the great commission and political involvement of the church eng bulletin... · worship and preach...

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The Great Commission and Political Involvement of the Church Feature 2016 Jul-Sep Vision for China Mission to the World Bernard Wong Assistant Professor (Theological Studies) Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20) The first words in the Great Commission are “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” and so Jesus’ authority is the foundation of evangelism. This authority is not harsh or oppressive; it comes from God, allowing those who willingly submit to Jesus’ authority to live an abundant life. Evangelism is in fact Christians witnessing Christ with their transformed lives, lives that are so attractive that people are drawn to believe. That is, they turn from pursuing the world’s powers, money and status, and willingly submit to Jesus’ authority. The primary objects of the Great Commission are “all nations” – people in the world. However, conflicts arise when 12 Dorset Crescent, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong | Tel: (852) 2337 4106 | Fax: (852) 2794 2337 | E-mail: [email protected] Editing and Production: Development Department | Publishing Supervisor: Stephen Lee people believe and submit to Jesus: between believers and their families, between biblical and secular values, and between the church and political powers. These conflicts arise when Christians turn from obeying worldly authorities toward following Jesus’ authority. Therefore, evangelism entails power struggles and conflicts between Jesus and the world. This is why Jesus’ all-encompassing authority is important in evangelism. Knowing that all authority is in Jesus’ hands, we can be courageous in the face of conflicts. “All authority” includes, of course, political authority. How are we to understand Jesus having political authority on earth? Martin Luther’s doctrine of the ‘two kingdoms’ has immensely impacted Christian political thinking. He believes that God has instituted two kingdoms on earth: The ‘earthly kingdom’ governs worldly matters through political powers and the laws, and the ‘heavenly kingdom’ governs spiritual matters through the church and the gospel. While both are ruled by God, they are separate: the political powers do not interfere with church matters and the church does not get involved with political issues. Yet, believers are members of both the church and societies, and in reality ‘worldly’ and ‘spiritual’ matters overlap. The Bible has not distinguished the world in this way, either. Therefore, the “doctrine of the two kingdoms” is inadequate. Political theologian Oliver O’Donovan points out that Jesus never splits the world into two unrelated realms. Instead, He speaks about two separate times or eras: before and after His coming to the world. Before Jesus, different worldly entities held worldly authorities. But Jesus gathered all these authorities into His hands after His resurrection. Now in the end times, political powers are authorized by Jesus to rule and so they should submit themselves under Jesus’ authority. But political powers are not people who can repent so their submission cannot be “repentance.” Instead, they should offer a space that allows people to hear the gospel and repent. How can political powers offer this space? From a careful reading of the Scripture,

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Page 1: The Great Commission and Political Involvement of the Church Eng Bulletin... · worship and preach the gospel. They were, however, persecuted and martyred under the political climate

The Great Commission and Political Involvement of the Church

Feature

2016Jul-Sep

Vision for China Mission to the World

Bernard Wong

Assistant Professor (Theological Studies)

Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)

The first words in the Great Commission are “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me” and so Jesus’ authority is the foundation of evangelism. This authority is not harsh or oppressive; it comes from God, allowing those who willingly submit to Jesus’ authority to live an abundant life. Evangelism is in fact Christians witnessing Christ with their transformed lives, lives that are so attractive that people are drawn to believe. That is, they turn from pursuing the world’s powers, money and status, and willingly submit to Jesus’ authority.

T h e p r i m a r y o b j e c t s o f t h e G re a t Commission are “all nations” – people in the world. However, conflicts arise when

12 Dorset Crescent, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong | Tel: (852) 2337 4106 | Fax: (852) 2794 2337 | E-mail: [email protected]

Editing and Production: Development Department | Publishing Supervisor: Stephen Lee

people believe and submit to Jesus: between believers and their families, between biblical and secular values, and between the church and political powers. These conflicts arise when Christians turn from obeying worldly authorities toward following Jesus’ authority. Therefore, evangelism entails power struggles and conflicts between Jesus and the world. This is why Jesus’ all-encompassing authority is important in evangelism. Knowing that all authority is in Jesus’ hands, we can be courageous in the face of conflicts.

