Some 45 pastors from the three mainline churches gathered at the Seminari Theoloji Malaysia Campus, Seremban for the CCM Indian Work Pastors School on 24th – 26th July 2013.
Following the registration, the programme commenced with a keynote address “The Malaysian Indian Church in the 21st Century” by Bishop Dr. Solomon Rajah. The Bishop’s paper touched on three areas of deep concern for Indian Churches: Christian Diversity and Unity of Purpose, Indian Pastors and Hinduism, and Pastors and Indian Families.
The Bishop’s keynote address was well received by the Pastors. Some of the Pastors shared their experiences in the course of their ministry during the Fellowship and Sharing time held after dinner.
The Bible Study on Ministry by Rev. Canon Steven Abbarow on Thursday morning at 9.00 am touched on the Pareto Principle, what is ministry all about, call to ministry, empowerment for ministry, structure for ministry order (early church structure) and the challenges in ministry.
Rev. Dennis Raj conducted the Workshop on Challenges of Ministry at 10.30 am. He touched on the challenge of overcoming wrong influence, the challenges of total submission to God and the challenges of overcoming difficulties and trials in ministry.
Questions and the challenges in Ministry were raised at the Group Reports on Ministry: How can we place safeguards in our lives to avoid being wrongly influenced by others; why do we sometimes fail to consult God on all matters? How can we change it? How can we ensure that we are not discouraged by others in Ministry?
In the afternoon, Ven. Canon Charles Fraser conducted the workshop on leadership. The workshops on challenges of leadership raised the following issues: Can we identify the strengths and weakness in the Shepherd Model of Leadership? Strengths and weakness of the Builder Model Leadership? And questions were raised on leadership conflict and the Gardener Model.
The Bible Study on Leadership on Friday 26th July was conducted by Rev. Steven Lawrence. The Scripture text taken was from Mark 10:35-45. One of the questions raised by participants was: How do we serve when people are provoking us?
All the speakers and the Bishop formed the Panel Discussion that followed to answer questions raised by Pastors. Among some of the questions, two are worth mentioning. Can CCM organise regional mission conference for Indian Pastors understanding? Regional like North, Central, South, etc. Can CCM take a stand on gay, lesbian and homosexuality and come out with a resolution or a statement?
The Pastors’ School retreat was enriching and fruitful. The Bishop suggested many pastors to participate in future retreats and thanked everyone for taking time off to attend the Pastors’ School.
The Pastors’ School ended at 12.00 noon with benediction by Bishop, Dr. Solomon Rajah.
Submitted by
Rev. Dr. Allan Vairamuthu
Secretary, CCM Indian Work Committee
