Going on an Unexpected Journey

Two weeks ago, we went on a road trip from Chicago to New York. My friend Kossi got married and I was one of the groomsmen, so naturally we had to go. Plus, this was a chance to see the city that my wife spent 15 years in.

Going there, we drove for 14 hours with food and gas stops. Including coming back, the whole trip took 30 hours. So what did we do all that time in the car? We asked each other many questions, talked about other things, listened to musicals... Oh, and we listened to an audiobook of The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, all 11 hours of the unabridged version. It was glorious.

The main character is this hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. He is an unassuming hobbit (like human beings except for being half the size, among other things) who was chosen (against his will at first) to go on this adventure. The other members of the journey (all dwarves except for Gandalf the wizard) doubted that he could bring anything useful to the team as well. All in all, it was not a good start.


Bilbo never thought that he would ever go on an adventure like this. In fact, all his friends and family in his town (the Shire) never thought that he would ever go on any adventures. But yet Bilbo set out, to the chagrin of those who know him, and proved that he was more than capable of doing great things.

As time passed and Bilbo got the dwarves out of trouble time and again, the dwarves started to respect Bilbo and even to see him as the leader in some occasions. Bilbo himself grew increasingly confident with each passing danger.

Near the end, Bilbo showed incredible courage and selflessness in his attempt to save everyone. This predictable, unadventurous hobbit from the Shire became a well-respected person liked by all, and more than capable of handling himself in a fight.

He was named Elf-friend, was respected by dwarves, liked by wizards, feared by giant spiders... the list could go on. Basically he was one of the most well-liked persons among races in middle-earth. Yet when he returned home, he lost credibility in the place where he spent most of his life.

His town didn't like him because he was no longer the simple neighbor they knew him to be. Out of all the places who should be proudest of him, this was the place that was ashamed of him most.

Listening to this incredible story was a great use of driving time during our trip to New York. As we went there and back again, I had more time to reflect. And I couldn't help but think that maybe this has more similarities to one's life than one may think.

Perhaps in our own lives, we should take on more unexpected journeys and adventures. Perhaps in doing so, we'd find out that we may not be as pathetic and useless as we think after all. Perhaps we could meet lifelong friends along the way, of all types of races. Perhaps there is greatness in all of us yet. Though perhaps, after all is said and done, you may gain the respect of many people but lose the respect of those dearest to you.

I know, for all that has happened to me.

This blog post is not "Christian" in the sense that I used Bible verses or the name of God. However, like Tolkien, perhaps, just perhaps, I've given you a reason to get out of your comfort zone to attempt something for God that you've never attempted.

PS. Tolkien is a devout follower of Christ but yet never mentioned God in his most popular works. Instead, his works are filled with Christian analogies and insights.

Qualifications for Ministry

Earlier this week, while visiting Taiwan, my grandpa said to me, "你沒有資格走神的道路" (which means "You do not have the qualification to be walking the path of God").

I was so shocked of this comment out of nowhere that I asked, "What do you mean?"

He explained his strong belief in moral relativism, namely that there is no such thing as right and wrong. He explained that no one has the qualification to tell others about right and wrong (which ironically is exactly what he is doing to me).

I was confused, hurt, and upset. I was confused that he, an atheist who has been strongly against Christianity since before I was born, would even mention God in a sentence. I was hurt that my own family, especially one who watched me grow up, would say this to me. And I was upset that he was condemning the very thing that I hold dearest.

The only consolation is that it seems he was more condemning a philosophy than he was condemning my character, though I'm sure there's a bit of both.

It is not the first time something like this happened.

Walking with my grandpa on the streets of Taipei.

But thinking about it now, it hurt me so much because I knew he was right. I don't have the qualification to be doing this. He watched me grow up, he has seen me at my worst (or close to it). I am not qualified to speak to thousands of people about God and life transformation.

