HIP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - 25 March

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BEFORE you come for your interview, please ensure that you have TYPED OUT your answers to the following questions. I will be very strict about this. Please email me your responses no later than 1 day before your interview.

1. What are 3 areas in your life you would like to see growth in the next 12 months? Be as specific as possible. Please focus on spiritual or character areas and not skill areas (eg. to learn how to play the piano or to learn how to cycle), unless these skills relate back to a spiritual or character issue.
⁃ 1. Self Control
⁃ This relates to a number of areas in my life, family, personal discipline (time management, planning), building healthy male/peer relationships and boundaries for emotional intimacy I have with girls. These are all things I want to work on, but I believe that the overarching factor is the core value that I have always run with my feelings/instincts on what feels good, instead of restraining myself (e.g. it feels good to be out with friends so I have less time with family, or it feels good/and is easy to interact with girls, hence less time spent on building healthy male relationships.)

⁃ Realising the core value of 'Self Control' and keeping back from what 'feels good', even though it may be good, in order that I may have more time and energy to spend on what is 'better', is something I would like to achieve, so that I rely on more 'thinking' than the 'feeling' that I usually exercise. This would be measured by me exercising 'thinking' more, and growth in areas such as family relationships, male peer relationships, and me keeping to personal disciplines and boundaries in my interactions with girl friends.

⁃ 2. Word
⁃ I would like to grow in my personal walk in God in the aspect of knowing his Word and seeking it. In spending intentional regular time in studying his Word, as opposed to Worship in music which I always turn too (though I am aware that exploring God's Word is done in worship as well).
⁃ Besides regular time, I would like to grow in knowing God's word well besides areas that I am comfortable in (certain verses/books that I currently turn to for encouragement all the time).
⁃ I would also like to grow in how to find a direction for exploring God's Word, I often find myself lost and intimidated on where to start and what is good for my growth.

⁃ 3. Evangelism
⁃ I would like to grow in reaching out to non-believers. Whether it is to strangers on the street, or to friends, I would like to grow to be more willing to reach out to them

⁃ And subsequently, reach out, out of that willingness. My comfort zone is worshipping God, and providing encouragement and love to fellow believers, and I feel that I need to grow out of that, especially in this current season where I do not have academic grades to focus on.




1. Is there known sin in your life? What has been done about it?
⁃ Pornography. I still struggle with it, but mostly in silence, I find it difficult to talk about. Pastor Josh and Marcus Wong (worship leader) due to Everglow Camp, but I find it difficult to talk about it even knowing that they know. I'm very uncomfortable with talking to my supervisor about it.

2. Are there spiritual truths which you currently struggle with believing?
⁃ Honour your parents, which ties in with respecting and honouring your spiritual authorities. I trust my pastors/leaders implictly, and am very willing to submit even if I don't understand it all, trusting that God knows and wants me to be shaped by them for a reason. However, I face a huge trust issue when trying to apply the mentality to my parents.

3. When was the last time someone brought correction or rebuke to you? What was it for? Describe your response.
⁃ Pastor Josh, regarding the physical affection (and other sorts of affection building emotional intimacy) that I express to girls, my mis-use of the Internet to express important things, and the mixing of my leadership priorities between secondary school friends not in my segment and Ngee Ann Cell members I have been trusted with responsibility for. This was on 18th March 2010.

⁃ I listened, and am still working through my thoughts on many of the issues brought up. Many of Pastor Josh's points make sense, and though it will feel difficult to work on the areas of my life that he pointed out I need growth in, I understand that it is out of love and that he wants to see me grow, which precisely takes stepping out of my comfort zone. Though I might not understand or agree with all of it as of yet, the biggest thing I took away was that I want to listen and submit into the person that the pastors (and subsequently God) want to shape me to be, even if it means 'losing' some of the parts of me that I really love and treasure. God sees all of me and all of my pastors, and He wants me to grow under their direction for a reason. I trust that and I am willing to grow in that.
⁃ I am also working on boundaries for physical affection/relationships with girls, and time spent with cell members/friends, a document that I am preparing right after I submit this.

4. Name 3 of your role models and explain why you look up to them.
⁃ Pastor Jennifer
⁃ I look up to her tons because of what I know of her family life, and relationship life, and how she depended on God and came through because of it. Many of it I feel rings a chord with my own, father issues especially, and it really inspires me, the person that she is right now for God.
⁃ Also because of where she was in school, and in working life before entering the ministry. The media is an area that I also am in, and that she said 'Yes' to God when He called really inspires me, and helps me to obey God's own call on my life.
⁃ The way that she deals with people. Leaders, friends, leaders under her, church youth, there has always been a great deal of kindness and tenderness that I have seen and experienced, always having time, and that is something that I have learnt tons from just observing and modeling.

⁃ Pastor Josh
⁃ He is my leader, and I don't have many spiritual male leaders in my life. That means a lot to me, and I want to learn everything I can from him.
⁃ How he deals with people in ministry. I have always respected him a lot on how he can be a friend, be real, and have fun with the guys, and yet turn on the sternness and firmness when he needs to. I appreciate him doing it to me when he disciples me, and I'm still trying to figure out how to emulate that in leading/ministering to other people, church community or otherwise.
⁃ Relationships. The love that Sharon and Josh share really, really inspires me, and how they went about it, boundaries and tapping onto a community, and the reward is evident. I may not know the full story, but I really respect their experience on the matter and they are the role models I think about most of the time when I am figuring out romantic relationship issues, which is an area really, really important to me that I want to get right.

⁃ Chrystella Lo
⁃ I respect her so much as a leader, especially knowing that I didn't trust her initially as my leader, and now I trust her with almost everything and want to tell her so much, instinctively. I am aware of some of the much time she has spent on investing in my life, and I want to learn how to do that too for members under my leadership. That Chrystella and I are such different people, and yet she could reach me, is huge to me, and I want to learn how to do that, not just with people that I can automatically connect with.
⁃ Her faithfulness, her commitment to ministry, her self-discipline, her cheerfulness, her willingness to listen, her tactfulness, her willingness to own her ministry, her patience, her relationship with her family and her submission to her leaders - all of this is just really amazing to me and I want to learn as much as I can from her.

5. Why do you want to come to HIP/SSM?
⁃ I really want to grow in the areas listed above, and others that God and my leaders feel I should grow in, whether as a leader or a person. For that, I want to jump onto the opportunity for an intensive program for discipleship, I really would treasure the attention and learning, this is something I am very hungry for.
⁃ Moreover, I want to build greater relationships with my leader/peers. Honestly, say something like with Marcus Cheong, or any other male leader attending the program, I honestly have little idea how to build one, but I am hungry for the opportunity, even if I don't know how.
⁃ Regarding the supernatural aspect of things, I learned and grew so, so much from last year's, it really shaped me, but I am aware that there are many areas or degrees of supernatural ministry that I still do not dare to enter, and I want to grow to the next level. SSM is the only program I know in Singapore that I feel will give me this, and it is within reach because of HIP. I desire greatly to be a part of it.

You survived this long email! :) Please feel free to ask me any questions about the interviews if you have any.

Thanks!

Love,
jenn