Here'a a short piece written by a man at Desiring God ministries. I often shy away from reading longer things on blogs, especially when they're not written by the blogger him/herself. But please read this - it expresses a lot that is very personal for me and, I believe, very pertinent for the American church today.
(Disclaimer: I am 3/4 white, my parents are white, my wife is white, my son is very white, almost all of my friends are white. For all intensive purpose, my person is white; my skin color just doesn't agree. Just keep that in mind so that you don't think I'm attacking anyone :) )
By: Mike Tong
When I meet people today, it is inevitable that one of the first questions they ask is, “So where are you from?”
“I grew up in Los Angeles.”
“No, I mean where are you from from?”
Oh, how I despised that question. Why are you asking me? Do I remind you of Charlie Chan?
I really am from L.A. My parents are from Taiwan. Yes, I like Thai food, too — but that’s just a coincidence.
For better or worse, Americans label people. African American, Mexican American, Asian American. And if you’re white? American.
As an Asian American boy, I always feared roll call on the first day of school.
“Johnny Rogers?” “Here.”
“Pete Stone?” “Present.”
“Uh…Ming-Jinn Tong?” “Er…here. But I go by Michael.”
As I got older, folks would almost fall over when they heard me speak English.
“Wow, you have no accent!”
“Yeah. I was born in New Mexico.”
“New Mexico? Do you speak Spanish, too?”
I’ve had that conversation at least 10,000 times.
I used to think that Asian Americans would begin to blend in, that you wouldn’t be able to tell us from Adam. But anyone who can see the light of day will always be able to tell Adam Anderson from Adam Chang.
It doesn’t matter that Adam Chang has been in America since birth like his great-grandfather and that Adam Anderson just flew in from Sweden last year. Mr. Anderson will be called American and Mr. Chang will be called Asian American.
The reason for this is obvious, but I never wanted to embrace it. My face. Asians look different than whites. So there it is—big and ugly (not my face, per se). Different physical appearance. A completely different race. As a boy, I didn’t like my label. I am American! Why do I have to be Asian American and you get to be just plain American?
Today at 28, however, I love being Asian American. The reality is that I am just plain American, but most people don’t want to hear that. And I don’t want them to hear that either—for me or for themselves.
Purposely identifying myself as an Asian American is a way of loving both faces of my heritage. I’ve lived in a back alley of Yong Kang City and I’ve lived in the District of Columbia. I’ve tasted animals you’ve only seen on Planet Earth and I’ve had sticky BBQ sauce on my pulled pork sandwich at Famous Dave’s. I’ve spoken Mandarin far too loudly in a crowded noodle shop and I’ve wiped a patriotic tear from my slanted eye while the Star Spangled Banner blared before the rodeo in Mesquite, Texas.
But most importantly, I’ve realized that I didn’t just appear in this country. Everyone living in America today has roots somewhere else. I’m blessed to have a reason to dig down and find mine.
I’m Asian American. Where are you from?
No, I mean where are you from from?
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There's an important historical matter to consider here, especially considering today's circumstances. An American cannot be defined by any one color of skin, especially since our
entire history has testified to the opposite. Indian groups were here for hundreds, possibly thousands of years before Europeans arrived. When Spain came in the 15th century, they came with Africans. By the second generation of settlement (1710ish) in places like South Carolina, blacks constituted the
majority of the population. When the U.S. invaded the Mexican-controlled Southwest in the 1840s, Mexicans were already there. This means that although the popular idea today is that Texas is a white land that has been invaded by Mexicans over the decades, the opposite is in fact true (this is not a comment on illegal immigration, which I agree, is illegal!).
All "political" questions aside, there's a broader Biblical message to consider here, and that is that God created, from Adam, once race - mankind. Of course, people have separated and divided, both culturally and physically over time, and God has caused this to happen. But we have to be careful when we start talking about "different" kinds of people, because the Word tells us that we are all part of the same family, with the same original parents.
More than that, the New Testament tells us that as Christians, we should embrace first, not our ethnic identities, but our common identity in Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that
Christians are "a chosen race" - a carefully-chosen phrase by Peter to tell us that no longer is one ethnic group (the Israelites) considered the people of God, but those who are in Christ. Peter says in the next verse that although we were all once an outside people, God has made us one people, so that we will proclaim together the one true God.
Being an American is defined by one's connection to the United States as a citizen, not one's skin color. In a similar way, being a Christian is defined by one's connection to Jesus, not one's skin color.
So, please remember this in your every-day speech, especially the next time you try to associate "American" with white, or especially, "Christian" with the white West.
no matter how loudly you thank God for this boon. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t spend it on yourself (the way we do with most of what we earn). Not everything we do can look different from the world—eat, pay utilities, fill up the car, wear clothes (even thrift-store clothes). And yes, we hope (somehow) that spending on ourselves in some way contributes to our being more Christ-exalting people. 
