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Integrating Two Sides: Mary vs Martha? Or, Mary and Martha?

June 13, 2011 — Leave a comment

I cannot recall the last time I have ever heard anyone teach or preach about being Martha – myself including.

When reading Mirrored Reflections: Reframing Biblical Characters, ed. Young Lee Hertig and Chloe Sun, Beverly Chen went to lengths to show the importance of integrating both Mary and Martha’s characteristics in our lives. Chen explains how Mary’s strength of inward spiritual formation actually flows naturally into Martha’s strength of hospitality and outward ministry.

Personally, I tend to identify more with Martha – not necessarily in the aspect of hospitality, but in the aspect of valuing doing more than being. From both my Korean and Canadian culture, I constantly feel the pull toward producing, succeeding, and accomplishing things. However, one thing that I have learnt is the necessity of coming to Jesus Christ first before even thinking about doing anything else. As a result, in that sense, I am like Mary.

Who are you more like? Mary or Martha? Or both? If both, in what capacity?

In Asian American, Books, Culture, Leadership Asian American, Asian Canadian, Faith, leadership, Ministry, Religion, Spirituality, thoughts

The Perception of Contextualization – A Response to MissionShift

January 31, 2011 — 4 Comments

I am part of a group of bloggers, who received a free copy of MissionShift: Global Mission Issues in the Third Millennium, edited by David Hesselgrave and Ed Stetzer, in order to participate in a discussion on Ed Stetzer’s website.

I am responding to Paul Hiebert’s Essay entitled, “The Gospel in Human Contexts: Changing Perceptions of Contextualization.” Here is the summary of his thesis provided in MissionShift.

Thesis: The purpose of this essay is to offer some discussion of the state of “Contextualization” as a critical aspect of missions, and of the changing perceptions of contextualization among missionaries and missions scholars. Any analysis of the current status of the Christian mission in the world must take social, historical, personal, and other contexts into account, and examine the relationships between the different contexts in which the people we serve live. In this sense this essay addresses the PRESENT of what has traditionally been termed “missions.”

I am not monocultural – never was and never have been. I’m multicultural by birth: I am Canadian and I am also Korean – I’m Korean-Canadian. I agree with Hiebert when he suggests that individuals like me “are aware of cultural differences and have learned to negotiate between two worlds in daily living.” However, I disagree with him when he suggests that individuals like me “often do not stop to consciously examine these contexts, how they shape their thinking, or the deep differences between them.” Perhaps I’m different in that I am always constantly wrestling with my Korean and Canadian cultural differences – perhaps this is because I believe that I am a ligament in the Body of Christ.

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I am a ligament, what are you?

January 31, 2011 — Leave a comment

The image of a bridge, or a ligament (Eph 4:16) seems to be a good way of describing my past and the direction I sense God is leading me. Being Korean Canadian, I was born in Canada, but grew up as a Korean – eating Korean food, going to a Korean church, speaking Korean, visiting Korea – basically breathing Korean all throughout my life. In high school, God used me to be a bridge between the English and Korean speaking youth groups – I was involved with both and knew individuals in both groups. I was also involved in a city wide joint worship team, which had the purpose of uniting or bridging all the Korean speaking youth groups. I co-created a Christian club in my high school to unify all the Christians together. I also organized and ran a city-wide youth worship service when I was pastoring in Montreal. While pastoring in Korea, I co-created a network for English speaking youth pastors, where we would put on events together, pray together, plan together, and strategize together.

Currently, as the groups pastor at Beulah Alliance Church, I was part of a team that conducted a survey, which revealed the current and proposed areas of integration amongst the differing areas of ministry. I am also leading a team that consists of several pastors, in order to bring greater unity to the group life in the church. There is now one front, instead of divided fronts.

When examining my future, I believe that there are three areas that God has ingrained on my heart: church planting, pastors, and multicultural ministry.

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The Immigrant Sacrifice

April 24, 2010 — 4 Comments

“Isn’t it ironic how after making such a huge sacrifice to immigrate to Canada, so that your children to have a better life, your son goes ahead and moves to Korea?”

While I was visiting Vancouver a few months ago, but still living in Korea, that was a statement I overheard someone tell my father. (I am now back living in Canada).

I was born and raised in Canada. My parents left absolutely everything in Korea over 30 years ago so that my sisters and I could have a better life. I even remember my father telling me how when he got off the airplane and landed in Canada, all he had was $10. And with that $10 he bought a watch and got a ride to his parent’s house, who also just recently immigrated.

When my parents moved to Canada, they had absolutely nothing…except family, love, hope for a better future, and God. They moved away from a country where they knew the language, the culture, the history, and the food, and they became aliens, mutes, and deafs in a foreign country called ‘Canada.’

They worked at grocery stores, saved every penny, and did whatever they could do in order to forge a better future for their children. They didn’t want their children to go through what they were going through. They sacrificed.

In Asian American, Culture 2nd gen, Asian American, Asian Canadian, canada, Culture, family, immigrant, immigration, Korea, life, materialism, purpose, race, sacrifice, thoughts

Where to go to Seminary? A preliminary comparison between seminaries in Canada, the United States, and Korea

October 14, 2009 — 11 Comments

This post arises out of a unique journey of mine. Believe it or not, I am actually enrolled in 4 seminaries at the moment, pursuing my Masters of Divinity (M.Div) at all of them! Okay, before I qualify that statement, I am actually only taking courses at one of the four seminaries, but I still have student numbers at all of the other ones.

Let me briefly explain my journey, and then I’ll do a brief and preliminary comparative analysis between three out of the four seminaries. Continue Reading…