I'm taking a 6-month Sabbatical starting July 1. For the next 6 months, our Associate Pastor Soo Kwan Lee will assume my responsibilities as Senior Pastor. I have also asked him to write Pastor's Corners. I will post his translated Corners on the NLF website, so that the English Speaking Congregation can get to know him. He may become the Senior Pastor of Seoul Baptist Church in the future if our congregation approves. - Pastor Chai My Plan For The Next 6 Months - by Soo Kwan Lee I am starting to fill Pastor Chai's shoes today as he begins his 6-month Sabbatical. I have been very busy in the last few months. I graduated from seminary, was ordain...

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I will be taking a sabbatical this year from July 1 to December 31. During my first sabbatical, I took a few weeks off to write a book. Now that Pastor Lee has been ordained and is available to replace me, I'll be taking a longer 6-month sabbatical. I will resume my duties as Senior Pastor by leading the New Year's Eve service at the end of this year. I have received many invitations to speak from pastors of house churches, but I've had to refuse due to my tight schedule. My responsibilities at Seoul Baptist alone left me barely enough time to lead House Church Seminars and Conferences. I'm taking the opportunity during my sabbatical to help those ...

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Our current Children's Pastor, Mrs. Seo, is retiring in April 2007. I asked Sister Hye-won Paik, who was married to the late Brother Kwang Hoon Paik, whether she would be interested in getting seminary training and succeeding Mrs. Seo as our children's pastor. After some thought, she agreed. She will enroll this fall in the Christian Education program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. It takes 3 years to earn a Master of Divinity degree; 2 years to earn a Master's Degree in Christian Education. Until she graduates, our church will pay her 2/3 the full time staff salary, and provide other benefits including tuition and health insurance....

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"If I could find a single man like you, I would marry him immediately," a young single woman joked to me. This made me laugh, because the truth is she wouldn't have even noticed me if she had seen me when I was her age. When men mature they develops a certain charm that is lacking in younger men. It's unfair to expect the same level of maturity in young bachelors. Marriage is an adventure that requires some risk taking. You bet your life on someone who has no track record in life, just potential. But that's also a reason why marriage is attractive. I think it's best to get married when you are young, soon after you graduate from college. When you ...

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Mission fervor is constantly rising in our church. Four families have gone as long term missionaries and another family is waiting to go. About 30 people have committed to going to mission fields for at least 2 years. Many factors have contributed to our church becoming a missions-minded church. I think the biggest is our system of naming house churches after the mission fields where their supporting missionaries work. As a result, the names of mission fields are constantly on our members' lips. Also, members feel close to their missionaries because they pray for them every week at house church meetings. And we frequently listen to testimonies from ...

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When I first came to Seoul Baptist, the church finances were not in good shape. But they improved dramatically in a very short time and we haven't had financial difficulty in a long time; our budget has always been in the black. The main reason our finances have improved is that most of our church members tithe. Almost 90% of our offering comes from tithes. Another reason is Brother Tae Woo Park. We have gone through three building projects during my tenure. Each time, Brother Park took charge. He donated his free time and used his experience and connections to get low cost building materials and cheap labor. Another important reason is that our ...

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Churches of our size usually have several assistant and associate pastors. Our Korean speaking congregation has been able to do without any because of our house churches. Shepherds have carried out care ministries usually reserved for ordained pastors in traditional churches, including visitation and counseling. Our deacons have also performed administrative duties usually done by professional ministers in traditional churches. Brother Kwang Park has played a primary role in us being able to work without professional ministers. He performs many duties of an administrative minister without pay. He oversees the church office workers, hires cleaning ...

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