Rt. Rev. Dr. Solomon Rajah
   Bishop
   Evangelical Luthera n Church in Malaysia

Eight months ago I assumed the mantle as your Bishop. It was a rather unexpected calling. On the one hand, it was a personal challenge but on the other hand, it was God’s calling to lead his flock with a determined purpose. I have served the ELCM for the last twenty-three years and I have never walked away from the Lord’s calling. If God himself has called me, and called us, then we ought to adhere to his plan for us. We must only know that we must be bold witnesses of Christ Jesus to the world and submit to his love. In the process of making all the preparation for this first Address, I committed my spirit to the Lord for his guidance. The Lord has never let me down. I have put much thought in this Address, and although it is my word that you read, I pray it is the Holy Spirit who will speak to your heart. My Address is further envisioned and elucidated in the ELCM 5-Year Plan.

No other foundation ... than Jesus Christ himself

There can be no other foundation for a Church than Jesus Christ himself (1 Corinthians 3:11). He is our Lord, our God, and we worship him. Though he humbled himself to be born as man and walk the earth to be with us, and to die for us, he was not just man but God himself (John 1: 1). To live in relationship with him as his children, is our privilege and joy. Such privileges come with a responsibility! In Jesus Christ, we believe all divinity was present but humbled within his humanity. Hence, the spiritual paradigm of the Christian faith: in meditating upon the humanity of Jesus Christ, we come closest to the spirit of God himself. In Jesus, God made all things adequate for our salvation and our life. In Jesus, we have the Truth (John 14:6). In the Bible, we have the apostolic witness to that Truth. In our daily life and reason, we have access to that Truth.