Happy New Year from SOLA Network! Check out our new Christmas Collection of articles, celebrating the birth of Jesus and the beginning of 2024. In this edition of TGIF, I gathered some of my favorite resources from SOLA Network this year. And don’t forget to check out SOLA Network’s Hidden Gems of 2023 by Hannah Chao.
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 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 our giveaway! Thanks to 9Marks for providing this book for our giveaway, in partnership with my newsletters for @diveindigdeep and FCBC Walnut. 3 winners will receive a physical copy of this excellent book!
How can you wield and yield to authority in a healthy way? In Authority, Jonathan Leeman shares how godly rule protects the vulnerable, strengthens communities, and promotes human flourishing. Read my review.
Articles From Around The Web
1. Ashley Kim: Grace in the Midst of Writer’s Block and Beyond
“Writing, even for the writer, is a gift: undeserved, freely given, joyfully received.”
2. Matthew D. Kim: We Are Not Immune: Lessons from a Mental Health Crisis
“In 2022, I almost died – twice. The first time was during a battle with COVID pneumonia. The second happened several months later when chronic insomnia spiraled into depression, psychosis, and suicidal ideation.”
3. Renee Zou: What Comes to Mind When You Think of Heaven?
“Fellow Christian, we are destined for the new heavens and the new earth. God is longing to bring us home. Are we longing for the same?”
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. Learning from Pastors at Japanese American Internment Camps: An Interview with Tom Sugimura
What would you preach to your congregation the week before your members were shipped off to an internment camp simply because they were of Japanese heritage? Pastor Tom Sugimura wrote about these pastors and their messages in an article in Christianity Today called How Japanese American Pastors Prepared their Flocks for Internment.
2. Learning and Writing about God and the Church: An Interview with Tim Challies
How Tim heard about SOLA Network, how it feels half a year after releasing his book (Seasons of Sorrow), behind the scenes of his article for SOLA Network (If God Would Outsource His Sovereignty), how platforms and parachurch ministries like SOLA Network can achieve longevity and faithfulness, and his upcoming projects.
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book review: Planting By Pastoring by Nathan Knight. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Our Books and Reviews page is your one-stop resource for all of your reading needs. It features Asian American authors and issues, recommendations, and interviews.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Hannah Chao: SOLA Network’s Hidden Gems of 2023
“This article has been one of the most cherished things I’ve gotten to do as an editor as I get to reflect on all the smaller stories that I have loved and published over the year. And so, for the last time, here are my top 10 favorite articles this year that didn’t make it to the most-viewed articles of the year and yet contain much wisdom and comfort.”
2. Aaron Lee: Logic on Fire: A Book Review of “The Power of Revival” by Dongjin Park
“How does the Holy Spirit give power in preaching? In The Power of Revival, Dongjin Park presents an academic study on Martyn Lloyd-Jones, baptism in the Spirit, and preaching on fire.”
3. Aaron Lee: To Author Life in Others: A Book Review of “Authority” by Jonathan Leeman
“How can you wield and yield to authority in a healthy way? In Authority, Jonathan Leeman, author and editorial director for 9Marks, shares how godly rule protects the vulnerable, strengthens communities, and promotes human flourishing.”
4. Harold Kim: Sweet Surrender: A Christmas Devotion
“Christmas – the birth (and life) of Jesus – happens in you, as you surrender to the ‘Son of the Most High…and He will reign forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”
5. TGIF: Roundup for December 22, 2023
‘Be Fruitful and Multiply’: The Cultural Mandate Is Work for Image-Bearers / Raising Kids to Love the Nations / Put ‘Mas’ Back in ‘Christmas’ / Joseph: Called to Faith
6. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
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General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors.