Straight Talk About Christian Peculiarities

How do Chinese Christians share their calling and gifts? In Chinese Christian circles, if you introduce yourself or advertise yourself, they usually don’t want you. Or, if you are known as certain title, they will limit you in that particular category. They will be very skeptical about you if you do anything else, even if you are exceptionally good at it because they don’t believe that anybody can do more than one thing well. To develop your ministry, you have to “Wai, Wai, Wai” (唯威喂) [1] and pretend or display “Christian humility,” and act like a “humble big shot” and “humbly” blow your horns as a “Scientist’, or a “rich ($$) Christian,” a medical doctor, or a well educated man with highest degrees. (in most cases, only Ph. Ds. are respected) in order to get respect [2] and more appointments. (ministry opportunities, which they called “calling.” ) And they call that being spiritual!! When you had to apply for a position, they only want full-time servants (ministers) whether you are paid or not, called as full time or not. [3] And your boss, [4] will most likely lord over you and show no mercy if you do not practice PC with them, (political correctness) but nobody can “speak the truth in love.” [5] without being cast out. I have served churches as paid staff for over 20 years, [6] I have never had to apply for any of these church positions. I was lucky to have been always called by the churches, who had hired my former students or friends as a staff or pastor. I was fortunate that I was also never been fired or let go of, or invited out by any church. (In one occasion, I honorably invited myself out using sabbatical/study as the reason, which is true.) In my ministry as associate pastor, I always serve under the lead pastor or senior pastor. [7] In my first church position, the pastor was impeached, so I left, giving the next pastor freedom to hire me back or hire someone else. At the second church, the pastor was also impeached. At the third church, the pastor felt called to teach in a seminary. At my fourth church position, I went on to sabbatical leave to finish my dissertation. After that, I became chairperson of Asian Studies Department at CCSF. I am glad that I have no bitter experience in any of the churches that I served.
In Chinese Christian circles, advertisement is by word of mouth or rumors, according to social status/position, and personal recommendation. In one case my seminary student was hired by a small church in order to gain his green card. Once he got his green card, he left his wife and child and ran away three thousand miles away with a very large amount of church money which he stole from the church. After twenty years, this pastor came back and was hired by another church. Why? Because someone recommended him to the church without checking his ministry history. People often times are afraid to check the facts before they make any recommending/hiring (calling) decisions, and they worship spiritual “fame” without checking whether the “spiritually famous” has any spiritual substance. They want “Hollywood-personality,” show biz type of spirituality. Some churches simply let the Lead Pastor hire anyone without checking anything. Chinese are afraid of friendly confrontation, they do not favor respectful dialogue. They want to pretend to be nice as a Confucian code of honor. So, our Chinese Christian culture is “Yat Min Do” (一面倒 – fall on one side.) And there are great spiritual/social powers and politics at play in this Chinese Christian culture which, often times, is insulting to Christ. (Not that it is always wrong.) Confucius supports downward communication only in his Five Consecutive, (Social Order, Chain of Command) rather than mutual/respectful dialogue. [8] The Bible support of logical debate. [9] Objectivity, genuine truth, mutual respect, dialogue, sincere mutual acceptance, co-operation, spiritual freedom and freedom to be – all thrown out of the window. This trend or behavior is almost occult-like!
