Ministry Matters: Joseph Yoo

BLOG: Third Generation

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

My parents are first generation Koreans, or immigrant Koreans. While, technically, I’m Generation 1.5 (because I was born in Korea and moved to the States when I was young), I consider myself a 1.8(ish) Generation. For my definition of 1.5ers, someone has to be born in Korea and live a significant part of their formative years there, then move to America. Then they have a good understanding of the Korean culture (and Korean education) and a grasp of the American culture as they get immersed and grow in it.

I moved to America when I was 6. I barely knew how to read Korean then, and my Korean education level is probably that of a kindergartener. I don’t even know how the Korean government works. So I can’t say that I’m a pure 1.5er. My brother is a second generation Korean. He was born in South Carolina. When God finally heeds my fervent prayer and blesses us with a child, that child will be the third Generation.

My parents would probably consider themselves Korean or at best (...worst..?), Korean-American. They are through and through Korean. Their worldview is still based in the Korea of the 70′s and 80′s. Sure, they have adapted to some of the “American” ideals and culture. But push come to shove, they’re more Korean than American.

I consider myself American-Korean. I've lived in America for most of my life. But there’s a distinct Korean-ness in me. You can take me out of Korean contexts, but you can’t take the Korean out of me. Some of my values are grounded in the Korean culture I received from my parents. But most of my values, thoughts, ideas and dreams are formed by the American culture (that I received from MTV). My language of preference is American… er English. In fact, my Korean is getting worse and worse. If it weren’t for my parents, I think my Korean would be all but gone. I notice that I’m stammering more when I speak to my parents. I see that the words are harder to say and find… but I have no problem listening to Korean. I can translate from Korean to English, but for the life of me, English to Korean is next to impossible.

And that’s my worry. I believe that cultural identity is heavily wrapped in language. My wife and I communicate with each other in English. The only time we use Korean speaking to one another is when we need to say something (usually something bad) without anyone understanding a word that we say.

When we have kids, outside of a few Korean words and phrases, they most likely will be English speaking. Their worldview and values will be completely shaped and formed by American culture.

Where am I going with this? While I could touch on many aspects of church, for the sake of this post, I’m going to focus on worship.

The “First Generation” of church leaders like the highly liturgical worship services. They feel the presence of God through liturgy, organ, robes, choral music… they prefer what we would call the “traditional” worship services.

My generation of pastors, “the Second Generation” have been a part of both traditional worship services and contemporary worship services. From as formal as being robed up on Sunday mornings to as casual as having devotions around a camp fire—and we value both experiences deeply. We’ve been part of and designed worship services that are liturgical and formal but also worship services that have beating drums and a driving bass line.

I know many of my fellow “2nd Gen’ers” who prefer the highly liturgical worship over the contemporary, and just as many (myself included) who prefer the drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and a bunch of hipster Christians leading worship. They can go either way.

In the summer of 2011, our church hosted an intern. He did a fantastic job and I knew he would. He was one of my kids when I was a youth pastor in Hawaii. He has a strong sense of calling in ministry. You meet him and you can see and hear his passion for God and God’s people. He's now 20 years old, and until he interned at our church, he had never (read: never) been in a traditional worship setting . (And our first service isn’t “traditional” traditional, either).

He shared how it was different from all the things he’d experienced in his church lifetime.

“It was good. But different. Weird. But not in a bad way.”

There are other kids I worked with who are now exploring their call into ministry. None of these kids have ever truly experienced traditional worship. They’re definitely not accustomed to “Open your hymnals to…”

David Kinnamin in You Lost Me writes:

The first generation speaks only the language of the country of origin. The second generation is fluent in both languages. The third generation speaks only the new language and has little esteem for the cultural traditions that have been lost in translation.

When I was between the ages of 12 and 14, my dad had the opportunity to move back to Korea. He thought long and hard about it until he realized that it would totally mess me up. He felt it would be feasible to move to America from Korea at that age, but not the other way around. He was worried not just about all the language difference, but also just the life of being a Korean teenager and the culture shock I might receive from it. He worried that things would be so different that it would stunt my mental maturation. Basically I was too Americanized to ever feel comfortable or be productive in Korea. I’m thankful that I didn’t have to move back to Korea. Though I can’t put into words why, I do agree with my dad that I wouldn’t have fared well there.

But that’s what we may be guilty of doing to these upcoming young pastors. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, we may have monopolized the idea that worship has to happen a certain way and during certain times.

We have these young, gifted, God-called people stepping into ministry, but instead of thriving in a world where they can make a difference and where they can be fully utilized by God, they could end up struggling to find a place (and meaning) in a world that doesn’t exist outside the walls of the local church.

As Kinnamin wrote, these pastors may have little to no esteem for the traditions that is strongly held by the “first generation” church leaders. Yet, we try and fight to get these "third generation” pastors to accept and uphold the model and values of the “first generation” church. So these young people become disenchanted with bureaucracy and the seemingly inflexible polity of a denomination and find other ways to be utilized by God.

Tradition is good.

Tradition is important.

But tradition is man-made and not of God.

Once tradition gets in the way of God, it’s no longer holy and we end up fighting against the movement of the Holy Spirit.

I know the time will come when I realize that the young kids are messing everything up and confusing what is holy and what is not—what is worship and what is not—what is church and what is not. But hopefully, I’ll remember how I feel now in 20 or so years. Instead of trying to fiercely hold on to what I know and love, essentially forcing younger generations into a box, I hope God will use me to help them articulate their vision and chase the dreams that God placed in their hearts.

I’m thankful for the mentors that I have now who give me freedom to explore my call and help me chase God’s dream for me. I only hope to be given a chance to return the favor to the next generation.

BLOG: Whispers

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMT

God’s voice is, more often than not, described as a small, still voice—a whisper.

It’s not a stupid question to ask, “Why?” Wouldn’t it be more beneﬁcial for both God and us if God used more obvious ways to get our attention? Like a burning bush, the way God did for Moses. How much easier it would be to recognize God’s voice and presence if there was a burning bush? Or a loud, booming noise. How much easier it would be to hear God’s voice if God spoke in a thunderous manner! No denying that.

