Center for Asian American Christianity
By The Center for Asian American Christianity at PTS
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
Center for Asian American ChristianityFeb 17, 2022
Allen Yeh | Christianity as Mediator between Chinese and Chinese American Migration
This lecture was recorded on April 29, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. Easten Law of Princeton Theological Seminary. Abstract: What does it mean to have an authentically Chinese perspective on life and the world? It is well-attested that many second-generation Chinese Americans take issue with their parents’ first-generation Chinese perspectives, and vice-versa. Although this can be attributable to age (e.g. 20th century vs. 21st century), and immigration (values of the “Old World” vs. the “New World”), it is also a function of the fact that the American categories of left, right, and center do not neatly fit within Chinese/Taiwanese political and cultural perspectives. This is where it becomes very confusing. How do we navigate and overcome these conflicting realities which are generational, cultural, and political in nature? Christianity offers some natural bridges with traditional Chinese culture, such as their mutual agreement on filial piety, honor/shame, and collectivism, as well as with Chinese American migrational reality of “strangers in exile.” Rather than simply a horizontal axis of “left” and “right,” a better spectrum would be a quadrant with horizontal and vertical axes reflecting not just politics but also generation/culture.
Kamalesh Stephen | Migration and Multiple Forms of Asian Indian Christian Belonging in the US
This lecture was recorded on April 29, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference "Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US." Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. Easten Law. Abstract: Migration is changing and revitalizing the religious and cultural landscape of the US. The mushrooming of places of worship by and for immigrants of every religious persuasion stands as an example of such a seismic change. The change of the US immigration laws in 1965 made it possible for Asian Indians to arrive in large numbers. Ethnic Asian Indian congregations formed by first-generation immigrants tried to recreate the worship experience of their home to find stability amid their disruptive and unsettling immigration experience. The second generation, who are born and raised in diasporic context, find the liturgy, worship, and preaching of first generation churches less suitable for their own spiritual experience and growth. The ongoing migration of Asian Indians to the US in parallel with the continued growth of the second generation results in a persistent tension between first and second generations as both generations seek fidelity to God with expressions of faith and worship that make sense for them.
Soojin Chung | Exiled Aliens: Korean American Christianity as the Basis of Liberation and Belonging
This lecture was recorded on April 29, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. Easten Law of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Abstract: When the first wave of Korean immigrants came to the United States from 1903 to 1949, they experienced multiple layers of marginality. Many had escaped the tumultuous political landscape in Korea as exiles during Japanese colonial rule. Simultaneously, the US government and American society deemed Asians unassimilable aliens unfit for membership in the US. For these “exiled aliens,” Christianity functioned as a source of liberation, democracy, and belonging. In this talk, we will examine Christianity’s role in the Korean independence movement and how today’s immigrant churches may reclaim their prophetic role in our society and culture. We will explore the story of Moses and how the deconstruction of his identity led to his sense of liberation and belonging, providing a precondition for his ministry. Just as Moses experienced quadruple displacement, Korean immigrant churches navigated liminal spaces as Christians, immigrants, and exiles.
David Chao | The 1517 Project and the Spirit of Post-Christendom Christianity: Migration and Formations of Asian American Christian Consciousness
This lecture was recorded on April 29, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. Easten Law of Princeton Theological Seminary. Abstract: In 1517, Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation and continued a “Christendom Project” to christianize European society. Less recognized, however, is the missio Dei and the Spirit of Christ moving across space since ancient times outside of Anglo-European languages and cultures. I dub the latter development “Post-Christendom Christianity.” Fast forward to the modern US context when the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act substantially repealed Chinese exclusion and simultaneously changed the face of US society. By extension, 1965 ushered in post-Christendom forms of Christianity from the majority world to the US. Rather than thinking in terms of Anglo-European formations of faith, which have naturalized doctrinal difference and similarity through various culture wars, US discourses about Christianity need new wineskins that make explicit the varying social formations of migrational Christianity from the majority world. I present a threefold formation of Asian American Christian consciousness as a post-Christendom way to understand the interplay of doctrine, practical reasoning, and identity formation.
David Chao | Opening Remarks to 2023 Asian American Theology Conference
These opening remarks were recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/.
