REVIEW
*h/t Maite Villareal-Rodriguez for Year End Recap Questions (translated from Spanish 😉 )
Best Film: “Parasite” (a brilliant, funny, disturbing, and shocking social commentary on class using vertical space as an analogy for unpacking story and ideas)
Best TV Show: “Warrior” (a gritty American-period piece of an immigrant fighter in San Francisco’s Chinatown, based on writings by Bruce Lee, that is an oddly timely commentary on American race-relations)
Best alternative media (aka podcast): “Revisionist History: episode on Suicide by Police” (an interesting wrinkle on police shootings)
Best Sermon/Inspirational Message: “Jesus is Truth, Love, and Power” by Chris Rattay (based on John 11) / (this is about 4 years old but it blew my mind when i saw it this year) “Everything you know about addictions is wrong” by Johann Hari
Best Book: Yeshua: The Life of Messiah from a Messianic Jewish Perspective by Arnold Fruchtenbaum (a lecture series that is finally in book form, with fascinating insights about the story of Jesus that I though I knew)
Best Restaurant: Lao Tao (best popcorn chicken)
Best Song: “Father Let Your Kingdom Come” by Porter’s Gate (a great worship collective i found with a vision for different voices and subjects often neglected in mainstream worship songs)
Best Date: Running errands and getting Lao Tao to go!
Best Moment: Baptism class – hearing Mati and Joe’s testimonies for the first time (their final version begins at 22:50)!
Something I Learned from God: (through Isa’s memorial) that God carries us broken as we are to communion with Him
Something I Learned About Myself: I am much too easily frustrated when things don’t go my way, which happens often.
Who Did I Pass the Time With: Ji, my boys, men’s group, co-ed weds life group, New Life church fam, and of course Steven and Maite on too rare occasions!
Places I Visited: Seattle, San Jose, Oceanside, and Las Vegas
Favorite Place: “Jesus time” on our couch with my boys
Funniest Moment: (boys see me with my shirt off) N: “Daddy!! You look like a pear!” A: Yeah, Daddy, you need to work out!
Obstacles: filling in as lead pastor as our lead pastor was out on medical leave sabbatical. my father diagnosed with cancer. praise God, they are both better now!
Commitments: To make memories with my boys, not just routines (thanks Nefty!)
Something That Didn’t Happen: a big deal for turning 40 or our 10 year anniversary (even though I’m really thankful for Ji! I still owe you a mattres!. :p)
Hope for 2020: That I internalize my Heavenly Father’s love for me, that I may be a better father to my boys and to better disciple other’s in the way of Jesus, the Son of God.
REFLECTION
*taken from my end of the year letter to supporters
A theme of this year has been God distributing power. Worldly power is about amassing everything one can to lift up oneself. Heavenly power is about being filled to overflowing to lift up others. There was fear in me when I needed to fill the shoes of the lead pastor of our community church while he was gone. But God gave me courage as He reminded me that He was with me and I discovered that the church family was lifting me up and allowing me to lead. We shared preaching duties with a team of teachers and we’ve moved toward team leadership of life groups. This has helped so many more to share their God stories, be empowered, and to realize that we as His body are better together!
Looking back on this year, the moments that blew me away were when I was able to witness the gracious equity of God. It is my brothers and sisters in Jesus, who have grown up in poverty, abuse, and violence, whom God has given the most powerful spiritual gifts to in our community – from insuppressible evangelism to prophetic dreams (of things that only God could know) – to bless others. I am in awe and so privileged to be a part of the Kingdom of God unfolding with hope in our midst! Thank you for being a partner in this journey together! May you experience the King and His Kingdom closer in your midst too!
treevalley in the inner city 