A couple of weeks ago, we got new neighbors in the apartment unit right above us. They are an older couple with a huge dog. There’s noise coming from upstairs constantly. The dog makes a lot of noise just by running around. They vacuum constantly at odd hours. Their garage door is right below our unit so every time the garage door opens and closes, we hear and feel it. They watch their TV with the volume all the way up and their windows open. We hear their TV more than our own.

But after a week of “What in the world” thoughts, we sort of got used to it. Recently we had someone over, and the neighbors were being themselves and making awful amount of noise. The guest, surprised, asked, “What in the world was that?” Our response? “Huh? Oh that? Yea, that’s nothing. That’s just our neighbors.”

It's the same living near the airport. After a while, the rumbling of the planes becomes part of the routine. Or living in the south with spectacular lightning storms. (For those who’ve never been in one, it can get scary.) Those who are used to storms don’t think much of it. For us Californians, small earthquakes are nothing. We just go on with our routine after the minimal rolling has stopped. (Big earthquakes, however, are a different story...)

With the burning bush, Moses didn’t realize what was going on at ﬁrst. He just thought it was a bush that caught on ﬁre. (We Southern Californians, unfortunately, know all about brush ﬁres.) Moses didn’t catch on right away. He lingered a little longer, and that’s when he realized something wasn’t right. The bush was on ﬁre, but it wasn’t burning up. Who knows? Maybe that bush was on ﬁre for days straight and Moses just didn’t see it...

It’s easy to ignore loud and obvious things too.

I think God chooses to use a whisper because of its intimate nature. We whisper sweet nothings into the ear of our lover. Not just anyone can whisper into our ear. It’s a violation of our personal space. If a stranger leans in to whisper, we pull away in horror, hoping our stares will burn a mark of shame into them. And if someone doesn’t know how to whisper, they lose that privilege forever. You know, like those people who get so close their lips touch your ear. (I didn’t ask for a kiss.) Or those who use too much breath in their whisper, and after they ﬁnish, your ears are a little moist.

Often, it’s the small voice that really gets our attention. The authority ﬁgures in my life got all of my attention when they spoke softly. My parents would nag, yell, nag yell nag... and it became really easy to tune them out... but man... when they lowered their voice.... I knew something was up, and that I better pay attention.

It’s why when we preachers get to an important point of our message, we don’t shout it out—we lower our voice, to drive home the point.

Besides, when someone wants to whisper something to us, we know we want to hear it. It could be juicy gossip or something real serious. But when someone says, “I have to tell you something” it’s usually followed by a lower tone of voice.

That’s why I think God chooses to whisper to us. It’s more intimate. It’s more personal. It’s harder to ignore once we hear it. We have to seek it, meaning that we have to know God in order to be in an intimate, personal relationship. That’s why spiritual disciplines like reading the Bible, prayer and fasting (to name a few) are important in staying deeply connected to God. It’s in this relationship we begin to recognize God’s voice more. It’s when we really get to know God that we know where to look for God’s voice.

So may we continue in deepening our relationship with God, and may we continue to be listening for God’s still, small voice.

Take a moment from your day. Go to a place where you won’t be disturbed. Be still, and know God.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
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BLOG: They Need Me

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

A friend once said to me regarding his church, “You don’t understand, they need someone like me!”

I wanted to respond, “I do understand. Maybe they do need someone like you, but that doesn’t mean it has to be you.” But he needed an ear more than anything else.

Although some say the Seven Deadly Sins are a bit outdated, I still believe that pride is the most serious and deadly of the sins.

Sometimes we let our ego and pride get in the way of God’s work and ministry.

Most of us have probably been in some sort of relationship—whether it be with a person, a job, an institution—where we felt like the other party needed us more than we needed them. But I think it’s safe to say that once we start thinking like that, the relationship isn’t going to last or be a healthy one. How can we have a healthy relationship when we start thinking they can’t survive without us? What does that say about us? That we’re the sole reason this relationship still exists? That they're so dependent on us, that once we walk away, they'll fall apart? That we are in this relationship out of pity? That we are their savior or messiah?

When it really comes down to it, in ministry the pastors just might be the most replaceable part.

We know that God uses the weak to lead the strong. Many of us have used the joke, "God once spoke to Balaam through an ass and has done so ever since" or "Jesus rode in on an ass, and still does." Don’t you think there’s a bigger ass out there that God can use more effectively?

As a pastor, I know that the formula for a healthy ministry is a little bit of me and a whole lot of God. We know and believe that all is possible through God’s grace in spite of us. All things are possible through God’s strength—not ours. Yet, at times, we let our egos take over our hearts and we think, “Where would these people be without me?” Or, “how long shall I put up with this unbelieving generation?”

I think this is one of the reasons why I’ve fallen short during the United Methodist ordination process. I was 28 when I ﬁrst applied for full connection. I entered the process thinking that the California-Paciﬁc Annual Conference needed someone like me more than I needed Cal-Pac and the United Methodist denomination. I now shamefully see the error in my thinking. I don’t know what basis I had to even think like that.

At the same time, I’m in no way saying to sell yourself short. Pastors bring great stuff to the ministry table. There's a reason why God has called us to the setting that we're in. There’s a reason why God chose us. And we're doing great things in God’s name through God’s grace. But we can't forget that it's God who's working through us.

The more we rely on ourselves the weaker our ministry will get. There may be truth in the sentiment that the church you serve needs you. But God is the Creator of the Universe and Author of Life. Surely, God can raise up another (better) version of you to lead God’s church.

There are plenty of asses God can speak through.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
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BLOG: What Did You Get?

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Itʼs easy, tempting, and lazy, even, to ask the generic questions this time of year when working with young people: “What do you want for Christmas?” and, after Christmas, “What did you get?”

I canʼt count how many times or to how many kids Iʼve asked that question. But it all stopped a couple of years ago when I asked a 14 year old kid what he got for Christmas.

“A new truck,” he replied, nonchalantly.

“Like a toy truck? Or a remote controlled truck?” I asked, innocently.

“No. Like a truck, truck. A pick up truck.”

