The Resolution Ceremony (24 Nov 2012)

The Resolution Ceremony
Date: 24 November 2012, 9-11 am (Breakfast at 9 am)
Venue: Hall 2 (Dream Centre)
Attire: Smart Casual
Attendance Form for those who are bringing their partner (wife, mum, fiancée, girlfriend, friend):
Click here.

Men's Encounter Weekend 2012

What an amazing weekend!

Here's an email I sent to all the participants:

Men,

I can still hear the applause I heard on the last day during testimony time. I went away with gratitude in my heart that God has indeed planted something in all our hearts. Let me reiterate that the end game is really about building disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men who are clear about the three things they are called to:

1. Called to live in Christ

2. Equipped to live like Christ

3. Sent to live for Christ

We are not here to build nice men, but passionate men of God who knows their calling and desire to make a positive influence to the community of people around them. When we are disciples of Christ, we will naturally become the authentic men, husbands and fathers that we are called to.

Can I encourage you to continue to reflect upon the things learnt and to pray for your wife and your children every day? While this is going on, in case you have forgotten, here’s the thing you need to remember to do:

1. Email me your testimony and reflection if you have not. Thank you to those who have done it. I will consider some excerpts to go into Floodgates.
2. Keep 24 Nov 2012 on your radar as this is the last FC’s meeting for the year. We will be having our Resolution Ceremony, for which I have already emailed the date to your nominated prayer partner. Can you please check with her whether she has received the earlier email I sent before MEW? I will be sending you an email next week to ask you to register for this ceremony. Meanwhile, share with your partner what you desire to do.
3. Can I encourage you to purchase a copy of the DVD and keep it as a reminder? I would also like you to challenge your MAG member, if they were not at MEW, to view this DVD together and challenge them to the Resolution Ceremony.

Meanwhile some photos are already up on our FC’s facebook page.

Your brother in the Lord,

Chris Kam 

Men's Encounter Weekend (19-21 October 2012)

A total of 72 brave men have signed up for this Men's Encounter Weekend starting this Friday! Ages ranging from 22 to 72. 55 are married and 17 singles.

You can come as early as 3 pm on Friday to register and rest. Dinner will start at 7 pm and the first Encounter will happen at 8 pm.

Drive carefully and we'll see you there! Those who cannot be with us, please keep us in prayer!

Video Promo for Men's Encounter Weekend

DUMC Men's Encounter Weekend

Only 15 9 8 4 places left!

Happening in Kampar!

19-21 Oct 2012

Discipling Youth and Young Adults

Men, I challenged you in our August meeting to seriously consider mentoring and discipling young people. It is so typical of many Christian families to relegate that responsibility to the church, vis-a-vis, the youth ministry. Realistically, the contact time of about 2 hours in the ministry is so small compared to other influences in our youth's life that it become urgent and important to ask ourselves whether we are discipling, or the world is discipling our young people. If we as Christian men in our homes, and part of the Body of Christ, do not take on this vital call in our lives to disciple our young people, who will then? Some of us should seriously consider joining the youth ministry and there learn from there how to disciple our young children when they are teenagers!

^4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{ 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ^6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ^7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ^8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ^9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~ Deuteronomy 6:4

One of you write an email to me after the meeting that you would like to join a MAG (Mentoring and Accountability Group) and this desire:

"Also I am interested to partner with you to be mentor to young adults. Do let me have more information."

My reply, which I think may be helpful for you as you consider the implication:

Great you are offering to mentor young adults. It will be a journey for all of us. I started 15 years ago to be first part of a MAG, and allowing God to deepen the foundations in my life as a man through my MAG. Then God begin to bring different YAs into my life. So you are on the right path. Just two things like I mentioned you can start doing:

1. Get into a MAG and learn the art of discipling men. - Allow God to build deep into our foundation as ministry is a long haul endeavour. We cannot give what we don't have, especially things of heart and character. You will be surprise that God wants to deal with us first before we can mentor others. But thank God we don’t have to be perfect, just teachable and humble. In fact, our first ministry must always be our family. This is really the testing ground of discipling. One very young father asked me some years back when he should start father-and-son time, like what I do with my sons. He was asking at what age of his son should he do that. He was then carrying his toddler in his arms while asking the question. My answer to him was, “NOW!”.

2. Start praying that God will bring young people into your life. Like I say, start with your family first because the calling to do that is already there! Of course, don’t forget to be in the company of men who desire the same. Unless there is something else, Fathers Club is the most obvious place in DUMC!

The Strength of a Man

THE STRENGTH OF A MAN 

(Jacqueline M Griffiths)

The strength of a man isn't seen in the width of his shoulders.

It’s seen in the width of his arms that circle you.

