jazzbank's Xanga

The unkind cut

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:47:36 GMT

It looks like I'll need surgery to repair my ruptured Achilles. It looks like I'll be on the disabled list from playing basketball for a few months. The sad part was that I was playing so well when it happened...

I've never felt so old before.

When I told my parents, they said that I need to stop acting like a teenager and get in shape, which left me feeling a little bewildered. I was trying to get in shape when this happened. How can I get in shape if I can't run now?

But honestly, nothing is more humbling to me -- someone who walks fast and rushes around normally, to hobble and limp about. More than the pain, it's the time and hassle that I dislike. God, are you trying to tell me something?

3 years and counting...

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 17:26:32 GMT

Memorable quote from the week of our third wedding anniversary.

"I need to be assertive without being an @$$. Be ertive!!"

New Book: Asian American Youth Ministry

Mon, 15 May 2006 19:56:29 GMT

This is from DJ Chuang, but I can't help but shamelessly plug this book as well, since I did have a small hand in proofing the book. I have already applied some of the things I've learned in this book and have found the book to be helpful in my own work in youth ministry. There's very much the notion in youth ministry that you are learning to fly the plane as you go, and this book was a much needed resource for me.

———————–

A first-of-its-kind book, Asian American Youth Ministry , is now published, providing a much needed resource for those who serve in this distinct context among one of the fastest-growing minority groups in America.

This book compiles the practical insights from 12 accomplished youthworkers, who collectively have over 100 years of experience in Asian American youth ministry. The contributors share their perspectives and insights about the intergenerational church, student leadership, and vital outreach.

Asian American Youth Ministry emerged out of a desire to address the distinct issues and challenges of Christian ministry in an Asian American context. This book is designed to be a valuable resource for both professional youth ministers and also adult volunteers and parents too.

The book is the first book published by L² Foundation, and is edited by DJ Chuang, its Executive Director. The book is available for purchase online at www.lulu.com/content/287040

Preview the book’s introduction at the online store, read the endorsements from Dave Gibbons and Ken Fong, and help spread the word! Your feedback will be most valuable to inform what we can do next!

spiritual

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 01:47:36 GMT

the first time i sang a negro spiritual was in 8th grade. it was called 'elijah rock'.

i still remember it, "elijah rock, shout shout! elijah rock comin' up Lord"
i had never sang music like that before. but i really liked it. even though i was only 13 years old at the time, i could see why they called them "spiritual". it was so different from the sacred music i had sang before. i had sang in choirs since the fourth grade. back in those days, i sang all the time. i was in a boy choir too. i barely got in from the audition, but i worked hard. i remember singing 'america the beautiful' over and over again. that was the audition song and you had to sing it a capella too. the song seemed so long when i was nine, but i can only imagine how many dozens of times my parents had to endure it now.
i learned to carry a tune, hold my part, i learned to breathe and sight-sing there. and mr. rodgers was a stickler. in boy choir, you could get demerits for not sitting with the right posture, and although i would purposely try to break rules all day in school, i would play it pretty straight in boy choir. for some reason, i didn't want to disappoint him. maybe it was because i knew i barely made it in, maybe it was because i never was seen as an asset to my cub scout troop, my soccer team, and the art class, but i made it in. i could sing if i tried. i could hold my part if i tried. i could memorize the songs if i tried.
by the time my family moved to florida...i could sing. and whereas, in tulsa, i don't remember having my black kids in my class. i remember one, a girl by the name of fatima. but in florida, things were different. by the time i made it to eighth grade, the school i went to was over half black. i was the only non-white guy in chorus. i remember feeling really intimidated. sometimes they didn't know how to treat me either. sometimes they made fun of me, but when we got to sing, everything was good. i could sing my part. but these songs, negro spirituals, were different. sometimes it was so hard to get everyone settled and focused in on singing a piece well, but there were moments when everything, everyone was on. like a laserbeam. and those spirituals would really become, spiritual.
now, i can't sing like that at all.
there are times when in my reading and study of God's word is wonderful, when my prayers are OK, i guess. but i want to feel spiritual like that again. spiritual as in "negro spiritual". i don't think it takes a lot of reading or meditating. i think it takes a lot of singing. or perhaps, at least for me to hold my part. and focus.

elijah rock shout shout. elijah rock comin' up lord.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 03:16:07 GMT

Yay!!! I'm not a heretic!!!! My youth group no longer has to wonder if I'm Chalcedon compliant! Or whether I use Windows XP SP2!! Oh, I guess I have to worry about a little dash of modalism, but who doesn't?
You know though, I wonder how many people even know what all these heresies are. There are a few on this list that I hadn't heard of, and I've read a few books on church history.

You scored as Chalcedon compliant. You are Chalcedon compliant. Congratulations, you're not a heretic. You believe that Jesus is truly God and truly man and like us in every respect, apart from sin. Officially approved in 451.

Chalcedon compliant

100%

Modalism

33%

Apollanarian

17%

Nestorianism

17%

Monophysitism

17%

Gnosticism

Adoptionist

Arianism

Monarchianism

Docetism

Donatism

Albigensianism

Socinianism

Pelagianism

Are you a heretic?
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Get out there

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 14:28:00 GMT

I was checking out a site today, Make Poverty History, and it led me to a place where I can start looking out for ways where I could get involved at the local level.

As I recall a certain phrase, "Think global, act local". I don't know how a martini is going to help end poverty, but it's worth a start.

Friday, March 24, 2006

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 14:33:12 GMT

While many of us go to church for entertainment or glorified self-help, others face something a little more harsh...

Don't be ordinary. Don't you dare

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 12:25:54 GMT

Panic about who I am and what I am to be strikes me still, way past my adolescence, but I always smile when I think about how this one time back in the sixth grade, a girl signed my yearbook with the words:

"You are so sweat!"

And suddenly my future is brighter -- even, somewhat toasty.
Because no matter what happens, I am so "sweat".

Working a lot these days...

Wed, 15 Mar 2006 03:21:02 GMT

yyyyyyyeah, sometimes, I really do feel like this guy....

Friday, March 10, 2006

Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:31:02 GMT

This is for you jaytee2k, I heard you were facing the big challenge of defending your thesis or something dangerously close to it. I just found this clip to inspire you, as you have inspired me.