Agnes Chiu, Ph. D.
趙李秀珍博士
TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
CHINA EVANGELICAL SEMINARY NORTH AMERICA
West Covina, CALIFORNIA
Director of Research & Strategic Initiatives
January 2022 to present
Director of Center for Public Theology
Assistant Professor
Heads up and manages all aspects of the Department of Research & Strategic Initiatives, consisting of the Center for Public Theology, Center for Spiritual and Character Formation, Church Empowerment Project, and Pastor Care Project.
Also serves as Director of the Center for Public Theology, designs curriculum for public theology courses, organizes academic symposiums, and prepares annual grant reports.
Teaches master's and doctoral-level courses in Systematic Theology, Ethics, and Public Theology. Supervises and advises doctoral students in dissertation writing.
Assistant Professor / Director of Development July 2016 to 12/2019
Taught master and doctoral-level courses in Systematic Theology, Public Theology, and Christian Ethics. Advised students on academic and spiritual developments. Headed the Development Department and supervised the team in development affairs, including fundraising, donor relations, church relations, and student recruitment activities. Helped the seminary to inaugurate its Endowment Fund and purchased its dormitory.
LEGAL EXPERIENCE:
LAW AGAPE CENTER
ATTORNEY 7/2016 to Present
Practices law part-time in employment law compliance, corporate law, estate planning, and charitable giving planning, including private foundations and charitable remainder unit/annuity trusts. Represents churches and prepares immigration petitions for their religious workers.
CALIFORNIA LICENSED ATTORNEY 6/1992 to 6/2016
Practiced law in different law firms and partnerships. Defended business clients in contractual and employment cases. Advised corporate clients on human resources issues. Incorporated charities from incorporation to the successful application of federal exemption status applications to corporate compliance issues. Structured and strategized for clients in estate planning issues ranging from living trusts and non-profit foundations to charitable remainder trusts.
EDUCATION:
Theological:
FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, Pasadena, CALIFORNIA
Ph. D. in Christian Ethics, minor in Old Testament, 2017
Dissertation Topic: Peacemaking in Employment Conflicts: A Comparison of Abraham Kuyper and Leo XIII on class struggle and application in China's migrant workers' context
Advisor: Dr. Richard Mouw, Dr. George Harinck
FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, Pasadena, CALIFORNIA
Master of Theology in Biblical Studies, 2010
Legal: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES (UCLA) SCHOOL OF LAW, Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA
Juris Doctor Degree, 1991
Undergraduate:
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE, Irvine, CALIFORNIA
Bachelor of Arts, March 1988, Social Ecology Major, specialized in criminal justice
CURRENT / PAST MINISTERIAL EXPERIENCE:
1. Chinese Evangelical Free Church of Los Angeles
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Board member positions include secretary, committee chairperson of Community Concerns, Christian Education and Mission Committee
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Sunday School teacher: biblical book classes, ethics
2. Chinese Christian Herald Crusades
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Board member of the National Board of CCHC
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Planning Committee member of the Los Angeles CCHC Planning Committee
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Pro Bono Legal Service Attorney
3. Herald Christian Health Center: Founding Board member
4. Chinese Evangelical Seminary North America: Board member
5. Luke Services International: Executive Committee member
PRESENTATIONS:
1. Cultivating a Heart of Generosity. Presentation at the Kuyper Conference titled Stewardship in the Kingdom: Business, Academy, and Society. Grand Rapids, Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminry, April 3, 2024.
2. How Lessons Learned from the Early Churches Help Today’s China House Churches Practice Public Theology and Survive under Authoritarian Rule. Presentation at the International Conference (Online) titled “Doing Public Theologies in Asia: Prospects and Challenges.” Asian Network for Public Theology. Sri Lanka. February 2, 2024.
