Preface

"Back to the Bible" is our first motto. In a sense, we live it. For example, our members read the Bible and find one verse for the new year. We strive to live according to the key verse throughout the year. We have many lay missionaries and shepherds. They are not trained to be a professional messenger or clergy man. Yet every Sunday they deliver messages holding on to the Bible passage. Their messages reveal their struggles with the word of God and every effort to live according to Jesus' teachings.

On the other hand we have not given much thought on what the first motto means to us. We have inherited it, but have not delved into it. Now we want to face it. It is like questioning about life after living it so long, "What is life?" Such philosophical question has its own merit. In 2011 we celebrated the 50th anniversary. We felt it was worthwhile to give some thoughts on many spiritual heritages, especially the first one. So we asked people to write an essay on this motto. Several people took time and submitted their essay. This is the collection of their essays. After reviewing them we have classified them by three areas: explorative, pedagogical and testimonial. Some are written in Korean or Spanish, which have been translated into English.

Each essay reveals one's thought or concerns on the topic. Everyone shares what he knows about the motto or how he practices it. Despite some differences among them, they also have concensus. This collection is not exhaustive, nor the end. We pray that these essays inspire many to think about what we do in light of our first motto and cherish it as we live it. We wish to have another chance to collect this type of essays.

June 1, 2013
Editors: Charles Kim and Tony King