Morning chats with @QQdp

+Daniel Park : oh balls

• my manager's going to talk to me
• i should just tell him it was one harmless picture of emma watson right?
• i already got street cred from my coworkers for knowing who wutang was
• she's a huge fan of wutang
• i got street cred from her
• and she recommended me to the lead for the dputy position
• so i indirectly got this promotion because of bboying
• wutup
• i want to just decline the offer and be like
• nah man i can't be deputy
• then turn around and walk away
• then after 5 steps
• i drop a knee
• do a coindrop
• and be like
• but if you ask
• i can keep it poppin' for ya
• cue bboy stance
• me: CAN YOU NOT
• OMG
• WHO ARE YOU
• DP: i'm every 80s bboying movie
• yeah son

I'm going on missions to China this summer. If you want updates and/or would like to partner with me in prayer and funding, please email me at willisz@seas.upenn.edu

What you need to know about Ben Shyong

Credit to John Zhang:

• +Benjamin Shyong's body is so well sculpted, Michaelangelo saw it from heaven and sh-t his robes
• Rihanna is back with Chris Brown because Ben Shyong said so
• "Men sleep without shirts on" - Ben Shyong
• Ben Shyong created so many jobs, he's the reason S&P hit an all time high
• Taylor Swift's songs are all about Ben Shyong
• Kanye West lets Ben Shyong finish
• On a scale of one to Ben Shyong, Aphrodite is only a 7 ;)
• Ben Shyong's the reason California is so sunny
• Ben Shyong's shirts and jackets are so tight, it always fits an Asian girl he's with perfectly in the winter
• 方文山 steals love song lyrics from Ben Shyong's facebook wall
• Ben Shyong's heart is so tender, it's softer than Philadelphia Eagle's offensive line
• Honey is sweet, bears eat honey, Ben Bear is sweet ♥
• Ben Shyong also GTL's - Girls, Taiwan, Love
• Ben Shyong's voice is so high, Dawei takes a hit...
• Ben Shyong likes girls

Week #12

• Sundays +Paul Park +Gloria Kim 
• CG +Esther Eunjin Kim +Samuel Yang +Emily Jun +Christopher Chi +Kristine Fu +Alex Nguyen +Joseph An +Jamison Lied 
• Hall hangout +Vanessa Di Maria
• Owen birthday +Charles Shin +Joon Y. Lee +Megan Lui +Hon Lui +Jenny Shin +Christopher Pham 
• Prayer tent +Michael Hu 
• Senior design +Samuel Lim +Fred Abi +Napat Harinsuit 

Week #11

• FELA! with +Susie Ahn +Joseph Oh 
• +Irene Truong +Collin Lyou +Alex Nguyen +Esther Eunjin Kim +John Yun 

Week #10

• NYC trip with +Michael Chen +Michael Thornhill +Giulia Porcari +Jason Choi +Mark Chou +Matt Curtis 
• Inside jokes
• I can get behind that
• Cuban lips
• Creme brule & spiked donuts ("my lips hurt!")
• Three-pronged handshake
• Throwing Faith into public transpo
• No weapon
• False
• 54 likes
• Squalay
• We both lose
• Trip over boxes
• Ghosting
• Punch my punch
• You corny ("..Jesus?")
• Blowin' it up
• If Jesus is sleeping, I'm sleeping
• Waka flocka
• Batman voice
• Shrimp meals
• Get my blessing
• Corn dusting

Week #9

• Misc +Jennifer Jen +Jason Joo 
• Practice with +Joseph Oh +Edem Attikese
• Client visit +Fred Abi +Samuel Lim +Napat Harinsuit 
• Veritas +Michael Chen +Giulia Porcari +Peter Blair +E. Keith Keenan +Elise Taylor +dalton banks +Micah Sandusky +Franco Nilo +Ashley Byrd +Matt Pershe 

Week #8

• Beautiful collapses, struggle one-hand halo
• Sundays with +Christopher Chi +Judy Chan +Mandy Scull +Luke Woo +Edward Suh +Christopher Pham +Albert Chu +Jennifer Jen +Kun He Lee 
• Italian gestures
• Senior design with +Samuel Lim +Napat Harinsuit +Fred Abi 
• CG with +Gloria Kim +Alex Nguyen +Emily Jun +Esther Eunjin Kim +Kristine Fu 
• New Wharton building +John Yang
• Fashion strut with +Rachel An +Joseph Oh +Sabrina Wong +Sophia Yang 
• Praise night with +Aran Park +Christine Li +Christina Wu +Jonathan Chou 
• Dhamaka +Peisong Ouyang 

Takeaways from Romans #2

• We are to preach the gospel to believers. All the time. (Romans 1:12,15). We learn this is the case from 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 ("where we stand") and 1 John 2:19 ("they went from us"). Let’s not comfort backsliders with validation of a past promise but warning that they might have believed in vain.
  ----------
• The world teaches us to deal with shame by hiding it, avoiding situations that would bring it out. God, instead, brings our shame to the for forefront, despises it, and frees us from it. Romans 1:16-17 brought Martin Luther into paradise.

