Faculty Development Project

School: Alliance Graduate School (AGS), Philippines

Faculty Member: Abigail Teh

Field of study: Biblical Studies; objective – Ph.D. in Biblical Studies

Program of Study: Loyola School of Theology of the Ateneo de Manila University

Length of Project: Six years, beginning 2005

Current Position: Faculty member of Alliance Graduate School

Education completed to date:

BA Journalism, University of the Philippines

M.Div, Alliance Graduate School

Church affiliation:

I am a member and associate pastor (part-time basis) of Christian Bible Church of the Philippines, a Chinese independent evangelical church

Whenever people ask me, I describe my vocation or passion in life as that of"getting people excited about God", "opening up people's imaginations about God". Whether as a counselor or teacher or pastor, I explore people's beliefs about God, especially the hidden or implicit ones, and when I am able to get them thinking outside the box, when I get them in touch with the awesome mystery and freedom and love of God, that is my greatest joy and accomplishment.

Some people may think I have a mixed-up background. I am trained in journalism, always been in Christian work, had my masters degree in counseling, but am drawn to the Scriptures, particularly the Old Testament. Since February 2001, when I was able to attend a silent retreat, I have been pursuing personal studies in spirituality along with a community of counselors, many of whom are AGS alumni.

I prefer to think this is the unique way the Lord has formed me, and it enables me to be interdisciplinary in my teaching and ministry. I challenge students to engage critically with the text, the world, and with themselves. In addition to my Old Testament and Hebrew classes, I have the privilege of imparting what I'm learning in spirituality through my being coordinator of second-year growth groups at AGS.

To that end, I believe pursuing an M.A. and Ph.D. at Ateneo Loyola School of Theology will help me grow in scholarship in the Hebrew Scriptures,in spirituality and in integration of the two. I am already integrating them in my current teaching, but I believe I can learn so much more.