TUKAR atau TAK TUKAR?

I am no stranger to hard core views on my take on life issues and today , I am about to exercise that small ounce of belief in speaking up about the religious institution that had somehow gone so wrong. STINGING is what it will be, I promise you. For months now, I am greatly distressed and saddened by the crisis that had hit the religious institution which I have attended for quite some time. Whatever that was needed to be spoken, I had spoken out daringly and openly during my 15 years in that establishment. Got a few bad names and nasty tagnames along the way but it did not stop me at my tracks. of speaking out. Instead, it made me to take a good hard look of what this establishment is all about and what type of people we can see along the way.  From cunning to non-responsive, quiet, patient, loyal , good to deceptive and to cruel, pure fakeness to veiled selfishness  - we've got it all in this establishment. Let's just say, it's a "rojak-rojak" community ! Whatever services I could render, I have rendered with all my heart and with the very best of my ability. I believed, I have not short-changed anybody and I believed, I had given my very best of my life to this establishment. Never mind, if you think otherwise of me but at least, I could tell you most assuredly that when I stand up there  at my trial when I am long gone, I will not be afraid to state my stand admist all my mistakes or whatever I have done in this little life of mine. 

Now, I must say that there was a time I was seriously and horrendously disappointed at times but thank God for some wonderful and responsible shepherds of other religious establishment who had spoken out comforts from the very Book of Life on each and every Thursday nights and Sunday mornings to ease my pain. For whatever I had gone through, I do feel for the many who had suffered the same fate as I did and probably more hurt than I was but I survived and I will survive because The Healer is always at hand to apply that balm of comfort and solace to my ailing heart. But what about the many who had shy away, withered into oblivion and having to carry the bleeding heart by themselves? We always say that it is the choice made by this individual or that individual but the fact remains that sometimes, the people in their strongest of faith also need a helping hand or even a word or two  - what more for those who are in hurting.

Like I said earlier, whatever that was needed to be said had indeed been said much earlier but somehow, the very shepherd that is heading this establishment did NOT get it! Is it because of family preservation mode? Or is it because of pride and arrogance? Or is it because of the need to hold on to power? Gosh! I have seen many leaders who would wept bucketfuls and tear their brains out crying out swearing on father's or mother's grave of repentance and remorse when in actual fact, it is all a DRAMA! A real drama in the name of self-preservation and preservation of the role played by family members too! It even make our TV soap operas look like child's play,man. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or a genius to know that when your congregation starts leaving your establishment, you know something is so horribly wrong! Isn't it time to examine yourself, your stand, your vision or even your leadership direction? Wouldn't you examine if somehow God's vision of things had suddenly being overshadowed or impaired by your OWN SELF vision instead of His vision?  There is a glaring difference,actually.

A good leader once told me that no man/woman is indispensable. I truly agree with this. When it is time for you to go, you should go gracefully and make your establishment better than it was. I am not talking about facing your adversaries, critics and so on. I am talking about giving up your leadership and move on gracefully without leaving a big mess of a problems behind for others to clean up. I believe, it is time to CLEAN UP the act! Let me be part of the solution for the many who had left the establishment by putting forward the following solutions lest you can stop saying that I am just a critic with no solutions in sight. Here are some of the basic tenets for a healthy religious establishment which I've learnt from my years of association with some of the finest and down to earth people in this land of ours including wonderful shepherds who had colored my life so brightly with their lives.

1) Have a good structure of organisation by building the very foundation of the religious establishment with truth , transparency, accountability and good governance. A complete and comprehensive Church Constitution is A MUST to establish the very strong structure foundation of a religious establishment today. They are many churches out there with good church constitution out there. The Board could meet and device a good one with the input from the members which will then be a comprehensive Church Constitution abide by everyone - from the pastors right down to the members of the church.  Presently, what we have largely in our churches today are just a bunch of religious dictators and Napoleons (with the exception of some genuine pastors out there - Please accept my sincere apologies! )  who does things in their whims and fancies! It certainly hurt to hear the truth, right? I told you so! 

2) Establishment of the clear, precise and definite roles of the Shepherd and the Elders/Deacons/The Board - Let the shepherd/pastor be concerned only of the religious matters/message/duties and NOT to be concerned with other matters such as finance, office matters or even other trivial matters. Let the Board/Deacon/Elders handle the daily affairs by entrusting the job to the trusty Office Manager or Administrator. Pastors SHOULD NOT SIGN CHEQUES or be BANK SIGNATORIES either! Get your paws off the finance matters. Leave that to the Treasurer and to at least two Board Members! 

3) No family members of the pastor/shepherd nor wife should hold any decision making position in the establishment lest the tendencies to dominate/operate the decision making mechanism and influence of decisions made. The church is not the employment agency! Until and unless, it is the calling of God , then consideration should be made. If not, it is just ripping off the church coffers as far as I am concerned.

