i agree there is a need for the church to be less segregated, but it requires threshold numbers of each group. it wouldn’t be as difficult for me if there were at least a handful of other people like me.

this is not particular to just asians; i think this explains why all minority groups tend to segregate. and whites will do the same; “God’s whiz kids” talks about how whites stopped going to campus fellowship groups when the asian numbers grew too quickly.

so that’s the practical side.

on the theological side, the evangelical gospel is a product of white european and american culture, but it’s also the primary gospel for AAs. i believe there is an expression and interpretation of the gospel that will speak more deeply to asian-americans. but many AA leaders are not open to creating space for theological exploration.

this ambiguity you’ve sensed about being AA is present outside of church as well. but the AA community is starting to organize and define itself better. there are comic books (american born chinese), documentaries (the grace lee project), books (asian american dreams) that survey themes of being AA. i would like the church to help shape that conversation rather than simply reacting.

this is a multi-layered conversation, really difficult to sustain without being face to face. there’s so many elements that can be isolated and discussed at length.

You mentioned: “If the Gospel is ‘color-neutral’ and ‘cultural-neutral’, is it wrong to have an African-American expression of the church? If an African-American church exists, why doesn’t an Asian-American one exist, and should it not also?” I don’t think the gospel is culture neutral, however I do think it must kingdom minded above all. As the Apostle Paul stated, for those that feel they need to keep the law of clean and unclean foods, then who are we to cause them to stumble? With freedom in Christ, I think the gospel is clear that all things are now considered clean, yet should we impose that as a mandate to all Christians? Paul says no. However, on the day of Pentecost people from many nation came and responded to Peter’s preaching. They took the one gospel back with them to their nations.

In the context of preaching the gospel and living out a Christian faith in a country like India or China, it is obviously going to be different. However, in America are we called to have an ethno-centric gospel? I’m not sure. And if we were to have an African-American church, Asian-American church, etc. then would us as African-Americans and Asian-Americans feel compelled to go to our respective ethnic churches? What about me who is Asian, yet appreciates worshiping to contemporary gospel songs such as those from Israel Houghton, Kirk Franklin, and Fred Hammond? What about the African-American family that wants to go to a Chinese-American church that worships with traditional hymns?

I really see this as more of an individual matter. However, I do concede that the lack of cultural diversity in American churches is obvious and undeniable. To me, I think the root of the problem is Caucasian church leadership trying to reach people in the ethnic minorities because they feel it is the right thing to do. It becomes forced and brings about agendas. It makes Caucasians that really do have issues (even if they are subconcious) with being in a house of worship with non-white people try to put on their best face, but in the end it’s obvious and it drives people away. I think we should realize that it is God who sends people to the church and not our programs and cool ideas that bring them in. So, if a white pastor has a predominantly white congregation, they should celebrate that. If an Asian-American pastor has a predominantly African-American congregation, they should celebrate that too. How this plays out with the cultural context that Daniel & Randplaty mention is unclear to me.

In a conversation with DJ Chuang, he mentioned to me that there are certain things that are common to those within a certain culture that aren’t true in the context of other cultures. For instance, in an Asian context children are respective of their parents even after they become adults. However, in a homogenous American context this isn’t true very often. To be in a church setting and having to have an Asian explain this cultural norm to others outside of this understanding can be trying and repetitive. However, amongst other Asians this doesn’t even need to be discussed–it’s simply understood. In that kind of setting I completely understand. Also, if Koreans are together in church and they pray aloud and at the same time all uttering things independent of others, it is accepted in the context of the Korean church, yet not accepted or appreciated in the white, American church. In those ways I see the relevance of a distinction in culture. However, how this causes me to identify myself in Christ still is an unanswered question to me because it really isn’t something I question.

I respect your viewpoint and I know that others have similar thoughts and experiences. I think I just need to have some more dialog with others regarding what “feeling spiritually homeless” really means so I can try to understand this more.

One of the things I am really trying to work through is how it seems that God has surrounded me with Asian-Americans both as friends (such as yourself) and as people connecting with us locally as Revolution Church Sacramento. Our first gathering was exclusively Asian-American except for two families. Some have come with an interest in seeing how our ministry moves forward and if it is in the context of being Asian-American, while others are just looking for a place to connect with like-minded people in their same stage of life regardless of race or social status. God definitely didn’t send the people I thought he would and I am doing what is necessary to be able to minister in a relevant and correct context to them.

Knowing that I am who God created me to be that Christ resides inside of me as an Asian-American doesn’t necessarily make me feel as if I am missing out anything from my Asian heritage. Being one who was born in Japan and adopted by a Caucasian, American father and a Japanese mother, I never really struggled with where I would fit in growing up. I was an atheist during the first 37 years of my life and that may have some impact and exclude me from this dialog. I grew up in an almost exclusively white community that was very racist. I know hate and violence just because I am not white. However, that puts me in a similar context with African-Americans or Latin-Americans who have gone through similar adversity.

