Asian Americans

Eugenia Wei-Kuen Lai D.Min.

In Asian cultural contexts, women's voices are often neglected, unnoticed, or actively suppressed in church and society. This thesis-project aims to examine the relationship between the spiritual well-being and the praxes of resilience engaged in by Asian immigrant women to the United States in the context of cultural loss. The interview outcome revealed the praxes of spiritual resilience of Asian immigrant women through their integration of faith and culture. Spiritual resilience is an ongoing living praxis that calls men and women to their prophetic calling in building up the kingdom of God, in whom Jesus is the Triumphant Living Praxis.

Lisa Hanmi Pak D.Min.

The purpose of this research study was to determine how the cultural constructs of the Korean diaspora church have presented particular leadership challenges to a group of 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean women and resulted in detrimental experiences. This study is important because it revealed just how limiting and hurtful systems of leadership can be when they are not designed to give opportunities to both women and men. This research study focused on the experiences of Korean Canadian women and created a space for the group to openly talk about their experiences through narrative research, appreciative inquiry, and action research. Findings pointed to cultural factors such as patriarchy, which served to reinforce male-centered spiritual authority, and collectivism, which undercut the women’s self-confidence in speaking up and asking questions and cultivated a dynamic where enough women were more comfortable in upholding the patriarchic status quo. It was clear that the Korean diaspora church must be more intentional in creating leadership opportunities for young Korean women and reconsider the cultural patriarchy that is embedded in the communal dynamic. The research findings were also not limited to the Korean diaspora church context; rather, an examination of how cultural constructs and systems shape perceptions of leadership, understanding of ministry, and of the individual leader is a principle that is transferable to other settings.

Dieu Tran D.Min.

Peter Dieu Tran, M.A., D.Min. Aquinas Institute of Theology, Saint Louis, Missouri, 2021.

This doctor of ministry thesis is an attempt to contribute to the preaching mission in Vietnam. Dealing with the problem that many Vietnamese preachers face (Chapter I), this project proposes that preachers use proverbs and folk poetry in their preaching. Before trying to put this preaching method into practice, this thesis looks at the theological framework (Chapter II), the homiletical foundation (Chapter III), and a brief study of Vietnamese proverbs and folk poetry (Chapter IV). Chapter V details the ministerial intervention of this project and the interpretation of its outcomes. Chapter VI reviews the overall project and the next steps for my research.

BAWM LUK LAGWI REV. DR. D.Min.

The practical strategy always plays the role of key guidance at successful conversion. The practical strategy for ministry leaders can also be an efficient solution. The conflict solving skills can be developed from practical works rather than following some theoretical guidance. The practical strategy helps to follow the same rules in the real life. It increases the efficiency of a person to accomplish certain goals that were focused to be completed. It provides a better platform that ensures the improvements with having participation of multiple persons. It increases the chances of learning more. The practical strategy of ministry leaders to solve conflicts was the set goal of this project. The project has focuses on it and came out with the outcomes that shows practical strategy is the best solution to accomplish the desired goal.

Mark Covel D.Min.

As part of the campus ministry of Cru, Design Movement seeks to come alongside the South Asian American college community. The purpose of this research was to gauge the effectiveness of specific training materials for equipping campus ministry workers for the ministry of Design Movement. To accomplish this, a newly written set of training materials were field tested, reviewed, and evaluated for effectiveness.

Design Movement uses a contextualized approach to ministry. It is a collegiate ministry seeking to come alongside the desi, or South Asian American, community. This community includes students who are Indian American, Pakistani American, Sri Lankan American, Bangladeshi American, Nepali American, Bhutanese American, and Maldivian American. Many of these American college students have a Hindu or Muslim background, while a smaller percentage of South Asian American students have a Christian background.

This major project arose from the need for more current and specific ministry training for staff and volunteers and resulted in the creation of the Design Movement Ambassador Training. The training is divided into four categories: “Learn about South Asian American Culture,” “Leverage Culture for Outreach,” “Launch and Grow a Design Movement,” and “Lead a Design Student Team.” Each category contains six modules for a total of twenty-four topics.

