Forget about the majestic mountain ranges or the pristine waterfronts; for Dr. Fletcher Tink, it is the openness and warmth of the locals that keeps him coming back to the Philippines time and time again.
For twenty-five years now Dr. Tink has been coming back and forth to the country teaching in seminaries, partnering in urban ministries and preaching the Word. “I did not experience culture shock; what I experienced was hospitality shock,” says Dr. Tink. “The Filipino people are just extremely kind and incredibly receptive.”
Dr. Fletcher Tink, who is the Executive Director of Bresee Institute for Urban Ministries, is also a part of the roster of the notable APNTS faculty; he handles classes such as Theology of Work, Intercultural Communication and Urban Ministry. “Teaching at APNTS means so much to me because there is no place more urbanized with all the competitions, all the social stratifications, and all the power constellations than here in the area; these are all at our doorsteps,” remarked Dr. Tink.
The cities in the Philippines, according to Dr. Tink, offer a favorable context for urban ministries because even if there are numerous shanty towns and poverty all over the place, there are many organizations, both government and non- government, that are very willing to be mobilized. This is also the very thing that Dr. Tink does in his classes as he trains and equips the APNTS students for their future ministries. “I learned so many things from Dr. Tink but the most important thing he taught us is to look at the world around us in an analytical way and pay attention to the unnoticed in the society like the sick and the poor,” says April Falaria, one of his students.
Anyone who has paid a visit to Dr. Tink’s office located on the 4th floor of the Neilson Center for Evangelism and Education Building will not fail to notice the painting of the last supper by the late Joey Velasco depicting Jesus Christ partaking of a measly meal with the Filipino street children. Despite the overwhelming poverty portrayed on the Filipino table, there is a hint of hope represented by the one Man who sat amidst the children and shared all that he had. Beholding God’s grace and providence beam through the smiles of every Filipino even in difficult times: this is definitely why it’s more fun in the Philippines for Dr. Tink.
