“You mean if I
study here I would have to stay in Korea for at least another 3 years
before I could even start my PhD? That’s seriously how long it
takes?” I believe those were my first words to Professor Steve Chang
when I first inquired about studying at Torch Trinity in February
2007.? It was another dead
end, or so it seemed. My mind was already spinning, and this was
without even considering how much more time would be needed if I were
to study part-time, or even where I would get the money for all of
this. So many questions developed, and it was a sacrifice that I
wasn’t yet ready to make, so the idea stayed hidden for the time
being. Forgotten, but only until God’s own perfect timing was
reached.
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It was almost exactly one year later that
I was sitting in front of an interview panel having my application
considered for Torch Trinity. My application had been prepared in
less than a week, in rapid response to a series of events that were
too clear to deny and too complicated to explain here. The
application went in during a small window of opportunity that I had
then, and you’ll have to track me down on campus if you want to hear
that story!
Very few things in my
life have come with such a sense of certainty of purpose and
timing.? I had come to Korea
in 2005 at a time when almost every door had been closed for me to
study for my PhD in Australia, even though I was qualified to do it.
At the time, I had a burning desire to work as an Academic, to pursue
a PhD in order to add a Christian voice to the field of Cultural and
Media Studies, I was particularly interested in Globalization and
Identity. It occurred to me that there was a desperate need for such
a voice, but it never occurred to me that I would need a much more
solid theological foundation before I could even attempt to address
any of the issues being raised in those circles. Thankfully, it had
already occurred to God.
In
Torch Trinity, I’ve found the perfect training ground for me as I
engage, interact, and study with Christians from many different
cultural and religious backgrounds.?
This never would have occurred back in Australia. I love that
in the future, when I go up against cultural critics who claim that
Christianity is just a form of colonialism and cultural imperialism,
I will be able to stand proudly and claim that I have studied
Christian theology in a non-Western context with amazing indigenous
Christian academics from all around the non-Western world. ???
During my time at Torch Trinity, I have seen God’s gentle
and loving guidance, provision, and superior wisdom. I could be
reminded of it every day and still be able to forget, so it’s in
God’s amazing grace that I am also able to minister with Korean and
Korean-American teenagers who are facing the pressures of study, the
fear of failure, and the desire to know God’s will for their lives -
even as I am learning to work these things out for myself more and
more every day.
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