Reaching Emerging Asian Christians Today
~A blogging community created to discuss topics related to Asian American Churches. Our desire is to give you a positive and productive forum to share your stories and ideas with other Asian Christians.
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?
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What does the next Gen. value. I know that we value community, but is that it?
I would love to see art and video used in ministry. As a teacher it would be awsome to see the church use different learning styles that meet the multiple intelligences, to help people learn more about God.
I would just love to see an Asian church be open to different styles of worship. I think that the Emerging church model would realy fit in the Next Gen. Asian Church.
These are great questions you're asking! One recently published book, Growing Healthy Asian American Churches, explores a number of values that would be part of the next generation Asian American church -- we just started a blog-based discussion about the book, would love to have you participate with your thoughts and dreams!
next gen church? well you can talk all you want but i think it's already here as second gens become leaders and deacons in the own local church. There's plenty of asian american churches out there and people will either congregate there or go to a predominantly white church that's just the way I see it... if you were curious about me - I go to a church that is 50% black , 30% white and 20% others.
Now worship? it depends on your flavor... I don't see it deviating much from the standard music and choreographed dances... maybe some spontaneous stuff but worship ain't limited to just that
A friend of mine who helps Asian Americans plant churches shared this with me recently. I thought it was good. I just Got the book and I'm more excited to read it now! DJchuang has been talking about this on his blog too...(He's linked to this site)
~O'B Obrien wrote~ Paul Tokunaga in Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian-American Leaders writes, “In order to keep, cultivate and serve young Asian Americans, here is what I believe is needed in two major areas…”
Asian-American Churches
· Clear mission statement with role of AAs to complete it
· Empower and bless young leaders to reach their generation
· Help AAs understand and appreciate their ethnic identity
· Provide leadership training that affirms their identity
· Empower AAs to pursue racial reconciliation
· Help these churches respect AAs in multiethnic churches
Multiethnic Churches
· Help AAs embrace diversity
· Let AAs lead, even when their style is different
· Create safe place to discuss ethnicity
· Make racial reconciliation a high priority
· Unique strategies in evangelizing ethnic communities
· Help these churches respect AAs in Asian churches
There's a great bible study type booklet out there called "Losing Face and Saving Grace" by pastor Dave Gibbons that deals with issues that seem to confront Asian Americans and Asian Canadians often. I think a part of a healthy Asian American is facing and dealing with those issuses that may be more uniqe to asian americans/canadians, like, the 'hard work' ethics and mentality that transfers over to a mentality in their own spiritual life of having to 'work hard' to please God, to gain his approval, etc. but yeah, issues that like, we need to confront, i feel.
To be perfectly honest ... the reason why we all try to do a customize version of churches is because church has not done a very good job at being a church (biblically and theologically). Because of the things we see on the surface level, we end up trying to fix things on the surface level, thinking that it would change for the better. Yet we always find ourselves in the same ol rut. I've seen churches change things in terms of language, styles, sermon topics, relevancy ... all which is important ... but the deeper issue is not being met. It's like putting a band aid over a bullet hole. It looks nice for a while, but the damn wound still bleeds!
There are two questions that all churches must ask in order to survive. Not only to simply surive in general, but also to survive in the natural 40 year cycle of organizations/genereations. Because, eventually, we will be irrelevant to the generation after us as well, unless we can constantly answer these two questions ....
What is the church? Why does it matter?
What would it really look like if our churches, especailly all the leadership, based their actions, the church's calendar and function and ministry of the church, on biblical foundation, from that, theological implications of the actions, down to contextual geographical/local application?
And after the church figures that out ... how to make that relevant to a culture that could give a rip about churc. Cause really ... we have all this great and wonderful stuff, but if we can't boil it down to what it's good for ... then there's no point. This is where a lot of mainline evangelical churches are. We're great within the christian community. But we do a piss poor job at living our faith ouside. We try to make our faith "fit in" with the world. We shy away from tough questions. Part of that is residue effects from the enlightenment that made is hold on to these domagtic statments that hold little weight. Ignorance is the word here. No FEAR, LOVE, and Engage society un appologetically.
The word that has been thrown around a lot is "value." Value is something that is based on a personal feeling of what is important and what is not. "Morality" is similar in that what is right and wrong is based on the agreement of the masses.
Never underestimate the power of dumb people in large groups ... you never know what kind of stupid thing they'll do next!
From the get go, basing a church with morals and values will end up leaving the church paralized in the future. Our 1st generation churches based their ministry off of values and morality. Values: Speak vietnamese ... keep the culture. Morality: dancing is bad, drinking is bad ... why? because it's agreed ... and we think it's biblical. Someone brainwashed us with these ideas and we didn't know it ... why? Beceause we didn't question it biblically and theologically. As you can see ... values and morality, based on a personal opinion that is agreed in a group will soon change. We don't necessarily value what the previous generation does.
So instead of being relevant to each and every generation, the standard has got to be the bible.
the question isn't what would a Next Gen Church look like ... the question should be ... what does a CHURCH look like?
excellent take! What you are saying is so true. "basing a church with morals and values will end up leaving the church paralized in the future..."
I think that is why I struggle with the Next Gen. church idea sometimes. I keep thinking why do I look at planting Asian American Churches? I feel like I should just plant a church that is focused Jesus and strong biblical principals and who ever wants to come... comes!
Anyway I keep praying for GOD to give me a clear vision of who and how to reach people where they are at.
Hey bigto- I noticed you are in PDX. I am part of a Chinese congregation (english speaking) and we are seeking to merger/?create an asian-american non-denominational church in PDX area. (i saw this forum while doing some research). Email me if interested in dialouging more.... stephc@xenopi.com
9 comments:
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What does the next Gen. value. I know that we value community, but is that it?
