MTh Seminar

STM held its inaugural Postgraduate Research Seminar for 2010 recently.

The primary purposes for establishing the postgraduate seminar are:
1) to create a platform for students to present aspects of their research to the wider community, and to receive feedback for their work;
2) to provide fellowship among postgraduate students so that there would be mutual support and encouragement; and
3) to interact with supervisors and faculty members for feedback and support.

During this seminar, two papers were presented. Rev Sivin Kit presented a paper on “Ecclesiological Issues Confronting Malaysian Churches after the Mar 8, 2008 12th General Elections” and Pastor Wong Yuk Soo read his paper on “Paul’s Command to Silence in 1 Cor 14:34-35."

The next Postgraduate seminar will be held on Friday, March 12, from 2.00-4.30pm at the conference room. All are welcome.

Why Would Laypeople Want Theological Education?

The following is an article written by Sally Simmel on "Why would laypeople want theological education, anyway?" published in the Alban Institute's website today.

In this new world, this global village we inhabit, growing ever more complicated and accessible through science and technology, many of us think daily about the meaning and purpose of our lives. We are mindful of the decisions that need to be made to make sense of the world and our place in it. We can all tell stories of significant life experiences and the role we feel God is playing in them. A child is born, a child dies. A job is terminated; a new one is begun. We fall in love; we encounter something in nature that stirs us beyond anything we have known before. A parent dies and the loss lasts a very long time. We feel yearnings in our very soul for something yet unknown. We witness an incredible sunset or experience an amazing piece of art or poetry. We wonder about God's role in the universe and our role with God in the ongoing creation and sustaining of the planet. Even as we live in a post-9/11 world, with wars and natural disasters, worldwide economic changes, and climate and environmental issues, the search for meaning continues and each generation shares the universal concerns for life and common good.

This is the world to which we in continuing theological education introduce the questions of why and how to provide theological education for laity living into the worthy questions of faith for this time.

Laity are those members of the church whom God has called to the church outside the walls of the church. In unison they might say, "We write the laws of our lands and invent new technologies to serve humanity. We know how to clone animals and humans and measure germs on Mars. We rear and educate children. We work in corporations, governments, and health care systems. We build roads and homes. We write and produce movies and TV shows. In those endeavors, we seek to practice our faith. We need the wisdom of faith through deeper theological reflection to help discern the how and why of it all."

They might also say in unison that they are not theologians, while they in fact are doing theology. For the most part, that means they are not trained in theology for preaching, teaching, and Word and Sacrament ministry. That is a particular call. "Doing theology" does not merely mean studying tradition, doctrine, and Scripture so that one knows about those things. Rather, theology balances fact and theory with the lived experience of God each of us has. All experience has meaning and provides insight for the journey. To stay either in the academic mode or the experiential mode would deny the wholeness of each person, God, and the universe.

At a very early age, the people of God begin to speak to God, to recognize there is a God, even without fully understanding: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord..." Laypeople of all ages and cultures are searching for meaning and purpose. The church risks losing them if the only theological reflection available to them is the church school. A forty-three-year-old from the East Coast sums up some of the longing for meaning in life when she asks, "What is this deep longing I feel in spite of success and happiness? What is God's purpose for me? How do I know when God is speaking to me?"

Even in their mature years, people wonder about meaning and purpose as they remain vital but begin, as one sixty-something puts it, "to deal with end-of-life decisions for parents and in-laws. How, as Christians, do we make choices for ourselves and our loved ones?" Some issues in later life are about new relationships with children and grandchildren, meaningful retirement, or new directions for the vital years yet to come. Other issues are connected to new technologies that are frightening and often not understood by clergy or laity who are not working in the fields of science and technology. How do we bring the science and faith perspectives together in ways that assist Christians in making decisions?

