Peter Whitting serves
as interim pastor in Indonesia

Peter Whitting: In late August and early September 2000, I received an invitation from Dan Thompson, who formerly served as a pastor in the United States, to come to Jakarta, Indonesia, to be an interim pastor for a month in the Jakarta International Christian Fellowship.

They have no full-time pastor. Instead, a board of elders manages the congregation and every three or four months they invite a pastor to come for four weeks to pastor the church. The interim pastor would give two sermons on each Sunday and conduct in-home Bible studies.

As the visiting pastor, you are also asked to counsel those who would request more in-depth counseling. My expenses were covered and I stayed with Dan and his wife, Cindi, during that time. I spent four weeks there in November.

Dan Borchers: How did that fellowship come into being?

PW: The congregation was formed about five years ago with 30 members wishing to provide an English-speaking service. Since then, the congregation has grown to around 450 to 500 members. Seventy percent of the congregation is indigenous Indonesian.

They used to lay out food for the people before services. Some people came to services in some cases wanting something to eat. Some came wanting to learn English and, in turn, they have come to Jesus Christ.

The congregation has a wonderful atmosphere and is praise-oriented. It is Christian Independent Fellowship, so it has at times a diversity of viewpoints on non-essential doctrines.

DB: What were the most memorable moments of your trip?

PW: On arriving, I was overwhelmed by the number of people, when you consider that Jakarta has 11.2 million people. It is a predominantly Muslim society, but the church is active in the midst of that environment. I was also moved by the abject poverty and the disparity between the wealthy and those who have no wealth.

On their first Sunday service they had a choir of street children ages 5 to 13. Most do not know their mothers or fathers. Most have come out of difficult spiritual bondage and have been healed. To hear them sing songs that we know, in Indonesian, such as "Shout to the Lord," and to see their joyous personalities was wonderful. The woman who provided a home for these children lives under death threats.

DB: What parallels did you observe in Indonesia?

PW: I felt at home as though I was in a WCG congregation. Their praise is similar to how we conduct services. Their desires for outreach, to develop small groups and to develop prayerful ministries were much in line with the aspirations of our denomination.

Many see the congregation as their home base, but they have individual ministries where they help the poor. Some are involved in missionary work. Many work with Bible translation. It gave me a focus as to where to encourage our own congregations.

DB: What cultural aspects did you encounter as far as Christians coming out of their environment?

PW: What struck me most was meats offered to idols. For me that has tended to be an intellectual argument, one that I could explain historically. But, here in a culture where people do offer things to idols, where they believe in animism and animal sacrifice, these issues that Paul addressed in Corinthians are real issues of faith.

Many feel uncomfortable when they walk into a home where someone has an artifact that either has a dragon or a reptile in the design. They understand that those things were part of the Buddha sacrifice.

DB: How were you a blessing to their fellowship and how were they a blessing to you?

PW: If I was a blessing to their fellowship it was being their pastor. I was asked in a small group how I came to Jesus and what were the most difficult things I faced in my own life. In sharing that, people were responsive to my openness in helping them in their needs and being able to see that we all have struggles and we all have things we need to deal with and take to Christ.

DB: How has your perception of the body of Christ changed and what lessons did you learn about the Holy Spirit and human spirit?

PW: There was such a diversity in the people I ministered to. One of the joyful things was conducting a men’s small group Bible study on a Wednesday. There they were—charismatic, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Greek Orthodox beliefs—such diversity, sincerity and deep desire in each one of those men to follow Jesus. It was such a witness of the Holy Spirit.

Indonesia is crippled by financial difficulty. Away from Jakarta and even in Jakarta, Christians are persecuted for their faith. I saw as a wonderful witness the power of the Holy Spirit to lift people above their circumstances, for them to place their souls in the hands of Jesus.

DB: What are the greatest challenges facing Christians in Indonesia?

PW: It is a great challenge to step out of the Muslim faith and to come into a Christian church. However, I think we can learn many things from the Muslim faith—their dedication, their total commitment to Allah, and frankly, one of the things that impressed me was the public-ness of their faith. When called to pray, they pray without any sense of embarrassment.

DB: How have your experiences in Indonesia changed your perspective of the gospel and of your view of America?

PW: Though we are a Christian nation, I feel at times that we are far from Christ. Seeing the abject poverty in Jakarta, my heart is turned to inner city ministries.

To me, spiritually speaking, the gospel is the answer. I felt that was something Jesus was impressing upon me and to bring it home and to encourage and empower, and teach and inspire our members to embrace the gospel, and as they do, we will have a people who worship, a people who love the Word, a people who desire to disciple and a people who are committed to Jesus’ values. I think our churches have a wonderful future when we focus on that.

DB: What one thing would you like to leave with people?

PW: To realize that the church of Jesus Christ is bigger than we realize. That it truly is magnificent; that it is a new creation and that it can’t be put in a box.

DB: Anything else?

PW: When I first arrived, I had quite a bit of time to myself, but when I started to connect with people, I started to come alive. Then I realized that I was never alone, that God was there with me. The same joy I have with people is available to me in my relationship with God. When I am alone, I am never alone, because he is there as a source of encouragement and inspiration. He can come to me through prayer, Bible reading and study.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2001