Jenn Suen Chen
10 min read ⭑
“This is the heart of my work: bringing people around safe tables to share stories, to bear witness to one another’s journeys, to discover the resurrection power of Jesus’ healing — together.”
“I want more from life — how do I get that? How do I stop feeling stuck in my relationship with God? How do I know God personally and experience his love every day?” These are the questions Jenn Suen Chen loves to hear people ask. As a spiritual director, she helps people grow closer to God through coaching and story work. After more than two decades serving in Asia, she’s now the co-director of Summit Clear, a mentoring organization for leaders in cross-cultural ministry, and the director of spiritual formation for Khora Collective, which equips Asian American Christian leaders. Her latest book, Dim Sum and Faith, gently welcomes readers to explore their own stories with God and experience deeper transformation.
Today, Jenn is opening up about the foods that remind her of home and hospitality, the soul-changing lessons she’s learning about saying “no,” and the Enneagram books and Scripture apps that are enriching her relationship with God.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
I love this question because the table has always been the centerpiece of our home.
Not because it’s fancy — but because of the people gathered around it and the food that’s shared.
I grew up eating freshly steamed fish topped with julienned ginger, panfried dumplings filled with pork and napa cabbage and moo shu pork — a kind of Chinese tortilla with bamboo shoots, cabbage and thinly sliced pork marinated in soy sauce and sesame oil, all drizzled with hoisin.
There was always more than enough food because we never knew who might drop by.
Our door stayed open, especially to Asian international students from the nearby university.
Most nights, the doorbell rang just as dinner was hitting the table. And I loved being the one to race to the basement, grab folding chairs and make room at the round table with the swiveling center we gathered around every night.
As an adult, my husband and I carried on the tradition of an open table — for our family of six, and for the many others we welcomed while living and serving in Asia for over two decades. A candle transforms the table into a more intimate space. Folding chairs and benches make room for more. The table is always here.
The food, the people, the conversations — they’ve changed with time. But the heart of it remains:
a place of belonging and connection
a resting place for the weary
a sacred space where stories are shared and healing mysteriously happens
Artur Opala; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
It’s dusk, and I’m sitting with my legs curled on the dock on the little lake where we live. I can feel my body begin to slow down. I’m encompassed in a sense of peace and reflection, like I’m wrapped in solitude while the world softens around me. It’s where I go when I need to be alone, where I go when I need to feel God’s presence, where I go when I feel lost.
Even when I travel, I sometimes picture it in my mind’s eye. It's a beautiful image — quiet, still, intimate — and I can reground myself. Colors melt into each other, casting long sighs on the water, and the lake is like a mirror of stillness that holds the sky like a secret. My soul can rest.
It’s a different view every night, and maybe that’s what is comforting. Same dock, same lake, same sun, but different clouds, different colors. The same God, though. In this chaotic and noisy world, it’s important for my extroverted, always-on-the-go self to find a space for solitude so that my soul can catch up to my body.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human, too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite, and how do you confront its power?
I always say yes.
Not because it was demanded — but because of the unspoken, the implicit expectations that often weigh the heaviest. I picked it up early on: Oldest daughter. Immigrant family. Pastor’s kid. That trio alone groomed me to be not needy, always available, fun and ready, the on-call activities director, the 911 best friend.
I watched my parents give everything they had to neighbors, church members and hurting relatives. And while there was deep beauty in their sacrificial love, I never quite learned how or when to say no. I don’t remember seeing them say no very often.
But this morning, I did.
We’re supposed to take 17 young adults camping this weekend. Costco runs — check. Carpool plans — check. Gear — packed. My husband is literally packing the car as I write this. And I told him: “I don’t think I can go.”
Not because I don’t love them. Not because I’m flaking. But because I’m listening. To my body. To my heart. To my thoughts.
And at this point in my life, I’m learning to say no — with grace and with confidence. Trusting that the relationships I’ve built have enough elasticity to hold my no. Trusting that I am still loved, even when I choose rest over responsibility.
And that maybe, especially then, I’m loved.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
I love people. They are my passion.
I love watching people, not just from a distance but closely as they grow, wrestle and transform. I love listening to their stories, especially those discovering the grace and love of God later in life. I love holding space — quiet, sacred space — where there’s no rush to fix, no need for polished answers.
Just presence. Just listening. Just being.
Something holy happens when we sit together in silence — when we allow emotions to surface in their own way, when we trust the Spirit of God to speak in the in-between.
Wouldn’t it be incredible if we all experienced more whole, healed relationships with one another? This is the heart of my work: bringing people around safe tables to share stories, to bear witness to one another’s journeys, to discover the resurrection power of Jesus’ healing — together.
We are shaped by our communities and by his Spirit. We need one another to become who God made us to be.
That’s what “Dim Sum and Faith” is all about: that our stories shape our souls. That paying attention to them is sacred. And that we were never meant to do this work alone.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
A prayer I often ask God is: “Lord, what do you think? What do you want me to know about this situation?” In my years of walking with the Lord, I’ve come to recognize that I cannot do this work without his leading and his voice.
Most recently, in prayer and asking the Lord that question, I sensed him respond with: “Write a book, Jenn, and offer it to my people.”
I had been blogging for a small circle of friends for years — sharing short weekly reflections on life, parenting, ministry and our years living overseas. But writing a book? I didn’t know where to start.
This book has been born out of quietly sitting with the Lord. What I did know was that walking this out with the Lord begins sometimes in stillness. That solitude — being with ourselves and with God — is a necessary space for formation. Community helps shape us, but so does silence.
