After a stimulating small group discussion at Hunter College, I walked by a homeless woman on the way to our ministry’s offices. What struck me about this woman was that she was reading a Bible. Curious, and wondering if I could offer her any resources from the various shelters and kitchens that serve our city’s underserved, I approached her and asked what part of the Bible she was reading.

She glared at me: “No.”

Obviously, I was an unwelcome intrusion in her reading. I left – but not before sneaking a glance at her Bible. It was open to the book of Judges, chapter 7.

I’m not sure what she was getting out of her reading, but I hope it was good.

photo credit: Bas Scheffers

Later on, in the subway, an Asian American girl asked me for directions to 23rd Street. Asking for directions isn’t unusual here, but what made this stand out to me was that she deliberately didn’t ask any of the other people (none of them Asian) who walked by her before I did: she waited to ask me, another Asian American woman.

Why did she ask me? Why not any of the four people who passed her just before I did?

It got me thinking: in a place as tensely diverse as New York City, people are naturally going to gravitate toward communities where they feel most comfortable – and that often implies groups of people with the same or similar cultural background. The more you feel understood, (and the less you have to explain about yourself), the more you feel at home. Maybe that’s why we have such distinct ethnic communities in the city.

What implications does this have for us, as we seek to give every person a chance to hear and respond to the story of Jesus?

Here’s what I think. Of course, limiting a Christian group to people of only a certain background is silly: we’d miss out on learning from and experiencing the true fullness of the community of believers. It would also be not very politically correct… not that our goal is to be P.C. On the other hand, striving for cultural diversity in a Christian group is nice – and certainly a reflection of what it will be like in heaven – but it won’t necessarily make the Gospel story hit home the way it needs to in order for lives to be radically changed from the inside out.

Instead, we need both aspects: a contextualized (not watered-down) Gospel message that a culture really understands and is transformed by, concurrent with a vision for moving beyond cultural boundaries to share the message with those who haven’t yet heard.

Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? Let’s hear ‘em.

My three days at the consultation were jam-packed with all sorts of thought- and heart-provoking conversation and rumination. It’s taken me longer to mull over and absorb some things because I went to that gathering not knowing what to expect.

For one thing, I had no idea how much diversity would actually be represented in this gathering: not ethnic/cultural diversity, or even organizational diversity, but theological diversity. It was a good challenge for me to interact with, appreciate, and be blessed by people who hold different views on a handful of issues.

One of these issues was never addressed directly, but rather emerged in the course of the consultation. Church leaders representing both immigrant-founded, multi-generational churches and multi-ethnic, mostly 2^nd+ generational churches were present, and leaders from both of these groups got to address the entire consultation. It was clear that each of these leaders believe strongly and passionately in their particular model for how to “do” church. What wasn’t made clear, at least from up front, was how we can work together for God’s Kingdom purposes without feeling antagonistic or competitive toward churches that embrace the other philosophy.

Additionally, it was a bit of a challenge to be the only Epic Movement / Campus Crusade person there. My introduction gave cause for a more than a few double-takes at my name tag: either my new friend had never heard of Epic before (the less common reason), or was simply surprised that Campus Crusade would send someone to such a gathering (the more common reason). I’m not sure what that says about Crusade as a whole, and I’m not a gung-ho Crusader by any means, but regardless, I’m glad I had a chance to represent our organization there, for better or worse – (hopefully for better).

As for what we discussed on my track in the consultation – called “Developing and Supporting Women Leaders” – I’ll save that for the next post. Hopefully I’ll be able to share a picture of us at the consultation then, too.

A little more about the consult:

Participants are divided into 8 tracks, focusing on topics such as “Lay Leadership Development and Training,” “Intergenerational Congregational Life and Ministry,” and “Ministry in the Marketplace and Public Square.” I thought I would be placed on the “Ministry to the Disillusioned Generation” track, but as things came together, the consult leaders put me on “Developing and Supporting Women Leaders.”

Yep. Not sure what God has in store here, but whatever it is, it’ll be very interesting.

Anyway, my hope in going is to learn from these amazing individuals and, with them, seek God’s heart and direction for Asian Americans. Hopefully, they won’t expect too much from me while I’m there. I’ve asked some friends to pray for me while I’m there, and just the thought of that takes the edge off my nerves.

Despite (or perhaps because of?) my junior standing amongst these giants, I’ll be taking notes during the consult. Some of them should make it to this blog.

I’ll also be live blogging the consult. You can follow me at http://twitter.com/reginapchan.