Blended

"Whoever wants to become great among you mustbe your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43-44

"Because we children of Adam want to become great, He became small. Because we will not stoop, He humbled Himself. Because we want to rule, He came to serve." -Moravian Prayer

Dear friends and family, I hope you are well and I can't believe that as I write this the approach of the Fall season is upon us. Another horizon for new aspects of growing and learning together. I am looking forward to it as it poses a new set of experiences and discoveries. Thank you for joining me in this exchange through words and I pray that it will spur you towards faith. I want to thank you in advance as I invite you to pray with me.

This past week has been a time of reflecting on leadership since PaLM and Intervarsity will be hosting a special lunch on Friday at the Chinese Evangel Mission Church in Queens with Paul Tokunaga. I took some time to examine the notions of leadership that provoked me in my years in ministry. I find that Jesus was gave such us such a profound paradox of sorts...to be great you must be the least...and yet, it is simply beautiful. This idea of surrender in order to lead. I am not impressed with myself when people follow me...but I am moved when they follow Christ. I think my most joyful experiences of being a leader are when I simply place a band-aid on a kid with a scraped knee, to listen as a camp counselor weeps for her parents, praying with brother who is struggling with his marriage, listening to worship songs with a baby. But in leadership, I find the necessity of meetings and planning are just an undergirding for these intimate moments of ministry to each other. They are a means to an end...Our communities are screaming for salvation...for an understanding from another that they are loved by God and by another person.

In the church, I have seen so many expressions of authority which ruthless power are exercised under the false pretense of ministry. It saddens me...because a measure of dignity in an undignified world is the "one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind." Christ gave dignity to those outsiders. Unrepaired people. He esteemed us even in moments of our languishing filth.

He became a paradox. A servant leader.

But the reality is we find leaders who isolate. who exclude. who gossip. who are distant. who are absent in times of need and available in times of "leading." Where they find remedy to their lack of relationships through activities. Insincere friendships where building a church is more important than building up people. Through programs where there is high attendance but very little depth. Through the public eye of an audience of many...I am speaking to myself when I write this...because I have been seduced by this in my years of serving...but God didn't allow me to stay that way...he gave me a garment of praise for this heaviness. I am being redeemed of this...and I am so thankful for that.

So my hope is we foster a new generation of servants. A community that is riddled with authentic integrity, humility of heart, a passion for growth, an intimacy with God and people. A joyous and frustrated group of ragamuffins who have not yet arrived but neither has stopped their journey towards discovery. Of that elusive but gloriously available experience of amazing grace.

selah

Here are my prayer updates:

Asian American Laity Project
The funding is coming in slowly and I am developing a church campaign this Fall as I speak at several churches. I received a surprise check from a sister and it was a huge source of encouragement at a critical and trying time. I am doing follow-up with my time with people last week and hopefully will result in some partnerships.

I had a great phone conversation with an IV staff about developing a transition ministry for Asian American campus students who will be graduating and entering into the professional world and new church culture. We shared our mutual passions for the Asian American ethnic church and we are beginning conversations about how to come along the Asian American church to reach these post-college students.

I had a great chat with Dr. Timothy Tseng who is pioneering Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity (ISAAC) and we explored some strategies and possible partnerships for the Asian American community.

I participated in an Asian American Emergent Skypecast. Thanks to DJ Chuang for hosting the Second Asian American Emergent Skypecast and we had some thoughtful discussions on how the emergent church movement can be thought of towards an Asian American church. We had the following participants who ventured onto skype to meet over the internet… We had including Emergent Asia’s Sivin Kit, as well as Ben Pun, David Park, Tim Liu, and my buddy Theo Wong. You can listen in to part 1 and part 2 online.

I am planning to connect with Asian Young Life to seek a conversation with them to see how their commitment and vision for youth in a culturally specific manner could be transferred to the local churches who are serving Asian American youth.

Pray for progression of the ministry and that there is support for this. I feel that there is a certain lag of funding and I am still in the midst of communicating and partnering with the local Asian American church.

