Snapshots of Jesus-Centered Leadership™: Tim Tang

Our world desperately needs Jesus-centered leaders!

We trust this interview with Dr. Tim Tang (Arrow Class 20) will encourage and equip you to be led more by Jesus, lead more like Jesus and lead more to Jesus.

Tim equips and networks with the intercultural Christian faith community as Director at Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) at Tyndale University in Toronto, Ontario.

Tim, how are you seeking to be led more BY Jesus?

For me spending time with God is more than doing devotions and reading. It’s also prayer and solitude as well as music. I feel more fulfilled spiritually and connected with God when I am being creative. I can be creative musically, and no one else needs to hear it other than God.

How does leading more LIKE Jesus work itself out in your life?

Jesus really lived with his disciples and developed community. This is something I am trying to do today. I want to do life together with my staff and team. It has been important to really celebrate birthdays and share meals together. I can be so task focused that I need a reminder to celebrate and take the time to be relational. This shift has made a difference for those I lead. We are caring for each other and doing a weekly check-in to see how everyone is doing and to share what’s going on in each other’s lives.

How can we lead more TO Jesus?

The constant struggle is how to help people think about others and not just about themselves. Even for me, being a person of color, I often catch myself in the fact that my friends are mostly second generation Chinese Canadian. We’ve made our own conclaves. We need to figure out how to focus more and more on caring for other people, cultures, generations, etc.

How are you leading differently because of participating in the Arrow Leadership Program™?

I am leading differently professionally. My Arrow journey pushed me to do my Doctor of Ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. It also pushed me to do intercultural training. It seems Arrow was a connection from one thing to another. This created a passion in me to synergize biblically how God is on the move and moving in Canada amongst international, refugee and economic migrants.

Arrow’s huge emphasis on mentoring also made a big impact on me. It taught me that surrounding yourself with official and unofficial mentors is important. Arrow is a huge reminder of how much I have been poured into. It is because of certain individuals that I know I am where I am. They advocated for me. I have taken it upon myself to continue to be mentored and mentor others. I continually ask myself, “How can I be intentional and mentor others who are older and younger than me?”