Bridges: Burn Baby Burn (Part 2)

Wednesday, 25th March 2026

In the last post, I blogged about how people have crossed over from one church to another, or stopped attending church altogether, effectively burning the bridge behind them.

Let us look at such drastic behaviour in the light of the Bible.  Were there examples of God's people being told not to turn back?

Well, in the Old Testament, there is the case of God telling Lot's family that He would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, and for them not to look back.

Unfortunately, Lot's wife did and she became a pillar of salt.

We also see how the Israelites complained and some even yearned to go back to Egypt, and God effectively judged them by them dying in the wilderness without entering the Promised Land.

Aiya, those are Old Covenant examples, I hear you say.

Let's go to the New Testament then.  Has there been cases of "no turning back"?

When Jesus called the 12 disciples to "Follow Me", there was effectively no turning back for them.  They followed Him till the very end.  Yes, Judas did betray Him but never did he "unfollow" Jesus, the way some on Facebook nowadays.  He regretted his action and hung himself.  10 other disciples died for the cause, except for John who was banished to the island of Patmos.

In the Acts of the Apostles and we see Luke recording incidences of the apostles shaking the dust off their feet, which was symbolic of leaving a place decisively and never to return.

Even in the epistles, we read of how Paul, Peter and John encourage us to leave past practices behind and only look forward to what lies ahead.

Fast forward to today, and we even sing songs during altar calls such as, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.  The world behind me, the cross before me, no turning back, no turning back".

So brother Mal, are you condoning the burning of bridges?

Not at all.

In the examples cited above, the people of God in the Old Testament were asked to leave Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, which were pictures and shadows symbolising bondages and darkness. In the New Testament, the apostles shook the dust off their feet at Jews who rejected Jesus and turned to the Gentiles who accepted the gospel with gladness.  In the epistles, the writers encouraged new converts to abandon their previous hedonistic lifestyles because they were now new creations in Christ.

The burning of bridges and total severance applied because they were previously in an ungodly place full of darkness and bondages.  God had delivered them to a place of light and freedom.

Contrast this to the churches of today.  Even how law-based or works-based a denominational church may be, all the pastors still fundamentally preach SOLUS CHRISTUS, ie. that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone.

When God looks upon the earth, He sees 3 groups of people: the Church, the Jews and the Gentiles.

He does not see New Creation Church, or Paya Lebar Methodist Church, or XYZ Church, but THE (definite article) Church.

I am reminded of another song that goes like this, "I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together.  All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes we're the church together."

In conclusion, the burning of bridges should only apply to cases when we were previously outside the Body of Christ.  Within the Body of Christ, we should instead preserve harmony, and not cut off our nose to spite our face.  

Jesus Himself said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples."

When George Ong constantly finds faults with Ps Prince, he is unfortunately being used by the devil to be a bad testimony to the pre-believers out there.  If we as followers of Christ cannot even get along with one another, then why would they want to be Christians?

I myself have been guilty of criticising other pastors, questioning how Trinity Theological College could produce graduates so lacking in revelation knowledge.  In that aspect, I am no better than George Ong, so we are all still a work-in-progress.  Let us keep one another in constant prayer.

Bridges: Burn Baby Burn (Part 1)

Monday, 23rd March 2026

The past month has been filled with many God-appointed kairos moments and circumstances that have caused me to do some serious reflection, and to start a series on the topic of bridges.

Let us start off with the "burning" of bridges, and the various categories of such a drastic action.

(1) Other (Denominational) Churches --> New Creation Church

I know of individuals who have crossed from other / denominational churches over to NewCre and burnt the bridge behind them.  They speak badly of their former church and put the sole blame for their past failures on the lack of New Covenant-based preaching.

(2) Denominational Church --> stop going to church

I also know of individuals who grew up in a Christian environment who totally stopped attending church when they came of age, because the concept of God painted to them was one that was judgemental, vengeful and impossible to please, and they would thus rather not have anything to do with Him.

I reproduce below the sentiments shared by one such person, whose identity I am not at liberty to reveal because she is someone very, very dear to me.  She wrote this on 23 May 2020, and shortly thereafter, her dad suffered a stroke upon reading it :-(

(3) New Creation Church --> Other (Denominational) Churches

This category intrigues me the most. I know of some who spent decades in NewCre, yet decided to made the trip in the opposite direction, effectively burning the bridge behind them.  They accuse Ps Prince of portraying God as a genie, or of raising their hopes too high regarding health/financial breakthroughs, or of easy-believism (ie. no need for "discipleship" or "spiritual formation").

[By the way, I have addressed the topic of Discipleship in this post entitled "Lazy Christians?"
Lazy Christians?]

