The Asian American Initiative at Fuller Theological Seminary hosted its first all-day conference on Saturday exploring Asian American identity, and how it relates to an individual's understanding of the gospel. In particular, the conference aimed to examine that intersection through the lens of pop culture, as guest speakers included comic book writer and artist Gene Luen Yang, blogger Phil "Angry Asian Man" Yu, musician Tim Ouyang of Tim Be Told, and comedian and writer Jenny Yang.
"Pop culture is huge right now," said Ken Fong, the executive director of the Asian American Initiative at Fuller. "We wanted to see the convergence of all that -- culture, Asian American identity, and the gospel. And we wanted to highlight these individuals who keep their faith in the midst of what they do -- in Gene's case, he's kept faith at the center of his work."
"It's changing for the better, but we've still got a long way to go," Fong added, referring to the progress of Asian American dialogue and representation.
"We want to reach a deeper understanding of the gospel, but in order for us to get there, all of this matters, including our Asian American identity. You can't get there without an understanding of the culture," said Daniel Lee, program director of the Asian American Initiative.
An afternoon portion of the conference included a panel with Gene Yang, Phil Yu, and Tim Ouyang, along with Asian Americans involved in ministry, including Jerome Mammen, the area director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Orange County, and Margaret Yu, the national executive director of Epic Movement, the Asian Ameican ministry of Cru.
(From left to right: Daniel Lee, Jerome Mammen, Margaret Yu, Gene Yang, Phil Yu, Tim Ouyang) Panelists at the recent 'Altered Egos' conference at Fuller Theological Seminary shared their experiences and thoughts on the intersection of the Asian American identity and the gospel.
Several panelists shared experiences of pain and discrimination. Jerome Mammen, who is Indian American and often grows out his beard, shared that he was once misunderstood as a terrorist.
"Someone took my license plate number down and reported me," Mammen said. The FBI showed up at his home, and requested to investigate.
"That's when I realized again, how I see myself is different from how others see me," he explained.
For Phil Yu, a turning point that sparked his activism for the Asian American community was watching a documentary about Vincent Chin, who was killed in 1982.
"I remember I was shaking in my chair," Yu said of the experience. "And I was just thinking, 'How come I'm only learning about this now? That could've been me.'"
But when trying to promote Asian American identity in the journey of deepening their faith, panelists said they often found themselves faced with opposition or dismissal from within and outside of the church.
"People would say, 'You're Christian before being Asian,' but some people say that because they don't have anything to lose," said Daniel Lee. "But for us, it's such a huge chunk of who we are."
Gene Yang shared that some would criticize him for integrating his faith into his work.
"Someone once said that my work feels like a 'colonized version of the Asian American experience,'" Yang said. "As though White culture is dominating again and has a foothold in my art."
"I still don't know a good resolution to that," Yang said. "I just live in the tension."
To that, Daniel Lee argued, "Christianity actually started from the East."
"But it seems that White normativity is so pervasive that it makes people think that Christianity is 'White' or 'Western,'" he added.
Dismissing the physical and only emphasizing the spiritual identity as a Christian is counteractive to deepening one's faith, said Margaret Yu.
"When we separate the spiritual and the physical, that's gnosticism," said Yu. "And when we separate those two parts, we're missing out on Jesus. He wants to redeem all of us, including our culture."
"I don't think you can divorce culture from Christianity. The way you see God is fundamentally shaped by culture," said Tim Ouyang. "I have faith he's sovereign over all of these things. Every single culture has a gift. He's poured out a bit of who He is in each culture."
An individual's culture and heritage also allows for greater ministry opportunities, added Jerome Mammen, referring to the Apostle Paul as an example.
"Paul says that all of the earthly things are loss compared to the gospel, but when he goes to places to preach, he uses all those things -- his Roman citizenship, speaks in Hebrew -- to do his ministry," he explained.
The panelists didn't seem to offer a blanket resolution to counteract the challenges of intersecting faith with culture within and outside of the church. But each did seem to have advice to share on an individual level in terms of how to reconcile or navigate through them.
"Pursue the most authentic version of yourself," said Phil Yu. "Just be unashamed for being Asian."
"In the margins of the tension, you'll find Jesus. Bring your questions to him: 'What do you say about me being Asian?'" advised Margaret Yu.
"I've become content knowing I'm not going to fit in anywhere. But being an alien in a foreign land is normal, and that's good news," shared Jerome Mammen.
"You can't wait for all of your questions or internal conflicts to be resolved. You just have to be able to live in that tension," said Gene Yang.
"As long as you are solidified in the fact that you are loved, you are significant -- you'll be free to do what you want," shared Tim Ouyang. "You don't have to be bound by what others say about you."
