Category: family

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best parenting advice

This is the most hilarious and visual parenting advice for you new parents.

For the first year of our new church, the only children were our two daughters [then 2-years-old and 1 month].  We’ve since been privileged with another kid [son] but the early years were difficult for our children because they really didn’t have anyone to hang out with at church.  I still remember preaching with my baby daughter on my back during the early months.

The children’s ministry has since grown immensely as we average about 70 infants and children spread between the 9.15am and 11am services [no children’s ministry at the 5pm].  Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had numerous births with more babies coming.  So, I thought it would be pastorally wise to give these new and expectant parents [and blog visitors] some heartfelt parenting advice.

View these visual instructions carefully: Continue reading “best parenting advice”

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an attitude of gratitude on thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  For this post, I want to encourage you with two simple thoughts: You are Blessed and Remember the Vulnerable.   One must choose to have this attitude of gratitude because it is our human nature to complain and be envious of others.  The last few months – locally and globally – have certainly been like a bad roller coaster ride that leaves one disoriented and vomitaceous. And unless you’re completely detached from the money machine, you’re likely impacted on some personal level and feeling pretty anxious.  

So: What are you thankful for?

For me, I’m thankful for the meaningful things in my life:  the presence, truth and grace of the Triune God, my family, my wife and three children, my church community, friends, the opportunities I have, and thankful for the gift of choice that enables much privilege in my life.  I pray that I can be a good steward of such gifts in my life.

Here are the two thoughts of encouragement: Continue reading “an attitude of gratitude on thanksgiving”

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why i roll with the covenant

At least once every week, someone emails me to ask about Quest Church’s history, connection, and affiliation.  Specifically, are we non-denominational, independent, cultic, or affiliated with some sort of denominational group?  People tend to be scared of charismatic Asian dudes with long curly hair and bad patches of facial hair.

Minhee and I initially planted Quest as a non-denominational church.  I had no interest in denominations.  I was burnt out.  I was weary and cynical about organized religion and chose to leave my then denominational affiliation. The theme of my life – then – was ‘rage against the machine.’  I was somewhat of an angry deconstructionist pastor.  It was probably a good thing that I had no idea what ‘blogging’ was back then because it would have been pretty intense.  But after some months, I also came to realize that I didn’t want to pastor or lead a church on an island to ourselves.  We felt we could do more in partnership and relationship with other like minded and like hearted followers of Christ.  So, after some months of intense research, conversations, and reciprocal interviews, we decided to partner with the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Some of my friends still give me grief that I chose to partner with “a bunch of Swedes” particularly because diversity and multiethnicty was always an important ecclesiological pursuit for my vision as a pastor and leader.  So, why did I partner with the ECC even despite no truth to the rumors that Covenant pastors receive 50% discount from IKEA?  Continue reading “why i roll with the covenant”

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faith and money [4]: blessed and vulnerable

This is Part 4 of the series on Faith and Money.  You can the previous entries here:  [1] Where is Your Treasure, [2] What is Money, and [3] Control or Controlled.

The last few months – locally and globally – have certainly been like a bad roller coaster ride that leaves one disoriented and vomitaceous.  And unless you’re completely detached from the money machine, you’re likely impacted on some personal level and feeling pretty anxious.   Another reason why I’m talking about Money?  Because, in short, it is the prevailing idolatry in our world. 

In this post, I want to share two simple thoughts:  You are Blessed and Remember the Vulnerable. Continue reading “faith and money [4]: blessed and vulnerable”

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in the middle of nowhere for a retreat

After 8 days of complete isolation, I’m on my way back home to Seattle.  I’ve been away in the middle of nowhere which I’ll share more tomorrow or so.  It’ll be good to come back home…I’ve missed Minhee and the kids so much that it was driving me a little insane.  But it was also good to be completely isolated in this small town in the middle of nowhere.  No TV, no internet, no radio…nothing…minus two cheating incidents of “borrowing” some bandwidth outside a Quizno’s shop Dairy Queen to post the last blogpost and to tend to other matters.

I did a lot of thinking about the past and future, more thinking about my calling as a pastor, working on projects on a friend’s farm, praying, some reading, working on the poverty organization, and lots of this: Continue reading “in the middle of nowhere for a retreat”

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inviting all prayers and dreamers

Please excuse us for being selfish but we need your help.  We are inviting all PRAYERS and DREAMERS.  Thus, we are coming to our larger community – friends, family, blogosphere network, Questers, and random connections – to genuinely share our  prayer requests and dreams.  Honestly, I’m not really good at asking for things.  That is something I need to be working on but here are two prayer requests and a repetitious dream I want to place before you. Continue reading “inviting all prayers and dreamers”