I know, I know, a lot of you are lactose intolerant April 9, 2007
Posted by peterong in Food for thought, Rants.add a comment
For those of you (I am not one of you) who are not lactose intolerant, go and get some free ice cream from Baskin Robbins. Go and check it out here.
Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers October 6, 2006
Posted by peterong in Food for thought, Rants, Reflections, Youth Ministry.2 comments
Hey guys, I have been on a hiatus due to a bad cold and recovering from a pretty brutal trip to NYC where I preached and worked and had one too many chicken wings (I will share about that later..hehehe..) but this NY Times article definitely got me out of bed and back into the thick of things.
I am not sure how I feel about these statistics since I don’t know how you trace the narrative of faith…how do they know that later in life that God doesn’t bring them back? I find that these rallies are part of the problem and not part of the solution…and that is it gives them this injection of a “faith moment” instead of a “faith movement” calling them to a long obedience.
I believe that there should be directing the issues regarding the state of the church and the way many of our young congregants are not finding refuge, purpose, vision or the profound sacredness of God in our sanctuaries. Many of our ministries we “dumb” down to the youth and not provide a “God-sized” vision for these young saints. One of the questions often asked of me about what we need in Churches…is it leadership (yeah, Hitler was a leader), is it better resources (yeah, I am sure Mao was pretty well financed) but I find that what the youth of today need are “deep” people who have spirit healed scars…like a spiritual Rambo…who have been through seasons of torrential hardships and yet found the hope in the resurrection and the wonder beauty of the gospel…these brothers and sisters who have found that the story of the gospel is one that is filled with flesh and blood…that is truly alive because it has truly saved them from the despair and yet know that patience in the midst of hardship is filled with silence and tears…these “survivors” are the ones we should give to our youth and to empower to speak out against the world’s counterfeit appeals of what our soul desires…that is salvation…the words that we long to hear…”I no longer call you servants…” and “it is finished.” There is hope…these young pilgrims are finding hope…in their passion….unfortunately it is often muted in ridiculous parodies of discipleship that is filled with tribalism and failures to keep true to vision that they are truly a “royal priesthood…”
New York Times
By Laurie Goldstein
Despite their packed megachurches, their political clout and their increasing visibility on the national stage, evangelical Christian leaders are warning one another that their teenagers are abandoning the faith in droves.
At an unusual series of leadership meetings in 44 cities this fall, more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement. (more…)
SERVICE OF REMEMBRANCE AND PEACE September 19, 2006
Posted by peterong in Food for thought, New York Ministries.5 comments
Here is the text from Tim Keller from the 9/11 memorial service. I got this from Tim’s son’s blog. I was moved to tears as I read this and amazed in Keller’s ability to bring to a community ravaged by this gaping absence with a beautiful conviction and hope. Amen. Amen. Amen.
Ground Zero/St Paul’s Chapel Tim Keller
Sep 10, 2006
As a minister, of course, I’ve spent countless hours with people who are struggling and wrestling with the biggest question – the WHY question in the face of relentless tragedies and injustices. And like all ministers or any spiritual guides of any sort, I scramble to try to say something to respond and I always come away feeling inadequate and that’s not going to be any different today. But we can’t shrink from the task of responding to that question. Because the very best way to honor the memories of the ones we’ve lost and love is to live confident, productive lives. And the only way to do that is to actually be able to face that question. We have to have the strength to face a world filled with constant devastation and loss. So where do we get that strength? How do we deal with that question? I would like to propose that, though we won’t get all of what we need, we may get some of what we need 3 ways: by recognizing the problem for what it is, and then by grasping both an empowering hint from the past and an empowering hope from the future.
(more…)
Finding Roots in China’s Soil September 19, 2006
Posted by peterong in Asian American, Food for thought, Uncategorized.2 comments
Found this article from 2001 about visits to China that traces geneology that stirred my heart and for our reclamation of our cultural identities as part of our healing. Here is a pic that I found on the net that matched my thoughts on this.
