Broken, Misfit, & Third-Culture

Advice To Future Church Planters

2011-11-16T02:11:00.000-08:00

lately having lots of conversations w/potential church planters and thought i would write some of the things i have been mulling over. so here is some advice for those of you thinking about planting a church:

1. don't plant a church.

i know this sounds counter-productive, but we don't need more churches. too many of us come from the factory of 'career christianity'. this is where we go to a professional christian school, get our professional christian degrees, look for a professional christian job and run a church, a non profit organization. i should know, i was brought up through this system and indoctrinated in western evangelical christianity intermingled with capitalism/democracy. the last time i looked at the gospels, i couldn't find Jesus' teaching on the pre-requisites of church planting, how to run an church organization. what i did find, is that Jesus asked his disciples to preach repentance, heal those that are sick and preach the coming kingdom of God. Jesus gave a charge to his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

even though i am a novice when it comes to church planting, many of us have heard the struggles and statistics of failure rates of church plants here in the US. when i think about the failure of church plants, i can't help but think how can something from God fail. how can all these church plants fail when Jesus made it clear to peter that, 'on this rock i will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it.' i wonder if the way we do church, in particular planting new churches, is contra-biblical. and maybe church plant failure rates has more to do with our incorrect understanding of what church planting is and because of that we misunderstand what church is all about.

i believe that we preach a resurrected Jesus Christ who came to die for us and offer abundant life for those who believe in His name. and that church planting is about the gospel going out to those who have not heard and not experienced this abundant life that Jesus offers.

a friend of mine, a missionary in china, once told me that there are no church plant failure rates in china. what? what do mean there are no church plant failures? that's bc the church in china is underground, men, women, children, all risk prison to being a follower of Jesus. the church is growing in china at an incredible rate and guess what no church plant failures. hmm...i wonder if there is something we should learn from this.

here, in the US, church planters are so focused on where sunday church services are supposed to be, how much money it costs to run a non-profit, where to get the people (much of which is transfer growth), and the style and flavor of the kind of church it will be. no wonder church plants fail all the time.

here is the rub. we don't need more church plants. what we need is church planters willing to share and live out the gospel reaching those who haven't experienced the abundant life Jesus offers. it's simple but sadly most professional christian pastors have no idea how to share the gospel. they know how to run a church or a ministry but not know how to share the love of Christ with a neighbor or friend.

future church planters, don't plant a church. be about the good news of Jesus. share the gospel, live it, make disciples of all nations, and i promise your church plant will not fail, it can't because it's Jesus' church.

more to come...

Successful Church Plant Closing It's Doors!

2011-10-15T14:17:00.001-07:00

recently had a chance to talk with some church planters across the divide and wanted to share things learned:

situation: a church plant closed its doors after 2 years. a few years ago, a church planted from a larger metro church(not in seattle), closed its doors. from the get go, the new church had a great start, with a strong core group, a strong funding base, and a strong vision to reach the unchurched in their city. The church grew rapidly, from about 40 to 300 in just 6 months. the future looked promising. after a year, the church continued to grow both financially and in attendance. But, after two years, the pastor and it's leaders spoke to the church one Sunday, to communicate that after 2years, we're closing the doors.

from what i gleaned, on the outside the church plant was a huge success, everyone in the area took notice, and the future looked as bright as can be. but, hearing from leaders and what the pastor communicated to the church, another story emerged.

even though the church grew fast in such a short period of time, the pastor communicated to the church and its leadership that almost all of its growth was due to transfer growth. Christians unhappy at their previous church or just wanting to move to a better church were its statistical numbers. the pastor&leadership from the start communicated that the church is about reaching the lost, hurt, and unchurched and not about transfer growth. so continued sermon after sermon, this message was preached. after two years, the pastor&leadership also noted that no other leaders stepped up in serving and helping with the church. still only the original core continued to serve and help out. with the growth in number, all of the leaders were put to the task of meeting the needs of the church rather than pursuing its vision. this created an entitlement culture, even though the message was different. no lives were changed, no spiritual break-through's, and no passion for the lost. yes, the church programs were slick, people loved the music, people loved the messages, children loved to attend their kids programs. so even with that, as a result, the plant pastor, it's core, made the decision to close the doors. wow!

my personal thoughts:

wow, a seemingly successful church plant, with both attendance and funding, what more could there be. of course, everything. i couldn't be more impressed with this church's pastor and it's leadership team for their decision to close doors. in my own experience, i see churches planted, church campus' starting, and ministries popping up, why? is it to plant new seeds, reach the unchurched, reach the lost, reach those who have never experienced Jesus' love and compassion? nope. what i see is shifting christians, moving from one dissatisfied church to another and another. churches looking for growth and never really asking the tough questions about what kind of growth it should be.

to be honest, i am sick & disturbed by the kind of Christianity we have created here in our country. i am uninspired by the mega-churches, church conferences, and the top ten sermon lists. we look to mimic the 'american dream' and forget the message of Christ, the Gospel. we look more to the success of a growing church rather than ask why it's growing. when you look at church statistics, why are numbers and finances the major categories? why do we not take in account number of people who left their churches and make up the primary growth of an existing church? we don't because numbers counts, not why, but just the results.

when you plant seeds, do you plant them over existing plants? no! you go to new and fertile soil. our churches today don't plant or start campuses for the purpose of planting news seeds, but rather, transplant existing ones. when we do that, we work contra the Gospel and work against the kingdom of God.

to my fellow friends, pastors, church planters, have the courage to plant new seeds even if it costs you success. peace.

Searching...

2011-06-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

apologies to those who have been wanting/asking to read my blog posts. i've been in a writing funk lately. it's not that i don't have anything to say, it's that there's so much to say and saying it to the blogging world would uncover the privacy of my thoughts and those that are connected to them. since my last blog post, i have come to be a part of so many people's journeys. the realness and rawness of life is amazing/tearful/hopeful, but to share that in this forum would take away the confidentiality of those that entrust their journeys with me. i could use different names and insert different places to express my thoughts and what God is doing in them, but i felt that to be weird and i'm sure those that are close to me would put two and two together. especially since most of my peeps read my blog. i found it to be difficult to share my thoughts, protect those you are connecting with, and be as real as possible.

when i read other blogs i realize that truth is a bit layered. not that other bloggers lie or mislead their readers, i think we find it difficult to truly tell the truth and write about what we really feel and what is really going on. when we do, it usually gets us into trouble. that's why i have taken a break from the blogging atmosphere. how do i write about what is going on inside this heart/brain of mine and not affect those around me. i want to share about how i am processing life and the stories of lives around me but that's truly impossible. i didn't want to be the blogger who wrote about things, about life, about stuff, but be the blogger who wrote in things, in life, in stuff. so, for right now, i am searching for significance of why to blog. not sure where this will take me, but thought you might want to know...

random late thoughts...

2010-11-30T01:58:00.001-08:00

random thoughts...

uncomfortable feeling. that's what i say at times when i tell people about imago dei. it's uncomfortable. when you come to imago dei, one thing you will recognize is that there's no one common element about us. you look at ethnicity and you will find hispanic, white, black, yellow, mixed, and then some. you look at age, we have 90 year old to 5 day old. take socio-economic factors and we have low, middle, upper, and college broke. educated and uneducated. other flavors, we have kids, singles, single parent, married, re-married, widowed, divorced, we have healthy, sick, addicts, droid & apple and dog and cat peeps. We have skeptics, in-between, and those committed to following Christ. so when you come, it's to say the least, a bit uncomfortable. and that's how we like it. we love it. i tell our peeps that uncomfortable feeling you feel is good, get used to it, embrace it. sure it's easy to fit in your cultural, racial, socio-economic, and generational layers, but imago dei, the image of God, reflects all of humanity, and regardless of those layers. we have been created in God's image, and that image has been restore because of Jesus Christ, the tower curse, reversed, and the Kingdom of God both here and in the future is a restored imago dei. a question i have always asked myself, starting in hs, college and even now, is if the Kingdom of God, this already-not-yet, Kingdom of Heaven, is a restored imago dei, where all people, all walks of life, all colors, brought together as one body, the living ekklesia, why is the church so ethnicly driven, so socio-economically gathered, and culturally focused? shouldn't we live as people of God and shouldn't that reflect the Kingdom where every person will consider their fellow man/woman as true brother and sister in Christ. we're all family. i think for most people it makes sense. it's common Kingdom sense. but the problem lies in the very essence of why i planted imago dei. because it's uncomfortable, it doesn't breed a western church capitalistic cultural idea of success. that success says the growth in number is at all costs the objective. but, when you design a church that's uncomfortable, where does that leave you. It means that people might not want to come. It means it might take longer, it might be harder, it might be difficult. i can tell you that i love our vision, i believe it's a Kingdom vision, and i give my life to that vision. the hard reality is yes, it's uncomfortable, being around people not like you, being in a church where there is no common tie. That uncomfortable feeling is part of the old self, which once day will be replaced with a new self, a complete imago dei, restored and forever. That uncomfortable feeling is a daily reminder that what you are doing is right, that building relationships with people unlike you is a Kingdom life, and the more you feel uncomfortable, the more right it is. So at imago dei, we say embrace it, love it.

