Practice what you preach.
Firstly, Pastor Larence Khong’s Faith Community Baptist Church took what it thought was the high road and sacked its then married, now divorced female staff for having an affair with another church staff, another divorcee. The sacking was illegal as MOM regulations said that the female staff was pregnant when she was sacked. Employers cannot give pregnant female staff the boot according to Section 81 of the Employment Act,
“If employer terminates the employment of a pregnant employee within six months from the date of estimated delivery or the date of her confinement without sufficient cause, the employer is required to pay the employee maternity benefits she would have otherwise been eligible for.”
The female staff then complained and MOM intervened, and FCBC grudgingly gave its fallen church goer the compensation she deserved under secular law. The penalty for ignoring MOM was a maximum fine of $10,000 and maximum jail term of 1 year. Where was FCBC’s compassion? Pregnant woman and turning her out? Even if they thought she was a moral blight, then at least just compensate her according to law and then boot her out. Hard but just. But FCBC neither had compassion nor common sense and opted for being hard and mean.
Secondly, Pastor Khong’s own daughter, Priscilla Khong, is a single mother and had a son out of wedlock. Irrelevant and a personal lifestyle choice under normal situations but not so in the context of FCBC’s puritan stand on sacking a pregnant staff. Priscilla is OK and forgiven in her church and daddy’s eyes, performing magic shows with him as a means of spreading their pick and choose version of the Gospel. So much for the strict sacredness of marriage and the traditional family that FCBC so wanted to preach. The hypocrisy in practicing what was preached.
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5
Compensate woman fired for adultery, church told
It sacked pregnant employee ‘without sufficient cause’, says MOMOne of Singapore’s biggest independent churches has been ordered by the Government to compensate a female church worker fired because of her alleged adulterous relationship.
The female employee at Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) had gone to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) after she was sacked last September when the church found out she was pregnant with the child of another church employee.
The ministry said that it looked into the complaint and found that the woman was “dismissed without sufficient cause within six months of her delivery date”.
The church did not give her the salary and maternity benefits she was entitled to under the Employment Act.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Faith Community Baptist Church, Lawrence Khong |
The Sun Shines on Singapore 
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner— not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (I Corinthians 5:9-13 NKJV)
Who says that in the Bible that a pastor cannot make judgment? Pastor Khong is the senior pastor of his church, he has a duty to do that, especially with his staff who is a member of the church.
This is an issue of religious beliefs. Furthermore, MOM ruled that adultery was not “sufficient grounds” for dismissal, this can only be viewed as an opinion on MOM’s part and can be subjective. Hence the church complied with MOM rulings on legal grounds, but maintained that they were only doing what was right according to their beliefs.
Furthermore, if people would take time to read the article carefully, the woman was not sacked because she was pregnant, but because she was not repentant. She was given a chance to keep her job, by going for counseling and to stop the adulterous affair, she refused.
For those who claimed that the church was unfair by not punishing the man, where is your evidence? The man resigned, could it be possible it was because he was confronted and he chose to resign before given the sack, or to resign so that he can continue the affair without hindrance?
Lastly, for those who like to quote Jesus on casting the first stone, please remember Jesus also said to the woman, “go and sin no more”. The church gave the woman a chance to repent, she did not. The Christian faith is a Gospel of God’s grace to sinners who choose to repent. No sin can separate us from God, but no amount of righteousness can void the need for repentance.
Finally, on Priscilla Khong, she repented in front of the church leadership. She broke off with the guy. She was given the same options this lady was given. The lady however, did not do likewise.
Alvin, a very good rebuttal indeed. Impressive!
Most people online whom often don’t read in details of the case and only read the headlines or juicy stuff and start having wild imaginations which then lead to their incredulous comments for all.
I am with you on this.
Way to go Alvin.
As you can see, a shepherd will inevitably have his flock of bleating sheep. Your analysis of MOM’s decision is laughable, as is your attempt to defend this know-nothing zealot Lawrence Khong. The law of the church is not the law, thank goodness for that. If I knew you in real life, you judgmental prick, I would stay away from you like the plague.
Andy: making personal attacks when you can’t win the argument.
If your logic is used against you: Your analysis of Lawrence Khong decision is laughable, as is your attempt to defend this know-nothing MOM. The law is not the law of the church, thank goodness for that. If I knew you in real life, you judgmental prick, I would stay away from you like the plague.
http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/slw/headlinesnews/29416-compensate-woman-fired-for-adultery-church-told.html?utm_source=rss%20subscription&utm_medium=rss
You really dont need a specific credit score number to get a car. If you have good credit dont worry about it.. just shop around. However.. If you have bad cr280t&#de3i; please be very careful. With bad credit you can still get a car but if you are able to put down a good down payment like a few thousand. Otherwise you can put down a few hundred and will be stuck with a very high interest rate! you dont want to be stuck with a $ 500 a month car payment do you?
