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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Our church has many Korean-born women who married non-Koreans. They are faithful members of our church, but their husbands are usually nonbelievers. Since their husbands do not provide spiritual protection for their families as spiritual leaders, these families have a great deal of spiritual problems. So I have been praying for a couple who could form and lead a house church for families like these. It's hard to find because because they both need to be able to speak English fluently and be dedicated to the ministry. But my prayers have finally been answered through Fred ...

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As 2003 comes to a close, I can't help but reminisce about the past year. What I am most grateful for is the great number of people who have been saved through our church. An average of 2 to 3 people received Christ and were baptized each week this year. Let me list some significant events for our church in 2003, not necessarily in order of importance. * This year, we added a third Sunday worship service. This evening service is run by younger people for younger people. Although there hasn??t been a rapid growth in attendance, around 100 people come regularly to the ...

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I am too busy to watch TV. I rarely turn on radio while driving. So Christmas comes and goes without me knowing. I stopped writing Christmas cards several years ago, because by the time I was ready to write the cards, it was usually the day before Christmas - too late to send anything. Christmas is the birthday of our Lord. How can we spend it most meaningfully? One time, to address this question, we bought blankets for the homeless with the money we would have used to buy gifts for our families. The Houston branch of a daily Korean newspaper held a drive to collect ...

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"I enjoy reading your Pastor's Corner. I appreciate your wisdom and insight. Could you write something about marriage? Such an article would be helpful to many singles like me." Someone, probably a member of NLF, wrote me this note. The request prompted me to write today's corner. Needless to say, it is not a Christian duty to get married. Jesus never married. Neither did the Apostle Paul. In fact, Paul encourages us to stay single, if possible, because those who are unmarried are able to devote their full time to the service of the Lord (1 Corinthians 7). So don't feel ...

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Some time ago I received a call from Sister Shin Shin Kang, one of our shepherds. She told me that the renowned Dr. Kang Young Woo and his wife wanted to have dinner with me and asked if my wife and I would be available. (Sister Shin and Dr. Kang's wife graduated from the same college.) I knew a bit about his life, such as how he overcome his physical handicap of being blind to become the highest ranking Korean American official in the U.S. Federal Government. So we willingly obliged. They say that behind every great man stands a great woman, so I was very interested in ...

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