Ivan Chung

Name: Ivan Chung
Position: Director, International Student Services
Education: Wheaton College, Bachelor of Music w/Elective Studies in Christian Education and Bible/Theology; Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Master of Divinity.
At Biola since: August 2006.
Your StrengthsFinder top five? Woo, activation, achievement, communication, individualization.

1. What do you do in your job (briefly)? Support int'l students, students from missionary families, and third culture students in their transition and accommodation at Biola; serve as a visionary leader, university resource, educator on issues related to these students through globalizing the campus and mutual enculturation.

2. The five (or so) most influential books you've read:

• John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad!;
• Samuel Escobar, The New Global Mission: The Gospel from Everywhere to Everyone;
• Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World;
• Kishore Mahbubani, Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust between America and the World;
• C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

3. An influential person in your life/hero/best example of love? My wife: sometimes it's tough to love and like me at the same time!

4. Why are you at Biola? Honestly, God's calling and guidance - I wanted to disciple the nations, and to lead/serve them in a way that would empower them to do the same.

5. A guilty pleasure: Korean BBQ - if I confessed my guilt of repeated gluttony, revival would break out; black comedy; feelings of vindication when jin out-rapped sean nicholas :)

6. Your testimony (in 200 words or less): Accepted Jesus when I was six; my parents who love the Lord brought me to a baptismal service of one of their friends, where the pastor and the various baptismal candidates gave their dramatic testimonies of how God brought them to Himself. I prayed, confessed, and committed to a life surrendered to God...I was brought up in the Christian church, and always have loved serving people, but through various experiences throughout my life, I have been even more passionate for His work in people's lives, and bringing the nations to Him.

7. If God put you completely in charge of creating Heaven, what would it be like? God wouldn't do that, 'cause it wouldn't look that great...but besides all those huge cribs, I would put all-you-can-eat joints at every street corner...eats representing the different nations there.

8. What movie/TV show/book have you seen in the last year that you wish all your friends could see? Movie: Bourne Ultimatum - it's again non-stop action; Book: The Changing Face of World Missions and The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History.

9. What is the most difficult choice you've ever had to make? In the summer of 2002, I quit vocational church ministry for a season to go back to grad school full-time.  I made the decision overnight, but it was a difficult one because I left what I thought was many unfinished tasks.  That night I had a dream about leaving and going back to school, so I felt it was part of the spiritual confirmation and consolation.  I think I was more worn out from years of ministry than I thought, and the thought of a different lifestyle and priorities was pushing me to make that choice.

10. What is the most risky thing you want to try doing? What is keeping you from doing it? I'm a good risk-taker, except when it comes to financial things. I want to buy a house...but I'm still waiting for what I think is the right time.

11. What are five things you are most thankful for in your life right now?

• My wife - married for a year now,
• Work - passionate about it and not too many places in America would allow me to do international work, have access to scholarship, and do ministry at the same time,
• A place to call home after moving 16 times since college,
• A chance to explore and discover new things,
• A chance to pursue a PhD
  

12. In difficult times, who would you most want praying for you? My wife; she has incredible spiritual gifts in this area.

13. What was the greatest peer pressure you felt as a teen/college student?  It depended on the group and types of student I was with; if they were athletes, the pressure was to party, drink, cuss, have sex.  If they were overly studious, the pressure would be to become self-righteous and prideful in accomplishments.

14. Do you think it is possible to live with no regrets? Yes, because one can be confident within oneself that one did their best in certain situations and life stages. Or no, because there are always things that one ought to do or not to do instead...

15. What is your definition of success? I guess it's the overall contour of living a life with fewer and fewer regrets with each passing day.  Or to put it positively, liviing a life that is becoming more excellent with each passing day. Do you consider yourself to be successful?  Yes, I would consider myself successful.

16. How much is your self-worth and identity determined by your job and your success at it? If I were to use the definition of success above, then yes, I would find much self-worth and identity determined by my job, if indeed I see my job as an extension of myself, hopefully not my ego, but an overflow of the gifts, talents, and skills that I have.  And if I am becoming more excellent in my job, then it naturally would be a reflection of my overall development.  That would be true especially if I see my work and play overlap.

17. What are the most important things you look for when choosing a church? A community of God that is growing deeper in Him, with each other, and in witness; a healthy variety of socio-economic levels, cultures, talents, and gifts; a people that is growing in the tensions of biblical truths, and willing to navigate through complexities of Kingdom work and values, both receptive and sacrificial, and enough love to cover each other, willingness to become healthy in every aspect.

18. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? The view from on top of some of the Andes mountains near Cusco where the preserved ruins of some of the Incan tribes used to live (Macchu Picchu).

19. In what areas of your life is it most difficult to trust God? In financial aspects of my future.

20. What does contentment mean to you? It means a sense of peace and rest and Sabbath with no frenzied actions, but only hard work and discipline to achieve things that may not happen.  And even so, it would be well with my soul. How close are you to that, now? I'm content with many things, but have a long way to go in becoming content with everything.