Korean American Christian Blog

In light of the growing economic downturn around the world, I thought it might helpful to share a few principles about living generously through such difficult times. I know that this may sound counter-intuitive, but stay with me :)

I think that most would agree that generosity towards those in need is a moral good. For those of us who come from a faith perspective, we understand that generosity is a part of what we've been called to, especially in light of the infinite generosity given to us through the person and work of Christ. Our generosity towards the world that God so loves supports the advancement of his ministry of care and reconciliation.

Here is what I see happening today...my two cents (pun intended):

I really believe that most who decide to give less of resources (e.g., time, money, etc.) during difficult seasons are NOT trying to move away from helping people. Simply put, times are just tough. In addition, many economists have been saying that the economic light will probably get dimmer in the months to come before it gets better.

Confession: I have organized far too many things for imaginary people. Let me explain...

As leaders, many of us spend a good amount of time creating new projects, structures, campaigns, programs, and events for people. Many of these activities are considered avenues to increasing the health, morale, productivity, and longevity of an organization or business. There's no doubt that these kinds of creative development offer life to the organization or business.

Nevertheless, some companies and organizations still don't fulfill their mission (or in some cases, end up dying) even with sincere efforts towards these activities. Although there are several factors that lead to this kind of derailing of mission or organizational death, I would like to focus on just one of these contributing elements.

I used to work for a church that had ample budget and man-power to produce and pull-off many great events and programs. It wasn't uncommon in that setting to spend thousands of dollars on advertisement, staffing, and development to produce the "perfect" event or program. Through much trial and error, I learned that all the money in the world could not replace the value of connecting directly with the actual people we were trying to benefit.

This past Sunday at New Hope, we kicked off a new series of teachings called, "Crossroad: A Theological Praxis from the Streets". This new series will focus on developing a theology rooted in the streets as exemplified by Christ's interaction with humanity during his time here on earth. As a former professor of theology and ministry for 9 years, I was able to see and experience some of the disconnect between the theology formed in academia from that of practitioners ministering in the field. Although much good is produced from the ivory tower, I believe there needs to be some more field-based development of our theological lenses.

This series is designed to encourage, challenge, and inspire the hearer to reconsider the stories of Christ's interaction with people on the streets in hopes of developing a practical theology for day-to-day ministry, especially outside the walls of the church. I invite you to listen and interact via this blog about the topics introduced during this series.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required). [Please keep in mind that it may take a few minutes or hours for this particular podcast to show up on iTunes. It is there. :) Just click on subscribe and it should start downloading.]

Our culture is shifting at an exponential rate...

Organizational systems are being stretched and pushed to its limits (and many are collapsing)...

New paradigms continually challenge the inadequacies of categories and labeling...

The world is drastically different from the world we knew way back in 2008... :)

Things will never be the same...

In the past two years of speaking pretty regularly on the issue of slavery around the country, I've come across two disturbing lines of reasoning for not combating slavery. Both of these views have come from the faith community. Being a follower of Christ myself, it has been especially difficult to kindly respond to those who carry such perspective, especially since many of the leading abolitionists around the world come from a faith perspective as well.

Here are their views and reasoning (paraphrased to protect the guilty):

Yesterday at New Hope, we continued our series of teachings entitled, "Sacred Kinship". The focus of this series centers around this notion of biblical kinship and its impact on how we live our faith within the context of family, friendship, community, and mission. I'm anticipating that this series will help to frame a healthy context for life with those we love.

Leadership comes at a cost. More accurately, leadership comes at a deep cost. In fact, leadership comes at a cost that no one can fathom until they themselves are placed in "that" role. No book, seminar, advice, or person can adequately prepare you for the cost that great leaders face.

Today at New Hope, we continued our new series of teachings entitled, "Sacred Kinship". The focus of the new few months will center around this notion of biblical kinship and its impact on how we live our faith within the context of family, friendship, community, and mission. I'm anticipating that this series will help to frame a healthy context for life with those we love.

Today at New Hope, we continued our new series of teachings entitled, "Sacred Kinship". The focus of the new few months will center around this notion of biblical kinship and its impact on how we live our faith within the context of family, friendship, community, and mission. I'm anticipating that this series will help to frame a healthy context for life with those we love.

Today's message is entitled, "Kinship: Love and Marriage". It is a journey back into biblical times to see what God intended for relationship between a husband and a wife. The Bible is so practical in its advice to husbands and wives, especially as it relates to how one should treat the other and vice-versa. My prayer is that your relationship with your spouse would be strengthened by this message. For those who are not married, may this message be a source of encouragement and hope if you seek marriage in your future.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope podcast (iTunes required). [Please keep in mind that it may take a few minutes or hours for this particular podcast to show up on iTunes. It is there. :) Just click on subscribe and it should start downloading.]

Leadership is one of the greatest privileges given to any human being. I'm sure that many of us in leadership would agree that leadership is one of the most fulfilling experiences in life. The unique vantage point and influence that leadership offers, in any given organization, group or business, has the power to exhilarate, inspire, and motive people towards great works.