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i carry your heart: August 2014

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). I remember that day like it was yesterday. How I cried the entire flight from Singapore to LAX and scared off the guy in the seat beside me. The eight hours at LAX, homesick and annoyed by the "Do not leave your luggage unattended" PSA. Having this wishful thought that when I landed in Indianapolis, it would be the people I just left behind in Changi Airport who would greet me. My first meal at Steak and Shake. I always thought I would return to Singapore.

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i carry your heart: March 2015

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). Unfinished Stories #1: Auckland to Berlin (via Atlanta). Sitting in a food court downtown. Behind, the ladies are complaining about the last meeting they had to sit through. Across, the gentleman is leafing through his notes. I check Facebook for the fifth time in twelve minutes. There are no updates. So I try Google. The last update was an hour ago. At last, there is some vague update that doesn't say very much. We are still waiting. Have you met her? There a...

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i carry your heart: February 2015

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). This week, I attended Savaira's uncle's funeral service. Because we weren't familiar with the customs of Fijian funerals, we ended up showing up on the evening when the family service was happening. I was admittedly nervous about having shown up on the wrong day because it might have made for a really awkward situation. So perhaps we need to re-examine the way we preach sermons. Are we just giving a speech each Sunday just for the sake of giving a speech, ...

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i carry your heart: The Umbrella: Engaging "Leaving Church" From the Grassroots

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). The Umbrella: Engaging "Leaving Church" From the Grassroots. I recently facilitated a "Becoming a Younger Adult" workshop at a Christian youth camp. The conversations I had after led me to writing this post to share a few thoughts. Ten years ago, when I was about to move halfway around the world, my youth group got me an interesting gift. It was an umbrella that had been signed by the people in that youth group that I loved dearly. As I continued reading the n...

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i carry your heart: July 2014

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). Aotearoa Diaries: "Story Time". Every once in a while, I can't help but wonder if I've completely lost the plot by choosing to ministry plant from scratch. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore the people I get to spend time with. No, really. I'm not just saying that because it's a part of my job. I would still hang out with these people even if I didn't also have the privilege of calling it "my job". That That's what makes me giddy excited. It has been nearl...

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i carry your heart: On Job Descriptions...

http://akandatang-luke5.blogspot.com/2015/06/on-job-descriptions.html

I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). I had a sobering realisation recently: I know how to be a Christian in a pre-Christian world, but I don’t know how to be a pastor in a post-Christian world. Let me begin with a disclaimer that for the purpose of this post, I use the words “Christian,” “pre-Christian world,” “pastor” and “post-Christian world” in the traditional evangelical sense. Ahh… That job description. The simplest way to describe it is that it’s an alternate reality game owned by Go...

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i carry your heart: On Young Adults #1: Some thoughts on engaging the Church...

http://akandatang-luke5.blogspot.com/2014/09/on-young-adults-1-some-thoughts-on.html

I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). On Young Adults #1: Some thoughts on engaging the Church. Even though I've officially only been in the role of student ministries pastor for about eight months, the young adult age group is one that I've been quite passionate about for a long time. I haven't written as much as I would have liked, but here are some very initial thoughts. 1) Stop simply talking about us and actually talk to us. 2) Tell us we no longer need permission. 4) We are NOT a singles club.

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i carry your heart: On Writing... (And Being a Real Pastor)

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). On Writing. (And Being a Real Pastor). Josh said the other day I should write more. I would agree with him, except I haven't had any coherent thoughts lately that would give me a good start to a new post, so I guess I would start this one off with a shout-out to him. Cheers, Batman. Thanks for getting me to start writing again. I write because it. I write because it. Is a way to freedom. As fingers fly over the keyboard, it's as if the tap-tap-tapping on e...

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i carry your heart: APCGC Reflections...

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I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart). And they'll know we are Christians by our love.". That's a line from a familiar song. We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord. Unity That's one of the pillars of the Church of God Reformation Movement. And unity was what we saw at the APCGC last week. But I digress. Unity. In my college and seminary years, the Anderson Campmeeting (and the various names it has come to be known by) slowly grew to become a highlight for me each summer. Part of it, a...