I was thinking to myself this week – I love being comfortable.  Not having to worry about my physical well-being - my next meal (other than the difficulty of choosing something that will appease my palate), where I’ll sleep, my safety, etc. – is a beautiful thing.  It’s so easy to take all the simple luxuries in life for granted.  Then I began to think a bit more.  The idea, for most of us the reality, of comfort goes so much more than our physical bodies – there is also an emotional element of comfort that we need to factor in.  If you were to ask a wealthy person who had just experienced a death in the family if they were in a state of comfort, the answer would be a resounding “no” – the pain of a loss would surely lead to much pain.  So when we find ourselves in comfort, we can generally assume that physically and emotionally there is no pressing issue, no reason for us to doubt or be in pain.
Then I hear about the outcomes of trials involving the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.  I hear of the marches, demonstrations, and unfortunate riots - responses to deal with the pain, suffering, and anger caused by these court decisions.  Many are crying for justice and pointing fingers to racism while others are responding that justice has been served and these situations are isolated events, having nothing to do with the larger social (and I believe spiritual) issue of racism.  Even in Christian circles, there is division on how to approach all that has been going on.  It’s a devastating time, to say the least.  But I’ll be honest about my initial reaction - my head knew that there was something deeply wrong with what is going on but my heart responded “what’s the big deal?”  There was a disconnect with what I knew and what I felt.  Which led me to the realization of how comfortable I was.  Let me explain.
No one wants to be disturbed.  In the heart and soul of every person is a longing to be safe and secure, physically and emotionally, and we will do whatever it takes to make it so.  But I began to wonder if my search for comfort, protecting myself from being emotionally vulnerable, had hardened my heart to what’s been going on in our world today.  Could this be the reason for the disconnect between my mind and heart?  I believe so.  Jesus made Himself vulnerable to a world of hurt and pain during His time here on earth.  He suffered physically but more than that He suffered emotionally – the result of the sin of man and being rejected by those He loved to the very end.  I had been looking at the events in the eyes of a news anchor wanting to be aware and communicate the latest from a distant, not through the lens of Christ who hurts and walks with those in pain, carries burdens, and heals all wounds.  I was so busy making sure my heart was secure that I refused to respond with true compassion to my brother and sister thus disobeying the latter part of the great commandment, to love my neighbor.
Friends, we will never ask a friend or family member in deep pain to justify and explain why they are hurting.  If we truly cared, our initial response would be embrace and doing whatever it takes to bring comfort and peace.  Why is this situation any different?  Our brothers and sisters in the African American community are hurting.  Why do we turn a blind eye or even worse, ask them to justify why they are hurting or angry?  Have we become so focused in protecting ourselves that we’ve lost sight of being like our Savior who wept bitterly for the lost and broken and died for the other?
(These are simply my reflections and thoughts in light of current events from my realization of the lack of compassion I see in myself and around me.  I’d be more than happy to discuss my personal opinions on racism, justice and the situation as a whole.)

From Pastor Keeyoung’s Heart
December 7, 2014

It’s been three weeks since I came over from VA campus to serve at MD campus. Although we are one church in two separate locations, there are a lot of differences that I still need to learn and get used to here in MD campus. The toughest challenge is getting to know the people. I’m an introvert by nature but God is continuing to push me to be more aggressive and be more open to necessary changes. If it wasn’t for God, I would probably get too comfortable with myself and become stagnant. God is reminding me the lessons that we learned together through the Experiencing God series that when God invites us into His work we are faced with a crisis of faith and therefore need to make necessary adjustments. It’s been a very tough journey thus far for sure because I know that there are so many expectations to make better things happen. However, God is training me to know what it means to “trust” Him and surrender all my fears to Him.
I thank God for the His Word that I can recite and proclaim over myself in moments of doubt.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in your ways submit to Him, and he will make your path straight.” (Prov 3:5-6)
It seems like the rest of my family is adjusting well to the new surroundings. Thanks to Fellowship Christian School and the summer camps that my kids attended in the past, both Reina and Ryan already had some friends in their new Sunday school classes. And my wife actually has some close friends in the English congregation so she is happy to be able to reconnect with her old friends as well. As I reflect on this transition and how things unfold, I can clearly see that God has been preparing all our family members for this transition even before it came about. My wife and I like to plan things ahead of time but this is something we couldn’t have even imagined. No human minds could have planned out better than how God did it so perfectly. I’m always so amazed how God orchestrates everything to make all things good for those who trust in Him. Praise God for His provision and His faithfulness!
There is a major change in Timothy ministry that will take place starting next Sunday (12/7). We will be implementing a new Sunday schedule for both middle and high school ministries. The church leadership and the Timothy committee have been working very hard to come up with a change that will benefit the Timothy ministry as a whole. I know change is often very uncomfortable and not welcomed by many but change can also bring forth new hope and excitement to the ministry. So I ask the English congregation from both MD and VA to pray with me for the Timothy ministry that the upcoming transitions and changes will go smoothly and the students will adjust well. I know this change is only for MD campus but we are all partners in the Kingdom of God so I ask the VA campus pray together as well. Thank you.

From Pastor Brian’s Heart
November 30, 2014