I interviewed cultural critic and writer Yi Ning Chiu to discuss her articles and the stories behind them. We covered how we use or are used by en vogue thoughts and technology, the impact of K-Pop domestically and globally at the individual level, and how each story that goes to print is part of a richer and often more complex narrative.
In the afternoon session of the Asian American Youth Worker Training Day held in March 2025, Steve Chang (former Senior Pastor of Living Hope Community Church) delivered The Prodigal Youth, recounting his early life as an immigrant in the U.S. and finding a sense of belonging in his church’s youth group.
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 New Growth Press for providing, in partnership with @diveindigdeep, SOLA Network, and FCBC Walnut. 1 winner will receive these outstanding books! Links open to my reviews:
- How to Teach Kids Theology: Sam Luce and Hunter Williams present a plan for providing deep truths for growing faith. To present our children mature in Christ is the goal.
- A Seasoned Marriage: Larry E. McCall shows you how to live the gospel in the middle years and beyond. Written for those in the middle and later decades of life, this book presents theological and practical considerations for older Christian couples.
ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WEB
1. Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra: The First Classical School on Capitol Hill
When the Thorntons began to look for other options, they quickly found Capitol Hill Christian Academy (CHCA), one of the newest classical Christian schools in the country, a few blocks from their home. CHCA was started in 2023 by Annie Hsiao, who’d spent most of her adult life working in the upper levels of federal education initiatives and belonging to Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
2. Dorothy Lau: Heartfelt Advice to Women in Youth Ministry
I’ve adhered to three axioms of advice that trusted mentors and friends imparted to me over the last decade. These reminders have helped me become resilient in Christ’s sufficiency during the moments when it is difficult to preach the gospel to myself. Each one contains a mixture of joys and challenges: contemplations of lessons learned, reminders of being grounded in Christ, and encouragement I wish I could have given to my younger self.
3. Tim Challies: Christian, Do You Test Everything?
I want to describe some specific categories, but first, let’s talk about media. Books are to be tested and so are blogs. Tiktoks and Reels need to be carefully evaluated and so too television shows and YouTube videos. The same is true of sermons and conversations. In short, wherever facts are spoken, testing must be performed!
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.
BOOKS, PODCASTS, MUSIC, MOVIES, AND MORE
1. Geoff Chang: Harnessing the Winds of Revival
Church growth experts today will have thousands of new ideas on how to grow a church and keep people engaged. Some of those ideas may be useful. But not if they come at the expense of this one central call of the minister: preach Christ.
2. Jeremy Writebol: Make it Your Ambition to Share the Gospel
I want to encourage you and your generation to see the desperate need of those around you—the spiritual peril of sinners headed to an eternity of judgment—and having embraced the gospel by faith, I hope you’ll be eager and active to share it with those who need Christ. I want to challenge you to make it your ambition to share the gospel.
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Review: 5 Mere Christians by Jordan Raynor and Kaleigh Cox, The Maker of the Mountain (Children’s Book) by Sandra McCracken and Tim Nicholson. 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. Daniel K. Eng: What I Wish You Understood About the Ethnic-Specific Church, Part 2
Ethnic specific churches have much to offer, even from the margins of ministry content. While our ministries and leaders aren’t well known outside our circles, we are faithfully serving the Lord.
2. Aaron Lee: Theology of the Internet, Teen Vogue, K-Pop, and Substack: An Interview with Yi Ning Chiu
How I feel about it now is, I think at the time, I felt like I was being pretty hard on the potential pitfalls that come with the usage of the social internet. And now looking back, I feel like I wasn’t hard enough. I actually feel like I was too gentle.
3. Steve S. Chang: The Prodigal Youth
He reflects on his faith journey, emphasizing the importance of youth ministry volunteers, using the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) to illustrate the complexities of working with youth–the potential to be hurtful, humbled, and healed. He stresses the significance of volunteers’ efforts, even when unseen, and encourages persistence.
4. TGIF: Roundup for May 2, 2025
How Do You Know If You’re Called to Ministry? / The Monastery of the Midwest / Enjoying God Together Forever: The Beatific Vision and Friendship / Partnerships With Other Youth Ministries / Helping Kids Build Their Identity in Christ
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 Olena Zolotukhina on Unsplash.
Aaron Lee is our Editorial Curator. Aaron also serves as the Social Media Officer of First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut in California’s San Gabriel Valley, home to the largest concentration of Asian American communities in the United States. Visit him online at DiveInDigDeep.com.