Books for Asian American Christianity

A big list of books about Asian Americans and/or Christian resources — for encouragement and for Asian American ministry insights.

Asian American

• Tapestry of Grace: Untangling the Cultural Complexities in Asian American Life and Ministry – by Benjamin C. Shin and Sheryl Takagi Silzer
• Conversations: Asian American Evangelical Theologies In Formation – edited by DJ Chuang and Timothy Tseng
• The Future of Evangelical Theology: Soundings from the Asian American Diaspora – by Amos Yong
• Faithful Generations: Race and New Asian American Churches by Russell Jeung
• Following Jesus Without Dishonoring Your Parents ~ Jeanette Yep, coordinator, with Peter Cha, Susan Cho Van Riesen, Greg Jao, and Paul Tokunaga  (1998)
• Invitation to Lead: Guidance for Emerging Asian American Leaders ~ Paul Tokunaga (2003)
• Pursuing the Pearl : A Comprehensive Resource for Multi-Asian Ministry ~ Kenneth Uyeda Fong. (Judson 1999)
• People on the Way : Asian North Americans Discovering Christ, Culture, and Community ~ David Ng, Editor (1996)
• Racial Conflict and Healing: An Asian-American Theological Perspective ~ Andrew Sung Park (1996)
• The Trinity in Asian Perspective ~ Jung Young Lee (1996)
• Out of Silence : Emerging Themes in Asian American Churches ~ Fumitaka Matsuoka (1995)
• The Asian Mind Game : Unlocking the Hidden Agenda of the Asian Business Culture : A Westerner’s Survival Manual ~ Chin-Ning Chu (1991)
• Everything You Need to Know About Asian American History ~ Lan Cao & Himilce Novas (1996)
• Eastern Standard Time : A Guide to Asian Influence on American Culture : From Astro Boy to Zen Buddhism ~ Jeff Yang (Editor), Dina Gan, Terry Hong (A. Magazine, 1997)
• The Contemporary Asian American Experience : Beyond the Model Minority ~ Timothy P. Fong (1998)
• Spiritual Theology : A Systematic Study of the Christian Life ~ Simon Chan (1998; IVP)
  this book attempts to integrate theology and spirituality*
• Singles at the Crossroads : A Fresh Perspective on Christian Singleness ~ Albert Y. Hsu (1997)
  Unlike books about escaping singleness by finding Mr./Ms. Right, this healthy look at single people in contemporary society provides a biblical and historical theology of singleness.*
• Families at the Crossroads: Beyond Tradition & Modern Options ~ Rodney Clapp (1993)
  this book explores new family dynamics as affected by postmodernism and post-industrialization, and there are parallels to generational-cultural tensions of Asian American families to be found
• Cultural Pluralism and Psychoanalysis : The Asian and North American Experience ~ Alan Roland (1996)
• The Asian American Educational Experience : A Sourcebook for Teachers and Students ~ Don T. Nakanishi, Tina Yamano Nishida, ed. (1995)
• Ethnic Islands : The Emergence of Urban Chinese America (The Asian American Experience) ~ Ronald Takaki (1994)
• Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity : The Nisei Generation in Hawaii (The Asian American Experience) ~ Eileen H. Tamura (1994)
• The Golden Mountain : The Autobiography of a Korean Immigrant, 1895-1960 (The Asian American Experience) ~ Easurk Emsen Charr, Wayne Patterson, ed. (1996)

Korean American

• Korean American Evangelicals: New Models for Civic Life by Elaine Howard Ecklund
• God’s New Whiz Kids?: Korean American Evangelicals on Campus by Rebecca Kim
• Here I Am: Faith Stories of Korean American Clergywomen by Grace Ji-Sun Kim
• Korean Preaching : An Interpretation ~ Jung Young Lee (1997)
• The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of Han and the Christian Doctrine of Sin ~ Andrew Sung Park (1993)
  Reflects on the Korean concept of han, the relational consequence of sin, as it relates to reconciliation.
• Ancestor Worship and Christianity in Korea (Studies in Asian Thought and Religion) ~ Jung Young Lee (1988)
• Korean Shamanistic Rituals (Religion and Society) ~ Jung Young Lee (1981)
• Korean American Ministry ~ S Kee (1993)
• East to America : Korean American Life Stories ~ Elaine H. Kim, Eui-Young Yu (1997)
• Bridging the Gaps : Contextualization Among Korean Nazarene Churches in America (Asia Thought and Culture, Vol 18) ~ In-Gyeong Kim Lundell (1995)
• Bridge-Makers and Cross-Bearers : Korean-American Women and the Church (American Academy of Religion Academy Series (Paper), No 92) ~ Jung Ha Kim (1996)

