Keller plants
13
MARCH 2014
Keller plants Tim Keller, an American Minister best known for reaching urban professions from Redeemer Church planted in the centre of New York city has been mentoring Steve Chong, a young Minister from Sydney, who leads Kirkplace Church, Kogarah in Sydney’s inner south. Keller will be in Australia in March for a series of events including a City to City conference (See sidebar) The first thing you notice about Steve Chong is how energetic he is. But he says that Tim Keller has helped him slow down. “In terms of how I do things differently, i find that (and this is certainly a generalisation) Tim’s advice to me often lends itself towards slowing down,” says Chong. “His advice often reminds me that I do not need to achieve everything at once and I find this matured perspective on ministry compelling and I believe that in taking his advice, the last couple of years have been a little slower and little more healthy for me with my work.” Tim Keller answered some Eternity questions about mentoring Steve Chong. How do we win secularists to Christ? What do Steve and other ministers with churches with secular surroundings need to change? I think the principles are the same for winning anyone to Christ. First there’s the ‘negative.’ On our part, we need to learn the person’s existing beliefs extremely well. (Secularists, of course, have lots of strong beliefs, they make many leaps of faith.) Then you should show them the weaknesses, contradictions, impracticeableness in those beliefs. Second, there’s the positive. You must narrate the gospel and story of Christ in a way that shows how Christ provides answers (to their own intuitions and aspirations and problems) that their own beliefs can’t. Third there’s just praying and asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to open blind eyes and soften hard hearts. Now that’s what you would do with a Muslim, a Hindu, or a secularist. Each approach is different because each set of beliefs is different. Steve’s church ‘Kirkplace’ is in its early stage as a new Presbyterian church venture. Years ago you had a similar challenge ahead of you as a younger minister. What advice do you give Steve and other young church planters as they start out? You all need a much stronger prayer life than you think. The RICE movement of which Steve is the founding leader is one of the most significant Asian-based youth movements in the country. How
Sophie Timothy
important do you think Asian-based ministry is in multicultural cities like New York and in particular Sydney? It is extremely important. Asian peoples are a huge percentage of the human race—and in God’s providence it appears to me that they are being opened by the Holy Spirit to the gospel world wide. Virtually every city in the world has a significant population of young Asians who are making great strides to take places of influence and service in their urban centres. Hard to imagine reaching any of those cities without also reaching Asians. I should mention also that, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, Chinese people are particularly open to the gospel in their college years. Christianity often stands outside the mainstream culture of society. Would you advise Steve in your mentoring of him to ‘make friends’ with culture? Balance. Don’t try to hard to be culturally ‘with it’ or you will be seen (rightly) trying too hard to be hip and sophisticated. All kinds of people—not just Christians—try hard to be in the ‘inner ring’ of the culture and it looks shoddy. Instead, just live in the world where your people and neighbors live. Read, watch, go to what they read, watch, listen to and go to. And then reflect on it with the Word and gospel. After two years of mentoring, Chong says Keller has impacted his ministry. “Meeting with Tim every couple of months has had significant impact on my work as a pastor because I find myself so quickly buried by the endless amount of tasks that require my attention every day,” syas Chomg. “ Meeting with tim is a moment in my diary where I stop ‘ministering’ and feel ‘ministered to’.” “Without fail he asks me important questions about how I am going with God, with my wife Naomi and as a Dad. Eventually we talk church life and strategy.” Keller is convinced that mentoring Perf
h Fresw ne K! FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2013
Tim Keller (pictured) and mentoring Steve Chong online via Skype (insert)
You must narrate the gospel and story of Christ in a way that shows how Christ provides answers that their own beliefs can’t.
Devotional!