I would love to see art and video used in ministry. As a teacher it would be awsome to see the church use different learning styles that meet the multiple intelligences, to help people learn more about God.
I would just love to see an Asian church be open to different styles of worship. I think that the Emerging church model would realy fit in the Next Gen. Asian Church.
These are great questions you're asking! One recently published book, Growing Healthy Asian American Churches, explores a number of values that would be part of the next generation Asian American church -- we just started a blog-based discussion about the book, would love to have you participate with your thoughts and dreams!
next gen church? well you can talk all you want but i think it's already here as second gens become leaders and deacons in the own local church. There's plenty of asian american churches out there and people will either congregate there or go to a predominantly white church that's just the way I see it... if you were curious about me - I go to a church that is 50% black , 30% white and 20% others.
Now worship? it depends on your flavor... I don't see it deviating much from the standard music and choreographed dances... maybe some spontaneous stuff but worship ain't limited to just that
A friend of mine who helps Asian Americans plant churches shared this with me recently. I thought it was good. I just Got the book and I'm more excited to read it now! DJchuang has been talking about this on his blog too...(He's linked to this site)
~O'B Obrien wrote~
Paul Tokunaga in Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian-American Leaders writes, “In order to keep, cultivate and serve young Asian Americans, here is what I believe is needed in two major areas…”
Asian-American Churches
· Clear mission statement with role of AAs to complete it
· Empower and bless young leaders to reach their generation
· Help AAs understand and appreciate their ethnic identity
· Provide leadership training that affirms their identity
· Empower AAs to pursue racial reconciliation
· Help these churches respect AAs in multiethnic churches
Multiethnic Churches
· Help AAs embrace diversity
· Let AAs lead, even when their style is different
· Create safe place to discuss ethnicity
· Make racial reconciliation a high priority
· Unique strategies in evangelizing ethnic communities
· Help these churches respect AAs in Asian churches
There's a great bible study type booklet out there called "Losing Face and Saving Grace" by pastor Dave Gibbons that deals with issues that seem to confront Asian Americans and Asian Canadians often. I think a part of a healthy Asian American is facing and dealing with those issuses that may be more uniqe to asian americans/canadians, like, the 'hard work' ethics and mentality that transfers over to a mentality in their own spiritual life of having to 'work hard' to please God, to gain his approval, etc. but yeah, issues that like, we need to confront, i feel.
To be perfectly honest ... the reason why we all try to do a customize version of churches is because church has not done a very good job at being a church (biblically and theologically). Because of the things we see on the surface level, we end up trying to fix things on the surface level, thinking that it would change for the better. Yet we always find ourselves in the same ol rut. I've seen churches change things in terms of language, styles, sermon topics, relevancy ... all which is important ... but the deeper issue is not being met. It's like putting a band aid over a bullet hole. It looks nice for a while, but the damn wound still bleeds!
There are two questions that all churches must ask in order to survive. Not only to simply surive in general, but also to survive in the natural 40 year cycle of organizations/genereations. Because, eventually, we will be irrelevant to the generation after us as well, unless we can constantly answer these two questions ....
What is the church?
Why does it matter?
What would it really look like if our churches, especailly all the leadership, based their actions, the church's calendar and function and ministry of the church, on biblical foundation, from that, theological implications of the actions, down to contextual geographical/local application?
And after the church figures that out ... how to make that relevant to a culture that could give a rip about churc. Cause really ... we have all this great and wonderful stuff, but if we can't boil it down to what it's good for ... then there's no point. This is where a lot of mainline evangelical churches are. We're great within the christian community. But we do a piss poor job at living our faith ouside. We try to make our faith "fit in" with the world. We shy away from tough questions. Part of that is residue effects from the enlightenment that made is hold on to these domagtic statments that hold little weight. Ignorance is the word here. No FEAR, LOVE, and Engage society un appologetically.
The word that has been thrown around a lot is "value." Value is something that is based on a personal feeling of what is important and what is not. "Morality" is similar in that what is right and wrong is based on the agreement of the masses.
Never underestimate the power of dumb people in large groups ... you never know what kind of stupid thing they'll do next!
From the get go, basing a church with morals and values will end up leaving the church paralized in the future. Our 1st generation churches based their ministry off of values and morality. Values: Speak vietnamese ... keep the culture. Morality: dancing is bad, drinking is bad ... why? because it's agreed ... and we think it's biblical. Someone brainwashed us with these ideas and we didn't know it ... why? Beceause we didn't question it biblically and theologically. As you can see ... values and morality, based on a personal opinion that is agreed in a group will soon change. We don't necessarily value what the previous generation does.
So instead of being relevant to each and every generation, the standard has got to be the bible.
the question isn't what would a Next Gen Church look like ... the question should be ... what does a CHURCH look like?
peter-
excellent take! What you are saying is so true.
"basing a church with morals and values will end up leaving the church paralized in the future..."
I think that is why I struggle with the Next Gen. church idea sometimes. I keep thinking why do I look at planting Asian American Churches? I feel like I should just plant a church that is focused Jesus and strong biblical principals and who ever wants to come... comes!
Anyway I keep praying for GOD to give me a clear vision of who and how to reach people where they are at.
Hey bigto-
I noticed you are in PDX. I am part of a Chinese congregation (english speaking) and we are seeking to merger/?create an asian-american non-denominational church in PDX area. (i saw this forum while doing some research). Email me if interested in dialouging more.... stephc@xenopi.com
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