What Are We Teaching Our People Without Knowing It?

Gospel Thirst:

The unequivocal response received by the HLUB attendees is indicative of the hunger and thirst that is resonating throughout the local churches of the Hmong District.  The excitement and energy that has been circulating in response to all the workshops and sermons clearly indicates that the next generation is seeking to understand the Word emotionally as well as intellectually.  Their urgency to see and understand the intricacies of the Scriptures grant a great deal of encouragement for the district and beyond. This next generation stands with the Reformers in living by the motto, "faith seeking understanding."

This has enormous implications for young ministers and their duty in establishing sound biblical teachings at the local level.  We must become intentional in centering our efforts to ground the next generation in Word ministries as well as being aware of the implicit teachings that may derive from our attempts to establish effective ministries.  Regardless of whether we are aware of it or not, how we structure our ministries will have a great impact on the next generation's views on doctrine, theology, and the nature of the church.  What is taught implicitly may do more harm to the community of saints than what we give it credit for.  An unwillingness to be attentive to these realities may lead us toward a ditch we most certainly would like to avoid.  I would like to challenge how we view four crucial pillars within the church: (1) Expository Preaching, (2) Worship, (3) Discipleship, and (4) Community Fellowship.

The Church Life:

The nature of the church has come under fire in recent years within the Hmong District.  Some have moved away from the traditional model of corporate gatherings while others have taken more contemporary approaches.  Within the scheme of the local assembly, it is helpful to hold in tension the nature of the church as institution and organism.  Abraham Kuyper, the late Dutch Reform Theologian, grants us language to understand these two concepts while contextualizing these principles to the modern day church.  Either way, the institutional element of the church (in one's mind) will feed into the organic expression of the congregation.

Regardless of where we stand in these endeavors, our aim here is to address some of the implicit teachings that glean from our approach to the institutional establishment of the church and how our approach can then have an effect on our people's daily engagements.

Expositional Preaching:

In 2011 I attended Desiring God Conference in Minneapolis, MN where Mark Dever, lead pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC, was teaching a break out session.  This encounter broke me, theologically, on many different levels, but one statement has continued to resonate with me.  Dever calmly articulated, "How you preach will indirectly communicate to your congregation how you read your bible."  My mind was blown!

Expositional preaching is not merely a method among other strategies, but rather the laying bare of the text to the congregation.  It is not the communication of human intellect; expositional preaching is expounding the Word as faithfully as possible in order to hear the voice of God.

Faithful exposition week in and week out will give the community of saints a lens into the work which is done to understand and decipher the text.  It will teach, indirectly, hermeneutical skills that will foster a mindset, a posture, and an attitude toward the holy Scriptures.  Expositional preaching will serve as a catalyst to faithful reading of the Scriptures within its particular context, genre, and fuller narrative of redemptive history.  With expositional preaching these things are caught, and not merely taught.  Under this discipline the saints will begin to build a biblical framework and establish biblical literacy for generations to come.

Topical preaching, though strong in tackling relevant issues, does not ground the congregants in the biblical storyline and does not foster a God-cetnered approach toward Christian living.  It terminates the ideals, methodologies, and efforts on man rather than painting a robust view of God.  This is what some would call a "Self-Help Approach." Topical preaching is insufficient to root the body of believers in the biblical framework of life.  It is a counter-intuitive approach in teaching the community of saints how to read their bibles.

Worship:

The modern day approach to worship via the medium of music has become a consumeristic entity that seeks to entertain rather than focus on the object of worship—God Himself.  The current trends tend to live by the motto, "bigger is better."  Worship leaders see themselves as artist who book gigs with local churches in order to entertain and draw a crowd.  This type of approach will lead the assembly of saints down a path which terminates on the experience rather than the encounter.

First, it must be said that worship through music is an agent of teaching.  The lyrics and precepts that are sung are meant to bring substance to the musical flavor.  The Apostle Paul encourages the church of Colossae to "[sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God" (Col 3:16b).  Yet this must not be divorced from the undergirding reality that Paul begins this verse by saying, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom" (Col 3:16a).  Worship songs are meant to be saturated with a deep theological conviction that is rooted in the Word.

Worship leaders are not merely paid musicians, then, but rather pastors who teach through the medium of music.  Therefore, songs from Hillsongs, Bethel Music, and others must be prodded and searched, theologically, before entering the Sunday morning service.  An unwillingness to take on such responsibilities will in turn teach our people false doctrine.

Secondly, the presentation of worship with the glitz and glamour of lights speak an indirect reality to the congregation.  Church service has become more of an entertainment center rather than a place to encounter the living God in the corporate setting.  This style of worship teaches the community of saints a Hollywoodized notion of the Christian life. This misconception is not indicative of the daily grind that is experience throughout the Psalms and with the saints of old.  This type of style does not impart a framework to deal with the slow process of sanctification. It paints a fallacious precept that will handicap the body of believers in the long haul.

Discipleship:

Jesus' mandate upon His disciples was to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mat 28:19-20).  This is a decree that was handed to all disciples—current and future.