Updates from June-October

2010-10-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

wow, it's been 4 months since my last post. things that have passed.

-visited my parents in dallas
-mom finished her last chemo and is cancer free right now
-ethan starts 6th grade, audrey starts 4th, and emma starts kindergarten
-coaching ethan's lego league robotics team
-ethan starts playing the alto saxophone
-my sister moves back to dallas to be with my parents
-celebrated 15 years of marriage
-imago dei, our church plant, hosts its first baptism gathering & dedicates 10 children and their families
-id grows to 60 adults, and our average sunday attendance is 30-40 adults.
-our vision is still red hot, a church for the unchurched, loving every minute of it...

Blog Hiatus

2010-06-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

just thought i would write a short entry on my absence in the blogging world. for those of you who do not know, my mother has been battling cancer. she has been through 4 different chemo treatments plus radiation treatments for over a 4-year period battling a rare form of small cell cancer, neuro-endocrine carcinoma. just recently, the oncologist has given us news that the chemo treatments have not gone well and she is running out of options. i think for the most part i have subconsciously internalized all of my feelings and thoughts toward my mom's disease. so the last few months has been hard to see how my mom is struggling for her life and to see how the chemo has affected her mental and physical state. i was able to visit her a few weeks back which i hope brought her and dad encouragement. she is hoping to get into trials at md anderson in houston so we're all praying that there will be something for her there. i think for the first time since starting a church plant i have felt tired. which if you knew me that would be a surprise, but yeah, feeling a bit tired. you know in all my memories i have never seen my mom scared but being with her seeing her in fear and wanting so much to live was hard. she wants to live for her family, her grandchildren, for us, and seeing her struggle brought me to tears. i am so thankful for my cousins that have been helping my family since both my sister and i are away from dallas. we continue to pray for her and for God's healing over her body.

as for our church, imago dei, God has been so gracious and good. our community and our relationships have been growing and am grateful to know the lives and stories of our peeps. we had a great outreach at Easter and did our first community service project. again, i am just grateful for the friendships born through our church plant. u guyz/galz rock!

why plant a church?

2010-03-23T02:11:00.001-07:00

question, "why plant a church?" i get this question a lot. most of that answer is seen scattered in previous blog posts. but i would make additional comments that i feel reflect my current journey these past days. for the past several months at imago dei, we have been preaching through selected texts from the gospels. personally i have always been attracted to jesus' love for the misfits/poor/different/sinner. in all the stories i am amazed that jesus would go against the grain of society/religious to love and forgive the unforgiven. this past sunday, i spoke on the passage of the conversations between jesus and blind beggar/rich tax collector-zakaios. in the backdrop you have a city, jericho, with a past and its own story that is embedded in the meaning. you can't help but see parallels throughout the story, poor/rich, sick-outward/sick-inward, outcast/mistrust. both were the outcasts of their society, regardless of their socio-economic background. While the crowd and religious grumbled at the way jesus did things, these 2 asked for help and received 'faith&salvation'. i guess i have always seen myself as similar maybe not on the outward perspective but inwardly broken/sinful/misaligned. and at every step of my journey jesus has been there to forgive/make-whole/reclaim/renew.

when i answer the question why plant a church, i say its because of Jesus' love for me. in its simplest statement, jesus loves me. planting a church came naturally, what i cared more about was connecting with people and sharing that Jesus loves them, forgives them, and makes us whole again (imago dei). over time my view of forgiveness continues to grow deeper as well as my view of sinfulness/brokenness/rebellion. and in that i continually realize how much more significant jesus' love for me is and how much i have been forgiven. it's life-changing. and because i have experienced so much, i want to live a life, sharing about jesus, and that my life was changed forever because he lived/died/rose again. interesting thing, not everyone really cares about what resonates on my heart and who/what/why jesus is. it's funny my profession, being a pastor, you would think that being a pastor would allow you the opportunity to do what jesus cares about, but that's not necessarily true. i can truly say that there are years (as a pastor) when most if not all my time was spent catering the christian religious, not living my life as jesus lived his. it's sad, too many stories that would break the heart. too much time spent away from the main thing.

but on a lighter note, my journey now is filled with significant relationships/friendships where jesus, his life/story is the main thing. if you knew the heart-beat of imago dei, you would hear the sounds of brokenness/the misfits/second chances and you would meet those who are genuinely seeking jesus and wanting to know his story/life. planting a church has allowed me to keep the main thing the main thing. that jesus loves me, and that jesus loves you.

Lent

2010-02-19T22:42:00.000-08:00

blogging for me is more therapeutic than anything else. lately i have been getting peeps asking why i don't blog more and when am i going to write again. honestly, it's hard to write. i'm not good at it and in the end it helps me process what is going on in the inside and in the heart. i do appreciate my friends encouragement and i will try to write more but we'll see if that happens. :-)

when i look back at my journey through lent. in college, i saw lent as a negative association of my faith in Christ. Fridays after our college gatherings on campus, we would all head out to different restaurants to hang and connect. i only knew it was lent because of all the water bottles everyone had and the apparent non-ordering of food even though we were at a restaurant. i remember asking someone why is he/she carrying a water bottle? why is that whole table not eating? oh yeah, it's lent and they are fasting. i thought to myself why in the world would they come out to a restaurant if they weren't going to eat or order. it became so obvious to everyone that they were fasting and some were happy to talk about it. i think from that experience i realized that i couldn't stand the public persona of spiritual disciplines. it all looked and smelled of hypocrisy. jesus puts it this way, Matt. 6:16-18 ¶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." jesus had it right, if you engage in spiritual disciplines do it in private, because God wants an audience of one just between you and Him. even if you have to break and stop a spiritual discipline because not doing so would make it become public then i would do so. you can always engage in a spiritual discipline afterward, but once it becomes public there goes the audience of one. and to me more important that the discipline itself is the relationship with my God. so since then, i have rarely told anyone of a personal practiced spiritual discipline. i do want to say that i am far from where i want to be when it comes to spiritual disciplines but i hope to continue becoming more and more like my savior, Jesus. he did things right.

if you are into reading during this lenten season, i would like to recommend a book that has caused a stir within my soul and has been challenging and a companion to me these last few years. shusaku endo, silence.

father&son

2010-01-10T20:56:00.001-08:00

father & son

past. as a father of 3 kids, i can't help but think how my past has affected my adulthood and the way i look at parenting. my parents, typical ka immigrants, worked 12-14 hour days, 7 days a week, me and my sister were latchkey-kids, growing up together, taking care of ourselves, and pretty much on our own. i can remember taking a city bus (6:45am) at the age of 8 across dallas, 1 hour ride, by myself to get to school in downtown. so many times i fell asleep and missed my stop just to walk several blocks to get back to the school. looking back it was crazy to think that i could take a city bus by myself at that age. i know my wife would freak out if we asked our kids to do the same thing. :-)

present. it's interesting, our eldest, ethan is 11 year old, and in 5th grade. up to this point in our kid's growth and maturity. most of our conversations were without much maturity, depth, and reflection. kid's will be kid's. but something interesting happened in my relationship with ethan this past month. as parents, there are many times, sol and i will play 'good cop, bad cop' and vice-versa, in how we relate and teach our kid's. ethan for the most part, took in, and just accepted what sol and i had to say. but, just recently, ethan has started to reflect and reach out to us to talk and to share his own feelings. it was his first time doing so. and i can remember exactly what we talk about and i took the time to listen to him and to hear how felt and just to be there as his father. you know, because my own father, spent so much time at work, i remember not having that opportunity with him. and so, when ethan came to me for the first time to share his feelings and thoughts and struggles, it was a special moment for me as his father. after our conversation, i felt so thankful and so grateful that ethan felt comfortable to talk to me and to share his feelings.

you know, as a parent, there is this first moment when your son or daughter will come and in their maturing growth will open up and reach out to talk and want their parents to listen and not judge and be there for them. and it's in that moment when we either can shut the door or open it. i believe it's a moment that your child will remember their entire life, bc i remember when i had that same moment. lately, i have been thinking about our conversation and the feelings he shared and our relationship as father&son. i hope that if you have kids and are reading this you will also grasp that moment with your own kids when they first reach out to you. it's a special moment and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

'loving the marginalized'

2009-12-15T23:20:00.000-08:00

one of my most treasured experiences, was back in college, when i had the opportunity to spend time volunteering at a senior home. i remember when our college ministry decided to help out at the senior home, my first reaction was without much excitement. and to be honest i went out more of a responsibility than out of a true desire to love and serve the elderly. luckily, there were others that had a much better heart and attitude than me and i was able to learn, understand and love what i believe God loves. we would spend an evening during the week with a group of elderly and widows. we had one of our praise team members lead the group in song and we had a devotional time together. afterward we would host and serve snacks and food for our guests. we would spend time talking and playing games and just being there with our new friends. you know at first i was thinking that the nursing home residents might be upset and thinking, what are these college kids doing here, but after talking and learning more about their lives, i knew that they appreciated having people come and spend time with them. surprisingly for many of them they rarely receive guests and for us at that time we were the only group of college students that came to spend time with them. it was during this time i began to study the scriptures on this subject of what does God think about the elderly and widows. and i realized that God loves the elderly and widows and that much of the scriptures spoke about our responsibility to care for them.

