Shared during the Passing the baton leadership transition event on September 28, 2025

Dear friends, colleagues, partners in the Gospel, and beloved ABTS community,

It is with humility, gratitude, and a holy sense of fear that I stand before you today. I thank the Board of Trustees for their trust and support.

We are here not only to mark a transition in leadership but to remember that ABTS belongs to the Lord. It is His work. His mission. His house.

We are but stewards, entrusted with the Gospel, as the apostle Paul reminds us. And one day we will all give an account of what we have done with what has been entrusted to us. And that future accountability gives weight and dignity to every decision we make in the present.

I would like to begin by honoring my predecessor, Dr. Elie Haddad.

Under his leadership, ABTS became a pioneering educational institution, respected not only in the Arab world but internationally. Dr. Elie, together with the ABTS team, navigated wars, economic collapse, a pandemic, and digital transformation, all while maintaining academic excellence, retaining key leaders, and increasing the number of students served throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Thank you for modeling courage, integrity, and faith. You have not merely managed change; you have cultivated a legacy of faithfulness.

As I step into this role, I do so on the strong foundations already laid. I feel the weight of responsibility but also the privilege and opportunity. This role is not about me; it is about what God desires to do through this institution to serve the Church, His bride, across the Arabic-speaking world.

My guiding Scripture is Psalm 127:1: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

This verse reminds us that all our innovations, strategies, degrees, and even technologies are in vain if Christ is not the cornerstone.

Our calling in this new season is clear:

In partnership with the local church, our call is to form a generation of worshippers, grounded in Scripture, critical thinkers and lifelong learners, and servant leaders, who reflect Christ Himself.

Worshippers

Because true theological formation begins with reverence, awe, and joy in the knowledge of God. The Church has long recognized that spiritual formation is not a matter of the mind alone; rather, it anchors faith and touches the heart as well. Jonathan Edwards described true Christianity as holy affections; yet the work of sin has disordered our loves so that we do not love first the One we ought to love. The grace given to us in Christ restores the love of God to its rightful place, so that God is always first. Now, because our classes are online, forming worshippers remotely can seem challenging. But technology is a tool, not a threat. It allows us to reach the unreached and train leaders in their own ministry contexts. Even as AI and digital platforms multiply access to information, the slow work of character formation grows harder, requiring vigilance and intentionality.

Edwards, was careful to note that holy affections are "not heat without light”. This is crucial for our teaching: we meditate and study to grow in knowledge, which in turn kindles our love and affection. Just as light kindles heat, understanding should ignite adoration and worship. Isn't this what the disciples of Emmaus expressed: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32).

Grounded in Scripture

We confess with Paul: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

A solid foundation in the inspired, trustworthy, infallible, and authoritative Word of God, which constitutes the ultimate standard in all matters of life, salvation, faith, and morality, is not about clinging to certainty in fear. It is about being anchored in the unchanging character of God revealed in His Word.

This foundation does not silence our questions; it gives them direction.
It does not suppress doubt; it gives us courage to wrestle honestly, like Jacob. Without such grounding, we are, in Paul’s words, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

It is only the seasoned sailor, anchored in truth and tested through trials, who can venture into deep waters, unafraid of the storm, because he knows the One who calms it.

That is why our students must be equipped to expound Scripture, “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15),  and to live it out daily and faithfully, so that churches across our region may drink deeply from the fountain of living water.

Critical Thinkers and Lifelong Learners

This has long been a hallmark of ABTS, and we must preserve it.

The challenges facing the Arab Church demand discernment. We live in an age of ideological confusion, disinformation, and digital overload. We need leaders who think theologically, critically, and contextually; who can engage culture without being conformed to it; and who can speak Gospel truth into complex realities with clarity and conviction.

By the time our students complete their studies, they will realize that they have only begun to scratch the surface of God’s truth. They will graduate not as know-it-alls, but as lifelong learners, men and women prepared to keep learning, unlearning, and being reshaped by the Word of God and guided by the Spirit for a lifetime of faithful service.

Servant Leaders

And finally, we are called to form servant leaders.

Servant leaders do not lead from power but from service, following the example of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve.

They do not build followers; they raise successors.

They listen well, collaborate widely, and disciple faithfully.

They speak truth with courage, serve with sacrifice, and lead with prophetic vision in turbulent times.

ABTS is not just an academic institution. It is a Kingdom outpost.

Our graduates will not simply write papers; they will preach and serve in refugee camps, plant churches in cities, counsel and be peace makers in war zones, and bear witness in hidden places where no one sees. Their classrooms may be tents, basements, and homes. Their pulpits may be broken streets, prison cells and unjust systems. Their faith will be tested not in theory but in fire.

Brothers and sisters, we do not know what the future holds. But we know the One who holds the future, and He is faithful.

So let us labor not in vain, but in step with His Spirit.

Let us build, not our own kingdoms, but the Lord’s house.

And let us raise up leaders lit by the flame of worship, grounded in Scripture, sharpened in mind, and shaped by the wisdom of the cross, so that Christ may be seen, Christ may be treasured, and Christ may be proclaimed in every corner of the Arab world.

This is our vision. This is our calling.

To God be the glory.

And to the Church in the Arab world, may she rise, flourish, and bear fruit that will last.

Thank you.