Within the institutional order of our ecclesiastical make-up it is imperative that discipleship is engrained in such a way that the organic expression takes root.  Where discipleship lacks within the local setting the congregation will overly depend on professionals to do the work that was given to the saints.  It cannot be overstated, then, how professionalism has tainted the church's approach toward ministry.  Instead of empowering the people of God to "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16), evangelicalism has negated the biblical mandate given by the Apostle Paul which states: "[God] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Eph 4:12).

When intentional discipleship is not fostered within the DNA of the local church, the community of saints do not function in accordance to God's creative design as the church.

Community Fellowship:

Fellowship of the saints is a vital piece to the sanctity of believers.  One of the key components within the early church's development was rooted in the gathering of the saints.  "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:42).  This type of fellowship was not merely a gathering of individuals focused on an outward event (ex. volleyball, bowling, or potluck), but rather an intentional pursuit toward Christ-conformity.  It was an endeavor that centered its efforts on magnifying Christ, and in doing so, fostered a high view of God as Savior.  Much of what unified the early church was due to the persecution that was undergirding their faith.  In a post-Christian nation today, there is a need within the church to view their fellowship as a means to pour into, develop, and edify the body of believers.

When fellowship does not happen within the confines of the local assembly, or when the coming together is merely met within the ritualistic Sunday morning service, fellowship begins to operate out of routine rather than necessity.  Necessity is birthed out of substance, depth, and meaning.  When fellowship is merely basketball, boardgames, or potlucks; then the urgency to gather will be lost.  When Christ is the central figure that links the community of saints together (with the vision of discipleship and missions), then the gathering will be filled with encouragement, edification, and Gospel-centeredness.

A lack of fellowship will breed into the body of believers a spirituality that will terminate on a certain day of the week—in particular Sunday.  The Christian faith will not transcend beyond the confines of the four walls of the building, but will be compartmentalized to events, programs, and services.  To foster an environment that would produce a Christocentric aroma would be to mount the church in developing authentic fellowship that would encourage the saints.

Feed My Sheep:

The charge to the Apostle Peter from his Lord was to "Feed My sheep" (John 21:17).  This same mandate resounds as we find ourselves in a similar predicament.  Students within the Hmong District and beyond are plagued with questions concerning the purpose of life, the identity of the self, and the nature of the church.  The church must come alongside these starving young people and feed them the Word of God.  In doing so, His Word will shape the way that they think and fuel the way that they live.

Ministers, elders, and leaders must be aware of the strategies that are used to impart into saints the truth that is from the Word of God. Much of what we will teach will flow out of the implicit actions that we take.  It is the duty of the church to think long and hard on how to most effectively reach the next generation by staying faithful to the biblical text.  In our endeavors to remain faithful to God, may He grant us the wisdom, grace, and mercy to proclaim His Gospel message for the glory of His Name.

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (1).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

The Gospel Creates Community

Wanting to Belong: 

Reaching the next generation is an epidemic for the church at large.  With the continuous rise of individualism coupled with the idolatrous pursuit for vocational prosperity, the following generations will discover the complexity in finding genuine and authentic community.  Created as image bearers of God, humanity is intrinsically built for deep soul soothing relationships that point away from the self onto something greater—namely the triune God. To this end, Christ's work on the cross, according to the Apostle Paul, was accomplished "that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised" (2 Cor 2:15).  The soul's thirst for relational life can only be satisfied by the One who personifies life, Jesus Christ.  This is why in his Gospel the Apostle John articulates the reality that "[in Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4)

I have been in ministry, youth ministry in particular, long enough to understand the genuine desire to connect and find a church-home that would grant an avenue to establish close knit communities with the desire to grow, live, and love.  I have engaged in countless conversations with young adults who criticize the inability of the church to engage in authentic community, all the while these same individuals lack the compassion and patience to be a source of community for the saints.  What seems to be neglected is the fact that the source of our unity—the Gospel—has been marginalized.

The Gospel Creates:

The beauty of the Gospel is that it speaks life into dead situations and redeems things that are out of reach.  The gloriousness of God is the fact that His "hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or His ear dull, that it cannot hear" (Is 59:1).  His saving power transcends all that we can imagine and if we approach His throne in humility and His Word in submission we will be "like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers" (Ps 1:2).   In cultivating Gospel community we must align ourselves, by the power of the Spirit, to God's mandate in loving Him and loving others.

The power of the Gospel supersedes all human elements that tend to bring forth division and animosity.  The Gospel reconciles paradoxical components while reforming erroneous preconceived notions.  The Gospel renews faulty dispositions while illuminating the mind and heart with greater percepts to guide and build a spirit fueled lifestyle.  The Gospel is the power onto salvation (Rom 1:16).

The Power to Break Down Barriers:

The Gospel is the central figure within the universe in which barriers crumble at the feet of Jesus.  Social, economical, and cultural facades cannot contain the truth which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle Paul unfolds the mystery of the Gospel in displaying the unifying power that is illustrated within the Christian church.  The predominately Jewish community, converted by the Gospel, had their worldview transformed in coming into covenantal union with their gentile counterpart.  The apostle illustrates that "in Christ Jesus you who once were far off (Gentiles) have been brought near by the blood of Christ. . . And He came and preached peace to you who were far off (gentile) and peace to those who were near (Jewish).  For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father" (Eph 2:13, 17-18).

