Romans 12:4-5

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

PastoraLab Origins

As an unmarried, Asian-American female assistant professor in science working in Christian higher education, I experienced isolation, neglect, exclusion, and exhaustion.  These came not solely from my circumstances, but from some of the unwise choices that I had been making. 

One year into taking on a chair position in my department, I was weak, tired, and in need of direction.  I longed for a community that could empathize with me on this journey because I lacked companionship, having gone at it alone for many years, pulling myself up by my own bootstraps.  After scouring cyberspace, I stumbled upon ISAAC and PastoraLab, and sent Young an email shortly thereafter, explaining: 

“I am . . . looking for like-minded women to fellowship with and mutually encourage.  I . . . was wondering if the PastoraLab program would be . . . available to someone like me.” 

Young’s response was almost immediate, affirmative, encouraging, and inviting.  She responded: “There will be additional cohort open for application.”  

This is the very short story of how I became part of the PastoraLab OC 23-24 Cohort, gained the wider PastoraLab / ISAAC community, and began an unexpected growth journey that continues to this day.

Belonging to Community

My affinity for PastoraLab started from the beginning, from the first Zoom interview with Jane and Jeya, to the first Zoom meeting with the other PastoraLab women in my cohort.  The sisters in PastoraLab were a joy and  delight: radiantly beautiful, fabulously talented, and incredibly wise.  They loved fiercely, protected valiantly, shared vulnerably, sympathized profusely, questioned curiously, listened patiently, and encouraged frequently, all to the edification of those around them. 

Our sessions often began with a delicious collection of food - for there could be no proper fellowship gathering without the breaking of bread! - and a time of conversation with one another.  While PastoraLab was initially conceived to support women in pastoral leadership, it has since broadened to encompass women in other ministries, for which I am grateful.  I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with my dynamic sisters from other contexts, and there was a diverse mixture among us!  We worked in healthcare, education, non-profit organizations, and of course, church ministry, just to name a few. 

Our silos were removed to allow for free exchange, resulting in cross-pollination of ideas and catalyzation of movement.  The experience embodied for me the essence of the familiar verse: Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

What struck me about my time at PastoraLab was, no matter our ministry context, the similarities in our experiences were there: our shared values, challenges, hopes, even ways of responding to life events.  I had spent many years away from Southern California, having lived the classic nomadic life of the academician on a journey that took me to different cities, states, and countries for long periods of time.  Yet, the time in PastoraLab was one of the few in my adult life when I was a part of a community that tacitly understood me.  I had taken it for granted that a group like PastoraLab did not exist - “a space of mutual learning and empowerment for Asian American women ministers” - but was so glad to be a part of this specific group of movers and shakers.  

One of the most precious aspects of PastoraLab is encapsulated by the word belonging.  For me, PastoraLab has been about belonging from the beginning.  As Christians, we are “sojourners and exiles,” but we are also “individually members one of another.” When we placed our faith, hope, and trust in Jesus, we were adopted into God’s family, became a part of the Body of Christ, and were brought together in community to love one another as Jesus has loved us and to use the gifts that we have to serve on another. 

PastoraLab has been a part of the body of Christ where I have been able to see this in action, and the building up of my sisters has been invaluable.  But, the process has extended far beyond PastoraLab.  PastoraLab has helped me to cultivate belonging in all of the other spaces that I inhabit: work, church, and even home.  When doubt or external forces seek to push us away, the reminder comes: be at peace, for I have a seat at the table.  My voice is important.  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  And I am more loved than I could ever imagine.      

Belonging to Give 

My appreciation for PastoraLab has grown over the years, especially after graduation.  In looking back, the fondness only intensifies.  The topics that we discussed broached many pertinent and practical aspects of what it means to inhabit the leadership space in our ministries.  Asian American women are often invited to step into roles of leadership.  This is a great reflection on the giftedness and talent of the woman, as well as her hard work, dedication, integrity and desire to serve her organization.  However, what has been lacking historically has been the leadership training required to help her thrive in her position so that she can flourish, much as the Psalm 1 tree.  I am thankful for PastoraLab for filling in this gap!  It has helped me to see areas of myopia, the planks in my own eye, and released me from past ways of doing into the freedom of new ways of being.  

Furthermore, it has provided me with much-needed leadership training in a loving community to equip me for future work.  From this place of belonging, I am now more ready to give, the kind of giving that can be done sustainably and cheerfully.  I am truly looking forward to seeing what God is going to do through PastoraLab in the lives of my sisters.  May God continue to use it as a means to complete that good work that began in each one of us.  

Written with gratitude by Jessica Lu, PastoraLab Graduate 2024