The untimely death of Michael Jackson came as a shock to his fans all over the world. I was saddened by the new, too, since I liked his music a lot. Like many of my generation, I grew up listening to his music, practicing Moonwalk. I felt I've lost a part of my childhood memory with his passing away.

However, as the school leader of the SBCW, I felt it was my duty to examine his music from Christian perspective. When I did that, I realized that I didn't pay attention to the message of his songs. I was just consuming his music without discernment.

After doing some research, I feel I understand him and his music better. I will share what I found during the school(maybe in Oct). I will not demonize him as so many Christian teachers do, but will try to explain how his message was different from the gospel. I hope it will intrigue others to examine their favorite musicians the same way.

Tags: Michael Jackson, reinterpretation

When Paul was writing the Epistle to the Philipians, he was in Roman prison. Not only that, he didn't have much support for a while. He was suffering from lack of food and clothes, because in Roman times, prisoners had to buy what they needed. He must have felt disappointed to see the churches that he planted neglected to support him while he needed it the most.

Considering the situation, Philipians is a quite cheerful letter. Paul used the verb rejoice 9 times, out of which 4 times in imperative form. His joy is so palpable, that no one would doubt its authenticity.

The secret of Paul's joy was this: he rejoiced in the Lord. In other words, the Lord was the source of his joy. Because he made the Lord the source of his joy, no outward circumstances could take away his joy.

In life, we all need something that brings joy. To many young people, romantic love is the source of joy. To married people, their family is the source of joy. Many businessmen find great joy in their business. Artists enjoy creating beauty. These are all nice, but the Bible says as Christians we need to rejoice in the Lord first. If the Lord is truly your joy, then you will be able to be joyful when you lose something very valuable to you.

Nehemiah said to Israelites, "the joy of the LORD is your strength."(Ne 8:10). If you really enjoy the presence of the Lord, you will find strength to carry on, even when going gets rough. Habakkuk said, "Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."(Hab 3:17-18) He knew he could rejoice in God even when he was in a very bad situation.

Isaiah said we can rejoice in the Lord when we remember what he has done for us. "I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."(Isa 61:10)

So, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"(Phil 4:4)

I found the article "Working in and around the spheres of society" by Tim Svoboda very relevant to our school. You can read the whole article here, but I will quote the last paragraph of the article.

YWAM can be as guilty as the local church for putting ourselves in the center. If we make this change in our thinking we open up possibilities for YWAM to be more involved with non YWAMers who are in the marketplace that is the rest of the world through our training and outreach programs.

The following article is written by Ms. Carly Sigsworth, the co-leader of the SBCW in Brisbane, Australia.

We humans are strongly influenced by the media. We often, without even thinking about it, pick up our values and ideals from the movies we watch, the songs we listen to and the books we read.

Don't believe me? Here's an example...
Have you seen the movie "Castaway"? Did you come out of the movie theater thinking, "Gee, how sad that Tom Hanks didn't end up with the woman of his dreams...they should have gotten together at the end!" (ok boys, I'm sorry if you didn't...but I can only talk from a girl's perspective here!) Could this be because we have been told by the media that love should win out despite all costs...despite how right or wrong the relationship might be?

Or another example...
Just look through a woman's magazine and tell me how you feel afterward (if you're a woman that is!). Are you still happy with yourself? Have you believed the lie that a woman should look picture perfect, stick-thin and ridiculously flawless? It takes a mind renewed by the heart of God to realize that you are "Christ's workmanship" and "made in the image of God".

We want students to pick a topic for their research that is close to their heart...are you interested in social justice? sports? medicine? fashion? education? The Seminar Paper is a perfect opportunity to research an area of interest to you and ask the question "what does God think about this topic?"

Your challenge is to pick a movie/book/poem/article/song that deals with your area of interest. Your first task will be to determine the worldview of the author/director and discuss how their worldview has influenced their approach to their topic. Once this is done, you will explore what the Bible says about that topic and identify how a Christian should think in regard to this issue.

