Sermon from a year ago

If anyone is interested I found a sermon I did last year at Valencia United Methodist Church.

http://umcv.org/sermons/Sermon110724.mp3

Listening to yourself really helps you out,

 

 

Dae

A really good read

Heard this on the radio and I had the urge to share.  Maybesomedae i will keep this site going.  Maybe.

It’s Time to Party, by Mike Yaconelli

Recently, my wife and I were having our devotions and reading our favorite devotional guide, Cosmopolitan. In it was another one of those mindless quizzes.  (You know the ones: How Responsible Are You? How Sensual Are You? Do You Have ESP? Will Your Marriage Last?) One of the questions caught my eye. It said:

Which would you prefer?

a) a wild, turbulent life filled with joy, sorrow, passion, and adventure – intoxicating successes and stunning setbacks, or

b) a happy, secure, predictable life surrounded by many friends and family, without such wide swings of fortune and mood?

I thought the answer was obvious. Everyone, I thought, would choose the first option. I was shocked to discover that a good majority would choose the second option. And then it occurred to me: I have been working with adolescents for the past twenty-nine years. And, when I ask them to describe adults, one word always comes up – borrrrrring.

As I began to think about it, I realized that most adults I know are boring. They don’t have fun anymore. Oh sure, get a few drinks under their belts and they act alive for awhile. But that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about being and acting alive all the time.

The truth is that games are wasted on the young. Little kids don’t know how to play games. Remember when you were seven years old and you played hide-and-seek? You’d hide behind a telephone pole with half your body hanging out. No, hide-and-seek isn’t for children. It’s for people like you and me. Now that I’m 46, I know how to hide. I’m a darn good hider.

I have suggested a game of hide-and-seek to many adult audiences and I am always amazed at the response. I see adults all throughout the group nudging each other, quietly discussing a great hiding place they just thought of, secretly planning a game with their children. It doesn’t take much to make most of us realize that we have become too serious, too stressful. The result is that we hae forgotten how to live life. It seems like the older we get, the more difficult it is for us to enjoy living. It reminds me of a description of life given by Rabbi Edward Cohn:

“Life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time, all your weekends, and what do you get at the end of it? … I think that the life cycle is all backward. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live twenty years in an old-age home. You get kicked out when you’re too young. You get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You go to college; you party until you’re ready for high school; you go to grade school; you become a little kid; you play. You have no responsibilities. You become a little baby; you go back into the womb; you spend your last months floating; and you finish up as a gleam in somebody’s eye.”

It’s hard to imagine we were a gleam in someone’s eye once. What happened to the gleam in our eye? What happened to that joyful, crazy, spontaneous, fun-loving spirit we once had? The childlikeness in all of us gets snuffed out over the years.

A.W. Tozer once said, “This society has put out the light in men’s souls.” He had it right. The more pagan a society becomes, the more boring its people become. The sign that Jesus is in our hearts, the evidence of the truth of the Gospel is… we still have a light on in our souls. We are alive, never boring, always playful, exhibiting in our everydayness the “spunk” of the Spirit.

The light in our souls is not some pious somberness. It is the spontaneous, unpredictable love of life. Christians are not just people who live godly lives. We are people who know how to live, period. Christians are not just examples of moral purity. We are also people filled with a bold mischievousness. Christians not only know how to practice piety. We also know how to party.

I believe it’s time for the party to begin.

Lack of love towards the youth in the church today equals lack of love from future Young Adults towards the church tomorrow.

I don’t want to get too personal with this post so I’ll try my best.  I am not calling any specific church out in general, but just giving a personal opinion on what I see being done especially in the Korean church today.  And let me tell you, it is a scary thing.

The million dollar question I hear most often at church is, “where are the Young Adults?”

A question that has been puzzling pastors for years now, none

seem to have the right answer.  But I challenge those very same churches and ask them, “where were you when they were youth?”

Now being only 20 years old, some may call me naive.  Some may even say that I have no idea what I am talking about.  But being now a Youth Director, youth leader, and a Young Adult by trait, I see whats going on.  The youth has been for decades now taking the back seat in ministry.  If your kids come to church then you are doing “good parenting”.  If kids show up and eat your food and bow to your elders, you have a BLOOMING Youth Ministry.  If you have two retreats a year for your Youth Ministry then you have a SPIRIT FILLED MINISTRY!

Really……?

Growing up in high school and in faith, I loved Timothy.  I was striving to become this radical Christian and read a lot of Timothy to help encourage me.  Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” was probably my go to verse.

But how are the kids supposed to set an example to anyone, when they are being taught that they don’t really know the meaning of the words “life, love, faith and purity“?  If kids are looked down at so much that adults have this mentality that kids have no idea what it even means to walk a life with Christ.

Now back to the million dollar question, where are the Young Adults?!

Well I’ll tell you where they are at.  They are in the world discovering the meaning of those very words.  Finding life, love, faith, and their version of purity from outside of the walls of the church.  That not only did they not learn the try meaning of those words when they were youth, but did not see that example being set for them.  And its a very scary thing.

I myself want to and feel called to become a full time minister one day, but I beg you.  I beg you future “senior pastors” not to use the Youth or English Ministry in the Korean church as a stepping stone to where you are going.  Sure, that is reality for a lot of cases, but don’t treat it like that.  Tens and Thousands of Young adults in America and Korea are no longer going to church anymore because they don’t want to be stepped on anymore.

