Centering: The Asian American Christian Podcast

9x08 - Representation: Empowerment, Healing, and Hope by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x07 - Coherence: Narratives & Reconciled Identities by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x06 - Nuances: Pathologies & Ideals by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x05 - Lenses: ...Because Not Everything's Cultural by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x04 - Knowledge: When Personal Experience Isn't Enough by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x03 - History: Do Asian Americans Have a History? by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x02 - Panethnicity: What is Asian American? by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

9x01 - Language: Asian American Identity and Experience by Centered: Resources for the Asian American Church

In the final episode of Season 8, Dr. Nijay Gupta joins Janette for a passionate conversation about his work making Biblical scholarship accessible and available to those in the Church - the joy of melding spiritual life, academic research, and teaching others - and embracing the messiness of negotiating Asian cultural heritage and Biblical conviction.

This week, Dr. Chloe Sun joins Janette to speak about Song of Songs: why is such an abstract lyrical work included in the Bible? And what can this text, without a single explicit mention of God, reveal about God's seeming "absences"? Dr. Sun is Professor of Old Testament Studies at Logos Evangelical Seminary in Los Angeles.

This week, Dr. Max Lee of North Park Theological Seminary joins Janette, sharing his research into the theology of pleasure; the connections between sexual intimacy and spiritual life; and the ways that Asian American theological convictions should be brought to the Bible

This week, Professor Lisa Cleath of Princeton Theological Seminary joins Janette to discuss her work on social justice and the Bible. How can our imaginations of race and justice inform our readings of the Bible? How should our experiences influence our faith? What does the Bible have to say about multiracial and other Asian American identities?

This week, Dr. Ekaputra Tupamahu, Asst. Prof of New Testament (George Fox University) joins Janette to share about speaking in tongues, inviting discomfort into our churches, and centering theology on the real experiences of new immigrants.

For our first episode of 2023, Centering welcomes Dr. Jung Choi of Duke Divinity School. A scholar-teacher trained in the New Testament and early Christianity, Dr. Choi shares about the Biblical importance of ecumenism, healthy tension within Christianity, and the power dynamics of voice and visibility. *Since recording, Dr. Choi's role at Duke is now Associate Dean for Global and Intercultural Formation and Director of the Asian House of Studies

This week, Dr. Gale Yee, Professor of Biblical Studies emerita (Episcopal Divinity School) and the first Asian American woman president of the Society of Biblical Literature, joins us to share her experiences as a prominent Asian American biblical scholar and the difficult work of rescuing the Hebrew Bible from a narrow-minded normativity. RESOURCES MENTIONED: -https://theology.sewanee.edu/education-for-ministry/ -Course texts: https://theology.sewanee.edu/files/resources/efm-books-handout-2021-2025-2.pdf

This week on Centering, Dr. Roger Nam joins Janette to talk about his journey into biblical scholarship. Dr. Nam is Professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory University, a minister, and explores in-depth the ways that the economic context of ancient Israel can help illuminate and explore the Bible, focusing on Ezra-Nehemiah.

Welcome back to Centering! Dr. Janette Ok hosts this season about biblical scholarship for the Asian American church. In this first episode, Dr. Jordan Ryan talks about his work literally unearthing the context of 1st century Israel/Palestine, its parallels with his experiences of race and marginalization in North America, and global Filipino diaspora.

This #GivingTuesday, please consider supporting Centering with a donation at fuller.edu/giveAAC And stay tuned for Season 8 of Centering launching THIS week - with Professor Janette Ok interviewing other biblical scholars on biblical scholarship for the Asian American church.

Dr. Jeannie Celestial is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (PhD) and Psychotherapist. This week, she joins Jay and Eleanor to speak about how therapy can speak specifically to FilAm communities. Dr. Celestial's new book Clinical Interventions for Internalized Oppression is out now! You can find her at sweetmangotherapy.com and @jeanniecelestial Dr. Celestial is offering consultation groups for Filipinx/a/o therapists. Please fill out this form, with a free values assessment, if you are interested: tinyurl.com/celestialcentering

This week, Mrs. Lisa Espineli Chinn joins Jay and Eleanor to speak about her wealth of experiences as a Filipina woman leading in ministry. The former National Director of International Student Ministry with InterVarsity USA (2000-2014), she's also been an international student, a campus minister, and co-founder of several ministries in the Philippines and US.