Connecting with an Asian culture to know more of my identity in Christ still doesn’t really click with me. I’m still missing the understanding of how that plays out in a Christian context. There was a time when I actually wished I were caucasian growing up. However, I embrace my Japanese heritage in an American context. I am different from my adoptive father and other Caucasian Americans, but it doesn’t cause me to feel out of place as a result.

While for some the difficulties revolve around personal and cultural identity, the bigger issue for me is this: how is the Gospel supposed to be embodied in the American evangelicalism? If the Gospel is “color-neutral” and “cultural-neutral”, is it wrong to have an African-American expression of the church? If an African-American church exists, why doesn’t an Asian-American one exist, and should it not also?

If the Gospel is cultural-neutral or trans-cultural, then why is Sunday morning 11:00am still the most segregated hour? And why is the conference platform dominated by one cultural expression?

If the Gospel is cultural-neutral, doesn’t it seem reasonable that any English-speaking church will have a fairly even blend of people from different ethnicities based on the community demographics, rather than most of them being homogeneously mono-cultural? If my recollection is nearly right, less than 5% of American evangelical churches are ethnically/ racially diverse.

Now, if the problem is individual, then it could then be addressed one person at a time. But, if the problem is systemic, corporate, and institutionally organizational, then it’s going to take a lot more than one person at a time, more than 100 comments on a blog post, more than one book titled The Next Evangelicalism.

At the risk of oversimplifying many of the conversations I’ve had regarding Asian American Christian identity… here are a couple of my thoughts:

Many AAs have grown up feeling spiritually “homeless” — neither fully Asian (going back “home” wouldn’t make sense for people who grew up here) nor fully American (never being fully accepted here because of our Asian appearance). Sometimes the Church has contributed to this “neither/nor” identity by pushing the notion that we are Christians apart from everything else; in some extreme cases, that we should reject our cultural/ethnic heritage. This only deepens the feelings of alienation for many.

One of the most freeing truths for me was re-discovering my God-given identity as an Asian American. Not that it is the *only* thing that matters, or even the most important; just that it matters. While it might sound too obvious, many AA people need to hear that God did not make a mistake by creating them as AAs.

One thing I hear from you that is really encouraging is the idea of being comfortable in your own skin. I agree with you — it’s not about preaching every week about being AA. I think *overemphasizing* our ethnicity can be counterproductive as well (it ends up just promoting another enclave, holy huddle, cultural version of Christianity). At the same time, though, I’ve seen many AA Christians swing way too far the other way and completely reject anything to do with their Asian-ness.

To me, if we can celebrate who God made us to be, we will discover a better identity. Instead of being “neither/nor” we will become “both/and” people. And, when we come together in genuinely diverse church communities, I believe we’ll actually discover more of who each one of us uniquely created to be.

One final observation: I do believe that diversity honors God. However, I’ve seen churches call themselves “multicultural” because there are people of different racial backgrounds in attendance, but everyone is expected to conform to the majority culture. I think that kind of tokenism dishonors God.

I appreciate your heart to see people as individuals. When we are willing to see the actual people in front of us, and to enter into the mess of their lives, we will become a blessing to each other and to the world.

It comes from the fact that everyone has a culture. We live and breathe in a culture and we cannot escape it. We cannot “transcend” culture as much as I can stop speaking English and start speaking a culturally neutral language. The way I dress, do my hair, whether or not a clip my fingernails, what I eat and what I drink, it’s all a part of my culture.

Therefore as I walk with Christ, my identity in Christ is expressed in particular cultural ways. It’s “culturally located.” Whether I sing Hillsong vs Maranatha is a cultural choice. Whether I dress up or dress casually is a cultural expression. How loudly I pray is a cultural expression. Do I react emotionally or intellectually to the bible?

I think Christ intended our worship to be culturally located. But its not just culturally located for an individual person, its a community expression. Community is an essential part of culture. How we pray together is important. How do we encourage each other? And not just worship either. How does the community deal with a cultural problem in a Christ honoring way? What are the sins of the community culture and how does Christ want us to conquer them? So you see a community is important to the culture.

The problem is that Asian Americans have yet to identify the commonness in their culture. They have yet to say, “We have similar sin issues because of our culture, how can we deal with them together?” Or even, “we enjoy similar food, let’s celebrate that together.”

Right now Asian Americans are largely worshiping in cultural isolation. Some Asian Americans have identified with mainstream culture and others have identified with the culture of their parents, but a large number of Asian Americans have no cultural community.

But don’t lose heart. I personally believe a much stronger Asian American culture is being established within the church and also outside the church among unchurched Asian Americans. This cultural identity will make huge strides in the next 10-20 years. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this cultural expression will contribute toward the richness and diversity of the kingdom.