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Reflections on Christian leadership

From Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus:

In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, cares, reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response. It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope. 

...

The original meaning of the word "theology" was "union with God in prayer."

...

The world says, "When you were young you could not go where you wanted, but when you grow old you will be able to control your own destiny." But Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go (John 21:18).

Those mid-study phonecalls

that leave me thankful for God revealing how judgmental and anti-gospel I am and how dependent on him I need to be. I desire the best for your people, LORD!

Life is not simple, nor does it make sense, but I am going to do my best to translate my principles (of which I will not compromise) into principles that show love and care for those they mean to protect.

Takeaways from Romans #1

• When you take a risk based on someone’s promise or protection, you magnify his trustworthiness (Romans 1:5,8). Prove your faith to the world and trust God for all your needs.
  _
• Thank God for the people in my life. If I cannot, I have made the grace of Christ a trifling thing, or worse yet, an enemy (Romans 1:8)
  _
• Thank God for God in my life. Amen.
  _
• You are not ruining a prayer by adding “if it is your will.” This is not lack of faith, this is faith (Romans 1:10).
  _
• By ministering to people, you are doing myself a favor because you need them and their faith to bless you (Romans 1:11-12)
  _
• I am obligated (a debtor) to people (Romans 1:14) because I stole glory from God (Romans 1:23) but his gift of salvation makes it so I must share God’s glory to people.

The offices of Christ wrt my story

My feelings must stem from reality lest idolatry reign (Proverbs 19:2). Jesus the prophet is my life’s logos of truth.

Jesus the priest is my covenant-keeper, cementing my life story to his gospel reality.

Jesus, my humble, loving king, crafts my life story with care and protection.

Free Veritas Forum event tonight!

SPEC and Year of Proof Event:

Atheist and Christian professor engage one another on science and epistemology, featuring Dr. Ghrist as moderator.

| 730PM | Irvine Auditorium | Penn ID preferred seating |

Best man

I'm going to try to write this in the tone of +Edward Suh's (@Eagersuh) tweets. Running into my friends who are with their significant other makes me so happy. Like really really happy. The guy's embarrassed grin can scarcely be contained, and the girl's eyes glint with a joy I just don't see in other contexts. Like PDwight's groomsman/best man analogies, in those moments I dwell not on myself and instead cherish that window I can peer into their shared joy.

It remains indefinite who is to be my object of affection, the apple of my eye. But the thrill of expressing those emotions (for which there will be no lack, this I promise) will give me deeper appreciation of the passion Christ sees his bride, the church. In any case, I'll gladly use this time to take the role as humble groomsman to please Jesus and his wife, me in the background and them in the foreground.

The art of losing myself is the art of joy

It could be hard to fathom, but I was ostensibly more prideful when I was younger. One clear example was my refusal to learn Chinese properly. As I sit here and prepare to go to Chengdu in hopes of showing God's love to a people I can barely communicate with, the regret is palpable.

The main reason that I hated learning Chinese was that it forced me to lose myself. Sardonic quips, mocking snark - these things I saw as precious facets of my personality. Chinese sarcasm (hyperboles, rather) is more to be mean than to be funny. It infuriated me to "condescend" to a language where sarcasm as I knew it didn't exist, and the extent of humor was cheesy puns. Our flesh naturally wants to make much of ourselves, but if only God helped me to see that people could really use less of my sarcastic personality anyways, much less the people I will minister to in the future.

And that is why - better late than never - I am now loving every second of learning Chinese. +Brendon Wu said once that if you find that your interests are not constantly changing, you should really question whether your love is genuine. We touched upon this in CG too (+Rachel Miao +Gloria Kim): we must love people in the way they feel loved. Their interests must become ours, in the same way Jesus condescended himself in human form to walk alongside us. My love for God and his people, and my desire to forget myself to make much of him, is now giving such education divine purpose and passion, to which there is much joy.

