This week, Karisa You returned to write How We Grow Like Apples, James Lee presented The Sound of Silence: Part 2, and new contributor Sean Lynn shared Understanding Emotional Health of Young Men.
Save the date! Our next Asian American Leadership Conference will take place in Orange County, California on April 28-29, 2026!
Keep in touch on X and Instagram. For more, check out my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group and TGIF Playlist on Spotify. This newsletter is one of the many ways you can stay connected with SOLA Network. Find us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Aaron Lee, Editorial Curator
Enter our giveaway! Thanks to Gospel-Centered Discipleship for providing, in partnership with @diveindigdeep, SOLA Network, and FCBC Walnut. 1 winner will receive these excellent books! Links open to my reviews:
- Where is God’s glory in the local church? Broken but Beautiful brings brief reflections on the blessings of the local church. These short stories are testimonies of God’s goodness to His people through His people.
- What does it take to plant a church? In Church Planter, Tony Merida outlines nine essential traits for being both faithful and effective in church planting. This book focuses not on the how, but on the who—the character and qualities of the church planter themselves.
Articles From Around The Web
1. Connie Leung Nelson: Teaching Our Kids That They Don’t Need To Self-Justify
We all live in fallen bodies in a fallen world where we still need to fight sin, and we swing and miss sometimes. We can normalize patterns of acknowledging when we’ve wronged one another and apologizing, which helps our kids see that truth and reconciliation are essential to relationships.
2. Michael C. Lyons: Don’t Preach a Commentary
“True, authentic, effective Bible preaching shapes hearts and minds every time God’s people gather. It disciples people’s hearts into God-fearing, sin-repenting, Christ-treasuring, Scripture-loving, people-serving followers of Jesus! And these things are rarely developed in the life of a believer when their pastor preaches a Bible commentary.”
3. Dan Cruver: A Heart for Adoption
“Imagine the impact churches would have upon the orphan crisis if they were filled with people who moved forward in the strength and knowledge of their Father’s delight.”
SOLA Network is excited to co-host an inaugural Asian American Youth Workers Training Day with Rooted Ministry. Steve Chang, Hanley Liu, Monica Kim, Clark Fobes, and a handful of other familiar faces will lead workshops and panels with attendees throughout the day. The Conference will take place on March 15, 2025 at Living Hope Community Church in Brea, California from 9AM to 5PM. Learn more.
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
1. Preachers Talk: On Training Preachers in Asia (Ep. 84)
What is going on in Asia these days when it comes to training preachers? What are the challenges and encouragements? Darrell Young, the Simeon Trust’s man in Asia, joins Dave and Jeremy to discuss.
2. Will Anderson: Should Pastors Write Books? 4 Questions to Consider
“The line between building the kingdom and building your personal brand can get blurry.”
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book reviews: The Biggest Story Family Devotional by Kevin DeYoung, ESV Student Study Bible by Crossway, Unloved by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, The Foremost Problems of Contemporary Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
On Kindle Now! A Letter to the Asian American Church. The collective voices in our book argue that there is underappreciated beauty, diversity, joy, benefit, and place for the Asian American church. Asian American leaders need to joyfully embrace the call to serve the Asian American church, not only for the emerging generation but for the broader church. Find a sample, links to purchase, and a free discussion guide at sola.network/book.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Sean Lynn: Understanding Emotional Health of Young Men
The health of our relationship with our heavenly father will impact how we parent our own children. We need the gracious goodness of God to disrupt the ways we parent, even when we have the best of intentions. If we fail miserably to be a good father to our children, there are opportunities to surrender ourselves to God’s perfect parenting of us.
2. James Lee: The Sound of Silence: Part 2
It eventually dawned on me that in my practice of silence, God was working through my feelings of pain and discomfort. He did not seem interested in “taking away the pain.” Instead, God highlighted these things to remind me of his presence.
3. Karisa You: How We Grow Like Apples
“Our old patterns of living don’t just wash away with one inspiring sermon or Bible verse. Sermons and scripture are powerful tools to help us identify lies and learn truth, but repetition—soaking in God’s truth and spending continuous quality time with Him—is what causes heart change.”
4. TGIF: Roundup for February 21, 2025
The Unlikely Companion Who Walked with Me Through My Season of Grief / Ask for God over Gifts / To Those Living in Secret Sin / Herman Bavinck Harmonizes Faith and Reason / A Conversation About Singleness
5. 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. Header image by Mohammad Alizade on Unsplash.