Thank God it’s Friday
This is excerpted from my TGIF column at SOLA Network.
Articles From Around The Web
1. Seth Porch: A Tongue for Every Tribe: How English Serves the Global Church
“The ubiquity of English is a gift to the church to facilitate the spread of the gospel message.”
Related: The Urgency of History for the Global Church by Ardaschir Arguelles
2. Jennifer Su McIntyre: When Idols of the Heart Are Objects You Can See
“We should consistently pray against the idol worship that prevents many people around the world from acknowledging Christ.”
Related: Resilient Leadership and Submitting our Asian American Idols to the King by Tom Lin
3. Yixiao Ren: With Student Visas in Limbo, Chinese Ministries Soldier On
“‘This may be an opportunity for students to realize there is a third way: It’s not America or China but Jesus Christ,’ he said. ‘So we continue to work, no matter the environment.’”
Related: Why Should College Students Go On Missions? by Chris Li
Books, Podcasts, Music, And More
1. Danny Kwon: “Earn the Right” with Parents (and Teenagers)
“A relationship of trust and cooperation with a parent starts with good communication. First, when going to spend time with one of your teenagers, communicate with the caregiver of the teenager of your intention to do so. More importantly, use it as a time to communicate with the caregiver about your partnership with them.”
Related: Showing Teens a More Excellent Way by Tom Sugimura
2. Crossway: An Open Letter to Pastors Whose Sermons Always Sound the Same
“Variety in preaching is more than a marketing gimmick; it’s a pastoral and biblical necessity for those who won’t hesitate to preach the whole counsel of God.”
Related: Open the Scriptures, Burn their Hearts: 10 Ways for All to Grow in Preaching and Teaching by Aaron Lee
3. Aaron Lee: Related Works
Book reviews: Exodus: A Pastoral and Contextual Commentary (Asia Bible Commentary) by Chloe T. Sun, Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia edited by Sam George, Bulus Galadima, and Jeanne Wu, A Little Theology of Exercise by David Mathis. Listen to our TGIF playlist on Spotify. Join my Asian American Worship Leaders Facebook group.
Featured This Week On SOLA Network
1. Episode 11: Parents as the Primary Discipler: Go and Make Disciples
In this episode of Asian American Parenting, Danny and Monica demystify the idea of parents being the primary disciplers of their teenagers. Often, this can sound daunting, intimidating, and frustrating for parents. They help parents move away from feeling the guilt and shame of their perceived shortcomings and failures, but also seek to help the many Asian American parents who may have never really learned how to disciple their teenagers, due to generational differences with their own parents.
2. SOLA Network: Asian American Youth Ministry Training Day 2025: Part 2
Part 2 of our release includes seminars focused on ministering and meeting students where they are, as they are, and also includes the panel with multiple participants discussing emerging issues in Asian American Youth Ministry.
3. Eliot Luongo: Pastors, We Are Shepherds First
The call to shepherd doesn’t square neatly with the push to be an organizationally minded CEO or a charismatic celebrity pastor. And it is so much more than mere metrics. Now more than ever, we need to return to the center of what it means to be a pastor.
4. TGIF: Roundup for August 1, 2025
Sufficiency of Scripture / Are AI’s Promises of Productivity Worth the Risks for Pastors? / Jesus Will Gather the Scattered: Zephaniah’s Vision of the Global Church / The End of Personal Aesthetics / Read Books, Not AI Summaries of Books
5. SOLA Network: TGIF Subscription
Get our TGIF installments delivered straight to your inbox for free every Friday. Join today so you never miss out.
General disclaimer: Our link roundups are not endorsements of the positions or lives of the authors. Header image by Vivian K. on Unsplash.