LOO
Years of Ministry 23 Years of Ministry
Chong and other young nministers is a good use of his time: There’s so many ways you could serve the church worldwide yet you’ve chosen to put regular time into mentoring Steve Chong. So why pick mentoring? I’m at the time in my life and ministry where I should be doing more mentoring and training. This is a conviction I’ve had and many around me in my church in NYC are agree and are supportive. And my wife agrees too. That settles it! There are two needs mentoring meets, at least: 1) the more objective. The mentor brings expertise, experience, and know-how. 2) the more subjective. The mentor encourages and affirms. Even when the mentor does critique, there is an affirming going on, because the very relationship communicates the importance of the leader’s ministry and life. Two years ago one of Dr Keller’s advisors (Jay Kyle, Redeemer cityto-city) recommended Chong as “an important young leader” to approach for mentoring and they began regular Skype sessions. I believe you spent some time in one of your Skype sessions joined by your wife Kathy and Steve’s wife Naomi. Often pastors attract mentoring but how important is it for the pastors wife to be similarly cared for? It is very important. I might add especially in church planting situations where the pastor is the founding pastor. I think this is a very heavy burden to bear and much of it falls on the whole family. When a pastor takes a job at an existing church the burden of ‘keeping it all moving’ is simply not as heavy. Existing churches have more of their own institutional structure that moves things along even when there is no Senior Pastor. So in a situation like Steve’s, Naomi is unavoidably heavily involved in the ministry. So yes, she needs support and nurture too—as a ministry partner and spouse.
‘Redeemer City to City’ a church plantimng group, has established a local branch in Australia which will launch the Australian Centre for Faith and Work later in the year. Independent of any denomination, City to City Australia was incorporated in December. It’s headed up by CEO Andrew Katay (Anglican Minister from Sydney’s inner-west), CS Tang (a Presbyterian Minister also from the inner west) and Justin Moffatt (Anglican Minister based in Sydney’s CBD). A board of directors has also been appointed. The City to City model of church planting aims to be rapid and sustainable. Katay says new churches which have been supported by the network will help fund other new churches once they reach viability, which will go onto support others. He says the distinctives of City to City will be “doing the hard work of contextualising the proclamation of the gospel”, having a “grace dynamic of personal and community transformation”, and an “integrative ministry” approach which is designed to break down the public/private and faith/work divide. As part of its presence in Australia, City to City will be launching the Centre for Faith and Work later in the year. “It will offer the Gotham program,” says Katay, “an intensive one year church-based discipleship program centred on personal renewal, and the development of a Biblical vision for each participant’s vocation. The Centre will also invest in senior business and community leaders, through programs and conferences.” City to City Australia is bringing out the global Director of New York-based Redeemer City to City, Tim Keller this month for a series of events for church planters and leaders, youth and women. Coming with him is his wife, Kathy Keller, as well as Katherine Leary Alsdorf, who founded the Center for Faith and Work in New York. Katherine will be speaking at the City to City women’s event in Sydney as well as the Redeeming Work conference to be held in Melbourne in March, hosted by Ridley Melbourne. www.citytocityconference.com
Free
Written by Bob & Debby Gass
y (UCB)
New urban planting movement
Get your copy today
1800 00 777 0
“...I will sing aloud of Your steadfast loveMake in the 2014 your year of growth in Jesus with morning. Australia’s most popular daily devotional, For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”
Australia’s most daily devotional
oday.com.au
The Word for Today.
ational Christian g in hundreds of s Australia-wide
vision.org.au
daily devotional n young people e Word for Today
Pasalm 59:16 ESV
2day.com.au
Ministry, not business. We can’t take away your grief, but we can come and walk beside you. Let us share with you and help you carry the load of arranging a loved one’s funeral. For the team at Bethel, funerals are about ministry – not a business transaction.