Pennkindness

Was randomly blessed by dude who held the elevator for me at Harnwell then proceeded to make heartfelt conversation about the week for what the 20 floors were worth. What a nice guy! How easy would it be for me to not be so insecure and brighten someone's day? Worth thinking about.

Disciple turned coleader...

• me: REALNESS
• 1 corinthians something about judging in the church
• Sam: im going to do that
• me: ...what?
• Sam: doe jk
• next year
• me: ...
• ??
• Sam: doeeee
• hopefully next year this time
• it'l be a bet
• me: WHAT ARE YOU SAYING
• Sam: doe
• hopefully itll be +1
• me: i honestly cant follow what youre saying
• Sam: i know
• im being cryptic

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

Weekend takeaways

• Legalism is not obeying God when you don't feel like it. Legalism is obeying God and feeling more loved by him or self-justified. Obeying God when you don't feel like it (for the moment) is faith.
• +Albert Chu running jokes, e.g., you don't even go here, the immersive video-game/chips and fries eating/walking experience, providential events

Week #7

• Babysitting/Harlem Shake with +Joon Y. Lee 
• 2013 Sisters' Appreciation with +Rachel An +Elena Lee +Jenny Kim +Samantha Shen +Elizabeth Park +Collin Lyou +Timothy Kim +Kun He Lee 
• Philly chilling with +Albert Chu +Cheryl Tam +Teddy Zhang +Thanat Owlarn +Nop Jiarathanakul 
• Church chillin' with +Megan Lui +Rachel Lim 

Week #6

• Superbowl +Steven Chen +Vivian Chow +Khoi Vo +Matthew Ku +Zehua Li +David Zhang +Muyi Li +Harry Subramanian 
• Misc +Kent Chen +Gloria Kim +Hon Lui +Joon Y. Lee +Dan Whang +Kun He Lee 
• 2015 brothers +Curtis Lee +Ernest Tam +Samuel Yang 
• Friday with brothers +Alex Nguyen +Collin Lyou +Thomas Hong +Wenda Ye +Richard Lee +Joseph Oh 
• Parenting101 with +Charles Shin 

Week #5

• Wine superstore +Hon Lui +Megan Lui 
• Misc +Sheng Ng +Alan He 
• CG +Alex Nguyen +Samuel Yang +Jeremy Chang +Christopher Chi +Richard Lee 
• 12+ filming +Susie Ahn +Kristine Fu +Esther Eunjin Kim +Curtis Lee +Ernest Tam +John Yun 
• Nova jam +Edem Attikese +Danny Wu 

Flippant

It's a word I've been using a lot recently, more often than not in an effort to warn others not to have this attitude. In communicating, this has been one of the most severe ways I really discourage people. Mark 9:42 gives an accurate depiction of what has already happened and the due discipline deserved for me.

I can remember such cases so vividly. A relationship quickly fell into shambles when I made a smart remark about a preacher's sermon content that I felt was lacking. Passive aggressive online statements aggravated another relationship, resulting in much hurt. Recently, I had the nerve to sarcastically put down a loving sister through some self-perceived higher understanding of theology, and crazy still I made an offbeat comment during Bible study about how a brother felt towards some other members.

This sinful behavior stems from the ugliest form of pride: thinking I am like God. Thinking I know as much as he does. Thinking "been there, done that, pishposh boring, moving onnn." But oh, how dissimilar we are! God is compassionate, and he expects gentleness and respect within his church.

LORD, I ask you now to humble me. Your grace gave me a new spirit, new eyes to see truth and love it. I had nothing to do with that. Instead of using that knowledge to make much of myself, purpose it for the sake of emptying myself for the benefit of my neighbor.

Week #4

• Ski trip with +Benjamin Shyong +Muyi Li +Lucy Shi +Frank Fang +Harry Subramanian +Jeff Shiao +David Zhang +Connie Jiang +Steven Chen +Vivian Chow 
• Breaking lesson with +Heidi Lee 
• Retreat food shopping with +Samuel Yang +Cindy Wee 
• Photo op with +Peter Chace +Susie Ahn 
• Snow adventures +Joseph An +Zehua Li +Megan Lui +Hon Lui 
• Retreat games +Charles Han +Gloria Kim +Alex Nguyen +Richard Lee +Christopher Chi +Jamison Lied +Esther Eunjin Kim +Emily Jun +Joon Y. Lee +Christopher Pham +Mike Jung

Secondhanders

Excerpt from John Piper's sermon titled, "The Author of the Greatest Letter Ever Written":

We get the phrase "secondhanders" from the character Ayn Rand in the novel Atlas Shrugged. He despised secondhanders. That is, people who have no vision and values of their own for which they live triumphantly and are always looking over their shoulder wondering, "What are they going to think about this?" And they live their whole lives secondhandedly, always trying to get into other people's good graces and be liked and stroked and praised and complimented and paid. That's a horrible way to live.

