First Blog Post
Why start a blog? Here is a list of questions that I asked myself before starting this.
Q: Realistically, who is going to read this?
A: No clue.
Q: Seriously though, in the age of YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, who is going to read this?
A: At the very least, my mom will! Thanks mom!
Q : Do you have anything to say that’s not already being said out there on the interwebs?
A: Probably not. There are many excellent blogs out there.
The C&MA has amazing articles on its website.
TheRabbitRoom has a great blog full of well-read, thoughtful thinkers and artists.
TheGospelCoalition has a Mary-Poppins-Bag blog on pretty much any topic that modern Christians are asking.
9Marks has a great blog about all things ecclesiology and it’s super practical and encouraging.
TheVillageChurch has a treasure trove of online resources. And they’re purdy.
Biola has a daily blog.
TheFailingPastor blog ministers to the sufferer’s soul in a profound way.
The list goes on.
Q: What about James 3:1, don’t you want to be careful before you say something wrong?
A: Yes, yes.
Q: You’ve had your words thrown back at you before and you didn’t like it; are you sure you want to do this? Plus, you’re conflict averse, why make your thoughts public?
A: All good points.
Q: Can you keep it up? If this blog won’t be sustainable long term, why start it at all? We’ve all seen outdated websites and those are no fun.
A: Not sure.
Q: Do you really want to do this, or are you just doing it for the sake of doing it and because online content is supposedly a great tool?
A: I think so. But I’ve been “sure” about things in the past and have been proven wrong. Of this I’m sure - the Christian life is full of sanctifying lessons of humility.
Q: What about issues of local church authority? Isn’t putting your voice out there distracting from local church ministries? Don’t we want to push people to their local church bodies?
A: You’re right (self.) I’m no expert in how an online, unrooted world has affected us sociologically, philosophically, and spiritually. In our speed to adopt technology, we clearly didn’t anticipate the cost.
And yet, here I am. What sealed the deal? I ran across this quote from Robert Jaffray, C&MA missionary.
“Do you ask, ‘In view of the terrible economic depression of today, dare we go forward in these new fields and commence new work?’ Yea, rather may we ask this: ‘Dare we, in the face of the command of the Lord Jesus and in the face of the encouraging miracles He is working in our behalf, hesitate for one moment?’”
- Robert Jaffray, 1929
God is answering prayers here at South Bay Christian Alliance, and I want to share those stories. There’s also a lot of mundane stuff going on too, and that is just as much worth sharing.
Can I make a request, dear reader, whoever you are? As this blog continues, could you be charitable? I know we’re going to disagree. Can we disagree well? I am human, flesh and blood, no stranger to suffering and the emotions that come with it. I also make mistakes and may retract some posts. Being charitable with ideas (and people) goes a long way.
“So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” Romans 14:19
My prayer is that this blog edifies and encourages. My prayer is that it glorifies the Lord Jesus. My prayer is that Jesus - Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King - will increase and I will decrease. Jesus is alive and He can do far more than we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). Help me Holy Spirit.
Here we go!
We sat on cold metal chairs in a white room, leaning against a cold metal examining table...waiting. Our beautiful dog Sabrina had been hurried to the back of the emergency clinic without us. She was in danger and distress.
It’s been a minute.
I love that phrase. I probably overuse it. And my repetitious use of it probably annoys those in my listening (or instant messaging) range.
Why did the tomato blush? He saw the salad dressing! Thank you for laughing. I appreciate it.
When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Our friends returned to the mission field last week. They had to go.
Lakes are pretty cool places. One might say that they're refreshing.
Months ago, we taught Silas how to count to twenty. Recently, he has been skipping six. Poor six.
I’m a huge fan of Os Guinness (and his ministry The Trinity Forum.) If you haven’t heard of him, go look him up on your favorite podcast app or on YouTube because he is a gazillion times more articulate than I am.
In the past ten months, I have had to hold fast to Hebrews 13:1-2a, “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers.”
Hospitality to strangers is easy to neglect.
What do you think of when you hear, “when strivings cease?”
“When the burden is too much for you to bear, you do not need stronger shoulders, you need weaker knees.”
Dr. Mitch Kim
What do you do when life is rough? If you’re a follower of Christ, what do you do when your pursuit of Christian maturity keeps calling you onward and upward, to terrain that is steeper and more challenging?
What do you do when life is rough? If you’re a follower of Christ, what do you do when your pursuit of Christian maturity keeps calling you onward and upward, to terrain that is steeper and more challenging?
Our cool-factor here at SBCA has been notched up tenfold the past month. Why you may ask? Great question!
Yesterday was Palm Sunday. We had a lovely time at church.
And while no Dickensian Ghost-of-Palm-Sunday-Past visited me, I found myself reminiscing. Holidays and rituals are meant for such a thing, I suppose.
We attended a Christmas party last December and within two minutes of our arrival, Silas (age 2) showed me a toy he had just found. We were outside, in the dark, and on time (meaning not many people were there yet.) Looking around, I asked him, “where did you find this tractor?”
I nerded out this weekend at a ‘Faith and Science’ conference held here in San Diego. Praise the Lord for paid time off and for a grandma who is willing to watch the kid.
In the summer of 2007, in the sticks of San Diego county, Jeff and I met at Indian Hills Camp.
Oh Indian Hills Camp. So dusty. So Wild West-y. So can’t-ever-forget-that-camp-song-y.
No, this isn’t about Eutychus (Acts 20:9.) This is about the first Sunday of March in 2019 when someone suddenly died at the church we were serving at.
It’s early March and the evenings are still too chilly for me, even in San Diego. Since I’ve committed to staying inside in the evening until the weather warms up, it seems like a good time to start spring cleaning.
I am a terrible movie watcher. I don’t cope well with plot holes. Everyone else will talk about the scenes they loved, the parts that captured their imaginations. I, however, will talk about plot holes and major oversights.
During a short vacation to the mountains last summer, I had the time to read a few books
A few Sundays ago, we were singing ‘Be Still My Soul’ at church and my not-so-still two-year-old ran up on stage. Uggh.
Which of the four did I pay attention to (or do I plan to pay attention to) this weekend: the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, my mom’s birthday, or an anniversary?
This Wednesday is the first anniversary of Cat Lawyer! I love Cat Lawyer so much that I felt it appropriate to give him an homage via blog.
I’m an institutionalist. I believe we’re stronger as a team - that’s dedicated to the mission - than we are siloed off.
Two years ago while preparing material for our homegroup leaders, I came across a word study that shifted my thinking, or at least readjusted my focus: “Created for good works…so that we would walk in them”, (Eph.2:10). The word “walk” in the Greek does not imply the simple straight line from point A to point B, but has a more spherical quality.
I live in suburban America. Here in suburbia, we have companies that come to our houses on a weekly basis and take our trash away. It’s wonderful. Until the week before Christmas, when the magic stopped. The garbage workers went on strike. Womp womp.
Last night, we ditched our Sunday night prayer meeting, packed up Silas, and drove 98 miles to see a commissioning service at Celebration Church. One of their pastors and his wife will be returning to Cambodia to share the good news of Jesus with the people of Cambodia who have not yet heard His name.
Why start a blog? Here is a list of questions that I asked myself before starting this.
Kylene Lopo
Kylene Lopo is a pastor’s wife, a BI Reports Developer, and is the mother of Silas (age 4) and Hosanna (age 0.) She has a masters in Biblical Literature from Alliance Theological Seminary and is an official worker with the C&MA in the South Pacific District.