In building community we tend to gravitate toward people of similar interest, yet the Gospel challenges our propensity in remaining socially comfortable by displaying the generosity of God in Christ Jesus.  The call of salvation is not contingent upon any qualifier that we possess, but rather is indisputably hinged upon the grace of God.  Therefore, acceptance of individuals is not based upon cultural fashion nor societal idealism, but in the Gospel dignity of humanity that "is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator" (Col 3:10).

Gospel-people do not wait for community to happen, but rather they establish community out of response to the work and person of Jesus Christ.  Empowered by the Gospel, followers of Christ are "eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph 4:3).  The unity finds its origin in the Spirit's work of adoption; the duty of the saint is to walk in step with that unity—hence the term maintain. The community's discipleship orientation derives from the unity that produces a genuine love relationship with the Son.  The aim of community, then, is not merely community for it's sake, but rather Christ conformity.  We strive, then, "until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" (Eph 4:13).  The ideology of maintain and attain are not paradoxical, but rather speak of the reality of our unity in the Spirit (maintain) in pursuit of the greater reality (attain) of full maturation.

Humbleness:

If the Gospel breaks down barriers, it also humbles us to the point where no one can be prideful in God's Kingdom. Upon entering into His earthly ministry Jesus proclaimed, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (Mat 5:3).  Lowliness is the posture in which God decrees in order to enter into His presence.  The psalmist conveys, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Ps 51:17).  Isaiah echo the psalmist in saying, "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly" (Isa 57:15).

A diffident heart is necessary in coming before the Lord because it places ultimate dependence not upon self-righteousness but upon an alien righteousness that is not one's own.  The psalmist says, "The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.  Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate" (Ps 8:13).  Christian humility is an acknowledgement that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (Jas 1:17).

If humility is the posture of believers, then, community should not be built upon social ideologies, but rather grace that has been extended from the Father.  The attitude to love is not self-generated; love is a response that is fueled by an ever gaze at the cross and throne of God.  When our hearts are transformed by the compassion and mercy of God, our communities can embody grace and truth which flow from the life source of Christ (John 1:14).

United in Mission:

As Christian communities experience the ground breaking Good News of the Gospel and the humbling compassion of our Lord, the church can begin to move on mission corporately for the sake of His Name.  The unifying strength of the community of saints is that their gathering and union derives from one sole purpose—the glory of God.  The people of God stand together to see the evangelization of their friends, family, neighborhoods, schools, country, and world.  They take serious the biblical mandate to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mat 28:19-20).  The community of saints engage in Great Commission lifestyle individually, while being encouraged and empowered communally.

As saints stand shoulder to shoulder in the work of the Lord, these endeavors unify the community.  Paul spoke lovingly of Epaphras as he described him as a "beloved fellow servant [who] is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit" (Col 1:7).  Paul regarded Timothy with words of endearment in saying, "To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Tim 1:2).  Epaphroditus was viewed by Paul as a "brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need" (Phil 2:25).  It is not that the church has a mission, but rather the mission has the church.  Rightly so, it is not that community enables the mission, but rather mission creates community for the sake of Christ!

The Gospel Re-Creates:

We embody in one degree or another a consumeristic viewpoint which taints our perspective on the local church.  "Church-shopping" has become a craze in which people hop from one community to the next evaluating which body of believers best serve my needs.  Yet if we allow the Spirit to enable our eyes to grasp the Gospel lens, we will begin to see that the posture of the believer should model the character of Christ.  The Apostle Paul articulates it in saying, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others" (Phil 2:4).

As the people of God we have been given His Spirit to breathe forth life into areas of our surroundings that embody death.  Though we look for community, and rightly so, let us also remember that by His power we have been given the ability to create Gospel communities that will serve for the betterment of the saints and fame of our Savior.  In doing so, may we not only serve our own interest in comfortability, but may we be challenged to reach toward the margins of our society in which Jesus made some of His biggest ministry moves.

Sometimes we can assume that the grass is greener on the other side, but in reality we may be right where God has called us to be; creating Gospel communities by His Spirit.

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (10 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

Hope of the Resurrection

Perseverance:

Hope embodies a driving force that enables you to overcome great adversities and withstand rigorous demands.  Hope empowers you to endure treacherous circumstances and defy overwhelming odds.  Hope is the essential element within the deafening chaos of hurt, turmoil, and strife.  Hope is the extra strength that catapults you toward light when the darkness consumes your very existence.  Hope is the fuel that allows you to endure life's heartache because hope promises you better days.  Hope is the last ounce of strength that calls you to continue to fight when everything and everyone else demands you to surrender.  Hope is the flickering light that is not merely an emotive encounter nor an undefined energy, rather hope is a Person—that Person is Jesus Christ.