Semester Begins (A blending of my past)
ESF/Syracuse University Fall semester began and Jamie is under way for another semester as she pursues her academic aspirations. I am taking Chinese class and it was great to see old students. A former youth Stacy has arrived and again I feel that ministry from NYC is coming here to remind me of the collision of worlds. Jamie and I took her, her brother, her Boston Red Sox friend (booo!!!) and my fellow Chinese language student Stanley (his first time at church! congrats Stanley) to Eastern Hills Bible Church in their new building. It was breathtaking and refreshing to meet so many new people and families who are so passionate about the mission of engaging seekers, here is there statement: "Our mission is guiding seekers to discover and fully enjoy Christ’s love... by engaging in evangelism, fellowship, discipleship, ministry and worship. We believe that we’re all seekers... whether we’ve followed Christ for years or are just beginning to learn about Him."Jamie is ministering to Stacy and exploring possiblities for mentoring (as her time is pretty busy). Pray for these students and our interaction with them. Pray for this new semester be one filled with encounters with students and friends whom we can build community around.

Serving the Servants

Jamie organized a special ministry opportunity with a participants of Grace in Motion at the Rescue Mission. She organized a group of 10 volunteers to serve meals to the people of the community. It was amazing to see her lead and to just come along for the ride. The people who volunteered had a short bible reflection from Luke and a debriefing meeting afterwards. It was great to see people serve on a Saturday and to see how it was a blessing to those who receive as well as those who gave. Pray that there will be more opportunities for people to serve this community of Syracuse and for a commitment to engage and love this city with a sense of hope and diligence. I was amazed by the staff there who are so patient and serve the community with such dignity and respect. Everytime there was a special need or request for something the staff made sure everyone was accomadated. Pray for the staff at the Rescue Mission as they are spending their lives committed to restoring the lives of these people. Pray for the winter months where many of them will be on the streets to find warmth and a home for a meal there.

Eastern Chinese Bible Conference
I am heading to the Eastern Chinese Bible Conference this weekend to facilitate an Asian American Leadership Roundtable with some established and emerging ministry leaders. Participants include DJ Chuang: Christian Asian American blogger extraordinaire, editor of Asian American Youth Ministry and Executive Director of L2 Foundation. Greg Jao: IVCF NY/NJ Regional Director and contributor to " Following Jesus Without Dishonoring your Parents" Anna Lee: IVCF Staff worker at NYU serving Graduate Students. Paul Tokunaga: Main speaker, Author of "Leading to Serve" and IVCF Director of Asian American Ministries. Lisa Yu: IVCF Staff worker at Adelphi University.Glennis Lo: EPIC, Campus Crusades Asian American Ministry staff worker. David Park: Blogger and Youth Pastor in a Korean American church in Georgia.

It will be an informal and "unplugged" discussion at the conference where others can eavesdrop on our discussion. I pray that it will be a good opportunity for people to network and share their hearts and minds. This is a special conference to me because in 1998, I attended this conference and made a commitment to Christ...and a year later I went into full time ministry.

I will also be conducting a workshop on evangelism with a focus on postmodern seekers. Pray for the roundtable and the workshop to inspire more dialogue among those who are serving the Asian American church.

OneHouse
I am prepping my talk on October 21 One House focusing on our call for social justice. I am excited to work with musician Neah Lee and also with sponsors Bread and Water and World Vision. My talk will focus on the book of Isaiah and Jesus's ministry on earth. The talk will be focus on the inclusiveness of the gospel to reach the outsiders so that it points to an exclusive God. Prayer for my talk and my discussion.

Misc.
There may be an opportunity for me to serve with a ministry in NYC part-time and from home in Syracuse. I am hoping to meet with them to discuss the details and I am praying for this great chance to serve again. So pray that God will bring this about according to His will.

I also have an opportunity to write for an online magazine so it is nice to get back to one of my first loves. I will be writing about post-college Asian American students and their views on church and faith.

Pray for planning for our return to NYC and for what that will look like. Jamie has been so good in working hard so we can return to the big apple sooner but I am trying to not pressure her to finish early but rather allow her to really enjoy this time she has at school as a season to learn and to engage on campus. So, however long God wants us here...may we be willing to stay and be still.

Love you guys and thanks for reading this long prayer update.

Visitations (the circle of returns)

"It is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confession of sin, and much heart searching and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold uncomplaining embrace of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering looking unto Jesus crucified. It is not gained to us as loss for Christ. This is a great price, but it must be paid by the leader who would not be merely a nominal but a real spiritual leader whose power is recognized and felt in heaven, on earth and in hell. " -a quote about the road to spiritual authority and leadership by Samuel Brengle, Salvation Army.


