A member at Union Avenue Christian Church, Pearson is editor of the new text  Supporting Asian Christianity’s Transition from Mission to Church: A History of the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010). In the following interview, he shares some background on the book and the state of Christianity in Asia.

About a year ago, you published a book about Asian Christianity and the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia. Tell me something about it.

SP: The book examines an American religious philanthropy working in Asia during the twentieth century and documents significant changes in its work and relationship with Asian partners over the course of the century.

The Foundation is probably not well known to many Christians. How did it come into being, and how did it understand its responsibilities?

SP: American missionaries established several Christian colleges and seminaries in China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when China was their largest mission field. Governance of these schools was divided. Generally a Board of Managers composed of missionaries and a few Chinese clergy or academics controlled day to day operations in China while a Board of Trustees composed of denominational representatives met in New York, disbursed funds, and exercised overall management. The Foundation (originally chartered as the Board of Founders of Nanking Theological Seminary) was one of a number of such bodies established in New York to finance and control the colleges and seminaries established by American missionaries in China. The Christian colleges of China were nationalized after 1949, and the several New York boards responded in a variety of ways. The Foundation, when forced out of China in the early 1950s, sought to continue its work in other areas of South East Asia, particularly those with large ethnic Chinese populations. However, in the aftermath of World War II, all of Asia was experiencing the rise of nationalism and independence movements. Christian missions were everywhere suspect because of their close historical association with Western imperialism. Gradually the Foundation came to understand the dynamics of these powerful new movements and the importance of change if its work were to prosper or even to survive. Through the sixties and seventies of the last century, the Foundation turned much of its decision making over to Asian Christian leaders, and the New York leadership became more supportive and less directive.

The Foundation Board itself became much more ecumenical (originally only Disciples, Presbyterians and Methodists) and more inclusive. Denominations such as the United Church, Baptists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, and Reformed Church brought new perspectives to its deliberations as did the inclusion of women theologians and denominational officers (Laura Luz Bacerra of the Disciples was one of the first women representing a denomination). With the UCC’s appointment of Ching-fen Hsiao to the Board, Asian Christians began to assume leadership roles on a Board originally all male and all Caucasian. By the early 1980s, the Foundation was again able to work in China and established relationships with Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, the China Christian Council and its Theological Commission, and several other regional seminaries. Today these relationships in China as in other parts of Asia are fraternal with decision making in the hands of the indigenous Christian leadership. Thus I characterize the work of the Foundation in the recent past as that of facilitating and supporting Asian Christian churches as they rejected control by foreign mission boards and assumed responsibility for the ordering, developing, and nurturing of their own church life.

Aside from development of this general theme, are there other aspects of this book that might be of interest to American Christians?

SP: Drawing heavily upon correspondence as well as the minutes of Foundation deliberations, the volume offers countless examples of the challenges that both Asian and American Christians faced in Asia during the past century, evidence of their efforts to deal with these challenges, their achievements, and sometimes their failures. Along the way, I offer numerous human interest stories, accounts of enormous bravery, sacrifice, and trust in God during a century of almost constant conflict as well the story of two generous and wealthy New York sisters who endowed the work of the Foundation. There are also ample examples of the ways in which men and women busy themselves in ordinary daily pursuits and in which people from quite different cultures confront one another and struggle toward mutual understanding.

You are designated as the editor of this volume. Who else contributed?

SP: Two histories of Nanking Theological Seminary had been written in 1961 and 1963, and both included some information on the Board of Founders. A few years ago, the Foundation asked another historian to prepare a history of the extension of its activities into South East Asia. Satisfaction of this request proved difficult, and the Foundation was dissatisfied with the result and unable to reach an accommodation with the author for revision and publication. I inherited all these materials and agreed to edit and rewrite them as well as to conduct additional research and write new materials as I felt appropriate. I was able to place this history in a larger context of twentieth century Protestant theological and ecclesiological developments. Finally, Michael Poon, a distinguished church historian in Singapore, prepared an insightful chapter on the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia, an ecumenical association of churches and seminaries that owed its formation to the Foundation.

How would you evaluate the work of the Foundation and the contemporary situation of Christianity in Asia?

SP: The revolutionary and independence movements that swept through China and South East Asia over the past few generations severed or radically altered the dependence of Christians on Western mission boards for support and for ministerial leadership. In this situation, the financial support, expert advice, and encouragement offered by the Foundation has contributed significantly to strengthening educational programs for church leaders. However, access to strong programs is severely restricted, and in many areas the overall level of leadership preparation falls woefully short of the needs of the twenty-first century. Churches throughout the area face a variety of challenges, but adequate leadership both in terms of quality and in terms of numbers is one of the greatest.