Dr. Easten Law | Framing Asian American Discipleship Across Generations: Displacement, Migration, and Belonging in China and America
This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. David Chao of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Christian discipleship is defined as the deepening of one’s relationship with Christ and draws from biblical teachings in the context of a church community. This conception is true but inadequate. Discipleship programs generally exclude explicit engagement with the complexities of cultural heritage, family belonging, and migration that characterize Asian American experiences. Utilizing principles of lived theology, this presentation takes the arc of the biblical narrative as a foundation to imagine an expanded vision for Christian discipleship. This expanded account takes the multi-generational and multicultural stories of Asian American families as a fundamental starting point rather than a peripheral concern. The presentation will use the speaker’s own personal and family stories of migration across China, Taiwan, and the United States as a case study.
Dr. Shirley Lung | Taiwanese Churches in Diaspora and Ethnic Identity Formation
This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. David Chao of Princeton Theological Seminary.
Abstract: Using ethnographic and interview data, this presentation explains Taiwanese ethnic identity formation in the United States and its endurance in the Taiwanese Christian and greater immigrant community. I argue that formative homeland events during periods of peak migration define and carve out ethnic boundaries, creating a time capsule-like effect for immigrants. For Taiwanese immigrants to the United States, peak migration between the 1960s and 1980s meant that dominant martial law era ethnic boundaries were transplanted from Taiwan to the wider community of “Sinophone” or sinetic language-speaking Christians. Today, the time capsule effect persists, and those ethnic boundaries continue to shape social relations within the same transnational Taiwanese Christian networks.
Dr. Gabriel J. Catanus | Multiple Un-Belongings: Filipino American Theology and the Problem of Home
This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. David Chao of Princeton Theological Seminary. Abstract: After centuries of colonial violence, Filipino American identity and Christianity are characterized by experiences of un-belonging. This un-belonging manifests in ways that are pastorally and ecclesially significant, as US Filipinos negotiate Christian faith with increasing distance from the Philippines itself. To theologize and minister with Filipino American churches, then, is to labor in “home construction,” as the idea of home is continuously contested and reconceived.
Dr. David Moe | The Hidden Stories of Burmese American Christianity
This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. David Chao of Princeton Theological Seminary. Abstract: Burmese immigrants are relatively recent arrivals to the US. Their stories are hidden and are not widely mentioned in the academic discourses about Asian American Christianity and theology. Using an integrative methodology of ethnographic interviews and literature, I will explore the hidden and lived stories of Burmese American Christians and their imagination of religious, ethnic, and ecclesial identities. Particular attention will be paid to the grassroots ethnic minority Christians, such as Chin, Kachin, Karen, Lisu, and other minority groups. We will consider questions such as, “How do they imagine their religious, ethnic, and ecclesial identities?,” “Do they share a united or conflictual imagination of their identities?,” and “How do they relate their faith to American politics and Christian nationalism?” This paper reimagines a migrational theology of Burmese religious, ethnic, and ecclesial identities that embody God’s trinitarian mission with the multicultural context of the US.
Dr. Jane Hong | How Post-1965 Migration Changed US Christianity
This lecture was recorded on April 28, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference “Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US.” Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. David Chao of Princeton Theological Seminary.
The 1965 Immigration Act transformed the demographics of US migration, flipping new arrivals from up to 90% European to majority Asian and Latine/x. The law greatly diversified Asian America, as skilled migrants and their families arriving under the 1965 law joined refugees fleeing Southeast Asia after 1975. Post-1965 Asian America, unlike earlier communities shaped by restrictive nation-based quotas and racial exclusion, encompassed several dozen nationality groups and ethnicities, languages, and creeds. Framed broadly, the new Asian migrants remade historically white Christian institutions and organizations, challenging normative categories and assumptions about Christian faith and practice. Within Asian America, new migration multiplied and rejuvenated ethnic churches even as it raised new questions about what the future of these churches would look like across differences of generation, language, and theology.
William Yoo | African Americans, Asian Americans, and the Histories of Slavery and Racism within the Presbyterian Church and Princeton Theological Seminary
As an historian who also studies Asian American Christianity, William Yoo makes connections between the histories of anti-Black racism and anti-Asian hate within and beyond the Presbyterian Church. He engages the fraught relationships between some African American and Asian American communities and offers a pathway toward racial justice that accounts for historic sins and addresses ongoing challenges in theological education and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Daniel Lee | Being Asian American Theologically
This is a session in the series Dialogues in Asian American Theology and Ministry, recorded on March 7, 2023. In this presentation, Dr. Lee proposes a critical vocation for Asian American churches beyond cultural and social expressions—namely, being Asian American theologically. Without receiving and owning this core calling, Asian American churches too easily fall into the temptation to be merely a community center, squandering our unique and crucial place in American Christianity. Being Asian American theologically involves an interdisciplinary task that is dynamic and fluid, always attending to the movement and work of God in our communities.
