 THE PROTOTYPE 220389 I'm just like you THE LIVE ACTION LEESWEEKEAT THE BITTERSWEET MOMENTS March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 THE REAL WORLD Aaron Cheong Adriena Amandal Annlynn Anthony Benedict Bryan Caiman Carol Chek Yeow Chi Chi Beng Dexter Dinnie Dominic Douglas Evangeline Evi Fion Furong Garrett Grismond Hong Rui Huili Iris Ivan Ivy Jamie Jaslyn Jasmine Jasmin Jeannette Jeremy Quek Jia Yang Jian Hong Jian Ming Joanna Joanne Johnny Jolie Josh Joy Keegan Kenneth Leon Lester Li Yue Liane Lucinda Mark Maryse May Melisa Melvin Miaow Guan Michelle Cheng Michelle Yao Ming Han Minting Mong Nadine Natalia Noni Peck Hoon Qi Wei Ranford Ryan Kumar Sharyl Stella Tommy Valerie Cheong Vanessa Chan Vanessa Han Weijie Wendy Lee Wendy Neo Xinjie Xueli Yan Rui Yan Yun Yassy Yechin Zhuo Xinyi Zoe
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Wednesday, February 27, 2008 @ 12:03 AM
Random Entry Alright, since I think I'm such an irritating person who likes to ject people, I should for once be a laughing stalk for this funny incident because until now, I'm still laughing at myself. Spent the evening tonight with Jia Yang and Jem Quek paying me a visit and having dinner at my place. So random, but this was the best random night I've ever had for a long time. Okay, the funny part: My mother prepared dinner for us too, so she told us. At that time, Jem hasn't arrived yet and Jia Yang and I were just jamming away on our guitars... Jem arrived not long later, and I lent him my guitar while I went to close my Football Manager (because I lost a match)... Jem, as he only picked up guitar recently, was naming the strings as what he could remember: "[E]very [B]ody [G]o [D]own [A]nd [E]at (the note of each string)"... Because I thought Jem didn't know that my mother prepared food, I told him "no haven't yet, my mother's still preparing-" before my brain's lag time ran out and I realised that it wasn't about the dinner. The aftermath, which you can definitely imagine, is Jia Yang's hyenic laughter. Haha, jokes aside, but 'twas a great night. We slacked, joked, laughed, ate, watched Zhang Fei's variety show, played FM, planned our schedule... and last but not least, worshipped God and prayed together. Relaxing, yet productive. Had fun and laughter, and drew the presence of God. Casual gathering, yet leaving with God's Word in our hearts. I wonder where have such fellowship disappeared to? This was so common during the "Henderson Days", where casual outings, gatherings, stayovers were made up of just simple fun and the presence of God... where we'd be enjoying our games, yet there was still time for someone to pick up a guitar and everyone will start worshipping God... where our hearts were simple with one common yet deep hunger for God in our lives... I remember reading an email from Pastor How replying one of my weekly reports: "The bigger the church grows, the smaller it must feel." True enough, we love the smallness... The cosyness of a small group, the comparatively bigger attention we get, the security of being closer to our pastors and leaders... But how long can we just plainly cherish it without cultivating it? Brings back the thought of last Sunday's E Zone Leaders meeting! E Zone 2.0! Leaders 2.0! It's a whole new version, a whole new upgrade, a whole new level to breakthrough. But to think about it, it's not really something new... It's about being that old simplicity and sweetness we had back then which is newer to most of us who joined us later. So what's does the new HOGC 2.0 have? Here's a sneak preview: more simple hearts, more faith, more spiritual hunger, more fear of the Lord, more humble and obedient men and women of God... more of such fellowship where the fun doesn't choke out the desire to connect to God together... more casual outings with deeper talks about God and life... more random picking up of a guitar and "hey, let's pray together!"... That's just a small part, but already mind blowing so imagine the full picture. This is why pastors are so great. It's not just the powerful sermon from the pulpit, nor the capability and stature they hold. It's about the life they live... the randomness of events that happen in the office, their reactions to incidents, their decisiveness towards problems, their subjective love for all of us... Something I'll never forget back at FTMS House, one of my ex-connect group members was at Plaza Singapura and it was raining. Without any other way to return to church, he gave a run for it. Went up the lift and to the toilet, drenched and soaked from head to toe. While drying himself, Pastor How came in. Out of love and concern, Pastor went back to his office and got his PA to lend this guy a dry set of clothes to change before going for service. Can you imagine that guy, "ME? Wearing Pastor's clothes?" Outrageous, extravagant, subjective love... Super powerful and impactful pastors can be found any where, but as loving as ours? I don't think I can find any and I don't want to. How, you ask? How do they do it? Well, simple living of a Christian life. What would a Christian do? What would Jesus do? Love... love him and make sure he goes to service dry and comfortable enough to receive from God's Word clearly... Christianity is not just a commitment. Christianity is a lifestyle. It's not just doing what you have to do in church and when it's all over, we go do what we want to do. It's about living it out. It's about being a Christian every where, and living it out every where. Random worship sessions, random prayers, random deep conversations with people to draw them closer to God, random SMSes to encourage others... Random? Yes, live your lives! But prepare for the unplanned, the random call from above... How to? Simple, don't just be a Christian, live a Christian... I'm a Christian first, then a leader. It goes by that order, and I know those words I just typed out were out of humility. Because I know for sure that I would have never stayed as a leader if I was too proud to let go of that title. But after today's random time with God together with two of my best buddies, I'm convicted to live my life... my Christian life... Jia Yang and Jeremy, thank you for today, the visitation, the encouragement, everything... You guys rock. People like you inspire me to keep on keeping on. Today wasn't necessary, yet to God it was, and God worked through you guys because you guys were just simply living that Christian life... Just fellowshipping together, and also with God. Never would I have this thought if it wasn't for today. I have and had many close Christian friends... but I find ours the best yet so far :) Love you bros man! True Christians don't just talk the Bible and have church responsibilities to attend to... true Christians live Bible and church every second of their lives. "We can preach many sermons, but what Pastor Lia and I really pray for is that our lives inspire you." - Pastor How, from a leadership sermon back in Henderson. It's our turn to live our lives like our pastors and leaders. Let's take the baton from here. Let's run like we've never run before. - E2.0 - Let's take it higher. :) |