By Henry Leung

While sitting on the moistened deck and as the fog slowly burns away, I admire and reflect. I reminiscence the glory of yester-year as the red and gold canopy radiates under the morning sun. The symphonic colors of the table cloths billow as the light breeze nudges them to wake up.  A familiar sound of water boiling in tea pots harmonize with the jovial murmurs of those gathering for morning coffee which echo in the brisk air.  The temperature has dropped considerably compared to the previous 3 Sundays… a sure sign of change.  

Change is the theme.  Actually, the named theme is “Heart Way Navigation – GPS.”  But change was what we set out to accomplish. To change a person’s habit, one must repeat something 7 times.  Our faith is small… so we downshifted to 4 times.  Hopefully through 4 Gospel Sundays, folks can develop the habit of showing up every Sunday.  

Change is the theme. All those years of Alpha Course © dinners and Gospel Dinners have changed. Long gone are the days of rolling round tables all over church grounds or force fitting them into the elevator.  This time around, we stick the long tables through the C-building classroom windows onto the deck to minimize foot traffic.  There no longer is a crew of Iron Chefs prepping and cooking for hours on the patio. This time around, the delivery guy simply shows up with our food. There isn’t a separate message or worship set on Sunday morning vs. Sunday evening – it’s a one stop shop.  Times have changed, ministries evolve, and people come and go.  

But in the midst of all these changes, we find our constants.  Our goal remains the same:  bringing people to wholeness and fruitfulness.  The laughters, smiles and chit-chats while breaking bread do not change.  The question of “Who are we?” and “Why are we here?” continue to hang over us.  The need to forgive and to receive healing is a never ending process, just as we continue to deal with fear in all walks of our lives.  During the past 4 weeks, we sought for the Holy Spirit to minister to us.  The Holy Spirit is unchanging.  His conviction to surrender ourselves to Him… His guidance to the confession of sins… His indwelling resulting in tears of Joy and tears of reconciliation does not change.  Regardless of being a new believer or being a church veteran of 30+ years, our need to forgive, our need to receive healing and our never ending battle to expel fear also remain.  

I reflect of years past… seize the present… and look to our future.  And I ask “What’s next?”  Now that we have these new friends in our midst…  “What’s next?”  Now that we’ve uncovered this new nugget in our ministry… “What’s next?”  From the sanctuary, I hear the sound of our worship team.  I look at my watch and realize once again I’m late for the start of worship.  I guess some things never change…

Henry L