There is one particular individual called Nick Tan (whom I know personally), whose "testimony" was showcased on 29 Nov 2023 by Gospel Light, his current church, which I reproduce in full below:

These individuals unfortunately also become cannon fodder for the likes of George Ong, who has his fair share of rabid followers who just cannot wait to see NewCre fall :-(

Ps Prince made a very interesting observation before: Jealousy and envy usually happens between people sharing the same profession.  A pastor is usually jealous of another pastor, an accountant of another accountant, a real estate agent of another real estate agent, and so on. Rarely is a pastor jealous of an accountant, or an accountant of a real estate agent, or a real estate agent of a pastor.

This explains the animosity that Kong Hee, Lawrence Khong, Ho Chee Sin, George Ong and even KSM (the current PIC of my ex-church PLMC) have towards Ps Prince.

I would add that it happens also between people sharing the same life circumstances too.  A sibling is envious of another sibling who is favoured by their parents,  a mother of another whose kids are doing well in school, a husband of another man whose wife is submissive and demure, etc etc.

Sorry for digressing. Let's get back to the topic of bridge-burning.  

(4) New Creation Church --> stop going to church

This category is the most heartbreaking of all.  I can understand why people may leave churches that depict God as angry and demanding.  But if God is portrayed as loving and forgiving, then it not so much the message that turn people away, but the message-bearers.

There is one such individual that not only stopped attending NewCre, but even went so far as to declare war against it on 12 March 2023.  Thankfully, he took down his Instagram post about an hour later after being counselled. Unfortunately, he currently lives quite the secular lifestyle, which includes smoking, drinking and swearing :-(

Another stopped because she was previously in a very exclusive care group for several years, and then when it had grown too big and had to multiply, the CG leader allowed the exclusive member to choose who could stay and who had to leave.  The person in question was one of those who had to leave the CG, and her bitterness caused her to leave church altogether. 

Anyway, what does the Bible have to say about the act of burning bridges?  Were there cases of God asking His people to cut ties?  We will look at some examples in the next post, so stay tuned!

Thir.st Resources to Bridge the Divide

Wednesday, 18th March 2026

Yesterday, I mentioned about the "Rhema images" that Dn Doug shared with me.  They were from the Instagram account of Thir.st, which frankly speaking, I had never heard of up till then.

The first thing that I noticed when I looked at the post was that my daughter (she uses the Insta handle hollecar (which is her name Rachel Loh spelt backwards) liked it.  Of course Dn Doug (Insta handle dougtheman75) liked it too, and subsequently, my wife (Insta handle socks109) read it and liked it too. 

I did a Google AI search on Thir.st and this was the result:

Thir.st (thir.st) is a faith-based digital platform in Singapore that functions as a space for the next generation of believers and seekers to have honest conversations about faith, life, and relationships. 

The name "Thir.st" is a metaphorical reference to spiritual longing or hunger for God. It draws from biblical imagery where "thirsting" represents a deep desire for truth, purpose, and the "living water" found in Jesus Christ. 

Key Facts About Thir.st

• Mission: Its goal is to use storytelling and digital media to inspire hope, strengthen community, and share the Gospel.
• Organization: It is the flagship platform of the Thirst Collective, a non-profit media group that also includes other titles like Salt&Light (faith-at-work) and Stories of Hope (evangelistic testimonies).
• Origin: It was founded by Ps Edric Sng and launched in December 2016.
• Content: The platform publishes articles, videos, and devotionals covering topics such as mental health, dating, career, and Christian theology. 

What I have noticed of late is that because of the way many other churches in Singapore have labelled our church as "preaching hypergrace" or "lacking discipleship", we have responded in kind by labelling them "law-based" or "having an old-covenant mentality", and this back and forth only results in deepening and widening the divide :-(

When I spoke with Ps Ed sometime in July 2025 (shortly after my dad went to heaven and I was contemplating returning to my ex-church - see At The Crossroads, Part 3 ), he said that he himself was from a denominational church and had to watch himself not to become judgemental and self-righteous whenever he read comments made by his ex-church members in the various Whatsapp chat groups he was in.

Jesus Himself said that those who are not against Him are for Him (see Mk 9:40), so we need to be careful not to place negative labels on fellow believers.

It is ironic that when I was a CG leader and Treasurer in my ex-church, I would quote that very same verse to defend Ps Prince's teachings, and now the re(verse!) holds true from the other side.

Thank God that Thir.st is a non-denominational platform that seeks to bridge that divide, such that members of both NewCre and Methodist churches can find common ground.  In fact, I checked to see who follows their account and there are very familiar names from both...

