A Beginning and a Future that I Can See

　　It is my honor to stand before you today as the sixth president of the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. It is by the grace of God that I am enabled to assume this position. I am thankful to God for His gracious call to me, and I am grateful for your presence at this inauguration ceremony. You are here to celebrate with us the presidential inauguration. More importantly you are here with us to witness, to pray, to praise, and to proclaim the wonders of God’s might during the fifty-eight years of the life of the seminary.

Reasons for HKBTS and the Inauguration to Exist

　　Therefore, I must proclaim that God is the purpose for the existence of this presidential inauguration. The seminary will not exist without the guidance of the Trinitarian God.

　　Other than God, you students are another reason for the inauguration ceremony and for the existence of the seminary. It has brought me great joy to see your attendance here with us today. The seminary has been instituted for you. We are here today because of you. You have brought us together. Without you, we, faculty and staff, would not have been here.

　　Teachers, you are another reason for the inauguration ceremony and for the existence of the seminary. Because of your studious teaching in the past, faithful teaching in the future, modeling of the life in Christ, sharing of wisdom, and teaching of the word of God, our students are enabled to mature and become Christ-like.

　　Staff members, you are the reason for the inauguration ceremony and for the existence of the seminary. Because of your faithful service, you enable the seminary to carry out its teaching and research, to live a community life, and to develop for the better.

　　Trustees and alumni, you are the reason for the inauguration ceremony and for the existence of the seminary. The seminary is moving on the right track because of your governance, support and loving care.

　　Brothers and sisters of the church, you are the reason for the inauguration ceremony and for the existence of the seminary. The seminary exists for the church. We are here today because of you. You have brought us together. Without you, we, faculty and staff, would not have been here.

　　We see the beauty of fellowship at a moment like this. We can worship God here and now because of His wonders and grace.

Difficulties and Challenges Heighten Our Sense of Direction

　　In this time of celebration, let us not forget that the world is in turmoil. The world is at war and nations are traumatized. While the societies are stirred by lust and egotism, the financial tsunami continues to drive so many to desperation.

　　The church today must confront many real challenges. These challenges include the disconcerting expansion of pluralism, the generation of a new world order and global markets that further widens the gap between the poor and the rich, the new information technology that is shaping the way we think and diverting our way to move forward, the ageing of the world population that poses threat to the medical and retirement plans instilling this great sense of loss in so many, and the revolutionary bioengineering science that attempts to clone human beings throwing us into a moral dilemma.

　　All these challenges have brought dismay, despair, and fear. Education does not seem to be able to resolve these problems. The knowledge we acquired does not lead us anywhere. This is our situation today. However, these difficulties and challenges do not cause us to despair or lose our vision and direction for theological education. Rather, we gather strength in our sense of direction to accomplish, with trembling before God, the mission that is entrusted to us by God Himself, the mission of theological education. Because we believe in Jesus Christ who promises to return in glory and might for all the nations on earth we have hope in His glory. It is in the midst of the unsettling world that we are given the opportunity to experience God’s power.

　　As we see, in this ever changing pluralistic and depressing generation, God commissions us to shoulder the responsibility of leaders for the Kingdom of God through enabling us with His vision and will, so that for the church we can equip excellent leaders with passion and integrity, wisdom and strength, and with the hope that comes from God.

Excellent Theological Education

　　The church needs excellent leaders. My vision for excellence in leadership is a spiritual quality. Excellence in theological education states the criterion of our mission. Excellence is not a slogan; excellence is not a success indicator in Industry and Commerce; excellence is not a success story as in Business; excellence is not about ranking, nor a business plan for eliminating the weaker rival or for winning. All of these concepts are distorted perceptions of Excellence by emphasizing power and techniques, glorifying power by position, and undermining the weak and the powerless. We must be aware of the influence of these perceptions in the church.

　　On these perceptions we must reflect. The church does not reject the world without reason; it does not lower its expectation of excellence in order to counteract this worldly view. It is not uncommon for Christians to reject the worldly criteria of excellence by denying altogether the necessity to pursue excellence. Worse still, we may use the excuse of faith in the gracious Lord in order to accommodate laziness and irresponsibility. It is a reality check for us to rethink Excellence in Theological Education.

　　Here I raise three major qualifications among the many for an excellent theological education.

　　First, excellent theological education builds up excellent servant leaders.

　　Excellent servant leadership is the core value of the strategic plan for the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. It implies that students and teachers of the seminary must become excellent servant leaders for the service of Christ and His Kingdom.

