“Pandemic”, they said.

On March 11th, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. Regardless of what that term means, to the general public, businesses and organizations like churches, the term means a response is needed. As leaders of a church that includes families, children, and seniors, we also rushed to address what this new status means for our community life. It was important that we show care for our people by how we communicate and respond to this situation. As the various teams and pastors met and passionately hash out every detail and possibilities, many of…

Video Game LAN parties can be a part of your church’s play-driven outreach initiatives.

“Can we play demons?”

“Are we only allow to play as priests?”

These are some of the humorous and semi-honest questions you might hear when a rag-tagged group of Christians gathered for an unofficial fireside–An afternoon of a loosely organized, family-friendly tournament with Blizzard’s free-to-play digital card game Hearthstone. The participants were friends and family, young and old, single and not. All of us are amateurs and newbies who play for fun more than ranks, and all of us are from a close-knitted faith community.

Christians love to play too

Gaming…

Is having things to do the same as having a purpose?

“Where do I start?”

Main Missions, Side Missions, Faction Missions, Special Operations a.k.a. PVP or raids? Ok, maybe not the raids ’cause that’s for higher levels, but still, which should I pick? I love open-world games, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint was the latest open-world tactical shooter that I decided to spend my free time on. The story is played on a massive fictional island called Auroa. From snow-capped mountains, wetlands, volcanoes, rivers, ports, to dense forest, the island provides more than 576 kilometres of terrain for players to traverse…

With the upcoming sequel to Tom Clancy’s The Division coming out very soon, I found myself contemplating the many hours I’ve spent in Ubisoft’s post-apocalyptic world. Was I enthralled or did I feel trapped? Did my agent make a difference or was all of it just a lonely grind?

I was one of the eager MMO fans who screamed, “Take my money!” on the first day you could preorder The Division. It was 2016 and I had been waiting for three long years for this modern open-world action RPG that boasted stylish customizations. I was dropped into a desolate New…

A dominant culture’s failed response

“The lack of attention to white identity and self-labeling reflects the historical power held by Whites in the United States. That is, Whites as the privileged group take their identity as the norm or standard by which other groups are measured, and this identity is therefore invisible, even to the extent that many Whites do not consciously think about the profound effect being white has on their everyday lives.“ (Lustig and Koester 2013:132)

I am not an American, but the above quote from Judith Martin, Robert Krizek, Thomas Nakayama, and Lisa Bradford is an important…

How the new Iron Man speaks to our need for a new identity in Christ

One of the reasons why I love comic books is the freedom writers and illustrators have in accentuating human nature, actions, and reactions. In a world governed by fictional boundaries, we are granted a glimpse into fantastical abilities and impossible scenarios, but one aspect that can cause us to ponder more deeply, and certainly more applicable, is the duality of good and evil within a character. The comic book universe is founded on preset titles of good versus evil: Superman is a hero, while Lex…

An Intercultural Film Comparison

*Spoiler alert*

In 2002, directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak released a cultural-defining film: Infernal Affairs. The film was produced in the context of a modern-day cops-and-triad thriller in which an undercover officer, Chan, was sent to infiltrate the triad on a long term sting. At the same time, triad boss Sam, sent in fresh initiates, one of which is Lau, into the police academy in an attempt to outwit the police department on a long-term basis. As the undercover & mole rises into the upper echelons of their organizations, their risk became higher along with…