The work of the cross has no bounds as the saints meditate upon the grandeur and galore of the atonement.  The beauty of the cross, where justice meets grace, is the centerpiece of redemptive history and the fulfillment of God's promise to restore, redeem, and reconcile a people for His Name. The cross is the apex of the biblical narrative, and yet without the resurrection the cross can be boiled down to martyrdom of a moral teacher.  The resurrection is the game changer and the substance of the outworking of the cross.  The resurrection is the victory that grants validity to the death of the Savior.  The resurrection is the impending hope that points toward the ever growing reality of God's perfect creative order.  Without the resurrection there is no Gospel, and without the cross there is no forgiveness.

We Will Rise:

While instant gratification runs rampant in our current cultural context, the New Testament writers press a message of endurance and steadfastness saturated in the work of Christ.  The charge for the community of saints is one which embodies perseverance, dedication, and a relentlessness toward holiness accompanied by suffering which will never be in vain.  All of this is connected to the ultimate reality that the resurrection of Christ awards the church access into the power source which transcends life circumstances and sets a gaze upon the greater truth.  To this end Jesus could say to His followers: "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on My account  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matt. 5:11-12).  Subsequently, the Apostles poignantly declared the decree to "rejoice insofar as you share Christ's suffering, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed" (1 Pet. 4:13).

Adequate Fuel:

The truth circulating around the empty tomb speaks of death's inability to restrain the absolute power of Christ.  This allocates an overwhelming amount of confidence to the body of believers in the midst of severe affliction, and appropriates entry into greater works through radical obedience in the life lived in full abandonment for the sake of the Gospel.  The Apostle Paul insist that due to the reality of His resurrection the followers of Christ can "be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Cor. 15:58).  The hurts and toil of the church are never wasted in the purposes of Christ Jesus.

Promised Life:

The resurrection of Christ points to the reality that there is more than what this life has to offer.  It predisposes the community of saints to God's intended purposes while informing us that the riches of this world were never meant to fully satisfy our innate desires.  The Apostle Paul asserts that "[what] is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.  If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body" (1 Cor. 15:42-44).  Paul is pointing toward a greater reality that is beyond the suffering that must be endured for the sake of Christ. The end goal, ultimate pleasure in the glory of God, becomes a lofty incentive for the regenerate believer.

The hope Paul clings to is that we have been "buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).  The newness of life is granted to us now on this side of eternity, but the fullness of that life will be embodied at the resurrection of the dead.  In glory, when we see Him face to face, the pains of this world will melt away in comparison to the satisfying pleasure in uniting with God through the blood of Christ.

Pressing On:

As the church continues to be enamored by the culture's ploy toward a man-centered theology, the robust doctrine of the resurrection grants the community of saints an ever-growing richness in the vastness of God's infinite might and unwavering love.  In an age where prosperity is the idolatrous device which lures men toward empty religion, God is stirring the regenerate believers toward the foundational work of salvation in the person of Christ.  Our hope is not cemented upon shiny coins nor hallow material, but rather upon the salvation that is mounted through the work and person of Christ.  His return will be the finished restoration of God's creation and the eternal reign of His Kingdom.

The resurrection of Christ reminds us that regardless of what season we find ourselves in today; whether that be an ugly announcement of cancer, a lost of a dearly beloved family member, a battle against severe depression, or the political uncertainty of our nation; that the eternal weight of glory that has been etched in the fabric of our existence will be fulfilled at the return of Christ.  Better days are promised and better days are coming.  Whatever darkness we may face on this day, we are reminded that we can endure because the tomb is empty and the Lord is risen! Happy Easter!

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

The Worth of Christ

Prescribed Value:

In a consumeristic society where capitalism defines the value and worth of our material possessions, this conceptual element gives way toward our moral understanding of liberty and justice.  Take for instance, a brand new car taken from an automotive dealership looses its value once it exits the premise.  From a judicial standpoint, the outcry of "the punishment must fit the crime" mirrors the value of justice and the undergirding conviction of a moral objective truth.  Social outcries against ethnic injustices derives from a foundational understanding of human dignity.  The worth of a human being transcends the social and economical trends of our current cultural climate.  A young Hmong student, Dylan Yang, stabbed an assailant armed with what seemed to be a deadly weapon and potentially faces conviction and a life-long sentence.  While a caucasian man murders three individuals and could possibly receive a reduced sentence due to a plea of mental illness.  These examples form the basis on how the intrinsic value of human life play a tremendous role in the realm of justice.

God Came Down:

The same rationale can be placed upon the weight of eternal justice when the salvific and redemptive ramification are in view.  Some may pose the question of God's justice in light of so-called minor sins such as white lies.  How could God send people to hell for something as simple as a lie?  This does not fall into our definitive box of justice.  Yet upon further investigation one can begin to see the eternal worth of sin in light of the Person in which humanity has sinned against.

Treason Against the Creator:

Within the narrative of creation we gain access into the rebellion that is committed against the Creator.  The Scriptures clearly indicate that God is the transcendent being outside the time space continuum. Moses articulates this account in saying: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).  The implication that is mounted is two-fold: (1) God stands outside of time and orchestrates the beginning of the creative order, and at the same time (2) He is not reduced to the material world rather He creates ex nihilo (out of nothing).  As the Creator He is the ultimate Designer, Author, and objective standard to creation.

