Venue Research - done in Sept 2007

Looks like going back into the old files can be very interesting. Found this about the venue research committee that I was in back in 2007 as we already sensed that the current location is not ideal for our church.

Apparently, we're still there and no idea when we'll be moving? Our lay leader hopes by June 2012.

Anyway, have put some of my comments down in the article in red
 __________________________________________________________________________________

Venue Research

Objectives, options & plans, pros & cons

The objectives for us to have this task group to be done is aim to have a large enough venue for our congregation in the future time, either by long term lease or purchase. After a month research and discuss, few options have be selected.

First at all, we will look at current church financial capability. According to 2006-2007 financial statement, $18000 was allocated for property rent. Due to inflation fluctuation, + - 10% of current amount will be considered for this research. This will give more flexibility to conducting this research. <--luckily enough, our rent has been reduced however, we have also been moved into smaller spaces

After research and discussion, 3 options are listed as below,

Option 1

Remain the downstairs, but let go the upstairs. Estimate rental for downstairs might need $9000p.a.  This will cut down part of outgoing expenses.

As we still need to have office setup for doing admin paperwork and outreach new friend, two alternative options will be giving

1)     Residential property

Find a residential property in nearby suburb, perhaps 3 spacious rooms townhouse, convert it to office block and other room could be use for Sunday school, counseling, tuition or other purpose.

2)     Commercial property

The advantage to have commercial property is good exposure to outsider and non-believer. This enhances the effectiveness of missionary, maximum foot traffic. As it designs for commercial purpose, some possible usage will be consider such as tuition, photocopying, Fax (send/receive), office, internet cafe, pool, snooker. This also provides great opportunity to student to gain working experience by being admin, receptionist etc. But cost of renting commercial property have to take in consider, too expensive and it beyond budget.

Option 2

Keep existing rental agreement for 2 years and fully utilized the upstairs such as provide library facilities and tuition service. On the other hand, financial plan need to be prepare for 2 years later to accommodate the future expenditure as in property outgoing cost. Perhaps have AUD$12000 by July 08 and AUD $25000 by July 09 on church development funds. <-- As of today, I think we have over $55,000+ already for the church development funds, so good work to those who have give into this fund~!

- Current location is not fully utilised to its' financial spending

- It's a risk to be too comfortable at an existing place, lose heart to evangelise or grow more <-- I believe we have experienced this for the past few years. Not easy to wake up the sleeping giant!

Option 3

- Rent warehouse type of property

- Too costly

- Renovations will costs a lot too

- May not get permit due council zoning

Tasks delegated & report

- Raymond: City of Melbourne council doesn't have the list of properties available. Suggested we look at town halls. None available. Meat Market (North Melbourne) a possible alternative but unable to contact or look through the spaces. Has 3 rooms to lease now. Drove through North Melbourne, plenty of shops available to lease and sale. Recommends to follow up on Meat Market

- Lok Kiong & Daniel: 123 Little Bourke Street still under renovations, asked us to approach them at the end of the year (Oct, Nov) to see how things progressed. Welsh Church has been unreachable.

- Shawn: VicTrack has no property available near CBD or Docklands.

- Fund raisings are hoped to be done to raise funds for property use. Car wash, house cleaning, garage sales, dinner.

- Hope a longer term task group would be form to always keep in touch and look out for properties for church. Members have to have commitments and responsibilities. Do not need to meet every month. <-- often neglected, hopefully can improve~!

- In the short term, car parking is not an issue. Should it become a greater issue, we could negotiate with the commercial car parks beside to see if we can come up with an arrangement. <-- at least we had the privilege of using the car parks until recently. So that's nearly 4 years of free convenient parking! Amazing sometimes we can foresee problems earlier. Sad thing is this committee has not been ongoing to tackle the challenges we faced yearly. So we're stuck without a car park now! Ouch!

Reminder:

- Our comfort zone MUST NOT be build financially, rather on God <-- Still a big reminder today especially with DGR

- Our purpose must not be financially driven or profit driven.

- We must always aim to outreach to the lost souls (primary goal), the venue itself is a centre for outreach, not business.

