Archives for category: family

Lent: Ashes and Hope

February 22, 2012 //

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lent. I’ve posted a little bit of background on Lent, along with some resources, over at our church community’s website.

Kye Chung offers these great insights:

It’s a day that we remember that we are mortal. That we are nothing without the breath of God. We are just dust and we’re going to die. And yet, it’s a day that we remember and eagerly anticipate the resurrection of Easter, the good news that because we are in need of a Savior, Christ is risen. The ash represents mortality, the cross represents hope.

On this day, and for the next 40 days, remember your mortality and your need for God … so, that when Easter comes, you will celebrate the new life that God has given you.

The way of the cross is difficult, sometimes impossibly so. And yet, the way to life is through the cross.

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Categories church, faith, family

Book Review: The Unlikely Missionary, by Dan King

December 13, 2011 //

I met Dan King (perhaps better known as @bibledude) through the Idea Camp, a unique tribe of idea-makers who collaborate for good in their neighborhoods, and around the world. Dan’s love for his family and for the church to rise up and become the force for good that God intends stood out to me as we shared a meal together.

The title, The Unlikely Missionary: From Pew-Warmer to Poverty-Fighter, captures the essence of what Dan seeks to do with this book — to move people from lukewarm church attending to passionately following Jesus to serve those He loves. For a more in-depth conversation on why Dan wrote this book and what he hopes to accomplish through it, read this interview I conducted with him for ChurchLeaders.com.

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Categories books, church, faith, family, leadership, ministry, missional, reviews

Banjos, Foreclosure Rock, and the Imago Dei

November 17, 2011 //

I was out at dinner with my eight-year old daughter earlier this week, when some generic, Nickelback-ish schlock-rock started playing over the restaurants’s speakers. She turned to me and asked, “Daddy, is this praise music?”

Simultaneously, I was beaming with pride at her discerning ears (she’s a Kings of Convenience kind of girl) and horrified at the state of CCM / praise & worship music (for cranking out so many bland soundalike “hits”).

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Categories faith, family, indie, music

To Change the World

October 6, 2011 //

Reverberations of the news of Steve Jobs death are being felt throughout the media, Twitterverse, and blogosphere, with heartfelt tributes pouring in about his influence on so many lives.

I was caught off guard by how deeply his passing affected me, as someone who did not know him personally. I’ve seen numerous tweets and status updates reflecting a similar, unexpected sadness at the news of his death. Much grace to his wife and children, and those who knew him, through this sorrow.

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Categories design, faith, family, innovation

My Current Reading List At A Glance

May 23, 2011 //

The month of May has been a bit of a whirlwind (but what’s new, right?).

A quick update on what’s burning up my bookshelf these days:

From a Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology, by Dr. Sang Hyun Lee

Dr. Lee is a pioneer in Asian American theology. I was fortunate to have studied in seminary under Dr. Lee and his wife (also a professor, Dr. Lee). From a Liminal Place is a powerful book, not only for Asian Americans, but for all who seek to follow Christ faithfully not from a seat of power, but from the creative, prophetic edges.

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Categories books, church, family

Death, Life

April 22, 2011 //

Live through this, and you won’t look back. – Stars

All Things New

Jesus’ resurrection is so much more than some kind of “proof” that He is the Son of God or our highway to heaven. When Jesus rose from the grave, He utterly destroyed the power of sin and death. He demonstrates the reality of God’s purpose to renew all of creation, and He invites us to become new kinds of people through Him and to join in His mission of redemption.

Everything that is broken will be made new.

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Categories church, community, faith, family

I Knew I Knew You From Somewhere!

January 18, 2011 //

Yesterday, our family made a trip out to Walmart.

We don’t usually shop there, but my wife needed to pick up some supplies that we were pretty sure we could only get there.

While we were leaving the fabric section, an employee engaged me in a game of “cross-race blindness.” Our conversation went something like this:

Employee: Hey, Jackie Chan!

Me: (Blank stare)

Employee: Oh… didn’t I see you last week? Remember when I told you that you looked just like Jackie Chan?

Me: No, that was someone else. I wasn’t here last week.

Employee: Oh… but you look just like Jackie Chan, too! Right?!

Me: No, I don’t. Not at all.

As we left the area, I could see the employee give another employee an astonished look, as if she couldn’t believe that I could not see my own striking resemblance to Jackie Chan.

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Categories asian american, communication, family, race, reconciliation