Monthly Archives: July 2012

Always Mind Your Surroundings

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So, that happened today.

That was a result of me fighting for my life after being chased by two big humungous men. Considering that cut on my head and the minor limp I sustained, I’d say I got off easy. I don’t know why they were chasing me. Or how they were able to catch up (given their size). Or why no one noticed two big men chasing after me.

Oh, right. It’s probably because that’s not what happened.

I had come back to church after a trip to my new barber shop to get a little work done.
As I was opening the door, I saw, on the other side of the door, a very agitated (and probably mutated and huge) wasp.

That man-eating wasp was buzzing really loud and started flying right toward my face, as soon as it found its opening.
I panicked and turned around to run when *BAM*! I see a flash of white light, and when I can see again, I’m on the ground, and I believe (and I’m not ashamed to admit this), I let out a whimper.

I had no idea what happened to me.
As I was trying to regroup, all I knew was that my head was ringing.
My head was hurting.
My teeth hurt a little bit.
My knee was hurting and cramping.
Oh. And, I don’t know if I already said this: my head was hurting.

I sort of felt like I got the receiving end of this:

In my panicked attempt to flee the man-eating (and, did I mention HUGE?) wasp, I failed to see the wooden beam that had always, always stood there. Even though, today, it jumped out of nowhere. I must’ve ran head first into the wooden pole, then must’ve landed on my right knee (only explanation why my knee hurts).

I think I was able to get up and lock the church door before making my way to the car.
I sat in the car wondering if I could drive home, so I gave myself the “How many fingers am I holding up?” test. I raised my left hand up and saw that I had 7 fingers. Close enough, because I was pretty sure I was holding up six.

Needless to say, I sort of feel like I did get mugged. By a man-eating ginormous wasp and a wooden pillar.

I am now, a bit, doubtful of surviving the impending zombie apocalypse. It’s not a far stretch to think that, while running away from a zombie, I’d hit a tree and fall to the ground (much like today) and be a scrumptious meal to the zombie.

As Ra’s Al Ghul taught Bruce Wayne in Batman Beyond, I need to always be mindful of my surroundings.

Hopefully, it won’t scar. Otherwise, I’ll be the Korean Harry Potter.

On a completely different note. I like the barber shop that I went today. No more Supercuts for me.

… does anyone else hear that?

The Know-It-All

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Paul was absolutely right when he says, “Knowledge puffs up” because a Know-It-All is view as more of a nuisance than informative.

And! We all get annoyed; when someone, corrects our Grammar. All. The, Time. Or when we say something and they say, “Well, actually, it's….” I mean once or twice is okay, but after while, they're “Well, actually” intro takes all the restraint we have from taking the fork and (gently) stabbing the person's hand. Or something like that.

And I know there are many times where I was (am) the know-it-all.

Having knowledge is not bad. Being informative isn't bad at all. But there's a fine line between being a know-it-all and being informative.

My in-laws visited us this past weekend, and my wife's brother in-law was very informative of all food related conversations. He would tell us how to steam crab, how to eat a sea urchin (I passed. It was too much) and all sorts of other stuff. But it wasn't in a know-it-all fashion. My reaction wasn't a “groan, here we go” but a “oh, cool, that's good to know.”

Then they're colleagues that share what they know, but it comes off as a know-it-all. I can't quite figure out where that fine-line is drawn.

Is it speaking from experience? Like, someone talking from their very own experience instead of speaking from something they read somewhere, when they don't have any experience in that subject matter?

Is it based on what we think of someone? I like my wife's bro in-law. Therefore, everything he said was beneficial and I listened. Sometimes, when someone we don't really care for stands up to speak, before they even utter a word, eyes are rolled (Oh, I know I'm not the only one).

Does it have to do with how someone presents the information? Like, are they stating it “as, well, you know…” or like, “look at me, I'm smarter than most of you” fashion?

Or does it have to do with the fact that I didn't ask for their opinion, but they always give it anyhow? Or, instead of giving information, it's given in a matter to correct the error in our thinking?

I don't know.

But I think when it comes to teaching or leading, what we know is not as important as what we do. The “Do as I say not as I do” model isn't quite effective as Paul's “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” model.

Jesus didn't just teach with words, but he also taught with action. The dude hung on a cross to teach about sacrificial love. And we all got that message. I mean, him saying that “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friend” is a great teaching, but actually laying down his life for his friends, no one could ignore that. And it changed the lives of those who spent 3 years with him, and in turn, changed the world.

