In one of my Seminary classes a Korean friend of mine posted his thoughts on our class discussion.
I thought it was so telling about how we view seminary not only in Asian Countries, but even in the US!
This is a response from Brian McLaren's book: Church On The Other Side
“In the church on the other side, there will be only leadership by personal authenticity, leadership that flows from who you really are.” (112)
“New approaches to training will be needed to produce this new kind of leader. Scholars will increasingly see themselves as valued consultants to leaders-as will leaders. Seminaries may become more like consultant agencies to local churches.”(114)
“Leadership must become a matter of love and spirituality, a place for spiritual sages, not just organizational technicians.”(117)
At least when these three factors are considered in evaluating the current leadership of Korean church, its reality is found in the exact opposite direction. Every year over 1000 (I guess almost 2000-remember the total population of Christians in my country is less than 9 million) people apply to seminaries of various denominations and are tested for admission. Their admission is decided by criterion not of personal authenticity and divine calling, but of good score. It is not easy to build authentic leaders for the church in the environment where about 300 students at a seminary are taking their classes at a time. That would be why many would-be pastors are trying to study abroad. But the more decisive reason for staying in the other countries for studying would be that most churches demand advanced academic degrees like Th.M and Ph.D, not spiritual sages. Besides it seems to me that the purpose of the seminary in Korea even in the US lies in not equipping a minister but producing scholars. Is it true that a smart student is a good minister?
Am I a very severe cynical man? But it is obvious that after graduating from this school with the degree of Mdiv, I won’t be able to minister to the people and be ordained in Korean churches as a pastor because they won’t qualify me coming from George Fox Seminary which has poor reputation in my country. I think it is a matter of real belief as a minister to accept the assertion that “leadership must become a matter of love and spirituality, a place for spiritual sages, not just organizational technicians.”(117)
3.10.2007
11.26.2006
Revive
I wanted to revive some more conversations on this site. I have left it alone for a little while caught up in my world of school.
i've been struggling lately wondering if Planting a second generation church really makes sence to me. I have found a great place of worship for my wife and I and we have felt like we have grown more then ever before.
Is this because we have found safe community and have committed to focus and learn there? Is that what it takes to learn and grow? Do we (Asian Americans) need to plant specific churches to reach our community or can we grow anywhere?
What do you think?
i've been struggling lately wondering if Planting a second generation church really makes sence to me. I have found a great place of worship for my wife and I and we have felt like we have grown more then ever before.
Is this because we have found safe community and have committed to focus and learn there? Is that what it takes to learn and grow? Do we (Asian Americans) need to plant specific churches to reach our community or can we grow anywhere?
What do you think?
4.30.2006
VIETNAM
My sister sent me an E-mail the other day.
I went to the link and I cried.
If you are Vietnamese this video has special meaning.
It's been 31yrs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44piBAErIu4&search=Vietnam
Check out this U-Tube
I went to the link and I cried.
If you are Vietnamese this video has special meaning.
It's been 31yrs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44piBAErIu4&search=Vietnam
Check out this U-Tube
4.17.2006
I read a very interesting take on Asian American Churches today.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it and think through the implications.
I find that there is a re-occuring theme in "emerging asian christians," about trying
to fit into a culture that doesn't feel like our own, yet understanding that there is a
Christian culture that needs to be far greater then our ethnic and racial roots.
I'll paste the essay below, but you might want to take a look @ the blog yourself.
http://mcshoo.blogspot.com/2006/04/asian-american-church.html
Asian American Church
So I promised I'd post this, sorry for the delay. Been a bit busy.
This post will contain why I am opposed to the idea of an Asian American Church.
First off, I need to define what exactly I mean by Asian American. Now, since this definition is one that I am working with, it may be a little bit imprecise, and it also may not be what other people are thinking when they think of an “Asian American Church.” Please bear with me, correcting me and asking for clarifications if necessary.
What I don’t mean when I say “Asian American” is I don’t mean a congregation that has its primary worship in Chinese, or a congregation that has its primary worship in Korean, or something like that. I believe there is a biblical warrant for having churches for this purpose, as one of the commands for our preacher is to speak so that the congregation can understand. If we’re preaching in a different language this surely cannot be done.
