October 22, 2009 by admin.

What a joy to present this second volume of the journal in print! After the very first issue on Worship, Fall 2008, I was warmly encouraged by colleagues and friends in the ministry and academia. The assessment of this new journal is that it is highly valued not only for its quality research contents, but for its introducing subject matters no one has ever attempted to put together.

In a generic definition “journal” is a record kept on a journey. And I value the process enough to offer a word about this journey of editing each issue of Journal of Korean American Ministries and Theology. My heartfelt thanks go once again to all the contributing writers and the assistant editor, Hyun Ho Park. And a Columbia Seminary student, John Shillingburg, joined the editorial staff with this issue, offering immeasurable contribution in refining each pages.

Two sermons are introduced in this issue to demonstrate the finest examples from Korean-American preachers focusing on “Korean Preaching.” The readers will find five articles on Korean and Korean-American preaching. We have carefully selected three dissertations on the subject of preaching to introduce, summarize, and evaluate for further study. I invite you to take the journey together as we engage in the preaching ministries of the Korean American churches for the 21^st century.

Paul Junggap Huh, editor

Part 1    Sermons

Nations will bring Their Glory (Revelation 21:22-26) ————————————————- 7    Kevin Park

The Freedom-Children (Galatians 3:26-29) ————————————————————– 9    Eunjoo M. Kim

Part 2    Articles

Beautiful Preaching
in the Korean-American Context:

Communicating in Non-Verbal Languages ————————————————— 15    Paul Junggap Huh

Preaching Ministry in the Postmodern Era ————————————————————- 23    Unyong Kim

Korean Preaching from a Western Perspective ——————————————————– 43    Daniel J. Adams

The Value and Potential for Conversational and Collaborative Preaching

in the Korean Protestant Church ————————————————————– 53    Taekhan Yoon

Preaching in the Lectionary to the Second-Generation Korean-Americans:

    Providing a Meaningful Story to the Story-Lost Generation ——————————- 67    Sunggu (Paul) Yang

Part 3    Dissertation Reviews

Preaching in the Korean Protestant Church (1884-1945)

A Study in Light of John Calvin’s Understanding of Word and Sacrament ————– 77    Eun Chul Kim/ Editorial

Transformative Preaching in the Transitioning Korean American Church ———————— 89     Tae Kyung Kim/ Editorial

The New Homiletic: The Strategies for the Listener-Oriented Communication of the Gospel

in the Postmodern Korean Context ———————————————————— 99     Ung Joe Lee/ Editorial

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October 22, 2009 by admin.

It is with my greatest joy to begin a new journey on publishing Journal of Korean American Ministries & Theology. Columbia Theological Seminary offered me the most ideal position that I could ask for: doing both ministries and theology, teaching both worship and music, speak both Korean and English.

Being an immigrant child and raised in U.S. from 8^th grade in middle school, I was brought up in both worlds of Korea and America. These two cultures often pull me apart in different directions, and at the same time they provide a creative tension in developing a new identity. We live in two worlds at once, the one always informing the other. The followers of Jesus Christ are to be truly in the world and at the same time live in the world of the Bible preparing the ways for others to follow.

My personal as well as academic experiences have led me to be the bridge and resource person in the language and cultural world of Korea and North America. I am thankful to the contributing writers who responded with eagerness in spite of the short notice. Until we would have an ample number of writers contributing to the journal, our assistant editor, Hyun Ho Park, and I plan to introduce the readers selected dissertations as we have initiated on this issue.

I am most grateful to Hyun Ho for his initiative in starting this project upon his graduation from Emory’s Candler School of Theology. In the beginning, both of us did not fully comprehended the amount of work it was going to be involved; however, we are grateful to finish the first issue with additional editorial helps from Ralph G. Clingan, Enoch Chang, and Rosemary Raynal.

We now hope that the PDF and limited printed version will eventually help us to produce and circulate the journal in printed and mailed version in the near future. May the work bring a tangible networking among the scholars teaching and students researching in ATS affiliated schools and those who are engaged in doing Korean theology and ministries.

