jameschoung.net

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 bottom, where Florida’s hanging chads probably reside. Even blogging about politics isn’t my style. Read the rest of this entry »

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 change. But then I have to remember … right, it’s Michael Moore. So I start checking the facts and counter-arguments.

Because Fahrenheit 9/11 was too biased to be helpful. And though I liked Bowling for Columbine, I was bothered to find out that the South Park-like clip in the middle was not created by Parker and Stone. The editing and animation style made it seem like they created it, and that’s just misleading. And all Michael Moore movies contain some of his antics, like taking the victims of Columbine to Target’s headquarters to get them to stop selling hollow-point ammunition. And this movie’s no different: he took 9/11 rescue workers who couldn’t get health care to Guantanamo Bay, because the navy had set up a 24-hour health clinic for the detainees. Sure, he’s getting his point across and doing some good, but you can’t help but feel like he’s using the victims too. Read the rest of this entry »

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, they argue for a church structure that has worked during Roman and Chinese persecutions of the church, and argue that it might possibly work here where there is no persecution. Read the rest of this entry »

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! Read the rest of this entry »

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 blog. So I’m going to start posting my reviews as well, and this is a great book to start with.

To see other reviews, click here to go to the library. Read the rest of this entry »

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 has graciously given me permission to post the print article online in a PDF format, “just this once.” A big thanks to CT, and I’m glad you’ll get to see the great art direction behind the article. Right-click here to download it. Read the rest of this entry »

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

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? Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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 asked God: if you want me to stop writing this book, I will. I don’t want to do this for my sake. Only if you want me to. Read the rest of this entry »

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 in tongues, believed in prophecy, and prayed with vigor. In that way, it was much like a charismatic church, except that they sang more hymns and the crazy stuff never showed up on a Sunday. But it definitely wasn’t a typical Presbyerian church. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s refreshing to see the record participation of voters during the primaries. It gives this oft-cynical Xer slightly more hope for the country, as people care and weigh in to choose the next president. It makes me wish that I lived in a state that had caucuses, to hear a healthy back-and-forth about candidates and to cast a vote within this spontaneous community. (MSNBC did an audio slide show of a Washington state Democratic Party caucus that was held at my old middle school.)

Though I’d like to (and often did) endorse a candidate publicly, I won’t anymore. Read the rest of this entry »