5 Questions with...James Jih

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? I had spent the majority of my life living in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, and I wanted to try something considerably different. While helping out with a local Christian conference during the winter of 2010, I struck up a conversation with Sam Huang, who shared how he was moving to Taipei to teach English. I was immediately intrigued, and the idea was planted firmly in my mind.  I wrapped up grad school in the fall of 2011 and wrote a lengthy email to my parents detailing my plans to move to Taipei. Their response was understandably perplexed but supportive. I booked my flight for the end of August. The first week was a whirlwind. I landed at Taoyuan, crashed at my Grandmother's apartment in Xindian, woke up and interviewed at the Korean Elementary School (with Sam Huang's help--and, yes, he still teaches there!), and starting teaching the very next day. It was within the first month after I had arrived when I decided things had settled down enough to check out churches. A friend who was on staff with InterVarsity and had grown up in Taipei shared a short list of churches that he recommended, and on that list was FPC.  

My first visit to FPC was on October 2, 2011. It was the second church I visited that day. I had caught the tail-end of the 11:00am service and Pastor Dennis had just finished preaching. I believe that in those days, Jerry Chiao, Bebe Liu, Monica Hsiao, Justin Chien, and, I believe, Lucy Chuang were helping out with the worship/praise team. I am not completely sure what compelled me to make the choice to continue coming to FPC. I think it was some combination of Pastor Dennis mentioning C.S. Lewis or Tim Keller in his sermon, seeing other attendees around my age (25, at the time), and a balanced worship song selection that led me to commit.  

At the end of the service that first day, I did not feel comfortable introducing myself with the microphone, but, oddly enough, I felt comfortable enough to introduce myself to Jerry in the following manner: "Hi, my name is James. I'm 25. This is my first time here--can you introduce me to some people?"

Following that awkward introduction, I plopped myself into a Community Group, shared post-service lunch meals, jammed along with the worship/praise team, and the rest was history.

2. What do you do Monday through Saturday? I work as a Professional Service Engineer for a software startup called ScienceLogic, which is based out of Reston, Virginia. I started working there in January 2015. I typically work remotely from home at odd hours of the day and night, mixed with spurts of travel to countries around the Asia-Pacific region.  If I am not working, I am typically sweeping (a relaxing habit/what I do when I procrastinate), playing pick-up Ultimate Frisbee (pick-up occurs Monday nights at San Chong and Sunday afternoons at Datong High School, with an informal training session Wednesday nights!), taste-testing my wife Monica's cooking, baking, and/or fermentation creations, or fiddling with the guitar.  

3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? I have a twin. My twin brother's name is Jason and he lives in Chicago. He is engaged and, hopefully, will be visiting Taipei within the next couple years. We did not get along when we were younger, but we are all right now! He is really into badminton and does quite a bit of coaching. He is always looking for a friendly challenge when he visits.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? That is a really interesting question. I think for me it would have to be bringing discernment and wisdom to the work of being salt and light to the community around me. I am also not quite sure on the “how” aspect of evangelizing, or reaching out, or proselytizing to my friends, family, and the community around.

I know it will look different from person to person. I am also aware of what is not effective and, frankly, what drives people away from God or the Christian church (partially from personal experience). At the end of the day (or the beginning of the day), I know I must rest in the finished work of Christ, and from there take a step of faith and prayerfully learn from the outcome. The hard part is to not be afraid of rejection, disapproval, or not being liked. Yeah. That is definitely the hard part. 

5. What is one of your favorite books of the Bible? I would have to say the Gospel of Mark. The reason for this is a bit strange because the content of the book is a very close secondary reason to the primary reason. Hear me out. I went to a very small university located in the west suburbs of Chicago, whereas many of my closet friends in high-school went to the University of Illinois Chicago or Urbana-Champaign. There were times when I wished I had applied to the aforementioned schools. It was a big change going from Friday night high-school youth groups to being on a small campus while my friends were hours away.

In any case, nearby was Wheaton College. My former youth pastor was meeting with students for an inductive Bible study and he invited me to join. I made the short drive over every week and had an amazing time. There were questions aplenty, scribbled notes, highlighted words, times of sharing and prayer, and, overall, it was a very rich time of fellowship. It was incredibly memorable and made a lasting impression of what Bible study could be like (at least, for the life of a college student).