Melissa Borja | Follow the New Way: How American Refugee Resettlement Policies Changed Hmong Religious Life
In the United States, the government has long depended on Christian organizations to aid and resettle refugees. Over the past half century, however, incoming refugees have been increasingly non-Christian and more religiously and racially diverse. How has the American refugee resettlement system adapted to these new religious circumstances, and how have non-Christian refugees experienced a resettlement system dominated by Christian organizations? Focusing on the case of Hmong refugees, this talk will show how American refugee resettlement policies transformed the religious lives of refugees, despite sincere efforts by both government and resettlement agencies to respect religious differences and put ideals of religious pluralism into practice.
Charles Choe | Challenges, Transitions, and Opportunities in the 2nd-Generation Asian-American Church
In this presentation, Pastor Charles Choe of Tapestry LA Church will discuss how second generation Asian American churches can navigate their unique challenges, transitions, and opportunities. Join us as we learn about finding our identity as Asian American and Christian in the midst of many competing voices, as well as how one church has taken its missional calling in the city seriously.
Gabriel J. Catanus | The Pastor as Patient and Agent
Pastors and ministry leaders nowadays find themselves under overwhelming pressure. Especially in Asian American and immigrant communities, pastors are expected to lead and preach prophetically, educate as in-house experts, care for and counsel people towards healing, grow our ministries with limited resources, and model Christian maturity in our contexts. It’s a lot! Meanwhile, spiritual leaders must also receive care, tending to their own wounds and needs as persons. In this workshop, we reflect on the pastor as a recipient of mental health services, demonstrating how receiving care helps to ground ethics and clarify pastoral responsibility.
David Wang | Research and Practice on the Care of Christian Leaders Who Have Been Wounded in the Ministry Context
Most of us who have served in various ministry capacities (e.g., as pastors, missionaries, lay church leaders, etc.…) are intimately familiar with the potential dark realities of the ministry environment. Empirical research confirms that ministry is indeed often a difficult endeavor, imposing significant stress upon our spiritual life, our marital and family relationships, and our own emotional and physical well-being. Often, those who need counseling and care the most are Christian leaders who, over the course of their ministry journey, have been deeply wounded by fellow Christians, finding themselves now downtrodden, burnt out, isolated, misjudged, and discouraged. In such cases, how does one go about engaging the process of healing? This workshop will present practical and research-informed considerations and recommendations in the care of Christian leaders who have been emotionally wounded by the ministry context, with special attention placed on the experiences of Asian-American church leaders.
Migum Gweon | The Art of Saying No
As Asian Americans church leaders, we often struggle with saying no to others’ requests. In addition to pressures and expectations, the Asian culture of sacrifice is palpable. And regardless of whether we say yes or no, we often suffer the emotional and physical consequences of our decisions. Using a mental health framework, this workshop helps us experience emotional grounding that brings clarity to the discernment process and empower us to say no when we need to.
Roy Kim | Ministering to Victims of Infidelity
When Asian-American church leaders discover that a congregant has experienced sexual or emotional betrayal, it’s hard to know how to respond well. It’s common to freeze, or to try to problem-solve. Worse, the mind can quickly go to protecting the church from shame or scandal. Tragically, these common responses do great damage to the victim of infidelity. Even to the point of apostasy. This workshop unpacks the experience of the victim, explains why certain responses are unhelpful, and provides concrete steps for you to minister to the victim’s bleeding heart, to the glory of God.
Jess Cho Kim | Mental Health Ministry in the Asian American Church
Asian Americans have the lowest rates of mental health service use despite struggling with mental health disorders, trauma, substance use, and suicide. Instead, we often look to the church for support. Pastors and lay leaders often feel unequipped to respond to these overwhelming needs. What is the role of the Asian American church in addressing our national mental health crisis, post-pandemic? This plenary explores what mental health ministry in Asian American church spaces can look like, and help us better understand why we cannot ignore this any longer.
Jessica ChenFeng | The Pursuit of Asian American Happiness
Asian Americans share a collective experience of leaving one country in pursuit (sometimes forced) of a new life in a new land. How has this journey shaped our experience of ourselves, our families, communities, and our faith? This plenary explores the broader canvas of Asian American history, racialization, and identity to allow for a more nuanced understanding of our individual and collective well-being.
