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Difficulties of EM in an OBC Church
By James Yu
As an
American Raised Chinese (or ARC), I have been observing the 1st
generation for over 25 years, taught and preached in the church for
fifteen years, and served in numerous positions in the immigrant
church. In the last seven years, I first served five years as a
tentmaker/English Ministry (EM) pastor and in the last two years I was
a fulltime EM pastor. I have seen a lot of church conflict over EM
issues and have suffered emotional scars in my early years as a
neophyte. What seemed important at the time in my ministry is no longer
as relevant to me now. My view on EM has evolved and has taken on a new
form, one I would like to call “Integration”. I believe God intends
great things for the Chinese-American church in the 21st century
through integration, bridging between the generations, resulting in
unity and reconciliation.
First let me address what it means to
be an ARC. The 1st generation Chinese immigrant (Overseas Born Chinese
or OBC) came from Hong Kong, Taiwan or China, most of them came
presumably at an age of accountability. Their decision to come to
America varies from one immigrant to another. Nevertheless, the
dramatic cultural shift is forever etched in every immigrant soul as
they began their early assimilation to life in America. The birth of
their next generation gave them joy, hope, and later frustration, a
thorn in the flesh for many immigrants. Their descendents became the
2nd generation immigrant (American Born Chinese or ABC). Still, there
is a third group that is unaccounted for. They are the young children
that some of the OBC brought during their outlandish immigrant
experience. One may wonder why I purposely distinguish this group from
their parent’s generation. Simply put, this generation is raised up in
America much like the ABC yet they have many OBC traits. What is unique
about this group is that most of them can truly be considered
bi-cultural and bi-lingual. They can adapt easily to both OBC and ABC
culture, hence, the designation ARC. They are the potential bridge
builders between the two, of which I am one.
Now let us turn our
attention to the EM in our OBC churches. The article by Doreen Carvajal
“Trying to Halt ‘Silent Exodus’” published in LA Times in May of 1994
sparked an avalanche of response to the overwhelming problem in the
Asian immigrant churches. It has been over ten years, what have we done
in response to this “Silent Exodus” of ABC from our OBC churches? If
the OBC churches continue in this course, what will become of our next
generation? Will the OBC church survive? To complicate the matter,
there is a shortage of EM pastors in our OBC churches. Even in my own
denomination the need is mounting. But, is the solution more EM
pastors? Or, is it in the working relationship between the OBC senior
pastor and their EM counterpart? The answer is not that simple.
However, before I express more thoughts on this subject, I must include
the following caption. The following discussion came from my personal
experience and some shared experiences of other EM pastors in my life.
They do not represent the only perspective on EM.
Something wrong with the 1st generation church
One
thing we must acknowledge before furthering this discussion is that
there may be something inherently wrong with the immigrant church. Why,
because there is an overwhelming number of EM pastors that refuse to
work in an OBC context. They can not all be delusional. Their sentiment
is intense, often resentful. Many would describe a giving up of sort.
“I’ve tried…but they wouldn’t understand.” “It’s impossible.” “All they
want is babysitting ministry.” “The environment is toxic for English
speakers.” “I have better ways to waste my time.” Quotes such as these
are common with EM leaders. They often attribute their negative
sentiment toward the OBC church leadership. It may be shocking to some
reading this article, but I am not surprised. There are many in our
churches that are ignorant toward this form of discrimination toward
the EM. Some calls it victimization; I call it spiritual genocide. Why?
It is because we have several generations of ABC that are at near
extinction level in the Christian churches.
Often I am invited by
the EM to speak to their OBC leaders on this subject. The response can
range from praise and exhilaration to total denial. “What are you
talking about?” they will say. “What you describe does not happen
here.” No matter the response, there is no point refuting their
unrealistic optimism toward their EM condition, because in most cases I
have already consulted with their EM leaders concerning their dismal
circumstance. If they are not ready to listen, there is not much anyone
can do. Frankly, there are a lot of OBC leaders that are eager to take
a second look at this church wide disaster. The rest can live in their
EM utopia.
