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Tomorrow, I will be introducing our theme for the 2008-2009 year. If there is ever a theme or a message that I would want to preach on, this would be it. In many ways, this is my testimony and the testimony of many people in our church.

Once a person has genuinely experienced God’s radical love, the natural response is to live a radical life for God. God’s purposes become a high priority in that person’s life.

It is my prayer that once this theme is unpackaged that we will see a revolutionary generation being raised up in our life time.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 10:45 AM | Permalink

Early this morning (at 3:15AM), I was able to Skype with some of the former HMCC alumni. The marvels of modern technology! It was great reconnecting with them and also meeting a couple of new Singaporeans that some of our alumni had relationships with.

As we are seeing more international students graduate from UM (and hopefully more in the future with the other campuses), they are going back to their home countries. Some of them have fit well back into their home churches and others are just attending Sunday Celebrations at various churches in the area.

Many times in my discussions with them, they have always said that they missed the biblical community that they had at HMCC. Some graduates, as they are placed all over the world, have expressed their desire of wanting to see a HMCC community in their country or city. We are hoping and praying that one of these days we will be able to see more churches planted all over the world with some of our alumni.

As the Singaporeans are meeting monthly, I am beginning to see the glimpses of a house church movement. It is exciting to be a part of what God is doing.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:35 AM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
This Sunday will be our inaugural celebration in our new Transformation Center. We are praying and working hard to get everything ready for the big day.

As we come to this historical moment, I am going to share on our mission at HMCC. Our mission of “transforming lives into Christ’s disciples who will then transform the world” has been something that we have tried to do for the last 12 years. As we have heard many testimonies throughout our history, we are confident that we are seeing greater fruits of transformation now, more than ever.

One of the reasons why we believe God has given us this facility is because He desires to use it to bring forth more transformation; hence we gave it the name the Transformation Center. We pray that as lives are being transformed in this building, the transformed people will go out to the world and transform it with the Gospel message.

Sola Dei Gloria! (Latin: For God’s glory alone)

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 12:26 PM | Permalink

We have gone through an incredible evolution with our small group ministry over the last 12+ years. When we first started our church back in 1996, we talked a lot about having a small group ministry and the importance of it. We eventually forge out a strategy to call our small groups simply our “cell groups.”

We faithfully built our cell group ministry for years and then, due to the terror cell group movement that became more prominent in the news and also, thanks to Osama Bin Laden, we ended up changing our cell group name back to small groups. Can you imagine inviting someone to check out our “cell group” (and saying it with a smile on our face)?

But the struggle we faced in the last 5+ year is that we started to get people who came to our church will all different views of “small group” ministry. Due to their experiences in the past, whenever people heard of the word, “small group” they would automatically associate it with a “bible study” group or a “social gathering” of people.

It was very frustrating for us since we wanted to build up a culture that really saw “small groups” more than just a bible study and a social hang out place. In fact, we have lost some people in our church because their vision for small group did not match with ours.

But after this filtering process, the staff and I have come to this overwhelming decision that we need to recast the vision for biblical community that has always been our “bread and butter.”

Since names are important, we have decided to name our small group ministry to LIFE Group ministry.

This idea came from couple of verses that God used to speak to us. In Jn 14:6, Jesus declared “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Even the Apostle John testified to Jesus being the life by writing, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (Jn 1:1-4).

This life that Jesus offered was more explicitly mentioned in Jn 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The NKJV says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The Greek word for “abundant” is perisseia, which means “an exceeding measure, something above the ordinary.” When it is used in the adjective it means, “superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality)”

This is the kind of life we want to experience and this is the kind of life that will draw people to our community and eventually to Christ. We notice the power of this kind of life in Ac 2:42-47, which gives us a good description of what the earlier church experienced. Their community transformed the known world at their time.

Therefore, the mission statement for HMCC’s LIFE Groups will be: “To experience the fullness of life in a biblical community where the Gospel is radically lived out.” In order for us to live out the Gospel in a radically way we will need to remember the importance of LIFE:

I will be unpackaging some of these concepts in the near future. But in the meantime, I have asked some of the people in our church to start using “LIFE Groups” instead of “small groups.” Also, I reminded people that the most powerful way for this to stick in people’s minds and hearts is when we, the people of God, live out the Gospel in a radical way in the context of biblical community, where people are demonstrating the fullness of life that Christ has purchased for us.

I hope you will join one of our LIFE Groups and experience life the way Jesus intended for us to experience.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 08:23 AM | Permalink

When I came across this video, it was refreshing to hear a well respected church leader share his thoughts so frankly. I think in the church we have also become so PC (politically correct) that we are afraid of offending anybody. But the reality is that truth sometimes is hard to hear and even harder to accept.

There are many people today who are trying to start up churches – which is a great thing because we will never have “too many” churches. No "one" church can reach out to the whole university or even the whole city. But the question becomes what is the best way to start up churches.

Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas, addresses the reality of many young church planters starting churches by stealing people from other churches, hence his vocabulary of “church pirates.”

I think there are two issues at hand. First, when we think about church planting the best way to approach it by doing evangelism. But this takes a lot of time and effort, which many church planters are not willing to go through. Secondly, many people who check out or join new church plants are usually “disgruntled,” “dissatisfied,” and “disillusioned” people (please note: I did not say, “all” but “many”). Therefore, should we just tell them not to come to the new church plant because they have issues that they need to deal with the old church?

No matter how you look at it, our goal should always be to reach out to the unreached. Also, if disgruntled, dissatisfied, and disillusioned people from other churches come, we should try to make sure that they resolve whatever issues they have and get the blessings from their former pastor before they can attend the new church. Hmm... maybe this will solve some of the issues.

Church planting is not easy. It really has to be the work of God; and God using people who are completely surrender to Him.