　　Excellent leaders are people of humility and passion. In their humility they work hard at bonding the faith community for the good of the community. Here we remember Paul’s teaching for the Philippians, “…conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” The suggestion by Paul of the worth of servanthood defines excellence. Excellent servants possess moral characters that are worthy of the gospel of Christ. The most important of these moral characters is faithfulness.

　　Faithfulness is our passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This faithfulness is demonstrable through the commitment of our preachers to the Word of God. In other words, the gospel of Christ is the foundation of our faith and faithfulness. The Scripture is the foundation of our faith and faithfulness. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith and faithfulness. All three cannot be compromised. The church must be faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s revelation, the church has no certainty in its direction. Therefore, the theological education of the seminary must begin with the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s revelation. Our proclamation of God is expressed in the present tense. The Baptist seminary is a seminary of the gospel with teachers and students displaying faithfulness to the Scripture.

　　Faithful leaders are not only in touch with reality, they must also know how to put into practice what they believe. A leader lacks the quality of faithfulness if he cannot live beyond the “textbook answers”. Therefore, theological education must embrace the shaping of mind and spirit by allowing students to be shaped and defined by the gospel of Christ in who they are and what they do. In other words, faithful leaders understand the mind of Christ and their hearts are touched by the heart of Christ. Such mind and spirit unity is an excellent life in Christ; it is a beautiful life.

　　When the seminary teachers and students live under the mind of Christ, they will experience the goodness and excellence in Christ; they will bond with one another in the ridding of sin, the nourishing of fellowship, the witnessing of the light of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in the re-ordering of the priorities of life. A seminary as such will nourish faithful leaders for the church. These faithful church leaders will empower the congregation to be compassionate and committed disciples who energize the church, enhance fellow brothers and sisters to becomes faith disciples of Christ, and enable them to live a life with a mission in the world. A seminary of faith and integrity will inspire ministers of faith and integrity; ministers of faith and integrity will inspire the church members of faith and integrity. In turn, the faith and integrity of the church appeals to the seminary and the ministers for excellent ministry. This one mindedness for excellence will draw the seminary, ministers, and the church together in partnership and in our way forward.

　　Secondly, excellent theological education is the cultivation of theological wisdom in servant leaders.

　　As I have pointed out earlier, faithful leaders must understand the mind of Jesus Christ.

　　Understanding the mind of Christ is not merely a cognitive notion. When Paul talked about the mind of Christ “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (understand the mind of Christ) in Phil 2:5, he used a Greek word phronein. One of the translations of this word is practical thinking. This practical thinking embraces the whole being of an individual: affection, cognition, thought, action, and living. Thus, when we understand the mind of Christ, we allow the thought, passion, and action of Jesus Christ to become our model of thinking, feeling, and acting.

　　Understanding the mind of Christ is an excellent theological wisdom. The Apostle Paul called on Christians to exercise this practical thinking so that the whole community will develop the ability of discernment.

　　An excellent curriculum can nourish the students’ ability to discern “the passion of Jesus”. This is a demanding task, serious and laborious. Sometimes we comment favorably on the attitude of ministry being like a child and reject sophistication. We even perceive theological research and laborious study to be acts of pride. This perception confuses childlikeness with childishness in faith. We are certain that we need to have the faith in God like a child and we are assured of God’s love and His faithfulness. However, it takes us a life-time to comprehend the abundance and depth of the mystery of God. Excellent theological education mandates that our students be called to mature in the abundance and depth of the mystery of God and to understand the will of God for the world.

　　Therefore, the seminary must engage in more solid theological education and inherit the pure wisdom for the sharing of the gospel. Students must study the Bible languages diligently and well for the sake of unfolding the Scriptural mysteries. Students must exert effort in the study of Systematic Theology for the development of clear and critical thinking. Students must study Church History with care for the understanding of the present by honestly reviewing the past. Students need to study Ethics for distinguishing right from wrong and for determining the code of conduct in ministry. Students must fully engage themselves in the training of ministerial skills that include spirituality, leadership, preaching, pastoral ministry, education, evangelism, missions, and worship.

　　Disciplines concerning the Scripture, History, Theology, Ethics, and Pastoral Care must find forms of expression through arts and music for the sake of leading people to be closer to God, to worship and to adore Him. Thus, music and worship must be part of the seminary curriculum. Indeed, a worshipful life demonstrates clearly the maturity of faith and life in Christ.

　　All these studies and practices determine the quality of the leadership in the students and how they will affect the quality of the life of the church they serve. We must develop excellent curricula. We must challenge our students to reach for the highest goal in their theological learning. We must enable them to grow and mature in life for becoming excellent leaders in the pastoral ministry.