Unlike the more predictable and compact list of theological needs of church professionals, the possibilities for educational programming for laity are awesome. All of life and faith is out there to chew on. That makes developing educational opportunities tricky, but accepting the challenge means multiplying the number of people who are equipped for ministry in the world and in the church. People in church-related occupations may also be grateful for such offerings; many will appreciate a shift in emphasis for their own particular ministries. Continuing educators can enter the lay market in any number of places, slowly at first and then incrementally increasing or reframing offerings, testing, and checking with the audiences. I offer four strategies to help you get started:

1. Involve laity in solid theological education (along with clergy, in many instances) where presenters and teachers pay special attention to applying their material to real-life situations. That will require a shift in teaching style for some presenters.
2. Create reflection groups of people in similar occupations. Use a small group approach to provide information, support, accountability, and deep engagement in the issues of work and the marketplace. Often occupational groups are best done ecumenically; it strengthens relationships and better represents the day-to-day workplace connections of most Christians.
3. Extend the groups mentioned in the first two strategies to include online conversations where possible. The Internet allows people to relate in real time and cyber time from anywhere participants find themselves working. Ethical and moral situations in which people find themselves on any given day can be discussed from a distance with trusted friends. A combination of face-to-face and online time probably appeals to many. The group can decide that for itself. Continuing educators need to be open to this type of format.
4. Face squarely the challenges that this new group of participants will bring to traditional areas of your curriculum. For example, preaching events are popular for clergy. With laity, think about how pastors preach so that the Word can be heard. How do laity hear the preaching and then reword it for themselves? Who is responsible for the translating? Can laity and clergy do that together? How? Clergy and laity could participate in mealtime, evening, one-day, and weekend events.

There is no end to the corners of life that would benefit from theological reflection and education. In a post-Christian world, our faith should reach every aspect of work and family life, global economics, politics, and religion. Millions of laity are eager for the opportunity to expand their horizons, to think differently, to live differently. Learning happens in all of life and through all of life.

Why would laypeople want theological education, anyway? For life, of course.

Medical Doctor's Musings on Theological Education

Alex Tang has begun posting a series of reflections on theological education, ranging from issues related to the need for learning original language, content of theological education, and spiritual formation. By knowing Alex, I strongly suspect there will be more to come (and I do look forward to Alex's observations).

It is interesting to read Alex's reflections - as he is not a "seminarian" or a "professional theological educator" per se, but a medical doctor whose hobby has driven him to complete his PhD in spiritual formation recently. I have always welcome observations from "outsiders" into the enterprise of theological education - they are the ones that often give the most insightful comments.

I will respond to Alex's musings when time permits. I think Alex has hit the nail on its head with some of his observations (although I might have to take issue with his comment on learning biblical languages - I think the problem of learning biblical languages for seminarians is not whether we need it or not, but the pedagogical method that we are currently using in teaching these languages may be outdated - but more on this later)

Busy TEE Weekend

Over the next two weekends (8-10th May and 15-17 May), I will be busy teaching a course on Biblical Interpretation for the seminary's Theological Education by Extension programme at the Petaling Jaya/Kuala Lumpur centre.

As at last count, there are a total of 25 students who have signed up for the course. The number for this class is slightly bigger than usual, partly due to the fact that this is a core course for the TEE programme.

I look forward to having a good time with the students this coming two weekends. It's no rest for the wicked budding NT scholar!

First Historic D Min Module in STM

It has been a great learning experience for me in teaching the first Doctor of Ministry module for the past few days.

There are a total of 20 DMin candidates taking the first modules offered in both the English and Chinese programmes. A total of 15 candidates signed up for the first Chinese module taught by Prof Kung Lap Yan from Hong Kong, with another 5 signed up for the English module.

Today will be the final day for the DMin module. I trust and hope that those who sit in my class would have, in some ways, benefited from the module, and that they have enjoyed it just as I have in interacting with them. It has been very tiring and exhausting, but equally enriching and rewarding for me.

Teaching Doctor of Ministry Module

This coming week will be another super busy one for me. I will be teaching the Doctor of Ministry module on Advanced Hermeneutics and Homiletics throughout the next 5 days, from 8am - 6pm.

This module is a historic one for the seminary, as this is the first ever DMin module that we are offering. I hope the candidates that will be here later this morning will find the course useful for their ministry.

I will be so dead by the end of this week.....

