Spiritual Formation Institute

Holy Light Church (English), Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Events and Happenings


Coming Events

28 July 2012 Lamentations  
Rev Dr Anthony Loke, Lecturer in Old Testament, Seminari Theologi Malaysia
 
11 August 2012 Discovering your
Spiritual Gifts		   Rev Dr Philip Siew
Director of Advanced Theological Studies
Seminari Theologi Malaysia
       
27-31 August 2012 Soul Care: The Art and Science of Spiritual Direction
(held on Malaysia Bible Seminari Campus, Kuang, Selangor, Malaysia		   Dr Alex Tang,
Spiritual Formation Institute
 
29 Sept 2012 The Digital Christian   Dr Calvin Chong
Academic Dean
Singapore Bible College
 
27 Oct 2012 Isaiah   Dr Daniel Chua
Senior Pastor
Mt. Carmel Bible Presbyterian Church, Singapore
       
November 2012 Guided Retreat   Dr Alex Tang,
Spiritual Formation Institute


Previous Events

Spiritual Formation Institute Seminar on Spiritual Friendship

SFI Seminar 2012/1

Spiritual Friendship

We live in an increasingly lonely world. Technology that is meant to connect us ends up causing us to have less face-to-face time with each other. Yet the bible clearly states that it is not good for humankind to be alone (Genesis 2:18). Medical science bears this out. How then are we to find the relationships we need for healthy living?
This is also a question for followers of Jesus Christ. We are meant to follow Christ in the company of friends. Jesus calls us to follow Him in community. Yet the church can be as lonely as the world around us. How are we to find the community we need to follow Christ?

Date      :     2.00pm- 9.30pm, Saturday 25 February 2012
        
Place      :    Berea, Holy Light Church, 11-C, Jalan Gertak Merah,
                   80100 Johor Bahru

Program   :                 This seminar will seek to answer some of these concerns:
                  What is spiritual friendship and why do we need it?
                  What constitutes healthy spiritual friendship?
                  What is a practical and doable way for experiencing spiritual
                    friendship?

                       The seminar will cover the following topics:
1. The Need for Spiritual Friendship
2. The Components of Spiritual Friendship
3. The Practice of Spiritual Friendship

We need friends as much as we need food and water. Come and see why. Come and see how.
Speaker:

Soo Inn is a director of Graceworks, a ministry committed to promoting spiritual friendship in church and society (www.graceworks.com.sg). He runs this ministry in partnership with his wife, Bernice. He also serves as honorary pastor of Evangel Christian Church, Singapore. Bernice and Soo Inn have four sons.
Soo Inn has a BDS from the University of Singapore, a ThM from Regent College and a DMin from Fuller. His primary passions include connecting the Word of God to the struggles of daily life, and the promotion of the discipline of spiritual friendship.
He has been a supporter of Arsenal Football Club since 1971 and his favourite movie is Star Wars 4.

 

SFI Seminar 2011/4

        Christian Spiritual Formation

                 -The journey in Christ to Christ

What is the Christian spiritual life or spiritual formation? How can we grow spiritually in the midst of increasing demands of family and work, the busyness of life and in the loud jarring noise of contemporary culture? Deep within us, many of us feel dissatisfaction with our spiritual life, longing to connect more intimately with God and achieve a balance in our personal life, church and workplace/home/school. The Spiritual Formation Institute was started in 2003 with a seminar on Christian Spirituality by Dr Alex Tang. Come and join him eight years later with this anniversary seminar to revisit Christian Spirituality in the context of Christian spiritual formation.

Date      :            2.00pm- 9.30pm, Saturday 12 November 2011   

Place     :             Berea, Holy Light Church, Johor Bahru

Programme:          

 Session 1 : The Mind of Christian Spiritual Formation

What are Christian spiritual formation, Christian education and discipleship? This session defines these terms and gives a biblical and theological basis for them.

Session 2 : The Heart of Christian Spiritual Formation

 What drives our spiritual life and growth? This session give insight into the drives and motivations of Christian spiritual formation.

