My experience within church and ministry is most likely going to be different than most people.

As a child of immigrant parents, I had to wrestle with being bi-cultural, bi-lingual, bi-social. I wanted so badly to be “American.” But being American meant acting like the majority, embracing a new set of values, and shedding all the unique things that made me, me.

While church friends ate peas and carrots, we ate beans and rice. While my friend’s parents both worked long hard hours to take a one-week family vacation, we survived off one income so our family could remain intact. While other parents spoke without an accent, I was busy trying to correct the pronunciation of my dad trying to say the word, sandwich (which he still pronounces sangwich).

At a young age I could see a set of values in our family that was different than other families. But instead of seeing individual values as independently good or worth value, we were looked at differently within our home church because our American dream looked different. Quite honestly, we looked different.

As part of this next generation (from social media to university philosophy class), most 20somethings have a concept of embracing difference.  Globalization has made our world much, much smaller. Technology allows us to communicate with the other side of the world in nanoseconds. Pop culture connects us trans-nationally. Yes, when Americans can identify Christian Reynaldo’s abs and Japanese girls suffer from Bieber Fever, you know ethnic lines are blurred.

But we don’t see this is in the church. To be embraced or accepted in many large denominations or mega-churches today, you either have to look like your church or act like those who attend your church.

We’re naturally attracted and feel safe with people who look like us or act like us. It’s easy. But when did building a church culture and community be about ease and comfort and homogeneity? When did it become about feeling unchallenged, easy, and simple.

Jesus hung out with Samaritans. Jesus hung out with marginalized and disenfranchised. Jesus lambasted the religious elite for their separation and hyper-religiosity. I know we aren’t Jesus, but are we even remotely trying to remove ourselves from our Sunday bubble, speak another language than Christianese, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves?

As externally focused Christians and people who want to engage our culture, there needs to be an acute awareness of reaching in [to meet with believers], reaching out [to meet with unbelievers], and a reaching up [to meet, connect, and direct them to God].

All in favor say, aye. All against, say why.