Less Is More: An Elusive Spiritual Discipline for the Chinese Church

Truism #20715: There is no such thing as a Chinese minimalist.

No, there isn't. One may as well abandon filial piety and call Confucius a lunatic before embracing minimalism or simplicity. For the Chinese, it's all about quantity and excess, especially when it comes to celebrations.

When I was in my twenties I attended a Chinese American church. Over the summers, there were always a series of weddings for people in our young adults' group.  These weddings were extravagant affairs involving large wedding parties, multiple sets of bridal costumes, and innovative ceremonies that outdid one another. If someone had pioneered a slide show at the beginning of the summer, by the end of the summer, the last wedding was bound to produce an elaborate documentary plus a photography exhibit and a fancy way to light the unity candle. Of course, the crowning glory of these weddings was the banquet. And it was not uncommon for a bride's parents to sell one of their houses (Chinese parents with daughters are in the habit of owning multiple houses for this reason) in order to finance their daughter's wedding banquet. In the end, it was all about creating an impressive event that would not be soon forgotten.

I have observed that Chinese churches tend to organize special church events much the same way as they do weddings.

When my husband was a pastor in the Bay Area, one of the things he dreaded was an invitation from another church or Christian organization for a special celebration, be it a building dedication, a church anniversary, an ordination, or an honorary banquet for some luminary. Occasionally, I accompanied him to one of these services. I learned very soon--and to my dismay--that a service of this kind was bound to be an elaborate and drawn-out affair (and most of time far from being God-centered).

To begin with, there were always more than enough speeches on the program. The roster of speakers, Bible passage readers, and pray-ers often reflected the who's-who in the Chinese ecclesiastical community. The longer the lineup, the more luminous the occasion. During the ceremony then, the speakers would have the opportunities to jostle for rank. While they could not alter their allocated roles in the pre-printed program, they could still attempt to outdo one another in wit, profundity, or, at least, duration, all the while in the audience a few slighted individuals with no parts in the program stewed in silence, and others fanned themselves with glossy program booklets and checked their watches surreptitiously. It was always a big to-do, with a lot of people busying themselves, feeling rather important for putting on such a pompous show.

One banquet dinner we attended not only included enough speeches and choir songs to last for several Sunday services, it was actually followed by an open-mike Karaoke sing, in case the program wasn't long enough. Needless to say, we made our excuses and escaped, rather than staying to hear fellow ministers, elders, and deacons croon out "Lilies of the Field" or "I Corinthians 13" through a Karaoke machine.

In all the busyness, all the programs, all the speeches, all the fancy trappings: the flowers, food, music, souvenir mugs, souvenir pens, and souvenir backpacks (with large imprints front and center so that they are guaranteed to be tossed in the back of people's closets), no one had time to contemplate what God had to say about all this, a gala thrown in His name.

What is it about the Chinese churches that must have everything but the kitchen sink thrown into every event they plan? They embrace the adage "the more the merrier" without ever examining what it is they are trying to accomplish. All of this frivolity might have been relegated to harmless fun and waste of money if it didn't do any damage. Sadly, it does. And I see and hear of its ramifications among Christian workers all the time.

Often the bulk of the work in organizing such events is being carried out by a small number of paid office or church staff. While church members make their long wish lists, the staff, like professional wedding coordinators (or fairy godmothers), have to make the wish come true--without the nice wedding coordinators' fee or a magic wand. They are expected to do these things pro bono, on top of their regular duties. So while the guests may enjoy the programs, the staff are exhausted, frustrated, and stressed that they are far from being blessed by the event.

A church event, correct me if I'm wrong, should be, first and foremost, God-centered. Anything that detract from that should be eliminated. When the program gets so desultory and drawn-out that the audience can do nothing but peek at their watches and fan themselves, then the goal of the program has been lost. When the paraphernalia of event merchandizing (free or otherwise) starts to resemble those hanging from a carnival booth, then you know it's gone out of hand. And when the complexity of an event causes undue burden to people directly involved so that they are working around the clock instead of spending valuable time with family or experiencing God's peace and joy, we need to evaluate whether the approach is misguided.

The fact is, a simple program is always better than a complex one. A simple program has one point if done well; a complex program can't help but digress and detract. When a banquet starts rolling out Karaoke machines as the last thing a guest will remember, you know the program should have been cut a long time ago.

I know it is not easy to simplify. It is not in our genetic makeup to be simple. However, I do try, in every aspect of my life. When I invite friends over for a meal these days, I try to keep it simple. If they are truly my friends, I know they won't mind having a simple meal just to spend time with me. It's the quality time that matters. Somehow I think God would want us to keep our church events simple as well, so we could have more time to spend with Him and to enjoy the fellowship with one another, rather than being distracted and frazzled.

Less is more, even in church. We give God our best, not everything but the kitchen sink.