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Ph.D. student Wiriya Tipvarakankoon receives John Stott Ministries FellowshipAsk about his studiesat LSTC and WiriyaTipvarakankoon willadmit that his firstseveral years in thePh.D. program weredifficult financially.He applied for anumber of scholarships,but didn’treceive the supporthe was looking for.“I had faith thatif God led me toLSTC, God wouldmake it possible forme to study here.”In 2009, heapplied for andWiriya Tipvarakankoonreceived one ofonly two John StottMinistries LanghamFellowships awarded that year. Each fellowship providesup to $18,000 a year to Majority World scholarsstudying in the United States or Canada. The goal ofthe fellowships is to develop teachers for seminaries inMajority World countries who will strengthen biblicalpreaching and leadership in churches.“If I had known that only two fellowships weregoing to be awarded, I would not have applied,”Tipvarakankoon says. “All of the other recipients arestudying at places like Wheaton College and TrinityEvangelical Divinity School. I thought that studying atLSTC would close the door for an evangelical scholarshiplike this one.”Evangelical enough?Before the fellowship was awarded, the panel makingthe award would need to know if Tipvarakankoon’sfaith and approach to scripture met their requirements.“My wife and daughter and I had attended the CollegeChurch in Wheaton. For the committee, attending thischurch was evidence of my evangelical faith,” he said.By the time he received the fellowship,Tipvarakankoon was already in his third year of studyand showed great potential for finishing his studieswithin the timeframe of the scholarship. He also hasa teaching position waiting for him at the BangkokInstitute of Theology when he returns to Thailand.“Dr. Rossing wrote a very good recommendationthat says LSTC is a seminary of the Evangelical LutheranChurch in America,” Tipvarakankoon said. “I know thathelped me get the fellowship.”A minister in the Church of Christ in Thailand(Presbyterian), Tipvarkankoon earned a master’s of theologydegree at Princeton Theological Seminary beforecoming to LSTC. At LSTC, he has been pleased by thevariety of methodologies he’s learned for interpretingthe Bible, including reading from one’s own context.Learning from John StottTipvarakankoon’s dissertation will be on the Book ofRevelation. “It’s a scary and confusing book for Thaipeople,” he said. One of the things he wants to dowhen he is teaching is to challenge seminary studentsand clergy to study the Bible deeply in order to proclaimthe Word appropriately.Ironically, some of Tipvarakankoon’s views aboutmission and strengthening the church in Thailandcame from John Stott’s ideas. Some time before heapplied for the fellowship, he was looking for somethingto read that was different from what he’d beenworking on. By chance, he picked up a book by JohnStott. “I learned something about mission from thatbook,” he said. “On the fellowship application, whenI had to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of theThai Church, I realized that many of my answers camefrom the ideas of John Stott.”To learn more about the John Stott MinistriesScholarship, visit www.johnstottministries.org/.LSTC Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday celebrationJoin members of the LSTC community on Monday,January 16, at 11 a.m. for worship, lunch, and aspecial program. The Rev. Dr. Frank M. Yamada,president of McCormick Theological Seminary, willpreach for the communion service. ELCA Director forRacial Justice Ministries Judith Barlow Roberts willintroduce the documentary “Slave Routes: A GlobalVision” and lead discussion after the film. PleaseRSVP by Friday, January 6, to the Albert “Pete” PeroMulticultural Center at LSTC at mc@lstc.edu or 773-256-0760.21