It is my prayer that as we go into various campuses and cities to plant future churches, we will always reach out to the unreached rather than trying to fight over the same piece of pie. The world is just too big and time is just too short for us to neglect the harvest. If there are some people who are coming out to our church, who were part of another church, then I think it is our responsibility to make sure and direct them to get the blessings of their former pastor. But our main focus should be on the unreached and the pre-Christians.

Anyways, check out this video by Ed Young and some of his candid and up-in-your-face sharing about church pirates.
 
 

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 03:46 PM | Permalink

I was just reminded today of the importance of dreams and how sometimes it is not always well received in the beginning. A part of the reason is that dreams are sometimes impractical and even risky. But we always need the “dreamers” in the Church because they help us to do things that we might never do. They often times challenge the status quo.

We have a lot of practical people in the Church, which is good because they keep things in balance. But if we had some more dreamers in the Church, I am wondering if we would be able to accomplish some crazy things.

Charles Swindoll, in his book, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity writes about Walt Disney and how he was a big dreamer. Swindoll writes,

Wow, what can we say to that?!

"God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." (Eph 3:20-21, The Message)

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:11 PM | Permalink

Today, a handful of us from HMCC of Ann Arbor’s Board of Directors and the University Reformed Church’s Board got together to sign the contract for the purchase of their properties. It was a monumental moment in our church’s history and theirs as well.

Not only did we step out in faith to raise the funds and purchase this property, but they stepped out in faith to trust that God will provide a place for them. As we both moved forward in obedience to God, we are confident that God will provide for both churches.

Before the actual signing of the contract, we had some people from URC share some of their thoughts and feeling about their move. We were all humbled to realized that there were some charter members in the room. They were there since the church was built.

Then we had some of our Board of Directors share some of our thoughts about the new chapter in our church’s life. I think there was a general consensus that we were truly grateful to URC for all the years of partnership by allowing us to use their facilities.

I was most encouraged by their desire to see the Gospel continue to spread throughout the campus of the University of Michigan and that they entrusted us with their property to be used for that end.

Last Sunday, I was just humbled to realize that at this facility it was the “first” for a lot of things in our church. It was where we had our first revival meeting… it was where we had some of our first TEAM Community meetings… it was where we had some of our first morning prayer gatherings. Now God has graciously given us this place so that it will become a missions command center to further the work of transformation throughout the world.

What an awesome privilege! Part of our transformational vision is finally becoming a reality.
 
 
 

 
We are getting ready to sign the contract
 
 
 

 
The official signing of the contract from both sides
 
 
 

 
We were able to enjoy a meal together after the signing

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:20 PM | Permalink

Today was the last Sunday at HMCC of Ann Arbor for the Austin team. Most of the UT church plant members took off for Texas right after Sunday Celebration. After they shared about one thing that they were looking forward to in Austin, we prayed for them.

It was a bit sad saying bye to these guys. I realized how intertwined they were with people here in Ann Arbor. All of them were leaders in our church and they all played vital roles. They will be missed.

But as we have said many times before in our church – “our loss is someone else’s gain.” We know that the campus of University of Texas will be blessed as these guys go and share their lives and the Gospel. It will be exciting to all the great things that God will do through their lives.

"I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me” (Jn 12:24-26).

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 10:12 PM | Permalink

It is exciting to be in the discussion of how business and church (viewed mostly as trying to mix oil and water) can co-exist to benefit various communities. This is something we at HMCC have believed in for some years now. I have told many people that if there is a business principle that works in the secular world, it is probably a biblical principle packaged in business terms.

One of the reasons (in the midst of myriad of reasons) why a lot of ministries close down is because of the lack of resources, especially financial resources. Pastors in the church have either shied away from raising up the business people or they have just used them for their money. But now there is a movement of trying to raise Kingdom minded people to use their gifts and talents in the business world to build up God’s Kingdom around the globe.

Here is a writing that was done by one of our business guys who is trying to open up the channels of discussion on the subject of BoP and the faith communities. You can read the article here.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:06 PM | Permalink

The Board members and I are heading off to hold our annual summit today. We would greatly appreciate your prayers. For some reason, we are sensing a greater urgency at this summit than the ones in the past. I am encouraged the members to fast today in order to help prepare and focus in on the task before us.

We will be praying, planning and preparing things for our churches into the future. We are hoping to come away with a good gameplan for the next 5-10 years. We are looking into our strategy and goals in order to engage in world evangelization.

We want to continue to be a church that the world and our communities cannot ignore. Our heart’s desire is to have more people come into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and get discipled so that they will be able to transform the world.

As this is a critical juncture in our church, we are hopeful in what God has planned for us. The last 11+ years have been a journey of trusting in an awesome God who is constantly faithful to the weak and the undeserving. We will do whatever, whenever, wherever, and whichever!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:52 PM | Permalink

As my family and I are getting ready for the Miracle Sunday Offering and the Pledge service tomorrow, I couldn’t help but to feel this sense of gratitude in my heart. It is amazing that our whole church went through 40 days of reading the Bible together, as well as spending time in prayer for the Destiny Campaign. For our family, it was a joy to see the boys reading through the Bible schedule. We also spent Mondays sharing about the passage and praying together for the Destiny Campaign.

When I thoroughly think through what we are trying to do as a church, I am just speechless. We are not a church with a lot of well-established adults who have made their fortune and fame. Instead, we are a church with a lot of college students (who have little resources), single adults (just starting off in their careers) and young families (navigating through their tight budgets).

How in the world are we going to raise $1.7 million and even shooting for $2.2 million with renovation cost? It seems like such an incredible feat that unless God is in it, it is doomed to fail. This is what we are banking on. We believe that God is in it and that God is with us. This is why we can respond in faith.

Just today, I sent out an e-mail to the church reminding them about the Miracle Sunday Offering and the Pledge service. Then within a hour of my e-mail, an alumnus who is half way across the world responded back with an amount that they want to give. When I read the e-mail, it blessed me a lot. Then I realized that even though they are thousands of miles away and they haven't been back to Ann Arbor for a long time, they are still committed to the vision. When I told Christina this, we came to the conclusion that those people who have truly experienced transformation are the ones who will give sacrificially. Why? Because since they have experienced it for themselves, they want other people to experience it as well.