Chinese-immigrant mentality at work
So,
what contributes to this apparent struggle for the EM pastors and
leaders? For one, it is the Chinese-immigrant mentality at work in the
church. But, before I challenge the philosophical core of the 1st
generation, I want to acknowledge their sincerity to change and their
love for the next generation. Yet, despite their benevolent effort and
concern, it is difficult if not impossible for them to pin point the
flaws in their own paradigm, namely their cultural biases by which they
interpret their life in America and the church. There, in the immigrant
church, an invisible Berlin wall has been erected causing a gap between
the two competing paradigms, the OBC culture and the ABC culture. It
may seem obvious to the third party observing from the outside, but the
participants are ambivalent to their existence. This is one area where
the EM pastor struggle day in and day out, moving from one side of the
wall to the other. Acting as United Nation attempting to broker a
truce, they become enemies sometimes to both.
So what does this
OBC paradigm look like? Let me try to illustrate. It is a lot of
Chinese philosophy mixed together with some potent immigrant mindset
and a bit of faulty theology (3 part Chinese philosophy + 2 part
Immigrant mentality + 1 part faulty theology). The resulting
combination is a Chinese-secular-humanistic paradigm which is prevalent
in both OBC and ABC believers. Although their expression may differ one
from another, their motivation is one and the same. Let me give some
examples.
1. Academic Primacy over Personal Integrity. To the
OBC, academic excellence is an undeniable necessity that guarantees
future success for themselves and their next generation. It is also a
means to secure personal honor in the presence of their family and
friends. Yet, an unqualified devotion to such virtue will often lead to
compromises in the valuation of other relevant human development. Areas
such as social, emotional, moral and especially spiritual growth are
often secondary to the OBC paradigm. As a result, a character flaw, a
low EQ, a lack of commitment to the community, or an absence of genuine
relationship with Christ is common from such unbalanced approach to
life and parenting. This paradigm is also reflected in the way first
generation church often devise its leadership. It is not uncommon to
find most if not all the core leadership be comprised of the Chinese
Elites. The Chinese Elites are qualified by their level of education
and worldly success. Some might argue that “Success Breed Success”
hence leadership must reflect successful people. My friends, there are
more biblical means to quantify the success of a person’s life, virtues
such as faithfulness, compassion, hospitality, humility, fidelity,
honesty, truth-loving, and integrity are in short supply in our
churches today.
2. Chinese Ethnocentrism overshadows Kingdom
Equality. This is why many ABC feel marginalized in the OBC church.
Their Americanized approach to faith, to worship and many expressions
of their personhood is often dismissed as inferior or superficial. The
first generation would remind them in so many ways that Chinese ways
are better. “It is our philosophy, our voluminous history, our
diversified tradition, our advancement in culinary art and utensil
(such as chopsticks) that makes us the superior race,” an OBC may
claim. Verbalized or not the OBC embodies this belief. Yet, such claim
is challenged by many competing cultures in America. As soon as the ABC
steps outside of his porch, he is faced with a different paradigm.
Honestly, an immigrant can hardly claim their ethnocentrism or
patriotism when they abandoned their homeland in the immigration
process. How will this superior claim appear to the ABC, growing up in
a pluralistic America? It is no wonder that many ABC Christians see
their OBC parents as hypocrites. This paradigm disarms the first
generation church from effectively impacting the 2nd generation, their
community and the world with the gospel of Christ. That is why many OBC
churches have limited vision toward world-mission, for they cannot see
past Taiwan, China, and the Chinese abroad. As difficult as it is to
admit, God demonstrated divine wisdom when he chose 1st century Jews to
be the barer of the gospel instead of the Chinese. This disease also
fosters fear toward other ethnic groups and creates a barrier between
us and immediate multiethnic community outside of our church walls. It
is a shame when we replace the gospel of Christ with the proliferation
of our Chinese ethnocentrism. Instead, we must allow the gospel to
transform us into Kingdom citizens, who affirms all culture and uses
them as vehicles to propagate the truth. Just like Paul in the
Corinthians when he says, “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the
Jews…I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means
I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may
share in its blessings.”
3. Shame Based Society verses Graced
Based Community. Even as an ARC, I am still driven by fear that somehow
my life could bring shame to my family. Ungrounded as this fear may be,
it draws my attention from God and put them on the opinions of others.
