I feel honored and blessed to work with colleagues in my department and the College of Biblical Studies. Especially when compared to my wife’s vocation as a nurse at a state run facility, the DBMM and the CBS is truly a heaven, where we respect one another, and every one is pleasant to work with and works together toward the common mission to educate our students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. It is such a great joy to work with such a great group of colleagues that I have been an active participant in all departmental activities, such as faculty meetings (I’ve missed it once because I was attending a meeting elsewhere), departmental chapel (I don’t recall missing any), Senior Blessings, freshman mentoring chapel (I’ve missed it twice), and Manna (I missed it two or three times). Our department has spent numerous hours on Curriculum Revision and Student Outcome Assessment, and I have always been participating in these meetings without missing any of them. Most recently, for example, our department discussed to reduce the 21 hours of Concentration Electives for BYFM, BMCF and BIVM to 18 hours. We decided that the 3 hours removed from the concentrations would be replaced with a 3 hour majors only advanced Biblical Text. Another decision we made is that beginning with 2016-2017 catalog the Bible minor requirements will be 21 hours. This is to reduce the minor from 24 to 21 hours to bring our department closer in line with other departments. Discussions like these require numerous meetings and many hours of discussion, and I have participated in all of these discussions.
Upon request I served as a member in committees like UGEC (Sept. 2011 – May 2013), UUAC (Aug. 2013 – Jan 2014), and Student Life (Aug 2013 – May 2015). I am like a utility player in our department. Whenever I was asked to teach classes, I taught those classes. No one in our department is qualified to teach Abrahamic Faiths, a course on Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I taught it three times when I was asked to teach it. Also upon request I developed a new course BIBL 640 Biblical Perspectives on Stewardship with Dr. Kyle Tippens of COBA. Additionally upon special request I worked on developing a new course BIBL 640 Bible, Justice and Law with Dr. Andy Little of COBA. Due to lack of student interest the course did not make, but we worked on it together for several months.
I started and sponsored a small group chapel called Ebed, which is a Korea-China mission interest group, to promote mission interest among our student body. I led 3 Summer mission teams to Korea and China in the past five years. I’ve mentored our mission majors like Cannon Spears, Natalie Bressert and the 12 students I have taken to Korea and China to experience global Christianity, broaden their worldview, and participate in God’s mission. Cannon writes, for example, “I attribute much of my personal and spiritual growth to this time abroad and am thankful to Dr. Cha for facilitating and always being there for me,” because it is not just during the mission trip but afterward that the mentoring has continued in the form of planning for Ebed chapel together, writing letters of recommendation, and giving life advice. Natalie Bressert was in my Abrahamic Faiths class in her senior year. She said she didn’t know what to do after graduation, so I offered to her to go to China to teach English and introduced her to Chuck Harle, who heads China Calls. About a month after her graduation and her wedding she and her husband Jason went to Hangzou, China to teach. The video below is what I made when I visited them in June 2013 just as I promised her before their departure. Natalie said, “Dr. Cha. You changed my life.” Just as I partner with God in what I do, I consider these students as my partners in striving for ACU’s mission.
Natalie Bressert Teaching the Bible Creatively and Legally at Hangzou University in China
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