　　All of these play a vital part in the cultivation of theological wisdom. We need excellent teaching and research for the growth of theological wisdom. I believe that our teaching staff can become excellent. Although our team is yet to be strengthened, our faculty members come from various specialized disciplines. They contribute articles to journal articles and academic publication, and serve as advisors in churches and organizations. Our teachers are sensitive to the needs of the church in their teaching and so they can help our students in ministry and in prayer. To fulfill these responsibilities, we need teachers of excellence. The modeling of our teachers for the students is especially of significance because how they live what they teach in the classroom sets a prime example for our students.

　　Thirdly, excellent theological education has the ability to be responsive to the needs of the church and the society.

　　The quality of responsibility is the ability to respond accordingly. A seminary with theological wisdom must possess a new vision, become receptive of its surroundings, and be able to comprehend this fast changing world so as to respond to and be responsible for the world. The seminary must devise programs relevant to the needs of the church, programs that will enable the church to confront the challenges of a pluralistic society. The church must then rise above these challenges, go reach the communities of different cultures, and share the gospel of Christ. This approach will greatly impact the seminary’s manner of teaching and learning. Teachers will not only teach but they must also become learners. They must learn to see and hear what is going on around them so that what they teach can be relevant and make a difference in the world.

　　Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary is committed to being responsive to these needs. This is the seminary’s mission.

　　Over the past years, we have made progress in some subject areas, such as theological hermeneutics, church history, theological ethics and spiritual formation. In coming years we will develop Christian Spirituality on a deeper level and place our focus on Pastoral Leadership, Supervised Ministry, and Missions. We will also offer inter-disciplinary programs that meet the needs of the church and the society.

　　On top of the enhancement of curricular design, we want to contribute to the academic and social realms with the results of our teaching and research. We are currently considering new additions of Centers for Church Leadership Studies, Youth Ministry, Gerontological Ministry, and for Baptist History. The research projects and programs will engage the seminary in a new momentum. They will become the bridges connecting our classrooms with the church and the society. At the same time, through these projects and programs, the church and the society will come into our classrooms. By so doing can the theological education of our seminary excel and mature.

　　However, I must stress that while theological education is sensitive to the needs of the church and the world it does not yield itself to the values and the way of the world. Theological education is characterized by the gospel of Christ and will not compromise despite worldly consideration of its worth. Theological education speaks to the world while holding the worth of the gospel. Only in this way will the church differ but not severed from the world. This relationship creates the dynamics for the reformation and transformation of theological education.

Entering into a Future While Standing on Baptist Tradition and admist Suffering

　　Our core values are being faithful to Christ, becoming an unashamed workman, serving as a wise servant leader, responding to the society of its times, and pursuing excellence. These values will inspire us to go forth in the shaping of leaders for the future.

　　The prospects and concerns I mentioned here serve only as the starting point for the seminary to move forward. What lies ahead is known to God only. To me, this beginning was born in the midst of a crisis when we witness the grace and mercy of God. This is my conviction and my vision of the future of the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary.

　　I am in awe before God as I speak. The psalmist speaks my mind, “When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed.” (Psalm 126:1) I am the truly lowly one and yet here I stand before you sharing my vision with you. This vision comes from you, from our ancestors of our faith, from those who have nurtured and taught me. This living of faith I have learned from my teachers who inherit this true faith from our Baptist forefathers.

　　Let me share with you who I am. My parents came to Hong Kong from Swatow, Guangdong Province, and it was in Hong Kong they learned to speak Cantonese. My parents took me to church and I was baptized at 12 and became a member of Kowloon City Swatow Baptist Church. Later I went to study at Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary. Here I stand in this tradition and as a part of the Baptist heritage and history I share with you this evening my testimony or better our testimony.

　　The Baptist tradition I grew up in is a tradition that is made up of our forefathers’ stories of suffering. And yet these stories also tell of the faithfulness of God’s Word. They are Bible People whose faithfulness to God is undeterred by adversity, hardship and persecution. As a matter of fact, they were better prepared and equipped for ministry despite great sufferings. Our Baptist ancestors of faith were modeled after the feelings, thoughts and actions of Jesus Christ and they were so much at odd with the world of their times.

　　A devout life is a life of ministry. This life is grounded in reality and matures in times of troubles and dangers. This same life has an unfaltering hope for God’s presence and the experience of His grace.

　　Born of suffering, Baptist church history is all about grace and crises. The stories of our Hong Kong Baptist churches are about grace in crises. I thank God for each of the crises because He provides grace and His grace is sufficient. I trust God for turning these crises into opportunities for growth and for broadening our horizon on life and ministry. History is God’s stories of His grace and power.

　　May all the glory be to our God of grace and might!

Translated by Mrs. Celia Juergens