“Buku Ende 213,” then he started to sing phrases.
I sat with a former church staff, Sintua, in my Church | My first voiceover ever, fellas.
So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ- Romans 10:17 (ERV)
Never crossed my mind to talk with former church staff before, because I simply don’t know what to talk with them. Nevertheless, an idea popped up in my mind when I heard one of our church staff retired after long service, 39 years, in our church. I was so curious on how he faced and taught, at least, 4 generation in a row. I asked some of my friends on Instagram whether they have questions or thought about this project. And, on April 15, I met him in his house.
I asked him a profound question to start our long conversation, why did you want to be a church staff (sintua) at the first place?
Many of people wonder the reason behind every church staff’s motivation. He said, “It’s a call from God.” Like any other staff in church, this answer feels so mainstream and kinda intrigued me to know more the reason behind. “If the motivation is truly from the heart, then there will be no rush to find out the answer. Reading the word of God is truly made me comfortable in every single decision I took.” he answered me with a soft voices.
It must be very beautiful to have that kind of spirit. Then, what about his daily task as Sintua? He told me that his daily task was like an office task but the difference was how to embody the Christ value in daily life. “To make the word of God as the center and the pillar of life.” He added. “By saying that, you mean to be the example in the society, so that, the church congregation learn from you as Sintua?” He nodded.
In Matthew 28:19-20 written a great message for people who believe in Christ.
“So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time. “ Matthew 28:19-20 (ERV)
There are two main tasks a Christian who believes in God should do in their life, which are evangelism and discipleship. It takes a lot of energy to do these tasks, as a former servant in college life myself. How did you see these two task as a church staff? I asked him. “Evangelism happens in form of sermons, singing praise like what we always do in the church. Discipleship, I think, can be done if we embody the values of Christ in our daily life. Ourselves as an example in our neighborhood. Sometimes, it also counts as our role in the church, like joining the choir, worship team etc.” he said. “Then what about the rest of who don’t really have interest in joining the choir or worship team? How do the church disciples us?” I asked him back. “If they have a motivation of ‘Light’, they will know it.” Then, I asked questions back and forth about “Light” motivation he mentioned, I couldn’t grasp the idea he proposed.
The second phase, I asked him about How Jesus has changed his life for the last 39 years.
“What do you think about Jesus death and resurrection?” I asked him. “His death is gift for all of us, it brings life and eternal joy for each who believes in His resurrection. He has changed me into someone who loves to act gratitude and simplicity in my life.”
“Then, what about your favorite bible verse? do you have one?”
“Sure, Romans 10:17 -So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.-” He told me while opening His bible. “I also sing this song every night, BE 213.” after that, he sang phrases of that song. He loves singing song in the church to be obvious. “His omnipresence is truly what every Christian should know.” he said at the end of his singing. The most beautiful thing he experienced since believing in God is the posture to practice gratitude every day and able to embody the fruit of spirit.
The third phase, I asked him on today’s generation and the rumors about our Church.
“You have served for 39 years of your life, which means you have taught and experienced 4 generations in the church: Gen X, Millenial, Z, and Alpha. What’s the significant difference on teaching them?” (My friend, Inggrid, also ask the same question through Instagram).
“It’s hard to keep up with each generation because the shift is way too rapid. If the old generation like Millenial or x, they were easy to organize. If they were too noisy, raising our tone of voices would make them understand. However, today’s generation needs extra effort, like rewards for the good deed they’ve done.”
“What about teaching the word of God to the Gen Z?”
“Well, I think it’s easy to teach someone about it if they have a light motivation.” Like I mentioned earlier, there’s no clear explanation about this kind of motivation he mentioned.
“Amang, you must know that there are lots of rumor about our church out there. From money rumors, to the service in the church. What’s your thought about that?” I asked him, hopefully, in a well-mannered tone of voice and words.
“There are two main motivations when it comes to asking a question: to exaggerate or to purely ask certain issues. Many people’s motivation out there is to exaggerate the issues. When it comes to the money, I think, we don’t have any direct influence to know everything about it. We’re not the secretary or finance team itself, so, we don’t really need the information. Let us just be a normal church congregation.” he told me. His explanation only means two things for me, either he doesn’t know anything about the issue I’m talking or he just simply refuses to give more explanation. I refuse to ask a further questions because this interview should be a testimony of his life as long servant in our church, not investigation.
Some of my friends on Instagram give me questions and surely, I asked him about that:
Kalau Tuhan memang baik, kenapa bisa ada kejadian traumatis? Cth: bully, pemerkosaan, dll. If God is kind, then what did some traumatic event happen?
His answer: He is truly a good and kind God. Those event happens because of the wordly ambition and I believe every good and bad season in our life means for repentance in life.Apakah penyakit mental health adalah cobaan? Kalau ada yang meninggal gara2 itu, apakah itu krn ga sanggup dgn cobaannya? Is mental health trial in life? If there was a death cause of that, is that because they can’t handle the trial itself?
His answer: That probably happens because they don’t bring their trouble to God. As a Christian, she/he should have a Godly friend who is willing to disciple him/her. We can’t face our life challenge all by ourselves, we need friend to pray with us.Apakah kristen bisa cerai, lalu menikah lagi? Kalau kena RPP, berapa lama? Is Christian allow to divorce? What about RPP?
His answer: No, we’re not allowed to divorce. However, if a couple were divorce in front of the law, they won’t be get RPP from our church. On the other side, if the husband or the wife re-marries again, she/he will get RPP. RPP means they are no longer the church congregation, only in the case of re-marriage.Another cases, for example, birth that do not match the wedding date, the couple will be under the scrutiny of Church, so that they can be our congregation again.
Gimana pandangan amang thp alkitab elektronik? What do you about electronic bible in the church?
His answer: No, I don’t support electronic bible. The bible should be a physical book.Kekmana biar rendah hati? How to be humble?
His answer: Woa, it’s hard, I know but it’s worth of the struggle. The profound way to be humble is to be close with God. Proverbs 22:4 -Respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor, and true life.-
His answer is short and clear but hard to do in life.What was the big challenge as Sintua?
His answer: Too many, pahoppu. The society's scrutiny for us, the many people keep asking questions. That too embody Christ values in daily life is really a struggle.
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I learned a lot from this short meeting with him, I called him oppung anyway. I hope you also learn from this meeting. If you have questions or you found interesting thought come up after reading this article, you can always send me an e-mail or just DM me through Instagram.
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