Posts Tagged ‘’
Announcement: Consultant for Hire
2010 is a brand new season for my work life. I am now working as a freelance consultant, aka independent contractor.
In addition to being available for short-term projects, I’ve just started working with Worship Leader Magazine and its media group [cf. press release]; I will continue to work with Leadership Network, where I’d been joyfully employed for 3 years; and, I’ll stay involved with L2 Foundation, where I’ve served for 9 years.
Here’s an overview for what I’m available for hire ::
- strategist for web & social media
multi-channel approach to effectively connect with your audience, using blog, twitter, facebook, podcast, videos, webinars, and more - facilitator for collaboration & strategic planning
developing tactics for maximizing opportunities & overcoming challenges - training and speaking on topics specifically designed for your context, including: church, ministry, technology, and collaboration
I am located in Aliso Viejo, California, between Irvine and San Juan Capistrano. Let’s connect by phone or your preferred mode of communication, so we can discuss how I may be of service to you and/or your organization.
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How can your kids go to college without a 529 plan
As your children become teenagers, not only do you have the new adventures of her/his growing into adulthood and all that comes with that, for many it is also the financial challenge of affording college. It’s a question that’s surfaced in my own family as a parent of a teenager.
Recently I recorded this video with John Tung, who shared how his 3 kids went through college without a 529 savings plan. His kids were all born within a 38-month span, which meant he had 3 kids in college at the same time with 2 of them going to private colleges at that.
John Tung is the English Pastor at Chinese Bible Church of Maryland, so it’s not like he had the kind of salary to afford college costs. (aside: although I did overhear an unnamed source speak of an English Pastor in an ethnic Asian church with a 6-digit compensation package — a rumor yet to be confirmed)
Growing Healthy Asian American Churches, together
To those of you tuned in here for my forthcoming stream-of-consciousness commentary about the new book Growing Healthy Asian American Churches, I’d like to expand it beyond my own voice–I’d like to invite you to a blog-based conversation about the book. 
Also, you can preview parts of the book, including the introduction and a special online-bonus supplementary chapter.
So get your copy in the next week or so, and I’ll start posting my comments here as the calendar turns to March. Please trackback or email me so we can all get linked up. I would try grid blogging, but my intuition tells me that most people don’t know what that is, so making hyperlinks will likely have a better net effect. In lieu of grid blogging, I suggest using the Technorati tag ghaac.
The book is edited by Peter Cha, Steve Kang and Helen Lee, and contains stories and insights from pioneering leaders like Ken Fong, David Gibbons, Grace May, Wayne Ogimachi, Steve Wong, Nancy Sugikawa and Soong-Chan Rah. I don’t think any of these leaders are on the blogosphere yet, except for David Gibbons. (also see the Leadership Blog interview with Dave Gibbons)
(cf. publisher’s description, my previous blog post about the book in December 2005, read the book discussion)
becoming a multiracial church, part 10
One of the conversation threads I was a part of recently mentioned the distinct flavor of minority-led multiracial churches (I would provide attribution and sound bites, but don’t want to be accused of name dropping or idolizing). The notion was floated that there’s something different and special about an Asian-led multiethnic church, which was different from an African-American-led multiethnic church, which was different from a Latino-led multiethnic church, which is certainly different from an Anglo-led multiethnic church. And as Anita had rightly commented, Native Americans (cf. Salmon House blog) are often ignored and left out of these dialogues, having been left out for some well over 200 years now, as are Arab Americans and numerous other minorities that don’t fit in the Big 3 minority racial groupings.
And a timely echo of the above notion is this new book scheduled for release in February 2006: Growing Healthy Asian American Churches. The publisher’s description mentions an all-star cast of key leaders [hat tip: Jon Ng, who has worked on websites like goodpersuasivespeechtopics.com]:
The Asian American church is in transition. Congregations face the challenges of preserving ethnic culture and heritage while contextualizing their ministry to younger generations and the unchurched. Many Asian American church leaders struggle with issues like leadership development, community dynamics and intergenerational conflict. But often Asian American churches lack the resources and support they need to fulfill their callings.
Peter Cha, Steve Kang and Helen Lee and a team of veteran Asian American pastors and church leaders offer eight key values for healthy Asian American churches. Drawing on years of expertise and filled with practical examples from landmark churches like Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles, NewSong Church and Lighthouse Christian Church, the book provides soundly biblical perspectives for effective ministry that honors the Asian American cultural context. Insights from such pioneering leaders as Ken Fong, David Gibbons, Grace May, Wayne Ogimachi, Steve Wong, Nancy Sugikawa and Soong-Chan Rah make this an essential guide for Asian American church leaders wanting to help their congregations achieve health and growth. (Produced in partnership with the Catalyst Leadership Center, a resource organization for Asian American church ministry.)
Growing Healthy Asian American Churches can be pre-ordered at amazon.com for pre-delivery before it shows up in any brick-and-mortar book store, delivered right to your home or office without having to fight traffic or waiting for a parking space.
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becoming a multiracial church, part 9
New Wineskins magazine featured this audio on Racial Reconciliation by Jerry Taylor, in a recent issue. Dr. Jerry Andrew Taylor ministers as a church planter and community organizer in Atlanta, Georgia. He is president of Emancipation Fellowship Ministries, Inc., a non-profit community development organization. The audio is available in Windows Media (.wav) and MP3 format.
The issue remains, it seems to me, how to make it happen, not just to raise awareness about it. I think there is fairly broad consensus that the church is for all people, and it’d be great to have a multiculturally diverse church. Granted, there is still a place and need to get more dialogue going, to increase understanding, to enjoy talking with people who are different, to grow new relationships and friendships, and all that is foundational, even for the non-foundationalists. Emergent (the conversation revolving around the church that is emerging) has launched a place on the web at www.emergentdiversity.com to start that conversational stream, and to coordinate a f2f event about it. Along the lines of : something is better than nothing.
As an aside, some very basic practical questions may still trip people up, like what do you call them? Latino or Hispanic? Asian or Chinese or Korean? Black or African American? Here’s one of my recent AIM excerpt [edited for legibility]:
djchuang: Should I be using Latino or Hispanic [to refer to the largest minority group in America]?
genxlatino: just use whatever the person you are speaking to uses
djchuang: ok, latino man!
Other finds on racial diversity; it even is an issue among academia >> Generous Orthodoxy posted Practicing Pentecost, linking to Anthony Smith’s paper Practicing Pentecost: Discovering the Kingdom of God Amidst Racial Fragmentation (pdf), excerpt:
Practicing Pentecost is about participating in the shalom of God that is producing local ekklesias that will embody a racial and cultural unity while also resisting death-dealing Powers in their profound rebellion of influencing ways of doing church that perpetuate racial divisions and hostilities that are ultimately an affront to God’s intent for a new creation that is to be found in Christ’s Body.
And, this awkward racism at an academic conference, described in this post: Power of words . noting two posts by Phil Sinitiere that set the stage for these thoughts: Accosting White Privilege, Interrogating Racism and Practicing Pentecost, and Accosting White Privilege, Interrogating Racism and Practicing Pentecost, Part 2; cf. Race and the Emerging Church.
At the end of Between Hauerwas and Constantine, cont’d, the author said Anthony has convinced him that racism needs to be a new and central issue Radical Orthodoxy agenda.