:: in.a.mirror.dimly ::

There’s a certain pattern that I’ve noticed in my own blogging that really, really bugs me. I see it elsewhere too, but I’ll just speak to myself. Perhaps a story will help:

The Racist Video

A few years back, a major Christian publisher released curriculum that included a blatantly racist video. There was a huge outcry over it. I was part of that outcry.

God has laid it on my heart to seek redemptive paths forward. I don’t know how successful I have been, but I tried to write a post that was both understanding and constructive with ideas for steps forward.

I received a lot of traffic from that post, and some of the offended parties even wrote to express their appreciation. However, something doesn’t sit right about all of it for me.

Ignoring Our Problems

The bigger problem is that I was reacting to racism in the church, but I hadn’t been taking active steps toward the kind of unity that the New Testament says the Holy Spirit wants to create. I was just going about my business, doing my own thing, not worrying about the very real racial challenges we face in the church.

I was waiting for something to go wrong, and then I got to pontificate when someone crossed the line.

Racism is not a small matter. We’re talking about one of our big problems. These are not the kinds of things we resolve with a blog post, no matter how self-righteous I can make it. These resolutions require long term, sustained commitment.

If I can step back for a moment…

Do I Only Address Our Problems When They Explode?

The point isn’t necessarily that we should never write in reaction to another Christian’s insensitive or flat out stupid remarks. We need to write what we feel God lays on our hearts. However, I’m deeply bothered that I rely on controversy and insensitive statements to force me into addressing Christianity’s big problems.

I don’t see this as an either/or. We can’t be proactive about EVERY problem in the church. Each Christian has to discern where he/she is called to serve others and which problems he/she can address. Sometimes we’ll have a constructive response to add to a discussion where we haven’t been involved.

I’m more concerned that I haven’t been too involved in resolving much of anything over the years.

Being proactive about our big, important problems won’t stop a public leader or celebrity from making an insensitive or destructive remark. However, I’m not proposing a top-down solution.

I’m more interested in a bottom-up, mustard seed-sized solution that is costly and takes time to grow in the margins. It looks foolish to the world, but it has time to grow in the wisdom of God.

When I think of how we could use our blogs, I wonder what it would look like to use them as our story-telling platforms for the Kingdom-building work that God is using us to do. That requires first getting into the game by recognizing what God wants us to do where we are: bringing healing where there has been racism, injustice, homophobia, misogyny, or a natural disaster.

Then we can tell our better stories and create a proactive, redemptive culture in the church. When the big media platform Christians spout off their nonsense, we’ll have our own platform of mustard seed stories that are more stable and life-giving. We’ll have something better to say than, “You’re wrong!” We’ll be witnesses of a better reality, and we can testify to the way God has worked in our midst.

Who knows, someone may even listen…

My Plan for Addressing Misogyny and Equality for Women

I’m working my way out of the theory for these ideas into something concrete. At this point I’m actively making plans to start a new series at my blog in January. The plan is to launch a weekly guest post series about women in ministry—anything from teaching to hospitality.

I want to create a place where women can write about their experiences in ministry or being ministered to by a woman. The goal is to create an encouraging environment where women are affirmed by others to pursue their callings from God. Enough has been done, chiefly by men, to discourage women. It’s time to tell stories that will help drown out the negativity that women are subjected to on a daily basis.

Finding a ministry calling is hard enough. I can’t imagine having a chorus of male leaders saying that my anatomy rules me out from many aspects of ministry.

The plans are still taking shape for this series. I’ve weighed in quite enough on the debates about what women can and cannot do in the church. It’s time to encourage women in their God-given callings.

Is there a particular issue in the church that has been on your heart lately?

I’ve been following a controversy over a racially insensitive video, poster, and book cover put together by two white Christian men. The gist of the controversy is that the book’s art work and video content both exploit Asian culture and promote demeaning stereotypes.

Two Asian American leaders (Cho and Rah) asked for apologies. Edward Gilbreath also offers clarity and empathy. At first one of the makers of the book and video didn’t seem all that willing to hear out Professor Rah. Thankfully they later wrote an apology note and apparently a phone conversation took place at some point on November 4th between the concerned parties.

