My Theological Journey

Paul Davison A/L Robert Vincent | BD – Full Time

I walked into the path of ministry pumped and set free after years of being in the darkness. I had a fairly challenging childhood. After the passing of my father, I watched my mother struggle to make ends meet while raising her three children. She did not let her shortcomings hinder her. Despite not being able to read and write, my mother constantly found ways to learn and land jobs to keep the family running. However, there was a deep void in my heart that I tried filling with many things around me, yet nothing satisfied me until I had an encounter with Christ, which changed my perspective in life entirely.

One day, as I was reading the Bible, the phrase from the verse, Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love…” pierced my heart. I had never felt such an amazing love before, and this eventually led me to serve in ministry and pursue theological studies. This backstory is very crucial to my theological testimony, as it highlights how much I treasure the freedom and everlasting assurance of love I received from God. However, this also made me enter ministry with a rather naive mindset.

My ministerial journey has not been a bed of roses, as I had imagined. There were many areas in my life that needed to be moulded, and to this day, I am still humbled by God. In my first few years of theological studies, I was refined in areas where I was lacking. I faced stage fright and insecurities due to my inadequacies in many areas. I still remember that two weeks after entering STM, I was admitted to the hospital due to a fever. I missed my first class and first pastoral group fellowship. This was the worst start in a new environment. Studies at STM were not as easy as I had expected. I spent hours in front of my laptop and often most of my time in the library to complete my assignments.

Besides studying in seminary, I was also assigned to be a student pastor in multiple churches throughout my studies. During this time, I was faced with the next wave of reality. There are problems, petty ones and big ones, but God sees me through. I no longer have a naive outlook on ministry but a heart that is constantly humbled. I go through days of burnout, worries, and stress that come through the challenges of ministry. But the Lord has never abandoned me. To this day, I am assured of His everlasting love. In areas I lack, He enhances. When I do not have enough, He provides. He never fails to see me through. In that hope, I continue my journey.