Library resources include subscriptions to the major psychology and theology research databases, online journal packages, a physical collection of academic books, fiction, and poetry, and a rich film collection uniquely curated for the 天美视频 community. In addition, we provide access to an ever-increasing collection of more than 200,000 electronic books in a wide range of academic disciplines.

Digital versions of required and heavily utilized books are added to our collection when they are available for institutional purchase and are within budgetary allowances. Links to those books will be on the class pages in and in the library catalog.

We look forward to meeting you and gathering together in the building or via Zoom. Whether you are on campus for Seattle classes or for the residencies, you will find that the library shares space with the school鈥檚 front desk, the Commons (our student lounge), and the bookstore. We in the library endeavor to be a warm, welcoming (but not always quiet) place to connect with fellow students, find help with projects and research, eat lunch, have a cup of coffee, or even grab a nap (on quiet days).

Your library staff includes:

will be transitioning from the Director of Library Services into part time Consulting Librarian this summer. Cheryl has also served as the Director of Institutional Assessment. This involves coordinating our accreditation efforts and providing support to our academic and administrative departments as they seek to continually evaluate and improve our programs, classes, and services. Cheryl loves to travel and enjoys the antics of her granddaughters, husband Paul, and her yellow Labrador, Sam.

Sam Skillern is our rising Library Services Manager. Sam鈥檚 responsibilities include library circulation, retrieving materials from online databases, maintaining the collection, and converting materials into accessible formats. You may also occasionally see him greeting people at the front desk. Sam鈥檚 hobbies include playing Dungeons and Dragons and collecting LEGOs and Transformers. He鈥檚 also into Star Wars, Marvel, fantasy, and sci-fi and likes trying new restaurants with his wife Jessica, spending time with his brother Drew, and hanging out with friends.听听

part-time Library Specialist. Mary鈥檚 official responsibility is obtaining interlibrary loans from other university libraries for items we don鈥檛 have. Her primary passion is film, and she thoroughly enjoys discussions about the relative merits and faults of new and classic movies. Mary attends the Seattle International Film Festival, and the knowledge she gains from this experience is the primary reason we have such a robust film collection.

Warmly,

Cheryl, Sam & Mary

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鈥淒r. McNeil brings a rich background in leadership to who 天美视频 is and an important perspective on who 天美视频 is called to be. Derek leads with poise, discernment, vulnerability, and faithfulness. The Board has full confidence that Dr. McNeil will be a courageous, creative leader in building a bridge into the future,鈥� stated Mike Anderson, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Dr. McNeil has a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his tenure at 天美视频, Dr. McNeil served as faculty in the PsyD program at Wheaton College Graduate School for over 15 years.

Dr. McNeil has worked as a clinician in private practice, a diversity advisor, an organizational consultant, and an administrator. His research, writing, and speaking have focused on issues of ethnic and racial socialization, the role of forgiveness in peacemaking, the identity development of African-American males, and marital intimacy. He has written chapters in The Black Family: Past, Present, and Future (1991),Men to Men: Voices of African American Males (1996), Why Psychology Needs Theology (2005), This Side of Heaven: Race ethnicity and Christain faith (2007), Reluctant Integration (2010), and Roadmap to Reconciliation: Moving communities into unity, wholeness and justice. (2016). His teaching has also included coursework on Social, Cultural, and Spiritual Foundations of Mental Health; Family Systems Therapy; Group Theory; Therapy; and Leadership.

Since joining the leadership team at 天美视频 in 2009 as Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. McNeil has been integral to our pursuit of regional accreditation, the reimagining of our common curriculum, and securing over $1 million in grant funding.

Dr. Dan Allender, Founding President and Professor of Counseling Psychology, also shared his delight in Dr. McNeil鈥檚 appointment: 鈥淲hen I think about what Derek brings, it鈥檚 the perfect interplay of text.soul.culture. He is a brilliant psychologist. He has richly studied and loves the word of God. He has engaged with the realities of the intersection of faith, identity, race, and culture. In a deeply divided culture鈥攑olitically and relationally鈥擠erek embodies the goodness of having suffered deeply and hoped deeply. He has lived out so much of what is core to the School鈥檚 calling鈥攖o be a healing presence in a deeply divided world.鈥�

Details about formally installing Dr. McNeil as president are forthcoming. As a community, we are privileged to have Dr. McNeil step into a role he has been faithfully stewarding and we look forward to his continued direction and leadership in the years to come.

