If you use the internet, you've probably heard by now about the controversy over Deadly Viper Character Assassins from Mike Foster & Jud Whilhite.
They are both friends of ours & we gave their book away at Catalyst 2007.
If you're not aware, briefly, some figures from the Asian American community were offended by their marketing. There was a semi-public fuss between Mike & Jud & the offended parties. Then there was humility and openness from Mike & Jud and a moderated conference call. Things seem to be resolved and last week Zondervan pulled their book from stores.
Blog posts detailing the dialogue & controversy:
Soong-Chan Rah's Open Letter to Zondervan...
How a Conflict Played Out in Social Media - Dj Chuang
Deadly Vipers - Reflections on our Conversations - Dave Gibbons
Unseen Privelege: the Overlooked Gender Dimension... - Kathy Khang
Eugene Cho's thoughts
Deadly Viper: Character Assassins - Jenny Clayville
I (Jesse Phillips, moderator of this blog) feel sorry for Mike & Jud to have lost all their investment in this project, especially after helping lots of people. But I recognize the offense & concerns as valid.
What someone else pointed out & I thought more interesting is that this controversy highlighted the problem of cultural insensitivity in the Body of Christ. I hope that as a result of this very public controversy (public to Church leaders), that we can build a dialogue on this issue & help solve/address our cultural conflicts.
So this is a call to talk about cultural conflict in the Body. Let's do it, openly, with love, without fear of reprisal, this is a good opportunity. This is sad, but I feel like Mike & Jud are somehow the sacrifice needed to jumpstart this conversation.
Also, I'm wondering if a new Phoenix can rise from the ashes of Deadly Viper - perhaps a new direction for Mike & Jud: tackling the issues of cultural sensitivity & unity in the Body of Christ?
Grace and peace to all. We love each other. Let's start talking about this.
Can we talk about the mythical reincarnation of a New Phoenix Rising from the Ashes in the context of Christianity?
I think the whole thing is ridiculous.
It’s obvious what the book was about.
It’s obvious that the enemy of our souls is still at work…
Comment by Bruce - Nov 24, 2009 @ 09:13 AM
AMEN.. to have ministered to so many men and to do so much good to further the kingdom, proved the message was relevant and Kingdom inspired. Their methods touched us deeply specifically due to the techniques used to connect , engage and hold our attention to the task and mission at hand and transform our lives.
The ‘offeded’ and the offender’ came to an understnading and declared it unimplied and overwrought ... We need to end the tyranny of the self-righteous and our biased personal implied perceptions…it not NOW nor never been about you -personally nor culturally- there is not white, black, yellow, tan or brown in Heaven.
Comment by FreedbyJC - Nov 24, 2009 @ 09:43 AM
i don’t think even the “offended” ever argued that the content of the book wasn’t relevant and helpful. their (and my) argument is that the marketing just plain sucked. it wasn’t meant to be racist - i understand that. but it was an oversight on their part. reducing chinese and japanese cultures to nothing more than a font, icon, movie genre, etc. cheapens their cultures. think of it this way: if the book were marketed not with chinese and japanese references, but with african ones - Zulu warriors instead of ninjas, giant apes instead of dragons, spears instead of katanas, loincloths instead of black masks - do you think the african-american community might be a little troubled?
not to mention, after reading Kathy Khang’s blog post, i realized the marketing was also very male-oriented. i don’t know if that was intentional, but it continues to explain why i was never interested in this book. i heard great things about it, bloggers and conferences were promoting it big time, but much of what i read and saw turned me off and i didn’t quite know why until recently.
anyway, it’s not like they are the first people to do this, but it’s more disappointing coming from people whose platform is about integrity and character. again, i know they weren’t *trying* to offend asian-americans, and the marketing is not overtly racist. if it were, surely someone at Zondervan would not have overlooked it.
i am sorry that the books had to be pulled from the shelves. i hope it can be repackaged and continue to sell. if anything, i hope this conflict will give them more exposure and paint them in a good light because of the mature way they handled the very public outcry from some asian-american leaders. and i think we can all learn from Mike and Jud’s example here.
Comment by haemin - Nov 24, 2009 @ 10:09 AM
Greetings friends,
As I have read, re-read, and re-read again a lot of the commentary on this issue I have come to a few conclusions. The first is, I do believe Mike & Jud are good, Christian men. The second is, I believe there were some real offenses to the Asian-American community that are perhaps still not completely understood/resolved. The third is, this issue is SO MUCH BIGGER than this single offense.
As a white, middle class female, my heart is deeply broken for how little understanding there is in the church between the races. This is not the first time I have seen faithful people of God in majority culture hurt their minority brothers & sisters completely unintentionally. I have often done it myself. I would be so bold as to say most white Christians without formal multi-ethnic training are clueless… and this is creating a lot of angst in the body of Christ- especially when residue of past hurts still remain today.
If my ultimate prayer could be answered, it would be a forum with Christian voices of today coming together to humbly engage in training on racial understanding & reconciliation. Most notably, it would involve majority culture leaders coming not to teach, but to learn. Learn from our minority brothers and sisters and actually hear how they feel and respond. Until we do this with sincere hearts, I think we will continue to see Catalyst, Passion, and other large conferences remain predominately white. As a huge fan of Catalyst and a fan of racial reconciliation I am deeply torn- but hopeful that the leaders I respect will listen to the Holy Spirit and move forward towards a diverse Kingdom influenced by voices of all races.
To respond to the first two posts: This is not the enemy getting in the way of a good book. This is an outcry that is long overdue for how the enemy is keeping up barriers in the church that the secular world around us long ago tore down. Also, my understanding of heaven is not that there will be no such thing as race or distinction, but rather a beautiful picture of all the nations joining together to praise God.
I will continue to pray. Please, let’s use this opportunity and grow from it.
Comment by Veronica Squires - Nov 25, 2009 @ 11:05 AM