by Darren Inouye

2020 was a year in which normality was interrupted and challenged. Our normal experience of church changed, and in that change I believe God was refining me.

One area of refining was my view of “church worship”. I felt this refinement begin at the first outdoor service my family attended. Daniel Gee was leading worship acapella, and we could barely hear his voice as the sound setup was limited. We had to rely on the voices of our brothers and sisters singing beside us to follow along in worship. There was no fancy trickery to pull me out of our reality during that Sunday worship time. You could hear the shaky, amateur, beautiful and real voices of people praising God. You could hear the muffling of their voices as they struggled to sing while wearing masks, contextualizing the times we were in. In past “normal” seasons, I may have considered these very things a distraction, but in that time and on that Sunday, these were the instruments and people who led me into worship. 

When Pastor Victor initially let me know that we would have summer worship nights, I was overjoyed to be outside again worshipping with brothers and sisters. I remembered how we exalted the Lord above our pains, struggles, differences, and successes.

During those summer nights we joined together in the singing of prayers, truths and scripture within and despite the contexts of our individual lives. Once again, God showed me beauty through the simple, real and messy worship of people who love Him and lift their voices to exalt Him. 

The outdoor services of 2020 and the summer worship nights of 2021 were a great reminder to me that worship is so much more than excellence of sound. They challenged me to appreciate worship contextualized by real people undergoing real struggles and exalting the name of our Lord Jesus through it all.

by Victor Chen

Two candidates stood before the people. One seemingly represented the interests of God’s people and their hope to usher God’s kingdom to the world.

The other candidate seemingly represented peace for the world and hope for unity amidst a divided nation. 

Which candidate did you support?

Before you answer, let me tell you the results of this “election”.

The people vote to crucify Jesus. The messiah is defeated by the Roman government he was supposed to overthrow.

The end…

Or was it?

Whether you were happy with the results of the 2020 election or still upset about it, take note of what happened when Jesus was condemned. 

The story didn’t end. It wasn’t over for God’s people.

A political defeat for Jesus resulted in victory for the Lord. The kingdom of God wasn’t squashed. It exploded.

Hope didn’t die. He rose from the grave. 

Promised political peace was short-lived. But the Prince of Peace lives far past the fall of the temple and the Roman empire.

So wherever you stand on the political spectrum, remember that our God reigns. God’s Kingdom operates on a different trajectory than what is happening politically in our country. So please pray for our leaders yet remember, in God we trust.

And take heart, for our King has overcome.

”I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33 (ESV)

by Ian Nagata

Last month, all eyes were on a Buddhist priest and his giant calligraphy brush.

There atop Kiyomizu Temple’s iconic wooden terrace, news crews gathered to see what single kanji (Chinese character) he would draw, to summarize the entire year.

Stepping up to the blank sheet of paper over a meter in width and length, he dipped his brush and began to write.

密

2020 in one word.

Years from now, if nothing else, people will remember密mitsu, meaning “close” or “dense.” It’s Japan’s social distancing keyword, used in the “3 mitsus to avoid”: “closed spaces” 密閉空間, “crowded places” 密集場所, and “close-contact settings” 密接場面. 

Not bad considering some of the previous choices since the tradition began in 1995, like 災 (disaster), 震(quake), 戦 (war), or even 毒 (poison)! 

Nevertheless, COVID-19 had the lasting word. 

I posed the same question to our church. What did God teach us these trying 12 months?

Immediately, one boy replied, “endurance.” Then another girl, “home,” and yet another, “creativity.” Even words that seemed grim at first (like my choice, “weakness”), captured a sense of hope.

Then as we were about to move on, I realized one person hadn’t shared: the husband of one of our members. Though not yet a follower of Christ, he has been attending services over the past year. 

Hesitantly, I put him on the spot. 

He immediately replied, “family.” 

“In what sense?” I asked, thinking he was referring to the extra time he had with his wife and daughter this year.

“This church has become like family,” he said.

Despite all the opportunities we “lost” to COVID-19, we overlooked the ones we gained – quick weekday lunches together while working from home, golf outings, even online celebrations. Through these and more, our church had become like family to him.

Indeed, someone had been painting this word, along with all the other words we shared for 2020. Not a priest in his lofty temple, but our Great High Priest upon His throne. God had the final word. 

May our eyes be watching and waiting for His next brushstrokes.