Inside the church

1. Encouraging fellow believers in the Word. One of my brothers here in China struggled with loneliness. His stance for Christ left him abandoned by his family and his social circle. Instead of just giving him a quick encouraging word, I made time to go eat with him on a weekly basis. Besides having many discussions at the table over the teachings of our Lord, we would also spend some time studying God’s word back at my home.
2. Confronting those who are not living in accordance with God’s Word. While rebuking our fellow Christians should be done with humility and prayerful reliance on God, we are directed in God’s Word to perform this vital role. Many Christians, unfortunately, choose the easy path whereby they avoid all forms of confrontation. Over the years, I have confronted fellow church members over their attendance, their giving, their sexual sin, and their personal attacks on God’s sheep.
3. Promoting correct understanding of God’s Word along with correct application. The Word of God is central to our faith and vital in our maintenance of an obedient life. Not only do I encourage people to read and study the Bible, I actively encourage all believers to think critically about its contents. By committing myself to the practice of meditating (deep thinking) on God’s Word, I am more able to help others grow deeper in their knowledge of His Word. Among Christians, I enjoy discussing various biblical insights to spur conversation on matters related to our Lord.
4. Correcting false belief. Developing correct understanding of God’s Word is an ongoing project for all believers. Besides holding false views concerning God’s revelation, many also hold false beliefs that are extra-biblical. Confronting these obstacles to faith is a passion of mine. Over the years (as an example), many believers ask why God is allowing them to suffer. They falsely believe the call to Christianity is a call to end suffering in our present life. As another example, one of my Chinese brothers was associated with the local Seventh-Day Adventist Church (He is not now as we had many discussions on its false teachings). This church was teaching that those who fail to attend church on the Sabbath are going to hell. After directing him to God’s Word on this matter, he was able to put aside this error. Among the local underground churches, I have encountered many errors that needed to be addressed. Some of these include the necessity of preaching repentance from sin even though God is love, blaming the devil for our sin, feeling (and not thinking) one’s way through God’s Word, unusual and extra-biblical ideas concerning dress and prayer, and disassociating God from His Word.
5. Respecting the leadership. I believe very strongly based on God’s Word that a proper reverence is called for when dealing with God’s servants, especially those called to the ministry. Coming up underneath and supporting my pastor, for me, is a divine commission. I find joy in supporting pastors and encouraging them. In private, I have been known to hold them accountable for various matters, but I always do this with the utmost respect. Once, my oldest son (about age 13) was goofing off during the service and distracting the pastor during his sermon. After the service, I had him apologize to the pastor directly. Given that I have been serving in churches for years, I have also occasionally been approached my members who were dissatisfied with the pastor’s leadership and had to admonish these people accordingly. For these situations, I always remind members of their biblical role as encourager to God’s man, and then I inform them that God’s man is expected to conform to God’s Word. Unless he is somehow clearly going against clear biblical principles, we must commit ourselves to prayer for his steadfastness, to ongoing encouragement of him, and to humble submission to his leadership.

Outside the church

1. Sharing my faith. Sharing the gospel with others is a passion of mine. That being said, worldly people are usually thinking about anything and everything other than God and having a proper relationship with Him. While some rely on pre-conceived evangelism scripts, I enjoy simply conversing with those I meet and looking for opportunities to direct the discussion toward the gospel. Recently, I had to confront a student who made a mistake. In response, she asked for forgiveness. After forgiving her, I informed her of my belief in Christ and then took this opportunity to discuss the forgiveness made available through Jesus Christ.
2. Demolishing false beliefs. A careful study of Scripture and a cursory knowledge of church history should make clear the necessity of developing a strong defense of our faith. This ministry is a particular passion of mine. In China, I frequently find myself in conversation with those who consider themselves atheists and occasionally some who believe in Buddhism. For atheists, I usually help them understand that they are indeed religious as they do have belief, albeit in the existence of no God. Then, I explain to them various matters in the natural world which should at least cause one to consider God’s existence. This is followed by an argument for special revelation. At this point, I can offer the good news.

For Buddhists (and Muslims for that matter), my favorite method is to focus on the foundation of their beliefs. Both faiths essentially put their faith in the word of one man whose testimony lacked witnesses and whose teaching lacked any other verification of its purported divine source. The OT, on the other hand, was written publicly by many authors over centuries who were directly addressing ongoing events even as they spoke prophetically concerning the coming of Christ. Likewise, the NT was written by eyewitness who testified to public events in the life of Christ and communicated in unison God’s revelation concerning these events.  This points to the comparative superiority of the Bible as the foundation for one’s faith. From here, I move into a presentation of the gospel.

