Centering: The Asian American Christian Podcast

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. The 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. 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 with other Japanese Americans 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, Bishop Sano joins Tim and Jane to share his lived insights on Asian American Christian history.

Activist Yuri Kochiyama held Malcolm X as he died. A Sunday School teacher, American concentration camp survivor, and activist leader, she’s best known for her lifetime of work dedicated to justice and liberation. This week on Centering, ethicist Dr. Grace Kao joins Jane and Tim to reflect on how Yuri’s Christian upbringing grounded her organizing, and provides a model for Asian American Christians engaging in racial justice.

We’re back! This season, historians Dr. Tim Tseng and Professor Jane Hong are guiding us through several key topics drawn from Asian American Christian history. In this first episode, they start with a foundational question: why should anyone – whether Asian Americans or Christians – care about such a specific field?