so close, yet so close

Here I am writing on wordpress, for the first time in 2012, and coincidently when I should really be writing a research paper. But of course, this is the best to blog ain’t it? So here I am, on the brink of my final semester at RTS. And I can’t wait to freaking graduate and move on.

This isn’t to say that RTS hasn’t helped my spiritual growth or anything. But it has reached that point where it seems like every new class or school requirement is perceived as another way RTS is screwing me over in some way so as to mess with my graduation or ordination plans. Yet, I am not at all motivated by any of these classes, mainly because I’ve already taken all of those inspirational ones. Now all I’m left with are these graduation requirements which usually have nothing to do with anything in the real life ministry frontier.

I’m all in favor of RTS and Gordon Conwell and Westminster and Covenant re-thinking their MDiv programs. Now I have no idea how one would re-structure it, but I’m all about “let’s re-think this thing” idea rolling around in my head. One thing I’d totally advocate is to remove all the “theoretical” courses and give it to the MAr students who are on their way to their PhD programs. I’d replace them with more practical courses that make students work it out at church. But that’s not always possible – so what to do? I won’t worry about it for now, or ever – unless someone foolishly asks me to help run a seminary (into the ground, ha)!

All of this rambling just to say I’m SOOO close yet, I’ve no real motivation left to even crawl up to that finish line

things I’d like my baby to know continued

1. The Bible is always right. Your mom is almost always right. Your dad is sometimes right. Your friends are almost always wrong. Uncle Peter and Uncle Phil are always wrong.

2. If the Bible, mom, and dad all say the same thing, it’s 1000% chance that it’s right/correct/true

3. yes,  people are naturally that sinful. if you don’t believe me, wait until you get married and have a baby. yes you were a sinful baby.

4. the church has church goers and Christians. it’s not always clear which ones. be nice to everyone. and just because you don’t like someone, it doesn’t mean they’re automatically just churchgoers.

5. koreans naturally love drama. that’s why we create the sappiest love songs and the most ridiculous mini series dramas. this also gets transplanted into churches. when koreans aren’t watching dramas, they make their lives/friendships/churches into their own personal dramas.

6. Mac > PC

7. a church will always have some sort of drama. church drama is not just limited to korean churches. this is b/c churches contain sinners. lots of them.

8. church is a hospital, not a museum.

9. Jesus owns the church so even when it looks crazy, chaotic, and hopeless to us, He got this.

10. when you get married and have a kid, get a baby swing. it’s magical. you loved it, your kid will love it too.

11. your unnatural love of sleep and ability to fall asleep anywhere and anytime is indicative of your Kang DNA. you can’t fight it and there’s no cure.

12. youth retreats are awesome. you went on your 1st one before you were 3 months old.

13. when people (including yourself) do stupid things, don’t be shocked. stupidity is a natural outcome of the fall. expect stupidity and you won’t be so disappointed. this also makes salvation and Jesus totally awesome.

13a. even Christians are stupid. thank God Jesus isn’t.

14. no matter what uncle peter tells you, koreans don’t need fro picks. ever.

15. there are tons of movies. the good ones are hard to find.

 

that’s all i could think of at this moment

God’s work is visible, invisible, and somewhere in between

We just got back a few days ago from our first youth summer retreat with Risen Sun. All in all, it was grand. For sure, there were some unforeseeable setbacks (as with any retreat), but nonetheless it ran smoothly. But that is not the focus here. The focus is that I, along with many, went in anticipating a grand landing of God in our midst during the praise, message, and fellowship times in a way which would closely resemble an invisible alien craft landing. I guess one could say that I/we had sort of backed ourselves into a corner and made up our minds that this is what God was going to do. And yet this did not happen.

Instead of a grand invasion, it was more like God entered into our midst like a special ops team. It was barely visible, not easily discernable to all. This was at first, a little disappointing. Assuredly, if God were to arrive in a grand fashion, there would be so much good that would benefit, we all thought. But instead, God came in a whispering gentle voice and the effects were very small, barely visible. And yet we see in Scripture, that is exactly how the Lord Jesus came as a disarmingly small baby. When many expected the Christ to be a magnificent socio-economic power house, what they got was a humble son of a carpenter from Nazareth.

BUT that’s not all folks. As Christ’s life and death seemed so small and insignificant to many before the resurrection, so it is with what happened to our group at this retreat. What God did was not any less magnificent or grand just because we failed to see the magnitude of His quiet workings. No, God’s work may have been “small” or “barely visible” but it was indeed grand and as one student described it many times “mind blowing”. And so yes God invaded our youth group, and yet only a few are aware of its implications. Perhaps it is for the best because in working like this, the Lord has already gone past the students’ defenses and is already at work in them.

