Saturday, 28th February 2026
Today we shall conclude with part 3 of this very sensitive, yet relevant topic about how the presence or absence of excellence in leadership leads accordingly to the rise or fall of organisations operating under the same.
You can read the earlier two parts by clicking on the links below, just in case you missed them:
Rise and Fall (Part 1): A Biblical Basis
Rise and Fall (Part 2): Modern-Day Examples
Readers of my blog will know that there are 2 specific churches in Singapore that are very, very close to my heart.
The first is Paya Lebar Methodist Church ("PLMC"), which I affectionately refer to as "the church of my forefathers". My great-grandfather Rev Wee Chin Kam (1st-generation) was her Peranakan-speaking pastor, my granddad Loh Khie Lock (2nd-generation) and dad Dr Michael Loh (3rd-generation) served in various leadership capacities. My dad roped me (4th-generation) into the LCEC at the tender age of 22 and I was appointed Treasurer and CG Leader in 2006. My daughter Rachel (5th-generation) and her hubby continue the legacy, and the offspring that God blesses their union with would be an unprecedented 6th-generation!
The second is New Creation Church ("NewCre"), the church that my wife and I moved over to in 2018. We did so because Ps Joseph Prince and his pastors focus 100% on the person of Jesus and His finished work on the cross. My own personal questions in my spiritual journey regarding the subjects of (1) losing of one's salvation, (2) tithing, (3) healing, (4) tongues and (5) the Rapture were 100% answered by God via Ps Prince's teachings! Do remind me to blog about these 5 topics in a future post :-)
Now if you are a surface reader of my blog, you will get the wrong impression that I am very critical of PLMC, yet praise NewCre to the sky. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Let's start off with PLMC first. We will talk about NewCre later.
Let me make it very clear that I love my brothers and sisters that are members of PLMC, just like how much I love the country of Singapore. And that is exactly why I want the best for both PLMC and Singapore. It is the current leadership of them both that need to be addressed because it determines the rise and fall thereto.
Having grown up in PLMC, I have seen pastors, and I have seen pastors. Let me name the ones that took PLMC to greater heights, and it is no coincidence that their tenure lasted 10 years or more.
- Rev Dr Kang Ho Soon: While under his 10 years being in charge from 1980 to 1989, PLMC's membership grew by leaps and bounds, and he was my late dad's all-time favourite pastor. She used to be a kampong church, but now sits at #2 in terms of size behind Wesley, surpassing the likes of Barker, Faith, Bedok and Kampong Kapor. That growth spurt into "megachurch" status is Rev Kang's legacy. I still recall till this very day the remarks Mr Seah Kim Chye (the then-PPRSC Chair) made at Rev Kang's farewell service. He said that Ho Chee Sin's posting him out to Wesley as their PIC was, and I quote, "a demotion rather than a promotion".
- Bishop Emeritus Rev Dr Wee Boon Hup: Another exemplary PIC is old boy BE Wee, who helmed the reigns for 13 years from 1993 to 2005. He was a visionary who introduced the concept of "a cell church" when PLMC's breached the 2,500 mark in terms of membership. He understood that for a church to continue growing, cells had to be an integral part of church life. He sent the lay leadership to understudy Damansara Utara (the biggest Methodist Church in Malaysia) and even recruited 2 pastors from FCBC. Infusing CG into the very DNA of the church is BE Wee's legacy. He left PLMC to take up higher office as TRAC President. What is unprecedented is that he requested to remain as her PIC for a year as he had not expected TRAC delegates to elect him. But after 47 rounds of balloting whereby the 2 front-running candidates for the Presidency could not garner enough support, he eventually emerged as the "neutral compromise" candidate acceptable by both opposing camps.
- Rev Dr Jonathan Seet: Another old boy of PLMC who was her PIC for a good 10 years from 2010-2019. I did not have much interaction with Rev Jon because my wife and I would attend PLMC's Youth Service whenever Rev Reuben Ng was preaching over there. When Rev Reuben was posted out to Toa Payoh Methodist Church ("TPMC") in August 2012, we "moved along" with him and even signed up for TPMC's church camp in 2016.
Before, in between, and after these 3 illustrious PICs were others that came and went, and again it is no coincidence that their tenure was comparatively short-lived. I shall not name (and shame) them because this blog is meant to be edifying.
But I do looking forward to Rev Alvin Chan's long-awaited homecoming after he completes his sabbatical this year. Although I have not really heard any of Rev Alvin's sermons, something that happened in 1988(!) leaves a very deep impression on me till this very day. My wife has also briefly interacted with Rev Alvin, and being the perceptive woman that she is, tells me that he comes across as very sincere, polite and humble.
Now back to that incident in 1988. Rev Alvin and I were participants in a joint Methodist Youth Fellowship / Sunday School Camp where we were divided into 12 groups, named after the tribes of Israel. I was the co-leader of Zebulun while Rev Alvin was the co-leader of Benjamin. My group won the consolation prize for being the "most industrious" because we had to run errands like doing the dishes and mopping the floor in order to earn gold and silver "coins" to "pay" for our meals.
