I recently discovered that a Christian web magazine has been posting my weekly columns without asking for permission. A reporter seems to have been visiting our church website, selecting columns he likes, and posting them on that site. Since I am acquainted with the reporter, I decided to let it slide. Browsing through that site, I noted that one person posts negative comments whenever my columns appear. He seems to know me and our church, and is critical of my book, "Now You Know Me," a selection of my weekly columns. I left a comment, trying to explain that the book was published not to promote myself but to introduce me to our church visitors, but ...

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Recent surveys show that the number of Christians in Korea is decreasing. The only thing preventing a more drastic fall in numbers isn't new converts but the fact that people are living longer. You hardly see young people in most traditional Korean churches. Most were born into Christian families and come to church out of habit or because of various church programs they can benefit from. If this trend continues, Korean churches in a few decades will look like churches in Europe today, where big, empty church buildings are occupied by a few elderly people or converted into restaurants and shops. One of the aims for the House Church is to rejuvenate ...

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I have 3 years left before I retire. Many people have asked me about my retirement plans. The question they ask most frequently is, "Is it true that you’re planning to leave Houston after you retire?" So although I feel it's a little premature, let me share my plans for retirement. According to our church bylaws, the official retirement age for pastors and deacons is 67. It’s customary that they don't retire on their 67th birthday but at the end of that fiscal year. So my official retirement date will be August 31, 2012. However, I got permission from our deacons to retire anytime after I turn 67, which is in October, 2011. I want this flexibi...

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I seriously considered resigning as Senior Pastor of Seoul Baptist church recently. The guest speaker at our annual Revival meeting last winter, before delivering his final message, said that it was from the Holy Spirit. Then he quoted Revelation 3:14-21, a message given to the church in Laodecia that says, "So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." When I heard that, I thought to myself, if his message that our church was lukewarm is indeed from God, who is responsible for it? It can’t be our lay leaders, because they’re passionate about their ministry. Then the message must be intended for ...

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My blood type is AB. Many Koreans believe that people with AB blood types are eccentric and can't get along with other ABs. My wife also has an AB blood type. But we've been happy together for 38 years. Young Koreans especially seem to believe in a correlation between blood type and personality. They talk as if someone's blood type explains everything about their personality, attributing everything they do to their blood type. Korea and Japan are the only two countries in the world where people believe in this blood type - personality connection. In the U.S, it's considered nonsense, since there's no scientific basis for it. People who believe in ...

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Many of our church members had never set foot in a church before they came to Houston and accepted Jesus at ours. They tend to be temporary residents of Houston, here as students, overseas workers, or medical school faculty members on exchange programs. They typically return to Korea after a year or two. Shepherds must help these people find home churches in Korea when they go back. Otherwise their commitments will weaken and their faith wither. What criteria do we use to find "good" churches? I would look for three things in a church. First, does the church have small groups where members can share their lives? Women's or men's groups that meet ...

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I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord when I was 30. I remember after that happened, I felt like I was walking on a cloud. I felt like I could love everybody and that I wouldn't commit a single sin ever again. A year later, after the excitement faded, I found myself being the same person I was before my conversion. Sinful desires still lurked in me and old sinful habits were still at work, so much so that I even doubted my salvation. I kept asking myself, "Am I really saved? Am I really a child of God?" I was so discouraged that I became physically ill. When a mature Christian friend came to visit me, I told him about my disillusi...

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