I believe these past 40 days have been journey of faith. Now, as we a day away from reaching the next step in our destiny, I am confident that the people of God will respond by faith to the challenge that is before us.

I just praise God for His Faithfulness to our church for the last 11+ years and it is His Faithfulness that will carry us through the future. What an incredible ride!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 01:35 PM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
Over the years, we have been criticized for various things as a church. Some people have come and criticized us for our worship style – we don’t sing enough hymns, it is too loud, it is too spontaneous, song selection, and the list goes on and on. But the funny part of all this is that for every criticism we have heard testimonies about how our worship times have really ministered to people.

My conclusion – we cannot please everyone. This is why we have many different churches for many different people. This is the beauty of the Body of Christ.

I am always encouraged when I come across other churches that are also flowing in our style of worship. I am meeting more people who have a passion for a prophetic style of worship that allows the Holy Spirit to lead people spontaneously.

It is my desire to see more people in our church trained to flow in this direction. Also, it will be great to see more people trained up to lead other people in this type of worship. In fact, as we are planning to plant more churches in the future, we will need more people to be raised up.

I realized that it is not just praise leading or participating on the worship team, but we want to train up people with gifts for the audio and visuals – simply, anything that will help facilitate worship for the people of God.

Our first class will start this coming Saturday. Don’t forget to sign up on our website. HMCC membership will be a prerequisite and hopefully in the future we can open it up to more people outside of HMCC.

Here are the units that will be covered in this four-part class:

1) Unit I: Foundations of Worship
2) Unit II: Fundamentals of Worship
3) Unit III: Facilitation of Worship

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 03:26 PM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
With New York Philharmonic going to Pyongyang, North Korea recently, it made me think once again about the importance of the Arts and Media in the whole Transformasphere Movement.

I am a believer that music and the arts are universal languages. Whenever I travel, I am constantly struck with how music and arts are able to speak to the heart of the human being, regardless of what color, creed or country. Maybe God purposely designed it this way.

The New York Philharmonic (NYP) made history as it played for a packed audience in the East Pyongyang Grand Theater. The NYP is considered the first American cultural group to perform in the country. They were also the largest delegation from the United States to visit North Korea. The national anthems of both North Korea and the United States were played as the audience stood and withheld their applause until the end (incredible).

Lorin Maazel, the music director of the NYP said some interesting things. He alluded to the fact that the orchestra was a “force for change in the past” as he referred to its 1959 performance in the Soviet Union and how that allowed the outside world to come in which resulted to the end of Communism many years later.

When Maazel was asked if there are some parallels with this visit he said, “To draw a parallel would be to do a disservice to the people who live here and who are trying through their art and through their culture to reach out to other human beings, to make a better world for themselves and for all of us. We are very humbled. We are here to make music.”

And music they made.

This is the reason why we need to cultivate and raise up more artists in our church. Can you imagine one day some of the people in our churches will be able to “prepare the way” for the Gospel to be preached in some of the most difficult places around the world?

You can watch some CNN videos here.

You can look at some of the NYP pictures here
 
 
 
Here is a Associated Press video summarizing what happened at this historical event
 

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 03:13 PM | Permalink

Last night, we had our opening worship session for our first-ever Global ACCESS retreat. It was a great joy to see so many people there at the retreat. I realized that we have a good percentage of international students in our church.

This retreat has really been a dream in the making. We have always envisioned and talked about having a retreat just for the international students so that we can equip and empower people to reach the nations. We had many nations represented.

In the first night I talked about “The Bi-Cultural Calling.” It is interesting to see many people in the Bible that used who were “bi-cultural.” We looked at Joseph, Moses, Daniel and Paul. As the international students are adjusting to the American culture they are learning how to be “bridges” for two cultures.

In fact, we even talked about the Third Culture Kids (TCK). Sociologist David Pollock describes a TCK as “a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership of any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of a similar background.”

It is interesting how an increasing number of people from other countries, who have come to the United States to study, go back to their country and find themselves feeling like they are in a whole new culture. This is especially true for those people who have come to experience Jesus Christ here in the States. In some ways, they are forming their own “third culture.”

This is one of the reasons why the possibility of starting up an expatriate international church might become a reality in the future. Not only are there “westerns” who are in that international city to work but there are many college graduates who have studied in the States, UK and Australia who have adopted this “third culture” mentality.

As we plant the seeds in the hearts and minds of the international students in our church, we will see a vision of planting international churches blossom into something beautiful.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 02:05 PM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
We are having our first international student’s retreat in our church over this coming weekend. Global ACCESS, our international ministry in our church started with a handful of people but now it has grown into a viable and expanding ministry reaching out to many nations here on the University of Michigan campus.

When our church first got started back in 1996, we had a vision of reaching the nations. Little did we know that it would be connected to the nations that were coming to UM. We have close to 122 nations that are represented here on campus. Instead of trying to raise up an American to go to some of these nations, we came to the conclusion that it would be more effective if a national was raised up and trained to go back to their nation. This approach makes sense because they do not need to learn a new language or get used to a new culture, which will make them more effective right from the beginning.

But now, the vision is evolving due to the changes in the global climate. We want to see teams made up of nationals and Americans being sent out to powerfully impact the international scene. With various skills and experiences, it is our prayer that different spheres of society (CHARGED) will be reached with the Gospel.

I am praying for a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit at this first-ever Global ACCESS Retreat. Before the early disciples were sent out to the nations in the Book of Acts, they were anointed by the Holy Spirit. We are praying for the same visitation. We covet your prayers for this retreat.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:17 AM | Permalink

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with some of the business school students. Whenever I get to hang guys in the b-school it is a great joy for me. The incredible potential to make a difference in the world through these students is huge. Many of them are thinking beyond the typical goal of b-school students of making money and living comfortably for themselves. Some of them are thinking of ways to use their b-school degree to transform the world and bring the Gospel message to various nations.

