Shared Values

Our Values

Our Shared Values

2015 - 2020

One Teacher
One Father
No Hero Worship, No Competition
No Excuse For Poor Work Standards Or Discourtesy
Building Deep, Not Wide
Worshippers, Not Ministers
Family Before Church

One Teacher

In COBS, we have only one Teacher - our Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

"Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters… And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah…” (Extracted from Matthew 23:8-12 NLT)"

Some Christians in China addressed me as 老师 (Teacher) but I told them they are better off learning from the Lord than from myself or any earthly teacher. The Holy Spirit sometimes moves me to share what I learnt, but I make it very clear that I am not anyone’s Teacher. Only the Lord is. As the Lord is our Teacher, our learning is limitless. Everyone in COBS is responsible for their own learning; growing as we allow God to break and bend us into a new and broader circle of understanding.

God says to me: “A teachable spirit is a humble spirit.” Indeed, it takes humility and a good learning attitude to learn from the Lord. Having the Lord as my Teacher is such a joy. To me, learning is a worthwhile investment of resources and time. Perhaps that is why God loves to tell me things.

“A teachable spirit is a humble spirit.”

There are at least four people whom God has sent to mentor me:

I learnt from Ai Boon how to read the Bible when I was a new believer, dissecting every sentence; recognising the significance of each punctuation, nuance and the context they were written in.

God sent a couple, The Wongs, to train me in spiritual warfare when someone handed them keys to the empty apartment, without rent, right next to mine. Over four years, I learned how to identify and overcome the evil forces operating in the old conserved Freemason apartment building we live in and how to drive away the evil darkness in our neighbourhood. I saw for myself the power of God firsthand working through their lives. My cautious husband commented, “They are the closest to a miracle I have ever seen.” Then God sent them away.

Pastor BC, Head of Prayer and Intercession and also “prophet” of one of the largest churches in Singapore then encouraged me to embrace my spiritual gifts when I was unwilling to. Through her, I learned about corporate prayer and intercession and how to embark on mission trips safely and effectively. After my husband decided that we should leave the church, I continue to meet up with her about twice a year to this day. Her prayers and counsel are most precious to me.

I also have mentors who are no longer alive - the testimony of past Christians, the people in the Bible, inspired writings and more – God uses them. Their voices and spirits sometimes call out to me from bookcases or come alive in my spirit as I read their works, guiding me and leading me at critical points in my life.

But all of them are not the Teacher and I do not worship nor follow them, nor take up their cause. They are instruments and precious vessels used by God to teach and guide me, only for a season.

One Father

The other important thing in COBS is this - we have only one Father, God Himself. I have personally experienced and witnessed messy relationships and soul ties in church when they started this nonsense of calling people or themselves a ‘spiritual mother/father’ too casually without prayer or thought. It opened the way to a controlling, abusive and manipulative spirit, stumbling and harming so many good and earnest Christians.

Have you noticed that in the Bible, everyone has only a first name and does not have a surname or family name?

Why?

"Because God has no grandchildren. He only has sons and daughters."

As the good book says:

"Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.” – Matthew 23:9 (NKJV)

So, please, do not call me or anyone in our community your spiritual mother, father, child, grandmother or grandfather. I have no interest in being, nor have the ability to be, anyone’s spiritual mother although I have a very motherly heart. I raised three earthly children and that is enough for me.

Since God is our Father, we all share the same surname in His kingdom and that is why in all of COBS materials, we refer to everyone only by their first names. We are not bothered by who is what in this world. We are just sons and daughters of our Almighty God.

No Hero Worship, No Competition

There is no room for hero worship, titles, ranks or competition amongst members.

I always remind members not to put me or anyone in COBS on a pedestal, no matter how much that person means to them and how much that person has helped them.

"We do not worship man, only God."

Take a moment to read Matthew 23 in the Bible and see what Jesus says about Pharisees and the Teachers of the law – 不要害我! (Translation: Do me no harm!)

The only Person worthy of all glory and honour is God and God alone. We only worship One God, One Father, and One Lord, in spirit and in truth.

No Excuse For Poor Work Standards Or Discourtesy

There is a Chinese saying that describes it very well: “国有国法，家有家规” “A country is governed by its laws; a home is governed by its rules.”

In the spiritual dimension, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, no longer separated by rank, age, status or position. However, we need to conduct ourselves appropriately in the physical realm.

In the workplace, employees have to deliver to their bosses what they are paid to do and to do it well if they want to keep or advance in their jobs. Business owners have to provide quality products or services to stay in business, and observe proper business etiquette and protocol to maintain good business relations. Being brothers and sisters in Christ is no excuse for poor work ethics, substandard work, bad manners or bad attitude. In other words, we do not take each other for granted just because we are fellow Christians.

"We do not take each other for granted just because we are fellow Christians."

The same goes for our personal life. For example, in our Chinese culture, we have to address elders – parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles - reverently and accordingly. Addressing an elder by their first name reflects poor upbringing.

In church, we address pastors, church workers and elders respectfully. If you work for the military, you have to salute a senior officer and address him appropriately in your line of duty. Similarly, we show courtesy and due respect for our government leaders and officials, regardless of our political stance, for it is written:

"Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.” - Romans 13:1 (NLT)

Building Deep, Not Wide

For now, I feel that COBS shall remain small; focusing on the growth of our inner man, building deep rather than wide. We started COBS in our business where we were given favour by our Principals to conduct our worship meetings in their meeting room. When that season was over, we celebrated God in our homes together with our family and our loved ones. Our bonds grew stronger and deeper as our families cared for one another - helping each other, studying the Word, laughing and crying together and going on mission trips and retreats led by the Holy Spirit as one COBS family.

"Small & Intimate"

We freely welcome anyone who wanted to worship God with us. But when the meeting place gets too crowded or whenever led by the Holy Spirit, members leave to light up a new torch (worship place) in their homes or in another place. We have no ambition to become big or to change the world. We simply focus on God and worship Him and love Him with all of our heart, our strength and our soul.

Worshippers, Not Ministers

As we gather every week to worship God, we do not let anything nor anyone take away our focus on Him. That is precisely why we do not do any ministry, or pray for anyone, when we start to worship.

We are not called to shepherd anyone. That is the work of the pastors. We are not pastors, just worshippers, joining with all of creation to worship God until we are in one voice, one sound. We simply welcome His presence into our meetings and let His Spirit minister to those who need it.

He always does.

"We simply worship God."

Because everyone is taught how to hear His voice, they take ownership for hearing God for themselves. We only intercede when His Spirit leads us to do so. And help one another only when He leads us to.

Family Before Church

The first and most important community of COBS is the family, just like Adam and Eve is the first community in the Book of Genesis.

First, we take care to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our personal lives and in our marriage - keeping it pure, happy and strong in the Lord - for the physical, mental and spiritual health of a marriage sets the tone and climate in the home and in our life.

Next, we focus on nurturing our physical fruit - our children. When my children were little, I watch over them like a hawk and pray for wisdom and strength to train them in the way they should go, praying hard that they may not depart from the ways of God nor may they forget Him when they grow up.

In COBS we teach our children the Spirit-led life by living it ourselves - learning to hear the Lord’s voice, joining in our worship meetings, going on adventures and retreats with the Lord and letting them see for themselves our broken way of life.

"The family was the first community."

When they become adults, our parenting ends and we hand them back to the Father, knowing that they are in His good and mighty hands. We continue to build upon our faith and our relationship with our spouse, doing things together and in the community, while providing a warm and welcoming home for our children to rest or take shelter in their world when they need it. Our only job remaining as a parent is to continue to pray over them. In COBS, the family takes priority over the church.

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