- A lot of things are good to be done, but we must remember to do the things that are RIGHT. <-- Still agree to what i said in 2007 :P

Conclusions:

- As the way current market is going and based on our financial capacity, it's recommend that we take option 2 with a clear saving plans in mind so 2 years later, our circumstances will be different than what it is today. <-- Thank goodness we chose this option 4 years ago! Our savings plan have given us about $55000+ to work on now. However, the journey is still long. Hopefully the venue research committee for 2012 can work out a better plan accommodating our church's needs!

Old Document From 2008

Was browsing through my old files and saw this. One of my proposals back in 2008 to cater for church's growth. Unfortunately, it was never approved or implemented. 

Still interesting to see if my ideology or principle has changed or not throughout the years.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Proposed LCEC Structure 2009

Purpose/objective: Current church administrative system is failing and hard coping on the effectiveness of our ministries. The present system is designed for 1 service church, we have 2 and it’s hardly working as we would want. When we had the opportunity to experience 3 services, “disaster” happened. We see a lot of disappointments, setbacks, confusions, and tiredness. In other words, we couldn’t cope and keep the church growing. So, we try to refine what we have to cope with the workloads that are involved. It’s nothing new, just re-arranging the positions & ministries structure to improve effectiveness & efficiency. In other words, separating administration and ministry related issues.

 

LCEC

1. Chairperson
2. Vice Chairperson
3. Lay Leader
4. Stewardship & Finance
5. Treasurer
6. Secretary
7. Pastor Parish Relations (consist of Lay Leader, Chairperson, Pastor Representative, Service 1 Rep, Service N Rep)
8. Property Management
9. Service 1 (Task Group 1)
10. Service 2 (Task Group 2)
11. Service N (Task Group n)

Brief explanations

-          The LCEC will be responsible mainly for the church as a “whole” rather than individual services

-          Task groups may be set up to manage issues involving only individual services or special groups

-          Under LCEC, there can be a maximum of 35 committees in total. Special exemptions apply. As above example, only 10 committees are used but we can look after at least 2-3 services efficiently.

Typical Task group for Services

1. Task group leader (aka chairperson)
2. Secretary

3. Italics = subgroups

   Treasurer
4. Mission & Evangelism
5. Social Concerns
6. Christian Education
7. Small group
8. Activity
9. Worship & Music

-          This is the typical task group to manage a service

-          This group will be responsible for their own service only

-          Any issue related to the whole church will be brought to the LCEC via  the Task Group Leader

-          Any purchase of properties/inventories will need to go via LCEC Property Management Committee and all assets belong to the church, not service or task group.

-          Each Task Group can have more or less subgroups depending on needs

-          The subgroups do not need to held separate meetings; their meetings are done in the Task group meetings. They however, can have subgroup meetings if they wish to.

General

-          Meetings to be held once in 2 months, the task group meetings should be done at least 2 weeks prior to an LCEC meeting

-          Pastor, Chairperson, and Lay leader are to attend task group meetings.

-          Task groups should consist of members of one service only. 

-          This structure allows more focus on issues and more appropriate discussion during the LCEC meetings. 

-          The task groups can have more detailed discussion regarding their specific issues and needs.

FAQ

1. Are you having 2 or 3 LCEC in the church?
   - No, just one.
   
   
2. Does it mean we now have 2 or 3 LCEC Chairperson?
   - No, only 1 LCEC chairperson. The other is task group leader acting as a representative for a particular service.
   
   
3. We only have 2 or 3 services max? Why the introduction of this structure? Is it really necessary if we have more than one pastor?
   - Short answer yes. In the coming 3-5 years, we can only see probably 3 services max, further down the track it could be 4-5 services in total.  As we see from the current situation (5 months trial), we are crying to go back to 2 because it’s almost impossible to keep up. IF we had more than one pastor, yes we still need a structure change. Having an extra one or two pastors does not mean that the current structure will work even smoother. It just means the pastor do not have to look over so many services. The workload of a pastor is reduced, that doesn’t mean the workload of the LCEC is reduced. We’ll still face with the same problem of human resource and ineffectiveness in dealing with 3 or more services. The new system will simplify a lot of issues.
   
   
4. Won’t committee members have twice as many meetings?
   - Not really.  LCEC meetings occur as usual to discuss church issues.  Task group / subgroup meetings take the place of the previous subcommittee meetings. 

