Leaders (like Pastor Rick Warren) Are Just Everyday Human Beings

On Monday, September 23, 2013, Pastor Rick Warren, who founded Saddleback Church, one of the largest mega churches in America, posted this above Chinese Red Army image with the caption "The typical attitude of Saddleback Staff as they start work each day." I believe he posted this image with no intention of hurting others' feelings but was taken back by the negative feedback re: cultural insensitivity he received about the image. 

This piece of news was brought to my recent attention by Phil Yu's Angry Asian Man's well-known blog about Pastor Rick Warren's attitude in response to strong criticisms for posting the Red Army image to his Facebook profile.

From my perspective, Warren's initial response did not seem to show that he could keep a calm composure to criticisms in situations like these. For someone so well-revered in the Christian community, he allowed his ego to get the best of him in the moment. So at first, I didn't do well in taking the time to actually stop and think about HOW he should respond in a cordial & apologetic way instead of first reacting the way he did in his Facebook & Twitter posts.

Here is a screen shot from Kathy Khang of what Pastor Rick Warren had up on his public Facebook profile earlier. 

Personally, I think he should have maybe just stuck to images like one of these to get his point across.

I don't excuse his behavior at all, but to me, his initial reaction of trying to defend himself initially gave me these impressions of him.

(1) Pastor Rick Warren reacted in a defensive & half-apologetic way saying, "I didn’t mean to offend you. BUT… Get over yourself. Get a sense of humor. Christians can be funny." To me, this reaction demonstrates to me how human Warren can be in the face of conflict & others' criticisms of his personal decisions. 

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort & convenience, but where he stands at time of challenge and controversy." In this regard, I think Warren still needs to work on his ego and humility.  I definitely don't think Jesus would have reacted in the same way that he did.

So even though Warren's Saddleback Church of followers place him on such a high pedestal, in reality, Warren is just a normal human being like anyone & everyone else. After all, in Romans 3:23, it says that "ALL fall short of the glory of God." So Warren is not immune to this Bible verse. 

(2) Warren's initial reactions also demonstrate how he has not been well-versed in the field of World History relative to Asia & China. I'm guessing that maybe most of his Saddleback Church congregation is not Asian? Maybe that's why he doesn't take the time to understand the background of the Asian culture. Who knows. Only Warren can answer for himself. I'm just speculating. (I've always been a speculator trying to understand why people are the way they are. That's why I majored in Psychology & Social Behavior at UC Irvine after all! Haha!)

Nonetheless, I'm actually glad that Warren became humble enough to read what blogger Dr. Sam Tsang had to say about the situation and apologize. 

 

In moments like these, when one is criticized heavily, I think it's sometimes good to be open-minded & be a good listener to those around you.  There's only so much you can listen to because you are pressed for time, but I believe sincerely believe that situations like these can be improved drastically in the community. Why? Because then these outbursts of negative reactions become potential lee-ways for acts of positive and constructive educational opportunities for the Asian & Asian American communities to educate & communicate to, not just Pastor Warren & his church, but the broader community to learn more about this subject area in answering the question: Why did the Red Army image & caption invoke so much disappointment to so many individuals?  

However, if Pastor Warren did not choose to listen at all, I would think, "So be it. He will only continue to make enemies of those he doe not intend to make enemies with by not regarding their thoughts & feelings."  So if he were to have continued using terminologies and images of Asians or any other race to get his messages and points across, that would have definitely been a bad no-no. As a leader who is so well-regarded in the Christian communities, people like him need to be educated in cultural sensitivities and matters such as these so he does not continue to step on anymore toes. (But then again, sometimes it's just too difficult to not step on anyone's toes sometimes. People will criticize no matter what you say.)