Paul says he is owned by another, bought and ruled by Christ Jesus (Romans 1:1). Christ chooses to be friends with a murderer like Paul, give life to one who has taken it. The phrase "pro-life" extends far beyond issues of abortion for me; to conduct life by pleasing others is death, but to submit everything to Jesus is freedom.

Week #3

• Church cleanup with +Joon Y. Lee +Ji-Young Ham +Charles Shin +Jenny Shin
• Les Misérables with +Esther Eunjin Kim +Harmony Li 
• World Café Live 
• Iron Chef with +Gloria Kim +Christopher Chi +Rachel Miao +Jeremy Chang +Heidi Lee +Richard Lee +Alex Nguyen +Samuel Yang +Emily Jun 
• Freaks "elections" +Edem Attikese 
• Lingering after CG with +Hon Lui +Megan Lui +Christopher Pham +Corrie Park +Judy Chan +Zehua Li 
• Haircuts with +Susie Ahn +Kristine Fu +Ernest Tam +Joseph Oh 
• Loooooong Veritas meeting with +Matt Pershe +dalton banks +Ellen Williams 

Broccoli

+Esther Eunjin Kim +Susie Ahn +Ernest Tam +Joseph Oh



What exactly do you think is the focus of this video? It's like the subject of a film major's dissertation.

QQ | DC Adventures

Dope +Daniel Park edit! Consider this the behind-the-scenes look at the film edited by +Angi Kwak  and +Euna Kim :]

Week #2

• Soondubu with +Jamison Lied  +Samuel Yang +Esther Eunjin Kim 
• Halo troubles
• Bowling and Chinatown with +Stephanie Nam +Christopher Chi +Dan Whang +Kun He Lee +Timothy Kim 
• Ditching +Josep Folta at HMart with +Rachel An +Joseph An +Samantha Shen +Ernest Tam 
• Jamming with +Benjamin Shyong 
• Philly MC^2 hangout with +John Zhang +Muyi Li +Vivian Chow +Steven Chen +Harry Subramanian  +David Zhang 
• 6AM prayer
• Course shopping with +Gloria Kim 

Week #1

Film project: short video blurb of every week's events for this year. This is week #1.

• Hiking with family in Cockeysville at old town house and elementary school (+Yolanda Z)
• Drinks and Deadspace with +Kevin Tran +Daniel Park and +Danny Shin 
• Eric's shindig with +Sam Ock +Eric Stishan +Albert Chu +Sarah Stevens +Minh Pho 
• MD District Court with +Jenny Lee 
• Messing around at UMBC

What's Your Expression? [HD]

Finished product! Sick video produced by +Euna Kim and +Angi Kwak featuring me and +Daniel Park dancing in DC.

I forgot how to write

But talks with +Brian Han always get me thinking though. +Samuel Yang knows that I tend not to write on the blog when things in life are going decently and I have friends around to pass the time (which is why I write more at school).

So in this respite I have before engaging in more fun friend&family stuff, I thought to synthesize main winterbreak takeaways just as a chronicle.

1) Humility brings life into relationships.
The fact that I love talking to my dad and him to me is too novel. Gone are the days where I think my family and friends are an obstacle to my agenda, and instead they now are the agenda. Notice the difference in thinking a) I must preach the gospel to my parents so that I can convert them, versus b) God will give me the words to say and he will soften their hearts. Second prayer has been more effective, and the first will naturally manifest itself in love should I continue to personally cling to the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). I am nothing without the gospel.

Do any of these ministry activities surprise you? Watching TV, learning Chinese, gambling, drinking, karaoke-ing, gchatting, bboying. I've been humbled to learn these activities are not a waste of time if I aim to build relationship. Engaging these things with prayer make the episodic apologetics (yes, should and always will be there) more meaningful. Though the episodes have been less frequent, they have been more powerful because of the built relationship.

2) God is pleased by Christ, so he is pleased with me.
No reason to be, however. I exaggerate, I continually wake up with hopelessness, I fail to consistently feast on Christ. But in the moments when I submit to the first commandment, my soul rests in divine freedom (Galatians 5:1). How can I fear what tomorrow will bring if God has, is, and always will be for me (Matthew 6:34, Romans 8:31)?

