“Follow Me!”
Every year, hundreds of boys aged 3 to 8 play rugby in a tournament held across South Africa. Though it’s a tamer version of the adult game, children and parents still take it pretty seriously. For this is where a passion is forged for one of the most popular sports in South Africa. Young boys dream of one day playing for the national team. As they get older, however, the competition gets tougher and only the very best will play for the Springboks—the nation’s top squad.
a calling
I never wanted to be the pastor of a church. So when I was approached by the elders of my congregation and asked to consider the role, I immediately refused—telling them quite clearly that being a minister was not my calling. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be no good at it. The whole idea didn’t appeal to me, and so—in my mind—God would certainly not require me to follow such a path.
ministry without borders
I’ve been serving an inner-city church in an African- American neighborhood of a large US city. It’s not common for Korean pastors to serve in this type of cross-cultural context, and so I’ve been asked more than once what brought me to the church. My answer? “God!” I never planned on serving here, but it has become clear that it was indeed God who called me.
September 29, 2014
If you could do a specific type of ministry full-time, what would it be? Why?
follow Jesus
Grandpa was a gentle but firm primary school principal in Pretoria, South Africa. In my final year as a student teacher, he shared a few trade secrets with me. His advice on how to get a disruptive pupil out of the classroom and into isolation was most helpful: “Look the child in the eye and say with authority, ‘Follow me,’ then turn and walk confidently out of the classroom while not looking back.” I tested his advice when dealing with an unruly adolescent and, though I doubted it would work, I soon heard him reluctantly following me.
looking beyond calvary
The Mount Grace Priory in North Yorkshire is one of England’s best-preserved medieval monasteries. For hundreds of years, Carthusian monks lived there in solitude, devoting themselves to prayer. The priory’s ruins are impressive, but a more modern monument caught my attention on a recent visit to the site.
who are you?
Who are you?” boomed front man Roger Daltrey of The Who, channeling guitarist Pete Townshend’s angry lyrics. The 1978 song has attained iconic status, perhaps because it resonates with so many of us. Deep down, we really don’t care what we are. The real question is who we are.
weeds
As a child growing up in Ghana’s Upper Region, I used to help Mom and Dad in their garden. To this day, the aroma of tomatoes ripening on the vine makes me nostalgic for tropical climes and simpler times.
Dad, who had attended an agricultural school, used to coach me as I worked. “A weed is any plant that’s not…
January 9, 2012
John Stott once wrote, “Too many Christians see their work as no more than a painful necessity.” How do you view work?
passion for people
A woman in her 70s has become a local celebrity in China due to her energetic efforts as a volunteer traffic cop. Granny Cai, as she is affectionately known, risks her life on a daily basis to make sure that both drivers and pedestrians obey the traffic rules on a busy road close to her home. She says, “I am…
sisera's surprise
Taking online quizzes is popular on Facebook. The quizzes range from “What Disney character are you?” to “What Bible character are you?” I wonder how a person would react if the Bible character quiz revealed that they are most like Jael.
Who’s Jael? She’s the woman who drove a tent peg into an army general’s head. While we could debate…
