Eugene Cho

Friday, September 9, 2011 • 12:01 am 96

what would jesus do: burn the koran or eat with his muslim neighbors?

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy of September 11, I wanted to share this post with you again.

Foremost, we remember the victims and mourn with so many that lost loved ones. I’m also mindful of so many who went beyond themselves to help others. They are indeed heroes.

As we honor  them, may we also be reminded that all of us – whether we were present in NYC or not on that horrific day – are invited to help cultivate a world of peace and grace.

Blessed be the peacemakers.

It’s a simple question: What would Jesus do?

Would he burn the Koran or eat with his Muslim neighbors?

You may have heard about the person from Florida who intends to memorialize the September 11 attacks by burning copies of the Koran in a bonfire. His name is Terry Jones and he also happens to be a pastor. Read the rest of this entry »

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Thursday, November 11, 2010 • 12:01 am 25

harvests & crusades in a post-christendom world

When was the last time you attended a huge “crusade?

I’ve been to a couple including one that attracted about 700,000 people in South Korea. They said it was 700,000 people but then again, I’m not really sure how you confirm that sort of attendance. While I’ve never attended a Billy Graham crusade (which I regret since he’s such an iconic figure), I once attended a Greg Laurie Harvest.

Speaking of Greg Laurie (a megachurch pastor and evangelist), he was in Seattle this past weekend for the “Seattle Harvest” whatchamagacallit in Key Arena – former home of the Seattle Sonics. From their recent press release:

Seattle is the most technologically wired city in America, and although its residents are “connected,” Read the rest of this entry »

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Wednesday, September 29, 2010 • 2:40 pm 43

is he a christian, a muslim, or a cactus? why can’t we just believe president obama?

I received a letter this week from the White House. A big fat packet. Ain’t I special?

Unfortunately, it wasn’t an invitation to a special Gala or for me to sing at an event. It wasn’t about a partnership with One Day’s Wages. Or to join his circle of sagacious advisors. Or to ask me to join Warren Buffet in helping turn around the U.S. economy. Or to inform me that he’d be visiting my church. And no, it wasn’t a direct letter from President Obama himself. But it was a letter from one of his staff sharing some stuff about President Obama, some initiatives, and what I perceived to be clarity about his faith. Huh?

It puzzled me initially but after some thought, I think I know why I received the letter as I’m sure several other “pastors” may have received it as well.

Why? Read the rest of this entry »

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Sunday, July 11, 2010 • 12:01 am 16

i am a pharisee

Don’t read the full post yet. First, take look at the above piece of art and share your thoughts:

  • What do you see?
  • How do you interpret this art?
  • How do you feel about this?

For me (as a “minister”), it is sobering to consider how we as “professional clergy” might – for various reasons – may have missed important aspects of what Christ desires us to see, know, and experience.  I look at the art and wonder, “Are we the blind leading the seeking?”

The turning point for me came through an epiphany couple years ago.

I’ve come to realize – not in a self-deprecating way – that as much as I have tried NOT to be…

I AM a Pharisee.

The difference – from moi – and from the Pharisees of the Scriptures – is that Read the rest of this entry »

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Friday, January 15, 2010 • 6:00 am 59

“if there were a god, would he have let this happen?”

I received this email recently in the wake of the devastation in Haiti. I’ve been working overtime this week helping set up the ODW Haiti Relief Fund. We increased our goal to $100,000. If you’re thinking of donating, consider partnering with us.  But in the midst of busyness, I haven’t had a chance to answer many of my emails including this one from one of our blog readers. I think it would be good for us – together – to wrestle, answer, question, and believe along.

Read it and let’s discuss. Whatever you do, please don’t mention Haiti and the Devil in the same sentence. But I’d love to hear some of our collective thoughts.

Here’s the email I received:

I wanted to ask you for some help. As someone who knows and believes in God’s amazing love as represented in Christ and His love, I also know that I have doubts in my own faith.

