Here’s a picture, looking from the ground up, at the condominium complex where I’m staying for the week. A couple of retired business people, who have been volunteering their counsel for our international efforts, have graciously opened up their home to me.
The striking architecture of the building reflects the progressive style of this whole community. On one hand, you get the sense that Singapore is a green city. City planners have gone to great lengths to maintain a “tropical garden community” supported by futuristic approaches to water conservation and recycling, in an attempt to lessen dependence on Malaysian water supply. Yet, while preserving it’s tropical feel, all around there is construction. My host jokes that the national bird of Singapore is the crane.
More importantly though Singapore is a very pluralistic culture. According to the on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia, “Around 51 percent of resident Singaporeans (excluding significant numbers of visitors and migrant workers) practice Buddhism and Taoism. About 15 percent, mostly Chinese , Eurasians, and Indians, practice Christianity – a broad classification including Catholicism, Protestantism and other denominations. Muslims constitute 14 percent, of whom Malays account for the majority with a substantial number of Indian Muslims and Chinese Muslims. Smaller minorities practice Sikhism, Hinduism, the Bahá’í Faith and others.”
The real story here for me, though, is the group of international followers of Christ we are meeting with. Today we heard reports from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Ukraine, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Was so impressed to hear these men and women talk about the surprising ways in which they have seen the Lord open doors of outreach, change lives, and give them, in the process a sense that they are doing something that is leaving them with a great sense of purpose. Together we realize that there’s nothing more important than helping others discover for themselves a life-changing relationship with Christ– followed by a daily feeding on the Word and provisions of God.
Tomorrow and Friday we are scheduled to hear more reports before going into a series of planning and problem solving sessions. Even though we are so enthused and encouraged by hearing one another tell stories of what we believe we have seen the Lord doing in our own communities, we are regularly reminded that we are involved in a spiritual battle for hearts and minds– and problems of every kind can quickly distract and divide us if we don’t hold one another accountable to our shared values and commitments. This is one reason that praying for one another after each report is given has been an important and planned part of the conference.
Tomorrow night Joe Stowell, one of our ministry partners (and the new President of Cornerstone University), also begins two nights of public meetings. He is well known among Christians in the Singapore area and we’re expecting a good response.
So as this day comes to an end, what am I thinking? I’ve been reminded again of how challenging but wonderfully rewarding it is to work with people who live in such extreme conditions of wealth and poverty, with stories that are so different– but who find such a sense of oneness, and family, and purpose in Christ.
In some ways it seems like our differences actually become the means of our unity. Even though communication and mutual understanding can be very difficult at times, the moments when we see through and beyond all of our cultural baggage to the One who binds us together in such forgiveness, reconciliation, and shared mission is priceless.
Even in trying to express this, I feel like I am barely touching the edge of something that is beyond description. In a world so racked by racial, ethnic, economic, nationalistic, and political turmoil, the ability to confess the same Father and Savior– who alone gives lasting meaning to our lives– says to me that it would be so wrong to keep this forgiveness and eternal inheritance to ourselves!
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