Circle of Glory

"It will be a happy day when we are more eager to see Christ than we are to see any symbol of Him that could be found either in the heavens or on earth. I do not want you as fellow students of the Word, to care about baptism, and the Lord's Supper and the Sabbath day and the church built with hands--except as these may lead you further into the inner sanctuary where is enthroned Christ Himself." Joseph Parker

Upon my trip to New York City, I reflected much on the words of Joseph Parker which reminded me of the hints of glory that are in our time here ...that these journeys are but a faint foretaste of what is to come....Whether it was when I drove south to the city or coming home going north...I arrived in two different places but always heavenward...there will be a day when we come to the full experience of God... when we will worship discarding any distractions.

This week I began to understand this with my mind, heart and soul... to focus beyond Syracuse and New York City...this is just a part of a circle of glory which are hints of the greater glory to come. From glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) is where I find my hope and that is where I will remain...

I thank God for that reminder and for me to really know that I am a sojourners here...to point and direct our heart and others towards our final destination towards God...that this life is filled with opportunities to take to task the walk that is worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1) we each have our response that will impact how we experience the wonders of our faith. I hope that we as pilgrims continue to urge each other towards the mercy and love of Christ, that when we arrive of the threshold of His arrival, we too, will be familiar with this taste upon our hearts...to something so familiar and beautiful...enter into the wondrous place of such abounding grace and power...and the awe of His perfect judgement. And we will know, looking behind what this all meant.

Thank you again for stopping by or reading this. There is much to share and I want to keep it brief (yeah yeah yeah).


NEW YORK, NEW YORK
I had a busy and productive trip to New York City, I had met with John Lin, from Redeemer Presbyterian Church to hear his thoughts about Asian American ministry, Tim Keller and the possibility of having a dialogue with Dr. Keller with several local Asian American pastors to explore the phenomenon of second and third generation Asian Americans at Redeemer. I found his insight to be provoking, candid and challenging as he spoke about the "irrevisible" trend that as children of immigrants we are to be moving towards into a broader context of "American" culture. I am hoping to see where there could be more discussions and engagement with the local Asian American Christian community to dialogue more and to see what are the best practices for our generational churches faces new challenges and opportunities.

I was able to stop by to say hello to Elise Chong from Hope For New York at the Redeemer offices and we talked about working together for the Asian American Roundtable at the College and Career Eastern Chinese Bible Conference. It was good to see her and the staff as I have fond memories of how God used that organization to broaden my vision for mercy and justice ministries in New York City.

I attended the monthly pastoral meeting with PaLM, where I had the chance to meet up with Joseph Tsang from Vision Church (which I went to hang out with him at NBC Studios) and with David Koo from New Joy Fellowship who invited me to speak at his church as he is finishing up his dissertation. We were sharing about worship from the book Shaped By God's Heart. It was a challenging study and really enjoyed the discussion regarding excellence and if we are truly be excellent for God or for man...it was a real treat to wrestle through this and I had the opportunity to drop in some emerging church lingo...haha...

I had meetings with two churches about some upcoming projects. I am helping one church develop a spiritual mentorship program in their church and worked out some of the strategies and logistical aspects of the program. With another church, I will serving with their College group and possibly with their youth group until they appoint a pastor to oversee the ministry. I am excited that there are opportunities for me to serve and that this is one aspect of the Laity Project that I am really excited is moving. Pray that God will guide our partnership and that there will be mutual encouragement. This is also a praise because they will be able to financially support the ministry.

We are making some final preparations for Refl3ctions Event in June 17th at OCM church where we will challenge the youth to engage with their seeker friends, we hope to have Neah Lee and Jinny Kim perform that night...Pray for our speaker and for the financial burdens of the event and for the planning.

I also had a meeting with organizers of OneHouse and excited to see the shape of the evening to pursue an active response to unity and justice...It was great to see old friends (Vicky, Joanna, Jasmine) and new friends (Albert and Glennis) serve in this ministry. This event is heavy in my heart as it is a growing passion of mine to seek global work with Jamie to offer practical grace to those who are suffering greatly around the world. Pray for my words to be anointed with conviction, exhortation and also a clear mandate from the word regarding justice. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for this challenge that is before me.

I had dinner with two dear sisters who are part of my core of new friends who God has placed in the midst of common passions for youth, wilderness experiences and of course, wrestling with what it means to seek Him in all things (including marriage, singleness and just overall day to day life). It was good for me to recount the ways that God has brought me from familiar places of darkness with them and sharing a common vision of hope.

I am heading out to Teen Eastern Chinese Bible Conference this weekend where I will do a workshop and also preparing for my sermon for the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church the following Sunday.

Looking forward to my speaking at Hofstra New York Summer Conference and also hoping to connect this summer with several of the youth.

I will be presenting my website this week!!! It just needs a few more photos.

SYRACUSE
I came back late Friday night (it took me 5.5 hours to get home) but I arrived tired but affectionally welcomed by Jamie. I wanted to attend our local church's Crossroads Ministry annual Summer Kickoff Barbecue and also attend a rally for Joshua Revolution's "Field of Miracles" which a youth outreach in Rochester, New York on August 18-20. I met with Mike Chorey and it turns out that he was involved with the CallNYC in 2002. I was amazed by the worship lead by Jonathan Maracle of the First Nations ministry called Broken Walls. I had a chance to see them lead worship at Urbana 2003 where I heard one of the most life changing messages regarding ministry to the indigenous people of the Americas by Ray Adlred (see his talk here). It was an amazing time for me to see what God is doing here and in this region...Pray for my work with the youth group at Syracuse Alliance Church and that I will be able to serve out of a desire to honor our Lord's bride and for me to truly bring support to the leadership and the pastoral staff here.

I am wrapping up my time co-leading of the Grace in Motion Men's bible study. I am thankful for the men who are part of this and for their pursuit of authenticity. I am amazed by them and how God is working in each of their lives. We are finishing up this rotation and seeking God in what are next steps are.

MISC

Congratulations to Glennis Lo who raised all her support for her start with EPIC ministries. I am looking forward to working with her and seeing God raise up more young people to serve and work in ministry.

Pray for my financial support as well as it is coming down to crunch time for me...it is make or break time for this summer, I am looking forward to seeing what God will do during this time of seeking support. Thank God for a supportive wife and for my part-time job in Syracuse which has been able to cover our expenses.

Pray for our dear sister Elizabeth who is leaving for Peru for missions tomorrow, pray for her time to be filled with opportunities to share and experience the gospel.

Pray for my friend DY who is going back to his home to be with his dad who is diagnosed with liver cancer. Pray for healing and for faith to seek His comfort during this time.

Pray for my friend CS who is going through such a tremendous time of trials right now, with both her parents undergoing cancer treatment and recovering from a broken engagement.

A special prayer for two couples who we found out they are expecting a new addition in their lives. Pray that God will bring them to a ready state of their hearts to be a father and mother. Hallelujah for this new season.

To Financially Support the ministry please send checks to:
PaLM
48-19 196th Street
Fresh Meadows, New York
11365-1316
please mark memo: Asian American Laity Ministries or Peter Ong