“Oh. But... you canʼt drive yet.” “Yea. I know.”

“Oh... Do you like it...?”

“Meh. I mean, itʼs alright. But Iʼd rather have a car.”

“Meh.” I was ﬂoored by 1) the fact that he got a truck that he couldnʼt drive and 2) his reaction to receiving a truck.

It was then that I realized I needed to stop being lazy and come up with a better approach to communicating with kids during the Christmas season.

From that point on, I decided that I will no longer be asking kids what they want for Christmas or what they got for Christmas. Instead, I started asking, “What are you giving so-and-so for Christmas?” and “What did you give for Christmas?” I know itʼs not much, but I want to work in whatever little angle I can to remind my kids that Christmas really isnʼt about what we get.

And sometimes the reactions have been priceless. “What do you mean, ʻwhat did I give for Christmas?ʼ”

I donʼt, in any way, want to “shame” the kids for responses like, “Iʼve never given anything at Christmas to anyone.” But it does open up a wonderful opportunity to have discussions about Christmas and what it can really be about. Anytime I can plant a seed in the mind of a pre-teen or young teenagers to think about someone else, I count that as a win.

So I hope that during this wonderful season, we open up conversations with young people beyond “What did you get for Christmas?”

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
Connect with Joseph: Google+ | Facebook | Twitter | RSS

BLOG: Glimpsing God's Love

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

There are different ways to visualize how deep and far God’s love for us goes. Sometimes I get a glimpse of God’s love through a struggle in my life.

Since high school I’ve imagined the day that I would be a daddy. I love kids and I want to experience coming home from work having little hands raise up towards me yelling, “Daddy!” By the age of 17, I had already chosen names for my future kids.

So when I got married, I was all ready for the expansion of our new family. But my wife had not ﬁnished seminary yet. We would have to spend 6 months apart, her in DC, me in Hawaii. She wisely told me that we should wait. She didn't want to go through ¾ of a pregnancy on her own, far away from me.

It’s been 5 years since we've been married and over 2 years since we started trying for a baby. And nothing. This deep desire for wanting children only grows bigger. Though I feel, at times, distressed and discouraged, I keep it to myself because I don't want to put any additional pressure (on top of dealing with me) on my wife. And even though my parents never pressure us, we so desperately want them to be grandparents.

That’s why every time I get news about our friends getting pregnant, it hurts just a little bit. Don’t get me wrong. I’m always so excited and happy for them, but also deeply envious. In my heart, I'm praying to God, “When is it going to be our turn?” I then ﬁnd myself relating to Hannah or Rachel from the Hebrew Bible, and though they are women, I feel a deep connection with them.

But through this struggle, pain, and frustration, I begin to sort of see a glimpse of God’s love for me.

This child that we earnestly pray for; this child that hasn’t even been born yet, or may never be born— I already love her or him. Deeply. I know that he or she is going to have a father and mother who will love him/her deeply, as best as we can, and will be raised in the presence of God’s love and grace. Whether the child likes it or not, he or she will be loved and has no choice but to be loved by us. There’s not a single thing our child will be able to do about it.

This is a picture of God’s love for me from the beginning of my life to the day that I die. Before we were born, God knew us and loved us deeply.

We were wonderfully and fearfully made by God. Whether we choose to embrace it or not, God loves us. Whether we feel we deserve it or not, God loves us. There’s nothing that can separate us from the love of God, as Paul writes: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor heights, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So may we be reminded of how far, how deep and how wide our God’s love for us is. Whether we're struggling or whether we're joyous, let's take time to bask in the presence of God’s love and grace, letting it ﬂow through us and transform us.

Always remember that you are loved. And there’s nothing you can do to change God’s mind.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
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BLOG: Convenience Driven Life

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

During a visioning meeting, we invited a member who works in the entertainment industry to do a demographic test within a 4 mile radius from our church. As he was sharing his ﬁndings with us, he ﬁnally ended with, “In our business, in any business, convenience is king.”

People choose websites based on convenience. They choose Netﬂix over Blockbuster because of convenience. (Although many probably now will opt out of Netﬂix due to the price hike.) They choose movies based on convenience. They choose where to shop based on convenience. And ultimately, they choose churches based on convenience.

Not surprisingly, many people choose to put faith in God when it is convenient for them. Perhaps that’s why our churches are failing to a point. We don’t combat the idea that faith should be convenient—in fact, we may actually play a part in encouraging it. We cater to what people are looking for. We try to make everything as convenient as possible for them. That's not completely wrong, but it’s not completely right either.

And, still not surprising is the idea that people view God as a convenient God. God doesn’t want anything from you. God just wants you to be happy. God just wants you to be good. God loves you just the way you are and wouldn’t change a darn thing about you.

But that's not the God I read about in the Bible. God is anything but convenient. God is a God who crosses boundaries for the sake of love. God, in Jesus, crossed the boundaries of life and death; of heaven, earth AND hell; of spirituality and physicality, all for the sake of sacriﬁcial love. And not surprisingly, this God also calls us to love sacriﬁcially. After all, if we are followers of Christ, shouldn’t we follow in his footsteps? John writes in 1 John 2:6, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

But so many of us have tried to make Jesus look more and more like us, rather than us looking more and more like him. It’s easier to follow Jesus when we stuff him in a box that he doesn’t belong in. But the Jesus that exists outside of our boxes is a scary Jesus. That Jesus wants to change us. That Jesus ruins our lives. That Jesus pushes us where we don’t want to go. That Jesus makes up plans for us that we don’t want to do. That Jesus tells us to go to places we wouldn’t be caught dead in.

As a kid, if something scared me to death, I’d throw it under the bed so I wouldn’t have to see it. For the sake of convenience, maybe we throw the real Jesus under the bed so we don’t really have to see him and what he really stood for; who he really loved; who he really served. Jesus is much easier to follow when he’s a Republican like I am. Jesus is much easier to follow when he’s a Democrat like I am. Jesus is much easier to follow when he hates the same people I hate. Jesus is much easier to follow when he believes in what I believe in; when he is a champion for a cause I believe in…

Paraphrasing a famous quote, we were made in the image of God, but for the sake of convenience, we returned the favor.