I know Pastor Warren's got a lot on his place & his own issues to deal with. I can only imagine how much grief he and his wife deal with themselves knowing that their own son, Matthew Warren, committed suicide earlier this year. With the loss of his precious & youngest child who suffered from borderline personality disorder & deep depression, I don't think his life is how he had imagined it. As he just opened up to CNN in an interview several days ago to talk about his son's mental health & death, it must be difficult to have the pressure of trying to be perfect when everyone is always looking to him for guidance when he is dealing with such sadness inside. So really, he's just a normal human being with feelings and emotions like any other human being. #MentalHealthMatters

Although Pastor Rick Warren is really going through a lot of grief from the death of his son, I'm actually glad that he eventually apologized & didn't let his ego get the best of him in this matter. As a leader of the Christian community in Orange County, CA, he needed to keep his composure, let go of his ego to write an apologetic in response to Sam Tsang's blog. I also like how Sam's attitude about what Warren is going through right now. It still is a tough time for the Warrens right now. Their youngest child only left them in April 2013, which has only been half a year since! Sam Tsang has compassion for the Warrens, and so do I.

Leadership According to MLE

 

So this blog is actually the longest blog post longer than any other because the subject of leadership really interests me. In my opinion, if individuals in well-regarded positions of leadership are humble, open-minded, & sincerely care for the community to encourage and uplift, they would truly value the feedback of those who disagree with their personal decisions in order to improve community relations. Just by being a good listener, you (general you) place a value and give meaning to what one has to say. People feel valued when you listen to their comments, suggestions, and feedback. (I personally learned all of this through my school of Life, relationship/friendship drama, & the many different jobs I've worked at for my field in public relations for varying fields of work.  I've had my fair share of many different types of bosses. See my LinkedIn profile here: www.linkedin.com/in/missemilywu/) 

I believe that if leaders in the community were...

humble (non-egotistical, nor arrogant), 

kind (not rude), 

compassionate (not conceited), 

genuine (not two-faced), 

patient (not temperamental), 

encouraging (not condescending), & 

open-minded (not close-minded), 

I would actually respect them more.

However, if I have to deal with the arrogant & condescending attitude of leaders, I honestly don't want to work with or for them.  I'll let them do their own thing.  I don't want to be a part of their cause to help them uplift their reputation if they can't appreciate what I have tried to do for them.  I will not let them use me to put their name on my work that I put my heart into.  I will not be taken advantage of.

I'll just move onto my NEXT personal project, and be the boss of my next LIFE ADVENTURE!! And I WILL BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!! YEAH!! - feeling GREAT!! 

 

Other Related Links Re:  Rick Warren's Red Army Image Facebook Post:

• Sam Tsang's 9.24.13 Blog:  On Accepting Pastor Rick Warren’s Apology: the Yellow Man’s Burden 
• Sam Tsang's 9.23.13 Blog: Rick Warren, Cultural Sensitivity, and Mission
• Kathy Khang's 9.24.13 Reaction: Dear Pastor Rick Warren, I Think You Don’t Get It
• Phil Yu's Angry Asian Man 9.24.13 Reaction: Dear Pastor Rick Warren, I Think You Don’t Get It / Guest Post by Kathy Khang

I know you are but what am I? I'm just me, MLE.

My name is Emily, and I've Lived with Depression & Anxiety.

Do you ever feel like people judge you or look down on you for something that seems so different about you?  Well, don't fear, because you are going to learn that...

If you can't understand how amazing you are, then you're in disbelief. I was in disbelief throughout my whole life. I went through life always second, third, fourth guessing myself. I was taught to be perfect, and that if I wasn't perfect, I thought that I would not be worthy of being loved. I became a perfectionist, and often my demon would tell me that I wasn't good enough, & that I would never be good enough.  This contributed to my low self-esteem.  The mentally abusive Dr. Hyde caused me to have a poor self-image of myself.    

However, the situation gradually changed over my life when I started learning about people like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu, Michael Jackson, Ai Wei Wei, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres... All of them have passion to use their talents to make a positive influence on society.