Dear Friends and Family,

I can't believe that the summer is almost over! Jamie and I are back in Syracuse prepared for a new season of our marriage this fall. It is good to be back on the blog world and I hope to capture what has happened in the past 10 days. I had the opportunity to go to a special wedding in Massachusetts on the eve of our first year wedding anniversary. Then headed to Rhode Island where we met with my parents for some time of leisure and good food. Then we headed to the city for several meetings with friends, ministry partners and potential funders for the Asian American Laity Project. Then we had a special gathering of friends for my birthday and then sharing at Chinese Conservative Baptist Church.

It was my first extended trip in New York City for a time and it was a time of a re-emergence of my heart towards ministry. I met with the President of Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell (where I will serve as volunteer staff this year!) and we talked about our common vision for the campus. I was able to conduct a special training for the Herald Gospel Camp counselors on how to minister to campers. I met up with immigrant youth whom I served and now are halfway through graduating college and making decisions for their futures. It amazes me to know that 7 years ago when I met them, they were barely speaking English and knew little about Christ and now they are preparing to engineers, math teachers, and now serving the church as bible study leaders...Praise God.

As I wrapped up my time there, I felt a deep love and heaviness for the city and an eagerness to return to serving this place, this distant home of mine. But thanks to words from friends (special thanks to Jenny and Caroline) for your encouragement in this time of waiting. In some ways, it has been a time of sabbatical for me and it has deepened my faith and my passions. I am yearning for a sense of something familiar here in Syracuse...

Jamie and are looking for a new church and had a great time visiting Eastern Hills Bible Church and we are looking to visit International Assembly and the Korean Church of Syracuse. Our ideal match would be a place for us to learn and to serve together, especially in areas of community and international students. We had a wonderful dinner with a family serving through Young Life in Syracuse and it was a great exchange of vision and common leaders whom we admire. Please pray for Jamie and I during this important time for us to worship and build community. We are thankful for our time at Syracuse Alliance Church for the past year and continue with the relationships that God has begun.

Funding for Asian American Laity Project
The Asian American Laity Project needs an additional $11,000 to raise for the project. I had some productive meetings with some supporters and potential partners for this ministry. Pray that God's provision would be given to this special project that I have a passion to serve those who faithfully serve in the Asian American churches. I am developing a stronger peace about this and I know that God will provide in his timing.

Special Lunch with Paul Tokunaga and Leadership Roundtable
PaLM and Intervarsity is hosting a special lunch with Paul Tokunaga at the Chinese Evangel Missions Church in Queens. I am looking forward to attending this and to hear the engagement with Mr. Tokunaga and the respective pastors of the Asian American church. I will facilitate a special Leadership Roundtable at Eastern Chinese Bible Conference with Paul Tokunaga and several leaders from Intervarsity, Campus Crusades for Christ, and Chinese Christian Herald Crusades during the labor day weekend and I will also presenting a special workshop on evangelizing to young adults and postmoderns.

Volunteer staff for Intervarsity Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell
I have offered to serve with Intervarsity this year with Grace Christian Fellowship at Cornell. I am excited to serve the college students at Cornell and to connect with what God is doing there. Pray for my involvement to equip the leadership there and to serve the fellowship in a way that will bring the campus to a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Serving with Chinese Christian Herald Crusades
During my time in New York, I was blessed by spending some time with current staff at CCHC and learning about the new and exciting things that God is doing there. I spoke to the Director and we are arranging for me to somehow be involved with supporting their new direction and vision for preaching the gospel to Chinese community. I am not sure if this will be suitable but want to be open...Pray for wisdom and for a balance of ministries that I am involved in.

Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church
I am tentatively working with the leadership at the Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church to develop their youth and young adult ministries. I will be preaching there once a month for their special concurrent services there. I really love the ministry of this church as they are striving to serve the second generation Chinese church. Many of the youth who go there are from Hofstra New York Summer Conference where I spoke this summer. I will be speaking at the end of September and spending time with leadership and develop a strategy for growth. Pray for the my time there and for mutual sharing and blessing as we seek to serve the church together.

OneHouse NYC
I had a chance to meet up with the organizers of the One House event. We had a Thursday prayer meeting and there were poignant moments of discovery for us regarding where we stood on these issues and also for each other. There were tears and many earnest pleas for God's provision in this matter. The event will be in NYC on October 21st, it is a unity concert focusing on social justice. I am excited to announce that Neah Lee will be performing and sharing that night. I am preparing my talk and excited to delving into the writings of Cornel West, Ron Sider and Martin Luther King. Pray for my talk to be filled with an overarching theme of God's mercy and his desire for Justice....