I also don’t mean all those churches that are, forced by the population living nearby, primarily Asian American.
What I do mean by an “Asian American” Church is a church in which the preaching is done primarily in English, the population of the area is fairly diverse, but the congregation is almost completely second generation or first generation Asian American, and the idea of being “Asian American” is part of the purpose of the specific church. I would include within this list those churches that explicitly have the label “Asian-American” within their titles. They maintain this identity implicitly or explicitly as “Asian American” Christians.
This is what I mean by Asian American Churches.
I tried my hardest to think of a biblical reason why someone would want to have an Asian American Church, and the only thing I could come up with was Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 9 in saying:
19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
But this to me seems like an incredibly weak argument for Asian American Churches for one big reason. Paul here is talking about laying aside his rights as a Christian. He is willingly setting aside and submitting himself to something that he, as a Christian, is free to refrain from. In all honesty, I do not see this as a rationale for people to have Asian American Churches, especially if someone was Asian American him/herself. Maybe it’s possible for someone to use this mentality, I don’t know.
Thus I conclude that, barring this one exception, Asian American Churches are extra-biblical at best.
At worst however, it becomes unbiblical. Using the exact same passage as our standard, do we see Asian American churches reaching out, laying aside their identities as Asian Americans in order to reach out to those who may not share the same culture but may share the same Father? Are they willing to make sacrifices, living in a place foreign to their culture in order that all may be won to the Gospel? Or isn’t the Asian American Church in direct contradiction to this concept? Desiring to build an oasis around them in order to preserve status quo, in order to preserve a culture that other people do not understand, and that Jesus never says to bring with us when we come to the cross. Don’t we lay aside our rights as citizens of this culture for the far greater right of becoming heirs of the Kingdom of God? Why do we maintain an extra-biblical desire to hang onto our culture? Might this become an idol? Is it an idol?
Yes, it is awkward to not share things in common with those who may not be Asian American. It is weird to call the father of one of my friends by their first names. But how much greater is it, how much more awesome can it be, when I am able to pray with and embrace that same person as a brother instead of as someone who is twice removed from my circle of friends, once as a parent and once as a different culture.
Does not the Gospel of Jesus reconcile races and nationalities?
No, I do not apply this completely. I am, presently a member of a fellowship that is sponsored by Korean Central Presbyterian Church. I am also, at home, a member of a church entitled Chinese Christian Mandarin Church. I am there because that is where I’ve been placed, and I see my gifts being utilized, stretched, and grown there. But I do see hope. One of my pastors mentioned that he has brought up the possibility of changing our name and removing the Korean. It saddened me that this was tabled and ignored almost immediately, but I am grateful that it is a question in someone else’s mind at least.
May God be glorified as He will be, when every tongue, nation, and nationality bends its knee to Him, worshipping the Lamb of God, as One Body, in One Voice, proclaiming One Lord and Savior of all.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around it and think through the implications.
I find that there is a re-occuring theme in "emerging asian christians," about trying
to fit into a culture that doesn't feel like our own, yet understanding that there is a
Christian culture that needs to be far greater then our ethnic and racial roots.
I'll paste the essay below, but you might want to take a look @ the blog yourself.
http://mcshoo.blogspot.com/2006/04/asian-american-church.html
Asian American Church
So I promised I'd post this, sorry for the delay. Been a bit busy.
This post will contain why I am opposed to the idea of an Asian American Church.
First off, I need to define what exactly I mean by Asian American. Now, since this definition is one that I am working with, it may be a little bit imprecise, and it also may not be what other people are thinking when they think of an “Asian American Church.” Please bear with me, correcting me and asking for clarifications if necessary.
What I don’t mean when I say “Asian American” is I don’t mean a congregation that has its primary worship in Chinese, or a congregation that has its primary worship in Korean, or something like that. I believe there is a biblical warrant for having churches for this purpose, as one of the commands for our preacher is to speak so that the congregation can understand. If we’re preaching in a different language this surely cannot be done.
I also don’t mean all those churches that are, forced by the population living nearby, primarily Asian American.
