Albert Hung of Trinity Church added to Symposium Workshop Leaders

 

Pastor Albert Hung will be a discussion panelist and workshop leader at Symposium V, held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley. Our morning session, focused on money matters, features members of the business and finance world, discussing how to lead healthy financial lives while also living out our faith. Pastor Albert, as the “lay person” of this group, will add his “wealth” of personal wisdom and insights from his Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful sermon series. Other workshop leaders are: Shana Won,Jeffery Wong and Sal Mendoza.

Workshop Description: Money. Every day, we have to make choices about how we get it, spend it, invest it, or share it. And yet, few people feel confident about how they’re handling their finances. The stress associated with money can take a toll on our minds, hearts, and bodies as well as wreak havoc in our relationships. Studies reveal that fighting over money is the leading cause of divorce.

• What can we do to make sure that we are in control of our finances rather than letting our finances control us?
• How can we ensure we have enough money to cover all our family’s needs, save for the future, and still give generously towards the causes we care about?

The Bible is packed with wise counsel about finances. This highly practical workshop will help you:

1. Understand what God says about money.
2. Give you concrete action steps so you can become a better steward of the resources God has entrusted to you.

Speaker Bio:

Albert Hung is the Lead Pastor at Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Monterey Park, California, a multi-cultural church with services in English and Mandarin. After spending several years working in theater, television, and the music industry, Albert committed his life to Christ in 2000 while living in Taipei, Taiwan.

Soon afterwards, he moved to Southern California to begin a new journey as one called to full time ministry. He is passionate about leadership development, cross-cultural ministry, and mobilizing Christians to use their gifts and abilities to advance the kingdom of God in the local community.

 

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ISAAC’s 5th Symposium: Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances will be held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley. 

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Register for Symposium V HERE.

Sal Mendoza of City National to Present at Symposium

Photo Credit: CARAT NET

Sal Mendoza is the senior vice president of community reinvestment at City National Bank, supporting Community Reinvestment Act, loan development and marketing efforts, as well as City National’s community outreach initiatives and Hispanic new business development. In addition to a prolific banking career, Mr. Mendoza is a staple in the Los Angeles community, serving as chairman of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services, and as a member of the boards of directors of Public Counsel, People Assisting the Homeless, and the San Fernando Valley Financial Development Corporation.

Mr. Mendoza will address ways that the financial industry can bring about greater economic justice instead of merely perpetuating the cycle of “money makes money.”

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ISAAC’s 5th Symposium: Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances will be held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley. 

Register for Symposium V HERE.

Investment Manager, Jeffery Wong, to Present at Symposium

“The Finance Industry and the Kingdom: Points of Dissonance, Points of Resonance”

Jeffrey Wong has over 25 years of experience in finance, trading, and investment management. He will be sharing from the expertise and insight he has garnered over that time, including thoughts on the challenges of integrating work in the financial sector within a kingdom framework, and practical ways we can be good stewards of our finances.

Specific topics include dealing with the idols that arise from working in a money-focused industry, working in a profession that seems to benefit a more narrow scope of people (in contrast with fields such as medicine and education with a wider reach of society), whether serving the kingdom takes place through or apart from work, living simply, and implementing a sound savings/investment plan.

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ISAAC’s 5th Symposium: Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances will be held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley. 

Registration Now Available HERE.

Shana Won, CFP, to Present at ISSAC’s 5th Symposium

Shana Won, Certified Financial Planner, has been in the business of helping her clients achieve their financial goals for over 20 years. At ISAAC’s 5th Symposium, Shana will be sharing her wisdom and practical tools during our “Healing of Finances” session.

Shana’s workshop will lead attendees through “Decoupling Emotional Ties to Your Money.” She’ll tackle the following questions:

• How often have you been angry over money?
• How often have you felt shamed by money?
• How often have you felt so happy over money?
• How often do you covet other’s good fortune?
• Have you ever been paralyzed by fear of not having enough money?

Looking at the ways “money” can elicit many emotions influenced by one’s culture and personal history of own experiences, Shana answers the question of, “how can we avoid having these emotions control your relationship to money?”

In her words, “the challenge we face is redirecting our relationship with money. We want to learn to decouple our emotional attachment to money as an end and learn to value money as a tool to achieve greater value. The art of shepherding our fortune is to create value so that we can be a good steward of our money and our lives.”

At Shana’s workshop, she’ll open her financial tool box and share methods to help manage money effectively and dispassionately. Specific techniques will be offered that can be applied to any financial situation to relieve daily pressures.

