Fred Mok

Mom: Why aren’t you married yet? You: Don’t worry about it. It’s not your problem. I often hear second-generation Asian Americans complain about interactions like the above. They are examples of how Asian immigrant parents shame young adults, from their childhood to beyond. The way forward often appears…

Aaron Lee

The 2019 SOLA Conference is here! Be sure to follow SOLA on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for the latest updates. News of academic cheating was the top headline this week. My featured resource for you is The Briefing by Albert Mohler - “Academic cheating in the news, but this time it’s by the parents, not the…

Scott Oh

My 10-year-old-son has been training in jiu-jitsu for about six months now. Much like with other martial arts, he needs to practice with endless repetition. All of this is done in good faith that these routines will become habits, these habits will eventually become instinct, and these efforts will culminate into mastery of the craft…

David Chong

We’ve all seen people instigate. It can be a look that is given to a brother when he is talking to a girl, sarcastic suggestions, trolling, and other immature behavior. It can be a form of fun and humor, but it is not completely harmless. It can be toxic. People aren’t blind or deaf to instigations and jokes about potential relationships…

Eddie Byun

In this fight against the great evil of human trafficking in our day, it is my firm conviction that the Church must not just be involved, but must lead the way in the pursuit of freedom and justice. Why do I say this? Because true freedom and justice can only come through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Freedom and justice is why…

Aaron Lee

The 2019 SOLA Conference is next week! Get excited, and check out media from last year, including a recap video, photos, and sermons. We have some great links lined up for us this weekend. If you would like your work to be on my radar, please tweet me @musicgoon or email me at aaron@musicgoon.com…

Hannah Chao

Two thousand miles away from the polar vortex swirling around the Midwest where he lives, Dr. D.A. Carson had this to say about the 70-degree weather of Orange County: “Somebody’s gotta serve as a missionary to California.” Dr. Carson is a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, the author of many publications…

Heidi Tai

I know you’re feeling both excited and apprehensive as you count down the days to your big move to Brisbane. Your optimism has propelled you into the deep end in ways that people deem “courageous,” but deep down I know that you’re nervous of the unknown and concerned for the future. After all, you’re only a 26-year-old…

P.J. Tibayan

Before I consider myself the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Southeast Los Angeles, I consider myself a church member. Why? Because I believe that my identity as a church member is important than my title as a pastor. I also believe that I’m a particular kind of church member: I’m a church mover. A church mover…

P.J. Tibayan

Christians and leaders seek to be “driven by and for the local church.” The problem is that we don't always clearly and enthusiastically see how this passion for God's glory connects to the local church. So the question is raised: Why are we driven by the local church? Aren't we driven by Christ, his word, and his Spirit? Why are…

Kara Park

Not too long ago, I was discharged from a partial hospitalization/intensive outpatient eating disorder (ED) treatment program. It was a very emotional moment, especially given the fact that I've processed so much and tackled some of my greatest fears there. When we are discharged, we are asked to reflect on where we…

Mark Lee

After you read the title of this article, you would think that I set out to accomplish this all long. But I just wanted to make a non-believing immigrant father proud. I was saved in a Korean church. But I had never had much church experience up until that point. In fact, when I went to college, I was only interested in 2 things…

Tim Park

In 2000, my wife, JoAnn, and I left an immigrant church, a church where I had served as a youth pastor and an English Ministry pastor for nine years, in order to plant Living Faith Community Church with the hopes of reaching a multi-ethnic community. But after the first couple of years, it became apparent that we were…

Peter Park

“Are you open to Texas?” This was the question that changed my world. Growing up for most of my life in Southern California, I had never considered moving, and out of all places, I never thought of moving to...TEXAS?!? I was not looking to leave my predominantly Asian American church nor move away from…

Patreeya Prasertvit

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25) The older I get, the more I have learned that I am a strange mix of obedient and…

Raymond Chang, Daniel K. Eng, and Kevin Yi

Three SOLA contributors shared with us their thoughts on East Asian food culture and the Gospel. Read their reflections below. One thing I love about collectivist cultures is that you always cook food in order to share. Growing up, we always had people randomly drop by for lunch or dinner. There was never a time we…

Jennifer Yim

Dear Future Me. There is an outpouring of sustained, undeserved, inexpressible joy, and it is being received in such fullness by His grace and His grace alone. But wherever you find yourself, even if it’s not this same kind of outpouring, He is God. He is good. Always. Be grateful and do not forget: Life comes in seasons and each…

Thomas Hwang

If you're searching for new church, what should you look for? Read any book or blog and you'll often find similar responses: "Is it Gospel-centered?" "Is the teaching biblical?" "Is the doctrine orthodox?" "Is the community Christ-centered?" These are all true & even primary. However I feel there are more practical factors that…

Hannah Chao

One in every three Christians in Asia experience high persecution because of their faith, according to the 2019 Open Doors World Watch List. The watch list ranks the 50 countries with the highest amount of persecution for Christians. There were 16 Asian countries on that list: North Korea (1), Pakistan (5), India (10), Maldives (14)…

Jonathan Hayashi

“I don’t need a small group. I’ve got my family and Jesus.” I mean, I guess that makes sense? If we have Jesus, then why do we want or need to have another commitment? But looking at the life of Christ himself, we see he spends a majority of his life in a community. In fact, Pastor Eugene Peterson wrote, “1/10th of Jesus’s…

Santosh and Shiny John

“Do you hear that, Shine?” I asked my wife. It was a sound straight out of my church childhood – the all-too-familiar tempo of clapping in unison with every, single, beat. But we were at a conference for second or third generation Indians, not immigrants. “What is that?” She pushed the door open, and we looked right…

Daron Excel

After 5 years of not attending a church, my Korean friend from high school invited me to his church’s Friday night Bible study. The idea of attending church hadn’t crossed my mind for a very long time, but I was very open. As I was on my way to his church, I didn't expect Christ to reenter my life that night. And I didnt…

Brett McCracken

I used to think people who raised their hands in worship were weird. I grew up in Baptist churches in the Midwest, where the two or three people who occasionally raised their hands while singing a hymn or worship song were looked upon with some suspicion. For most of my life I was all about belting out the hymns…

David Larry Kim

Most people would agree that time, not money, is our most precious resource. If you lose, spend, or waste money, you can get it back or earn it, especially over time. But once your time is spent, you’ll never get it back. So if time is in short supply, how can we be generous with it? Jesus shows us in Mark 1:35-39: Very early…

Justin Kim

How can Christians share the Gospel? As Christians, we know two things: 1.) That God called us to be witnesses, and 2.) We have people around us who are not believers. But the tension is this: We don’t always know how to do that. We could be afraid of rejection or fear failure. Some of us just don’t know how to articulate the…

SOLA Network

Growing up as children of first-generation immigrants is difficult. There are many barriers to cross, from language to culture. On her blog, Heidi Tai has written beautifully about the struggle to understand her immigrant parents via her experience visiting her father-in-law’s childhood home in Vietnam. Check…

Jason Chao

My experience with Asian culture is that when it comes to people you love, you don’t tell them important news about your health or other troubles. My family lied to my grandfather when he was dying of cancer. They told him, “The doctors say you’ll be fine.” He died never knowing how sick he was. The grace and love that we have built as…