Therefore, the deception surrounding the words of God (Gen. 3:4) and the rebellion toward God's command against the eating of the fruit (Gen. 3:6-7) has direct correlation to His infinite value as the Creator.   The sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, was intrinsically linked to the devaluing of God's infinite worth and the trampling of His ultimate glory.  With God impressing the definitive standard of value by declaring, "it is good," the contrasting element arises when Adam and Eve valued their autonomy over God's life-giving Words.  The redirecting of worth is the undergirding reality which gives birth to sin.  James articulates this when saying: "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (Jas. 1:14-15)

Consequently, eternal punishment is interrelated with the infinite value of God.  Eternal damnation, properly understood, is the seeking of justice for the treason or rebellion forged against the infinitely worthy entity—God Himself.  Eternity in hell equates to the treason that is committed against the eternal God.  To this end Scripture communicates that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).  Death meaning the eternal separation from the infinitely valuable life source, God Almighty.  To this end, the punishment does fit the crime, regardless of how we try to minimize sin.

Image of the Invisible God:

If this reality is true, then, humanity has an enormous weight hanging over their heads.  An impossible feat to climb and a hopeless chasm to leap.  The infinite value of God can not be reconciled by mere finite beings.  In light of our current situation, the fate of mankind looms disastrous unless there is an intervention of heavenly proportion.

Good News!  In the person and work of Christ this chasm as been leaped and this feat has been overcome in one bound.  In the person of Christ we find God incarnate, meaning God becoming flesh (John 1:14) in order to become our righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21) and to take our place in punishment (Isa. 53:5).  Jesus, who is the "image of the invisible God" (Col. 3:15) and the "exact imprint of His nature" (Heb. 1:3), paid the infinite value of our treason with the infinite worth of His being.  When looking at the cross of Christ we can not just acknowledge the redemptive work of Jesus (though it is monumental), but our eyes must be fixed upon the infinite worth of the eternal Son.  In doing so, we not only understand the sacrificial element of redemption and ultimately the biblical definition of love, but we are awaken to the infinite value of our reconciliation in Christ.  Our eternal reward is granted through His infinite value.  Our eternal life is fixed within His infinite worth.

Infinite Worth:

An elder once posed the question: "why do we call it Good Friday if our Savior died?" The answer looms in the fact that our Creator sought after us in such a way as to become a man and die on the cross for our salvation.  Good Friday is in memory of that day in which the bondage of sin was broken and the gift of life was granted.  The central emphasis of the Gospel's salvific work does not terminate upon the individual's confession, but rather in the Savior's infinite value.

The salvation in which the community of saints find themselves saturated in is not contingent upon the size of their faith, but rather the object of their faith.  The Good News is mounted upon the reality that the eternal chasm that separates creation from the Creator is reconciled through the eternal worth of the second person of the Trinity—God the Son.  In seeing and savoring the beauty and worth of Jesus Christ, we can begin to feel the weight and majesty of the cross.  In doing so, we can begin to rest in the finished work of Christ knowing that our eternal life does not start when we pass from this world, but rather when our eyes are opened to the new life we have in Christ Jesus today. Happy Good Friday!

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

Racial Reconciliation

Black Lives Matter:

The national movement of black lives matter and the boycott (or at least the attempt) of the Oscars has brought a great deal of publicity to the modern audience of the necessity for racial reconciliation.   The historical back drop of America has been soaked with racial segregation ranging from the dominance of Indian tribes to African slavery and to the Civil Rights movement.  Though there has been enormous strides made through the sacrifice and dedication from men and women throughout history, the fight continues to be centered upon the idea that men should not be identified by the color of their skin but rather by the dignity of their humanity.  We, the minorities of this country, are indebted to the men and women who have fought to give us a better America to live in.

Growing Up as a Minority:

Being raised by immigrant parents in a predominantly white neighborhood I found myself inspired by the works of Abraham Lincoln, Fredrick Douglas, and Martin Luther King Jr.  These men stood for something greater than themselves and I wanted to model their courage, aptitude, and strength.  I, myself, experienced a great deal of racial tension while growing up and understand firsthand the necessity for equality.  The fight for justice and the platform to bring awareness to such discrimination is an honorable and ethical endeavor.  One that is essential for us to fight in order for our children (and their children) to obtain equal opportunity for prosperity in this country as well as in life.

This conviction amplified as I became, by the grace of God, a follower of Jesus Christ.  No longer was racial reconciliation merely a social concern for my indigenous people, but rather a spiritual endeavor that embodied the essence of the Gospel message.

Gospel Issue:

It does not take long to navigate through the biblical text before you are encroached by what the work and person of Jesus Christ has accomplished in terms of racial reconciliation.  What God had established in His people, the nation of Israel, was meant to be spilled over to the nations of the world.  Within the establishment of the Abrahamic Covenant, the choosing of His people, was the redemptive maneuver to unite the world to God's restorative plan.  Moses records for us:

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen. 12:1-3)

The initial intention of the Abrahamic Covenant was to bless the nations with the redemptive work of the seed that was promised to Eve after the tragic fall of mankind (Gen. 3:15).  That seed, Jesus Christ, would rectify humanity's greatest foe — sin and death —  and in the process break down the barriers of the curse granted to mankind from the Tower of Babel (I will be elaborated upon later).