t is our Christian sources ministry on pages 68-79
irect.com.au
ion-wide prayer ayer request and will pray for you
.com.au
orMe.com.au
many tomorrow. 127
Celebrating 23 Years of Ministry Celebrating 21 Years of Ministry
Given with our compliments
your donation will help print the next edition
Perf
TWFT Eternity Advert 2014 (128mm x 90mm).indd 1
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MARCH 2014
Keller plants Tim Keller, an American Minister best known for reaching urban professions from Redeemer Church planted in the centre of New York city has been mentoring Steve Chong, a young Minister from Sydney, who leads Kirkplace Church, Kogarah in Sydney’s inner south. Keller will be in Australia in March for a series of events including a City to City conference (See sidebar) The first thing you notice about Steve Chong is how energetic he is. But he says that Tim Keller has helped him slow down. “In terms of how I do things differently, i find that (and this is certainly a generalisation) Tim’s advice to me often lends itself towards slowing down,” says Chong. “His advice often reminds me that I do not need to achieve everything at once and I find this matured perspective on ministry compelling and I believe that in taking his advice, the last couple of years have been a little slower and little more healthy for me with my work.” Tim Keller answered some Eternity questions about mentoring Steve Chong. How do we win secularists to Christ? What do Steve and other ministers with churches with secular surroundings need to change? I think the principles are the same for winning anyone to Christ. First there’s the ‘negative.’ On our part, we need to learn the person’s existing beliefs extremely well. (Secularists, of course, have lots of strong beliefs, they make many leaps of faith.) Then you should show them the weaknesses, contradictions, impracticeableness in those beliefs. Second, there’s the positive. You must narrate the gospel and story of Christ in a way that shows how Christ provides answers (to their own intuitions and aspirations and problems) that their own beliefs can’t. Third there’s just praying and asking for the power of the Holy Spirit to open blind eyes and soften hard hearts. Now that’s what you would do with a Muslim, a Hindu, or a secularist. Each approach is different because each set of beliefs is different. Steve’s church ‘Kirkplace’ is in its early stage as a new Presbyterian church venture. Years ago you had a similar challenge ahead of you as a younger minister. What advice do you give Steve and other young church planters as they start out? You all need a much stronger prayer life than you think. The RICE movement of which Steve is the founding leader is one of the most significant Asian-based youth movements in the country. How
Sophie Timothy
important do you think Asian-based ministry is in multicultural cities like New York and in particular Sydney? It is extremely important. Asian peoples are a huge percentage of the human race—and in God’s providence it appears to me that they are being opened by the Holy Spirit to the gospel world wide. Virtually every city in the world has a significant population of young Asians who are making great strides to take places of influence and service in their urban centres. Hard to imagine reaching any of those cities without also reaching Asians. I should mention also that, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, Chinese people are particularly open to the gospel in their college years. Christianity often stands outside the mainstream culture of society. Would you advise Steve in your mentoring of him to ‘make friends’ with culture? Balance. Don’t try to hard to be culturally ‘with it’ or you will be seen (rightly) trying too hard to be hip and sophisticated. All kinds of people—not just Christians—try hard to be in the ‘inner ring’ of the culture and it looks shoddy. Instead, just live in the world where your people and neighbors live. Read, watch, go to what they read, watch, listen to and go to. And then reflect on it with the Word and gospel. After two years of mentoring, Chong says Keller has impacted his ministry. “Meeting with Tim every couple of months has had significant impact on my work as a pastor because I find myself so quickly buried by the endless amount of tasks that require my attention every day,” syas Chomg. “ Meeting with tim is a moment in my diary where I stop ‘ministering’ and feel ‘ministered to’.” “Without fail he asks me important questions about how I am going with God, with my wife Naomi and as a Dad. Eventually we talk church life and strategy.” Keller is convinced that mentoring Perf
h Fresw ne K! FEBRUARY | MARCH | APRIL 2013
Tim Keller (pictured) and mentoring Steve Chong online via Skype (insert)
You must narrate the gospel and story of Christ in a way that shows how Christ provides answers that their own beliefs can’t.
Devotional!
