SOLA Network

In this panel, four pastors from diverse contexts discuss how the church can remain gospel-centered and united as it engages with the topics of justice, racism, and diversity.

Bios: 

Michael Lee currently serves as the lead pastor of All Nations Community Church. He also serves as a council member and the Executive Director of the SOLA Network. Originally from Atlanta, Michael majored in philosophy at the University of Southern California and received his Masters of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology. He is a huge USC Trojan football fan, avid golfer, and donut aficionado. He resides in Pasadena with his wife, son and daughter, and dog.

P.J. Tibayan is a pastor-theologian of Bethany Baptist Church in Bellflower, CA, where he lives with his God-fearing and beautiful wife and their five children. He writes at gospelize.me, helps lead The Gospel Coalition LA Regional Chapter and the Shepherd LA Conference (for pastors), and serves on the SOLA Editorial Board. He is currently a doctoral student (DMin) in Biblical Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary working on the book of Revelation.

Bobby Scott is the Pastor of Discipleship at Community of Faith Bible Church in South Gate. He loves teaching the Word of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit watching God’s Word transform lives (2 Cor 3:18). Pastor Bobby is passionate about strengthening the urban church. He has pastored for over twenty-five years and enjoys writing. You can follow Pastor Bobby on Twitter @pastorbscott. Pastor Bobby married up when God blessed him with his wife, Naomi. He loves his six kids (ages 15-24). As a UCLA alumnus, his two favorite two teams are UCLA and whoever is playing SC. Go Bruins!!!

Scott Sauls is husband to Patti, dad to Abby and Ellie, and serves as senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. He was also a lead and preaching pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC after planting churches in Kansas City and Saint Louis, where he also taught homiletics at Covenant Seminary. Scott has authored five books including his most recent, A Gentle Answer. He writes weekly at scottsauls.com and can be found on Facebook or Twitter/Instagram at @scottsauls.

Shownotes:

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/hycz6507MGs

Read the article transcript:

https://sola.network/article/race-gospel-local-church-ministering-2020

More from SolaCon21: All Content

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2hIRu3cUCl76WF0xklNIC9

More from SolaCon21: Plenary Speakers and Panels

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE3zRPZBsZUjX4KFRrGW8RpB

More from SolaCon21: Microtalks and Interviews

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE05DKlOea0N_ScPArVSpnz-

More from SolaCon21: Behind the Scenes

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2VhtNvTxK-oHGkyZMHX0x7

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Website: https://sola.network

The Church has been called to be a witness of Christ to the ends of the earth, but recently it seems like there are so many reasons to be done with the Church. What is the Church? And how does the Church provide no better witness despite being broken and blemished?

Harold is the founding pastor of Christ Central of Southern California and serves on the Board for Christ Central Network (CCN) and as President of SOLA. He graduated from UC Berkeley, received his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his Master of Theology (Th.M.) from Princeton Theological Seminary. He was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 2001. Harold is gratefully married to Sun Hi and a happy father of two daughters, Taylor and Elizabeth. His great joy and passion is to see lives changed as Jesus Christ becomes central to everything.

Shownotes:

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/B02zlLWCiDM

Read the article transcript:

https://sola.network/article/the-church-no-better-witness

More from SolaCon21: All Content

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2hIRu3cUCl76WF0xklNIC9

More from SolaCon21: Plenary Speakers and Panels

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE3zRPZBsZUjX4KFRrGW8RpB

More from SolaCon21: Microtalks and Interviews

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE05DKlOea0N_ScPArVSpnz-

More from SolaCon21: Behind the Scenes

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2VhtNvTxK-oHGkyZMHX0x7

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

In a defensive, divided, politically and socially hostile “cancel culture,” how can Christians live counter-culturally by loving others as Christ has loved us, even when we were his enemies? How can we become the kind of people who turn away wrath with the fruit of Christ’s gentleness (Proverbs 15:1)? In this message, Nashville pastor Scott Sauls will explore what a gentle answer can look like in our hearts, homes, churches, and world.

Bio: 

Scott Sauls is husband to Patti, dad to Abby and Ellie, and serves as senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville. He was also a lead and preaching pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC after planting churches in Kansas City and Saint Louis, where he also taught homiletics at Covenant Seminary. Scott has authored five books including his most recent, A Gentle Answer. He writes weekly at scottsauls.com and can be found on Facebook or Twitter/Instagram at @scottsauls.

Shownotes:

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/T_jTRbsD2ZU

Read the article transcript:

https://sola.network/article/rising-above-cancel-culture-fruit-of-gentleness

More from SolaCon21: All Content

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2hIRu3cUCl76WF0xklNIC9

More from SolaCon21: Plenary Speakers and Panels

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE3zRPZBsZUjX4KFRrGW8RpB

More from SolaCon21: Microtalks and Interviews

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE05DKlOea0N_ScPArVSpnz-

More from SolaCon21: Behind the Scenes

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAoJ5wNGQQE2VhtNvTxK-oHGkyZMHX0x7

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

While we have already shared the information about our SOLA Conference 2021 speakers and sessions, we wanted to give a different perspective from someone who has watched every single minute of the conference: SOLA’s video manager, Jason Chao.

So Aaron Lee, SOLA Network’s social media manager, interviewed Jason about his work as a video editor, his favorite parts of the conference, and how to best watch all of the content. This interview was conducted over Instagram Live.

Tune in on Monday, May 24, to begin watching SOLA Conference 2021.

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/Q06xXXapdIU

Shownotes:

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/inside-look-video-editor-sola-conference-2021

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

The SOLA Conference is back. After being canceled in 2020 because of the growing Covid-19 crisis, the conference has returned as a digital event, which will be released on the SOLA Network website beginning May 24. 

