EP Co-workers Retreat '25 (Living the Gospel)

Rev Dr Graham Stanton was the speaker for this year’s EP Co-workers retreat, which was held on 8-10 September at Saint Giles Hotel in Johor Bahru.

He is the husband of Kate, and the father of four children. He is serving as a lecturer in practical theology at Ridley College, and he is also the director of the

centre for children and youth ministry.

He said that the overall theme of his messages was on 'Living the Gospel' -

primarily as individuals, as disciples - not just as leaders of God's people. To expand, this means not just living the Christian life, but living out the good news of Jesus 

Talk 1: “Sincere Love” (Romans 12)

Rev Stanton shared a little about his background. Notably, he was greatly impacted by his youth group leader who taught about Jesus, and embodied the life of Jesus, and he hopes to extend to others what his youth leader did for him. 

His heart is how we can be the church for young people. He said that we need to address this, not just for the sake of young people, but for the sake of the church, for the life and energy of young people is missing in many churches.

Rev Stanton quoted Leslie Newbingin, a famous missionary and missiologist, that “The only answer, the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.” Therefore, what young people need, what the whole world needs, is for the church to be the church.

The overarching theme of Romans 12 was on sincere love, which is found in verse 9.

First of all, sincere love means sacrifice – “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice …. Which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). To expand, this means our lives should be based on the gospel (“in view of God’s mercy”), and we worship by giving our lives to what is truly worthy. This leads to us to be able to ‘test’ (check if what the decision in front of us is really God’s will or not) and ‘approve’ (not just know, but live out’) God’s will.

Next, Rev Stanton shared more about what promotes sincere love – which he covered in 2 ways.

The first way can be found in verse 6 to 8, where we are to ‘think of ourselves with sober judgement’. This means not to think of ourselves too highly, or lowly, but properly. This means that we do not overrate our abilities, and take the place of someone who may be better equipped to serve in that function.

At the same time, it is to recognized that who we are, “our skills, experience, wealth, energy”, is a gift from God for others – we are often given gifts too big to just support ourselves. He illustrated this with a personal story of how he and his wife received an extremely large pot as one of their wedding gifts, which can cook for way more than a couple, with the implication being that their family will be one that provides hospitality for many.

The second way which promotes sincere love is by “hearing the instructions of God”.

Then, Rev Graham proceeded to read out from Romans 12:9 to 18, asking everyone to reflect on what they heard, and which instructions in particular was God’s Spirit highlighting through His word.

He also noted certain features of these instructions. Firstly, there is strategy of replacement - Apostle Paul does not merely tell us to avoid evil, but to aim at good – for moral change is about saying yes to better things – “putting on the new, and taking off the old”.

Secondly, some of these instructions were addressed to the heart (affections), some are addressed to the will (actions). For example, verse 12 focuses more on the heart (“Be joyful … patient … faithful”), while verse 13 focuses more on the will and actions (“Share with … Practice hospitality”).

He noted that sometimes, people may wonder what comes first, heart or will. But actually both come together – with one preceding the other at different times. Rev Stanton reminded everyone of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

He notes that this subverts our reasoning, for we think that where our heart is (where our affections lies), that is what we will treasure. However, instead we are called to treasure the things of the kingdom (investing our resources in them), and then our heart will start to value these things.  

In conclusion, Rev Stanton concluded that living a life of sincere love is a costly offering to God.

He challenged us to reflect if we are willing to pay the cost of faithfulness to Jesus, and if we are truly passionate for Jesus (passion comes from the latin word which means ‘to suffer’).

Tying his message back to young people, he notes that young people are wired for passion, they are searching for something worth giving their lives to. However, in this day and age, adults do everything for young people, and expect nothing of them. He challenged everyone to view young people as those who will respond to a sacrificial call, provided that the people who make the call live sacrificially.

Summarized by Rev Lionel Neo

Talk 2: “Life in the (un)Real World” (Romans 13) 

In, the 2^nd talk, which was titled “Life in the (un)Real World”, Rev Stanton reiterated that Love is the key focus on Romans 12-16. When considering the retreat’s theme of “Living the Gospel”, its really about living the Gospel in love.

