Portraits of Grace: Andy
Portraits of Grace is a snapshot into the lives of the people at King's Cross Church. As "kingdom minded, kingdom people," we recognize God's work in every detail of our lives. We invite you to meet the people of our church.
I’ve been incredibly blessed to be hired as an Airline Pilot when I was only 23, it is a solid career path with excellent benefits. It’s also a very comfortable position where it’s very easy to fall into complacency; quality of life was great and there was no eagerness/willingness to step outside of that comfort zone. I knew I’ve always loved this career path, but I also wanted to use what I’ve been blessed with; a special set of skills where it’s needed. My thoughts sought after places outside of the US, countries and regions that didn’t have the luxury of common goods and services, airline travel to many of regions were considered non-profitable and/or hostile due to political sanctions. I believe God has provided me an opportunity to serve, when I was hired by a freight company that works with other countries and humanitarian organizations to specifically fly into those regions. I think this will be a paramount challenge and a leap out of that comfort zone; I still haven’t told my mom the new job isn’t as ‘Safe’ as before and frankly I don’t even know how to begin that conversation.
Lately, I’m constantly reminded of Joshua 1:9 ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ I am thankful to be part of a community that encourages and motivates me; to have close friends and mentors reassure me. I am excited to start this next chapter.
Portraits of Grace: Stella
Portraits of Grace is a snapshot into the lives of the people at King's Cross Church. As "kingdom minded, kingdom people," we recognize God's work in every detail of our lives. We invite you to meet the people of our church.
Aside from occasionally going to Buddhist temples, I didn’t really grow up with a religion. When I was 7, my dad was diagnosed with leukemia, and that’s when my grandma, who was the only Christian in my family, started bringing my mom, my sister, and I to church.Two years later, my dad passed away. My mom continued to bring my sister and I to church, and I wondered why we still had to go to church when God didn’t do anything to stop my dad from dying. It took me a while and many personal struggles to meet God personally and comprehend what had happened and why. It’s been 17 years. When I look back at it now, I see it as part of God’s grace. Although I lost my earthly dad and I will always miss him, I now have an eternal Father. I see clearly how God had a plan for my family, and I realize it’s a huge blessing to even be able to see that in this life, because I always have something to point back to, and I have confidence in God’s presence in my life. It had left such a big mark on my faith, that no matter what, I know He will give me the strength to walk in faith through the midst of pain and suffering in the future, too.
Portraits of Grace: Gary
Portraits of Grace is a snapshot into the lives of the people at King's Cross Church. As "kingdom minded, kingdom people," we recognize God's work in every detail of our lives. We invite you to meet the people of our church.
When I was a missionary team leader and church planting director in the Philippines, burned out, feeling like a complete failure, not being able to control nor fix our team, church planting endeavors, etc. experiencing the worst time ever in my ministry (at that point in time 26 yrs.). I was about to call it quits when I heard a 5 sermon series from the Old Testament on the life and ministry of David, the King of Israel from a former Redeemer Church Planter in Greenwich Village. It was a missionary renewal conference that I did not want to be at because of my burned out state. But hearing those 5 sermons that connected my story to the bigger story of Jesus through the life and ministry of David turned me around from calling it quits to again find renewed hope and passion of my calling to ministry. The good news that I kept preaching to myself and that got me through that crisis was what a pastor friend told the speaker- ‘What’s the use of being a Calvinist if you can’t relax!’ My paraphrase: ‘What’s the use of saying you believe that God is completely, wisely, sovereignly in control of everything in my life for His ultimate Glory and our Good, if you can’t fully rest/trust and ultimately rejoice in that no matter how good or bad my circumstances may seem or be in any given moment of my life!’ This was what I thought I believed intellectually, but functionally, I was not living out in my everyday life! That was the turning point that changed me, our ministry, and direction. Had it not been for that we wouldn’t ever have joined Redeemer City to City nor eventually through CTC had the privilege and joy to be connected with and be a part of King’s Cross!
Theology of Faith: The Place of Work in the Story of the World
We asked some of our recent Equipping The Church (ETC) class participants to share their reflections after a 4 week study on “The Place of Work in the Story of the World.” We hope this will help encourage you, connect you with else has been going on at King’s Cross, and help you consider if you’d want to take the next round of classes when we offer them again in the near future!