The strength of a man isn't in the deep tone of his voice.

It is in the gentle words he whispers.

The strength of a man isn't how many buddies he has.

It’s how good a buddy he is with his kids.

The strength of a man isn't in how respected he is at work.

It’s in how respected he is at home.

The strength of a man isn't in how hard he hits.

It’s in how tender he touches.

The strength of a man isn't in the hair on his chest.

It's in his Heart, that lies within his chest...

The strength of a man isn't how many women he's loved.

It’s in how he can be true to one woman.

The strength of a man isn't in the weight he can lift.

It is in the burdens he can carry.

and the strength of the woman is ..... how she helps him to be that man.

Encouraging Testimonies from a Wife and a Husband

Testimony from the Wife: Madam Choy Sook Leng (Mrs. Shun) (6 June 2012)

We have 3 children – a 14 year old boy, an 12 year old older daughter and a 6 year old younger daughter. My husband started attending the Father’s club in July 2010. As all of us who are married with kids will testify, parenting is no easy task. I am glad Chris signed up for the Father’s Club.

Chris found some good friends there whom he could identify with and who share the same needs and challenges. He looks forward to going to the Father’s  Club  and MAG meetings every month and enjoys exchanging ideas and materials with the other fathers. I believe, to Chris, being able to unload parenting burden in a safe environment where almost everyone is in the same boat, is therapeutic. He is evidently very pleased with this new found MAG group and I was delighted to see him finding so much support and encouragement from them.

Not only Chris is happy, in the months that follow, the children discovered that they have a “transformed” daddy. The bonus for me is I have a “new” husband.

Having been born the eldest in the family coupled with many years in the corporate world, Chris adopted a more commanding style type fathering all these years. After father’s Club, one distinct change he made is he came down to the children’s level.  He has become “down to earth” and sporting.   More laughter and noise are coming from our kitchen cum work area whenever daddy is with the children or in the family car. There is never a dull moment.  Very often, they are pulling each other’s legs. When the children get out of line, dad is more patiently correcting and guiding. Daddy has also got to watch himself as the elder two children often will highlight his mistake in a teasing and diplomatic manner when the need arises. Nonetheless, the respect for daddy is still maintained as they know daddy has proven to be firm on the right things and is more discerning and wise than them.

Chris is more conscious about spending more with the family, either one to one or with the entire family. This is especially timely as our eldest two are in their early teens. I am especially thrilled to see Chris doing the “manly” things together with my eldest son as he is more of an introvert. We are also doing more things together as a family and we make it a priority. Going out for ministry together like teaching the Orang Asli kids and reaching out to the needy is one area that encourages me most.

Even though the Father’s Club is not the Husband or Marriage Club, somehow I believe the fathers also get refreshers on how to love their wives. These days, I hear a lot more “I am sorry”, I get dishes and teas brought to me by my beloved  husband. I thought, praise god for such husband. My son will learn by example how to be that godly and serving husband that God will be proud of.

Thank you so much Pastor Chris Kum and DUMC for starting the Father’s Club. Christian families ought to be strong, united families so that we can be the light of the world and reach out to the world where families are breaking up. Fathers, if you are not in the father’s club, may I encourage you strongly to start early. If you want your wife to treat you like a King, treat her like a Queen!

Testimony from the Husband: Christopher Shun Kong Leng (14 June 2012)

After hearing my darling wife's testimony, it is humbling and also encouraging to know that by attending Father's Club, so much positive things have begun to take shape in our lives as a family. In Father's Club, I think that the lessons that were most important is understanding about the Father’s heart and how much He cares for us  and loves us even as Fathers, we in turn seek to love our wives and children. I think that once we better appreciate our Heavenly Father, we feel encouraged to love our family in a likewise manner.

You know, we men have been raised to be the Generals and our wives the Majors. {We make General decisions for the family and wives make the Major decisions!} . Growing up, we did not have many good role models and the local church did not actively teach us practically what it was to be Husbands and Fathers, we had to "learn on the job" often with more failures then successes. I am so grateful that DUMC, two years ago began a Men's ministry called Father's Club to meet this urgent need and step into the gap. As we know, Satan' s strategy is to attack the Christian family unit to break it apart, then the family is neutralized then the local Church is crippled and the spread of the Gospel is impeded.

It is easy???..NO WAY!! but having the support of fellow Men undertaking the same journey as us, encourages us greatly. We get to share and laugh alot but we ALWAYS do PRAY so that we can overcome the difficulties that we are facing. For some, it is overcoming cultural chauvinistic mannerisms, for some it is learning how to say SORRY but for most of us, it is learning how to accept WHAT we are and WHO we are, as Heads of our respective families and taking up the challenge and baton to be MEN of Destiny.