Necessity of the Gospel:

The Gospel, then, is the central element in order to garner any type of lasting transformation within the realm of racial reconciliation.  My premise is that without the work and person of Christ as the mantel to elevate the pursuit for racial unity, our endeavors in finding true social harmony will always be shorthanded by the nature of our inadequacies and infirmities.

Inward Focus:

As our society moves toward a naturalistic or Darwinian worldview what, consequentially, happens is a move toward a relativistic set of moral obligations.  Simply put, truth becomes subjective or is defined by the individual.  Peter Jones writes in his book One or Two that the move toward oneism, which is acknowledging only the natural world, is the denying of the Creator and ultimately any source of objective truth (twoism would acknowledge the Creator/creation distinction).  When this occurs all of humanity's endeavors are terminated upon mankind itself.  This has enormous implications.  What are those implications?

Since in the mind of the modern relativist there is no objective truth, the motivating factor in any virtuous endeavor would be done out of the "good" that is proportioned from the individual.  For instance, if a person were to extend financial support to a homeless man the task itself would not be motivated by an objective standard that convicts the person to love their neighbor as themselves.  The "good" that is done is simply exercised out of the "good" that is proportioned from the giver —  defined relatively by the self.  Consequentially, the driving factor that would prompt the giver to engage in such a noble task would not be for the good of the homeless person, since there is no such thing as absolute good, but for the sake of the giver — namely that he would feel good about himself.  Therefore, through the naturalistic lens, "good" has a narcissistic foundation that is the basis of its motivation.  If this is the case, then, genuine love can never truly be as the bible has demonstrated it to be in the person of Jesus Christ — self-sacrificing! Hence, racial reconciliation, without the foundation of the Gospel, would have no grounds to establish a long term change.

With this rationale infused into the issue of racial reconciliation, there can never really be a harmonious fusion of cultural diversity through the Darwinian approach.  With the world being viewed through the naturalistic lens each indigenous people group, though publicly open to the outside world, would be motivated to elevate their own agenda.  The very mantle that drives them to proclaim unity would be the very weapon that is used to conquer the kingdom of the proverbial hill.

Racial reconciliation outside the work and person of Jesus Christ would ultimately fall upon itself, because there is no guiding standard or Person to assist in its endeavor.

We Can Learn From the Past:

Paul writes in Romans that the greatest outworking of sin is that it has "suppressed the truth."  The writing off of God is the essence of the sin nature which desires to rule the self and, ultimately, be its own god.  The craftiness of the serpent to deceive our first parents derived from this one statement: "you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen. 3:5).  The knowing of "good and evil" had not evaded Adam and Eve since God had conveyed to them what was good — primarily His creative order.  The "good and evil," that was suggested by the serpent, was Adam's own autonomous standard outside of the living God.

The outworking of the Adamic fall is the backdrop to the ethnic diversity that is played out in our day and age.  It was at the Tower of Babel where God dispersed the people and gave them diversity in language.  And yet, what was the undergirding reason for the curse that was bestowed upon the people?

God had commissioned Adam to "[be] fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen. 1:28).  The same commandment was passed down to Noah after the traumatic events of the flood (Gen. 9:1).  The setting of the Tower of Babel was a direct dismissal of God's commandment.  Instead of obeying the words of the Lord the people gathered and sought "to make a name for [themselves], lest [they] be dispersed over the face of the whole earth" (Gen. 11:4).  The motivation of the Tower of Babel embodies a striking resemblance to the naturalistic tendency of our age.  Their end goal was not to make much of God or bring Him ultimate glory, but rather to allow all praise and honor to terminate on themselves.  Therefore, God dispersed them by confusing their language and, in effect, accomplishing His intended goal of filling the earth.

Conversely, an attempt at racial reconciliation outside the work and person of Jesus Christ will ultimately unfold upon itself and garner an opposite outcome to its intended desire.

The Centrality of the Gospel:

I am in no way trying to hinder any attempt to reconcile the different ethnic groups that are represented in the world.  All I am saying is that our attempt, if not placed upon the mantle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will not have any lasting effects.  It is imperative that the church be the front runner of racial reconciliation, and begin to spearhead, through the power of the Spirit, the healing process to bring whites, blacks, yellows, purples, and any other colors together under the banner of the cross.  It is through the work of Christ that He has "[reconciled] us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility" (Ephes. 2:16).

Our Hmong churches, in particular, must re-evaluate and even abandon our Second Generation Model and begin to adopt a church planting culture that embraces other ethnics and cultures.  As we look forward to the future our generation has the opportunity to stand for the cause of Christ in uniting cultures and people groups together through the power of the cross.  To draw lines for the sake of our indigenous people would be to counter act what the Gospel has accomplished. If we are to stand for the Gospel we must stand for the unification of the world in worshipping the one true Creator God, Jesus Christ.

