Michael Hakmin Lee

Biography

Rev. Dr. Michael Hakmin Lee is Associate Professor of Ministry & Leadership and Program Director of three M.A. programs (M.A. Evangelism & Leadership, M.A. Ministry Leadership, M.A. Missional Church Movements).

Michael was born in Seoul, Korea, and immigrated with his family to the U.S. During his studies at the University of Texas at Austin, Michael sensed God’s calling to vocational Christian ministry as he neared graduation. So, after graduating with a degree in biochemistry, Michael returned to Houston, where he worked as a full-time school teacher, planting and leading a youth ministry as a bi-vocational minister while pursuing seminary training. An ordained minister, Michael continued to serve in pastoral ministries during and after completing his Th.M. in Systematic Theology and Intercultural Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has taught at several schools prior to coming to Wheaton College. He wrote his dissertation on Christian deconversion, specifically exploring the experiences of former evangelical missionaries and pastors who have abandoned the Christian faith.

Michael has been an active participant in several missiological societies, and currently serves as the VP of Finance for the Evangelical Missiological Society. As a missiologist focused on salient contemporary challenges to Christian discipleship and gospel witness, he has presented and published papers on a wide range of issues including religious pluralism, race and ethnicity, social impact of technology, Christian ecumenism, and deconversion. Michael also currently serves in his community as an elder in a local church, a USA Judo certified judo instructor, and as a baseball coach.

Education

Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Ph.D., Intercultural Studies

Dallas Theological Seminary
Th.M., Systematic Theology

University of Texas at Austin
B.A., Biochemistry

Areas of Expertise

Missiology
Intercultural Studies
Religious Conversion and Deconversion
Race and Ethnicity
Theology of Religions

Select Publications

Lee, Michael Hakmin. Shipwrecked Faith: Making Sense of How and Why Evangelicals Leave the Christian Faith (tentative title for monograph forthcoming 2026, published by Baker Academic)

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2025 (Forthcoming). “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Mission of God: Engaging AI through the Lens of the God’s Redemptive Story.” Edited by Larry Caldwell, Marty Shaw, and Enoch Wan. Evangelical Missiological Society, EMS Monograph Series no. 33. Pasadena, CA: William Carey. (Forthcoming 2025)

Lee, Michael Hakmin and David Pederson. 2024. Graduate Distance Education at Wheaton College: Moving from Viability and Efficacy to Refining Pedagogy and Best Practices. Journal of the Evangelical Missiological Society.

Cook, Andy, Dee Crye, D.A. Horton, Todd Korpi, Joshua Laxton, Michael Lee, Andrew MacDonald, Ed Stetzer, Andrea Summers, and Daniel Yang. 2024. “North American Regional Report: Advancing the Great Commission.” Lausanne North America. https://wheatonbillygraham.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lausanne-Report-Final.pdf.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2023. “So That the World Will Know: Reflections on an Evangelical Theology of Christian Others and the Missiological Priority of Christian Unity.” In Ambassadors of Reconciliation: God’s Mission through Missions for All. Edited by Geoff Hartt, Michael A. Ortiz, and Manuel Bohm. Evangelical Missiological Society, EMS Monograph Series no. 31. Pasadena, CA: William Carey.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2022. “The Medium Is the Message: Reflections on Disciple-Making In the Age of Social Media.” In Communication(s) in Mission: Opportunities and Challenges of Communicating God’s Mission. Edited by Marcus Dean, A. Scott Moreau, A. Sue Russell, and Rochelle Scheuermann. Evangelical Missiological Society, EMS Monograph Series no. 30. Pasadena, CA: William Carey.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2022. No Longer Christian: Why People Are Leaving the Faith and How We Can Respond. Outreach 21 (1): 46-50.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2017. Worship Style and Congregational Growth. Choral Journal 58 (4): 61-65.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2016. Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Resilience of Racial Constructs. Missiology 44 (2): 194-206.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2014. Theology of Religions and the Intuitive Dimension: How Do We Construct and Perceive God’s Fairness. Missiology 42 (2): 139-151.

Lee, Michael Hakmin. 2012. Faith, Reason, and Christian Witness in a Pluralistic World: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Epistemology of Religious Disagreement. Missiology 40 (1): 63-75.

Yoder, Mike, Michael H. Lee, John Ro, and Robert Priest. 2009. Understanding Christian Identity in Terms of Bounded and Centered Set Theory in the Writings of Paul G. Hiebert. Trinity Journal 30 (2): 177-188.