MISC
Please pray for a youth pastor how has been diagnosed with Lymphoma and that it seems treatable but continue to lift him and his family up as they go through this difficult time.

Special praise to God for Kara, Esther for lunch (sushi!!), Jinny and Koo (rain down on them in Washington!), EUG-ene for catching up and learning about fatherhood, John for meeting with me and sharing some thoughts on the Asian American church, thanks for all the youth who came out to hang out and have some herb-orade, for all the people who came out to my birthday party, for the OneHouse folks for a meaningful time of fellowship and prayer, Simeon for sharing your vision for campus, and a special thanks to all of you who sent me words of encouragement and whose support means so much to me...God sees and will provide.

Deferring Trust

"Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. " Psalm 37:5-6

This week has been a tough one, I still have not found a part-time position in Syracuse and I just found out that my start up time for the Asian American Laity Project is now almost one year later than what I had hoped to start. The initiation of the project is being pushed back for another season. This could be the beginning of a temporary pause of my involvement in ministry. I am filled with a mosaic of emotions because on one hand, my prevalent passion and desire is to serve and be used by God for kingdom work but on the hand I have peace because I know this is a time of pause until provision arrives. I am also put into a different gear of pursuing and sharing this vision of my minstry more diligently . Part of me wants to challenge, part of me wants to wait, part of me wants to go out to share this burden and in the darkest reality, part of me wants to quit.

Quit and surrender to God.

As Jamie and I went to Eastern Hills Bible Church this Sunday, the sermon series is on Summer Psalms and it was a time of remembering that a year ago, Jamie and I were ready to get married. I had friends to say good-bye to, boxes to pack, a U-Haul to rent and so many major changes in my life. I had just finished up my role as director of the Herald Youth Center.

As Pastor Doug preached on Psalm 37 about worrying and trusting (you can download the sermon here) and Jamie and prayed with our hands cupped and trusting in Him despite what seems to be difficult time. We are making time for us to regard it with a sense of purpose in the midst of this apparent absence. It reminded me of the paradox of absence, I once preached that the greatest moment of history was the act of absence. That the moment when Mary came to the tomb and found that it was empty...it was moment of continued brokenness for Mary as she didn't realize the blessing of this moment...it was an act of freedom. That in what seems like a moment of nuanced beauty that we find ourselves and it is in this moment that I will continue to lean on Him during this period.

A year ago I was developing and pioneering a part-time project called the Asian American Laity project as an Associate Director at Pastoral and Laity Ministries to start a ministry to build, equip, advance and renew the lay leaders of the Asian American Church. I believe that this is an important ministry in developing content and nourishment to the those who serve in the Asian American church. This came from years of serving at the Herald Youth Center and was heard countless stories of lay leaders who are serving faithfully but are so famished for a sense of community, vision, and direction. I was hoping to network and develop a partnership with seminaries and prominent leaders and pastors to provide valuable content to the lay leadership.
But now I stand and look over this past year and having so many opportunities to speak at churches, conferences, rallies and coffeehouses. It was a good year to focus on developing my ministry of teaching and evangelism and yet, found that it has also been a time of deep pause for me to challenge myself to trust. To believe that this vision for the ministry is to developing in His time.

So I am going to be in a new push for funding in this month and I have this gospel confidence that God's timing is perfect. I have enjoyed a sense of a sabbatical from NYC ministry and focusing on my own identity. Jamie and I are moving ahead in our next season in Syracuse to serve at a church where we can develop our common vision for evangelism, missions work and building authentic communities.

Lastly, I wanted to take this moment to thank many of you who have been so faithful in sacrificially giving of your finances, your time and most of all your friendship to me. It is something that I realized is an act of grace. An act of such resemblance of God's grace in my life. I realize that I don't deserve your friendship yet, I am blessed and I want to thank you for this.

I am going to refrain from my specific ministry updates till Wednesday. Because I want to be more sensitive to your time.

Thank you again.

Remaining in Him,

Peter O

To Financially Support the ministry please send checks (make payable to PaLM) to:
PaLM
48-19 196th Street
Fresh Meadows, New York
11365-1316
please mark memo: Asian American Laity Ministries or Peter Ong
All donations are tax-deductible