LOO
Years of Ministry 23 Years of Ministry
Chong and other young nministers is a good use of his time: There’s so many ways you could serve the church worldwide yet you’ve chosen to put regular time into mentoring Steve Chong. So why pick mentoring? I’m at the time in my life and ministry where I should be doing more mentoring and training. This is a conviction I’ve had and many around me in my church in NYC are agree and are supportive. And my wife agrees too. That settles it! There are two needs mentoring meets, at least: 1) the more objective. The mentor brings expertise, experience, and know-how. 2) the more subjective. The mentor encourages and affirms. Even when the mentor does critique, there is an affirming going on, because the very relationship communicates the importance of the leader’s ministry and life. Two years ago one of Dr Keller’s advisors (Jay Kyle, Redeemer cityto-city) recommended Chong as “an important young leader” to approach for mentoring and they began regular Skype sessions. I believe you spent some time in one of your Skype sessions joined by your wife Kathy and Steve’s wife Naomi. Often pastors attract mentoring but how important is it for the pastors wife to be similarly cared for? It is very important. I might add especially in church planting situations where the pastor is the founding pastor. I think this is a very heavy burden to bear and much of it falls on the whole family. When a pastor takes a job at an existing church the burden of ‘keeping it all moving’ is simply not as heavy. Existing churches have more of their own institutional structure that moves things along even when there is no Senior Pastor. So in a situation like Steve’s, Naomi is unavoidably heavily involved in the ministry. So yes, she needs support and nurture too—as a ministry partner and spouse.
‘Redeemer City to City’ a church plantimng group, has established a local branch in Australia which will launch the Australian Centre for Faith and Work later in the year. Independent of any denomination, City to City Australia was incorporated in December. It’s headed up by CEO Andrew Katay (Anglican Minister from Sydney’s inner-west), CS Tang (a Presbyterian Minister also from the inner west) and Justin Moffatt (Anglican Minister based in Sydney’s CBD). A board of directors has also been appointed. The City to City model of church planting aims to be rapid and sustainable. Katay says new churches which have been supported by the network will help fund other new churches once they reach viability, which will go onto support others. He says the distinctives of City to City will be “doing the hard work of contextualising the proclamation of the gospel”, having a “grace dynamic of personal and community transformation”, and an “integrative ministry” approach which is designed to break down the public/private and faith/work divide. As part of its presence in Australia, City to City will be launching the Centre for Faith and Work later in the year. “It will offer the Gotham program,” says Katay, “an intensive one year church-based discipleship program centred on personal renewal, and the development of a Biblical vision for each participant’s vocation. The Centre will also invest in senior business and community leaders, through programs and conferences.” City to City Australia is bringing out the global Director of New York-based Redeemer City to City, Tim Keller this month for a series of events for church planters and leaders, youth and women. Coming with him is his wife, Kathy Keller, as well as Katherine Leary Alsdorf, who founded the Center for Faith and Work in New York. Katherine will be speaking at the City to City women’s event in Sydney as well as the Redeeming Work conference to be held in Melbourne in March, hosted by Ridley Melbourne. www.citytocityconference.com
Free
Written by Bob & Debby Gass
y (UCB)
New urban planting movement
Get your copy today
1800 00 777 0
“...I will sing aloud of Your steadfast loveMake in the 2014 your year of growth in Jesus with morning. Australia’s most popular daily devotional, For You have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”
Australia’s most daily devotional
oday.com.au
The Word for Today.
ational Christian g in hundreds of s Australia-wide
vision.org.au
daily devotional n young people e Word for Today
Pasalm 59:16 ESV
2day.com.au
Ministry, not business. We can’t take away your grief, but we can come and walk beside you. Let us share with you and help you carry the load of arranging a loved one’s funeral. For the team at Bethel, funerals are about ministry – not a business transaction.
t is our Christian sources ministry on pages 68-79
irect.com.au
ion-wide prayer ayer request and will pray for you
.com.au
orMe.com.au
many tomorrow. 127
Celebrating 23 Years of Ministry Celebrating 21 Years of Ministry
Given with our compliments
your donation will help print the next edition
Perf
TWFT Eternity Advert 2014 (128mm x 90mm).indd 1
17/01/2014 10:52:16 AM
24Hr 7 Day Service Melbourne Metro Mornington Peninsula Brisbane
03 9873 8866 03 5975 1955 07 3219 9333
