DR. MELVIN J. STEINBRON

I better to introduce you about the late Dr. Melvin J. Steinbron (July 25, 1922 – June 25, 2017) first for your pre-understanding, because where I am now is entire of his helps.I met him through his first book, Can The Pastor Do It Alone? Once I came back to Korea form Canada, my home seminary asked me to teach on the pastoral care, especially with an English book. So I was looking for English book on the pastoral care. I tried to get it from many bookstores in Korea, but could not find it. Then I was looking at web-sites of theological schools and found one professor of pastoral care in Seoul then I went that school, Asian Center for Theological Studies (ACTS), now it became university. So I met Professor Ruth Elsner. I could not remember her name’s spelling exactly, because it was almost twenty-five years ago, in the year of 1995. Even she is not there anymore. I tried to meet the professor again afterward, but not there. Anyway she gave me the book, Can The Pastor Do It Again? (Copyright ⓒ 1987). Once we meet each other, and said to me “Korean church needs this book sooner or later.” I found this is true much later. I assumed that she was teaching with this book for many years in Korea, so she understood what’s the weak-points of Korean churches even they are grown up.

I had taught students with this book, and they gave me feedback surprisingly, “Korean churches need this book and this ministry, so please to translate the book right away into Korean language. We feel it’s urgency of this concept for Korean churches.” It was shocking to me, and some sense of God’s calling toward me what to do the rest of my life in the future.

Then I contacted to Dr. Melvin, the author of the book to get permission to translate and also to copy English book itself. I had no idea at all about him and what he is doing. Just I thought he is a pastor at a local church. But soon I realized he started this ministry at one local church many years ago, and now he has been doing this ministry nationally and internationally already, I mean for entire of the United States as a founding president of LPM Incorporated. He was gladly permitted to translate and to copy of original books as well with agreeing what I said, “Future of Korean churches are depends on present seminarians.” So I have translated it also along with his second book, Lay Driven Church (Copyright ⓒ 1997). Both books are translated in 4 years and published thousands copies successfully, also copied 1,000 books on each of English book itself, so used very well for nearly 20 years.

While I was teaching with that book, I got feeling strongly and challenged for doing this ministry myself for churches in Korea, so I opened small Institute of LPM Korea at corner-room of one church where I was belong to, and I was working for this ministry as part-time because I was associated pastor so I have to work for church ministry as well, and soon later I jumped into full-time ministry because too much demanded from many local churches so I could not confined at one local church any more. I determined to do this ministry as my life-ministry. So I helped approximately 200 churches with this ministry for nearly 20 years. Almost I have copied what and how the LPMI UAS were doing, so started easily and moved smoothly and was successful in my view-point. You can look at more in details how I have done this ministry at my first book, Reflections of the Lay Pastors Ministry which is published in Kenya Africa in 2020.

As I work for this ministry, it happened naturally to meet foreign students those who came to Korea for theological studies so we have shared, studied one another of this ministry and trained them especially with PACE Equipping Manual which is developed by Dr. Melvin, and they agreed to its concept, philosophy, and training process so they invited me to visit their countries, and thus I traveled many countries, equip them (pastors and laity as well) with this ministry. Through that opportunities I used to accustomed at other countries, and finally I had helped to begun two Seminaries; one in Nagaland India in 2015, another one in Kenya Africa in 2017. Both seminaries are running okay and doing their own tasks what they have to be done. Especially Seminary in Kenya is now trying to shift it to university. I am also helping for this long-journey project. In some sense this book is written from experience of our co-working Ogilland & me for making Melvin’s University, which is now completed and opened it. I hope once I finished this book, the university built completely and got Accreditation for the government of Kenya. That’s my prayer request.

I was thinking a lot how to get things done, because in those days I have read many books on the leaderships, management, so on, and those resource help me to start and ended up successfully for two seminaries. Now a days I am reading and using more updated resources for making Melvin’s University in Kenya. I will write down what it is in this book.

Anyway in the mean time, I have written two books in English. Of course I translated many English books into Korean and wrote a few Korean books before but writing English books are two, and third one is this book. The first book is Reflection on the Lay Pastors Ministry (Copyright ⓒ 2020) which I wrote about 20-years of my ministry. Kind of reflection what and how I have done. It is published 1,000 books in Kenya (donated to the library of LPM Theological Seminary Kenya). And the second book is The Daily Melvin (Copyrightⓒ 2021). I got clue for this book from the book, “The Daily Drucker” (published in 2004). The Father of management Peter Drucker wrote many books. So his colleagues and followers selected 365 valuable insights from those books, so compiled as one volume, The Daily Drucker. I followed this idea, so put it mine, The Daily Melvin–365 readings, about 440 pages. 

Dr. Melvin along with Board members, LPMI  USA