EMQ » January–March 2018 » Vol. 54 Issue 1
Book Review
Eastern Voices: Volume 1: Insight, Perspective, and Vision from Kingdom Leaders in Asia in Their Own Words
Compiled by Asian Access
Asian Access, 2017, 275 pages, $14.99
Reviewed by R. Bruce Carlton, Professor of Cross-Cultural Ministry, Hobbs College of Theology and Ministry, Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, OK.
Can you hear the voices? This question being asked of the global Christian community regarding those who are church leaders from Asia is similar to a popular US-based cellular phone company that was once noted for its “Can you hear me now?” advertising campaign. Both questions presuppose that the ones seeking to speak face difficulty in being heard and understood.
Eastern Voices: Volume 1is the first volume in what is to be a series of compilations from Asian church leaders speaking to the global church, leaders who struggled to be heard in a church dominated by Western voices and the English language. The vision of Eastern Voices Volume 1 is to provide a platform for these Asian leaders to share their insights, experiences, challenges, and unique perspectives that have been around for a long time, but for too long have not been heard. In the “Introduction” by Noel Becchetti of Asian Access, he asserts, “It’s time to hear the voices (3).”
In Eastern Voices Volume One, fifteen different leaders write on a variety of topics from a uniquely Asian perspective. The opening article “Losing My Face to Save My Soul” by Wesley Kyaw Thura in which he outlines his journey from ministry-as-a-career toward ministry-as-a-calling through the lens of ‘face’ sets the stage for the following fourteen articles on such topics as business as ministry, urban church planting in a country where Christians are a minority and constantly facing opposition, women in pastoral leadership, rethinking worship, counter-cultural leadership, challenging racial and ethnic discrimination, ministry to migrants, and how to respond to those who are one’s oppressors.
The issues addressed are not unique in and of themselves. What makes these issues unique is the Asian perspective of the contributors. It is refreshing to read different perspectives on a number of similar issues faced by church leaders around the globe. Further, each of these contributors, lives, works, serves, and leads in contexts and environments where Christians are a minority, surrounded by Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist majorities.
With the reality that the growth of the body of Christ in the Global South and East is far surpassing the growth of the church in the West, it is imperative that the global church is afforded the opportunity to clearly hear the voices of our Asian brothers and sisters. When one finishes reading this compilation, this reviewer is convinced that the reader will be able to answer the question, “Can you hear us now?” with a resounding, “Loud and clear!!”
For further reading:
Kim, Sebastian C.H. 2008. Christian Theology in Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Pak, Su Yon and Jung Ha Kim. 2017. Leading Wisdom: Asian and Asian-North American Women Leaders. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press