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Shana Won is a Certified Financial Planner with Shuster Financial Group. Certified in Retirement Planning by the Wharton School, Shana also holds 2 bachelor’s degrees from UCLA. Actively involved in community and professional organizations, Shana is a member of the Women’s Leadership Council, the Million Dollar Roundtable, the IAFP, and is the Investment Committee Chair for the International Institute of Los Angeles. She sits on ISAAC’s Board of Directors as our Treasurer. For more information, please see shanawon.com.

 ISAAC’s 5th Symposium: Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances will be held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley.

Registration Now Available HERE.

Hee-Sun Cheon to Bring Collective Sculpting to ISAAC’s 5th Symposium

ISAAC’s 5^th Symposium will feature Marriage and Family Therapy professor Hee-Sun Cheon and her interactive “sculpting” presentation. The sculpting exercise utilizes members of small groups as the “material” for sculpting expressions of collective and individual experience. This unique process integrates our minds, hearts and bodies in a shared encounter.

Each group member has the opportunity to be the “teller,” physically arranging group members in order to tell a story. The purpose being to “reflect their own wounds and healing experiences” and to allow the other participants to “listen and honor all the stories.”

In this practice of taking turns as teller, the group begins to develop collective images that include “any collective themes, images, ideas or values that stand out or seem to capture the essence or common experiences of the groups’ healing journey.” The process evolves  into a “live sculpture” that moves and shifts into new images.

Sculpting is a popular intervention used by family therapists as well as many therapists in other fields. Hee-Sun’s work in particular draws mainly from drama therapy.

Professor Cheon’s session will be the focus of the 5^th Symposium’s afternoon session: The Healing of Memories.

Hee-Sun Cheon is a registered drama therapist and licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in WA. As a faculty member in the Masters’ program of Marriage and Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA. Hee-Sun specializes in couples therapy, particularly in Emotionally Focused Therapy, supervision and training in MFT, mental health disparity issues for Asian Americans, and applications of drama therapy in the field of family therapy.

ISAAC to Honor Roy Sano with Legacy Award

Bishop Roy I. Sano. Photo Credit: Felipe Castillo

Bishop Roy I. Sano will be presented with the ISAAC Legacy Award at ISAAC’s 5th Symposium on October 5th. [1] The Legacy Award honors pioneers and leaders from the Asian American Christian community. Past recipients include Rev. Dr. Hoover Wong and Eleanor Huang, LCSW.

Bishop Sano is being recognized as an invaluable and long standing leader in the community. His CV includes degrees from UCLA, Union, GTU and Claremont Graduate School. Ordained in 1957, Bishop Sano served the United Methodist Church on the U.M. General Board of Global Ministries, the U.M. General Board of Church and Society and the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.

Perhaps more importantly, Bishop Sano carries with him the deep and compelling wisdom that only experience and reflection can cultivate. As a survivor of FDR’s Executive Order 9066, Sano — along with 110,000 other Japanese Americans — was forced to relocate into internment camps after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. These early experiences have shaped Bishop Sano’s conviction for both grace and justice.

Sano describes those early trials as “a wound that has healed, but the scars of a wound remain… a scar as a reminder: ‘never again’ if I can in any way prevent that or oppose that.” [2] This understanding has no doubt served him in his positions as President of the UMC Council of Bishops and its first Executive Secretary. Bishop Sano comments that these appointments “say a lot about the graciousness of my Episcopal colleagues who deeply disagreed with me on some missional participation.”

Speaking on his call to the ministry, the Bishop describes his decision “to work for this island of acceptance in this turbulent ocean of hate.” It is his lasting impact in this work that ISAAC recognizes and honors with the 2013 Legacy Award.

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[1] ISAAC’s 5th Symposium: Healing of Memories, Healing of Finances will be held on October 5th at Evergreen Baptist Church, San Gabriel Valley.

Registration Now Available HERE.

[2] “Wartime Internment Teaches Bishop The Importance of Grace” by Cecile S. Holmes

 

ISAAC’s 5th Symposium

ISAAC’s 5th Symposium revisits the theme of “Healing of Memories.” In addition to psychological wounds, we also address an unspoken voice of the church and seminaries – finances. When we discuss money, heated emotions erupt from wounded memories that block us psychologically and financially. By unmasking them, we can find inner healing by reframing them in the light of God’s abundant love and become better stewards of our body, mind, and finances.

FORMAT: Panel discussions and workshops exploring: 1. The healing of memories and relationships 2. The healing of memories and finances. In addition, we will attend to the creative movement of our bodies, acknowledging the body as a storyteller for unspoken voices.

LEGACY LUNCHEON: We will honor the pioneer Japanese American pastoral theologian, Bishop Roy I. Sano. Bishop Sano has been a bridge between church and academy. His legacy has reached countless Asian American spiritual leaders.

