A tall figure, a smiling face, and always offering a gentle greeting, this is Dr. Glen Scorgie who has become a familiar 'foreigner' in a congregation filled with Chinese members. Pastor Lam loves to introduce him as,

"He is not an American either".

Indeed, he was born and grew up in Canada. Let's find out how he was brought to the States and more specifically, how he became a regular at a Chinese Church.

"My father was a minister until I turned 16. He had to make a painful switch from the ministry to a government job due to a personal assessment. However, being a minister's son was a positive experience for me".

"Yes, I can see that. The other day, I noticed that when Pastor Lam was conducting a meeting which no one should interrupt, his son simply walked right in". I couldn't resist sharing this observation with Dr. Scorgie just for fun.

Another comment from Dr. Scorgie's wife is that,

"He was such a perfect boy while growing up, it is hard for him to understand why a child would misbehave. In other words, he becomes frustrated when his daughters don't do exactly what they are told."

Dr. Scorgie continued,

"I learned from my father that being a missionary is a very highly regarded profession. He served as the only pastor for the congregation. So called team ministry was not available back then. He had to attend to every single task. My mother is actually a very good speaker. They are both retired now but they work as volunteer leaders for the senior citizen group in their church in Canada".

During his childhood, Dr. Scorgie lived mainly in Toronto and Vancouver. Upon high school graduation, he had to decide whether to become an opthamologist (for the 'money' and the' prestige'?), or find a role in vocational ministry. His interest in the latter was so strong that he went to the Bible college in Saskatchewan although his high school teachers thought it was such a waste.

Upon completion of his study, he discovered that the pastorship didn't really appeal to him. After working for a summer in the Canadian Arctic, he went to Wheaton Graduate School for a Master's degree in Communications and Marketing Research instead.

His venture after his study included working for publishers and moving back to Canada to become an IBMer, a marketer with a blue suit. However, his heart was simply not in it. It was not a surprise when he quit in two years by taking up odd teaching jobs and painting houses to pay all bills.

During a period of soul searching, he came to the realization that he really wanted to do something related to academic Christianity. Just then, he got an offer from the Bible College which he attended before, to become the Director in the Admissions Department. On his way to report to his new position, he stopped at Wheaton. Little did he know that he would meet his future bride, Kate Thielen, a slender, gracious young lady. The matchmaker turned out to be the Chairman of the International Bible Society.

Kate was a California baby who grew up in Cincinnati. Her father was a medical doctor working for the Navy. In the 1950's and 60's, he pioneered a program called 'Call the Doctor' first on radio and later, on television. The program was designed to make people aware of health problems as well as to provide opportunities for people to call in to the panel of specialists and have their concerns responded to instantly.

After two years of a long distance romance, Glen and Kate were married because, said Kate, "We simply couldn't afford all the expensive phone calls and the traveling. I also have to say that we knew each other first through 'papers' meaning so many letters exchanged between us. Glen is great in writing. However, only after we were married, did we truly see each other eye to eye. More importantly, I love Glen's passion of serving God and teaching."

"Kate had always wanted to marry a professor. So it was decided that we should save money for me to go back to school. She also worked in Special Ed to support me through my study. I had to enroll at Regent College to get another Master's degree. One of the rewards was getting to know Dr. J.I. Packer who has become one of my main mentors. Between 1981 and 1984, I had the wonderful opportunity to do my doctoral study at the University of St. Andrew, in Scotland. I was on a scholarship, and on financial aid from my Bible College. We had no phone, and no car but even so, we truly enjoyed our life abroad with our two young children. When we first got there, Kate was seven months pregnant. The day we were granted the British Health Care, Claire was born. It was a close call. We thank God for this. Then, Catherine came a year later. So, Kate was basically caring for the children full time. With my degree almost finished, we came back to serve my term by teaching at the Bible College for seven years. By then, we had three girls sharing our life."

Kate recalled one of the highlights of the years in Scotland by telling me,

"On one of our wedding anniversaries, we only had the money to split a bottle of Coke and walk around the park to celebrate it."

"After that, we spent five years in Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. I was the Academic VP at North American Baptist College. Kate worked for the school board. However, her position was eliminated by government cut-backs a year later. It seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Kate to pursue her doctorate in Educational Psychology at the Alberta University. Not only did she receive the degree but also became friend with many renowned professors.

Then, came my 'mid-life crisis'. I grew kind of restless. I wanted to make a decision to either continue being an administrator, or to go back to teaching which was my longing for years. God does work in His mysterious way. In the middle of a blizzard night, I got a call from the Dean of Bethel Seminary asking me to become a candidate to teach in one of their satellite campuses.

In 1995, we found ourselves visiting San Diego four times. It took us close to 30 days to make the final decision after I had the offer. I always have faith that 'when God calls, the call is good for everyone'. So, we moved based on that kind of faith. Nevertheless, we were being tested hard the first year. Kate couldn't find a job, and the girls missed their friends. By the second year, God started opening doors for us. Kate got a surprise call from Azusa Pacific University, a Christian college in L.A., asking her to teach. Now she has an office in Azusa's new San Diego Center, just a few miles from the home we purchased in 1998; and she teaches in their satellite campuses. She was recognized as one of five distinguished faculty even in her first year of teaching due to her outstanding teaching and publication.

Our 16 and the 15 year-olds are very connected to their youth group.

Sara, the youngest one, who is 12, is still searching. I have to say that we absolutely taste the joy of the Lord in the midst of trials."

. Scorgie had his first and the most rewarding teaching experiences overseas in the past summer when he spent a month teaching in a Chinese seminary in the Philippines. It was arranged through Pastor Lam's effort. He is looking forward to more teaching opportunities in Singapore, or Hongkong in the future.

"I just love to do this. I would also love to have Kate go with me and teach her field of expertise, especially after the girls have grown a little older".

"Would you tell us what brought you to our church?"

Dr. Scorgie grinned and said,

"I first got to know Gee and Jennifer at Bethel. I often told them that I would love to meet their pastor. I believe Pastor Lam has served on the Advisory Board at Bethel. However, I was not contacted until there was a pastoral vacancy in the English Ministries. In any case, I was very happy to be called on to serve on a part-time contract basis. Now that you have Pastor Luke, I don't really know what my role will be next year. We'll see. I have truly enjoyed the congregation. I feel one in spirit with Pastor Lam and CBCSD congregation. We are evangelical but not rigid".

"How do you want people to perceive you"?

"I want to be recognized as a professor with a pastor's heart, compassion and sensitivity".

Before I knew it, our conversation had lasted more than an hour. Time goes by quickly when you are having fun. I realized I had better wrap up the interview.

"Now, would you share with us what you most wish to do in the near future?"

Without any hesitation, he said,

"Allocate more time to write. I am very thankful that I love my job although I hate grading students' work. I sense what God wants me to accomplish and, I am just so happy to come to work every day".

As for Kate,

"I have the firm belief that God never blesses one person at the expense of another. During the time I was struggling to find a job, to be honest with you, I had to look in the mirror to remind myself of that. Moreover, children watch whether we react to trials with faith or with despair. All this has proven that God is good. In Glen's case; he is teaching, he is working with a Chinese congregation, and is expanding his horizon to teach overseas. As a family, we cannot ask for more. We just want to share our joy with everyone".

Amen.■

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