Nathan Nocchi, Managing Editor of Westminster Magazine, recently sat down with Elden Pan, a current student of Westminster Theological Seminary, to discuss theological formation and the needed work of reformation in Malaysia.
Nathan Nocchi (NN): Brother, welcome! Why don’t you share with us your background, and how Reformed theology profoundly impacted your understanding of Christianity and service to Christ?
Elden Pan (EP): Nathan, thanks so much for having me! It is my privilege to be able to share these things. I am now in my second year of the MDiv Pastoral program. My family (i.e., my wife Jou Ee and two boys, Ethan and Emmanuel) is from Malaysia. We came half-way around the globe so that I could be properly trained and equipped for future pastoral ministry back home in Malaysia, Lord willing.
I am Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian (we’re called “Chindians”) by descent, and I grew up in a charismatic Christian home. Although my parents feared the Lord and sought to be as biblical as possible, it was a moralistic, therapeutic, and deistic environment brought about by a poor version of Christianity. Most of the churches in Malaysia, no matter the denomination, are charismatic. For example, you would find that the larger Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches are all charismatic (even the Roman Catholic churches are influenced by the same charismatic movement!). Although I got baptized at the age of ten and was actively serving in children’s church and youth group for most of my years growing up, I did not know the God of the Bible. So, I made my life plans according to this worldview and decided that I would pursue medicine because God would help me achieve my potential in this life.
In the first week of orientation at the medical school that I attended, God brought a Reformed upper-classman to befriend me. He offered to read the Bible with me. I began questioning everything that I ever believed, because he made me realize that I did not truly know the God of the Bible. Given this, I wanted to stop meeting up with him altogether, but I thank God that he persisted in guiding me, constantly pointing me back to the Scriptures. After a few months, by God’s grace, something clicked internally—I realized I had to know God on His own terms. The doctrines of grace made sense and God’s sovereign election was so sweet to my ears! I then started attending the Reformed church that we’re still a part of—Christ Evangelical Reformed Church (CERC)—and began to grow in the Reformed faith.
Over time, my love for ministry and evangelism started to grow because I understood more and more that only the gospel can save. At the same time, I grew increasingly frustrated with the limitations of medicine (cf. Eccl. 1:2)—that one can only do “so much” to extend physical life and beyond that, there’s still eternal condemnation in hell. I wanted to preach the gospel to my patients more than cure them medically! So, I became more and more involved in ministry, and eventually the desire for pastoral ministry grew. I saw that there was, and still is, such a great need for faithful ministers of the Word. I then left my medical career after two and a half years of work in a university hospital to join the pastoral apprenticeship program in CERC. And over the span of two years in apprenticeship, both the internal and external calls for ministry became clear.
NN: Thank the Lord for persistent, godly friends that eagerly share the gospel! With regard to the theological context in Malaysia to which you referred, a recent census performed by the government in Malaysia determined that only a small percentage of the nation is Christian. Both Islam and Buddhism are far more prevalent than Christianity. This raises certain practical questions about personal piety and public worship. Indeed, not only is the church pressed by charismatic theology, but it appears to be a social minority! What is like to be a Christian in Malaysia?
EP: That’s right, Nathan. Based on the latest census in 2020, 63.5% of the population of Malaysia is Muslim, and 18.7% of the population is Buddhist. Christianity makes up only 9.1% of the population; and out of this number my estimate is that less than 1% of the Christians in Malaysia (which includes Roman Catholics) are of the Reformed Evangelical sort.
It is tough to be a Christian on two fronts. Firstly, because Malaysia is a Muslim nation constitutionally, we’re only allowed to exist if we keep to ourselves. In other words, we are prohi. ited from evangelizing the Muslims (by law), and all Christian activity must be restricted to non-Muslim circles. At the same time, the Muslims are actively trying to convert Christians, especially in the more rural parts of Malaysia where less-educated Malaysians have been practicing a more cultural form of Christianity. Sometimes, it can get pretty extreme. For example, in 2008, the government banned all Christian printed material (including Bibles) that contained the word “Allah,” which is the proper noun for God in the Malay language, out of fear that the Muslims would be deceived. Imagine the US government banning all printed material with the word “God” in it! Thankfully this was overturned in Malaysia’s high court just recently in 2021. Still, fear looms over any bold, open proclamation of the gospel since a few Christian leaders have disappeared. These leaders were supposedly “seen to be reaching out to the Muslims.” Alas, Muslim converts to Christianity are forced to meet in underground churches which have a significant lack of theological depth and precision.
Over time, my love for ministry and evangelism started to grow because I understood more and more that only the gospel can save.