NewCre: Annette Lee, Ps Lawrence, Dn Lip Kee, Dn Doug, Ps Joe Purcell

Methodist Churches: Ps Glad, Morgan Zhou, my daughter, Melissa Mak, Dennis Yue

Anyway, I did a search on "cell groups" at Thir.st and 2 articles popped up that address the very situation I am currently in.

https://thirst.sg/what-can-we-do-about-cliques-in-our-cell-group/

https://thirst.sg/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-perfect-cell-group/

These 2 articles really blessed me because 

• the first directly addresses the PLQ holy huddle that currently exist in my CG; and
• the second debunks the myth that I had joined the perfect CG

May these 2 articles bless you the same way they have blessed me, if you find yourself in a similar situation.  There are also lots of other testimonies found therein, so do check them out if the Lord so prompts you to :-)

Chats with Brother Loh

Tuesday, 17th March 2026

Back in the 1990s, Dr Aw Swee Eng wrote a book called "Chats with Uncle Loh" and gave several copies to my dad.

While de-cluttering the Study, I came across those copies, and have kept one for posterity.

Fast forward to the 21st century and God has brought a dear brother into my life, Douglas Loh.  I got to know him way before he was appointed a Deacon, and we meet up regularly for lunch to fellowship and chat.  

He introduced me to King of Fried Rice, Uptown Nasi Lemak and Sando, amongst others. 

In return, I have introduced him to Prof Brawn Cafe, Boh Geh Uncle Canteen and Little Pond.

Prof Brawn Cafe, May 2018

Sando, Sep 2024

Little Pond, Oct 2025

Because of the great kingdom friendship that we have, God has frequently used Dn Doug as a channel to give me His rhema word.  For example, I only knew about the existence and use of washpots because Dn Doug shared that with me back in 2018 when I encountered friction with my then-ministry team leader CY.  You can read that blog entry here

Thank God for Washpots

Well, God again used Dn Doug to bring me His rhema word (or rather a series of 9 Instagram images) when I shared about what happened recently in my "perfect" CG.  I reproduce these 9 images below to encourage everyone to be part of a CG, not be discouraged by setbacks, but continue to look to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith.

I truly am blessed by my chats with Brother Loh.  May God continue to bless His ministry as a Deacon overseeing the Sunday Experience at the Star!

Holy Huddles

Friday, 13th March 2026

I was chatting with a dear brother of mine the other day about how my previous CGL had what she herself had termed as her "coveted" members. In Aug 2022, when Covid restrictions were lifted and our church encouraged CGs to meet in person again, she told me that she would still keep having Zoom-based meetings on alternate fortnights as she did not want to lose them.

She also had her "favourites", and the irony is that her facilitator (the one who whistleblew to MAS and the police on her) and I were among the numbered few.  During one conversation with her, she even asked whether she could nominate me to be a future CGL, but I politely declined, telling her I was very contented to just be an ordinary CG member.  I did not want any added responsibilities, and was afraid of being stumbled by any politicking further up the organisation, like what happened in the political party I was previously a member of.

My current CG is led by a wonderful godly couple, but I have also observed what some would consider the formation of a "holy huddle" of those who attend services at PLQ.  

My wife and I currently attend the 1st service at Star Vista (what we affectionately call HQ).  When we first changed church in 2018, we attended services at Golden Village, Great World City.  Then Covid hit so we pivoted to watching online.  When her dad went home to be with the Lord in August 2022, she told me that she would like to make it a point to visit her mom weekly.  Her mom stayed in Bukit Batok so we would typically visit her after attending service.  

When we first got married, we would visit her parents weekly.  After the kids came along, and as time went by, our visits became less frequent.  It was reduced to every other week, and then every month, and then to just once every quarter. 

Her mom moved to Siglap about 2 months ago, so I asked my wife whether we could join the "PLQ holy huddle", but she declined, so we remain HQ attendees.

In my last post, I blogged about an unpleasant encounter with this particular fellow CG member, which I refer to as VX.  Two fellow members have reached out to me and I really appreciate their good intentions.  But when I ask these same members whether they have similarly reached out to VX, for some reason, they avoid answering me directly and/or change the topic.

I have reproduced parts of our conversation, but have redacted their names to protect their privacy.

In Conversation with PLQ Holy Huddle Member #1

In Conversation with PLQ Holy Huddle Member #2

This is puzzling because VX was the one who provoked me and I retaliated. If anything, he was the perpetuator and I was the victim.  An objective person would see that both of us were at fault (him more so, I would add), but somehow they seem to place the entire blame squarely on me :-(

The only explanation I can think of is that VX is part of the "PLQ holy huddle", and it sadly reminds me of how the ruling party operates.  PSP representatives Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa went through many baptisms of fire, whereas their own representatives hardly got a rap on their knuckles for their fumbles.

This "us and them", "inner and outer circle" mentality is very unhealthy, and it troubles me to see it happening inside what I had until now considered to be the perfect CG.  Please do keep us in your prayers, that what is not of God, He will deal with.

Maybe Shaw Organisation will jack up the PLQ rent such that it becomes no longer feasible, or cease operations (just like what happened at Seletar Mall), so that everyone will return back to HQ :-)