Last year, a handful of b-school students in our church decided to start up a school organization called, “Christian Business Initiative.” So far they have been holding various seminars and finding ways to reach out to the University of Michigan community. It is hard to find students who are this motivated to use their majors to bring forth transformation on campus. This is why it was an honor for me to speak to this group.

I addressed the topic of “Commerce and the Church.” Specifically, I talked about the reputation commerce had in the church over the years and how God is starting up a new revolution. The world is constantly changing; and we are seeing God open up doors for business people to use their vocation to reach nations. This is why the “C” of the Transformasphere Movement is going to play a vital role in world transformation.

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to eat at the dorms. I could not even remember the last time I ate at the dorms. It was just great to see some of the students in their natural environment. Now, I know why how the “Freshmen 15” is possible :-)
 
 
 

 
I was talking about how God can use the business world to carry out His purposes
 
 
 

 
Haven't been in the dorms for years... oh, how I missed the food line!
 
 
 

 
Enjoying the dorm food with some of the CBI guys
 
 
 

 
We could not close out the night without a ice cream cone

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 08:22 PM | Permalink

Last night, I had a phone conference with some of the HMCC alumni. We had close to 20 people on this phone conference and it was awesome reconnecting with them. I had them go around and share what they were doing currently and the one thing they missed about HMCC. I was able to see a glimpse of our vision of sending out ripples to various places around the world become a reality.

In this new season of ministry, we are trying to get as many people involved in the vision as possible. The next several months and even in the next two years will be very crucial in raising up more Kingdom workers. As we network together we are going to reach more people and bring the Gospel to many more nations. What an awesome time to be alive and going the will of God!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:12 PM | Permalink

It is always good to reconnect with our HMCC alumni. There are times when I wonder if some of the graduates from our church are living a life of transformation. Ever since the start of our church, we have always been committed to “transforming lives and transforming the world.”

This is why it is always encouraging to hear from our alumni who are growing and making a difference in their mission field. Recently, in our Winter Congregational Retreat we had some alumni come back to worship with us.

One person in particular ended up sending me an e-mail about what God was showing him. I thought I would share it with you to remind us of the mission. It is these kinds of testimonies that helps us to persevere in the good times and the bad times.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:17 AM | Permalink

I have been trying to encourage a lot of our members to find avenues to influence the world for Jesus Christ. Sometimes people have a hard time trying to figure out how they can incorporate their gifts, skill sets, purpose, and passions together. Some people think there is an oxymoron when it comes to being in the secular world and making a difference for Jesus Christ.

Now, if we are constantly bashing people with the “turn or burn” message (albeit it is a true message and it has to be preached at times), then it might repel people rather than attract them to Christ.

It always helps to remember the imago dei principle when it comes to missions, evangelism and influence. Since we are all made in the “image of God” there are some inherent truths or principles that are common to all people. One good example is the desire to make a difference in someone else’s life. This desire points to the importance principle of significance. We all want to feel significance in what we do with our lives, whether you are a Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Hindu or Christian.

Therefore, when we are able to speak to people on this level, then they will inquire about what “makes us tick.” The opportunities will be endless.

One of our members, who is helping to direct the Transformasphere Movement, just recently got accepted to be a writer for the Next Billion movement. They are an organization that focuses on how businesses can bring positive social and environmental change in low-income communities. Their goal is “to promote the development and implementation of business strategies that open opportunities and improve quality of life for the world’s four billion low-income producers and consumers.”

Wait a minute. Isn’t this what the church should be doing because we are driven by the Gospel which is to be brought to all peoples?

We want to continue to raise up people who will be ready to transform the world. It is encouraging when I hear of guys in our church who are on the frontlines making that difference.

You can check out our member’s profile here.

Also his first blog post making a difference in the blogosphere is here

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:12 AM | Permalink

Last month there was a World AIDS Day on December 1st. It just reminded me of the importance of the Church being in the forefront and the frontlines of trying to show the compassion of Jesus. As many people have said, “AIDS is like the modern day leprosy of Jesus’ time.”

This is one of the key reasons why we have started to engage in the whole Transformasphere Movement as a church. If we are able to engage in the Health Care sphere, then we will be able to visible display and a viable demonstration of God’s love to people who feel alone, abandon and ache.

Check out this video that our video team made which depicts the reality of this pandemic.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 07:06 PM | Permalink

Yesterday, Christina and I sat down and set some new goals for our marriage, our family and our sphere of influence. This is something that we have always done from the start of our marriage back in 1996.

This gives us a purpose and a target to strive for throughout the new year… without it we will be settling for the status quo, which will always lead to a slow deterioration.

Then on June 1st which is our wedding anniversary and mid-way through the year, we have a time of evaluation and check-up to see if we are on target. I don’t know how many times we have been off target due to busyness or just plain neglect.

This year we have decided to use the 3 I’s (I can’t help it) – Intimacy, Investment, and Influence. There are specific and tangible goals under these categories so that we can make sure that we are advancing in our marriage and our family life.

We are excited about the new year.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 02:56 PM | Permalink

Today, Christina and I will be heading out to Kuala Lumpur to join some of AMI missionaries to have our first AMI International conference. This is something that we have been dreaming about and talking about amongst the AMI Trans-Local Team (TLT). As we see more people being sent out, we are trying to continue in the training and spiritual development of our missionaries.

We are going to minister to the all the couples, as well as to the whole family including the kids. We are believing by faith that God will pour out his Spirit on our gatherings.

Afterwards, Christina and I will be spending a few days with some of our alumni in Jakarta, Indonesia. We truly want to be a blessing to them.

