My Unfinished Theological Journey

Joe Chan with his wife Haze and his child Jayden

Beginning a New Journey: Answering God’s Calling

　　In 2001, I was baptized and became a member of the church. The Holy Spirit led me to recognize how desperately people needed God, and I was determined to answer God’s calling: I began to equip myself by pursuing a part-time bachelor degree in biblical studies since 2004. By the time of my graduation, I had started my own family. To provide comfort and stability for my wife, I worked hard every day to make money, gradually leaving behind the mission God had given me. Although my wife had reminded me not to forget my calling, I was reluctant to leave my comfort zone. Moreover, with the birth of our child in 2013, my top priority was all about parenting.

　　However, when my wife was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2016, my soul was in extreme agony and I started examining my life. While my wife was hospitalized and receiving treatment, I decided to resign from my job which I had been working at for 17 years, so that I could take care of my wife around the clock. Having gone through surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, my wife was gradually going into remission. I witnessed the power of God in our difficult time, and was especially touched by seeing how God had moved the hearts of brothers and sisters around us to pray for and support us by all means, and not to mention the fact that my in-laws were moved by the love and healing of God that they decided to believe in Jesus. All these things that happened left me no choice but to reflect again on the meaning of life and my calling from God. I got a deeper understanding that life has never been in the hands of humans, and with our limited time on earth, we should never put aside the mission God has given us for the sake of secular matters. So, I decided to pursue a full time master of divinity program in preparation for my full-time ministry for the Lord.

On the Journey: Hardships and Grace

　　There are always ups and downs in every stage of life, and the life of a theology student is no exception. My major in university was engineering and I was comparatively weak in English. As I started studying at the seminary, I found it constantly stressful when reading academic books in English, especially the primary sources. In addition to coping with my studies, I also had to complete my practicum at churches as well as take care of my sick wife and my son who had just started kindergarten. I had a hard time doing a good job in each of these roles and very often I felt exhausted. Nevertheless, the grace of the Lord was sufficient; the obstacles I encountered were always opportunities for me to learn a lesson, and I always found comfort in the process.

　　I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratefulness to my teachers who were so patient in teaching and helping us understand how to become faithful servants of the Lord. I must also thank my family for their support and understanding; they helped me see how precious it was to love and be loved. What I was even more grateful for was knowing a group of loving classmates. We not only learned and grew together, but they were also not shy of showing me care, support and comfort when I was facing tough times (especially when dealing with my father’s passing this year and stress from schoolwork). I now deeply realize that “study” is not merely about an individual gaining knowledge, but also about building a disciple community together.

The Unfinished Journey: Beginning Theology in Practice

　　Three years of full-time study broadened my knowledge and imagination not only of God but also of myself. The deeper I studied about God, the more I knew Him and the more I discovered how tiny and limited I am. “Studying theology” is not about acquiring profound knowledge, but developing our own means to think through faith and put theological knowledge (including biblical hermeneutics, church traditions, history, and culture) into practice faithfully. “Doing theology” is not merely about thinking, researching, and discussing, but also about praxis, putting the theology we learned into practice at church and in society, just as Jesus was not only sharing the messages of Heavenly Kingdom with His disciples, but also Himself setting a good example for them regarding how to put into practice the gospel of the Heavenly Kingdom on earth.

　　Therefore, “graduation” is not just the end of our lives as theological students, but in fact it is the beginning of our putting theology into practice. Nowadays, it is indeed challenging to do church ministries which have been enormously affected by the social unrest and the pandemic in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, this may also be an opportune moment for us to reflect on theology. With my theological knowledge as a starting point, my humbleness and fear of biblical truth as foundation, and pleasing the Lord as my goal, while taking joy in preaching and pastoring, I am hoping to be able to put theology into practice even further at churches and in society, and dedicate my life as living service to Him.