i share this because recently our church plant has grown and we now have several elderly peeps in our community. one of our elderly needs a ride to the church each sunday and i have had some time to be her escort to and from our sunday gatherings. building a new relationship with dot (dorthea) has been a true blessing in my life. i smile because i think back to my college days when i learned that even in my own initial reluctance to build relationships with the elderly, i learned so much about love and God's love for people and i smile because God used that experience to help me build a new relationship right now with our elderly at imago dei. as we move to our new facility, we will be providing rides for several of our elderly to and from their senior homes and i am so excited to building new relationships. i hope to see more of our love through our relationships with the elderly and widows in our city and i hope we can be a community that reflects God's love for the marginalized. i am grateful to see our community reflect more than just a single strata age group, single ethnic strand, or similar socio-economic demographic, but a true diversity where i hope we reflect a kingdom vision of a community of followers of Christ.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. -James 1:27

imago dei on the move

2009-12-08T23:27:00.000-08:00

wow, looking back it's pretty amazing to see how we have changed and moved as a community of followers of jesus. when we first started out, i had this crazy idea of starting a church with the unchurched. our first gathering was in our own home, sitting around our living room on couches and some at the kitchen while i would stand in front of the tv preaching the gospel to my friends and neighbors. while none of my original group stayed with us, i am so thankful that they helped me and allowed me and my family to build friendships with their families. i do owe a debt of gratitude to my friends and neighbors (tambark creek gang) for helping me get started in what i hope would be an ekklesia of people who follow jesus christ.
as we continued to invite our friends and neighbors over to our home for church, we realized that our home could only host a certain number of people and that if we wanted to see more people come and to be a part of our community of faith we needed to move out from our home. so, our next step was to rent out a coffee shoppe within our community. it was great, the coffee shoppe had a stage for the band, visuals, rooms for children's ministry, and enough chairs for 40 people to sit around. i really enjoyed our time at the coffee shoppe. but, as we looked to rent the facility on a weekly basis we realized that the costs were too much and the time slot was just not suited for our new fledgling community.

it was at this junction where we really did not know what God wanted to do with us. as we looked to find a new location for imago dei to meet in, we kept running into dead ends. it was during this difficult time when we had an incredible opportunity come to us. as with any small church the struggle to add core group peeps became increasingly difficult. God at the most opportune time allowed a group from the southend to merge into us and help us achieve the vision that God had planted in our hearts to start a new church. as our core group grew, we had the blessing of having regular sunday gatherings at a great time and the rent was affordable for a church plant. this our third location. the crazy thing about all of this was that the drive for us in the northend took about 45 minutes one way to the new facility. God sure has a funny way of leading us, but his way is definitely better than anything i could ever hope for. imago dei was able to meet weekly for worship gatherings and even have time for a lunch fellowship afterward. i think this period of waiting on God and listening for his voice completely changed us as a community. now while we had a regular meeting place, there were some issues. now realized that for us who live in the northend it became too difficult to invite our unchurched friends and neighbors. so, in a short period of time we began looking once again at finding a central location where all of us could drive within a relatively short time frame where we could invite our friends and neighbors. and in another miraculous work of God, we found our fourth location for imago dei, kennydale elementary school in renton. as we looked at this possible location, we had two opportunities to visit the school and pray for the future of of our community of faith. we knew that making this move would be a tremendous step of faith. the rent was double of what we were paying and we are very comfortable at our current location. but we knew that if we were going to be able to invite our unchurched friends we needed to be in a strategic location where both our northend and southend friends could come to church. you know looking back to our journey as a church, no one could have ever scripted it for us. if you told me when we started this crazy journey that we would move 4 times and that we would be in the southend, i would have laughed at you. but God has this amazing way of leading us toward his path. it's not a path that is linear or logical, but of faith and of sacrifice and of redemption. when i look at where we are right now, the images that come to mind are of friends from the past and new friends that have joined us. relationships are what i have treasured throughout this journey and i am grateful for everyone of them. i am hoping this new location in renton will be a stopping point for some time which will allow our relationships to take root and to grow as we do life together. on sunday, dec. 20th we will be meeting at kennydale elementary school for the first time and i am so excited to see a new chapter being written by God through us.

Church Planting Update

2009-11-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

Hi All, it's been a crazy past few months. Here is a quick update on our church plant, Imago Dei.

1. Imago Dei has found a new weekly Sunday location in Des Moines. This location has truly been a God directed journey for us, we would have never guessed this location, but God is good! Right now, it's a temporary location but we are so thankful to have a regular Sunday gathering time. We are looking for a future central location that will give our unchurched friends and neighbors the opportunity to join us for worship.

2. Imago Dei's core group has grown! We are so thankful for a new group of families that have joined our team to helping us accomplish our vision to reach the unchurched here in Seattle. Incredible relationships are growing and I am thankful for the friendships with my new brothers and sisters in Christ.

3. Imago Dei's vision has grown from just being a northend church to reaching a broader regional area of Seattle. When we first started our journey we started with our home, our cul-de-sac we lived in, our neighborhood, our community, and now God has opened the doors for us to reaching Seattle. Nothing we have experienced could have told us this is where we would be, that's why it's been amazing for all of us. It's a God-thing.

Failure a Good Thing?

2009-09-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

i heard a recent statistic that 1 out of every 10 church plants succeed. when i heard that i thought, wow, that sucks, my chances doesn't look that good. my first thought was that doesn't make any sense, why would a sovereign God allow so much failure for people who are trying to accomplish the great commission? okay, that stream of thought is for another day, another blog entry on open theism, please theogian sam won, answer this for me.

if that stat is true, then for most church planters, failure is common and pretty much a tag placed on the resume for accomplishments&experiences. for all you who never had that tag, that's awesome, you never had to experience the failure that many have gone before you. may your tribe endure!

Recently I have been spending time with a good friend, pastor, restaurant entrepreneur, social justice advocate, and visionary. He came up to Seattle, one of two cities (Portland), that he and a group of partners are looking at to start a new restaurant. They have had success in a different market and the possibility of coming to Seattle and joining our church plant has given us an exciting vibe. So for a week, I shadowed him as he did his research and potential outlook for a new venture here in Seattle. A lot of the time was spent trying new restaurants, their food, i mean lots of food, my low carb diet went out the door for that week. we had hours and hours of time talking about life, business, and our journey with Christ. i found our conversations extremely interesting. for example, i came to know that restaurant entrepreneurs are very much like church planters. that both enterprises involve very similar operations, fundraising, services, and promotion. the best part of our talks centered around failures and successes.

He shared the story of Forever21, a hip, clothing store, in practically every mall in the country. Forver21 is considered a 'game changer.' stats show that if a mall opens a Forever21 store, more peeps, more sales, more traffic happens. another 'game changer' you would recog is apple. so, Forever21 was started by a Korean couple and early on the company tanked, almost lost everything. typically if a business tanks and a person owes creditors $, that person is gone, by, by. but instead of taking off, Forever21 stayed in the game asking for more time. but investors wanted his head, and F21 asked every investor to hold on, keep believing in the business. the response was a complete negative, so they took his house, his car, pretty much liquidated everything they could from him. they even gave back their worthless shares. so at the worst moment in his life, he could have given up, could have said game over. but he didn't and what's amazing is that after his lowest moment, the company took off and hasn't slowed ever since. since all the investors threw back their shares the founder became a 100% owner, which is unheard of these days. from my understanding the founder&wife are followers of Christ, amazing.

my friend, also shared his own business mentor's story. his business mentor when he first started went to his friends and raised the capital to start new new company. raised the capital, started the new business, some time later, the business failed. again, we went to his friends&supporters, saying, i've learned from my mistakes and now my new idea is going to work, believe in me. so his friends and supporters gave him more capital to start a new venture. that business soon after tanked and went under. the third time, what is it they say, the third time's the charm, he goes back to his friends&supporters and says, i've learned even more this time, i now have it, please support me in this new venture. well, the third time want's the charm, most of his friends&supoprters said no, and just a few said okay we'll support you. after failing two times, the third time, his business took off and now he's having the opportunity to bring his business to malls across the country. he was recently given entrepreneur of the year award in vegas. amazing.

now, of course failure happens and will continue to happen. but if there is one thing i am learning from the business sector, it is, 'only through failures, success happens'. going back to the church plant failure rate, one out of every ten church plants succeed. the verdict is still out on our church plant, but i have friends who have recently experienced being on the short end of the stick. i'm learning that failure in this line of work is not only a good possibility almost a sure thing, so when you do fail, what do you do? do you give up, throw in the towel. for some maybe, but if you have it in your genes, don't give up, don't give up, don't give up. this is something i need to hear, over and over again. i like paul's words, 2Th. 1:4, 'therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.' good stuff.

pain, hurt, loss...

