VOTE For CHANGE !!

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Much has been revealed. Much has been said. Tonight (19/06/09) we pray for a closure to our church's saga which has gone on long enough. Whatever the outcome may be, it is our prayer that each one will leave the church tonight knowing that God is in control of the whole situation. Things may or may not turn out the way we have planned. It really does not matter because the Church belongs to God Himself. The Bible says, “A MAN’S HEART PLANS HIS WAY, BUT THE LORD DIRECTS HIS STEPS.” Proverbs 16.9

We would like to pen down 2 portions of Scriptures as a reminder and an encouragement to all, as we attend the AGM tonight.

PROVERBS 16
1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits.
3 Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.
4 The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.
5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
6 In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.
7 When a man's ways please the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8 Better is a little with righteousness, Than vast revenues without justice.
9 A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.
18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.
19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he.

Romans 8: 28 – 39 - More Than Conquerors
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all— how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died— more than that, who was raised to life— is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God bless us all. Amen

June 19, 2009 4:01 PM

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The time and opportunity has come for all Calvarites to vote for a change at the coming AGM on this Friday, 19th June 2009 at 7.00 pm in DH. It will be a historical event, whichever way it pans out.

The last one and a half years has been a trying time for members. Members have been deluged with issues after issues. There appears to be no end to the exposure of questionable practices, irresponsible management, unscriptural conduct and poor stewardship by the Board of Deacons and Senior Pastor (SP).

What started as a ripple in calm waters has turned into a tsunami. Many of the issues raised could have been easily resolved, had SP and the Deacons exercised a little bit of humility and listened to the members. Instead, they took a confrontational stand and went on a warpath that now makes it difficult for them to retreat gracefully.

In any organization, both in the Christian world and the secular world, the Chief Executive or the Head and his Board are always held accountable when things go wrong. From the time of Adam and Eve, God has always held the Head of the home responsible and accountable. The Church is no different.

The power and authority to make changes has always remained with the Head, in this case, SP and the Deacons. Change must always come from the top down. As members, there is only so much we can do, so much noise we can make. However, at this coming AGM on Friday, there lies a small window of opportunity for the members to initiate (not make) that change that our Church so badly needs.

Every Calvarite seeking greater transparency and better governance in our Church should exercise their vote wisely and prayerfully this Friday. Every Calvarite who wants to see the restoration of truth, righteousness and God’s glory in our Church should come out this Friday and make their stand.

How then shall the members vote on this coming Friday?

We hope the following thoughts will be of help in your decision-making. In coming out with this advisory, we have gotten feedback from a fairly large group of members. With so many resolutions to be passed at this AGM and with such a diverse group of members, there is bound to be differences in opinions. Here we attempt to put together the thoughts of many concerned members. It is our hope that members will take the opinions expressed here and ask our Heavenly Father for wisdom and guidance to do the right thing. Many have started fasting and praying for the next three days. Our prayer is that God will bind together in spirit and come Friday, we will be bold to do the right thing and VOTE WISELY.

I. Passing of the Minutes of the previous AGM and EGMs (Vote: NO)

From the feedback received, there appears to be numerous errors and omissions in the 3 minutes which will likely be raised by members at the AGM. As the minutes do not totally reflect what actually transpired at the 3 meetings, (namely AGM on 28 March 2008, EGM on 15 August 2008 and EGM on 4 April 2009) therefore, all 3 minutes should be rejected and not allowed to be passed, unless acceptable amendments are made to the minutes.

II. Acceptance of Church Accounts (Vote: YES)

Although there are many questions the members can and may raise this Friday, on the accounts of the Church, Missions Dept and Extended Ministries, we can accept the Accounts and Report of the Auditors.

III. Acceptance of Church Departments’ Reports (Vote : YES)

The Departments’ Reports should be accepted as there are no major issues or matters of concern to raise.

IV. Election of Deacons

This is one of the most important agenda for this AGM. After witnessing the ineffectiveness and nonchalant attitude of the current Board of Deacons, it is time for Calvarites to put their feet down and vote out the retiring Deacons who are seeking re-election. It is time to “do away with the old and bring in the new’.

Although all the 8 nominees for the 4 Deacon positions have been endorsed or perhaps, hand-picked by SP, there is nothing the members can do except to pick the best of the lot. The expectation of the members and the events of the past year will, hopefully, make the newly elected Deacons more conscious of their spiritual and moral calling and heed the call for greater transparency, accountability and good governance.

The nominations for Deacons at this coming AGM are:-

1. Bernard Loke Yue Heng (new) (Vote: FOR)
2. Ngeow Zoo Gin (new) (Vote: FOR)
3. Wong Ming Yook (new) (Vote: FOR)
4. Veronica See Ah Siew (new) (Vote: FOR)

5. David Dev Peters (new) (Vote: NO)
6. Nicholas Gan Lye Hin (new) (Vote: NO)
7. Bernadette Foo Fong Lian (retiring) (Vote: NO)
8. Patrick Wong Sing Fah (retiring) (Vote: NO)

We would recommend voting in the first 4 new Deacons stated above as the initial step towards a change in the composition of our Board of deacons.

Retiring deacons, Patrick Wong (seeking re-election). Bernadette (seeking re-election) and Han (not seeking re-election) have proven to be ineffective as Deacons. Further, Patrick has been compromised in that his son’s airfare, when he went for overseas studies, was paid by the Church. His wife has also been given employment in Church as an Assistant Pastor despite not having any theological or Bible School training.