4) Let the Board of Deacons be people who are elected by the church members themselves through the proper Business Meeting / Annual General Meeting and through balloting which must be done properly and professionally. Would be deacons should be approached by the shepherd or even Elders of the establishment to get a general feedback on their keenness in serving the Deaconship before his/her name is put up for the members to know on his intention to be voted for a deacon position. These should be people of integrity, trustworthy , bold and strong in decision making. Most of the time, we now have deacons who are only "talking": when they are pricked hard or get some nasty words! Like I said, we need men/women who would dare to speak up in truth. Just like any committee, they should go if they perform badly in their duties.They should not hold the position longer than 2 terms as if they are given a licence to go on forever and ever, they will turn into dictator themselves! So, 2 terms max is still the best!

5) Never be afraid to hear from the people - good or bad. Implement a committee who would listen to the grouses/ good reviews from the people. In that way, we can improve and enhance the relationship between the church and the people. Nowadays, it's so disconnected as the church grows bigger. Nowadays, we only have Committee who only wants to hear the sweet and good things lest they have diabetics and see how their limbs get chopped off slowly to a slow death. Be very afraid of wolves in sheep clothings! It's in the Bible- search it and understand it! The church is not for the healthy nor the rich - it is for everyone. The sick, the poor, the rich,  the broken -hearted, the fortunate and the not so fortunate should be welcomed into the church. Not the BMWs, Volvos and the Mercedes drivers are welcomed more than the ice-cream seller or the sweaty old auntie from the nearby pasar! This is a fact that is happening! Open your eyes bigger!

6) Have a PROPER Business Meeting/Annual General Meeting and no flowery gimmick in presenting reports or financial accounts. Each member of the church SHOULD HAVE a copy of the financial accounts in their hands. ( DO NOT COMPROMISE ON THIS! ) No need to keep figures away from the members. They are NOT MORONS nor SPASTIC people. They are REAL people with genuine concerns and they have a right to know. These are people who sow their hard earned money into the kingdom of God. It wouldn't be too much for me to say that even God would require/demand  of WISDOM in how the sowing is reaching the exact target of needs.  Respect is given when transparency, accountability and integrity are met. Creative accounting, youthfulmistic padding of facts which leads to confusion and mind-boggling big accounting words used are a real thing and it is rampant! Be accountable, that's all! 

7) PLEASE practise genuine giving heart. Don't look at the congregation as money bags! Many a times, everything is PAY PAY PAY! I won't be surprised if credit cards machines would be installed one day at the front of church entrance to enhance payment of tithes and offerings! YES! Nothing is free in this world , you may say and I agree that we are to chip in once in a while but asking for priceless meal for the congregation once a month is NOT a BIG BANK BREAKING EXPENSES! It is not that the church is gonna go bust when expenses like these are spent. You will never know how much gestures like this meant to people who may not have anything to eat for days and too shy to voice out. I know because I have seen such people in my life.  It just shows the type of leadership and the leadership attitude we have in our establishment today! I have seen smaller churches giving genuinely to her people that would put the bigger and humongously big churches to dying shame! I applaud you, the giving churches!

8) Please do not embark on bigger building notion if God is not the center of it all or/and unless you hear from God PRECISELY!  Please ensure that everything is done in accordance to the LAWS of this country and in PROPER PROCEDURE! Haphazard hearing from God or selective hearing can be DISASTROUS financially and spiritually. Look, GOD cannot be wrong -only the people who does selective hearing on what they want to hear is wrong! Let it be GOD's building and not some EGO trip! If you're gonna build, make sure, the people in the Committee are truly aware of every decision made or every law followed or even every decision discussed and NOT some half past six answers or notion of "Build First and Face Consequences Later" thing! The consequences can bankrupt the establishment and can derailed faith too,brother! It most certainly did!

9) When appointing new pastors to the church, an interview with the Board MUST be held. A would be potential pastor should be introduced to the members by probationary preaching assignments without the people knowing about the would be potential position of the pastor. In this way, the members would be able to valuate the potentiality of the would be pastor without inhibitions. At the end, a valuation view from the members would be sought before a formal introduction of the potential pastor is made. By that time, the Board would be able to decide if the pastor should be in or out. Afterall, you don't want a potential disaster later on. Seen too many happenings already!

Look, you don't have to implement all these suggestions overnight but if you get the very first foundation right, you would have taken the first right step in re-building a good church for the Lord while many people would appreciate that. That is what I am looking for - NOT an ideal church but a church with great foundation of faith and foundation structure. That's all I am looking for,actually. Say what you want about me but this is my piece of olive branch of views. I often wonder why there are so many hurting people out there, now, I guess,  I know. Let's make a change for the better, shall we? TUKAR atau TAK TUKAR? UBAH atau TAK UBAH? I wonder. I really, really wonder!

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