Asians in Church
“I am sitting in a service at my home church in Missouri. During an announcement for a new outreach to international students, a non-Asian woman dresssed in a kimono (traditional Japanese dress) stepped up to the mike [sic]. She was an elder’s wife. She feigned an accent, in which she spoke in halting English. The congregation roared with laughter. There were two Asians in church that day. One was me. The other was my unchurched friend. He turned to me and said, “This is bullsh__.” He got up, turned around (we were sitting in the front row) and walked past the crowd of 800 laughing and guffawing faces.
“To my knowledge, he has never stpped into a church again. When he (and I) walked out, it stirred a controversy. Some were concerned that the way we walked out was too militant and not a new testament model of reconciliation. Some were concerned that we were hurt, and needed inner healing. Some were concerned that we didn’t get the joke, and did not understand that no harm was intended. Not once was the elder’s wife held accountable. The problem, it seemed, was us. Thicker skin, an improved sense of humor, inner healing, less outrage, and a less serious disposition seemed to be the order of the day.”
Cited from The Next Evangelicalism bySoong-Chan Rah, from a comment to “A Public Apology to Our Asian American Brothers and Sisters“
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