God doesn’t do useless work.

things I’d like my baby to know

So I was being lounged upon by my baby as my wife prepared for dinner on the slow cooker, when my wife said, “Hey what boy secrets are you telling our son?” That got me to thinking. And so here are a few random thoughts I’d like my son to know as he grows up:

1. Be honest. Liars are terrible.

2. Speak boldly. Say what you want and own them.

3. Learn. Never stop being a student of something.

3a. Learn to cook. This should be a life-long endeavor with great rewards.

4. Be nice to your mom. She works her butt off for you everyday.

5. Respect women. They’re equal in the inheritance of faith.

6. Marry the most biblical woman. She should say something like “Well according to Elijah, we should make fun of idol worshippers” or “bald headed prophets are bald but are not to be laughed at” at least once while you’re dating.

6a. If she doesn’t say something #6, ask her how the duck billed-platypus reflect God’s glory and creativity.

7. Appreciate cars.

8. Learn to fish.

9. Respect animals (including fish and turtles).

10. Love sushi. Try different kinds.

11. Read your bible from cover to cover.

12. Be proud of your Korean heritage.

13. Learn Korean and laugh at how awesomely explicit it is.

14. Korean food.

15. Respect all cultures, but don’t become its slave

16. Work hard @ church, knowing that it’s b/c you love Jesus and not b/c you want a fancy title.

17. Love people.

18. Keep good friends. They’ll help you in tough situations.

19. Understand that every person will let you down at some point.

20. Receive Christ’s love. This makes the list work.

21. Don’t check your facebook in front of your mom.

22. Cook for mom.

23. Love & respect music. This can nurture your soul.

24. Don’t get a smartphone that’s so smart that you become an idiot and are therefore its slave. Your wife & kids & friends & your parents will hate you.

25. Don’t hit people.

26. Don’t make fun of people, especially when it’s easy.

27. Don’t make fun of people non Christians. Jesus didn’t do that.

28. Make fun of supposed smart people who don’t believe in Jesus. They should know better.

29. Argue for Jesus respectfully but don’t call Joseph Smith a pot head, mormons will stop coming to your door.

30. God made stuff (natural, organic) is always better than the fake stuff

Surely, there’ll be more stuff in the future but that’s it for now.

depravity of man and the smile of a baby

Smiling Baby

One look at this little smiling baby, and our brains are instantly filled with words such as “cute” and “aww” and the like. However, we cannot be fooled! No matter the cuteness of the smile, it is nonetheless the smile of a sinner. Having a 8 week old baby in the house, I am constantly surrounded by humanity’s depravity and our utter dependance on Another.

Depravity. The word simply means “to be lacking” or in biblical speak, “the sinful and helpless state of man apart from Christ”. Now how does an eight week old display depravity? Simple – they are contently self-obsessed. Babies are not born with natural instinct or desire for generosity or sympathetic ideas. No. Babies are born with natural instinct to satisfy their needs and desires only. Babies are all about “me, myself, and I” all the time, anywhere. They don’t care how tired mom and dad are, if they’re hungry, they’ll let the neighborhood know.

Tangent. This is also a good reason why Christian parents should pray for and read Bibles with their kids. They are dirty rotten sinners in need of a Savior. It pays to start early (Prov 22:6)!

Dependance. As much as we think we’re all big boys and girls, with no need for anyone to tell us what to do – the simple truth is that we are all nonetheless like a little baby. We all need things from someone/thing outside of ourselves to live. For example, we are not born with an infinite amount of oxygen, therefore we need to breathe it in. Babies, especially human babies, are quite helpless. They cannot talk, crawl, see clearly, or do anything other than eat, poop/pee, sleep, and cry. Before we think we ever get beyond that, physical growth and accumulation of years do not put us too far past these things. In other words, we never outgrow our need and therefore our dependance upon another for our survival – God.

Tangent #2. I’m sorry, but if you believe in no God (atheism) or “I don’t care” (agnostic), then you really have no reason for caring about babies or sick animals or even pet dogs. Without a God who gives to man purpose and dignity (as the Bible says), there is no reason to really care too much about selfish little people (babies) on the planet other than our glorious DNA getting passed down to the next generation. That’s stupid. If there is no God and the only value of babies is our DNA, then logic follows that Love & marriage is unnecessary and you should just actually go impregnante as many women as possible before dying.