[…] The Sun Shines on Singapore: Hypocrisy in FCBC: Planks and Specks in Eyes – New Nation: Respect to Pastor Lawrence Khong for casting adulteress aside – Blogging […]
Bible does not demand personal morality. Religious morality does not make the world better; that’s a lie, and greatly misunderstood teaching in the bible. Throughout history, the “moral church” has brought much bloodshed and corruption in the world. Anyone who preaches that we need moral leaders is an idiot.
The brother mentioned in that passage is CAIN(type and shadow). Enough said! Can see, good for you. Can’t see, well, more wars!
Since this has been settled, please do not blow this out of proportion. My suggestion to the author of this blog or post to take it down so as to prevent any unfavorable and unwanted comments. Appreciated.
P.S. On a side note, please do not quote or misquote Bible verses. Please treat each religion in Singapore with respect. Its in the pledge as well.
You talk like a religious dictator. And in that spirit, you rule and corrupt the world. It is called…hypocrisy
So can I also label you as having OBS? I think your remarks are very spiteful and full of hatred.Do you know what is the true meaning of hypocrisy?
“For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly”
You have been sleeping with the enemies, and you are clueless How to enter into the promise land?
So who has committed adultery? The religious hypocrites
What do you think the son of man wrote on the ground(you)? That woman you are stoning is …..YOU!
The stone throwers were …. Guilty!
You read a blog and you judge. Just think.
Of all the professions, I thought a pastor is supposed to be a human being with the most compassion and empathy towards any another person. It turned out this particular one has none of the religious virtues that he is preaching to others.
This pastor. An illusionist also. Nothing is what it seems with him. Appears compassionate, but is he really?
FCBC thought it could get away with breaking the law and terminating the pregnant woman without compensation?
How can you terminate a pregnant woman? Terminate means kill! (Remember Terminator?). You can only terminate the person’s service, not the person, unless you want to be a murderer.
Christianity teaches you to be a murderer without you knowing it. The best child molesters are the constitutionally protected ones!
This uncharitable behaviour from the homophobic close-minded pastor is unsurprising.
What can I say? Senior Pastor of FCBC is wayward in not following the law. I mean, if he wants to exercise his authority as a religious figure in his church in sacking the pregnant lady, he can do so. But at the same time, as head of his organization that is legally registered in Singapore, he has to follow the Singapore Government’s laws.
Christians are to submit to the authorities of the land they live and operate in:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God” (Rom 13:!)
“‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.'” (Matthew 22:21), where Jesus replied to the Pharisees who came to trap him with the question of whether they should pay taxes to Caesar, the government of the day.
Since the Senior Pastor of FCBC is good at following the letter of the Bible law by being clinical about the sacking of its pregnant staff, then he also needs to submit to God by submitting to our Government in compensating her her salaries. Do not be confused about this!
See the mismatch and confusion here? It always happens in FCBC, I observe. It’s called double-mindedness in the Book of James.
Oh yes, one more thing. Be spiritual as a Christian, not religious as a Pharisee. How much more a Christian Senior Pastor should be. All the Unit Leaders and Cell Group Leaders of FCBC better don’t follow his unbiblical example.
Caesar was a “mad emperor”(go research). Jesus never directly paid taxes to him(read: insubordination ). He saved “the fish”(fishes of men) when he took the coin out of its belly(abnormal to have the coin in the belly).
To return what belongs to Caesar is to reject “the image” on the coin!
As for submitting to authority, yes. However, you need to qualify the authority.
Is it “born of heaven”? (have you been misled by christianity?)
That said, he ,like others in Christianity , is living in the shadow and fighting his own shadow!
Hysteri är väl örvidervet uttryckt. Iphonen är ju bra, om än liten. Folk väljer smarphones pga internet och appar. Ett klokt val.
Both are idiots! The bigger idiot should just cull the smaller idiot.
Christianity is clueless on “sexual matters”. You call yourself “man of God” and you don’t know what is screwing your “father’s wife” means?
Leaders of an organization(idolatrous) that has brought the curse to humanity, you are the FORNICATOR which was written.
You are under the power of destruction, hypocrite!
Priscilla Khong has committed sexual immorality several times along the years. Several times. Some ppl in that church are aware of this but shhhhh … it’s a secret lah.
The old story which Mr. Khong loves to repeat, the story which everyone know (his daughter’s pregnancy out of wedlock and her repentance), is just old stuff.
Seems, she repents every time she has sex. And so on.
Is this the real repentance? Every member of his church know that Mr.Khong needs of her daughter to perform his magic shows. This is the real reason coz she is still working there as director. Why this double standards? Mr. Khong, you are a shame for all the members of your church. So inconsistent, so hypocrite.