42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Benny Yu visited from Mexico City with a wide-ranging message about community based on Acts 2 & 3. He asked questions like “are we in awe of GOD?” and “what would we be willing to do for people we deeply love?” He pointed out that GOD sometimes answers prayer in ways we are not expecting and that we shouldn’t withdraw from GOD when He prunes us. As a highlight, Benny drew insights about Christ-following community from the lyrical stylings of Yo Gabba Gabba.
Every Tuesdays and Fridays, portable basketball hoops are rolled out to a closed street at the corner of Truslow and Lawrence in the Maple District of Fullerton. About 15-25 kids, young adults, and volunteers come out to play ball. It may look like chaos on the streets, often playing eight-on-eight games with many uncalled fouls, turnovers galore, and much unintentional “crab walks.” However there is beauty in this chaos. This is what real community looks like when people come together to share in on the fun of life and sports.
Third Culture is a term often used at Newsong
Church for having the mindset and the will to love, learn, and serve people in any culture unlike our own. Like delicious food or good music, basket
ball is a universal activity, which can be enjoyed by people of all ages, cultures, races, and socioeconomic status. Finding the common interest in basketball, athletes, and the Lakers is just the bridge in build
ing a relationship outside the courts. Image what greater things can come out of this.
SOLFUL has been a great opportunity to serve and just love God’s people. It’s been a joy coming out here for the past four weeks and seeing the kids have so much fun. I can really see the improvement in their basketball skills. What’s more important, beyond the basketball, it’s all about the relationships that have been built. The respect we have for each other, and sharing the common passion for the sport of basketball. The late Coach John Wooden once said, “I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.”
If you haven't heard about Fullerton ACT, you need to check it our right now. Click through some of the pages, you'll get the jist. I am super excited to tell all about the new Fullerton City Prayer Group! It is led by our very own Heidi Tanner and other prayer leaders. The Fullerton CPG is exactly what it sounds like; they meet and pray for our city. Our cities have so many needs, and we worship and pray to the God who can change them, bring healing and restoration. We hope that this group will grow and that we will see our city change before our eyes according to God's will.
If you would like to be invited to the Fullerton CPG, please contact Heidi Tanner at FCPG@FullertonACT.com or of course you can just who up. Fullerton CPG is hosted by The Well church and is held on Saturdays. All the details are below! See you there!
Fullerton CPG Saturdays @8:00-9:00 AM Location: The Well 1701 W. Valencia Dr., Fullerton, CA 92833 MAP
19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18: 19-20
On June 27th in the home of Solomon and Sue Tang, the inaugural gathering of the single women at NOC took place and brought women of different life stages together. There was a strong, singular heartbeat throughout the evening, and as each respected individual of our community shared her life, the whole room almost seemed to breathe in synchronization. In addition, the sight of seeing that "click" occur in each woman's heart as something tugged at her heart or sparked a sense of curiosity, it was truly a privilege to witness. This was beyond what I had expected, and it was the opening of a floodgate that had been laying dormant for far too long.
For quite some time, God had been teaching me interesting lessons of connecting with women. For someone who does not have a pleasant bank of memories involving the female population, it was a million thorns digging into my skin each time an opportunity presented itself where I was forced to spend time and get to know women in my life. God seemed to have thought that the time had come to teach me even deeper, more difficult lessons the past several months, so he overwhelmed me with meeting after meeting, all of them filled with women. Even at work, I would walk into a class that I had to teach, only to find that it was at capacity with just-- you guessed it, women. Whether it was from the mothers on welfare who were struggling day by day to the successful career woman who was single and completely satisfied with her life, I began to learn. Soon, this learning started snowballing into a complete paradigm shift, and the scabs over my heart started crumbling, revealing a brand new surface that was rid of past hurts and betrayals. I started seeing the beauty in which God sees each of us, and even to this day, the bitterness is progressively getting smaller and smaller. This was when God instilled in me the desire to initiate a relationship with the single women of NOC and to unite them with the single purpose of pursuing Him together, with support and encouragement.
HEARTSPEAK was a miracle. To see all these women come willingly to listen to stories, to engage in discussion, and to walk into a vulnerable environment, it showed a lot of character and longing within the single ladies' community for connections to be made. Each of those women who were there were just like me where they needed a shift in their perspectives, and we were blessed to receive that motivation from the ladies who shared. Imagine Jesus sitting atop a hill, speaking softly yet powerfully to each person surrounding Him, eager to soak in every single word. This was what I saw before me as I sat there with thirty women in that space. Sue Tang and her sister Jenny, Irene Thompson, and Jeannie Kim poured out their hearts to us, speaking about the greatest Love of all, and how it transformed them through their triumphs over scars and prepared them for the men God had sent them. After a time of sharing, Cindy Park joined them to answer some thought-provoked questions which were answered honestly with no sugar coating. I noticed that the sincerity of these answers really moved some people to re-evaluate some situations that they may have been stuck in, so praise God that challenges were met face-to-face!