Session 3 : The Soul of Christian Spiritual Formation

How is spiritual formation worked out in our personal life, workplace, family and church? This session deals with spiritual formation and the Kingdom of God.

Speaker:

Dr Alex Tang is a senior consultant paediatrician in a private hospital and a practical theologian with a deep interest in the spiritual life. His PhD research is on spiritual formation in congregations. He is a spiritual director, Bible teacher, preacher, blogger, socialmediorater (facebook, twitter), avid reader, cultural observer, lousy poet, and a fanatical Trekkie. Alex is the author of many books and his latest publication is Tales from the Monastery (2011). Check out his website Kairos Spiritual Formation <www.kairos2.com> and his blog <www.draltang01.blogspot.com>.

SFI Seminar 2011/3

 What is the ROI* of a child in church

      -The Challenge of Ministry to Children

Date      :            2.00pm- 9.30pm, Saturday 20 August 2011

Place     :             Berea, Holy Light Church, Johor Bahru

Programme:           

Session 1: Children's Church or Sunday School - What's in a Name?

We will look at the characteristics of a teacher as well as the reasons for Christian education programmes in church.

Session 2: Classroom Management and Curriculum Development

We will look at how we handle God's truth and apply it to the church setting for children of different ages.

Session 3: Hands-on lesson preparation and delivery

We will look at an actual Bible passage and look at the different methods used for the child to learn the Bible truth.

Speaker:

Mona Lee Chia was born in Malaysia, became a Christian in England and returned to work in Singapore.  She is married to Rev Christopher Chia and they have two grown-up children, Han Shen and Han Mae. She has been involved in Children's ministry for more than 25 years and has been serving in Adam Road Presbyterian Centre since 1990.  Seeing children grow into strong adult Christian leaders is the fruit that keeps the passion strong.

*ROI - return of investment

Spiritual Formation Seminar (Saturday 12 March 2011)

Speaker: Dr Alex Tang

Spiritual Formation Seminar with some Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) students with some unexpected results





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The Stories that Jesus Told - Exploring the Challenges of His Parables (Saturday 26 March 2011)

Speaker: Rev Dr Lim Kar Yong

Synopsis of Seminar

Jesus is a master storyteller. But the parables he tells are more than interesting plotlines that captivate his audience. They reveal the character of God and his kingdom, announce the expectation God has for his people, and challenge the assumptions of the hearers in order to orientate their lives in the light of the coming of the kingdom. We will carry out an in-depth study of selected parables of Jesus to learn afresh the impact and challenge they have in our lives today.

The Christian Approach to Chinese Beliefs and Culture (Saturday 9 April 2011)

Speaker: Canon Rev. Daniel Tong
Session 1: Chinese Traditions
Believers in Christ desire to honour and please Him, but do often struggle with doing so while yet respecting and continuing to uphold the ethnic cultural heritage that is ours as Chinese. This struggle between faith and culture is not something new. In this session, principles with which to evaluate the acceptability or not of a cultural belief and practice to the teaching of the Bible will be presented. A number of Chinese festivals will be explored so to help participants understand how these principles are to be applied. 
      Session 2: Ancestral Veneration
The call to honour our father and mother is universal. In Chinese tradition, this thought has been extended to the care of and obedience to our dearly departed. What does the Bible have to say about this? What are we to make of the traditional practices of venerating our departed ancestors? In this session, we will seek to better understand the Chinese perspective, and determine that which is acceptable or unacceptable for us who believe in Christ. 
              Session 3: Feng Shui 
The Chinese have practiced Feng Shui for thousands of years, but how much do we really understand this practise? Is it really a science? Why do people engage in this practise? Feng Shui has enjoyed renewed interest in South East Asia in recent years. In this session, we will explore the origin of this practise and seek a deeper understand of its primary principles. This will provide us with a better basis with which to decide on whether or not we should engage in Feng Shui.


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