I'd like to say that people aren't that interested in what we know and how much we know. And I like to say that, because it makes me feel a little better about myself, because I'm not the smartest person you'll meet (or the most grammatically correct). But, I think people are more interested in how we apply that knowledge, because we all know that actions speak louder than words.

But smart or not, everyone's important and vital in the Body of Christ. You may be the brains of the Body and others may be the appendages, but that does not limit your value and worth in Christ Jesus. We all have our calling and purpose in God's plan for the world.

So, just do your thing (or thang) for God.

And, next time I run into a Know-it-All, I think it will be good for me to listen before rolling my eyes. There may be something that the brain of the Body might be able to teach me.

 

I Don’t Think I’m a Good “American”

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“Proud to be an American” is a sentiment I never really felt nor really uttered.

“Grateful to live in America?” Yes. “Thankful to be a citizen?” Most def. But proud? I don’t know.

I mean, during world events, like the World Cup, I’m heavily invested in how the South Korean team does more than what Team USA does.

I think part of it may have to do with the fact that I was never led to feel I was “American.” Growing up, I was led to believe that Americans were ‘white’ and since I wasn’t white, which people went out of their way to point out (I mean, dude, I don’t need you to remind me that I’m not white…), I was not American.

When someone asks me “Where are you from?” They’re not really satisfied with my answer.

“I’m from Hawaii.”

“Oh. Did you live anywhere before that?”

“Yea. I used to live in California before Hawaii.”

“Oh. So… were you born in California, or did you move to California?”

“Oh, we moved to California when I was like in 6th grade.”

“I see. Where did you move from?”

“South Carolina.”

And it becomes a fun game for me, because I know they want to know where my motherland is.

If I were viewed as “American,” I feel that the answer of Hawaii or California should suffice. But, it was very evident, throughout my life at least, that I was something dash American. Korean-American. Asian-American. Never just American.

But I think I can say that I am proud of my heritage. So much so, I worry how un-Korean my children will be because I am so Americanized. I want to keep our heritage (and language) alive through generations to come.

Oh, and I own a Korean flag somewhere in my home, but I have never owned an American flag.

This is where some people will start shouting, “Well, go back to your country then!” Right.

So, I think, more than not, this plays in to what bothers me when Americans try to claim God as their own. I think one of the more offensive images I’ve seen of Jesus was Jesus ascending (descending?) to (from) heaven with an American flag draped around him (not the image shown above). I don’t know who the artist loved more: Christ or ‘Merica. And also, why I get really annoyed when Jesus becomes about “truth, justice and the American way.” Which, by the way, is a motto attributed to Superman, not Jesus.

I don’t know how else to say this, but Jesus is not American. And God does not belong to America. I hate to break it to you, Americans aren’t God’s ‘chosen’ people. And to further upset a few: to some Americans, Jesus’ real skin tone was probably a lot darker than they wished it were, because Jesus ain’t white.

Therefore, I always wondered why the American flag had to be present in our sanctuaries throughout our country. And always wondered if other countries have their flags in their sanctuaries.

I mean, we live in a smaller world, meaning that, we have more cultures and countries represented in our pews today than ever before. With technology and the Internet, we are more connected than ever before. And with the melting pot that America is becoming, there are more than just “Americans” present in worship. I’ve always felt that we either have all flags of the world or no flags displayed in our sanctuaries across America.

God is bigger than America. We are doing a sinful thing if we try to contain God within our borders and make him American. We, then, are no longer the created, but become the creator, as we have re-created God’s image after our own.

God’s blessings goes further than America. Yes, God bless America. But, man, America’s been blessed. That’s why regardless of what you may have gathered, I am grateful and thankful that I live in the US of A.

But, when do we start asking, How can America bless God?

Remember, Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to others.

I believe that we are blessed to be a blessing to others and God as well, both individually and collectively, as a nation.

God’s love and grace has no boundaries or borders. It is not limited to one group of people or one country. Christ died for all and loves all. And all means all.

If that makes me unpatriotic and un-American, I can live with that. I’ve been called far worse.

Our Success Doesn’t Belong Just to Us

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A lot of people in our lives contributed to our success and our achievements.

Sure, a lot of us think that we are our own wo/men; that we got to where we are on our own. But that’s not really true. Someone gave us a push here. Someone encouraged us there. Someone made a a little sacrifice here.

We may have a lot more people than we think who have a stake in how we turned out.
And we definitely have a lot of more people than we may give credit for who helped us along our journey.

Last week, I got to hang out with my youth pastor from my early teen years.
It was great catching up with him and all that has taken place since I last lived in Santa Barbara.