Kingdom work is tiring but it is freeing (Galatians 6:9). We are free to do what we were made to do and so our souls, as well as the heart of God, brims with joy. But the moment we take any credit is when we stand condemned, existentially and eternally. So we now view Matthew 25:31-46 in light of the gospel, whereby the benefits afforded to us by Christ's death can only give us sheep God-praising attitudes in the midst of our work as opposed to self-praising.

Can you believe it? Everyday your heavenly Father says, "Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23)." The little everyday affirmations I receive from church leave me completely speechless. I can't see how God's working in my life, but you can? Yet even these are just a sweet but shallow foretaste of the commendation to come (1 Corinthians 4:5).

----------------------------------------------------------------

So Willis, where do we go from here????
STAY HUMBLE.
KEEP REACHING OUT AND RELATING.
CONFRONT IF YOU HAVE TO.
PRAY HARD.

Penn, after all these years, your mountain of expectations still scares the crap out of me. But on team Jesus, I'll stay on the offensive til the very end (Matthew 16:18).

QQ | Routines & Practice

Dope practice at new UMBC building with @QQdp and Kevin Tran! My toprock has been super goofy because of broken foot..

What's Your Expression: Trailer [HD]

Trailer of concept video starring me and @QQdp in DC! Editing looks superb given I couldn't dance on my broken instep. Stay tuned for finished product.

Soteriology #n: (Guest post) timely reminder during finals

Guest post written by a freshman sister but carries the weightiness of scriptural authority. I am thoroughly rebuked, enjoy:

God did not save us so we could be happy. He did not save us so we could have a community, or help the poor, or go on missions. Those are all good and necessary, but they are secondary. God saved us so we could be holy.

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” (Ephesians 1:4)

To be holy means we are separate from the world and set apart for God. It means that our desires, joys, and investments must be different from that of the world. The Bible says that true believers of Christ will live differently from the world. But if Jesus came to campus for a week, would he know that we were Christians? I'm not talking about going to church or listening to Hillsong. If Jesus saw the things that bring us joy, the way we entertain ourselves, the things and events that we invest time in, the way we talk, our attitude towards school, the way we treat one another...would he know that we loved and followed him? If we drink like the world, party like the world, complain like the world, flirt like the world, dress like the world...what makes us different from those who aren't saved? If we really are Christians, we don't force ourselves to be holy, but God gives us a desire to be holy because to love Jesus is to obey his commandments. To love Jesus is to find all of our joy in him, and to sell everything else we hold dear for the sake of getting more of Jesus. If our lives are no different from those of our non-Christian friends, we need to be asking ourselves whether we're Christians at all."

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:17-24)

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #6

“AND… the first encounter ends.
The star is falling :(“

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #5

“The first encounter.”

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #4

“Meet Willis. He is so close… yet so far :(“

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #3

“Thats what she was working for! She loves her chocolate.
Especially when the taste is… ‘out of this world’”

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #2

Caption: “Your wifey enjoys physical activities. However in this case, she has a goal in mind. What could it be? :o”

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): #1

Caption: “Day 1 special extra: She enjoys just chilling and contemplating.”

by @johmygoodness

Willis Finds Wifey (WFW): Intro

A new webcomic series comes to life!
Creator: Joe Oh @johmygoodness
Script: Joe Oh
Producer: Joe Oh

Today’s intro caption: “Yo. Gotchu dat wifey. BEST WINGMAN EVER OR WHAT?!”

"I have a very serious question for you all"

Maybe more serious than @kimwhkim 's questions. Marketing hype is important whether we admit it or not. In high school this was very prevalent: if a lot of guys started liking this girl, she was immediately perceived as more attractive, though nothing objectively would distinguish her among the rest.

So I was wondering, does this apply to guys too if a lot of girls like him?

Missiology #6

“And [evangelism] is also what we are called to do. We must not wait until we are healed first, loved first, and then reach out. We must serve no matter how little we have our act together. It may well be that one of the first steps toward our own healing will come when we reach out to someone else.” - Rebecca M. Pippert

To perhaps zoom in on the second point of a previous post regarding paradigm shifts, a church is only healthy when it is sent. Increased fellowship among the members will not fully restore it; it truly comes together as one in order to bring light into a dark world.

Of course, Pippert is speaking on a more micro level. Peter personally saw his restoration complete in light of himself having to be sent wholly at the cost of his life (John 21:15-25). Personally and anecdotally for me, battling loneliness and isolation in the last year neccesitated looking to meet brothers in similar situations, and obviously enough there would be mutual healing in that ministry.