Jesus had a special interest and heart for the young believers in faith when He walked this earth.  Condemning people who looked down on them.

God help me

So I had a dream two nights ago and I’m going to try my best to explain what I think it meant.  It was kind of a freaky dream, but bear with me.

 

So I had a dream that I was in front God almighty himself.  I knew something was wrong with me so I turned to him and asked him to help me.  All I remember was that he answered me right away and said ok.  At that moment, he took two demons out of me and I felt so light.  I then began to go into a state of “kawi”.  For those of you who know what that is, its not fun.

I remember waking up feeling so tired but so scared at the same time so I went back to sleep.  In the morning, I began trying to analyze what the dream meant.  The most important part of the dream I felt was that God helped me right away.  Something so big to our eyes as two demons, but God still helped me right away.

I think this is a valid lesson for myself and to others.  That God is a God on his own perfect timing, but God does want to help us right away.  We think that just because God isn’t working the way we think is best, that he hasn’t begun to help at all.  But that’s not true, the moment we ask him for help is the moment he has begun to work.

A small reminder for us to become better servants, as God is the best servant.  (Take that with a grain of salt.)

Maybe the dream meant more, but until I figure it out, I will continue to go to God with all of my burdens.  For he is the provider.

 

 

So say we all,

Dae

Ron Artis Family Band

Here is an exclusive interview and private show from the Ron Artis Family Band.  I got to interview the lead band member, Ron Artis II, and ask him some personal questions about his family band and their drive to do it.  This video was completely shot in their studio located in Hale’iwa, Oahu.

The Artis Family Band proclaims their faith in Jesus and makes a point to display their gifts from God.

Guest Post by: Reverend Joseph Yoo

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. 

He has been in Ministry for about 6 years and his blog is often features on sites like Ministry Matters,

and the front page of the Methodist home page.  He has kindly volunteered to do a guest post on my blog.  Enjoy!

Tebow-mania seems to grow larger and larger and not only are there more people jumping on the Tebow band wagon, but there also seems to be more and more Tebow apologists.

But seriously, let’s give credit where credit is due. Tebow is doing a lot for his team. But the Bronco’s defense has stepped up. And, we have to seriously consider John Fox as a real coach of the year contender.

Unfortunately for me, I’m a Redskins fan. There has been real high moments (like starting 3-1) and moments where I wish I didn’t like the Redskins (how about having Rex Grossman and John Beck competing to be the starting quarterback?)

What’s been apparent (at least for me) in the Shanahan² era (Kyle Shanahan, the Son, is the offensive coordinator) is that it’s Shanahan’s way or the highway. This was in full display last season when Shanahan refused to utilized the most ridiculously over-paid player in football, Albert Haynesworth. Haynesworth didn’t want to play the new defensive system, Coach Shanahan basically said, “Fine, you won’t play at all.” Not only that, Shanahan inherited a great defense that didn’t need a complete overhaul. Yet, he made it clear that this was the way the Redskins will play. Even at the cost of great players relearning a brand new system.

This season, instead of drafting a quarterback (we could have drafted Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, or Andy Dalton) I guess Shanahan thought he might have the coaching power of making something out of Rex or John Beck. We’re 4-8 so far. Mike Shanahan never was shut out in his NFL career as a coach (both head and assistant). That happened this year against the Bills in a 23-0 loss. Shanahan has never finished under a 6-10 record, and it’s not looking good.

Why am I talking about this?
Shanahan is stubborn in his ways, even if it’s a detriment to the team.
But look at John Fox.
John Fox was 1-4 with Kyle Orton. Maybe it was to see what he had in Tebow, or maybe it was to show the fans that Tebow isn’t what they want him to be… whatever the reasons, he named Tebow the starting quarterback.

Then he did something that Shanahan has never done. He saw the things Tebow was good at, and reworked his entire offensive game plan and offensive system to cater to Tebow’s strengths and abilities. Even if that meant that he implemented a complete college game system for a professional team. In a win against the Chiefs, Tebow threw 8 times. 8 times! And only completed 2 passes! What NFL quarterback has ever had that low of a stat in the passing game? But it worked. It’s working.

I think it is admirable to be confident in your abilities and in your vision. But you can’t be too stubborn if it’s not working. Something is not clicking in the Shanahan era with the Redskins.
I don’t think John Fox completely threw out his coaching philosophy out the window. Instead, he decided to work with what he had. He didn’t wait for Tebow to be the quarterback he needed Tebow to be (something Shanahan would’ve done) but saw the player Tebow was and helped Tebow be successful.

Sometimes, what makes a great leader is swallowing his pride and going with what works. You can be the ‘my way or the highway’ type of leader that is stubborn and sticks to her guns. But, what’s a leader if s/he has no followers?

I think we need to really assess what we have and build from there rather than try to implement what we think will work and expect everyone to fall into place.

A strong leader isn’t always the one who was able to implement his way or get things the way she wanted it done. But someone who takes what is given to her, able to set people up to be successful based on their talents, and gets everyone to buy into and believe in the vision, that is a true and strong leader.

Rev. Joseph Yoo

Valencia UMC

25718 McBean Pkwy

Valencia, CA 91355

661.255.1301

 

one of the better videos I have seen in a while. Post to follow up