We're currently seeking volunteers to be 333 Prayer Partners. They pray for 33 seconds three times a day for our church and their pastor. The 333 prayer request for 2005 is: let there be many house churches settled all over the world, and grant our pastor a gentle heart. I have mentioned the first part of the request in recent columns, so let me now explain the second. I believe that a Christian minister should hate no one. He is in charge of the body of Christ, and Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. For him to hate someone would be contrary to the ...

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Life must be tiring for people who need everything to be done exactly as it should be. After all, in general, real life is messy. Life must also be tiring for those who insist on living without rules; there will be no order to their lives. To enjoy life fully, there must be a balance between rules and freedom. Our church tries to maintain a healthy balance between the two. Sometimes our church demands that rules be followed exactly. When people want to be voting members of our church they must follow set procedures. When we need prayer support, we don't make a general ...

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I seldom contribute to relief funds when natural disasters hit South Korea even though it's my mother country. It's not that I'm indifferent to disaster victims or stingy with money. In fact, when I was in middle school in Korea, I once participated in collecting money for flood victims. A huge typhoon hit the southern provinces of South Korea and many people lost their houses and possessions. Two friends of mine and I decided to collect money for the flood victims by knocking on the doors of merchant shops near our school. The fact that we were youths in our student ...

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In our staff meetings we study a book chosen by a staff member. We are currently studying "Built to Last" by J.C. Collins and J.I. Porras. It examines companies that have been leaders in their respective fields for more than 100 years. The authors try to find principles that made these companies successful for such a long time. One of the common factors for these companies is that they all have core values which are never sacrificed for the sake of profit. Competing companies that have not held values like these become successful for a short time but do not last. Our ...

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As 2004 comes to a close and I reflect upon the past year, I'm thankful for the blessings God has bestowed on our church. I am especially thankful for 7 things that happened this year. 1. We reorganized the Mission Department. Shepherd KC Choi, who is a vice president at Bechtel - one of the largest construction companies in the world - played a key role in restructuring the department and outlining a blueprint for the next 10 years. Shepherd Don Kim was put in charge of the new department. Its first project was the Mission Festival, with guest speaker Jerry Rankins, ...

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As Christmas approaches and we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus, I'd like to share something about our baby dedication ceremony. Roman Catholics practice infant baptism, as do certain Protestant groups. But the New Testament does not record any cases of infant baptism. In Scripture Baptism was only administered to adults after they confessed their faith in Jesus Christ. So Baptists who acknowledge the Bible as their only authority for faith and practice do not baptize infants; instead, they conduct an infant dedication ceremony. I am frequently asked whether it is ...

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