Recognition Service for Rev. Taeju Ham

Esther 4: 1-17, Acts 20: 17-24.

·       For The Korean Congregation your new preacher has been here 18 months. You’ve probably by now taken a deep breath and relaxed, because the ministry of the gospel is now in the hands of your current supply minister.

·       Taeju, the Minister and Pastoral Leader of this Korean congregation is here.  He has answered the call to come and minister in this part of God’s vineyard. 

·       But if Taeju is left undertake on his own the assigned tasks of all that leadership, preaching, administering the sacraments, administration and pastoral care involves, then the congregation will not grow and go on from strength to strength.  It will slowly wither and die.

·       Taeju, you have a lot of experience of the Church in other places, your native Korea, with its large cities and teeming populations; the people of India, crowded, poor and struggling to survive each day. 

A New Relationship

·       A new relationship began some months ago and we want to acknowledge that.  You have been the supply minister to this congregation. The unique marriage of pastor and people joined together in a covenanted relationship one to the other and with God. 

·       The Korean congregation trusted and believed God for the right person to lead, and guide them into the next stage of their spiritual pilgrimage.  Taeju likewise has waited for God’s call to ministry in another theatre of Christian service.  The two came together and today we welcome that and look forward to a new vision and future for this part of God’s vineyard.

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Paul’s Vision for Ministry

·       Taeju and members of the Korean and Kiwi congregations, for a short time I want to direct you to part of Acts 20:24 where to the elders and leaders of Ephesus and Miletus Paul says: - “I want to finish the race I’m running.  I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus - the mission of testifying to the Good News of God’s kindness.”

·       As we know, a new sphere of Paul’s ministry was about to open up for him.  He was on his way to Jerusalem, and from there he planned eventually to go to Spain, possibly via Rome.  Events didn’t turn out that way, because Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. From that point Paul’s ministry turned from evangelising and founding churches in gentile lands to ministry to individuals, and to writing.

·       However, Paul’s original vision and calling remained paramount - I want to finish the race - I want to carry out the mission I received.

Taeju, continue with the vision that God first gave you.  Continue with it as the central focus of all that you do, despite the pressures of individuals and local parish traditions. 

There will also be pressures from the various church courts that you will serve.  Being two congregations in a parish brings tensions and pressures that come from different directions and places at the same time.  In situations such as these, let God’s vision for your ministry be uppermost.  Don’t let peripheral matters take your vision and focus off Jesus.

·       Our calling to ministry places us in a unique position.

1.  As servants of Jesus Christ we have a glorious message to proclaim.

·       No other message can ever replace the message of the gospel.  Nothing else will ever replace the record of God’s love and grace to people everywhere, of God’s never changing character, of God’s longing for fellowship with us. 

·       Nothing else can detract from the message of Christ’s life and compassion for the lonely and lost, the Saviour’s sacrificial and vicarious death for sinners at Calvary, the empty tomb of Easter Day, the Holy Spirit’s power given to individuals and the Church from Pentecost, and of the certainty and Christian hope we have for eternity in the presence of all God’s children.

·       Taeju, continue to teach and preach these things with conviction, with passion and with love.  Also remind these people often that they are a reconciling factor within society.  Wherever they go, they are the salt and the yeast of the Kingdom of God, small but vital elements that influence the lives of individuals, communities and nations. 

·       Preach and teach these truths, because today, more than ever in the midst of the clamour of alternative ideologies and disillusionment, people are wanting solid firm foundations for their lives - the foundation that only Jesus can provide.

2.  As a Minister people will want you to visit them and be thrilled to invite you into their homes.

·       Ministry is more than proclamation - it is also caring.  People appreciate opening the door to welcome the minister and pastor; one who comes as a friend, colleague, or companion, but also the representative of Christ and the church.

·       Visiting provides an opportunity for people to express their hopes and dreams, and their concerns and fears.  For me, time spent in peoples’ homes formulates a collective basis for the direction of preaching and ministry. 

·       As you visit the sick and lonely, the sad and bereaved, and those who are requesting baptism or marriage, you rub shoulders with them as minister and a caring friend.  It is in these situations where often the deepest and most effective work is carried out.

3.  Encourage and cultivate the ministry skills inherent in the people.

·       Parishioners will look to you to be the leader, encourager, and motivator.  A couple of years ago one minister told me that after five years in a parish, the minister should be in a position to be redundant, because the people will have been taught enough ministry and administrative skills to sail the ship without the captain.

·       Well, I’m still ruminating on this advice.  In God’s Kingdom and church, individuals still are given leadership and responsibility.  The body still needs the head, and the head still operates through the body. 

·       There will need to be changes, some will be easily accepted, some will be resisted, but the people will see you as their leader, and expect some change in direction and focus. 

Esther – Succeeded with her People’s Help.

·       Queen Esther could have pleaded for her life and the lives of her people all on her own.  She could have gone into the king and laid her life on the line without any backup when she petitioned her husband.  Instead she put in place a careful strategy.

“Assemble all the Jews in Susa.  Fast for me: do not eat or drink at all for three entire days.  My servants and I will also fast.  After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the royal decree.  If I die, I die,”

·       She couldn’t change or overturn the King’s decree, but by revealing the motive behind the plot, she could get it annulled.  She used and cultivated the gifts of those around her - her uncle Mordecai, her servants and her trusted companions.  She planned, she prayed, she fasted, she defied conventions, and she won out in the end.  Each year, her Jewish descendants honour her in the festival of Pirim.

·       The church and the parish doesn’t expect its servants to physically put their lives on the line today, but there will come times when you must gather those you know and trust to help you through a potential crisis that may seem like a death. 

Chart your Course.

·       Taeju, with pen, paper and prayer chart the course for this Korean congregation.  Be the leader.  Incorporate and encourage everyone with the vision that God has placed in your heart and on your life.  Head out into the far reaches of this parish’s life because your ministry is now to all these people. 

·       Don’t forsake your probing and reasoning skills.  Don’t let coming from far-away Korea to Hamilton dilute the way you interpret or present the gospel message, your effectiveness as a pastor, neither your influence as a leader, encourager and motivator.

·       Finally, I would encourage you and the people of this Korean congregation to make Paul’s aim your aim for the ministry here to the Korean congregation.  “I want to finish the race I’m running.  I want to carry out the mission I received from the Lord Jesus -- the mission of testifying to the Good News of God’s kindness.”

·       May God richly bless you Taeju and the people of this parish, in this sacred and holy calling of ministry in the Kingdom of God.