Missional and Organic Leadership

I’ve been interested in the issue of leadership and how we can contextualize biblical and secular leadership principles to our churches so that more people can come to know the hope that we have in Christ Jesus.
I loved reading Neil Cole’s Organic Church a few years back as it transformed the way that I view [...]

Training for Ministry

Today, during our 2009 Onnuri Spirituality and Leadership Conference, Richard Foster said something along these lines – “After coming to know the Lord, Paul spent three years in the desert being trained (Gal 1:17-18) – this wasn’t seminary…this was after seminary” (my paraphrase).
He went on to talk about how the Lord taught and trained Paul [...]

Worship Services in the Early Church

I’m currently preaching through 1 Corinthians 12-14 to our youth ministry, Nine37, on the topic of spiritual gifts. As I was preparing my message for tomorrow’s service, I stumbled upon 1 Cor 14:26 and began wondering what worship services looked like in the early church.
1 Corinthians 14:26 NIV – “What then shall we say, brothers? [...]

Calling All John Piper “followers”: John Piper & N.T. Wright

I’ve been reading N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense, and there are parts of his book that are causing me to raise my ears and my ’sensors,’ so to say.
Now if you are aware of anything related to “The New Perspective on Paul” you will know that N.T. Wright, James Dunn, and E.P. [...]

Discovering Myself and My Calling Through Writing

I recently started to write for a monthly devotional publication – Living Life: A Journal of Spiritual Formation & Reflection (It is published by Duranno and the English version is translated into Spanish and Russian), and guess what I’ve discovered about myself? I love writing. I even consider writing to be a potential strength for [...]

A Method of Teaching for the Online-Degree Generation

I recently saw a fascinating proposal by the Dean at Southern Methodist University, Jose A. Bowen. He proposes a different way of teaching that is radically different from the traditional way of: 1) Come to class; 2) Listen to the Lecture; 3) Discussion.
He proposes that you:
1) Podcast your lecture.
2) Have your students listen to the [...]

The Architecture of Asian Christianity

Two weeks ago, when my wife and I travelled down to my mom’s home town (Seosan, Choongchun-Namdo, South Korea) for my uncle’s funeral, we came across this interesting building. Upon closer examiniation, we discovered that it is a Catholic church, but I was just in awe of the Asian flavor that the cathedral had.
Living in Montreal, Quebec for [...]

A Korean Funeral

This past week, my uncle passed away from cancer so I had the opportunity to experience a full-fledged Buddhist Korean funeral. When I got to the hospital, I had to pay my respects to his son and his mother and then we were ushered into this room where the dead body was (it was covered with [...]

The Power of Shame in Asian Cultures

I have never heard so much about suicide until moving to Korea. Sure, there were the occasional suicide stories in the news back in Canada and in Hollywood, but to so frequently read the names of celebrities, political leaders, and high-profile individuals in the headlines in apposition with the deadly words, “suicide,” was unfathomable.
“South Korean [...]

A Perennial Learner

In the midst of impending fatherhood, nearly full-time studies, and full-time ministry work, one would think that I lacked the time to learn and pursue other interests.  Yet that is the crux of the Learner – I will never stop learning.  My desire to learn will never be satisfied.
And I love it.
I love and hate [...]