Jesus Christ is asking his followers for more than a commitment, he is asking for our lives. All aspects of our lives. There’s nothing convenient about that. Perhaps we don’t talk about it as much in churches, but this God makes demands. Yes! Jesus makes demands! “Have no other gods before me!” “Love one another as I have loved you!” Jesus called ﬁshermen to follow him, and they dropped their nets and left at once. By dropping their nets, they were leaving behind a world that they knew. They were leaving behind what they were comfortable with. They were leaving behind their families and friends… where’s the convenience in that?

We need to stop settling for convenience and start looking for a God-driven purpose. As pastors, we can't allow our congregations to settle for the easier road. We need to push them (and ourselves) so that we become disciples of Christ and go make disciples of Christ, all for the transformation of the world.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
Connect with Joseph: Google+ | Facebook | Twitter | RSS

ARTICLE: Separating Genders in Youth Activities

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I didn’t mean for it to happen.

To be honest, I don’t even remember what I exactly I said, only that it was pretty funny, and had I said it to a male youth, he would’ve been laughing with me.

What I do remember is the seventh-grade girl, looking at me with huge forming a small puddle next to her shoes. Obviously, she didn’t find what I had said funny.

Yep. That’s right. I made a girl cry with my careless remark. To make it worse, the girl crying in front of me? Yeah. The senior pastor’s kid. And I thought we PKs were tough-skinned people . . .

I made the mistake of thinking that girls can be treated the same way as boys. Rookie mistake. I quickly learned that I know nothing about what girls go through in their teen years. I can empathize with them, be there for them, hear their stories, hear their pain, but, when they say, “You just don’t understand,” it’s pretty hard to disagree. I don’t understand. Because I never grew up as a girl. When boys tell me their struggles and the troubles they get into, I can know a bit of where they are coming from.

A parent wanted me to talk to her young son entering in the eighth grade. He’d been having mood swings, and just wasn’t himself. The boy and I went out for some shaved ice (for you Mainlanders, that’s snow cones) and we talked about sports, TV shows, and music. We finally got around to the issue that was bothering him. It had to do with his ever-changing world and how he wasn’t comfortable with all that was changing. Some other kids made fun of him for his voice cracking, and it really bothered him.

I shared with him something that happened to me. When I was in the eighth grade, I was in the cafeteria one day waiting for a friend. My friend was waiting at the opposite end of the cafeteria, so I did what any lazy thirteen-year-old would do; I yelled his name across the cafeteria to get his attention. Only, my voice cracked. Horribly. Everyone heard. I mean everyone. After a moment of silence that felt like an eternity, the entire cafeteria erupted in laughter, all at once, all directed at me.

We both were there, at a mutual ground. I knew the horror that he was going through, because I went through it, personally. And he was able to trust me more because I was able to voice what he was feeling without him spelling it out for me.

That was just a long introduction to why I think, particularly in youth ministry, gender-specific ministries are a necessity.

The Case for Separate Small Groups

Sure, there are some drawbacks when you separate the boys from the girls. The girls often don’t get to hear the boys’ side of the story, and vice versa. We might actually be creating more divisions in churches that already may have too many divisions. The kids might complain because they can’t sit next to their “friend.” But I think the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

I’m not talking about separating them forever. They do need to do activities together. They need to be given sacred space to be in community with everyone. They need to work together and play together as well. (Although a junior high youth pastor told me that she will NEVER play the game of sardines with her junior high group again after a boy-girl incident. In the dark.)

But when it comes to small groups, I am a proponent of separating boys and girls, and even separating them by age groups as well.

When we separate the boys and girls, I believe that it gives them space to be themselves. My junior high boys’ energy levels are off the charts. Their thoughts fly a million miles a minute. Sometimes I feel like we are the ring masters at a circus more than small group leaders. My junior high girls are different. They seem to be more relational. They actually want to talk to one another. They want to interact with the group. When we combine small groups once in a while, the boys are a huge distraction to the girls wanting to hear each other’s voices. The girls are a distraction to the boys, because they can’t be their rowdy (and lovable...) selves.

But as the kids get older, the reasons to separate them become different. From my experience, separation seems to eliminate one of the biggest distractions: the attention of the opposite sex. In one of my previous settings, I led the senior boys’ small group. It still is one of my fondest memories of working with youth. The “bravado” was gone once the boys knew no girls would be around. They didn’t have to act like they need to impress someone else. They were surrounded by brothers. The conversations were deep, real, open, and honest. They were able to share their true feelings and even their insecurities, all of which were hidden in the presence of girls.

In my ministry in Hawaii, the girls had a SNO night once every two months. SNO stood for Sisters Night Out. They would fellowship with each other for a movie night, a “spa” day, or to bake cookies together. Whatever the activities, they would get to just enjoy being among fellow sisters in Christ. It was a really powerful ministry for the girls. It brought the girls together. They were able to talk about real issues with the female leaders of the church. And the process of discipleship became easier, because these girls trusted their female leaders and knew that they were loved.

Role Models who Understand

To me, this is the biggest benefit of a gender separated small group youth ministry: providing same-gender small group leaders to be role models of faith to the youth. The guys have their small group leaders, whom they can trust; someone who understands them; someone to help them through a harsh breakup; someone to relate to the struggles they face in school, home, with expectations; someone who can inspire them, lead them, love them.

In the Korean churches I have been part of, we’ve always had more male leaders than female ones. It was always a struggle to find good, dependable female leaders with a heart for youth and young women. But when there was a qualified, loving (and willing) female leader who clicked with the girls, my heart always overflowed with thanksgiving and hallelujahs. The girls had someone who they trusted; someone who saw their beauty and worth, regardless of what distorted image the girls may see; someone who understood that, yes, boys can be stupid and, yes, that will always be true, regardless of their age; they had someone whose devotion to God may inspire their continuing faith journey; someone who wasn’t perfect, but real; someone who was able to lead them, model their imperfect journey with a perfect God, someone who was able to love them.

Of course, in no way am I saying that a female leader can’t disciple boys and male leaders. I’m sure that for every example I have given, you can find something to counter it. And, in no way would I want my female leaders to stop reaching out to my male students nor my male leaders to my female students.

