Multi-Ethnicity, Woot!!!

Hello, friends! 

Greetings from California!  I am currently in beautiful Long Beach, CA at InterVarsity's Multi-Ethnic Staff Conference.  It promises to be a great 4 days of learning, connecting, and fellowshipping with other staff from around the country. 

One thing that I really appreciate about InterVarsity is its commitment to multi-ethnicity in all of its facets.  I was talking to one of my non-Christian friends last night at dinner and he asked me what MESC was all about.  I told hem that it was an opportunity to learn more about how God views multi-ethnicity.  He then asked me what God DOES think about multi-ethnicity.  IV is by no means perfect, but I think that their view on multi-ethnicity is spot on. 

IV believes that God created us different for a reason.  There is reason to celebrate that I am Asian American, just like there is reason to celebrate being African American, Latino American, White, Chinese, Japanese, Nigerian, and every other ethnicity that you can think of.  Our God is not a god who makes mistakes, so living in a multi-ethnic world is not a mistake. 

At the same time, there has to be reconciliation that comes through Jesus.  It is not enough for us to recognize and celebrate our differences.  We also have to work toward making sure that our differences do not keep us from coming together in the name of Jesus to heal the world in a real way.  I am proud to be a Chinese American from Southern California who follows Jesus with a flavor of my background, culture, and upbringing.  But, it would be wrong for me to not try and understand how other people worship Jesus or think that my way is the only right way.  The only way that the "Big C" Church can change the world in a real way is if we are willing to work together and follow Jesus exactly like we know how. 

So please pray for me this week, as well as all the other staff here.  Pray that we will come together in a spirit of unity and understanding, able to celebrate our differences as well as our similarities. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam