Christian Wallpaper Photo There are so many different pictures depicting the birth of Jesus on the web, but this one stuck out for me. Maybe it was the stars. Or the simplicity of the background. But most of all, I think it was the radiance of God’s glory in the manger. […]
Christmas in Chicago 12.24.08
It’s been a great 2.5 days in Chicago so far. We are staying at my parents’ place; and my parents are just ecstatic that they can see their grandchildren. Whenever we come to Chicago, we fill our time by reconnecting with our families and friends, visiting special spots around Chicago that are fun, and eating […]
Awakening: 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer
For several months, the pastoral staff and I have been talking about the need for more prayer in our lives, as well as in our churches. Sometimes we are so consumed with coming up with the next “best thing” or the next “great idea” that we forget some of the basics. […]
Covenant Christmas Party
The married couples of HMCC (Covenant group) had our annual Christmas party. I really enjoy these times. Since it is hard to see all the married couples in our church at the same time, these gatherings are all the more special. Whenever we have an opportunity to gather all together, it is always a treat […]
HMCC Board Summit 12.20.08
Yesterday we finished our Board Summit. After everything was over, I was just thankful for the friendships and partnership we had with one another. I am blessed to have such high caliber people to work with and to build God’s Kingdom. We had all the global pastors come and join us and it was encouraging […]
Leaders Make Tough Choices
AP Photo I enjoy seeing leadership principles being lived out a daily basis. I am constantly seeing how various situations and even news-worthy events show leadership principles in action. This is why I decide to write on the recent news about President-elect Obama choosing Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation […]
Apple and Leadership
Getty Photo To set the record straight – “I am NOT an Apple hater!” In fact, I used an Apple (Macintosh) when I was in college (I had a Macintosh SE) and in seminary I used a Powerbook 520. I just prefer a PC now. I give all these disclaimers because […]
Thoughts on “Planting Churches in Muslim Cities”
Greg Livingstone in his book, “Planting Churches in Muslim Cities” gives some great insights into the whole Islamic landscape and the importance of church planting. Livingstone’s experience with ministry in the Middle East, not only gives credibility to what he is writing about, but he gives very practical advice and solutions […]
Ministry According to Will Smith
USA Today Photo I enjoy watching movies, especially with Christina. Some of my favorite actors are in the likings of De Niro and Pacino. But more recently, I have been slowly enjoying Will Smith (I still can’t believe he was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). For the promotion of his new […]
The Twitter Sensation
I am amazed at how quickly Twitter is taking over the communication world. For a lot of people, it is like a micro blog. The beauty of Twitter is that it only gives you 140 characters to type a message or an update. This disciplines you to share only what is […]
A Woman’s Perspective
In the midst of making the announcement of going to Jakarta, Indonesia, people have been asking me, “How does Christina feel about all this?” Instead of me trying to put words in her mouth, you can read it from her own perspective here. I guess this is going to be a 2 part series that […]
Giving Away Our Wish List
As the kids got older, we started to implement a wish list for Christmas. In this list we would have 3 categories (3 M’s): 1) Most Expensive, 2) Moderately Expensive, 3) Minimally Expensive. The number of items would decrease as we move towards the “most expensive.” There is a greater probability that we might not […]
The Blinding Power of Power
AP Photo By now, many of you have probably heard about the arrest of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges. Blagojevich and his administration were on a 3-year probe by the FBI; and on Tuesday, they were finally charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of […]
First Vietnamese-American Congressman
Things are happening. History is being made all over the political landscape. It is encouraging to hear about how people in the state of Louisiana elected the first Vietnamese-American to Congress. Joseph Cao came out of nowhere. But his committed to the community and wanting to bring change, helped him get […]