Beauty @7:30 AM

Moving on Track as Everyone Pulling Their Weight

The seminary is on the move. Since 2017, I have been telling our faculty, co-workers, and students that the seminary entered a torch passing phase on different occasions like academic board meetings, all staff meetings, and chapel services. As many of our faculty and staff members are approaching retirement age, we are undergoing a transition period. In fact, not only our seminary staff but also the pastoral leadership in Hong Kong churches in general is undergoing a transition. In large and small churches alike, we are witnessing an older generation of pastors retiring from their ministry positions, making way for younger pastors.

While in this process of torch passing, I also often talk about what I wish for our seminary and the church; namely, I am anticipating that the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary (HKBTS) would be doing even better researches and more down-to-earth theology studies so that the church would be blessed even more. This has always been the goal of our seminary. I always stress that “teachers are the engine that drives the seminary forward” as it is my belief that teachers’ spirituality, character, teaching, knowledge, and practice can really get the whole seminary going so that the seminary may help the church to respond to society and the world. Teachers in our seminary work diligently day after day on teaching, research, writing, cultivating students’ spirituality, and being the life mentors of students. Together they drive the seminary to excellence. Teachers work exceedingly hard, so do I and the students.

For facilitating an environment where our teachers and students can focus on their work and strive for the goal of our seminary, the contribution of our janitorial and office staff who work quietly out of the limelight is indispensable. They are faithful stewards of this cradle of preachers, taking care of every single inch of the seminary. They lovingly tend all the plants, keeping the seminary clean and tidy with the most sedulous care. In order to carry on the support operations of the seminary with the least possible resource, they show great flexibility and dedication. Co-workers from different departments work together as one to take good care of the seminary so that our students may concentrate on learning and teachers on teaching.

In addition to teachers, students, and co-workers who spend a lot of time on the campus, the continuous growth of the seminary also depends heavily on directors and members of the President’s Council who love HKBTS dearly. With talents given by God, they look out for the seminary and actively contribute to its development. Their life experience and valuable advice have helped me a great deal in my role as leader of the seminary.

After eight to nine years of prayer and hard work with everyone pulling their weight, the “Ten years’ Project” I proposed when I first took office as president and the “Faith, Hope, and Love Project” I put forward in the Thanksgiving Service celebrating the 60th anniversary of our seminary are gradually taking shape. Over the years, our teaching staff, students, publication, graduate studies programs, lay believers equipping programs, and distance education program have all witnessed significant progress in terms of quality and quantity.

Seeing Grace in the Campus Extension Project

After all these years of re-organizing and strengthening, the “software” of our seminary is mostly on track, yet we still need to work on the “hardware” at this stage so that the seminary may walk further for the Lord. The older parts in the “hardware” need renovation. To alleviate the long-lasting problem of space shortage, we also need more usable space, especially study and discussion spaces for graduate students, more space for the library collection, and more offices for teachers. Additional floor area would be required for the seminary to further realize its ministry.

Early 2016 marked a new milestone for the expansion project. The Board of Director set up the Campus Development Committee and the Building Committee respectively, kicking off the Extension Project of the Sai O Campus (Phase 3). The Campus Development Committee consists of those directors appointed by the Board of Directors. As every director is subject to retirement by rotation once every three years, the composition of the current committee is somewhat different from the original one. Current director members of the committee include Deacon Cecil Chan (Chairman), Deacon Ho Kin-chung, Deacon Lau Man-hin, Rev. Chan Chi-keung, and Rev. Chu Wood-ping. Moreover, Campus Development Committee then nominated those committed and gifted church members who are also highly experienced in architectural engineering to serve as a Building Committee in order to assist our administrative staff in matters such as lease modifications, tendering, and construction supervision. Members of the committee are as follows: Deacon Cecil Chan (Chairman), Dr. Joseph Kwan, Deacon Samuel Chan, Deacon John Pak, Deacon Thomas Tsang and Mr. Sam Chan. I was also appointed into the two committees in my capacity as the president of the seminary.

