Ever since we started closing the office on Monday I have developed a new ritual. Monday AM coffee at Panara. I try to get here around 8:30 or 9am. I find a good location for my laptop, I order coffee and a Ciabatta Bread Sandwich, and the check e-mail, surf the net, and do some devotional reading. But mostly, I pause and reflect.
If you ever read the Psalms in the Bible you’ll notice the recurring word “Selah” which means “pause and reflect.” It will be right-smack-dab in the middle of some powerful passage about the glory of God, or the evil in the world, or the deliverance that is coming through God’s Kingdom. And it tells the reader to take a moment to “pause and reflect” on what has just been read, written or experienced. (Special Note: My niece is named “Selah,” which I think is very cool).
But I like to come to Panara on Monday AMs to pause and reflect upon the past week, and especially on the Lord’s Day before. Yesterday was an awe-inspiring day. Spirits were high as people poured through the Church doors despite the chilly weather–and you could feel the excitement even before the 9am service kicked off. The worship service, once again, was led with excellence by our Creative Arts Minister and the Church Band. Everything came together and worked together as only the Holy Spirit can orchestrate. We had a record attendance for our new church (340) and by the time the second service ended we knew that we had experienced something special.
The highlight of the day came when three people came forward to make Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of their lives. One teenage girl was led to Christ by some of her neighbors and was baptized during the 10:30 service, which we were anticipating. But we were not anticipating that two men, both first-time guests, would come forward during the 9am service to confess Christ as Lord. We baptized them both immediately and explained that they are at the beginning of their spiritual journey not the end.
We ended the the morning with a Outreach Team Meeting after the 10:30 service and continued to plan several outreach events: (1) having an “undie” Sunday where we ask people to purchase kids underwear (and bring to the church) to give to a clearing house that helps people in need; (2) having a day where volunteers from church head to downtown Joliet to serve the homeless in a food-kitchen; and (3) planning to give away a few thousand bottles of water at the annual “Relay For Life” cancer walk in June. These are simple things that hopefully will communicate great love from God to our community. This is really what following Jesus is all about—making a difference in our world for the glory of God.
In all, yesterday was one of the more exciting days in the life of our new church. Today we’re going to “pause and reflect.” But tomorrow we get back to work because “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few,” (Luke 10:1-3).