While this is a societal vice driven by human sin and perversion it is
often disguised as love, encouragement and humility, and it is integral
to the immigrant church. This shame is expressed in the Chinese
perception of ‘face’ (mien-tze), its expression of humility (han-shu, a
person’s outward humility), and its approach to conflict. Due to their
insecurity, ‘face’ causes the immigrant family to keep a spiritual
façade, an appearance of well-being, when the core of the family may be
eroding away. Issues such as marital infidelity, mental or emotional
problems, parenting struggles, career or professional crisis are often
dealt with apart from the involvement of the church. The fear of
exposing one’s weakness or presumed shame causes this disingenuous
relationship in the body. It express often through a lack of trust and
shallow connection between brothers and sisters. In parenting, shame
takes the form of a vice for motivation. The consequence of
disobedience or failure is shame. A prolonged use of such vice creates
low self-esteem and worthlessness, especially toward a perfect God.
When this paradigm is expressed in leadership it fosters false humility
and incorrectly labels individuals as prideful and arrogant. When
conflict arises the immigrant tries to ignore the issue while avoiding
the conflicting party, due to their debilitating fear and shame. The
result of this paradigm is quite obvious, a church full of people
lacking the understanding of grace, living in undiscovered sins, and
insincere leadership that never resolve any real problems.
4.
Immigrant Mentality at Work in the 2nd Generation. Of course there are
other immigrant issues at work in the church, which may be addressed at
another venue. However, of all the many forms immigrant mentality is
expressed, its crowing achievement is its lasting mark on the next
generation. The ABCs are unaware of their predicament as are their OBC
parents. Because unbeknownst to them, growing up in America, ABC embody
the very immigrant mentality that they hated since childhood. Driven by
shame and an unquenchable desire to succeed and please their OBC
parents, most ABCs will get the grades, the jobs, the houses and become
the “Model Minority,” the envy of society. Yet they will live in
relative dissatisfaction. Some may find reconciliation with their OBC
parents during adulthood and be freed from this invisible monster
through Spiritual healing. Most however will be lost in its clutches.
See the immigrant mindset gave the ABCs an edge over the dominant
secular culture providing tools, resources, and the aspiration to reach
the American Dream, when others fail. So, in a sense, the immigrants
have arrived and succeeded in America, but the church failed. Because
in all their pursuit of success in this world, they will be blind to
the grace of God and His calling for their lives. So, the church should
seriously consider what culture we really want to preserve.
The senior leadership and EM pastor
Another
important factor that contributes to the departure of the EM pastor is
the lack of understanding on the part of the immigrant senior pastors
or core leaders. These leaders may have the desire to understand, but
unfortunately they will never understand EM, until they participate in
the EM. This is obvious. The cost to understand is to participate. Like
I said, it takes a paradigm shift to understand EM, because EM is
missiological in nature. To the immigrant church, EM should be mission
at its core. Without incarnation, there will be no identification;
without identification, there will be no association; without
association, there will be no motivation; without motivation, there
will be no unification. As is, the immigrant church is divided. The EM
needs to be an integral part of the church and it must begin with the
senior leadership. If the senior pastor or elder has any foresight, he
will see that EM has the greatest potential in the whole of our
immigrant movement. Yet, despite the facts, they are unwilling to step
out of their own comfort zone and practice our Lord’s command to care
“for the least of these.”
While the EM pastor slave away
through diplomacy, humility, coercion, threats to quit his job,
representing the EM often alone in the church, his effort is seen as
expressions of worldly ambition. So, what in the world does the EM
pastor want anyway? He wants what any godly men and women want for the
next generation.
1. He wants to see the 1st generation
immigrant releasing their next generation into the hands of God and
empowering them to be who ever God wants them to be.
2. He wants to see a restoration of relationship within the family of God, a joined vision for the church.
3.
He wants to help facilitate the transformation of the immigrant church
into an ABC friendly environment, both for leadership and laity.
4. He wants the church of Jesus Christ to be relevant to the world in the 21st century.
Some practical steps to a healthy EM in the immigrant church
I
have engaged in several heated debate over this issue with EM leaders.
