by Richard Shin

Pastor John and I met within the confines of his office. As someone who hears him preach on a semi-weekly basis, and given his openness during his messages, I thought I had him figured out for the most part. But after having gone through this interview with him, I realized there is much more to Pastor John Kim than what he reveals on the pulpit. I hope this interview will motivate you to talk to him, get to know him, and squeeze every bit of wisdom from the man as you possibly can before he leaves. Within reason, of course.

What is your role in the San Jose church plant?

My role for the San Jose church plant is to be the senior pastor and pretty much the point person to help provide leadership and direction and hopefully encourage everybody and shepherd everybody along the way as we get going.

What has been a significant challenge or concern so far? And a significant blessing, if different?

Probably one of the more significant challenges that seem to affect people is the practical considerations. Trying to relocate, find a new job, sell your home… all those things in this economy especially is raising concerns among parents, questioning, is this the right time? Understandably, there’s a lot of difficulty having to handle the practical side of things. So, I know the people have been wrestling with that, having just the reality of making a major move. That too has been difficult for a lot of people, even for us, having to sell our home, and to anticipate uprooting our family. On the practical end, that has probably been a significant challenge.

At the same time, it’s a blessing. We’re seeing that people are willing to live out Matthew 6:33: “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness”. To really see the point of planting a church to be actually something that would guide one’s life direction as opposed to work or school. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much they let the worldly elements of life to dictate their life, not to say that it’s all evil and bad, but sometimes people don’t realize how much they need God to accommodate their agenda as opposed to saying we need to follow God’s agenda, and orient everything around that, whether it be school, work or even buying a home.

I think that’s what’s been most encouraging to see, the commitment of the people who have been willing to act on that, especially the younger group of people. Some of them have never been to San Jose; for them it’s a huge step of faith. Initially I think I was a little disappointed because I thought maybe more of the older members might be considering going. Understandably, it’s difficult when you’ve got a young family, and you still got young kids. I think I’ve come to understand that God has to be the one who moves people’s hearts to go and God is also going to be responsible for people staying. He has a purpose in it all. So I think I’m okay with that now.

That played into something too. I thought, “Is our team young?” It would be helpful to have mature, older, more experienced people and I think that is definitely something that is important. But I think on the other end, having younger people also bring a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy. And I think because they’re willing to take some risks too, it does definitely lend itself toward giving a very positive outlook for what we hope to see happen.

What are you looking forward to for the church plant?

I’m looking forward to just being able to spend time with people a lot more again. As our church got bigger here, my role had to adjust because the dynamics aren’t the same. I’m not complaining about that or anything; I’m very grateful that our church has grown. But I think I particularly enjoy interacting with people a lot more. I’m looking forward to just developing things from the beginning again. And some people think that’s the hard part of it. But I think it’s the more enjoyable part, being able to interact with the majority of the group and getting to know everyone on a first name basis and actually remembering who they are. And just to be more involved in their lives on a more personal level. I miss that. That aspect, as the church gets bigger, it’s just impossible to maintain that kind of relationship with everybody. So the developmental stage I think I really enjoy.

I’m also looking forward to getting to know people in the community. Being evangelistic, hoping to just let everyone who comes know that they are welcome and that we would love to get to know them, and hopefully seeing people come to know Christ. Having that be a more distinguishing mark than just transfer growth.

What are some fears you need to trust God with both for LBCSD and LBCSJ?

For San Jose, there are just practical concerns like, “Will we have money?”, “Will we have resources?”, and “Will we have a place to meet?” I think a lot of basic things because we don’t know what to expect. Will we be able to build a relationship with the church community at large? That’s a very important thing, that we’re not just there to do our own thing, but to partner and build relationships. That’s something I wish we could have seen happen more here.

Another fear is the realities of church. Conflicts, disappointments…that’s just a part of life. That’s something you don’t look forward to. I think especially when it involves people you become close with. The relational side is what carries the most weight for me both in terms of what I look forward to and what do I fear. Like betrayal. That’s already happened several times; it’s something painful to go through. While I hope those things don’t happen, unfortunately they do. But we know God is in control even in those things to shape the church and to help us trust Him more.

On the San Diego side, there’s going to be a lot of transition and adjustment. I’m concerned most for how people will treat Pastor Patrick. I hope they would be respectful and that they would not look down on the fact that he’s younger, but I hope that they can see the pattern of his faithfulness already since the church has started. And that they wouldn’t do any comparing. I think in a lot of ways Pastor Patrick has a lot of gifts and talents that I don’t. He has a lot to offer, and I think he’s shown his faithfulness to the church. I hope people will look at that as opposed to age or experience. Those things are just not fair to compare with someone who has been doing it for like twenty years.

And then for people to not place their hopes on people. The church doesn’t depend on me and so my leaving shouldn’t dictate how the church does. I know there will be practical facts because of relationships and all, but I hope people can just trust God and do their part in filling the gaps and whatever void they think might have been created. Not only with my family leaving, but others leaving. I hope it will lead to people stepping up, instead of people just complaining or moaning and groaning why things are the way they are. Hopefully people will not resort to being negative about all the change. It’ll be hard; it’ll be a challenging. Hopefully it’ll cause people to trust God more, and hopefully they’ll step up.

How do you feel about leaving Pastor Patrick? And how do you feel about taking JR?

I think we shared this at members meeting and at the ordination service. There’s no one else I would trust than Pastor Patrick. He has shown himself to be the most loyal and faithful partner in ministry that I’ve ever had. And that hasn’t come easy. I know he has had to put up with a lot with all my idiosyncrasies and differences, just the way he is. And I’ve been tough on him. And at times, I’ve probably made him cry. But he’s persevered. He’s teachable. He has shown me his willingness to work hard. And his willingness to do anything I’ve asked him to do from pastoral duties to simple things like cleaning up to running missions trips to even stepping in during my leave of absence and to run things and see what it’s like. I’m very confident that he’s going to do a great job. I’m honestly saying that; I’m not just saying that to get people psyched up.

