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Stamped on the bag of rice are the words \u201cKingdom Rice\u201d and an image of San Francisco fronted by the famous gates of Chinatown.<\/strong><\/p>\n The name \u201cKingdom Rice\u201d is explained here<\/a>. Below the name is a picture of San Francisco, fronted by the famous gates of Chinatown. Though I never lived in Chinatown, I was born there, shopped there for groceries growing up, and married there. It\u2019s a cultural home and provides an excellent backdrop to investigate my story and my identity. The more I know my own story, the more I\u2019m able to cross over into other people\u2019s stories, regardless of culture. Chinatown has also been my backdrop of choice to tell the redemptive story of God through the neighborhood\u2019s brokenness and struggles through the years. It\u2019s a backdrop where I can most effectively invite and challenge people to join hands with what God is already doing.\u00a0 To date, I\u2019ve now challenged and invited many, many students from seminaries and people around the states and the world to step into this story, God\u2019s redemptive story of reaching the nations through our cities. What goes on in such a tour? Read here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Iconic San Francisco landmarks are pictured right behind the gates of Chinatown on the bag. Just as knowing my own story is a bridge to loving others, understanding Chinatown bridges understanding and entering into the stories of San Francisco, and see God\u2019s beauty in the midst of hurt and brokenness. It\u2019s ironic that San Francisco has a horrible reputation among Christians. I\u2019ve heard Christians bash San Francisco many times, wondering how anyone can live in such a place filled with homelessness, smells, crazy politics, and more. The fact that it\u2019s the LGBT capital, has one of the lowest bible literacy rates, among other things, does not help. True, there is brokenness here; San Francisco is a magnet for dissidents. But on the flip side, the nations have come to places like San Francisco and that\u2019s a primary reason why missiologists are calling cities like San Francisco the new \u201cepicenters\u201d of missions. In fact, I believe that if Jesus were in the flesh, walking the streets of San Francisco, he\u2019d spend a good fraction of his time hanging and dining in the LGBT neighborhood or anywhere where dissidents are. As portrayed in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is the compassionate Savior for everyone! And people will be drawn to His love, and people\u2019s thirsts would be quenched in Him. That\u2019s what happened in His day when he hung out with outcasts of his day, and we\u2019re called to do the same here, to be his hands and feet to those who need Jesus. Personally, I am currently witnessing how God is changing hearts among people who have LGBT or other backgrounds that Christians are quick to label \u201cabominable\u201d actions. In as much as people in \u201cclosed countries\u201d report how God often shows up in dreams (something foreign in our western world), I am witnessing how God shows up among addicts, people from the LGBT, and more, accepting them right where they\u2019re at, but loving them too much for them to stay there. I know these people personally, work with them, and pray with them. I am seeing transformation before my very eyes, among the guests in my home, among those I study the Bible with in the local cafe, and more. San Francisco has huge problems, but it is also a place where God\u2019s Kingdom is breaking through.<\/p>\n But the impact of God\u2019s work through Kingdom Rice doesn\u2019t stop in San Francisco\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s why the image has the world in the background. The equipping I do through Kingdom Rice equips lay and leaders alike to more effectively disciple and evangelize people who have very different world views than we have here in the West. Theologically, this is well taught in the Bible, especially in seminary cross-cultural programs. But these ideas are for the most part relegated to missionaries working abroad, and rarely taught in today\u2019s Western pulpit, and even more rarely lived out.\u00a0<\/p>\n I no longer minister abroad like I used to, but I feel like I have more impact for the nations than I ever did before. For one, I\u2019m wiser. I have now accrued a very unique experiential and educational base. Secondly, I often train missionaries on how to cross cultural divides right in their own backyards. For Youth with a Mission in San Francisco for example, I committed to teaching a 10 hour slot with the goal of connecting their overseas missions experience with normative lifestyle evangelism. With opportunities this this one and many others, God is converging my education, experience, and evangelism to effectively train disciples who are reaching and training others across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n How did this picture come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m fairly aware that my writing, and in particular my newsletters (for those of you who receive them) can sometimes be quite dense. This is true for at least several reasons. One, I\u2019m often trying to redefine mental images that we associated with words. Why? Jesus yearns for us to experience freedom and abundance. But sometimes the words oft used to describe this abundance gets quenched by images associated with our language. For example, the word \u201cmission\u201d is often associated with overseas work, whereas I feel the work of missions needs to embody crossing cultural divides right where we live, and that \u201cmissions\u201d is only for an \u201celite\u201d Christian crowd verses a call for everyone. Another reason for my struggle is this: I am passionate about giving disciples of Jesus experiences and pictures of the Kingdom that are not common in Christian experience. How do you put an experience into words?\u00a0<\/p>\n Add to that, I\u2019ve been trained and paid in my \u201cpast life\u201d to think like an engineer. That\u2019s why I decided I really needed a picture<\/b> to describe the ministry. Sure, there are words, but the picture tells more of the story of what\u2019s been burning in my heart, what I\u2019m doing with Kingdom Rice, and what I am longing for.<\/p>\n