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From the Pulpit and in the Pew, the Knicks’ Lin Is a Welcome Inspiration

The Rev. John Lin at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.Credit...Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

Tim Stelloh and

Jeremy Lin’s sudden emergence as an N.B.A. star has thrilled fans at Madison Square Garden and on the road, generated a torrent of comments on social media around the world and made Knicks fans out of a lot of people who did not follow basketball a week ago. By Sunday, the story of Lin, a committed Christian, had worked its way into church services — notably those in New York with large numbers of Asian-American congregants.

The children of Asian immigrants, like Lin, account for a sizable part of the explosion of theologically conservative churches — catering largely to young, college-educated professionals — in New York City. Many attend what might be labeled second-generation Asian-American churches that have spun off from congregations with worship services in Chinese or Korean.

Other Asian-American Christians, seeking a more diverse church experience, have settled into or even helped start, multiethnic churches, including some of the largest congregations in the city.

The Pastor

CHARLES PARK, THE RIVER

40TH FLOOR OF 7 WORLD TRADE CENTER

“Hey, how about that basketball, Jeremy Lin, huh?” Park, who was born in South Korea, said with a grin. “I heard that there was a bet going on about whether I would mention him today. So, I just mentioned him.”

“I think it’s wonderful that he’s gifted enough that people are looking at him,” Park said in an interview before the service began. “And if his character comes across as something very attractive, something that people can emulate, something that people can look up to, I think that would only be positive. I think that can only be good for society, good for people.”

“From the faith perspective,” he added, “being gifted in basketball or being gifted in music isn’t necessarily what makes me proud. It’s more about the character or who the person is.”

The Congregants

STEPHEN LEW, 41

Lew took a break from the service to read on his smartphone about reaction in the news media to Lin’s most recent performance. “It’s very inspirational,” Lew said of Lin. “But I think what’s more important is the attitude he has. It’s a very encouraging sign.”

Lew, a Chinese-American born in Taiwan, said Lin appeared to have none of the “Superman type of mentality” he often saw in other athletes of Lin’s caliber. “He never does this chest-pumping. He’s very uncomfortable talking about himself.”

“He’s all about, What can I do for the team?” Lew said.

“What’s important is we have an individual that transcends his ethnic background, and transcends his educational background, and also transcends his religious background,” Lew said. And he said that although Lin’s ethnicity was “the first thing that people see,” he said that “it’s the least important.”

CHRISTINE FOLCH, 36

“The thing that comes to mind is the movie ‘Chariots of Fire,’ ” said Folch, a Harvard graduate like Lin. She said a main character in the movie, the Scottish runner Eric Liddel, spoke of his desire to follow God. “But God also made me fast,” Folch paraphrased. “And when I run, I feel his pleasure.

“So, what I see when I see Lin is somebody who embodies that kind of spirit,” Folch said. “When he plays basketball, there’s this way that he feels pleasure, and feels God’s pleasure. It’s not for any other purpose.”

DANIEL KEH, 30

“He’s like Tim Tebow — but undercover,” Keh said. “Regardless of your faith background, he’s an inspiration to a lot of New Yorkers.”

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Parishioners at the River in the Financial District.Credit...Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

Keh added, “Any minority, anyone that’s felt a little bit out of place, a little bit discriminated against.

“It’s a life of struggle,” he said, “and now it’s a little bit of accomplishment and a little bit of achievement. And it’s good to see that, no matter whether he’s Christian or Buddhist or Jewish.”

“I think for him,” he said, pointing to his infant son, asleep in a stroller, “seeing him play will be different from me growing up and not seeing anybody that looked like me play.”

“I’m thinking like Willie Mays or Hank Aaron,” Keh said. “All of a sudden, a bunch of black guys said, ‘Hey, I can do that, too.’ ”

JOHN KIM, 38

“He’s going to be a natural spokesperson for the Christian faith and we just hope he does it well,” Kim said.

After all, he added, Lin will not always be able to light up the court. “We see people come and go,” Kim said. “You’ve got a shelf life in a sport.”

“At one point, the lights aren’t going to be on you, the cameras won’t care,” he said. “And who are you at that point?”

The Pastor

JOHN LIN, REDEEMER PRESBYTERIAN

EAST SIDE LOCATION IN THE HUNTER COLLEGE AUDITORIUM ON EAST 68TH STREET

The Rev. John Lin introduced the subject of the day’s sermon — Matthew 1, the Incarnation. “Or, if you’re a Knicks fan, you can call it the Lincarnation,” he said.

“I have these people from out of town who are pinging me and calling me and texting me, and they’re all asking me the exact same question: ‘First of all, have you heard about this?’ I live in New York, of course I’ve heard about this. The second thing they ask me is, ‘Is he your brother or cousin?’ I’m like, ‘Dude, there are lot of Lins in the world.’ ”

Later in his sermon, when Lin discussed what it is like being near famous people, he said, “If Jeremy Lin were to come here right now, I would turn from a distinguished man of the cloth into an 11-year-old kid trying to get an autograph.”

The Congregants

KINNY CHAN, 32

Talking about Jeremy Lin’s ethnicity, Chan said: “I don’t consider that the overriding story here. I consider myself a believer first and Chinese or whatever second.”

ERIC YOON, 51

“He embodies all that we wish we could have been,” Yoon said, adding: “It’s very rare to find an Asian-American sports hero. Those that are here are not Asian-Americans, they’re Asian. Yao Ming is Asian. He’s from China. He didn’t have an experience growing up in America as a nerdy, scrawny Asian kid.

“The coach keeps saying, ‘I’m going to ride him like Secretariat.’ You worry about that. The publicity might eat him up.”

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section D, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: From the Pulpit and in the Pew, the Knicks’ Lin Is a Welcome Inspiration. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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