Cut to the Deep: Becoming Indian American Christian
“Can we be Indian and Christian? What are the challenges that Asian American Christians face to become who they are? What do we need to unlearn and learn? Join our conversation with Dr. Ashish Varma and what it means for him to become an Indian American Christian.”
Freedom? A Conversation about Incarceration and Being Asian in the US
Billy Taing and Diane Ujiiye, Co-Directors of API RISE, invite you into conversation about humanizing sisters, brothers, and siblings who have endured war, poverty, refugee camps, and the “crimmigration” system. Join them in learning about counteracting stigma and the shame of being incarcerated and undocumented.
Trends in US Christianity: How many Asian American churches are there?
Join us for a conversation with Prof. Jerry Park (Baylor) for a conversation about demographic trends on Christianity in the US and how this shapes the future of the church and theological education in the US.
Paul Lim | Asian American Church History and Young Nak Presbyterian Church
Join this conversation with Professor Paul Lim as we discuss baseball, mentoring, Asian American church history, and Young Nak Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.
Dr. Carrie Myers | Cultivating Asian American Spiritual Formation
We share this presentation by Dr. Carrie Myers for the Asian American Theology and Ministry Colloquium titled “Cultivating Asian American Spiritual Formation.” Come learn about the stages of faith and how to overcome “the wall” that blocks our spiritual growth in Christ.
Christina Edmondson | The High Cost of Solidarity
Dr. Christina Edmondson characterizes the violent pillars that hold up racial stratification. Against the barriers of fear, exhaustion, and trauma, Dr. Edmondson draws from the narrative of Acts 16:16-24 in order to display the costly but triumphant solidarity blessed by the thrice holy God.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Hyepin Im | The Model Minority Myth and Racial Solidarity
Through grounded analysis and activism, Hyepin Im presents how the dismantling of the model minority myth allows for greater racial solidarity. In this way, the truth sets people free in their mission to come into the fullness of what God intended for them.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Jonathan Tran | Racial Capitalist Aftermarkets: LA Riots or LA Uprising?
In thinking through theological questions of solidarity, Dr. Jonathan Tran proposes an analytical lens of political economy in order to diagnose, by way of thick descriptions, relations between African Americans and Asian Americans. This allows for two theologies of anti-racism: attentive waiting and revolution.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Panel Discussion | Hope from Ashes: Legacies and Lessons from the Los Angeles Riots Conference
Dr. David Latimore facilitates a panel discussion with the speakers from the Hope from Ashes conference.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Russell Jeung | The Educational Squid Game
Dr. Russell Jeung likens the American educational system to competitions portrayed in the popular Netflix show Squid Game. In this cutthroat and costly environment, disadvantaged communities are pitted against each other for the benefit of the few. Instead, Dr. Jeung proposes a scriptural movement wherein this zero sum competition is replaced by a commitment to equity and common interest.
Kathryn Gin Lum | Heathen: Religion and Race in American History
In this podcast, we have a conversation with Kathryn Gin Lum about her new book, “Heathen: Religion and Race in American History.” The book argues how the religious idea of the heathen undergirds American conceptions of race. While the term “heathen” fell out of common use by the early 1900s, the term’s influence on racial categories persists today.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Jane Hong | When and Where We Enter: Reframing How We Talk about 1992
Dr. Jane Hong provides pertinent historical context surrounding the 1992 LA Riots, giving attention to the crucial forces that framed the event. She then offers insights from her own narrative as a child of Korean immigrant shop owners in Brooklyn, and now a U.S. historian investigating race and evangelicalism, in order to display how 1992 paved the way for contemporary Christians conversations around racial reconciliation.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Welcome Session | Hope From Ashes: Legacies and Lessons from the Los Angeles Riots Conference.
Dr. David Chao, Princeton Seminary President Craig Barnes, and Dr. Matthew Kuan Johnson give their opening remarks for the 2022 Hope From Ashes Conference co-hosted by the Center for Asian American Christianity and the Betsy Stockton Center for Black Church Studies.
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog
Samuel Kim | Active Listening Skills for Congregational Change
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans: Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
In this workshop, attendees learn how to put in practice active listening skills that will allow them to be empathetic change-makers. These practical listening skills will allow ministry leaders to effect change within their congregations.