Preferred NT Course for 2010 TEE

For the entire month of October 2008, I ran a poll in the seminary's Theological Education by Extension Forum for our TEE students. The purpose of the poll is to solicit opinions on "What New Testament Course would you like me to teach for TEE in 2010."

I listed 5 courses in the poll and asked the students to select one that would most likely appeal to them as an indication of interest. This would help me design and prepare for a course that would meet the interest of the students.

The 5 courses are:
1) Romans
2) Ephesians
3) The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament
4) New Testament Theology
5) Mission in the New Testament.

And the results are in now, and the surprising verdict is as follows.

The most popular course is The Use of the OT in the NT, generating the highest interest at 34%, while NT Theology takes second place with 26%. The remaining courses attracted an equal interest of 13% respectively. I do not anticipate this results, as I would imagine that Romans would probably the most popular course. But it seems that this poll suggests otherwise. Perhaps the rise in the interest in the use of the OT in the NT is also in response to the proliferation of publications on the subject matter in recent years. So looks like I would take some time to prepare for this course, and I might rope in my colleague, the Rabbi, to co-teach this course too! Rabbi, are you game?

Doctor of Ministry Orientation

Yesterday was a historic day for the seminary. For the first time ever, we had a group of 21 Doctor of Ministry candidates participating in the 1-day D.Min Orientation Programme. This is the pioneer batch of our new D.Min programme.

It was really great meeting up with experienced ministers and pastors who decided to take time off from their busy schedule to upgrade themselves over the next few years.

I have been tasked with the heavy responsibility of teaching a module on Advanced Hermeneutics and Homiletics scheduled from March 30-April 3 next year. In the afternoon, I had the privilege of meeting the candidates that would most likely be taking this module next year. In our session together, I handed out the reader for the module (see photo above) to them. I am looking forward to our time of learning together next March. I know I have much to learn from these experienced ministers.

Snippets of Life of A Faculty Member During the Long Vacation - Part 2

My colleague, the Rabbi, is having a long week this week. I am no less busy than last week. The only comfort that I have is that I will be on leave for the next two days to recuperate, to get ready for my one month research leave at Trinity Theological College, and to take my parents for their several doctors' appointment scheduled for the next two days.

How did my week look like during the seminary's long vacation?

November 3
Interviewed new students for next academic year intake in the morning. This is followed by a celebration lunch hosted by my colleague, Dr Joseph Komar, who recently earned his PhD. This was then followed by a faculty meeting stretching from 2.30pm till 7.15pm. After the faculty meeting, I met up with one of my thesis writing students to discuss his proposal over dinner. To wrap up the day, I had another meeting with a postgraduate student to discuss the direction of his thesis at 9.30pm. I left my office at 1o.30pm.

November 4
Today was a historic day for the seminary. We had our first ever Doctor of Ministry orientation programme from 9am-4pm (I will post some photos in a later post). At 4pm, a newly accepted Master of Theology student came by to see me to work out his study programme. He plans to work on New Testament. Then it was off to dinner with Desmond, Lan Yin and Joel. This was followed by a drink at Starbucks with another student who wanted to return a favour granted to him earlier. Finally retired at 11.30pm.

November 5
It's back to the office today to clear all the administrative work before I head home.

I am so looking forward to my one month research and writing time in Singapore.....

Snippets of Life of a Faculty Member in Seminary During the Long Vacation

The long year end vacation has officially started last week. The seminary campus is rather quiet now, except for a handful of thesis writing and postgraduate students who stay back during the vacation to utilise the library for their research.


But what about the faculty? The general perception among the students is that during the long vacation, the lecturers are very free. But is this true?

Let's have some snippets of my life in the seminary for this week:

Monday, 27 October
The nation celebrated Deepavali, so it was a public holiday. But I returned to the office to work on my preparation for the upcoming Doctor of Ministry module on 'Advanced Hermeneutics and Homiletics' that I will be co-teaching with my colleague in March 2009, but details of which would be given out to the candidates at the DMin orientation to be held on November 3. So I needed to get ready the course outline, bibliography and the reader to be distributed to the students during the orientation next week. In the night, a group of students came to my office to chill out and had some 'ciku and coffee/tea' party.

