Jay Y. Kim
6 min read ⭑
“I’ve found that if and when I choose the way of love, in any and all circumstances, hindsight reveals that God was moving beautifully and mysteriously in those moments. I love Paul’s reminder in Galatians 5 about the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If and when I choose these things, I usually know it’s God moving.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
My mother and I moved from South Korea, where I was born, to the Silicon Valley of California when I was a toddler. As in most immigrant homes, our kitchen was typically filled with the smells and sounds of cooking that reminded mom of home. But as a single mom, there were many days when she couldn’t muster the energy or find the time to cook.
Thankfully, a few blocks from our place was a small restaurant called The Korea House. I remember frequenting it often as a child, admonished by my mom for always ordering fried rice, a simple dish she could easily have made at home.
The restaurant has a different name today, but the cooking there still reminds me of home — in more ways than one. It reminds me of my mother. It reminds me of my childhood. It reminds me of where I came from — in ways I remember and ways I don’t. It reminds me of humble beginnings and hopeful futures.
Anthony Gucciardi; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
I’m not sure I’d consider these “nonspiritual” per se, but visiting art galleries and museums and going to see live music are two of my absolute favorite ways to spend time. Visceral artistic experiences have a way of enlivening me that almost nothing else does. One of the great joys of my life is that much of my work is creative work. And as such, immersing myself in art and music has always sparked my imagination in life-giving ways, fueling me toward greater creativity in my own work.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
Pride and shame.
I know the two aren’t typically named together. But upon further inspection, it becomes clear that they live in a perpetual dance. This has been true since the beginning of the human story. Pride led the first man and woman to take fruit that wasn’t theirs in hopes that they might become like God. And this led to shame, an opening of the eyes to see their nakedness as inherently shameful rather than inherently good, pure and innocent.
I know this dance well. I struggle with pride and shame on a daily basis. Sometimes I try to perform my way out of situations. Other times, I hide and stay out of sight, hoping I won’t be found out as a fraud.
Both are born of lies, that my worth is tied to my performance, that God’s grace has limits, and that if I don’t make a name for myself, I’ll be forgotten, lost and mired in insignificance.
Thank God for his vast ocean of grace, which covers my pride and shame wave after wave.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
Vocationally, I am a local church pastor. This is the thing I am most called to. Most days, outside of thinking about my wife and two young children, I spend my waking moments prayerfully contemplating and considering what God might be up to in the lives of our church family as we learn and live the way of Jesus here in the Silicon Valley of California.
I also love writing. I’ve written a couple of books over the past few years, “Analog Christian” and “Analog Church.” Both explore the way of Jesus in the digital age, what it means to be the church in a simultaneously interconnected and disconnected world, and what it means to bear the fruit of the Spirit in our lives amid the digital and social media chaos of our day.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
One of my mentors always says, “We pray hard and guess.” I’ve found this concept both true and freeing. So to be honest, I rarely know for sure whether it’s God when something happens — at least in the moment.
But the gift of hindsight is a wonderful thing. I’ve found that if and when I choose the way of love in any and all circumstances — asking myself, What is the most loving thing I can do here? — hindsight reveals that God, by his Spirit, was moving beautifully and mysteriously in those moments.
In a way, I think asking that question — What is the most loving thing I can do? — is the Spirit moving in and through us.
I love Paul’s reminder in Galatians 5 about the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If and when I choose these things, I usually know it’s God moving.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin’ best for you right now?
Silence and solitude.
Life in this modern world of ours is a cacophony of chaos. I’ve found that it’s difficult — sometimes impossible — to hear God when we’re surrounded by all this noise.
Scheduling times in my calendar for silence and solitude have been an absolute game-changer for me. Typically, these moments take place on Fridays when my wife, Jenny, is at work, the kids are at school and I have a day off.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources — lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
“The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard, “Simply Christian” by N.T. Wright, and “Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m working on a couple of upcoming books. I’m excited about how they might help a few folks in the coming years. Keep in mind, though, that both of these are working titles: “(Un)Steady and Sure: Discovering Stability in God in an Uncertain World” and “(Un)Safe and Sound: Christian Resilience for a Fragile World.”
If you Google “How to know God’s will,” you’ll get about 286,000 results in just 0.68 seconds. That’s an impressive number of answers, right?
But Google can’t give us the assurance we’re really craving. If we’re being honest with ourselves, we’re actually longing for peace that only comes from keeping in step with Jesus. Thankfully, the Bible gives us the key to this peace:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25, ESV).
Maybe enjoying the peace of keeping in step with the Spirit starts with asking the question Jay posed earlier in his interview: “What’s the most loving thing I can do right now?”
Jay Y. Kim serves as lead pastor at WestGate Church in the Silicon Valley of California. He’s the author of Analog Christian and Analog Church. His written work has been featured in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Relevant Magazine, Missio Alliance and Outreach Magazine. He’s a graduate of Fuller Seminary and lives in Silicon Valley with his wife and their two young kids.