This week, Jay and Eleanor are joined by Dr. Alan Dionson. Pastor Alan not only serves as Senior Pastor at Charisma Life Church, but has conducted extensive research into the cultural specifics of pastoring in Filipino American communities. Tune in for his insights on how to love the FilAm church!

Joining us this week is Father Danny Pilario, a powerful voice of justice throughout the Philippines. A Vincentian priest, scholar, and minister, he has dedicated a lifetime of work to poor and marginalized communities throughout the Philippines, finding and sharing the radical love of Christ in the midst of colonial and institutional struggles. (Content warning: violence, sexual violence)

This week on Centering, scholar and minister Dr. Willie Jennings joins Jay for a conversation about his contributions to liberation and contextual theology. They touch on the spaces where Black and Filipino American Theologies overlap, and the ways we find God's hand at work in our communities.

Centering welcomes Dr. Robyn Magalit Rodriguez, founding director of the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis, and the first Pinay to serve as chair of UC Davis Asian American Studies. She recounts her journey as a Pinay scholar-activist and shares advice for Filipino Americans navigating academia and activism.

In this episode of Centering, Dr. Alicia del Prado and Dr. Sthefany Alviar join Eleanor and Jay to discuss their research on the ways religious identity shapes mental health and help-seeking in Filipino American Catholics. Tune in for their insights - and discourse on their favorite Filipino dishes!

We're back! This season of Centering features Eleanor Baylon and Gabriel Jay Catanus talking all things Filipino American Christian. In this first episode, our co-hosts cover topics from food and karaoke, to internalized colonial mentality and paying for seminary.

In this season's final episode, Daniel and Alexander talk about the future of America: where will conversations around race go? What will be the issues that continue to arise around race, power, and inequity? And how can the Christian church bear faithful witness amidst it all?

This episode, Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alexander Jun speak on critical race theory - and the church. Does Critical Theory have a place in ethnic, Asian American, and multicultural churches? What are the dangers - and uses - of introducing these ideas into our spaces of worship and community?

This week, Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alexander Jun speak about Critical Race Theory and the academy: how is history told, whose voices are included, and what does a "Christian" history mean?

What IS cancel culture, and how does - and doesn't - it fit into a Christian imagination of justice? On today's episode of Centering, Daniel and Alex speak about the roles of accountability, forgiveness, and power in the current conversation around "cancel culture".

In this episode, Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alexander Jun speak on intersectionality, identity, and the Image of God: What is intersectionality? Why are social identities important to God - and us? And how do we avoid idolizing social identity?

Is social justice a different gospel, a distraction from the gospel, or the Gospel itself? This week on Centering, Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alex Jun talk about the various manifestations of justice and their relationship to the Christian Gospel.

This week, Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alex Jun talk about sin, supremacy, and salvation. In the face of systems that harm and hurt God's creation, how can Asian American Christians receive and share in a holistic salvation?

Welcome back to Centering! This season is a series of conversations on "Race and Grace" between Dr. Daniel D. Lee and Dr. Alex Jun. We start off with a conversation about Critical Race Theory: what is it, why does it make so many people so angry, and what do Asian American Christians need to know about it?

As American society undergoes historic shifts of public identity and conversation, Evangelicalism is changing along with it. Is there space in contemporary Evangelicalism for Asian Americans? Professor Daniel D. Lee joins Tim and Jane for this season's final episode to discuss the varied and complicated future of Asian American Christianity and its relationship with evangelicalism

In 1996, Helen Lee called the trend of 2nd-generation Korean Americans leaving their ethnic churches a "silent exodus". This week, she joins us to discuss how many Asian Americans and their ethnic churches continue to wrestle with cultural, theological, and social tensions. (Ed. note: This podcast was prerecorded on 1/8/21)

In 1893, a group of White Americans forcibly overthrew the Kingdom of Hawaii. Today, the Hawaii Independence movement continues to resist US colonial occupation. Leon Siu, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ke Aupuni O Hawaii (the Hawaiian Kingdom) and Director of Christian Voice of Hawaii joins Centering to speak on faith and freedom in Hawaii.