2009-08-03T00:24:00.001-07:00

for the past several months sol and i have been in mourning. as a christian, i have had numerous opportunities to share my faith in jesus. opportunities like being in a foreign country sharing my faith through a translator, at a homeless shelter for men, at a lake near minneapolis, on a college campus, in high school, or on the drag in austin. after having these opportunities to share my faith and now adding another experience i have come to realize how difficult/costly/painful it is to reach people for Jesus. please note again that this blog is purely an existential dilemma between the earlobes and heart.

i am not sure about you but i have had my share of rejections, that is, people rejecting jesus, and in my face. and initially those experiences were at that time - difficult. i remember going out to the campus one day with a group of students and we took off in pairs to meet students to share our faith and at the end of the day we would return and share about our experiences. one of the girls in our group came back in tears sharing how a group of students laughed at her as she was sharing her faith. i never experienced that raw emotion like she did, but did experience rejection. but for the most part, over time i have had numerous friends, co-workers and neighbors whom i have had rich opportunities to share my faith.

but, in all that time, i never crossed the line. have you ever crossed the line? now this line is an imaginary line, drawn out, indicating the line between friendship and jesus. i think for the most part christians have not had a difficult time developing friends that do not believe in jesus. in fact most christians have many friends that are not christian and maintain those relationships well. in my own example, what happens when you attempt to start a church with unchurched people and after building friendships (2 plus years) with their families, and they decide not to want to hear more about jesus? what do you do? especially since you have been spending so much time developing the friendships. can you continue the close friendships? for most of us, we live in two worlds, the christian world of friendships and the unchurched world of friendships. we know how to operate in both worlds keeping both relationships and friendships intact while adhering to our faith in jesus. i lived that. enjoying both, feeling good about my life as a christian and having relationships with unchurched friends. patting myself on my back saying 'john way to go!' it's funny because the more and more i realize that being a church planter has been more about me than about church planting (a repeating theme in my life). when i started out building friendships with my neighbors everything was great. our families grew closer, our kids grew closer, and seemingly i thought sure doesn't everybody want to know God. when our friends politely said they were not interested, we realized that something was not right. you see when you cross the line between friendship and jesus, when jesus is out of the picture, something changes in the relationship. sol and i put everything we had into these relationships hoping that jesus would become more real in all of our lives. and when things went southward, our friendships suffered. questions arose like, how come we are not spending time like we did, how come we're not hanging out like we did before, why are we pulling back, all these issues came out. in all that time, sol and i were quietly mourning. mourning because we felt rejected, feeling loss over all the time and energy we put into the relationships. it crushed us. and on the other side our friends were upset at us. and even in this aftermath, our friendships have changed. not irrevocable but changed. and we're trying to rebuild it as we move forward.

you know i always had this image that when you share jesus when they said no, they said no to jesus not you. but when you cross the line and put both into the same path and if/when they say no, it feels more like they reject you. it hurts, i feel pain, loss, and rejection. and as i come to terms with how God is changing my life through this, i realize that how rare it is that i truly put everything in one basket so to speak and put it on the line. it was easy in the past, when i had not crossed the line, but now i'm learning that it costs when you cross the line. jesus crossed the line, he didnt have the other life to fall back on. when he built friendships and shared his life it was his life and when people rejected him they rejected himself. i can't imagine how much it must have hurt jesus to be rejected by the people he loved and created. for us it's easy to say well i can always fall back and separate my life, know that he/she rejects God, and not to take it personally. but jesus couldnt do that. when he was rejected it was personal.

i am learning that too many of us including myself rarely cross the line between friendships and jesus. it's natural, we fear rejection, we fear a change in our relationships, we crave normality and stability in our workplace and with our friends. we keep christian friends separate from our unchurched friends. but consider jesus' life. he didn't have that option. and if apostle paul is correct, that we too should share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. that our life is identical to jesus' life. that the richness of our relationship to God is in crossing the line, just like jesus did. jesus did it right. yes, it will bring pain, hurt, and loss but it will also bring redemption, restoration, and identity with our savior.

imago dei goes public

2009-06-30T22:53:00.001-07:00

this past sunday, june 28th, imago dei held its first ever public gathering. we met at the lyons den coffee shoppe in bothell, wa.

wohoo!!!

okay, with that out of the way, a few days passing, and now my heart rate and emotions have returned to normal. in reflection, i cannot express my thanks enough to God for this one opportunity to share about my faith in Jesus and to share about His life to friends and neighbors in our community. as a church planter you realize the uncertainty of time (whether you will be even around the next week or so) and you learn to appreciate being in the moment and forego the extant pressures that can plague the mind. so all in all, i can truly say i had a blast at our first public gathering for imago dei. if i could choose the most important thing about it, it would be my friends and neighbors that have journeyed together with me from my house and now to a coffee shop. when i first imagined what a community would look like i had a crazy notion that it would begin from my own neighborhood. and yes while that crashed and burned, would you believe that other neighbors and friends came alongside of us to journey with us as imago dei. i dont know what the future holds for us, but i want to hold on to this moment in time and be grateful.

so, in gratitude i want to thank the triune God, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, my neighbors, friends, prayer partners and supporters, without you i wouldn't be here. May your tribes increase!

'skydiving with or without a parachute'

2009-05-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

sometimes i feel like a skydiver jumping out into a new adventure and not knowing if i am wearing a parachute. :-p if you have ever read any of my posts, i just want to say thanks for entertaining my own neurosis. :-) church planting has been a incredibly challenging personal journey i have ever been on and so far i have kept some sort of sanity. i want to thank my friends both followers of Jesus and those who are not, for the ride of a lifetime.

imago dei updates:

1. imago dei is hosting its first ever public worship gathering on sunday, june 28th at the Lyon's Den coffee shop in bothell, wa. we are very excited to see where God takes us. It is a huge step of faith for us and our hope is that we can connect more people to God in a personal and existential way.

2. i hear this from church planters all the time about turnaround and people who originally start off as a core and then leave. i wasn't sure what to make of it. well, i have my first experience of people leaving. some families sol and i have had a wonderful relationship and still have, left imago dei. they were not followers of Jesus and when we became more committed to jesus, and about studying the bible they weren't comfortable with us. we still love them and we will never give up on them and sad to see them not come out. after they left, sol and i were pretty depressed, we wanted so much to see jesus become real in their lives and it took some time to get back to normal. the amazing thing is that while we lost some people a new group of friends came along and have shown interest in jesus and wanting to know more about his life. it's pretty amazing when we felt the worst God brought encouragement.

3. i just want to personally thank Hyemi Kim and Michelle Yi, our imago dei children's directors. they are both amazing people who love kids and love God. they joined us knowing that we were walking into unknown paths and still remained joyful and supportive. they are the best of people and i hope God will bless their life and their future.

4. a reflection, i realize i love having a community, where we have people who are exploring jesus, reconnecting to jesus, and those who plainly don't care about jesus. more and more, i sense that i really don't want to create a 'consumerist capitalistic' church model. if it means being small, so be it. it if means i need to support my efforts by other means, so be it. if it means, i struggle and give my life to people who hate jesus, so be it. i need to grow and learn to be more life jesus, who gave his life up for people. if you can, please pray for me, i need it.

2009-05-25T15:25:00.000-07:00

it's been some time since my last post. quickly, imago dei has been meeting monthly at our home. we are looking for a public space to host our gatherings, in June and July. we have seen some turnaround in our group, where few unchurched families we were hoping to join us, left bc we were too into Jesus, but the amazing thing is that others came along to join us. our children's ministry is taking off and we are excited about our two new children's staff. it's hard to see all your hard work in prayer and love and people not responding to Jesus but amazed that God works in mysterious ways and meeting others who join us along the way. this summer is a summer of movement and we hope to see people follow Christ more and more. if you can please pray for us we need it. thx.

Bruce Lee vs Iron Man

2009-04-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Iron Man vs Bruce Lee
Uploaded by PatrickBoivin

another great Bruce Lee video, enjoy!!!

What? Our Vision is Crap?

2009-03-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

is this really true?

before actually setting out to launch a new ekklesia, i penned this vision statement about what imago dei would look like.

The vision of Imago Dei is to be a casual, “come as you are,” multi-ethnic, third-culture, cause-driven, transformational Christ-following community. We have a passion for the arts and social justice, so music, technology, media, and local & global justice issues are a big part of our conversation. As a “high-definition” ekklesia we focus on bringing the love of Jesus into crystal-clear life changing images to those who are far from Him.
The mission of Imago Dei is to lead our generation into reclaiming the incarnational kingdom life through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Imago Dei is about the global need that exists today of reconnecting ekklesia and society in a way that makes ekklesia both authentic and real. We believe that ekklesia can only accomplish this by turning outward and loving those around us the way Jesus loved the world: not just in words, but also in social action.

and now, after 8 months into this crazy journey, i realize that we are very far from being what those words actually mean. if i could rewrite our vision, a somewhat pre-vision statement, more like who we are right now, it would definitely look like this.