Many excellent blogs (i.e. Acts 29 blog) talk about the qualifications for a pastor or minister. They are all correct. However, I am giving a different point. For every qualification one passes for ministry, there are two more one fails. A minister must be gentle and not quick-tempered (Titus 1:7), yet is there any among us who has not grown impatient at something or someone? A minister must be holy (Titus 1:8), but is there any who can claim to be holy like God is holy?

No one is qualified for ministry; instead we are transformed into the image of Christ one degree at a time (2 Corinthians 3:18) in the process of doing ministry.

Should we forget the qualifications then? No! Instead we look hard at them, strive for them. But when we realize we fail, we fall back on the grace of God. Not to stop trying to meet the qualifications, but to recuperate in order to be better in the future.

So if you ever feel discouraged or like you do not qualify for ministry, know that I feel it too. My grandpa's words will likely continue to sting me for many more years to come. But hear the words of God through the apostle Paul, "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

You are not qualified, of course not. For you represent not man, but God. But he chose you and he wants to use you. He chooses the weak to shame the strong. more than that, in your weakness he makes you strong. You do not need to be qualified, you just need to be called. And you need to be willing. Transformation always happens after the call, but not always before.

PS. You need only worry when you are already doing ministry yet you fail on every single qualification on those blogs. Then maybe some self-examination is in order.

To Do Ministry Jesus' Way

A bit more than 2000 years ago, the God of the entire universe came to the earth as a tiny baby born to a Jewish family. This God baby grew and walked among us humans. He taught at many places and healed many people with his miracles. He walked with them, laughed with them, wept with them, and ate with them. This God man left the comforts of his heavenly abode, perfect in every way, and came to a home that was (in comparison) dirty, rundown, and wretched.

He could not help it because he loved the people so much. Eventually, he gave up his own life in order to save everyone. His name is Jesus Christ. This was his incarnation.

This is what ministry should be. Some scholars call it incarnational ministry. We give up what we know and love. We give up some rights and privileges. We may even give up part of our identity or subsume the identity of another culture. All in order that more people might come to know God.

John Stott writes this, "mission involves... renouncing privilege, safety, comfort and aloofness, as we actually enter other people’s worlds, as he entered ours; humbling ourselves to become servants, as he did..."

Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, "To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews... To those outside the law I became as one outside the law... that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel..."

Mission is not simply going somewhere and doing something. Mission is being with someone. Sometimes being present is the best present we can give. Sometimes to share the gospel, we simply share our lives.

No support raising is needed, and you get very flexible time commitments. If after reading this you feel motivated to start being a missionary (in this non-traditional sense), write in the comments or send me a message. I'd be very happy to talk to you more and give you some practical tips.

To Overcome by Celebrating

Celebration.

My wife Esther unabashedly celebrates anything and everything. On May 9th, it's her birthday. Every year, her birthday is a big deal. If she could, she would make it a national holiday. In the past, we've celebrated her birthday for a whole week. This year, it might actually be a whole month.

Celebration.

I write this not to make fun of her. In fact, I love her for it. It is quite important for people to have this quality. Christians especially can be prone to celebrate too little. Take any struggle that you are faced with, whether it's a pornography, jealousy, or temptation to eat too much junk food (which is just as serious an issue).

Celebration.

For example, you have this temptation you are trying to resist. But that temptation (in this case a bag of chips) keeps calling out to you. You tell your friends to pray for you. You resist it for a day. You succeed. You are even strong enough to go as long as a week, not touching that bag of chips. You come back to small group next week and tell your friends that it is going well, that this week wasn't so bad. The small group's over and you can't wait to go home because you've had a long week and a tiring day. But then that very night, on your drive home you see this advertisement for deliciously crunchy Ruffles. When you arrive home, you find yourself staring at that bag of chips, jacket still on. Before you know it, you're sitting on the floor devouring the family size bag in its entirety.

Celebration.

The next day, you are too ashamed to even call your friends to say that you have failed. You have given in to the temptation. You have lost the battle. You imagine going to the grocery store to buy 5 more bags. After all, what's the point in trying again? Or maybe you want to try just one more time, but deep down you know it won't last. You may put forth some sort of effort, but you don't even believe in yourself anymore.