The Gospel gives us the fuel and the power to truly embrace genuine racial reconciliation.  It is in the work of the cross where we see divine love in the giving of the Son to redeem onto Himself a people for His Name.  Only then will racial reconciliation, embodied by Gospel-love that seeks the good of the other and the glory of the transcendent God, have eternal consequence for the generations to come.  The theistic approach which terminates on the Person of Christ will be the only means to which racial reconciliation can find its true remedy.  He has paid the price and we must embrace the riches granted to us by His blood.

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

Changing of the Guard

A Common Struggle:

I have been around the district, or rather the nation, long enough to understand that there is an undergirding tension that is felt within the local churches that has aroused a multi-generation of people.  There seems to be a hunger and a thirst for the Gospel to penetrate from the pulpit into the organic realms of everyday life; to see lives transformed of the sake of Christ.  Not many people have been able to articulate the restlessness that has been gaining traction within the local church, and not many have been able to place their fingers on the method of reformation.  I am in no way implying that I have found the approach that will produce the desired outcome, but I do want to stand with those who acknowledge the need for Gospel-centered ministries and who want to see the church embrace her God-given mandate.

Social Club:

Much of the local ministries across the nation have been simplified to events, parties, and social gatherings.  The initiative toward Gospel-living, Gospel-discipleship, and Gospel-mission have been usurped by Valentine's Day banquets, pho fundraisers, and concerts.  The call of the church to be the people of God who live in the midst of a dying and depraved generation have fallen on deaf ears.  The church is simply comfortable operating in their exclusive social clubs, and yet still find time to wonder why the generations have fallen away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  If we are honest with ourselves many who leave the church exit because there is a lack of Gospel-preaching, Gospel-modeling, and Gospel-discipleship.  The proper question remains: were those who left ever truly regenerated?

With closer inspection one can conclude that the church has ceased to be the church, and has bought into the cultural assumption of Christianity.  Simply put, most have assumed that we are doing church.  Events and programs have been the norm of majority of our church experience and anything outside this structure runs contrary to our definition of church.  Either way, the tension draws deep because the Spirit is at work!

Gospel Focus:

In the midst of all the busyness there must be a reorientation of church life in such ways as to posture the people of God to live life organically for the Gospel.  This means more time for family, more time for evangelism, and more time for discipleship.  With the church calendar bombarded with events and programs, not many children are able to observe their parents model Gospel living, or themselves be discipled by those very same parents.  Much of the week is packed by running from one program to another while trying to maintain an active affiliation with extracurricular activities.  Discipleship does not happen in the local church because the saints are too busy maintaining the machine rather than investing in the people.  Rather than viewing family time, extracurricular activities, and personal hobbies as competition, ministers need to begin to equip the saints to use those spheres of influences as platforms for ministry.  In doing so, you minimize your focus in order to maximize your effort.

Less is More:

In transitioning the church to be the church we can begin "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephes. 4:12).  Ministers can begin to train leaders rather than spoon feed infants.  Ministers can begin to equip workers rather than oversee programs.  Ministers can expand on Word ministries rather than tinker with maintenance.  The fuel of ministry shifts from maintaining events to positioning the church to live life together.  The church, from an institutional standpoint, becomes the springboard to live organically for the sake of the Gospel.

Train the People:

We need to train our people!  In a day and age where biblical illiteracy is through the roof, the church must spear head the movement to educate the community of saints on biblical doctrine and sound theology.  Catechizing the people of God will be foundational to how the common layperson functions and operates in the organic realm of life we call ministry.  A deeper and more robust understanding of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will enable the saints to engage in this depraved and perverse world with grace and truth (John 1:14).  It is no coincidence that Paul commands Timothy to "[keep] a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.  Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1Tim. 4:16).  Paul was vehement at the fact that sound doctrine is essential for church life.  He states earlier that "[if] you put these things (sound doctrine) before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed" (1Tim. 4:6).

Positioning the saints to function outside the four walls of the facility will grant the elders more time to train and equip the believers to love God and worship Him in their everyday endeavors.

Life on Life:

Training is the means to enjoy God and express our satisfaction in Him through service toward the lost and edification to the saints.  The ministry that is produced within the confines of the facility should place the saints on a trajectory to live life with others for the sake of Gospel transformation.  Jesus spent a great deal of His time with His disciples traveling from one town to the next while engaging in discipleship.  Jesus did not merely teach on the topic of love, but He embodied it.  Image how impactful it must have been for the disciples to see Jesus heal the blind man.  Image how earth shattering it must have been to witness Jesus extend grace to the adulterous woman bombarded by men who sought to stone her (John 8).  Image how life changing it must have been to look Mary and Martha in the eye as they received back their brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11).  Ministry, for Jesus, was not merely a classroom, but life lived in the midst of a broken world.

Sunday As A Springboard:

I have many friends who, for the sake of organic ministry, have done away with Sunday church service.  I do not share in their conviction.  What I see is the biblical mandate to "not [neglect] to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Heb. 10:25).  The greek word which is translated "meet together" is επισυναγωγην which derives from the word συναγωγη (synagogue).  The author is clearly communicating the necessity for the body of saints to gather and sit under the Word.