“All authority” includes, of course, political authority. How are we to understand Jesus having political authority on earth? Martin Luther’s doctr ine of the ‘two kingdoms’ has immensely impacted Christian political thinking. He believes that God has instituted two kingdoms on earth: The ‘earthly kingdom’ governs worldly matters through political powers and the laws, and the ‘heavenly kingdom’ governs spiritual matters through the church and the gospel. While both are ruled by God, they are separate: the political powers do not interfere with church matters and the

church does not get involved with political issues. Yet, believers are members of both the church and societies, and in reality ‘worldly’ and ‘spiritual’ matters overlap. The Bible has not distinguished the world in this way, either. Therefore, the “doctrine of the two kingdoms” is inadequate.

Political theologian Oliver O’Donovan points out that Jesus never splits the world into two unrelated realms. Instead, He speaks about two separate times or eras: before and after His coming to the world. Before Jesus, different worldly entities held worldly authorities. But Jesus gathered all these authorities into His hands after His resurrection. Now in the end times, political powers are authorized by Jesus to rule and so they should submit themselves under Jesus’ authority. But political powers are not people who can repent so their submission cannot be “repentance.” Instead, they should offer a space that allows people to hear the gospel and repent.

How can pol i t ica l powers of fer this space? From a careful reading of the Scripture,

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When I went through my memory and my documents to recall my experience at CGST, I was both thankful and moved. I would like to share eight special features of CGST from my encounter with the School:

1. Aspiration to dedicate

I first heard of CGST during my university fellowship time in 1971.We were talking about CGST in the context of a “Graduates’ Dedication Movement”. This movement emerged in the 19th century in Europe and the US, and spread to China in the 20th century. It came to Hong Kong and Taiwan in the 60s. CGST was started from a calling received in this movement. It was no surprise that it was established as a theological school that trains university graduates. By the time I heard about CGST, several graduates had already dedicated their lives to the Lord and went to the States to be equipped in order to serve at CGST, one of whom including Rev Dr Wilson Chow. He holds the record for the longest-serving CGST President.

The devotion of the “Graduates’ Dedication Movement” conveys a wholeheartedness that is “not for his own advantage”, “willing to lay down and surrender” and “willing to be wronged and to suffer”. As CGST was established coming out from this movement, it is naturally tied to an aspiration to dedicate one’s life with the willingness to surrender and suffer.

Today’s world emphasizes on r ights. Middle-class churches look for comfort. Quite a few pastors look to job benefits and a life of ease. The dedication movement and aspiration of CGST bear a special significance to the training of pastors today.

2. Sentiment of comradeship

Before I began church ministry, I studied for a two-year theology diploma course at the Disciple Training Centre (DTC) in Singapore. In 1982, after five-years in church ministry, I considered studying for MDiv degree in CGST. I enquired then if CGST would recognize the credits from DTC. I was uncertain as it was just a diploma course. Eventually, CGST gave full

recognition of all the DTC credits.

I did not know what factors CGST had considered when making that decision, but I believed that the sentiment of comradeship played a part in it. Like CGST, DTC was also established as a result of the “Graduates’ Dedicat ion Movement” and had strong connection with the student evangelical movement. Both are evangelical schools, it is understandable that they would support and reckon each other. In fact, CGST has been in collaboration with many seminaries to share resources and work together as comrades. This sentiment could still be felt in later years. I took part in the 1994-95 curriculum review. The new part-time Diploma of Christian Studies was a result of joint effort with the Graduates Christian Fellowship of Hong Kong. The curriculum was designed referencing Rev John Stott’s teaching. Such trust and dependence on like-minded organizations is indeed a valuable sentiment.

The training in CGST attaches a great deal of importance to critique and creativity. This is valuable , though it is important not to get to the stage of aloof arrogance. Interdependence is a mark of a mature worker and mature service.

3. Ethos of respecting knowledge

In 1983-84, I studied part time in CGST. Of the many activities at CGST, I was most interested in the Book Club organised by the Student Union. Students were enthusiastic in getting books. They were more than happy in buying books with the book gift coupon. Buying a book does not necessarily mean reading them all, but it does exude a sentiment of respecting knowledge which should be affirmed.

Apar t from having a high regard for knowledge, the respect for esteemed teachers was strong. When I was at CGST, rumors said that Dr Ronald Y K Fung would be retiring soon to focus on his research. His teaching of the Book of Galatians would be his last class. Hence everyone rushed to register for that course.