I believe these are the beginning steps of even envisioning an international church plant in the future. I am reminded of the story in the Book of Numbers, where Joshua and Caleb were sent out with other leaders to check out the promise land. We are praying that we will come back with a great report.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 08:06 AM | Permalink

Several weeks ago, I introduced a new term in our church in Ann Arbor and this coming Sunday people in Chicago will hear it for the first time. The term is, “The Trans-Cultural Church.” We have heard a lot of the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic church, but we are trying to create a new ethos within the context of our church. More than just going “multi”- whatever, the key thing is that we want to train up people who will go across and even beyond what is natural and comfortable for them and create a whole new culture.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the prefix, “trans-” as, “across; on the other side; beyond; through; change; and transfer.” The Random House Unabridged Dictionary adds to the definition by adding, “changing thoroughly or transverse in combination with elements of any origin.”

Therefore if we want to be a “trans-cultural church,” it means that we will have to “go beyond” the ethnicities and cultures to “change thoroughly” in order to become a new entity. This entity reflects our identity in Christ, as children of God first and foremost above our own cultures and ethnicities. This does not mean that we have to give up being Korean-American, African-American, Latino-American, etc. but it does mean that we go beyond it. It means that we have to be willing go through discomforts and difficulties to cross over “on the other side” in order to and understand people who are different from us.

It truly has to be a love-of-another kind.

The exciting part is that God has given us both the ability and the access to love. The ability is given because “for he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Eph 2:14-16). The access is given because, “God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Ro 5:5).

So we simply define being “trans-cultural” as, “a decision to go through discomforts and difficulties to develop understanding and delight in people from a different culture.”

This is the only way the Church of Jesus will have any credibility as we talk about God’s love and how the cross levels the playing field.

I love David Bronnert’s quote in his book, The Gospel and Culture in The Changing World. He writes, “West Indian, and Anglo-Saxon congregations worshiping and meeting close to each other. These groups meet at work and in school, but not always in church. If the church is middle-class and intellectual in the language of the services, in the music employed, in the life-style expected of Christians, in its leadership, and in the methods of presenting the gospel, then the whole atmosphere is such as to repel those who are not middle-class and intellectual. They feel out of place and unwanted, even if they are given a friendly greeting at the door. The life of the New Testament Church was evidence of the supernatural; God was in their midst. The power of Christ was a reality. The fellowship could not be explained in simple natural terms. A church divided on social and racial lines is not evidence for the supernatural, but for the simply human and social.”

What would happen if God was really in our midst? What would happen if we experienced the supernatural? What would happen if we experienced the reality of the power of Christ?

I think the Church would look more trans-cultural. Lord this is our prayer… come visit us and show us Your power!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 12:10 AM | Permalink

Pastor Ben and I will be heading out to the airport in about 3 hours. As you know, we are trying to secure another campus location for a future church plant. Part of the joy in going to other campuses is to just see what God is up to in that area.

Even in our last trip it was awesome to hear the great things that God is doing on various college campuses. For some reason, God is moving powerfully on the universities and we just want to be tracking with God’s move.

It will truly be a privilege, if in our lifetime we are able to see another Student Volunteer Movement in our generation. But this time, it will be different because instead of being a para-church movement it will be a local church planting movement!

We will be updating the church as we get back. Then throughout the month of December, the pastoral staff and the Board of Directors will be fasting and praying for God’s direction. Afterwards, some time in January we will be making the official announcement of the future church plant.

Please continue to pray for God's power to transform campuses, communities, cities and the world!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 02:23 AM | Permalink

This coming Sunday due to my travel to HMCC of Chicago, we are going to do our first video sermon in Ann Arbor. I am praying that we will expect the similar results as in Chicago, if not greater here in the “mother church.”

When we first showed the video sermon in Chicago, Pastor Jimmy mentioned that it took a few minutes to get adjusted to the new avenue of communicating God’s Word, but after that people were responding as if it was live.

I don’t think this would have work 20 years ago, but with the improvements of technology and a whole new generation of people being raised up in this media-filled world, we are now able to redeem the communication medium for God’s glory.

The beauty of this format working in our context is that after the message our response time is more prophetic through prayer and worship. No matter what is being shared through the video, the pastor on site is able to take God’s Word, which is unchanging and powerful and then direct the people to respond in worship of our God.

I pray that you will be able to join us to make history in HMCC of Ann Arbor tomorrow.
 
 
 

 
We are continuing in our series, "Atmosphere" with Part 2: Diversity

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:48 AM | Permalink

There was an interesting article on the Michigan Daily yesterday. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we have seen a drop in international students coming to the States to study. But a recent study has shown that the number has increased this year. This is an awesome thing in light of missions and the greater vision of HMCC.

Here at the University of Michigan, there are 5,429 foreign students and we rank #6 as the most popular school for international student in the States.

But it was just as interesting to find out that the University of Michigan had more than 1,700 students who went abroad last year to study. This ranks UM #15 in terms of the most number of students studying abroad.

As I was soaking up the information, I thought of 2 things:

It is always exciting when we pray for things and then God confirms it somehow with a situation that only He can bring into the forefront. We need to keep our eyes on the mission and vision that God has called us to fulfill.

As we continue to plant churches on college campuses, then one day we will be able to see our first international church plant somewhere in a major world-class city. God is amazing.

You can read the Michigan Daily’s article here.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 04:55 PM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
Tomorrow, we will have our first-ever international Sunday Celebration. This has been 10 years in the making. I have always wanted to have a service where we can sing worship songs in multi-languages and to read Scripture in various tongues.

It is going to be exciting to cap off our Missions Week with a glimpse of what heaven is going to like – “from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb” (Rev 7:9) and worshipping the King of Kings. We will have various presentations that reflect the multi-color and multi-culture of God’s Kingdom.

I will also introduce our theme for this coming year – Think Globally… Train Locally. I can’t wait. The Daylight Savings Time will delay the experience for one hour but it is worth the wait.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:04 PM | Permalink

For the last 11 years, we as a church have been trying to develop a multi-ethnic church. Even though we are not exactly where we want to be, we are committed to making some progress in this area. This is probably one of the hardest goals for a church to reach.