There are so many possibilities as to why God called each of these ladies to join Him at HEARTSPEAK. But whatever it was, it united all of us and it was a wonderful time to get to know each other, celebrate and mourn together, and simply get to know the role models who we look up to and strive to be more like. We're not perfect and we carry baggage that we feel are like weights tied around our ankles, disallowing us to feel lovable or even free of shame and guilt. But one of the biggest lessons that I learned from HEARTSPEAK was that God knows exactly what we've been through and He knows what we bring to the table. He wants us to trust Him though, because in His mad pursuit of our hearts, He's collecting the pieces and He's making us whole, so that when we come closer to His heart and we realize the truths of what He's trying to teach us, the gifts of life start pouring in. No matter what, we should never be surprised, right? After all, God is our ultimate knight in shining armor, our King. He is beyond our wildest dreams of Edward, Jacob, the perfect man... and he's just waiting for us to participate in this ultimate relationship.
Reconciliation. It is Newsong’s one word vision. What does reconciliation mean in relation to people, to brothers and sisters in Fullerton? I was not thinking upon these lines as I signed up for Summer of Love Fullerton (SOLFUL). In fact, I am embarrassed to admit that I did not have the best attitude to volunteer. I thought, “I suppose I could spare one morning out of each week to help out.” It seemed like a minimal requirement for participation. And I did feel some obligation to participate since NOC was heavily involved in SOLFUL.
On the evening of Monday, June 14th, God changed my poor attitude and shifted my perspective. In an arid, hot, dim-lit, tile-floored room that fits 15 people comfortably, about 50 members from various north OC churches were packed, some of them streaming out of the narrow door. I glanced around and saw eager, anticipating faces of different ethnicities, young to mature. As the SOLFUL coordinators described the upcoming program, I felt I caught a glimpse of beauty, a glimpse of the church as who she is meant to be, in a spirit of unity and purpose. The crowdedness and heat evaporated in light of the beautiful, radiant bride of Christ around me. Simply amazing.
And as I walked to my car after the orientation, I saw apartments stacked beside each other—noisy, roach-infested, populated. Even in the midst of what some may call a street of poverty, I sensed God’s tender love for this Garnet neighborhood and was thankful that Solidarity had embraced them with it.
During the first couple weeks of SOLFUL, it was a humbling experience. Tommy Nixon, a member of our speaking team and executive director of Solidarity, had asked our group of volunteers to assist the moms in the community in running an arts, crafts and cooking program for the neighborhood kids. He cautioned us that the moms might try to hand over the coordination to us, but our role was to assist them only. I remember thinking, “That’s awesome!” But I didn’t know that it was going to be difficult for me to take a back seat. On the first day, I had to resist giving suggestions. I had to remind myself that I didn’t know better. I didn’t need to fix anything. I was there to experience and learn. Value the neighborhood moms’ ways of interactions, their management styles, and value them.
God tends to teach me lessons in multiple ways (perhaps I am not a fast learner) and so it was in this case. At one of our debriefing meetings, a volunteer asked if Solidarity had ESL classes for the neighborhood parents. I knew she had good intentions. English proficiency is an obvious asset (After all, I am an English teacher by profession). However, her well-intended question made me reflect on this point: “We’re still trying to help them.” And then a can of other thoughts opened up. We—middle-class, well-educated, socially advantaged, privileged groups—want to help them. Does the neighborhood see us as better? Have we put ourselves on a higher playing field by default, by having the attitude to help?
These questions reminded me of Jim Gustafson’s posture during his workshop session at VIBE 2007 (Newsong Alliance Conference). Jim has been an entrepreneurial missionary in Thailand for over 35 years and spoke on incarnational ministry. At one point in his talk, he bent his knee and stretched out his hand to demonstrate his posture to the Thai communities. He often approached them saying, “We want to be a part of your community. Show us, teach us.”
Even though the image of the bended knee and outstretched hand has been deeply etched in my mind these past three years, I’m still learning how to adopt that posture and I have that opportunity in SOLFUL. I wonder if this posture is also part of what reconciliation looks like. Are we willing to learn from others? Are we willing to value them and their ways? Am I?
I’m sure many other SOLFUL participants have had eye-opening experiences. Would you please consider sharing them with our NOC Community? Email us at noccomm@newsong.net.
What happens when churches and groups of Christ followers band together and share their resources? Summer of Love Fullerton (SOLFUL) began this past week and will run through August 13th. Since the Fullerton School District is unable to offer summer school for students due to budget cuts this year, churches and organizations who had come together through Fullerton Advocating Community Transformation (Fullerton ACT) decided that they would provide it for the communities. The inception of SOLFUL to its birth was less than a two-month journey.
