Got a spare $53,760 I can have?

I have been accepted in the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program at Fuller Theological Seminary, and I did the math today. That degree will end up costing more that $53,760 and that doesn't factor in books and several trips to the Pasadena campus.

It will be worth it.

One of my dreams and desires of my heart has been to complete the education that got interrupted by a little vacation in sunny Vietnam. It would have remained only an unrequieted dream had it not been for a wonderful man who has been an example of leadership excellence, an informal mentor, a friend and great encourager:



Dr. Dan Chun, Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and, with his wife, Pam, founder of Hawaiian Island Ministries. Dan is a Fuller Trustee, and has been responsible for encouraging and equipping so many Pastors and leaders in the churches of Hawaii.

Thanks, Dan. (I hope to make you proud!)

Is my plate getting FULLER?

It seems that I operate with a pretty full plate most of the time. I have often referred to it as "juggling chainsaws." So it is with fear and trepidation that I watch my email and snail-mail boxes for a decision from Fuller Seminary. The applications and recommendations have been submitted for the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program at Fuller, and the Admissions Committee meets before the end of February.

Having been out of the classroom and academic environment for decades, it is a bit intimidating, but I exemplify the Peter Principle -- ("In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.") -- since my recent selection as Presiding Bishop (Overseer) for my denomination in Hawaii, I have come to a renewed realization of my level of inability! These people deserve a better leader, and I hope to become one.