By Wayne Stapleton, VP of Cross-Cultural Engagement and Emerging Leader Engagement; & Kevin Wong, senior pastor at Cornerstone Trinity Baptist Church in San Francisco, California
The movement of God has never been dependent on optimal human circumstances. From the beginning, God’s raw material has been sinful, broken humanity. And yet, from such lowliness, God has transformed tough places into fields of healing and spiritual growth. For example, we read in Acts 8 that, as a result of persecution, followers of Jesus finally began to fulfill Christ’s vision proclaimed in Acts 1: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NASB).
Likewise, the Chinese church in America we see today was birthed out of challenging circumstances. From 1882 through 1943, the Chinese presence in American culture was precarious. In 1882, the United States put into effect the Chinese Exclusion Act. Similarly, Canada ratified its own Chinese Immigration Act in 1923, the end result of anti-Chinese racism and policies. These acts were implemented after Chinese immigrants, eager to partake in the advantages of economic opportunities provided in the expansion of the Western territories of North America, began to be scapegoated as taking the jobs of nationals and as the cause of social ills:
[. . .] And yet, despite the suffering that inevitably comes from this kind of oppression, God would bring into being something beautiful, in part because, thankfully, there was an active Christian witness on behalf of the Chinese immigrants. God’s people came to the aid and support of the targeted Chinese population. . . .As the numbers of Chinese laborers increased, so did the strength of anti-Chinese sentiment among other workers in the American economy. This finally resulted in legislation that aimed to limit future immigration of Chinese workers to the United States, and threatened to sour diplomatic relations between the United States and China.[1]
In less than a week, the Taster Table kicks off. This is an online gathering intended to create space for those in church leadership to look at a different way of being God’s people amid seismic cultural shifts.
As Christian leaders, we are called to participate with the Spirit in calling forth and forming new communities of hope that address these shifts. During our time around the table, we will work together to name what is happening and look at different ways of being God’s people in the contexts we find ourselves in.
Interested? Here’s a sample-size taste of the kinds topics that might be discussed:
- Where are we, and what has happened?
- What is the Spirit of God saying?
- How is God calling us to join with Jesus in our neighborhoods?
- What practices will guide us?
- What kind of leaders will we need to become?
The Taster Table will convene across the four Wednesdays in June: (4, 11, 18, and 25). Participants are invited to attend all four weeks.
For more information, simply email Deb Judas (djudas@nabconf.org), and to sign up to receive the link when it becomes available, follow the link below.
Episode four of the NAB Stories podcast is now available to stream or download.
This episode of the NAB Stories Podcast features a conversation between host Drew Steinhart and Tony Campos. Tony is the lead pastor of Casa de Luz in Sacramento, California, a church he planted with his wife, Fabiola, nearly twenty years ago. He talks about experience as a missionary and church planter, sharing the steps, and missteps, he has taken throughout his ministry as he seeks to follow God where he is leading.
You can listen or download this episode directly from the NAB website, or you can subscribe through Apple Podcasts or Spotify at the links below.
For the past year, a group of twenty- and thirty-something leaders from across the NAB have been gathering monthly as part of the inaugural Year of Equipping cohort. (You can read their reflections from the Vancouver, Detroit, and Chicago in-person gatherings.) The time has come for us to begin putting together the Year 2 cohort of emerging leaders within the NAB, those individuals in their twenties and thirties who hold some position of ministry leadership in the church, or even in a parachurch organization.
The Year of Equipping consists of three, three-month modules, each reflecting the three modules in Blue Ocean. Each module will have multiple components: a book pertaining to the subject matter, Zoom discussions, and one in-person meeting. The goal of this experience is to develop and enrich the relationships of our emerging leaders, to provide instruction and conversation about the movement of God in the world and how we participate, and to deepen the preparation of our emerging leaders for the future of the NAB.
If you are or know a twenty-something leader in your church, we welcome you to apply for the Year 2 cohort using the link below. The deadline to apply is June 20.