New City Church is Moving to Los Angeles Theatre Center, Our Dream Venue!

When we moved into Club 740 in August, we said that it would be a temporary location until we found something more suitable for us. Club 740 works well for adults but it is somewhat challenging for children. So, we have been praying for a new venue for several months.

God is good! From December 7, 2008, New City Church of LA will be meeting at Los Angeles Theatre Center (which is called The New LATC) for our Sunday worship gathering. It's only about 2 blocks away from Club 740 and it is a fantastic facility. It's been my dream venue. It is the only multi-plex playhouse in downtown. There are four performance theaters in there. They have a great room for kids ministry there as well. And, it is clean! The facility is operated by Latino Theater Company and owned by City of Los Angeles.

The first time I approached this facility a year ago, they didn't know how to respond to me. I remember praying for the space then. They didn't have a clear price sheet for non-profits and it was unclear who I was even supposed to talk to. We checked with them again around August of this year before we moved to Club 740 just in case they were open to us coming. They told us they could not accommodate us.

A couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd check again; they can only say no, I thought. For some reason, this time, they were open to the possibility of us meeting there, and at a reasonable price. I think Paul Graham, the relatively new General Manager, decided to bring us in because he saw that our church's vision of bringing diverse people of downtown together is similar to the vision of Latino Theater Company. Today, I inked the deal for New City to meet there starting from December 7. Praise God!

Here are some pictures of the New LATC:

An Article about New City Church in Downtown LA Life Magazine

Downtown LA Life Magazine is a very progressive magazine with a significant readership. They wrote a very positive article about us. Here it is:

NEW CITY CHURCH
A New Downtown Church for All the People

By: Don Noyes-More

Pastor Kevin Haah has been given a clear path to follow in his life; it was a hard decision to be made, “Manna or God?” For Kevin “manna” was to be a lucrative legal practice and “God” was to be his decision and personal “calling” -to turn from “manna” and follow his God through the streets of Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles.

Pastor Kevin, Masters graduate of Pasadena based Fuller Theological School, understood through his experiences with the diverse community in downtown, that the old concept of church “pay and pray” was not meeting the spiritual and real life daily dramas that faced the homeless and working poor. He also saw a need to reach those that were affluent and well off, but in need of something more than a good loft and money in the pocket; they needed a spiritual life. And he struggled with this knowledge and mission for some time.

How does one bring diverse communities together as a congregation? How do you bring together such populations as the working poor, Gays, homeless, rich, young and old, African-American, Asian, and white? A difficult task indeed.

For the rest of the article, click here.

Congratulations President Obama!

No matter who you voted for, I think it was hard not to tear up last night when the networks called the election at 8pm and during the Obama victory speech. So many people, particularly African-Americans and other minorities (like me), couldn't help but feel extremely proud to be an American. It was a historic moment, a deep moment in the depth of my soul.

Here are some images of the moment:

The Most Important Thing in Picking a President

I think the most important thing in picking a president is not his policy (although it IS important), but his judgment and character. Ultimately, the president does not have ultimate policy authority. He has to work with the Congress to change policy. But, the president alone for all practical purposes makes the decision in times of crisis--to go to war or otherwise deal with foreign threat or use our military. I think the most important thing should be: whose judgment do you trust? Who demonstrastes better judgment? Who better demonstrates intellegence, humility, honesty, wisdom, leadership, courage, love, faith, hope, and character? All of these things lead to better judgment in times of crisis.

Just ask youself if policy or judgment mattered more in the Bush presidency.



Christianity Today did an interesting article last June called How to Pick a President and argued that virtues should be the basis for picking our president, not policy. They focus more on virtues than judgment, but I think their point is similar to mine.

Here's an interesting exchange between Fox News and Bill Burton, Obama spokesperson about Burton's allegation that Fox News is biased and Fox New's defense that it is not biased. You be the judge.

"Most," A Moving Illustation of God's Love for Us

Here is an excellent video clip from a short film called "Most," which was nominated for Academy Award. It is an extremely moving story of a loving father who had to make a choice between sacrificing his son or sacrificing a train load of people.

This is one of the best illustations I've seen to explain God's love for us. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.

I was listening to Warren Buffett talk about the credit crisis on Charlie Rose and I was very impressed. He had a way of putting complicated things into easy to understand terms. Here are some of the things he said that was memorable.

When asked about the bailout package, he said, "It's better to be approximately right than exactly wrong."

He thought the government can make some money on the deal with the financial institutions if they play the cards well. Essentially, the government is becoming the ultimate vulture capitalist. If he had the money and the staying power that the US Treasury has, he said he would play the cards.

On what caused the mortgage crisis: he mentioned the three "i"s: innovators, imitators, and idiots.