Fresh and New! Seattle's First Ever Asian American Ministry Conference

Alright, so I can't say for sure that SPU's Inaugural Asian American Ministry Conference is Seattle's first, but I couldn't find anything on Google that proved otherwise. 

With that disclaimer aside, what a blessing this conference was! 

First of all, it was right here in Seattle, so I didn't have to buy a plane ticket and find a cat sitter to attend. 

Second, it was right here in Seattle, so I got to interact with and meet a lot of fellow servants of God's kingdom who are serving locally. 

Third, it was right here in Seattle, so the fruit that is coming out of this conference means a world of good for what God is doing in these parts. 

A couple of other reflections...

• There was a great panel about Asian American women in ministry led by Seattle's very own Rev. Nancy Sugikawa (Lighthouse Church), featuring Elaine Cho, Ken Fong, Christine Nakano, and Wayne Ogimachi. I learned a ton, but I was also struck by a little nugget that Ogimachi had to share regarding leadership in the church. He stated that the job of the pastor isn't to delegate, but to find and raise up people to lead. So the task of pastoral leadership is not to simply tell other people what to do, but to identify, train, and encourage members who have the gift of managing and leading others. 
• This is kind of a biggie...Aside from having a few more "academically oriented" talks than I was expecting, the conference also ended up being a bit more focused on issues of race than I was expecting, and it got me thinking: How big of a deal is racism when it comes to discipleship? Sounds like a question with an obvious answer, I mean, isn't racism always a bad thing? But let's go deeper. The fact is, as the song says, everyone's a little bit racist sometimes. So why then do we need to talk about it? Why then do we as followers of Jesus Christ need to speak up when things like this or this happen? 

What say you? 

The thing is, when the church brings up "the R word", a lot of people get defensive (and sometimes offensive). Everyone knows racism is a bad thing, and so we can't get anywhere by naming something as racist, even if it is. It's like admitting it automatically puts you into social jail. 

But racism still exists. Race still matters. (And let's be clear: you and I are just as much a part of this as anyone) 

But does it matter to discipleship? Does it matter to a pastor who/ministry that is trying to call and equip followers to Christ? 

Personally, I think it does, but I think that connection needs to be made in a much more compelling way than it currently is. The research and scholarship has been done regarding racism, ethnic studies, and identity, but the connection between discipleship and race issues has not been made in a convincing manner (especially for the general lay public...but I'd say not really even for pastors and other leaders in ministry).  

I'm going to argue for this: fewer talks and sermons about why "Deadly Vipers" is something that Zondervan should never have published, and more about why every follower of Christ needs to care about these issues. And perhaps even more importantly: Why ethnic minority groups need to step to the plate on one another's behalf. This was said quite well by Seattle Pacific Seminary professor Brian Bantum on the opening night of the conference. I agree, especially because it makes the message so much more powerful. If an Asian tries to fight for the rights of Asians, it often just sounds like we're being too sensitive. But if all ethnic groups rise up on behalf of one that gets oppressed, then the message takes on power. 

the folly of waiting for that special moment...

so this past Sunday we completed our 20 week sermon series on the Gospel of Matthew by looking at Jesus' final words to his disciples before ascended into heaven. And there was one verse in particular (Matthew 28:17) in that passage that struck me: "When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted." 

Can you imagine that? The disciples are gathered on the mountain with the resurrected Jesus, worshiping him, and still there were those that doubted. 

What more proof/evidence did they need? 

There's two really important things to take away from this. First, although I'm just as much a fan of the scientific method as the next person (you can't argue with its results), you have to admit that we as human beings are simply not as rational and objective as we thought we were. Look at the whole President Obama birth certificate thing. The president could put a million official documents up and there would still be people arguing that it's all a conspiracy. Or just imagine how many members of Al Qaeda will never believe that Osama bin Laden's been killed. 

Convincing humans of the truth of something, especially something that goes against their strongly held beliefs, takes more than just truth. It takes a transformation of them as well. 

Second, the fact that Jesus is addressing not only those that worship him on the mountain, but also those standing on the mountain doubting him shows us a lot about how we really look to Jesus. I'm reading a book right now about a man who became an alcoholic after he accepted Christ and became a follower of Jesus. Not to say that that's an admirable thing, but it points to something we need to understand, but rarely do: that Jesus isn't suddenly impressed when we decide we're going to follow him. He has a much more sober view of our flaws and failings. 

Jesus called both those who doubted him as well as those who were worshiping him to follow him because he knew that it was as they followed him that they would be transformed. He didn't need their assurance because he was sure about the only thing he had to be sure of: Himself. It didn't matter how much they doubted: all he needed from them was enough faith to take one step forward towards him. 

A lot of us get discouraged when we fail, when we realize how weak our faith is. The truth, though, is that you're probably worse off than you think. But know that this means you are also more loved than you think. This is true because Jesus knew your failings before he came to you and called you, which means that the person you thought he called and loved wasn't nearly as lovable as you thought. You were harder to love than you thought. But Jesus loved that person, the real you, not the image you had of yourself. 

