It's our policy to not accept members from other churches in the area as members of our church, regardless of whether they’re saved or not. Some Shepherds have asked me to make exceptions to this policy. Their reasons vary, but the most common ones are that they’re not yet saved or they haven't gone to church for a long time. Let me post portions of an email response I sent to a Shepherd who made such a request to explain the policy; hopefully I won't get any more requests. "We sometimes accept people who have been members of an area church if they haven’t gone to ...

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In his bestseller "Blink," Malcom Gladwell discusses the effects of the human subconscious on everyday decisions, some of which are good and others bad. A positive example is when a music producer feels that an unknown artist has special talent and his hunch turns out to be correct when the artist records a hit. A negative example is when people exhibit racially discriminative behavior even though they perceive themselves to be against racism. It is commonly believed that the more medical tests and opinions gathered for patients, the more accurate the diagnoses. But ...

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Many people suffer from depression, some occasionally and others frequently. What is the cure for depression? There is no simple answer because the causes vary. However, there is one sure cure: gazing heavenward. When you’re depressed, what are you occupied with? Probably yourself and your own circumstances. God created human beings to love, which means that our interest should be directed toward God and other people, not ourselves. We get depressed when our gaze is focused inwards, because it’s against God's design. God also made us to live in the heavenly realms, ...

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A while back, I bought a DVD player. Soon after buying it, it stopped working. It was under warranty, so I took it back to the store where I bought it. The attendant looked at my receipt and said that she couldn’t exchange it because the warranty had expired two days prior. I was upset. Sure, I had brought it back after the warranty expired, but the machine started malfunctioning a long time before that. She could have filled in the damaged date retrospectively and exchanged it for a new one. Wouldn't that be true customer service? As time passed, I realized that I was ...

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People frequently fall in love for trivial reasons. I know a man who fell in love with a woman because of her dimples. I know a woman who fell in love with a man because she liked the way he held an umbrella for her so that she wouldn't get wet. I fell in love with two people recently for similarly trifling reasons. The first is Gary Kubiak, head coach of the Houston Texans. When he took the job, the Texans were the worst team in their division. In four years, he’s made the team a playoff contender. His contract expires this year. Acknowledging his contributions, the ...

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My mother-in-law, who lives in a senior citizen's apartment, asked me on behalf of a gentleman who lives there if our church could reimburse him for the $70 he spent to fix his TV. He said that the TV had been donated by our church and that Seoul Baptist is rich enough to pay for it. In general, I believe that once we donate something, we’re not responsible for its repair afterwards, but I thought I would give him the money out of my pocket. But after thinking about it, I decided against it. I was bothered by the last thing he mentioned, that “Seoul Baptist is ...

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One of our deacons recently shared a personal testimony during a Saturday morning prayer meeting. He had been assigned to a task group at his company. When he later moved to a company he had admired and wanted to work for, they hired him because of his experience in the task group. After switching jobs, the task group he was a part of disbanded. And each of the 4 people at his new company who contributed to the decision to hire him retired or changed jobs soon after he joined; none of them remain at the company. He said that it seemed like God formed the task group in his ...

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