Chai Vang

Yesterday, the news media converged upon our small northwoods Wisconsin village to cover the trial of Chai Vang.

Last November, he shot six hunters in Sawyer County during an altercation.

He says it was self defense -- but that's hard to imagine as he fired 20 shots, and four of the victims where hit from the back.

The trial carries racial overtones, as Chai Vang is a Hmong immigrant.

Race, however, should not be a factor in the jury's deliberations. It's a matter of what he did not who he is.

In the aftermath of the shootings, I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Nha Long Yang, the Senior Pastor of the Hmong Alliance Church, in St. Paul, Minnesota, over the phone.

As we spoke, I felt a unity of heart with this outstanding man of God. Our lives are very similar. We are both senior pastors of larger congregations. We both are family men. We both have hearts for evangelism and discipleship.

We both deplored the brutal slayings and we also both deplore racism.