We’re thrilled to announce that the first Langham Scholar studying at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC), Emmy from Thailand, is starting soon. Emmy will be supported by Langham Partnership Australia. We are extremely happy to be supporting Emmy and partnering with SMBC in equipping her.
Meet new Scholar, Emmy
Emmy is from Thailand and is married to Jeerawood, they have two sons aged 8 and 4. She feels God is calling her to be a lecturer and an adviser for her theological students to become good servants of God! It is an exciting calling that she is looking forward to pursuing through her PhD.
Emmy shares, “I will take the knowledge [from my PhD] and contribute it to the Thai Christian community, both in the local churches and Biblical seminaries.”
Prior to starting her PhD, Emmy served at the Bangkok Institute of Theology as Assistant Director of Administration, involving financial management, public relations, human resources and other general management. Emmy has also been teaching New Testament and English in seminary and preaches in her local church.
Exploring Daniel and the Intersection with Thai Patronage
Emmy is excited to both know God’s Word and her research area better, but also be changed by it. She shares, “I look forward to having a greater understanding of God’s word and to being able to interact critically with Biblical texts and resources. I wish to learn how this knowledge can stimulate and transform my mind, heart and soul.”
Her chosen PhD topic is ‘The Rhetoric of Hubris in the Book of Daniel and Its Intersection with Thai Patronage’. Emmy explains, “I chose this topic because not many Thai scholars have studied the theme of Daniel and applied it to the Thai context. I wish to see how the foreign kings exemplified the characteristic of hubris. The proposed line of research is to explore the rhetorical function of hubris in Daniel to discern how the author desired original readers to respond to this theme of hubris.”
Emmy’s passion for seeing people in Thailand equipped well in the church and beyond is clear through her PhD selection. She shares, “I will examine how the research outcomes from the proposed study on Daniel impact the high patronage system in the Thai church and extend our understanding of living faithfully in such a culture.”
We’re excited to see Emmy complete her study at SMBC through a mixture of remote learning (while she and her family continue living in Thailand) and Australian visits.
A representative from SMBC says, “Sydney Missionary and Bible College is committed to preparing loving and skilled graduates who will bring the light of Christ to a dark and needy world. Thus, we are delighted to be able to collaborate with Langham Partnership to host Emmy, our first PhD student from Thailand in 2025. Our prayer is that Emmy, through her research and writing, will not only continue to enrich her own context, but will also contribute to the strengthening of the global church. “
(Learn more about Sydney Missionary and Bible College: smbc.edu.au)
Looking to the future
Emmy’s vision for the advancement of the gospel is to see seminary students love to study the Bible. She wants to help students see the truth in the Bible and get excited as they start to study it deeply. Upon completion, Emmy will be a lecturer at the Bangkok Institute of Theology.
Thinking about her research after completion she says, “I expect my research to impact my ministry in Christian organisations and local churches. Patronage culture is embedded in the Thai culture, and believers are unaware of the issue. I wish that as the Thai church studies the book of Daniel, it could find a way to respond to patronage culture after studying the theme of hubris in Daniel.”
Please praise God for Emmy and pray for her studies!
If you’d like to support Emmy, or Scholars like her, become a financial partner with Langham Partnership Australia.