After the church accepted me into the full-time staff, I attended Tung Ling Bible School for 3 months of short-term training. Paul Tan from the Church of Singapore was the Principal, and Percy Campbell was the Dean. For three months, we stayed in the Church of Singapore’s old building, which the church had graciously allowed Tung Ling to use. There were separate dormitories for men and women. We had a lecture room for the worship and training sessions. We ate at the fellowship hall and played volleyball in the courtyard. It was a time of learning, fellowship and building life-long friendships.

Currently, I am in contact with three of them: John Sim, Benjamin Foo, and Marguerite. These friendships were divinely forged, and as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpened another. John was a theology lecturer at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, and spoke at our church when he visited Singapore. Ben Foo guided and hand-held me in publishing my book, “26 Gifts of Christ’s Finished Work”.

I served the Lord zealously in the early months and gradually realised that I needed more systematic and thorough training. I expressed this to Pastor Johney, and he believed that it was better to have a proper theological degree. “It is better to be fully-baked than to be half-baked.” You see, he came from a traditional Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and he was shown the exit because he decided he wanted a baptism by immersion, as demonstrated in the book of Acts. In addition, he had been baptised in the Spirit and had the gift of tongues. The traditional church gave considerable weight to proper theological training.

Thus, my search began in earnest. As I was a Pentecostal, I first sought a Pentecostal Bible School. The Assemblies of God Bible School in Singapore had been founded, and Simon Chan was on the faculty, but it was new. I thought it would be better to find an established college, so I inquired about the Bible Institute of Malaya (renamed Bible College of Malaysia), and I was informed that the authorities forbade them from enrolling students from other countries.

Then I tried Singapore Bible College at Adams Road, and they informed me that registration had closed and the semester had begun, and I would have to wait till next year. I was disappointed at this second failed attempt, but I couldn’t wait. I was impatient. What do I know about discernment in those days?

Far Eastern Bible College was the next Bible college I visited. They were very welcoming, these Bible Presbyterians from the reformed tradition. I was even invited to sample a church history class, and it was conducted by Revd Dr Timothy Tow. I forgot the topic of the day, but as he lectured about some aspect of church history, he went on a long detour. During that detour, he was berating evangelist Billy Graham for meeting the Pope and Luis Palau’s innovative crusades. At the end of the class, I knew this was not what I wanted.

A few months later, a conference was being held at Trinity Theological College. Together with Pastor Johney, we attended the pastoral care conference. The conference went well, and both Pastor Johney and I felt this would be a good place to study for pastoral ministry. Soon, I applied to enrol there and was accepted, and a four-year journey of learning began.

In the first month, I was troubled by one of the lecturers who mentioned that Adam and Eve were myths, sacred narratives that explained origins and gave meaning. In other words, Adam and Eve were not necessarily historical figures, but they pointed to deeper spiritual realities. I simply could not digest that as a Pentecostal. Thankfully, I persevered, and because I was grounded in scripture, I was able to hold on to my convictions and began to understand the various interpretations and approaches to understanding the Bible. It challenged and broadened my capacity to listen and respect different views of people from various theological spectrums.

The training at Trinity gave me tools for understanding and interpreting the sacred text. I believe I was there during a time of transition as more evangelical lecturers arrived and those of more liberal persuasions moved on or retired. I enjoyed New Testament studies, Christian Education, Old Testament courses, Church History and Counselling modules by Anthony Yeo. I loathed music education and the Greek class. Compared to the content the current students are receiving now, and the lecturers they have, I feel short-changed. This is good as it means the college has made great progress.

I could not stay in college because I was married, and there was “no room in the inn”. Thus, I was deprived of the community life that residents enjoyed. Some said I was free from the onerous duties! Despite this, I enjoyed the friendship of course mates I got to know over the four years. They were of various denominations: Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Mar Thoma Syrian Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, and I am a Pentecostal. Once, a Catholic nun joined us for a couple of courses. Currently, I am still in contact with the remaining contactable individuals: Benedict Muthusamy, who continues to pastor; Tan Yak Hwee, who lectured at Trinity as well as in Taiwan; and Anglican Bishop Raphael Samuel and his wife, Michelle, who served as missionaries in Bolivia for several decades. I retired in 2020 after pastoring my home church for forty years. Here is the lesson: despite the inadequacies of the theological education we received in Trinity, God was able to do immeasurably more than what we ask for or what our lecturers or we were able to imagine about our future.

Trinity Theological College was my last choice, but on hindsight, and by God’s grace, it was my best choice.

If you find this content helpful, follow me in my new WhatsApp channel: BLOGPASTOR or my Telegram channel: t.me/blogpastor. It will keep you informed of my latest post. Thank you for your support.

What was your experience of Trinity Theological College? Let me know in the comment box.