Thank God it’s Friday
This is excerpted from my TGIF column at SOLA Network.
Articles From Around The Web
1. Steven Lee: God Forms Us Through Failure
“Excellence, success, and constant progress have become the holy trinity of high achievers. But what happens when we don’t measure up? What if I flat-out fail? What if I disappoint myself and fall short of even adequate? What then?”
2. Danny Kwon: Serving Teenagers from Immigrant Families
“While today more parents are English-speakers, the bicultural nature of many immigrant families means that youth workers will need understanding to serve teenagers in immigrant families, as well as their parents or caretakers. These reflections will help us better serve our immigrant families, whether you have just a few in attendance or serve in an immigrant church.”
3. Hunter Williams: Theology Should Be the Primary Language of Your Kids
“We want it to be natural for our kids to see things as God sees them, speak as God speaks, and think God’s thoughts after him. This can only happen when parents and churches partner together to provide our kids with a consistently biblical worldview.”
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
1. 9Marks: On Pastoring in Japan
“In this episode of Missions Talk, Ryan Robertson interviews Ben Howard, a pastor at Yokohama International Baptist Church, about pastoring in Japan.”
2. Luke Simon: Gen Z, Fight ‘Brain Rot’ by Reading Books
“My phone had trained me to skim, to consume quickly, and to expect instant gratification. Books demanded something deeper: focus, patience, and the willingness to sit with ideas that don’t immediately resolve. This wasn’t easy at first. But in return for my patience, reading began offering the ability to wrestle with complexity.”
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Tom Sugimura: 5 Lessons from the Japanese American Internment
“Although the mass evacuation and incarceration of Japanese Americans were neither right nor wise, the experience nevertheless enriched the church’s spiritual life as nothing else could have.”
2. Eugene Park: Don’t Hope in That Next Life Transition
“When we overvalue the unknown excitement of the future, we sell short the known blessings of the present.”
3. Faith Chang: Father, Here Is My Little, My All
“To those who want to serve God with all your being, who have given of yourselves with a burning passion for his glory and yet find your Shepherd has led you down unexpected pathways— he is, and has always been, after our hearts.”
4. TGIF: Roundup for January 31, 2025
How an Old Language Haunts Us / How the Gospel Answers Shame in College Students / ‘Shrewd as Snakes’? / How Do I Become Happy in God? / On Serving as Missionaries in Japan
5. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
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