My mother: Yoyo is with her creator now, She is a real cat! 不亢不卑（neither haughty nor humber), 但 忠诚 (loyal) 又 钟情 (faithful to what she loves). You will be missed deeply, Yoyo.

Ecclesiology #12

And this series returns! For a bit. Two things.

If you can’t humbly accept a rebuke, you will be unable to lovingly deliver one.

If you cannot see your sin as worst than others, you will not be able to genuinely love people.

Main point: thinking much about yourself will destroy relationships. You hate the truth in a rebuke, therefore you cannot be a messenger of truth. You are not grieved over your own sin, therefore your view of God (and love itself) is very low.

From D. Bonhoeffer’s Life Together.

Missiology #5

Credit to Michael Hu and Campus Renewal Ministries for material.

Ministries can avoid confusion and disappointment in expectation mismatch with regard to missional initiatives if specific vision among the leadership is well-established. There are four main blocks for mission vision, and the specific contexts I wrote as examples are in a college setting because that is what I relate to the most. The explanations for each column and row are:

• Partial: targeting specific segments of population, single ministry involvement
• Whole: targeting whole institution, partnership of multiple ministries
• Tactical: isolated event, short-term
• Strategic: long-term build-up with follow-through efforts

You move block to block by shifting vision. The southwest block is the one that transforms culture.

Missiology #4

Credit to Michael Hu and Campus Renewal Ministries for material.

When reaching a specific institutional context - such as a college campus - with the gospel, it is imperative to evaluate possible limitations within your church body’s current paradigm. Three shifts are proposed, with the shift being a more expansive and inclusive paradigm over the original:

• Moving from a come-to church to a go-to church. College fellowships take painstaking efforts in planning events to draw outsiders in, but the simple truth is that the majority of students view Christianity antagonistically, and no matter how much coaxing these students will not go to a Christian-sponsored event. Mostly, these events are good for seekers. By being go-to, a church body develops a sent mentality and claims places of authority within the realm of different fields. For college students, this means acquiring leadership positions in clubs of all kinds and serving others within those contexts.
• Moving from fellowship unity to functional unity. By looking outside of itself to determine the specific needs of the surrounding community, the body simultaneously forms strong fellowship while fulfilling gospel imperatives. We should avoid saturation of in-house bonding activities because, in the words of Dr. Ed Gross, love that stays inside starts to smell bad.
• Moving from church growth to transformation. Numbers are a good metric but not a complete one. PKenny would use the phrase, “Don’t miss the miracle.” Gauge ministry success based on the working of the spirit prompting sheep to make more disciples. Transformation takes two avenues: believers bearing fruit, and the world around them taking notice to respond. We hope in a time when Jesus enters the mainstream vernacular with respectful disposition.

Missiology #3

From http://ceruleansanctum.com:


Evangelicals don’t seem to understand the lives of non-Evangelicals, which is why Evangelicals continue to fail to connect with people who are different from them. Blame this on a bunker mentality. Honestly, how many liberal friends do most Evangelicals have? Why expect any influence at all then?

That lack of influence illustrates how Evangelicals have forgotten the root of their label: evangelism.

Evangelicals must learn that no political party is their friend. Selling out to the GOP has hurt Evangelicalism more than it can imagine, and Evangelicals must stop believing that any one political party represents them. Strange bedfellows have hurt the cause of Christ in America, and it is high-time the reflex to vote Republican stops. Evangelicals must support political candidates, regardless of party affiliation, who more accurately reflect the nature of God’s character and who perfectly answer how God can be known. Evangelicals must also realize that values voting is a major failure because it does not take into account all aspects of who God is. Picking and choosing values only further muddies Evangelicalism’s larger stance on what it means to be in Christ. All of who God is must be considered, and that means looking at aspects of God’s character Evangelicals have neglected. If Evangelicals were as well-known for championing the causes of the poor in America as they were for championing the cause of traditional marriage, perhaps those single, urban mothers who went en masse for “the other guy” might have voted differently.


(Original link)

Missiology #2

I don’t quite understand why people make a big deal out of sharing the gospel, especially in a non-persecutory place like America. Communicating the gospel should be pretty easy for Christians. Just as much as I believe my father’s surname is Zhang and my mother’s is Xu, with equal certainty I can talk about facts and truths about my heavenly father with fair ease.

Why do we make belief and faith such fluffy, tenuous words? Paul uses the word “faith” in a manner that means “persuaded.” Are you thoroughly convinced of your sonship? Can you replace faith/belief in scripture with words like “my entire framework through which I interpret the world” and really mean it?

