This post is my opinion and does not claim to speak for the < .1% of Japanese-American LCMS members ;-)

I just got an email from LCMS news with an article entitled Non-white Lutherans share concerns, ask for voice and I’m mad because I’m a non-white Lutheran and nobody asked me to share my concerns or asked for my voice. The synod has the Board for Black Ministry Services, the Black Clergy Caucus, and the Center for Hispanic Studies. Where’s the Japanese Clergy Caucus (I know there are a few of you) and don’t try to placate me with any of that “Asian” stuff. For anyone who actually knows anything about Asians, there is a vast difference culturally between Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, et al and if you think an “Asian caucus” would be able to address those differences then you probably deserve the guilt you’re feeling. Nothing a few Ablaze! dollars couldn’t overcome though.

From the article and the accompanying Multi-ethnic symposium statement, “The problem is sin and that has expressed itself historically in our church so that non-Anglo-Saxon minorities are marginalized and seemingly voiceless in our structures.” And even in this, the multi-ethnic symposium has sinned by marginalizing and not giving voice to non-Anglo-Saxon, non-Black, non-Hispanic, non-Hmong, non-non-Japanese minorities. That’s the real sin! Where’s my Ablaze! funds.

Let’s get down to brass tacks:

Even though “race doesn’t exist” as a biological category, Nunes said, people often make it “the defining category of who and what we are,” creating stumbling blocks to mission efforts.

See, you guys aren’t Japanese and you never will be. Your best option is to give us some Ablaze! dollars so we can start our own district like you did for the English and the Slovaks, or how about our own affiliated synod!!!

For those who couldn’t tell, this post was largely tongue-in-cheek with a few actual points. If you need a map, I can lay it out in the comments. My real point is that the LCMS needs to abandon it’s direct concern for diversity and address it indirectly by focusing on pure doctrine. Just as “The Mission” flows from “The Message” so will diversity. It is not up to some man-made program as to how the Holy Spirit will address diversity. And if the marks of the church are the Gospel purely preached and the sacraments properly administered, I’m at a loss to understand where the need for a minority voice comes into that picture of the church.

Finally, the one thing I know that the LCMS news article got right is ‘Even though “race doesn’t exist” … people often make it “the defining category of who and what we are.”‘ Sinful humans have strongly rooted cultural/denominational ties (African-Americans/Baptist, Hispanic-Americans/Catholic, Japanese-Americans/Methodist and Presbyterian) which often outweigh the pure doctrine of confessional Lutheranism. My honest opinion is that a separate body (church, district, or affiliate synod) would be better at addressing these cultural issues from an insiders perspective. Any attempts by typical LCMS structures to come into these cultures will be perceived as the “Great White Hope” trying to save the “Underserved Minority,” not the best way to do outreach.