Looking towards the Future filled with Hope

It is not easy for me to describe the events of the past few weeks. On Lunar New Year 22nd Jan 2023 when I preached in the same church as I preached yesterday, I had nothing to look forward in the near future. What a month of events could change one's life directions for good. The Board of my new employers met on 11th Feb and on the same day I received news that they had unanimously approved my appointment as lecturer beginning 2nd Semester of this year. But the formal letter came a bit later and many things happened in between. Many of my denomination's senior leaders at the district level (delegates who could vote in AGM) had hopes that I would continue to serve in my own denomination. But it is out of my hands, I told them frankly that since 1st May 2022, I had no indication that my appointment would come any time soon.

I told my new employers that I had waited long enough before I put my signature on the dotted line affixing the date as well: 22.2.2023 at 9 am. That's settled it, I thought. Yet before I finally announced it on Saturday at 5.30pm through a video uploaded to my You-tube channel, I received another ten or more texts and messages from friends asking where I would be serving. Speculation was high as last Friday many pastors had gathered in the HQ for a briefing on the vision of the denomination and a few of my colleagues had asked whether I would be attending. I told them I could not attend since I had yet to receive any appointment from the HQ. 

Instead of waiting to announce it in church yesterday as originally planned, I felt I should do it sooner to end all queries and speculations about my future. I posted a short video of less than 5 mins, and this morning after 36 hours, it had 270 views, probably ten times more than most of my videos. Early Sunday morning a fellow pastor posted a link of my video on our official pastors' group and texts and congratulatory messages did not end until late last night. 

Only one person dare asked, "Why is person so knowledgeable and qualified not used by our own denomination?" Many people have texted me privately and expressed sadness of my serving at another institution though they congratulated me on my new appointment. When I reflected on the events of the past 48 hours, a couple of things are clear. I wanted to stay in Kota Kinabalu and in the State of Sabah. That's why I gave up my Singapore Permanent Residence to return to Sabah. Second, now I could see that with my new position, I could train not just future pastors, but more importantly future scholars and many more pastor-scholars. I do hope to stay until I am 70 years old as nothing gets done or achieved overnight. That will be 11 plus years from now. May God's will be done.