Allow myself to re-introduce myself in the post-blogging age in my first video blog entry. And true to the metaphor of being Asian American, I’m driving from one place to another. Enjoy~
A Measurement of Assimilation
December 2, 2011 By 2 Comments
This is an interesting study that shows the degree of similarity between native and foreign-born adults in the United States. The findings are fascinating and worth an in-depth look, but I’ll highlight a few that pertain to Asians here and attach a couple of fascinating graphs associated with the study. Discuss!
- The degree of similarity between the native- and foreign-born, although low by historical standards, has held steady since 1990. Assimilation declined during the 1980s, remained stable through the 1990s, and has actually increased slightly over the past few years
- Economic and civic assimilation often occurs without significant cultural assimilation.
- Immigrants from developed countries are not necessarily more assimilated. Immigrants born in Korea, which the World Bank classifies as a high-income country, have a collective assimilation index value lower than that of immigrants from Cuba or the Philippines, which are classified as low-income countries. Several factors can explain this pattern, among them the fact that immigrants from developed countries do not necessarily become naturalized citizens more rapidly than those from the developing world. The United States often attracts immigrants who belonged to the economic elite of their origin country.
- Immigrants from Vietnam, Cuba, and the Philippines enjoy some of the highest rates of assimilation. However, these groups assimilate more rapidly in some respects than others. For example, they are far more assimilated economically than they are culturally. Curiously, all of the countries mentioned have experienced U.S. military occupation.
- This pattern implies that policies restricting bilingual education, or requiring that government business be conducted in English, will have little impact on economic or civic assimilation. Indeed, erecting linguistic barriers to civic participation might actually retard assimilation along noncultural lines. Some observers may believe that policies promoting cultural homogenization are desirable. What should be clear, however, is that such policies do not appear to promote civic or economic assimilation.
Answer Me This
December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I was recently at the ANACEFC annual conference and got to sit in on a session where as a group the leaders wrestled with many questions together. It was really refreshing to do this in an Asian setting out of a seminary context. It was also interesting as a Korean American to listen to the concerns of Chinese American pastors and church leaders. We are surprisingly similar yet with some differences. First of all, let me express my respect and admiration for my Chinese American brothers and sisters who have a greater capacity and tolerance for differences than I have witnessed in Korean settings. I was also encouraged by the presence of women at the highest levels of this conference. And lastly, as we tackled questions together, I was impressed by the presence of dialogue as a problem-solving tool even as we discussed passionately and laughed together over difficult questions.
I would like to share some of their discussion questions with you in the hope that discussion can happen here that might help us all. Please feel free to jump in…
- How do we embrace and empower the second generation ministry?
- Is it really necessary to delete or change the word, “Chinese” in the name of the church? Is it more appropriate to adopt the usage of term “a church of Cantonese, English and Mandarin Ministries” and avoid the term, “a church of Cantonese, English, and Mandarin congregations.“
- With respect of a church of multiple ministries, what is the role of the Senior Pastor? Give your views on the structure of pastoral staff.
- How do we effectively resolve conflicts between pastors, boat members, and pastors, among board members, boar dan members of the church and etc.?
Talking Around Each Other
November 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
Found the above on YouTube and found it to be a classic example of how Asian Americans and their parents talk in a way that doesn’t fit the definition of communication. And of course, while it is parody, it certainly sounds similar to some of the conversations I’ve had with my own parents. In some ways, it’s not just about our parents learning English, it’s about trying to keep up with this emerging, techno-illogical world that literally has only been blown up in the last two decades. It is the rare parent that can keep up with a serious discussion about the changing nature of work in the digital economy, expectations about the predictive capacity of the SAT for success, and whether or not having a secretary constitutes as a bragging right. Sometimes all they care about are their videos. And we, our YouTube.
I Won’t Confess
November 24, 2011 By 8 Comments
Some of the stereotypes are simply true. We have a culture that has made it hard for us to talk about ourselves. At times, we have very little sensitivity to what is going on inside of us and can barely name our emotions. Sure, there are the exceptions, but it’s one thing to be loud and obnoxious about the stuff that doesn’t matter, even if they are taboo subjects to Western sensibilities. The stuff that is hard to get to is the stuff we keep under our vest.
Here’s the thing, I know Asian American brothers and sisters who can analyze the junk out of the stock market, or a book of financial reports, or a research project, or even theology…or even Asian American churches. But my heart remains a closed, unanalyzed place. And the miscarriages, the marital strife, the wilderness season when I dropped out of college, the wrestling with pornography, my temper tantrums, and oh my fears, my fears and doubts. And my hatreds. I am just getting to know me.
And therein lies one of the chief problems with talking about what is wrong with the Asian American church, is that I am part of the problem, and I barely know how to talk about myself. And neither do many of my brothers and sisters.
ng.ac Tokback Thursday Jan. 14!