• Being a living witness. It is my habit to always identify myself publicly as a Christian. Demonstrating our faith through our actions and in our relationships is a vital part of our witness. While we must perform this ministry at all times, it is particularly important to do so among those with whom you are closely associated. For example, in my current job, I am the head teacher and have authority over the other teachers. The Chinese boss (an unbeliever) will sometimes pressure teachers to do things that are unethical. My teachers (also unbelievers) fear for their jobs if they do not comply. When they come to me, I assure them that I will stand up for them even at the cost of losing my job. I then tell them about my belief in the Good Shepherd and that, as a Christian, I believe I must be a faithful shepherd in this circumstance.
• Demonstrating love for others. Sometime in the past, a pastor told me that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. Helping others through difficult moments is a part of our witness. While this part can take many forms, I will offer a recent example. My current boss opted not to extend a teacher’s contract while he was on break. Knowing that he was unaware and realizing that the boss would be coarse in how she would proceed, I asked the boss for permission to talk to this teacher first about this matter. After getting permission, I spoke to the teacher, encouraged him, and gave him advice on how to proceed. Later, this teacher came to me and told me that he had become aware of the kindness behind my actions and words regarding him.
• Performing my job with excellence. Colossians 3:23 states, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” This command is essential to our witness. Let me give a couple examples of how I apply this teaching. In China, bosses are very controlling and often demand that one engage in unethical behavior in their blind pursuit of money. In my first week and at the risk of losing my job, I told the boss that I would allow her only two things to control me in the performance of my job. These two things include doing my job correctly and with excellence. Though I had to continue to struggle with and against her for some time, she eventually came to realize that I indeed performed my job with excellence. She observed how students and parents became more satisfied, how teachers worked harder, how the school ran smoother, and how her life became easier. At this point, I have her complete respect and even have had the opportunity to engage in a more proactive witness to her. As a second example, I always tell my students that I am a Christian, and as such, I believe it is my duty to serve them with all of my heart. Since their goal is to study abroad, I commit myself to driving them toward excellence in education. As they become aware of my unending commitment to them, they become more open to my Christian beliefs.
• Upholding my commitments as a member. This includes giving of tithes and offerings, but I will discuss that in the next question. As a church member, faithful attendance to the church and its activities have been a consistent part of my life. Not only do I attend regularly, I also make every effort to practice obedience, develop my relationship with God and His people, study Scripture, and pursue the call to mission. Underneath the leadership, I gladly perform any ministry activities which I am assigned. Over the years, I have been particularly active in the teaching and small group ministry.
• Serving according to my gifts and abilities. As a part of the Body of Christ, I seek to do my part based on God’s plan for me. As mentioned before, I often engage in the teaching ministry and especially in the small group ministry. Beyond this, I have performed various other ministry and mission activities inside and outside the church. Currently, I serve as a tentmaking missionary in China.

Inside and Outside the Church

1. Practicing what I preach. A living witness is no witness at all if it is not in sync with Scripture. While I have already given some examples that support the need to act out one’s faith, I will offer a few more here. As a Christian, I strive to live obediently even while I wrestle with my own fallen nature. At times, I find myself in sin with the need to repent. Here are some examples of my application of repentance to my living witness. In high school, I fell away from my faith for a period of time. After rededication, I made it a point to apologize to all of those who knew me for having failed to offer them a credible witness. In my 20s, I found myself struggling with jealousy of my brother’s success. I called him up and apologized directly. In my 30s, God sent some precious saints to confront me over my pride. By God’s grace, I acknowledged their charge and asked for prayer for victory. Beyond times of repentance, we must also always choose to obey God’s Word despite how we feel. Recently, I discovered in my heart that I had not forgiven my brother over some wrong things that he had done. While in America, I sat down with him and told him that I had forgiven him. Since that time, God has worked his forgiveness deep into my heart.
2. Being a Godly example to my family. I include this here as this is part of my witness to both the saved and unsaved. In my marriage, I seek to always place my wife first by being wholly committed to serving her. While this takes many forms, it includes sharing household chores and other responsibilities. As the head of household, I seek to be a spiritual leader. My children regularly make comments about how I am always discussing the Bible. I frequently discuss my actions as a father in relation to the teachings of Scripture. When my kids are confronted with doubts, I am able to offer them solid responses from God’s Word. Over the years, I have had many people comment on how my marriage serves as an example for them.