Both David Peters and Nicholas Gan are staunch supporters of SP and may not be independent. However, should any of the above top 4 nominees decides not to stand for election for any reasons whatsoever at the last minute, David should be the alternate choice. He is a lawyer, appears to be more matured and better known to the members than the relatively unknown Nicholas Gan.

Please DO NOT send in blank voting slips. Every vote counts. Your one vote can make the difference!

V. Election of Church Auditors

The nominations for Church Auditors are:-

1. Tam Kok Meng (retiring/seeking re-election) (Vote: FOR)
2. Audrey Lim Gaik Khoon (new) (Vote: FOR)

3. Chow Sang Hoe (retiring/seeking re-election) (Vote: NO)
4. Suresh Rahman (new) (Vote: NO)


VI. Resolutions to be Tabled

(For the full details and rationale, click on this link http://calvarytoday.blogspot.com/2009/06/resolutions-to-be-tabled-at-agm-on-19.html)

IMPORTANT NOTE
Please remember that the numbering to the Resolutions listed here has been assigned by us for easy reading and reference only. The sequence of the resolutions which will be tabled at the AGM may be totally different. Therefore, please pay close attention to the resolution being tabled during the AGM and vote accordingly.

1. Proposal that all resolutions of this AGM be voted on by secret ballot. (Vote: YES)

2. Proposal that one of the Associate Pastors of the Church be appointed for the purposes of chairing this AGM. (Vote: YES)

3. Proposal for the AOG General Council to appoint a caretaker committee to manage the Church until the Church is capable of managing its own affairs. (Vote: YES)

4. Ratification of Senior Pastor’s Re-appointment. (Vote: NO)

This is the most serious of all the resolutions to be tabled. SP needs the votes of at least two-thirds of the members present at the AGM to retain his position as the Senior Pastor of Calvary. If he does not garner this level of support, he has to step down as the Senior Pastor.

If you think SP has done a wonderful job and should remain forever (because the BOD has decided that he has no retirement age), then you vote ‘yes’ in favour of this resolution. If you vote in favour, then PG will remain the Senior Pastor until he voluntarily resigns or until he goes home to the Lord. Even if he becomes senile or incapacitated or medically unfit, he cannot be removed from his position.

But if you think he has not been responsible as the Senior Pastor or he has been unscriptural in his conduct or he has abuse his position in any way or you have just lost confidence in him to manage the Church or you do not want him to be the Senior Pastor forever, then you should vote against this resolution.

We cannot agree that SP does not have a retirement age. This is the MOST UNWISE decision the BOD has made. Everyone has to retire at some point. Even God rested after 6 days of creation. The Church should not become ‘crippled’, or stifled in its growth or held to ransom by a Senior Pastor (present SP or future SP) who cannot be removed. It is certainly not God’s design for His Church to function in this manner. On this basis alone, we would vote against this resolution.

In the Kingdom of God, no one is indispensable and we know that God is not short of resources. God can provide us another Senior Pastor as quickly as He can remove one. Without question, it is also far better for the servant, that God use his people to remove His servant, rather than for God to remove His servant Himself.

Over the months, members have been bombarded with messages that warn members against touching God’s anointed and messages that have questioned our allegiance and brought on fears. Be comforted that our God is a God of peace and wisdom. Be assured that as a child of God, we are all equally anointed by God. We all have received the seal of the Holy Spirit on our foreheads that sets us apart as being equal children of God. However, please seek God’s wisdom and ask Him for direction in this matter and then, vote wisely according to your conscience and conviction.

5. Proposal for a new Constitutional Review Committee. (Vote: YES)

6. Proposal for setting up of a Truth Committee. (Vote: YES)

7. Removal of Dr Lum from Church membership to be declared null and void. (Vote: YES)

8. Closure of CalvaryToday, Berita Calvary, Calvary Kini and Calvary Unity. (Vote: NO)

This resolution is purely academic and has no power of enforceability on the owners or administrators of the blogs as the members have no locus standi on the matter. It is really up to the owners of the blogs to make that decision whether they want to close their blogs. The church also cannot vote on this as it would tantamount to infringing on the right to freedom of speech of fellow members and citizens.

Voting on this resolution is similar to voting to close down the New Straits Times or The Star. It is that ridiculous.

Blogging is legal and is even practiced by our own Prime Minister, ex-PM, churches, pastors, evangelists and millions of individuals all over the world.

If our Church is clean and our Pastors and Leaders lead righteous lives, then there is nothing to worry about. Our Pastors and Deacons should be more concerned with cleaning up their act rather than trying to silence the whistle blower. Consider the Calvary Today blog as the “thorn in the flesh” which is placed there to nudge our leaders back onto the right path.
Members should vote against this resolution.

9. Closure of CalvaryToday, Berita Calvary, Calvary Kini and Calvary Unity. (Vote: NO)

Similar comments as item 8.

10. Resolution on Review of membership rolls. (Vote: NO)

This resolution technically provides for the termination of members who do not contribute to the Church financially AND who do not attend Sunday services AND Friday prayer meetings AND Life group meetings AND are not involved in ministry.

This proposal seeks to give even more absolute powers to the BOD & SP with regards to Church Membership. If approved, this would give the BOD & SP the reason to arbitrarily sack any of the members at their whims and fancies. They do not need evidence to declare that a member did not support financially, as it cannot be proven or disputed by anyone. They do not even need to set up a Kangaroo Court to sack members. All members should strongly object to this resolution.

11. Proposed amendment to Church Constitution RULE XII: FINANCIAL
PROVISIONS, Item 3a, 3b and 3c. (Vote: YES)

This resolution is to provide for the appointment of external auditors to audit our Church accounts and should be supported.