CrossOver Project

The greatest impact resulted from the CrossOver Project is not Jay Chou, but a man named Terry Hung.

http://www.citynews.sg/2012/08/teddy-hung-crossing-from-darkness-into-light/

Teddy Hung: Crossing From Darkness Into Light

Former triad leader of the notorious 14K in Hong Kong, Teddy Hung shares his story of love, chastening and redemption.

His is a story of God’s love and redemption. It tells us that time is never an issue for God when He disciples someone; and it is never too late for anyone to come back to Him.

At the age of 15, Teddy Hung joined a triad. During the 1970s and through the ’80s, he became the most feared triad leader in Hong Kong with businesses that involved drug-dealing, gambling dens and discos. He had four wives and a host of girlfriends, each one a top model or actress in Hong Kong.

As he grew older, he began to see how his gambling dens were causing families to break up and his drug businesses had forced youngsters to start stealing and engaging in other illegal businesses. He started to despise himself and soon slipped into depression. His nights were restless and he started having suicidal thoughts.

“It was very strange that I would have suicidal thoughts because I’ve always hated people who kill themselves. I felt that they were wimps,” said Hung, in one video testimony.

Doctors could not cure his depression or insomnia and he was perpetually in a bad mood. A group of pastors tried to reach out to him but he rejected their invitation outright, declaring that he “hated people who talk about Jesus.” He would curse and swear at others who tried to preach the Gospel to him, boasting that “I am prepared to go to hell.”

Knowing that he would not attend a church service, those same pastors invited him to a Crossover concert by Sun Ho, which was held in Hong Kong in 2002. This was one in a series of concerts throughout Asia by Sun in which she performed pop songs from her hit albums; she would then share her testimony in the middle of the concert, and at the end of the show, her husband, Kong Hee, the senior pastor of City Harvest Church in Singapore, would give an altar call. This simple routine saw tens of thousands receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

At the end of the Hong Kong show, Hung found himself at the front of the stage, saying the sinner’s prayer led by Kong.

That very night, Hung said a prayer to God saying “If You are real, heal me of my insomnia and I’ll believe in You.” That was the first night in many that he had a full night’s sleep. That experience taught him that God was indeed real.

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out
the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Matthew 13:3-9

Christian doing Good (Spread the Gospel), Mother Teresa

 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

India parliament disrupted over Mother Teresa 

The Rajya Sabha was briefly adjourned on Thursday after opposition members denounced comments by the leader of a Hindu group who said Roman Catholic missionary Mother Teresa had tried to convert people to Christianity.

Religious conversion has become a highly emotive issue in India recently, with debate whipped up by some supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who see multi-faith Indian as a Hindu-first nation.

Members of the upper house criticised Mohan Bhagwat, head of the country's most powerful Hindu organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who recently said Mother Teresa helped the poor to make them "obligated so that they become Christian".

Political opponents of Modi and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which the RSS supports, said right-wing Hindu groups were fanning religious tension in a country where violence between members of different religion has been common for decades.

"First, they're trying to de-iconize Mahatma Gandhi," said P. Rajeev, a member of parliament belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), referring to comments by a BJP lawmaker that described Gandhi's Hindu-nationalist assassin as a patriot.

"Now, they are trying to de-iconize Mother Teresa," Rajeev said.

There has been no major religious violence since Modi came to power in May. But at least seven Christian institutions have been vandalised or have reported arson or theft in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, the government pledged to increase security at hundreds of churches in New Delhi.

Bhagwat's comments came days after Modi made a long-awaited speech on religious tolerance, vowing to protect all minorities.

Sunil Lucas, a communication director for the Archdiocese of Calcutta (Kolkata), told Reuters it was "terrible" that Bhagwat's comments came so soon after Modi's assurances.

Mother Teresa "acted in faith and responded to the call of Jesus, but the outcome was social good and uplift of people," Lucas said.

This week, senior BJP member Meenakshi Lekhi sought to distance her party from the controversy, telling reporters the government had nothing to do with Bhagwat said.

However, Lekhi also defended the comments, saying Mother Teresa herself had said her job was to spread Christianity, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

Mother Teresa, who was born in Macedonia and became an Indian citizen, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work in the slums of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal.

In the last year, the RSS has been working to expand its base in West Bengal, stoking tension by asserting the superiority of Hinduism over Christianity and Islam.

Religious Investings, Land Lord?

Seek first the Kingdom of God and all the riches will be blessed upon you.... Prosperity Gospel. 

$25m hub for churches in Jurong hits a snag

Lutheran Church must shoulder most of the cost after some pull out
 
The Lutheran Church has hit a bump in the road in its bid to develop a $25 million multi-denomination hub in Jurong for small and medium-sized churches.

Some of the congregations which had initially pledged to jointly develop the complex have pulled out, citing a lack of funds.

It means the Lutheran Church, which told The Straits Times of its church hub plans last February, will now have to shoulder most of the development's cost.

Its bishop Terry Kee said the new arrangement puts more pressure on them to raise funds.
"It is a challenge for us financially, but we are pushing forward in view of the great need for religious space in Singapore, as the population and Christian community continue to grow."

There are more than 500 Protestant churches today and Christian worshippers have almost doubled from about 588,000 in 2000 to around 930,000 in 2010.

The site for the hub is currently leased by the Lutheran Church's Jurong Christian Church, with about 50 years left on the land lease.

The old two-storey Jurong Christian Church building was demolished on Jan 2. Piling works for the new five-storey complex started on Jan 26.

The hub is expected to be ready by September next year.

The Lutheran Church, which has so far raised $10 million for the project, will now act as the landlord. It will rent out the space to churches such as the Jurong Tamil Methodist Church, King of Glory Church and possibly New Life Baptist Church.

The only church contributing to the project's development cost is S-Word, a branch of the Evangelical Free Church.
It will pump $6.3 million into the development and occupy half a floor there for 30 years, with an option to renew.
Bishop Kee said the new building will have three service halls that can seat 400, 500 and 600 people.

The 60,000 sq ft hub will also have classrooms, a kindergarten, offices, multi-purpose halls, as well as a prayer chapel and garden on the rooftop.

Bishop Kee said the hub aims to address the space crunch faced by religious groups.

He has been meeting the authorities over the past four years to explore solutions to the lack of space for religious use.
Last December, the Ministry of National Development called a Request for Information to seek views and proposals on the idea of housing multiple groups of the same religion in multi-storey buildings.

The ministry said that these hubs will likely be located within or on the fringe of industrial areas.

Pastor T. Jeevanantham of Jurong Tamil Methodist Church said religious hubs make sense for small churches, which often struggle to find their own place.

"It's convenient to share the place with other churches as we are resource-tight and cannot pay large sums upfront for a new building," he said.

Church elder will complain "$ no enough" but but....  "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Matthew 6:33