Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Happy Good Friday
Monday, April 18, 2011
Gospel Coalition 04/11/11
It seemed like it would never come, but the long awaited Gospel Coalition had arrived! We met at LAX at 6 am, but Chris came a little bit later due to good reasons… However, everything went by smoothly and we boarded the plane at 8:30 am. The three of us sat in the same row and the girls sat 2 rows behind us. I have to admit, there is the kind of excitement going on a trip with our dysfunctional family, but to take a flight halfway across America most definitely left us giddy with excitement. Although it was exciting to fly, the flight for me was uneventful, pot marked with the occasional gastric discharge (I apologize if I offend).
At 2 PM Central Time, our flight touched down at O’Hare Airport and we decided to take the train into the city, but as we took the escalator down to the station a warm thick putrid odor wafted over us. Now let me just say if arriving in Chicago wasn’t exciting enough, there was the smell of urine to greet us. Yummy!
We boarded our train and on the way we saw all the great monuments of Chicago, turn of the century dilapidated brick buildings with graffiti and old wooden homes about to keel over and crumble. Adding to this picturesque scene was a gray sky and hazy clouds. Safe to say the view outside was as exciting as staring at the blue patterns of our seats.
When we finally arrived we gingerly stepped out of the train, for some of us had motion sickness. The ride from the airport left us deflating nauseous, but as crawled up out of the station our hopes were revived. Out of nowhere, massive glass and steel buildings flanked our every side. We were finally in Chicago!
It was a complete transformation from the soggy underground railway to the bustling city above; the sun was shining, people were passing by, and taxi horns sung the song of the city. Many of the skyscrapers were beautifully designed in the minimalist style, but it was the older buildings with their tarnished bronze impediments that exuded the character of Chicago.
Palmer House Hilton was a couple blocks from the station, but in that short distance we looked every which way and at every sign. Looking back, Chicago reminds me of downtown Los Angeles, but it was being in a foreign place that brought intrigue. The guys looked on with reserved amazement, but it seemed as if Sunny and Ann fell in love. Was it the towering buildings? Or perhaps truth be told by their shrill voices crying out, “OMG it’s Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters…AHHH, I love this place!” (Just imagine Sunny cupping her hands near her chin and shuffling her feet with excitement!)
When we entered the hotel we expected a dressier version of Days-Inn, but instead we entered into an opulent Art Deco style atrium, fully fashioned with trimmings and marble flooring. We thought we saw it all until we entered the lobby/reception area; it seemed as if we entered the Sistene Chapel, a 50 ft high barrel vault with depictions of various Greek deities in richly colored robes and an entire hall designed after the Romanesque style. As I looked around and saw the ambiance and the people I immediately felt inadequate. Most were dressed in an Oxford shirt with matching suits, but there I was in my Reebok kicks wearing jeans and a Puma sports jacket…oh well!
Our rooms were on the 18th floor, the girls in room 263 and the guys in 272. After seeing the lobby, one would half expect all the rooms to be proper for a king, but that wasn’t the case. The entire room solely consisted of 2 king-sized beds, a small desk a TV cabinet, and no coffee. Pretty plain, but honestly I didn’t really care. I was just so tired I plopped on the bed and closed my eyes. I would’ve slept for hours, but the group wanted to eat.
Downstairs we asked the concierge for directions, but instead we got a debate. The lady told us Weber’s, a steakhouse, was 12 blocks away, which was only 15-20 minutes walking distance, but Julian was so overwhelmed with that fact the that he kept making sure if that assessment was correct. I could see the lady was getting frustrated, but after 2-3 minutes of deconstructing the size of a Chicago block to a Torrance block we left.
When we finally got outside I took the initiative to ask the bellhop for directions. (Had I known he would’ve given us wrong direction I would’ve gladly kept my mouth shut.) We knew that Weber’s was a straight shot from the hotel, but we just needed to gain our bearings.
We ended up walking 12 blocks perpendicularly to Weber’s and we may have wasted time and energy, but it was a worth it to sight see and take picture…can you say “TOURIST”?
We got to Weber’s 10 minutes late, but we were immediately seated and served bread and water. To our surprise, Sunny had made plans to rendezvous with her childhood friend Hanna (who by the way did not remember any of the things Sunny reminisced about…which brought us to wonder…was she really her friend?). They had known each other since elementary school and were the bestest of friends. It turned out that they had lost contact a while back, but coincidentally Hanna sent Sunny a Facebook message right before she left for Chicago. Coincidence or providence?
The entire dinner was pleasant and somewhat pedestrian, but it was Julian’s short-lived theological debate that lightened the mood. Much could be said of what was debated, but it’s better that it be ignored in this account.
The food was superb and, of course, Ann had to take photos. We all had something good to eat and I had a half rack of ribs with cornbread and baked beans. I must say my dish was excellently cooked, neither well done nor rare. Usually one has to selectively wrestle the meat off the bone with gnashing one’s teeth, but this rack was so tender that the meat fell right off the bone. I was so excited over the food that as the waiter inquired of our satisfaction I quickly exclaimed, “It’s really good, the bone falls right off!”
