Since the beginning of the “year of the Tiger”, my curiosity was aroused. Was there a mention of “Tigers” in the Bible? As I scanned through the Bible, the word “Tiger” was mysteriously missing but yet their cousin “Lion” was found in abundance – especially in the Old Testament, more than 300 times. Why? I dug deeper and the puzzle was solved. There are only two places in the world where lions and tigers co-exist – in zoos, and in South Asia. In ancient Palestine, where the Bible was written, lions roamed in herds but not tigers.

Lions and tigers share many similarities. They have the largest brains in the feline cat family. They are fierce. They are strong hunters. They are feared. They are kings of the animal kingdom in their respective domains of the world – tigers in China, lions outside China. And since the Bible does not mention the king of the beasts in China (the tiger), we will spend this article chatting a bit about their closest proxy – the lion.

The most famous mention of the lion in the Bible is in Gen 49:9-10 – the Lion of Judah. In the passage, the lion is described as a young cub. Yet it is feared and revered more than its mother and father combined. This young lion also symbolises royalty and v10 continues to prophesy that out of this tribe of Judah the Messiah/King will come – the Lion of Judah.

The biblical metaphors of lions are not all always used in a positive manner. You all remember that in New Testament, the apostle Peter uses the imagery of the lion to picture the ferocity of the devil’s hunting for prey.

In a similar way, our second generation has all the potential to become the courageous lions to lead in their world. They are brighter, more educated, more technologically savvy, and more anchored in Christian upbringing than the first generation.

Yet in 2012, a focus group survey was done at BTS among Baptist leaders and one of the most troublesome problems identified was the ageing of the Baptist pastors/leaders and the absence of candidates from the next generation to fill the vacuum. At the same time, news from the West publicised that many children of Christian leaders were leaving the faith. The results were shared; the alarm was sounded.

One church that I knew well heeded the alarm. They started praying for 5 young men/women to enter into seminary training. The need was shared with the 2nd generation young leaders in the church. The young leaders responded – impossible unless God works a miracle.

It has been 10 years since the call was issued. 13 people have entered seminary, 10 were young leaders. 5 have graduated and are serving full-time in Singapore and abroad. Lions are roaring again. The impossible has happened.

How is the situation at your church? Will you heed the call and challenge young lions to rise up? After all Jesus taught us – “pray to the Lord of harvest to send out labourers”.

Here at BTS, we aim to be a faithful partner to raising young lions who will lead our churches. To that end, I have mentioned last time that we are beginning the Ministry Emergence Programme (MEP) in May to train emerging leaders in the marketplace. In addition, from 4-14 April, we are hosting the BTS Open Class 2022. The Open Class is an opportunity for potential young lions to sample BTS seminary classes for free during the said period to assist in discerning God’s call into “full-time” ministry. Detailed information and registration is available through the following link (https://tinyurl.com/BTSOpenClass2022).

Dear partners in the Lord, please help us by praying for these two adventures to be fruitful and making these opportunities known to “candidates” whom God has put in your hearts. And may the Lord bless you by enabling lions to roar.

Rev Peter Lin
President