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W<\/span>e live in a world where race relations receive near-constant attention. Conversations about race permeate our politics, schools, universities, sporting events, concerts, health services\u2014and our churches as well. And yet in public discourse, complex and wide-reaching issues of race are often reduced to the simple binary of Black versus white.<\/p>\n But where does this leave other ethnicities that don\u2019t fit into this reigning dichotomy? Asians, to take one example, make up around 7 percent of the American population and around 10 percent of the British population. Yet the public discourse about race often overlooks them.<\/p>\n As a British Singaporean, I am therefore grateful for Michelle Lee-Barnewall\u2019s new book A Longing to Belong: Reflections on Faith, <\/em>Identity, and Race<\/em>. A New Testament professor at Biola University, Lee-Barnewall weaves her personal story as a South Korean growing up and living in the United States with a practical exploration of the Bible\u2019s themes of identity, community, and diversity.<\/p>\n Part 1, \u201cCreated to Belong,\u201d begins with Lee-Barnewall\u2019s childhood, emphasizing her struggles to fit in at school as a South Korean growing up in Minnesota. I\u2019m sure many children can relate to her experience of desiring to been seen as \u201cnormal,\u201d fearing classroom mockery, and enduring the pain of rejection by peers.<\/p>\n Lee-Barnewall then dovetails her autobiographical anecdotes with the Bible\u2019s teaching that we are created as intrinsically relational beings who are wired to yearn for community. Furthermore, as she points out, Christians are called to something greater than personal repentance and discipleship; we are called to be interdependent and united as the very body of Christ. Lee-Barnewall notes that in Paul\u2019s teaching about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, there are very few imperatives. The body of Christ, in this sense, is not something we actively do or make but is the reality of who we are<\/em> in Christ.<\/p>\n Part 2, \u201cBelonging Together,\u201d is the longest section of the book, and it focuses on what it should look like to live as a community of believers. Lee-Barnewall begins by reflecting on how her identity was shaped by her family\u2019s ethnicity and history as Korean immigrants to the United States. She goes on to show that our identity in Christ is necessarily and indispensably corporate. As she puts it, being the body of Christ \u201cis more than a nice image to encourage us to cooperate and get along . \u2026 Paul is talking about something real and true, something that has already happened. This is who we are<\/em>, and who we are<\/em> has real substance.\u201d<\/p>\n Lee-Barnewall spells out several implications of this statement. Being Christ\u2019s body means existing as a community that cares for, and is affected by, the well-being of members, just as a human body is affected when one part is injured. It means that the church should be characterized by bonds of love and loyalty akin to those within a biological family\u2014bonds that compel radical personal sacrifices for the sake of others. And it means that the church should be a place of repentance when our hearts harbor prejudice or suspicion toward people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.<\/p>\n Part 3, \u201cBelonging to God,\u201d closes the book by turning our eyes to heaven, where people \u201cfrom every nation, tribe, people and language\u201d are gathered in worship before the throne of the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). Lee-Barnewall notes that heaven\u2019s ethnic diversity is held together not through human effort or innovation but by communal worship. There is a place, she acknowledges, for seeking to build intentionally multicultural churches, but \u201cbeing before the throne may be the position\u2014the only position\u2014that allows us to overcome all the pettiness and meanness that causes our division and pain.\u201d<\/p>\n There are several reasons to commend Lee-Barnewall\u2019s book, including her rich theological insights into the Bible\u2019s themes of community and identity. Her call to radically display the unity and love of Christ in our churches, especially across ethnic boundaries, is a challenge to us all.<\/p>\n Furthermore, I am especially grateful to see Lee-Barnewall touch upon racial matters that often go neglected, even as they affect millions of Asians living in Western countries. For example, she recalls occasions when strangers assumed she was from a different East Asian country and the bizarre conversations that sometimes followed. She also discusses the fact that first- and second-generation immigrants to Western countries often lack close networks of extended family, which can breed feelings of isolation when friends speak about family gatherings and relationships. Lee-Barnewall even raises the issue of visas being tied to secure employment, and the persistent fear of deportation that hangs over immigrants with any sort of job insecurity.<\/p>\n Yet if I have one criticism, it would be the book\u2019s tendency to shy away from some of the wider political discussions around race. A thoughtful and nuanced contribution from an Asian American theologian could have been helpful, particularly when Asians are often overlooked in modern political discourse.<\/p>\n Take, for instance, the recent US Supreme Court decision that ruled against Harvard University\u2019s race-conscious admissions policy. Reaction to the decision appeared to be largely (if not exclusively) focused on the implications for Black and white students. But this overshadows the fact that the lawsuit was filed by a group of Asian American students, who maintained that Harvard\u2019s policies were resulting in artificially low Asian admission rates. Lee-Barnewall\u2019s purpose in writing, of course, isn\u2019t to weigh in on every secular political debate that intersects with race. But her book might have been enriched, at various points, by greater attention to our wider political landscape.<\/p>\n This criticism notwithstanding, A Longing to Belong<\/em> is profoundly biblical, helpfully practical, and movingly personal. Readers of all races will discover a great source of nourishment, encouragement, and welcome provocation.<\/p>\n Ben Chang is a writer and speaker. He is the author of Christ and the Culture Wars: Speaking for Jesus in a World of Identity Politics<\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n