Korean Daybreak Service

Image from Pixabay.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us... (Hebrews 12:1, RSV) (Bible Gateway)

 I've been attending daybreak services, called 새벽기도회, (sae-byeok-kido-hoi). The church I attend has services at 5:00 and 6:10 am. I go to the 5:00 am service because it enables me to get home by 6:00 am, in time to wake my son up so he can start on his schoolwork and get ready for school.

This is quite the paradigm shift for me. I've probably mocked the notion of having a service that early in the morning as false religion, excessive worship or something like that.

What brought this change on? Well, two people I was close to have passed away recently. The first was my Uncle Leland Dirks, who was discovered dead on February 15, 2024. The second was my Korean-American second cousin (no pun intended), Mee Ae Wolney, who died on April 4, 2024. It seems that more and more of the people in my life who have had such a great impact on my life are dying. In some ways, it is beginning to feel like God is the only one I can count on.

Actually, I started going to daybreak services to pray for Mee Ae, that God would heal her. It seemed to be working well. She started getting better. Then I missed two days and during that time is when she passed away.

So back to the daybreak services. Here is the worship sequence. It's quite simple.

1. Everybody recites the Apostles' Creed.

2. Everybody sings a hymn from the back of our Bibles (Korean Bibles have a mini-hymnal in the back).

3. A short sermon (In smaller churches, the senior pastor usually preaches but my church has enough associate pastors that there is a rotation). Right now, they are preaching a series on 1 Kings.

4. The pastor then closes in prayer, which ties into the benediction.

5. The pastor then reads the names of people who gave offering. Offering is given by placing money in envelopes and writing one's name and placing it on the podium/mini-pulpit comparable to a music stand. 

6. Brief mention of prayer requests.

7. People are then encouraged to raise their hands and cry out "주여" (Ju-yeo, which means "Lord) three times. Then people pray individually, quietly or out loud. The officiating pastor prays at loud at first and then either sits down with the congregation to pray or leaves the room where the service is being held. 

To my surprise, this service gives me a surge of energy. I have to get up at 4:00 am, so naturally, I'm sometimes tired. But if I don't go to the service then I feel tired and guilty for not going. So the reward for going far outweighs the inconvenience of getting up before the crack of dawn.

I think one of the reasons why this prayer meeting is so meaningful to me is that I'm not just praying alone. It reminds me of Hebrews 12:1, quoted above, that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. I feel like I am surrounded by those witnesses. When I don't know what to say, I love to watch people pray. It gives me encouragement and a hope that they are also praying for me and that while God hears their prayers, that God will hear mine also.

Book Review: "A Natural History of Scripture"

If you are looking for a perspective on the Bible that is easier to read, that explains the Bible from its origin to where we are today, A Natural History of Scripture: How the Bible Evolved by Keith H. Adkins just may be what you're looking for. Having studied theology but never quite figuring out how to articulate what I learned in college, this book is a must-read for anybody who wants to know where the Bible comes from or someone who just graduated from college but is having difficulty figuring out how to piece everything together or how to articulate it to those s/he is ministering to. Below, I offer a review of this book with my own perspective.

First, a summary. This book has 8 chapters. It starts easy. So easy, in fact you can breeze through the first half of the book. The book is broken into four parts. Part one is titled, "Prenatal Stage: Storytellers." It only includes chapters 1 which is entitled, "Oral History: The Theory of Common Descent." Part two, "Infant Stage: Writers," consists of chapter two, which is called, "Written History: Earliest Fossils in the Bible," and chapter 3 which is about, "Prophets: First Branch of a New Species." Part 3 is entitled, "Adolescent Stage: Editors, and includes chapter 4 which is called, "Priests: Gradualism in Action, chapter 5, which is named, "Translators: Diversity Strikes Again," and chapter 6 which is entitled, "Evangelists: Adaptation at Work." Part 4 is entitled, "Adult Stage: Standardizers" and includes chapter 7, which is entitled, "Politicians: Natural Selection in Process," and chapter 8, called, "Publishers: Elements of Microevolution."

This book follows a very specific approach, meshing the Scriptures with Darwinian evolution. This may be shocking to some readers who may be attracted to the simple reading level of this book. But even if one is not an evolutionist, I think one can gain great value from reading this book.

The reason is that while Keith Adkins starts with a simple (not simplistic) explanation of how the Bible began, as the book progresses, he goes deeper and deeper into the history of the Bible. While he emphasizes the human aspects of the development of the Bible and one may think early on that he denies the synergism of the human with the divine, that is not the case. He underscores that in the end with a connection of the hypostatic (divine-human) nature of Christ to the Bible. 

If one is interested in the King James Bible (KJB), one will gain an appreciation for the historical context of where that Bible came from. And if one is partial to more modern translations, s/he will gain an appreciation of where that Bible came from as well. 

As I said in the beginning, this book summarizes very well my experience in undergrad and seminary, but especially undergrad. I can recall my professors saying things that were referenced in their classes. For example, Dr. Tom Phillips at Eastern Nazarene College at the time, who spoke of the diversity of the Church from it's inception in Biblical Literature and Dr. George Lyons spoke of redaction in his New Testament Interpretation class. 

This is a book that would be good not only for college students or college graduates but also those who want to know more about the Bible. In fact, I'd like to use this book as a preface to a Bible study with students at the university I teach at in South Korea. 

Thank you, Keith H. Adkins, a fellow Wesleyan, for bringing scholarship to the masses in a readable format that those with formal theological training and those without can gain thanks to your diligent work.

A Natural History of Scripture Website
Keith H. Adkins’ Website

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 Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.