Reverend Doctor Joseph Tan’s story to being a theologian

FROM TECHNOLOGY TO THEOLOGY

BY JANICE NG

When God birthed a call and deep desire in Reverend Doctor Joseph Tan’s heart as a young minister, his only response was, “Lord, do whatever you want with my life”.

Besides being Acting Dean for the School of Theology (English) at TCA College, Dr Joseph is also a pastor at Trinity Christian Centre. Read on to discover how the computer business partner became a theologian.

GOD’S MOLDING, LEADING AND PROVISION

´ä|nökî lyhwh ´änökî ´äšîºrâ ´ázammër lyhwh ´élöhê yiSrä´ël which translates as “I, even I, will sing to the LORD; I will praise the LORD, the God of Israel, in song.”

This was Dr Joseph’s praise unto the Lord in his final dissertation for his PhD studies. Well-known to be Trinity’s Old Testament scholar, his journey to teaching theology was never something he imagined or dreamed of. The only vision he had was

one of “the nations”. “Nobody starts out wanting to be a professor,” quips Dr Joseph. He recalled how in his younger days as a new Christian, he was very reserved and could not see himself standing before people and speaking. While teaching part-time in a computer school, he had to pick up teaching skills where he gradually grew in confidence in public speaking.

When he decided to serve God full-time, he even thought he would be the “computer” man and not a pastor. But God’s ways are always higher than ours.

Embarking on his Bible school training with missiology as he thought of preparing himself to go to the nations, Dr Joseph shared, “I learned a lot about ministry, but I wanted more Bible. After completing that Bachelor’s degree, I continued with a Masters in Intercultural Studies. It was then that I was exposed to a module on contemporary hermeneutics, which is a new way of interpreting the Bible. This course sparked my interest in the subject so much that I decided to change my course to Masters in Divinity. As I began studying biblical languages, I was surprised to discover that learning these languages were not difficult for me. In fact, I enjoyed doing so. That was when God seeded the thought of doing a PhD in me.”

“The call to pursue my PhD was met with total disagreement from many whom I shared it with. But my wife wisely reminded me that God would supply if it is indeed His call for you,” added Dr Joseph.

“When I joined Trinity in 2007, I became a Zone Pastor. In my mind, the pastoral and the academic track were distinct, so I never expected to be offered an opportunity to further my theological studies. But God was at work, and I was sent to study a masters specializing in the OT in the US. Since this was something I kept to myself, it was beyond my comprehension that this avenue would be made available to me.”

BUT GOD’S WAYS ARE ALWAYS HIGHER THAN OURS.

NEW ZEAL FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT

“The Old Testament was not my favorite subject, I failed terribly and took an entire year to relearn the Old Testament,” revealed Dr Joseph as he recalled the tough pruning time in the US. “Previously in my training we were directed to just read off commentaries and I must admit that it was not very inspiring nor exciting. During my studies in the US, I had a dream team of professors who helped me grow my interest, and guided me on how to study.

They pointed me to resources on background, and I was able to understand the political climate, and culture of Israel at the time. Such contextual studies gave me insights beyond what I was reading from the Bible and that really sparked something in the way I understood and interpreted the Bible. It was helpful to be immersed in such a conducive studious environment.”

Today, Dr Joseph has a PhD in Biblical Interpretation and Theology, and has been teaching in TCA College for 11 years. “There’s a great sense of joy, satisfaction and fulfillment in my call to teach. In TCA College, I have the privilege to empower students from different denominations, churches and nations.”

Dr Joseph constantly sees his students as future pastors, missionaries and leaders in the Christian World. “I feel that in the place I am, I can impact students who will reach people I cannot reach personally. Recently, I met up with a TCA alumnus, who is the Deputy Senior Pastor of the largest Tamil speaking church in Singapore. I am encouraged to know the training really helped him in ministering the church. What I teach shapes their biblical understanding and theology which in turn shapes the people in their circle of influence. “Equipping a student is an awesome responsibility of a Bible School Teacher. We never know who we are equipping – reaching China, Canada, India, and beyond through our teaching. These are the things that keep me going.”

“I do not think I have arrived at any final destination with regard to my call. The call is more than a destination. It is a journey of being in a place where God wants you to be. Everything we do adds to the call, so I will continue to embrace whatever new assignment God directs me to.”

While Dr Joseph’s current favorite subjects are Biblical Hebrew and Old Testament Survey, he is developing a course on the book of Judges. He has an inkling that this is going to be his new favorite, as his dissertation was on this book of the Bible. Trinitarians and beyond, we can look forward excitedly to rolling out of the new TCA course, and what God will continue to do in and through TCA.

Do you have a dream or call that God has placed in your heart? Perhaps like Dr Joseph Tan, you have not told anyone about it yet or have been wondering how that will be fulfilled. If there is a stirring in your heart to impact the nations through teaching, we invite you to explore joining TCA as a faculty.