Julius J. Kim, Ph.D.
Dean of Students

Dear Students,

I can’t believe summer is almost over and a new semester is about to begin.  Where did all that time go?  Well for me, the summer kicked off with a wonderful trip to Southeast Asia.  This past June, I was privileged to participate in a short-term mission trip to Cambodia through my denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). 

This trip was set up by one of our graduates, Dr. Lloyd Kim (M.Div., 1999), who along with his wife Eda (who is a medical doctor) is currently engaged in a variety of mission work in Southeast Asia through Mission to the World, the PCA’s foreign missions committee.  One of the primary areas of his ministry is the training of pastors and leaders in this area.  Here’s a picture of the Kim family at their home in Phnom Penh:

From left: Rev. Ted Hamilton, Eda, Christian, Katy, Dr. Lloyd Kim, and Kaelyn

For this June, Lloyd Kim invited me and Rev. Ted Hamilton (senior pastor of New Life PCA, Escondido) to come teach a one-week homiletics course entitled “Preaching Christ from all the Scriptures” to a group of 25 pastors and leaders from a limited-access country in Southeast Asia.  

After a long flight of over 20 hours, we landed in Phnom Penh for a week of teaching.  Most of the mornings were spent in lecture, discussing how Christ is the center of not only the Scriptures, but also in our preaching.  After a brief lunch with the students, and a longer break around noon to cool down from the oppressive heat, our afternoons were spent together in workshops, working through different portions of Scripture, interpreting them and then formulating sermon outlines.  One particular pastor, after hearing that a Christ-less sermon from the Old Testament is at best, a moralistic message that could be heard in a Jewish synagogue, confided that many of his sermons were no different from those of a Jewish rabbi!

By the end of the week, these leaders were insightfully drawing from their vast knowledge of Scriptures to see the Christ—centered connections in Scripture, especially between the Old and New Testaments. 

Students working together in the afternoon workshops.

Many of these leaders, who do not have many opportunities for seminary-level training, were eager to discuss the importance of Christ-centered interpretation and preaching.  It was humbling to see their passion for Christ and his Church as they labor in a country with ongoing persecution of Christian believers.  These leaders sacrifice much to serve Christ and I was privileged not to teach, but learn from them.   

Dean's Desk Archives

 September 07: Senior Reflections
 May 07: Senior Reflections
 March 07: CWiPPThink
 January 07: Winter Term
 November 06: Reformation Day
 September 06: Welcome Back
 August 06: Summer Greek
 July 06: CPR
 June 06: Sign Up and Gear Up
 May 06: Reflection by Michael Schout
 April 06: den Dulk Lectures
 March 06: Student Association
 February 06: Preaching Christ
 December 05: Mentors