Things seem under control, but I wanted to share a few thoughts based on how we can use this situation to clarify our beliefs, correct misconceptions, and to make our communities stronger when dealing with racial insensitivity (not necessarily “racism” in every case).

It’s never comfortable to find out that you’ve offended someone, especially when it has to do with race, and ESPECIALLY when that offense is created by something as permanent as a book in print. I can see how one may initially become defensive. However, the only position for white Christians on this issue is to open ourselves up to critique, to admit we’ve been wrong when necessary, and to confess that even in our attempts to make things right we may make things worse. In fact, I fear that even in writing this post I may have some large elephants in my own room…

Case in point: I initially wrote at the start of this post that Asian Americans found the video and book cover offensive. That was partially true, but I missed the point right off the bat that all Christians should be offended when one part of the body of Christ feels wounded. So even in dealing with these matters, I can see I have a long way to go.

As I examine my own heart and what I’ve seen online over the past few days, here are a few of my observations about white Christians and matters of racial sensitivity:

• We don’t want to think of ourselves as racists.
• We generally aren’t openly or overtly racist. It’s far more subtle than we expect, taking the form of jokes, etc.
• When we mean well, it’s hard to admit we hurt feelings.
• Those in the majority should never ask victims of injustice to turn the other cheek.
• We don’t realize that racial insensitivity demeans the offender while also demeaning the offended.
• It’s embarrassing to be wrong and to admit failure publicly.
• It’s difficult and painful to right wrongs.
• Those in the ethnic majority have a non-binding vote on what’s offensive. The minority gets the binding vote.

If I was one of the guys who designed that book and video, I’d be feeling crushed right now. So crushed, that I probably would have a hard time understanding how it feels to be a mocked ethnic minority. If I learned that a book I’d invested significant time and resources into offended a significant part of the population with its central motif, I’d probably have a hard time entering into a dialogue about it at first. However, if I was an ethnic minority, I’d probably have a hard time sleeping until the matter was resolved.

I’m more concerned about the way we resolve future matters of racial insensitivity than in examining the minutiae of this current case. This convinces me that white Christian leaders, writers, and whoever else can start by doing a few things:

• Seek the counsel of diverse perspectives that will surprise, challenge, and even unsettle us. In writing Coffeehouse Theology I sought out readers from a variety of backgrounds, regions, and denominations who made it a better book. I am continually surprised by my own limitations and need for Christians who see the world differently.
• Ask those in the minority to identify the problem and to suggest a solution. That’s something one of the men involved in this did that I think is worth emulating: he asked Professor Rah to outline a way to make things right.
• Make “listening” our first response to critiques of racial insensitivity. Some white Christians whined about the way Asian Christians handled this is, and it borders on Pharisaic legalism that strains a gnat and swallows a camel. Saying that a critique of racial insensitivity fails to follow proper confrontational protocol and is therefore somehow invalid borders on the absurd. I think our critiques of one another have mixed results at times, but when someone says, “You’ve hurt me!” We need to listen, rather than picking apart exactly how they did it. We can discuss the details of “critique protocol” down the line, but in the grand scheme of things, racial injustice and insensitivity are far more destructive for Christian community than a blog post that strikes some as angry or critical. Of course he sounds angry and critical! He’s been deeply wounded! Failure to listen only creates a frustrating spiral of accusation and counter accusation that does no good for the body. The least those in the majority can do is listen.
• Insensitivity Can Crop up Elsewhere. The other elephant in the room here is the way Christians treat women, to say nothing of Asian women (which is something I’m only mentioning in passing because I don’t have the chops to address that one). If you now have some insight into the ways we can be offensive and patronizing toward Asians, then I don’t think it’s too far a  stretch to apply these lessons to the ways that women are stereotyped, patronized, and mistreated in the Christian camp, especially by white males in leadership. The conversations we’re having here with our Asian brothers and sisters in Christ also need to happen with our sisters in Christ.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ve already written more than I ever intended. I hope we can prayerfully move forward in our dialogue with one another. If I’ve made some glaring errors in this post, I’ll begin my apology now and end it after you e-mail me at edcyzewski (a) gmail (dot) com.

However, whatever this post’s inadequacies, I hope it’s a useful stone in the road toward reconciliation.