on dec 31 2006, the chen family, annie and andy(and ricky too)created a new year’s eve event at our house. they started with a rumor….”pastor joseph, i hear people are coming over to your house for new year’s” our response was……”no….but you’re welcome to come over.” they expressed the fact that they were tired of the same old same old in nyc….paying a ton of money to hang out at a lounge consuming alcohol in a too loud environment. they wanted something……”wholesome”.

thus a night of wholesome fun on wholesome new year’s!

so we did it again in 2007:

a night of wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!……………….

a night of milk and cookies…..all the way from maryland, berger cookies….theresa tells me these are a hoilday tradition in the baltimore area where she grew up. the cookies are more than half fudge. is this cookie or candy? it was a big hit that night!

a night of hanging out with church, friends and family………

and of course, a night of baby!!!!

wow!!! can’t wait for next year!

like i said, youtube took down most of the saturday night live videos that i posted but i have the links to the official nbc site in the previous post for your viewing pleasure . i’m a prophet!

but apparently, jerry is not a prophet. jerry seinfeld’s jokes are not appreciated by a lady who is suing jerry’s wife for plagiarism. not all comedians can get away with everything they say anymore(from cnn):

Seinfeld on cookbook author: Assassin parallel a joke

NEW YORK (AP) — Jerry Seinfeld was joking when he compared a woman accusing his wife of plagiarism to the killers of John Lennon and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his lawyers said.

Lawyers say Jerry Seinfeld was kidding when he took shots at a woman suing his wife, Jessica, left.

In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, attorneys for the former sitcom star asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by Missy Chase Lapine against Seinfeld and his wife, the New York Daily News reported in Tuesday editions.

“Jerry Seinfeld made overstatements of opinion for comic effect,” the comedian’s lawyers said in the filing.

Lapine is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for copyright and trademark infringement, and made slander and defamation claims.

Lapine, the author of “The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals,” accused Seinfeld’s wife of plagiarizing her cookbook.

Jessica Seinfeld’s “Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food” was published in October; Lapine’s book was published in April.

Lawyers for the Seinfelds dismissed the plagiarism allegations in the court filing, saying, “The idea of sneaking healthy foods into a child’s diet is not original to your author.”

Lapine also contended in her lawsuit that Jerry Seinfeld, while making a promotional stop on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman,” suggested she was a crackpot by comparing her to the killers of Lennon and King. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

i’ve been joking that comedians are the last prophets in western society. they can say anything including the raw-est truth and get away with it. other people say the same things and they have to apologize or get fired. so chris rock, jon stewart, conan and stephen colbert are our last prophets. often, i find that the opposite is true.

i’ll make a side comment about something in a sermon and later on, sometimes years later, my truth become jokes. when saturday night live returned to the studio in my hometown this past weekend, i realized what my fate could have been if i wasn’t in ministry. theresa is tired of me saying…those are my lines!

i don’t know how long these videos will be on youtube but if nbc makes them take em off, here are the links to the official site: huckabee, i drink your milkshake, and how the bleep is the pill a sane concept? if you can’t see the videos below, stop reading on facebook and head over to agapeshack.com

i made a random joke about mike huckabee being a cartoon character with all his talk on not understanding math, delegates, maps and miracles at a youth retreat in boston a week back. i also lamented how i wish people who make dumb statements would also stop representing jesus. we need more bono and less huckabee.

about a month ago, i threw in a spontaneous i drink your milkshake in a sermon and i got 3 laughs(one from my wife, one from our adopted daughter and one from a hip korean). the other people just looked at me like i was queer. alas, it is already overplayed. i still laugh.

finally, before theresa and i got married, we argued about birth control. my point was that these new fangled pills promise to do all sorts of things to a women’s body….does this sound natural or right to anyone? and listen to the side effects! does anyone listen to the disclaimer? methinks all they hear is the pill clears up your complexion and they’re sold.

ironically, these videos may get taken off youtube. i don’t know what nbc is so jerky about this since youtube and nbc(the CHRONICles of narnia/magnolia cupcakes)was such a mutually beneficial partnership.