Celebration.

It is precisely at this time that you need to remember the small victories. You need to remember how you did have victory over that one day at least. Meditate on how that one day went and what's so special about it.

Celebration.

Remember also that you actually went a whole week. Think back on the steps you took and the effort that you exerted. Remember the week and celebrate that. Instead of focusing on the mistake, focus on the victories.

Celebration.

Why is it that we focus on the mistakes? Does it help us overcome it? We sure like to think so. But as I analyze my own life, I'm realizing that it is not always true. In many cases, focusing on the mistakes makes me tense up more and try to be more careful. But ultimately it does not help in avoiding the "temptations" at all. However, when I focus on the victories, it helps me to keep fighting the good fight. Instead of weakness, I have strength. Instead of despair, I have hope. Instead of fear, I have faith.

Celebration.

The ancient Israelites knew how to celebrate. They have so many festivals where they get to celebrate God's goodness. Week long celebrations seem like common occurrences (cf. 2 Chronicles 7:1-10). God's victories are remembered and sung out loud (cf. Exodus 15). In many cases, there was even much dancing in celebration of particular victories (cf. 2 Samuel 6).

Celebration.

What have we done with these passages of celebration? Do we still celebrate like that? This applies to whole churches too but my focus today is on the individual. I want each individual to know that there are many things in your life worth celebrating. There have been many wonderful works that God has effected in you. Hold fast to it and thank God for it.

Celebration.

Don't brush away that one area of temptation like it's nothing. No. Do keep working on it. There are many useful books that deal with the specifics of how to work on it. Read them. I'm complementing those books, not disregarding them. My point is just to celebrate more, to not put so much focus on how you messed up. Use that same effort to focus on God's goodness and His ability to work wonders. Nail your mistake to the cross and move on with your life. He who raised Jesus from the dead can surely raise you from your sin as well. "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." - 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Celebration.

What will you be celebrating this week?

Jamaica Trip in 13 Pictures

Recently, my wife Esther and I went to Jamaica for ministry. We were graciously hosted and generously taken care of by Jamaica Chinese Christian Church. It was such a great experience and it's hard to fully explain what went on. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll use 13 pictures (really 41 since they're collages) to explain our Jamaican ministry trip. That's about 42,000 words!

 1. Palm Sunday Service

It is our second year in a row working with Jamaica Chinese Christian Church to minister to the people here. They have no pastor in their midst but yet their church is standing strong.

Furthermore, their warmth and hospitality continues to blow us away.

Remember this church in your prayers.

2. Uncle Eli

I (Tony) was privileged to serve communion at Mr. Eli Ho's house today. He is the 96 year-old man in the picture. He can no longer hear very well nor pay attention for a long time. Traveling is difficult so he can no longer go to church either. So we brought church to him instead, complete with music (by Esther), the Word, and communion. Oh but he has quite an amazing story.

50 or more years ago, he and some others started a movement that would eventually turn into a 2000 people megachurch in Kingston, Jamaica (Swallowfield Chapel) along with a few other sister churches (including our host church).

For many years, he would meet after church on Sunday with like-minded Christians to pray. Then they would travel 40-50 miles (which would take a few hours) to the rural areas of Jamaica. They had a quartet that would sing, and He would share the Gospel with people in the country side. And they still have to drive a few hours back and get ready for work the next day. They did this faithfully even though they were just normal, business people.

At home, he would also pour into the lives of the young people, training them to be strong Christians. In fact, the people in the picture serve as proof. One of the people in the picture is now an elder of the same megachurch. Another is a leader of the church who hosted us. The other (his daughter) is serving faithfully at church as well. They all have amazing stories.

We feel so privileged to have the honor of serving communion to someone with such a legacy.

Before we left, we held his hand firmly and told him how honored we are to be there with him. He looked at us, smiled at us, mustered up all his strength, and said in a soft voice, "Thank you very much." Then he said in an almost inaudible voice, "It was very kind of you to come." At this, we almost cried.

