Congratulations, Mr. President

The buzz about campus today was the inauguration ceremony for the fifth President of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, Dr. Floyd Timothy Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham has been teaching church history at APNTS since the school's inception in 1983, and has held many posts since then, chaplain and dean of students, academic dean, regional education coordinator for the Church of the Nazarene, missionary pastor and church planter, and so on. The continuity of leadership represented by Dr. Cunningham's unanimous election by the board of trustees earlier this year represents significant hope for the future of the seminary. This was also my first academic procession as a member of a faculty. I was honored to have a part in this drama, reading the Old Testament lesson, but also showing my support of the leadership through my presence and attendance at the event.

I also saw again the person whose initial recommendation that started the ball rolling--very quickly--to come here to APNTS. He reaffirmed his confidence and comfort with his choice, which made me feel really valued. I was able to tell many people today how short the turnaround was from first contact by Dr. Cunningham (before he was elected president) to arrival on the ground in Manila (4 months and 11 days). My head is still spinning around at how quickly everything happened...but then again, is that not how God usually works?

I will post pictures of the inauguration in due course, most likely to my Facebook account. Right now, I have syllabi to write for the second semester which starts Monday.