It doesn't matter where you are right now. Do you have enough faith to take one step towards Jesus? One step. Maybe it's choosing to open your Bible today. Maybe it's not cheating when you know you could have gotten away with it. Maybe it's sharing with someone the love of God in word and deed. One step. That's all you need to be his disciples. Take that step immediately, and watch him transform you. 

(Pictured: "Big Turtle in the Masoala Hall, Zurich", alex.ch, available under Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 license.)

Inreach

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunkfordbraun/

I remember a couple of things from my earlier days of learning how to lead ministries. One is a distinct memory of rejecting our leadership's push to get more people to come to our ministry. My thinking was, because our church was so dysfunctional, I couldn't imagine what good it would do to invite anyone to it. Of course I went, but that was because it was my church. I was born into it. I didn't choose it. 

The other is a memory of speaking with someone who was a ministry leader at an East Coast college campus while we were studying abroad together. She told me her ministry position: "Inreach Director". It was a position I had thought about for our own campus, and it was one that I thought was needed. Again, although our campus ministry often pushed outward, internally I just saw so many problems that needed fixing. The garden, so to speak, needed some serious caretaking before we invited others to be planted into it. 

Now, however, I realize that things work a bit differently. Let me tell you something that probably doesn't work, now that I've put a few years into building ministries: 

"If you build it, they will come." 

I don't think so. 

The idea that we will have succeeded if we build a ministry with a good, fun community where everyone is happy and everyone knows your name, doesn't work for one major reason (at least as far as I can tell): Christ didn't gather together his church (his ekklesia or gathering) in order to bless us with warm feelings. He gathered the church to be Him and share his message. We exist so that others may know Christ, whether it be through the words that he speaks or the actions that he takes through us. 

In other words, the motto shouldn't be, "If you build it, they will come." Rather, it should be, "As you go to them, I will build My Kingdom.  (Okay, so I'm no poet...I think you still get the picture!)

A lot more could be said, but let me finish with this. The choice actually isn't between focusing on "inreach" or outreach. We shouldn't be concerned about focusing on one or the other. Rather, outreach in its purest form will always be the best inreach. When we reach out as Jesus is calling us to, we're not talking just about service projects or evangelism events. We're talking about nothing less than the basic following of Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. When we do that, we will not be able to help but to care for our brothers and sisters both within and outside our ministries. 

Focus on keeping your eyes locked on Jesus amidst everything that you say and do, and everything else will follow. 

The Other Shoe

Ever hear the phrase, "Waiting for the other shoe to drop"? If you haven't, basically it's used when everybody who's heard/seen one thing knows for sure another thing is coming. It's pretty closely related to the whole "good news/bad news" idea. Once you hear one, you know you're going to hear the other. (If you wan't to know the whole entertaining origin story, click here.) 

I think I can say that church goers and Christ followers alike are often waiting for "the other shoe" to drop. Here's what I mean: pastors preach that Christ died for their sins and that God loves them unconditionally. This is radically good news, and at churches that preach this message faithfully amazing things happen! But then what often follows is significantly less radical. In fact, I think it's safe to say that many churches and leaders are not sure what to do or preach next. The result is often ministry plans that seem related less to the in-breaking Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus Christ, and related more to the latest (and, just as likely, already stale) management/organizational/motivational techniques taught by whoever's having the most success at any given moment. 

Over the past few weeks and months an interesting theme has been coming up in my life directly tied to all this. I think it started with a couple of books that were on my desk: Crazy Love by Francis Chan and The Spirit of the Disciplines  by Dallas Willard. Both of these books stressed the idea that salvation wasn't a one time event, that God's grace was never meant to lead to passivity among followers of Christ. In fact, followers of Christ should be defined by just that: following Christ actively and radically in their daily lives. 

Then I had a meaningful and thought provoking conversation with a fellow pastor about grace and discipleship. If I understood him correctly, his argument was that if you study scriptures honestly, you will find that they themselves argue that discipleship is a key ingredient in salvation. He went as far as to argue that we could lose our salvation if we chose not to grow in our knowledge of Christ nor actively follow him. I had a problem with what I saw as linking our salvation to our works, but nevertheless he made a strong point: that scripture does not mince words when it comes to discipleship. "I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot...So, because you are lukewarm...I will spit you out of my mouth...Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne." (Revelation 3:20-22) Regardless of whether you want to argue that a rejection of discipleship means a rejection of God's grace, it's clear that the Biblical witness argues that discipleship is an essential part of being a follower of Christ. 

These, plus a few other factors and conversations that I've had, have led me to see what "the other shoe" has got to be for ministry: it's got to be growing in our Christ-likeness. It's got to be a serious commitment to helping each member of Christ's body follow Christ everywhere and at every time. At the end of Willard's book, he argues that each pastor/ministry must evaluate themselves based on whether they are truly and effectively helping people to grow in their Christ-likeness. I agree. Not in addition to or in place of, but as part of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, United Life must be about making disciples of Jesus Christ. 

Listen, I've known this in my head forever. But it's starting to really sink in right now. I look around and I see so many young Christians who know everything they need to know, but whose lives and faith are still floundering. And the one key element that I can see missing for all of them is the fact that they have never been seriously discipled. They have never been seriously challenged to hear Christ calling them not only to receive God's grace, but to truly and steadily become like him. They have never been told that this is an essential part of following Christ. 

It's time to start.