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As we entered into our 22nd year as a school Dr. Derek McNeil, Acting President posed the question: What does it look like to sing a new song together? What does it look like to sing songs of redemption in even the darkest or most fragmented places? A new academic year is a new beginning but we always begin with a pause, at Sacred Assembly, (Re)Orientation, and Convocation, to root in our mission of serving God and neighbor through transforming relationships.

We were honored to welcome a new cohort of 90 graduate students to our community last week. We welcome them with the knowledge that the needs around us are great and the culture is even more fragmented. President McNeil named the challenges of our times and what he often refers to as 鈥榳icked problems鈥� and called the students to learn beyond the traditional graduate school frame of learning and training and into a posture of service. It is a privilege to commit to another year of learning and service together. In a world so in need of restoration we are grateful for the opportunity to form and send pastors, counselors, social leaders, and artists to engage with wisdom, courage, and creativity.

As we share these photos to mark the beginning of a new academic year we look forward to singing a new song of redemption together for the sacred work that lies ahead.

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Dr. Winzenried has 15 years of academic and administrative experience in higher education, including as Director of the University of Washington鈥揝eattle鈥檚 and, most recently, Interim Dean for Student Learning at Cascadia College. She has also worked with 天美视频 for more than a decade, including as adjunct faculty and an instructional and accreditation consultant. Her vocational focus is on supporting ongoing faculty development around teaching excellence and equitable teaching practices.

鈥溙烀朗悠� is a place of creativity and praxis, with tremendous potential to reshape theological education in service of equity and justice,鈥� says Dr. Winzenried. 鈥淚 am looking forward to collaborating with faculty and supporting accreditation because 天美视频’s vision of education is hopeful and expansive and holistic.鈥�

Dr. Winzenried鈥檚 interdisciplinary experience has enabled her to develop integrative strategies for supporting faculty in a wide range of disciplines as they reflect on and improve their pedagogy, align their assignments with course outcomes, and integrate course outcomes with program learning goals. This expertise well equips her to support 天美视频鈥檚 faculty as we continue innovating, refining curriculum, and moving through the Candidacy status for accreditation with the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. 鈥淭he work of Dean is fundamentally people work,鈥� says Dr. Winzenried. 鈥淢y goal as a leader is to create the conditions under which people are able to bring their experiences, their expertise, and their best selves to our work together. On all my teams, I seek to create a culture of compassion, creativity, and clear expectations.鈥�

鈥淭his new role focuses on supporting faculty around curriculum development and movement toward contextual and hybrid learning,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost. 鈥淢isty Anne brings energy, creativity, and expertise around the technology of learning. I trust her capacity to collaborate with us toward innovation and look forward to working with her.鈥�

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Find out more about our Master of Divinity program.

Could you give us an overview of what you do?

My title is Director of Organizational Development for The Allender Center at 天美视频鈥攚hich, honestly, is really functioning like an Executive Pastor. I get to do leadership development for our staff at The Allender Center, creating consistent structures of communication, professional development, care, support. I鈥檓 also on faculty with The Allender Center, so I teach and work on the blog and podcast, as well as facilitating groups.

It鈥檚 interesting that all of those things鈥攆rom the relational to the technical to the administrative鈥攐ften fall under the role of pastor, too. Which raises another question: What does it mean to be a pastor?

I often joke that being a good pastor is just like being a good parent, but specifically in the realms of spiritual formation and identity development. When I think about a pastor, I think about someone who tells stories that help people locate themselves in a larger story. Both individually鈥斺�淲ho is God, and who are you?鈥� and collectively鈥斺�淲here have we come from, where are we now, where are we going?鈥� I think it鈥檚 about providing good care.

I often say that, vocationally and in my calling, I鈥檓 a pastor by orientation. I find that whether I鈥檓 working in a tea shop and serving people crepes and loose leaf tea, or working on an admissions team recruiting students to a graduate program.

I鈥檓 guessing the tea shop鈥檚 not hypothetical.

No, I worked at a loose leaf tea shop the year after I graduated from 天美视频.

Was there a period of finding it hard to identify as a pastor, since you weren鈥檛 in the traditional paid staff position at a church?