Through various sermons, talks and discussions, we have been trying to convince people in our church that it is on God’s heart for us to build a multi-ethnic church. Even trying to appeal from the perspective of what heaven will be like has not been enough to move people to live in reconciled relationships with people who are different from them.

I will never forget the class that I took in seminary. It was entitled “The Church Growth Movement.” What young seminarian does not want to grow their church? What young seminarian does not want to be the next Billy Graham?

Most of the materials was from Donald A. McGavran, who was a 3rd generation missionary to India. In his frustration of not seeing many conversions, he began to ask some hard questions and finally wrote his famous book, “The Bridges of God” where he concluded that people “become Christians fastest when least change of race or clan is involved.” Then in 1970 with C. Peter Wagner, he wrote “Understanding Church Growth” where they introduced the “Homogeneous Unit Principle.” This principle states that people when people do not have to cross racial, linguistic or class barriers then churches will grow the fastest.

So for the last 40 some years, we have seen churches that are so desperate for growth that they target people who are from similar social, ethnic or cultural background. The result? Churches grew. It even began to spread to college campuses where now there are ministries that are specially focused on African-Americans or Asian-Americans.

We have all accepted this as normal and did not really question it too much. Today, we see how most churches and ministries are homogeneous. But is this God’s intent?

In light of everything that is going on around the world, the Gospel message has to be able to bring reconciliation amongst racial groups.

Mark DeYmaz in his new book, “Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation,” talks about some of the lessons that he learned through his church’s journey.

He said something pretty provocative – “While churches do indeed grow fastest when they are homogeneous, I am not so sure they grow biblically.”

What does a biblically functioning church look like? What good is it if a church grows numerically but they are not growing in discipleship and addressing various issues that break the heart of God?

What drives people to naturally desire homogenous groups?

Well, from experience, we have seen that “comfort, contentment and conceit” have always been a strong driving force for people to hang out with people who are similar to themselves. It is incredible to see how the human heart hates “discomfort, difficulties, and dissension.”

In a couple of weeks we are going to start a whole new series on Sunday Celebration called, “Atmosphere.” One of the parts of this series we are going to cover the topic of “diversity.” It might be an uncomfortable, unusual, and unexpected experience but I am praying that God will use that Sunday Celebration to awaken something in us.

Check out Pastor Mark DeYmaz’s advertisement for his book. It was pretty powerful.

Watch the presentation here.
 
 
 
 

 
It is encouraging to see that there is another church that likes to hold hands as they pray :-)

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:07 AM | Permalink

I was away the last 2 days visiting a college campus. I went out to scout the campus for a possible church plant in the future. As I was walking around, I couldn’t help but to get convicted about the important role college campuses play in the overall purpose and mission of God.

As I was talking with some of the students, there was a gentle nudge from the Spirit. I realized that many major decisions that change the destiny and course of a person’s life are made in college. If we are able to speak into their lives with a Kingdom perspective, they will be used of God in a tremendous way.

It is interesting how so many ministries on college campuses are still run by para-churches. But there seems to be a new wave of local churches coming into the campuses. It is exciting to see how God is using local churches and para-churches to bring forth the reality of God’s Kingdom.

As college campuses are being reached then communities will be impacted. If communities are then reached, the surrounding cities will be affected. Hopefully, as cities are reached, the world will be transformed and God will receive all the glory!

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:17 PM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
We started off our annual Missions Week. This is a great time for our church to really focus in on the heart of our church and the bigger purpose of God.

Every year, I am humbled to see how a concentrated time of tapping into God’s heart can produce life transformation. We are praying that this year will be no different as we have the privilege of having Dr. Timothy Tennent come and share God’s Word with us.

Dr. Tennent has written several books, but his most anticipated book which will be coming out in December 2007 is called, “Theology in the Context of World Christianity: How the Global Church Is Influencing the Way We Think about and Discuss Theology.”

So get ready.

We have started the Missions Week with morning prayers focusing on missions. Also, there will be various seminars and sermons this coming weekend that will help train and equip you for the Great Commission.

We are particularly excited about this Sunday because we are having our first International Sunday Celebration. You do not want to miss it. We are going to sing, speak and shout out God’s greatness in various languages. We will many different cultures represented as we display the mosaic picture of God’s multi-faceted Church.

I will also be introducing the new theme for this coming year which will be “Think Globally. Train Locally.” You don’t want to miss what God is going to do this coming week.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 01:13 AM | Permalink

 
      
 
 
 
Just recently, Dr. Steve Lee in Kenya, Africa forwarded an article about Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEALS who died in combat in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, President Bush awarded him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, which was received by his father and mother.

What caught my attention was his profile. I am realizing that Ed Cole’s phrase of, “Being a male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of choice” is so true. How do we raise up men that have character, courage and compassion that they are willing to lay down their lives for greater things?

I have mentioned that life is made up of “moments” and “decisions.” In fact, “our decisions determine our destiny.” Here is part of the New York Times article about Lt. Michael P. Murphy and some of the key moments in his life:

You can read the whole New York Times article here.

If we had more people like Michael P. Murphy, we will see the world transformed.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:57 AM | Permalink

 

 
 
 
This past week history was made. Bobby Jindal, son of Indian immigrants became the youngest governor in United States history. You can read up on the story here.

Couple of things about this newsworthy event struck me:

I am praying that in the future we will see many Christians entering into the political scene with Christ-like character. It is possible, regardless of your ethnicity or your age. This is what we are trying to promote with the whole Transformasphere Movement.

Jindal is living proof and now he has raised the bar. May we be people of conviction, compassion, and courage.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 11:41 AM | Permalink

This past Sunday I had some of the men that I am spending time with come over to my place for a bbq. After eating our “manly” hamburgers, I had them go around and share how their ministry to other men in the church was coming along.