This week, we will be previewing some of the content for the 2021 Conference. Today, we will begin with an interview with SOLA Conference Joshua Lim, who oversaw the canceled 2020 Conference and this year’s digital conference. 

Aaron Lee, social media manager for the SOLA Network, interviewed Joshua Lim about both conferences, as well as what it takes to run a conference.

Shownotes:

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/l7ovc-rkKeA

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/preview-for-sola-conference-2021-interview

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

2020 looked promising for David Yoon, also known as Kindred Worship. He had dropped his EP, Edmund, the previous year, and he would be leading worship for SOLA Conference 2020. Then the pandemic hit. 

The church where he was the worship pastor went into lockdown, and he had to lead the congregation in song remotely. SOLA Conference was canceled. But through it all, David continued to serve his community and create music. 

Aaron Lee, SOLA’s social media manager, caught up with David Yoon in April 2021. They talked about David’s journey in creating Kindred Worship, leading worship through a pandemic, and how the church can better support worship leaders and worship artists. 

We hope this conversation will encourage worship leaders and remind churches to love and support the artists and musicians within their midst. 

Shownotes:

Kindred Worship: 

https://www.kindredworship.com/

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/MGWQ0bazx24

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/worship-artistry-leading-covid-19

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

This is Part 2 of a conversation between four Chinese American pastors about the future of the Chinese heritage church. The pastors talk about how their Chinese heritage has helped shape their identity, whether Chinese churches should become multiethnic, and their hopes for the Chinese heritage church.

This conversation was moderated by Casey Young, who currently serves on the English staff of First Chinese Baptist Church in Los Angeles and is a SOLA Conference Team member. The three participating pastors are: Hanley Liu, the English pastor at First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut; Ben Pun, lead pastor at Anchor Community Church in Walnut; and Joey Chen, lead English pastor at Sunset Church in San Francisco.

We hope this conversation will be informative to the church and especially encouraging to fellow Chinese American Christians who have grown up with or serve in Chinese heritage churches.

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article//future-of-chinese-heritage-church-part-2

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

What is the current situation with the Chinese heritage church? What does its future look like? How can it grow more leaders and encourage its pastors?

While Asian American churches tend to get lumped together, they are actually important distinctions between them. To facilitate more dialogue about the needs and growth of ethnic-specific churches, the SOLA Network hosted a conversation with four Chinese American pastors about the Chinese heritage church.

A Chinese heritage church is ethnically Chinese with congregations that speak in Chinese dialects while also developing and growing in an Asian American context.

To this end, Casey Young, who currently serves on the English staff of First Chinese Baptist Church in Los Angeles and is a SOLA’s Conference Team member, moderated a discussion with three other Chinese pastors: Hanley Liu, the English pastor at First Chinese Baptist Church of Walnut; Ben Pun, lead pastor at Anchor Community Church in Walnut; and Joey Chen, lead English pastor at Sunset Church in San Francisco.

We hope this conversation will be informative to the church and especially encouraging to fellow Chinese American Christians who have grown up with or serve in Chinese heritage churches.

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/1D0tIkIxZ-U

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/future-of-chinese-heritage-church-part-1

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

The rise in anti-Asian violence has shown how difficult it is for our churches to talk about race. The dialogue can be so complicated that oftentimes we forget to address these issues with our children and youth students. But if the church does not address these issues to the next generation, then rather than learning a biblical view of these issues, they will be educated by the world.

In this vein, the SOLA Network is pleased to present a talk from Christ Central Presbyterian Church, in which two church leaders discuss how they processed the rise in anti-Asian racism and the violence in Atlanta in March 2020. SOLA Editorial Board member Soojin Park, who is also youth director, has a conversation with Pastor Huey Lee, education pastor at CCPC, on how they were processing these events as well as addressing their youth students about how to deal with the complex emotions and questions that arose from these tragic events.

We hope this conversation will be edifying and educational for youth workers so that they can begin conversations about race and other difficult issues with their students. We also believe this will be helpful for parents to bring up the issue with their children.

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/RvbuAHTi9tY

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/how-to-talk-about-anti-asian-racism-youth

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network

What does the Bible say about our different ethnic backgrounds? Where do I begin to talk about race? What is code-switching? How can building cross-cultural relationships help churches to evangelize? 

In this interview, Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes talks about her new book, Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections Across Cultures, which seeks to answer these questions to help the church have constructive discussions about race. SOLA’s social media manager, Aaron Lee, asked Dr. Reyes about her experiences as an Asian American woman, the fear around the issue of race, and how we can “become all things” for the sake of the gospel.

Michelle Reyes, PhD, is the Vice President of the Asian American Christian Collaborative and the Co-Executive Director of Pax. She is also the Scholar in Residence at Hope Community Church. Michelle's work on faith and culture has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Missio Alliance, Faithfully Magazine and more. Her book on cross-cultural relationships is called Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead to Lasting Connections Across Cultures (Zondervan; April 27, 2021). 

Watch the video on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/SPBFNmAs-0U

Read the transcript:

https://sola.network/article/road-map-to-becoming-all-things-interview

Read the book review:

https://sola.network/article/the-love-of-christ-compels-us

Email us your questions or conversation topics: 

[email protected]

Shownotes:

https://michelleamireyes.com/

https://zondervanacademic.com/products/becoming-all-things

https://www.asianamericanchristiancollaborative.com/

Links:

Weekly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/tgif

Monthly Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/sola/newsletter

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesolanetwork

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesolanetwork

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thesolanetwork

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsoKbSYBbZZoovA24PhqAg

Podcast: http://anchor.fm/solanetwork

Website: https://sola.network