed emotionally and grow socially and mature spiritually in the Lord through God’s household.

I learned then that I belong to all the church members and all the church members are my family, “so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to ALL the others.” (Romans 12:5)

Thus, it is my vision to grow the BHLC congregation into a real family church where no one feels left out and where Sunday feels like a homecoming day.