A case in point: I used to work in a church where the organist is related to one of the most respected (Confucius style of respect) ministers of the Chinese Christian world. This particular female organists had quite limited keyboard skills, hates anything that is not “classical” music while not knowing much about classical music. Her relationship with a “great man of faith” made her a self appointed “little pope” and bossed everybody around and nobody dared to challenge her. She likes to verbally attack (sweet talk style) anybody she doesn’t like or agree with behind their backs. (Confucius style, ritually respectful but bitter in the heart, afraid to talk up but loves to talk down) My professional level music achievement made her jealous. Her illegal alien status (boat-jumper) made her feel guilty and thus likes to criticize others. As the accompanist of the church choir, (a position not by skill but by social position as a relative of a spiritual big shot.) she used to talk aloud and play irrelevant passages while I directed the choir. Frequently when she heard wrong notes from the choir, she would play those notes loudly and even told me that I should notice those wrong notes. As a director, I do not use negative method but pleasantly guide the singers to sing the correct notes knowing that anxiety would lower the ability of any singer to pay more attention. (Some members were tone deaf, and nobody could remove them!) So when I ask her to stop what she was doing and let her know that she should allow me to direct the choir, she went to every person in power to complain against me and that I made her suffer from ulcers of the stomach. It has been almost 40 years. This person is still attacking me behind my back while parading around as if she is the most harmless creature and that everything was my fault. (A mild mannered, genuine former student of mine gently reminded me about her attacks recently.) This is an extreme case of the abuse of Confucius code of honor called “Wu Luen”, which actually supports mutual respect. (called “Ren”)
A seminary president once complained to me that he had to spend (waste) 40% of his time to do PC “Wai Wai Wai” in order to maintain his position, develop his seminary. That is the Chinese way, he said. And he said that “being (sincerely) straight forward as I am, I am not suitable for Chinese ministry, I am too Americanized.” [10] (Funny, I have been associate pastor to four White American churches and they never felt that I was not American enough. To the OBC, I am not Chinese enough and to the ABC, I am not American enough though I speak English and Chinese fluently.
As a well known musician, everybody wants CD’s and DVD’s from me, as if when I do not have a large volume of commercially produced CD’s and DVD’s, [11] I am not good enough. The fact is that I do not believe in investing a lot of God’s money in producing and selling CD’s and DVD’s. Studio productions are enhanced, not real, although the process of recording could nurture and build up musical skills of musicians. [12] Life performance, that is what I do best, where you have to do it perfectly w/o electronic enhancement, [13] only one time w/o lip-syncing at a specific moment in time before a live audience. This is the ultimate art form. And then I do not have the kind of money to finance studio production anyway. But I do have an abundance of life recordings that I have put into CDs and DVDs of course without the beautiful enhancements of sound, video and packages which fools people to think that they are good.
I remember in one case, a youth pastor invested many years of salaries in a young teenage girl who looked cute but can’t really sing, giving her time and money to practice and take lessons but practically owned her for many years. She actually “made it” and recorded quite a few pop Christian CD’s. The recording experience and the opportunity to have time for practice for the recording sessions had actually made her a singer. (still limited in skills) Through these CD publications and glamorizing, she got quite a good size of Christian groupies and started a Christian pop music ministry of her own. (Great!) But when she fell in love and got married, (an inevitability) she had a fall-out with the youth pastor who “created” her and her “success.” In Christian circles, in order to publish music, one has to spent a lot of money and prepare to get almost no money in return. It merely benefits the publisher, recording studio or agent. God has given me 40 years of college level solo voice teaching and choir directing experience. For that reason I became good at my music. Thank God.
I would rather fight the real fight, do it in the secular college, and media, singing, directing life oratorio and classical or pop music, but then it would not help my reputation in Christian circles.
