‘Duty, Honour, Country!’ This was the slogan drummed into us as eighteen-year-olds during our SAF training as part of our national service. What is ‘honour’? Its meaning undoubtedly must be defined by its context. In the first century A.D. Greco-Roman world, honour comes from “the affirmation of a person’s worth by peers and society, awarded based on the individual’s ability to embody the virtues and attributes his or her society values.”¹ Furthermore, the semantic breadth of what constitutes ‘honour’ must begin from God’s Word for us as Christians.

The apostle Paul instructs us: “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honour to whom honour is owed” (Romans 13:7, ESV). To whom do we owe honour? In the context, Paul was speaking about the governing authorities. But this surely has applicational relevance for those who deserve to be honoured in God’s Kingdom. Elsewhere in Scriptures, we are similarly exhorted to “honour our parents” (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2). The Pastoral Epistles also speak of the “double honour”² to be shown to elders who preside well over the affairs of the church and work hard in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17).

Daniel Soh’s Graduation as BTS Board Chair
Our BTS Board Chairman, Deacon Daniel Soh, officially handed over the baton to Rev Koh Kok Chuan, the Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, on 24 September. After the Board meeting that day, the whole Board, all faculty and staff, together with some special friends, celebrated Daniel’s amazing contributions on the BTS Board for over 20 years. Well-deserved accolades came from Board members and friends, including even a surprise congratulatory message from overseas – all the way from Los Angeles – by Rev Peter Lin, the 8^th BTS President and former Senior Pastor of Queenstown Baptist Church. Daniel was honoured for his humility, resilience, wisdom, resourcefulness, faithfulness, generosity, prayerfulness, among other admirable traits; indeed, his legacy of helping launch the Chinese programme, secure a permanent campus, invite and work with six different BTS Presidents over 20 years is hard to equal, let alone surpass! There is only one Daniel Soh!

We all echo the same sentiment: Daniel has not retired from the BTS Board; he deserves instead to be promoted as “Chairman Emeritus” of BTS. We wish God’s richest blessings as Daniel “graduates” and continues to contribute to BTS and the work of the Kingdom as only Daniel can.