The Church in a VUCA World

By Ps Alby Yip

The date today is September 11. Exactly 21 years ago on September 11, 2001. 19 militants hijacked four aeroplanes and turned them into guided missiles. Two were crashed into the Twin Towers of New York, one into the Pentagon, and one missed its target because the passengers on that plane managed to hold the militants on board at bay. But still, it crashed into a field and all aboard were killed.

All in all, 2977 innocent people died along with the 19 militants. I was in a church board meeting when it happened. All our phones rang informing us to watch the news. We were unable to continue with our meeting. Our hearts were utterly distraught over the senseless loss of lives, all of whom were innocent people going about a day’s work. We spent the rest of the time praying for the victims and the injured.  

The victim tally did not stop. In the years following, another 10 thousand people died from cancer that was caused by the fire and fumes from the explosion of the aeroplanes’ fuel. Why would anyone commit such heinous crimes? But the reality is, there were many more injustices that did not gain worldwide attention. A World Justice Project report from 2019 estimated that 5 billion people have unmet justice needs. 

Perhaps this was why the term VUCA world was coined. It stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. This is the world we live in. But it is also in this VUCA world of chaos that God intends through the Church that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10). The manifold wisdom of the “foolish Gospel” as opposed to the wisdom of the world.

So how do Zion Bishan as a church make known this manifold wisdom of God? We must strive to be a place where peace is proclaimed and peace is upheld. We must endeavour to be a place where those seeking solace are able to find refuge. We must labour to be found in the world but the world is not found in us. We must toil to showcase the Gospel to the world. We need to know that we not are called to fight a militant war. We are called to live a jubilant life.