Just in time for the academy awards…….

vision church slows down in the winter a bit as does all of new york city so i get to catch a lot of movies in the theatre. this season is also my favorite season since more intelligent fare comes out. but because i’m so behind on my blogging….these likely won’t be options for you in the theatre but rentals. but who knows……? you might get lucky and catch some on the big(ger) screen.

up first was i am legend. i know, i know….i said more intelligent fare. but i saw it in imax andimax makes everything better. if i saw this in a regular theatre i might be upset. i think the story is pretty standard and perhaps i’ve even seen this movie before but anytime they blow up nyc(fake), its pretty fun. when they blow up nyc(real), i’m not as happy. the scenes of the city deserted are pretty cool. the “enemy” does not look as cool. the movie suffers from CGI-tis….”look at how many things i can draw on a screen with my computer!!!” worth seeing on a really big screen. might be also good as a rental on a larger tv. you’ll be choking on a splinter if you view it on your ipod nano.

i saw juno on my birthday because that’s what theresa wanted to see. that’s marriage! in fairness, she got me great bbq from rub bbq in the city. and i also wanted to make her happy. this was a fun, fun movie. and it had some magical moments. worth watching in any format. my only knock is that i know zero, zero, zero teenagers this articulate and in touch with her feelings. i’ve been working with teenagers for almost 20 years. and before that, i was a teenager! methinks no country for old men or there will be blood will win best picture but this movie deserves a shot.

speaking of there will be blood. this is a thrilling depressing movie that will frustrate the average movie goer. for the smart donkey who can always “figure it out” or “knew that it was coming”….take them to see this. this is joy for the mad man or the person who sees the world not quite in green and blue; and maybe its the world that’s mad. a slice of (mad)life of an oil man. that’s what this movie is about. its also about the magical powers of daniel day lewis. worth seeing but non-movie snobs be warned. it’ll have you screaming “i drink you milk shake! i drink it up!” the next day, i caught a nasty virus.

but not before i caught charlie wilson’s war with trent, anita,t and jeremy. this is intelligent and breezy. but too much talk. its the most expensive educational war movie ever. if you want to see how we took down the soviet empire and at the same time (inadvertantly)give osama his start, catch this. but rental should suffice.

linking afghanistian…….during christmas, we watched this in a theatre that simulates being in an egyptian tomb? o’ md, how i love thee. it was actually amusing.

they asked me to stop taking pictures. i declined. on with kite runner…..a bit formulaic at times but a great story about friendship, cowardice, betrayal, courage and redemption. also a good lesson in afghani history and culture which probably explains why it did not do that well as a movie in the states. but please catch this in any format. it will make the world better. or at least, you.

for a lesson in iran, watch persepolis. its animated(so its more fun). we caught it in a nyc art house so you’ll likely have to really look hard for this. but do! what i loved about this and kite runner is that we get to see middle easterners as people. ironic, that it takes a cartoon to do that. (this move originated as a graphic novel….that’s comic book in crass terms) its the story of a young girl growing up in iran before the current regimes and politics came in and how her family is morphed by the new world order in the 80’s. this will make you better too.

finally….cloverfield. i started with brainless and end with semi-brainless. i’m a sucker for a giant monster movie. or whatever it is that is destroying nyc. and once again…..scenes of destruction of my city(fake)excite me. the irony is that the destruction heads further north than where most film makers are usually to go and they went all the way up to central park and columbus circle…..near where i watched this movie! so it was trippy. turn off your brain and watch this on the biggest screen possible. if you don’t like roller coasters, stay home and do something docile. like knit or water your plants. jj abrams who does lost and the upcoming star trek revival also did this movie. mmmmmm…..science fiction.

spent a weekend up in boston and new hampshire with the good folks at BCEC, CBCGL, and CGCM. i think thems is the acronyms. i made reference to the neon bible. its a song by the nutty band arcade fire. here they are making music in an elevator. note the percussion. the band has mormon roots but methinks that they are as disturbed by the crass commercialism and branding of faith and the bible as i am. go see them if you have a chance…they are amazing, amazing. here we are in austin watching them.

