“The question is not what can we do together, but who are we becoming together?”
At the recent Pastors and Leaders Conference hosted by SIBKL, Rev. Edmund Chan of the Global Alliance of Intentional Disciple Making Churches (Global Alliance IDMC) delivered a compelling message on the importance of unity in these last days.
His final session, titled ‘Advancing Together as a Kingdom People’, the respected mentor and author taught from Genesis 11 (The Tower of Babel), mining the passage for lessons in spiritual and church leadership.
The Tower of Babel was a prophetic message speaking to our humanistic tendencies to seek prominence and build a name for ourselves.
At the same time, it is a precious mirror of God’s unchanging character. His act of confusing their speech and scattering them across the earth was not retaliation, but divine grace.
“Finally, it is a profound model displaying the power of unity and alignment,” he observed. “United in identity. Aligned in worldview. Committed in action. Focused in purpose. Great in impact.”
He concluded by beseeching Malaysia’s church leaders to prioritise unity at every level, beginning at home and spilling out into churches and the nation. “Unhealthy families equals unhealthy churches,” he boomed.
Posture determines perspective
Held from 30 April to 2 May at Sunway Mas Community Centre, the conference themed ‘Go Beyond the Next Level’ saw representatives from 112 churches and faith-driven organisations across denominations.
Over three days, participants listened and learned as speakers tackled relevant topics including leadership, equipping the next generation, empowering women and working together for the sake of the Gospel.
This year’s speakers were Rev. Edmund, Pastor Dr. Philip Lyn (Skyline SIB), Pastor Dr. Chew Weng Chee (SIBKL), Pastor Dr. Lew Lee Choo (SIBKL), and Pastor Isaac Ling (SIBKL).
Conference participants hailed from across the nation, travelling from the north, south, east coast as well as Sabah and Sarawak.
Siow Jin, a medical doctor from Ipoh who serves in her church’s family and cell ministries, said she registered for the conference by faith. With three children and her husband running his own practice, both of them taking a few days off required a miracle.
“God is so faithful, patient and kind to us, allowing us to come. We are both in a season of discouragement, so one thing that struck me most is that God sees our struggles and challenges,” she told Asian Beacon.
She also shared the importance of unity at every level from marriage to family and church, and humility in serving the Body of Christ, adding, “The posture of my heart determines my perspective. God is the One orchestrating every detail, and my response is not to try and decipher or judge, but be humble and contribute to building unity.”
Colonel John Sham, who attends and serves in Skyline SIB, Kota Kinabalu, felt a sense of awakening and awareness of actual challenges in today’s Church.
“There’s a new shift towards how we do church as Malaysian churches become more interdependent, working from our Malaysian culture of belonging and family,” he said, adding that he also appreciated the intergenerational wealth of experience found in the conference.
Koon Weng Kit, a NextGen Elder of SSGC, said his key takeaway was realignment of his role in leadership and connecting with other like-minded believers.
The conference refreshed and reminded him of the importance of a leader’s secret life. It must be aligned with God.
“Our personal and secret life will determine the longevity of the ministry: Secret habits of going back to God, regular engagement to know the Father’s heart, loving Jesus and listening to the Holy Spirit is imperative. Problems often start with small misalignments that come before the derailment,” he shared.
Jesus is our example
In the conference’s final plenary, Pastor Chew guided everyone’s focus back to the cornerstone of Christianity: Jesus Christ.
“Before unity, we must have humility,” he said, preaching from John 13 (Jesus washing the disciples’ feet) and highlighting three lessons from His life, character and actions.
“In this passage, we see Jesus’ posture of humility, a perspective of His identity knowing he is the Son of God, and the practice of serving,” Pastor Chew continued.
The three points, Humility, Identity and Service form the acronym HIS.
“Your identity is founded on knowing whose you are and who you are. What are the marks of someone whose identity is founded in Christ? Broken before God. Secure in yourself. Emboldened against the devil,” he shared.
The founding pastor of SIBKL, whose heart is now to revitalise churches across Malaysia, encouraged those present to press on in fulfilling the call of God upon their lives.
As the conference closed, pastors and leaders began their return to their hometowns, churches, and ministries, taking home a reminder of God’s unfailing love and His promise of renewed strength each day for the journey.
As Pastor Isaac shared, “Lead for Jesus! Don’t let the enemy through discouragement, or disappointments rob you of the joy of serving the Lord. He is our all in all.”
Additional reporting by Jimmy Lim. Photos provided by SIBKL.
