GS Desk

Dear fellow-workers in Christ

Two Christian theologians (and their writings) have prominently shaped my theology in the past few years.

The first person is Prof. Paul Stevens. I first met him in 2007 when he taught the course “Work, Vocation, and Ministry” at Biblical Graduate School of Theology (BGST) as a visiting lecturer. My perspectives on work and vocation were revolutionized then as he argued that all Christians, not only certain groups of people (like clergies or pastors), are called to live in faith, hope, and love, and to do God’s work in the church and the world. There should not be any sacred-secular divide in our work.

The second person is Dr Christopher Wright. Besides being thoroughly transformed in the way I perceive mission work after having read his seminal book “The Mission of God”, I was especially inspired by one of his talks at Cape Town 2010 (the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization) where he challenged the global Christian leaders that if the church aspires to be a more effective witness for Christ, the way to move forward is for them to live in humility, integrity, and simplicity. 

Therefore, I am excited to know that both of them have confirmed their availability to speak at our events in the coming months.

Prof. Paul Stevens will be the plenary speaker at the upcoming IFES East Asia Graduates Conference (EAGC) on 2-6 August 2013 at Port Dickson, Malaysia. As the theme of EAGC is “Challenging Work Place, Challenging Times”, I am looking forward to hearing how Prof. Stevens will set us thinking on this topic ¬  rooted in Scripture yet relevant to the complex reality. It will be an even more meaningful experience as we do the learning together with more than 250 other graduates from various movements in East Asia. Registration is still open and further information can be found at www.eagc2013.org.

FES will be co-organising with OMF, a series of talks and consultations by Dr Christopher Wright on 25 & 26 September 2013 at St Andrew’s Cathedral. The details are as follows:

1. Evening Talks (Wed & Thu, 25 & 26 September, 7.30PM)
Topic: God Who Reaches Out ¬  Transforming Our Way of Living
Talk 1 (25 Sept): Is the Story of God really for everyone?
Talk 2 (26 Sept): What does living a holy life have anything to do with God who reaches out?
This is a public talk, open to students, professionals, church leaders, pastors.

2. Theological Consultation (Wed, 25 Sept, 2.30PM)
Topic: The Theology of Jubilee: Theological & Sociological Perspective
This consultation is for theological students, lecturers/scholars, church pastors, or others interested in the issue

3. Missions Consultation (Thu, Sept 26, 2.30PM)
Topic: Salvation Belongs to Our God
This consultation is for mission agency leaders, missionaries, missions/ church pastors, or others interested in the issue  

Further details and registration procedures on Dr Wright’s events will be given in July.

Please prayerfully consider to attend any of the above events and mark the dates on your schedule. If you would like to know more detailed information, please feel free to contact or email me.

It is indeed my hope and prayer that through particular occasions like the above, God will intervene and revive the momentum in our life ¬  bringing us closer to Himself, becoming more like Christ, and more in step with the leading of the Spirit.

In His grace,

Lisman Komaladi
General Secretary
June 2013