Quote:
Originally Posted by Koinonia
Many/most current members of the LC are in a completely different demographic from most of the people here (spiritually, culturally, ethnically, socioeconomically, geographically, etc., etc). I say this as a fairly recent leaver; I believe there's a disconnect.
I know that many in my set (2nd-generation, SoCal, Asian, FTTA, etc.) have a lot of doubts and questions about the LC. However--they would also be deeply suspicious of someone like you and of the organization of this board, even if they would allow themselves to lurk here. . .
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These points are probably worthy of a thread; I copied this from the "are natural things bad" thread, where it's also relevant, because culture is arguably a "natural thing"; but in any event, how to constructively look at the culture of a second generation SoCal Asian "church kid"? Possibly many of them sense, slightly or even deeply, that there's disconnect between what the Bible says and what they see and live out daily. How normal is the Nee/Lee church life, really? Where's the Holy Spirit - in shouting at each other? Is that what the disciples did? What happened, here - how did we get to this point and how do we go on?
I was in the SoCal LCM, but like Bob Seger's "Midwestern boy on his own", I didn't have the expectations that young Asians get pounded into them from their third or fourth breath. Middle-American Anglo expectations were completely different. Our culture is founded on independence, even rebellion - our forefathers threw off the yoke of centuries of kings and created a 'polis', a democratic government, a government of laws, of the people, of ideas. Not based on centuries of hierarchy or social strata. Questioning, challenging, finding new ways, leveling the playing field - these are ingrained in our cultural DNA. The Asians, from what I could see, were trained from Day One not to bring shame on the family. Many of us Anglos didn't have family - we lost it somewhere around the age of 12 or 15 when we hit the streets. That was simply how it was. It was natural for our culture. So I was a "stranger in a strange land" in SoCal LCM, but had been for some time; no biggie.
Getting to the comment of
Koinonia, that the cohort now struggling to live in the Lee Museum, dedicated by their parents to preserve a perfect world that never existed, may not have an emotional capacity to critically challenge its features the way many here have done - i.e. to challenge the expectations of the current status quo and still hope to walk out alive. We did - we grew up challenging everything - it was expected of us, culturally - but this demographic cohort has a different experiential basis, shared value set, and common assumptions.
I brought it over here to the "Asian mind" thread, for one reason: it's important to examine cultural pre-suppositions, because if you don't deal with them, pretending that the "natural man" was buried under the Jordan River and doesn't exist here anymore, you're fooling yourself. Satan now has his invisibility cloak working in full force. So I try to bring this stuff into the open. Examine everything - especially the unexamined stuff.
Now to
Koinonia's idea: how to do it in a way that's respectful, with empathy, and invites others to come forward? In a way that's open, therapeutic, transformative? I may have failed miserably with this thread - I like sarcasm and often overstate and overgeneralize and overdramatize my points, and people get (rightly) turned off and wouldn't participate if offered 2 Grand. So, how to look at culture without insulting people, and turning them away?
I don't know the answer to
Koinonia's post but wanted to hold it out for consideration. If the challenge was taken up, respectfully and thoughtfully, it might bring this forum to the next level. Or it might point to a different kind of forum, that addressed issues this forum simply can't. Some kind of format that currently doesn't exist. In any event, there's a need, and I don't pretend to have the answer.