Paul Junggap Huh, editor

Part 1

Articles

The Great Table of Grace: Eucharist and the Korean Churches ————————————- 6

Paul Junggap Huh

The Great River of Grace: Baptism and the Christian Life —————————————— 18

David Gambrell

Worship Design and Liturgical Leadership as Primary Pastoral Responsibility: —————- 29

A Practical Preliminary Consideration

Charles Young-Chul Ryu

Constructing a Liturgical Theology of the General Assembly ————————————— 38

of Presbyterian Churches in Korea (GAPCK: Hapdong)

Jong Hun Joo

“Chang Preaching”: Seeking a Korean Folk Sermon ———————————————— 50

Seung-Nam Kim

Part 2

Dissertation Reviews

The Formation of Presbyterian Worship in Korea, 1879-1934 ————————————– 61

Kyeong Jin Kim/Editorial

Understandings of the Lord’s Supper in the Methodist Churches in Korea: 1885-1935 ——— 71

Hae Jung Park/Editorial

Worship as a Cosmic Event of Communion and Union: ———————————————- 81

Christian Worship from an East Asian Perspective

Kee-Yeon Cho/Editorial

The Symbolic Dimension in the Korean Protestant Worship and its ——————————– 90

Relationship with the Inculturation of the Eucharistic Elements

Soonwhan Kim/Editorial

Liturgical Inculturation in the Marriage and Funeral Rites of Korean Protestants ———— 100

Ho Nam/Editorial

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October 22, 2009 by admin.

Published on APCE Advocate, Fall 2009

Paul Junggap Huh

Koreans love to sing. Singing is their favorite pastime and vividly reflected in passionate singing of hymns and praise songs for Christian worship. From the earliest days of the Korean people, singing has played a significant role in their lives. Not only in the setting of communal worship but also in most occasions of life, Koreans love to sing. They sing when they are happy as well as when they are sad. For Koreans, singing is also a vehicle of communal expression in their times of joy and sorrow in the history of their nation.

Koreans sing when political and social difficulties arise. They sang freedom songs against their oppressing rulers. Workers sang against their unjust company executives. Frequently they gathered together after work, drinking and singing popular songs in solidarity. Students and graduates gathered to sing their school theme song in unison melody. Almost every school in Korea, both public and private, has a theme song to represent the school. They sing in a loud unison to identify their solidarity with one another.

In worship settings, people sing to experience a sense of community and spiritual relationship with the divine power. In social settings, singing also promotes a sense of community. Through singing, people share common values.

Most events or TV programs in Korea are designed with a consideration for the singing practice of the Korean people, and their love for singing has flourished in all aspects of the Korean culture. A national Korean Broadcasting company runs a weekly amateur singing contest, which is a program for all ages across the different regions of the country. Both contestants and audience simply enjoy singing together regardless of winning any prize. The program visits cities and towns around the country and has became one of the most watched programs, running now for twenty-eighty years.

In addition, the Korean National TV began to air a weekly music program called, “Open Concert.” It is open in a sense that musicians of all styles including classical, popular, and Korean traditional folk music are invited to perform live on stage. The title, “Open Concert,” also implies that the audience is welcomed and encouraged to join in song with the performers and a 42 piece orchestra. The music score is distributed to the audience, helping them to join in singing together anytime. As many as 10,000 people of all ages participate in this all-time favorite program each week.

In Korea, town halls provide many cultural classes including group singing lessons. The singing class may be the most popular class provided by the government. The karaoke business also proves that Koreans are a singing people. In 1991, a commercial business called, Singing Room (Noraebang) was opened in Seoul and Pusan. Noraebang is a place where people gather and sing together with the accompaniment from a karaoke machine. Karaoke means “without orchestra” in Japanese. The lyrics are displayed on screen and recorded full accompaniment sound is provided for singers to follow. Such rooms are found throughout Korea’s large cities and small villages in the countryside, and in Korean-American communities in the United States. A night of Korean partying often includes a trip to a singing room, Noraebang.

For Koreans, singing is power. Singing gives them power to overcome difficulties of life. It builds up community and allows them to experience a sense of belonging to their community. As singing together forms solidarity and confirms cohesion of community, the values are shared and confirmed. People also share their lives through singing and they express emotions experienced from their lives such as joy, sorrow, anger, grief, depression, powerlessness, and happiness.

The same function of singing can be expected in the life of the church. In the worship of the Korean church, singing is way for the people to offer their lives and faith through raising their voices as well as praying out loud in a unison prayer called Tongsung Kido.

Unlike the U.S. education system, Koreans have music as a required course of the school curriculum from K to 12^th grade. Public and private schools teach children to sight read music, sing, music theory, and to write notations. In the curriculum, classical music, pop music, and Chang (traditional folk-style singing) are offered side by side.

The importance of this education in learning music has resulted in having both classical musicians and praise & worship musicians serving Korean churches side by side, yet their different orientation have not merged in one unison prayer. It is an unfulfilled task in Korean churches, which need to develop bringing different musical styles as acceptable form of worship of all God’s people. The zeal and passion for singing abound in Korean worshipping congregations and moves beyond the social and language boundaries witnessing the love of Christ and God’s salvation.

    To the high and kindly hills I lift my eyes;

    Where is someone to rescue me in my plight?

    Truly from the dear Lord above help will come.

    God is the maker of heav’n and earth: all is well.

                (Psalm 121 in Korean Tune)

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