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Asian Americans and Tutoring

CoP 2013_Page_067_Image_0001Peter Kim

Asian Americans of almost all ethnicities have seemingly found success in the American education system. Asian Americans make up the majority of the student body in the University of California system and also a significant portion of the California State Universities. Research has shown that 50% of Asian Americans over the age of 25 have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and 85% have at least a high school degree. For a long time Asian Americans have been viewed upon as the “model minority.” Statistics show that Asian Americans do fill this stereotype, in terms of education, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Whether it is SAT scores, GPAs or rate of admission into top-tier colleges and universities, Asian Americans as a whole have exceeded the American average. Asian American students have historically been at the top when it comes to SAT scores, followed closely by white students. Asian culture dictates an emphasis on education and hence, this is not surprising. What is surprising, however, is the minuscule gap between white and Asian American students. To elaborate, the difference in SAT scores and GPAs do not seem to justify the abundance of extra time and money that Asian American students and parents invest into education. Asian American students only score approximately 15 to 20 points higher on SATs than white students and only slightly higher on the ACT. The difference in approach, however, is vastly different. A key staple in many Asian American students’ academic schedules is the education academy (tutoring centers, SAT centers, “hagwon” in Korean, etc.). Students and parents often invest countless hours and thousands of dollars into these private institutes in hopes of higher scores and GPAs. This is a primarily Asian American phenomenon and white students do not frequent such places as often or as much as Asian Americans. Which leads to the question, are education academies critically necessary for Asian Americans’ success and if so, or not, could Asian Americans look to benefit from a more independent, holistic approach primarily taken by white students?

A quick search on Google Maps yields countless education centers, SAT preparation centers in the Los Angeles area. A search for “hagwon” in Korean yields an incredible 412 results in the Los Angeles area. I myself have attended no less than 3 different institutions and find it safe to say from my experience, that I have never seen a white student at one of these institutions before.…

Nobody can break these bonds

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen! How are you today? I look around and I don’t see too many happy faces. The day has just begun, and with each day, something beautiful can happen! Every day has the potential to be the life-changing moment we all need. All of us at times have felt down on our luck at some point in our lives. But there is always a glimmer of light in the darkness we find ourselves in. God is the light that shines through those black clouds and it is up to us to push those clouds away from us with hope and a belief in Jesus’ will.

Many of us have become weak and tired, but God understands we are humans and we will grow weak and tired, but Isaiah 40:31 says that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not be faint. As children of God, we must keep hope in the Lord and always have faith in Him. He has provided for you, He provides for you today, and He will continue providing for you as long as you let Him into your life. We must never give up.

CoP 2013_Page_072_Image_0001

Though times may seem hard today and may seemingly get tougher, the grace of God’s love is immeasurable. Now I have no experience when a time of my life was as tough as some of yours, but I have experienced God’s love in unimaginable ways. His love has pushed me through the toughest times of my life. And it was because of God that I kept myself afloat a time when I felt lonely and helpless. Allow God into your heart and he will fill you with warmth, bread, and a love like no other. Jesus told us, “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food? And the body more than clothing?”

CoP 2013_Page_073_Image_0001To that, do not worry about what you wear, or what you eat, and do not let yourself be affected by what others say to you with hatred. As believers we are all part of a family bonded by ties of God’s love.…

Staff, Leadership and Committees (2015)

About | Location | Leadership | Senior Pastor | History | Vision

Staff

  • Senior Pastor Keedae Kim (Sermons)
  • Associate Pastor Shin-Hwa Park
    Rev. Park, ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA), received her M. Div. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, M.A.R. (Masters of Arts in Religion) in Culture and Personality from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana and M.A./B.A. in Christian Education from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea.Licensed for the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament, Rev. Park has additional training in counseling, domestic violence and conflict resolution. Reverend Park has served as pastor, counselor, educator, chaplain and program administrator/director in churches, hospitals and community service organizations. She is bilingual in Korean and English.
  • Mission Pastor Jae Y Yang
  • Associate JDS Man Sup Lee

Session

IMG_9480Session: Elders Ku, Kim, Cho, Kim

  • Senior Elder Moon
  • Retired Elder: Kim
  • Associate Elders: Lee, Shin

Committees

  • Mission and Evangelism Committee
  • Worship Committee
  • Education Committee
  • Library and Culture Committee
  • Special Committee for the 40th Anniversary of the Church

Defining Moments

Jonah 3:1-5, 10 and Mark 1:14-20

I give thanks today for how God has blessed this church these past 40 years. I also give thanks to God for you and your faithful witness in behalf of the Good News of the Gospel. In addition to celebrating your 40th Anniversary as a church, I ask you to make this a time to rededicate yourselves to serving Christ’s mission in the world. These are anxious times in which we live. The Gospel needs to be proclaimed; people, systems and nations are in desperate need of transformation. My sermon today is offered to help you discern where and how God’s is calling you now as you move into another decade of ministry.

