The Growth of HKBTS: The Growth of Students

　　Over the past six years, HKBTS has been heading towards becoming a “disciple community”. “Disciple community” includes all the seminary faculty, staff, and students; we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and therefore, together we must learn to be disciples of the Lord. This means that we put the Great Commission into practice (Mt 28: 18-20): To make men to be Jesus’ disciples. For our students, if they do not first learn and practice to be Jesus’ disciples in the seminary community today, how can they put into practice the Great Commission of “making men to be Jesus’ disciples” in the churches they will serve in the future?

　　During this time, I can see students’ growth in two respects as they learn to be part of a disciple community. First, the Seminary has made it mandatory to take a record of students’ attendance at the Morning Chapel held three times weekly making it is a must for students to attend. This is based on a consensus view of the seminary’s faculty after much discussion. Teachers believe that teachers and students joining the Morning Chapel together is an indispensable part of spiritual formation because worshipping God together is an essential practice for members of a disciple community. We thank God that students do not feel confused or resentful to the change in policy. Instead, through this change they have come to experience the importance of communal worship as the whole community receives the shaping of God’s word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit together with one heart. This is truly an important cornerstone in establishing a disciple community.

　　Another respect is that it is comforting to see students’ growth when they do class assignments. “Learning is more than scoring” is not only a slogan of the Education Bureau but also what our students have to learn. It is an undeniable fact that there are differences in the gifts and abilities of each person. That is why Paul admonishes us in Ephesus to serve one another as a body of Christ. There is a discrepancy in ability among students. If each of the students is bent on “scoring a high GPA”, it is bound to create disputes while doing group assignments to the extent that some of weaker students will be discriminated against. Thank God that I have seen students’ growth in this respect as a number of more capable students are willing to team up with the weaker ones. This is a different kind of learning―the discipline and practice of being a disciple of Jesus.

　　Seeing that students display the ethos of self-sacrifice as they are willing to walk with brothers and sisters in need makes me think of what Henri Nouwen says in The Way of Jesus Christ: “We can often care for the poor but we are not willing to lower ourselves to the state of poverty or to become the same as the poor. However, Jesus chooses to know God in this way.” Pray that God will help our students to continue learning and growing. To our triune God be the glory!