But for me, discipleship was always easier when I could relate to my mentor. The more we had in common, the more I was able to relate to that person. The more I could relate, the more I could trust. The more I could trust, the more willing I was to follow the mentor’s advice, suggestions and even listen to their critiques. And in our journey together, I would learn that this person wasn’t perfect. This person had his flaws. But, it didn’t stop his dedication and devotion to God. That would inspire me to continue on my faith journey.

But let’s still remember that the gender issue is, overall, secondary. Yes, it’s probably safe to say that the chances of a female leader bonding with a female student over things they have in common are high, and that’s good. But what really matters in youth ministry, in all ministry, are two things: One is being real. Young people can see through adults being fake. There no longer exists the “perfect” pastor or the cookie-cutter leader. While we shouldn’t have our lives be completely open books to the youth, we also shouldn’t pretend to be something we are not. The other thing is love. We need to love our youth. That love goes beyond knowing just their names. It’s the same risky love that Christ showed for us. It’s holding our hands out to our youth, offering them our love, whether they choose to accept it or not.

BLOG: Who's on Your Side?

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom begins to make a play for Davidʼs throne. He stands outside of the city gates, talking to people who are bringing a complaint to the king. He validates the peopleʼs complaints, then laments that they have no representative and finally adds, “If only I were appointed judge of the land...” Very sly. In fact, it was such a clever move that he “stole the hearts of the people of Israel.”

Itʼs a scene thatʼs not far removed from our churches. We all seem to have an agenda, and our ideas seem much more valuable and important than everyone else's. And oftentimes, when our ideas are “dismissed” we take it a lot more personally than we should.

One of my most disheartening experiences as a rookie pastor was seeing the political games played behind the scenes in church. Growing up a pastorʼs kid, I wasnʼt unaware of all the things that happened in the background, but experiencing it first hand was something else.

This "rallying up the people to be on your side", as Absalom did, is something Iʼve been hearing about more and more. A friendʼs church recently made a decision, and a key member was displeased with it. That member rallied others from the congregation and started making lots of noise. It got so bad that people were openly protesting and picketing the church.

Some members of another church didn't like their pastor, so they got a group of like-minded people together and unofficially formed an “anti-pastor” group. Naturally, the pastor felt threatened, so he organized his supporters from the congregation. In meetings, the pro-pastor faction constantly butted heads with the anti-pastor faction.

Toxic.

We may never be able to completely get rid of the fighting and political/position jousting that happens within a church, but we can do something to help the situation instead of making it worse. The story of Joshua has been on my heart for the past couple of months.

Joshua is getting ready to enter Jericho. What must be going through his mind? Is he able to sleep at night? Is he able to exude a calm demeanor in front of his people? We pastors often get anxious before a big event, but this is war. It's life and death. The odds are against Joshua, and on top of that, the manna has stopped coming. If he's not successful, thereʼs no more food from heaven.

So there he is, near Jericho. It sounds like he's alone, perhaps gathering what could be his last thoughts. Maybe he's praying. Maybe he's taking a break from his army. Then in front of him stands a man with a drawn sword in his hand. Probably not a sight you'd want to see, especially if youʼre alone. So, cautiously (my interpretation), Joshua walks up to the man and asks, “Hey, are you for us, or are you against us?”

Leaders, how many times have we asked that question about people, whether it was actually to them, or just in our heads? One of my former “bosses” in youth ministry thought I was “against” him. Itʼs a long story, and I wasnʼt. It was a simple miscommunication on both our parts, but for a whole month, in our youth staff meetings, he wouldnʼt look at me or even have his body facing my direction. He would talk to me by either looking straight down at his computer, or at someone else. He made sure that he didn't make eye contact with me and he made it obvious so that everyone on staff would know that he wasn't pleased with me. It was such an awkward position to be in. “Whoʼs on my side?” and “Are they really for me or are they against me?” can be questions that ring through our minds and our hearts in ministry.

So Joshua is standing in front of a man who's holding a sword. He's probably calculating what his next step might be when the man answers. If the man is for him, then Joshua will need to seriously talk/train/rebuke/scold/punish this man for not staying where he was supposed to, especially in a time of war. If this man is a foe, Joshua will need to think and move faster than the man to stay alive. Joshuaʼs knuckles are probably turning white as he grasps his sword, anticipating the manʼs answer. “Neither,” replies the man.

What an odd reply. What are you supposed to do with that?

The man explains that he is the commander of the army of the Lord. Not only that, the story ends rather abruptly. Joshua asks what message God has for him and angel of the Lord simply commands Joshua to take off his shoes, for he is on holy ground. What gets to me the most is the response of the commander, “Neither.” He is not for the Israelites, nor is he against them. Perhaps, the angel of the Lord is more concerned with where Joshua stands. Maybe that's why the angel responds with, “Take off your sandals” when Joshua asks what message God has for him.

So much of our energy is spent trying to figure out who's for us. Everyone has what they think is a great plan for the church. People want to push their agendas and ideas. They want to know who supports them; who's on their side. But as leaders entrusted with Godʼs ministry, instead of concerning ourselves with who is on our side, we should be more concerned with whose side we are on. Paul writes, “Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God?” and Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” We have to remember, the church and ministry we are entrusted with isn't ours, it's Godʼs. We're doing the work and will of God—never the other way around.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.
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BLOG: Compassion and Justice

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMT

When we were in Washington, D.C. this week, we stopped by the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society building.

Our “tour guide” was a friend of mine from seminary and church. He touched on the topic of the difference between compassion and justice.

I’d never really thought about it before.

Compassion is important. But perhaps compassion doesn’t really solve anything. It seems like, for the most part, compassion just fixes an immediate problem.

I realized that most of our mission/work team trips in youth ministry are compassion ministries. We go somewhere, provide people with what they need for a week or so, and exchange letters here and there throughout the year.

But it doesn’t solve anything. The people we help are still in need.

When we go feed the homeless, compassion-focused actions solve the temporary dilemma of hunger for the day. But, come the next meal, the ones we helped will still be hungry. They’ll still be on the streets. If the social justice issue were an iceberg, compassion would only touch the part that sticks out of the water.

