Two Churches, Two Ways
Dear COAH,
This week, our denomination’s 37th General Assembly was held in Fullerton, CA. It was a much-anticipated meeting with the primary item on the table, the ongoing lawsuit between the majority members of Young Nak Church of Los Angeles who left the denomination and those who chose to stay and the denomination which backed their cause. It all started with a dispute among some leaders and quickly spread to the entire church, the presbytery, and the entire denomination. I don’t want to get into the details of the dispute because I don’t think they are worth your time. What is noteworthy is the lesson we take away from this: when in conflict, do your best to reconcile, not fight. Young Nak Church of Los Angeles was once a soaring tower amidst thousands of Korean immigrant churches in North America. We used to look up to this church and came away impressed and motivated. It is not so anymore. How did the church leaders allow Satan to have such a field day? Like a hungry lion, Satan began tearing the church apart quickly. All of us were in deep pain as we listened to what happened to this church and how the entire denomination was now legally implicated.
After the grueling four-day meeting, our church delegates visited Grace Ministries International, better known as ‘Grace Korean Church,’ in Fullerton. The church was impressive! Currently, the church has sent out 340 commissioned missionaries worldwide. Through their work, the church planted over 10,000 churches. More than half of their 18-million-dollar annual budget is dedicated to world missions. I could not help but be impressed by both the scale and passion of this church’s commitment to world mission. Also, my mind was busy comparing the two mega-churches in the Los Angeles area. How is it that the two churches are going in such opposite ways? How is it that one is impacting so many lives and churches negatively while the other is impacting in such a positive way? Dear brothers and sisters, let us remember the words of the apostle Peter,
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:8-9).
May the Lord bless you all!
Pastor Minho Song
