how I’m quoted in the Los Angeles Times article

It was delightful to be interviewed by K. Connie Kang for the Los Angeles Times during the past week. Her work in the religion beat is most commendable for raising awareness of the social location within particular ethnic racial contexts. I talked with her by phone for 19 minutes last week, and then in person on Wednesday 9/26 at the occasional pastors luncheon known as “the Gathering.”

The article was published today, Saturday, September 29th, on page B2 of the California local news section (OC edition). The angle of this story was the challenges that 2nd generation pastors faced in doing ministry, aptly titled “Asian American pastors often minister across culture gap” and subtitled “Church leaders raised in the U.S. must navigate a difficult terrain of traditional hierarchies, generational differences and high expectations.”

Quotes that she used from me to close out the article:

In his survey of Asian American churches nationwide, Chuang found just 150 financially independent and autonomous English-speaking congregations out of about 7,000 predominantly Asian churches.

But he is hopeful about the future.

In the last decade, more than 100 English-speaking, Asian-led churches have started across the country, he said.

“The next generation of Asian Americans has the potential to take the best of both worlds — from the American culture that they are raised in and Asian heritage that they bring from their family,” he said. “If we can invest in them, we can do a lot of good for the world.”

You can listen to my presentation and view slides given Wednesday 9/26 and see related resources. Please add a comment below with your reactions, comments, and/or questions. Let’s keep the conversation going!!