Conclusion. God has implanted Himself in our everyday surroundings – even babies. Babies show that humanity is depraved and fallen in sin, unable to correct that situation. Praise God, there is a Savior who is able. Babies show that humanity is dependent on a Provider. Praise God, there is a God who does that. So final conclusion: babies tell us we love sin and we really need Jesus.

the two are now three

Hyun Kang

and so after much ado about much, our new baby is finally here. it is a wondrous thing to look into another being and have reflected back your likeness. i initially thought about how Adam must’ve felt, the world’s first human father, that day when he held baby Cain (Gen 4:1). this was all before Cain became a byword for perpetrators of evil acts. Cain was just a little baby boy beheld by his dad, Adam. But then, perhaps at the prodding of the Spirit, I began to wonder about God. I wondered at how God must’ve felt as he first looked at Adam and saw reflected back to His divine eyes, something of His own awesomeness (Gen 1:28, Zeph 3:17). And then I started to wonder about the day when God called my name and I looked up and got adopted. I wondered how He felt as He looked down at what He got in exchange for the great drama and trouble of the crucifixion – a small, frail, little orphan child. And then I wondered about how God feels whenever He looks at His children. I wonder if His humongous, God-sized heart would be so moved when He sees us, and as He looks at us, He sees His own awesomeness reflected back at Him (2 Cor 4:6). I think so. Nay, I know so. In the wonderful economy of God, He’s taken two ones, and somehow now made it three and yet still one.  Peggy and I were two individuals that became one family. And to that, an additional third, and yet still one family.

This is only day 2 of being a father, and already the Lord is using my baby to show me more of His heart.

Resurrection “in Christ” (Rom 8:1-4)

¹Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. ³For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned (my) sin in the flesh (of Christ), ⁴so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

It’s interesting, and perhaps sad to see, that so many Jesus loving Christians are blinded to the full reality of their spiritual standing. Ask any pastor worthy of the title, and they’ll tell you that Paul is famous for his “in Christ” phrase all over his letters. And yet so little on the subject is known, or taught outside of seminary settings. This is very sad.

According to Scripture, Christians are “in Christ” in a mysterious and horribly awesome union which cannot be fully comprehended or explained. And yet, to be “in Christ”, especially in the light of Easter, is that through faith the believer died with Christ and through faith also rose from the grave. After all, what good is an Emmanuel Christ who is physically separated by 2000 years of history and spiritually limited to a small closet of the individual’s heart? NO this is not so. The Bible declares that the believer in Christ is intimately united with Christ and this is where Paul comes from to write things such as:

“that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3)

or, better yet this:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20).

So let’s look at Easter fresh eyes, celebrating Christ, our Ultimate Representative, and this amazing grace of union with Christ, by which we have died and have risen with Him.

eyes closed and believing the sun doesn’t exist

The title is based on a quote from CS Lewis from problem of pain (I think), where he likens atheism of man to be like a mad man closing his eyes and saying to himself over and over again “darkness, darkness” is in total denial of the rising sun.

A short meditation on Romans 1:18-32

hypothesis:

If man were god, there would be no justice, no grace, no mercy, but only murder, lying, stealing, and sexual immorality which continually spirals down into more depravity.

BUT God is not as man is.

When man found that God was not as he was, he tried to be like God (Gen 3:5-6). When that failed, man made himself as god in his own eyes (Gen 11:4). When that failed, he claimed that there was no god, and acted if he was god (Rom 1:18-32).

In essence, atheism can be seen as an insane insistence against the contrary, evident truth that there is a good God. However this is not enough. As a person, to move finally into the realm where we finally throw up our arms in surrender and say, “fine, there is a god” won’t simply do. In acknowledging a good god, sinful man finally moves up to the level of rest of creation in acknowledging God as king (Ps 19:1-4).

The place where man needs to be is in relationship – with God. Man is created as a relational creature and as such, when separated from God, man will create relationships (real or imagined) with other things. Atheism, then is at least a 2 step movement away from the true God – it foolishly denies that there is a good God and it foolishly asserts that even if there was such a God, there is no way to know & love Him. After all, if man can screw it up this bad, how or why should a good God care? Even some Christians believe this – seeing Jesus as a “plan B” after Adam’s failure in the garden.

Perhaps God believes in man a bit more than we do. This is one crucial reason why Jesus is 100% God and 100% man (yup, He’s so intense that He’s 200%!). God has not given up on plan A – that through a man, His Kingdom will come crashing in. This kingdom doesn’t take any prisoners – it simply transforms its enemies and makes them a citizen (green cards for everyone)!