January 12, 2010 By 1 Comment
Alrighty, we’ve taken a break for the holidays and a couple Thursdays for good measure, so we’ll be back in the saddle with a couple of things to talk about on the docket.
First, I’m dying to hear a recap of Urbana, especially with DJ Chuang and ElderJ finally meeting face to face. Also, I really want to hear about the “Asian American” worship that led to the great discussion going on over at Joel Tang’s blog.
And although that might take up most of the time, for the upcoming Verge Conference (I’m very excited to attend btw), a question came to mind that I would love to hear your thoughts on. In Soong Chan Rah’s book, The Next Evangelicalism, he makes the point that immigrant churches offer a holistic missional approach (albeit to their own ethnic enclaves) that churches from the dominant majority can really learn from. So do you think that immigrant churches, your church can be classified as missional? Or do you feel like the have lessons to offer the missional church?
I don’t know if we’re going to get to all the questions, but I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of laughter, awkward muted silences, and eerie computer monitor light. The Tokback begins at the usual hour of 10pm EST / 7pm PST this Thursday night at DJ’s place, http://www.djchuang.com/tokbox. Put the kiddies down and get those webcams up as there’s no software or registration required. Spread the word and see you then!
The Re-Set.
January 10, 2010 By 5 Comments
We’ve been keeping it pretty quiet here at the Next Generasian Church, just doing a couple Tokboxes on Thursday nights, and we’ll keep it light for a couple more weeks when we get our stuff together for a RESET on the whole blog/site/approach.
Over the few years that NG.AC has been around, a lot of new and fresh voices have helped pushed the discussion forward: Eugene Cho, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Charles Lee and Soong-Chan Rah and many, many others have made Asian Americans visible in church leadership not only in the blogosphere, but leading in many areas of philanthropy, activism and advocacy. And for them, we are inspired and grateful.
With the recent episodes of the Deadly Vipers incident and calling out Francis Chan, it seems that this blog has taken on somewhat of a more critical, separatist reputation, which is, as many commenters have noted, not very Christian and not very helpful. So, we’re preparing this blog for a “Reset.”
Basically, what this entails is an overhaul of the blog’s format and look, contributors, and approach. Without saying too much, we hope to do a lot more sharing, showing, and storytelling to show windows into Asian American church and how we might move forward in the next generation of ethnic and multi-ethnic churches. I hope this excites you as much as it does me. This blog, which started as something of an outlet for my grief and heartbreak for the church, has grown into a resource for many others and has potential to do more good than harm, provided we pay attention and learn from our mistakes.
The Re-set is in the works. I can’t tell you when just yet, but know that it is coming. Thanks again for reading, subscribing, sharing and commenting!
Thursday Night Tokback 12/17
December 17, 2009 By 2 Comments
Don’t miss tonight’s ng.ac’s Tokback!
Tonight will feature Laurence Tom, or “LT”, the ABC Pastor (@abcpastor), discussing the recent violence in south Philadelphia against Asian American high school students. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for LT and many of us in different parts of the country have been waiting with baited breath for each twitter update from LT. Many prayers have been lifted up and there’s a lot to talk about as to how churches can help stand in the gap in this type of racially-charged crisis.
So join us tonight at 10pm (EST) / 7pm (PST) for a great discussion on race, violence, and reconciliation with LT! ***Here’s the link: http://ow.ly/ImoN
Here’s a quick news clip to give you a snapshot for background to tonight’s tokback:
Hope I Get To Meet Francis Chan
December 16, 2009 By 1 Comment
Despite what everyone may think due to our calling Francis Chan out on the Asian American carpet, I really like the guy and have admired his ability to communicate his convictions.
And now, since I’m a part of the blogging team for the Verge Conference in February, I’m hoping I get the chance to meet Chan — not sure if he’s interested in meeting me, but eh, what have I to lose, right? At least, maybe we can clear the air. 
(uh…by “sell-out,” we totally meant for Jesus!)
Joking aside, it’s going to be great to people are heavily invested in matters of missional community. As a person who participates in a faith community where multi-ethnic hospitality and worship is still a work in progress, I’m excited to hear how others have engaged it beyond mere rhetoric and pontification. Sure, I wish there were more Latino and Black faces on the speaker list, but we’ll start where we start and we won’t consider the Verge the end.
So, here’s to looking forward to the Verge conference. I’ll continue to post on issues leading up to the conference and we’ll be hosting conversations while we’re there. So stay tuned…
And if you know Francis Chan, tell him I’m looking for him.
Tokback Thursday 12/10
December 10, 2009 By 1 Comment
This week’s Tokback topic is “Calling all church planters! How do we start an Asian American church plant?” So if you’re a church planter, pastor, or experienced layperson we’re seeking your advice, pointers, and cautions as we delve into the topic as to what makes a good AA church.
Put in your two cents! 10pm (EST) / 7pm (PST), at http://www.djchuang.com/tokbox
No registration or software required. Just click on the link above and join the friendly conversation!
