Like the billions of other idolaters, I watched (most of) the Super Bowl yesterday with a bunch of Questers.
The game was ok but the majority of the commercials were mediocre. Umm, I couldn’t get the obsession with underpants stuff in couple commercials. And while I was in and out, I didn’t catch all the commercials but nothing particularly wowed me.
In my opinion, the best commercial belonged to Google. It was simple. It was human. It was captivating. And in 30 seconds, with basic typing…they told the best story (and re-affirmed to me the power of story). And it clearly identified the source of the commercial because well…Google’s logo was on the screen the entire time. There were numerous commercials and I had no idea what or who they were trying to “sell.” That’s not good.
Here’s part 2 of my sermons on a theology of singlehood as part of a larger series on Relationships. As you listen/watch the sermon, I do have a question and would love to get some feedback. It’s the most prominent question I’ve received over the past couple weeks as I’ve taught on singlehood:
You say that singlehood is a choice and a response to God’s revelation. I agree in part but what if it’s NOT a choice. What do you do when you’re single not by choice but because there’s no one out there. What do you do?
The above question is what I’ll be teaching on over the next couple weeks along with the importance of focusing and investing on the three primary aspects: passion, vision, and mission. But how would you pastorally answer that question above?
I’m a wanna be musician. I live in Seattle so I have to pretend that I’m in a band. I have a guitar sitting in the corner of my room and I also have drumsticks on my desk…and I don’t even play drums.
Because there’s something unique about artists and musicians. Yes, there’s vanity and narcissism but then again, who amongst us aren’t vain and narcissistic?
Hear this: No one gets a free pass so we’ll be sharing ways that everyone can join the movement of One Day’s Wages! But one of our strategies we’re sharing today is to partner with artists and musicians from all around the world that are interested in using their voices and platform to partner with ODW and our movement towards ending extreme global poverty.
We’ve just started this initiative and we’re pleased to announce our first partners including Seattle’s very own Rocky Votolato. If you’re an artist/musician, click on the image below to learn more about what the partnerships can look like. And PLEASE forward this to bands, friends, artists, your favs…for their consideration.
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: Read the rest of this entry »
On February 1, 1997, Minhee and I exchanged vows and committed ourselves to Christ, one another, our families and community – the journey of loving, serving, and growing as husband and wife, father and mother, and mutual followers of Christ. Today, we celebrate our 13th anniversary. I know that it is customary [and wise] to speak well of your spouse on your anniversary but Minhee truly is an expression and embodiment of God’s grace and beauty to my life. Our marriage – while clearly not perfect – remains focused on the three pillars I often share with others: Passion. Vision. Mission.
We met in Korea and dated for a week before I returned to the States. We engaged in many phone calls and probably exchanged over a thousand letters since we both weren’t using this technology called ‘electronic mail.’ Just in case some of you don’t know what letters are…it’s when you put a pen to paper and write.
And while people boast of their marriage proposal stories, I’m pretty sure mine is the most romantic and unique:
The summer before our wedding [while I was still a student in seminary in New Jersey], I put on my best suit, got on my knees, picked up the phone to call Minhee in Korea, and in my best Korean drama voice…asked her to marry me.
Here’s our wedding photo that still continues to amaze people. Minhee looks her usual photogenic self and I’ve been told I look “very different” – so different that people ask if it’s her “first husband.”Read the rest of this entry »
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 have to say that I’m pretty excited to share this news. It may not generate the same kind of buzz that Apple is making today with some sort of announcement of another mediocre product…iPhones, tablet pcs, blah blah blah. We have an amazing announcement that we hope will get you thinking and dreaming.
In the coming weeks, we’ll highlight how YOU and other individuals can partner with One Day’s Wages for two great initiatives: Birthday for a Cause and Work One Day for a Cause. We’re also going to highlight how churches can create a Community Page to mobilize their communities to fight extreme poverty. But did you know that we’re looking for responsible corporations, companies, and small businesses to partner with us?
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. Read the rest of this entry »
We were hosting a rental fundraiser via a b-boy competition and so after a busy and eventful Saturday, I stopped by the Q Cafe in the late evening for some relaxation and flashback to the past.
I wasn’t expecting much but woah, these cats were serious and there were some pretty good 1v1 b-boy/b-girl competition going on. Here’s a clip of some of the battles of : Read the rest of this entry »
This upcoming Saturday is our church’s annual meeting – an important meeting as we look back and dream forward. Inevitably, one of the questions you think about (and are asked by others) involves the “health of the church.”
I have my answers (which I’ll share later) but I’d love to hear your thoughts:
How do you define success as a pastor or ministry leader?
This is a fascinating graph and analysis of “giving” from Mint. If you haven’t seen it, take a few moments to study . Would love to read your thoughts and observations. And in case you were looking for venues to donate, One Day’s Wages has a Haiti Relief and Rebuild Fund. We’re raising $100K to our partner orgs and all of it (mins c.c. costs) go directly to the efforts.
Americans lead the world in charitable contributions, giving $300 billion a year to charities. Sounds like a lot right? But this is just a drop in the bucket compared to the over One Trillion Dollars needed to keep US charities in operation, more than the US government collects in taxes. The rest comes from their own assets, government support, and foreign investment. Our visual guide to giving shows who’s paying and offers some tips on how to pick a charity of your own. Read the rest of this entry »
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I’m sharing one of my favorite MLK Jr. quotes:
“When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Question: What’s your favorite MLK quote?
Martin Luther King Jr. was an extraordinary person. Not perfect but nevertheless, extraordinary. While we remember his legacy again on this day…let’s not make the mistake of forgetting the God behind this extraordinary man. Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
It’s a simple invitation. The people of Haiti & neighboring countries need immediate help.
One Day’s Wages has started a Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and committed $5,000. It’s your turn to consider a donation. We are partnering with World Concern and Partners in Health – both incredibly reputable orgs that have been in Haiti for over 50 years combined and who have the infrastructure NOW to do some of the relief work. Click on the image to learn more and donate.
Maybe you’ve seen it or not but if you haven’t, I invite you to watch the video (below) and contribute to our dialogue. My simple question:
What’s the big deal? Did you or do you have any problems with what he shared? Did he violate the tenets of “good journalism?”
For those that don’t know, Brit Hume is a TV commentator and journalist. He now mostly works at FOX News as a senior political analyst. Truth be told, he’s one of the few I can listen to on FOX News when I’m watching it mainly because he’s not screaming. MSNBC isn’t much better. But I digress…
But here’s the context and the situation (from wikipedia):
On January 3, 2010, as a guest on Fox News Sunday Hume offered advice to Tiger Woods that he might turn his faith to Christianity. Hume’s comments came in the wake Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
Like the billions of other idolaters, I watched (most of) the Super Bowl yesterday with a bunch of Questers.
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