Christian communities are vibrant in many areas and are rapidly growing in China and a few other areas, but they face both a critical shortage of leaders and difficult relationships with governments and other religious groups, some of which are regarded by many as more authentically Asian than Christianity. It is troubling that in both the Philippines and Thailand, the two countries of the area in which Christians enjoy greatest freedom, there are significant Islamic insurgencies that exacerbate interreligious tensions. Both the development in the area of a sense that Christianity is an authentic Asian religion and of socio-political support for toleration and religious freedom have a long way to go. Such changes cannot be coerced or imposed; they must develop among the peoples and nations of the area as globalization links us all closer together.

"Don't Let Your Light Go Out"

A Meditation by Rev. Brian Kirk on Matthew 25: 1-13

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.”Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.”But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Will you be ready? When “the day” comes, will you be ready?  If you live here in St. Louis, you can be certain that day will be sooner than later.  Some day soon...we’ll experience a rain or ice storm so severe that your power will go out.  And when that day comes, will you be prepared?  Do you know how to find the candles and the matches in the dark?  Do you know where the flashlights are? I checked our home and found out we had about six flashlights. Only two had batteries and in only one of them did the batteries even work! Are we prepared?  This, of course, is the question being asked by this passage from the Gospel of Matthew.

I’m convinced, as are many scholars, that this parable does not go back to Jesus. It simply doesn’t “read” like his subversive parables. There’s no twist, no mystery, no surprise that helps us see life in a new way. In fact, it reads like the way we might write it – the wise get rewarded and the foolish get punished.  What’s so subversive about that?

No, more than likely this story originates with the early Christian community – more specifically Matthew’s community. This might explain why he’s the only gospel writer who includes this story.  Perhaps that’s because it was written for them – for their very particular circumstance -- during a time when some were trying to decide whether you could still be a Jew and follow Jesus. Others were struggling with the fact that they expected Christ’s imminent return and as more and more years passed and it didn’t happen, people began to wonder if they’d made a mistake following Jesus at all.

So here comes Matthew, with a story tailor-made for his community. A story about keeping your lamps lit, about staying awake, about being prepared – because those who falter, those who lose focus, those who don’t stick with the game plan – they are going to miss out –they are going to be left out in the cold!

So just a few questions regarding this parable that maybe you’d be willing to think through with me:

• If this is a parable written for Matthew’s community, a people living in a patriarchal culture, with wedding rituals that do not resemble our own, people living in a particular place and time, with particular concerns that are very unlike our own, what could this text possibly have to do with or say to us? (Actually, this is always a good question to ask when studying any biblical passage.)
• What’s the deal with the groom in this story? Why is he so late? Isn’t his fault that the five maids ran out of oil?  What’s he so busy doing that they all have time to take a nap and he’s still not there?
• Why don’t the maids with oil share it with those whose oil has run out? Is Christianity about getting myself into the party, or is it about helping others to make it to the party as well?
• Where is the grace in this story? I’m having trouble finding it but perhaps someone can help me with that.  I do wonder: How can we reconcile this troubling ending where some are rewarded and some are punished, or at the very least treated as outsiders?  How do we reconcile this teaching with so many of Jesus’ teachings about drawing in the outcast and welcoming all, even the stranger?
• Who is the bridegroom that all are waiting for in the parable? If it is Jesus, then it might be worth remembering what we know of this one we wait for: he healed, he welcomed, he loved, he listened, he had compassion and mercy, he broke bread with the outcast and the despised. He told stories about how even those others considered undeserving will be seated at God’s table in God’s Kingdom. Given this, I wonder what we might make of the fact that, in the parable, the door to the party is closed…but not locked! Is it possible that even if we miss the invitation to the kingdom today, there will be another opportunity tomorrow? Is it possible that our ticket to participate in the Kingdom of God will not be a one-time-only non-transferable offer?  Could it be that the Kingdom of God becomes available to us, moment to moment, all the time, if we are wise enough to keep our lamps lit and keep on the lookout for it?
• On other hand, doesn’t it make sense to admit that  we don’t have all the time in the world? Our lives on this earth are limited – and if God has placed a call on our hearts to act, to speak out for justice, to right a wrong, to offer forgiveness, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, to welcome the outcast, it may very well be that the time to act is NOW…because tomorrow may be too late!

And one more final thought:  Where is the good news in this parable? Might it have something to do with the light from those lamps?  Might it have something to do with the ways we are invited and challenged to illuminate the kingdom in our very midst so that others might make their way to the celebration, too?

