WASHINGTON, DC (ANS) -- The first Baptist woman in Asia to be elected to lead a major theological seminary has passed away.
Lilian Lim Hui Kiau, President of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS), died on Thursday, June 25, in Singapore, according to a Baptist World Alliance (BWA) news release.
BWA says Lim was the first female to lead a major seminary when she was named head of ABGTS, a consortium of nine theological schools in eight countries, in 2005.
The BWA news release says Lim was described by colleagues as "a simple lady with a simple faith."
Lim was previously Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) of Singapore, one of the nine schools that form the ABGTS consortium. She received her theological training at BTS and at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. She earned her PhD from SBTS in 1994.
BWA says Lim served on the executive of the Singapore Baptist Convention and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). She was also a member of the board of directors of Global Women, a mainly Baptist organization dedicated to empowering women for service and mission globally, and to creating partnerships across national borders and artificial divisions.
Lim was a member of the BWA team participating in the ongoing Baptist-Roman Catholic Conversations between the BWA and the Vatican. She presented papers on various topics at BWA and APBF events, including at the BWA-sponsored Baptist International Conference on Theological Education in Prague, Czech Republic, in July 2008. She wrote one of the Bible studies that will be used during the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010.
"My association with Lilian started three years ago with our participation in the Baptist-Roman Catholic theological conversations," said BWA General Secretary Neville Callam.
"Lilian was a fine person with an alert mind and a loving and gentle spirit. Ever looking beneath the surface of things as they appear, she was a fine interpreter of people, texts and events. She had a deep and abiding faith in God and she spent herself in the service of others," the BWA leader said in his tribute.
"In the passing of Lilian, the entire community of theological students and teachers in Asia has lost a distinguished leader and the Baptist World Alliance a gifted theologian and a sensitive soul. May her soul rest in peace," said Callam.
A Chinese Singaporean, Lim was one of the subjects of the 2003 BWA book, "Stars Lighting up the Sky: Stories of Contemporary Christian Heroes" by Tony Cupit, a former BWA director. She faced opposition from her traditional Chinese family when she converted to Christianity at a young age, and she battled lifelong illness.
"Throughout, she has maintained deep faith in Christ despite looking death in the face, enduring pain and other challenges to life and faith," Cupit wrote in his book.
A memorial service will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Singapore, on Sunday, June 28, followed by cremation.
