What expectations do you have of the communities you are engaged with? What expectations do the people in the communities feel are being placed on them? Do you expect to help or to partner with the individuals in your community?During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and [...]Read More
Lāhainā Nine Months Later
It’s been nine months since wildfires devastated western Maui. Nine months. The same time it takes for a term birth. The same time it takes for students to complete a school year. It seems that nine months is a duration where so much growth and development can happen. It was nine months ago that our [...]Read More
I Don’t Know What To Call This
Asian AmericanASIAN AmericanAsian AMERICANI am an immigrant’s childBorn and raised in your countryI didn’t migrate myselfNo accentNo credibilityOthers see my parentsOthers hear my parentsLanguage, accents, or no EnglishThey see what I eat at homeSmell fried fish on my clothesThey see my flat noseThe [...]Read More
Listening to the Community: Affirming Dignity with a Posture of Humility
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” Mark 10:51 (NIV)Some people may have considered it obvious that the blind man wanted to see, but Jesus didn’t assume what the man wanted. He asked the man what he wanted. Even though Jesus, as [...]Read More
The Ministry of Speaking up
by Steve ParkThe righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.Proverbs 29:7 (NIV)I don’t like conflict. I also don’t like asking for things. Perhaps it’s my personality or my Korean family background that values politeness, but advocacy work is not something I ever [...]Read More
Half Half
by Dr. Sunny Sue Chang JonasIn 1992, May was officially designated as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.* As an Asian American, I am grateful to stand on the shoulders of those who identified as such before us and to stand alongside those who currently identify as Asian American. We are [...]Read More
Communal Stories for Community Thriving
by Chandra CraneAs a Mixed Thai-American minister working with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in the Jackson Metro area, one of the things that first drew me to the Christian Community Development Association is the emphasis on listening to the community in which we are serving. Healthy [...]Read More
Doing Asian American Theology: Contextuality & Particularity
by Dr. Daniel D. Lee"At an Asian American conference, after presenting a survey of current scholarship on Asian American theology, the speaker asked the attendees, mostly Asian American pastors, Is this helpful? Do we need this? While the speaker phrased the question as one of usefulness, underlying [...]Read More