Early Bird Registration is now available. $50 for general admission. $30 for students.

REGISTER FOR SYMPOSIUM V HERE

Pastor Albert Hung Preaches on Faith and Money

The collective financial health of Christians, the Church and American society at large has suffered from a lack of knowledge and accountability. In response, a growing movement of Christian leaders has sought to turn the tide of this problem. Among them is Pastor Albert Hung of Trinity Church of the Nazarene. Recently he preached a sermon series titled “Lifestyles of the Rich and Faithful.”

This four part series includes talks on:

1. “How to Be Rich“
2. “Live to Give“
3. “Show Me the Money“
4. “Why Money Matters “

Pastor Albert running for charity

Generally regarded as a fine teacher with a modest and considerate preaching persona, Pastor Albert discusses financial issues with unusual candor.

Devoting an entire month to the topic, each sermon takes on a different aspect of finances, money and faith.

“How to be Rich” looks at the biblical rational for a non-consumerist lifestyle.

In a show of transparency, Albert shared his family’s 2012 budget (income and expenses) during his “Live to Give” message.

In “Show Me the Money,” Albert shares 6 simple pointers to responsible money management [1] in the context explaining the layered lessons from Matthew 25.

“Why Money Matters” explores the Christian role as stewards of money, instead of owners. In this light, money is seen as an energetic potential to be actualized by Christians in service of higher goals and ideals. Significant commentary is also made regarding the immense portion of wealth that American Christians hold.

Audio files of this series is available at the Trinity Church website: http://www.trinitychurchmp.com/

The upcoming ISAAC Symposium will devote the morning session to “Healing of Finances” (Saturday October 5). Christian leaders in the financial sectors will elaborate on Christian life in and about financial systems. “More than ever,” says ISAAC Director Young Lee Hertig, “we all need to increase our financial knowledge and the toolbox so that we may exercise healthy stewardship within our interdependent relationships of family, church, society and eco-systems that we rely on for our sustainability.”

More Symposium updates coming soon.

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[1] “The six things you must do to make sure you never get lost: 1) Be willing to work; 2) Spend less than you earn; 3) Avoid (consumer) debt; 4) Build an emergency fund; 5) Set long term goals; 6) Plan with eternity in mind.”

Money Matters: Healing of Finances

A MESSAGE FROM ISAAC PRESIDENT, DR. YOUNG LEE HERTIG:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)

More than ever the power of money rules every sector of American society and yet discussing money matters remains taboo. Unfortunately, this collective silence is found in our seminary curricular and in our church life, despite Jesus’ connection of money to the gravitas of people’s hearts. Considering that the soil of ministry is the hearts of the people, and pastoral leadership also entails financial stewardship, breaking the eggshell of money matters is crucial, especially in the aftermath of 2008 economic meltdown.

Personally it wasn’t until my fifties that I began to overcome my discomfort about addressing financial matters. Eight years of leadership in a nonprofit organization has shown me how money matters take human relationships to a whole new dimension. For example, relationships take on a whole new dimension when the money issue is raised. Until one deals with money matters with another person, no matter how long the relationship has lasted, we don’t know that person’s heart. To make matters more complicated, our relationship with money is also shaped by culture and family scripts. One culture’s taboo is not another’s. In the early church, it was taboo not to reveal one’s financial assets; in the contemporary Christian scene, it is taboo to do so. Hence, until we deal with money matters with a circle of people, we don’t fully know those people no matter how many years of friendship we have invested. Indeed, as Jesus stated, money reveals where our hearts reside.

Having taught in a classroom where all the behind the scenes matters are taken care of, and having delegated household financial matters conveniently to my spouse, I honestly haven’t paid much attention to financial matters until I joined the world of running a nonprofit organization. Yes, I am a latecomer to this matter and therefore am passionate about one of the most important but silent issues that dictate all spheres of life.

The economic meltdown worsened an enormous income gap between our nation’s top 1% and the remaining 99% of American people. People are revealing their hearts through money matters more sharply than ever. All kinds of break ups—couples, friendships, and churches involve finances! Yet, addressing money matters is a taboo and therefore when it is addressed, we discover the hidden dark sides or generosity in people of which we were not aware of previously.

For these reasons, ISAAC’s 5^th Symposium will devote the morning session to “Healing of Finances” (Saturday October 5), drawing the expertise of Christian leaders in the financial sectors. The objective of the morning session is to learn about financial systems and to balance taking and giving as Jesus emphasized numerous times in his teaching. More than ever we all need to increase our financial knowledge and the toolbox so that we may exercise healthy stewardship within our interdependent relationships of family, church, society and eco-systems that we rely on for our sustainability.