5. Will we have problem of disunity among task groups if there are people from different services?
   - There’re many ways to show unity. Not necessary physical unity. We can be united in terms of visions, goals, policies, etc. We can show unity by providing assistance when required, able to compromise on matters that affects the church, etc.
   
   
6. Will it create more trouble for matters to be brought forward?
   - There’ll be an extra layer or so to go through before it reaches the LCEC. However, Chairperson & Lay leader is always in the meeting to handle any issues.
   
   
7. Are we in compliance with the Laws & Constitution of the Methodist church?
   - Definitely yes. It’s just a matter how it’s organized.
   
   
8. Can a member of the LCEC be a member of a Task Group or Vice Versa?
   - Yes, except for the position of Lay leader and Chairperson. They would have to be from that “service” to be in that particular Task Group.
   
   
9. Can any members of the church attend the meetings?
   - LCEC meetings, no as general rule of thumb. Task Group meetings; yes but are not eligible to vote.
   
   
10. Previous year’s structure has always benefited the Chinese side more due to the majority of the LCEC members are from Chinese side. How will this one be different?
    - English side will have their own task group, which will be run totally by people from English side. This gives them the flexibility to plan at their own pace & style. If there’re matters regarding the whole church, they can always bring it up during the LCEC meetings.
    
    
11. How about combined activities or services? Evangelistic events? Training seminars?
    - We try our very best to avoid combined services as it’s not good and doesn’t serve much point except for our own enjoyment or fellowships. There’ll probably be just one or two for the whole year. This will be set in the LCEC and delegate to a special task group or existing task group to organize. As for evangelistic events or seminars (should it be approved by LCEC), normally the party that proposed it will be given the priority to organize it. If they are unable to, then a special task group is to be formed or other existing task group to organize.
    
    
12. I’ve always wanted to see a big church rather than “churches” within a church. It just doesn’t seem right! Why don’t we look for a place big enough for all of us and stay on the current structure & system?
    - In an ideal world, anything’s possible. In reality, it’s near to impossible to find a church or worship space big enough for it. We can look and look, and each time your results will be another disappointment. It can be very stimulating to say let’s go to the Town Hall, MCG or Telstra Dome, but we all know in reality, it’s not going to happen, at least we don’t have any glimpse of the possibility now! So, instead of dreaming & hoping to that way, we need to workout what’s best and a solution to welcome growth & manage it in our church. The world has changed; churches mentality needs to change too.

Going Digital

Consumer Affairs VIC

Friday, 29 April 2011

Consumer Affairs Victoria has received calls from tenants and landlords asking who is responsible for the costs associated with switching from analog to digital television. The switch is due for completion by 2013.

In cases where an external antenna is part of the property and cannot receive digital signals, the landlord must upgrade or replace it if the:

• original antenna could receive analog signals when the tenant moved in, and
• lease is covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (RTA).

If a television set does not have capacity for digital input and the TV is part of the lease, the landlord must arrange the upgrade (e.g. by providing a set top box) or replacement. If the tenant owns the TV, then any upgrade or replacement is the tenant’s responsibility.

If a lease is not covered under the RTA, a tenant may still argue that having a working TV signal is an implied condition of their agreement – and therefore the landlord’s responsibility – but tenants in this situation should seek legal advice.

If a tenant is not sure if their lease is covered by the RTA, they should contact Consumer Affairs Victoria.

For more information about digital television, visit the Digital Ready website.

Credit Card Scam

DEBORAH TURNER
TID - TEAM LEADER - TEAM 2
HIGH TECH CRIME OPERATIONS

Tel +61(0) 2 62233555 +61(0) 2 62233555 Ext 163555 Mob +61(0) 438286895 +61(0) 438286895

www.afp.gov.au



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Credit Card Scam

This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.

Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it... This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'.. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. You r card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in ?'

When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'

You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'

You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.


The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number.. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question.. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497..99 was charged to our card.

Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number.What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card, don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jason Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this Scam is happening.

Please pass this on to all your family, friends and neighbours.

Badminton in Western Suburb, Victoria

On hold until further notice - 8/2/11

This is due to technical issues in getting the courts.

