SOLA Network

In this short video clip, Pastor Steve Chang speaks with Sam George about understanding the Indian community in America. Their full interview is coming soon! Subscribe to our channel so you never miss out: https://www.youtube.com/c/solanetwork Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5OBwPuSl_SA Email us your questions or conversation topics:  podcast@sola.network Links: Weekly Newsletter...

As we gather to remember and give thanks for the blessings around us, let us not forget to be grateful for our pastors who shepherd our churches. Listen or read "How We Can Bless Our Pastors for Pastors Appreciation Month" by Alice Kim (Emmausccs.com), and we hope you will reach out to and pray for your pastors today. "There are many thoughtful and creative ways to encourage our pastors. May we co...

There are many books and resources written directly for people who struggle with pornography. But what about books written for pastors, counselors, friends, and family members who are helping people who are addicted?  To this end, pastors and biblical counselors Deepak Reju and Jonathan Holmes have written two books—Rescue Plan: Charting a Course to Restore Prisoners of Pornography and Rescue...

How do pastors address a world that tries to minimize pain or avoid it altogether? Pastor and professor Dr. Matthew Kim addresses the problem of pain and its importance in pulpit ministry in his new book Preaching to People in Pain.  In this interview with SOLA Network social media manager Aaron Lee, Dr. Kim talks about his own painful experiences and encourages pastors to preach on the topic...

The new SOLA Network website has been launched. In this conversation, SOLA’s social media manager Aaron Lee interviewed SOLA Network editor Hannah Chao about the redesign and how she hopes it will help people to discover more stories. This video was recorded LIVE on Instagram: http://instagram.com/thesolanetwork Watch the recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/t5HHCxVjhQc Read the transcript on ou...

The situation for Christians in Afghanistan was dire even before the United States began withdrawing its military from the country last month.  According to the World Watch List, which ranks countries based on the amount of religious persecution, Afghanistan landed as #2, only behind North Korea. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity wrote that less than 3 percent of people in Afgha...

Deconstruction is a buzzword in Christian circles as stories of prominent Christian leaders leaving their faith become more commonplace. Of course, the questioning and even unraveling of faith is not limited to pastors and worship leaders but to everyday churchgoers.  How can churches and pastors understand deconstruction? How should they walk with those who are doubting their faith? SOLA Edi...

The SOLA Network is pleased to present an interview with Mitchel Lee, pastor at Grace Community Church, a multiethnic church in Fulton, Maryland. He is a friend of the SOLA Network and the author of a new book, Even If: Trusting God When Life Disappoints, Overwhelms, or Just Doesn't Make Sense.  In his book, Lee examines suffering, including his own, through the lens of the life-and-death dec...

Pastors get front-row seats to people changing, but they often become too busy, burdened, and blind to their own needs for change or to see the change happening in them. Pastor Harold Kim shares his own story of recovering from burnout and blindspots. Bio:  Harold Kim is the founding pastor of Christ Central of Southern California and serves on the Board for Christ Central Network (CCN) and a...

Pastor Scott Sauls shares about some of the key witnesses in his own life that led him to faith in Christ, as well as some major lessons that he's been learning in this past season. He also identifies some of the major challenges and opportunities for the Church and provides a word of encouragement to church leaders. Bio:  Scott Sauls is husband to Patti, dad to Abby and Ellie, and serves as...

In this interview, Dr. Sharon Kim, Professor of Sociology at Cal State Fullerton, shares her insights on sociological trends amongst Asian Americans, the creation of third spaces for worship, and the future of the Asian American Church. Bio:  Dr. Sharon Kim’s research, which focuses on the intersections of race, religion, and immigration among Korean Americans, has been published in numerous...

The treatment and reception of Asians in the broader American society has shaped the theological tendencies of Asian American Christians, ranging from very radical to very conservative theologies and all of these tendencies, even though often at odds with each other, share a common goal to gain a voice in mainstream Christianity. Bio:  Esther Chung-Kim is Associate Professor of Religious Stud...