N ow a d ays , t he m o re o ne p u r su e s wealth and success, the less one’s quest for knowledge. I pray that CGST folks will never

CGST in my eyes

SharingO’Donovan points out that there is an active and a passive dimension that political powers can achieve this. Actively, political powers should properly administer law and judgment, maintain justice and social order, and implement good social and economic policies. Passively, they must not impose any ideologies or control the free exchange of ideas. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion should be upheld.

Now in this age of ‘already but not yet,’ political powers are yet to be completely submissive to Jesus. The church should guide them into this submission. As mentioned above, political powers should offer a space for people to hear the gospel and repent. This space should be provided through effective administration of law and judgment as well as safeguarding the freedom of speech and religion. The church should guild them into offering these in society. The early church also involved in political powers based on these same principles: early believers insisted that political powers must allow Christians to freely worship and preach the gospel. They were, however, persecuted and martyred under the political climate of the time. Different political situations call for different strategies, but the church should involve in politics following the same principles in all situations. Thus, the Great Commission has two “frontiers”: the people and the political powers. The former need to submit to Jesus through repentance, and the latter need to offer a space for the people to repent. 1

Therefore, the church must act ively participate in politics. Christians should involve by overseeing, assessing, and expressing opinions on government policies, and may involve in the government as civil servants or councillors. There are also theological principles for Christians to judge government policies and the works of government officials. Both “frontiers” – the people and the political powers – are equally important with regard to the Great Commission, so the church must not neglect either.

In Hong Kong today, threats to the freedom of expression is looming in the horizon. Political ideologies are being disseminated while the rule of law is being undermined. The government has yet to fully submit under Jesus’ authority. Christians must actively involve in politics so as to fulfill our roles in the Great Commission.

1 See Oliver O’Donovan, The Desire of the Nations: Red iscovering the Roots of Po l i t i ca l Theo logy (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Chan Chi-Bun

Senior Pastor, The Church of Christ in China Quarry Bay ChurchMDiv 1985

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stop studying.

4. Philosophy of encountering the situation

While I was studying full-time at CGST in 1984-85, I was most impressed with two subjects. One was “Evangelism and the Hong Kong Society” which was coordinated by Rev Dr Carver Yu. There was a profound meaning of having this course. It conveyed a clear message that pastors ought to encounter the situation they were in and get to know Hong Kong. Another subject was “The History of Contemporary Chinese Church” taught by Rev Jonathan Chao, who helped us face with another situation: the communist China.

Encountering one’s situation could be said to be an important philosophy behind the training of CGST. Today, the Chinese Culture Research Centre and The Centre for Faith and Public Values carry on this training philosophy in much depth and breadth.

5. Gene of trusting our youths

I was 35 when I was invited to join CGST as the Director of Theological Education by Extensions (TEE). That did not materialise as I had other commitments in church then. I later joined CGST in 1989 when I was 39 and hence still “young”. It was in the genes of CGST to have faith in youths. When the school was established, most of its teachers were in their 30s. The directors of the CGST Board and President Rev Philip Teng had a lot of trust in them. That however did not mean that the school did not have a rigorous recruitment policy. Let’s hear the words of Rev Dr Wilson Chow, “They have moved me tremendously through their maturity, their dedication, their spirituality, their character, and their academic excellence. This group is indeed the cream of the crop, and they are not only teachers to emulate, but friends to treasure.” (CGST Bulletin Issue 177, Jan 1992).

Today’s churches are demanding and rigorous in their succession plan. Churches require young pastors with aspirat ions, spirituality, character and good academic background. CGST has a great responsibility on its shoulders.

6. Eclectic culture

When I joined CGST in 1989, theological t ra in ing for the grassroots had a l ready commenced and was running as a separate unit. For a graduate level theological school, it was eclectic for them to setup a theological program for those with secondary school qualifications or less. Another example was the recognition of “mature students”, Christians without undergraduate qualifications are able to study at CGST.

In addition, CGST embraces a diversified group of teachers. CGST does not aimed at teachers who only fit a stereotypic category. The Lord loves diversity, and the eclecticism of CGST exemplifies the beauty of diversity.

7. Insistence to achieve balance

In January 1992, I participated for the first time in a retreat led by Dr Hans Burki. That was another step towards the insistence to achieve balance. CGST has sought balance in different areas, for example, balance between academic studies and current context, between reading the Bible and reading people, between classroom learning and practicum. Introducing such retreat camp was a step further towards achieving balance: balance our busy lives and ministry through retreats; balance the rational nature of academic research through stillness and centering. In today’s world, people are so busy with their own lives, there are never enough time for prayers and retreats. CGST should not give up such insistence.

