I think that diversity is over rated. There, I said it. Somebody had to point out that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. Before you get ready to throw me over the nearest cliff for being so “non-PC” please hear me out.
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Newsweek has an interesting article on The Trouble With Boys. There has been increasing recognition that boys and girls behave differently due to biological differences, not merely socialization. Their brains are wired differently. Over the past generation, schools have been operated in a way that is best optimized for the way girls learn, not the ways boys learn. This has lead to a crisis in the education of boys.
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My wife teaches high school, and sometimes she shares excerpts from her students’ papers. Occasionally they provide some pretty good entertainment. Consider this example of exemplary writing by an AP student:

The magnificent ruler over Russia, Peter the Great, accompanied his people with a contemporary generation full of new ideas. The resulted in a reformed and improved country in 1682 to 1725. Because of his journey to the West, Peter soon desired to furnish his motherland into a clean, blank slate, and therefore letting Russians start over.

Huh?

I just discovered that the latest Windows update somehow causes the “Reflections” title in the upper left corner of my site to be no longer visible. I’m not sure why.. it worked earlier with IE.

Maybe eventually I’ll figure it out. In the meanwhile I suggest you upgrade to a better browser: Firefox!

Scott Aniol writes about Expression vs. Impression in worship. While I do not agree with everything that he says about music in worship, his articles are always thoughtful. This one is especially helpful.

Some excerpts. . .

Music that is simply about emotion is self-centered and immodest. It is concerned more with the emotions themselves than in the object of the emotions. This kind of music allows the listener to revel in his feelings. This may not in itself be a problem, but when used for worship it is idolotry. We say we are worshiping God, and the text may have a lot of biblical content, but the form is actually prompting us to focus on ourselves and how we feel. Is is essentially what Edwards referred to when he described “passions” — purely physical emotions for their own sake.

and

What God desires in worship, on the other hand, is expressions of affection to Him. Worship music should be less about what I feel and more about who God is. God does not want to hear, “I fee this way, and I feel that way.” He wants to hear about Himself, and the acts of expressing affection demonstrate what we are feeling towards Him much better than if we tried to tell Him with words.

I’m not sure that our “acts of expressing affection” toward God can’t include a statement of how we feel about God. David certainly gives verbal expression to his feelings for God in the Psalms. But the focus of our worship should be on God Himself rather than on our feelings about Him.

From preaching.com:

It was fifty years ago that Jim Elliott, Nate Saint and three other missionaries were murdered by the South American tribe to which they had gone to share the gospel. In “End of the Spear,” a new movie coming to theaters January 20, viewers will learn about that story and how God ultimately used that tragic event to lead the people of the tribe to Christ. If you’d like to learn more about the movie and opportunities for group ticket purchases, visit the website: http://www.endofthespear.com/

The story of Jim Elliott and his companions is an amazing story about the spread of the Gospel to a violent South American tribe. Jim and his companions were murdered by the Auca tribe, but his wife Elizabeth chose to return to try to share the Gospel with those who had murdered her husband. You can read more about his life here.

I hope that they do a good job with the story, and that God can really use this movie to remind us all what really matters in the end. It opens January 20. On the movie web site you can search for a local theater.

Last week the Contra Costa Times published Events for Asian-Americans pop up around U.S. — to mixed reviews. In the megacities of America there is growing popularity of events focused on Asian-Americans. Some of the events have been parties attended by as many as 4000 people. In an time of emphasis on diversity, it is interesting that this type of ethnic specific event is growing in popularity. The article title says that some people are uncomfortable with an ethnic focus, but apparently these events are meeting a need.

The title to this post is my reflection on the implications of for churches. Many people assume that since second generations Asian Americans speak English they can go to any majority culture church. But what they are missing is the fact that there is a lot more to culture than just language, and for the second generation there is often still a strong sense of Asian identity. That’s why in addition to the ministry of bilingual churches we also need Asian-America churches to provide an effective outreach to this generation.

The article states that “census figures from 2004 reveal one of every four 18- to 24-year-olds living in the San Francisco Metropolitan Statistical Area are Asian-American — roughly 70,000 people.” That is a sizable group of young adults. I wonder what percentage of them are Christians? I wonder who is reaching them?