Rev Stanton suggested that the chapter could be divided into 3 sections – the first section regarding politics (vv1-7), the third section regarding the end times (vv11-14), and how in-between these sections was a section on love (vv8-10). Despite the division into 3 sections – Romans 13 is to be read as a whole – for even in a secular world of politics, Christians were to look forward to the coming kingdom of God brought with the end times, and to do so with love.

Rev Stanton observed that the epistle was written during 50s AD, with Nero being the Roman Emperor at that time. However it was only later in Nero’s reign that the Roman Empire was agonistic against Christians, with the demand of worship to the statue of Caesar, and the later intense persecution of Christians when Nero blamed Christians for the great fire in AD 64.

The apostle Paul did not condone the injustice done against Christians, but this does not mean that Christians should run away state politics. Rather, Christians should participate with the world which God has placed us in and to engage it in with love.

Andy Crouch, an American Christian author wrote, “if we want to transform culture, what we actually have to do is to get into the midst of the human cultural project and create some new cultural goods that reshape the way people imagine and experience their world.” The proper engagement of human culture might lead to tensions, but Christians were to learn to do so in love. The cost was worth it; for our Lord Jesus Christ had set the example for us when He engaged with the authority and culture of His time.

Stanton also pointed out how the Bible in its entirety could be seen in six acts: “1: Creation”, “2: Fall”, “3: Israel”, “4:Jesus”, “5:Church” and “6: New Creation”. The last act has yet to come, and we are now living in Act 5 of the Church. We have the final act to look forward to and have the privilege of the past four acts to learn from. Christians therefore should engage the present with the knowledge of the past and the foresight of the future. Stanton compared it with the late actor Robin Williams, who largely improvised his lines while recording the 1992 animated film “Aladdin” - because Williams knew the story very well, where the story came from and where it was going.

To know our Christian story well, Christians should equip ourselves with a comprehensive understanding of the Bible. Stanton quoted from John 5.39-40 that Christians are to study Scriptures diligently, so that we can be co-labourers and collaborators to find ways in moving this world and culture forward. That is a shared responsibility of the people of God as a body of Christ, as we invite others to participate in the life and love of Jesus Christ.

Summarized by Rev Jackson Wan.

Talk 3: Navigating Difference in Peace (Romans 14:1-15:7)

For Talk 3 of the Retreat, Rev Stanton shared with us on “Navigating Difference in Peace”, based off Romans 14:1-15:7.

The exhortation began with how we should “live the gospel” - not merely by knowing Scripture but by using it to think about our world, particularly the world of the young people. Hence, through Scripture, we

 investigate their experience, life and involvement in the church.

Stanton also shared that the theme of Love deepens throughout Romans 12-15: Sincere Love (Romans 12), Love that fulfils the Law (Romans 13), and now love that welcomes others across differences (Romans 14-15).

In Romans 14 Paul addresses the differences and conflict in the early church – mainly between the Jewish and Gentile believers who were fighting over dietary restrictions and observing sacred days. These disagreements were over matters of opinion and not essential doctrinal matters. The differences were not about salvation or moral sin but over disputable matters – issues of conscience which believer should be able to disagree with while remaining united in Christ.

We were remind of Paul’s instruction in Romans 15:7, “Accept one another, just as Christ accepted you.”

This acceptance is not mere tolerance but genuine welcome, where we are to embrace one another as family because Christ has already welcomed them.

In 1 Corinthians Paul clarifies that true faith is not about certainty or doubt but about conscience and love. While the “strong” believers exercise freedom in Christ, the “weak” believers are more cautious and have sensitive conscience. Whilst Paul agrees with the strong (Romans 14:14), he insist that being right is not as important as being loving. Both group of believers are to submit to God and God alone, with neither being the master over the other.

Rev Stanton uses the concept of a Theological Triage, where matters of first importance takes priority over disputable matters. Indisputable matters, or matters of first importance, include what Paul covered in 1 Corinthians 15:3 – 7: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, was buried, and raised according to the scriptures. Rev Stanton added that while believers might unite and defend such indisputable matters, we will differ on disputable matters and opinions, and we should remember that unity is more important than uniformity.

