SOLA Network

What is it like to pastor a multiethnic church? What are some of the challenges, and how can you prepare? To gain some insight, we interviewed two Korean American pastors who are now lead pastors at large multiethnic churches. Jay Y. Kim serves as lead pastor at WestGate Church in Northern California, and he is the author of Analog Church and Analog Christian. On the other side of the country, Mit...

How can Asian Americans think about how their identity intersects with their faith? What are some paradigms and vocabulary we should be using? In Doing American Theology, Daniel D. Lee just does that. He has written a book that helps Asian Americans to understand themselves so “we can actually bring all of ourselves to Christ.” We are honored to host an interview with Daniel D. Lee. He talks to Aa...

Where can the lonely look to find connection? In Made to Belong, David Kim discusses five practices for cultivating community in a disconnected world. In this interview, SOLA Network’s editorial curator Aaron Lee interviews author David Kim, and they discuss: Made to Belong and how David’s best friend broke up with him, the false connection cycle as related to Asian Americans, why and how David’s...

This is Part 2 of a conversation between Rick Hardison, lead pastor of Lakewood Ranch Baptist Church and author of the PhD dissertation, “A Theological Critique of the Multiethnic Church Movement” and Daniel K. Eng, SOLA Editorial Board member. Click here for Part 1: https://youtu.be/yMRRmNFQ140 In the second half of their conversation, Rick Hardison and Daniel K. Eng continue their discussion on...

Shouldn’t every church be multiethnic? Is there a place for ethnic-specific churches or are they unbiblical? Do we even need ethnic-specific churches anymore? People involved in ethnic-specific ministries have heard questions similar to these. Sometimes they are posed by others, while at other times these questions come from themselves. To help us think through this relevant topic, SOLA Editorial...

SOLA Network is proud to announce a partnership with the Bamboo Pastors Podcast. The podcast is hosted by Jalon Chan of Chinese Christian Fellowship Church and Jon Mann of San Jose Christian Alliance Church as they explore the joys and challenges of being English-speaking pastors in the Chinese church. As part of this partnership, SOLA will feature episodes of the podcast through links, short audi...

Christians have a complicated relationship with money and gospel ministry. May God, who is both generous and wise, help us to view our lives and our money rightly, using both as servants for his work in his world. Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/i023oOerG8k Written and read by Renee Zou for SOLA Network: https://sola.network/article/god-or-money-detangling-a-complicated-relationship/...

"I want you to imagine that, at least for a time, the Lord would see fit to involve us in selecting the providences we would receive from his hand. I want you to imagine that through one of his deputies—an angel perhaps—he would approach us to ask how we would prefer to serve him. In other words, I want you to imagine that for just a while, he would choose to offshore his sovereignty and outsource...

Tim Challies is a Christian, a husband to Aileen, and a father to two daughters who are young adults and one son who is waiting for him in heaven. He worships and serves as an elder at Grace Fellowship Church in Toronto, Ontario. He is a blogger and book reviewer and has written a number of popular books. We discuss in this interview: How Tim heard about SOLA Network, how it feels half a year afte...

In Finding God, Finding Me, Izzy Koo tells her powerful testimony of how her life changed after encountering god at sixteen years old. She openly her fears, struggles, and insecurities as a high school student, as well as how God helped her find her identity and confidence.  SOLA Network is proud to present an interview with Izzy Koo, who is now a freshman in college. She is interviewed by So...

The relationship between immigrant and second-generation churches has—to put it lightly— been complex. Language and cultural barriers make things lead to misunderstandings and disagreements. Many churches have stories of conflicts over vision, worship times, and lack of parking.  But it is possible for first and second-generation churches to worship together. At SOLA Network, we want to highl...

Esther Liu’s book Shame: Being Known and Loved made it to both SOLA Network’s Best Christian Books by Asian American Authors in 2022 and SOLA content curator Aaron Lee’s “My Favorite Asian American Christian Books I Read in 2022.” In this interview with Aaron, Esther shares more of the practical part of being an author—the actual writing of the book. She gives advice on how aspiring authors can ta...