Looking back, that time was a gift and a sign of God's goodness and promises.  I didn't know that being in the word could be so engaging and fun at the same time. 

San Chong Church Plant Update

by Kalan Spencer

The San Chong Fellowship continues to grow in depth and breadth, but we are always looking for new opportunities and ways to improve. Highlights from the past few months include a solid core group and a healthy group dynamic for our Sunday gathering, opportunities to share the gospel with a number of people in the community, and a strong community impact with the outreach to mothers of preschoolers (MOPs).

Our Sunday night group has about four core families, as well as a number of regular attenders. We are still looking for a larger space in which to meet, one that can also host a large number of kids; we average about 10-15 kids each week. (A big thanks to all the FPC help with this aspect of the ministry). There is also a greater vision for the group and for the community that is developing in the group. Recently someone shared that he and his wife had been discussing “how we could share the gospel and what it would look like for San Chong to change for Jesus.” 

In addition to sharing the gospel through English classes, one-on-one evangelism and through family dinners, we have seen a great impact through the MOPs ministry. Lots of non-Christians are attending, lots of people from FPC are plugged in and serving, and many people have shared how impactful the messages have been. We hope that this ministry continues to practically bless our community and that it provides a bridge to gospel conversations and connections to the Sunday group.

5 Questions With...Sar Hook

1. How did you first get involved with Friendship Presbyterian? I came to live and work in Taiwan after several years in Beijing. At first, I attended a local church for several months. But eventually I came to feel that I was not able to fully understand the message or participate in the community. So, I did the old “English language church service in Taipei” Google search. The first time I came to Friendship, Pastor Dennis and Becky E. both introduced themselves and connected me with some regular attendees. I come from a very conservative church background, but I have felt at home at Friendship. I am grateful that God led me to a Christ-centered church in Taipei that faithfully preaches the Word and fosters Christian community.

2. What do you do Monday through Saturday? I am up by 5:00am or so, every morning, to run or cycle and to prepare my mind for the day ahead. I am a teacher, so Monday to Friday finds me planning, corralling, tutoring, cheerleading, coaching, motivating, refereeing, grading, playing, disciplining, counseling, and somehow imparting knowledge to a classroom full of young minds and hearts. I like to be busy when I am not at work. I play rugby for a local team in Taipei and I row for the Black Tide. Other evenings, I work through a language course, volunteer at an orphanage, and co-lead FPC’s W.o.W (Women of the Word) community group. I also try to set aside a chunk of time each week to catch up on reading and writing, and to call my parents and siblings.

3. What is something people might be surprised to know about you? Everyone is fascinated when I tell them my Dad is a milkman. Invariably, the response is shock that the job still exists and then a lot of questions about glass bottles and delivery routes. Whenever I go back to the States, I go out with my Dad on the route during those first nights when I am completely jet-lagged, something that I also did as a child. It is such a “blast from the past,” since milkman really is a rare job nowadays, and I still find it thrilling to be out and about in the middle of the night while the rest of town sleeps.

4. What do you find most challenging about being a Christian today? Recently, I have been thinking a lot about living life counter to current cultural norms. As the world around us increasingly celebrates darkness, it is challenging to be the salt and light that effectively influences the common good in society while standing firmly in line with the word of God. It is a difficult thing for Christians and the church to live as ambassadors of heaven without either becoming too entwined with the culture around us or isolating ourselves from it entirely. I often find myself in situations where it is easier to embrace the way of the world than to stand by Jesus’ teachings because a loving witness to Christ requires me to be far more like Jesus than I am naturally willing to be. But, more often than not, going along with the crowd compromises the Biblical truth of the gospel. Pulling away from engaging others outside our own Christian community is hardly the answer, though, as doing so forces us to give up our calling to engage others with conviction, compassion, and love.

5. What is one of your favorite books of the Bible? I have always been partial to the book of Hebrews. The supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are written all over every page. Hebrews lets me clearly see Jesus Christ throughout the Old Testament by showing how God’s glory and redemptive plan are finally revealed in Him. I am led to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of what was foreshadowed so long ago, and that His sacrifice, His covenant, and His current ministry are far greater than anything that came before. The way Christ is preached again and again in Hebrews encourages me to constantly confess Him and persevere in my faith, and the many loving exhortations in this book challenge me to live a life that demonstrates confidence, obedience, gratitude, reverence, and love.