Most of us work and work for a lifetime. In fact, the majority of Americans spend the most number of their waking hours at work. Christian workers witnessing well in their workplaces can surely make a difference for Jesus. But what does that look like? Why should I bother? What does witnessing mean in the Bible, and how can we do that at our work without being labeled weird, feeling awkward, and g...

As we see in the Psalms, no feeling is meant to be excluded from our relationship with God. In fact, every emotion is designed to turn us toward God and assist us in bringing our hearts and lives before him. Yet in this extended season of suffering, the waves of sorrow, anxiety, and depression have rolled through our lives and drawn our hearts away from God. In this seminar, we will consider from...

How can we find the strength to sing in a worst-case scenario? Like Paul and Silas in prison, we can worship and witness in any situation because God is sovereign over every circumstance. Bio:  Aaron Lee is the Social Media Manager at SOLA Network. Aaron also serves as the Social Media Officer of First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut, where he is a Sunday School teacher and music leader. Aar...

The rise in violent attacks against Asians, especially Asian women, has shown the need for the church to examine the ways it can be better supporting women at this time. Hannah Chao, Soojin Park, and Heidi Wong discuss how churches can amplify the voices of women and equip them to become partners. Bios:  Hannah Chao is the editor of SOLA, where she also often writes. She has been editing for...

In this panel, four pastors from diverse contexts discuss how the church can remain gospel-centered and united as it engages with the topics of justice, racism, and diversity. Bios:  Michael Lee currently serves as the lead pastor of All Nations Community Church. He also serves as a council member and the Executive Director of the SOLA Network. Originally from Atlanta, Michael majored in phil...

In this panel, four pastors from diverse contexts discuss how the church can remain gospel-centered and united as it engages with the topics of justice, racism, and diversity. Bios:  Michael Lee currently serves as the lead pastor of All Nations Community Church. He also serves as a council member and the Executive Director of the SOLA Network. Originally from Atlanta, Michael majored in phil...

The Church has been called to be a witness of Christ to the ends of the earth, but recently it seems like there are so many reasons to be done with the Church. What is the Church? And how does the Church provide no better witness despite being broken and blemished? Harold is the founding pastor of Christ Central of Southern California and serves on the Board for Christ Central Network (CCN) and as...

In a defensive, divided, politically and socially hostile “cancel culture,” how can Christians live counter-culturally by loving others as Christ has loved us, even when we were his enemies? How can we become the kind of people who turn away wrath with the fruit of Christ’s gentleness (Proverbs 15:1)? In this message, Nashville pastor Scott Sauls will explore what a gentle answer can look like in...

The SOLA Conference is back. After being canceled in 2020 because of the growing Covid-19 crisis, the conference has returned as a digital event, which will be released on the SOLA Network website beginning May 24.  This week, we will be previewing some of the content for the 2021 Conference. Today, we will begin with an interview with SOLA Conference Joshua Lim, who oversaw the canceled 2020...

2020 looked promising for David Yoon, also known as Kindred Worship. He had dropped his EP, Edmund, the previous year, and he would be leading worship for SOLA Conference 2020. Then the pandemic hit.  The church where he was the worship pastor went into lockdown, and he had to lead the congregation in song remotely. SOLA Conference was canceled. But through it all, David continued to serve hi...

This is Part 2 of a conversation between four Chinese American pastors about the future of the Chinese heritage church. The pastors talk about how their Chinese heritage has helped shape their identity, whether Chinese churches should become multiethnic, and their hopes for the Chinese heritage church. This conversation was moderated by Casey Young, who currently serves on the English staff of Fir...

What is the current situation with the Chinese heritage church? What does its future look like? How can it grow more leaders and encourage its pastors? While Asian American churches tend to get lumped together, they are actually important distinctions between them. To facilitate more dialogue about the needs and growth of ethnic-specific churches, the SOLA Network hosted a conversation with four C...

The rise in anti-Asian violence has shown how difficult it is for our churches to talk about race. The dialogue can be so complicated that oftentimes we forget to address these issues with our children and youth students. But if the church does not address these issues to the next generation, then rather than learning a biblical view of these issues, they will be educated by the world. In this vei...