Great things have come of this assignment! My own seminar paper was on "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown since I can't resist a controversy! I've never before experienced the exhilaration of allowing God to speak to me through an assignment. This is more than academia...this is Spiritual Warfare! Suddenly the great yearning for spirituality within our society became apparent to me and I discovered the immense hope that the Gospel offers to the seekers of the West.

One of our students went to India to work with NGOs as a result of studying the documentary "Born Into Brothels" and being challenged to take Biblical principles into other cultures. Another student went to uni to study Anthropolgy after being challenged by the values of Barack Obama's biography "The Audacity of Hope". You never know what God might do to you...!

Who is a mature Christian? You may think a mature Christian is someone who prays a lot, or reads the Bible a lot, or knows his/her theology well. But, the author of Hebrews says something different about the subject. "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil." (He 5:14). In other words, a mature Christian is some who has trained his/her mind to discern good and evil.

There was a student in our SBCW, who wrote a paper on "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. She chose this book because when she read it, she liked it. But when she read it again, she realized there were certain parts in the book that seemed to be anti-Christian. So, she thought the author was a deist (a deist is someone who believes that God created the world, but then left it alone). The problem with this interpretation was, besides the fact that Dan Brown was NOT a deist, deism is dead and it is unlikely there are any deists left nowadays. As her research progressed she realized that the author presented a case for Christianity only to demolish it later. Now she could see the real intention of the author was to attack Christianity. It was a good example of someone who "trained their sensed to discern good and evil."

I believe the SBCW will be a perfect place to learn to train your brain for God. If you do not do that, you will remain immature and will need someone else to teach you what is good for you. But if you learn to exercise right judgment, then you are a mature Christian, and you will be able to discern the will of God yourself. May the Lord lead you into maturity in Christ.

I am reading Business By the Book (BBB) from Crown Financial Ministries. This book is a kind of manual for Christian businesspeople. When I read the part about salary, I was surprised to see that this book actually recommended paying fair wage to the employees so that they can meet their needs. The reason I was surprised is that most Christian business leaders seem to fight for the right to pay as little as possible.

If you say you believe in free market, usually it means the free market can make the best decision on how to allocate resources. Money is a kind of resource, so, according to this logic, market should decide how much you pay to your employee. That means when the unemployment rate is high, like this year, salary will go down so much so that many workers will not be able to make the ends meet. "That's fine." Most businessmen would say. "That is the verdict of the market, and nobody should force the employer to pay more." Amazing thing is, many Christians seem to accept this kind of attitude as Christian.

However, greed is not Christian, and lack of love is not Christian either. When a Christian employ sees that the wage he pays is not sufficient to secure decent living for his employees, is it really Christian to continue to pay the same amount because "If they are not happy with what they receive, there are many more who will work for less"? I don't think so. That is why I find BBB so refreshing.

As Christians, we are called to reflect God's character in our lives, which means to take care of others, share what we have, go the extra mile. It is not really the spirit of capitalism, but that's fine with me. To base our decision on economic factor alone is not Christian. We should try to show God's love and care for others, especially those who are close to us, who are under our authority. When we show who God truly is through our lives, the world will flock to get to know him better.

When God created the human race, he said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen 1:28). He repeated the same commandment to Noah and his family (Gen 9:1). God wants us to multiply until we fill the earth.

He calls us into one place, but when we prove ourselves faithful there, he challenges us to extend our territory, and enlarge our tent. For example, God promised to Abraham that his descendants would receive the land between Egypt and the Euphrates (Gen 15:18), but later he challenged Israel by saying "Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. (Ps 2:8)"

When re receive something from God, we should multiply it. We should not ask him whether we should multiply it. We just have to multiply it. That is the lesson of the parable of talents. The master commended the servants who multiplied what they have received. But when a servant said, "I didn't do anything with it, because the instructions were unclear" he admonished him harshly (Mt. 25:14-31). When we are in doubt, remember that the first commandment we received was, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth"

I am very glad to see the movement within the SBCW to multiply. Until recently, the SBCW was held in Europe only. But we pioneered a new school in Brisbane, Australia a few years ago. There is another school starting in Canada this year. Now we are talking about pioneering more schools in South America, Europe, and Africa. It is a huge challenge, but I believe it is what God wants us to do.