Throughout the Bible God caused defining moments in order to prepare leadership to begin new chapters in salvation history. When any person is confronted with this sort of event, it is usually the time when one’s deepest values come in conflict with life situations. These circumstances give each of us the opportunity to choose a path. Over the years the cumulative effects of these decisions form character. There is no doubt that we are each the sum total of our personal decisions.
There are choices that challenge us in a deeper way by asking us to choose between two or more ideals in which we deeply believe. Character is formed in these situations because we commit ourselves to irreversible courses of action that shape us personally and professionally. These defining moments uncover things in us that have been hidden, and we discover things about ourselves and reveal them to others. It is in these times that we discover whether we will live up to our personal ideals or only talk about them. Here we discover something in a very painful way — we discover who we really are.

This has happened to all of God’s leaders. For example, Abraham had his defining moment when he heard the voice of God calling him from the security of Ur to the insecurity of the life of a nomad. Can you imagine the conversations that took place in that home and the explanations to the extended family? Abraham obviously spoke very forcefully and convincingly to those who would make this journey with him. Through his decision God began his work of salvation.

We see how Joseph, best-loved son of his father but hated by his older brothers, was sold into slavery.…

From where the languages diverged

언어의 분화는 이성의 한계를 말한다. 바로 거기서 부터 이성으로는 설명안되는 우리를 향한 그리스도의 구원이 시작된다.

성경 본문: 창세기 11:1-9

Today is Trinity Sunday. Triune God be with you. Trinity is too difficult to explain. Many theologian and ministers try to interpret this doctrine but they failed to grasp it. There are two attitudes to understand Trinity. At the one hand, some delve the doctrine itself. At the other hand others neglect the doctrine saying doctrine is made by human being. That’s right. But all doctrine is developed from Bible, Church History, the context of member of early church, their suffering and their effort to keep Christianity. We can oppose a doctrine. To do so, we have to experience more deeply than every context of early church.

Today is Trinity Sunday. Triune God be with you. Trinity is too difficult to explain. Many theologian and ministers try to interpret this doctrine but they failed to grasp it. There are two attitudes to understand Trinity. At the one hand, some delve the doctrine itself. At the other hand others neglect the doctrine saying doctrine is made by human being. That’s right. But all doctrine is developed from Bible, Church History, the context of member of early church, their suffering and their effort to keep Christianity. We can oppose a doctrine. To do so, we have to experience more deeply than every context of early church.

How should we understand “doctrine”? This is the starting point of our faith not a goal. God or truth is greater than sum of all doctrine. We don’t need to say that we must believe, understand and grasp. We have to turn our eyes toward the thinking of God that want us what to do with Trinity. Never use your ability to understand it. Never show your arrogance to neglect it. Let’s see the world with our thanks for Triune God who taught the doctrine.

Why does God explain the fact so difficulty? It would be better if He talk for us enough to understand with our reason and thought. Let’s find the cause from Bebel story. Some scholars said Babel story and Trinity are related each other. That ‘s why verse 7 use plural “us” for one God. It is the assertion that “us” shows Trinity.

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.…

A Stewardship for Peace

성경 본문: 고린도후서 5:17-21l
설교자: 허현 목사

The Menonites are known for considering peace to be important. In Korea, many refuse to join the army to hold their beliefs. Some confuse them with Jehova’s Witnesses because tehey are more famously refusing to serve in the military.

People wonder what the identity of Menonites are. The spirit of the bible is “shalom”, wishing peace. So is in the old testament, and in the new testament, “Amen”, is a new concept that goes beyond the jewish community.

So the concept of “peace” is often misunderstood, and in the Korean community

Paul must have had a simplistic notion of humankind. If you look at the book of Phillips,
IN today’s scripture, it reads: “now that Christ has come, everything is anew”.

Paul separates everything in history as “past”
I look back at my own life, and my 20’s was a hard time for me. I was having a hard time with my family, with myself, with my life.

After I accepted Jesus, my experiences of the past was no longer a painful experience.. I was able to think anew about that part of my life. For Paul, the past before Christ is all one big bundle odf time

Everything becomes “past”. Ater meeting Christ, everything is “new”. Everything past has passed, and we are renewed.
The May 18th People’s uprising.. There’s a lot of chattering about it. I think there isn’t a clear understanding about the past.

