Winter Teen Conference and March

March promises an imminent end to winter. It has been a relatively milder one in Boston, with some days like today, when it has felt more like spring than winter. This past month has been eventful on different fronts

1) I am still awaiting word from Gordon-Conwell, though I have finished filing for scholarships. I will begin writing letters requesting prayer and assistance once I find out if I've been accepted. Also, there is the real possibility of taking on a structured apprenticeship a church I'm connected with, which would help both in terms of experience and finances-- I'm pretty excited about that possibility.

2) During Presidents' Day Weekend, I led a small group for 8 ninth grade boys during Winter Teen Conference, our church's youth retreat. I got to live in a cabin, hold discussions, have one-on-one talks, and hang out with them all weekend long. The speaker sessions, by Pastor Joseph Tsang from Vision Church in NYC, focused on lessons from Jonah-- God using broken people to bring about repentance and reconciliation for his glory, the misguided human obsession with "justice," the lengths God goes through to chase people down, and the need to descend when the world tells us to go up on the ladders of status and comfort. Most memorable for me were the one-on-one talks I had with my boys this weekend. It is humbling to try to see ninth graders through God's eyes as opposed to your own-- it reminded me how far apart my heart is from that of Jesus.

3) I had conversations with folks from Vietnamese Alliance Church this past weekend. It is hard for me to convey to people how much I miss serving there and being caught up in the lives of friends in that small church. If the same thing remains on your heart for a long time, does it mean God is nudging you there? There are still imprints on me left over after 2 years, like the places on rugs where old furniture used to be. I'm praying about whether or not-- or when-- to renew some sort of involvement-- whether it be preaching on Sundays, leading a small group, mentoring individuals, or just visiting more often. I wonder if Apostle Paul's experiences were personally conflicting and torn like this-- wanting to be in more than one place at once. Pray for VAC, as they continue to search for an English pastoral staff-person.

4) Vacation was very restful, although I was sick for most of it. At least half of our entire Winter Teen Conference staff came down with flu-like symptoms after the retreat. We canceled youth groups the following Friday, but if we had gone ahead, more than half of the youth workers would have been sick! Thank God for the snow=).

5) At school, this has been a much more difficult year than years past. One big reason is not having as many opportunities to build relationships with my students. We haven't had many field trips, and I only see them during the mornings (I teach in another site in the afternoons). At recent meetings, we decided to have more field trips in the months of March and April. I'm looking forward to those. Now if only we could skip the MCAS at the end of this month...

6) The Chinatown Library Advisory Council concluded its work in February. We've been working for around a year to design a Boston Public Library branch in Chinatown. During those meetings, I've gotten to learn more about how different agencies and groups compete for land in a dense city neighborhood and the issues involved in community action efforts. I've consistently attempted to represent the needs of schools, community youths, and reluctant students in Chinatown in our discussions. We've narrowed the possibilities down to three more likely sites: 1) Parcel P12 next to the DoubleTree, 2) BCEC's current site, 3) and a site adjacent to the Chinatown Gateway. There will be a public presentation on our work, along with models of what each site's library might look like and what the next steps forward are on March 18, 6-8PM, at the Quincy School cafeteria. Come, you are invited!

Return to VAC!

I had the opportunity to give a sermon this past weekend at Vietnamese Alliance Church in Dorchester. I hadn't really had a chance to be back to teach ever since I helped to bring Kyle, their English pastoral minister, on board. I remember nights of praying and hours of working, wondering if God would ever send the right person our way. The hardest part of being on the search committee was knowing that our time was limited. As almost a year passed and May came around, our core team was growing, but Duy-- one of the main planters of the English Service-- was leaving. That left me as the only other "older" Christian guy on the team and I knew I would be leaving in July. We spent a lot of time praying, meeting candidates, being disappointed, and then finally having our prayers answered. There were moments when we were afraid it wouldn't happen because of logistics; but in the end, God showed us that it was, indeed, his plan for Kyle to lead the congregation through the second chapter of E.S.

In any case, it was amazing being back. Kyle had asked for me to preach on the importance of serving in the Body of Christ. I took John 13 for my text-- "Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet." A couple of points from that sermon: Serving as a "footwasher" is one way we proclaim the gospel because footwashing was a micro-illustration of Jesus' redeeming work (glory-->humilty--> serving--> redemption--> glory); lack of serving often indicates a lack of understanding the magnitude of Christ's servanthood for us; to serve others in the spirit of Christ, we must first allow ourselves to be served by Jesus' washing of our feet and other embarassing parts.

What struck me, as I looked out on the congregation that I used to help lead and teach, was how many more people were there. It used to be that we were a congregation of about 18 people, most of whom served in some way, and most of whom were teens or college aged kids. Their numbers on that Sunday were 40 people, including adults and youth-- and that wasn't including many people who were on vacation! Praise God! I could see how God was drawing newcomers from churched and unchurched backgrounds. I even met a guy who was not a Christian previously, but was convicted of his need to go to church through VAC's website! It's exciting to see a church grow-- and I know those who are in it would not necessarily say they are doing great, but from a distance, I see changes and evidence of the Holy Spirit working.

Perhaps the most fun part of going back was getting to play drums with the worship team that I helped to develop over the course of 2 years. This time though, it was one of the youth that was leading and I was just following along. Things weren't perfect, but it closely resembled how I had hoped the worship team would look after I left.

A year later, and I still miss being there week to week.