Here’s why. He’s a boxing legend. Maybe the G.O.A.T. and you aren’t already Muslim and/or Black. He is “other” to you and remains an objectively “other.” And he was objectively a great boxer. And the general public could enjoy him for that and ignore his religious beliefs. If anything, his beliefs seemed like a huge distraction for the pugilistic fanatic. You had to care about who Ali was, not just what he did and what he projected, to be compelled to investigate what he believed.

It’s not simply an aside to say that Ali was a Muslim. He was a deeply spiritual and devout person. And he may not have had influenced you at all, but for a generation of young Black men, I think Muhammed Ali’s conversion to Islam in 1965 and his subsequent legacy made quite an impression. Why? Because to young Black men in the 1960′s, Muhammed Ali was not “other” to them; they could not be objective about this physically gifted, articulate, and charismatic figure who taunted his opponents in the ring and even the US government when they sought to draft him. Muhammed Ali’s faith spoke to them and made an enormous impression on a generation of African Americans in this country.

So when we talk about Jeremy Lin and how he has gained a platform for representing Jesus Christ, just recognize that my caution for him is that he stewards his Christian witness well, not for the masses and the adoring basketball fanatics, but for the young Asian American. Because the rest of the public will give him kudos for saying all the right things about giving credit to God and thanking his Lord and Savior, he is another Christian athlete who gets the stage, joining the ranks of Tebow, Kurt Warner, Tony Dungy, etc. But not to me. As an Asian American Christian male, I cannot be objective about Jeremy Lin, he  is not “other” to me.

And this is why I don’t want him to be the typical hat-tipping Christian celebrity athlete, because Asian Americans need a self-aware, community-conscious person who understands that his witness could sway Asian Americans who come from a different strain of faith ranging from ancestor worship to Zen; that he could speak to depression and suicide that goes on in our communities; that he could rally Asian American churches to get over their infighting and greed; that he could speak to the immigration issue and Asians might listen. And he might sway a generation of Asian Americans that would never darken the doors of a church. But in order for that to happen, Lin’s Christian witness must not be cliche, nor must he subscribe to being “a nice guy”. That would be an opportunity wasted. And from what I can tell about Jeremy Lin, he doesn’t waste opportunities.

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But I have to admit, I’m terrible at it. Don’t have a reliable jumper. Turn it over like pancakes. Can’t dribble.  I just sweat a lot. Basically, I’m the equivalent of a human folding chair that players use to dribble around in practice. But what can I say, I love the game.

And now, though I’ve been watching him with hope and anticipation for some time now,  Jeremy Lin has struck the NBA like lightning. And suddenly this game  I love is now featuring this guy that could have been one of my youth kids, it could be one of my college friends, and in some fantasy world, it could have been me. He is the embodiment of many of us – those half moon eyes, the deference to the other players, his eye for technical detail, and the sweat of someone who kills you with consistency, not necessarily jaw-dropping athleticism. On top of all of this, Jeremy speaks the name of Jesus into the press microphones. He talks about being blessed and answered prayers. Wow. And an Econ degree from Harvard? If He Got Game, this is about the closest we get to Asian Jesus, ain’t it? 

But I can see the signs of the vultures already. The barricades against his Christian witness are being laid out. The commoditization of Jeremy Lin has already begun, he is already moving from player to pawn in the schemes of the media and business. Why polarize him as a Christian? Because they’re still trying to figure out which market he will be more accessible to — especially if he can’t maintain the 25 point, 8 assist pace. But he’s Chinese American, so if he can keep up this level of play, there’s a nation of billions waiting to buy his image and jersey.

Color me a cynic, but it isn’t like we haven’t seen these methods employed before. Even those of us with the best of intentions and highest of hopes contribute to applying so much pressure, it will be amazing if Jeremy can make it out of this knot without coming undone himself.

So here’s some unsolicited advice from a fan, #17:

• Play your life like you play your game. In other words, don’t get flashy now. Keep your faith and your public witness minimal. Remember what you do in secret is where your reward comes from (Matthew 6), so don’t worry about the charities and the public relations yet. You’re saying all the right things now, just stick with them.
• Keep your game and your faith in different pockets. People will assume that “your God” is there to help you win and so they correlate your performance on the court to “your God.” Don’t let them. That’s cheap religion. Bless those who curse you. Pray for the other team if you have to, but don’t mix basketball and Christ. They will only see basketball. Let Christ speak through the whole of your life, not just your press conference.
• If you should decide to speak on matters of faith, I encourage you to put something out there that would subvert the impression of the masses that evangelical Christianity is a faith obsessed with behavior of the individual – people who ask you about your virginity, or if you pray before meals, or whatever. Not that personal piety isn’t important, but remember James 1:27 is about widows and orphans. That’s the religion our Father accepts – both personal purity and a keen awareness of those who have no home.
• And if I were you, I’d call out your Christian brothers to do more than buy tickets to your game. I’d also call out your Asian Christian brothers and sisters to address our issues. That’s just me, but I never had as much game as you, so take it for what it’s worth.

Oh snap, the game’s on. Peace.

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-rs2Zb95Dw

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• 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.
  

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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.?

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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.

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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.

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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, 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!

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