From the Pastor’s Desk (80)
I don’t particularly enjoy brushing my teeth, but I like the benefits it brings in my life. Obviously, the most important benefit is that it protects my teeth and prevents me from getting cavities. But it also gives me a very refreshing taste and feeling afterwards. That’s why I often say, “Ah—–!” after I finish brushing my teeth.
Coffee House 2003 was such a success that it left me with a refreshing taste in my heart. When I think of the event, I still find myself saying, “Ah—–!” And I am sure that many of you feel the same way about this year’s Coffee House. Why? Why was it such a great success? Why did God trust us and bless the event by sending 400 people that night? I can immediately think of three reasons.
First, there was a strong sense of unity among the Coffee House Committee leaders and all the servants who helped out in various ways. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13: 34-35)
I was able to watch the committee leaders loving, respecting and encouraging one another all throughout the preparation stage. And this spirit of unity among them trickled down to everyone who was serving in different ways. Yes, there were some difficult moments due to misunderstanding and miscommunication, but the leaders worked all of them out in such a Christ-honoring manner that they didn’t matter at all in the end. This unity that we had among us reflected the love of Jesus, which attracted so many people to this year’s Coffee House and enabled them to have a wonderful time of feeling, seeing and reflecting on God’s grace that cancelled all of their debts through the cross of Christ.
Second, there was an element of hard work that was clearly evident in this year’s Coffee House. Apostle Paul said, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Col. 3: 23-24)
No one seemed to be content with the bare minimum requirement. Instead, everyone had the “whatever it takes” attitude. We practiced hard and rehearsed thoroughly. We decorated the place with God-given creativity and came up with ingenious programs and various handouts. There was a spirit of excellence in the air which was created by hard and diligent work. And we know that people are drawn to excellence. Excellence is doing our best with what we have. Excellence honors God! Coffee House 2003 truly honored God.
Third, there was a spirit of prayer which reminded us that we can’t do this on our own but only by the strength of God. We fasted and prayed for many days. And God heard and answered all our prayers. For example, right before the event began, about 40 members gathered together in the Lounge to pray to prepare our hearts. The last prayer that I asked people to pray was for the clean up. It is easy for us to set up the place because there is excitement and anticipation, but often times, people forget to clean up afterwards and leave the work to just a handful of people. I reminded people, therefore, to finish the work all the way until the end. An amazing thing happened when the Coffee House was over. I was talking to a person for about 10 minutes, and when I looked around, the entire place was already cleaned up. This year, I didn’t have to do a thing to clean up the place! And I still can’t believe how much we have matured and grown as a church.
Unity, hard work and prayer, these are the three ingredients that made this year’s Coffee House honoring to God, enjoyable to our seeking friends and totally satisfying to us! Thanks for serving God together with me. Once again, I want to let you know that it is such a blessing and privilege for me to serve you as your pastor.
God bless, everyone!
Your pastor,
Eric
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