He played a great role, whether he knows it or not, on how I turned out. Thankfully, I turned out somewhat okay, so he doesn’t have to be too embarrassed when I say that he had a hand in how I turned out.

But it’s not just him, I thought of all the other people in my life that have influenced me and others that may have a huge stake in how I turn out. From my Sunday school teachers, to youth pastors, to school teachers, to church members, to clergy… the list goes on.

And I know that there are people that I invested in and have an interest on how they turn out and who they become.

Simply put, we’re never really alone on our journey.

So, if you can, take time today to reach out to someone who made a difference in your life and let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life.

Some Observations

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The one thing that has been blatantly obvious in my two weeks as a lead/solo pastor is that I need to really to be disciplined in my time management. (BTW, go visit here and vote for my friend and Co.'s submission. It's an app that can help you see how you spend your time.)

Today, I realized I spent over 30 min. reading my normal google reader feeds on my Mr. Reader app (another shout out to another app). But 90% of the things I was catching up on weren't beneficial to anything. Memes, buzzfeed.com and other stuff to keep me entertained. I saw that I may have to do some purging on my blog feeds so that not too much time is wasted. (On a completely contrary note, I'm always looking for good blogs to read. So suggest away in the comments, please.)

There are things that I want to diligently keep on doing, like updating this blog. This blog has always served as a form of release for me. Sharing ideas, thoughts, struggles, frustrations or mind-numbing observations (like today).

But I am learning that it is going to take work at being disciplined. I can't go and do all that I have done before. when I was an associate pastor. There has been a huge change in my life, and I need to start learning to adapt to this change, instead of stubbornly holding onto my ground and continuing to live the way I did before becoming a lead pastor.

There's a pruning process I need to go through, and I really need to limit things in my life that are a complete waste of time and bears no fruit in my life whatsoever. There are mindless and unproductive tasks that I need to keep around, like video games, mindless readings of blogs that have no purpose but for the sake of entertainment, TV and movies, pestering my wife, etc. But, I need to the be the “master of my domain” and not let my domain master me.

On the other hand, I'm having a blast getting to know the wonderful congregation. They have been gracious and have opened their arms, their doors and their hearts to us (is that how the Methodist slogan goes?).

There are many things that we can accomplish together as a church. I'm looking forward to see how God uses me and the congregation to share His Gospel.

So, onward we go, our hearts and eyes fixed on Jesus!

Btw, I came to Starbucks today to work on my sermon and catch up on some reading. Instead, I organized my sermon notes notebook and blogged about being more disciplined. Go figure.

But, I'm going to work on my sermon right after I schedule this post.

If You’re Going to Assume, Just Assume They Don’t Know

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So, Santa Barbara.
It’s a lovely city. Weather is fantastic, so far.
There’s are few things to get used to. The food here is far more expensive than Valencia. There’s just something wrong with paying $10 for some pho. (Google it, if you must).

Secondly, I’ve seen far more spiders in my two weeks here than in my two years in Valencia. I don’t really like that. Spiders are just… wrong, too.

Anyway, my wife was reading one of the local magazines and discovered this place where she could volunteer at.
She called and they wanted her to come in for an initial interview.
She tried to get the directions and the guy on the phone kept assuming we were locals. Or something. Even when she said, “We just moved here” he didn’t really clarify the directions.
He kept calling the street (a three word street) by it’s initials.
“Oh, it’s on ‘ABC’ street.”
Along with phrases like,
“Oh, you can’t miss it. It’s behind such-and-such. It’s a well known area. Everyone knows ABC street.”

Yea, maybe for the locals and the regular visitors.

So on the morning of our appointment, we asked Siri for directions and followed the google maps direction on my iPhone.
Guess what?
We couldn’t find it. Siri, my wife and I did not know the street that everyone knew about.

Now, I’m not the best with directions to begin with. I get lost easily. But even so, the ABC street that he was talking about, there were no street signs for it. It technically wasn’t even a street. It was like a private driveway. We circled around a bit, now running late. We finally called the place and the lady on the phone had to give us turn by turn directions on the phone. Without her help, I don’t think I would’ve ever found it.

The guy who we initially talked to knew the area well, because he lived here. It’s only natural to think that it’s easy for anyone to find, because it’s easy for him to find.

And we think like that in our churches. We’ve been at a church for so-and-so years, so it’s natural for us to think that everything we do is normal.

But, it’s not. Church isn’t really ‘normal’ for those who’ve never really been. And each church has its own quirks and traditions that are unique to their own setting.