His family gave us permission to share the photo and his story with the whole world. We hope that more people can hear this story and that more Christians may be infected by his mission-mindedness.

3. Getting to the Camp

Halfway to our destination, this car our friend got 4 months ago got a flat tire. No one got hurt. Last year for the same event, the car we rode in (with a different driver and different car) also got a flat tire and spun to the opposite lane, hitting another car. So this was no big deal in comparison.

That's when we knew we were going to have a great time of ministry with the people there.

4. Easter Egg Hunt

We participated in a little Easter Egg Hunt with the children on Good Friday. They had such a fun time running around this big field trying to find all the goodies.

5. Theme - Freedom in Christ

The theme for the camp was Galatians 5:1, "Freedom in Christ." So for this first session, I (Tony) preached from Galatians 5:1. We as Christians are free, so we should not live in bondage.

To really illustrate what it feels like to be in bondage to something, I got people to tie up this kid with rope.

6. Giving out Candy

We bought some candy from the U.S. and gave them out to the children. It was hugely popular. After we did so, the children got really close to us almost immediately. Food is really a great resource in ministry.

7. Worship

It started out slow at first, but the teenagers and young adults eventually started to worship God more fully as the days progressed.

We told them how important it was to worship God with the body. Tony even started teaching actions that they could follow.

See, in the beginning it felt like many people weren't really engaging with God, if they even sang at all! But God has a way of leading young ones to Himself. This time, God used Esther to achieve that.

8. Rock Climbing and Zip lining

At the camp, there was the place where you could do rock climbing. At the top, you can zipline across. It was fun.

Esther and I climbed up together. Every once in a while, I (Tony) would look to check if she was okay. While we were climbing up one of the teenagers said, "That's my relationship goal."

We were glad to be an example.

9. Birthday and Bonfire

The last night of the camp was precious. We had a birthday celebration for a few people. Since my (Tony's) birthday was close, some kid decided to smudge some icing on my face. I guess I should feel honored?

At the bonfire, we got to bond even more. During this time, someone asked me, "Why is there sin in our body?" I spent a while answering the question. More than that, I later got to hear more about the struggles and life of this one particular teenage girl.

I won't share the details here, but let's just say that my heart broke as I listened to her story. Also, God met her that night in a powerful and personal way.

10. Children Dancing

The children danced to many worship songs. Miss Merlene, Miss Beth, and their team taught them the actions. It was a joy to watch the children have so much fun.

The people on this team (apart from the two leaders) were here on a 3-month short term missions. It was encouraging to see these girls (ages 18-22) willing to serve in Jamaica this way. May God raise up more laborers just like them.

11. Sessions Overview

This was the last session of the camp. In total, we had 9 sessions, 4 of which were sermons while the rest were a mix of Bible studies, small group discussions, and panel Q&A.

Many people said that they got to really dig deeper into the Word. One person said that my (Tony's) sermons made her want to study the Bible more. There are few sweeter words for a preacher to hear!

We were also consciously and actively seeking to train up local leaders to take our place when we are gone (you know who you are). This is discipleship, and it's one of the most important things a missions worker must do.

12. Singing in their Heart Language

It is always better to sing in the heart language of the people you are trying to minister to.

In this case, it was Cantonese and Mandarin. So Esther learnt how to sing "Because He Lives" in these two languages and surprised the congregation.

One lady said, "When you sing, I feel peaceful. It's more than just singing. I feel like you are ministering."

What a great way to minister!

13. Group Picture

These are the people who went to the camp. The majority of the people are members and attendees of Jamaica Chinese Christian Church. But there are actually many who don't go to the church.

Their exposure to God is limited to this one time of year where they come to this camp. Therefore, we were glad that we get to be there to reach out to them.

Nevertheless, what a beautiful group of people and what a beautiful church. We will be praying for them consistently. Will you join us in doing so?