Reflection on LCS Pastors’ Retreat on 23 and 24 March 2026.
Rev Nick Singh
Bishop Anthony planned a retreat for the Pastors in March. His objective for the retreat was for the Pastors to dwell in the presence of God, to be renewed in our love for the Lord and in unity to serve the Lord together.
Bishop Anthony invited Rev Mark Shultz from the Lutheran Church in Australia to lead the retreat. Bishop made a very good choice as Rev Mark has 30 years of experience in the Pastoral Ministry. He had also led congregations to grow and multiply. So, he was a very suitable person for the retreat.
Bishop Anthony opening the Retreat
In this retreat we had to leave our phones in a box and be completely undisturbed so that we could focus on God and one another. This is the first retreat I had to do that. The retreat from 9am to 4pm and was held at Jurong Christian Church.
We were taught to “Dwell in the Word.” It was a tool that Rev Mark had effectively used in his congregations. We invited the Holy Spirit in prayer to come and open our hearts, minds, ears and eyes so that He can teach us what God wanted us to know. The Word chosen was Matthew 4:1-11. It was read aloud and we listened to where our attention was drawn to- a verse, phrase, or a single word. We then listened to another person what he or she heard from the passage and shared with the larger group. Dwelling in the Word is a good tool we could use in our groups.
These picture cards were used to encourage and focus our sharing.
Then we learned about the Triangle of the Trinity and God’s Triangle of life. We are familiar with the Triangle of the Trinity which is God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. God’s Triangle of life is identity, authority and power. The Triangle of life derives from the Triangle of the Trinity. The Father gives us identity. He makes us His children through Holy Baptism. The Son shares His authority with us as He authorizes us to announce His rule and reign. The Holy Spirit fills us with His power for living in the world for others and fulfilling Christ’s calling and purpose for us.
At our Lord’s baptism, He was affirmed of His identity and equipped with power. After His baptism, after knowing His identity and filled with power, He is led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. “Then” is a key word in the passage.
Rev Mark then taught us about the temptations of Jesus. The temptations fall into three categories, Appetite- do I have enough? Can I trust God to provide? Approval- Am I enough? Seeking approval from others rather than being approved by God. Ambition- Am I doing enough?
We learned three great truths to combat these temptations. We are completely loved and have nothing to fear. We are completely forgiven and have nothing to hide. We are completely righteous in Christ and have nothing to prove.
The next great learning was from Ephesians 4. We learned about equipping since this is the Pastor’s work. Equipping occurs by teaching the Word, placing others in the right services and bringing healing to them.
Finally, Rev Mark got us to sit in the center of a circle and share our needs. The other Pastors prayed for us together and Bishop anointed us with oil. This is the first time we have done this. It was a very supportive time. We ended by partaking of the Holy Communion to be strengthen by the Lord for the ongoing ministry. We had a very wonderful retreat. Thanks to Bishop!
Thanks be to God for a time of rest and refreshing in the Word.