Justice, on the other hand, tries to focus on the cause of the situation. Why are they hungry? Why are they homeless? Why do we go every year to help build homes? What are things we can do to “solve” the problems? Justice, in this new line of thinking for me, seems to address the 90% of the iceberg that we don’t see.

The other pastor who was with me shared that, for him, compassion is incomplete without justice. I couldn’t agree more.

Acts of compassions are important. We shouldn’t overlook doing things for people, like ministry/programs for the poor. We need to feed them. We need to let them know that they are cared for and loved. We need to provide for them. We need to teach our entitled youth the importance of compassion and giving.

But, wouldn’t real compassion be freeing others from the chains of hunger and homelessness? Wouldn’t finding the reasons why there are homeless people in our communities, and fighting to end poverty-- wouldn’t that be more compassionate than feeding someone for a day?

Compassion is incomplete without justice.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.

BLOG: Tough Question at Starbucks

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I had no idea where this conversation was going. She saw that I was reading a Bible and we had a short conversation about what we did for a living. When she learned I was a pastor, she nodded. There’s always an awkward silence-- like the person is watching what she or he says. She told me she used to go to church a lot, but stopped going because it was no longer her priority.

Then she asked a very loaded question. Something that’s very divisive in the Christian community. “So, as a pastor, what do you think about abortion? Where do you stand?” It kind of caught me off guard. I took a long sip of my coffee to buy time to assess the whole situation and play the possible outcomes of my response. I was also trying to figure out if there was a motive behind this question. To buy more time, I asked: “Honestly?”

“Please,” she replied. And I said to myself, oh what the hell. I’ll just be completely honest.

I warned, “You probably won’t like my answer-- or you'll think that it’s a cop out.”

“It’s okay. I just haven't talked to a pastor for a long time, and I want the opinion of one.”

Oh great. No pressure at all.

So, I begin to explain what I really believed in. This is basically what I said : I personally feel that I shouldn’t label myself as a conservative/fundamentalist/evangelcal or liberal/progressive. I honestly believe that it all depends on the issue. I think that some issues require me to be a so-called “evangelical” and other issues make me a so-called “liberal” but those are all labels and labels are not one-size fits all. Being a minority, I’ve been stereotyped and labeled all my life, so maybe that’s where this resistance to being affiliated with one side comes from. But, as to the question of where I stand on abortion, I can only respond: both. I do believe that life begins at conception. I believe that abortion should be the very, very, very, very, very last resort and that life should be protected.

But at the same time, it’s the woman’s body and ultimately her decision. As a pastor, my job is to be love and to love regardless of what the decision is. I don’t believe demonizing those who choose abortion or bombing abortion clinics help the situation or the debate. And it doesn’t help the debate when pro-choice people demonize or belittle the other group either. Name calling leads us nowhere. I love what Mother Teresa said: “Give me the child. I want that child.” I think that’s an action of love, and I think that’s the most important aspect we forget when we debate over issues: love. As cliched as this may sound to you, I choose love. A woman needs a LOT of love when she is confronted with this decision. I don’t think I have enough courage and strength to say: "give me that child," but I know that I can say that there is nothing on this earth, no powers, no depths, no heights, that not even death or life can separate us from God’s love. The only thing I can try to do well is to be the embodiment of God’s love and grace. Let those who want to debate, debate. But that woman is in need. She’s in need whether she goes through with the abortion or not. And I believe that the Church should be there loving her and helping regardless, because God will love her regardless.

And then there was this long awkward silence. Why isn’t she saying anything? I pretended to take a sip of coffee, even though I had already finished it earlier. “…And you?” I asked with uncertainty.

She just smiled and said, “Thank you for your honesty. I don’t know if I agree with you completely, but I believe you're right in saying that the woman needs love and support at the beginning of the process, during the process, and at the end of the process, regardless of her decision.”

“Why did you ask me the question to begin with?” I had to know. No one really asks a stranger that kind of loaded question. Right?

“It’s just that I don’t like the Christians I’ve been running into. It has affirmed my decision of not going to church. Since you're a pastor-- I don’t know-- maybe I can gauge a section of the Christian community with your answer.”

She stayed a bit longer and we talked about all sorts of things including our experiences of church. After about an hour, she said to me, “You know, I can’t promise you much. But this Sunday, I think I’ll try to stop by my old church. It’s been a while since I’ve gone, and I think it might be nice. Thank you for that.”

“Thank you for sharing your story. And when you go to church, say hello to God for me.” (Yes. I’m that corny and stupid.)

By far, that was the sweatiest time I've spent at a coffee shop. But I was really thankful that she was open and honest. It allowed me to be open and honest.

If anything, this conversation affirmed that we can talk about the most divisive issues openly without demonizing or labeling groups of people who think differently from us. I was wary, nervous and scared when she first asked me because of my other experiences being asked a question like that. Usually, I say something and someone hijacks my response and tries to teach me the Way to Salvation. But I’m glad that God was in the midst of our conversation. And I really do hope that she stopped by her church the following Sunday.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.

BLOG: Movie Theaters and Church

Mon, 23 May 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I love going to theaters. Check that. I used to love going to theaters. It was always a form of escape. I often went alone because I could be immersed into the world that the actors and director were creating. It was a great escape from my thoughts.

The theater experience is now becoming rarer in my life. One reason is that the theater business hasn't kept up with changing times. And I'm seeing a lot of similarities between the movie theater business and my local Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

I believe the two biggest factors of the theater experience that turn people off are the prices and other people. Letʼs face it. Itʼs expensive to go watch movies. It can cost nearly $100 for a family to go see a movie in 3-D including purchases from the concession stand. A small popcorn and drink can run you 8 dollars or more, which, as a pastor, always brings the moral dilemma of, how big of a sin is it to sneak my own food into the theaters?

And some of the people who go to the movies? You wonder if their mothers ever taught them manners growing up. No, itʼs not okay to talk on your phone during the movie. And must you constantly check your text messages in the middle of a dark theater? No matter how many times, or how loud you talk to the characters on the screen, they canʼt hear you! Plus, you donʼt know whatʼs going to set someone off. You might get stabbed with a turkey thermometer by telling someone to be quiet.

