pastor | speaker | author | humanitarian
In my final message on a theology of singlehood, I share thoughts about:
But most of the sermon is focused on two main areas:
Don’t kiss dating good-bye meaning that I’m a fan of Christians dating but Continue reading “theology of singlehood 4 – don’t kiss dating good-bye and the most important things…”
One of my heroes is Frederick Douglass. I have a list of folks whose stuff I regularly read on and read about and Frederick Douglass is one of them. Words in today’s world have grown to be an interesting sensation. I believe in the power of words via teaching, preaching, blogging, writing, etc. At the essence, I do believe in the adage that “the pen is mightier than the sword.” I just think that claim is tested today like never before because in our digital and social media world, it’s easy to be posers, pretenders, and well, people full of words and lacking in the deeper context and story of meaning, substance, labor, pursuit, perseverence, and conviction. What am I saying? Words are nice but actions need to accompany words.
Why do I admire Frederick Douglass? It’s not just his words but it’s his life and struggles and his perseverance, courage, and faith in the midst.
Frederick Douglass (1818 – 1895) was an American abolitionist, women’s suffragist, editor, orator, author, statesman and reformer. Douglass is one of the most prominent figures in African-American and United States history. In 1872, Douglass became the first African American nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate in the U.S., running on the Equal Rights Party ticket with Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to run for President of the United States.
There are others whose voice and courage are incredibly noteworthy including Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and even contemporary voices such as Cornel West. But Douglass, for me, stands out. His faith came from his convictions as a follower of God and thus, sought to love God with his heart, soul, body, and mind and took to heart the call to love mercy, seek justice, and walk humbly. He was also a licensed preacher and wasn’t shy of calling the church out on its hypocrisy. This quote is a must read for all Christians, leaders, and pastors: Continue reading “the courage and convictions of frederick douglass”
In light of my post yesterday about Mixed Martial Arts, the Church, and Jesus, I thought this would be an appropriate time to come clean with the whole wide world: I wrestle (nearly) every night…with all of my kids including my son and it’s the highlight of my day.
I took the liberty of filming one of my epic matches with my son. I employed some of my MMA moves on him. I feel like a chump dad for ignoring him when he says,
Several weeks ago, I had an extensive phone interview with a reporter from the New York Times about the growing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the wide and nebulous net of “evangelical churches.” The reporter had come across one of my previous blog entries and contacted me.
The NY Times article came out today (February 2, 2010). You can click here or the image above to read the full article.
My hour interview was reduced to basically one quote:
“I don’t live for the Jesus who eats red meat, drinks beer and beats on other men.”
Let me clarify since I have a feeling I’ll be getting my share of visitors over the next couple days who have no idea who I am or the context behind that one quote. But first, some initial thoughts: Continue reading “I don’t live for the Jesus who eats red meat, drinks beer, and beats on other men.”
Thought folks might be interested in the latest sermon I gave at Quest entitled, A Theology of Singlehood. For various reasons, I get reluctant talking about these topics so directly but I wanted to communicate to the many “single” women and men how important they are to the body of Christ…and at Quest. In fact, our church was started and built because of the devotion and passion of so many who saw their singlehood not as a transitional phase of waiting but a season of obedience.
What should be critical to one’s theology of singlehood?
I enjoyed the gist of this email I received. Singlehood is not about “waiting”… Continue reading “a theology of singlehood”
I received this email from one of my blog readers a few weeks ago asking about my thoughts about the “Top 5 most challenging/convicting/mind-bending/face-melting books of all time.”
Do you take requests for posts on your blog? If so…. I know that from time to time you do top 5 stuff, like favorite movies or songs or artists, etc. This isn’t anything novel, but I’d be grateful for a “Top 5 most challenging/convicting/mind-bending/face-melting books of all time.” I guess I’m someone who learns a lot from books and I was just thinking about how I have roughly 5 books that I have read within the last few years that have truly changed the way I perceive myself and the world around me. It would be great to hear what others are reading -not their most favorite or enjoyable books (although this might be the case)- but books that have significantly reoriented the way they live. Maybe, you’ve done something like this before and I just missed it, but if not, something like this would be fun to be a part of.
Thanks! ~Ric
Asides from the Bible, what would you be on your Top 5 List?
I can’t list 5…I don’t even know know where to begin so I’m just sharing my list of most influential Christians books again. There are so many excellent books that it’s really difficult to condense it into a list of 10. My recommendations are created with an attempt towards the larger picture of Christian discipleship – meaning that I want to balance my list with theology, discipleship, spirituality, bibilical studies, etc.
I hope 50 years from now, this list will change so that it also includes numerous female and non-Caucasian authors. Continue reading “top 5 most challenging, convicting, mind-bending, face-melting books of all time?”
EUGENE CHO 