Two moments come to mind. First, I did not come to graduate school to become a pastor, even though I came to pursue an MDiv. I came from a tradition where women couldn鈥檛 be pastors, so I didn鈥檛 have much imagination for myself as a pastor. I came to 天美视频 because I thought I would be a professor. I knew I would do ministry, but I would maybe just do ministry through the academy. Then during my third year, Paul Steinke named me as a pastor. There was something about someone actually naming me pastor, inviting me to see that as part of my identity, that was really powerful.

And then, during our formational years at The Allender Center, there were some moments where we were in the midst of a lot of spiritual warfare and a lot of despair. I remember Dan was introducing me before the large group to teach, and he said, 鈥淩achael really is the pastor of The Allender Center.鈥� And as he said that, there was something that felt really true to me about that. It鈥檚 not a way I would necessarily have seen myself, but it was a way I was bringing myself in the midst of our team, calling us to remember who we are and who we鈥檙e called to be. So I felt like the unofficial pastor of The Allender Center, and then there鈥檚 the question of, what does it mean to be the pastor of a nonprofit? Is that sacrilegious?

It seems like there are layers: Something was going on inside you regarding your own identity and calling, but something else happens when others see that and name it. Why do you think that outward affirmation is so meaningful?

I think there鈥檚 something about anointing that is really important. We see that throughout the text, right? It鈥檚 something we鈥檙e meant for and made for: to have others bless aspects of our calling and identity and vocation. I think it鈥檚 why something like an ordination process holds so much meaning in the Church. There鈥檚 a way of anointing, honoring, and consecrating鈥攕etting apart a role. Though I think, at times in our culture, that setting apart means the role is elevated in a way that some people who have the esteem of pastor really abuse that power, and it creates this false dichotomy that people who are pastors or leaders in a ministry are actually doing ministry, not everyone else. That鈥檚 a really weak, thin theology, a really weak, thin missiology, a really weak, thin sense of what the Church actually is and how it functions.

This process of recognizing your pastoral gifting and embracing that and naming it true鈥攈ow has that journey clarified or refined how you understand calling?

I don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that. It鈥檚 that sense of knowing that, no matter what I鈥檓 doing, it鈥檚 okay to bring these parts of myself.

And there is some mythology that calling is static, when I actually think it鈥檚 something that develops and grows and shifts. I think it does stay pretty consistent in its rootedness, but the fruit it bears can change in different seasons. So we always need to be growing and learning and have a posture of curiosity and a willingness to surrender to formational processes.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see calling as being just connected to vocation. It鈥檚 far more expansive than that.鈥�

What would you say to somebody else who is recognizing aspects of their calling as a pastor, but also recognizing that it might come out in an unconventional context?

The more we know who we are, then we can make better decisions about where we want to give those parts of ourselves. Calling, again, is about more than vocation. Calling is about union, calling is about love鈥攊t鈥檚 always about love. So what are the really unique ways that you are equipped and gifted to love people and communities well? For some people, that will look like very traditional roles that have really clear boundaries, really clear definitions, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with that. For others, it might mean you meander a bit, because there are certain skills you need to develop that go along with that calling. Some people might look at it and go, 鈥淥h, this is a real deviation from your calling,鈥� and I would say, 鈥淣o, I actually think it was preparing me to be more fully equipped for my calling.鈥�

So I would tell people, especially those who will find themselves in more unconventional spaces, we need healers and pastors and artists and therapists working in lots of different contexts. And it may not always look like the textbook. That doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e not being faithful to live out your calling well.

Part of what we鈥檙e exploring is inspired by Barbara Brown Taylor鈥檚 language of your 鈥渁ltar in the world,鈥� and the idea that our work in the world is a form of worship. Do you want to say anything about that?

Oh, I really like that. I was just reading , and I love Paul鈥檚 language of living faithfully to what you鈥檝e been gifted鈥攁nd that鈥檚 going to look different for each person in different seasons, based on different giftings鈥攋ust be faithful to bring those gifts to the world in such a way that it is like a living sacrifice. I think we鈥檙e really scared of that word, sacrifice. And rightfully so鈥攖here鈥檚 been some theological and spiritual abuse that has used a word like sacrifice to maintain oppressive structures of power that are actually anti-Gospel. However, when we give of ourselves in a way that actually leads unto life, I think that鈥檚 that living sacrifice that Paul calls us to.

Learn more about our Master of Divinity program and how you can pursue your unique calling.

