Fau Zi posted some Independence Day reflections on what it means to be a Malaysian Christian. The Force is strong in this one :)
31st August marks another year for our nation to celebrate her 49th birthday. It is a celebration of independence, a celebration of national dignity and a celebration of growth from a helpless state terrorized by communism to one of the most advanced developing nations in the 21st century. Much had been achieved over the decades and today, Malaysia is the home of 25million people, of which 10% claims to be follower of Christ.
From the early days of church planting and reaching the indigenous by Western missionaries, the church of Malaysia has grown to maturity with indigenous leadership, learning to be self-sufficient and self-propagating. It has gone through various challenges and changes throughout the decades, and increasingly becoming a blessing for the nation and a player in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.
After many years of being a Christian since my conversion, and living in a multiracial and multi religious society as a minority, with a new identity of being "anak Malaysia". Born into a middle Class Chinese family, know my little Mandarin, having English as my 'first' language, deemed as one of the kafir dhimmi variety in Muslim dominated Terengganu, interacting with my fellow Malay and Indian brothers, watching MTV and Wah Loi Toi on Astro, singing hymns and sitting on
pews, jumping up and down in Planet Shaker's conferences, adoring John Stott and the Pope, reading the success stories of Rick Warren and Yonggi Cho and going to mamak at the end of the church youth service.
What does it mean to be a Malaysian Christian?
Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we heading to?
Here are some thoughts of which I would like to put forward even as we make sense of our calling in this nation.
31st August marks another year for our nation to celebrate her 49th birthday. It is a celebration of independence, a celebration of national dignity and a celebration of growth from a helpless state terrorized by communism to one of the most advanced developing nations in the 21st century. Much had been achieved over the decades and today, Malaysia is the home of 25million people, of which 10% claims to be follower of Christ. From the early days of church planting and reaching the indigenous by Western missionaries, the church of Malaysia has grown to maturity with indigenous leadership, learning to be self-sufficient and self-propagating. It has gone through various challenges and changes throughout the decades, and increasingly becoming a blessing for the nation and a player in reaching the world for Jesus Christ.
After many years of being a Christian since my conversion, and living in a multiracial and multi religious society as a minority, with a new identity of being "anak Malaysia". Born into a middle Class Chinese family, know my little Mandarin, having English as my 'first' language, deemed as one of the kafir dhimmi variety in Muslim dominated Terengganu, interacting with my fellow Malay and Indian brothers, watching MTV and Wah Loi Toi on Astro, singing hymns and sitting on
pews, jumping up and down in Planet Shaker's conferences, adoring John Stott and the Pope, reading the success stories of Rick Warren and Yonggi Cho and going to mamak at the end of the church youth service.
What does it mean to be a Malaysian Christian?
Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we heading to?
Here are some thoughts of which I would like to put forward even as we make sense of our calling in this nation.
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