More than communicating the gospel, living out the gospel is tenfold harder. And yet tenfold more effective to the cause of mission. It still encapsulates verbally communicating truths. But above all is love (Colossians 3:14). Sharing your life and time with people (1 Thessalonians 2:8). So egregiously more difficult, inconvenient, and loving is the way of obeying the gospel.

Missiology #1

The reason God hasn't taken life from the Christian is because they are on mission. No other possibility. The implication there is that if you are not on mission now, you won't be in another field.

Want vision? It's a matter of opening one's eyes (John 4:35).

Once that's accomplished, hopefully you'll feel overwhelmed. Good. The more you know yourself to be insufficient for mission the better candidate you are for mission.

Ecclesiology #11

Demanding things from people automatically causes you to assume the worst about them. You play a perversion of God with crushing judgments only to leave wrecked relationships.

On the flip side, not putting expectations on someone is ironically in itself an expectation. The only correct gauge in validity is the lens of scripture. Hate sin lest you become its embodiment.

Ecclesiology #10

What’s the difference between encouragement and flattery? Encouragement rejoices in the truth. Flattery has ulterior motive and is out of proportion.

Encouragement is the response to God’s grace seen in other people. Look at the examples of Paul and God and you’ll see the main point in affirming someone is affirming God (Matthew 3:17, 1 Corinthians 15:58, 2 Timothy 1:16-18). Therefore, encouragement prompts the receiver to look to God and his salvation with thankfulness.

On the other hand, flattery prompts the receiver to look at himself and thus cosign him to self righteousness, a hardened heart, and hell (Psalm 5:9, Proverbs 27:6, James 3:6). Oo scary |_.

Let’s fill our churches with the warmth of our encouraging God. How do we know when the smiles are fictitious though? Avoid covering a slander by prefacing it with a compliment: “he’s a nice guy and good friend but..”. This is fake.

Ecclesiology #9

Succinctly in one chapter, Jesus in Matthew 18 prescribes relational norms and behavioral practices expected within the church. It’s so awesome, church leaders please read it.. church members please read it.. it encapsulates the whole sum of this mini ecclesiology series.

Far from moralistic principles, the conduct of church members seen through these parables can only be fueled in light of grace. I think I’ll be camping out in this chapter for awhile.

Shout-out to B.Han for relaying dat knowledge from CCC fam.

Ecclesiology #8

I see Matthew 4 and Matthew 9 giving insight into the correct priority and emphases in church dealings. Our supreme minister Jesus demonstrates his knowledge of the greatness and sufficiency of God by having intense self-control while being tempted in the wilderness. He could have attained glory “the easy way” but on terms that were contrary to the Father’s; he was, however, sensitive to the Father’s timing.

Christian minister, are you in a rush to attain ministry glory? Have you sought counsel from those further along that can speak to your readiness to engage in greater responsibilities? Btdubs, what I write in the second-person is usually a rebuke aimed towards myself and my former ways. This section was an aside hehehe.

Movinggg onnn, priority and emphases! Before doing any miracles, Jesus goes and preaches the good news in the local synagogues. The first priority of the church is the preaching and teaching of God’s word to God’s people. Any other priority, e.g., community or outreach, points to a church that is not centered on God but man’s sinful purposes. But no worries, good teaching necessitates the manifestation of good community and good outreach, etc. We see this when Jesus proclaims forgiveness of sin, and then proceeds to heal them physically. He is much more concerned about the spiritual matters over the physical.

So where do we typically see the resulting miracles of good preaching in this day and age?

Healing occurs much more profoundly in the ministry of forgiveness among congregants because a life claimed by God’s love changes a community and generations after. A physical healing is a cool topic of discussion for maybe like a day.

Therefore, when people make false dichotomies in the form of “preaching is meh but the community’s good at this church” etcetc, they are mistaken in either one of two ways:

1. They’re simply not giving their pastor enough credit, or
2. Their perception of a good community is not based on the Bible, but rather it is infected by the world’s standards of fun and friendship.

Be alarmed, then, if you find that the teaching at a church is not preaching Christ from the scriptures. Or just not preaching the scriptures but primarily basing the content off human anecdotes, huhuhu how sad. Do not take too much stock in how much a community seems to be doing well.

How about the situation where you have good preaching but subpar community? Again, the preaching could actually be more entertaining than compelling, that is, compelling one to full submission to obedience to the gospel. My using imperatives on the free gift of the gospel is not incorrect (1 Peter 4:17).