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We鈥檙e thrilled to be returning to the recently renovated Town Hall Seattle for this year鈥檚 ceremony鈥攁 fittingly beautiful space for such a meaningful event. Commencement is a foundational part of 天美视频鈥檚 annual rhythm, full of ritual, symbolism, beauty, and depth to help mark the transformational work to which these students have committed themselves鈥攁nd to welcome them into 天美视频鈥檚 thriving network of more than 1,100 alumni around the world who are pursuing innovative, life-changing work as therapists, pastors, leaders, and artists.

Each year, faculty and graduates select three student speakers鈥攐ne from each degree program鈥攁nd one student to offer a special vocal selection. This year鈥檚 student speakers will be Stephanie Johnson (MDiv), Cameron Carter (MATC), and Sarah Steinke (MACP), with a vocal selection from Jana Detrick (MACP). Dr. Angela Parker, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, will deliver the official Charge to Graduating Students.

The ceremony will also include time to honor Dr. Steve Call, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, and Dr. Angela Parker as they conclude their final academic year as core faculty at 天美视频. as Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek in the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, GA, and Dr. Call will be devoting more time to his family, private practice, and growing farm near Bellingham, WA.

鈥淐ommencement is a sacred space,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost. 鈥淚t is a moment to give thanks to the grace of God for the journey and to affirm a renewed call to life鈥檚 adventure and service.鈥�

This is sure to be a holy, memorable occasion鈥攆ull of the solemnity of any significant ending, the relief of completing an epic journey, and the hope-filled determination of knowing that our graduates鈥� stories of learning and transformation will not end in the classroom, but will draw them deeper and deeper into the movement of healing in the communities around them. As we near the end of our 21st year, we are more grateful than ever for the world-changing work of our alumni, and we hope you will join us as we welcome our 2019 graduates into that community. More details are on our event calendar, and we鈥檒l be streaming the whole ceremony live for those who can鈥檛 make it in person. All are welcome!

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Shauna: 鈥淚 want to hone in, in this next season, on dropping down into the topics that have this weightiness to them that have to do with this particular period of time in the world.鈥�

Derek: 鈥淢ore lately, I think of text.soul.culture as being a vehicle of service. So I鈥檓 sure I鈥檒l be asking a lot more questions about serving. […] This season will be around us trying to figure out how do we serve?鈥�

If you鈥檝e listened to past episodes, you鈥檒l notice some differences in Season Three, including changes in production and episode structure. At the end of this episode, Nicole talks with Beau Denton, Content Curator, about some of these updates. We hope these changes reflect continued growth and innovation, while remaining true to our original mission for the text.soul.culture podcast: Grounded in the hope of fostering faithful dialogue, we are guided by a commitment to understanding narrative, wrestling with intersections, resisting reactivity, and fostering radical hospitality.

Beau: 鈥淎s an institution, we prioritize human dialogue. And that鈥檚 so different than one person speaking a monologue or writing a blog on their own. This is about conversation. […] My role here will be kind of an emcee to help facilitate the good work that our hosts are doing.鈥�

Stay tuned in coming weeks as we feature compelling conversations with alumni, faculty, and other thought leaders about living as wise, engaged, and courageous people in times of division and fragmentation. In the meantime, we would love to hear your feedback! If you have questions, responses, or ideas for future conversations, you can email us at communications@theseattleschool.edu.

Resources to Go Deeper

• In Season One, Derek engaged in conversations with Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Jimmy McGee, Dr. Caprice Hollins, and 天美视频 faculty including Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Dr. Chelle Stearns, Dr. Angela Parker, and Dr. Stephanie Neill. You can catch up on all the episodes from Season One here.
• In Season Two, we introduced occasional 鈥渕inisodes,鈥� short conversations around the building about Lent, 天美视频鈥檚 Artist Residency, and what it means to be heard. We also welcomed Shauna Gauthier as a host and shared 鈥淔rom the Field鈥� episodes with Smruti Desai and Jeremy Dew, and we featured conversations with Nikkita Oliver, Dr. Curt Thompson, Dr. Dwight Friesen, and more. Listen to Season Two here.

text.soul.culture Hosts

Dr. Derek McNeil is the Acting President and Provost at 天美视频. He has a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, and his research, writing, and speaking have focused on issues of ethnic and racial socialization, the role of forgiveness in peacemaking, the identity development of African-American males, and marital intimacy. Learn more about Derek here.