When each individual and each ministry begin to multiply what they have received, we can fill the earth, and inherit the nations as our inheritance. May God give us strength and wisdom as we step out in obedience.

Tags: Challenge, obedience, Pioneering, New school

I read an article on the Amish the other day. Amish are members of a religious community in the US that keep simple, technology-free life-style. According to the article that I read, they are originally from Switzerland, and some of them still sing yodel.

It is hard to believe some people are still living without driving car or watching TV. But they have been living that kind of simple life for a couple of centuries so far, and they are quite determined to continue the tradition.

You may wonder, "What about the new generation? Do they also want to stick to the ways of their forefathers?" Well, most of the Amish youth decide to remain in Amish community out of their own will. In fact, at the end of adolescence, they get a chance to consider what they will do with their lives. It is called Rumspringa. Only when they decide "I want to live in this community", they are baptized and accepted into the Church. So, don't think Amish parents brainwash their children. When Amish young people decide to follow their parents' lifestyle, they are fully aware what they are choosing.

I think it is essential that we allow our young people to make up their mind. Many parents and church leaders are so protective. They think "if we ever let them taste the pleasures of the world, we will lose them". So, they practically build a wall around the young people, wishing they will not look out of the wall.

I don't think that is a healthy attitude. Besides, it doesn't work. Unless they have conviction in their heart by the Holy Spirit, no amount of wall-building or brainwashing will protect them from the temptations of the world.

When Paul met Jesus on the way to Damascus, he didn't go to Jerusalem to make sure his experience was in line with the official doctrine of the Church. Rather, he "went away to Arabia."(Gal 1:17) Why Arabia? What was there? Paul was originally from Tarsus, which is in Turkey now. He went to school in Jerusalem. So, he didn't have any connection in Arabia. Besides, Arabia is mostly desert, so there are very few people living. But, Paul chose that location, because he wanted to be alone, far away from human contact, and confirm his faith in God.

When he spent three years in Arabia and in Damascus, he went to Jerusalem to meet other Christians (Gal 1:18). By then, he was a Christian not because of what he heard from others, but because of the inner conviction.

There are many young Christians who grew up in the Church, and lived as Christians all their lives. It can be a blessing. But, if they never thought about their faith alone, if they never experience God face to face, and base their faith on what others said, it is like going straight to Jerusalem after they came out of their mother's womb, skipping Arabia altogether.

I think we need Arabia. We don't have to live there. It is not a very nice place to live. But, we need to go there at least once in life, without any religious language, and ask honest questions. Only faith that is born out of genuine conviction can withstand the attacks from the world.

Tags: Paul, Amish, rite of passage, Rumspringa

Today is Korea’s traditional New Year’s Day. In fact, I think China and Japan share the same New Year’s Day based on the lunar calendar. So, if you are in East Asia, you will celebrate two New Year’s Days in sequel.

It does not make much sense to have two New Year’s Days. Economic activities are disrupted, and productivity goes down as people stop working for two separate holiday seasons. So, in the 80’s, Korean government tried to remove the traditional New Year’s Day from people's memory. Since people largely forgot lunar calendar anyway, it seemed very easy to make them forget lunar New Year’s Day, too. Besides, Korean government at that time was run by military dictatorship that had absolute power over the Korean society.

But, after several year’s of harsh oppression, people still celebrated lunar New Year’s Day. So, when the military dictatorship was ended, one of the first change that the government made was to restore the lunar New Year’s Day as a national holiday.

