Book Seller & the Five-fold Spiritual Offices

I am a book seller. I survived on my book sales and itinerant preaching for nearly 18 months before my current paid position. I may return to my former job of selling books and itinerant preaching. Most people are happy with one or two things in which they are good at. Most people I know are pastors or professors. Not many have done both in equal fashion. After 20 years of earning a PhD, I have pastored three churches for 9 years and taught in three Seminaries for 9 years. Two I spent waiting for my next appointment and in writing books. So I praise God that I have a proven track record in both pastoring and also lecturing. The third gift is obviously a scholar or writer. Not all professors are writers and scholars. They might be good in teaching but they rarely published books. I have the good fortune in exactly 2 years after my PhD, I already got my revised thesis published with T & T Clark. For 14 years, I was a one-book wonder, almost like in sporting terms, a one-slam champion.

For many people, even one book is a massive achievement. But now I have written six. Let readers judge but from time to time, I get rave reviews and positive feedback to my books. In a way, I am also a writer, pastor and lecturer. Fourth, a speaker or preacher of some sort where one is invited to be the speaker in many events, whether they be Christian festivals of Passover or Christmas or revival meetings and like. I was invited by 12 churches from May 2022 to April 2023 until I went for a short holidays in NZ in May 2023 before starting in my current place in June. So I am also a preacher of some note, and it was with some irony that in the three main meetings, combined meetings of 500 youths and 650 for the inter-church event, I was introduced or a kind of non-introduction - "Pst Tony is someone who is not unknown to all of us" in Malay. Fifth, I would say the gift of leadership and I have shown a spark here and there either as a Treasurer raising funds for the denomination, as Acting Principal or District Superintendent. In my three pastorates, as pastor I was the spiritual leader and on two occasions also the Chairman of the local church council. Twice I served as chairman of Pastors' Fellowship in KK and Ranau. Things happened, members multiplied, funds poured in and revival happened when I was the leader as the Scripture says, "as the oil flows from the head of Aaron to his neck and beard flowing down.." (Psalm 133).