Taking about the Direction of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Joshua Cho’s View on Biblical Teaching and Character Formation
On August 1, Dr. Joshua Cho was appointed as the seminary’s Vice President (Academic) and will also continue to be Dean of Academic Affairs.
In this brief interview with HKBTS Newsletter, Professor Cho reviewed the development of academic affairs in the past few years and went on to share his views on biblical teaching and character formation, stressing that the seminary will continue to develop in these two areas.
“In the past few years, I have focused more on academic strategies and planning as well as on the recruitment of new students. Together with other faculty members, I have made a great effort to develop Hill Road into an academic journal that seeks to introduce important issues in the academic world to the Chinese churches. We want to encourage pastors and ministers to reflect upon the Christian faith when facing various ideologies and the present reality.”
Furthermore, the faculty is encouraged to do academic research, and in these two years we have established an academic forum to enable our faculty members to present their research findings and foster the exchange of ideas between faculty and students. Meanwhile, we want to emphasize theology and especially biblical teaching. It is our hope that students will be trained to appropriate scripture and exercise scriptural reasoning so that later in their ministries, when they are faced with different situations, they can reason and make good judgments based on scripture. A minister cannot survive without vision, and vision must come from the Word of God!”
Professor Cho goes on to point out that Baptists are called “Bible people.” Even though the term may have both positive and negative connotations, it definitely indicates that the Bible is the foundation of the Baptist churches. He also holds that seminaries must be deeply rooted in the Bible and that the Bible must be central to the development of contextual theological education. This is an important note because it is possible that theology students may be well versed in the thoughts of eminent theologians while lacking a sufficient Biblical understanding. Unfortunately, seminarians can have a good grasp of the application of counseling, leadership principles, religious education and psychology, while lacking the essential components of scripture.
In the past few years, the seminary has stepped up its biblical teaching, and we are beginning to see some encouraging results. Professor Cho emphasized that the seminary will continue in this direction while at the same time focusing on the nurture of students’ character.
“Theological education stressed the practical. A minister trained in a seminary should be able to preach the Word of God. At the same time, a minister should always strive to live and act according to scriptural principles, since the character of a minister affects the way he or she prepares and preaches a sermon. The character of a minister also affects whether or not God is able to use the message he or she preaches to bless Christian brothers and sisters with God’s grace and help. A minister’s character certainly influences the congregation among whom he or she ministers and counsels, and affects his or her leadership and administrative management.
“Character affects the kind of a leader a minister will become. For example, in the course of making decisions at a church, a minister must act humbly toward the parishioners to be able to hear views and ideas from every corner. The minister must also be humble before God so that he can discern the will of God and not substitute human desires for God’s will. Patience is also important, meaning that the minister must not be impetuous but remains patient in all circumstances: be patient to allow brothers and sisters to grow in their understanding and to wait patiently for the appropriate time. Moreover, around the conference table, it is not only important to listen with humility, but also to listen with kindness and openness. Besides, a minister needs to nurture a heart of peace based on an attitude of humility and patience. A man or woman of humility and patience is also a man of peace. Such a person is willing to wait for God’s guidance and will not resort to extremes in words and deeds when opinions vary greatly. This is not to say that the minister does not have strong conviction. When applying the Word of God to guide brothers and sisters and abiding by scriptural principles, the minister will assume a definite stance.”
Professor Cho holds that when theological studies are conducted in ways that neglect the formation of character, they become hollow and lifeless. However, he does not mean that we should merely focus on the heart without making reference to various contemporary theories and tools. The seminary will continue to organize pastoral counseling, leadership and education seminars and international conferences, but the Word of God and the Christian faith must always play a key role. This is what makes seminary education distinct from secular forms of study.
Dr. Cho explains that character in students can be developed and refined when they engage in getting along with people they encounter in their daily lives, when they take part in worship service or read the Word of God; when they learn to serve God and man in ministry during their church practicum and when they involve themselves in an ongoing process of self-examination and self-discipline. Weaknesses in a person’s character and difficulties in interpersonal relationship are often deep-rooted problems that cannot be solved simply by one’s willpower. The minister must develop a healthy prayer life to deal with these personal and interpersonal problems. To this end, a teacher should guide students to come closer to God through prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to indwell in their lives as they strive to build up the character of a worthy minister.
Dr. Cho says, “The nurturing of the student’s character also implies the need to nurture the teacher’s character, since the life example of the teacher is decisive in the success or failure of the educational process. This is not to say that any single teacher can develop a perfect character. As humans we all have weaknesses and deficiencies. Nevertheless, we pray that God will not only help, heal and build up each student but that He will do the same in each teacher as well. We need to have a team of teachers who have the heart, the determination and the power from God to teach and nurture our students effectively. The seminary will continue to recruit teachers who fit our special profile to join our faculty team. This is one of the most important tasks we set out to achieve.
Finally, Dr. Cho remarks, “Emphasis on biblical teaching and character formation may seem platitudinous. But as a pastor, a theologian, a theological educator, I firmly believe these two aspects are crucial and closely related to the life of a minister. I pray that God will continue to grant us wisdom to take responsibility to develop relevant theological education for the future. May God’s gracious love shield and protect each of our teachers and students.”