What could it look like to set aside just an hour or two each week — to quiet the noise, to slow our thoughts and bodies long enough to actually listen?
We’re so used to rushing toward answers. But maybe it’s enough, sometimes, to simply sit with our questions in the presence of God and let him reveal what’s already stirring within.
That’s how the writing began for me. Not with a grand plan — but on my knees. In the quiet, the words found their way. And this book, which I would call the fruit of that waiting, was born from that place.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
To meet God in the living moments, we must learn to be present. I began learning this kind of presence in my early years of life in Asia.
I had a small flip phone back then — nothing fancy, but it was how I kept in touch with so many people throughout the day. I’d type out message after message, always reaching, always responding.
At the time, I was volunteering at a local orphanage for children with special needs, while also fostering special needs babies in our home. Add that to caring for my own family, and I was giving my heart, my time, my body, everything I had.
My oldest was 10 at the time. Every Thursday afternoon, I would hand him my little phone and retreat to a tiny loft space in our apartment — no bigger than a closet. It had a pullout couch and a sliver of floor space. That was enough.
For those two hours, I practiced solitude. At first, all I could manage was a nap. Once the motion stopped, my body collapsed.
Solitude didn’t come easily to me — I love motion. I thrive on connection and activity. But slowly, over time, that small, faithful practice began to shift something in me. My capacity for stillness grew. And from that stillness, a more spacious, restful heart began to emerge.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
I’m always learning, always curious. You’ll find stacks of books scattered all around my life: by my bedside, in my office and next to the sofa, where I spend my mornings with God.
One stack is full of books on relationships, marriage and parenting. Another is a growing collection of works on faith by nonwhite authors — voices that expand my understanding and help me see God more fully.
The pile on my desk? All things Enneagram and self-awareness. Some companions I return to again and again:
“The Gift of Being Yourself” by David Benner — a guide I’ve reread countless times.
Adam Young’s podcast, “The Place We Find Ourselves,” is full of insight into trauma, story and soul.
Anything by Brené Brown. But “The Gifts of Imperfection” was the one that cracked something open in me.
Henri Nouwen’s old recording on “Being the Beloved” is a grainy audio but also a timeless truth I return to often.
And Scripture, read in different translations and paraphrases to help familiar passages break open in new, soul-stirring ways.
I read not just for information but for transformation — for the sake of love, healing and wholeness.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
Creatively finding ways to slow down and grow a reflective heart has required some out-of-the-box thinking.
One of the practices that has helped me is using the Lectio 365 app. I don’t use it every day, but it’s become a regular companion, especially when I travel for work, which is often.
There’s something grounding about hearing a familiar voice walk me through the ancient rhythm of the Examen — a daily reflection that invites me to pause and notice: Where did I sense God’s presence today? Where did I feel like he was absent? What am I grateful for? What am I carrying?
These gentle questions help me sift through the noise of the day, anchored in Scripture and silence.
It’s probably the only faith-based app I use consistently, other than the YouVersion Bible app, which I use all the time, especially while traveling. I love being able to read Scripture in different translations wherever I go.
And I recently downloaded the Streetlights app, which reads the Bible aloud over a hip-hop soundtrack — and I love it! It’s engaging and soulful and brings a new texture to familiar passages.
Sometimes, spiritual formation looks like journaling or long walks.
Sometimes, it looks like an app in your earbuds while you wait for a flight or settle into a hotel room.
What matters is the intention — making space to notice God, wherever we are.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I have just helped cofound a new organization called Khora Collective, for Asian American Christian leaders in the marketplace and in ministry sectors.
Our three core values are:
1. Manifest tov (Hebrew for “good”): We seek to be leaders who create spaces of goodness culture and actively resist toxicity and abuses of power.
2. Uphold dignity: We uphold the unique dignity of Asian American Christian leaders (including women) in every space.
3. Steward generosity: We generously give our gifts and talents for kingdom impact across generations for existing and emerging leaders.
This is such an exciting time to be an Asian American leader. For so long, there have been so few resources that speak directly to our lived experiences — our stories, our complexities, our leadership journeys. As the director of spiritual formation for Khora Collective, I’m helping build a leadership development process that integrates spiritual formation at every stage — because who we are becoming matters just as much as what we do.
I’m doing this for my adult kids. For this generation of young adults finding their voice. And for my brand-new granddaughter — and the generations yet to come — that they might grow up with spaces where their full identity as Asian American Christians is not only welcomed but nourished.
Starting a new organization can feel scary — the unknown is real. But I love our founding team. We’ve jumped in together. Sink or swim, we’re all in.
For many of us, especially in Western cultures, motion equals life. Wondering if that spider you just squished is still alive? Lean in to check if it’s moving. Assessing the viability of a new startup? Analyze how quickly it’s growing and adapting to the market.
This principle is deeply ingrained in our minds. And there’s a lot of truth to it. But if it’s not balanced, it can become unhealthy. We can find it challenging — if not downright impossible — to sit still long enough to quiet our minds and reset our souls. We can even feel guilty about pausing the chaos of life long enough to hear God’s voice clearly.
Do you ever feel this way? If so, may this psalm draw you closer to the rest God has for you:
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore” (Ps. 131, ESV).
Jenn Suen Chen is a spiritual director and co-director of Summit Clear, a mentoring organization for those in cross-cultural work. She also serves as director of spiritual formation for Khora Collective, supporting Asian American Christian leaders in ministry and the marketplace. In her book, Dim Sum and Faith, Jenn shares stories from her own journey and invites others to explore how their stories shape their souls. She serves with Pioneers, spent 25 years living in Asia and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, John. Gathering with family around the table is her greatest joy.