3. Cries Amid Pain – A Reflection on Pain from the Perspective of Theology哀痛中呼求---從神學的眼光看傷痛, Panel Speaker at the special seminar titled How Christians Respond to Crisis – in Response to the Mass Shooting in Monterey Park 基督徒如何回應危機 – 回應蒙特利公園槍擊案. Chinese Evangelical Free Church, Monterey Park, California, February 11, 2023
4. Seeking the Shalom and Public Theolgy 尋求平安與公共神學, Panel Speaker at the Annual Symposium of the Center for Public Theology titled “Seeking the Shalom尋求平安”, China Evangelical Seminary North America, West Covina, California, January 7, 2023.
5. A Re-examination of "Witnessing" and Public Theology【見証】的再思與公共神學. Greater Los Angeles Christian Ministers Association, West Covina, June 13, 2022.
6. Theological Foundation on Poverty Ministry, Contemporary Challenges Conference 北美華人時代挑戰會議, Monterey Park, May 21, 2022.
7. A Voice in the Wilderness: The Role of Chinese House Churches in Doing Public Theology in China, Plenary Speaker. Kuyper Conference, Grand Rapids, Calvin University, April 6, 2022.
8.Reformed Public Theology and the Global Church: Challenges and Opportunities. Panelist. Kuyper Conference, Grand Rapids, Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary, April 6, 2022.
9. The Reformed Public Theology of Richard Mouw, Panelist. Kuyper Conference, Grand Rapids, Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary, April 7, 2022.
10. Migration and Theology, Panelist. Society of Christian Ethics, Virtual Conference, January 2021.
11. "The Theological Perspective of Image of God and the Need for a Public Theology," Chinese Mission Conference, Ontario, California, December 2017.
12. "Will the Supreme Court justice(s) appointment during the Trump presidency benefit public theology development in the United States?" Public Theology in Plural Contexts, International Reformed Theological Institute Conference, Hong Kong, June 2017.
13. "Forging a Christian Ethics Future," Society of Christian Ethics, Toronto, Canada, January 2016.
14. "And You Welcome Me? A Theological Response to the Militarization of the US-Mexico Borders and the Criminalization of1 Undocumented Migrants." Society of Christian Ethics, Seattle, WA, January 2013.
PUBLICATIONS:
1. The Social Question and the Thoughts of Abraham Kuyper with a translation of Bijlage to the Social Question from Dutch to English (2022).
2. 四十年来现代化 -- 凯珀与中国劳工处境的对话.《新教与现代性》, 道風出版社， 2022.
3. Church and Public Theology, Asian Christian Ethic: Evangelical Perspective. Editors Bernard Wong and Aldrin Peñamora. Langham Publishing. 2022.
4. Toward a Reformed Labor Union Policy in Contemporary China, Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the Word, ed. Matthew Kaemingk. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, August 2021.
5. "The Theological Perspective of Image of God and the Need for a Public Theology," in Image of God, 神的形像， Tien Dao Publisher 天道: Hong Kong. June 2018.
6. The Emergence of the Conservative Legal Movement and Public Theology in the Context of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Appointment, Resonance: A Theological Journal, Vol. 4-2 Christianity and Culture, Summer 2018.
7. "And You Welcome Me?" A Theological Response to the Militarization of the US-Mexico Borders and the Criminalization of Undocumented Migrants
Co-authored by Ilsup Anh, Agnes Chiu, and William O'Neill, CrossCurrents, Volume 62, Issue 3, 303-322, September 2013.
Out of Antagonistic Destiny: Peacemaking in an Employment Context, a Collection of Essays in Honor of Glen H. Stassen, Christian Ethics Today, November 2014.
Book Reviews:
1. Book Review on Calvinism for a Secular Age by Jessica R. Joustra and Robert J. Joustra, Eds. IVP: Downers Grove 2022. Journal of Reformed Theology, expected 2022.
2. Book Review on "Hope and Christian Ethics" by David Elliot, Cambridge University Press: New York 2017. The Evangelical Review of Theology and Politics, Volume 7, 2019, BR7, King's Divinity Press, King's Evangelical Divinity School. January 2019.
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Read & write fluently in Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin)
Read & write fluently in English
Read & write Dutch