Live Demonstration of Theological Disciplines Integration

　　I attended two team-taught courses. The first one was “Preaching,” co-taught by President Joshua Cho and Rev. Brian Lam; another was “William Willimon on Worship, Ethics and Preaching,” co-taught by three teachers, Dr. Freeman Huen, Dr. Andres Tang and Rev. Brian Lam.

　　If a course is taught by a single teacher, one could only get to see the viewpoint of one particular teacher on a certain topic. Although the teachers are all knowledgeable with ability to synthesize, as well as able to expound one’s own interpretation, the process of integrating various information may not necessarily be presented before the eyes of the students, so that they may learn by example. Whereas by conducting classes with a team teaching approach, each teacher is not only able to offer insights based on one’s expertise, but can also exchange, discuss, and integrate ideas with other teachers. For me, it was amazing enough to see different teachers reveal their depth of knowledge about the same topic; what’s more, I could also see how they discuss and integrate ideas, with a live demonstration of integrating theological disciplines—what a feast for the eyes.

　　I remember when attending the course “William Willimon on Worship, Ethics and Preaching,” Dr. Huen and Dr. Tang explained Willimon’s views on worship and preaching. They cited various references to explicate its theological significance, and even elaborated on how to do theology through church services and worshipping. Certainly this sounded very abstract, let alone having to explain how to produce ethical results in the process. It was then when Rev. Lam resorted to his rich pastoral ministering and preaching experience, detailing how to do theology that brings about ethical results in the realistic circumstances. He supported his viewpoints with both examples and grounding in theology. The students gained a lot through such a wonderful combination of teachers.