However, if you are a super star in the secular classical or pop music world, you would immediately become a Christian celebrity among the churches, in their eyes, you must be very spiritual and moral, worthy of being worshiped. [14]
A great example is our great Chinese conductor in San Diego, Dr. Jahja Ling, (D. M. A.) I admired his skills very much. Because of his position as Conductor of San Diego Symphony, Chinese ministerial leaders who worship classical music immediately made him a god by worshiping him like one, made him a holy celebrity, giving him all kinds of opportunities for “ministry”. This means that fame and position in society equals spirituality. My position as voice professor and choral director of a community college for 40 years is not valuable enough to command respect, particularly from those Chinese Christians leaders who worship classical music. However, I am proud of my work being in the forefront of music education preparing and creating opportunities for people to enter the musical world or entering the conservatories of music. In addition to that, the very position that I am in, has made me an expert in teaching those who are musically challenged or amateurs who constitute most of the members of Christians churches. It is easier to direct a professional orchestra and choir than directing a chap-sui orchestra or choir made up of amateurs with many musically challenged members. Every semester I produced and directed university level oratorios and musicals for the college from having no auditions. For my calling as church worship pastor, I studied theology for many years and have degrees in theology so that I can serve these people better in Christian churches. I was led to believe that music in churches must be led by pastors or those who experienced the pastoral calling. But the worldly reality is, in order to do well as a Christian musician, you have to do it with a secular celebrity status in the secular music world, with great bands and orchestras, CD’s and DVD’s with great packaging, attractive graphics etc. In the Christian music world, you must make sure that nobody knows that you make any money, and act the way they want you to act. Well, I do not mind acting like a Roman in order to win the Romans, but these are Christian brothers and sisters on the same side!!! All my cassettes, CD’s and DVD’s are live recordings except two in which I sang through without second takes and editing. I do not want to go commercial or sell anything. I do not want fame of this kind.
My position as music professor is sometimes a hindrance to church related ministry relationships. One time, when I wanted to have a dialogue on a theological subject, [15] a seminary president, who was a college buddy of mine said, “Joshua!! stick to your music and singing! Not too many people can do music as good as you.” Translated: “shut Up, your do yours and let me do mine!!” I have lost the opportunity to even learn some theology from him.
It will take a long time, if not forever to develop my image as a Christian minister, rather than a “musician.” Well, the Lord uses me in many places and times and in very special situations anyway. He is the boss. I may not like it but it is best for me. So I better “shut up!” before I lose any ministry opportunity.
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1 I pet your shoulder, you pet mine
2 D. Min. don’t cut it, though many pastors want it, have it and demand to be called a doctor for it
3 Full-time career Christian workers are more holy, more special gets more pay; church musicians or music ministers are second class citizens, they got low pay if they are lucky enough to get any pay, work their butts off full time, whether they are getting paid part time or full, and got fired first. That is why I have been pastor instead of music minister and I worked very hard to get there, but still get much lower pay. If I put all my hours of practice as a musician together and all my music experience together, I should be paid the highest. If these hours are put in the science lab, I could be an Einstein.
4 The powers that are in place in the church, whether it is a very small church or a large one, usually the M.D.’s, Ph. D.’s or someone rich and powerful, who naturally, without substance, commands respect.
5 Eph 4:15; 弗 4:15 惟用愛心說誠實話、凡事長進、連於元首基督.
6 All primarily white worshippers without a Chinese congregation.
7 Many do not believe that I was Associate Pastor of these churches. After all, Joshua is just a musician.
8「五倫」(吳輪到你) Emperor-Subject; Father-Son; Husband-Wife; Elder Brother-Younger Brother; Elder Friend-Younger Friend.
9 Isaiah 1:18 賽 1:18 耶和華說、你們來、我們彼此辯論．你們的罪雖像硃紅、必變成雪 白．雖紅如丹顏、必白如羊毛.
10 After ministering as associate pastor in primarily white churches which has no Chinese congregations for more than twenty years, I am still the “third world” Chinese pastor, glass ceiling is a reality, I am simply not looking white enough!
11 sold non profit or given out free, Chinese people rarely donate if it is free
12 in the studio, people sing or play each segment many times until you are good enough, and then stitch them together. Most performers were mediocre until after they have raised enough money to invest in studio productions and actually did the recording. Merely by the process of recording, they become better, thus they are called “recording artists!!” And then when they “perform” before a life audience, they mostly lip-sync!!
13 studio band with sound tech who enhance their performance by playing your recorded track instead of them singing live. In most cases, to allow you to be free from really singing, but to dance, acting cute, talk and walk like a superstar, or dance like a pro.
14 When do we rely on Biblical standards to judge spirituality?
15 I have advanced theological degrees. Have any one noticed? Well, since I do not advertize, and Wai, Wai, Wai, not too many people care to know.