ISAAC to launch the Equipping and Resource Center

ISAAC will be starting an Equipping and Resource (ER) Center to equip English Ministry Leaders in San Francisco Bay Area Chinese American Churches in 2009 (we plan to expand in 2010). We are grateful for the generous donation of Mr. Thomas Leung, Founder and President of Peakway, Inc. and member of Chinese for Christ Church, Hayward. Mr. Leung’s support has enabled the ER Center to begin its programs.

So what is the ER Center all about? It is one of the fruits of Dr. James Chuck’s Bay Area Chinese churches research project. In addition to providing information about Chinese churches in the Bay Area, Dr. Chuck has always been concerned about maintaining the vitality of Chinese Christians in the Bay Area. Thus, the ER Center was formed to cultivate a new generation of disciples who are:

• Passionate about growing spiritually.
• Proclaimers of the gospel in word and deed.
• Catalysts for the common good as ambassadors of God’s kingdom
• Effective servants in Chinese, Asian American, and American contexts.

Unlike other equipping programs, the ER Center will be enhanced by ISAAC’s expertise in Asian American Christianity. The Bay Area ER Center values genuine partnerships with local pastors, churches, and ministry organizations. It is led by pastoral advisors Ken Carlson (Chinese for Christ Church, Berkeley), Donald Ng (First Chinese Baptist Church, S.F.), and Steve Quen (Bay Area Chinese Bible Church). Johnson Chiu (director), Darren Lim, Norman Low, Viji Nakka-Cammauf, and Russell Yee serve on the leadership team. We are actively seeking more volunteers.

Tentative Workshop Schedule for 2009

• Feb. 28: Financial Planning in Difficult Times
• Mar. 28: Ministering to Twenty-something Asian Americans in bi-lingual Chinese Churches
• Apr. 25: Preparing Your Teens for College
• May 30: Healthy Church Boards
• June 27: Mentoring ministry prospects
• July 25: Pastoring Multigenerational and Multicultural churches
• July: Youth leaders/counselors Asian American heritage plunge
• Aug. 29: To be determined
• Sept. 25-27: ISAAC Retreat for seniors, on prayer and spirituality, and/or women’s leadership

Tentative Four-week courses

• July (Theme: Christian Education)
  1. Teaching to Change Lives (Monday evenings)
  2. Facilitating Small Groups (Wednesday evenings)
• August – October (To be determined)
• Advent series (Nov. 23rd -Dec. 14th)

More information about the workshops, classes and the benefits of congregational memberships will be available soon. Please contact Johnson Chiu if you have any additional questions.

Religion and Theology in Asian America: An ISAAC Lecture Series

ISAAC is delighted to announce the inauguration of “Religion and Theology in Asian America” (RTAA) lectureship in 2009. ISAAC, in partnership with colleges, universities and seminaries across North America, will sponsor talks by scholars and practitioners who specialize in Asian American Religion and Theology (with special attention to Christianity). We are in conversation with U.C. Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and Fuller Theological Seminary about hosting at least three lectures in 2009.

The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies (SANACS) steering committee oversees and recruits speakers for the RTAA lectures. The members of the steering committee are:

Dr. Russell Jeung
Associate Professor of Asian American Studies
College of Ethnic Studies
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

Dr. Rebecca Y. Kim
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Dr. Jonathan Tan
Assistant Professor of Minorities’ Studies and World Religions
Xavier University
Cincinnati, Ohio

Dr. Timothy Tseng
Executive Director
Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity
Castro Valley, California

Dr. Russell Yee
Managing Editor
SANACS Journal
Oakland, California

For our “speakers pool,” we are interested in identifying scholars or practitioners who can address a wide range of issues that intersect with the experiences of Asian Christians in North America (e.g, the civic engagement practices of Asian American Catholics, Protestants, and evangelicals; trans-national and diasporic aspects of religion and theology in Asia America; the impact of the North American context on ethnic Asian spirituality and religious practices; reflections on the intersections or disconnections between the study of race, gender, politics, and religion in Asian American studies; etc.).

ISAAC also seeks donors who would like to make these lectures more widely available. We estimate a budget of $5,000 for each lecture. You may direct your gifts to this lecture – go to isaacweb.org for more information or to make an on-line gift.

If you represent an educational institution that is interested in hosting a lecture, if you are interested in becoming a member of the “speakers pool,” or if you are interested in contributing to the lectures, please email Tim Tseng for details.