While watching TV in my hotel room during my visit to Korea, I caught the end of a live opera broadcast, and saw the entire cast make their bows to the audience. I sensed something about the people on stage. What was it? They exuded confidence. The confidence of having performed the opera well, even though it was composed by a Westerner. I sense such confidence in people from all walks of life whenever I visit Korea. It's a kind of nationalistic pride. Koreans seem to feel that, like the opera, whatever other countries can do, they can do better. This confidence is both ...

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I recently led a seminar on the house church for INTERCP leaders and missionaries. INTERCP is a missionary organization that sends professionals as missionaries to Muslim countries. I accepted their invitation because I like their President, Paul Choi. He is a man of clear thinking and straight talk. When some young people from Bundang Sasmmul Church were kidnapped in Afghanistan a few months ago, most pastors responded with "no comment" when questioned by journalists, probably out of fear that they would be attacked by anti-Christian groups and their sympathizers. Paul ...

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Last Sunday, 24 people accepted Christ at the monthly Gospel Presentation Meeting. But as I was driving home, I was more depressed than elated, because 25 people - more than the number who accepted Christ - simply confirmed their salvation. Calling themselves "confirmed" means that, instead of accepting Jesus for the first time, they had already accepted Christ in the past. Usually two or three people mark themselves as confirmed. Given the large number this time, it indicates that many people who are becoming our church members are already Christians. Most people who ...

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I once watched a video describing an experiment with small children where a single cookie was placed on a paper plate in front of each child. The moderator announced that he would leave the room for a bit, and when he came back, whoever had not yet eaten their cookie would receive another one. Then he left the room and filmed how the children behaved. Most children eventually ate their cookie before he returned; only a few resisted the temptation and did not touch it until he came back. The conclusion of the experiment was that children who resist immediate urges for a ...

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