The vision of Imago Dei is to be a church for the unchurched. We are group of people who for some are followers of Jesus, others that are open to the teachings of Jesus, and some who do not believe in God or Jesus. What makes us unique is that this ekklesia is all about building authentic friendships within our community, opening the dialogue about the life and teachings of Jesus, and putting into action what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. We are in essence a bunch of misfits, recognizing that while our hope is to reflect as best as we can a follower of Jesus, yet realizing we all have hang-ups, cravings, and addictions. It is our belief that every human being is unique, creative, passionate, of infinite worth, 'imago dei' - created in the image of God, and that Jesus, his life, death, and resurrection is the clearest image of who God is.

i have to admit the past several weeks has been very difficult for our family. raising finances for our ekkesia plant has seen many doors closed and not seeing as much success from our efforts thus far has led to thoughts of failure, doubt, fear, anger, and the never-ending 'what does the future hold?' it's hard when there are so many success stories out there. i must have been schizophrenic, looking to change what we are doing, who we are, looking for that silver lining. but, in the murky filled areas of my brain, God reassured me that what i started back in august of 2008 is exactly what He wants me to continue doing. that my desire to plant a church for the unchurched is exactly what i should be doing. so tonight, i am at peace, even though there are still problems we have to overcome, but grateful to God for this amazing life we have.

looking ahead, imago dei is excited about hosting a gathering on easter sunday. we have invited our friends and neighbors and along with good food, an inspiring message, we hope to see more and more people consider the incredible life that Jesus has for us.

Love/Hate Relationship

2009-03-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

sometimes this is how i feel about $.

it's funny but i dont remember the 70's, 80's, or 90's in terms of economy. maybe its because during the 70's i was just trying to figure how to get out of the sewer drains after getting stuck in them, or the 80's when i was relying on my parents to pay the school bills and making $25 at the plasma clinic to support my bar-b-q benges, or the 90's when marriage was still new and i was in seminary pushing back school loans to another time. but i can tell you this, wow! right now, i feel the economic downturn. not only through fundraising attempts for our church but through the many friends i have in our community. job changes, lay-offs, downward decline in business growth, all have affected people i know and care about. it's pretty tough right now for a lot of people i know and i am praying and hoping that their situation will turn around. some of the observations that i notice are that when times are hard people tend to close up, retreat back to familiar surroundings, and share less about themselves. one question i hear a lot about is why doesnt God answer my prayers, why doesnt He held people who are in need and lost jobs? you know, i know the theological angles to that but i don't dare give that as a homiletic. right now, prayer seems to be the right thing to do.

Ekklesia Planting Update

2009-03-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

It's March and winter doesn't seem to want to let go here in Seattle. :-)

Here's a quick update on our church planting efforts:

-Recently formed core group of 10 adults, 7 kids
-Core group has been meeting every other week since January
-Meeting regularly with group of UW students
-Starting a men's discipleship/bible study group
-Meeting extended group of friends on regular basis with potential to join us
-Core group is actively pursuing community/global poverty needs
-Imago Dei is looking to public launch fall of 09'
-Financial support has hit a wall and with current economic crisis, I am actively looking for additional work to supplement income
-Overall, our hopes are high and we will keep planting seeds here in the northend

My Rant

2009-03-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

being on the edge, that is the ekklesia planting mode, has been like being on an island away far away from everything. it's strange and a bit like survivor, not having the creature comforts and normality of what's back home. it also gives you a lot of time to reflect and think about your life and the moments that have shaped who you are. my thoughts for today are particular and more about self reflection. i am looking forward to coming back this entry sometime in the future and to again reflect on my own life and thoughts. i realize that i need this more for me than for you. i need to change and learn from my mistakes. thanks for listening in to the conversation.

maybe i'm an idealist, but when i thought about the wonderful life and journey it is to start a new ekklesia, i had certain things in mind. for example when i thought about what a new ekklesia is supposed to look like, it began with a new community, new people, peeps that did not know what ekklesia is. shouldn't it be that way? not to take from another pot, but start new, break new soil, plant new plants. but, what i have found out is that the reality of ekklesia planting is a cross between business and commerce. having read the books, heard the sermons, having talked to numerous ekklesia geeks, i have a wealth of information. but, the thing about all this info is that i feel and think we are not being self reflective and talking about the real issues.

the real issue of why do we start new ekklesia's when most of the people we reach are people who are already followers of Jesus, and who have a number of ekklesia's they are already connected to. as i see new ekklesia's start and grow, i realize that the real reaching out to new people who do not know Jesus becomes a small part of the growth. i went and visited a new ekklesia recently and it was growing at a fast pace, when i talked to some of the people there, i asked how they ended up there. and they responded, 'oh, i was going to this church and it was just not meeting my needs and so i came here.' i think the hidden secret for most churches and their growth is how many of their own people came because they left another church. in my own hood, i feel the animosity from the different pastors in the area. i can tell that there is this fear that you will come and take their own people in their churches. and in all honesty the way we start and set up ekklesia's should warrant fear and suspicion. it's sad to me, because the ekklesia is not a church hopping endeavor, an ever ending search for the best place to meet my needs.

it's so clear that we sweep this under our evangelical rug, when we value ekklesia's growth, numbers, and show and never ask the tough questions of why did this happen. when i go to ekklesia conferences, the message is clear on how to start, grow, and sustain an ekklesia, but where is the truth about how that actually happens. that when you see a church grow, it usually is because most of their growth is transfer growth from people leaving other churches. why do we sweep this under our own rugs.
why do we allow this to happen? why do we prop up pastor's and churches who have church growth and never baptize new follower's of Jesus? is this the gospel and the true ekkesia? i don't think so.

something has to change, we have to come out and speak truth and we have to be honest about it.

marriage at year 13

2009-02-10T23:12:00.000-08:00

Observations in marriage at year 13. It's so funny. I am not sure exactly when this change occurred, but at some point marriage became more than a one-to-one relationship. Now, it's a kids-to-mom-to-dad-back-to-kids relationship. in short, it's completely crazy. i used to think that marriage is between just you and your wife and that marriage and kids are two distinct entities, but that flew right out the window. if you have kids you know what i'm talking about and if you don't, read well my young padawan. Let me give you an example of married life at year 13. The morning is pretty much all about getting the kids ready for school. Once our kids have left the house (Ethan and Audrey), Emma and mom have the rest of the day to themselves until the kids get off school. I'm usually out the door when the kids leave the house. Now in the recent past, I would usually call home several times during the day to see what the temperature of the home would be like. If Emma, Audrey, or Ethan did things at home to disrupt Sol's inner peace, then I would know when I called. So typically in the past I would call to see how Sol is doing and judging from her tone and what the kids were doing I could know what her mood would be when I got home. But now, no matter how great of a day Sol could have and no matter how great the kids have been, at any moment in the evening, the kid's can derail Sol and her mood and her temperature could change from cold to hot within a short period of time. For the most part, Ethan seems to be at the center of the disaster in our home. I used to sit next to Ethan and give him this talk where i would say 'ethan, you know you don't live here alone, and when you get mommy derailed then that affects all of us in the home, audrey, emma, and especially me. ethan, come on man, think about us, not just yourself. help me, help you.' i used to give this pep talk all the time, but i gave up. ethan and mom, they just get at each others nerve. i think its because they are so alike. it's funny and its frustrating. but i have to tell you, i am so thankful for Sol because she cares about everything and her heart and being is completely in for our family.
so coming back to marriage at year 13. marriage i have learned has more to do with how our kids interact with us as parents and the relationship they have with mom and dad. at year 13, i have given up any perceived control i might have on dictating the mood and temperature of the home. no matter how hard i try, our kids have this wonderful way of derailing things. augh!!!#$!!%^$%#!!! angst. probably the hardest thing about year 13 has been getting to enjoy the evening with my wife in the midst of kid turmoil. it takes lots of patience and being able to live in the reality. boy, the days when it was just sol and i are sure over. we need grace more and more as we move on from year 13.

'a start of something new'

2009-01-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

it's been some time since my last update. partly because of the craziness of trying to start an ekklesia and the laziness of the author, here goes...

starting a non-profit, ekklesia has been the hardest endeavor i have ever undertaken. it reminds me of a story i heard back in the day, when young ambitious pastor wanna bees would go to Billy Graham and ask about joining the ministry, Billy G. would respond by saying flat out, no don't join the ministry. supposedly, he said that because if God called someone into the ministry it wouldn't matter who told him no, God's call superceded his no or anyone's no for that matter. he knew that your eagerness is only short-lived, ministry isn't for the faint of heart. whoever coined the phrase 'ministry is difficult' made the ultimate understatement. the last few months have been !$%&^#!!*.

when God gave me the opportunity to live here in bothell, wa and in a specific cul-de-sac where most if not all the families are close friends. i knew that our friendship would be the start of something special. but to be honest, friendship is only the start, what i am hoping for is something more spiritual. but getting from friendship to spiritual is anyone's guess.

so in all ignorance, i invited 3 of our closest families and told them that our friendship was part of something bigger than themselves and i was starting an ekklesia and wanted their help and support. incredibly they said yes. so our journey begins.

our kick-off event was a christmas party. it was the first time i gave a sermon in front of my unchurched friends. to be perfectly honest, it was the toughest speaking engagement i have ever experienced. usually when i speak i am speaking to a group of followers of christ, but this was nothing like speaking in a church. not that my unchurched friends said or did anything wrong, but the feel of it was nothing i had ever felt. i only hope that God was there and in the words being spoken.

imago dei, a new ekklesia movement was birthed with 4 families. all the families including us are on different paths in our relationship to God. some are still exploring the concept of God and other religions while others are closer to accepting that God exists and that Jesus is the way. imago dei held its first core group meeting in our home. we started the evening with my famous barbeque brisket and then as a group we talked about this new vision. overall the evening went as well as i thought it could have gone.

imago dei now has several meetings under our belt, and it's been an incredible ride. as a core group we talked about helping those in need, like the way Jesus did it, so, our first project as an ekklesia is that we want to help the poor in our community. i have the task of finding a family that is in need and we all have committed to meeting the needs of this family. i've gotten in touch with a close friend who is connected with low income housing in everett and we have some leads, so hopefully we'll be able to help a family soon. it's a great start for us and our church. an ekklesia for the un-ekklesia.

