Tag: church planting
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Obedient Unto Death
This poignant piece reflects the heart-wrenching reality of injustice and persecution faced by Christians around the world. The AsianRoughRider passionately expresses anger towards the perpetrators of such atrocities, but also emphasizes the ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ over evil. He encourages practical actions, through prayer, serving those around them, and supporting policies that promote religious…
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Things I Wish I’d Known: Reflections on 10 Years of Overseas Cross-Cultural Ministry
It’s a new year and naturally, it’s time for me to reflect and look back on all the good things God has done. Since the moment I came to faith as a teenager, I’ve been involved in cross-cultural ministry, leadership, and church planting – that was over 20 years ago! It’s only the last 10…
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3 Reasons Why God Doesn’t Need Pioneers in the U.S.A.
I love my America. But not in the xenophobic, nationalistic, make America great kinda way. I love it because Asian refugees like my parents are free to pursue hope. Mom and Dad risked their lives to escape a Southeast Asian country bombed to hell by war so that I could have opportunities. Through that journey…
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The Way of the Ninja: 6 Ways to Define Our Missional Role
Every Asian kid growing up has one time played ninja. You take a black t-shirt, wrap it around your head, make some paper throwing stars and hide in the closet to get the drop on your unsuspecting brother or sister. Movies and pop-culture show the ninja to be a bad-ass warrior. But real life ninjas…
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Bonfires VS Forest Fires: Sparking Church Movements
I once started a forest fire. As a teenager I always had a lighter in my pocket to smoke a cigarette or a joint. One day, when I was a bored novice monk in Fresno, CA, I wanted to see if sparks could light some dry grass behind the Buddhist temple. Yea, I know, really…
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The Kingdom of Who?…Model, Assist, Watch & Leave
I walked into an immaculate church building recently and was blown away. It was brand spankin new. You could still smell the sky blue colored paint. It was equipped with everything you would need to do traditional church stuff; sound system, keyboard, projector, laptop, new kitchen, open cafeteria, all-you-can-drink powdered coffee and guestrooms with air…
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4 Tips for Finding the Person Of Peace
As I was riding my motorbike through the rain in some rural Asian village I came to a huge brown puddle across the road. Over the years I have crossed hundreds of puddles, streams and rivers. I thought I had this down so I decided to go straight through. It was murky and deeper than…
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Starting with the End in Mind: 4 Ways to Clarify Your Vision
In 2017 we’ll be celebrating 10 years of serving overseas as cross cultural Kingdom workers…that’s insane! When people hear that they often ask how much longer do we plan to stay overseas. The short answer is, “When the work is done.” There is this misconception that missionaries leave for the jungles and return decades later…
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A Church for the Rejects
We are always talking about reaching the unchurched, unreached and unengaged. That’s a good thing. The problem is we have no plan to reach the rejects of society because we aren’t willing to become rejects ourselves. We are always separating “us” and “them”. We put them in a different category as if we have something…
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What Next? The 4 Stages of Launching Church Movements
As church planters, “What next?” is probably one of the questions we ask the most. What do we do after reaching the lost? How do we make disciples and train them to train others? How do we form groups and catalyze a movement of reproducing churches? There are so many methods and answers out there…
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A Vision for Missional Living
In our part of the world travel is determined by the weather. No matter how much we plan and prepare our trips can be cut short by the onslaught of monsoons, washed out roads, flooded paths and knee deep mud. In the dry season we are faced with clouds of dust that cake our motorcycle…
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Our Gospel Aim: Decisions or Disciples?
Last week some friends and I were gathered around a frail woman who was possessed by evil spirits. The woman and her family had come from a rural village several hours away. They were desperate for help and wanted to turn from spirit worship. They decided to put their faith in Jesus. The moment we…
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Osama Bin Laden and Church Multiplication Movements
One day we Americans turn on the television to find out that Osama Bin Laden is dead. The U.S. President announces that the most wanted terrorist in the world has been double-tapped by a team of highly skilled Navy Seals during a secret raid. That’s so freakin awesome but how did this happen? For more…
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The Motivation for Mission
There are many honorable and noble reasons to engage the lost in a cross-cultural setting but there is only one that will truly sustain you for the long haul. Missions is not about alleviating poverty, eradicating world hunger, stopping human trafficking, and listen carefully…it’s not even about saving souls. Missions is about spreading the fame…
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The Curse of Christmas
The absolutely worst thing about Christmas is that not everyone gets to enjoy it. There are more than 3 billion people who do not know the story of Jesus, His birth, death and resurrection. We are part of the blessed few who can truly appreciate this time of year. Ironically we are also part of…
The Asian Rough Rider 