Archives for category: faith

A Small Reflection

September 11, 2007 //

Even after six years, September 11th continues to weigh so heavily for so many people that I hesitate to share my experiences from that time. My words are small and insignificant — I can only pray that, somehow, God will be more present than the pain in the hearts of the broken.

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We were living right across the bridge in northern New Jersey at the time — many members of our church community lived and worked in the city. After the initial chaos, we were relieved to find out that everyone had made it home safely. As we heard the stories of people who worked in lower Manhattan but, for some reason, were late for work that day our hearts were filled with gratitude at the providence and mercy of God.

But then we heard the news that someone was missing. A young couple from our church was going to be married that weekend and no one could locate the best man, who worked in the World Trade Center. While the best man was not a member of our particular church, our church — and the entire Korean American church community in the area — was in fervent prayer for him and his family. The groom-to-be, during what should have been a time of great joy and anticipation, spent the entire week traveling to and from Ground Zero frantically searching for news about his best friend because the best man’s parents were overwhelmed with grief.

Out of respect for their missing friend, and because of the surrounding sorrow, this couple was considering whether or not they should have their wedding ceremony that weekend. Our senior pastor reasoned that our community needed to experience some joy during those dark days and advised them to marry that weekend, as planned. The wedding and reception were subdued and respectful, but provided the glimpse of grace and hope that had all but disappeared.

Our community needed to come together in fervent, heart-rending prayer; we needed to grieve, weep and question together. But we also needed to come together and be reminded of God’s providence which is revealed not only when the results turn in our favor, but even when it seems all hope is lost.

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You are not alone. No matter how dark the brokenness of this world might seem, the light of Christ endures — if even only as a faint spark in the distance. May the words of the psalmist become reality in your life, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Categories community, faith, prayer

Indie Kids Speaking The Truth

September 7, 2007 //

On my way to church today I was listening to The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths. Apart from the nostalgia I always feel when listening to The Smiths (and many other new-wave era bands that formed the soundtrack to much of my teenage experience) and the profound influence this album has had on scores of artists since its release in 1986 (!) — check out My Old Kentucky Blog to see how many bands have covered There Is A Light That Never Goes Out — there are a couple of lyrics that good ol’ Moz penned for this album that cut deep, for followers of Christ in particular. To wit, from the song Frankly, Mr. Shankly:

Fame, fame, fatal fame / It can play hideous tricks on the brain

But still I’d rather be famous / Than righteous or holy / Any day, any day, any day

Most of the time, I think we strive for the right things — humility, servanthood, authenticity, community, love — but it’s so easy to value and uphold fame over righteousness or holiness. Fame is obvious and easy to quantify; not always the case with either holiness or righteousness. Sure, there are probably cases where people become famous because of their holiness or righteousness, but our subculture’s fixation on fame is troubling.

And, as long as we’re traveling together through this album, Moz hits close to home with this lyric from I Know It’s Over:

It’s so easy to laugh / It’s so easy to hate

It take strength to be gentle and kind / Over, over, over, over

Kind of flies in the face of the myth of redemptive violence, which David over at Next Gener.Asian has been exploring lately [read Lost In Translation? here]. The way up is the way down; if we want to be great, we must become small; the first shall be last and the last shall be first — that is, until push comes to shove and what we really believe kicks in.

I still get hits from this post from awhile back about lyrics from the latest Arcade Fire album, “Been working for the church while your life falls apart.” Uncomfortably close to the reality many of us in vocational minstry live out everyday.

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Relive the glory days of The Smiths below!

