Lisa Ishihara

20 questions Name: Lisa Ishihara.
Title: Director of Chapel Programs.
Education: MA Business (Marketing), CSU Fullerton; M.Div., Talbot School of Theology.
At Biola since: 2005.
StrengthsFinder top five? Achiever, Learner, Restorative, Responsibility, Input.

1. What do you do in your job (briefly)? As the Director of Chapel Programs, I coordinate, plan, implement and oversee Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday chapels as well as coordinate with the AS Chapel Board for AfterDark and Singspiration chapels. I also focus on the spiritual and student development of our AS Chapel Board, Worship Teams, Chapel Staffs and interns. In addition, I coordinate and plan for our Annual Torrey Memorial Bible Conference.

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

Bible: My favorite books are Psalms, Job, Philippians & 1 John
Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
Plain and Simple by Sue Bender
Family Based Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries
How People Change by Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp

3. An influential person in your life/hero/best example of love? My daddy. He has taught me how give to others, persevere, encourage, guide others, endure and sacrificially love others.

4. Why are you at Biola? I’m at Biola because God has given me the opportunity to serve and worship Him here.

5. A guilty pleasure: An afternoon watching movies or 24 and snacking on salt and vinegar chips, diet coke (maybe a Chipotle burrito) and frozen yogurt with friends and family.

6. What movie/TV/book have you seen in the last year that you wish all your friends could see? Or a book you would insist your children read? The Alchemist.

7. If you could relive any part of your life, what part would it be, and why? Looking back, I wouldn’t choose to relieve any part of my life… God is and was present with me through the good, the painful, the joyous and the times of suffering… He grew me and sanctified me, He used it to shape me, mold me and mature me. The only thing I would change is the hurt and the consequences that my shortcomings and sin have caused others.

8. What is the most difficult choice you’ve ever had to make? The decision to go to seminary. What made it difficult? I didn’t know why God wanted me to go and it was a huge financial commitment. As a woman, I didn’t feel called to full-time ministry but I had a strong desire to know God and His Word. What factors helped you make that choice? Time with God; searching the scriptures; praying and talking with my dear wise brothers and sisters in Christ; trusting that God is sovereign and in control and would lead me by His presence, Word and community and in the end, believing that going to seminary at that time, really was the will of God.

9. What is the most risky thing you want to try doing? Rock climbing :) … it’s so expensive! And I’m afraid of heights… yikes!

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

That God loves me, knows me, sustains me, comforts me, wants the best for me and is working towards that and is faithful, even when I am not.
My family and friends.
Times to play and enjoy life :)
His Word.
The opportunity to serve God at Biola.

11. In difficult times, who would you most want praying for you? A few close friends, my mom and grandmother.

12. What was the greatest peer pressure you felt as a teen/college student? To fit in and be accepted, sometimes to be who they would want me to be rather than who I knew God created me to be.

13. Do you think it is possible to live with no regrets? Yes, if one can accept that we live in a broken and fallen world yet seek to love God and others, and embrace whatever is set before us on this journey with Him. I think that when we walk in communion with God, through the good and difficult we can try to live as honorably as possible, with integrity, stepping out and taking risks and encountering your fears, accepting whatever blessings and consequences that come with your choices. I believe that God is sovereign over all things and that there are times that we know the leading of the Lord and can follow after Him and there are also times that we step out in faith trusting that God is in control and will take care of us regardless of our shortcomings or adequacies

14. What is your definition of success? Journeying intimately with God… daily doing life, “being” with Him, worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth. Knowing God, knowing who God made you to be and embracing and living out what He has given you to do and be. Do you consider yourself to be successful? Yes & no. Knowing something in my head and living it out incarnationally with a redeemed heart is a tall order that I fall short of everyday. But, God promises to be with me and His Holy Spirit helps me to live this out more and more every day.

15. How much is your self-worth and identity determined by your job and your success at it? I know that it is not, but sometimes I “feel” like it is. There are times I forget that my worth and identity is not in who I am or what I can do… it is solely determined by my relationship with God through Christ alone. I am valuable because I have been created in the image of God and reflect His image. My worth is rooted in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, my value and my identity lies in who I am in Christ.

16. What are the most important things you look for when choosing a church? Authority of Scripture; Community (not just hanging out, but depth of relationships); Corporate worship experience; Multi-generational fellowship/community and family ministry; Outward focus in mission and service to the community and the world; Teachability/Openness/Humility.

17. What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? Waking up on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

18. What are the 3 questions you most want to ask God?

Why did you create me and choose me?
Lord will you please bring my dad and our family to know you in a life-saving way?
What have you created me to do? How can I honor and worship you in that?

19. In what areas of your life is it most difficult to trust God? The unknown future: in life direction; love; finances; to trust that God is sufficient to meet and provide for me.

20. What does contentment mean to you? Walking humbly with the Lord daily, being thankful, knowing that I am known and loved and at peace with God. How close are you to that, now? I’m moving in that direction. I still struggle, I’m human, I fall short and I am faced with my own dreams, desires and hopes every day. But, I hope to and try to submit them to Him and ask Him to mold, shape, change and bring my heart, my will, my dreams, my desires, my passions my goals more and more in line with His will.