Author Archives: Andrew Min

I watched Past Lives last night with my wife and it’s still on my mind. The film is about Nora, married and in her 30s, who reconnects with a childhood sweetheart. For me, it isn’t so much a story about long lost romantic love, but about the pieces of our past that make us whoContinueContinue reading “Past Lives”

The Bible is written primarily in the narrative form, because humans are primarily narrative creatures. Our most deeply held, most animating beliefs, the ones that color our vision and construct the way we function in this world, are embedded not in logic, but in the narratives we internalize. Essentially, we are defined by our stories.ContinueContinue reading “Why I Learn My Story”

Last month, I spoke with a friend who’s noticed something lately that worries him. He recently helped host a conference for Christian students wanting to impact their school campuses, where they invited a bunch of famous pastors and worship leaders, and hundreds of passionate youth attended. The conference was an incredible time of empowerment, heContinueContinue reading “The Hunger for Significance”

I recently discovered some new details about my parents’ marriage that explain so much about my family growing up. I’ve always viewed my childhood through a fog, a vague sadness that I couldn’t explain, but now I feel like I’m being brought back to the trauma of my childhood with a sharp clarity that’s smackingContinueContinue reading “The Story That Makes Us”

I’m really fascinated by the magic of unlearned human expressions. No one has to teach a kid to laugh when he’s happy, to pout when he’s upset, or to jump up and down when he’s celebrating. It’s so normal, but still surprisingly difficult to understand. It’s as if our internal experiences of joy, anger, victory,ContinueContinue reading “A Place to Start”

“I have a friend who’s falling away… What do I say to her?” Hahahahaha. Sigh… I don’t know. The reality is hard to stomach: either your friend ultimately holds on somehow as she looks to God, or she just slips away. And only God can keep us to Himself… I don’t know. It’s times like theseContinueContinue reading “My Response to a Friend’s Question”

This is a repost from my previous blog, originally written on April 24, 2012. I wrote this when I was about two years into my first position as a youth pastor. God taught me a lot about what it means to love Him in my time there, at that little Temecula church in the middle ofContinueContinue reading ““The man who loves God, is known by God.””

Sometimes living is really hard for me. Some days the best I can do to cope is just distract myself with random crap to make it through the day without choking on this vague sense of disappointment in my life, to just survive the emptiness. It’s that kind of day where it’s bluntly clear thatContinueContinue reading “Resurrection and Life”

This is a repost from my previous blog, originally written on July 2, 2013. I’m thankful to revisit this blog today. It was my reflection during a time of big transition in life. I’m in the middle of a new life transition again, but God’s reminding me that it’s just a part of a story HeContinueContinue reading “The Way Home”