Goodbye to Deron Walker and family!!!
How sad to hear that my good friend, Deron Walker is leaving Handong! (But at the same time I rejoice with him and his family! Reminds me of the verse: "No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping.." in Ezra 3:13) Here is my good friend's farewell to Handong:
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
It is with bittersweet joy that I write this good-bye letter to you informing you that this will be my last semester as a Handong Global University faculty member. Concisely stated, my stay at Handong has had its ups and downs, like life itself, but I will focus on only the positives. Ultimately, my family will be returning to the United States this summer because I have accepted a full-time, tenure-track position, as an Assistant Professor of English Composition, at another one of God's outstanding universities, California Baptist University (CBU).
All of my family members, close friends, my pastor back home, and I, after great deliberation and prayer, have come to the unwavering consensus that the CBU offer represents God's will for us. We all firmly believe that this offer presents our family with the best opportunity to serve Jesus Christ in a way that fully utilizes our intellectual and spiritual gifts. Therefore, I will submit my resignation to Handong University upon the conclusion of this semester in order to join the faculty of CBU this fall.
CBU is a small but steadfast Christian university with a heart for missions and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. It is a place of expansion, growth, vision, and endless long term possibilities for both ministry and professional development. While we are, of course, somewhat saddened to be leaving the wonderful students of Handong University (the best students I have ever had) and many excellent colleagues and close friends, we are looking up and ahead at very exciting prospects, indeed.
At this time, I would like to express the deepest sentiments of admiration for what Handong University has meant to us as a family. I will always remember HGU, first and foremost, as a university with first-rate students. I enjoyed teaching them not only because of their outstanding intelligence and classroom diligence, which is considerable, (top 10% of their high school class), but, more importantly, for their sweetness of spirit. I often felt that the students of Handong modeled the fruits of the Spirit (kindness, patience, etc.) and solid Christian character even better than the faculty of HGU. I will always cherish and miss the students of HGU with the love of Jesus Christ.
Next, I would like to say that I will miss many colleagues and friends as well. I am thankful for their presence in my life, too. I will always remember HGU as the place where I was able to conduct the research study that enabled me to complete my Ph.D. For this, I will always be grateful and eternally indebted to Handong Global University. Many Spirit-filled current and former faculty members, especially in the DLE, were instrumental in collaborating with me to complete that project. Most notably, I wish to thank (composition raters) Denver Sasser, Paul Steimetz, Chris Smith, (classroom teachers) Sandy Chi, Joyce Thompson, Andy Brown, (other contributers) Julia Murphy, Mike Stockton, Grace Kim,and Mark Buzby. I hope I have not left any names out. Their selfless dedication and volunteer spirit made a very complex project work smoothly. Most remarkably, these saintly colleagues did everything I asked of them cheerfully, with lots of Christian love.
There were many other wonderful American, Canadian, and Korean faculty members who have meant a lot to my family. They are far too many to name. I will always remember Handong with great fondness, and appreciate it immensely as a solid stepping stone both on my career path and spiritual journey through life. In many ways, it has been an excellent training ground for me both through trial and triumph. HGU has made very impressive growth since my wife and I first attended church in the one-building institution that HGU was back in 1996. Praise the Lord.
It is now the singular goal for my family for us to make the most of the time we have left here. We wish to live Handong life to the full in our final days on campus. We hope to make the best of every opportunity to fellowship, teach, learn, grow, and serve God. We are also very hopeful that we can stay connected to the many fine friends and colleagues we have met along the way. California Baptist University has indicated that they are very interested in recruiting students from East-Asia, especially Korea. We are hopeful that exchanges can be made in both directions, synergy from like-minded Christian ministries across oceans harnessed, and relationships and connections established to the glory of Jesus Christ and the furtherance of His kingdom on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, we pray that Handong Global University will make even greater strides to fulfill its vision as "God's university." It is a mighty creed! We pray that it will be blessed, purged, sanctified, so that its influence might increase exponentially to the glory of our Lord. Christian universities with visions for serving our Lord sacrificially are sorely needed in our time. It is my prayer that God will continuously raise up His people to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Maybe the greatest lesson I learned at Handong University was that my life will be far more fulfilling as I am dedicated to the education and discipleship of God's young people on His campuses than if I labor to educate students at a secular school. This is another valuable lesson that I have learned through my experiences at HGU. Thank you HGU, one and all.
