A Tribute to my Pastor

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never the same again. My Senior Pastor is one such person that best describe the latter. It will be his 50th years old birthday tomorrow. And I would like to take the blogging opportunity to pay a tribute to my Senior Pastor.

He believes in you. Not because you have all your act in place. Not that you are such a genuis. Simply because he believes in what God believes and he lives it out. One of his teaching point to us is, "It is okay to make mistakes." You are not mark because you had make a mistake. But do ensure you do not repeat the same mistake because this is insanity. In 1998, my pastor took a 'big risk' by inviting me on board to be part of his staff team. I had a messy past and if the entry is ever based on qualifications, a clean slate and a credible academic results, I could never count myself as a servant of God. He took the first step of believing in a 'wretch like me'. He is right. I am soaring today because he believes in me. He saw something in me that many might have missed.

He pastors with his heart. He is a strong leader and he demonstrates firm values and disciplines. Many times, it is so easy to mistake him for losing a shepherd's heart. I remembered one afternoon in year 1990, overwhelmed by the demands in the home front. I could no longer concentrate to do my work. I walked right to him and asked for permission to go home. But then, I felt so bad and the next moment, I was saying this: "I am sorry." What I recieved was an assuring reply that I could never forget, "You don't have to say sorry. And if you need more time, stay at home tomorrow." It was at that very day, I truly learned that my worth is not tied to my work. Year 2007 was a very trying year for me. I am physically weak and ill, emotionally downcasted. My pastor carries and mentors the spirit of grace that helps me to grow in Christlikeness. Hegives me grace and space to pick up myself and move on again. I am grateful.

He models leadership. He leads himself before he leads others. He leads out of inner rest and depth. I stand amazed many times by the way he could vision something that is yet visible. He had great insights and he stretched his thinking. He never settles for familiarity and urges us to do the same. He challenges us into uncharted path, takes risk and makes mistakes!

He loves heartily. He loves his family and is very involved in their lives. He protects those he loves. He loves his staff. He remembers our favourite dish and never fails to prepare them for us when invited us for a home cooked meal. Sometimes his love comes tough and hard. It is good for us... we soon realised...

He loves Jesus. He loves deeply and strongly. Quoting from what he highlighted in his blog, "I admire Jesus Christ more than any other human being I have known. I enjoy His ways and His words of anyone else. I want His approval more than I want the approval of anyone else. I want to feel His closeness more than I want to feel the closeness of anyone else. I feel more grateful to Him for what He has done for me than I do to anyone else. I trust His words more fully than I trust what anyone else says. I feel more secure with Him than with anyone else. " Because He loves Jesus, there is power in the pulpit ministry. Because He loves Jesus, he impacts others deeply. Because he loves Jesus, he left footprints in many hearts, and many will never be the same again.

I wrote these words to my pastor on his birthday. I want to end it by saying it again:

Dear Pastor

Happy Birthday! We are so blessed to have a dear pastor like you. Anyway, you don’t actually behave like a pastor (no modification behaviours). You live like a pastor. You live from a heart that is alive, real and awake. You allow flaws and weakness to speak, and the worst to be out of you. So that God can make the best out of you. You taught us how to love, how to desire, how to value, how to believe again.

Matthew and I will not be where we are today if not for a pastor who loves and believes like Jesus does.

There are too much to express, but words too little to carry across.

I guess we can best say it this way from our hearts, “We love you pastor.”

Happy 50th Birthday Pastor.