Shauna Gauthier received her MA in Counseling Psychology from 天美视频 in 2010. She previously worked in the Denver Metro area as a therapist and a nonprofit program manager; she also helped launch 天美视频鈥檚 Colorado Alumni Chapter. After returning to Seattle, Shauna now serves as the Alumni Outreach Coordinator. She also enjoys writing and speaking about motherhood, feminism, and faith. Learn more about Shauna here.

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To that end, later this month five students will travel to Kenya for the fourth annual Engaging Global Partnerships class with Dr. Ron Ruthruff, Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, and Cheryl Goodwin, Director of Institutional Assessment & Library Services. The vision for this class grew out of Ron鈥檚 involvement with the Center for Transforming Mission and , an international network of leaders who facilitate grassroots education and training in the particular context of local communities. In his work around the world, Ron always dreamed about being able to invite students in the United States to come meet the 鈥渆ntrepreneurial theologians鈥� he was meeting and partnering with. Now, as a faculty member at 天美视频 and a Senior Fellow with Street Psalms, Ron鈥檚 continued relationships with pastors, theologians, activists, and social entrepreneurs around the world have helped him develop courses that are far more global and far more of a lived experience than what is typically offered in higher education, which often trends toward self-contained intellectualism rather than practical, engaged learning.

In the Engaging Global Partnerships class, students are invited to let their assumptions, beliefs, and practices be challenged and clarified by the stories of a place and the people who serve it. Beginning in 2016, Ron has traveled with students to learn from his friends in Guatemala. This is the first year that the class will be traveling to Kenya. In the months leading up to the class, the students have been wrestling with readings and discussions to help deepen and contextualize their time together. 鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a deep look at the history of colonialism and religion, and the relationship between a place and the people who inhabit it鈥攅specially in places of wounding,鈥� says Dr. Ruthruff. 鈥淗ow can we enter those wounds in a way that is honoring to others鈥� stories and also helps us reimagine our shared future?鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e taking a deep look at the history of colonialism and religion, and the relationship between a place and the people who inhabit it鈥攅specially in places of wounding.鈥�

By asking these questions and witnessing the 鈥渉eart, hurt, and hope鈥� of a particular place, students are challenged to reconsider categories including partnership, service, culture, incarnation, and mission鈥攁n essential part of discerning what their own calling might look like in their local context. As he guides students in that process, Ron is inspired by David Bosch鈥檚 work in and Martin K盲hler鈥檚 assertion that 鈥渕ission is the mother of theology.鈥� It鈥檚 not the other way around, says Ron: 鈥淭heology emerges as we listen to others.鈥�

Of course, if you hear about a group of American students traveling internationally and talking about mission, you might already have certain assumptions or images in mind. That鈥檚 why Ron is quick to clarify that, 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a mission trip, it鈥檚 a vision trip. There won鈥檛 be any air-conditioned buses, and we won鈥檛 be digging a hole in a community that some youth group has to come fill in three months later. This isn鈥檛 about us bringing our program overseas or placing our visions on others. I hope it鈥檚 about learning to listen well, engage with our shared history, and dream together about a vision for something new.鈥�

Photo by Jesse Smith of .

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As we鈥檙e wrestling with the categories of connection and relationship this month, we think it鈥檚 essential to celebrate and explore the nature of friendship. That鈥檚 a big word, one that could refer to someone you鈥檝e only met online, or someone who鈥檚 walked with you through the most significant peaks and valleys of your life, or somewhere in between. Despite its potential vagueness, there is something essential in this category that helps us learn how to navigate both the beauty and the heartache of our world as people of relationship.

So we walked around our building yesterday, asking folks in our community about the nature of friendship and the art of cultivating life-giving connections with friends. Our thanks to the students, staff, and faculty who participated in this video:

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Crazy Rich Asians has become the most popular romantic comedy . Not since Pretty Woman () has a rom com topped the American box office for three weekends in a row. This remarkable reception is an overdue affirmation that moviegoers (and finally, maybe even Hollywood) see Asian actors and stories as significant and worthy of investment. In an era when questions of identity dominate academia and social media, Crazy Rich Asians overcame . Imagine the pressure on the cast and crew when film studios have only offered such an opportunity once a generation. Director John M. Chu and his talented cast rose to the occasion, delivering laughter, romance, and a refreshing range of representations.

