Dave Lee
“Where are you from?”
For years, I dreaded being asked this common, simple question— because it would send me spiraling into uncontrollable angst and internal turmoil as I sought to explain and justify my identity.
You see, this question reminded me of a hard but undeniable truth: I was a misfit, a person who for one reason or another was different from others in an uncomfortably conspicuous way.
On the one hand, although I was ethnically Korean, I was not culturally Korean enough to be Korean. But on the other hand, although I was culturally American, I was not ethnically American enough to be American.
No matter where I went and what I did, I just missed fitting in, leading me to years of shame, isolation, and even bitterness which dominated my life—especially in Christian community. I didn’t fit in the Asian Church or the White Church; I didn’t know where to go or who to turn to.
My life felt hopelessly fractured. But when I encountered the Gospel, everything changed.
I realized that throughout His greater Story, God invited the marginalized, the misfits, and the sojourners: people like Esther, Zacchaeus, Paul. Even people like me.
And what’s more? Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus gave me a truer identity, an eternal community, and a greater purpose. Where shame isolated me, God’s grace invited me.
The Gospel redeemed my shame into His story and my deepest pain into His greater ministry. And slowly but surely, I began to see that there were other kinds of misfits all around me—people who also felt isolated, ashamed, and alone.
As the last several years has shown us, the fracturing of our society has become undeniably clear. Although we live in the most diverse time in human society, we are more divided now than ever. The walls of hostility stand tall and strong.
But Jesus died to break down these walls. He gave His very life in order that we would be reconciled to God and to one another.
Jesus cared about racial reconciliation.
So He is inviting you and I to care for it too—to pursue the ministry of reconciliation.
And although I was a misfit, Jesus made me into a bridgemaker with a desire to bring people of all nations, tongues, and tribes together as one family with one mission – to be a Gospel movement of diverse disciples united in reflecting God’s Kingdom in our community, in our city, and across the world.
Interview with Fielder Church
Dave Lee, a Korean American church planter, shares how his experience growing up, not fitting into Korean or white churches, drove him to plant a church that would strive to be a gospel movement of diverse disciples here in Texas.
Endorsements
“David Lee has shown he is serious about the Word of God, has the life of Christ in his bones, and cares deeply for the souls of the lost. I am excited to see how Icon Church makes disciples in the years to come.”
Matt Chandler,
Lead Teaching Pastor of The Village Church
President of Acts 29
“David Lee has a vision to see the church in all her tapestry of color come together as one people. He has the knowledge to shape the church, the passion to call people together, the burden to give himself to the call. I could not be more excited for Icon Church to take wings and fly!”
Jason Paredes,
Lead Pastor of Fielder Church
“Multi-ethnic expressions of Christian love, grace, and unity serve as a powerful apologetic to a watching world and hurting world. A community like this tells a better story. This is, in fact, the driving passion of Dave Lee’s heart. He longs to see Jesus create this very type of church. I am encouraged to watch the Lord do this in and through Dave and Icon Church!”
Josh Patterson,
Lead Pastor of The Village Church
“David Lee is fueled by the Holy Spirit with a gospel passion who desires to see people in Frisco and Plano come to know and follow Jesus! I love this family and am humbled to be one of their many intercessors and eager to see all that God is going to do for His namesake through Dave, his precious family and this faithful team!”
Steve Hardin,
Pastor of Lake Pointe Church’s White Rock Campus