DISQUS

The question, as Danny explained well, should not be whether or not you are a sell-out. The question should be, whether or not you are faithful to God. So if you truly believe that God has placed you at RockHarbor, then God is pleased with that decision.

Sometimes I wonder if I am a sell-out being at Evergreen SGV instead of a more traditional bilingual Chinese church. Maybe I'm a sell-out for now, but I believe this is where God has called and planted me for now. I suspect that God will call me back to the Chinese church as an English-speaking minister. But for now, I am called to be at the all-English speaking Asian-American community of Evergreen SGV.

hi DJ,
Just to contribute to the conversation,
I posted some thoughts on my own blog earlier today:

http://danielkeng.wordpress.com/2009/05/30/on-t...

--Parental and worldly expectations.
Immigrant parents often push their American-born children to accomplish great things in academics, instilling in them a value of hard work and achieving success. Parents do not consider pastoral ministry to be an acceptible career. While it is okay for others to be pastors, their children should be doctors and lawyers to support the church and support them in their old age. Because of this, many do not seek out the Lord’s calling on their lives, reducing the supply of Chinese-Americans even considering full-time ministry as a vocation.

--Hurts experienced in churches.
As it has been well-documented, many Americanized Asian-Americans can speak of hurts that they have experienced in churches that are led by the immigrant generation. An alarming majority of those who grew up in these churches do not return to them after college, many of them leaving the faith altogether.

--Pessimism regarding the immigrant church.
Concerning the bilingual, immigrant church model, the prevailing mood among American-born Chinese seminary students I interact with is one of extreme pessimism. Many of them consider the bilingual church beyond repair, and that they do not want to go back to these types of churches that they grew up in.

--Other ministry desires.
Many ABC seminary students/ministers are currently looking for other kinds of ministries, whether in more progressive “multi-ethnic” churches, para-church ministry, or in the mission field. Whether this is affected by hurts experienced in the immigrant-led church remains to be seen.

See you there, DJ!

While the Asian-American Christian leaders mentioned above have a lot of notoriety and press, I feel like I need to balance them by suggesting some pastors who have more conservative leanings. Hoover Wong, Cory Ishida (Evergreen SGV), Steven Chin (Boston Chinese Evangelical Church), and Dan Low (Bread of Life Church) would fit into this category.

For more public figures from sports, there are the American-born Michelle Kwan and Michael Chang, and Norm Chow of UCLA.

For figures from politics, there are U.S. House representatives Mike Honda and Patsy Takemoto Mink, Doris Matsui, and Senator David Akaka. Former Governor of Washington, Gary Locke.

Thanks for the link, DJ! Hope everything's great with ministry and family.

the basketball arena (where the 76ers play) used to be called the First Union Center. It became a running joke on sports radio.

I say "Eng- like in England." Yes, I have my own nation. Or theme park.

DJ, you're the best connector I know, period. Cheers.

Funny you blogged about churches in Irvine, I'll be preaching at Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine on 7/6.

You're right. You know what?
we need more pastors like Andy Stanley to really tick off American chruchgoers.

I think we would be shocked to realize how many people in our churches are not bearing fruit as Jesus says in John 15.

Thanks DJ! I know a lot of people who would be interested in attending this, and possibly bring their non-believing family members.

hi DJ, it was great to see you again! Thanks for speaking--especially with everything you've been going through recently, I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to do it today. Thanks for the presentation--it was definitely informative and challenging. As Asian-Americans we do need new life, and part of that is being open to trying new philosophies and approaches to ministry.

DJ,
Had a great talk. Thanks for dinner! Hope to continue our conversations.
-Daniel

DJ, I think I would agree with Brian Bailey, if I am to blog, I'm going to make it good quality, and most of the time I don't have the time to do it. I wish I could do more, for many reasons.
All in all. thanks for the timely reminder that it can be for an audience of One.
-Daniel K.Eng

Thanks DJ!
This was very helpful.
-Daniel Eng