Navigating the Wilderness of Faith and Vocation: My Journey as a Chinese-American Psychologist and Pastor

This article traces my journey into the field of psychology, which came after a few decades of wandering in the wilderness of career and vocational ambiguity, experimenting with roles as a social worker, clergy member, seminary student, software engineer, product manager, and consultant along the way. Seeds planted in my early faith and human development continue to anchor my professional work as a psychologist-in particular, in the area of the emotional well-being and resilience of religious leaders and in the pursuit of a global, ecumenical, and culturally decentered vision of spiritual formation and human flourishing. Speaking from my standpoint as a Chinese-American, I also share about my historical and ongoing struggles with my Evangelical identity, the deconstruction and decoupling of just world beliefs from my religious worldview, and how these processes helped shape my engagement in social justice and advocacy within the context of the manifold financial, social, political, and racial challenges that have gripped communities throughout the United States and the world in recent history.