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…

Hannah Chao

In a recent post, Tim Keller asked the question, “How Do We Reach a Global Generation?” He suggests that because of the Internet, the reach of Western ideas (like individualism) has spread throughout the world. This brought about the creation of a hybrid-like cultures all over the world, mixing Western and non-Western culture in a way that…

Steve S. Chang

On September 29, 2018, The New York Times published an opinion piece by Pastor Tim Keller, who wrote about how Christians do not (and should not) fit neatly into our country’s two-party system. In it, Keller challenged Christians who may want to avoid politics, writing: “Christians cannot pretend they can transcend politics and simply…

Alexander Jun

I spent a year teaching English in Shanghai in the mid-1990s. Even back then I recall how friends from the “underground church” in the People’s Republic of China had experienced much persecution. At the time I was certain that in a decade or two, with the flattening of the world and greater international exchange, life for Christians…

Dan Hyun

Pastors are often counseled to avoid preaching on certain subject matter—politics, for example—lest their sermons be the cause of unnecessary division and offense in the church. Some will argue that anything other than a message describing the path to salvation distracts from the real purpose of preaching. Some would believe that address…

SOLA Network

Isn’t reading the Bible enough? Now we have to write something? We don’t want to add any requirements for reading the Bible. However, writing is a powerful tool that helps us to reflect on what we read and learned from the Word and the Holy Spirit. So do what works for you, whether it’s in your bullet journal, the Notes app…

P.J. Tibayan

How shall we follow the Lord Jesus as Christians in our tumultuous socio-political context today? Every generation of Christians in every geographical context answers this question with their churches and lives. Various Christian teachers and self-centered tendencies within complexify, confuse, and discourage…

Anonymous

Dear heavenly Father, our hearts are full with thanks and praise for you! Thank you for watching from heaven all that is happening here on earth, and that you yourself, from all eternity, have already known what will happen tomorrow. Not only so, since the beginning you have kept each one of your children by your holy and…

Moses Y. Lee

The phrase “gospel-centered” has become such a trendy buzzword for ministries trying to keep up with the times that its actual meaning can seem elusive. After all, who wants to be known as a ministry that’s not gospel-centered? But what exactly distinguishes a ministry that’s “gospel-centered” from one that’s not? And if…

SOLA Network

There’s nothing wrong with reading the Bible on your phone. In fact, our phones can be a helpful tool in helping us to read better, with links accessing us to further references, informational videos, and devotionals. Here’s a list of some good apps to help keep you on track as you read the Bible this year. This is the app pulled…

Larry Lin

I moved to the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area in 2012. Prior to the move, I had followed politics sporadically, but I wasn’t too engaged. After 2012, partially due to the political climate of where I lived, and partially due to some of the relationships I was developing, I started to slowly explore the world of…

Hannah Chao

Say the words “Donald Trump” in the middle of a church gathering, and you’ll probably feel the tension rising. One of the reasons for the sharp contrasts among Bible-believing Christians is our different philosophies on how Christians and the church should engage culture and politics. Pastor Tim Keller writes about these…

SOLA Network

Politics. That one word can cause awkward tensions and heated arguments within friend groups, work places, families, and even our churches. Here at The SOLA Network, we believe the Gospel unites us, even if we might have differing political views. We know the ultimate government is of Christ’s kingdom, and we…

SOLA Network

If you need a little bit more help reading through the Bible, you might look into devotionals. Here’s a list of some quality devotional books recommended by SOLA Editorial Board member, Kevin Yi. Some of the materials are dated and some are not, so pick one that works for you. New Morning Mercies by…

SOLA Network

The Bible Project (https://thebibleproject.com/) is an amazing resource for Christians who want to learn about Biblical context and themes. The makers of The Bible Project give overviews of individual books of the Bible using great analysis plus animated videos, most of which are only about 5-6 minutes long. Through…

SOLA Network

First off, there is no “You Have to Read the Bible in a Year” rule that Christians must follow. The hope is that all Christians build a regular rhythm of being in God’s presence and in His Word. The intention behind that idea is good, but it can be a daunting obstacle and result in a high failure rate. That leads us to the second point…

Thomas Hwang

In a few weeks you’re going to see a lot of your friends going to the gym, starting a new diet, and making lifestyle resolutions. That’s because the New Year is approaching and every new year, people feel this need to start with a clean slate and pick up habits that will benefit us. And for Christians, one beneficial habit that a lot…

Joshua Lim

The theme for SOLA Conference 2019 is “The Prevailing Church”. After reading that, you may be thinking, “A conference about the church? Thanks, but no thanks.” And I get it. Our typical church experiences can feel so mundane and repetitive. We say hi to the same people, sit, sing, and listen in the same seats, maybe…

Daniel K. Eng

The books of Luke & Acts have always fascinated me. Luke's Gospel is framed as an "orderly account" (1:3) that receives a sequel in Acts. Some Christians are surprised that Luke the physician, not Paul or John, has written the largest portion of the New Testament. Here are some helpful guidelines for reading the two-volume…