Weak Pastor

We have an awesome guest with us this week! Jerome Dillard is Executive Director and one of the Founders of EXPO (Ex-Prisoners Organizing). In this episode, he shares his incredible story of incarceration, re-entry and God’s redemptive work in his life. He also shares about the work that he champions through EXPO, an organization that seeks to end mass incarceration, eliminate all forms of structural discrimination against formerly incarcerated people, and restore formerly incarcerated people to full participation in the life of our communities.Tune in for an episode you won’t forget.

Every day, we are bombarded with advertisements for products that promise a better life. Social Media paints everyone’s grass as greener than our own. We know that the tenth commandment tells us that we “shall not covet,” but is it actually possible to live without “wanting?” Is the desire for things actually a sin? This week, Peter and Suah discuss their own thoughts on this commandment and what they believe it actually means.

I’m sure many of you, whether on t-shirts or inspirational wall decor, have come across this idea of “faith over fear.” This idea that fear is the result of insufficient faith is very common-place, but in a world full of uncertainty, how can one go through life without experiencing fear at all? How can we reconcile these two concepts? How should a Christian understand faith and fear? Tune in to this week’s episode to get our takes.

This week, we have one of our favorite guests ever - Pastor Nancy Sugikawa - back on the show to continue her story where we left off. It was a real cliffhanger when we ended Part I, so we could not wait any longer to air this second part. We just want to say: this is the stuff of k-dramas. Of course, because it’s Pastor Nancy, there is plenty of sage insight and words of grace. You do not want to miss this!Nancy can be reached at [email protected].

One of the most common questions that we often received as children or young adults was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And it’s not surprising that this should be such a frequently-asked question given that most of us spend a huge portion of our lives “at work.” But what is the biblical view of “work,” and is the occupation we choose for ourselves our actual “calling” in the faith? How do work and faith come together? Tune in to get Peter and Suah’s takes.

We have a very very special guest this week, and yes, we realize we say this all the time, but we really really really mean it. Pastor Nancy Sugikawa brings over thirty years of pastoral ministry experience, having served the local church through seasons of leadership, discipleship, and spiritual formation. She currently serves as a Discipleship Consultant for the Northwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, partnering with pastors and congregations to cultivate healthy, sustainable discipleship pathways and vibrant spiritual growth.In this week’s episode, we get a glimpse into her walk and accompanying dialogue with Jesus, with a special emphasis on life as a single person throughout her first few decades. You do not want to miss this episode!

We live in a world that is inundated with the concept of success — how to achieve it, how to maintain it. We idolise those who are successful and often try to emulate them. So much of our waking thoughts revolve around this idea of succeeding, regardless of what stage of life we’re living in. But what does success actually look like in the Kingdom of God, and is success really what God calls us to? Tune in to get our takes.

Those of you who have been with us since the beginning of our podcast or have attended Metro Community Church are probably well-acquainted with our emphasis on advocating for those who are “in the margins.” Nevertheless, in light of recent circumstances, we felt it was appropriate and necessary to have another conversation about this “theology of the poor” that seems to be everywhere in Jesus’ teaching. Please note that this episode was recorded a few weeks before airing, so any omission in discussing certain relevant more recent news events was not intentional.

We have an amazing guest this week! Brad Lomenick is a renowned leadership advisor, author, speaker, podcaster and founder of BLINC, a leadership advisory agency. He has more than two decades of experience working alongside thought-leaders, CEO’s and start up entrepreneurs. Brad is the host of the H3 Leadership Podcast, where he weekly curates the best for high-capacity leaders to stay in the know and up to date, and interviews world class thinkers, authors, and icons.Tune in to this week’s episode for an enriching conversation on leadership.Brad can be found at:https://www.h3leadership.com/Brad’s Books can be found at all major book stores:The Catalyst Leader: Eight Essentials for Becoming a Change MakerH3 Leadership: Be Humble, Stay Hungry, Always Hustle

In the Western culture, we are oftentimes consumed by the need to measure growth and track progress. We track attendance, we track our grades, we track giving…but have you ever wondered, how can we responsibly and accurately track our spiritual growth? In this week’s episode, Peter and Suah discuss how they personally see spiritual growth and how they try to track their “spiritual gains.”

