Tag Archives: st. mark umc

New Sermon Series: Jacob’s Ladder

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ladder

This Sunday, we begin a new sermon series: Jacob’s Ladder: Surely the LORD was in this place & I did not know it!

We’re going to be spending 5 weeks on the same passage (Genesis 28:10-18), but really focus on verse 16: “Surely the Lord was in this place and I did not know it!” based on Lawrence Kushner’s book, God was in this Place & I, i did not know. 

Quite a few times, people have come up to me after church and say things like, “Boy, God was really here today!” (And I know I’m not the only pastor/church leader that gets that). Those thoughts always gets me thinking… Does that imply that God hasn’t been there the other times?
But those kind of thoughts happen outside of the church, too.

One day, after a long (long) hike, when I got to the top, I saw the beautiful surrounding site and I caught myself saying, “Wow. God’s really here at the top of this mountain!” Which made me pause and ask myself, “Wasn’t God with me on my hike up?”

So, for the next 5 weeks, we’ll be talking about what Jacob might’ve experienced that kept him from realizing God was in this place before he fell asleep and had his dream, and how we, as today’s readers of Jacob’s story, can learn from his experience and story. 

What is it that keeps us from being aware of God’s presence everywhere we go?

If you can’t join us at St. Mark on Sunday mornings in beautiful Santa Barbara, I invite you to come listen to us online on our website!

The Folks in the Bible

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A lot of people ask me what’s my favorite book of the Bible, and I don’t really have one.
Of course, I make something up… I’ll say Mark or Luke, or Philippians, or Revelations just to see what reaction I’ll get.

But the truth is, I don’t have a favorite book of the Bible. Because it’s all good, silly.

I know people who spend most of their quiet or devotional time reading any of the Gospels or Epistles or Acts (so, yea, the New Testament).

But, I like to spend my devotional times reading the narrative stories and I like reading about the people God called in the Bible. Abraham. Moses. David. Saul. Samuel.

In Sunday school, we were led to believe that these folks in the Bible were just great women and men, and that’s why God called them. They’re in the Bible because they were the Michael Jordans of faith related things in their time.

Maybe that’s why the Bible had no interest for me during my teenage years. Because it was impossible to be that good and strong in faith. Maybe that’s why some folks just don’t read the Bible, because all we remember is how great these people were and there’s no way we can live up to that.

But what draws me, now, to those stories is just how human these folks were. How flawed they were. How confused and unsure they were. How broken they were. How normal they were.

I mean Peter, as a disciple, was a bit moronic. And constantly stuck his foot in his mouth. David broke 5 commandments in one chapter of the Bible. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (you can enter a snarky comment on what Biblical idea of marriage here, if you like). Abraham lied about his wife being his sister. Twice. Isaac ended up doing the same thing. Moses was a short tempered murderer. Esther had to be really convinced by Mordecai before she did the right thing.

I mean, they are normal. Their struggles aren’t foreign or trapped in their time. I struggle with things they struggled with today.

By no means, were these people perfect (except, you know, Jesus).
But the beauty of it is that God still choose them to lead the way.
They were ordinary folks, but it was God and through God that they did extraordinary things.

Starting next (next) Sunday (the 26th), our church is going to do a sermon series on the people of the Bible (the heroes and heroines, if you will). We’ll be talking about Moses, Hannah, David, Esther and Joseph this time around. I’m sure that we’ll come visit some more later in the future.

But I’m excited to share their stories (the good, the bad, the ugly and the amazing) with my folks at church.

Letter from PJ to St. Mark

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I know that Perry Noble from New Spring Church, every Thursday, writes a letter to his church on his blog.

I’d figure, at least for today, I’d borrow that shtick.

Howzit, St. Mark UMC!

I have 5 things I’d love to share with you today:

1 –  Let me just say how proud and honored I am to be the pastor at this church. St. Mark has been nothing but warm, gracious and welcoming to the both of us. And I am thankful (on top of being proud and honored) to be your pastor.