But whatʼs hurting theaters more than anything is the advancement of home entertainment. We can get an awesome theater experience in the comfort of our homes without the excessive price of snacks or rudeness of other people. At least the people in our homes are people we know, and if we happen to tell them to hush, chances are high we wonʼt get stabbed. (I keep asking, why in the world is anyone carrying a turkey thermometer with them, to the theater of all places?)

Movie studios have been tossing around the idea of having their movies distributed straight to peopleʼs homes, sort of like a pay-per-view or video on demand. Itʼs tempting isnʼt it? If the studios offered a movie, like the upcoming Batman movie in 2012, for $30 to watch at home with my wife, I donʼt think Iʼd think twice about it. Iʼm in! Of course, the theaters would be left out of the process, and theater executives have shared their anger over this idea. Some theaters are threatening not to screen some big blockbusters of the studios that are considering this “straight to home” idea. Going to the theaters, with all the features a home theater system can offer, seems so.... yesterday.

For many people, so does going to church. We live in a more secular culture, and our churches seem so out of place. Many remember how church was when they were little kids. Decades later, they step back into the church and see that nothing has changed. Some churches are perfect time capsules of our childhood.

As with theaters, churchgoing experiences can be ruined by other people too. There are eager beavers who are so excited that you are here to worship with them, that their eagerness is a bit overwhelming, and truthfully, creepy. At least for me. No one smiles like that, all the time, right? And being an introvert, I donʼt need 5 people coming to me all at once to tell me the same thing. But other people love that. Or we have people who have been badly damaged by the church. They come to look for acceptance, only to ﬁnd rejection.

Theaters have a monopoly when it comes to food service in their establishments. Iʼve come across some pastors and churches who feel they have monopoly over where worship can occur and how worship has to be done. It has to occur on church grounds, where it is sacred, where God is in the midst. It has to be done this way, the way it has been done for years and years, because there's sacredness in rituals and tradition.

Iʼm not saying that churches will be obsolete like the way movie theaters might. But we have to stop getting in the way of ourselves. There are ways to adapt to the ever-changing culture without compromising the everlasting God and the Gospel. I believe that a church can be reverent AND relevant. But we do an excellent job of standing in the way of being relevant and powerful. We have a knack of letting preference rule over purpose. But if weʼre not careful, we could ﬁnd that we're no longer needed within our community. Or worse, ﬁnd that the words God spoke through Amos (6:21-24) are aimed directly at us.

I know the church is (and can continue to be) the source of hope, love and grace. The church can still be a place where lives are transformed and where revolutions begin. The theaters are too concerned about the dividends and the possible loss of money. Perhaps, many of our churches are too concerned about surviving and maintaining. As Mike Slaughter has said, the mission of the church is not the maintenance of a building. Both are affected by fear. But we have the perfect love that casts out fear. And if we really do trust in God, we can allow ourselves to be shaped and used to do Godʼs mission and bring the kingdom of God ever closer.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.

BLOG: It's Not Something You Do

Fri, 06 May 2011 05:00:00 GMT

I recently got an email from an apologetic parent saying that their child no longer wants to do youth.

I wasn’t offended, nor did I feel like it was a reflection on me as their youth pastor. The church has been transitioning from a youth leader who has been there for 5 years. It’s perfectly understandable that this transition has been hard on many of the kids and that the “new guy” just doesn’t quite get them yet. Some of them may not want to invest in getting to know the “new guy.”

I was trying to figure out what my next steps should be. Should I call? Should I email back? Should I try to meet up with them? Or should I just let this one go?

Until the wording of the message jumped out of my phone.

“No longer wants to do youth.”

For me, this was a huge insight for my current and previous church settings (both in affluent, Anglo-dominant, suburban areas). I wonder how many people who fill the pews of our church feel like church is something that we “do”?

Church and spiritual formation are not top priorities if church/God are things we just do, because those can easily be dropped from our already hectic schedule. Church should be something we are. Faith is not an activity, but a calling. God is not something that takes an hour of life, but someone who desires our all.

So, how do we, as church leaders, help the people we serve move beyond doing church and start being church? How do we get them to see that faith isn’t an activity but a lifestyle, a calling?

For me, it’s a shift of mentality. I’ve talked to many UMC youth pastors and youth workers in Southern California. The majority of them feel that building relationships with youth is one their biggest priorities, and I agree with them. Strong relationships are vital to all ministries. But what I started to feel was that we don’t go any further than establishing good, healthy and strong relationships. As a pastor or leader, we become that dependable, trustworthy, wise, gentle, question-answerer for our people. This also describes how I feel many Christians view their God. Kenda Dean, in Almost Christian writes about how many young people view religion and God based on what churches and adults have handed down to them:

The gospel... functions primarily as a social lubricant, with a “god” who supports teenagers’ decisions, makes them feel good about themselves, meets their needs when called upon but otherwise stays out of the way.

Yes, Kenda is writing about teenagers’ faith, but how many adults do you know who may have the same concept of God in our churches? As Kenda writes, the kids believe this because it is the gospel that we (whether intentionally or unintentionally) have taught them with our words and actions.

My goal is not building strong relationships with parishioners based on/with the foundation of faith (although that’s a good one). No, I believe we need to go deeper. Our goal should be intentionally making disciples. As Mike Slaughter preaches, “everything we do should lead to discipleship.”

When we focus on discipleship, I strongly believe that God becomes more than a “social lubricant.” Discipleship leads people to see that faith in God goes beyond a once-a-week commitment-- it's a life commitment. God is involved, not one day a week, but every moment of our lives. When we are intentional in making disciples, church won't be something we do, it will be something we are.

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.

BLOG: Sign-up Sheets

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Churches overuse sign-up sheets. Sure, theyʼre the easiest way to see who's interested in serving/volunteering/attending and so forth. But I wonder how effective sign up sheets really are.