Welcome to another episode with an amazing interview! This week’s guest is no stranger to those who attend Metro. Pastor Kevin Butcher was a lead pastor for 35 years. He is currently the founder and executive director of Rooted Ministries, which comes alongside isolated, wounded, and discouraged pastors and their families to help them experience the deep love of God through abiding in Jesus. In this episode, we interview Kevin about a variety of topics ranging from what he’s learned over his decades of diverse ministry, what makes him so passionate about God’s love, and why shame is so insidious and toxic to one’s inner and outer life. Tune in to hear this week’s interview with Pastor Kevin Butcher!To learn more about Rooted Ministries, please visit:https://www.rootedpastor.co/Pastor Kevin’s books can be found anywhere where books are sold. They include:Free: Rescued from Shame-Based Religion, Released Into the Life-giving Love of JesusChoose and Choose Again: The Brave Act of Returning to God's Love.

Welcome to another episode where we get the absolute pleasure and privilege of introducing an amazing guest - Pastor James Kim. James is currently serving as the Teaching Pastor at Beacon Church in Albertson, NY. He is husband to his lovely wife Carol and dad to 3 children. His journey so far has been anything but straightforward, and as we listened to his story, we found ourselves overwhelmed both by the sincerity and tenacity with which James sought God and the tender ways in which God met him. Tune in to this week’s story; you will not be disappointed.

Most of us who have been around children for any period of time have heard one of them angrily raise the complaint that something is “not fair!” From a very young age, we are inclined to expect that things should be “fair,” and anything that strays from this is a gross injustice that must be corrected. But looking around at our world, it becomes increasingly difficult to confidently claim that God is, indeed, fair. With suffering, pain and struggles all around, is God still “fair” through it all? Tune in to hear Peter and Suah’s conversation.

For many of us, our journey as Christians included praying some variation of the “sinner’s prayer” and accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior. At that point, we were most likely told by the person leading the prayer that we had officially been “saved.” But, oftentimes, we go through the daily roller coaster of life, and we are left wondering, “Did that prayer really work?” How can we know for sure that we have actually been saved? What if the prayer didn’t take that time? Should we pray it one more time—you know, just to be sure? Tune in to this week’s episode to hear PP and Suah’s conversation.

(Y)our favorite podcast is back from hiatus! Tune in to this week’s episode to hear about what PP and Suah have been up to this Summer. Also tune in if you like listening to tween/teenagers ramble on and give nonsensical responses to PP’s questions.We apologize for the sound quality during the “special guests” portion of the episode. Please feel free to skip ahead to 22:00.

This is the episode that will potentially make everybody angry. And yet, here we are. Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week, leaving a wide array of emotionally-charged responses across the nation. How are we to process this tragic event? Tune in to get our takes.

Our favorite podcaster is officially a published author! In this episode, Suah interviews PP about his upcoming book release, The Weak Church: Becoming an Imperfectly Perfect Community. Tune in to learn more about the Weak Church philosophy and why Peter feels that this is such a pivotal book for the Church today. The Weak Church will be published on July 10th and can be pre-ordered at:https://a.co/d/eAFLzmL

Pastor Joshua can be found @joshuamillermusic

We are very excited to have Karen Twinem as our special guest on this week’s episode. Suah met Karen through her church small group. Karen’s unique perspective on the topic of mental illness and her compassion and wisdom with respect to those who struggle with mental health led Suah to invite her on the podcast. Also, she is SO FUNNY! We hope you will enjoy this conversation as much as we did.S4E6: Mental Illness & the ChurchKaren Twinem, Peter Ahn & Suah Hwang DownloadKaren’s websites can be found at:https://lovingsomeonewithmentalillness.comhttps://mindfulchristianyear.com/

Well, the heated 2024 election has finally come to an end, and there are varying thoughts and feelings from both camps. In this week’s episode, Peter and Suah share their own responses and thoughts about the election results.

What is spiritual authority? Who has it, and why does it matter? In this week’s episode, Peter and Suah talk about their own ideas of what spiritual authority is and why we should all aspire to grow in this area.