Perhaps that’s the truth from this parable that comes to us from a community of people living so long ago in a culture so alien to our own. Perhaps this is where we find grace in this story.  We find it in the truth that Christ calls us to be alert, to be ready, to illuminate the Kingdom of God right here, right now, in the ways that we practice compassion, kindness, generosity, mercy, justice, peace, and love in the midst of our daily lives.  So, where is your light shining these days, and who in your life needs a little of that illumination right now?

Several years ago, I was contacted by a young man who had been incidentally involved in the first church I served as a youth minister. He was now a graduate student in college and just wanted to let me know that he was doing well, was in a loving relationship, enjoying teaching and life was good.  He also reminded me of a conversation we had had many years back, while he was still in high school. In that conversation, this young man shared with me that he had finally come to some conclusions about his identity -- about who he was as a person.  He knew that being honest with himself and others meant that not only would some in his family reject him but, he suspected, many in the church would reject him, too. It was clear that he believed being honest meant that, in essence, the door to "the wedding party” was now closed to him, that his lamp was not only out of oil but it had been taken away.  And I did the only thing I knew to do…I shared with him the gospel message.  The gospel truth that God loved him just as we was, and it didn’t matter whether or not the guests were inviting him to the party, because God had already made a place for him there.  And so these many years later, he just wanted to let me know that those words had made a difference for him, helped him to love himself and others.  But in truth I had done no great deed…I had simply done what so many others had done for me…I had simply used the light other faithful people had passed on to me to help this young man light his way to the heart of God’s love.

Brothers and sisters, God’s Kingdom is in our very midst.  May we be alert enough to notice it when it comes and brave enough to share our oil and help light the way for others to find it, too.  Amen.

Brown Bag Poetry 102 – Can poetry speak to the deep questions and themes of our faith journey?  Find out at this regular gathering of poetry fans who share lunch and explore the intersection of poetry and faith. This group meets once a week for lunch and conversation, led by Rev. Tom Stockdale.

Women Together – This women’s book discussion group meets one evening monthly to talk about fiction and faith.   Recent books discussed have included “Mennonite in a Black Dress” by Rhoda Janzen, " The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest" by Stieg Larsen, and  "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Laks" by Rebecca Skloot.

The Secret Message of Jesus -  Controversial progressive evangelical Brian McClareninvites readers of his text, The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything, to discover anew the transforming message of Jesus--an open invitation to radical change, an enlightening revelation that exposes sham and ignites hope, an epic story that is good news for everyone, whatever their gender, race, class, politics, or religion. Rev. Brian Kirk will lead this group.

Quilting: A Journey in Spiritual Discovery –Quilting is both a craft and an art. Through the centuries women and men have been connecting the fabrics and threads of their lives in order to provide warmth, comfort and beauty, to tell stories and to create memories. Quilting can also be an important metaphor for the spiritual life. Each of us has the task of taking the pieces and scraps of our lives and making them into a thing of unique beauty. Whether you are an experienced quilter or someone who would like to learn, this small group will explore quilting as a craft and an art and will seek to learn what it has to teach us as a spiritual practice. Our first project will be to work together on a church quilt. From there we will explore other projects as the group chooses and discerns. Karen Tye will facilitate this group and all are invited to join in and share their creativity and fellowship as we explore quilting as a spiritual practice. Meeting times and place will be determined by the participants.

Reel Faith – Through the lens of film (modern, classic, foreign, documentary), these monthly gatherings offer the opportunity to join with others to watch a movie and then discuss the plot, characters, and themes from a faith perspective.

For more information about our small group options, email Brian Kirk at bkirkuacc @ yahoo.com.

From the film's website:

Illinois, Fall 2002: Governor George Ryan faces shocking findings about flaws in his state’s capital punishment system that call his long-held beliefs into question. Suddenly, he must make one of the most difficult decisions of his life—to ignore this disturbing evidence, or to transform the entire Illinois capital punishment system. The stakes of this decision are the lives of over 170 people, and Ryan’s own political career. And he has only a few months to issue his final decision. Deadline, captures the ensuing dramatic series of events as they unfold.

And Ryan waited until the last minute to decide. On January 10, 2003, just three days before his last day in office, he shocked the nation by pardoning four men. But it was his move the next day that changed the course of judicial history in the United States. Unwilling to uphold a system he found to be fraught with error, Ryan granted blanket clemency to the remaining 167 people on Illinois’ Death Row, an unprecedented move for a U.S. governor.

Deadline directors Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson tackle the volatile topic of the American capital punishment system with intelligence, compassion and balance. Furthermore, they capture the extraordinary transformation of one man who holds the power of life and death in his hands.

This discussion is part of our summer-long education series "Forgiveness: A Christian Response to God's Merciful Love."