Nazarene General Assembly - Day 4

        Sarah arrived Friday night, so some of the main agenda items for us for Saturday were meeting with old friends.  First we by the Northwest Nazarene University booth to reconnect with Julene Tegerstrand (whom we spent time with at Korea Nazarene University).   Then, we had lunch with Matt and Darci Johnson, our good friends from our MidAmerica Nazarene University days.  With Matt and Darci we talked about the present and future of our respective churches and discussed the blessed difficulty of having an amazing church in our history (Olathe Christ Community).  Most of our friends look back wistfully on those years and that community, and we struggle not to compare our churches to that experience - no matter how good our current churches are.  There is something profoundly encouraging and strengthening about spending time with old friends with whom you can connect with the same depth as if no time has passed!

My professional goal for the day was networking with magazine and book editors.  I have accomplished more in the past two days with just a few hours of face time than I have accomplished over years of emails.  Again, one of the great benefits of General Assembly is simply getting the decision makers from our far flung positions in the same place at the same time.

The focus of the evening service was missions.  We called on people to sponsor children, with the goal of sponsoring 1,500 new children that night.  I'm eager to find out how many sponsorships were gathered.   One sponsored child from the Philippines is now a youth pastor in the USA, and he was able to meet the retired couple who sponsored him throughout his childhood - live on stage.  That brought tears to my eyes as I thought about the future of Jibon and Asanti, the two children we sponsor in Bangladesh.

Boone Grove Celebrates Graduates’ Diverse Achievement and Service to Others

As friends and family gathered for the 124th annual Boone Grove High School commencement ceremony, the band established the festive mood with several special songs.

In her welcoming address, class President Paige Kraushaar paused for a moment of silence for Alyssa Salapski, “the angel of the senior class,” who lost her battle with leukemia in their sophomore year. Kraushaar also reminisced, “Porter Lakes Elementary and Boone Grove Elementary kids didn’t actually like each other on our first day of middle school. But now most of us have a best friend from the other school.”

Next, the senior choir sang “Carry On Wayward Son,” accompanied by Jacob Williams on acoustic guitar.

Guest speaker Kathy Sherman was with these students on their first day of sixth grade. “It has been a wonderful experience to watch the class of 2013 mature from children to young adults,” she said. “It has been an honor to be part of your lives.” ...

Continue reading this story at The Times.

Willowcreek Students Combine Service and Fun at Yearend Party

What is the best way for middle schoolers to fight cancer? Giant rolling hamster balls, of course.

Willowcreek Middle School pulled out all the stops for its annual year-end Mega Party: bounce houses, obstacle courses, dancing at centerfield, frozen T-shirt contests, sports, and yes — enormous inflatable balls large enough for students to enter and roll around.

This year, Willowcreek connected the fun with a deeper purpose — a Relay for Life with the American Cancer Society. The Willowcreek school family includes several cancer survivors, including both principals, and a few faculty are currently battling cancer.

To continue reading, click here for the full NWI Times story.

100 Things I Love about Korea: #69 - Konglish and North Korean Refugees

My good friend Nikki Muyskins originally wrote this article for Fulbright Infusion Magazine, March 2011. It was later republished on www.engagemagazine.com.  I offer it to you now for your reading pleasure.

As I was on the plane on the way to Korea for the first time, I remember studying some “learn Hangeul” print-outs that I had with me, desperately trying to get some of this new writing system to stick in my mind.  I had a list of “Konglish” words to sound out for practice, which I suppose was meant to build confidence, but did little to calm my nerves when I would tediously sound out a word like “pi-ja” and still be unable to make the connection to the English word “pizza.”  What match would I be for the language barrier, if I couldn’t even understand Koreanized words from my native language?  How would I overcome linguistic and cultural obstacles, and learn not only to adapt to Korea but also to thrive in this foreign land?

Thankfully, I encountered many friendly people to help me along the way, and I have gradually learned more and more Korean.  Sometimes I enjoy the convenience of English loan words, if, for example, I want to take a “tek-shi” (taxi) to the “bus-seh tuh-mi-nuhl” (bus terminal).  Sometimes I just get entertainment out of Korean pronunciation, like the lack of “r” in “ma-teh” (mart) or the “sh” in “shoo-puh” (super(market)).  Other times I feel frustrated with loan words like these, like if my students don’t understand my pronunciation of “suh-tuh-di room” (study room) or laugh at my attempt at spelling a word like “saen-deh-wi-chi” (sandwich) in Hangeul.  Sometimes life in Korea can give me so much “suh-tuh-rae-suh” (stress), yet I am grateful that our languages do overlap in some instances.  Otherwise, how would I ever navigate the “in-tuh-net” (internet) on my Korean “com-pyu-tuh” (computer)?

Community Art Project: Exodus 4

 ¹ But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The LORD never appeared to you’?”

 ² Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?”

Nazarene Heritage: Unity (Snakes in a Church)

Numbers 21:4-9
 4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
 6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
 8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

    Snakes on a Plane was possibly the worst movie made in the last ten years.  The basic concept is that someone releases hundreds of poisonous snakes on a plane flying over the Pacific Ocean.  They can’t land, and they can’t get the snakes out.  Just so you don’t have to watch it, let me give you the summary.  It’s a bad movie, and lots of people die.
    At the risk of extreme cheesiness and possible biblical irreverence, I want to use snakes as a theme for our talk today on unity.  You might call this sermon Snakes in a Church.   Let me give you the summary.  It’s a bad problem, and lots of people die - spiritually. 
    In Moses’ story, God sent the snakes as a punishment for Israel’s complaining and lack of faith.  In our story, the snakes are more the cause of the problems.  Our snakes are our sneaky, sneaking sins that hide in the darkness, tell us lies, and masquerade as truth.  They poison our lives, and they poison our churches.  Both stories point to Jesus as the cure. 

Giving Up our Snakes - Numbers 21

This week, I'm preaching at the monthly pastors' meeting for the Nazarene pastors in Cheonan.  Here's my sermon.

4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea[a] to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”


6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.


8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

 

[I want to say this first part in Korean.]

I have lived in Korea for seven years, so I guess I’m about 7% Korean. I am sorry that I cannot preach in Korean yet.  I am studying Korean, but I still have a long way to go.  I hope that I will not need a translator in a few years.  However, for today, I can only say about 7% in Korean.

             Next, I want to thank you for welcoming me as one of your own.  I know that our church is the first English speaking Nazarene church in Korea, and I know that it is sometimes difficult to include me in your discussions and groups.  So I want to thank you – especially those who have gone out of their way to include me and to make sure I understand what is happening.  In many ways, this monthly zone pastors meeting is one of the most important ways I am learning about the Korean church.  So thank you for the opportunity to be involved here.

             Now, I guess I better stop chatting and start preaching.

The snake in the desert is a story of powerful and creative ministry.  It was both Spirit-led and practical.  The snake in the desert led to spiritual revival and physical healing. ...

To continue reading this post, click here.

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