I've booked in regular session for badminton on Thursday nights starting 3rd 10th Feb 2011.
The session will be 8-10pm.

The skills level I don't really know yet, but expecting D grade and maybe some low C. It's mainly for social, so come have a hit & some laughter along the way! Don't mind competitive players as we're always looking to improve!

Please post a reply if you can come so I know how many people to expect. Ideally we have 16 24 people so we can keep it at $7pp. We'll try to keep it under 18 28 people for everyone to have a fair chance to play. There're 4 courts there!

We'll keep it at $7per person for now and adjust in the future if necessary!

Thursdays @ 8-10pm

$7pp

Address: Federation Boulevard, Truganina (Truganina South Primary School)

MiCasa8 - Facebook page

Finally, we have created an online community page for all the residents & prospective residents of the building.

The facebook page is http://www.facebook.com/MiCasa8 or click on "Like" on the left menu!

MiCasa Pricing asof 24/9/10

Things are still going on the fast lane! So be quick! There'll be more apartments released to the market soon...so be on the watch out for it!

Available units:

317 available on 21/2/11 @ $290pw – West Facing

804 available on 23/12/10 @ $320pw – North Facing

908 available on 22/11/10 @ $315pw – South Facing - Corner Unit – Rent will be $325pw from 7/2/11

915 available on 8/11/10 @ $325pw – South Facing - Corner Unit

918 available on 14/2/11 @ $325pw – North Facing - Corner Unit

1206 available on 31/1/11 @ $335pw – North Facing – Corner Unit

1209 available on 23/12/10 @ $335pw – South Facing

1211 available on 3/12/10 @ $335pw – South Facing 

1214 available on 3/12/10 @ $335pw – South Facing

MiCasa Pricing as of 9/9/10

Available units:

206 available on 21/11/10 @ $265pw – North Facing – Rent will be $280pw from 21/2/11

503 available on 12/1/11 @ $300pw – North Facing

702 available on 17/1/11 @ $310pw – North Facing

703 available on 17/1/11 @ $310pw – North Facing

711 available on 13/11/10 @ $305pw – South Facing

908 available 22/11/10 @ $315pw – South Facing - Corner Unit – Rent will be $325pw from 7/2/11

915 available on 14/2/11 @ $325pw – South Facing - Corner Unit

1118 available on 7/2/11 @ $335pw – North Facing - Corner Unit

1202 available NOW @ $330pw – North Facing – Lease ends on 24/1/11 with options to renew

1208 available on 31/1/11 @ $335pw – South Facing – Corner Unit

1209 available on 23/12/10 @ $335pw – South Facing

1211 available on 3/12/10 @ $335pw – South Facing 

1218 available on 30/9/10 @ $340pw – North Facing – Corner Unit – Rent will be $345pw from 24/1/11

As you can see, very limited!!

MiCasa 2011 & International Students

Now that election's uncertainty is over, we're clear of one thing: the international students market will be downsized whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Over the past few months, we have read news such as

AUSTRALIA has the highest proportion of international students enrolled in its tertiary institutions in the world, according to an international study.

It was also more reliant on students to pick up the bill for tertiary education than most other developed countries.

most other countries had been investing heavily in tertiary education while in Australia investment dropped from 1.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 1995 to 1.5 per cent in 2007.

He said Victoria - where international education is the biggest export industry, worth about $4.5 billion a year - had the most to lose.

For the first time, we're noticing significant downturns

The sector warned that the migration debate was further hurting Australia's attractiveness to students. "The received message in other countries -- among students, parents and others -- is that Australia doesn't value international students," the Go8 said.

Let's not forget the impact of Global Financial Crisis (GFC) last year or so. Normally we'll feel the impact 2-3 years later like how we did during 1997. The impact was obvious during 1999 and 2000 where the international students intake was low.

So, what's it gotta do with MiCasa8 (131 Pelham Street, Carlton VIC)? Lots of things! The whole building is probably 97% international students!!

This year (2010) we managed to achieve better than expected as we started earlier and before GFC is even famous! However, along the way, sadly, I have few tenants who had to leave the place as GFC has taken a toll of their financial situations.

For 2011, we have started accepting and processing applications. The responses are still coming in very quick and most apartments under $320pw are snatched up right after they have become available!