Right away Jay starts laughing obnoxiously and Hanna, to my right, bursts out with laughter, but I was completely at loss. It was only when the waiter left that I had realized what I said. Dang it! I felt like such an idiot.
After a few more small conversations Julian left to meet up a friend, leaving the rest of us to make our way back to the hotel. Instead we went across the street to Starbucks talk and allow Sunny and Hanna to catch up, albeit Hanna couldn’t remember much of what Sunny said. Altogether we had some good laughs as Hanna guessed our current occupations and ethnicities.
We departed Hanna on a good note and made our way back to the hotel. On the way we had a couple photo opportunities near the Chicago River Bridge and under the bright lights of the Chicago Theater.
Once we got back to the hotel we met up with Julian and ate some dessert at Lockwood Restaurant, located within the hotel. We all got something good and talked for a couple hours then we turned in for the night.
Back in our room Julian slept on his own bed and Jay and Chris slept on the other, even though Jay was suppose to sleep on the floor. The lights were shut off at 12am and all slept fitfully. Julian fell asleep right away while Jay and Chris cuddled and dreamt of sheep...What a great start to this trip
-Me-
Gospel Coalition 04/12/2011
The first morning of the windy city came to us around 7:30 AM on Tuesday. We had slept early the night before because of our packed-schedule to come. The shuttle bus ran from our hotel (Palmer House Hilton) to the conference Center (McCormick Place) from 9 AM to 11 AM, hence we wanted to finish everything (eating breakfast and getting ready) by 9 AM. So we woke up around 7:30, got ready and met everyone at the lobby around 8 AM. We walked about half a block to a diner called “Marquette” (I think that’s how it is spelled). It was like home-style diner and most of us ate normal egg, sausage, toast, omelet, the usual breakfast you would get at Dennys. We came back to the hotel and got ready for the shuttle. By this time, the winds picked up and it was seriously cold. However, one thing we’ve noticed (as we were waiting for the bus) was that there were a lot more people who were attending the conference lodging at the same hotel as us than we had first imagined. A pile of people came out about the same time to wait for the shuttle bus going to the McCormick Place. The shuttle bus, unlike what I’ve expected (I’ve expected something like a 16 seat van) came, which was greyhound size bus; one came after another; it was impressive.
Once we’ve arrived at the McCormick Place around 9:30, we followed whole bunch of other people to the registration site. The registration site was alphabetized by the attendees' last names. Once we registered, we were given several different versions of new bibles and books with bags. Just like any reputable Christian Conferences, The Gospel Coalition didn’t fail us in providing free books. Then we checked out the place by looking around. The place was much bigger than the LA Staples Center, and McCormick Place resonated the meaning of the word “grandiose.” Everything was grand and white; floors and walls were decorated with marbles, huge conference banners and the presence of hundreds of volunteer workers were truly impressive. Surrounded by hundreds of other attendees, we took a long escalator up to the second floor where huge cafeteria was located on the left. Then we got on another escalator to the third floor, where everything else was located. There was an open bookstore to the right side whereas the main meeting place was located on the left side. First we checked out the bookstore, which was big as, if not bigger than, an average university bookstore. And it was there that we picked up more free books. Then we had lunch at the cafeteria; the cafeteria was huge and good selections of food were available. We ate piles of salad, reminded me of Souplantation. We finally came to the meeting room around 1:30PM; the place was already packed by the time we got in, so we found some seats in the back. However, because of four huge TV screens horizontally set up centering the main stage, we didn’t have difficulty seeing or hearing the speakers. The meeting began with the 30-minute worship, which was led by Keith and Kristyn Getty, who gave Celtic flavor of tune. All of the worship songs were hymns except for one contemporary song, “Everlasting God” by Chris Tomlin. The worship session was truly amazing!
After the brief introduction by D.A. Carson, one of the founders of TGC, the first session began with Al Mohler, the current president of Southern Baptist Seminary, who is widely known as one of the more influential speakers of our time. He spoke on the topic of “Studying the Scripture & Finding Jesus.” The message was about the fact that everything and everyone in the bible is testifying about Jesus Christ based on John 5:31-47. The first session was well deserving of the conference theme “They Testify About Me,” and was finished within an hour. After the 30-minute break, second session of teaching ensued. Tim Keller, the senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (of Manhattan, NY), a best selling author, a former director of church planting & professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary, took the podium. I personally enjoy listening to Tim Keller because of the richness and depth of his understanding of the Word. Hence, I was eager to listen to him, and once again he didn’t fail me. His message was from Exodus 14, which focused on Christians exiting the life of sin as the Israelites have come out from the bondage of slavery from Egypt. The message made a profound impact on me as well to others as I glanced over to observe others.
