This is Part 6 - the conclusion of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography which I submitted to SBTS as part of my application to their M.Div program.

A few months later while listening to a sermon by John MacArthur on the emerging church, I felt my heart tugged by God to contend for my faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. I thought of all the friends and coworkers I came in contact with over the years, and realized that they could not call on Him in whom they have not believed. Honestly, “how are they to believe in Him if they have never heard of Him? How are they to hear without someone preaching the Gospel message to them? And how am I to preach unless God sends me?” (Romans 10:14-15) It was in those moments that I felt the quiet, constant voice of the Father beckoning me to be trained for ministry of His Word—a calling I am unworthy of but purely a gift of grace. 2006 consequently became a year of fruitful ministry that continually affirmed my calling—internally by the Seed of His Word and externally through friends and church leaders—and a time of learning about the weaknesses of the emerging movement and how to defend my faith with a humble orthodoxy.

This is Part 5 of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography.

Call to Ministry, continued…

In those trying months, my hurt and struggles drew me to look deeper into God’s Word and the words of others before me. In time, I grew in understanding the depths of my depravity and the height of his majesty—His pure glorious holiness which cannot accept sin. Recognizing His Sovereign authority over all things, I began to understand His Divine plan in election and learned to be thankful for His grace in every moment. I found the answers to the questions in the heart and mind of my Sunday students and myself in His infallible Word. Coming to terms with these theological issues, I eventually realized that much of my own theology was “Reformed” once I compared it to various books, sermons, and articles I read from authors like Louie Giglio, John Piper, John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Josh Harris, Mark Driscoll, etc..

This is Part 4 of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography.

3. Call to Ministry

In retrospect, those two years coordinating worship at CCF was a time in the trenches in which God was molding me into a better spiritual leader. I made lots of mistakes along the way and was far from perfect, but still, God used all my good and bad experiences to teach me what true worship was, what true humility involved, and what genuine mentorship required. In the midst of mentoring the next Worship Coordinator of CCF, I also began feeling a call from God towards a leading a larger ministry and taking a greater responsibility. Through Campus Challenge, the yearly campus ministry conference run by Ambassadors for Christ for Southern Ontario CCFs, God opened a door for me to be the Worship Coordinator for the conference.

This is Part 3 of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography.

Spiritual Pilgrimage & Ministerial Experience, continued…

Near the end of my first year at Ryerson, the Worship Coordinator began talking to me about whether or not I was interested in taking over his responsibilities as “Worship Coordinator” the following year. He said it was a logical step considering I was a inviting worship leader and seemed like a very caring servant to CCF. I was humbled by his remarks, and soon enough, I was nominated to be on the following year’s CCF Planning Committee as Worship Coordinator and voted into the position on election day. It truly was a gift of God to be given such an opportunity to serve my brothers and sisters at Ryerson CCF, and yet at the same time, a great responsibility had been put on my shoulders to be a mentor and leader of a people whom I considered to be my equals.

This is Part 2 of my personal testimony and my spiritual autobiography.

2. Spiritual Pilgrimage & Ministerial Experience

A few months later, my fellowship counselors invited me to help out more and asked me if I would be interested in joining the “Planning Committee” as Secretary. I was uncertain as to what skills or gifts I possessed that would be useful for helping out in the fellowship, but I accepted the invitation, trusting God that He would give me the strength I needed to serve. A short time afterwards, I was also invited to lead Bible study—something I was quite surprised about, since I did not think I knew enough of the Bible in order to “lead” others in studying it. My pastor encouraged me that I needed not great skill in order to lead, but rather humility in being teachable, and to use my own unique experiences to build up others; I graciously accepted the invitation and started leading my peers in journeying through God’s Word. During this time, my church’s English Ministry elder made known to me that there was a need for worship leaders for the English Worship Service, and seeing that I was a new Christian and servant leader in fellowship, invited me to the worship team. I had no formal musical training nor I could play any instruments, and knew nothing about worship leading, but somehow, God began teaching me the true meaning of worship—that it is not just singing but moreover an attitude of the heart—and enabled me to share what I learned with the congregation through song.