South Asian Americans have a storied history of Christian faith: Apostle Thomas brought the gospel to the southwestern coast of India in AD 52, and the Mar Thoma church continues as a source of faith and tradition for many diasporic Indian communities. This week, Sam George, Catalyst of the Lausanne Movement and Director of Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College BGC, joins Jane and Tim to talk about the ongoing experiences of South Asian American Christians.

Since the 90s, Filipino Americans have been the 2nd largest Asian American population - but are often overlooked in the "Asian American" conversation. This week, Asian American scholar Dr. Melissa Borja joins Jane and Tim to speak on the distinctive history and religious life of Filipino Americans.

Many Vietnamese Americans did not make a choice to come to the US - they were forced to leave their country by US imperialism and its widescale displacement, destruction, and death. Dr. Phuong Nguyen joins Tim and Jane this week to speak about the experiences, identity, and faith of the Vietnamese community.

100 years ago, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee rode a horse through the streets of New York, fighting for women's right to vote. She was also a Christian leader who bought a Chinatown church and fought against racism and sexism in her denomination. Professor Grace May joins Tim and Jane to share about the life of this incredible Asian American Christian leader.

Bishop Roy Sano was incarcerated during World War II, led the fight for a distinct Asian American voice in the United Methodist Church, and directed the groundbreaking work of PACTS, the Pacific and Asian American Center for Theologies and Strategies. This week, he joins Tim and Jane to share his lived insights on Asian American Christian history.

Activist Yuri Kochiyama held Malcolm X as he died. She was a Sunday School teacher, American concentration camp survivor, and activist leader. Ethicist Dr. Grace Kao joins Jane and Tim this week to share how Yuri's Christian upbringing grounded her organizing, and can be a model for Asian American Christians engaging in racial justice.

We're back! This season, historians Dr. Tim Tseng and Professor Jane Hong guide us through our Asian American Christian history. This first episode, they start by answering the question: why should anyone - Asian Americans and/or Christians - care about such a specific field?

Minari, from director Lee Isaac Chung and A24 Films, is a haunting and rich sketch of a Korean American family in 1980s Arkansas. It won the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at 2020 Sundance. After a screening of the film co-hosted by Fuller Seminary's Reel Spirituality and Asian American Center, Eugene Suen interviewed Lee Isaac Chung and Harry Yoon, the film's editor, on questions of identity, culture, faith, and filmmaking.

In the final episode of their season, Der and Melba are joined by Hmong American pastor Second Yang to discuss the surprising and overlooked ways that language can have an impact on our faith, fellowship, and worshipping communities

Der and Melba listen and respond to diverse Asian American men's voices, describing their experiences of community. What do they look for, find, and lack in their communities, and how can churches and Christian communities do a better job of caring for them?

Dr. Daniel D. Lee of Fuller Seminary joins us this week to speak about ancestral religion, Christian faith, and syncretism: how can Asian American Christian communities relate to ancestral spirituality in a healthy and Gospel-centered way?

On this episode of Centering, Caroline Lancaster (Associate Director for Multiethnic Initiatives, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) joins Der and Melba to examine acculturation and internalized racism as it relates to belonging to a Christian community.

Today on Centering, Der and Melba speak with multiethnic ministry expert Kathy Moua (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) about the ways that Christian communities can specifically care for Asian American women.

In this episode, minister Larry Varghese joins Der and Melba to talk about the joys and challenges of building community in his Indian American Mar Thoma congregation. Centering is produced by Jason Chu, engineered by Alexander Catedral, with music by Mark Redito.