Tuesday, 28 October
A group of us spent the entire morning in a meeting finalising the details of the Southeast Asia Edinburgh 2010 Missions Conference to be hosted by STM in June 2009. From the afternoon right up to the night, I continued to work on the Doctor of Ministry module and compiled the reader to be distributed next week. A student volunteered to help me make copies of the articles to be included in the DMin reader, whose timely assistance was greatly appreciated.

Wednesday, 29 October
Continued to work on the Doctor of Ministry module right up to the afternoon. Finally completed it, and arranged for the 1000-page reader to be photocopied. Then in the evening, I graded a paper submitted by one of my postgraduate Master of Theology students. In between these tasks, I reviewed several new applications for our next academic year intake. In the midst of busyness, I still managed to have lunch with one of our students. It was good to catch up with him.

Thursday, 30 October
Today will be another packed day. I will be conducting an oral comprehensive examination for one of our Master of Theology students, followed by a series of interviews with four potential Doctor of Ministry and Master of Theology applicants. Then I will be rushing back home to Kuala Lumpur in the evening to take my mother to her doctor's appointment.

Friday, 31 October
I will be on leave today - not to have a break but to take my father to his doctor's appointment. This will be another long day of waiting in the hospital. The good news is that I will have some time to catch up with my reading in the waiting room.

Saturday, 1 November
It will be back to work in the church office....I will be dead by Saturday night. Good thing I do not have anymore Sunday preaching engagements until December.

Is there any free time for me?

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 3: The Parable of An Inculpatory Servant and A Gracious Master

Since I will soon be teaching a course on the Parables of Jesus for our Theological Education by Extension programme, I thought that it might be good for me to attempt to write a parable as well.

The following parable is inspired by many personal encounters with believers who question God or others for the consequences of their actions. Sometimes it is sad that we refuse to take responsibilities for our mistakes, weaknesses, and failures; rather, we find it much easier and convenient to point our fingers at others.

Parable of An Inculpatory Servant and A Gracious Master

How then shall I describe our relationship with God or with one another? It is like a slave that works for a very wealthy master. One day, the master discovers that the slave has stolen some money from the safe, and he questions the slave about the theft. The slave denies any knowledge until the master produces the evidence as recorded in the CCTV. However, instead of dismissing the slave, the kind master graciously decides to give the slave a second chance to work for him, hoping that the slave would have an opportunity to repent from his serious mistake and would turn over a new leaf and become a better person instead.

A few weeks have passed, and the master discovers to his horror that the slave has once again stolen some money from the safe. The master confronts the slave, but as in the first instance, the slave denies any knowledge, refusing to admit his acts of dishonesty. When the evidence of his dishonest act as recorded in the CCTV is brought forward, the slave becomes very angry and upset at the master for exposing his deeds and for dismissing him from his job.

Not only does he not repent from his sins, the slave decides to engage a lawyer to sue the master for an amount of RM10 million for installing the CCTV with the purpose of surveillance in order to expose his shame. Now that his reputation has been seriously undermined and the prospect of finding a job elsewhere appears dim, the slave also demands another RM10 million in compensation from the master for potential loss of income.

Questions:
What is the main point of this parable, taking into account the culture and custom of an Asian society than places emphasis on honour and shame?

How many of us, instead of taking responsibility, would blame God and our fellow brethren for our sins and the consequences of our actions?

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 2

I have been reviewing some of the resources that could be recommended to the students who will be taking my upcoming elective course on Teaching and Preaching the Parables of Jesus. One of the graded assignments for this module is the preparation of a lesson plan/sermon based on the student's choice of a parable of Jesus. To give some practical ideas in helping the students prepare for their lesson plan, I have been reviewing some of the resources available in the market.

One of the most useful resources that I have reviewed is Zondervan's The Parables of Jesus under the Deeper Connections DVD series.