About 130 volunteers from over 15 churches and organizations are participating in SOLFUL in its three locations: Garnet, Maple, and Richman District. Programs range from morning to evenings; some are Monday through Friday; others, twice a week. Children from kindergarten through high school will be engaged in any of the following activities: learning centers, sports, cooking, art, gardening, music, cultural experiences, math and reading workshops, games, and dance.
Over 30 NOC members have committed to help during the seven weeks. SOLFUL “is about loving our neighbors in Fullerton, without reserve or condition. It is about our own opportunities to grow deeper with Jesus, to see where God is moving in our neighborhoods and join in.” Please join us in praying that lives will be transformed for all those involved — volunteers and children.
Volunteers came from more than 15 of the churches & organizations. Some of the groups have participated through prayer and support and donatations of many supplies that are needed. If you would like to contribute, please visit the SOLFUL info. table in the foyer.
SOLFUL is an initiative started by Fullerton Advocating Community Transformation (Fullerton ACT) which is an open forum amongst Christ-centered community leaders that encourage one another to take steps in transforming the Fullerton community. Fullerton ACT also works with the City of Fullerton through the Fullerton Collaborative to present the needs of the city to our church communities. SOLFUL: Summer of Love Fullerton is one of our first opportunities to unify as the church of the city and build relationships with one another and our communities.
cWOW Design Stars Project: The Nixon's Home by Angie Pang
You probably have seen or heard of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition before, and we witnessed our own version of it last weekend when Newsong Irvine's Design Stars team in partnership with Newsong Orange County renovated Tommy and Rachel Nixon's home in Fullerton. Tommy is one of our speakers at NOC and the executive of Solidarity, a non-profit organization whose vision is to "impact communities towards holistic transformation."
How was the Nixon family chosen for this free renovation? Tony Kim, who leads Design Stars, was in search of a deserving family and home to bless in an extravagant way — not just for the sake of being a blessing — but in hopes of furthering their Kingdom work and investing into what God is already doing through them.
When I heard this, I immediately thought of the Nixon's. I believe that God has called the Nixon family to this under-resourced area of Fullerton to be a home to the homeless and by this, I don't mean those without shelter, but the kids who live with their parents at their house, but don't have an emotional home where they can feel safe and loved.
I am personally inspired by the Nixon family, their faith, conviction and obedience to God's call on their lives to love those God's brought into their lives and so I wanted the Nixon's to be loved on as well, as they give out so much, in so many ways.
On My Shelf: Peppermint–Filled Piñatas (Eric Michael Bryant) by Tom Hsieh
I believe that one issue God's been bringing up with me over the past few months is that I need to love others, and engage with others who are different from me. It's not easy for me to do because I'm pretty much an introvert. One resource that I've found incredibly helpful and encouraging is Peppermint-Filled Piñatas (Eric Michael Bryant).
I bought the book only because I thought it was required reading for the NOC retreat back in January 2010. The name of this book didn't inspire much confidence in me that it would be a good read, but it's actually been one of the most impactful books that I've read.
There are numerous passages in PFP that I found to be very profound. For one example, Bryant writes, "Rather than befriending and loving those who do not yet follow Christ, it seems that the longer we follow Christ, the fewer people we actually know who believe differently from the way we believe ... We have (inadvertently or perhaps sometimes purposely) isolated ourselves from the world around us" (p. 21). That passage describes me – over the years, especially as a parent with kids, my world has become very insular and small.
Another theme of the book that struck me is that we simply need to love others, and love is the most effective method of evangelism. In other words, building relationships and friendships with those who don't know Christ is the best means of winning them over to the kingdom.
One small step I've taken to try to break out of my "insularity," and to apply what I feel God's been putting on my heart, is going to Laundry Love. I'm very grateful for the people who run it (primarily the F3 small group), because they've done all the planning and work, and all I have to do is show up. I found myself making excuses even the first time I drove there (I'm tired, I don't really know anyone there, I'm not really good at socializing, etc.), but I'm glad that I've gone. I sincerely believe that we are blessed as we love others; not materially, but we get more of Jesus as we love others. I would describe going to Laundry Love almost as a selfish thing – that I need to go because it's good for the condition of my own heart to engage with and show love to other people.
I'll finish with these thoughts:
The book is not perfect (I think the author touts his church a bit too much), but it includes many funny and entertaining passages. More importantly, there really are a lot of great insights in the book regarding the importance, difficulties, and joys in "relational evangelism"; and
I'm really encouraged by the fact that so many people at NOC are engaging with and loving "the other," such as cooperating with Lifeline Church and Solidarity in trying to love the community in tough areas of Fullerton and Placentia, and ministries like Laundry Love and Burrito Project. I'm thankful for the opportunity to actively participate, in a small way, in what others here have started.
