Archive for April, 2009

Doug Flemming is the Communication Coordinator for the Asia Pacific Church of the Nazarene headquartered in Singapore. APart from his founding role in Wm Communications on the APNTS Campus, Flemming also served for many years on the Faculty of APNTS. Flemming Recently had the opportunity to return to APNTS to teach for a short-term teaching assignment . Below, Flemming reflects on some of the valuable faith-lessons that he learned.

I’ve been blessed to live in Asia (Philippines and Singapore) for nearly sixteen years and have taught several communication courses at APNTS and other schools during this time frame. Through each teaching experience I am reminded that I still have so much more to learn about Christ, culture and communications. My recent stay at APNTS was no exception. This past February to March, I was invited by Professor Kwon Dong Hwan to teach a new course, “Intercultural Communications” for the experimental AP Global Communications Program. The students (my teachers) were twenty-three energetic Korean, undergraduate students from the School of Journalism and Communications at Kyung Hee University (Seoul). The very context for this course (American professor, teaching in English, to Korean students, studying in the Philippines, on an international campus) offered ample opportunities to experience intercultural relationships.

Through my interaction with these students and the campus community I learned afresh the following concepts:

When we look for the positive aspects of any culture, we can find clear examples of “Christ-culture”. I discovered once again that the “collectivistic” Korean culture in many ways displays the biblical call to community. The KHU students bonded together and helped one another throughout their time here. Even when they weren’t eating Korean food, they still continued to eat Korean style, freely sharing and sampling from each other’s plates. What a great example of community! At the same time, this cultural value made it challenging to engage the students in classroom dialogue. Their reluctance to participate openly in class was simply a reflection of their desire to show humility and deference to the group. Hmmm…that sounds familiar. I think it says somewhere in the Bible to consider others more important than ourselves, doesn’t it?

But in the interest of education, I still was determined to find ways to involve them in the class. So I had to learn and adapt my teaching style. Instead of insisting on individual responses, I found it more effective to allow for group presentations. On another occasion, one of the students (”Bono”) taught me the Korean way to get the attention of my students by saying a well-known Korean phrase. I practiced that phrase and wrote it several times on my lecture notes. And at the appropriate time, when classroom chatter began to increase, I whipped out my new linguistic secret weapon – Pak su se-bun sijak! Suddenly, the students all responded in unison with three claps, and their attention was fully mine. Amazing! Finding the appropriate cultural key makes all the difference in developing productive intercultural relationships.

I also found it very refreshing to have students on the APNTS campus from a “secular” university. We who live and work in the “ministry realm” (i.e. on a seminary campus) need to be exposed to different worldviews and lifestyles that challenge status quo Christian religiosity. Many of the KNU students had very honest questions and doubts about Christianity and religion in general. Interaction with them reminds us that our “Christianese” pat answers don’t work in the real world. We must be able to clearly communicate our faith in culturally relevant terms.

And the best way to communicate our faith is through authentic relationship. For this reason, I was so proud of all those on the APNTS campus who volunteered to be tutors. Over and over again, the KHU students commented at how outgoing, friendly and helpful their tutors were. In spite of some of the obvious lifestyle differences, the campus community embraced the KHU students with genuine Christian love. So, for our Korean guests, I would say it was in the context of these relationships — not course content, text book, or even my wonderful lectures — where the majority of their real learning took place. I am convinced that my students now have a much better understanding, not only of intercultural communication processes, but more importantly of our Kingdom values, because Christ culture is best experienced in Christ-honoring relationships.

So, Professor Kwon, APNTS, and Kyung Hee students…thank you once again for this opportunity to be a learner.

PCMN has partnered with World Hope International’s Anti-Trafficking Program Director ( Asia ) Kristin Wiebe to conduct the training on Hands That Heal, an international curriculum to train caregivers of trafficking. It is  a comprehensive, international written, Christian curriculum designed to train current and future caregivers of trafficking survivors on April 21-24, 2009 at the Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, Taytay, Rizal.

PCMN is an association of Christian organizations and churches that responds to issues of children at risk. It has an on-going program on anti-trafficking in persons in Samar, Davao City and General Santos City. In the last 3 years, 50,000 people received information on anti-anti-trafficking campaign conducted by church leaders in communities affiliated with PCMN. At least 300 children were either rescued, or given aftercare services and prevented from being trafficked.

The purpose of the Hands That Heal Community Based Curriculum:

To provide a community-based curriculum in an interactive educational format that can be used in local communities and churches around the world to:

• Increase the knowledge and understanding of the commercial sex trade,
• Raise awareness of the multifaceted needs of trafficking survivors, and
• Train potential caregivers in introductory transformational care.

Hands That Heal is being used by secular and faith-based universities, churches and community groups to inspire people to engage in the battle against human trafficking and to provide training on how to provide transformational care to survivors of trafficking. The curriculum was developed  by The Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking FAAST, a group of faith-based, non-profit  organizations that are committed to the eradication of trafficking and slavery worldwide. The FAAST curriculum is the result of collaboration among more than 40 academicians and field practitioners from diverse backgrounds and organizations that address the needs of trafficked individuals.

Topics include:

• Defining Trafficking in Persons

• Emotional Responses/Addressing Grief

• Introduction to Biblical Themes

• Spiritual Needs

• Understanding Community Mobilization (CB only)

• Family Issues and Reunification

• Examples of Care/Community Response

• Recognizing Cost as Caregivers

• Culture and Human Trafficking

• Challenges to Transformation

• Common Health Problems

Individuals that will serve as trainers for caregivers and child development workers within their own organization/community group and/or for other organizations/community groups that are responding to local trafficking issues are expected to be participants to this training.

Celebrating women! Five female members of the APNTS faculty, all who are ordained elders in their respective denominations, presented a forum on ministering with women Saturday, 21 March that was attended by 80 students and faculty from APNTS, as well as pastors and laypersons from churches in the area. The topics and presenters included

• “Identity Formation: Determining Who We Are”
  Rovina Hatcher, Christian Education and Pastoral Ministry, opened the forum speaking on the topic of sources of identity for women, a theme which was picked up throughout the other presentations.
• “Women’s Ways of Knowing and Doing”
  Dr. Nativity Petallar, Christian Education and Holistic Child Development, discussed the findings of research about how women make moral decisions, the basis for their actions.
• “Women and Worship”
  Dr. Lee San Young, Pastoral Counseling and Religion, spoke concerning lowering barriers so that all women feel included in the presence of God.
• “The Message Speaks: Analysis of the Discourse of Two Sermons on Similar Themes”
  Professor Beverly Gruver, Christian Education and English, presented an analysis of differences in sermon writing for women.
• “Women as Counselors: Guidelines for Pastoras”
  Dr. Carolyn Seifert, adjunct faculty in Pastoral Ministry, offered counseling practices for women.

A short group discussion period followed the presentations. All participants received a certificate awarding .4 Continuing Education Units for their participation in the 4-hour forum. In keeping with the networking nature of women, the forum ended with participants enjoying lunch together in the dining hall.