Photo by weeklyrob I remember growing up as a new Christian in high school and some of my spiritual leaders would tell me the catch-22 that Christians face, especially when it comes to spiritual warfare. The catch-22 goes like this – “If you are growing spiritually, Satan will come against you […]
Prelude to Revival
Photo from chrisbraymusic.com A. W. Tozer wrote, “Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late–and how little revival has resulted? I believe the problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying, and it simply will not work. To pray for revival […]
From the Crowd to the Core
Photo on dpnow.com In all new church plants, one of the biggest concerns or dilemmas is trying to figure out how to get people who visit your church to become committed disciples who will take on the role of leadership. Usually the linear process is: bring visitors in, reach out to […]
Obsessed with Fame
Photo by AP The whole world was riveted with the thought of a boy stuck in a runaway balloon. But horror turned into shock when evidence slowly emerged with the possibility of the whole ordeal being a hoax made up by the parents. The shock then turned into disbelief and anger. […]
Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves
Photo from images.com Over the years, I have been trying to teach our congregation(s) the importance of the Gospel. The Gospel is critical in our journey with Christ, not only when we get saved, but in the present and into the future. So often we apply the Gospel message towards a […]
Quicker Updates
Photo by kent.edu Someone from the States asked me if I can update about the earthquake situation in Indonesia on my blog. The reason behind the request is that people hear the news about the earthquakes (there have been more recently) and the terrorist bombing and they want to know if […]
The Reminders through the Call to Prayer
Photo from Freewebs I think one of the things that people have to get used to while they are in Indonesia is the daily calls to prayer. All throughout the day, you are able to hear the multiple calls to prayer for the Muslim people. The retreat center that I am […]
High School Retreat Revisited
Photo by Steven Fernandez For some reason, it seems so long ago that I spoke at a high school youth retreat, but in actuality, it has only been a few years. There is something about youth retreats that still has a special place in my heart. First of all, my first […]
My First Exam as a Professor
Photo from nomadlife.org This past week was my first time writing up a midterm exam on the college level. So many things ran through my mind. I thought about some of the most difficult exams that I have taken in my life. I thought about some of the easiest test that […]
Power Outages
Photo by uchicago.edu I have heard about the power outages that occur once in awhile in Indonesia. People have told me to be prepared for them because it happens randomly and the electricity can be out for hours. It was all head knowledge until we experienced our first power outage. Now, […]
I Don’t Want a Revival
Photo by Northview Some years ago, I was reflecting on how God sent revivals throughout history. At first, I was baffled at the fact that we haven’t been experiencing the type of revival that we read about in history. There were some of the more recent revivals in the 1990’s and […]
Obama’s Possible Miscue on Culture
Photo by Presswire The 2016 Olympics will be officially held in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (yes, I am spelling it with an “S” instead of a “Z”… spelling with the “S” is the official Portuguese way). It was a joyous occasion for people of Brasil because this will be the first […]
Batiks are Indonesian
Photo on Friendster On October 2nd of this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially recognized the batik as an Indonesian cultural treasure. In order to celebrate this recognition, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asked Indonesians to wear a batik on this day. This was a huge […]
Earthquakes in Indonesia
Photo by Reuters So much has happened in our 3 months in Indonesia. Not only in terms of the church plant, but we have been welcomed by a terrorist bombing in Jakarta, an earthquake (that we actually felt), and now another earthquake in Sumatra Island. The death toll is slowly rising […]