I have a dear friend who is a constant source of encouragement to me by his mindfulness of my family in his daily prayers and his thoughtful words of affirmation expressed in the pithiest of emails.  He has, however, one habit that is, for me, an indirect admonishment.  He makes a practice of calling me "rabbi."  Now, he is so good-natured and devoted to my well-being that I would never call into question his motivations, but . . . . he also well knows this instruction from lips of Jesus: But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:8–12) Here in Korea, honorific titles are very important.  It is part and parcel of Confucian cu...

Recently, in my daily readings I came across a most arresting statement by the Apostle Paul in his letter, written from his prison cell, to the believers in the city of Colossae. He had undertaken this letter to address his deep concern over a false teaching that was gaining a foothold among the young, naive believers that composed the Colossian church community.  He wrote: I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. (Colossians 2:1-5) The great Apostle Paul...

  One of the most wonderful opportunities presented by a residential boarding school is the opportunity to engage learning in every aspect of life together.  While the most traditional venue for teaching and learning is often considered to be the classroom or lecture hall, God instructs His followers to teach others "diligently . . . and talk . . . when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."  (Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV) Jesus' own example reveals to us that He taught in a variety of settings -- outside on the mountain top, inside while reclining at table, walking along the road to Emmaus, and sitting among the teachers of the Law.  Every experience, every circumstance of life is an opportunity to both learn and teach.  Recently, I was called upon to give a message  (click on this link to listen) to our weekend residential students who gather together on Sunday morning for a worship service. But on Saturday ...

One of my several roles as Dean of Students here at Valor calls upon me to provide encouragement and redirection for our Scholars who are temporally-challenged (i.e. excessively tardy to class or absent unexcused most often due to over-sleeping).  Aren't we all a bit temporally-challenged on any given day?  My predecessor in this role, Mr. Alan Linenberger, had devised a pattern of redirection for various violations of school rules, and I have, rather than re-inventing the wheel, chosen to adopt his very wise guidance.   So, early this morning at 6:50 am, I awaited the arrival of 14 of our Valor Scholars, and three willing staff members who volunteered to join me on this peregrination. The staff volunteers included our Head of School, Mr. Jeffry Ahn, his Administrative Assistant, Ms. Eunji Kim, and my colleague and fellow Bruderhof housemate, Mr. Indy Jung, our first "Redirection Hike" up the mountain to the deer park located just above the Shire.   Sadly, ...

This past weekend, my spiritual father and first mentor, Les Grimes, fell asleep in Jesus.  Shortly before his passing from this life to the presence of Christ, I was able to send along this brief expression of my gratitude and tribute to Les and his family.

On more than one occasion I have recently been told that I'm living in paradise.  There is no question that the mountains and valleys surrounding Valor are absolutely gorgeous!  From the stuning sunrises to the brilliance of the autumn colors through to the dazzling star-filled, moon-bright nights, God's creative masterpiece is consistently on display! This morning, I had the opportunity of hiking once again up Bibongsan, the mountain on whose side Valor is located.  It's a steep, rigorous trek, but my young fellow teacher and Valor Bruderhof housemate, Indy, was eager to join me for this morning's exploration. We ascended the mountain trail passing through the grounds of a family camping retreat that I like to call "The Shire" due to the resemblance of many of the cabins to the houses of J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit shire in the Lord of the Rings. As we continued up the mountain along the path that took us by the deerpark where a graceful herd of about 30 Japa...

In May of this year, I received an invitation to come again to Korea.  This time to join the faculty of Valor International Scholars in Anseong as their Dean of Students & Staff.  Here's my announcement to the community of students, parents, and colleagues at Heritage Classical Christian Academy, where I had served for the previous 18 months as a Teacher and Assistant Head of School.