Pastor Blog (Page 2)

We have two joint services. One is outdoor service and the other is Christmas service. Two years ago, KSC has suggested using Christmas joint offering to support our local community. We gladly agreed and started our search for the charity. Last year, our “Outreach Search Committee” has decided on an organization called, “M.I.N.D” (Moving In New Direction). It primarily serves low-income families, providing food and care they need in Toronto. ESC collected both KSC and ESC Christmas offering last year…

This year’s 10 Days Early Morning Prayer book is “Boundaries”, written by Dr. Henry Cloud. If I can only recommend two books on leadership, the first would be “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and this would be the clear second. This book is not only transformative for building a better relationship, but a healthy self. Dr. Cloud is a clinical psychologist and an acclaimed leadership expert. His medical knowledge of how humans function and his Christian beliefs provide…

Starting from 2023, preaching rotation will change as the following: Out of 50 Sundays (52 minus two joint services), I will be preaching 30 times and Pastor Anthony 20 times. (Exact numbers may change) I remain as the main communicator, but I am glad to have a competent partner in preaching. The first reason for this change is structural. If we had a separate youth service, Pastor Anthony will get to preach every Sunday. But since we do intergenerational service,…

I shared in last week’s blog that my mom wasn’t responding to neurological test. Based on this, doctors have concluded that my mom won’t wake up again, probably never. So, they gave us two options, either to keep my mom alive in a vegetative state (eventually in a long-term care home) or allow her to die comfortably in a comfort care unit. Though they did not say it, but we could sense that most people usually opt for the latter…

In her third week in ICU, My mom’s ICP (Intracranial Pressure) was normalized, so medical staff was able to reduce sedation and start neurological testing, to assess how her brain is functioning. She did not respond well to the prompts, showing no physical responses nor sign of consciousness. After the test, the doctor gave us a poor prognosis, saying that she is unlikely to recover to normal life, given her initial damage and the rate of progress. The doctor wanted…

It’s been almost two weeks since my mom had a stroke. To provide some update, she has been stable. We were genuinely thankful that the fatal complication called “Vasospasm”, which was anticipated, still hasn’t happened. Medical staff told me they were “shocked” by that, and I believe it is because of many who are praying for my mom. My mom is still dealing with elevated ICP (Intracranial Pressure) but staff are trying to reduce the med slowly and carefully, so…

My mom was hit with stroke this Monday. I was the only other person at home, and I initially found her vomiting and having a painful headache. After I noticed her slurring, I immediately called an ambulance. Within 20 minutes, my mom was moved to Mackenzie health, then swiftly transferred to St. Michael hospital, as they have a neurosurgeon to perform a brain surgery. In a few hours, she had a surgery to block the ruptured aneurysm (small bulged area…

On May 1, 2016, a wildfire began in Fort McMurray in Alberta which have spread rapidly through the city, destroying more than 2400 homes and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta’s history. It is reported that it would cost nearly 9 Billion dollars to rebuild the damaged areas, which may make it the costliest disaster in Canadian history. People still haven’t found out how it exactly all started, but the hot and dry climate helped the fire spread much…

There are things that need to be said simply because they are true and beneficial. “Do as I say, not as I do” can still work for certain things in life. An alcoholic father can say to his son, “Don’t get drunk” because the message is still beneficial. Jesus also said, despite the hypocrisy of Pharisees, “Do what they say but don’t do what they do”. (Mat 23:3) Pastors can still speak on issues they struggle with themselves, simply because…

One of the main reasons why I write pastor blog is to communicate what “might” happen in the future so that when it happens, members will have a better understanding of where I am coming from. So, this “has not” happened yet, but I just I want to write about it in advance. In many churches, pastors are busy doing visitations for members who have “stumbled”. They are offended by what the pastor said or did, and they stop showing…

Live Streaming of our Sunday service will end starting from the 1st Sunday of November. (11/6) Now that most of our congregation is back in person on Sunday, we decided to channel our media resources into creating a better in-person experience instead. The practical reason why we won’t do both at this point is we have limited resources. We only have one camera, and that can be better used for in-person service needs. Moreover, stopping the live-streaming will allow us…

Many years ago, I saw a video of a pastor highlighting the difference between a host and a guest. I thought it was a helpful illustration for us to evaluate our church life. When you are at a party, at first, you might not notice who the hosts or guests are, but soon you realize there is a huge difference between how the two engages. Hosts are ready to serve. Hosts come early to prepare. Hosts are often the last…