Therefore, the only appropriate dichotomy are Christ-centered churches and, well, fake churches.

Ecclesiology #7

If you do not have immediate access to (older) people in your life to guide you with the knowledge of God, nor have people you can pour this knowledge into, you are not living a complete Christian life. If you do not have these resources and are not being proactive about finding them, you are on the devil’s side because he doesn’t like guidance either (Genesis 3:1). And it sucks to be on his side (Revelation 20:10).

Flipside: if you have sought and found such provision, God’s blessed you because some people aren’t so lucky :)

Feel free to share. Who are your mentors? Who are you mentoring?

Ecclesiology #6

Spiritual growth only occurs in the context of community. Doesn’t that make sense? How can I apply the worship I supposedly gave to God without practicing it on the body? Post-Pentecost Peter needed it because he was still a cowardly sinner even after his life-changing call to be an apostle and “feed my sheep” (Galatians 2:11-14).

What you do after service matters a lot more than how you felt during. I can have all the warm feelings, but if right after I’m thinking about my kingdom and my agendas then something is seriously wrong! Am I in a rush to go home right after benediction instead of desiring to fellowship? I thus count my worship Cain-like in its fake self-seekingness. What a waste of a morning. The proof of worship is thus the application after service versus the reflection time during.

Ecclesiology #5

You can tell how someone’s doing in their relationship to Jesus from how they’re relating to people in the community. Don’t make an excuse for them, such as a propensity towards an awkward disposition or not finding much common interest with particular people. If Jesus would only come to me based on common interests, I’d be so screwed.

Therefore, not having an outreaching attitude speaks clearly to one’s priority in preserving the self instead of allowing oneself to be vulnerable. We can afford to be vulnerable because of Christ’s vulnerability shown towards us. So what do we do about this awkward individual? You allow them into your life and watch the spirit break down the walls (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

My working definition of accountability takes into account how people interact with others more than their spiritual disciplines. Accountability groups can unfortunately degenerate to pride festering in the form of “oh, look how open I can be about my sin” or “oh, look how diligent I am.” I don’t need to know how diligent your devotional life has been when I can see it in your interactions with people and myself. The main question in accountability is, “Is there something affecting our relationship? If so, what are we going to do about it?”

Oh, you’re struggling with lust. With pride. With anxiety. Great, let’s restore you in Christ and restore our relationship. Contrast this with how a judging pharisee does accountability and their priority in identifying the root sin. Don’t we do this a lot in the name of godly accountability? This objectifies and distances the person. Instead, you humanize him by making the restored the relationship the main priority.

Pharisees keep people at a distance. We come into the mire with people because that is what Jesus did for us.

Ecclesiology #4

We’re called to be peacemakers, not nicemakers.

The world simply shows tolerance. Christians show forgiveness. Call sin sin. Without truth, there can be no love.

Ecclesiology #3

Surveying the work of Jesus’ ministry, in performing his miracles through the Holy Spirit, we see him never using any of this miraculous power for his own sake but for others and the Father. This is especially clear in his temptation in the wilderness. I wouldn’t count the sneaky ninja disappearances (John 8:59). Indeed, how meek is our savior! (Philippians 2:5-8)

Those of you with gifts, and that is any sincere believer, how are you using them? Or are you using them? Failing to perform your miracles means failing to see a regenerated community, and perhaps proof for a lack of any regeneration within oneself (Mark 16:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Ecclesiology #2

This is the test of true meditation and true Christian community. Has the fellowship served to make the individual free, strong, and mature, or has it made him weak and dependent?

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Ecclesiology #1

Has it never struck you that, in the New Testament, almost nowhere does it tell you how to do evangelism? Why? Because it understood that being the church was to do evangelism. We do evangelism because we are not convinced that our Christian community is radically and supernaturally different.

- Sinclair Ferguson

ultimate first world problem?

Mine has been falling asleep in my Ivy League class from too much food.

What have been yours this first day of classes? Submit!

2012 Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan Trip

Highlights (specific time shown during video playback):

Philippines (0:20)
- Evan's estate
- El Nido resort
- Manila (big meals, big churches, small revolutionaries)

HK (3:02)
- Mongkok
- Lan Kwai Fong
- Clothes shopping

Taiwan (5:30):
- Night markets
- Hualien
- Taipei chillin

Not many reasons to be excited about school this year

but one big one would be the chance to be around so many people again.
Which means I get reminded way more quickly how sinful I am.
yay God! :)