Meet Our New Student Joshua Nahm

I was born and raised in South Pasadena, CA. I went to the University of California, Santa Barbara for my undergraduate studies in environmental science. I’ve always been enamored with the question of “why?” and felt deep satisfaction upon finding out the underlying reasons for things. The subtle euphoria of connecting phenomena and discovering relationships between events or patterns had a draw on me. Naturally, I developed an affinity for history and science, with the most influential course of my high school career being environmental science.

In this course, everything coalesced beautifully. There was an anchor question of “how does this impact the environment,” but it was always heavily focused on the role of humans in the environment. With this focus on humans, all aspects of previous schooling came together in an intricate web of factors that all had impacts on each other. Through this lens, history took on a new life as I saw how past atrocities inflicted on a variety of people had significant consequences in the present day. The toil of understanding basic chemistry was finally paying dividends through my ability to comprehend how the benevolent and malevolent actions of manufacturers, policymakers, and citizens play out in terms of water, air, and soil pollution. There were many more subjects that took on a new life in this course, but it was the social aspect of environmental science that was most difficult and intriguing.

While other aspects of the environmental problem may answer how we got here or provide a technical solution, I was beginning to grasp that lasting change was not likely unless a lot of people started to care. That’s how I began to wrestle with the question of how people change and how to get people to change. I now have the answer. Just kidding. But in all seriousness, this question led me down the path of spirituality, and more specifically, Christianity. While I began my academic career, my spirituality was also taking shape. It happened in fits and starts, but it became increasingly clear what it meant for Jesus to be the way, the truth, and the life, and as cliché as it might be, I started to see why “what would Jesus do?” was such a popular slogan.

In order to get people who don’t normally care for the state of the natural world to care, it was going to take more than facts, more than emotional stories, more than just appeals to humanity. I knew that it had to impact the audience personally. So I began pondering who my audience was, and I found that it was generally people leaning on the right side of the political spectrum. People leaning to the right side of the political spectrum are generally Christian. Sweet! If I can find a way to link Christian theology to an appeal for ecology, then maybe something will happen! And this is precisely how I ended up pursuing an M.Div. at Claremont School of Theology.

I have since moved away from Santa Barbara with a heavy heart and moved back home to South Pasadena to attend CST. Upon moving back, I began attending my home church, which had recently become the site of a budding Disciples of Christ church. I attend Hana Christian Church in Tujunga, CA, where I also serve as an intern.

I have yet to figure out a concrete application of what I am studying. I hope that I will meet many people who can add insight into my questions, challenge me, and edify me. Through this process of tearing down and building up, I hope to be equipped for the abstract and grand ambitions of helping to change hearts and minds. Perhaps I will be in Guatemala running an orphanage and regenerative farming co-op. Perhaps I will be in the swamps of Florida as an invasive species hunting guide, where I have a captive audience awaiting my transformative questions. Maybe I’ll just be a pastor with houseplants. The point is, I’d like to have a ministry that involves people and the environment.