A Discussion on "Living by 'Thou-Shalt-Nots' "

Sunday, 19th October 2008

Two weeks ago, there was an article published in the Sunday Times on 5 Oct 08 about New Creation Church, which I have scanned and put on my blog here.

Well since then, a person by the name of Mr Winston Chin wrote in response to that, and his letter was published in the Sunday Times on 12 Oct 08, which is reproduced below:

I'd rather live by the thou-shalt-nots

I refer to last Sunday's feature, 'Church pastors like none other'.

I have mused on attending the Sunday services of the two megachurches to find out why they are such big draws.

Your report has confirmed my observation and views.

* They appear more like motivational institutions where the teachings centre on 'all aspects of a person's development and needs' and the premise that one's good works 'require one to first better (oneself) financially'.

* The congregation is made up largely of those in their mid-30s and 40s who are probably ambitious, up-and-coming individuals, and who want to believe that they can thrive by 'receiving God's charity instead of living by the thou-shalt-nots'.

* There seems to be much stress on a stylish lifestyle here and now, rather than on the here and thereafter.

* The churchgoers seem to worship their pastors as role models, and probably go in droves for their Sunday preaching on prosperity, success and financial blessings, and also to be part of the mega commercial projects that put many a publicly listed company to shame.

For me, I am perfectly happy to live by all traditional thou-shalt-nots which are biblical.


My wife and I were at the first service this morning, and Ps Prince referred to the letter briefly. He said that since the writer wanted so much to live by the "thou-shalt-nots", how about starting with "thou shalt not judge?" :-)

Mr Chin's letter was filled with judgement calls, but what really took the cake was that these statements of judgements were based on speculation and hearsay; he did not attend the services to hear the messages for himself. I was reminded of the incident recorded in Jn 1:46 when Nathanael aka Bartholomew was told about the Messiah and his initial response was "Can anything good come out from Nazareth?"

So it warmed my heart when I came back home later and saw an article published in today's Sunday Times in response to Mr Chin's letter. This lady by the name of Ms Christie Loh went to hear the sermons for herself, so she is in a better position that Mr Chin to make a judgement call, if we can call it that. Here's her letter...

Keep an open mind even if you live by thou-shalt-nots

I refer to the letter by Mr Winston Chin, 'I'd rather live by the thou-shalt-nots', published last Sunday. In it, he referred to a piece titled 'Church pastors like none other', published in The Sunday Times on Oct 5, which had featured the founders of two of Singapore's so-called megachurches: New Creation Church (NCC) and City Harvest Church.

I find it sad that Mr Chin felt the report had confirmed his observations and views of the two churches.

Just as it takes time and effort to get to know a person, it takes time and effort to get to know a church, its pastors and the doctrines they expound. An open mind and a non-judgmental attitude are also prerequisites.

Let me state from the outset that my husband and I are members of a traditional church. However, for the past few months, we have been visitors at NCC. We wanted to observe the services first-hand, so we could establish if the doctrines being expounded were biblical. This was because our son was keen to join NCC as a member.

We had obviously heard disturbing talk about NCC and Pastor Joseph Prince. However, we did not want to rely on hearsay. Instead, we wanted to make a fair and objective assessment.

No church or organisation is perfect - not NCC nor the church that my husband and I belong to. What mattered to us was which doctrines were being taught and who was being glorified.

We are sorry to disappoint the critics of NCC.

Over the past few months, we have not heard Pastor Prince glorify himself. His bible-based messages constantly focus on God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

In one sermon, he noted that he would have failed in his task if NCC members went away saying he was a great speaker. He considers his job done only when they say Jesus has been glorified during his sermon.

Mr Chin's letter does, however, serve a very useful purpose for the two megachurches. It warns of the perils that can surface when large, successful churches let their guard down and lose their focus.

What a Spirit-filled response, and what gives it even more credibility is that Ms Loh is *NOT* from NewCre. If it was a letter from a member of NewCre, there would be people who would say," of course he say that lah, after all he from that church mah."

Speaking of which, here are another 2 letters that have been sent to the Sunday Times, which have not yet been published. The first is also from someone *NOT* from NewCre but got persecuted by his own pastors because he embraces the teachings from NewCre. The second is from a member of NewCre who used to be from a traditional church.

I was ostracised by my pastor because of Ps Prince's teachings

I read with great interest the article written by Tan Dawn Wei entitled “From Stutter to Charisma” which appeared in the Sunday Times about Ps Joseph Prince of New Creation Church.