my main motivation was to go see old friends. i don’t like to speak at retreats where i know no one. so pastor enoch used jim and christine to lure me and out. i’ve known them for close to 15 years. zoiks. how did that happen? in the middle are me and isaac jumping up and down first with a slower film speed and then a higher action speed catching our insanity. ellis slept through most of it.

here’s my view of the crowd at the retreat. the top set is a bit clearer and the bottom “fits” together better. i made them take ancestor pics…..and advised only ugly people to smile. they were so great even when i told that patriots joke. they asked what was my favorite bible verse. i said i liked genesis 18:1 or exodus 18:1 or matthew 18:1….basically anything 18 and 1 was perfect!

i had a great time sharing my jonah series with them. originally, i was going to do the esther talks but some of the churches mentioned having done that book earlier already. i usually have a few series that i preach at churches and retreats for a few years. seems like jonah was the way to go and god seemed to have something for everyone.

i’m always nervous to go up to boston to speak. it seems like a more conservative culture. and i never know if my humor is going to fly. but i sensed god telling me to be myself in my brokeness and insanity.

a bonus benefit was seeing other longtime friends and connections from all the periods in my life. i got to reconnect a lot with tim lo from wheaton and nyc/nj ministry. the little cutie in the middle is my friend phil chew’s daughter, Rachel. phil is someone who i grew up with in high school at OCM Chinatown. Lastly, that’s Ethan who i used to play with a lot when he was a toddler during my time in MD. in fact, it was a pre-sermon ritual to visit ethan and his class until they moved away to UMASS.

all in all, a great trip to the land of beans.

is nyc all fun and games? sometimes. some weeks……..it seems like it.

here we are at the u2 3d in imax! in limited release across our nation…..and of course it is playing at the local imax near our home in soha(south of harlem). we invited vision folks and club vision but it turned out to be a romantic date. of course, we were first in line….however, we got there early not to get in the front row….but the very back…the very last row. imax and 3d makes front row dizzy land.

but we went twice and club vision joined us…..dave, pei li, weiling, steph, susan, some ocm folks and us! its almost as good as being in the front row of a u2 concert! it still does not beat the energy of live music but its worth watching….twice! at least!

but u2 concerts has always been about being with friends…not just the shows. its about reunions and creating memories with old friends from la to chicago to boston to philly to nyc to wherever our friendships take us in the future. and maybe soon in dallas with jaq.

here we are watching another tom stoppard play….last year, we caught the 9 hr trilogy of plays: the coast of utopia……we were again in the front row for this story of the downfall of communism, the power of music, the power of love and the power of the love of music. it was a breezy 3 hours and theresa liked it a lot more than last year’s marathon.

this is in part, in fact why to live in nyc: to see shows that only play in london and here. however, i wish i was smart enough to take it all in and process it. tom stoppard’s plays and other intellectual fare humble me. i wish i had more time to think on this level and read on this level.

jonathan came back after a long hiatus for cooking lessons. we made a fancy beef stew. i mean i ate a fancy beef stew that theresa, wendy and weiling made. as dennis and i waited, we ate our customary doritos and played wii.

these are always enjoyable. i’ve been friends with weiling and dennis for close to 20 years(ever since they were teens) and to have time to develop these friendships in a different city and as adults is a joy.

toward the end of the week, we made it down to the beacon for they might be giants! no front row for us this time but 4th row aint bad. the fun part was that they opened for themselves! they did two sets! the came out….had intermission….and came back out! they played a ton of songs which is good news for theresa. i only knew two songs and they only played one of them. but i did enjoy their humor. i wish my bands would talk more to us.

theresa will get to go to another tmbg concert designed for families in the spring….while i get my nerd on at the nyc comic con.

finally, we got invited to a fashion week post-show party. we went to a fancy schmancy lounge and sat in vip areas thanks to visionite, jo song. we got swag bags including one of the vip goodie bags. theresa had a few beers and i drank a few sips of some fruity drink theresa ordered for me. i even got to meet the designer, jo’s boss…..she was super down to earth and i didn’t even know it was her. she was mingling like a regular person.

