Taytay Rizal, Philippines: Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary Research Department held its online Research Colloquium on June 18, 2022, through Zoom. Twenty participants from the USA, Kenya, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines attended the event. 

This Research Colloquium’s two-fold purposes are to systematically disseminate the research outputs for the APNTS students for the benefit of the wider community and to provide an avenue for the students to share their expertise and competence in theological research with the community of ministry practitioners and academic scholars and make impacts throughout Asia-Pacific and the world. 

The event started with APNTS President Dr. Larry Bollinger’s welcome remarks. He expressed his excitement in getting and enjoying the contents of their students’ works as they excel in their chosen fields. It was an exciting time for APNTS to have a colloquium in which they get to enjoy the content of the learning of their students who have been part of the learning process and become experts in their area. He further said that this colloquium would help students going through this process of an academic exercise in their journey. 

This research underscores the significant place of faith and Christian values in an often secularized body of knowledge; it is a contribution to the Christian paradigm of development…

Dr. Marie Joy Pring

The main speakers were Dr. Marie Joy Pring and Pastor Van Nun Thang. The first speaker was Dr. Pring. She is from the Philippines and completed her Doctor of Philosophy in Transformational Development at AGST-APNTS. She is also an adjunct professor at APNTS and serves as the Senior Pastor of the Church of the Triumphant Christ. She presented her insightful and remarkable research outputs from her Ph.D. dissertation, “Ugnayan: How the Christian Faith and Filipino Culture Build Relationships that Help Urban Poor Women Survive and Thrive.” Her research findings will help readers see how the Christian faith and Filipino culture helped women living in poor urban communities. Not only for their survival but also have been instrumental to what they consider true development, which is beyond financial and economic bounds but as a good relationship with God, with one’s neighbors, and with oneself. 

The second speaker is Pastor Van Nun Thang, who recently graduated with a Master in Science Theology in Biblical Studies and is one of the APNTS research grant recipients. He has been a part-time educator at Asia Logos Theological Seminary, Myanmar for Christ Bible College, and Maranatha Bible College for seven years. He also serves as an associate pastor at Grace International Fellowship. His Master’s Thesis title is “Happy are the People whose God is the Lord: The עלה (Whole Burnt Offering) in Leviticus 1 as an Expression of the Greatest Commandment.” This research can help its readers see the significance of the burnt offering not only in the Old Testament context and in light of what Jesus had done on the cross and its application to our everyday Christian living. 

When I talk about old testament, the burnt offerings, and the sacrifices… I see them as important because they are heart and the center of worship for the Israelites. And it talks about a lot of things for the new testament and the understanding of the Christian life as well.

Ptr. Van Nun Thang 

Besides those insightful research outputs, the attendees also greatly benefited from sharing the presenters’ research expertise in how they utilized the appropriate method and carried out their respective research.