Tai continues family legacy, follows God’s call to prepare for pastoral ministry at Southwestern

For Jim Tai, seminary seemed always just around the corner. Born in Taiwan and raised in a family deeply connected to ministry, Tai grew up surrounded by several generations of pastors, theological education, and church life.

“My father was a pastor, my grandfather is pastor,” Tai said. “On my father’s side is a total of 11 pastors. It was always just kind of waiting for me.”

While ministry was familiar from an early age, Tai said his own commitment to the Lord became personal when he was a child. Around the age of 8, he said he was facing difficulties at a Christian elementary school while also suffering from a physical illness.

“In a moment of desperation, I cried out to Him as a child in prayer, seeking to be rescued,” Tai said. “In an instant, the physical affliction was gone and there was an inner peace that rested on me.”

Tai said that moment marked a turning point in his faith.

“The school bullies were no longer an issue and I committed my life to God,” Tai said. “When He rescued me, I knew I would serve Him for the rest of my life.”

Now a first-year Master of Divinity student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Tai said his own path to Seminary Hill has felt both unexpected and familiar. Though he grew up around seminary life, first in Taiwan and later in the United States, he did not always plan to enter theological education.

Tai moved to the United States when he was five years old, living in West Virginia, Ohio, and New York before coming to Texas in high school. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston, having initially enrolled in business and entrepreneurship but changed his direction.

After college, Tai worked in a variety of fields, including information technology at the University of Houston, recycling management, and dental assisting. Those experiences were valuable, he said, but they did not provide the sense of fulfillment he was seeking.

“I’ve tried all these different secular jobs,” Tai said. “None of them bring me this joy. Like, what do I want to do with my life? ‘God, You tell me what I’m supposed to do.’”

As he began praying through that question, Tai said people around him began raising the same long-thought question of seminary.

“Slowly, around voices started speaking to me,” Tai recalled. “Almost collectively, like, ‘Hey, didn’t your parents go to seminary?’ ‘Have you considered seminary?’”

Even after deciding to pursue a seminary education, Tai said he sensed the Lord leading him to wait one more year. That delay, he said, brought unexpected confirmation. When he moved to Fort Worth, his cousin from Taiwan moved to the area at nearly the same time because her husband had entered a Ph.D. program at Texas Christian University.

“We’re going to be seven minutes away from each other,” Tai said. “Completely unplanned.”

Tai said another moment of confirmation came during Preview Day at Southwestern. He visited campus with his parents and later stayed at the Riley Center. In the room, they found an issue of the Southwestern News magazine that included a feature on the Taipei Baptist Seminary, located where Tai had grown up.

“My dad was like, ‘That’s the chapel we went to every week. That’s the building we met at every day,’” Tai said. “I found out that seminary is one of the sister seminaries to Southwestern. If that is not a connection, I don’t know what can be.”

Since arriving in Fort Worth in August of 2025, Tai has begun leaning into both the academic and relational opportunities at Southwestern. Though he does not yet have a formal concentration, he said his interests are increasingly directed toward Old Testament studies. He recently began “Turbo Hebrew” and has already completed coursework in biblical Greek.

One class that stood out to him was Exegesis of 1 and 2 Peter and Jude with Mark Taylor, professor of New Testament.

“That was the first time examining, going through after learning Greek, and just being able to extrapolate the data,” Tai said. “One day I want to read the Bible in Greek. … It’s been fun to dig in.”

Language learning has long been an interest for him. In addition to English and conversational Chinese, Tai said he has studied Spanish, French, Latin, Russian, Greek, Hebrew, and German. He now works through vocabulary in Greek, Hebrew, German, and Chinese as part of his regular routine.

Another class that shaped him was Strategies for Disciple Making with Chris Shirley, professor of educational ministries.

“That’s when I realized, wow, discipleship is not something that’s common enough in churches,” Tai said. “Even growing up, I feel like I was not properly discipled by anybody on a one-on-one setting, and this is something that’s lacking in the modern-day church setting.”

The course, Tai said, caused him to think about how he might one day help build stronger discipleship relationships in the local church.

“Once I get into ministry, how can I implement discipleship?” Tai said. “How can I share and pass on my knowledge, but also, how can I find people to share their knowledge with me and build this bridge of connection?”

Beyond the classroom, Tai said he has made a point of seeking out faculty members for conversation and mentorship. Each semester, he tries to meet regularly with professors, asking them about their lives, ministries, and experiences. He has met several times with Madison Grace, provost and vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology, and also reached out to President David S. Dockery simply because he wanted to know the president of the school.

“We sat down, we chatted for an hour, and just talked about life,” Tai said. “If I could, I would just want to meet all the faculty of the school and just sit down. Say, ‘Tell me your life experience. Let me absorb as much knowledge as I can from you.’”

Tai said he has also met with Joshua Williams, associate professor of Old Testament and director of Research Doctoral Studies, as he considers the possibility of pursuing doctoral studies after completing his MDiv.

“Right now, I’m looking at Old Testament PhD,” Tai said. “Here I thought I could just finish school in two or three years, and before I know it, oh man, it’s going to be eight years.”

Tai currently works part time in a remote IT role for the University of Houston on weekends, allowing him to study during the week while helping pay the bills. He is also involved at Glory Chinese Baptist Church in North Richland Hills, where he serves as a Chinese-to-English translator once or twice a month and is slated to teach youth and children’s Sunday School.

Tai said the church quickly felt connected to his story. On one of his first visits, he discovered that the pastor knew a deacon from Tai’s former church in Sugar Land, Texas.

“There was just immediately a bridge connection there as well,” Tai said. “I feel like there’s a connection here. So, all right, let’s do it. And it’s been good since.”

As Tai looks ahead, he said pastoral ministry seems likely, though he wants to remain submitted to God’s direction. Watching his father and grandfather serve in ministry has given him a realistic picture of both the blessings and difficulties of pastoral work.

“I wouldn’t say natural, but it feels like a guided path,” Tai said. “I’ve seen what they go through. I’ve seen the hardships, whether it be financial or personal or church stuff. … More than anything, I feel a call to wanting to minister to people, wanting to help them, wanting to guide them and lead them.”

Tai said he could also envision teaching in a seminary context one day, perhaps after years of pastoral ministry, or serving as both a pastor and professor.

“That’s the purpose of wanting to pursue a Ph.D.,” Tai said, “to be a scholar pastor.”

For now, Tai is enjoying his time in Fort Worth, studying Scripture, building relationships with professors and classmates, and serving in his local church. Whether God keeps him in Fort Worth, sends him back to Houston, or leads him somewhere else, Tai said he wants to be open to the Lord’s direction.

“Fort Worth is great. Houston is great,” Tai said. “But wherever God leads me, I’ve seen my dad move around for ministry. … If He wants to take me somewhere else, then fine. Let the journey continue.”