We have experienced the amazing guidance of God even in the early stage of the expansion project. When the seminary applied for the construction of an additional 8,000 square feet of floor area on the Sai O campus, the Lands Department assessed the land premium payable as HK$37.97 million. All our committee members considered the amount much higher than the market value of the additional floor area, so we made a unanimous decision to appeal to the Lands Department for a reassessment. After loads of scrupulous preparation work, the seminary submitted sufficient documents and provided strong justifications, which resulted in a massive cut in the land premium to $16.57 million. In the end, we accepted a third offer of HK$15.91 million.

With this amazing experience, we could again firmly proclaim that God is the only Lord of HKBTS. The whole expansion project must be led by the Lord while we closely follow Him to do His will.

Serving in Unity and Fellowship

The next task was to design floor plans for the new academic building, for which we elicited the professional advices of the Building Committee members again. The pleasant atmosphere in the meetings made it an enjoyable experience to exchange ideas. We wasted no time and energy on picking quarrels. Everyone gave all they have for the benefit of the seminary and the future of theological education. It is amazing that in our hard work we experienced fellowship as one. We appreciated and complemented one another while discerning God’s will together.

On the grounds that teachers and co-workers are the actual users of the new building, the Building Committee suggested we should seek teachers’ opinion on the design and planning of the building. It started with three teachers with architectural background (Dr. Freeman Huen, Dr. Nathan Ng, and Dr. Tony Sher) drafting a space allocation plan; and we went on to invite all teachers and department heads to voice their views. Meanwhile we also collected opinion from students. We extended the consultation to different users in order to make sure everyone had a chance to be heard, thus encouraging the involvement and participation of all stakeholders in the expansion project.

In the process of opinion collection, there were voices urging for environmental protection. Considering the importance of nature conservation from the perspective of faith practice, another working group, the Campus Environmental Consultation and Development Committee, was established under the Campus Development Committee in June 2018 in order to look into matters concerning energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling, and campus greening at the seminary. While I am an ex officio member, a number of environmental protection experts among the Baptists are also invited to join the committee. They include Deacon Ho Kin-chung (Chairman), Deacon Cecil Chan, Mr. Steve Wong, Mr. Andy Ho, and Mr. Edward Lam.

Beauty at 7:30 AM

The Sai O Campus was confronted with another severe external challenge in early August. One of the issues that concerned us is the government’s plan to build a large sewage pumping station just 15 meters from our campus. We summoned the Campus Environmental Consultation and Development Committee and the Building Committee for a joint meeting, in which the committee members unanimously agreed that the construction of the sewage pumping station would not only cause irreversible damage to the surrounding eco-system and environment but also pose a health threat to our seminary’s community and all visitors.

As committee members have their day jobs, and administrative staff members of the seminary were busy preparing for the new school term, we scheduled to meet at 7:30 in the morning so that everybody may go to work afterward. Since then we have always scheduled our meetings at 7:30 am. Though the issue we have to deal with is no easy matter, the meetings are always held in a pleasing atmosphere. One of the committee members once told me, “The meeting at 7:30 in the morning is indeed also a prayer gathering.” What he meant is that we discuss God’s work with a prayerful heart.

The Shining Glory of the Kingdom of God

My heart is filled with joy as I look back on these joint endeavors, because we are not only working on the hardware but also undertaking a spiritual project. Those who do ministry work have their lives established and serve joyfully with their gifts to build the seminary, which in turn builds the church. This is typical of the Baptists: with the distinct gifts from God each of us works together as one, with no one higher than others. To take it further, this is a characteristic not only of the Baptists but also of the Christian communities. When I see this beautiful scene on one side, and the conflicts within church communities on the other, I am overwhelmed with surprise: God has so much mercy on HKBTS as to let us experience heaven on earth. By saying this I am not gloating over others. Instead, it dawns on me that if we truly follow God, we can experience God’s grace and find more good even in a chaotic world. This is possible. This is the shining glory of the Kingdom of God.

I am grateful to God for the gift He has given me and the opportunities for me to make use of it. It is also clear to me that there are many talents that I lack. But I thank God that I get to serve Him with brothers and sisters full of gifts. I pray that God will continue to guide us so that we may walk on and work together in love, rejoice at serving God, experience His presence, and encourage others to walk with Him.

Nov 2018