The quota for June 2011 leases has been filled all by renewals of existing tenants. So things are still "OK" for the moment.

An advice for all international students who are coming to Melbourne and wanting to stay in MiCasa8 is to start applying early!

Now, some of you might be wondering why the bad news earlier then asking us to apply earlier? Doesn't make sense! 

Well, my message is, the cheaper apartment ($320pw) and below will be gone very quickly! So if budget is your concern, start earlier otherwise, don't be too worry!! :)

Hung Parliament

The good Oz witnessed or going to witness a hung parliament for the first time in 70 years! How good is that! The people have spoken...The leaders have learnt from their mistakes.

On 29/8/10, will we speak? I'm sure there'll not be a hung parliament.

I'm just hoping we are not hung by the end of the day. :)

After Tsunami!

Selepas Tsunami (After the Tsunami) from Pusat KOMAS on Vimeo.

信者得愛~鄭秀文 Sammi Cheng

Free Property Seminar

Attention first home buyers & international students!

Prime Estate International P/L together with Loan Market P/L is holding a free information session for you.

Date: Wednesday, 28/4/10

Time: 6.30pm start

Venue: 7/300 King Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 (enter via Eagle Al from La Trobe Street or Little Lonsdale Street)

This will be a very fruitful information session for you especially if you're new to the property & loan market here in Melbourne. 

If interested to join, please RSVP to sales@primeestate.com or give them a ring on 03 9606 0388

Best of all, hot finger food will be prepared by BQQ Chicken Wings to make sure this night is a night to remember! :)

BQQ's New Deal

We're proud to announce our latest package deal for all BQQ^TM lovers. After gathering feedback & ideas from all parties, we have designed the deal that will satisfy your cravings!

For only $21.95, you can get ½kg BQQ^TM Jerky (Bak Kwa) + 10pcs BQQ^TM Wings! Amazing deal!

Now you don't have worry about unable to finish the whole 1kg of jerky by yourself (though we always recommend that you share it with your families & friends :D), you can also get 10 pieces of our tasty & succulent BQQ wings!

This package also suits parties and functions, where you can have more varieties with a lower budget!

So why wait? Order now for your next jerky & wings!

We reserved the right to withdraw the package deal without prior notice.

 

More info at: BQQ Website

The Chics Are Smokin~

Yeah, you got that right! BQQ Chics are smokin' like crazy!!

Thanks everyone for your support! Please do keep it up as we can't be smokin' without ya!

Also, good news that we'll soon be producing Bak Kwa (jerky) for all the BQQ lovers!

BQQ Chicken Wings

Can I have your attention, please?!

Are you sick & tired of burnt bbq wings? Sick of marinating the meats for days & took away the space in your fridge? Sick of paying top dollar for KFC?

Are you wanting something as good as KFC but at and affordable rate? Higher quality wings for the health conscious you? Going to a party but don't know what dishes to bring?

Good news for you! BQQ Chicken Wings is the answer for you!

We specialise in catering for private and corporate functions, whether it is a bbq in your backyard for 3, or refreshments for 500 at your corporate event.

We take pride in our tasty & succulent BQQ^TM wings, which will leave you craving for more!

The best thing about us is our flexibility, allowing us to meet your needs. You can order as many as you like, or you can provide the food and we'll come around to do the hard work (bbq) for you!

For more information, goto BQQ Chicken Wings

Best Yum Cha in Melbourne

The Age 

Date: 19/1/10

Found on this article on The Age today.

So the best according to their taste is...

The Yum Cha Directory

Best all-rounder Golden Dragon Palace
Best prawn dumpling David's
Best pork siu mai David's
Best pork bun East Imperial
Best vegetarian Mahjong & Oriental Tea House
Best condiment Red Door

Golden Dragon Palace
363 Manningham Road, Lower Templestowe 98524086
Food ****and a half
Atmosphere ****
Noise factor ***
Trolleys Yes
Yum cha Daily lunch (dishes $4.40-$9.80)

GDP's food is a cut above. Dumplings are flavour-packed parcels, the balance of flavour and texture just right, like soft pork siu mai and Shanghai dumplings with a hot burst of salty broth. Roast pork comes with crisp skin and the dessert trolley is loaded with favourites such as mango pancakes. The room is spacious with ornate wooden tables and chairs, and the service upbeat and friendly.