Everything becomes “past”. Ater meeting Christ, everything is “new”. Everything past has passed, and we are renewed.
The May 18th People’s uprising.. There’s a lot of chattering about it. I think there isn’t a clear understanding about the past.

We are not disconnected from the past. We are part of it. There’s those who are interfering with that work.
Paul is declaring here that the past is no longer influencing the present.

We need to understand – are we free “from” the past, or at the next step, free
As new creatures, if we are free from the past, from all cursings in the past, what are we free for? That’s implicit in this quesiton

Out freedom shjould be freedom towards something. With Christ, our old was destroyed, and everything was reinterpreted. Our freedom is not simply the freedom “from” the past, but towards some point in the future.

For example, I used to hate someone. Now, I no longer hate the peson.…

Finding the Truth

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Acts 10:30-43

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Humankind Meets The Truth

People seek the Truth in this world. Why am I in this world, and what is the goal of my life? What is right, and what is wrong? This has been the question of humankind across the ages.

Our curiosity distinguishes us from animals. Of course, animal experiments show that monkeys and animals also have some degree of curiosity. New objects pique their interest.

But human curiosity is superior to that of animals. Humans have not only curiosity towards the material world, but also towards human themselves, and towards the spiritual. That makes us human.

Biologically, we are animals. It doesn’t matter where we stand on the creation vs evolution debate. Our bodies resemble those of other animals.

However, the nature of humankind ought to be found not in our biological features, but in that which is inherent to us which makes us human. When we see people who do seem to have lost their humankind-like nature, we call them “inhumane”.

What kind of person is an inhumane person? Is it because they look different from the rest? Or sport a different attire, or skin color? No. It’s when they have lost their human touch, that we call them “inhumane”.

We can’t say the same of animals. Expressions like “un-wolf-ly”, “un-tiger-ly”, “un-dog-ly”, are not in our vocabulary. This makes humans unique.

Humans have sought the Truth in various ways. Where did Socrates seek the Truth? He said, “Know Thyself”. He believed that self-understanding was essential to reaching the Truth.

The largest streams of philosophy and literature onwards have concerned themselves with finding themselves. It’s been a very long time since Socrates’, but some still seek the Truth.

A religion that takes on a similar approach is Buddhism. Buddhism is also about finding oneself. With a small twist. Buddhism says from the onset: “there’s no such thing as ‘oneself’. It’s nothingness”.

This is very hard to grasp. I do exist, but I’m taught that it doesn’t exist. People engage in lifelong self-flagellation and meditation to understand this teaching.

One may grow spiritually through self-flagellation and meditation, but all one achieves through it is simply coming back to the answers one already knew from the onset, or at worst, dying before even reaching that point.

In contrast, what does Christianity say about humankind? It defines humans as sinners. For the proud, modern man, a religion that starts right off the bat defining one as a sinner is a tough sell.…

People prepared for God

[audio:2010/2010-08-15.mp3]

Esther 9:20-28, Luke 12:35-40

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Today is the 65th anniversary of Korea’s independence. We celebrate this day through a family worship. At some point in our church’s history, we started separating our the generations. Leaders of Korean American churches worry that the young people leave the church. I don’t think people have nailed down the issue. I think the issue is that we keep on making the worship format comfortable for ourselves, and at some point in adulthood, worship is not what it used to be. Of course, as an immigrant community, it’s hard to have an intergenerational service because of the language barrier. Often young people call the church and ask if there’s a worship service for young people. They are Korean language speakers. But we don’t have a worship service for young people. I wonder, where did we start wrong?

We must recognize however that church is not somewhere we come to be comfortable. It is actually somewhere where we stay uncomfortable, to worship God. When we greet relatives, it’s uncomfortable because we need to adjust to them. When we worship God, we can’t set the place for ourselves. Our Lord’s words make us uncomfortable. We just want to live by ourselves, but God command us to live with our neighbors. We want to win, but God wants us to lose. We want to rise above others, but God commands us to humble ourselves. We want to have it all, but God commands us to share with others. We want to brag about what we own, but God commands us to give them all away. Isn’t this a place of discomfort? Real faith is about suffering this discomfort, and to enjoy a comfort from God at the end of it. Admitting the discomfort of the world is the first step towards salvation. If the world was comfortable, who would bother to seek salvation?

Discomfort: in other words, God wants us to be prepared. To be always prepared as people of faith. Today, God tells to stay awake and prepared, because the Master may come back at any moment. The Master does not come until very late at night. It is the role of servants to await the Master. But to stay awake is no simple task. The Master tells servants who awaited him that they are to be blessed. Here, the Master signifies the Lord. We must always be awake in front of our Lord.…