Romans 14:19 sums it up as “Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

Peace not simply as the absence of war and strife, but in the Hebrew concept of shalom, of wholeness, harmony, and togetherness. Just because something is disputable does not mean we should dispute everything. Again, we are called to unity and harmony, allowing the authority of God to speak to each one of us personally.

Stanton ends with how we should engage young people with five important qualities – Acceptance, Rev Belonging, Ownership, Understanding and Trust. In simpler terms, by accepting them just as Christ accepted them – we build relationship grounded in love and humility which points more to the gospel than arguments will.

Quoting John Stackhouse, Stanton closed with a reflection on why God allows believers to differ, “not as a flaw in divine communication, but as a feature that fosters: Humility, Dialogue and Mutual dependence.” (full quote below - [1])

Disagreement invites the church into conversations like a family, where we find repentance, grace, and communal discernment.Until Christ returns, we “see only in part,” (cf 1 Cor 13) but faith, hope and love remain. Living the Gospel, therefore means loving across differences, welcoming and accepting one another – for their good and for the glory of God.

In short, “Living the Gospel: Navigating Difference in Peace” is to live out the Love of God to all whom God has accepted.

“God allows for a degree of epistemic ambiguity—such as differing interpretations of Scripture—not as a flaw in divine communication, but as a feature that fosters:

•        Humility: Recognizing the limits of one's own understanding.

•        Dialogue: Encouraging engagement with others in the Christian community.

•        Mutual dependence: Reinforcing the need for communal discernment and shared wisdom.”[1]

[1] John G. Stackhouse, Jr., Need to Know: Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistemology, Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summarized by Rev Jordan Tan

Talk 4: A Bigger Vision (Romans 15:8 - 33)

It was said that of the children currently involved in church, 60 to 70 percent of those from Christian families will eventually leave it. That is not only a sad statistic — it is an indictment of us. Yet if the Church somehow manages to hold on to all of them without change, it may well become the kind of church nobody actually wants to be part of.

A bigger vision is needed for engaging young people. This is not about making church easier for them, or lower the bar for them, for that will make Church. David Tacey, in The Spirituality Revolution, observes that “conventional forms of Christianity seem not to be interested in personal risk or adventure, because the great truths have already been revealed, and it is simply a matter of devoting oneself to what is already known.”

In contrast, we can learn from the Apostle Paul who points us to a bigger vocation, fellowship and community.

A Bigger Vocation (Romans 15:14–22)

Paul’s vocation was to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. We see that our vocation for God’s people comes from what God has done for us - we are an offering. We are set apart for the purposes of God. It is our privilege, responsibility and joy that calls us for a contribution that all of us have. Paul’s vocation illustrates that Christian faith is never meant to be confined or comfortable – to spread the gospel, risk and adventure must be embraced.

A Bigger Fellowship (Romans 15:23–33)

From vocation, Paul moves to fellowship, seen in his call to share resources for the sake of God’s kingdom. Fellowship is not just about sharing a cup of tea and biscuits, but joining together in a common task. Paul talks about material provision, resources, physical items and prayer. Fellowship means being together for a shared project, which can be extended to all ages including the young. Case in point: One church got ten-year-olds to control the house lights during services. This was a deliberate joint-project to get everybody on board- this is fellowship!

A Bigger Community (Romans 16:1–24)

Paul names 26 individuals though, intriguingly, he’s never been to Rome. This tells us that we are a large and connected family, which is both a gift and a challenge. We need to challenge young people to draw on these connections.

Paul closes with a doxology for God and prayed for Him to strengthen His people according to the gospel — so that as we obey Him, the Gentiles will come to the obedience of faith.

When we engage young people and invite them to have bigger vision, to share in God’s mission, invite to share with others in a global enterprise, to be in a community that engages in an international network of the faithful, then we do not just retain the 60-70% of these people in our churches’ four walls, we root them in God’s gospel and empower them as witnesses for God for the expansion of His kingdom.

Summarized by Rev Adrin Munoz