What are the implications?  Sunday service, then, become a platform in which the community of saints — who are engaged in Gospel-living throughout the week —  come and find solace, edification, and encouragement to continue to press on for the cause of Christ.  Sunday, through the proclamation of the Word, becomes the springboard to which life on life is fueled and informed.

Live in the Tension:

The common theme I continue to find as I encounter ministers throughout the nation is a desperate desire to see the Gospel centralized in the local church.  Though there lays before us a steep uphill battle, let us be reminded that God has called us for such a time as this.  That He has not left us to fight this battle alone, but has empowered us by His Spirit to do the work of God via the Gospel.  Let us not waver by being engulf in bitterness or anger, but let us put on the righteousness of Christ and endure through His power in order for His grace and truth to permeate forth.  May we stand with Paul and proclaim: "Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me" (Col. 1:28-29).  Whether this side of eternity or the other may He receive all the praise, glory, and honor.  Amen!

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (7 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.

Desensitizing One Step at a Time

Let It Grow On You:

I had a seminary professor who introduced me to the idea of society's ploy to desensitize the common audience to the moral ailment of homosexuality.  He compared it to the way in which I was raised, as an asian, to eat every meal with rice.  My initial inclination was to have rice as the main portion regardless of my side choice; runny eggs, BDubb's, KFC, Thanksgiving dinner, the list goes on.  He, my professor, was raised to eat corn mixed with mashed potatoes.  His premise was that in order for my taste buds to become acquainted with the taste of corn and mashed potatoes, I would need to take in small portions in consecutive days in order to see this dish as normative.  Like corn mixed with mashed potatoes, society, via the media, has sought to propagate the agenda of the LGBT lifestyle in a way that will become normal and regulative for the next generation.  

As Christians how are we to engage with this ever growing realization that the LGBT lifestyle will become normative in our lifetime?  How are we to walk in society in light of the Gospel lens?  How are we to disciple and raise our children who will be bombarded with these images?  How are we to love and serve our LGBT brothers and sisters while disagreeing with their lifestyle?  What are practical ways we can engage in dialogue with our LGBT brothers and sisters in order to communicate love and affection for them as people?  How does the church create space to interact with those who are struggling with same sex attraction?  

Media Day: 

These are all difficult questions and I, honestly, do not have any real concrete answers.  What I do want to accomplish with this blog is to bring an awareness to the movement that is taking course and that is rampant in the media world.  Our churches, Hmong in particular, need to be awakened to this reality and begin to engage in ways that would further the Gospel and bring forth healing to the hurting.  Our Hmong churches need to stop busying themselves with programmatic events and realize that these issues touch base with every member in our congregation one way or another.  These are real life issues that must be dealt with through a Gospel lens! 

Super Bowl Sunday:

I was excited to hear that Coldplay would be apart of the haft-time show at Super Bowl 50.  It only added to my emotional hysteria that Peyton Manning was playing, maybe, in his final game!  To be honest I didn't think much of the half-time performance.  I was too busy enjoying the music to even notice that the screen was filled with rainbow colors - a sign symbolizing the LGBT community.  It finally struck me when the rainbow clothe was placed on the forehead of Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, via a fan in the crowd.  Only then did I begin to notice that everything from the drum set to the stadium was filled with rainbows.  Media propaganda? 

iPhone App:

I must admit that I love playing solitary!  To be honest I spend more time on my phone playing solitary than surfing FaceBook or checking my email.  Like any free app, solitary has ads that pop up prior to the game starting.  One of those ads was promoting Valentine's Day cards with couples.  Lo and behold there was an add of two males kissing and one giving the other a Valentines Day card.  I was, frankly, shocked at the advertisement and thought about my 7 year old son who could have stumbled upon this commercial?  Media propaganda?  

Biblical Worldview:

I realize that I shouldn't be as surprised as I was (or am), but I also realize that I have the responsibility of raising four young children in my home.  A home that is filled with electronics and televisions in an ever growing society of social media.  Not only that, but I am connected to a district that serves local churches with a plethora of young people.  How can I help serve them to see the biblical design of marriage and the biblical standard of living through the power of Christ?  

This blog has posed more questions than answers, but my hope is that the church begins to see the ploy of the media to desensitize our youth to the lifestyle of the LGBT.  And if we are going to be a church that disciples and fosters an environment for Christ followers, we must tackles these tough issues in order to be faithful to the God of the bible.  Not by spreading hate, malice, or ill will; but by formulating a Gospel lens on how to love and serve in the midst of disagreement.  How to embody grace and truth (John 1:14) in a world that has delineated from His light (John 1:5).  How to uphold biblical truth in a hostile and perverse world.  Through it all we must be aware of the Scriptural warning which says: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20).  

Through it all, may the Lord Jesus empower us and sustain us for the work that He has ahead of us.

____________________________________________________________________________

McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (7), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (6 months).  He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years.  He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity.  He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.