The four ‘more discernable’ issues TRAC faces

By EARNEST LAU

TRINITY Annual Conference (TRAC) President Rev Dr Wee Boon Hup dwelt on various important issues, of which four are more discernable, in his address for 2008. He delivered his President’s Address on the second day of the 33^rd Session of TRAC at Paya Lebar Methodist Church.

One issue was the rate of growth in TRAC which has been marginal, and is unevenly distributed over the 20 churches. Churches may decrease for a variety of reasons like death, transfer, termination, removal by Local Conference action, although it may be baptising and receiving more persons.

A fairer way to look at statistics, he said, is to look at the number baptised and the increase in new persons attending worship services.

Another area of concern has been the erratic trend in ministerial intake. While it may be right to assign to the pastor the responsibility to preach and to make an altar call to serve the pastoral ministry at least once a year, all lay church leaders are beholden to consider whether they should be similarly called and to look for others to help them assess what might be a divine call on the matter.

Looking upon the ordained ministers as “priests” with special rights is a backward step: the truth is that every believer is a priest in full-time ministry.

A third area of concern is that of the large number of migrant workers in Singapore, many of whom are worshipping in our church services. We should, at the same time, recognise that they need help to achieve social justice in the tradition of John Wesley.

In this regard, the Executive Board has approved the setting up of a Pro-tem Committee on Migrant Work to lay the groundwork for a long-term ministry to migrant workers.

Yet a fourth area is that of the issue which resulted in the Methodists in the Marketplace Conference (M2 Conference) held as the result of the lack of response from adults in the late 20s to the 40s age group to the Young Methodist Leaders Conference held earlier.

The Rev Dr Wee said it was realised that the average working Singaporean spends between 60 and 70 per cent of his or her time in the workplace. The call to church ministry and leadership will have to be balanced against these adults’ working life. Yet, the effectiveness of the church to respond to the needs of the world requires leaders who have shown their ability to exercise influence in the marketplace.

The M2 Conference is thus about translating what we have learned and normally do in church ministry into the workplace environment by applying biblical principles in commercial, financial and human resource matters.

Earnest Lau is the Associate Editor of Methodist Message.