A friend told me of a church who, when it came time to do the Lord’s Prayer, would stand up, turn around and recite the Prayer. The new pastor, after a few Sundays, could no longer contain his curiosity and began to ask parishioners why they would stand, turn around and then recite the Lord’s Prayer. After digging, he finally found the answer from one of the older members of the church. Years and years ago, the Lord’s Prayer was on a banner at the back of the church, so to make everyone feel welcome, they would all stand, turn around and read the Lord’s Prayer together, just in case someone didn’t know it. The banner had been long gone, but the tradition remained.

For long time members: normal. For new comers: “What is going on? Why are we standing up? Why are we turning around? What are we reciting?” (That’s the other thing, we assume that everyone knows the Lord’s Prayer… that may not be so true anymore…)

It’s natural for us to assume that people know what we know.
But I think it’s safer to assume that they may not know what we know.

Not everyone may know where the bathroom is located on your campus.
Not everyone may know where the coffee fellowship is (if there is one) and if everything is for free after worship.
Not everyone may know why people are furiously writing their information on pads, and if you’re supposed to do the same.

And they may have been attending your church for years…
For many of us, everything about church life is normal, because we’ve been at a church for a dominant period of our lives. In fact, we can still get the hang of the language and vibe when we switch churches or visit a church on vacations.

But there are many more people these days who haven’t grown up in church and are finding themselves inside a sanctuary for the first or second time in their lives. They probably have no idea of what is going on and their anxiety may be made worse when we assume they should just know everything.

So just be open to the idea that not everyone knows what you know.

Especially when it comes to giving directions…

 

My First Day

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What a crazy, crazy week. Moving was hectic. I think I made 4 trips from Valencia to Santa Barbara in the span of 2 days. Then, it was Sunday. And to be perfectly honest, I haven't felt that under prepared for a Sunday since the days of not paying attention in seminary.

Before I knew it, I was getting dressed and making my way for the first of many Sundays to come (after a quick pit stop to Starbucks, of course).

It was a strange feeling sitting inside the church. And not in a bad way at all. But strange to sit and see so many unfamiliar faces. That is until I looked over and saw three folks from Valencia United Methodist Church who drove to Santa Barbara for moral support. What a true blessing that was! And, a bit embarrassing, because I had planned that my last sermon at VUMC would be very similar to my first sermon at St. Mark. (I can't be the only one who recycles sermons, right?)

Michael Jordan once said that the basketball court was his sanctuary, because in the 48 minutes of the game, no one can come up to him pitching ideas, asking for autographs, wanting something from him etc. For those 48 minutes, he was free to be himself and just play basketball.

To some extent, I get that. Even with all the chaos that led up to Sunday morning, even with the feelings of being a bit unprepared, once worship began, I felt at peace. By the grace of God, we got through the worship celebration without much hiccups. I think that's one of the ways I know that this is truly my calling.

There's a lot to do, only because I believe that there is so much that we, as St. Mark UMC, can accomplish in our community. But, the wise thing to do is take it one step at a time. When I look at the big picture, everything looks daunting and it is easy to get paralyzed with fear, because it's so much for one person to do. But that's the thing: it's not meant for one person to do.

So, first things first: get to know the church community. Those are my first steps of this journey.

We got a head start, as the church wanted us to have lunch with the young married couples. Then we had dinner with the young adults (as the UMC defines them, because I don't really think I'm a young adult anymore…) and formed a life group, which we hope that the rest of the church gets excited about small groups and want to be in one themselves.

I am excited about being the pastor of St. Mark UMC. There's a few things I have to get used to, though. Like, after Sunday, start preparing for a sermon the following Sunday. It was a great perk not having to preach every week. The other thing is to remember/realize that I'm the lead pastor here. During one of our conversation with the life group, I said something and one of the people responded jokingly, “Well, someone who has the power to make that happen should get on it.” And I said, “Yea, they should” until I realized, “Hey wait, that's me!”

While I may not have all the time in the world, there's no need to be in a hurry. Things take time. Relationships take time to form and hold. Changes take time. There's no need to move at a neck-breaking pace. There's no good to come out of that. At the same time, I can't move so slow that I become lethargic and lazy. It's also important to remember that things will happen in God's time and God's way.

Right now, we're still working on moving in and unpacking. That has been a process and an adventure in of itself and eventually, we'll be at a place where we can start making it a home.

I finally unpacked my office, but it looks like a tornado had a tea party in there with its friends.

All in all, God is good and I know that this is going to be fun.

I'm looking forward to what God has in store for all of us.