Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Galilee Festival

From August 16th to the 20th of 2010, the Galilee Grace Church English Ministry held Galilee Festival at Tahquitz Pines, Idyllwild, California. The Galilee Festival is an intense getaway program designed for the college and post college people to promote better understanding and better application for Christian life. Many highly qualified speakers were invited to speak to the attendees: pastor Peter Kim of Berean Community Church was the main speaker and 5 other session speakers, all of whom were more than qualified to speak, convicted the hearts of the attendees throughout their 5days stay.

Personally, I was somewhat frustrated at first because so many of the people who I had hoped to participate changed their minds at the last minute and did not attend the Festival. However, in the midst of my discouragement, God had demonstrated His mighty works. The words of the speaker penetrated the listeners’ hearts and many people were convicted through the messages as well as by the different sessions. From the leaders to the attendees and from the pastors to the site workers, people were challenged by the Word of God. Overall, God had blessed the attendees so many different ways that the number of the attendees present was no longer an issue.

I truly believe that the prayers of GGCEM people were answered. For past 5 months, every Tuesday night, the GGCEM members have been praying for the Galilee Festival. The GGCEM members have been specifically praying for God’s work to be done through the Festival as well as God brining His people, whom He has prepared for the Galilee Festival. And it was shown that the people present were truly led to the Festival by God. They sought the lord and God had touched their hearts.

The whole experience was very godly and productive for me as well as for the other attendees. I truly hope that all of the attendees will apply everything that was learned to his or her daily life, and live the Christian life according to the will of God. It is also my sincere prayer that we will produce even more fruit next year. May we continually strive towards godliness and encouraging one another!!!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

GAMMA PHI!!!!

Gamma Phi, GF, Galilee Festival

As I come to a close of summer time and all its business, I finally have some time to just quiet my mind, look back, and reflect. This summer for me has been a busy one, no doubt. I went to kid's camp, vbs, youth retreat, and yadiyada. In short I went to a lot of retreats/events, where I personally have learned a lot, and have seen God move in amazing ways. Each event, I came out tired and beat physically. Don't get me wrong, it was a blessing, and I loved each event, but it was like one thing after another, beating up my sleep habits, my mental faculties, my patience, and my body. With that kind of non-stop beating, basically week after week, I went up to Galilee Festival (GF).

I went up excited, anticipating much, but also at the same time, a bit weary, and looking forward to the end of it all, when I can relax. What I ended up getting, was far greater then I had ever anticipated. From day one, I was blown away by the message, and bought into a remembrance of God's awesomeness, and the fear of God. On that first night, I knew right away, that this event was different from any other event I went to this year. This "retreat", "conference", "festival", whatever you want to call it, was for me. I didn't have to worry about making sure kids were sitting up straight, or messing around during the message. I didn't have to worry too much about leading or directing conversations so that they were meaningful and deep. I was among my peers, and even though I was a leader, I felt that I was another attendee of GF.

Everything from the messages, to the session workshops, to the praise songs, were such a refreshment to me. Being able to talk with the pastors and session speakers, and just listening to these great men and women of God was an encouragement to me. To see the lives of these fellow brothers and sisters living the Life faithfully after all these years, gave me hope. Talking with younger brothers who were about to embark on the journey called "college," allowed me to encourage them, and it encouraged me seeing how they wanted to continue their Walk, and grow in Christ. The "One-to-One" times were an especial blessing to me, as I was able to see what each person was going through, and I felt privileged to have shared to me what was going on with their lives now.

Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was such a huge blessing for me. So much so, that I felt whoever wasn't there, invited or not, were missing out! I couldn't have asked for a better ending to my summer craziness. I came out of this particular event, tired still, but spiritually refreshed, renewed, challenged, inspired, and encouraged. I came out with a clearer objective and goal in life, and what to strive for as a Christian. Seriously, what a huge blessing this was!

Now all I have to remember now, is that, though I am back home, I am not home.

-Guess who....... it's so obvious though

Monday, August 16, 2010

www.geneveith.com

Trying to make Christianity cool

Share|

by GENE VEITH on AUGUST 16, 2010

in CHURCH

Twenty-something Brett McCracken is put off by what churches are doing to attract him:

Increasingly, the “plan” has taken the form of a total image overhaul, where efforts are made to rebrand Christianity as hip, countercultural, relevant. As a result, in the early 2000s, we got something called “the emerging church”—a sort of postmodern stab at an evangelical reform movement. Perhaps because it was too “let’s rethink everything” radical, it fizzled quickly. But the impulse behind it—to rehabilitate Christianity’s image and make it “cool”—remains.
There are various ways that churches attempt to be cool. For some, it means trying to seem more culturally savvy. The pastor quotes Stephen Colbert or references Lady Gaga during his sermon, or a church sponsors a screening of the R-rated “No Country For Old Men.” For others, the emphasis is on looking cool, perhaps by giving the pastor a metrosexual makeover, with skinny jeans and an $80 haircut, or by insisting on trendy eco-friendly paper and helvetica-only fonts on all printed materials. Then there is the option of holding a worship service in a bar or nightclub (as is the case for L.A.’s Mosaic church, whose downtown location meets at a nightspot called Club Mayan).
“Wannabe cool” Christianity also manifests itself as an obsession with being on the technological cutting edge. Churches like Central Christian in Las Vegas and Liquid Church in New Brunswick, N.J., for example, have online church services where people can have a worship experience at an “iCampus.” Many other churches now encourage texting, Twitter and iPhone interaction with the pastor during their services.
But one of the most popular—and arguably most unseemly—methods of making Christianity hip is to make it shocking. What better way to appeal to younger generations than to push the envelope and go where no fundamentalist has gone before? . . .
If the evangelical Christian leadership thinks that “cool Christianity” is a sustainable path forward, they are severely mistaken. As a twentysomething, I can say with confidence that when it comes to church, we don’t want cool as much as we want real.
If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it’s easy or trendy or popular. It’s because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It’s because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It’s not because we want more of the same.