2 – When DS Coots told me that you were a praying church, boy she wasn’t kidding. I ask that you continue to pray for our church. Pray that God’s will (and God’s will alone) be done. Pray that we will be a center of hope and transformation in our community. And while you’re at it, pray for your pastor. He needs it.

3 – Change is always easier for the implementer, I understand that. Much like, the one who initiates the break-up in a relationship often has a better time coping than the dumped. I know that changes have been made here and there and I haven’t really taken time to explain a lot of things to everyone. And also know that changes are still going to happen. Some big. Some small. Some you’ll like a lot. Some that will have you questioning my sanity. And the leadership of the church will always try to keep communication open and clear. That goes for me too. So if something is pressing on your heart, come talk to me. And I’ll refer you to the right people ;) I’m kidding.

4 – I am really excited about where God is leading us. And I’m more excited that we get to do ministry together.

5 – Starting this Sunday, we’ll be doing a 3 sermon series on Forgiveness. This Sunday, we’ll talk about not only forgiving ourselves, but owning up to ourselves, as well. The following Sunday, we’ll talk about why revenge may not be as sweet as we think. And the final week, we’ll talk about Christ’s model of forgiveness. I’m looking forward to sharing this journey with you all.

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.

So… Now What?

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So that happened this weekend.

It was an end of a long, often frustrating journey that began in 2007 and a journey I often blogged about. (I just realized I’m almost tall as the Bishop kneeling… but I digress). Each time I was continued (read: didn’t pass/failed) I wondered why I was going through all this and contemplated pursuing ordination elsewhere. This year, I entered the process for what I really believed would be the last time. I resolved that I would always be Wesleyan at heart no matter where I ended up and more importantly, I firmly believed that God had called me into ministry and that can take place anywhere, even if it meant outside of the UMC.

Maybe it was all in my head, but this time, the exams and interviews weren’t as draining as they were in the previous 2 years. And you know what they say, 3rd time is a charm. Or whatever.

I understand that when I was eligible for full connection, I entered the process very angry and with a huge chip on my shoulder accompanied by an air of arrogance and an ego the size of … something big. (I’m tired… )

I entered the first year of examinations with a closed fist ready to fight. I entered this year’s examination with open hands and heart, not in the sense that I was willing to really “listen” to what the Board of Ordained Ministry had to say and sell my soul for their acceptance (not that that’s ever the case), but in the sense I turned everything over to God and said, “Where you lead, I will go.”

During my commissioned years, I joked (read: threatened) that when I finally get ordained, I’m going to no longer hold back my words, but instead, say everything that has eaten at my heart since I started this journey in 2007. Everything that I saw wrong with our system and our methodology, I was going to vocalize it, maybe through this blog, maybe through emails, maybe to people who would be willing to listen. I had a lot on my chest, and I couldn’t wait to get that weight off my mind.

So. Now that it’s all said and done and I’m ordained, well… I have nothing to say. Well, no, more truthfully, I have nothing constructive to say.

Sure, we know that our church is broken. Anyone who steps into a UM church can see that something may be wrong. We’re not as big and strong as we used to be. We insiders know that our system and methodology is flawed and a lot of it, broken.

There’s no point of beating a dead horse with a stick.

And I sure as hell don’t want to be “THAT GUY” who does nothing but criticizes his ‘employer’ but isn’t willing to do anything about it.

Instead, I’m filled with gratitude. I’m thankful for all the people who helped me along this long journey. From all the mentors I had to my senior pastors to all the lay folks who encouraged me and then were so excited for me that I (finally) passed, to the ‘unofficial’ mentors, to my friends and colleagues who let me bitch about things and gave me solid words of comfort, advice and critique, to my family, and especially to my wife, who really … well, I know that I couldn’t have gotten through any of it without her. She saw it all. The anger, the frustrations, the lows, the ups… she encouraged me when I needed, scolded me when that was needed, pushed me, made sure I was sharply dressed for my interviews… she kept me sane in moments where I wanted to bounce off walls. Or more truthfully, bounce other people’s heads off walls.

