“The whole room just erupted in applause for you, Gustavo. Everyone is smiling now.”
December 4th was a pretty special day…
My youngest daughter Natalie turned 17. That was also the day I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation.
The message above was from my colleague, Christopher, at the Biblical Seminary of Colombia (BSC) in Medellín. He was attending a seminary-wide meeting of professors and administrators. When he shared the news about my oral exam, everyone broke out in spontaneous applause, shouts of thanksgiving and even some tears.
I had done it. I had successfully navigated the PhD waters. And after it was over, I was immediately struck by a deep sense of gratitude for so many people who supported me in this journey: my wife and kids, professors, church community, life-long friends, family, donors and the seminary community in Colombia where I currently teach.
New Horizons
Something else happened that day.
I felt a renewed sense of mission for my work at the BSC. I was now one of only two PhDs in our New Testament department (my colleague Christopher was the other).
This was critical for the Masters in Exegesis program which the seminary is developing in conjunction with Fuller Theological Seminary. Only PhD staff can teach in the program and the seminary can only achieve accreditation with a sufficient number of PhD faculty.
Finally, completing the doctoral program freed me to focus my full-time efforts toward the BSC once again. I’ve outlined several goals for 2019:
- Resume teaching in our strategic online program which continues to expand and extend the reach of the seminary throughout Colombia and the rest of the continent.
- Travel and stay in Colombia for longer periods of time (four weeks). This would allow me to resume face-to-face teaching in intensive residential courses. Supervise senior theses where our students would have a chance to work on subjects related to Luke, Acts, 1 Peter and early church Leadership.
- Complete the translation of Biblemesh, a Greek and Hebrew online learning platform which would provide a critical seminary resource for mastering the biblical languages.
Consider Supporting This Work
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to so many of you who prayerfully and financially support my work as a professor in Colombia. I do not receive any church support. All of my salary and expenses come from individual donations.
However, my support levels have dipped considerably since my return from Colombia. For that reason, I am asking that you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly supporter this year.
Your on-going donation will contribute to many strategic initiatives at the seminary and help in preparing pastors, leaders and missionaries in Latin America for the challenges of the church in the majority world.
If you would like to contribute, please visit http://karakey.com/partnership. I would consider it a privilege to partner with you in this important work.
Once again, thank you for walking with me through this academic journey. I wish you a joyous Christmas season and a fruitful and blessed 2019.