Speaker: Dr. Samuel Kim, assistant professor of school psychology, University of Denver
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Jonathan Tran | Yellow Christianity
Dr. Jonathan Tran's public lecture on April 8, 2022 titled "Yellow Christianity" continues themes from his book, Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism (Oxford University Press, 2022). Dr. Tran, Associate Professor of Philosophical Theology at Baylor University, develops an account of “yellow” politics and Christianity that begins with particular sites of racial capitalist oppression and domination and pushes toward liberative coalitional politics. He also discusses recent cases of anti-AAPI violence and their historical antecedents, liberation theology’s attention to local and transnational sources of oppressive domination, and how “yellow Christianity” offers a way forward.
The Center for Asian American Christianity is a thought leader in the areas of Asian American theology and ministry. We curate a forward-thinking conversation about the issues confronting Asian American churches. Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at ltiaa.com.
Eunbee Ham | Growing Together: Cultivating Healthy Communities through Conflict Resolution
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans: Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
Conflict can be a healthy and essential part of community growth, but it takes time, training, and practice to handle conflict in ways that help deepen interpersonal empathy and understanding. Particularly during the pandemic when stress levels are high, divisions are rampant, and emotional coping skills are strained, conflicts can have a huge impact on our mental health and quality of life. In this workshop, Rev. Dr. Eunbee Ham draws on her training as a Marriage and Family Therapist and pastoral experience navigating conflict from an antiracist lens to help participants identify successful conflict resolution tools and skills, cultivate antiracist values intentionally in conflict resolution processes, and practice ways to utilize conflict resolution skills in real life situations.
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Eunbee Ham, pastor, Davis Community Church
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Helen Jin Kim | One Year After Atlanta: Race, Empire, and American Evangelicalism
On March 28, 2022, Dr. Helen Jin Kim, Associate Professor of American Religious History at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, presented at the fourth Asian American Theology and Ministry Colloquium at Princeton Theological Seminary of this academic year. Dr. Kim discusses first what it means to recast the history of modern evangelical America by turning toward the Pacific and Asian America; second, the significance of such a project in light of the resurgence of anti-Asian violence, including the Atlanta spa shootings; and third, how to steward our gifts as AAPI students.
The Center for Asian American Christianity is a thought leader in the areas of Asian American theology and ministry. We curate a forward-thinking conversation about the issues confronting Asian American churches. Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at ltiaa.com.
Joel Jin | Pastoring a Congregation of Whole People, not Perfect People
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans: Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
Asian American Christians can struggle with the experience of not feeling good enough. They perceive a gap between where they ideally ought to be and where they actually are. Across their personal, professional, and even spiritual lives, there is a tendency to expect perfection yet fall short of it. In turn, we might present ourselves as perfect, never offering ourselves the opportunity for care and healing. Although setting standards for ourselves is healthy, we are burdened when we feel like we constantly fall short of them. Dr. Jin’s workshop equips church leaders to support Asian American Christians in becoming more whole people, not perfect people. We learn about different types of perfectionism and how this applies to Asian American Christians. We discuss practical strategies from the pulpit to pastoral counseling.
Speaker: Dr. Joel Jin, assistant professor of clinical psychology, Seattle Pacific University
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Jin Lee | Mental Health and Spirituality: Know the Difference and Help Accordingly
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans: Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
Rev. Dr. Lee's workshop is designed to help church leaders better discern and process common psychological and relational challenges they may face in the church. We discuss how to distinguish between mental health and spiritually related problems and learn how to increase collaboration with local Christian mental health professionals when appropriate.
Speaker: Rev. Dr. Jin Lee, private practitioner, The Living Counsel Ltd.; vice president, Korean American Wellness Association
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Janette Ok | Preaching as Asian Americans
On February 24, 2022, Dr. Janette Ok, Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary, presented at the third Asian American Theology and Ministry Colloquium at Princeton Theological Seminary of this year. Dr. Ok asks, What does it mean to preach in a way that reflects being Asian American? Is there such a thing as a distinctly Asian American voice and presence at the pulpit? This conversation explores possibilities for how to engage biblical interpretation as a contextual and liberative practice that interacts with Asian American identity. We consider how preaching can speak to the concrete needs and gifts of Asian American churches in ways that reflect the complexities, specificities, and pluralities of Asian American Christian experience.
The Center for Asian American Christianity is a thought leader in the areas of Asian American theology and ministry. We curate a forward-thinking conversation about the issues confronting Asian American churches. Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at ltiaa.com.