some will ask why a pastor is in a place like this. as if there are only good guys and bad guys. only good places and bad places. stark black and white. but my reality is that i love people…and i go to where the people are. and when i was there, i felt my heart swell with love for people. for regular people. not just the bible nerds in holy ghettos. most i suspect who have poor stereotypes of jesus, pastors and faith. i hope i get to share with them a better vision.

a flu wiped me out at the wrong time so i’ve been behind on blogging ever since……let’s catchup…..

we said good bye to our good friends liz and leonard as they headed back to la with a meal at one of their hidden treasures in nyc. its a steakhouse right above the fairway around 72 and broadway. fairway is a regular(but very good)supermarket in nyc and inexplicably they also cook steaks. big honking steaks at reasonable(nyc)prices. we had a great time eating meat….which t and i have given up for lent….we’ll likely break lent at some point using the gift certificates for the all you can eat meat-arama that leonard and liz got for my ordination…….

we miss our friends dearly.

christmas eve and christmas day were spent at da sto. my in-laws have random shops….jewelry, pool hall, beauty supplies…..booze. its not the holidays unless……..

i spend the day catching up on dvds……futurama, alien nation and blade runner. theresa spent it helping sell 40’s and lottery tickets. the program is set up so that koreans can operate it easier.

the official name of the store is called vision! its nice to know that my faith is having an impact on the family. so when people ask me what i did at christmas, i say i spent it at vision!

we proceeded to philly to actually have a more spiritual christmas at chinese mission 2007. i did workshops. t did sound. steff did art. peter did the big talks. LT did everything.

i have done this conference every three years since 1995. but mayhaps my time with youth are drawing to a close. i can still tell some funny jh jokes. maybe that’s the only kinds i can tell.

finally, we wrapped up with a week with the tsangs before the new year! more like the brownings and the tsangs. but life was dreamy and slow…the way christmas used to be

life is good and content. then we all caught the flu. boo flu. yea, u2.
i got my u2.com fan club t-shirt as part of my dues. it also came with a double cd set of a dvd i already own. eh. the real prize we hope are access to concert tickets. i was part of the original fan club, propaganda….and they rewarded me with double access to tickets last time around. hoping to keep my status. i’m also part of the killers fan club and we are part of the hallmark ornament club which used to have two good selections per year but lately, only one. but its the club that allows us to keep collecting the christmas windows ornaments that mark our anniversary each year. more about that in may.

i miss you, chicago.

since 1990, 2007 was the first year that i did not set foot in the city of chicago. no visits, no weddings, no graduations, no retreats, no classes, nada. i lived in chicago-land from 1990-1994 and have fond, fond magical memories from this city. it set the direction and course for my life. my college years were the start of a long run of incredible years.

like most people post college-graduation, you don’t expect to visit your school or college town too often…. some people go back for the first time at their 10 year reunion and then proceed to only return once a decade. maybe.

but because of efc, a long string of students attending illinois schools(wheaton, u of i, northwestern among others) and my irish friends(i’ve attended the last four u2 tours in chicago), i went back every year from 1995-2006. there was always a graduation, wedding, reunion, retreat, speaking gig or concert. and in some cases, a girl. that string ended last year. a little bit sad and i mourn the loss. i feel too grown up now. like the next stage upon me and the last stage has passed. i’m so much older than i can take. but what a run….and i celebrate the goodness that god has showered on my life. more than i could have hoped for. more than i could have imagined. more than i deserve.
i’ll return one day. i left youth ministry 3 years ago and i have one student left at wheaton. and my cousin just got in too. and a new album comes out in the fall so 2009 looks good.

but the future is here. onto the future and the new things god has for me and this is my future:

dallas….and my niece, jacqueline.

i lied. on a random layover on said trip to dallas in 2007, i wound up at midway airport. resigned that there was nothing to bring me back, i smiled at my realization when i picked up a sunday copy of the chicago tribune. i sensed god’s wink. i got a few footsteps in…….

also…….for those interested like jasmine……

the 2008 world tour has started

2/14 boston

3/8 chinatown nyc

3/24 dallas

3/28 moco, maryland

3/31 seoul

4/18 nyc comic con

7/4 phoenix

8/15 san fran

8/18 los angeles

8/22 san fran

fall/08 alaska

11/26 baltimore

but no chicago……….