jameschoung.net

It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re in the middle of a recession. And if the pundits are right, it’s the worst economic slide since the Great Depression. In it, we’re spending less: Christmas sales are down, even online. For many, that merely reinforces the fact that our economy is hitting the brakes, which leads to despair. [...]

Perhaps it’s my Gen X sensibilities, but I don’t trust politicians or the American political process that much. I don’t publicly endorse candidates for any office, thinking that one day they’ll let us down. And after the 2000 elections, my trust in the American political process was buried deep in the sands of the ocean [...]

I just watched Sicko last night. Whenever I watch a Michael Moore film, I get riled up. I don’t have my wife’s gift of instantly picking up on faulty logic. And now you can see why I can’t win an argument with her either. So with Moore, I get taken in. I want something to [...]

Rating: 7 This book asked the right questions and challenged much of my current thinking. Basically, it asks: what’s the best form of church? And it shouts loudly against anything large and institutional, and argues for something smaller and incarnational — something that doesn’t merely invite, but goes out. It seems idealistic. In the end, [...]

You gotta check this out: a student, who just spent her summer with the urban poor in Cairo, tattooed the fourth circle of The Big Story on her foot! She said that “it has become a great conversation starter!” No doubt! Share

My apologies — a 13-month old can drain every last ounce of creativity left over from work, leaving me shriveled up and pruned for content. New posts are hard to come by. But I still keep up with reading (more passive . . . *grin*), yet the reviews languish in their own section of this [...]

I’m excited that Christianity Today picked up The Big Story! Yeah, that’s me on the left at La Jolla Cove. Here’s a link to an interview that appeared in the July 2008 issue. They just posted it online today, but they didn’t include the graphics that are found in the print version. (Update: Christianity Today [...]

The Urbana Student Missions Conference made True Story their book of the week. Check out their review. Share

A good friend found this fun article in the latest issue of Fast Company. It’s titled, “The Napkin Sketch,” and talks about how large corporations — such as Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Infosys, and Peet’s Coffee and Tea — are using napkin sketches to communicate large, complex ideas. Sound familiar? Share

Here’s something great. InterVarsity’s Southeast Region — which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Lousiana — adapted The Big Story for their context. It’s the same core message, but with a different flavor and much tweaking and tinkering. Share

Since Amazon.com is shipping True Story as of yesterday, it really must be out there. Gulp. Over two years ago, I was stuck fast to my chair. The Sunday service at Coast had just ended, and I didn’t want to move. I knew there was more for me. So I just sat. Waiting. And I [...]

My pastor asked me to give the Good Friday talk. And I’m thankful. For one thing, it forced me take a closer look at the Christian calendar. I grew up in a Korean immigrant church in the suburbs of Seattle. Sure, it was Presbyterian, but it was also marked by a Korean spirituality: they spoke [...]