Iʼm sure weʼve all been on the receiving end of announcements like this: "Were looking for Sunday school teachers! If you're able to teach Sunday school, then go sign up to be one at the back of the church after the service! (Or, email/call/talk to [the person in charge])."

If youʼre like me, you probably ﬁnd it really easy to ignore these types of announcements. Perhaps you even think, “Oh, I hope they ﬁnd someone.” Itʼs so easy to dismiss a call to servanthood when you're asked to answer that call on a sign-up sheet. Donʼt get me wrong, sign-up sheets are useful at times. You can see who's coming to an event, what people are bringing to the potluck, etc. I guess my problem with sign-up sheets is that we limit our appeals for help to that: sign-up sheets. As leaders/pastors, we make the announcement of our need, hoping people will feel the burning of the Holy Spirit and ﬂock towards our form, only to be disappointed and discouraged (and resentful, even) to see that not a single person volunteered for the cause.

Answering a call to serve on a sign-up sheet... well, something seems missing. We canʼt simply depend on forms alone. That method is too impersonal and too easy to ignore.

Could it be possible that sometimes, pastors and leaders are afraid of the personal approach? Maybe afraid isnʼt the right word... but I canʼt think of a better one.

We all know someone who might be a great teacher, youth worker, or whatnot, but instead of asking them, we sort of hope they read the announcement in the bulletin, heed the call, walk over, and sign themselves up.

The most effective way, however, to recruit and train unpaid servants is to go and ask them personally. What keeps us from asking someone who might be the perfect ﬁt for our ministry? Is it rejection? Are we afraid they would be so appalled at being asked that they would leave the church? If that's the case, then is it such a big loss if they did leave? Or are we so concerned with attendance numbers, that, yes, it would be a huge deal if they left?

From my experience, people seem to be ﬂattered that we thought so highly of them to ask them to help. Some are so overwhelmed by what is involved that they canʼt commit. Some are simply too busy or uninterested. And sometimes, that conversation plants a seed in their heart, and after a while, they come back and say, “You know what? I canʼt stop thinking about our last conversation. I donʼt know if Iʼm qualiﬁed or able, but I just canʼt stop thinking about it, and I think itʼs worth a try.”

Ministry is a very personal vocation, but often it seems like we try to make it as impersonal as possible. Maybe work is just easier that way.

We shouldnʼt be afraid of asking someone if they're interested in serving. Whatʼs the worst that could happen? They say no? Whatʼs the best that could happen? We ﬁnd a servant who's willing to serve wholeheartedly? Doesnʼt the positive outweigh the negative?

So the next time youʼre in need of a Sunday school teacher, youth worker, small group leader, mission trip guide, or whatever your ministry requires, pray. Pray about who might be a good ﬁt for that ministry. Pray about the person you want to ask to serve. Pray for strength and courage. Pray that you will know that the rejection of the proposal is not a rejection of you. Pray for a wonderful and afﬁrming conversation. Then, call up the person, and say, “You know, Iʼve been praying about this and about you for a little while...”

By the way, this might also be the best way to get people to think about giving (sacriﬁcially). The “we need this much in pledges to balance our budget” appeal may not the most convicting call for stewardship...

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step.

BLOG: Too Many Screens

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 05:00:00 GMT

So there I was, watching TV (Sportscenter) while replying to a text on my phone (about sports). And surfing the web (ESPN.com). Then I saw the ridiculousness of this scene. Watching TV, texting and surfing the web, all at once. Had I owned an iPad, that would have likely been on as well, and probably on a sports site, given the scenario.

But seriously. The screens in my life are getting out of hand.

I have a slight problem of coveting, especially when it comes to technological gadgets. My mind is already working on how I can rationalize an iPad purchase. (We’re moving to an apartment that’s a bit further away from the church, therefore I'd have to commute by bicycle or walk two miles to church. Carrying a laptop will be heavy. Oh boo hoo, Joe has to carry a laptop. Yea I know. But an iPad would be a perfect travel companion. Not too heavy. And I can do all the necessary basics on the iPad. So yea.)

Have you noticed how much screen time dominates your life? Perhaps you’re working and surfing the web at the same time. Studying and texting at the same time. Eating and watching TV at the same time. Watching a movie at the theater and texting at the same time, and becoming a distraction to everyone there, because every time you text, the phone lights up and everyone's attention goes to the little light that just came on. And we all resist the urge to throw something at you, or grab your phone and throw it, to the applause of everyone in the theater. I mean for the sake of Peter, put the darn phone away!

The way technology has advanced is amazing. You can now watch a TV show and have a Twitter conversation with the host of the show. You have access to breaking news wherever you are.

But our desire to constantly stay connected to the Internet can negatively impact our real human connections; connections we were created and designed for.

It seems the more connected we are to our gadgets, the less human to human interaction we get. Let's say I call a teenager from the youth group. They probably won't answer the phone. But if I text them, they'll reply instantly. We’re becoming more and more impersonal in person and more and more personal via a machine.

After reading an Entertainment Weekly article, I recently decided to limit my attention to one screen at a time. I don’t know how plausible and doable this is for me, but it's something I desperately need to do. My screen time is affecting me and dominating my life in ways I don’t want it to. I’ve been reading so many blog posts and online articles that my not-yet-read books are collecting dust. And I really want to read them... feeling the paper... and writing in the margins. Not on an iPad.

My screen time is affecting my health. I’d rather stay glued to the TV or the web instead of going outside and taking a walk, playing ball, working out…

The screens have also had an effect on my relationship with God. With all those screens on all at once, at best, God gets only part of my attention.

While I may not be able to cut the screens out of my life completely, I can try (really hard) to limit myself to one screen at a time. It’s something that my life will thank me for in the long run.

I’m sure I'm not the only one with this problem. And I’m sure that one screen at a time will be a constant struggle. I’m sad to admit just how much of a struggle it will probably be.

I'll end my rambling with a Jesus Juke, ”if only we were all connected to Jesus the way we're connected to the web through our gadgets…”

One screen at a time…

Joseph Yoo is pastor of youth and spiritual formation at Valencia United Methodist Church in Valencia, CA. He blogs at Step by Step. (Photo Credit: Andy Ihnatko | Flickr)