It is Official.

Sy Rogers has officially upgraded to the 2nd most coolest preacher in BEat Bk of favorite Preachers of all time! The coolest still being Pst Phil of course!

This time round, aft hearing more of his preaching, i was deeply impacted. The best thing is that for 2 svcs i heard it in the oscar room but i was still deeply impacted.

Dear 55s,

Remember the 3As i shared with you all, i hope it will be useful not just in leading your ushers but esp so in your own personal life and also when you are reaching out to your loved ones. I know i am surely going to make a point to be more sensitive in this area..:)

Ok... for the 66s and those who missed it :

Sy rogers mentioned there were 3 things his church did right and that helped him to stay and decide not to go back to his past ways and i think it truly apply to many aspects and not just when we are reaching out to our friends;

1. Be Accepting - Rom 15:7

Learn to be accepting to other ppl. That means before you judge and criticise a person's ways, accept them as who they are, not because of what they can do. How often it is as leaders to fall into the pitfall of always starting to "scold" first before understanding the reasons for their actions? If we want ppl to trust and be open to us, first learn to accept them for who they are, no matter how irritating they may be, how much bad attitude they have.

Sy mentioned that because his CG members did not shun away but made a pt to always go out with him even though other ppl may be pointing fingers at their association with him, he knows they love him for who he is, that he is valuable in their sight due to their willingness to accept him. Be accepting means that one is able to take down their mask and show the real "them" which are full of dirt and problems perhaps and yet know that you will still love them no matter what.

2. Have Accountability - Mt 24,25 Heb 5:13

Only after ACCEPTing a person, then you get them to be accountable to you; after you convince them you truly care and love them, they will be very willing to co-operate or share with you isn't it? We do not need to push our ushers very hard to share their burdens or be accountable in their ways if we set the foundation right isn't it?

3. Affirmation - Rom 12:15, Phil 2:4

This is proving to ppl how valuable they are by the way you treat them. All of us need affirmation, esp. busy urban ppl like us who are constantly on the move and surrounded by challenges aft challenges. it is impt not be too focus on simply on wanting to get the job done but fail to be a good listening ear to your ushers. Affirmation a lot of times simply is what is enough to boost and inject new faith in a weakened soul. Sometimes all we wanted to know is that whatever we've gone through in life meant something to someone; that there is someone who understand the pain we gone through and simply be there to emphasize with you isn't it?

Sy shared a powerful story of his daughter when she was first learning cycling at 5 years old. As a beginner, naturally, she crashed and fell, she ended with a lot of cuts and bruises, running to him, she bawled and wailed "daddy, daddy". Sy held her in his embrace and said " it is ok honey, daddy knows, daddy sees it, daddy kiss your pain away" When she stopped crying and started to proceed indoors to bandage her cut, Sy asked her " Honey, do you want to stop or you want to play somemore?" And her answer still with a bit of whining " YES, i will come out and play again" So you see that it was not that she was afraid of being hurt again, but to know that her daddy saw and emphasized with her pain just made everything more comforting and gave her enough courage to try again.

This is a picture of the wonderful Lord we have isn't it? He is the best couselor. When you cried, He cried with you, when you were in pain, He was there to cushion every blow with a loving touch.

Let's us be able to be such a good support to our ushers too, we may not be the best counselor, but we surely can have a listening ear and a comforting voice. It is not about the solutions but the comfort you can provide....

I strongly believe if you let these simple principles be planted in your spirit, our sections will grow beyond what you can think or imagine, then truly we can have a mighty army for the Lord! Then whenever you need them, they will always make themselves available more....

Excited about all the many lives we are continually touching; once again thank you for being such great support; you guys are truly the best! Moving towards a stronger and even more united Svc 3!

Lotsa of love and hugz