A few episodes ago, Suah shared about the health scare she experienced during the summer. In this episode, we have a more in-depth conversation about what she learned about herself and about God through this experience.

With election season upon us, it seems that everybody everywhere is talking about politics. With another contentious election coming up, how can we engage with others without losing ourselves, especially when we disagree on what we consider fundamental issues? Tune in to get Peter and Suah’s takes.

How have we already made it to Season FOUR!? Welcome to the first episode of the new season, where we play catch-up and talk about what’s been going on in our lives over the past few months.

In a world overrun by bottom lines and big egos, what does a good, healthy transition of leadership power look like? To chat with us about this very topic, we’ve invited two very special guests on this week’s episode. Angie Bae is founder and owner of her own events-planning company, Angi & Co. She was also Executive Director of Zimele for 8+ years and is now serving on their Board of Directors. Janet Kwon is the current Executive Director of Zimele. Her academic background centers on international work in the non-profit sector, and she brings a wealth of knowledge to her new role.

Can one’s culture of origin or cultural context mix with his faith in Jesus? Does becoming a Christian mean we must denounce the traditions of our heritage? How do culture and faith intersect? PP and Suah tackle these questions in this week’s episode.

Have you ever experienced “burnout” from the unrelenting demands of work and life? Have you ever felt like you were forced to give more when you felt you had nothing left to give? In this week’s episode, PP and Suah share their own experiences with “burnout” and how they navigated their circumstances.

In this week’s episode, PP and Suah talk about what they think are qualities that make a friend a “keeper.” Everyone wants to be a good friend and everyone wants a good friend. How can we be and find them? Tune in to get our takes.

PP talks about the power and importance of being in awe of God regularly while Suah delinquently decides to stray from the topic a little and do her own thang. Tune in to hear what things God has done to surprise PP and Suah.

Suah brings up a topic that she’s been thinking about in light of recent political and personal events — Is it possible to determine whether someone is actually Christian or not? Is this a question that we should even be asking in the first place? Tune in to get our takes.

Metro Community Church recently celebrated its 20th birthday along with PP, who was honored for his TWENTY YEARS of church planting ministry. In today’s episode, PP reflects upon this significant milestone and processes, in real-time, some of the surprisingly conflicting feelings he has been experiencing.

Here’s a perennial question I can guarantee you’ve heard before - Can men and women actually be friends? To tackle this question, we have invited our friend Steve Bang to join in on the discussion. Steve is the perfect guest to have on this episode because he and Suah have been friends for almost a decade and their friendship has only grown in substance and quality over that time. (I’m sorry, Steve, if you disagree, but it’s now on the internet, so it’s too late.)

Instead of a topic for this week’s episode, we decided to switch things up and dedicate an entire episode to new things we are learning about God and the Bible. Tune in to this week’s episode and join us as we continue on this journey of being lifelong learners and lovers of the Word.

On this week’s episode, PP asks Suah to discuss an article he read about what makes Americans happy. Could it be true? Could it really be that all we need to do to be happy is…to get hitched? Tune in to get our thoughts!

It feels like every other week, there’s a new article about another megachurch pastor and moral failure. In a world that is so eager to report on the salacious details of the next big scandal, how should we, as Christians, approach this topic? Is Christian media’s constant reporting of these stories helping or hurting the Church? Tune in to get our takes!

PP talks about an e-mail he received after preaching at a friend’s church and his reaction to the critique. We then talk about the whole idea of giving and receiving feedback in general, and how we can process it in a healthy way.

Due to some heavy travel and scheduling conflicts this month, Peter and Suah were unable to record new episodes for this week and next week. We are sorry! Instead, we are re-airing an old episode from Season 1 for those of you who may not have been following us back then. We will be back in two weeks, so stay tuned!

We don’t often talk about it, but not all friendships are created equal. While loyalty is often touted as one of the most coveted qualities in a friend, are there signs that point to a friendship having run its course? How do you know when you should break up with a friend? Tune in to this week’s episode to hear Peter and Suah’s conversation.

Do you struggle with any addictive patterns of behavior? What exactly constitutes an addiction? Is it really an addiction if you only do it once in a while? Peter and Suah talk about their own experiences with addictive behavior and where they think these behaviors originate.