You may think it is easy to persuade (or force) people to celebrate New Year’s Day a few weeks earlier, but it turned out to be one of the most difficult thing. Why? Because Koreans always celebrated New Year’s Day according to the lunar calendar. Imagine a dictator decrees that you should celebrate Christmas on 10 Aug and forget about 25 Dec. Would you follow the decree? It would not be easy...

Then, imagine that you were living in Roman empire in the first or second century. You heard the Gospel, and became Christian. But, do you think you could change your culture that easy also? No. Changing religion is easy, but changing culture is hard.

That's why Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Ro 12:2). Our mind is shaped by conforming the norms of society. In other words, our mind is product of our culture. But, we should not stay at that state. We should actively transform our mind according to the word of God, “so that you may prove what the will of God is” (Ro 12:2).

It takes conscious efforts to transform our mind. But only when we do that, we can overcome our culture and reach the goal God has set for us.

May God help us to go beyond our own culture and live as citizens of heaven.

Tags: Korea, Paul, New year's day, tranformation of mind, God's will

When God created the world, he repeatedly said, “It is good" (Ge 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) At the end of creation, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. “ (Ge 1:31). It seems that God was very pleased with his own creation.

Many Christians, especially those in the reformed tradition, see the world in a negative way. They say since the Fall, the world lost its value, and it is not good anymore.They even talk about the day “when God judge and destroy the world." It is no wonder that they are hostile toward the world, and want to keep a distance from it.

But the Bible says “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). God so loved the world when he created it, and he also loved it after the Fall. That is why he sent his only son to save it.

God’s plan is not destruction of the world, but redemption of it. You do not give up something you love because of some defect. You want to save it. In the same way, God wants to redeem the world and purify it.

Our attitude toward the world is much influenced by our understanding of it. In the past, because of influence of secular philosophy and pagan religion, many Christian came to despise the world without understanding God’s love for it. Now it is time to rediscover God’s heart for the world. Only then, we can participate in God’s work of redemption in the world.

Tags: Creation, John 3:16

When God created mankind, the firs thing he did was to bless them (Ge 1:28). When Noah and his family started a new human race, the first thing God did was to bless them (Ge 9:1). And when Jesus finished his ministry on earth and ascended to heaven, the last thing he did was to bless them (Lk 24:51). God loves to bless people. It is in his nature. As an old hymn teaches us, he is the one “from whom all blessings come”.

So, it was only natural that when God called Abraham, he promised him saying “you shall be a blessing... And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Ge 12:2-3). God wants to bless the world through his children of promise. We are called to be a blessing to the world.

As I prepare the school, I feel this school should be a school of blessing. A blessing to the students, staff, speakers, the base, and YWAM. I am thinking ways to bless people in the school and through the school. You may say, “Well, that sounds like a big vision for a small school.” But I think we are all called to be a blessing, and this school should not be an exception.

I pray that when the school finishes, people will say, “Wow, this school was a great blessing for me.” That's what I want to see happen in the school.

Kim

Tags: Blessing

Since I am going to run the next SBCW in September 2009, I am mentally preparing myself for the job. I did some mindmapping to see what are the key elements of the school.

I realized that a good YWAM school should have four legs- staff, speakers, students, and logistics (I tried to come up with a word that starts with ‘s’, but couldn’t find any). I think we are in a very good position concerning staff and speakers. There are some quite excellent people who will be on staff, and we invited some key leaders of YWAM to the school. And since the school will be hosted by Hurlach base, logistics (food, accommodation and any other practical aspect of it) will be well taken care of.

Now, the students are the tricky part. You never know who will come to the school. So, you have to send out invitation, set up a Web site, pray, and wait. Eventually, you realize that you have to rely on God’s grace. But this year, we already have some people who showed interest in the school. So, it seems all the right ingredients are in place.

I am so glad to see this school growing. May God continue to bless it.

Tags: Preparation