Bruce Lee & Ping Pong

2008-11-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

Growing up most of my martial arts craze started and ended with Bruce. Gotta love this commercial> :-)

Tribute: Robert C. Solomon

2008-11-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

primer: since i started this journey of leaving the comforts of a secure job back in july and now it's november and i am sitting here at the dinner table, wondering what have i got myself into. my thoughts on starting a new gig back in july were, 'rising to the top' 'success' 'mega-everything' 'growth'. now, more and more, i realize that this journey has not been about starting a new gig and seeing it become successful and significant, but about me. a microscope placed fully on me and the interior of my heart, soul and mind. yes, it sucks! i feel like i'm breaking down or being broken, dissolved into something else, something that's different, like getting to the core of my being, not ever seeing it before. it's dizzy right now, hazy on the future, in the past, i would have fought against this, but now, i embrace it. trust, complete abandonment are my words of description. the last time i felt this way... was back in college...

sitz im leben: in 1990, i had the privilege of being able to take classes at UT Austin in the philosophy department under Dr. Robert C. Solomon. i had never taken any philosophy classes (or logic, or ethics) before then. so, i was in some sense a virgin coming to an already ongoing discussion of the 'love of widsom.' Dr. Solomon's specialty was in Existentialism and Philosophy of Emotion. For several years, I spent time reading works of Kant, Hegel, Sartre, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Camus, and Heidegger. and during that time, i could see that my world view was changing. it was as if something in me was unlocked and my mind was opened to seeing the world and life differently. i remember feeling this dizziness (of philosophy) overwhelm me at times, engulfing me, to think and challenge my beliefs, to unpack my previous belief system, discovering new thoughts, and new ideas. you see as a follower of Jesus and his teachings, i had previously only been exposed to the narrow evangelical christian stream of thought. not that this in itself was bad or negative, but i had not been exposed to the ongoing conversation that philosophers had in the past and in the present. i remember writing pages in papers and in exams to Dr. Solomon about how my faith in Jesus either complemented a specific thought of a philosopher or was diametrically opposed to what Jesus taught. And interestingly, Dr. Solomon never ridiculed me, bashed me or my thoughts, never discounted my faith in Jesus, or spoke negatively public or privately that i was a christian. in one summer session, i remember Dr. Solomon after teaching a class, would offer to meet up with students (every week) at a nearby pub for drinks and good conversation. i took every opportunity to sit, listen to him dialogue with students, enter into the discussion, and ask him questions about faith and of religion. that time in my life, i was exposed to so much and as my mind and heart engulfed the philosophy of the time, my heart and mind was also changed by my faith in Jesus. God took my mind, heart, and soul and changed it. i could sense it as i was engaged in the thoughts and ideas of the philosophers, God was getting to my core, unpacking my beliefs, as if i were naked. i remember Dr. Solomon saying to me (in typical existential fashion), "If you are a Christian, what makes you a Christian?" i spent many days and hours thinking about that.

this post is a tribute to the late, Dr. Robert C. Solomon. He encouraged me to think and to have passion in life for what i believe. i wouldn't be here today as a follower of Jesus if it wasn't for Dr. Solomon. Thanks Dr. S. for your teaching, your kindness to a young and immature follower of Jesus, for helping me to be passionate about being a follower of Jesus, for the conversations that encouraged me to go deeper in my faith, and for the example that you set of humility and grace as a student and professor of philosophy.

Broken

2008-10-09T19:15:00.001-07:00

After having kids, one thing you realize is that your home goes through a kind of metamorphosis. Where your home begins to look like a playground for kids. I remember back when we first had Ethan and when we as parents said we were not going to worry about Ethan breaking anything, our home is an adult home. Boy, did we learn the hard way. Once Ethan was up and about, he got into anything and everything. Things that could break became broken very quickly. So, three kids later, our house is pretty much kid proof. You have to climb very high to reach anything that can break. It's nice knowing that things can't be broken very easily in our household. I wish I could say that in relationships.

I can sense lately that when I think things are going great, somehow, somewhere, a kink in the system goes awry. I have a group of friends, from all walks of life, different political beliefs, different religious beliefs, from different socio-economic stratas, different colors, and just plain different. But in the course of over two years, our families have grown closer to each other, friendships have solidified, and we all can say to each other 'we count each as close friends.' Now with that said, relationships within our group have been tested to the max these last several weeks. Sometimes a simple misunderstanding can be blown way out of proportion, but to the people affected, it's real as the stock market crash we're seeing these days. There were nights I thought everything our friendships have developed were going to crash and break. Sleepless nights, prayerful nights. I realize that sometimes you can't really do anything to fix or solve the situation. People have to reconcile on their own. As much as I want to bring peace and forgiveness, I can't engineer that. Thus the sleepless nights and worryful evenings. Just last week, two of my closest friends, apologized to each other, asked each other for forgiveness, and reconciled their friendship. It was an amazing moment, it's what I call a 'God-thing'. I honestly can say I had nothing to do with it. I saw raw emotion and a sense that each wanted to reconcile to each other. Inside I knew it was a 'God-thing' that occurred. I'm back on track with a dream to see and develop a community where love and acceptance is experienced in friendships and in our journey with God. I feel that this was a break-through for our group, where our friendships were tested and we came out on the other side. Our home, our friendships, are getting kid proof. It's not perfect but we got over a hump and now it's going to be harder to break down our friendships. Reconciliation happens...

Underground Movement

2008-10-08T22:06:00.001-07:00

For the past several months I have been in search of ekklesia. And on one of my crazy stops, I have had the privilege of connecting with an underground movement of ekklesia or 'home/house church'. Potentially, we were feeling out whether Imago Dei's vision would fit for their groups. I was able to connect with 2 very different 'house ekklesia' in our area (one of which much more closely) and I have come to appreciate the uniqueness and community expression it brings. Even though my own ethos/dna is not designed to purely operate in a 'house ekklesia' environment, I absolutely love the kind of dynamic it brings. For one, is the closeness and koinonia that is shared in this small environment. Being able to immerse myself for just a short period of time has opened my eyes to the kind of relationships that a small group can bring. Instead of taking off to a church location typically on a Sunday morning, this underground movement meets at a home, where a meal is always part of the koinonia and where teaching can occur from both the professional and unprofessional. The teaching can last up to and most likely for over an hour, which is unheard of today at a local ekklesia, where 25-30 minutes is usually given (unless you are at Mars Hill of course). After the teaching, which usually involves interaction from everyone, the group meets for another meal, more time to connect. Again, I can't say enough about the closeness and connection this environment brings to the table and I realize why the movement is so powerful. Relationships are the most important life experiences we have and 'house ekklesia' can allow authentic relationships to occur.

Some of my observations in the 'house ekklesia' model is that the ones I have been able to connect with do not have people in their groups who are not followers of Jesus. In both groups every person is a committed follower of Jesus. The groups in some sense look like a normal small group in a church setting except without 'the sunday go to church' mode. The way the groups work is that once a week they meet to study scripture, pray for each other, and koinonia together, then they kind of huddle up and break-out to the rest of the week living 'missional' lives connecting with people outside their group. Okay, here my rant begins. To me, what is the difference between an exclusive community like a large traditional church and a small house church model? nothing. no difference. I have been to different traditional churches where it feels like a country club and if you don't have the right fit, right clothes, the right look, your out. I have also been to a small house ekklesia where the language spoken is church language, where everyone is on the same page, and because of the group's closeness if you are not where they are it is obvious, like a sore thumb. I could never bring my friends to that kind of environment. They would be weirded out. I have been reading books on the house ekklesia model and to be honest I have been intrigued. And in my short experience I realize that regardless of the model, regardless of the size, regardless of the location, any group can be exclusive and not welcoming to people around us. You know I wish I could see a community regardless of where people are on the journey with God, all people would feel welcome, accepted, and loved (my utopian dreams spilled out). I realize that in my own journey with God and with people who are my friends and neighbors, that I want to journey with them, sharing who I am, be the best friend, and my faith and journey with God.

