Joel Osteen

What do you think of him, and preachers like him?
I have mixed feelings.
Every Sunday morning, as the wife and I get ready to go to church, I turn the TV on to watch Joel Osteen. I don't know why I started doing this, but it's been about 3 months that I have been doing this.

I just don't know what to make of him and others like him. For me, his messages rarely go deeper than the surface of the scripture that he is using. It's very seeker oriented, but it never seems to have an outlet to go deeper.

But here's the most disturbing thing that I've noticed about his telecast last Sunday.
He doesn't seem to have a cross in the church. Maybe he does and it just doesn't show on the screen, but what I do notice is a big globe rotating in the background.
You may not think it's a big deal, but it struck me a little odd.

And I think that's one problem I have with Seeker Friendly churches. Most of the seeker churches do a good job of providing ways to go deeper in their faith, because one can't always be a seeker.
But a few churches don't provide ways to get deeper, and I feel, at times, they replace the cross with something easier to handle and carry. A church here doesn't have a cross at all, instead they replaced it with a dove.
Sure I may be reading way too much into this, but it just felt odd.

If anyone stops by and reads this, let me know what you think.

Jump 2007

This is the fourth event that I have attended with the name Jump.
National Youth Worker's Convention of 2005 was Jump.
My winter retreat of 2005 was named Jump.
My winter retreat at my new church in 06 was jump.

Now this at the biggest Korean church in Hawaii.

Almost everything is in Korean so it's been a little bit difficult for me and some of the kids at church from my church.
But the amazing thing? I think the kids are still learning and feeling the presence of God, despite the language barrier.

I believe that God is going to do something amazing for our church and for the state of Hawaii.
The world is going to see how God is moving in this tiny island of ours.

This picture really touched me.
Although Dwight Howard was totally jobbed from the dunk contest. (MJ, what were you thinking?)


I can do everything through him who gives me strength

John Wesley

I've been trying to better myself in anyway possible to become a better and more effective preacher.
So recently, i started reading out loud Martin Luther King Jr.'s sermons from Strength to Love. I've been preaching it to myself, as if it was my own sermons.

Then this past week, in my bookshelf at the office, i saw a blue book that i completely forgot about: John Wesley's Sermons: An Anthology.

I remember not really paying attention in my Methodist History and Doctrine class in seminary. (I never was a good student, even in the graduate level). And i also remember just skimming through the sermons just enough to write papers on it.
So i figured, why not?
And it will do me good to "reread" this book and to (hopefully) remember somethings i learned in the Doctrine class.

So i opened up the book.
Instantly i realized why i didn't pay attention in class.

It's not that the sermons are boring, there are things in there that i can quote and use in my sermons to the youth. But, i don't know what it is.

I, however, thought that this "punishment" would help me in the long run (like when i have to write all those papers in the candidacy process).

Today, i tried using the book as a daily devotion.

Hopefully, i have the discipline to keep going.

it's for the best...