Crazy Rich Asians is dedicated to upending鈥攐r at least expanding鈥攐ur understanding of how Asians live and work, play and pray. Viewers are whisked from the academic confines of NYU to the glittering streets of Singapore. What a perfect backdrop for rising Asian stars to shine, from Constance Wu (from the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat), to Malaysian TV host Henry Golding and his fabulous abs of steel. As Rachel and Nick, they are gorgeous, intelligent, charming, and complex. We all want to see characters who resemble us enter into vexing dilemmas and make wise choices. Aspirational images are important for kids of all ages to see on their array of screens. The love lavished upon Crazy Rich Asians corresponds to the pent-up longing to see roles move beyond tired stereotypes. For those burdened as a 鈥榤odel minority,鈥� what relief to discover that Asian families can be petty, conniving, and maddening, too!

Crazy Rich Asians does a great job of placing the familial ties in Singapore into conflict with the individualism that the American economic and educational system promotes, offering us the rare opportunity to eavesdrop on issues of shame, honor, and individualism within a single extended family (who happen to be billionaires!). Can Chinese values in the east be married to the personal expression endemic to the west? The power plays between Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick鈥檚 mother, Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh), are a consistent delight. They demonstrate the layers of class and cultural conflicts within the Chinese diaspora. Singaporeans who aren鈥檛 Chinese have valid reasons for wondering when their stories will be told with equal affection. And what about the many cultures contained within the broader Asian context? We need far more than one Hollywood film to reflect the diversity and wonder found across 40% of our global population.

The scene that aroused my curiosity arrived early: when we drop in on a Bible study within the palatial home of the Tai family. (Kevin Kwan鈥檚 Crazy Rich trilogy began with a poem he wrote in college entitled ) Fierce matriarch Eleanor Young and her fellow aunties are reading Paul鈥檚 Letter to the Colossians while updating each other on rumors regarding Nick鈥檚 date for an upcoming family wedding. Some viewers may be surprised to see Christianity associated with wealth, power, and status in Singapore. And yet, Eleanor reads, 鈥淪o if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above鈥et your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.鈥� The discrepancy between their opulent lifestyles and these heavenly virtues is quite apparent. Asian Christians deal with many of the same tensions and temptations that American churches struggle to address鈥攈ow to follow the sacrificial way of Jesus amidst such affluence.

But in this scene, we also are being invited into a discussion of family honor. What if a New Yorker like Rachel Chu shames a clan that has fled oppression and worked diligently across the generations to forge a bright future for the Young, T鈥檚ien, and Shang clan? Eleanor wonders how American of an Asian Rachel might be. The plot explores the tension between loyalty to the family and personal pursuit of the vagaries of love.

鈥淭he plot explores the tension between loyalty to the family and personal pursuit of the vagaries of love.鈥�

Crazy Rich Asians may be the most successful romantic comedy since Pretty Woman because it expands the Cinderella formula from fantasy into genuine cultural tensions. Yes, Rachel may not be as regal in her upbringing as Nick. And perhaps her single mother couldn鈥檛 afford to dress her in the most stylish gown. We wouldn鈥檛 necessarily consider Awkwafina a fairy godmother (although her hot pink Audi R8 makes a pretty effective chariot). The extreme makeover that Oliver T鈥檚ien (the charming Nico Santos) oversees is definitely magical. But the dramatic bind that Rachel finds herself within is rooted in genuine social, economic, and cultural chasms.

Crazy Rich Asians pivots upon Eleanor鈥檚 ability to reconcile her expectations for a future daughter-in-law with Rachel鈥檚 love for Nick. While Rachel is used to passing tests and performing at lofty levels, nothing seems to satisfy Eleanor鈥檚 demands. The conflict builds to a showdown at a mahjong parlor. Their dramatic turns when Rachel discards the tile (and power) she holds in her hands, allowing Eleanor to claim a pyrrhic victory. Rachel lays down her expertise in game theory. Winning this match would mean losing Nick. Such sacrificial love cuts through Eleanor鈥檚 defenses and calls her toward those 鈥渢hings that are above鈥� that dogged her throughout the story.

Smart movies manage to imbue remarkable power into a single prop or gesture. I got misty-eyed when Eleanor ultimately makes her own engagement ring available to Nick to place on Rachel鈥檚 finger. That ring conveys the full blessing and acceptance of the Young, T鈥檚ien, and Shang clan. The tensions of marrying for love and honoring the family have been resolved. The beauty of Crazy Rich Asians is not just in the clothes, cars, and cast, but in the reconciliation that occurs between east and west, individuals and families, beliefs and practices.

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