One with five talents.
Another with two talents.
The last one with one talent.
Two things come to mind when I read this parable from Matthew 25. The first is an objection: it seems patently unfair that the servants were treated inequitably. The second, perhaps related to the first, is that I have always identified more with the last servant than with the first two. I am the last one in line—the one with the least talents.
Truth be told, I think most leaders in the church have moments where they identify more with the servant who has fewer talents than the servant who has the most talents. Unless they are persistent narcissists with illusions of grandeur, most Christian leaders I know struggle more with feelings of inadequacy than with feelings of overconfidence. They often look down the street at leaders who possess double or quintuple the number of talents that they possess. Unfortunately, the internet has amplified our ability to compare ourselves to others.
Defining Talent
The term “talent” can evoke two images. The original reader would have understood it as a reference to a weight and measure of currency. Thus, one with five talents has five times the resources compared to the one with one talent.
Our contemporary understanding of the word “talent” often relates to giftedness. A five-talented person is someone who excels in areas such as preaching or leadership and is frequently invited to speak at large conferences. A one-talent leader may be the unassuming shepherd of a small congregation, working without much fanfare.
The One Talent
This realization did not come overnight or through a divine revelation. Instead, after years of doing ministry as a one-talent leader and believing that the Bible is true, I learned that I had to be content with the master’s plan of distribution. After all, God “apportions to each one individually as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). He has a purpose in giving me one talent, just as He has a purpose in giving another servant five talents. We know that God is good, and “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28) for both those with five talents and those with one talent. I have had to learn that God is good to both.
The Indispensable Talents
I also learned that not all talents are visible and lauded. Some may have the talent of gathering people with eloquent speech, while another may excel at managing an organization through Excel files and databases. One person might navigate a room with ease, while another feels more comfortable engaging deeply with one individual. Perhaps we need to heed Paul’s words, “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (1 Corinthians 12:22).
We should think counterintuitively. Instead of merely counting those traits that we believe provide an inherent advantage in ministry, we should also recognize those qualities we have traditionally viewed as unimportant, which can be just as useful for the kingdom.
If you’re unsure what those overlooked traits might be, consider the characteristics often found in influential, well-known Christian leaders today. My shelves are lined with leadership books authored by people who are:
- Married
- Male
- Majority-culture
- Multitalented
- Mainstage
- Megachurch
While there are outliers, don’t these descriptors represent many of the voices speaking about leadership in the church today? Influential leaders are often married, majority-culture (white or culturally white) males in senior pastor positions at megachurches, known for their talented personality and giftedness.
If those are the qualities our Christian culture has deemed more valuable, what are some of the hands-and-feet talents that have been overlooked but are actually indispensable? By simply considering the opposite of the above qualities, we could arrive at this list:
- Unmarried
- Female
- Person of Color
- Introverted
- Associate
- Small Church
Could it be that the less visible talents are the most indispensable for the work of the kingdom? Might the very traits we have counted as liabilities actually be the talents God has entrusted to us?
The Danger for Laziness and Wickedness
What happens when we are not content with the talents entrusted to us? The danger is a slide into either wickedness or laziness.
Wickedness
When our focus shifts from the talents that God has given us to the fruit that others are experiencing, we may be tempted to pursue growth and influence that are not of God. This obsession can lead us to sin with both our hearts and our actions. How many men and women have harmed the cause of Christ because they were driven to create the fastest-growing church or the most influential platform? More often than not, we spend our ministry energy trying to emulate the next megachurch pastor instead of being true to the person God has called us to be.
Laziness
Conversely, some people may conclude that their capacity of one talent will never yield the same fruit as those with five talents. As a result, they may be tempted to hide their one talent in the ground, like the servant in the parable. Instead of coming in third, they quietly drop out of the race.
Re-defining Talent and the Asian American Experience
What if we have interpreted this parable too literally? What if Jesus was communicating more than just a call to steward money and skills? What if He was suggesting that our identity, history, family, experiences, culture, church, personalities, and even our pains are talents entrusted to us?
Unique Talents Entrusted to Asian American Leaders
1. The immigrant family
Most Asian Americans arrived in the U.S. post-1965, meaning many are immigrants or the children or grandchildren of immigrants. They often lack generational wealth, institutional influence, and community ties that those who have been in the country for generations possess. However, what immigrant families do have is a need to be more collectivistic than individualistic, especially in the family.
2. The minority experience
Beyond simply the playground racial name-calling in grade school, most Asian Americans can recount experiences of marginalization—like being asked where they’re from by strangers or encountering the bamboo ceiling at work. Unlike white foreign immigrants, Asian Americans often feel like forever foreigners, even in the second and third generations. They understand what it means to live “as foreigners and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11) in this world, distinct from Christian nationalists.
3. The hyphenated existence
Asian Americans often feel as if they are neither entirely American nor entirely of their Asian heritage. This hyphenated experience can be unsettling, but a bi-cultural, bi-lingual existence offers depth that may be unavailable to those living in a mono-cultural environment. For instance, reading the Bible in both English and another language can clarify meanings that would otherwise be ambiguous in English alone.
4. The cultural expression
What is often seen as a lack of confidence in Western leadership is viewed as respect in many Eastern cultures. In the Korean culture I grew up in, younger individuals are expected to interact with older ones without making direct eye contact, shaking hands too vigorously, or calling them by their name. In the West, such behavior might be interpreted as a lack of leadership skills. While we need to adapt to the surrounding culture (1 Corinthians 9:19-23), we should also bring our unique perspective to the Church. For example, Paul instructs Timothy to treat older and younger men differently (1 Timothy 5:1).
5. The role of the pastor
The pastor of an immigrant or minority church plays a role beyond simply teaching the Bible. Just as pastors were often community leaders in small towns in earlier eras, they frequently serve as community leaders within immigrant or minority churches today. Pastors are expected to be more than merely influencers and teachers; we are called to shepherd the people of God. This expectation mirrors what many Asian Americans observed modeled in their parents’ immigrant churches and can be instructive for how we should lead our churches.
6. The immigrant or third-culture church
The Asian immigrant church is more than just a drive-by church experience; it serves as an ethnic enclave and a second home. In these settings, children are raised and guided by the “aunties” and “uncles” of the church community, which becomes an extended family. In many ways, the immigrant church reflects the early church more closely than the megachurch models we see today.
Conclusion
What if Asian American leaders counted our immigrant family, minority experience, hyphenated existence, cultural expression, pastoral modeling, and the church of our upbringing not as liabilities to overcome but as talents to steward? How might we respond to the Lord’s call to us, saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
This article was originally published at the Center for Asian American Christianity, Princeton Theological Seminary. It has been republished here with permission.
Photo Credit: Kim Sung Jin