Some say, “It is time to give up on the first generation church!” I
disagree. I think it is time to do it together with both 1st and 2nd
generation leadership. There is tremendous benefit when we combined the
strengths of OBC and ABC together. The spiritual depth and wisdom of
one joined with the ambition and resourcefulness of another will lead
to dynamic ministries for God. I believe every Christian have great
capacity for change, because of our indwelling Holy Spirit. We can
stretch beyond ourselves to meet the needs of others. This is how the
church can achieve the heart of Christ. If we are to take on the
challenge of the Great Commission, unity is our strength. For “united
we stand, and divided we fall.” Here are some suggestions for the
immigrant church.
One Mission
First, develop a mission
that satisfies OBC and ABC. If the mission is not shared by all, we are
not building one church but several smaller churches under one roof.
Many church leaders do not understand the gravity of this simple
principle. They think having parallel church ministries will increase
efficiency and avoid potential conflict. They fail to taken their
philosophy to its logical conclusion. It is true there will be
efficiency, but at what price. The price is often the relationship lost
from one generation to the next. And there may be less minor conflicts,
but with the right condition in place we are building the potential for
a much larger conflict, often result in church split. Having the bigger
picture in mind, minor conflicts are actually healthy for any church.
One Vision
Do
not mistaken mission statement for vision of the church. The mission is
the call of the church, but the vision is what the church must do to
accomplish the mission at a given interval in time. The vision will
answer the questions when and how. For example, how will the church
accomplish God’s mission in the 21st century? It includes the church’s
short term, mid-term and long term goals, its strategy, and its
resource and management allocation. The vision should entail how each
part of the church will work together to reach their goals for the body
of Christ. Such vision is usually quantifiable and requires periodic
adjustment. Now, having a common vision allows the individual parts to
identify with the larger whole of the body. So, when common goals are
achieved, the church body celebrates together.
One Board
The
pastoral and lay leadership must to be fully integrated comprised of
OBC and ABC, with a fair representation from each side to reflect the
church demographic. If the church does not have enough ABC leaders, we
must encourage ARC leaders to staff up the English speaking ministry.
Keep in mind that the growth of the whole ministry out weighs the need
of one particular ministry. Ministry should strive for integrity and
balance. Strategic allocation of lay leadership is essential to church
wide communication and cohesion, which naturally results in unity and
growth of the church.
One Family
The family is
relational (people) and functional (program) in nature. An over
emphasis of one without the proper care of the other will result in
church dysfunction. OBC has a tendency to focus on functionality and
often overlook relationships within the church. An accountability
program needs to be in place to focus on the relational aspect of the
church family. This can be done through cell groups, mentoring,
discipleship, or prayer partners. In this regard, the “how to” classes
can be quite beneficial to the church, covering issues on parenting,
mentoring, discipleship, leadership, et cetera.
One Culture
Every
healthy church has only one dominant culture, within it multiple
sub-cultures can also coexist. The key is to develop a church culture
that will embrace the desired sub-cultures. Now, most immigrant
churches wish to preserve its traditional culture. Yet, they have no
idea what virtues are worth preserving and by what means to preserve
them. They simply allow culture to happen and evolve without any
conscious guidance. The end result is usually less than desirable.
Healthy cultural development is one that is guided by the Spirit and
carried out by the leaders. It is purposeful and planned. Jesus came
two thousand years ago to challenge the religious community the truth
concerning spirituality. He did it through a redefinition of a kingdom
culture. It will be wise to consider Jesus’ example in our immigrant
church.
The first step is faith in action
So,
where do we go from here? Consider the teachings of Paul in Ephesians
4, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The leadership
from both side needs to surrender under the Lordship of Jesus. Of
course, the burden of reconciliation rests on the OBC leaders. They are
the initiators of this complex immigrant culture. God will reward them
for their humility and compassion. However, the future of Chinese in
America is in the hands of all immigrants. The OBC, ARC and ABC should
work together in one spirit. And they will know we are Christians…
This article belongs to the author. No reprint or reproduction for distribution is allowed. | | | Posted 10/5/2007 4:28 PM - 52 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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