ISAAC Update (Oct. 14, 2008)

Greetings friends!

Although the U.S. presidential elections and economic downturn dominate the headlines these days, I’m happy to report that ISAAC is making steady progress in equipping university and theological educators and church leaders. We have been so focused on developing our resources that we have not done an adequate job of fund-raising for the future. So I hope that you will consider making a generous gift and a pledge for 2009 in the next few weeks.

Anyway, here is what we are up to:

1. Resource Development

In partnership with the Pacific Asian American and Canadian Christian Education (PAACCE), we will publish an Asian American Christianity Reader by the end of November. The reader is a collection of historical, sociological, theological, and personal essays that offer insight into Asian American Christianity. It will be a useful teaching aid for educators and church leaders. We are currently seeking reviewers from colleges, seminaries, and churches to offer feedback. Please contact me if you are interested in previewing the reader.

The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies (SANACS) will be publishing its inaugural journal this December. We are now making a final call for 2008 membership. Members will receive the 2008 annual journal for free. Click here to learn more about SANACS.

2. The Bay Area Chinese Initiative

Inspired by Dr. James Chuck, our Bay Area Chinese initiative is gradually taking shape. We hope to expand its scope beyond the Bay Area and the Chinese Christian community in the near future.

First, the Bay Area Chinese Churches research project report will be available in November. Information about the report can be found on the ISAAC Blog. You are also welcome to come to one or all three of the following half-day conferences to celebrate its publication!
-> Nov. 8: Peninsula and San Francisco (Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, 9:15 AM – 12:30 PM)
-> Nov. 15: South Bay (Overseas Theological Seminary in San Jose, 9:15 AM – 12:30 PM)
-> Nov. 22: East Bay (Bay Area Chinese Bible Church – Alameda Campus, 9:15 AM – 12:30 PM)
[Go to Bay Area Chinese Churches Project blog for more information. | Register online here]

Second, ISAAC has partnered with The Leadership Connection (TLC) to support pastors who serve bi-generational Chinese congregations. TLC utilizes Executive Coaching models to help pastors problem solve, support and hold each other accountable to strengthening their leadership capacity. In August, we co-sponsored a retreat for pastors of English Ministries which has led to the formation of three peer-to-peer small groups. Though these groups have just started, the response has been quite enthusiastic. We are also partnering with TLC to provide peer-to-peer groups with Asian American Christian business leaders!

Third, ISAAC is partnering with local pastors and churches in developing an Equipping and Resource Center for church leaders. This Spring we hope to offer seminars, workshops, and classes in subjects as diverse as teaching Sunday School, the history of Asian American Christianity, spiritual formation of leaders in Asian American ministries, and college admissions counseling from an Asian American Christian perspective.

These activities, and several others on the horizon, are what makes me excited about ISAAC. Asian American Christians don’t have to be the side dish of education and ministry in North America. With your help, Asian American Christians can also be an entree that further enriches the multi-cultural banquet of our society and the world!

Timothy Tseng

Last Call for SANACS 2008 Membership

Do you still dream about a place where researchers and scholars can gather to talk about Asian Christianity in the United States and Canada? The dream has become a reality with the launching of The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies (SANACS) last November. With the help of ISAAC, SANACS was launched as an association of theological scholars and social scientists to support the burgeoning interest in study of religion in the Asian Pacific and North America. We are dedicated to promoting research, publications, and curriculum.  By focusing on Christian studies of Asians in North America we are meeting a need and field of study that has been largely ignored. Because this is a new area of study we hope to establish standards for the best scholarship in this area.

Would you be interested in joining us? If you are already a 2008 member of SANACS, you should receive the inaugural issue of the SANACS Journal by this winter. If you are not, please sign up now!  Its only $45 and with your membership you will receive a copy of our journal that has the most recent academic work in the field and information about upcoming conferences and talks.

We are also seeking Institutional sponsors. For a membership fee of $250  colleges and seminaries that join SANACS by Nov. 1, 2008 will have their names listed in the 2008 journal.

You can join SANACS by either filling out the enclosed form and return envelope or by  visiting the SANACS website at www.sanacs.org and clicking on the “Get Involved” tab at the top of the page.

SANACS has plans to publish another journal in 2009. We also hope to announce additional programs, so please consider partnering with us now!

If you have any questions regarding membership or being an Institutional Sponsor, please contact Marie McCulley, Membership Support, at mmcculley@isaacweb.org.

Sincerely,

Russell Yee, Managing Editor

P.S. SANACS is administered by ISAAC, a 501(c) 3 organization, so a portion of your donation will be tax deductible.

The Growth of the Chinese Churches in the Bay Area – 2008 report available in November!

ISAAC is pleased to announce that “The Growth of the Chinese Churches in the Bay Area – 2008 report of the The Bay Area Chinese Churches Research Project, Phase II” will be available this November! This report, edited by Dr. James Chuck and Timothy Tseng, is a follow-up study of Dr. Chuck’s 1996 profile of the Chinese churches in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The report will include an updated profile of Bay Area Chinese churches along with essays that explore the demographics of Chinese Americans in the Bay Area, the history of Chinese Protestantism and Catholicism, reflections on ministry, and essays that highlight issues in Chinese American ministry. Here is the report’s table of contents:

• Chinese American Demographic Change in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1990-2000, by Russell Jeung and Dean Adachi
• The Growth of the Chinese Churches in the Bay Area, by James Chuck
• Report on the church consultations, by Donald Ng
• “Faith, Hope, and Love” – Themes in the History of Chinese Protestantism in the Bay Area, by Timothy Tseng
• A History of Chinese Catholics in San Francisco and the Bay Area, by Ricky Manalo CSP
• Patterns in Development of the English Ministry in a Chinese Church, by Ken Carlson
• Flourishing for More Than 3.8 Years in Ministry, by Johnson Chiu
• From Surgery to Acupuncture: An Alternative Approach to Managing Church Conflict from an Asian American Perspective, by Virstan B.Y. Choy
• The Search for Asian American Worship, by Russell Yee
• Issues in Asian Youth Ministry, by Victor Quon
• Bathsheba Transformed: From Silence to Voice, by Chloe Sun
• Ministry is Like a Marathon, by Steve Quen

Information about how to order the report will be provided on the ISAAC website soon. You can also find out by attending one of the three “Growth of Chinese Churches” half-day research report conferences in November 2008. - Tim Tseng