Hypothesis #2: If man were god, there would be no hope.

TRUTH: There is a God who loves, and cares and He is coming for YOU!

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1)

Is half-hearted faith possible? Confessions of a seminary student

Romans 12:1

παρακαλῶ οὖν ὑμᾶς ἀδελφοί διὰ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆσαι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν ἁγίαν εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν ὑμῶν

I plead with y’all brothers, by the mercies [which are from] God: Offer y’alls bodies as living sacrifice, [which is] holy, acceptable to God [as] logical rendered service.

Here I sit at my computer, belly full of lunch, just having finished a big Hebrew exegesis paper less than 24 hours ago, finally listening to some old podcasts that’s been waiting for 3 months on my hard drive. The main reason for this flow of words (other than working on some more school work) is to wrestle with this idea of “half-hearted faith”. I must admit, drudging through seminary these past 6 years – even seminary students, the future church leaders can become entrenched in some spiritual quagmire. Reading these books about how to study the Bible and preach the Bible is good – but it can easily become over bearing. I must admit, I do long for those days past or even unseen days ahead where I’ll read these books about Christ without this huge burden of academia hanging over my head!

The truth of the matter is that even seminary students, pastors in training, can easily make love affair with Jesus all about the brain and make no movement down to the heart. The scary truth is that even in seminary, it can quickly become a spiritual cemetery. Is it anyone’s fault? I think not.

The great historical truth of Christ pisses off nonbelievers and should fill believers with uncontainable, stupid-grin, joy. And yet this is not the case. As discussed before, even seminary students can get there – not because seminaries are filled with evil professors plotting to emasculate students’ faith (at least mine isn’t). And this sad status of things can describe massive portions of the church.

And so is half-hearted faith possible?

Sure.

Should it be so? Should we just accept it as something that’s inevitable in comfortable modern western societies?

uh NO – that’s just stupid and lazy

Faith is a gift, result of regeneration of the Spirit (which is THE super charismatic power that Scripture talks about everywhere, ahem), paid for by Christ. Faith is not really something to be half-hearted about. Perhaps it’s a case of believers stealing something that is not really theirs and by doing so, inevitably run into trouble. Faith is a gift of God by the regeneration of the Spirit, from God, not earned.

Faith, then, is not ours to be half-hearted with or be sad that it’s not up to some imaginary standard (the only level of standard of faith in the Bible is Christ’s). Perhaps, the focus of faith, then is not on our act of crawling up into the altar, but rather the holy fire which devours.

Is half-hearted faith possible? certainly.

Should it be so? No.

Faith is not our own, it is 100% a supernatural act of God, who wills and works in us to His good pleasure (Phil 2:13).

faith is about focusing on the fire, not applauding the wood volunteering to be burned

why good seminaries matter

1 John 2:3

and in this we know (informational knowledge) that we have known (intimate relational knowledge) Him if we obey His commands

It seems that in the last 2 years, young Asian believers in Northern VA area have, in effect, done away with pastors, or at the very least concluded that becoming a pastor isn’t as spiritually exciting or exalted as being a free-spirit missionary. This growing movement has ditched the value of informational knowledge for the sake of intimate relational knowledge. It has now become fairly standard to say that to be truly “spiritual”, one must know God purely in intimate relational aspects only. This is some bull crap that the devil is selling and a whole lot of my generation people are buying. Truth is, this is how a whole lot of heresies in the last 2000 years of the church has started. Mind you, gutting the intimate relational aspect of Christian life eventually lands you in Pharisee land or Super Presbyterianism (in 2011 language).

It seems to me that Scripture tells believers that there needs to be a healthy blend of both. This goes back to the title. This is why good Biblical seminaries matter. This is why faithful young believers of whom God has called should not be bullied into shame and thinking that the modern trend of “free-spirit missions” is the only option available. Man up and grow a pair. We need faithful young believers called by God into ministry to apply and study hard at good Biblical seminaries. We also need these seminaries to not just fill students’ head with knowledge of God, but somehow to also encourage an intimate relationship with the Lord through the Spirit. Good biblical pastors need healthy pneumatology (study of the Spirit) and these free-spirited pentecostals need some good-old Bible teaching (yes, you all know who you are).

As 1 John 2:3 above says, both a mental knowledge of God and a heart knowledge of God play crucial roles in seriously obeying His commands. Let’s not be lopsided Christians.