8. Vision for a Chinese theological education

CGST is the abbreviation of the School. This abbreviation encompasses the word “China”, and shows that it is a school established for China and with China in mind.

In the June/July 1992 issue of the CGST Bulletin, Rev Dr Wilson Chow talked about how CGST faced the change of sovereignty in 1997. He said, “If we are to have a profound impact and contribution to theological education in China, we should run the school well so that it will be of superb quality to prepare us well for the future.” He also added, “CGST will

remain in Hong Kong. This is in line with its purpose, and is also a strategic decision. We believe that God raised up CGST for the current opportunities.” In the July/August 1997 edition of the CGST Bulletin, he mentioned, “Our goal is to build up and strengthen theological education in China, and also play a meaningful role in the international scene.”

CSGT has step by step borne some fruits for China’s theological education. May this vision be passed on to our future generations.

(This is an excerpt of Rev Chan’s sharing at the Chapel Service on November 19, 2015.)

Prayer Items 1. Pray for our new students. May God strengthen

their hearts for ministry, and help them focus on preparing for their study starting in September.

2. Pray for our new school year. May God lead our School’s ministries through His grace and faithfulness, to serve believers in local and overseas through theological education, and to equip them to serve God. Pray for our faculty, that God will give them extra strength and wisdom in their teaching work.

3. Pray for the new TEE Certificate of Soul Care and Certificate of Life Renewal programs. May God enlighten and bless students through these programs.

Save TreesSubscribe to electronic version of CGST English Bulletin

Thank you for subscribing to our print edition of English Bulletin. More trees are being torn down when we continue to print the quarterly Bulletin. We now would like to invite you to take part in protecting the environment by subscribing to our electronic version.

You can simply visit https://www.cgst.edu/ebulletin_eng and fill in the information as requested. From next issue onwards, you will receive an email notification to view the electronic version of the English Bulletin. Thank you for making an effort to save the earth!

CGST in my eyes

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Clay in the Potter'ss Hands

Interviewed by

Chan Hing-Ling

Alumni RelationsMCS 2011

Written by

Tong Fung-Ping

MCS 2013

Cho Ka-YauMDiv 2014

Cho’s journey of faith began when he was in primary school. His Christian uncle asked his son to invite Cho to church, hoping that through Cho, gospel would be brought to his sister. In the end, Cho’s mother believed and followed her brother to church. Studying in Grade 2, Cho was enrolled in a faith-based day care facility near his home. He then naturally attended that church, and eventually the whole family believed in Christ. Looking back, it is crystal clear that God started working through Cho from a young age.

Cho had a dedication to serve God as early as his college years. Hoping to fulfill his mother’s expectation, he completed his tertiary education before considering going to seminary. In fact, Cho’s family was very supportive—it was more a struggle of his own. Cho reckoned that pastoral ministry is a path of no return. At such a young age, the query was ‘is it the right moment?’ That inner struggle was the first hurdle on this path of ministry. Then God came to untie the knot: Cho shared his struggle with an older Christian who reminded Cho, “Who are you to decide whether it is the right time?” Cho then realized that God’s will is not determined by people, otherwise it would be one’s will. Afterwards, Cho joined a dedication camp of a seminary. Through Psalm 119, God reminded Cho to walk by faith and follow the light of the path, and whatever the situation is, God will guard and protect him.

Cho had always thought that he was still

young and so held back from making a lifelong commitment to ministry. In the summer of 2010, Cho worked part-time at Hong Kong Disneyland and met a Mormon there. This person was one year younger than Cho but had already decided to spend two years in equipping himself and to commit himself to full-time ministry. His decision deeply impacted the undecided Cho, waking him up to the fact that one should not delay to serve the Lord. Cho eventually overcame the hurdle and embarked on his road to ministry. Having obtained his MDiv in 2014, Cho has been serving in his mother-church Hong Kong Evangelical Church Yan Kwong Church as a young pastor in his twenties.

From member to pastor of his mother church, Cho feels stressful about his identity change. Thankfully his senior pastor spends time with him, and at the same time Cho listens, learns and grows. He gradually finds his role in bridging the young and old. It is undoubtedly not a plain-sailing journey, even hit a snag at times, but Cho continues to explore and try. Cho can facilitate the exchange of views and ideas between two generations, hence building up good communication. Cho has once again overcome a hurdle as he has found his place.