Too often we are focused on programs and events that we forget that Jesus’ command was to go and make “disciples.” It is always easier said than done. When we disciple people it is all about the life-on-life principle. When the people we are discipling do not see our lives, then it is hard to impart anything to them.

There is something about bringing our lives up close and personal that allows people to see what following Christ is all about. People in our generation have heard too much about discipleship and now they just need to see it.

In the past some years we have seen an increase in concern (grumblings from some of the women in the church) about Christian men. They have noticed traits like: immaturity, irresponsibility, laziness, unfocused, purposelessness, passionless and the list goes on.

Now, in defense of the male gender, I would say that we are still growing in Christ and doing our best to be more Christ-like since “manhood and Christlikeness are synonymous.” But when I honestly assess some of the brothers, I realized that we are in somewhat of a crisis. It is getting harder to find men who are passionate about Christ and the things of the Kingdom and who are willing to take responsibility.

I would love to see our church become like an epicenter for producing godly men. When men are discipled to be sold out Christ-followers then you will have a strong church. We have to start with one man at a time.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:04 AM | Permalink

I read an interesting article today in the Michigan Daily, which is the student newspaper for the University of Michigan. There is talk about setting up a program through the university where students can go to Detroit to take classes.

The aim is to start getting some of the students to think of ways to bring positive change in a city like Detroit. They will be strategizing with other organizations to reach out to various impoverished areas of the inner city and even the greater downtown Detroit area.

As I was reading the article, I couldn’t help but to think to myself – “isn’t this what the Church should be doing?” If the people of God are called to be the salt and light, then why are we not doing something about this? How can we be like a city on a hill shining brightly if there is only darkness? By removing the light (everyone escaping to the nice plush suburbs), how can any city really shine?

The city of Detroit has always been last in a lot of categories. Our only claim to fame is our murder rate for which we were ranked number one.

This got me thinking about people in our church. Why is it that so many people after graduation want to flock to the “better” cities and places? When they are challenged, they usually give the typical answer – “because there are no job or opportunities here.”

When I hear this, I think maybe we are looking at the situation in the wrong way. Are we always called to go somewhere because of a job or a good opportunity? How about “creating” or “bringing” more jobs and good opportunities to a place?

I understand that not everyone is entrepreneurial, but this is something that we might have to address or even start talking about in the collective whole.

Why is it that the secular world are thinking about and even doing things that the Church of Jesus should be doing if we are serious about transformation? I am convinced that the cities will play a major role in the future of missions. We need to start from our Jerusalem and Judea so that we can go out to our Samaria and to the ends of this earth.

I am praying for people who will have a vision for the future and have the willingness to sacrifice for that vision. Great cities like NYC, Chicago, LA, Singapore, Seoul and etc. were not birthed by people who were always seeking for the easiest way out. What would it be like if Detroit was known for being one of the most happening places in the United States rather than for its murder rate?

It will truly be a transformasphere moment.

"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jer 29:7).

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 01:22 PM | Permalink

It is amazing to study some of the great movements throughout history. There are several common components in these movements. First of all, there is a revelation of a clear vision from God. Whether it is a vision for revival or missions, God puts a vision in the hearts of His people. Secondly, there is a response from the people of God. God is always looking for men and women who will respond in obedience to the vision. Thirdly, there is a revolution. In all movements there is some kind of change or transformation.

A revelation, a response, and a revolution.

Soon, we are going to share a revelation that God gave to us as a church. Then we will pray that God will give us the grace to respond appropriately to Him. Then, the revolution will begin and God is the only One who can sustain it; therefore we get on our knees and pray.

The movement: www.transformasphere.com

It will launch September 23rd at 9:30AM.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 07:30 AM | Permalink

I just came back from meeting with some of the men in our church. Several weeks ago, I sent out an invitation to all the men in our leadership team (TEAM Community) about being part of a group who will get discipled and trained to be future pastors and ministry leaders. It was encouraging to see the men who responded and who make up this group.

In our time together, we went around and share about our where we are in our calling and what we are expecting from our time together. Then, I had the current pastors share how they received their calling and their journey in doing ministry.

God is truly faithful. As we are getting ready to send out some of their pastors to plant more churches in the coming years, God is raising up the next generation of pastors and missionaries. This is what I am passionate about… this is what I am called to do. I am thankful for the privilege of investing in the next generation.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 08:31 PM | Permalink

As this new school year started, we have added a junior school ministry to our church. It is hard to believe that what started off just as a college focused church has now expanded to various other ministries. This is truly a testimony to God’s grace and faithfulness.

Within the month of August we were racking our brains to come up with a new name for this ministry. I have been teaching in our church the importance of names. I did a teaching one time about how “our name is our destiny.”

We began to go back to our junior high days and tried (really, really) hard to remember some of the things that we went through; and finally we decided to name the junior high ministry “Velocity.”

Various dictionaries define “velocity” as, “the speed at which something moves or happens; the rate of change in the position of an object as it moves in a particular direction.”

When we go back to our junior high days, there were so many things that came at us in high speeds – puberty, peer pressure, identity formation, friendships, etc. I still remember some of the mistakes I made during this time. I wish I had a Christian background to keep me rooted but that was not the case for me. It was only after a series of events that I got introduced to church and received Christ at the end of the summer of my 8th grade as I was heading into high school.

This is one reason why I am passionate about having a good junior high ministry in our church. It can really change the destiny of people. With so many things bombarding the teenagers at high speeds, we are praying that the direction of their lives will be transformed with the Gospel message. We are praying that “the rate of change in the position of an object as it moves in a particular direction” will be God-centered and transformed to live for the glory of God.

Big props to our servants who are helping out with this ministry as well as with Latitude, our high school ministry. We are definitely changing the destiny of the next generation.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 03:07 PM | Permalink

After I got back from my whirlwind summer tour, I was convinced that what we are trying to do here in Ann Arbor is really worth it. God reignited my heart for investing in the alumni who are now making ripples throughout the world.