I know Patrick will have his set of struggles, and he’ll have to adjust to being the senior pastor. That just has its own set of challenges that he’ll have to go through. But I hope people would know that he has definitely proven himself over the years. I can honestly say that he has shown himself to be a true friend and partner in ministry and he’s probably the one who has kept me sane over the years because he has made me laugh. Sometimes he would just be silly and help me not be serious about all these things. I’m confident that he’ll do a good job. Hopefully people would be patient with him too, give him room to adjust, and be himself.

Taking JR… I have mixed feelings about it. Personally I’m thankful. At the same time I know it takes a hit for the church because I know he’s been doing such a great job with the youth ministry. And I know the kids love him here. My kids love him too. So we’re fortunate to get him to continue on with us. JR’s heart has been with church plants. When we prayed whether he should be part of the plant or not, honestly I thought he should stay because I thought he could help Patrick. But he told me he fasted and prayed for over a month, and he prayed and trusted that it’s God’s direction for him to go. So, what can I say to that?

I know things don’t always go in the way of conventional thinking. I know that because that’s the way I look at a lot of things myself too. I couldn’t just say that’s not conventionally right or the best thing to do. At the same time I’m definitely thankful that he could come as a ministry partner would be helpful. JR has done a great job pastoring the youth, and not only that, he’s done a great job in developing in his preaching and he’s really grown in his ministry skills and I think it would be good to just have someone who I can count on to be there in case I get sick which happens often or be able to fill in on various ways and for Kathy to come with him. I know it’s going to be a challenge for the church as well to have two of the three pastors leaving.

What are some more encouraging words that you have heard regarding the church plant?

Some of the older folk have come up to me and told me that they are challenged that at this stage of life that we’re willing to do this. I think Angela and I imagined ourselves living in San Diego and just watching the kids grow up and enjoying the nice weather after leaving the east coast where it was cold, appreciating the warm weather more… As God has lain on our hearts to do this, we don’t want to make excuses because of “stage of life” issues. There are those who have been encouraged to not use “stage of life” excuses, and that’s been encouraging to hear.

Others have been encouraging to reaffirm our commitment to church planting. Especially the ones from northern California, they’re thankful that we’re going up there. But I think more than just going up there, they’ve learned a lot and grown here. It’s not just for the sake of having a church, but they want to show what they’ve learned here and have a place where family and friends they can share the gospel with and also bring them out to church. It has been encouraging to see the responses of people looking forward to see what’s going to happen up there.

Even some of the pastors up there have been very encouraging and receptive to partnering, at least developing friendships. When I came to San Diego, it wasn’t like that. No one wanted to be my friend. Churches were not very nice. That’s kind of nice to look forward to, pastors saying, “Yes, we need more churches planted!” In fact one pastor has said he’s willing to offer whatever support he could. When I came to San Diego, there were people actively opposing the church plant. It’s kind of strange. We thought we would encounter opposition from non-Christians, but we encountered more opposition from other Christians. So in San Diego, that was kind of a big difference. So that’s been an encouraging response from people too.

Do you ever have second thoughts? And if so, for what reasons? If not, what thought or conviction helps you stay determined?

I always wonder if I’ve made the right decisions because I don’t know at the time. There’s no 100% guarantee in everything, but I’m just trusting in God. I think one sure thing is trust God, and know that He will work everything out for good. I think I’m learning more and more through the Scriptures that God’s sovereignty really is something we can find comfort in. We can’t forecast or guarantee anything we do in life. Even from a human vantage point, we try to do all our homework and evaluate everything, and maybe make the best decision we think possible, but even then that’s no guarantee that it’s God’s will. I think trusting God is the one thing that keeps me hopeful.

But yeah, sometimes I wonder if we should have sold our house, should we start all over again? Some people say things like, you’re getting older now… why don’t you let the younger guys do it? And sometimes I think, yea, maybe that would be good because I’m tired, my health has not been as good. So sometimes is it the stress of doing these kinds of things that is getting to me more? I think just trying to get re-established all over again for everything, not having relatives close by… that’s the kind of things that come to mind, is this the best thing to do?

But I think about the long term picture, and I ask, what are we living for? We are not living for our own comforts. We’re not living to have our needs met, or have things convenient for us. Are we really considering Matthew 6:33? Is it really our heart’s desire? At a human level, it’s hard. But we trust God’s Word to be true, and that is actually what’s worth living for. And then we strive for that. And we know God will sustain us. But yea, sometimes it’s hard… especially when I think about Mexican food and Evangelical (the bookstore) and my friends there.

Will you be the only on-site elder? And should we be concerned?

Initially in principle, yea. But we already have in place what we call an “Administrative Team”. It’s kind of how we started things here as well, and that we would work together with the team in terms of making decisions. This is not a dictatorship. Yes, I think I need to provide leadership, but at the same time work as a team. There are already certain kinds of things we’re talking through, and having checks and balances for decision-making issues so that it’s not completely just my will being imposed on everybody. At the same time, I would hope that God would use me to provide clear leadership and direction, but not at the expense of just simply imposing my own will. I’ve always been a team guy; I don’t think I’m the guy that’s supposed to make all the calls for everything. But at the same time I’m in a position to teach and equip and challenge people. In good time, our goal would be to appoint elders who would fulfill the qualifications, and we hope to do that very early on in the life of the church.

to be continued…