by Sam | Mar 26, 2015 | Inspiration, Reflection
In one of the most exciting and competitive NBA seasons of late, the Golden State Warriors have the best record this year. They are a fun team to watch on both ends of the court. Offensively and defensively, this team has excelled and their team chemistry has been noted throughout the media. While superstar Steph Curry might grab most of the headlines, what stands out the most to me is that they are led by a first year coach in Steve Kerr. It is remarkable what Coach Kerr has done, and is rightfully one of the leading candidates to be coach of the year. He took an already good team, and took them to the next level in just his first year of coaching ever! The Warriors aren’t just the best team in the league this season, but statistically, one for the ages. How does a rookie coach succeed so quickly? While there are many reasons, I think one thing that can’t be overlooked is the fact that while as a player himself, Kerr, played for 2 of the greatest head coaches of all-time. Under the tutelage of Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr won multiple championships, first with the Chicago Bulls and then with San Antonio Spurs. Kerr also played with some of the best players ever in Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Tim Duncan to just name a few. One cannot be around excellence and hard work, and not learn the ins and outs of the game. I am sure as a player, Steve Kerr saw how the best did it day after day. Who we surround ourselves with affects us...
by Sam | Mar 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
When a good girl goes bad, she rarely ever goes back. Despite her trying she can never really seem to get passed her past. Even her best just feels like “not good enough” as if she’s always stuck in last. She’s been through the fire & through the storms… Life has been rough, and her efforts are haunted by mistakes. Worst of all she has a heart plagued with hurts & regrets. There she is, hidden behind a smile that is fake. Just a wearisome soul longing for some rest. She is struggling to break free from the burdens of guilt & shame. Those chains & shackles weigh heavy as she feels the weight of all the blame. It’s true when they say that hurt people hurt others… Whether they be family, friends, sisters or brothers. The one who gets hurt most though is her. Inflicting herself like this is what she deserves… Lies & accusations abound as wounds continually infest. “This is your lot, your portion, your destiny,” they suggest. Some might just say, “Don’t become bad, just always be good.” But they haven’t been through what she’s been through nor have they stood where she’s stood. “What’s your problem? What’s wrong with you?” they wonder… But in a fallen world of the broken & jaded, it’s inevitable to be dragged under… From now on is it only darkness? Is this forever? Another tragedy that couldn’t be averted? A story of dreams of what was & full of what could have been? Another ending already written off… It’s over they say. She’s gone. She’s dead. There’s no coming back from...
by Sam | Mar 4, 2015 | Inspiration, Reflection
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13 What better feeling is there than love? It’s hard to think of one, if any. I mean love is one of those things that I can spend every minute thinking about. Past loves, loves that didn’t work, the loves that almost was, and the future loves that are to be. Admitted, I am a hopeless romantic, but if everyone is honest, love creeps into almost all fabric of life. The songs we listen to, the movies we watch, and the stories that grip us are saturated with love. Simply put, love is powerful. What other feeling can make us do the crazy things that love does? Yet the thing is, if love is only a feeling, it will always be dependent on our moods or circumstances because all feelings come and go. No matter how powerful, at the end of the day, feelings by nature oscillate. Then can something so fickle, be a virtue? If love only remains a feeling, then it can never be a virtue. Love as a choice, however, is a different story. All virtues must be fought for and lived out on purpose. Love is a virtue when we choose to love. Love is a virtue when we choose it in the face of difficulties, sacrifice, and pain. The same goes with faith and hope. It’s one thing to feel full of faith and hope, and another to choose to believe and hope against all unbelief, hopelessness, and despair. That’s what makes it truly faith, truly hope,...
by Sam | Feb 27, 2015 | Events, Guest Blogger
Koob Vang – “On Sunday night we are launching a worship time called Sunday Night Soak. Our HOPE is to open space and minister to God. We believe that when we attend to God, it allows us to step aside and give room for Him to move. Our goal is to simply bask in the presence of the Lord and wait upon him. Ministry is rough, hard, and sometimes very lonely. We’ve dedicated a safe place for ministers to be ministered. We believe as we cultivate revival in the Tri-state area, we as ministry leaders must be nurtured in God’s presence. We emphasize on ‘sabbath’: knowing that we need rest because only God can fulfill everything, ‘selah’: we need to simply soak and respond, and ‘shalom’: only through Christ we receive peace and wholeness.” — Samuel Cho – “Sunday night is unique time. You come back from church and somehow you are completely tired. You realize that the weekend is over and the long week is about to start. We already served the “Christian” duty at church in the day, and now all we can think of is the “real” life. It is the cycle of life and it always has been. What I want to pursue in this SNS is to change that. Sunday is the day of restoration and time of spiritual recharge. But many times at the end of Sunday, we are drained and emotionally tired. Can we have time just to soak in God’s presence? Just to sit down with God and rest. With worship without agenda and settings. Do whatever God makes us to do,...
by Sam | Feb 19, 2015 | Frontier
I am so excited to announce that in 2015, we are growing our team! This year we have 2 interns joining Pursuit NYC for this exciting season. In this special FRONTIER feature, we are highlighting Koob Vang and Samuel Cho. They are both hungry for God, and I am honored to call them friends. — 1) Tell us about yourself. SC: Hello, I am Samuel Cho. As you saw me on Pursuit’s social media I joined Pursuit NYC and I am so pumped about it! I am from Korea (Born and Raised) and I came here to the US in the Fall of 2012. I am studying to get M.Div in ATS, and now I only have two semesters left (WOOT WOOT) And after school I will be going back to Korea and will a start ministry there. And who knows? I will be starting Pursuit Korea! (Haha) KV: Hey everyone! My name is Koob Vang. East coast folks usually mistake me first as Korean then Chinese afterwards. My ethnicity is Hmong… (Yes, from Grand Torino) and I grew up mostly in the Mid-West (On Wisconsin!)… and a little in Lancaster, PA. I did my undergrad at Crown College, which is right outside of Minneapolis and after college, I lived in Omaha, NE for a couple of years interning at a church. Afterwards God led me out here to NY to pursue my M.Div degree at ATS. 2) What made you want to intern with Pursuit NYC? SC: I decided to work with Pursuit because first, I liked the name (haha). Pursuit NYC, this name can’t get any cooler. And...