And of course, I’m humbled that God would still call me into ministry; that for some reason, God has faith in me to lead His people.

In the end, words are cheap. Any Joe the Plumber can host a blog and point out everything wrong with the world today.

So really, the time has come for me to do more than just talk.

Come July, I no longer have the safety net of the Senior Pastor covering my ass. As someone said, “You won’t have a higher pay check to defer to” which has been my favorite thing to do as an associate pastor.

As the days approach closer, the butterflies in my stomach grow bigger. At times I feel inadequate. Other times I feel ill-equipped, to the fault of no one. I mean, all the books and classes in the world can’t fully prepare you for the real life thing. Experience has always been the best (and often cruelest) teacher. We learn as we go. Mistakes will be made. But one hopes that we learn from our mistakes and that it propels us forward instead of chaining us inside a cage of fear, insecurity and/or indecision.

And of course, I’m excited. I’m excited to see what God has plans for me and St. Mark.

I’m excited to go back to where I lived as an early teenager.

I find peace in the midst of my anxiety and excitement in the faith and knowledge that God has truly called me to this church, and that God has a plan for me and for the church– that all of this is God’s plan for this part of my life.

And I come in without too much greed in the sense that I want to go and add numbers to our pew. Instead, my hopes and dreams is to be a place where transformation through faith, grace and love happens. I don’t have desires to become one of the biggest churches in our city and our conference. But I have a deep desire in being a relevant and effective church that works with its community to bring transformation through God’s message of hope, love and grace. Simply put, my hope and prayer is to “make disciples for the transformation of the world.”

Now that I have the “freedom” to say anything I want without the fear of someone on the BOOM being angry with me, it’s funny that I don’t want to say anything without any warrant. Past Me might be a little annoyed with Present Me…

My wife, a few years ago, got me this art thing and hung it in my office so that I would see it everyday as I sit in front of my desk. It’s a often quoted quote from Gandhi: You must be the change you wish to see in the world.

What a fitting quote for the start of this new chapter in my life.

My Transition (New Appointment)

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For a little while, I wanted to title all of my blog posts starting with a “My” a la one of my favorite shows, Scrubs. But that’s neither here nor there.

This past Sunday, I announced that I will be serving St. Mark United Methodist Church in Santa Barbara, effective July 1.

It’s truly bittersweet. I have loved being part of Valencia UMC for the past two and a half years. I am really excited for what this church has visioned for the next few years. But, at the same time, I know that it’s time for me to move on.

While I still have a heart and passion for youth and youth ministry, I think I’m at a chapter in my life where I no longer want to be the “youth guy.” There are other aspects of ministry that I want to explore and experience and I think St. Mark is that place where I can further explore my call as a UMC pastor.

As saddened as we are leaving this church family, both my wife and I are 100% certain that this is God’s plan for us. So we are encouraged by our faith and hopeful that God will do great things through us in Santa Barbara.

On top of that, I am already familiar with St. Mark UMC, at least with their campus. 20 years ago, my dad started a Korean church on St. Mark’s campus. So from the age of 11-16, I was part of the youth ministry at St. Mark where this great guy named, Doug was the youth director. It is a sort of homecoming for me.

And, when we lived in Santa Barbara, my grandparents lived near Pomona, and we would frequently make that drive down to see my grandparents. My parents now live near Pomona. And, when we have kids, my kids will make that same drive down to see their grandparents.

I am excited for the move. I think I’ll get a bit more nervous and anxious as the days progress. I have no idea what’s in store for us in Santa Barbara. But I know that God will be with us with every single step that we take.

So, we’ll have to start packing soon. It’s always a weird feeling packing, especially the office. There’s this sense of sadness and a heaviness within the heart mixed with a sense of excitement and nervousness.

It’s been a blessed 2.5 years here at Valencia. And we are grateful for the lessons that we have learned and the friendships we have formed here.

I think it’s safe to say that transition is going to be a theme of many posts this upcoming month.

I’m looking forward to a great and crazy and memorable month of June.

Here we go.