Happy Pastor’s Appreciation Month! Check out our Church & Ministry content, and revisit our 2022 Asian American Leadership Conference.
In case you missed it: We’re writing a book! We just announced our SOLA Network Book Project: Writing the Next Chapter of the Asian American Church. We believe it is time for SOLA Network to put in writing thoughts that would help the emerging generation of Asian American leaders and churches. Our book will launch at the 2024 Asian American Leadership Conference. More details coming soon. Registration for the conference is now open!
This newsletter is one of the many ways you can keep in touch with us. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram.
Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator
Enter to win! Thanks Lexham Press for providing this book for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut. How can you be sure of your salvation? In Finding Assurance with Thomas Goodwin, Andrew S. Ballitch brings the doctrine of assurance to battle doubt. Read my review of this excellent book.
Articles To Appreciate Our Pastors
1. Ben Shin: An Appreciation For Our Pastors
“Whether you know it or not, pastors in the church work very hard. They do a lot of things publicly like preaching, teaching, visitation, and leading but they also do quite a bit behind the scenes like counseling, studying, planning, and praying.”
2. James H. Lee: Don’t Ever Give Up: Confessions Of A Pastor With A Past
“Don’t give up because God does not give up on you. He only gives. He is working on the heart even as the appearance you see may not look like it.”
3. Christine Kim: Being A Pastor’s Kid
“PKs are pastor’s kids. But the PK experience is not only shaped by the family, but it is also greatly influenced by the church community. My convictions were ultimately rooted in the Gospel and my understanding of God’s undying love for me that I saw from the church.”
Asian American Leadership Conference 2024: “Writing the Next Chapter.” April 23-24, 2024, Orange County, CA. Registration and more info can be found at aalc.network.
The vision of this conference is to equip Asian-American leaders with gospel centered, contextual resources that will empower men and women for local church ministry. Our conference strategy is to equip leaders, platform voices, and connect with one another for life-giving relationships.
The theme of our conference is “Writing the Next Chapter: Empowering Asian American Voices for Gospel Ministry”. The Asian American church today is at a unique inflection point with leaders in diverse stations across multiple generations. This conference will be an opportunity to learn from these voices for the sake of continued and future Gospel work together.
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
1. Alistair Begg: Pray Big (Free Audiobook)
In Pray Big, Alistair Begg explores the prayers of the apostle Paul and discovers that Paul knew the God to whom he prayed and understood that there is nothing God can’t do. Read my review. Download the audiobook Pray Big, written and read by Alistair Begg.
2. John Piper: The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (Free eBook)
In The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, John Piper considers the lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin to behold the glory and majesty of God and find power to overcome our weaknesses.
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book reviews: Sacred Seasons by Danielle Hitchen, The Lord of Psalm 23 by David Gibson. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Our new Books and Reviews page is your one-stop resource for all of your reading needs. It features Asian American authors and issues, book recommendations, and interviews.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Harold Kim: Hope and Encouragement for Burned Out Pastors
Why so many church leaders are discouraged during this season and what to say to a church leader who is contemplating quitting ministry right now.
2. Heidi K. Wong: Come Back to Church
“Worship is meant to be raised the way God intended—in an embodied community.”
3. Cory Ishida: Letters from Grandpa: When it’s Hard to Listen to your Parents
“It’s interesting to note that as a child gets older, the biblical instruction is “not to forsake” your parents. It is as though God is acknowledging that their ears are becoming more sensitive to outside voices.”
4. Aaron Lee: Relationships and Remembrance: A Book Review of “Closer Than They Appear” by Heidi Wong
“How do our memories make us? How do our stories shape us? In Closer Than They Appear, Heidi Wong presents a collection of musings exploring this distance between the past, the present, and the person holding onto the hope and beauty of the human condition.”
5. TGIF: Roundup for October 6, 2023
What if I’m bad at evangelism? Making Youth Group ‘Senior Night’ More Than Once Each Year / A Holy Haunting (Free eBook) / Past Lives
6. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
Get our TGIF installments delivered straight to your inbox for free every Friday. Join today so you never miss out.
General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.