Today, our society is seriously torn apart, and the church cannot simply be a bystander. A pastor’s ministry of teaching and shepherding is increasingly challenging. Cho is facing the big

test of responding to congregation’s theological debates.

Cho recognizes that the identity of the church is to reveal God’s kingdom on earth. Apart from preaching the gospel, the Great Commission also involves Christians to be real disciples of the Lord by living the Word. In fact, the church cannot stay out of disputes in the society. Cho admits that Christianity (in Hong Kong) may veer towards pro-establishment, that many young people in churches are not receiving appropriate pastoral care. As a young person, Cho will not overlook any discrepancy between faith and reality in his role as a pastor. He believes that the church is salt and light of the contemporary world and should not shirk her identity and responsibilities. He himself must be vigilant and listen to the congregation, especially the young people. Cho often reminds himself to reflect on his faith, and hopefully after contemplation, he is able to establish keen theological reflection that can better serve brothers and sisters.

God has chosen young Cho to serve Him with vitality. He also wills to train Cho to serve faithfully. From the day he believed to the time he dedicated himself to serve, and then became a pastor, Cho has travailed and struggled. In God’s good hands, Cho is like the clay, he is all the work of His hand. The path of ministry is an arduous path but also one of grace – Let’s fight on, Cho!

Interview with Alumnus

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Faculty

The book The God of Extreme Mercy is the result of more than 20 years of thoughts and research although it only took me a few years to complete the writing. I have been meditating on two questions that have perplexed me for some time. The first question being: What kind of God would allow so much intense sufferings in our world? Just like Ivan Karamazov said resentfully in The Brothers Karamazov when he saw innocent children suffering, “It’s not God that I do not accept, it is this world of God’s, created by God, that I do not accept and cannot agree to accept.” This question has been with me for many years. The second question is about the doctrine of the Trinity. God is three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, yet He is the one and only God. How can three be in one and one be in three? No matter how much I have tried to explain this doctrine to anyone all these years, I have never been entirely happy with my explanation. I took on the challenge to answer these two questions by writing this book. And I have decided to deal with the question of suffering before turning to the doctrine of the Trinity.

In general, very few books about the triune God start with the topic of suffering and try to explain suffering with the doctrine of the Trinity. Taking this approach had its risk, but it did give me a breakthrough, enlightening me that our God is a God of extreme mercy. Yes, we can only comprehend the mercy of God by describing it as “extreme” because the mercy and kindness that God has shown us are beyond our understanding even by our own standard. If we give it some serious thought, it is impossible for us not to ask: “If God is everything, then the existence of any substance cannot be outside of God. So isn’t the existence of the world just a reflection of the inner self of God?” If God has to truly give us a genuine existence other than one that is simply a refracted fragment of His very self, He will need to make room for us within Himself, room that He allows His creatures to be truly themselves, a space in which He vouchsafes His creatures

true freedom. That means He allows Himself the freedom to graciously relinquish His absolute self-possessiveness, and lay down what belongs to Himself as His absolute sovereignty and power to intervene and control at will the space that He has set aside. Hence, the act of creation is already an act of self-sacrifice. Because of this sacrificial love, God wills not to arbitrarily intervene in the space that He has given us so that authentic freedom can be realized. With genuine freedom, human persons bear full responsibility to their action. Suffering is entirely the consequence of human actions out of a freedom that centered on the self, forgetting that genuine freedom is freedom to transcend oneself, to realize oneself in covenantal love. Freedom comes out of God’s covenantal love and is bounded by nothing other than covenantal love. Freedom wrongly exercised distorts human nature and drives human beings onto the path of disintegration and self-destruction, and suffering comes in the process of disintegration and self-destruction.

If we have difficulty comprehending the mystery of the Trinity, it is not because the truth is totally incomprehensible, but because we have been holding a truncated worldview which distorts our perception of reality. If we would make a paradigm shift of worldview, our minds will be enlightened to see the truth. Once we change our way we perceive reality, we would be liberated to understand the Triunity of God. We have been persuaded uncritically by “phenomenological physics” since Aristotle all the way to Newton to see the world as a collection of isolated individual objects, completely self-subsistent and absolutely independent, having no relation with any other objects other than spatial relations. They move unceasingly, each by itself alongside all others in its inertial path. Russian philosopher of culture A. Th. Losev gives us his most insightful illustration of such an individualistic world view by guiding us through the pantheon of Greek sculptures, showing us how Greek culture has been completely captured by such

individualism. ‘Against a dark background, as a result of an interplay of light and shadow, there stands out a blind, colorless, cold marble and divinely beautiful, proud and majestic body, a statue. And the world is such a statue…… There is no personality, no eyes, no spiritual individuality. There is a “something,” but not a “someone,” an individualized “it”…… There is no one at all. There are bodies, and there are ideas.’