One morning, I was in Singapore’s airport having an early breakfast with a handful of former members. It was so encouraging to hear some of the things that they were doing for Christ. Then in Indonesia, I was hosted by a former member and her family and it really blessed my heart. I saw how they are trying to live out the principles of transformation in their part of the world. I just got this sense that it will be great to stay connected.

It was from there I was thinking to myself, what it would it be like if more of our graduating members would go back to their hometown or home country and then connect with one another. We would be able to see a movement of transformation with people who have tasted the goodness of God while they were here in Ann Arbor.

Some years back during a graduation weekend, we had a luncheon for a group of graduating seniors (it was the first time we did this). It was at that meeting where I shared the vision of this alumni network all over the world. I gave 5 specific purposes for this network:

 
 
 
I pray that you will be part of the world-wide movement of HMCC alumni that are doing some incredible things. We would love to hear some of your stories and how God is using you to bring transformation in your part of the world.

There are two things we are trying to do right now:

 
 
I can’t wait for a big reunion in the future. It is going to be a blast. We will probably laugh together, cry together and give holy high-fives to one another :-)

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 09:19 PM | Permalink

It is very interesting to discover that a lot of the R&B singers today (and of the past) were once involved in their church choir. When we look even further into history, we will notice that some of the greatest music came from the Church. Some notable composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, and Ludwig van Beethoven all had a high view of God and how He deserved their best.

In fact, Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated all his music to the glory of God. In 1708, Bach declared his ultimate purpose in life was to create “well-regulated church music to the glory of God.” He continued and said, “The aim and final reason of all music was none else but the glory of God.”

Whenever he started to compose a music piece, he initialed the blank manuscripts with “J.J.” which stood for “Jesu Juva” (“Help me, Jesus!”) or “I.N.J.” which meant “In Nomine Jesu” (“In the name of Jesus”). Then, when the manuscript was finished, Bach would initial it with “S.D.G.” which meant “Soli Deo Gloria” (“To God alone, the glory).

When Christian Contemporary Music (CCM) was first starting off in the late 1960’s, it was a response to God’s move within the Jesus People Movement. The music was set in the genre of rock music with Christian lyrics.

We have come a long way since then. Now we are seeing some artists and group cutting into the mainstream with some of their music. Not only is the quality getting better, but the words are speaking to the hearts of the listener.

In our generation we need to reclaim the Arts & Media. We need to see more Christians who will excel in music and the arts. Our generation has become the media generation. Think about the platform a Christian person would have if their music had a voice amongst the lost.

With the whole transformasphere movement and trying to engage in the CHARGED acronym, I am confident that God is going to raise up a generation of people who will reclaim the Arts & Media for God’s Kingdom.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 10:23 AM | Permalink

I love it when words are created. It expresses a function of something and then it is put into a form. I enjoy seeing this process take shape. For example the word, “blog” came about from people journaling on the web. As they kept a log of their thoughts, it was put in a chronological order. Since it was a “web log,” people have shortened it to call it simply a blog (weB log).

Recently, the Lord gave me a word that was consistent with some of the things that He was doing in our church. For several years, I have been sharing with people about the significance of the CHARGED acronym and how it is going to play a part in bringing transformation to this world.

Each of the 7 spheres (Commerce, Health professions, Arts & Media, Religious institutions, Government & Politics, Education and Domestic Issues) must be redeemed and impacted in order to see transformation in our global society. Christians cannot run away from these spheres of influence. Rather we must engage these spheres and transform it to reflect God’s intended purposes.

The whole process of Christians engaging in these 7 spheres and then taking steps to bring transformation is what I have started to call, “transformasphere.” I am also in the process of writing something substantial on this topic so that our generation can equipped and ready to build God’s Kingdom. I am hoping that the word transformasphere will help outline the foundation and importance of engaging our world. May it remind us to “transform-a-sphere.”

It is exciting to see people in our church who are taking this challenge seriously as they are studying and preparing to enter into these particular fields.

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 12:43 PM | Permalink

After doing campus ministry for some time now, I am slowly beginning to see how college campuses and missions are linked together. Throughout the world, key universities are playing a major role in developing communities and even cities. Even here in Ann Arbor, a lot of what goes on in the community and the city is centered around the University of Michigan.

If this is the case, what would it be like if we reached a particular campus, which was located in a particular community, within a particular city?

With this in mind, God started to open up another college campus in Chicago. There are a handful of students who go to the University of Illinois – Chicago (UIC) who have been attending the church in Evanston.

All throughout this year, we have been talking about being a missional church. We would not be missional if we transported students from the downtown Chicago area and brought them to the suburbs of Evanston.

In fact this is what many churches have done in the past. They would drive down from their wealthy suburbs to a building in the city for one day out of the week and then go back to their separate communities. In this sense, the Church has been ineffective in reaching the lost in that community. The Church failed to incarnate the message of Christ.

Therefore, instead of perpetuating a vicious cycle, we want to tell the students to make a difference right where they are. This means that we need to start something on this campus so that more people can experience the transformative power of the Gospel.

We are in the process of getting our student status on campus approved and we are going to start up a small group ministry in September. Then eventually we are praying that as the fruits begin to show that we can gather together for larger meetings on Sundays, which in turn will be a site church.

Once again, we are humbled by the opportunity. We were not looking for it but instead God brought it sovereignly to our attention – and we want to be faithful.

It seems clear in the mission that God is giving us as HMCC:

Transform the campus, you will transform the community… and if you transform the community, you will transform the city… and if you transform the city, you will transform the world (in the Greek it is cosmos).

Posted by Seth S. Kim at 12:26 AM | Permalink

It is hard to believe that over ten years ago, we started the church in Ann Arbor with mostly college students. Now, we are seeing growth in various areas especially in the married couples and families who have joined our church community.

We are excited about starting up another small group for the married couples this coming year. It is going to prepare the way for further growth as we are planning on reaching out to more families and married couples in this season of ministry.

We are also looking