Steve Kemp
Director,
Institutional Partnerships
April 2006
When many
people think about academics at its best, they think of brilliant students
gathered together for vigorous interaction with superb faculty on a magnificent
campus near Boston. All this and more was true as
sixteen students from India, Nigeria, and the United States
gathered on March 6–17,
2006 for the launch of
the new BILD/Gordon-Conwell partnership.
The first two-week
set of classes for the Doctor of Ministry track in Global Church-Based
Theological Education was held in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, on the main campus of
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, one of the most prestigious evangelical
seminaries in the world.
Let me
explain what I mean by this being academics at its best and more.
First, the
participants are not preparing in hopes of having an opportunity someday to
engage in significant responsibilities. All of these brilliant students are
already engaged in some of the most exciting work that God is doing on the
planet. The Indians are leaders of national training programs, the largest
church in India, and indigenous mission and church planting networks (with
nation wide church-planting goals). The Nigerians are formal leaders and strategic pastors in the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA), a denomination of six million
members. The Americans are established pastors of churches, a leader of an
innovative higher education program, a leader of the classical home education
movement, and others engaged in the intersection of theological education and
life development. It was fun to watch people on campus meet these students and
try to fathom the significance of their ministries.
Second, the
faculty members did not take a "tag-team" approach with one following the other
in giving lectures to the class. Rather, the superb faculty functioned in
teams throughout the two weeks, engaging thoroughly with one another and the students.
A highlight of the two weeks was listening to Walter Kaiser, President of
Gordon-Conwell, reflect extensively on his discussions with Jeff Reed over thirty
years and see how Kaiser's body of work forms the theological encyclopedia
backbone of the BILD curriculum and theology-in-culture process. Health
problems that caused Kaiser to take the rare step for him of canceling other
commitments made him even more available to participate in the BILD classes.
Similarly, Gary Parrett and Richard Lints of the Gordon-Conwell faculty
contributed greatly through presentations from their expertise, but also far-reaching
engagement with students and other faculty on the significance of their contributions.
Special half days—in person with Art Miller, a guru of research on giftedness
and motivated abilities and via video link with Ted Ward, father of modern nonformal theological education—further
enhanced the educational experience. It was a unique treat to come alongside
Jeff Reed as he made the most of his extraordinary ability to pull the best
from others, whether in written form or in person.
Third, the
format was not a long-term residential experience because that would be
impossible for both students and faculty. Gordon-Conwell's D.Min. program is
structured around three 2-week residencies that require extensive advance
preparation and in-depth research and writing after each set of classes.
Holding the first 2-week residency in Massachusetts meant that it was an immersion experience for all of us.
Living together apartment style in an extended stay hotel, eating all sorts of
cuisine (including hot spicy Indian), taking excursions to Boston, and riding
together to campus each day (especially in the van "hot seat" and having to be
questioned through the entire ride) provided a holistic experience beyond any
of our expectations. The second 2-week residency is scheduled to be held in Ames, Iowa, March 19–30, 2007. It promises to be even more
rewarding because it will include the incredible hospitality of the Oakwood Road Church family and the unique BILD resource center facility.
Fourth,
this is no mere "academic" exercise. Students and BILD staff practically need
shoehorns to fit even the 2-week classes into their schedules. It takes an
exceptional academic program, in terms of content and format, to attract these
students. The program came to fruition because of the unique format and
flexible support of Gordon-Conwell's D.Min. program and the long-term
partnerships of BILD with students and Gordon-Conwell administration. We all
recognize that the impact of this program is likely to be much greater than the
sum total of its parts. This may be most vividly seen in the projects being done
in conjunction with the program. They are not hypothetical considerations of
things that might be, but development, implementation, and evaluation of real,
cutting edge church-based theological education. The significance of the
current ministry of these students is unparalleled in any theological education
program anywhere in the world.
The
partnership has been years in the making as Jeff Reed and Steve Kemp have interacted with Walter Kaiser
and others at Gordon-Conwell. The launch of the first cohort itself has been
months in the making. David Currie, D.Min. Director, and his staff worked
tirelessly on program admissions, visas, and travel arrangements. Kathy Keller of the BILD staff extended incredible effort
with unbelievable results on visas (every F-1 visa we sought was granted).
And, of course, the students themselves accomplished the enormous task of
reading thousands of pages and engaging in weblog discussions in order to
prepare for the classes, as well as making the personal sacrifice to leave
their families and ministries for two weeks.
Oakwood Road Church members and other donors helped
financially to make the first residency possible. However, it is just the
first of three. Additional funds need to be raised to make it possible to
continue with the second and third residencies over the next three years.
Please pray for the students as they do their follow-up work on the first set
of classes and prepare for the second residency March 2007 in Ames. If you would like to contribute to the support of
this program or perhaps meet some of the students when they are here next
March, please contact Steve
Kemp at the BILD Office at 515-292-7012 (or email steve@bild.org).
Remember
that we are talking about even more than academics at its best!
