Asian Americans And Christian Ministry

Asian American Christian churches have been serving Asian immigrants not only as their "spiritual home" providing nurture, comfort and uplifting of spirituality during their times of adjustment but also as a generative womb leading the alienated immigrants toward a meaningful integration into the larger society. The articles included here attempt to provide theoretical and theological foundations for understanding the Asian American predicament, and explore psychosocial experiences individually and collectively. Also included are articles, which relate theological and biblical insights to the unique experiences of the Asian American faith communities with the hope to reconstruct a better future.

Any serious consideration of Asian American life forces us to reframe the way we talk about racism and antiracism. The current emphasis on racial identity obscures the political economic basis that makes racialized life in America legible. This is especially true when it comes to Asian Americans. This book reframes the conversation in terms of what has been called ""racial capitalism"" and utilizes two extended case studies to show how Asian Americans perpetuate and resist its political economy.

Experiencing racial marginalization in society and pressures for success in family, Asian American Christian young adults must negotiate being socially underpowered, culturally dissonant, and politically marginal. To avoid misunderstandings and conflicts within and without their communities, more often than not they hide their true thoughts and emotions and hesitate to engage in authentic conversations outside their very close-knit circle of friends. In addition, these young adults might not find their church or Christian fellowship to be a safe and hospitable place to openly struggle with all of these sorts of questions, all the while lacking adequate vocabulary or resources to organize their thoughts. This book responds to these spiritual-moral struggles of Asian American young people by theologically addressing the issues that most intimately and immediately affect Asian American youths' sense of identity--God, race, family, sex, gender, friendship, money, vocation, the model minority myth, and community-- uniquely and consistently from the contexts of Asian American young adult life. Its goal is to help young Asian Americans develop a healthy, balanced, organic sense of identity grounded in a fresh and deeper understanding of the Christian faith.

Find practical answers in this handy resource! Get an inside look at the practical insights from the perspective of practitioners, who collectively have over 100 years of experience in Asian American youth ministry, as they share about the intergenerational church, student leadership, and vital outreach.

How do you worship God even if life isn’t going the way you had hoped? “Even If is not some bumper sticker to display, but a daring commitment to live.”—Kyle Idleman, senior pastor of Southeast Christian Church “I believe we will see more resilient people in the face of suffering because of this great book.”—Bryan Loritts, teaching pastor at The Summit Church What happens when the test comes back positive? The relationship ends? The dream goes unfulfilled? The plans don’t move forward? Amid confusion, hurt, and anger, we wonder where we went wrong. What is God doing? In Even If, Mitchel Lee reminds us that while God does not promise a pain-free life, he offers something better: his presence in the pain. No matter our circumstances, God is worthy of our worship, and he can meet us even in our greatest difficulties. Drawing on his own journey, Mitchel explores the compelling story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. These three men chose to worship God even if God didn’t rescue them from the fire. From their example and countless others, we can do the same. Maybe you are stuck in regret, grieving a loss, or unsure of how to take your next step because there is no promise of success. Even If offers the courage you need to move forward, declaring devotion—not in spite of life’s fires but because of them—to a God whose goodness never changes.

The Asian American church is in transition. Congregations face the challenges of preserving ethnic culture and heritage while contextualizing their ministry to younger generations and the unchurched. Many Asian American church leaders struggle with issues like leadership development, community dynamics and intergenerational conflict. But often Asian American churches lack the resources and support they need to fulfill their callings. Peter Cha, Steve Kang and Helen Lee and a team of veteran Asian American pastors and church leaders offer eight key values for healthy Asian American churches. Drawing on years of expertise and filled with practical examples from landmark churches like Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles, NewSong Church and Lighthouse Christian Church, the book provides soundly biblical perspectives for effective ministry that honors the Asian American cultural context. Insights from such pioneering leaders as Ken Fong, David Gibbons, Grace May, Wayne Ogimachi, Steve Wong, Nancy Sugikawa and Soong-Chan Rah make this an essential guide for Asian American church leaders wanting to help their congregations achieve health and growth. Produced in partnership with the Catalyst Leadership Center, a resource organization for Asian American church ministry.

This textbook is an interdisciplinary collection of scholarly and religious articles about Asian American Christianity. Its four sections -- contexts, sites, identity, and voices ? offer in-depth understanding of both Catholic and Protestant traditions, practices, theologies, and faith communities. It also highlights diversity and complexity across lines of gender, generation, denomination, race and ethnicity in Asian American Christianity.

"Why do the first generation still act like that?" "Why can't we try some new ideas?" "Why are the second generation so lazy?" "Why are the second generation so disrespectful?" "Isn't it a shame how the church is split between the two generations?" These and many more questions reflect the tangled conflicts within the Asian American church. Cultural differences have led to many misunderstandings and conflicts. Conflicts have created bitterness and churches have split apart. How can these tangled threads be rewoven into a beautiful tapestry of God's grace? What would it take for the Asian American church to reflect God's grace? In Tapestry of Grace, Dr. Benjamin C. Shin and Dr. Sheryl Takagi Silzer apply their years of study and teaching to explain how the cultural complexities that occur between the different generations of the Asian American church can be untangled. Taking lessons from their own spiritual journeys, they show how each generation can experience the amazing grace of the Gospel.