Rev Alvin's group won the overall 1st prize for earning the most "gold and silver coins" the "proper" way - through winning bible quizzes, games and activities. When they were invited up on stage to collect their medals, Alvin went to the back of the queue to be the last to collect his! He was then only a youth not yet 19 years old, but wow, that was a glimpse of servant-leadership at its very finest. I am very sure he is going to make one of the best PICs in the history of PLMC.
Speaking of Rev Reuben Ng, he is now TRAC President. This augurs well for the overall Methodist Church in Singapore ("MCS") because he is super-anointed and under his leadership, TRAC (and eventually MCS when he becomes her Bishop), will be taken to LAGI (MUCH MORE) greater heights. Amen?
OK now let's move on to NewCre. When my wife and I moved in 2018, I really thought we had joined the "perfect" church haha. The overall leadership under Ps Joseph Prince is second to none, and God has continued to bless his ministry superabundantly over and above what anyone can ever imagine or think.
Despite persistent and fiery attacks, and especially so from the (not so) friendly fire of those supposedly part of the Body of Christ (like Ho Chee Sin and George Ong), God has jealously guarded His grace gospel delivery boy. Weekly attendance across 5 services easily exceeds 50,000 with hundreds of thousands more tuning in online from overseas. Unfortunately for Ps Prince's critics, they are kicking against the goads, similar to what Saul the Pharisee was doing. :P
Having said that, let us go back to what John C. Maxwell famously coined, that "Everything rises and falls on leadership," ie. the quality of leadership is the primary determinant of an organisation’s, team's, or project's success or failure.
Note the mention of "organisation", "team" and "project". In the context of the secular corporate world, there are levels/degrees of granularity in terms of groups of companies, then a single company and then departments within a company. In a large church setting, there are "sub-groups" commonly referred to as ministries and cell/care groups.
Again, I do not intend to name (and shame), but within NewCre there are ministries, and then there are ministries, there are care groups and then there are care groups. Suffice it to say that each ministry leader and CG leader is accountable and responsible for the respective servers and CG members that God has placed under their charge.
In the Context of Ministries
Ministries like Outreach and Rock Kidz are thriving because Ps Lawrence Lim and Ps Lim Lian Neo are aligned to God's calling in their lives. Yet others are sadly and rapidly shrinking because of very poor leadership.
A brother from one such dwindling ministry told me, "Aiya, not to worry, God will step in to provide." What he had meant was that God will provide other servers to replace the ones that have left.
Unfortunately, that is *NOT* the biblical principle where spiritual leadership is concerned.
Take finances as an example. How does God provide? Via money falling from the sky? Nope, via the principle of tithing. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, while he who sows bountifully will reaps bountifully. God loves a "hilarious" giver, as Ps Gabriel Tan aptly said once.
Back to leadership. If the leader of that shrinking ministry does not quietly and humbly step aside to make way for others but chooses to hold on with his arm of flesh, God Himself will "step in to provide" by forcefully and visibly removing that leader in question. In the worst case scenario, that entire ministry will become obsolete and fold.
Jesus Himself warns in Rev 2:5 that He will take away that messenger's candlestick. That was exactly what He did to the leader of what used to be the biggest church in Singapore, and He will not hesitate to do it again because He cares too much for His sheep.
In the Context of CGs
My current CG keeps having numbers added because leaders Venn and Vivien See are such a wonderful and godly couple. Yet other CGs in NewCre are either stagnant, dying or have shut down entirely, again because of poor leadership.
I have shared with those close to me why my wife and I changed CG in 2022. Many others will have their own stories to tell. When sheep are malnourished because of neglect by their shepherd, they naturally look for other pastures.
Speaking of Venn and Vivien, I first got to know them as colleagues when I joined a Canadian MNC in 2008. When my wife and I changed church in 2018, we had initially wanted to join their CG. But they "rejected" us because back then, the church operated in terms of 5 zonal "campuses", ie. north, north-east, west, central and east. Quarterly worship nights ("Campus Nights") and annual church camps ("Campus Camps") were also conducted at campus level. We stay in the north-east whereas their CG meets in the east.
But Covid changed all that, and now attendees are free to join any CG of their choice, hallelujah!
God has granted us so much favour with our current CG leaders that they even created a separate WhatsApp chat group (which they affectionately call "VV & MS") that has just the 4 of us! Some have said that it is because we (I?) require "special" attention but we want to believe it is because they want to give us extra tender loving care haha.
- Top left: Ayada Thai Restaurant, Sydney, 12 July 2019. We had both signed up separately for the Hillsong Conference, and only discovered each other's presence there.
- Below left: Le Shrimp Ramen, Star Vista, 28 August 2022. We approached them to tell them we wanted to join their CG, and they roped us in via Zoom shortly thereafter.
- Centre: CNY Service, Star Vista, 11 Feb 2024.
- Top right: on board the Royal Caribbean, Cruise Camp, 2 Feb 2024.
- Bottom right: PLMC, 21 September 2024. They witnessed our daughter's wedding.
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