Covenant Magazine - [Summer 2008]

Covenant The magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary

Summer 2008

Reaching One Another

with the Glory of the Gospel

FROM THE PRESIDENT

SuMMER 2008 rEacHing onE anoTHEr FEATuRES

Communicating the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ to others is the ultimate calling of every Christian believer, no matter what one’s vocation or station in life. and though many of us sometimes shirk that responsibility out of fear or because of real or perceived consequences resulting from it, we at least acknowledge that the task is part of what it means to be a follower of our Lord.

Yet, how often do we forget that we ourselves also need to hear the Gospel? even those of us who make a living by speaking or teaching about the Bible need to hear afresh each day the life-affirming, soul-renewing, heart-transforming promises of our Maker.

By loving His Word and immersing ourselves fully in it, by seeking fellowship with other believers and worshipping joyfully with them, and by praying continually as the apostle Paul exhorts us in more than one of his epistles, we open ourselves more and more to the transformative effects of the Gospel and the power it provides for bringing hope and healing to a hurting world. as many of the articles in this issue of Covenant illustrate, all the world is a mission field—including our own country, our own local neighborhoods, our own families, and even our own redeemed yet still unperfected hearts. So, as we continually seek new and effective ways to reach out to others with the Gospel, we must also remember to reach in as well and ask God to show us those areas in our own lives where His Word has not yet penetrated. then, armed with our faith and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can go forth to do our jobs—whatever they may be—while also serving as heralds of a message more glorious than any other. this message enables those who hear and respond to it to know the peace and the joy of being children of the Living God, whose Word is true and whose promises are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

May your heart be always open to His leading, and may He use you mightily as His voice in a world that so desperately needs to hear it.

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His Place in the Christian Story

Beloved professor Dr. David B. Calhoun retires after 30 years of service to the Seminary.

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Reflections of a “Koraiish” Missionary Kid

His tri-cultural background allows Dr. Daniel Kim to see the beauty of the worldwide Church.

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Is America a Mission Field?

Reaching all people for Christ involves rethinking old boundaries.

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The Value of a Campus Visit

What is it that makes Covenant Seminary feel like home, even from the first visit?

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Thank You for Covenant Worldwide!

Alumnus Mike Graham uses Covenant Seminary resources to support his preaching and teaching ministry work in India.

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Interchanges on God’s Missional Highways

Covenant Seminary staff support alumni as they minister in Brazil.

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Glorification

Dr. Jimmy Agan unpacks biblical truth about glorification.

CONTENTS

Bryan Chapell, President

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alumni profilE

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alumni nEws

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sEminary nEws & EvEnTs

B AC K

COVER

Covenant | Summer 2008

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Paul Alexander

sTudEnT profilE

Josh Charette

vol. 23, no. 2

Dr. David Calhoun (left), professor of church history, with Dr. David Jones, professor emeritus of systematic theology, and longtime friend

His Place in the Chr istian Stor y

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his year, covenant seminary bids

dents to their spiritual heritage. His goal has been not to simply impart knowledge, but instead to awaken a sense of connection to our forebears in the faith and a realization that we too have a place in this overarching story. “We are concerned with church history not only to learn what happened in the past,” Calhoun says, “but also to understand that God has given us work to do as well. Church history goes on in our lives, and we must run with perseverance the race God has marked out for us.”

Calhoun’s own place in this larger story began in 1937, when he was born to Christian parents in the small Kentucky town of Flatgap. His father, an itinerant preacher and pharmacist, often brought young David along to the many churches where he ministered, including several african-american congregations. thus, in addition to being blessed by his father’s preaching and benefiting from exposure to different denominational styles, Calhoun also established many lasting friendships within the african-american community—no mean feat amid the racial divisions common to Southern life in the 1940s and ’50s. He was also profoundly affected by the numerous missionaries who came to speak at his father’s churches and who often stayed in the Calhoun home. “these men and women became my heroes,” Calhoun notes, “and I wanted to be a missionary.”

a fond farewell to Dr. David B.

Calhoun, professor of church history, who is retiring after three decades of service.

Here we reflect on the many contributions and lasting influence of this much-loved faculty member and father in the faith. as Dr. David Calhoun likes to say in his church history classes, the story of Christianity is “centuries deep and continents wide.” It is the story of fascinating but flawed people and exciting but sometimes embarrassing events. It is also a story of the inexorable spread of the glorious Gospel despite the often inglorious nature of its messengers. It is, in other words, our story, the family history of those who, in every place and time, claim salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. For 30 years now, Dr. Calhoun has been introducing Covenant Seminary stu-

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Later, while attending Columbia Bible College (now Columbia International University), Calhoun felt called to study at seminary but was unsure where to go. Dr. G. allen Fleece, a Presbyterian who was then president of Columbia Bible College, strongly recommended the newly established Covenant theological Seminary in St. Louis. though Calhoun had no particular attraction to Presbyterianism at the time, he liked what he heard about the Seminary. “It was known as a conservative Christian school that taught the Bible as God’s Word,” he remembers.

“It didn’t take much convincing for me to move toward Presbyterianism. I had studied the Bible but had no good way of putting it all together. Reformed thetop: Dr. David Calhoun, ology helped me to see the big picture. in “formal” Scottish attire It also didn’t hurt that I was dating Dr. during a formal faculty photo shoot, with Covenant Fleece’s daughter and my future wife, Seminary president Dr. Bryan anne, who was Presbyterian. that was a Chapell above: Dr. Calhoun great motivator,” he says with a smile. has taught generations of church leaders.