What I do mean by an “Asian American” Church is a church in which the preaching is done primarily in English, the population of the area is fairly diverse, but the congregation is almost completely second generation or first generation Asian American, and the idea of being “Asian American” is part of the purpose of the specific church. I would include within this list those churches that explicitly have the label “Asian-American” within their titles. They maintain this identity implicitly or explicitly as “Asian American” Christians.
This is what I mean by Asian American Churches.
I tried my hardest to think of a biblical reason why someone would want to have an Asian American Church, and the only thing I could come up with was Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 9 in saying:
19For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
But this to me seems like an incredibly weak argument for Asian American Churches for one big reason. Paul here is talking about laying aside his rights as a Christian. He is willingly setting aside and submitting himself to something that he, as a Christian, is free to refrain from. In all honesty, I do not see this as a rationale for people to have Asian American Churches, especially if someone was Asian American him/herself. Maybe it’s possible for someone to use this mentality, I don’t know.
Thus I conclude that, barring this one exception, Asian American Churches are extra-biblical at best.
At worst however, it becomes unbiblical. Using the exact same passage as our standard, do we see Asian American churches reaching out, laying aside their identities as Asian Americans in order to reach out to those who may not share the same culture but may share the same Father? Are they willing to make sacrifices, living in a place foreign to their culture in order that all may be won to the Gospel? Or isn’t the Asian American Church in direct contradiction to this concept? Desiring to build an oasis around them in order to preserve status quo, in order to preserve a culture that other people do not understand, and that Jesus never says to bring with us when we come to the cross. Don’t we lay aside our rights as citizens of this culture for the far greater right of becoming heirs of the Kingdom of God? Why do we maintain an extra-biblical desire to hang onto our culture? Might this become an idol? Is it an idol?
Yes, it is awkward to not share things in common with those who may not be Asian American. It is weird to call the father of one of my friends by their first names. But how much greater is it, how much more awesome can it be, when I am able to pray with and embrace that same person as a brother instead of as someone who is twice removed from my circle of friends, once as a parent and once as a different culture.
Does not the Gospel of Jesus reconcile races and nationalities?
No, I do not apply this completely. I am, presently a member of a fellowship that is sponsored by Korean Central Presbyterian Church. I am also, at home, a member of a church entitled Chinese Christian Mandarin Church. I am there because that is where I’ve been placed, and I see my gifts being utilized, stretched, and grown there. But I do see hope. One of my pastors mentioned that he has brought up the possibility of changing our name and removing the Korean. It saddened me that this was tabled and ignored almost immediately, but I am grateful that it is a question in someone else’s mind at least.
May God be glorified as He will be, when every tongue, nation, and nationality bends its knee to Him, worshipping the Lamb of God, as One Body, in One Voice, proclaiming One Lord and Savior of all.
4.02.2006
NW Asian Youth Conference
Northwest Asian Youth Conference 2006
Check it out~ www.nwayc.org
Uniting Asian youth and youth workers in Oregon, Washington, Vancouver B.C for the purpose of being Alive in Christ.
(Let us know if you hear about any other conferences that might benefit others!)
Check it out~ www.nwayc.org
Uniting Asian youth and youth workers in Oregon, Washington, Vancouver B.C for the purpose of being Alive in Christ.
(Let us know if you hear about any other conferences that might benefit others!)
3.09.2006
NEXT GEN CHURCH
What do you guys think the next generation Asian church will look like?
What type of worship? How should people learn and grow?
What type of worship? How should people learn and grow?
2.23.2006
Welcome to REACT!
I hope this is the beginning of something GOD will use to help the Asian Community. Over the years I have talked to many of my Asian friends accross the nation who seem to struggle with the same issues in their churches.
Please use this blog to be "constructive" not "destructive." Feel free to share your stories of success as well as failures. Pass on links that may help a brother or sister out. The name of the site says it all: R.E.A.C.T ~ Reaching Emerging Asian Christians Today!
Please use this blog to be "constructive" not "destructive." Feel free to share your stories of success as well as failures. Pass on links that may help a brother or sister out. The name of the site says it all: R.E.A.C.T ~ Reaching Emerging Asian Christians Today!
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