The study revealed that the training materials were successful in being able to equip campus ministers to effectively come alongside the desi community. The five Cru staff who participated in a focus group grew in their understanding about this contextualized ministry. The feedback from the five staff and four Consultants provided suggestions for minor improvements to the materials, including a few additional modules. Training materials specific to Design Movement proved helpful for meeting the needs of coaching students in Design Movement.

Deborah Suikhinmawi D.Min.

Preaching provides the opportunity to express God’s everlasting love, care, and presence, and to nourish a healthy self-esteem in the hearers as beloved children of God. This thesis project focuses on preaching that aims at instilling in its hearers the truth of their identity as people valued by God. It is concerned with the development of a message that restores self-esteem to persons who have experienced persecution, discrimination, and systematic oppression that have stripped them of their self-worth. Preaching the affirming truth of God’s love, care, and presence has the power to heal, remove self-doubts, restore confidence, and rejuvenate spirits of those individuals being dismissed as refugees, immigrants, or socially and culturally other.

MANJUNG ABRAHAM TSAI D.Min.

This thesis explores the relationship of pastoral authority and conflict resolution in a way that will glorify God, along with the process of building up such pastoral authority. Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church contain specific events that provide realistic and historical material on which to base theological concepts regarding the resolution of conflict and the exercise of pastoral authority. Therefore, the researcher utilizes the perspective of equal and unequal powers in an organizational structure to analyze the conflicts in the Corinthian church. The investigation of these Scriptures is based on the presupposition that pastoral authority in conflict resolution needs to attain a certain level of competency and practice in three specific fields: adhering to pure biblical positions, pursuing mature spiritual character, and possessing excellent leadership skills.

Don Laing D.Min.

The challenge of the Chinese immigrant church (CIC) in America is the ongoing departure of its second-generation, American-born Chinese (ABC), now commonly called the “silent exodus.” The Overseas Born Chinese (OBC) leaders of these CICs need to champion a clear and compelling vision of reaching these ABCs that rises above retention. In addition, these OBC leaders will need to incorporate two more practices to reach their second-generation: (1) embrace a biblical culture above either culture of origin and (2) create processes that empowers the second-generation in leadership. This research project evaluated these three practices within three churches that were determined to be reaching their second-generation.
This dissertation was divided into three parts. It opened with a literature review that examined each of the three practices relating to vision, culture and leadership. The dissertation then continued with the construction of the research procedure, utilizing the case study approach. Three Chinese immigrant churches were chosen for this study: Houston Chinese Church, Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles and West Houston Chinese Church. The qualitative research method was applied to handle the field research portion of this study including but not limited to site visits, interviews, and the follow-up questionnaire. The findings of this project were discussed and evaluated regarding the significance of them and the recommendations for future study. The case studies affirmed the significance of each of the three hypotheses.

Ming Chau Hsu

The author is committed to the Christian faith which calls him to enter into the pain and struggles of the new Taiwanese immigrants. He is interested in finding ways in which the churches can involve their congregations in this wholistic ministry. Chapters 1 and 2 present the biblical and theological foundations for a ministry of passionate compassion. Chapters 3 and 4 contain a historical survey of the oppression of the Taiwanese people, an analysis of the psychological effects of oppression, an examination of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, and a recognition of the need for political involvement. Chapters 6 and 7 describe some current programs designed to strengthen identity and build confidence. Chapter 8 suggests guidelines for ministries to Taiwanese immigrants in the USA and Canada.

Jong Chul Chang

The project shows how the teaching ministry can assist in the development of the faith of the Christian community or bring a renewal of faith to Korean Americans. The author's basic assumption concerning the Korean immigrant congregation was that it needed to emphasize a holistic ministry of three perspectives: worship, service, and fellowship, with teaching considered a part of fellowship. The emphasis was to explore and test how the Bible and theology can be taught meaningfully to a Korean immigrant congregation. The result was that the participants obtained more biblical knowledge, more theological understanding, and a higher consciousness for coping with and adapting to American culture while keeping their Korean identity. It is recommended that those responsible for Korean immigrant congregations use this method.