I Salute You!

Once in a while I get the experience of what I call a “God moment”. Could be a spontaneous thought, or could be a spontaneous manifestation of God’s presence or approval, or you know …. a moment where you and God just connect!

I was at Awana Genting for my “solitude time” and all of a sudden I thought about you all in The Vineyard Church. It dawned on me then that there are so many churches in KL and Selangor and quite a number of big ones too and yet here you are, still faithfully attending TVC all these umpteen years! Wow! I wondered then whether I would do the same if I were to be a parishioner instead of a pastor. Would I like stay couple years at one church and then move on to another and later another? Hmmm …. after some soul searching I concluded that I will not. At least not from TVC! It didn’t feel right.

When I started TVC, I planned to stay with it the rest of my life. The thought of leaving is not any part of my plan. The way I see it, it will take my lifetime to lay its foundations. And as long as I stay on, I can groom the next generation to run with it when the time comes. And long after I am gone, TVC will still go on until Jesus comes. And I believe with all of my heart that Vineyard has a great future in the plans of God for this city and beyond! I am hopeful that I will live to see it.

I have seen many pastors moving on from one church to another. One moment they say God wants them here and the next moment they claim God wants them somewhere else. Sometimes when there is a change of pastorate in a church, it’s a welcoming change for that church. But most often time, it could be devastating. I mean here you are being in one single church for years. You’ve built relationships, built a culture in the church. The children grew up with your pastorate and then you, their pastor, decides to leave. It’s not easy for the parishioners. But life goes on and they will adjust to the new pastor. Some will leave but most will stay back. Question, is it wrong for a pastor to “church hop”?. Hmmm ….out of necessity perhaps but mostly, I think they ought to stay in one pastorate one lifetime. But that’s just me thinking. Only thing, I wish they would not use God’s name when they change pastorate giving the impression that it was God’s idea. Sigh.

Coming back to you, I salute you for your years of faithfulness towards TVC. You must have loved God enough to love Vineyard like you do. You gave your all and I would like to think too that Vineyard must have been good for you too. You could have moved along to other churches but you and I, we are still bonded here at Vineyard. Thinking about this, could this also be a miracle? Or is it just a bunch of people having an understanding of God and understanding the concept that “Where God has planted us there He will prosper us”? Or is it as simple as the fact that because we love God we are therefore content in Him in any situation and at any place? If that be true then you are spiritually mature. You may be interested to read Philippians 4:10-13 at this juncture.

People leave church for only one reason … self interest. Either they are not happy, or they don’t agree or something “better” comes along that interest them. Doing what I want is always easier than doing what is right. In this constant struggle between the spirit and the flesh, we are being reminded once again that we have needed to “die to the flesh”. Only then can we truly learn to be content in God in any given situation and to prosper where He has planted us. Only then can we truly agree with John the Baptist when he proclaimed, “He must increase and I must decrease”. I salute you once again for your faithfulness towards God at Vineyard. I count it a blessing and joy and honor to be given the opportunity to be a part of your life as your pastor. Together … "Greater Him, Lesser Us". Amen.