On My Shelf: Resource Recommendations by Kumi Nakagomi
Practicing the spiritual disciplines is simply a key part of our journey of growing deeper with Christ, and not a "quick-fix" to life's problems. The biggest temptation that comes with practicing the disciplines is that we somehow buy into the lie that we're doing better spiritually just because we are practicing it. But the reality is that the spiritual disciplines are simply a means to engage more with God, not an end.
Why are the spiritual disciplines so significant? They allow us to
know God more,
know ourselves more, and
cultivate a deeper relationship with God and others as a result of engaging with Him and allowing Him to engage with us.
Here are some resources that may help in your journey of growing deeper with God:
For a great overview and understanding of various disciplines:
The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (John Ortberg) This is an easy-to-read yet comprehensive book that helps spell out what spiritual disciplines look like in everyday life - and it's just very practical and easy to understand. Highly recommend this to people to anyone, regardless of where they are at in their spiritual journey.
Celebration of Discipline (Richard Foster) I enjoy this book as it has so many "golden nuggets" of what the spiritual disciplines are all about and the different platforms that we engage in them (inwardly, outwardly, and corporately). Oftentimes when we engage in spiritual disciplines, we think it's just a personal thing, but it actually is not just individual, but also communal. This book provides a holistic approach to the spiritual disciplines.
For more practical exercises on the disciplines:
Spiritual Classics: Selected Readings on the Twelve Spiritual Disciplines (Richard Foster) If you love to read and can appreciate various people's experiences and perspectives, I highly recommend this book. Foster is a guru in spiritual formation and disciplines, and I would recommend any of his books on specific forms of discipline (such as his books Prayer or Life with God, which are about reading the Bible), but Spiritual Classics is a rich book filled with writings from other Christian authors who have lived life with Jesus before us and so we have lots to learn from their insights and experiences.
There are scripture readings, discussion questions for personal or small group use, suggested exercises you can do, reflections from Foster, and a bunch of resources for each discipline he mentions. This book is a great tool for personal or group use.
There's also another book, Devotional Classics, which is great as well, and he just came out with a daily devotional called A Year with God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines which has gotten great reviews. Check them out!
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices that Transform Us (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun) The book has been very fundamental in my own practice as well as in teaching and guiding others in the practice of various disciplines. It includes a brief summary, reflection questions, spiritual exercises, and resources for each discipline. Very comprehensive and a great tool to have as a resource and guide.
Newsong Orange County also offers resources for spiritual growth on the info. stands in the foyer. Feel free to take them!
Kumi Nakagomi is Director of Spiritual Formation at Newsong Orange County
On My Shelf: The Monkey and the Fish (Dave Gibbons)
"This book is about becoming water, learning to adapt and become all things to all people. It's about being like Jesus, who is the living water." Dave Gibbons, founding pastor of Newsong opens his acknowledgments with these words and succinctly sums up his book, The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church. If you are relatively new to Newsong, this book will give you a good overview of Newsong's values.
From the onset, Dave defines the church's calling to be a blessing to the nations with the term third culture, which means "the mindset and will to love, learn, and serve in any culture, even in the midst of pain and discomfort." Inherent in third culture are the two greatest commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. He challenges us to consider who our neighbor is and how globalism is causing us to reexamine who the church is. How can we be "the most relevant, most vibrant, most vital element of people's lives"?
The contents of Dave's short chapter, "Three Questions That Become the Answers" are actually featured on our own website: 1) Where is Nazareth? (which could also be phrased as "Who is your neighbor?") 2) What is my pain? and 3) What is in my hand? Dave has used these three questions to guide his ministry and personal life. By allowing them to guide us, we can experience God taking us and enabling us to serve Him in a myriad of ways than just the traditional ministries. Everyone with their gifts and talents — including artists, businesspeople, community-development specialists, educators, health professionals, social-justice lawyers, spiritual support teams, relief workers, and economic developers — are all called upon to be God's holy priests (ref. 1 Peter 2:5). The church should be without walls and everybody plays.
Dave also brings in perspectives from innovative leaders around the world to share their thoughts on the status of the church and the third culture concept with an abridged version of their discussion in a chapter titled "Ripples." There is an interesting exercise toward the end of it that lists the attributes associated with Jesus and next to it, the common characteristics linked to the church. Do you think the list was vastly similar or different?
After the conclusion of the book, Dave provides practical steps of living out the third mindset and ends with the sentence, "Be water, my friend."
Even if you have been a Newsong member for quite some time, reading this book is a great reminder of many principles that we have heard directly or indirectly through the years and have embraced at NOC.
Dave Gibbons is the Lead Pastor at Newsong Irvine.
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