NASHVILLE, Tenn. --A Southern Baptist agency that produces Sunday School materials has come under fire from some Asian-Americans for its 2004 Vacation Bible School curriculum called "Rickshaw Rally--Racing to the Son."

"The rickshaw symbolizes poverty and slavery," said Paul Kim, pastor of Berkland Baptist Church in Cambridge, Mass. "'Rickshaw Rally' is misrepresenting Asian-American cultures."

The rickshaw, a two-wheeled carriage that at one time was pulled by one or two men in East Asia, is included in the logo of the curriculum produced by LifeWay Christian Resources for use in summer sessions designed to combine fun and faith for children.

"'Far-out Far East Rickshaw Rally--Racing to the Son' is a VBS race that will have kids dashing through the streets of Tokyo, climbing Mount Fuji and diving for pearls," the official website on the curriculum reads.

"At stops along the route, VBS racers (a.k.a. kids) will find that to obtain the real prize in this Rickshaw Rally, they will need to seek Jesus as Savior and Lord--and follow him throughout the course of their lives."

The website's promotional display of such images as kimonos, chopsticks and packaging in a "decorative takeout tin" has irked some Asian-Americans who say they are stereotypical and, in some cases, inaccurate depictions of Japanese culture.

Based on a recommendation from Kim's church, the Baptist Convention of New England adopted a resolution criticizing the material during its annual meeting in Warwick, R.I.

The regional group said the material "portrays Asians in an unflattering manner through curriculum and images that are at least culturally insensitive, and at worst, racially offensive," the resolution reads.

It added that LifeWay "would never, ever intentionally cause offense to the Asian-American community" and "the content of the material is otherwise biblically sound."

With no "nay" votes, the regional convention said it would support a staff decision not to promote the material.

Jim Wideman, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England, said his organization wanted to be sensitive to the concerns of Asian-Americans while continuing its long-term relationship with LifeWay.

"Those who were a part of our convention were concerned that this was going to present a negative witness and were concerned that we would lose the opportunity to have an influence and to have a witness with, especially, young Asian-Americans," he said.

The New England convention will promote an older alternative curriculum from LifeWay instead.

Kim first heard about the curriculum from Soong-Chan Rah, pastor of a Cambridge church that is affiliated with the Evangelical Covenant Church. Rah received a LifeWay catalog in the mail and checked the related website.

"I was stunned in this day and age there would be this degree of insensitivity, there would be this degree of just lack of awareness," said Rah, senior pastor of Cambridge Community Fellowship Church. "If you look at what a rickshaw is, it's a human being used in place of an animal."

Rah has contributed to a "Reconsidering Rickshaw Rally" website that has developed in reaction to the material.

Meanwhile, LifeWay stands by its decision to use the curriculum.

Mary Katharine Hunt, project manager at LifeWay's Vacation Bible School division, said she was disappointed in the New England convention's resolution.

"We believe many churches will use the curriculum because of its strong biblical content, clear message of Jesus and the respectful way in which it lifts up another culture," she said.

Hunt added that LifeWay disagrees with the critics and has responded to them.

"For every concern raised by an Asian-American, we are receiving dozens of positive responses from Asian-Americans that tell us we are fulfilling our intent to lift up another culture and share the message of hope for all people in Jesus Christ," she said.

Robert Parham, editor of EthicsDaily.com and a frequent critic of Southern Baptist initiatives, joined the Asian-American opponents of the curriculum.

"Racism has metastasized within Southern Baptist life," he said in a statement on the website of the Baptist Center for Ethics. "'Rickshaw Rally' represents yet another example of the moral blindness that insults a racial group and seeks to make a profit off of prejudice. ... Southern Baptists cannot address racism with easily forgotten resolutions while playing the race card to generate revenue."