This series contains a comprehensive study guide on six of the parables of Jesus:

• Matthew 13:24-33: the coming of the Kingdom
• Luke 7:36-50: the grace of the Kingdom
• Luke 15:11-32: the God of the Kingdom
• Matthew 13:44-46: the demand of the Kingdom
• Matt 22:1-14: the mission of the Kingdom
• Matt 25:31-46: the fulfillment of the Kingdom

Each of the studies above is taught by six well known and well respected NT scholars:

• Gary Burge
• David Garland
• Mark Strauss
• Michael Wilkins
• Matt Williams
• Ben Witherington III

In order to help the participants appreciate the impact of the message of the parables in the times of Jesus, each of the lesson plans consists of three components:

• historical and cultural background
• an engaging investigation of the biblical text and its meaning
• challenging application of the message of the parable in contemporary context.

This DVD series is also accompanied by a Participant's Guide that helps the participants navigate through the teachings of the instructors. It also contains thought provoking questions for discussion. In addition, the Participant Guide also brings the application of the message of the parables further by providing five daily personal reflection studies that could be used as personal devotions.

I will be using some of the lessons from this DVD series for my lectures and will engage the students to review critically the effectiveness of the teaching method and to consider how to contextualise this resource for the use in our local context.

Hopefully, this excellent series by Zondervan could help us reflect on how best we can creatively teach and preach the parables of Jesus so that the message of the parables can still be driven home in our contemporary context.

TEE Course: Parables of Jesus - Part 1

I will be teaching a modular course for the seminary's Theological Education by Extension programme to be held at the Kuala Lumpur/Petaling Jaya centre (which happens to be my church) on the weekends of September 5-7 and 12-14.

The course, Teaching and Preaching the Parables of Jesus, is an elective course that offers an in-depth study of selected parables of Jesus, including a survey of the history of their interpretation, their role in Jesus' ministry, and reflection upon their challenge for NT theology and interpretation. Special attention will be paid in the use of parables in contemporary teaching and preaching ministry where students will attempt to understand the parables of Jesus in light of their First Century Jewish environment, and to bridge the gap between then and now in applying the parables to their present situations in life.

One of the requirements of the course is to create a 15-minute teaching/preaching presentation based on the student's choice of a parable of Jesus, in consultation with the instructor. The presentation should include the student's interpretation of the parable in the form of sermon, teaching lesson, drama, Sunday school material, bible study, movie clip, music, or any other creative form which demonstrates a clear indication of how the parable functioned in the ministry of Jesus and how the parable is relevant to the situation of the current audience of the student. This assignment will be evaluated based on originality, creativity, and clarity of the presentation and the effectiveness of conveying the message of the parable to the student's contemporary audience.

For registration of the course, please get in touch with Ms Sarah Yap, Director of TEE Programme at sarahyap at stm dot edu dot my.

Greece Trip (3): We Had A Great Group

The 28 enthusiastic fellow pilgrims that came with me to Greece were a bunch of eager and fun loving students of the scriptures. We had a good time covering the cities visited by Paul in his Second Missionary Journey in Greece. Although our itinerary follows the reversed chronological events, I would post my reflections according to the sequence as recorded in Acts 16-18.

True to the spirit of the original Second Missionary Journey, we had a team of medical doctors with us, just like Doctor Luke with Paul (to be precise, 5 of them. I must say their presence was a great relief as they came to my aid when I injured my ankle on the second day of our 11-day tour - more about this later). Paul also brought along "young" Timothy in this journey, and we have the youngest member of our team, aged 15, from Kuching.

Together with this team, we not only shared the agape and the koinonia of Christ, we also read the scriptures together at various sites along the journey - and this experience has enriched our understanding and deepened our love for the scriptures. Paul's words suddenly came alive for many of us!

So watch this space as I begin to post my reflections and highlight some scholarly debates on some of the archaeological evidence that we saw at the various sites.

For my earlier postings on the Greece Trip, click here. Also, do check out the blog posts on the trip by Alex.

Off to Greece: Following St Paul's Footsteps

I am now at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, waiting for my Emirates flight to Athens via Dubai. Together with me are a group of 28 enthusiastic travellers, all very eager to begin our pilgrimage together to Greece in following St Paul's footsteps in his Second Missionary Journey, visiting places like Athens, Corinth, Philippi, Neapolis, Thessalonica, Berea, in addition to Kalambaka, Delphi, Thermopylae, Tempi and a 1-day cruise to the lovely islands of Aegina, Poros and Hydra.