“Prior to the Theology of Work class, my view of work was something that was necessary to complete, and to complete well. There always seem to be hurdles to pass when it comes to work satisfaction, employee fulfillment, and professional relationships that prevent us from enjoying work. A study of Genesis 1 and 2 presented work in a new light, and revealed the original intention of work and for people created in the image of God. Work in the context of the Gospel was meant to be good and sacred; a view that I had not thought of before for my own work. When the purpose of work is detached from God, work transforms from a sacred act into toil. Reflecting on this the past month, I realize that work is performed in a way which often glorifies people over working for Christ. While we are not able to ourselves make work good as it was originally intended, our posture and purpose working for Christ is what we need to re-focus ourselves on.”
-Belinda Leung
“It was a treat for me to share what I’ve learned about the theology of work and facilitate an insightful, informed, and passionate group in exploring these truths. I found the group’s hunger to learn about our Father’s world and its faith in the goodness of knowing his ways to be inspiring. Lastly, thanks to this time together, I gained a clearer picture of the gaps in my own understanding and faith, and how necessary it is to see and practice the rituals which will connect the knowledge of the Kingdom to our lived lives.”
-Ben Nicka
“Taking this class laid an exciting ground work for me to have a little more clarity in regards to what it means to ‘glorify God in our eating and drinking.’ I appreciated the time used for us to connect and share one another’s hearts through the unique work that God has given each of us, and the careful time spent as we worshiped, prayed and repented together. My heart felt so full after each Sunday, and I feel I am leaving, better equipped to discern how my own heart has viewed my work and world.”
-Robert Calabretta
“I was thankful to learn that work was not meant to be crushing, as a means to survive, or a way to make money. It was refreshing and gave me a shift in perspective to see work in light of God’s story. It was also immensely empowering to be reminded who we are in the grand story with Him as our Father and King (even in work)!”
-Rebecca Park
“What does ‘work’ mean in this temporary life on Earth and what role does it play in my walk with God? For a while, I’ve been struggling with how to view ‘work’ as a Christian. I don’t think I realized that I had an unhealthy view of work until I took this class. I realized that the reason for my repeated cycle of being disappointed, let down, and frustrated by my job/work was because I was idealizing work over and over again. My job/work never meet the standard I had. I was wanting a job/work/career that fueled my purpose in life. I was longing for the next job to fulfill the deepest passion and joy I was missing in my current job. In a way, I was idolizing work as my personal savior. I wanted work to fill the void I constantly felt. What I was missing was not the ‘perfect job’ that fulfilled my purpose in life. What I was missing was realizing that this kind of ‘perfect job’ does not exist. God has already fulfilled my purpose in life already. I don’t need to have a job/work that proves my worth or fuels my joy constantly. This class reminded me that God is the first and foremost source of joy simply for who He is, and nothing on this earth will satisfy me more than Him. Once I have that straight, I can start having a healthy view of work.”
-Stella Choi
Portraits of Grace: Norman
Portraits of Grace is a snapshot into the lives of the people at King’s Cross Church. As “kingdom minded, kingdom people,” we recognize God’s work in every detail of our lives. We invite you to meet the people of our church.
Growing up I wanted to be an astronaut. I went to Space Camp as a kid and grew up fascinated with science and the stars. I also grew up going to church and learning all the Bible stories in Sunday School. I was good at answering questions and knowing what happened in each Bible story.
At some point, I realized that the stories about origins in the Bible and the explanations in my space books didn’t really work well together. In space land it was the Big Bang and in Sunday school it was seven days of creation. I thought, “How could these both be true? Is my faith my own or is this just stuff that I’ve been taught?” My personal journey to faith started with doubt.
Did Jesus rise from the dead? Did he raise Lazarus? Did he walk on water? Turn water into wine? It was doubt that propelled me to ask questions and I struggled at times with some of the answers I found. But looking back I think God was using even my doubt and desire for truth to lead me to him. Without doubt, I wouldn’t have asked questions and would not have come to know Christ.