The world according to modern physics is entirely different. Electromagnetic phenomena reveal to us a very different world, an interactive and inter-permeable world full of mutual participations. An object is a field of energy, and will continuously interact and inter-permeate with other objects (fields of energy), yet still retaining its own uniqueness. If we use such a worldview to comprehend the Trinity, it will be quite comprehensible how the Father can indwell in the Son, be one with the Son but still retain the uniqueness of the Father. The mutual indwelling of the Son and the Father is the same. It is only then that we can fully understand how revolutionary the concept of “perichoresis” or “mutual interpenetration” proposed by Early Church Fathers is. However, the revolution did not get to bear any fruit simply because the grip of individualism on the mind of the people then was so strong. The Trinity thus appeared totally incomprehensible to them. Another enlightening point is that the term “perichoresis’ incorporates the concept of creating space. This means that the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son incorporates the concept that the Father creates a space within Himself for the Son, and the Son similarly creates a space within Himself for the Father so that the Father can indwell in Him. This should make it easier for us to understand how God has decided to give space for a world to exist within Him and yet retain its own uniqueness. What a mystery this is! This mystery can only call for our utmost thanksgiving and praise: An amazing mystery! Our God is really an extremely amazing God.

Carver Yu

Abundant Grace Distinguished Professor (Theological Studies)President Emeritus The God of

Extreme Mercy

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Campus News

Response

General Fund US$

Donations 688,035

Tuition & other income 512,972

1,201,007

Expenditure (1,122,457)

Surplus 78,550

Surplus from Jan to Apr 2016 25,740Accumulated Surplus 104,290Outstanding mortgage loan as at Jun, 2016 : US$ (2,090,730)

General Fund Financial Report May to Jun, 2016

Board of Directors

• The Board held their annual general meeting in the morning of June 25. Officers were elected as follows: Mr Patrick Nip (Chairman), Mr Patrick Yuen (Vice-Chairman), Rev Chung-Ching Choi (Secretary), and Prof Chung-Ming Lau (Treasurer).

• We welcome three newly-elected members: Rev Compeyson Lee (MDiv 1993), Rev Ip-Wah Yuen (MDiv 1997), Ms Suet-Ching Tang (DipCS 1998). Four members stepped down: Rev Shan-Ho Ng, Elder Daniel Chiong, Rev Youngman Chan, Dr Ching-Ching Lau. We are thankful for their contributions over the past years in leading the School forward.

The President Office

• July 1-5: President Stephen Lee visited Toronto to preach and went on to Washington DC to visit CGST supporters.

• July 25-29: Vice President Luke Cheung attended the Triennial General Assembly of Asia Theological Association in Korea.

• August 3-16: President Lee went to Auckland of New Zealand, Melbourne and Sydney of Australia to preach at public lectures, pastoral seminars, CGST revival meeting, preaching at Sunday service and visit supporters.

• August 12-14: President Lee was invited by Logos Christian Conference Association to be the keynote speaker at their 2016 Sydney Chinese Christian revival and Bible study meetings.

Faculty Engagements

• May 2: Dr Joyce Sun was invited by Sheung Kwai Church Network to speak at their Joint Bible Study Camp.

• June 20: Dr Bernard Wong was invited to the Rev Dr Jason Yeung’s Retirement Conference as a respondent. Dr Wong spoke in the area of Scholar-pastor and pastoral ministry practice under social dilemma.

• July 3: Dr Bernard Wong attended the Inauguration of General Secretary of Wycliffe Bible Translators (Hong Kong) cum Dedication Ceremony of New Testament e-Bible in Romblomanon.

• July 15: Dr Joyce Sun was invited by The Worldwide Bible Society to be the speaker of the Bible seminar on the First Epistle of Peter.

• July 22 – Aug 12: Dr Bernard Wong was invited by Fellowship of Evangelical Students to lead a series of seminars about Christian life in a high-tech society.

• July 24: Dr Jean Lee was invited by Christian Communications Limited to speak at the Hong Kong Book Fair in the area of marketplace ministry.

