Learning to relate
20/01/2011 9:00 am <>
“I came to this workshop thinking that I would pick up a few new ideas and skills in ministering to people, but it has done more than that. It has changed my whole life!” This comment, made by a Taiwanese university professor, who is a leading elder in his church, represents the experience reported by many who have taken the Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills workshop (SYIS) here in Taiwan.
Evangelism is happening in Taiwan. People are coming to the Lord. However, statistics have also shown that the church has a large back door. People are going out the back door at the same time that other people are entering the front door. The church would grow even more if we could close the back door. One of the reasons for the large back door is that the model of relating to people in the minds of many Christians is not informed by the truths of Christianity. With all the best of intentions church leaders sometimes treat people in an unhealthy and non-biblical way.
The SYIS workshop is a five-day intensive workshop in relationship skills from a biblical perspective for Christian missionaries and church workers. When I took the workshop while on home assignment in the USA in 1995, I said to myself, “This is really worthwhile. It would be a blessing in Taiwan.” After being trained to lead the workshop a couple of years later, a colleague and I held it in English. Western missionaries and Asian Christian workers with adequate English have participated in these workshops. Even one high-level church leader from Indonesia came for the training and was very enthusiastic about it. I have also responded to requests to hold it in Thailand and Outer Mongolia.
After a long time of hoping to introduce it to the Taiwan church, a translator was found, the written material was translated, Taiwanese facilitators were trained, and the first Chinese language workshops were held. This last couple of years SYIS workshops have been held in two seminaries and a number of churches, mostly in the Hsinchu area. At least two workshops that I am aware of have also been held for Christians on the other side of the Taiwan Straits. A loosely organized local committee is overseeing the promotion of SYIS in Taiwan church circles. The international SYIS organization, the local facilitators, and I have seen the Lord answer many prayers and open many doors for all this to be possible.
What is next for this ministry? The committee’s promotion of the training in local church circles is key if the SYIS workshop is to help very many Christian workers. Our time is limited. The local facilitators and I are all volunteers. We have other jobs and ministries. We need advocates in local churches, organizations, and seminaries, who see the value of this kind of training and are willing to sponsor it. May the Lord open doors of opportunity for this valuable training in Christian relationship and ministry skills!
Paul Buttrey - Taipei
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