I will be away until May 28. Subject to internet connection, I may blog about my trip whenever I have the opportunity. Else, I will update about the trip after I return.

For details of this trip, please click here. For an idea of our itinerary, please click here.

Study Tour Following the Footsteps of St Paul is ON in May 2008

In collaboration with World Discovery Travel (M) Sdn Bhd, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia invites you to join Dr Lim Kar Yong, Lecturer in New Testament Studies, on a specially designed 11-day guided tour to Greece from 18 - 28 May 2008.

Take an unforgettable trip by following part of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (Acts 16:1-18:22). Come and see, feel, and take a walk with Paul in the cities he visited. Listen to the special on-site lectures and investigate the connection between the archeological evidence and social-political settings of the ancient cities evangelised by Paul and his fascinating correspondence with the churches he founded. Discover the biblical significance of these cities and read the letters of Paul with new and fresh insights.

Some of the highlights of the tour include:

• Places with biblical significance including Kavala (biblical Neapolis – Acts 16:11), Philippi (Acts 16:12-40), Thessaloniki (biblical Thessalonica – Acts 17:1-9), Veria (biblical Berea – Acts 17:10-15), Athens (Acts 17:16-34), Corinth (Acts 18:1-17) and Cenchrea (Acts 18:18).


• Kalambaka and the spectacular Byzantine monasteries.


• Delphi.


• Thermopylae, Tempi.


• 1-day cruise to the lovely islands of Aegina, Poros and Hydra.


• 1-day free time in Athens with options to explore the historical sites and museums, take a day-trip, or to shop!

This study tour is also offered as a 3-credit hour elective course for STM programme. Further information on the fees, reading and course requirements will be provided upon request.

A detailed itinerary and further information can be downloaded here.

For further information on the tour, please contact:
Sarah Yap (sarahyap@stm.edu.my) or Ruth Tee (ruthtee@stm.edu.my)
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia
Lot 3011 Taman South East
Jalan Tampin Lama Batu 3
70100 Seremban
Tel: 06-6322815 Fax: 06-6329766
Website: http://www.stm.edu.my/

TEE at Kuching: Some Personal Reflections

In one of my earlier posts, I promised to share some brief reflections on my 2 weekend trips to Kuching teaching a course on Biblical Interpretation at our extension there. So this is my slightly "delayed" post.

One of my greatest struggles and challenges was this: How would I cover all the necessary topics in a compressed fashion to the students in Kuching, so that they would be able to have a fairly good grasp of the principles and methods of biblical interpretation?

I must confess it was not easy for me. In my lectures, I moved rapidly from one topic to another, without having the full assurance that the students had fully grasped the concepts. Unlike our on-campus full-time students, we have the luxury of teaching the course over a period of 14-weeks and there is sufficient time for the students to attempt tackling the topics covered before they start writing their exegesis paper. So technically, by the time they write an exegesis paper, they would have, theoretically, mastered the principles of exegesis. However, this was not really the case with our extension centre. All the written assignments are only due 6 months later, including the exegesis paper itself. So the problem I have is this: How certain am I that the students have a full grasp of doing a word study, cultural and historical background, etc, before they embark on attempting their exegesis paper? If they do any of these assignments wrongly, there would not be any opportunity for me to highlight their mistakes or errors. In other words, chances are that whatever errors they might commit in some of these assignments might be reflected in their exegesis paper as well. It would be too late by then for any corrections to be made.

Being a highly practical and hands on course, I am also aware of the lack of access to good theological library for our extension students. For example, I was not able to demonstrate how they could effectively use some of the theological dictionaries and lexicons available in our campus library in Seremban. However, thanks to Internet technology, much of the materials are also easily available online.

Despite the constraints, I find the enthusiasm of the students very commendable. They faithfully sat through the lectures, sacrificing their two weekends by listening to me. They raised very pertinent and relevant questions related to biblical interpretation. There was no doubt that I thoroughly enjoyed teaching them, despite the punishing pace and tight schedule we had (not to mention the experience of having my flights cancelled and delayed to and back from Kuching on the second weekend). To all of you in Kuching, thanks for making the class lively and a real joy to teach.

