Finding Our Voice: A Vision for Asian North American Preaching is published by Lexham Press and authored by Matthew Kim and Daniel Wong.
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Finding Our Voice: A Vision for Asian North American Preaching
This book was a blessing to me. As I’ve had the honor of preaching the Word of God in multiple churches and contexts, I’ve never preached in an Asian North American (ANA) context. This book is written for those who are preaching and teaching in an ANA context, but non-ANA’s are certainly going to learn much from this book that can be applied in a variety of contexts.
As a White American Christian, I personally found chapter one (The Asian North American Experience) to be worth the price of the entire book. It was a huge learning experience to listen to Wong express what it is like to live in North America (for him, Canada) as an Asian. His discussion on identity was excellent! I appreciated his emphasis on identity in Christ, and this superseding race, ethnicity, and other factors (though being in Christ doesn’t obliterate our race, ethnicity, and other cultural factors).
I also enjoyed chapter two (Asian North American Hermeneutics) and chapter three (Asian North American Theologies) written by Kim. These chapters helped me to see that many ANA’s are being taught hermeneutics and theology from a Western/White perspective. In regards to hermeneutics, Kim is adamant that he believes the “original biblical author intended a particular and specific meaning”, but it is also true that “ANA’s will not always interpret the Bible in the exact same way or the same emphases as White North Americans because the cultural lenses we wear are not the same shade and sometimes not even the same color.”
The chapters on preaching were also very well done. I found it very helpful that Kim and Wong worked through specific passages to show very practically how to contextualize Christian preaching. For this reason, I also highly recommend that the reader check out the appedencies, with the second appendix being sample sermon.
This book will be incredibly helpful to both ANA and non-ANA Christians, especially those who are preaching and teaching the Word of God. I trust that this book will be a blessing to the church!
Tolle lege, take up and read.
Disclaimer: My thanks to Lexham Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Other Book Reviews by Lexham Press:
- The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart
- In Season and Out: Sermons for the Christian Year
- Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans
- Ever in Thy Sight: 31 Devotions on the Psalms
- Journeys of the Apostle Paul
- Introduction to the New Testament
- Who God Is: Meditations on the Character of Our God
- The Lexham English Septuagint
- Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness
Reviews of Commentaries by Lexham Press:
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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