This period of ‘stepping back’ (as shared in my previous entry) has allowed me to have a much needed detached view of being in a church.

For sure, I’m convinced that being the Church is not merely about doing life within the four walls of the church;  it goes beyond that.

Servanthood leadership as modelled by Christ, ought to be displayed not only in church, but more importantly, in the marketplace where it is most needed.

Hence, there is a pressing need for us, the Church to exercise our spiritual authority towards establishing His kingdom in this world that we live in.

The Great Commission: our responsibility

In the Great Commission (c.f. Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus has given the Church the mandate to influence and transform our world with His love and truth.

However, it is commonly misinterpreted that this mandate rests squarely on the shoulders of churches (as an organisation) or those working full-time in churches.

Make no mistake that the mandate is the responsibility of every Christ-follower; His people- the Church, and not the church.

And it is also our responsibility for each one of us to discover our specific role to which we are called to contribute and play our part in fulfilling the Great Commission.

The example of Kenny Low

Mr. Kenny Low is a fine example. He is a Christian who’s currently the principal and CEO of City College.

But prior to his present position, Kenny grew up thinking of serving God as a full-time pastor or a missionary. But God had other plans for him.

Along the way, Kenny discovered his gifting was inclined towards education and street dancing. That led him to start O School as a means to train and befriend other street dancers.

Later on, he enrolled into a postgraduate programme  and armed himself with a Master of Education. With that, he went on to set up City College as a private school to offer early school-leavers a second chance with their ‘O’ levels studies.

As most of school-leavers are from lower-income families, Kenny developed a sustainable and innovate way to help them by using profits generated from his dance school in providing financial assistance to those students.

For his efforts, Kenny was awarded the Schwab Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007 for his creativity in solving social problems among the youth in Singapore.

However, I’m confident that it won’t be long (or maybe he has started) before Kenny will set up schools in the region to reach out other needy youths.

Establishing His kingdom

Learning from Kenny, let’s recognise that God can move against conventional or traditional methods.

God can use us beyond the four walls of the church to establish His kingdom wherever we go.

The challenge or the opportunity for us as Christ-followers is to be strong and courageous in standing firm on His truth while bringing thea love and presence of God from the church into the marketplace.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

1 John 4:4

Let us not being in church limit us in being the Church.