Love to all in Christ,
Deron Walker, Ph.D.
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
It is with bittersweet joy that I write this good-bye letter to you informing you that this will be my last semester as a Handong Global University faculty member. Concisely stated, my stay at Handong has had its ups and downs, like life itself, but I will focus on only the positives. Ultimately, my family will be returning to the United States this summer because I have accepted a full-time, tenure-track position, as an Assistant Professor of English Composition, at another one of God's outstanding universities, California Baptist University (CBU).
All of my family members, close friends, my pastor back home, and I, after great deliberation and prayer, have come to the unwavering consensus that the CBU offer represents God's will for us. We all firmly believe that this offer presents our family with the best opportunity to serve Jesus Christ in a way that fully utilizes our intellectual and spiritual gifts. Therefore, I will submit my resignation to Handong University upon the conclusion of this semester in order to join the faculty of CBU this fall.
CBU is a small but steadfast Christian university with a heart for missions and the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. It is a place of expansion, growth, vision, and endless long term possibilities for both ministry and professional development. While we are, of course, somewhat saddened to be leaving the wonderful students of Handong University (the best students I have ever had) and many excellent colleagues and close friends, we are looking up and ahead at very exciting prospects, indeed.
At this time, I would like to express the deepest sentiments of admiration for what Handong University has meant to us as a family. I will always remember HGU, first and foremost, as a university with first-rate students. I enjoyed teaching them not only because of their outstanding intelligence and classroom diligence, which is considerable, (top 10% of their high school class), but, more importantly, for their sweetness of spirit. I often felt that the students of Handong modeled the fruits of the Spirit (kindness, patience, etc.) and solid Christian character even better than the faculty of HGU. I will always cherish and miss the students of HGU with the love of Jesus Christ.
Next, I would like to say that I will miss many colleagues and friends as well. I am thankful for their presence in my life, too. I will always remember HGU as the place where I was able to conduct the research study that enabled me to complete my Ph.D. For this, I will always be grateful and eternally indebted to Handong Global University. Many Spirit-filled current and former faculty members, especially in the DLE, were instrumental in collaborating with me to complete that project. Most notably, I wish to thank (composition raters) Denver Sasser, Paul Steimetz, Chris Smith, (classroom teachers) Sandy Chi, Joyce Thompson, Andy Brown, (other contributers) Julia Murphy, Mike Stockton, Grace Kim,and Mark Buzby. I hope I have not left any names out. Their selfless dedication and volunteer spirit made a very complex project work smoothly. Most remarkably, these saintly colleagues did everything I asked of them cheerfully, with lots of Christian love.
There were many other wonderful American, Canadian, and Korean faculty members who have meant a lot to my family. They are far too many to name. I will always remember Handong with great fondness, and appreciate it immensely as a solid stepping stone both on my career path and spiritual journey through life. In many ways, it has been an excellent training ground for me both through trial and triumph. HGU has made very impressive growth since my wife and I first attended church in the one-building institution that HGU was back in 1996. Praise the Lord.
It is now the singular goal for my family for us to make the most of the time we have left here. We wish to live Handong life to the full in our final days on campus. We hope to make the best of every opportunity to fellowship, teach, learn, grow, and serve God. We are also very hopeful that we can stay connected to the many fine friends and colleagues we have met along the way. California Baptist University has indicated that they are very interested in recruiting students from East-Asia, especially Korea. We are hopeful that exchanges can be made in both directions, synergy from like-minded Christian ministries across oceans harnessed, and relationships and connections established to the glory of Jesus Christ and the furtherance of His kingdom on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Finally, we pray that Handong Global University will make even greater strides to fulfill its vision as "God's university." It is a mighty creed! We pray that it will be blessed, purged, sanctified, so that its influence might increase exponentially to the glory of our Lord. Christian universities with visions for serving our Lord sacrificially are sorely needed in our time. It is my prayer that God will continuously raise up His people to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Maybe the greatest lesson I learned at Handong University was that my life will be far more fulfilling as I am dedicated to the education and discipleship of God's young people on His campuses than if I labor to educate students at a secular school. This is another valuable lesson that I have learned through my experiences at HGU. Thank you HGU, one and all.
Love to all in Christ,
Deron Walker, Ph.D.
posted by Andrew Brown at 10:16 PM
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