SOLA Network editor Hannah Chao speaks with Aaron Lee about SOLA Network’s Hidden Gems of 2022 and the 2022 SOLA Network Magazine. Video and transcript: https://sola.network/article/2022-sola-network-magazine-interview/ Shownotes: https://sola.network/article/hidden-gems-of-2022/ https://sola.network/article/introducing-the-2022-sola-network-magazine/ Links: Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/s...

On May 15, 2022, a gunman entered a Taiwanese church in Orange County, California. He killed one person and wounded five others. Police later disclosed that the crime was committed out of a political hatred of Taiwan. The shocking crime brought attention to the tension between China and Taiwan even here in the United States.  Pastor KC Liu wrote about the incident for SOLA Network in “Respons...

This was originally delivered by Aaron Lee as a devotional Sunday School lesson to youth students at FCBC Walnut. 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” Article version available at SOLA Network:  https://sola.network/article/shaping-your-identity-with-spotify-why-its-better-to-be-a-new-creation-in-chri...

A flush of heat floods your face and neck. You want to hide, escape, or melt down into the floor—you feel ashamed. Shame is worse than embarrassment. It affects your identity, making you want to hide parts or even all of yourself. But the way to combat shame isn’t to “fix” yourself or cover your misdeeds—it is to be truly known and loved.  That is the message of Esther Liu’s book Shame: Being...

What does it look like to be a faithful Asian American youth pastor? How can youth pastors equip parents? What are the changes that Asian American youth ministries need to make as both immigrant and second-generation/third-generation churches in the present day? For some expert perspective, SOLA Editorial Board member Daniel K. Eng interviewed Dr. Danny Kwan, who has been leading family and youth...

Corrie ten Boom is ardently admired today as the ringleader of an underground movement in the Netherlands that saved hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. This work that she is known for occurred during the span of two years of obedience to God and led to her incarceration in a Nazi concentration camp. At several points, she struggled to comprehend how she could live out God’s commands, pleading...

"My relationship with God doesn’t strip away the significance of my relationships but rather strengthens and deepens the love I share with brothers and sisters in Christ." Written and read by Ashley Kim, a young writer who belongs to Lighthouse Community Church, for SOLA Network:  https://sola.network/article/homesick-college-student-the-lord-sees-you/ Originally published on The Gospel Coali...

How can we teach biblical theology to kids? How do we share God’s truths with our children in ways that are thoughtful, beautiful, and true? A good place to start would be Irene Sun’s Taste and See. In her beautifully illustrated children’s book, Irene shares God’s goodness and love in the food he provides for his children all through the Bible. SOLA social media manager Aaron Lee interviewed Iren...

"What would it look like for our mealtime prayers to become, most of all, an expression of longing for the presence of God?" Sara Kyoungah White is the senior editor of the Lausanne Movement. She lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., and is a member of Seymour Christian Reformed Church. This video reading was recorded for SOLA Network: https://sola.network/article/praying-before-meals-like-the-men-of-gond...

“What does it mean that God is enough when it seems like I don’t have enough?” Alicia J. Akins struggled with this question during a time of great scarcity. That’s when she was invited to a friend’s dinner and she was confronted with the juxtaposition of her financial lack and the beautiful feast and friendships before her. It began her journey of studying the feasts of the Bible, and she recently...

What are church models unique to the Asian American Church? SOLA Editorial Board member Daniel K. Eng interviewed two lead pastors who serve at “townhouse” churches. Michael Lee leads All Nations Community Church, an English-speaking congregation on the same campus as a Korean immigrant church. David D. Lee pastors Ekklesia Atlanta Christian fellowship, an English-speaking congregation that shares...

In light of the upcoming election, SOLA Network presents a sermon from Pastor Owen Lee on the topic of abortion. Pastor Owen serves as the senior pastor of Christ Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, and he is a SOLA Council member. We hope this sermon will help you to have a more biblical understanding of this topic. (This sermon was originally preached on July 10, 2022.) Video and transcr...

This was originally delivered by Aaron Lee as a devotional exhortation to youth student leaders at FCBC Walnut . Article version available at SOLA Network:  https://sola.network/article/ministry-leaders-guard-heart-against-pride/ The measure of a worship leader is not by outward appearances, but by inward affections. 3 Lessons for Ministry Leaders to Guard Your Heart from Pride: 1. Fear God m...