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Beautiful Collision: Where Faith and Culture Meet
from 05 September 2020 NZFTS War Cry
by The Salvation Army SALT Magazine (NZ, Fiji, Tonga and Samoa)
BY JULES BADGER
War Cry wanted to bring together two significant calendar events coinciding with this issue—Father’s Day and Māori Language Week. We talked to Captain Shaun Baker who is on a learning journey both as a dad and as a speaker of te reo. For Shaun, coming to faith resulted in the affirmation of his identity as Karaitiana Māori. Now he’s determined to make sure his own tamariki don’t miss out on that beautiful collision.
‘I’m Karaitiana Māori—that’s who I am. I choose to be a Christian, but being Māori is part of my DNA. I can’t escape that and nor do I want to,’ says Shaun, ‘but there’s so much still to learn.’
While Shaun’s dad, Ken Baker (Pukekohe Corps), is of Ngāpuhi descent, the whānau have strong connections with Ngati Ahuru in South Waikato.
‘It’s Dad’s Mum that we connect most with, because she was on her own and passed away in Putāruru when Dad was a baby. She lived in a tent on Whakaaratamaiti Marae, and about six years ago Dad discovered her burial spot. The whānau had a special ceremony and placed a stone on her grave and had an unveiling. Just this year, Dad finally saw a photo of his mum for the first time,’ Shaun explains.
Like his dad before him, Shaun’s journey to discovering and embracing his cultural heritage hasn’t been straightforward, but he’s determined to keep the learning going for the sake of the next generation. He’s particularly excited to observe the ‘increasing seamlessness’ between faith and culture within the lives of his three tamariki. Together with wife Karen (Ngāi Tahu), Shaun encourages Cholae (11), Joel (9) and Liam (7) to increase their knowledge and experience of tikanga.
‘Both our boys are part of the kapa haka group at Cambridge Primary School, and Joel was one of forty children chosen from six local schools to participate in a six-week course learning basic te reo, songs, kapa haka and the history of local Māori. Cholae rates te reo as the number one language she wants to learn and she’s keen for her Poppy to help her.’
Disconnected
That Shaun’s tamariki are engaged in this way is especially significant when you understand that like many Māori, Shaun grew up disconnected from his cultural heritage.
‘I was born in Whangārei, but then in 1978 our whole family—Mum, Dad, myself and my brother—moved to Melbourne when I was four. It was 20 years before we returned, so I was very much raised as an Aussie kid. For some reason, Dad largely let his culture go while in Australia—to the extent that he lost the language.’
Shaun’s only recollection of tikanga during his childhood was at age nine. ‘There were Māori communities in Melbourne—always have been—and there was a group of Dad’s friends who organised a hāngī, followed by basic te reo classes for the kids. That was my first real taste of Māori culture.’
For Shaun, this positive experience was memorable because at school he was bullied for being Māori.
‘I experienced a significant amount of racism at school. It was mostly from kids of a similar age—name calling and racist jibes. But I had nothing in the toolbox to combat it—no coping mechanism. Anger built up inside me, and the one time I fought back I was the one who got into trouble. It was extremely confusing as a child. I was crying out that this injustice was happening to me, and I couldn’t understand why there were no consequences for those responsible. I know it’s a divisive topic—racism—but dealing with it as a 9-year-old? That’s rough. It became destructive to my mindset and level of confidence.’
Around this time, Shaun’s Mum, Anne, became a Christian, and things slowly began to change for Shaun. He started attending church with his mother and went to Sunday School and then youth group. Nearly ten years later, Ken also surrendered his life to Christ.
‘Dad was an alcoholic. He wasn’t violent towards us, but he would frequently come home intoxicated. He’d walk in on Bible study and would blaspheme the Bible in front of everyone, which was interesting as a young teenager. Those who know my dad now just can’t comprehend that he could’ve behaved like that. But he did.’
Awakening
It wasn’t until the Baker whānau moved back to Aotearoa in 1997 that Ken’s faith and culture began to come together, paving the way for a beautiful collision in Shaun’s life.
‘Dad attended a te reo course, and what that did for him was awaken something he hadn’t known how to tap back into. Before long he was speaking the language fluently! The downside for me was that I had left home by this stage.’
Shaun fell away from church upon his return to Aotearoa, and by his mid-twenties was living and working in Whangārei.
‘I totally turned my back on God for a few years. But then one night I was in my apartment on my own and I came to the realisation that if I died tonight I wouldn’t be with Jesus. I got on the phone to my mum, and she suggested I come down to Blenheim so they could support me while I got my life back on track. I sold everything I had and got on a plane.’