Recognising that our TEE students may not have the luxury of doing theological studies full time, this model of having classes spread over 2 consecutive weekends seems to fit in their schedule pretty well. As such, I am still exploring various methods of how to deliver my lectures in such a concentrated and condensed format in future so that the students might benefit the most out of it. As such, I would welcome any ideas to further improve the course. Any contributions out there?

Special TEE Course by Dr Peter O’Brien

In colaboration with Church Based Theological Education (CBTE), STM is pleased to announce a special Theological Education by Extension ( TEE) Course by Dr Peter O’Brien on "Justification in the Paul's Epistles."

This course will explore the development and presentation of the theme of justification in the letters written by the Apostle Paul. In view of recent scholastic studies that offer a “fresh interpretation” of the doctrine of justification, this course will be a timely reminder of the biblical view of how God justifies us while we were still enemies with him.

Dates: March 1 (Sat), 4 (Tue), 6 (Thu), 7 (Fri), 8 (Sat), 11 (Tue), 13 (Thu), and 14 (Fri)

Time: Tue, Thu and Fri: 8.00-10.30pm; Sat: 9.00am-5.00pm

Venue: First Baptist Church; Lot 8, Jalan Pantai 9/7, 46000 Petaling Jaya

About the Instructor

Dr Peter T. O'Brien is Senior Research Fellow at Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia where he was formerly Vice-Principal. He has also been the Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean of Union Biblical Seminary in Yatvatmal, India.

Dr O’Brien is a noted NT scholar with special interests in Pauline theology and missions. Among his noted works include commentaries on Ephesians (Pillar New Testament Commentary), Philippians (New International Greek New Testament Commentary) and Colossians/Philemon (Word Biblical Commentary). He is currently writing a commentary on Hebrews for the Pillar series. Other works include ‘Consumed by Passion: Paul and the Dynamic of the Gospel’, ‘Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission’ (written with Andreas Kostenberger) and ‘Justification And Variegated Nomism’ (two volumes edited with D. A. Carson and Mark A. Seifrid).

Course Registration
For STM and TEE students only, please contact Ruth Tee
Seminari Theoloji Malaysia
Lot 3011, Taman South East, Jalan Tampin Lama Batu 3, 70100 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
Tel: 06 - 6322815

Fax: 06 - 6329766

email address: ruthtee@stm.edu.my

For those who are not STM students, please contact the CBTE Registrar, Doreen Chan, via doreen28@tm.net.my or 016-238-0918

TEE Schedule 2008

The revised TEE schedule for 2008 is finally posted on the web.

There are some interesting courses lined up for 2008. Of major highlights are the course to be taught by Dr Peter O'Brien of Moore College, Australia, and the Special Travel Course Following the Footsteps of Paul. Check out these and other courses, and sign up!

If you are interested in our Theological Education by Extension (TEE) or would like further information on our TEE programmes, please click here.

Growing Number of Men for Priesthood

A recent article in The Times reported that there has been a steady growing numbers of men training for priesthood in the Roman Catholic church in recent years, thanks to a series of aggressive and creative advertisement campaigns.

The report also highlighted several interesting developments in the Catholic church.

• From the lowest recruits of 26 in the year 2002, there has been a steady increase over a period of 4 years to 44 applicants .


• The average of men entering priesthood is now 28, the youngest it has been in years.


• A disproportionate number of the new seminarians at the Westminster archdiocese's seminary at Allen Hall are coming into the priesthood through the “ecclesiastical movements” that proliferated after the Second Vatican Council. These groups are officially recognised organisations that follow a particular founder and are usually led by the laity. They often take the model of the early Church as their example, meeting as small communities to pray and study scripture.

Read the rest of the article here.

It is also interesting to compare some of these figures to my seminary's new intake for the coming 2008 academic year. While we are encouraged by some of the recent developments, it seems to me that the latest statistics also reveal some concerns and trends that both the church and seminary need to consider seriously. More of this later.