At 5 PM, we were given 2 hours of dinner time, but we did not go out of the McCormick Place because of the ride issue. Instead, we ate lightly (a slice of pizza or a hotdog). Ensuing the dinner was the third and the final session of the day, which was given by Alistair Begg, the senior pastor of the Parkside Church in Cleveland Ohio, and who is also the host of “Truth for Life” radio program. Pastor Begg spoke on the topic of “From a Foreigner to King Jesus” based on the Ruth chapter 1. Knowing Alistair Begg being one of Jay Kee’s favorite speakers, I listened to him intently. Although the message was somewhat uneasy to listen to, because of Begg’s Scottish accent, the message was one of the better messages I’ve heard. Following the session, a panel discussion followed at 8PM, which all of us intently listen to. Although a scheduled-concert followed at 9PM, we left the conference to return to our hotel because we wanted to rest and prepare for the next day. The first day of the conference was utterly enjoyable and it was everything I had imagined it to be. As I reflected upon the day in my bed, several words came to my mind: safety, belongingness, encouragement, purpose and vision, all of which reflected the conference. I was so glad that I was able to attend this conference:)
The Gospel Coalition, 04/13/2011
To start off, on Wednesday morning we met at 8:00 a.m. to eat breakfast. We went to the McDonalds a few blocks away from our hotel. This McDonalds had a beautiful view of the city because one of the dining areas was on the second floor. Upon finishing breakfast, we rode the shuttle by 9:00 a.m., and made it just in time to hear James MacDonald speak from Psalm 25 on “Not According to our Sins” (the brief summary can be read here).
Following lunch break, there were three consecutive workshop sessions. Each workshop session was approximately an hour and a half long. Of the thirteen workshops we could choose from, for the first workshop I attended the one hosted by Russell Moore and Voddie Baucham on ‘Orphans and Adoption.’ Personally, I thought it was an amazing workshop, and it further confirmed and ignited my passion for foster care. During the workshop, Voddie Baucham stated that Jacob (from the Bible) did not adopt Ephraim and Manasseh because he needed sons. Rather, he adopted them as an expression of love for Joseph. Consequently, we should adopt not to fill a void, but out of our love for God, because we are adopted into God’s family out of God’s love for us. Secondly, Russell Moore, who is the teaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church, also talked about the subject, and how in his fifteen years of working with infertile couples and/or parents who have been praying for children, he has never seen God not provide children for parents who want children. Though it may not work out exactly the way the parents expect, he has always seen God provide one way or the other. If this is the case, I realized that there are not enough Christian parents who are praying for children, because there are so many children in need. Overall, I really grasped the necessity and importance of godly parenting in regards to adoption, not only as an act of social justice, but also for the children to be adopted into the covenant of God.
For the second round of workshops, I attended one hosted by Stephen Um and Julius Kim on ‘Asian American Christian Thought and Theological History: Pastoral Implications for Diversity and Innovation in a Multiracial Church’ with Ann and Jay. This workshop touched on the cultural differences of most Asian Americans, and a few implications for understanding and opening up diversity in the church. Personally, this workshop helped me to understand a few things about myself, which led me to be more forgiving of certain things I was lacking in.
Following the third workshop, we went to Lou Malnati’s at 5:00 for a taste of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Though we waited close to an hour, the pizza was the experience of a lifetime. The sausage, cheese, and crust were unlike any other, and were absolutely amazing.
Upon finishing dinner, we headed back to the convention center by 7:00 to hear Conrad Mbewe speak on "The Righteous Branch" from Jeremiah 23:1-8. Pastor Mbewe, also known as the African Spurgeon, spoke about the ultimate king for the people of God. He stated that as leadership goes, so do the people of God. Though God raised human leaders, they were always over throne by sin. As a result, the unrighteousness of the leaders seeped through to the unrighteousness of the people. However, the ultimate leader for the people of God would not be defeated by sin, for since the book of Genesis, God promises hope, a “righteous branch (Zechariah 6:12).” With the coming of Jesus came the restoration of leadership, and the hope for all people to trust in Him. Pastor Mbewe’s sermon reminded me that God is the only one I should trust in.
Following, Matt Chandler spoke on “Youth" from Ecclesiastes 11:9~12:14. He reiterated the importance of remembering what Christ has done, because through remembrance we can experience true joy. He further stated that if we remember rightly, we will rejoice rightly. Going back to the passage on Ecclesiastes, it is not about rejoicing in our youth, but rejoicing in being redeemed. Though all speakers were unbelievably amazing in their own right, Matt Chandler’s sermon on “Youth” absolutely blew me away. Again, it helped remind me of God’s good promises and faithfulness regardless of the circumstances.
Though what I learned throughout the conference cannot be emphasized enough through writing, personally, The Gospel Coalition was an amazing time to reflect on God’s goodness, faithfulness, and steadfastness. Though I am sad the conference ended last week, the start of a journey that begins is exciting, and I look forward to what lies ahead. –DS