In time, Shaun settled at Blenheim Corps. The first service he attended included an invitation to an event the following Saturday—the cadets from the training college were coming.
‘I had no idea what a cadet was, let alone an officer. Kim McKerrow shared her testimony and that was really significant for me. I haven’t left the Army since!’ Shaun was enrolled as a soldier in 2005.
A hands-on Dad
‘It was Dad who invited me to my first ever kapa haka experience within The Salvation Army, which at the time was led by Joe and Nan Patea. Then in 2006, I ended up being part of the group who welcomed General Shaw Clifton and performed at that year’s commissioning. It was an amazing experience for me to be part of that.’
In a God-ordained coincidence, Cadet Karen Hill was being commissioned at that same event, and the two met. Karen was appointed to Wellington, but a romance quickly blossomed and was sustained despite the distance. The couple were married in 2007, with Shaun entering Booth College of Mission in 2008. Following Shaun’s commissioning in 2010, the Bakers have served together as corps officers in Pukekohe, Queenstown and now Cambridge. It’s been a busy decade for the Bakers with the arrival of three tamariki during that period.
‘Shaun is such a hands-on Dad and has been since day one of parenting,’ says Karen. ‘As our children have grown, he has always encouraged them in everything they’ve done. He’s attended almost every sports practice/game/dance competition where possible. He’ll even share the taxi-ing, sports gear packing, snack-grabbing chaos of those moments because his value of ‘being there’ for his children and his sense of whānau is strong. He’s also encouraged the children to know and ask questions about their heritage.’
New doors
Like most corps officers, Shaun is very involved in his local community. He’s chaplain to Cambridge Primary School and a member of the Board of Trustees. And while Shaun’s had to push ‘pause’ on his involvement with Māori Ministry for this season; even so, God continues to open doors, with the entire Cambridge Primary School Board of Trustees planning on completing a te reo course together in 2021.
‘I’ll be part of a group of people I know and get on well with and we’ll be learning together and can encourage each other. I’m on that board for another 18 months, so we’ll be able to use the language more in our work together,’ explains Shaun.
‘I want to be more confident when I’m in the various contexts where I can express my faith and culture, and there’s this crossover and interlinking that God is arranging—I’ve still got a way to go, but this makes the next learning steps realistic and attainable for me.’
A call for all Salvationists
Shaun believes there are many within The Salvation Army, including Pākehā, who value Māori culture and want to see Māori not only come into relationship with Jesus, but take their place as leaders.
‘One thing that I want Salvationists to better understand is the basics of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. If people of all nationalities who call Aotearoa their home made an effort to understand the historical significance of the story around our treaty, I believe we’d have fewer acts of ignorance towards Māori.’
Shaun has never experienced anything but love and inclusion within The Salvation Army, but there are times in his life when he sometimes feels pushed into situations because of the colour of his skin. ‘I feel out of my depth sometimes—not in a racist way, but the gaps in my knowledge and experience become obvious. It really is a gradual journey.’
Nonetheless, Shaun is firm in his denouncement of racism in all its forms and, as a Salvationist, he believes it’s this cruel injustice that requires a faith response.
Racism and our Salvationist DNA
‘If I see racism on the street I’m going to go and defend the person toward whom that injustice is being committed. That’s just part of my Salvationist DNA coming out. We hate injustice, so I’m going to step in if I see it happening and call it out. Racism is never acceptable—never. But if it’s directed at me personally, I see it more as a form of persecution—something all Christians experience in one form or another. I look at it through that lens and ask myself what might be going on for the other person to cause them to behave that way, because there’s clearly something not right there. I’m more inclined to pray for them—I’m old enough to hold firmly to my identity in Christ. But I have grave concerns about how it affects other people, and my place in Christ demands that I respond and provide support.’
Whānau
‘Whānau is important—not just for Māori. It really breaks my heart when I see families who don’t see eye to eye, or whānau where the grandparents aren’t involved with their mokopuna— or not allowed to see them. I know my dad may not be proud of the example he set for me in those early years, but he’s more than made up for it. I couldn’t ask for a better Dad, and I’m so grateful my kids have a Poppy who loves them and takes such a keen interest in their lives. I love to watch him, watch them, play sports—he’s so proud of them! So, my advice is: do whatever it takes to reconcile because the regrets later will be hard to live with—it’s not always easy, but whānau is everything.’
Joel is a natural sportsman who loves tackle rugby, hockey and has represented his school in cross country and athletics.
Liam loves Lego, Star Wars and Toy Story and also plays tackle rugby and hockey.
Cholae competes regularly in local and national Irish Dancing competitions, enjoys netball and plays the keyboard.