I can attest especially to the part that reads, "It is a message that doesn’t sit well with the traditionalists, and he knows it. “People say that if you preach this, then everyone can do whatever he wants, But the amazing thing is when people believe right, they live right.”

I have been attending a Methodist church since the day I was born. My late great-grandfather was a Methodist pastor, so that would make me a “4th-generation Methodist”. I was so steep in my beliefs to the extent that I looked down upon non-denominational churches because I thought they were filled with “crazy charismatics” who in their pursuit of worldly pleasures such as prosperity and wealth would give money to their churches blindly so that their pastors could live in big houses and drive flashy cars.

So I can identify with readers like Winston who says that he prefers to live by the “thou-shalt-nots”.

My opinion changed when I encountered a series of personal crises between 1997 and 2004, and my own church and church leaders could not provide any answers. I even started to question my own faith! While seeking for answers, God led me to the truth through an ex-colleague who attends New Creation Church sometime in Aug 2005. My view of Christianity started to change and I began to experience one miraculous breakthrough after another in my life.

As a result of this, I started to promote the teachings of NewCre to my own fellow church members. Just like a beggar who had just discovered gourmet food, I had but to share this good news with those around me.

Alas, this did not go down well with my pastors. At that time, I was serving as both a cell leader and the Church Treasurer. They summoned me into their office one day in Jan 2007 and gave me an ultimatum -- either stop promoting the teachings of NewCre or they would remove me from church leadership.

To cut a long story short, I was made to step down from both posts in Jul 2007, and my cell group was even disbanded sometime in Dec 2007! When there was a case of vandalism that took place in my church a few months ago, I was even implicated and had to go to the police station for questioning!

But I have no regrets about all that has happened, and have forgiven those that have wronged me, because I hold fast to the promise in the Bible that says “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Through Ps Prince, God had revealed to me what the true gospel is – God’s unmerited favour for us based on the finished work of His Son Jesus on the cross – and I will not trade that for anything in the world.

The apostle Paul himself said that he considered all the titles that he had earned up to the point of knowing Jesus as “rubbish” compared to knowing Jesus, and I share those sentiments of his exactly :-)

No prizes for guessing who wrote the above letter :-)

Here's another one from someone who used to attend a Methodist Church and has now comfortably settled down in NewCre. He is a lawyer so I sought (and obtained) his permission to reproduce in full the letter that he wrote to the press.

Dear Sirs,

I refer to Winston Chin's letter published on 12 October 2008 in the Sunday Times, "I'd rather live by the thou-shalt-nots" which commented on the 5 October 2008 Sunday Times feature, "Church pastors like none other".

Winston left the impression with his readers that that the two mega-churches mentioned in the 5 October 2008 article do not adhere with the "traditional thou-shalt nots" and that the motivation for attending church was because churchgoers "worship" their pastors as role models who preach a message of "prosperity, success and financial blessing".

I am a lawyer practising corporate law and have been attending New Creation Church since my undergraduate days in the 1990s. I am therefore in a position to correct some of the views expressed by Winston in his letter.

At New Creation Church, the goal is for permanent heart transformation and not just mere behaviour modification. To this end, the pastors at our church endeavour to magnify the person and the ministry of Jesus Christ in their preaching. We believe, and this is biblical (John 8:11), that once an individual truly understands and receives into his heart the gift of no condemnation from God, there is power to "sin no more" in his life.

The "thou-shalt-nots" are thus not ignored at New Creation Church. On the contrary, we esteem them highly and in this regard hold that they are impossible to keep perfectly except by and through the empowering Grace of Jesus Christ.

It is also not true that the motivation for attending church is that we somehow idolize our pastors for the popular "prosperity" message that they preach. Personally, and for the vast majority of churchgoers, the motivation for attending church is that we each have experienced personal revival because the preaching from the New Creation pulpit is full of Jesus Christ and make the pages of the bible come alive.

As a lawyer, I also appreciate the clear, concise and expository preaching from New Creation Church pastors. By many accounts, and I agree as well, New Creation Church is the finest teaching church in Singapore.

My hope is for Winston to visit New Creation Church for himself and not rely on the 5 October 2008 article to form his views. Winston, seek and you shall find.

With Kindest Regards,
YEO Choon Meng Terence

By the way, Terence complies notes of Ps Prince's sermons each week that he preaches. If you would like a copy, do write to him at judev21@yahoo.com.sg so that he can add you to his mailing list.