Last thoughts, on friendship. Friendship to me is the most important life experience anyone can have. Not the cookie cutter friendship I see too much in relationships, but the kind of friendship that costs. It costs financially, it costs your time, it costs your emotions, it costs your love, it's simply sacrifice. Friendship not just with your own kind, but friendship that stretches out to someone un-like you, a third culture friendship, living life, accepting and loving people, kind of like the way Jesus did it. Yeah, Jesus did it right. Gotta keep it real like Jesus.

Tambark Creek Ambassador

2008-09-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

It's funny how someone arrives at a nickname. Just recently my friends and neighbors have given me the nickname of "Tambark Creek Ambassador" or "TC Ambassador". We all have nicknames now, like, "Casper", "Banker", & "Big Dog". And we enjoyed our new handles as we spoke to each other by walkie talkies on a recent road trip to Lake Chelan. Since moving to the Tambark Creek Village about 2 years ago, my wife and I wanted to build close friendships with those that lived around us. And as my earlier posts say, I have some of the best friends who live right around us.

But, relationships, I can truly say, are the hardest things to develop, nurture, and keep. As a Christian, I follow Jesus Christ, and his teachings, and for those who follow Jesus, relationships are somewhat easier to make and keep. Now, I do say that with a short leash. Followers of Jesus, can see that Jesus was the kind of person who had grace, who forgave people, hung out with the misfits of society, and spoke about His Kingdom and that kind of life. So, as my wife and I try to follow the teachings of Jesus and mimic his life, we realize how difficult it is when the people you know and love come from a different set of life rules and philosophy of living. As a Christ follower, Jesus taught that we are to forgive one another as many times as necessary (see Peter's life in the Gospels). And in building new relationships there are many times my wife and I had miscommunication, misunderstandings, and just plain not read the situation correctly with people around us, where building new relationships and growing them is tough. But because we love Jesus and believe that His life and teachings hold eternal life, we try to love people around us, even if that means to forgive their wrongs and do what we can to mend broken ones. But for those who do not follow Jesus, a completely different set of rules are followed in life and relationships. Some believe that if you are wronged, you should not have to forgive that person. Some say "why do I need to have everyone as a friend, why not have enemies, why forgive people, I could care less about those that wrong me." I believe that most people who are not followers of Jesus believe this.

My friends, neighbors, gave me this nickname more to make fun of me, because they know that I try to love everyone around me and make friends with everyone regardless. Right now, as our community grows, forming new relationships are becoming more and more difficult. And it seems that Sol and I are in the middle of some relationships that have gone south. I know the guys are joking when they call me "TC Ambassador" but I hope that my life and testimony will bring about change in our community. Change where even though someone makes a mistake, we can forgive one another. We can love each other like the way Jesus loved people in his day. We can truly see life the way he saw it. Know that everyone has been created by God, "Imago Dei", and that everyone has infinite worth.

Monster Garage

2008-07-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Just a few days ago, Sol, the kids, and I were coming back from Emma's birthday party, when one of our neighbors notices something leaking out of our Volkswagon Eurovan. John (our neighbor) comes out and begins to look inside the engine to help me figure out where the leak is coming from. After a few minutes he figures out the the fluid leaking isn't engine oil but radiator fluid. Now, one thing you need to know, even though I have the ability to change out my own oil on both of our cars, this issue was way out of my own comfort zone. John spent a couple hours under the car helping track the source of the leak. John found the area where the leak was coming from but we couldn't figure out why it was coming out from there and where exactly is the leak. Well, by this time we had most of our neighbors chillin' on lawn chairs while we were working on the car.

We knew the general location of the leak, that the liquid coming out was radiator fluid, but still no other answers. By this time, all I could think about was how much is this going to cost me. The radiator was draining faster than I could keep water in it. I wasn't even sure I could drive the car to a repair shop with the leak being so bad and worrying about the engine overheating.

In my own warped mind worrying about the car, Simon Mellville (pic-red cap), one of my closest friends who happens to live across from me, comes over to see how we are doing. In just a few minutes of being under the hood, he figures out that the water pump is out and needs replacing. A few phone calls later to Shucks, a new water pump, costing $93 is waiting for me to pick up. As Simon and I are under the car and he showing me the details and working of the water pump and radiator, I was pretty much amazed. After picking up the water pump in just 30 minutes he installed a new water pump, added new radiator fluid and the car is running like a baby. I couldn't believe it, I thought my car would have been in the shop for over a week, costs running into the hundreds, and worry about the longevity of my car running at 80,000 plus miles, all worries gone because a friend took hours of his time to help a neighbor. This post pretty much is a bromance post, for Simon & John. John's willingness to help out, Simon's knowledge of cars and his willingness to spend as many hours necessary to get the job done regardless of his own busy schedule is just awesome.

There's other stories of the kind of friendships we have at Tambark Creek, so this one is just one of many I want to highlight. So this post goes out to the bro's at Tambark Creek. Thanks for taking care of us Kim's and being the kind of friends you want to keep for a lifetime.

missional mirage

2008-05-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

for the past several years i have amassed a pretty large collection of books/articles/internet sites related to the emerging church/missional ekklesia discussion. i have read, listened, conferenced-out, and ituned enough to overdose on the subject. so in throwing up, i want to touch base and interact with some of what my mind and heart has been churning on for some time. for those of us who have been interacting with this subject know that 'missional' is the key word of praxis in our journey with Jesus. But, what missional is and looks like is anyone's guess. from what i can put together, the closest idea relating to 'missional' is 'to love your neighbor'. in some of my own circles the term 'missional' has become a kind of uber-like statement of the way of life we emerging ekklesia peeps live. But the more and more i read and talk with others about the emerging ekklesia, the missional ekklesia, the more i feel the disconnect between those that talk about it and what life looks like living it out.

in my own journey as an asian-american, follower of Jesus, i realize that my own struggle has been what does it mean to 'love your neighbor' as jesus puts it. being missional is today's catchword, but saying you're missional and seeing it lived out is a totally different state of being. the closest story i have to what missional looks like in praxis is in my own childhood background. growing up, both my parents worked 14 hour days and i can remember one of our neighbors in east dallas, an african-american family (with 4 kids & grandma) offering to take care of me and my sister after day care until my parents arrived in the late evening. this african american family was the closest thing to family other than my own. they treated my sister and i as if we were their own family. we had a place at the dinner table and we were loved by grandma who took care of all of us. even to this day, i can never forget the love, acceptance, and belongingness i experienced in that home. missional to me is what grandma & their family did for me and my sister, being family. the best memory of that home is when all of us would watch grandma make homemade fried chicken (best ever). love your neighbor. Jesus' own words.

so, as much as i enjoy talking the missional lingo, i love living it out. sol and i have been living here in bothell/mill creek area of seattle for over 4 years. in both of the homes that we have lived in, we have had the wonderful privilege to make friends with our neighbors. our kids were the first to make quick and fast friends, and soon after sol and i made connections. in our current home of 2 years, sol and i have made incredible relationships with our neighbors, who are now, our close friends. not the kind that just says the daily hi, but the kind that says let's be family. so the past several years have been so special for us. the countless neighborhood kid sleepovers, outdoor bar-b-ques, pot-luck dinners, outings, vacation trips together, the good and ugly of neighborhood drama, all of it i wouldn't trade for the world. to me and to my family, life as 'love your neighbor' is being lived out, with our neighbors, with our close friends.

Trouble with Death...

2008-05-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

What's with death. For the most part death and I missed each other, like being a freshman unnoticed by the seniors in high school. I spent time around the circles that death had influenced but those circles were far from me and my own situation. The closest I got to meeting death was when my mother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, over a year ago, but thankfully through chemotherapy and radiation treatments she is, so far, a cancer survivor. But tonight, I am writing this with a pretty heavy heart. Two weeks ago, my aunt (dad's oldest sister 90yrs) , fell in her apartment and went into a coma. Even though she was past her prime, in my last visit, she was vibrant and healthy and talked up a storm about her grand-kids. It was when my father called me this past Thursday letting me know that he and his other sisters were heading to Seattle the next day because the family had made the decision to pull the life support systems that were keeping my aunt alive, that I came head-2-head with death. My aunt was the patriarch of the family, and growing up in Korea, she basically took the role of mom to all of her siblings. Her life meant so much to her siblings and to her own family (8kids). As I stood with my father during the wake (a viewing of the deceased), his tears and emotion toward his oldest sister came out and I stood in silence watching the whole family mourn the loss of their mother, sister, and grandmother. Love is such a powerful emotion, and in death, love comes out raw and unbidden. Death does that, without warning, but always leaving a calling card to remind us that he is there, taking the credit. what's with death...

