Meet Will Chang - KALI Regional Leader of Korean Southwest OC Presbytery
By Will Chang and Moses Y. Lee
This is the first in a series of interviews with KALI’s regional leaders. At KALI, we want to promote the growth of healthy, gospel-centered pastors to help them flourish in their respective ministry settings. As part of that mission, we want to highlight several seasoned, Korean American teaching elders from our denomination who have been running the race faithfully in their pursuit of loving Jesus as ministers of the gospel. See Billy Park’s interview here. See Walter Lee’s interview here.
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Where are you from?
I was born in Kansas, but grew up in seven to eight different states all across America. We moved around a lot because of my dad's job in pharmaceutical research and development. I grew up in a Christian home, but I didn't become a Christian or come to saving faith most likely until I was in college.
How and when did you know you were called into ministry?
I began to sense a call to ministry after my third year working in finance on Wall Street. I was attending a young PCA church in central NJ where I was exposed to Reformed theology and grew tremendously in my faith. I took the next two years to pray and seek counsel from my pastor, friends, and older men and women in the faith to discern God’s calling to pastoral ministry. Although I enjoyed the corporate world, it was through serving, growing, and living within the life of the local church that helped to solidify my decision to pursue theological education at Westminster Theological Seminary.
Tell us about a difficult season of ministry and how the Lord pulled you through.
In 2018, our church went through several significant, strategic changes. First, we particularized into our own church, now called New Life Presbyterian Church. Second, we modified our approach to covenant worship, especially in regards to children. The Korean Ministry voiced their concerns about our particularization while our newly formed English-speaking congregation voiced their concerns about covenant worship in regards to children. Ironically, our congregation generally supported particularization while the Korean Ministry supported covenant worship.
But these changes also came with organizational challenges as we sought to implement new patterns for corporate worship as well as redefining our vision, mission, and core values as a newly formed church. Unsurprisingly, this process was taxing both physically and mentally as many folks found such significant changes tough to swallow. We implemented these changes during my seventh year at the church when I was already spiritually fatigued which brought out much of my own sins that I had to repent of. I began noticing that I wasn’t as spiritually healthy as I thought I was. In fact, I was much more impatient, unloving, and overly sensitive to criticism.
Certainly it was the Lord’s grace that pulled me through, but he used the loving faithfulness of the leaders of my church to do so. Their prayers, patience, and empathy was a deep source of encouragement and comfort.
Who are some preachers, authors, or artists that have had an impact on you or your ministry?
My professors at Westminster Theological Seminary made a huge impact on my development as a pastor, especially CCEF’s heart model approach to counseling. CCEF has shaped me personally and virtually in every facet of my ministry. In fact, it’s one of four core values at our church––Counseling in Community. Additionally, I’ve enjoyed learning from many preachers such as Tim Keller, Alistair Begg, and John Piper.
Yet, by far the “ordinary” aspects of ministry of the local church have had the greatest impact on my development as a pastor. In retrospect, I recognize that at each stage of my ministry development, the Lord has given me the right pastor for that season of life. As a lay person, it was John Lee from Good News Church PCA. In my first role as a full-time associate pastor, it was my own brother Francis Chang from Sojourner Presbyterian Church KAPC. Lastly, as a first-time lead pastor, it was Joel Kim who currently serves as the President of Westminster Seminary California.
The impact these older brothers have had on my development is irreplaceable and immeasurable. It’s also a large part of why I believe in the vision of KALI.
What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a pastor?
I think it depends on a pastor’s specific gifting and season in ministry. On the one hand, I’d like to believe I’ll never stop striving to develop as a preacher and counselor––I read books and blogs or watch online sermons or classes. On the other hand, I want to develop in a way that specifically addresses the season of ministry that I’m in. Perhaps we can call that “mid-career” which for me means developing in my organizational leadership, which we typically call kingly gifts. For this, I tend to read more secular business material as the business world seems to be a much better incubator of organizational gifts needed for leading a church that has a certain level of organizational complexity and sophistication.
What’s one thing you didn't learn in seminary that you wish you had learned?
One skill set I wish I had learned would be management, such as how to run an organization, how to cast a vision, how to develop a strategic budget, how to formulate a mission and core values, and how to lead a session and diaconate meetings.
What’s one thing you did more of as a young pastor?
I find that I read more theology as a young pastor. These days I tend to read more about culture or more practical aspects of ministry. This isn’t to say I’ve mastered theology in any way, but I’ve found that the longer I pastor the more I’m reading about how to apply the robust theology I’ve learned in seminary to the cultural issues of our day or the specific spiritual needs of my church. There is certainly a need to pursue balance on this and so, even as I write this, I feel inclined to read more theology!
What’s one thing you're looking forward to as an older pastor?
As an older pastor, I pray that I can have more sweet experiences and a more genuine relationship with Christ. It’s sort of assumed that the longer a person walks with Jesus, the more humble and joyful that person becomes. Yet, there are times when the brokenness of this world can really take a toll on someone, causing them to grow in cynicism or bitterness. I pray that with the many more years I get to serve and know Christ that my heart would become softer, not harder.
If you could tell a Korean American seminarian or young pastor one word of advice, what would it be?
Two things come to mind. First, let's just be thoughtful and thankful for the first-generation Korean pastors that have paved the way for us second-generation Korean American pastors. Second, along with those lines, I would encourage my fellow second-generation Korean American pastors to always remain humble and to remain teachable no matter where you are in your ministry. Likewise, we should never overstate our giftedness and understate our brokenness in sin. I find that a lot of younger pastors think they are much more gifted and much more knowledgeable and wiser about ministry than they actually are. I believe God will honor and use for the long haul those who remain humble and teachable.
Finally, I’ll add this at the risk of over-generalizing. Many pastors my age may have been encouraged to not neglect their wives and kids at the risk of serving in ministry. But I wonder if the encouragement should shift slightly for younger pastors who might be neglecting certain aspects of ministry in the name of family.
Will Chang (MDiv) currently serves as the Senior Pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church of Orange County. Born in Kansas, he worked on Wall Street before being called into the ministry. He graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 2008, and he has two daughters with his wife, Cathy. In his free time, you might find him cheering on the Lakers (even though he isn’t from SoCal), wandering around Disneyland, or finding a cup of good coffee.
Moses Y. Lee will be planting Rosebrook Presbyterian Church in North Bethesda, Maryland this fall. He’s a contributing author to the forthcoming, Hear Us, Emmanuel: Another Call for Racial Reconciliation, Representation, and Unity in the Church (White Blackbird, 2020) and is co-editing a book on Asian American Presbyterianism. He occasionally writes for The Gospel Coalition and SOLA. You can follow him on Twitter.