• July 24: Dr Annie Pan Ng was invited by Christian Communications Limited to speak at the Hong Kong Book Fair on the topic “Encounter in Metropolitan Pilgrimage.”

• Aug 22-26: Dr Jean Lee, Dr Bernard Wong and Dr Esther Xue attended the 9th Chinese Congress on World Evangelization in Taipei. Dr Wong shared the message “Sola Fide: Return to God’s Sovereignty” in the session “500 Years of Reformation.”

• August: Dr Jean Lee’s article on outreach and vocation was published in the book about social work for marginalized youth authored by our alumnus Ms May Kwok.

Limited Term Chair

• June: We are deeply thankful to the love gift of Mr Christopher Li, Washington DC Regional Council member, to establish a limited term chair. Our Board endorsed the nomination of Rev Dr Kin-Yip Louie for “Heavenly Blessings Associate Professor.”

Staff News

• May 6-9: Mr Kwok-Kuen Leung preached at Word of Life Bible study class and worship service in Beijing..

• July 1: Mr Albert Wong was retired from his 16-year of service at CGST. We are thankful to him for his service.

• August: Dr Pui-Sum Ip resigned from his position as the Director of Theological Education (TEE) by Extension. We are thankful to him for his service.

• September: Dr Yuen-Han Lai Chan was appointed as Coordinator of TEE cum Acting Director of TEE.

• July 6: Rev Dr Song Jun was invited to speak

at the 2016 Annual Meeting of Beijing China Christian Seminary. “Viewing the current Chinese Church context from history” was the theme of the annual meeting.

• July 30-Aug 9: Mr KK Leung went to New York and New Jersey to preach at revival meetings and Sunday services.

Theological Training Programs (Putonghua)

• We welcomed around 100 Mainland Chinese students to study at the two-week summer term between July 11 and 23. Four courses were offered: “The Church in Mission” by Dr Wing-Yan Chan Mok; “Family Ministry” by Rev Dr Brian Lam; “Old Testament Theology” by Rev Dr Stephen Lee; “Expository Preaching” by Rev Dr Song Jun.

In Memoriam

• June 23: The retired Australian board member Mr Ernest Liu went to be with The Lord. The memorial service was held at Praise Evangelical Free Church of Australia on July 2. Our deepest sympathy is with the Liu’s family.

New School Year

• The 2016-17 academic year was kicked off with a series of activities: Orientation Day for new part-time students in the evening of August 26, Orientation Camp for part-time students on August 27 and for full-time students from August 30 to September 1, and the Commencement Service on September 5, during which Dr Ka-Leung Wong addressed our community.

1. Donation by cheque Cheque No.

Bank

Please make cheque payable to: – “China Graduate School Theology” (for Hong Kong) – “CGST” (for USA – please send to our US office) – “CACGST” (for Canada – please send to our Canada address)

2. Donation by Credit Card*

Visa MasterCard

Credit Card No.

Expiry Date (MM/YY)

Signature

Please send me the CGST Chinese Bulletin

Please send me the CGST Quarterly English Bulletin

I would like to donate to CGST $ (specify currency)

Please use it for

General Fund Graduate Programs

Word of Life Ministry

Faculty Support

Others

Restricted Fund China Mainland Theological Education Development Fund

Student Scholarships

Rev./Dr./Mr./Mrs./Ms.

Address:

Zip/postal code:

Tel:

Email:

Please direct your response to one of the followings:

The School will only collect personal information that is necessary for us to support our course(s) and school administrative activities. The personal data being collected will not be sold, traded or rented in any forms through any means to any other parties.

*Note:

1. Tax deductible receipts issued to Hong Kong and Canada credit card donations.

2. For US credit card donation and receipts issued by U.S. please go to http://www.cgstus.org/donation.php

HONG KONG China Graduate School

of Theology12 Dorset Crescent, Kowloon, Hong Kong

U.S.A.U.S. OfficeChina Graduate School

of TheologyP.O. Box 1565, Mountain View, CA 94042-1565, U.S.A.Tel: (650) 938 2478Email: [email protected]

CANADACACGSTP.O. Box 72128Old Orchard P.O.31-4429 Kingsway, Burnaby B.C.V5H 4P9 Canada

AUSTRALIAAustralian BoardChina Graduate School of TheologyP.O. Box 32, Enfield, NSW 2136Australia