The second front would be opposition from so-called Christians themselves, which sometimes can be more disheartening than opposition from the authorities or other religious groups. In my five years of ministry experience in Malaysia, it was difficult to be explicitly Reformed in any context of ministry without facing opposition. Because the nation is culturally diverse and has been pushing for tolerance amongst the different races, the church has all seen the same post-modern “tolerance”—unity without sorting out any doctrinal differences. And thus, the Reformed churches that are firmer on preaching a certain understanding of sin (i.e., total depravity) or salvation (i.e., by God’s sovereign election) are seen to be intolerant and divisive.
NN: With opposition on virtually every side, this is truly a tumultuous context to minister in. This makes the minister’s task all the more important, indeed, for the Lord is our stronghold and His Word our pasture. As one undertaking theological and pastoral studies at Westminster, how has your understanding of Reformed theology been nourished? Do you think that Westminster has sufficiently prepared you to minister back home in this context?
EP: It’s only been two years thus far, and I’ve grown so much in my understanding of Reformed theology, which I’m really thankful for. Where my two year apprenticeship in my church back home has given me a good foundation, I think my studies here have definitely provided an added depth— from the exegetical side of things, to the redemptive-historical, apologetic, systematic, historical, and pastoral. And more than that, I think the best thing about Westminster’s curriculum is that it has helped me to integrate these different disciplines together so that I can see how parsing a single Greek word rightly or wrongly can make a difference to one’s ministry and outlook.
And has it sufficiently prepared me to minister back home? Given what I have learned these last two years, I expect that at the conclusion of my studies, I will be even better positioned to minister in Malaysia. Admittedly, there are some subjects that I would have to translate into my own context and culture. For example, the different false worldviews that we’re learning in apologetics are very Western. But there’s only so much that a seminary education can do, and Westminster is doing it well. Indeed, what Westminster is doing is making sure that we get the unchanging principia right.
NN: Praise God for His work at Westminster! Can you share something notable that you have learned about the theology of missions? Is there any clear connection between that theology and its practical application that you would like to discuss?
EP: First thing that comes to mind is Dr. Edwards’s class on the “Theology of Evangelism and Missions” that I had last year, which was so helpful! And not just that, as I reflect more, there are so many other classes that have contributed to my understanding of missions. Where to begin? Van Tilian apologetics and J.H. Bavinck’s “magnetic points,” exegeting Matthew 28:18–20 in the Greek, biblical theology of ‘temple’ and ‘light,’ monasticism and ‘holy wars’ in medieval church history, and the list can keep going. I guess if I had to narrow it down to one thing that is more pertinent to ministry in Malaysia, it would be this. In the words of Dr. Garner, “global missions is the liberalizing tip of the spear for the church.” In our efforts to bring more people to Christ, we are at risk of compromise and allowing liberalism to creep into the church.
NN: As you prepare to return home, what particular work do you believe the Lord is calling you to in Malaysia?
EP: I’m convinced that God has called me to pastoral ministry back home in Malaysia. My hope is to eventually pastor a congregation, which would include leading a whole range of ministries, from preaching weekly to running Sunday school and youth group. In the mid- to long-term, there’s a great need to plant a Reformed church in East Malaysia, which is where my hometown is. It is more rural and less developed compared to Kuala Lumpur, and there are no English-speaking Reformed churches there at the moment.
Another area that God is leading me towards is doing ministry in our national language, Malay. Malay ministry is a completely different ball game with a different set of struggles altogether. For one, our best Malay translation of the Bible is a second-hand translation from the English Good News Bible—you can imagine how problematic that is! And Malay ministries often draw closer scrutiny from the government. But it is a massive harvest field—larger than the English-speaking community in Malaysia.
NN: Brother, thank you for your time and thoughts. As we conclude, how can we pray for the church in Malaysia? How can we pray for you?
EP: Thank you, Nathan. It was great to speak with you. Firstly, please pray that God will be merciful to the church in Malaysia as a whole, as it is lukewarm and is caught up with every wind of doctrine (or gimmick) other than the gospel. Along those lines, pray that the biblical gospel will be restored to its rightful, central, and foundational place in the teaching and life of the church. Secondly, please pray that the Reformed churches and parachurches will remain steadfast under the pressure to compromise and with the threat of persecution, seeking to boldly proclaim the truth in love. And pray for greater unity amongst like-minded Evangelical Reformed congregations, a unity that is centered around the truth of God’s Word. Thirdly, pray that the new government that was sworn in last year would work towards policies that provide better religious freedom compared to that afforded by the previous governments. And fourthly, pray that God would raise up more faithful under-shepherds to lead His church. Finally, for me, I would appreciate prayer that God will continue to mold and prepare me for the ministry that He would have me do in the future. Please pray that I would not only grow in theological competency, but also in character and in conviction.