David's
4 Cecil Place, Prahran 95295199
Food *****
Atmosphere ****
Noise factor ***
Trolleys No (tray service Sun)
Yum cha Daily lunch (dishes $4.90-$13.90)

WHITE linen, oversized lamps, comfy chairs. David's is a premium yum cha experience, with a premium price tag, and it's worth every cent. Delectable, fleshy pork ribs are sticky and sweet with a rich plum sauce. Yielding pork siu mai has a succulent and gingery interior, juicy har gau come in perfectly pleated, green (spinach) wrappers, and green beans are fried with shrimp and Sichuan pepper. Excellent service caps it off.

What I will say, is that the best quality yum cha is in the suburbs, not in Little Bourke's Chinatown. Eating yum cha in Chinatown is like eating pasta in Lygon Street.

Reconciliation

As promised, I'd share my devotion insights at least once a month. So here goes:

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2Cor 5:19-20

I was reading through 2Cor 5:19-20, it struck me quite hard. This is because just yesterday when I was leading the prayer meeting (I forgot I was supposed to lead), I was touched by the Holy Spirit to lead all of us to come back before God. We have gone astray for the past few months, probably even years.

So I asked everyone to come back to God before even planning or talking about any other things. Even though I don't sense the urgency among us then, I believe God has His time and His ways.

Through the short verses mentioned above, it reminds me again about God who is initiating the reconciliation process with us through His love by sacrificing His only begotten Son in order to clear us of our sins.

Paul also stated clearly on verse 20, "Be reconciled to God". What a strong message to remind me!

Now, brothers, as we all know that we are faced with a lot of difficulties ahead, we cannot ignore the simple basic fact of reconciliation with God as the foundation for our ministries.

We cannot be planning for the ministries ahead unless we have reconciled with God

We cannot be making decisions for the church unless we have reconciled with God

We cannot be church leaders unless we have reconciled with God

God's invitation for reconciliation has begun and is still active today. We need to repent and go back to God. Some people might said it's easier said than done. It sure is easier however, it ain't too hard too!

Some practical steps we can try:

1) Repent & deny yourself

2) Seek for forgiveness from God or others (if any)

3) Recommit yourself to God

4) Pray for Holy Spirit to give you strength

5) Join in fellowships with others of the ideas with you in the process of reconciliation

6) Be accountable to God and others

I pray that the Almighty God will bless you and keep you in His mighty arms! Let's reconcile and revive our works for Him!

Are you with me? :)

Simple Majority Rule Does Not Rule

Thanks to Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, we have all confirmed that a Simple Majority Rule simply does not rule. It only creates tension & division among us.So this practise should be avoided at all costs!

An obvious example which is still hovering in our minds was last year where our leaders decided to change the Sunday service time to 1.30pm from 7pm. It was determined that we would change it based on a simple majority rule.

One would have thought, a simple majority from the LCEC? No. Simple majority from the LC? No. However, it was decided a simple majority from the WHOLE congregation or whoever was present on that Sunday! Woooaahhhhh~!

Anyway, the result was a close one. I think those prefered 1.30pm only outnumbered the ones that prefer 7pm by 5 votes out of about 90 in total. Something like 42-47? Forgot the exact tally.

The results today, our Chinese congregations dropped to about 50-60? Clearly something is not right.

Just a classic example of why simple majority rule does not rule in churches.

Some then would argue that the Methodist Constitution that encourages voting is flawed, where most voting would just require a simple majority but major decisions requires 2/3 or sometimes in rare cases 3/4 majority.

I would beg to differ.......

The Constitution stands as a guideline for Methodists to practice. It all depends on the interpretations and applications by those who are using it.

Just like the bible is a good book, it can be misused by cults to deceive others.

As Christians, we must always go back to seek God's will and plans for us. Let us not depend on ourselves in making decisions for God.

Be a discerning Christian with wisdom.

What to do when our leaders are making the "wrong" decision? Pray for them, voice your concerns but if things don't go your way, just accept it.

Time will tell, just like in the case stated above. :)