Particularly, I have always struggled to comprehend or to help others understand God’s love when great tragedies like natural disasters happen (or any tragedy). I have just recently visited Haiti Read the rest of this entry »

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Saturday, January 9, 2010 • 9:10 pm 11

religion and women

Nicolas Kristof has an article in today’s NY Times entitled, Religion and Women, that’s worth reading. Unlike some of his other pieces, it’s not super long so it’ll take one sitting but hopefully, it’ll sit with you for a bit.

I’ve written about this topic numerous times and will continue to do so. If you’re interested in some of them, here’s several to check out:

It is the oldest injustice for the simple reason that men are physically stronger and thus, can oppress the “weaker” half. And then you mix in the combustion of various religions and world ideologies that seek to elevate one half and suppress the other half and you’ve got a cycle of great devastation and oppression.

I’m not an expert on all world religions so I can’t speak with full authority but this is one of the reasons why I am captivated by Jesus: He liberates; Not oppresses. If anything, he liberates that which has oppressed.  He turned things UPSIDE Read the rest of this entry »

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Friday, June 5, 2009 • 3:46 pm 25

“america is not a christian, jewish, or muslim nation…”

courtesy of White House

What did you think of President Obama’s speech at the Turkish Press Conference?  And this quote from his speech:

…”American is not a Christian, Jewish, or Muslim nation…”

Here’s the above sentence in the larger context:

I think that where — where there’s the most promise of building stronger U.S.-Turkish relations is in the recognition that Turkey and the United States can build a model partnership in which a predominantly Christian nation and a predominantly Muslim nation, a Western nation and a nation that straddles two continents — that we can create a modern international community that is respectful, that is secure, that is prosperous; that there are not tensions, inevitable tensions, between cultures, which I think is extraordinarily important.

That’s something that’s very important to me. And I’ve said before that one of the great strengths of the United States is Read the rest of this entry »

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Monday, April 6, 2009 • 2:54 pm 27

if jesus were on facebook…

If Jesus Christ was on Facebook, it would look like this [original source  unknown].  This is pretty darn funny – even on Holy Week.  Sorry if this is irreverent but too good not to share – especially because it’s funny and most of it is pretty bibically accurate.  Some highlights:

  • Jesus has 777,777,777,777 fans.
  • The Disciples wrote on Peter’s wall:  So, Jesus told us to walk up ot people we don’t know, and basically steal their colt and donkey…  This is sketchy, don’t you think???
  • The High Priests have created a group:  How to Use the Temple for piety  AND profit.
  • The High Priests have given Judas a gift:  30 pieces of Silver.

You can check out it out HERE. You should also check out Jesus’ life according to Twitter. Also very brilliant, compelling, and biblically accurate.

Jesus’ Facebook original source: unknown

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stuff, connect, info

one day’s wages | video

my tweets

  • "Justice is the grammar of things. Mercy is the poetry of things." - Frederick Buechner || 17 hours ago
  • Proud to support the work of @thesoldproject & @raegoble as they fight human trafficking in Thailand with dignity: onedayswages.org/donate/org/sol… || 17 hours ago
  • Don't underestimate the impact of our purchasing power. May our spending and investing be consistent with our values and convictions. || 1 day ago
  • How quickly people forget some of Abercrombie & Fitch's t-shirt designs from 2002 including these racist classics: http://t.co/vF5eGW0x80 || 1 day ago
  • The best way to make a statement against Abercrombie & Fitch isn't to exploit the homeless for a publicity stunt. Rather, just boycott AF. || 1 day ago
  • "My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ & I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it." - Brennan Manning || 1 day ago
  • Justice is not peripheral to God's story. Justice is mentioned over 200x in the Scriptures. It's not optional, it's central. Seek justice. || 1 day ago
  • "Learn to do good. Seek justice.Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows." ~ Isaiah 1:17 || 1 day ago

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