(01-21) 04:00 PDT Guangdong province, China — It floated effortlessly through the air, the dots on its wings creating a white streak. “Look at the butterfly,” Al Cheng said, recognizing the symbolism even before it landed on Eric Joe’s right foot.
In Chinese folk tales, a black butterfly is a reincarnation of someone who has died and come back to see the living. Joe was visiting the ancestral home of his father’s family and the memorial marker of his great-great-grandfather.
“I got chills when it landed on me,” Joe said. “It popped back up and landed on my left foot, and I felt the same chills up my spine again.”
He went to China as part of “In Search of Roots,” a genealogy program for Chinese Americans in the Bay Area that includes a three-week trip, led by Cheng, to visit the ancestral homes of its 10 participants.
Joe, 25, is the first in his immediate family to return to the village in Kaiping (pronounced hoi-ping in Cantonese) county since 1950.
Some Roots participants, like Joe, want to know their family history. Others are also drawn to the program by gnawing questions about their place in America’s “melting pot.” Who am I and where do I fit in? Am I Chinese, American or both? What does it mean to be American if your ancestors didn’t cross the Atlantic Ocean? (more…)
GenerASIAN Next: The Power of 1 Million New Asian American Votes September 19, 2006
Posted by peterong in Asian American, Asian American Church, Food for thought, Politics, Rants, Uncategorized.add a comment
Can you imagine if Asian Americans were active in politics? What would mainstream media look like if there was an acknowledgement of an Asian American voter block? What if government had to contend with issues that are important to the Asian American population. Like the Asian American church, it is hard to pinpoint a distintictive based on our culture. We are often acculturated or assimilated to the certain stratas of economic and music culture(look at our worship sets…Chris Tomlin and Hillsongs…etc.). We have a reputation of adaptability…yet, I am often confronted with the fact that Chinese people watch TV shows that are set 500 + years ago. There is a historical imagination that contiues to haunt in Asian sensibilities. There is a yearning for a distinctiveness that we often ignore or defy because of our some of the confrontations of this country’s legacy of colonialism, racism and America’s ambivalent relationship with Asia. I wonder if there are Asian distinctives that are in other parts of the world that doesn’t have this stigma and how does their worship or church becomes a freedom to worship in our own tongues.
Here is an article that was featured in American Chronicle written by Elena Ong
September 14, 2006
On September 10, 2006, activists across the nation pledged to recruit 1 million Latino voters. Some say impossible. But I say it can be done, because it has been done.
2000-2004 marks a new awakening in American politics. In just one presidential cycle, our nation experienced an exponential increase in Asian American civic participation by registering 1 million Asian American newly registered voters nationwide.
In California, 1 million registered Asian American Californians voted, but 1.5 million Asian Americans who were eligible to vote, did not. In other words, California is missing out on the votes of 0.3 million Asian American registered voters, and 1.2 million eligible Asian American Californians who still need to be registered, and turned out, to vote.
On November 7, Asian Americans have the opportunity of a lifetime to change the face of California politics. For the first time in California’s history, an unprecedented number of Asian American & Saudi American candidates will be on the California ballot: 27 overall. (more…)
Hail the Asian American Burrito! August 31, 2006
Posted by peterong in Food for thought, Reflections.1 comment so far
oooh i am so there when I go to NYC next time!!!! wooo hoooo…there is sermon illustration in here somewhere!
excerpt from Food Buzz: Hail the Asian-American Burrito; Farm on Adderley
By Ryan Sutton
Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) — Momofuku Ssam Bar, David Chang’s 48- seat, fast-food-style offshoot of Momofuku Noodle Bar, opened last week in the East Village, serving Chang’s famous steamed buns and a Tex-Mex take on the Korean wraps called “ssam.”
Have you ever stuffed a cool lettuce leaf with a pile of charcoal-grilled short ribs? That’s a traditional ssam.
Chang packs your snack inside a flour tortilla. Hail the Asian-American burrito! (more…)