When I was in junior high, MLK Jr. influenced the way I would think.  He truly became an inspirational person in my growth as an individual.  I saw how he would tell his African American brothers & sisters during the Civil Rights Movement (my version of what he would say to uplift his African American community), "You are NO worse or better than the White Man."  In the same way, I thought of my classmates in grade school, "Unpopular kids, you are no worse or better than the popular kids!" So yeah... I learned about racism and the ideas of oppression at an early age in life... It sucks to be bullied. Who ever likes to feel worse than others?! (PLEASE no one raise your hand!) But anyhow, we are all equal on this Earth no matter what our socioeconomic background, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, etc. We are ALL one BIG Human Family on this planet we call Mother Earth. Let's all stand together as one. Are you with me?!  

History of this Blog

The interesting thing about this blog is that I had actually wanted to start this blog back in 2010, but I didn't have the courage to actually start it until now --> 3 years later in July 2013! But NOW my blog of OPTIMISM is finally UP & RUNNING!! So I am HAPPY! Yeah!! :D But now I am picking up the pieces of my old dream... And NOW I am truly living! YESS!! xD

Please check out my "About MLE" page to see what my new endeavors are now in the community. Despite the twists and turns life has taken me in, down, and around, I know now that my future is bright, & that life will just be AWESOME. :)

Open-Mindedness Needs to be Taught

The older Asian 1st generations don't really teach their kids to be open-minded. As a result, kids aren't so open-minded to think about what the earlier Asian immigrants went through to get to where we are today.They only seem to think about what is right in front of them, and then the older generation thinks that we're just spoiled & selfish brats because we got it so much easier than them compared to when they were growing up. However, what they don't understand is that we DO live in a different time and place. So I've had my own personal conflicts with Asian elders, but I suppose it's allowed me to separate my own values from theirs. They grew up in a culture where they were supposed to obey their elders and do whatever they said, like good little sons & daughters. In a way, they were almost like brain-washed human beings, like robots in a way. However, this is why my mom is glad she brought our family over to America... So that we could think for ourselves, and I AM greatful for that :)

We Are All Works in Progress

Know how to help yourself before you can truly help anyone else. Set an example for others if you know how. However, I know this is a constant life-long learning process. So you don't HAVE to be perfect because we are ALL works-in-progress. There are lessons to be learned in everything that we face from day to day. Without these lessons, we don't challenge ourselves to be better than who we already are. So work on being the BEST person you can be!! See your true potential in life! KNOW that you don't have to have ALL the answers right now. It takes time to find the answers to life. So just chill & relax from time to time. Take a moment to breathe & just be with yourself. KNOW that you were made for success in this life. You CAN reach your highest potential if you just believe in it. Have confidence in yourself! I have confidence in you!! ;)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

During my TEFL program, I wrote the following paragraph for one of our 1st writing assignments.

September 9, 2004

The Great Qualities of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., known for his immense involvement with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, he held noteworthy traits as a leader. He possessed great ideals, was full of perseverance, and was well-spoken. Dr. King was a well-respected clergyman and civil rights leaders, who was known for his ideologies. During his time, there was much racial segregation, and African Americans were treated very poorly by the Caucasians who persecuted them. However, Dr. King wanted to change this. He wanted everyone to treat everyone equally despite the color of one’s skin or religious background. Dr. King wanted to give everyone a sense of self-worth. Dr. King strongly opposed the use of violence to respond to injustice because violence would not result in any positive resolutions. Instead, violence would only lead to more violence. Consequently, Dr. King encouraged the practice of nonviolence resistance to stand against the racial segregation. Also, Dr. King’s ability to persevere to made him an outstanding leader. Even though he was arrested about thirty times for participating in civil rights activities, he continued to fight against the racial injustice and persisted on spreading his message of equality. In addition, Dr. King was a great speaker. He made many speeches, but he is most noted for his most eloquent speech which is called “I Have a Dream.” In this speech, he spoke with a strong and clear voice to a very large crowd in Washington. Whether he made a speech to a large crowd of people or in his church, he spoke with a captivating voice. Because of his words and messages of social equality and nonviolence, charismatic speeches, and endurance through hardships, Dr. King brought such noteworthy significant changes to U.S. history that his birthday, January 15th, was made a holiday in remembrance of him and his charismatic leadership.