Categories church, community, faith, indie, music

The Daily Dose

September 5, 2007 //

I have written a new piece over at Relevantmagazine.com, Mother Teresa and the Experience of Doubt. It is strange to think of the well-known as actual human beings. One of my favorite passages from The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne is the one in which he describes his phone conversation with Mother Teresa. Shane writes about how, in his pursuit of living out his faith in Jesus with abandon and authenticity, he wrote to Mother Teresa to seek an “internship.” Through a bit of detective work, he was able to place a phone call to directly to the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta:

So I got the digits for Mother Teresa… we called at 2 a.m. from the pay phone in our college lounge. It began ringing. I was expecting to hear a formal greeting, “Missionaries of Charity, how can we help you?” Nope. I just heard an old raspy voice on the other end mutter, “Hullo.” Thinking I had the wrong number in Calcutta with the tab rolling at four dollars a minute, I started railing: “Hi-I’m-calling-from-the-USA-trying-to-reach-Mother-Teresa… I’m wanting to visit.” On the other end, I heard the muffled voice say, “This is the Missionaries of Charity. This is Mother Teresa.” My initial reaction was, “Yeah right, and I’m the pope.” But I held back. I told her we had written and wanted to come work with her… She said, “No, come for the summer. Come.” Come? Where would we eat and sleep? … She didn’t worry a lot about that. She said, “God takes care of the lilies and the sparrows, and God will take care of you. Just come.” Who am I to argue with that? I thanked her, and we hung up.

On June 20, 2007 the Simple Way community center in Philadelphia was destroyed — along with much of the neighborhood — in a massive fire. According to the latest news on the Simple Way site, it looks like they could use some people who are looking to pursue Christ with abandon and authenticity in their rebuilding efforts — in particular, roofers, carpenters and plumbers. If you’re in the area and can lend a hand, I’m sure they could use your help. Even if you’re not in the area, sending gift cards from Home Depot or Lowe’s would help purchase some of the tools they need in the rebuilding process.

Categories faith, hope, prayer

Homeward Bound

August 30, 2007 //

The final seven South Korean hostages in Afghanistan have been freed and are on their way back home!

May we continue to pray for these followers of Christ, their families, their church and for those who perpetrated these evil acts. In particular, pray for their church which, although this should be a time of great joy, has been issuing apologies and has been unfairly criticized by many inside and outside of South Korea.

Much respect to Eugene Cho for cutting through the media silence and becoming a voice and advocate for these followers of Christ, for his wise insights, and for calling the Church to sincere prayer throughout the last six weeks.

Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.

Categories church, controversy, evangelism, faith, hope, outreach, prayer

Freedom and Brokenness

August 30, 2007 //

Finally, finally, there is some good news coming from Afghanistan regarding the South Korean hostages who have been held captive for six weeks. According to Yonhap News, twelve of the remaining nineteen hostages have been freed by the Taliban. The remaining seven are scheduled to be released soon. Let’s hope and pray that the rest of the group makes it home safely as well. Eugene Cho has been faithfully keeping many of us up to date on this situation; DJ Chuang and Laurence Tom have also been updating.

What a terrible ordeal these people have endured at the hands of terrorists. And, as if they have not suffered enough already, it appears that they might face criticism and controversy when they return home.

Details of the deal struck between the Taliban and the South Korean government are being disclosed. From the Yonhap News article:

Seoul, instead, has promised to pull its troops out of the war-torn country before the end of the year, as well as prohibit any South Korean Christian missionaries from entering the country, Cheon Ho-seon, a spokesman for the presidential office, said in a press briefing late Tuesday.

Many could speak with more passion and insight regarding the political reasons and ramifications of South Korea’s military withdrawal, but my concern today is the prohibition of missionaries. Understandably, because of the intensely tragic events that took place in Afghanistan, the South Korean government would want to do whatever they could to ensure the future safety of its citizens. However, I can’t help but wonder about the consequences of such a decision. I’ll save my thoughts about mission work (and my disappointment with the Western media) for another time.

For now, it is enough to celebrate the good news at hand. Today, perhaps, the released hostages and their families can begin to live and breathe once again. We can stand together in joy and relief with them. At the same time, this is also a time to persevere in prayer for those who are still being held captive.

Categories church, controversy, evangelism, faith, frustration, outreach