Pastoring is a tough assignment by any measure, but for many English-speaking ministers in some of the nation's 7,000 Asian congregations, the work is made harder by cultural differences inside their own churches.
Consider the situation of a second-generation Chinese or Korean American who works as an associate pastor for a largely immigrant congregation. Such a U.S.-born pastor would be accustomed to expressing personal views, so it can be trying to show marked deference to senior first-generation pastors who, steeped in hierarchal Confucian tradition, are used to assistants who don't express contrary opinions.
"American culture is much more open about sharing differences," said the Rev. Louis Lee, a second-generation Chinese American pastor who founded Ministries to English-Speaking Asians. U.S.-born pastors "don't care about titles or doctorates," he said, but not using an appropriate title to address a superior can convey disrespect to a first-generation person. And expressing disagreement could be construed as a personal attack, said Lee, who is known as a "pastor" to Asian American pastors.
For younger Asian Americans, this milieu can be a minefield of tender sensibilities and unintended insults. How to navigate it unscathed was one of the topics this week at a meeting of about 150 Asian American pastors and religious workers in the San Gabriel Valley.
The English-speaking pastors and workers, from various denominations throughout California -- a few with babies in strollers -- came together at Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles in Rosemead for a day of prayer, affirmation and sharing, including their struggles.
Called the Gathering, the event has been held about every four years since the 1980s. Attendees also heard a presentation on revitalizing Asian American churches for the new generation, and for lunch shared a bowl of chicken teriyaki over rice, compliments of the Evangelical Christian Credit Union.
"Pastors need encouragement and nurturing too," said the Rev. Tom Steers, an organizer of the event and the national co-director of the Navigators, an international Christian ministry. "We're providing a place where people can belong -- and the side of them that is Asian American can be ministered to," said Steers, who is white. A former missionary to the Philippines, he has worked in Asian American ministry in Los Angeles since 1976 and is considered a mentor by many Asian American pastors.
