It Was A Nice Treat

Sze Zeng blogs about wanting to get me to patronise Starbucks during my trip to Singapore beginning next week. That reminds me of Yoshua who called me out for a drink at Starbucks last week in Seremban. Nice of him to keep his word for taking me out in returning a favour that I did for him earlier on in the semester. Don't ask me what the favour was for. Nothing to do with his grades...Anyway, thanks for the coffee.

Next Counter Please...

There are some things you may not understand at times. I had a little experience last week when I was at one of the post offices. The sign at the first counter says, "Next Counter please". On the next counter, it says, "Next counter please." Then on the next counter, "Closed."

Malaysia Boleh....

A Moment of Reflection in the midst of Busyness

I blogged about my hectic schedule for the past two weeks in the seminary. But in the midst of my busyness, I decided to take some time off in one of the early mornings to walk around the seminary campus which is blessed with verdant grounds. It was refreshing to just pause for a moment to enjoy the greenery, plants and flowers.

I walked pass these flowers and plants everyday and it's amazing how often we miss out these beautiful creation of the Almighty if we just don't pause for a moment to enjoy them.

I managed to capture some of the flowers with my Sony Ericsson K530i.

LKY Ministries ala JP Ministries?

Sze Zeng blogs about the innovative approach adopted by Joseph Prince Ministries in inviting people to be partners with this ministry to help them "preach the gospel of grace." There are 4 categories of how one can be a partner, and obviously, which category of partner one belongs to will then depend on how much one dispenses with the monthly or one-time contribution to this ministry. Of course, the benefits and privileges of each tier of partnership will also vary accordingly.

Here are the 4 categories of partnership:

1) Destined to Reign Partner - Classic Blue

2) Grace and Favour Partner - Royal Purple

3) Gospel Revolution Partner - Gold

4) Joseph's Inner Circle Partner - Platinum Elite

To be Joseph's Inner Circle Partner (Platinum Elite), one must be prepared to contribute a monthly gift of at least US$500 or a one-time gift of US$5,000.

I am not sure whether I should be disturbed by this kind of promotion. But again, it gives me a real crazy idea now - perhaps I should set up a LKY Ministries inviting people to be my partners as well. But you don't have to give so much to be LKY's Inner Circle Partner Platinum Elite. All you need to do is to make a minimum monthly contribution of RM500 or a one-time gift of RM5,000. I will make sure you receive an autographed copy of my forthcoming book to be published by T&T Clark worth GBP65 or US$130. How about that.....

NT Position: Regent College, Vancouver

I must say something very interesting caught my attention.

Regent College, an evangelical, international graduate school of Christian studies based in Vancouver and affiliated with the University of British Columbia, invites applications for a position in New Testament studies to begin on September 1, 2009. The candidate will have expertise in Pauline studies. As the faculty ranking of this position is open, the successful candidate may be appointed at the rank of Assistant, Associate or Full Professor.

According to Regent College's website, the selection criteria for this position can be listed as follow:

• Does the candidate seek to make a significant contribution to writing and teaching in his or her field of study?


• Does the candidate view his or her expertise as held in trust for the service of the whole Christian church?


• Does the candidate have direct experience as teacher, researcher, and writer in the pursuit of the purposes for which Regent College exists?


• Does the candidate subscribe without reservation to Regent College's Theological Position?


• Is the candidate capable of supervising comprehensive examinations and Master's theses?


• Does the candidate fully embrace the mission and ethos of Regent College? This includes:
  1. our commitment to provide theological education for the whole people of God
  2. the integration of piety/spirituality with learning and scholarship
  3. our commitment to interdisciplinary studies, especially with relation to faith and culture
  4. our commitment to the development of Christian character within a diverse community.

The search committee will also give serious consideration to the way in which this appointment might foster gender and ethnic diversity on the faculty.

The normal responsibilities of a faculty member at Regent College include a teaching load of five three-credit hour courses per year along with expectations in terms of research and publication, availability to students for counsel and spiritual direction, and participation in faculty work in governance. For more information about Regent College, including our mission statement, please consult the rest of our website, beginning with Regent College's Distinctives and Statement of Faith / Theological Position.

Further information on this position can be found here. The closing date for is January 5, 2009.

With a first class faculty and alumni in over 80 countries, representative of more than forty Christian denominations, Regent College has gained an international reputation for excellence in theological education.

Long Vacation and Empty Car Parks (Almost)

Despite my busyness for the past couple of weeks (see here and here), the seminary campus is rather quiet during our long vacation. Just look at the car parks - they are almost empty, and I suddenly have a choice of where I want to park! During our normal semester, it is rather difficult to find a car park.

My Dream Pulpit

I really like this pulpit...


This CartoonChurch.com cartoon originally appeared in the Church Times and is taken from ‘The Dave Walker Guide to the Church’, published by Canterbury Press

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.....

The Old in the New Quiz

Zondervan has recently launched the book, Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament written by Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns.

In conjunction with the launch of this book, there is now a quiz designed to test one's view of how the NT authors use the OT.

With only 7 questions, this quiz will reveal one's view of how the NT authors understood and used the OT in their writings. Though a simplification of a complex topic, it places participants into one of three categories (or "views"). It's meant to be fun and informative. Don't take the results of this quiz too seriously.

Check it out by clicking here.

Ever wonder where I stand? Here's my results after taking quiz.

NT Use of the OT -- Test Your View!

Fuller Meaning, Single Goal view You seem to be most closely aligned with the Fuller Meaning, Single Goal view, a view defended by Peter Enns in the book “Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament” (edited by Kenneth Berding and Jonathan Lunde, Nov. 2008). Since the NT writers held a single-minded conviction that the Scriptures point to and are fulfilled in Christ, this view suggests that the NT writers perceive this meaning in OT texts, even when their OT authors did not have that meaning in mind when they wrote. It should be noted, however, that advocates of this view are careful not to deny the importance of the grammatical-historical study of the OT text so as to understand the OT authors on their own terms. For more info, see the book, or attend a special session devoted to the topic at the ETS Annual Meeting in Providence, RI (Nov. 2008); Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Darrell L. Bock, and Peter Enns will all present their views.

Fun quizzes, surveys & blog quizzes by Quibblo src="http://static.quibblo.com/static/images/badge/logo.gif" align=middle border=0>

Boy, does this quiz suggest that I am now aligned to Peter Enns? Oh dear...That means I can never be employed by Westminster Theological Seminary.