Chris Rock at the Paramount Theatre

2008-04-10T23:54:00.000-07:00

a few months ago, my good friend, simon asked if i (along with another friend, bert) wanted tickets to go see chris rock at the paramount in seattle. i jumped at the chance to see chris rock (his pic stolen from web, others tru). over the years i have seen chris on tv and numerous hbo specials, but having the opportunity to see him live is a must see. we got down to the area and had a quick dinner at cheesecake factory, stopped by nike town, and then hopped over to the paramount. this was my first time at the paramount and it has a great feel to it, kinda showtime at the apollo. the show was incredible. chris brought some new material along with some old, but that was okay bc being live is a totally different feel. chris has a great presence on stage. you could tell he read the audience every step of the way, and added material at the right time to keep us laughing throughout the evening.

as a hacker communicator, i really appreciate having the opportunity to see gr8 communicators and see them in action. there is a certain cadence that a gr8 communicator has when he/she speaks and there is a rhythm to the response of the audience which is key to the success of what is being communicated. as u know, comedians have it tough. they don't have any bells and whistles going on while they are performing, no props, and nothing but their voice. and the toughest part is to use that language and speech to make people laugh. how difficult that must be (chris's show was at least 100 minutes of material)! even though i had a blast just laughing at his jokes throughout the nite, it was also good for me to learn and listen to how he delivers and communicates his material. i remember listening to mark driscoll sharing in one of his sermons that he would highly recommend those who want to be communicators in the pulpit, should have experience and knowledge of how comedians operate. i would totally agree with mark, there is much to glean from the way chris rock delivers. overall it was a great nite with close friends, aka. 'the tambark creek gang'

Fatherhood and Keeping Up

2008-04-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ethan had his first farm baseball (3rd grade) game opener today, the whole family came out and even our close friends the melville's came out to watch the game. if you know what baseball season is like, then you know that parents religiously come out hour(s) before the game, fathers warming up with their sons, and coaches prepping for the game. as i sat in my chair (we bring 5 for the entire family, that's a feat too), and watch the players warm up, i thought about being a dad and having this time with my son. to be honest, i am not anywhere near the kind of parent most of our players dads are. i always end up coming to the practices just on time (15min prior), sometimes i am able to come early to warm up with ethan, but even then other dads make it out earlier. i remember trying to come out an hour before practice thinking that i would be the first parent out at the practice field, but seeing 2 other dads already throwing w/their sons. that was the last time i tried that.

when i look back to my own baseball career, i can truly say, it pretty much sucked. my parents worked long hours (common for immigrant families), my dad i dont think ever played baseball in his entire life, pretty much dropped me off at the baseball field every time and i was pretty much left to my own to figure out the game. with all those factors, trying to excel at america's game, it was like trying to win the lottery.

as my view turns to ethan, i cant help but be proud of my son. he isnt the best player or even top 10, but he loves the game and seeing his joy and excitement just makes my day. i realize that my own background plays much into this, but i am grateful that ethan has a different outlook. i am thankful that i can be at his games rooting for him and his team, letting him know that i am proud of him, regardless of how well he plays. i also realize that i need to be more committed to being there for him and trying my best to participate in everything he does. its tough in this busy world to keep up with your kids, but our memories, how well they may be, will always be with you, and i want my son's memory of his youth, to be filled with smiles of his dad.

LA Trip - Part 2

2008-04-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

part of my trip to la was to visit with some visionaries that have taken culture and christianity and reimagine a new community of followers of jesus. probably my most worthwhile time was spent in torrance with new hope south bay's charles lee (pics stolen from flickr). new hope just celebrated 2 years of community and i had the chance to sit, down a vente starbuck's passion tea and hear an incredible journey of faith. first off, what was totally cool about their community is that no one on staff is paid. charles and his entire crew have full time jobs doing other things, and then spend their full time doing and living life like jesus did. it was genius to hear how just recently they (charles and other staff) decided to get rid of their staff titles, since no one was paid, why have staff?, so they engineered a concept called 'catalyst' groups. so each of the recently deceased staff titled person(s) took a hold of these catalyst groups and is doing the love of jesus without the titles of leadership, influence without title. i was pretty amazed to hear how everyone works both in their own industry and in ministry. i think its a radical concept of living in faith and contributing much to jesus and his work. charles mentioned that they wanted to have no paid staff because they want to give as much as they could to causes that would reflect the person and love of jesus.

not only did charles help start a new ekklesia but also start a non-profit organization called, 'just4one.' he wanted the ekklesia community to be so tightly connected with social action they started 'just4one' to communicate that they wanted to help their own community both in torrance and promote global issues. i thought his ideas were resonating with my own ideas of how the ekklesia can live out it's community in relation to jesus and His cause. i hope that imago hope will reflect much of what just4one is doing, serving, and helping our world. new hope and just4one an old design for a new ekklesia. cool.

LA Trip - Part 1

2008-04-02T23:20:00.001-07:00

wow, it's been a while since i last blogged. a lot has happened over the past several weeks. first off, i took a trip to los angeles, where i had the opportunity to meet up with close friends, potential partners for imago dei, coffee w/visionaries, checked out other communities of faith, attend an asian american leadership conference, and best of all eat at my favorite places. first off, the worst part of my trip to la was the traffic. i can't believe what u la peeps have to go through when driving around. i found out the hard way where the worst traffic spots r. man, so glad to be out of that. :-) back in my dallas days, one of my close friends, t.c., moved to la with his wife, j. hooked up with them for a day and to see their son, joon (first time). he is adorable. u can totally see that he is goin' to be a bruiser like his dad. :-) they took me out to Buca's and we spent hours catching up on ol' times. Good friends last a lifetime.

Greatness...

2008-03-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to connect with Wayne Ogimachi. Wayne an original Californian, came up from Northern Cal in late 2000 to start a new community which would take the name of Lighthouse. Wayne in all honesty took a chance with me coming to be a part of his staff. He told me privately, that he never hires anyone he doesn't know or has a relationship with. I was just a schlump, he had mercy and grace on and I will forever be grateful for the time I have at Lighthouse. Wayne took a huge risk to move his family of 4 from a comfortable place (Northern Cal) to the Northwest, Seattle area (where there are more dogs than followers of Jesus). I do not know very many people in their prime who would be willing to take a huge risk (financial, family, career). But, Wayne is a man of faith & vision. Faith to believe that people do and want to know more about Jesus. Vision to see an area which is hostile to Jesus become open to Jesus' life, love and message. I have come across many churches and pastors in my day, and I can honestly say that my respect for Wayne is by far the cream of the crop. That respect is not because he has a successful church (which it is) or that he is just a great communicator (which he is). That respect is because I do not know very many men or women who truly love people and want people to come into a relationship with Jesus. We live in a day where Christians hop from one church to another, based on the programs, worship styles and personality complexes. Lighthouse isn't a flashy community. It isn't the most technological savvy church. But, it is a community of true faith. When I first came, I wanted to immerse myself into the journey of the Lighthouse peeps. I was amazed to meet people who experienced for the first time grace, love, acceptance, and relationship with Jesus. When I spoke to people, I heard a common story where their own life was changed because of another person who cared for them. I met first generation "Christ-followers" and second generation "Christ-followers" within just a few feet of each other. The most powerful statement for me was when a person said, "I came to know Jesus through this person (right here), and this person came to know Jesus through this person (right over there)." God is truly alive. When you are around true transformation you never forget it. It's alive and it affects you in a way that you will never walk away the same person. I know that I am not the same man I was before I came to Lighthouse. Yes, there are a lot of people that make up that amazing journey, but in my book, it leads to Wayne Ogimachi. Wayne, this tribute is for you and your vision for Seattle. May your tribe increase!

Being Nelson Searcy

2008-03-05T01:11:00.000-08:00

For the past two days I had the opportunity to spend time with dreamers, philosophers, and visionaries of communities that love Jesus (props 2 Tim & Joe). It was an Euangelion conference, with Nelson Searcy. I had the opportunity a few months ago to read one of his first books "Launch" which describes his journey with Jesus and starting a new community in Manhattan, New York. Even though he came from the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren, mega-church, Willow Creek style background, I gleaned much from his own experiences in developing a new ekklesia. When I had the chance to ask him on his own dialogue with the "Emerging Ekklesia" conversation he said that because of who he is and knowing himself, he did not connect with the emerging movement, it just didn't fit right for him. As I sat there listening, I came to appreciate Nelson, for his honesty, knowing himself and seeing that his own journey had a lot to do with the way he sees ekklesia. So many of us, rarely look inward, trying to understand ourselves and our own journey with Jesus, instead we put on different hats, becoming someone else. I realize that I am at a place where I need to reflect inward, on the transformational work Jesus is having on my own life.

Creating a World Without Poverty

2008-02-28T23:41:00.000-08:00

Quote from the book, “Creating a World Without Poverty” by Muhammad Yunus. “It was a spur-of-the-moment impulse, not the kind of careful planned business proposal that most executives prefer. But over the years, I’ve found that some of my best projects have been started, not on the basis......of rigorous prior analysis and planning, but simply from an impulse that says, “Here is a chance to do something good.”

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to spent time at Barnes & Noble and read Muhammad Yunis’ second book, “Creating a World Without Poverty”, his first book was “Banker to the Poor.” Both books are a must read. He recently won the Nobel Peace prize in 2006. His innovative ideas on micro-lending and micro-banking have changed so many lives in poor stricken regions of the world. My life however small and dimmunitive as it may be has been changed for the better because of his life.
 As I get ready for start a new adventure, I want to be able to join Jesus’ own heart and love for the poor. For the next few months I have set up meetings over coffee, a meal, in groups, to find out more how our new community can help those who are without a home, without hope, without food, without a family, and we will answer that need in a big way.

Look out for Imago Sperare, hope for people...hope for the world...