Pastor Maria Tok, 2002, Singapore
In July 2016, I attended the Christology Course organised by the School of Theology for its alumni. I wanted to go through the course again to be reminded afresh of what I have learnt in the past. When I first sat for the Christology Course, it was in 2002 at SOT and during the Pastor’s Course in 2004.
Over two weeks and 10 lessons, Pastor Bobby taught the course in a very lively way, and I was able to gain a deeper and broader understanding of Jesus Christ. God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts—what was initially a refresher course turned into a revelational experience for me as God opened my spiritual eyes and showed me how important Christology is to building the foundation of the church. In every lesson, not only did I experience a strong presence of God, but I also learned from Pastor Bobby how to lead, teach and preach by example. As a pastor, there is always something to do or someone to meet. So it was quite the effort for me to set aside the many things I had on hand and to make time for class. It was all worth it and God spoke to me in every lesson and I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in the Word of God and in His presence.
Pastor Maria teaching Christology in the Dialect Service
At the end of the two weeks, there was an exam in order to obtain a certificate. While I was sorting out the materials to study, I said to God: “It would be a waste if I did not pass on all that I’ve learnt from this course. How can I use it to teach my members in the Dialect Service?” Most of the members in the Dialect Service are elderly folks who are illiterate; some of the doctrines taught in Christology may be difficult for them to grasp. However, Jesus assured me that He is the mediator of all revelation; and as long as I was willing, He would teach the essence of Christology to the congregation through me.
So, I decided to take a step of faith—I reorganised the key points of the Christology Course taught by Pastor Bobby into eight lessons. From March to May 2017, we used eight Sunday services to teach the Dialect Service members “Basic Christology”. We gave each member a folder with lesson notes, and after each lesson (service), we gave them “homework” and reviewed the answers with everyone before the next lesson. To my pleasant surprise, our elderly members actively participated by doing their “homework” and checking their answers. They were able to understand what was taught and were blessed by the revelations they received.
As it turns out, Christology is not just for theologians and pastors, but for ordinary believers like you and I! A special thanks goes out to the SOT team for organising this course for the SOT alumni!