Eden Church

Key Summary

1. The tvN weekend drama "Pro Bono" stages a clear conflict: the firm founder O Gyu-jang seeks to disband the pro bono team while team leader Kang Da-wit insists on proving its worth.
2. The narrative frames public service against commercial interest — a moral and practical tension familiar to churches and civic institutions.
3. In episode 7 the conflict escalates to a wager of outcomes: Kang vows to demonstrate value with measurable success.
4. The scene highlights leadership, authority, and the risk of reducing service to mere metrics.
5. This sermon draws biblical reflection from Mark 8:36, practical applications for congregations, and a pastoral challenge to preserve vocation and compassion.

Introduction: A Story That Mirrors Our Questions

The courtroom drama of everyday life often finds its mirror in stories on our screens. In the recent broadcast of Pro Bono, a founder’s decision to disband a pro bono team sparks a public clash with the team's leader. The scene is not merely television spectacle; it raises sober questions we meet in church and community life. How do institutions treat acts of service when budgets tighten and reputations matter? How do leaders balance brand protection and compassion? The drama invites us to ask whether good work is always measurable, or sometimes treasured precisely because it resists tidy accounting.

• Fact: A firm founder argues pro bono work is a cost, not a profit.
• Fact: The team leader responds by proposing measurable outcomes to defend the ministry.
• Concern: The dramatic wager converts vocation into a contest for survival.

👉 Application: Notice where your congregation or organization treats service as an expense rather than a calling; begin a conversation with the leadership about values and evidence.

Understanding the Conflict: Values, Power, and Numbers

The core tension in the drama is framed as public good versus profit. O Gyu-jang, the elder authority, sees popularity and goodwill as costly liabilities that may dilute a firm's brand. Kang Da-wit, representing the practitioners, insists that public service is integral to identity and influence. This clash is layered: it involves institutional risk aversion, the psychology of authority, and the temptation to reduce moral commitments into metrics. When institutions ask for numbers to justify compassion, the question becomes whether compassion itself is being commodified. The pattern is not new — churches and charities often face pressure to quantify every outcome.

• Power: founders and boards set priorities under financial pressure.
• Values: practitioners experience vocation as duty and witness.
• Numbers: measurable success becomes the default language of legitimacy.

👉 Application: Keep a simple index of activities and impacts in your ministry — both quantitative (hours, people reached) and qualitative (testimonies, community changes).

“(Mark 8:36, ESV) For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

Biblical Resonance: Profit, Soul, and Stewardship

The Gospel reminds us that the calculus of human glory and ethical commitment are rarely aligned. Jesus’ question in Mark 8:36 cuts to the heart of the drama: even if the firm 'gains the world' and preserves reputation, what is lost when moral witness is surrendered? Yet scripture also values wise stewardship. We are called to be faithful stewards of resources and reputation, not reckless spenders of trust. The balance is difficult but necessary: accountability and compassion should not be enemies. True stewardship honors both efficiency and mercy, remembering that some goods are not primarily economic.

• Scriptural principle: prioritize the soul over worldly gain.
• Practical principle: steward resources with transparency and humility.
• Pastoral principle: preserve vocation even under institutional pressure.

👉 Application: In your next leadership meeting, present both stories and statistics — testimony alongside simple outcome measures — to reflect the full value of ministry.

Practical Lessons for the Church and Congregations

What can congregations learn from the televised conflict? First, document what you do: keep clear records of volunteer hours, people helped, referrals made, and moments of transformation. Second, cultivate shared language that frames service as identity, not merely budget line. Third, prepare to speak courageously but respectfully to those who make fiscal decisions. This means forming a brief, faithful narrative that ties mission actions to the congregation’s story and to measurable community outcomes. When faith communities translate love into both lived presence and clear reporting, they strengthen their witness without surrendering mercy to mere accounting.

• Record: keep logs, testimonies, and impact notes.
• Frame: tell the story of why service matters to your identity.
• Speak: engage leaders with both humility and evidence.

👉 Application: Start a quarterly service report combining numbers and narratives to present to your council or board.

Conclusion: A Pastoral Challenge and an Invitation

Drama has the gift of sharpening questions we otherwise avoid. Pro Bono asks us whether the practices we prize in church life will survive when administrators call them costly. The pastoral task is to name what we cannot sell — mercy, presence, and public witness — while also learning to account for what we do in ways that build trust. Let us therefore commit to practices that honor both conscience and clarity, to be people who will fight for the vulnerable, and yet present our work soberly to those who govern resources. May our witness be both faithful and intelligible, humble and credible.

• Decide: which ministries are non-negotiable for your congregation?
• Document: how will you show their value in the coming year?
• Engage: who will speak with leaders about mission and budget?

👉 Application: Choose one ministry to defend this month with testimony and simple metrics; invite a leader to a conversation about its future.

Lord, give us wisdom when institutions demand accounting and courage when compassion seems costly. Help us steward resources faithfully, defend the vulnerable boldly, and present our service with clarity and humility. Let our actions be both merciful and credible, for the sake of our neighbors and for your glory. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.