How they address and resolve certain key issues that are commonly faced by Chinese-American churches (CACs) in the U.S. will determine the successful evolution of these Christian churches, in particular, whether they will continue to exist and flourish or whether they will wither and lose their vibrancy. This article discusses these key issues and proposes how these issues should be resolved.
Major Constituents: The most important issue is who are the major constituents of these CACs? Should they be oversea-born Chinese (OBCs), or American-born Chinese (ABCs) with the latter including those who may be OBCs but came to the U.S. at a very young age (say, before they reached their teenage years)? The question can be rephrased as: Should these churches be Chinese churches focusing on the OBCs, or should they be “American” churches focusing on the ABCs? Chinese churches would mean that the service would be conducted in Chinese, and the ministry would basically be a Chinese ministry. American churches would mean that the service would be conducted in English, and the ministry would basically be an English ministry.
Cultural Loyalty and Political Loyalty
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, when Spain played against the U.S. for the gold medal match in men’s basketball, most Spanish Americans[1] rooted for the Spanish Team. When Brazil played against the U.S. for the gold medal match in women’s soccer, most Brazilian Americans rooted for the Brazilian Team. When China played against the U.S. for the gold medal match in women’s beach volleyball, most Chinese Americans rooted for the Chinese Team. Is there anything unusual or of concern to the U.S. about the above phenomenon? Shouldn’t American citizens be rooting for the U.S. teams? I think to discuss this issue and to answer these questions, we need to differentiate between cultural loyalty and political loyalty.
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