Someone remarked on a Whatsapp chat group, “I don’t know how he can work full time and yet run a church simultaneously. He must have excellent time management!”
The comment was, of course, referring to Dr Philip Lyn, a medical doctor and senior pastor of Skyline SIB Church in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, who will be featured at a business conference organised by the Encubator come March 25 and 26.
Describing himself as a bi-vocational pastor, I just like the way he articulates it during the brief interview: “It is not as though I am a superman on a Sunday, and Clark Kent on a Monday morning...I’m the same person through the week.”
He hit the nail on the head, when, as he explains further, “I am a Christian and a follower of Jesus first before I am a pastor or a medical doctor!”
A New Book
Philip said that it has become a burden for him during the past 20 years to see the secular-sacred compartmentalisation mindset of the Church with regards to weekdays and Sundays.
Now, with his latest book, “The Invasive Kingdom,” he is sure to shake the Church out of its comfort zone.
“The Church has always regarded the workplace as something totally outside its walls, and the only tenuous link between many churches and the workplace is the weekly tithes and offerings that comes from the income of its members,” he says. “This mindset has, in many ways, weakened the Church considerably in terms of its mandate for outreach.”
Calling this a ‘travesty of the New Testament teaching’, Dr Lyn says the church is missing out on a huge opportunity to reach the ‘largest mission field in the world,’ known as the workplace.
“This mission field is readily accessible and is at the doorstep of the church every Monday morning.We have ignored it for far too long,” he added.
What Differentiates His Book
Unlike many books written by authors focusing on the theology of work, Dr Lyn promises that his latest book will be very practical, with many examples based on both his own experiences and observations as well as others, over the past two decades.
“I feel that the church needs to see what sacred-secular integration looks like again, especially after the pandemic,” he said. “There is really no necessity for a sacred-secular dichotomy.”
The pandemic, he adds, is God’s pit stop for believers to reflect on the church and her role in society. “The lockdown has forced us to realise that people can no longer walk into the church anymore. So, the church had to look for ways to reach out to the people, online,” he continues. “In short, thewalls between the church and the outside world must come down. Reaching out into the workplace and growing the church from the outside-in, must be part of the future new normal”
Many of the books written on the workplace target Christian marketplace leaders. But as a pastor, Philip is not just interested in the business owners or CEOs, but also the whole spectrum of people in the church, right from the blue–collar workers to top leaders.
“If the marketplace is where God wants us to be, then biblical principles must be applicable right across every level of the workplace,” he points out. “Many ordinary Christians feel that they cannot make a difference in the workplace because they think it is only for business leaders and CEOs. That’s wrong thinking.”
Putting it succinctly, he reiterates: “The Invasive Kingdom dismisses all that. It seeks to mobilise every believer to become a marketplace minister and bring about transformation within in his or her own sphere of influence at work.”
It is a book for all,but particularly for believers in Asia. “For example,” he stresses, “how do you infuse the values of the kingdom of God into a society permeated by corruption? Sure, corruption exists Western world, but in Asia it is the elephant in the room. If you can bring the Kingdom of God into a corrupt society, you can bring it anywhere.”
Therefore, the big idea behind the book is about mobilising and equipping the church to enter the marketplace during the weekdays and making a Kingdom impact on the workplace. “If we want to see a transformation in the workplace, it has to begin with the Church carrying out its mandate on a daily basis,” he concludes. “Jesus never said, Carry your cross only on Sundays.”
Dr Lyn will autograph his book at the business conference. It will also be available at Canaanland and on Shopee, or you can email him at:pastor.philip.lyn@gmail.com
Participants at the Encubator’s business conference themed, “Pivoting for a greater purpose” will be held on March 25-26 at Le Quadri Hotel in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Guest and former deputy minister, Hannah Yeoh will unveil a mock-up of the book, and every participant at the conference will be given a free copy of the book.To register use the link:
Note: Dr Lyn’s book was released at the business conference on the 25th of March 2022. Pictured below is the cover of the book and its signing.
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