Russell Jeung | Stop AAPI Hate and Racial Trauma
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
Plenary Lecture: "Stop AAPI Hate and Racial Trauma" Dr. Jeung’s talk discusses the collective racial trauma that our communities are facing during COVID-19, its historic precedence, and indigenous approaches toward healing.
Speaker: Dr. Russell Jeung, professor of Asian American studies, San Francisco State University
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Carolyn Chen | When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley
Dr. Carolyn Chen, Associate Professor of Asian American and Asian Diaspora studies and Comparative Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, discusses what happens when work becomes religion—the subject of her forthcoming book Work Pray Code. Learn more at https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691219080/work-pray-code
The Center for Asian American Christianity is a thought leader in the areas of Asian American theology and ministry. We curate a forward-thinking conversation about the issues confronting Asian American churches. Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
David Chao | Opening Remarks to the 2022 Mental Health and Asian Americans Conference
January 24, 2022 | Mental Health and Asian Americans: Contexts and Strategies for Faith Leaders
Speaker: Dr. David Chao, director, Center for Asian American Christianity
The newly expanded Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary comes at a critical time in the life of Asian America. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial-ethnic demographic in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the persistence of anti-Asian racism. Moreover, minority and immigrant churches are poised to transform the face of Christianity in the United States in the next few decades. The Center for Asian American Christianity seeks to equip and empower the next generation of Asian American leaders for service in church, society, and academy.
Learn more about the Center for Asian American Christianity at https://www.ptsem.edu/academics/center-for-asian-american-christianity
To view the conference blog, visit https://ltiaa.com/blog/
Geomon George | The Indian American Church and 'Being, Becoming, and Belonging'
Dr. Geomon George, Dean and Co-Director of the MA program and Coordinator of the Thriving in Ministry Initiative at City Seminary of New York, discusses how the Indian American church navigates "being, becoming, and belonging" amid the circumstances of immigration and COVID-19.
This episode was recorded on November 12, 2021.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com
Mia Chang | Cultivating a Multiracial Community
On September 16, 2021, Rev. Dr. Mia Chang presented at the first Asian American Theology and Ministry Colloquium at Princeton Theological Seminary of the academic year. As Lead Pastor of a multicultural church community, Rev. Dr. Mia shares about her journey as a church planter and her vision for the church. To Rev. Dr. Mia, the church points to the Kingdom of God in all its mosaic hues and sounds—guiding a broken and divisive world to wholeness and healing.
Rev. Dr. Mia was ordained as a pastor by the American Baptist Churches of New Jersey upon completing her studies at Alliance Theological Seminary in New York. She obtained her doctorate in ministry studies at Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in PA. In 2008, she founded NextGen Church in West Windsor, NJ.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com.
Al Tizon | Identity Crisis - My Missionary Journey as a Fil-Am in Postcolonial Philippines
On October 28, 2021, Rev. Dr. Al Tizon presented at the second Asian American Theology and Ministry Colloquium at Princeton Theological Seminary of this academic year. Rev. Dr. Al discusses how a journey back to his homeland of the Philippines led him to a crisis of identity that continues to this day—confronting colonialism and paternalism on the one hand and his dignity as and sense of solidarity with Filipinos on the other.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com
Jerry Park | Race, Religion, and 'Choosing My Traditions'
Dr. Jerry Park discusses his sociological research on the public narratives behind Asian American Christian political engagement. This episode was recorded August 27, 2021.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com
Jane Hong | Asian American Christians and the Transformation of U.S. Evangelicalism
Dr. Jane Hong discusses how Asians and Asian Americans participated in the entanglement of race, religion, and politics in the post-1965 immigration wave and the rise of the religious right. This episode was recorded September 17, 2021.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com
Easten Law: Asian American Belonging, Blurred Identities, and Boba Tea
Dr. Easten Law, Assistant Director of the Overseas Ministries Studies Center at Princeton Theological Seminary, discusses the relationship between Asian identity, American identity, and Christian identity. Dr. Law's research focuses on lived theology, religious pluralism, and public life in the context of contemporary China. This episode was recorded July 7, 2021.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com.
Helen Jin Kim: Korean Christians and Evangelicalism
Dr. Helen Jin Kim discusses the role of Korean Christians in the making of modern evangelical America in her forthcoming book Race for Revival: How Cold War South Korea Shaped American Evangelical Empire. This episode was recorded July 15, 2021.
The Center for Asian American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary invites you to join the dialogue on Asian American faith, identity, social engagement, and ministry through our newsletter, blog, and upcoming conferences at ltiaa.com