Chinese American

• Chinese Christians in America : Conversion, Assimilation, and Adhesive Identities ~ Fenggang Yang
• Soul Searching: Chinese Intellectuals on Faith and Society ~ Samuel Ling, ed. (China Horizon, 1997)
• Pastoring Within a Chinese Church ~ Donald G. Wong
• Contemporary Chinese Culture ~ Richard Kraus (Nov 1997)
• Claiming Chinese Identity (Asian Americans) ~ Elionne L. W. Belden
• Gender, Culture, and Christianity : American Protestant Mission Schools in China, 1880-1930 (Asian Thought and Culture, Vol 25) ~ Gael Graham (1995)
• Claiming America : Constructing Chinese American Identities During the Exclusion Era (Asian American History and Culture) ~ Kevin Scott Wong, Sucheng Chan, editors (1998)
• Hakka Chinese Confront Protestant Christianity, 1850-1900 (Studies on Modern China) ~ Jessie Gregory Lutz, Rolland Ray Lutz (1997)
• True Son of Heaven: How Jesus Fulfills the Chinese Culture ~ David Marshall (Kuai Mu Press, Seattle WA, 1996)
• Winning Combination- ABC/OBC: Understanding the Cultural Tensions in Chinese Churches ~ Cec Yau
  Old paperback published by Chinese Christian Mission, June 1987; a collection of articles that attempt to bridge the cultural gap between the Chinese American generations
• Chinese Culture and the Bible ~ David Hock Tey (Here’s Life Books, 1988)
• The Dragon Pilgrims : A Historical Study of a Chinese-American Church ~ Karl Fung (1991)
• Chinese Women and Christianity 1860-1927 (American Academy of Religion Academy Series, No 75) ~ Pui-Lan Kwok (1992)
• Christianity and Chinese Religions ~ Hans Kung, Julia Ching (1989)
• Chinese Theology in Construction ~ Wing-Hung Lam (1983)
• Out of Silence : Emerging Themes in Asian American Churches ~ Fumitaka Matsuoka (1995)
• All Under Heaven : Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue (Suny Series in Chinese Philosophy and Culture) ~ John H. Berthrong (1994)
• People on the Way : Asian North Americans Discovering Christ, Culture, and Community ~ David Ng, Editor (Judson Press, 1996)
• Fire and Water : Basic Issues in Asian Buddhism and Christianity (Faith Meets Faith Series) ~ Aloysius Pieris
• The First Suburban Chinatown : The Remaking of Monterey Park, California (Asian American History and Culture) ~ Timothy P. Fong
• China and Christianity; The Missionary Movement and the Growth of Chinese Antiforeignism, 1860-1870 ~ Paul A. Cohen (1963)
• Confucius, the Buddha, and Christ : A History of the Gospel in Chinese (American Society of Missiology Series, No 11) ~ Ralph Covell (1986)

Multiethnic/ Multicultural

• Where the Nations Meet : Reaching the World Next Door ~ Stephen A. Rhodes (1998; IVP)
  sets forth a biblical, ministry-tested pastoral theology of multicultural ministry
• The Global God : Multicultural Evangelical Views of God ~ Aida Besancon Spencer & William David Spencer,editors (1998; Baker)
• What Color Is Your God? : Multi Cultural Education in the Church ~ James Breckenridge (1994)
  includes excellent chapters on Asian American culture and social dynamics; the traditional ethnic Asian church is a multi cultural setting, which implies cross cultural communication methods for ministry and teamwork
• One New People: Models for Developing a Multiethnic Church ~ Manuel Ortiz (1996)
• Strange Virtues : Ethics in a Multicultural World ~ Bernard T. Adeney (1995)
• The Color of Faith : Building Community in a Multiracial Society ~ Fumitaka Matsuoka (1998)
• Marginality: The Key to Multicultural Theology ~ Jung Yong Lee (1995)
  Reflects on the development of contextual theologies without becoming itself dominating
• Racial Equality in the Church : A Critique of the Homogeneous Unit Principle in Light of a Practical Theology Perspective ~ Bruce W. Fong (1996)
  makes a case for church life that balances between reality and theology, suggests possible models of mutual acceptance in the church, and wrestles with the question: “Are ethnic churches biblically justifiable?”
• A Theology As Big As The City ~ Ray Bakke (1997)
• The Universe Next Door : A Basic Worldview Catalog ~ James W. Sire (3rd ed, 1997)
• Neighboring Faiths ~ A Christian Introduction to World Religions ~ Winfried Corduan (1998; IVP)
  not just a formal survey of world religious teachings, but how each religion is practiced in daily life
• Cross-Cultural Conflict : Building Relationships for Effective Ministry ~ Duane Elmer (1994)
  good handbook for conflict resolution across a wide variety of cultures; concepts such as truth, integrity and accountability aren’t so transcendent
• Penetrating Missions’ Final Frontier: A New Strategy for Unreached Peoples ~ Tetsunao Yamamori (1993)*
• Believing in the Future : Toward a Missiology of Western Culture (Christian Mission and Modern Culture Series) ~ David J. Bosch (1995)
• Mission in Bold Humility : David Bosch’s Work Considered ~ David Jacobus Bosch (Editor), Klippies Kritzinger (Editor), Wille Saayman, Willem Saayman (1997)

* books authored by Asian American Christians, but may not address specific Asian American issues