Calhoun thus came to Covenant

direction of Dr. Laird Harris). He finished his studies in 1963.

During his years here, he also gained valuable experience as a missionary—though at the time it was almost against his will. “at the end of my second year here, as anne and I were about to marry, Dr. Robert G. Rayburn [then president of the Seminary] suggested that I get some experience in the field by serving a church on Grand Cayman Island in the West Indies over the summer,” Calhoun recalls. “We were a bit hesitant because of our upcoming marriage, but Dr. Rayburn could be very persuasive, so we did it.” the move turned out to be a wonderful experience for the Calhouns, giving them a love for ministry and for the Caribbean islands and their people. the Calhouns later returned to the West Indies, where David served as principal of Jamaica Bible College and Community Institute from 1967 to 1971, and where he also spent several years working with and creating training materials for Ministries In action (MIa), an organization that seeks to help the international church grow holistically.

Calhoun’s heart for missions eventually found further expression in his development of the first materials for Mission to the World (MtW), the mission-sending agency of the Presbyterian Church in america (PCa), and his involvement with Presbyterian Mission International (PMI), an organization founded by Dr. Rayburn that helps international graduates of Covenant Seminary return to their home countries as pastors, teachers, and missionaries to their own people.

Following graduation from seminary and ordination in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, evangelical Synod (the Seminary’s denomination at that time), Calhoun taught a variety of subjects at Columbia Bible College for four years. then came his stint in Jamaica, during which he decided to pursue further advanced studies. this led him to seek another thM (this time in new t testament) at Princeton theological Seminary, where he studied under the eminent new testament t scholar Dr. Bruce Metzger. after this, David, anne, and children allen and Isabel spent one year in Florence, Italy, in anticipation of serving as missionaries in Sicily. God, however, had other plans.

In 1974, Calhoun received another interesting proposal from his friend and mentor, Dr. Rayburn. Calhoun recalls, “Dr. Rayburn said, ‘I want you to teach at Covenant Seminary. It’s time for you to come back.’ the plan was for me to meet with

“we are concerned with church history not only to learn what happened in the past but also to understand that god has given us work to do as well.”

Seminary in 1959, earning first a bachelor of divinity (BDiv) degree (the school’s MDiv program did not yet exist) then a master of theology (thM) in old t testament (under the Covenant | Summer 2008

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Having Fun with Church History Students in Dr. Calhoun’s Ancient and Medieval Church History and Reformation and Modern Church History classes present creative timelines that mark important events in church history. Submissions have ranged from intricate artwork and humorous artifacts to mini window blinds and music.

the Seminary faculty and see if we all thought this would be a good move. If so, the faculty would decide what subject I’d teach, then I’d get a PhD and come back to teach at Covenant.

When they chose church history, I was a bit surprised. I’d had very little training in the subject. But that’s where they felt the need was.” So, it was back to Princeton for a PhD in church history. the fruit of Calhoun’s studies—a thesis on the early missionary efforts of Princeton students—eventually led to his writing of Princeton Seminary, a highly regarded two-volume history of the institution.

In 1978, Calhoun brought his family back to St. Louis and Covenant Seminary, where he at first assisted Dr. Will Barker with teaching the church history classes, and then took over more classes when Barker became president of the Seminary.

Calhoun also served for a time as dean of students. over the years, his reputation as a historian, his graceful manner, and his gentle humor have made Calhoun and his classes quite popular.

In addition to the two required survey courses—ancient and Medieval Church History and Reformation and Modern Church History—he has offered a variety of electives covering different topics and periods. (audio files of many of Calhoun’s course lectures are available online free of charge through the Covenant Worldwide initiative at www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide.)

Besides introducing students to the story of their faith, Calhoun’s survey classes also offer a unique opportunity to have fun with history. Students may choose to write a term paper on a favorite topic or create a church history timeline showing the relationships between important events, dates, and people.

Calhoun’s office is full of examples of his students’ remarkably fertile imaginations: a cardboard cathedral in which each “stone” represents an event; church history place mats, postcards, clocks, and coffee mugs; church history t t-shirts, blankets, and throws; a Church History Today “newspaper”; a “portrait” of Jesus made of typed dates and events; a ship with dates on the sails; an audio timeline recounting the story of the Reformation in rap music style. even the blind for Calhoun’s office window is a timeline. a favorite piece is a church history “Monopoly” game— complete with endorsements from famous Christians of the past.

In addition to his Southern charm and sense of humor, Calhoun is known for the grace with which he has borne hardship. nearly 20 years ago, he was diagnosed with mantel cell

lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is fairly rare and very difficult to treat. In two decades, he has undergone many months of chemotherapy, several extensive radiation treatments, and 31 colonoscopies. only in the last several years has he been largely “cancer free,” but he knows that could change at Dr. David B. Calhoun: A Select Bibliography •

Cloud of Witnesses: The Story of First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Georgia, 1804–2004 (first presbyterian church, 2004)

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Grace Abounding: The Life, Books, and Influence of John Bunyan (christian focus, 2005)

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Princeton Seminary, 2 vols. (Banner of Truth Trust, 1994–96)

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Splendor of Grace: The Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia, 1755–2005 (a press printing, 2005)

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Daily Prayers by F. B. Meyer (christian focus, 2007)

dr. calhoun’s books are available for purchase through the seminary Bookstore at www.covenantseminary.edu/bookstore.

any moment. Calhoun has written several articles dealing with sickness and suffering, has preached frequently on that topic, and has taught a popular class on it as well. the depth of his faith and his steadfast desire to keep teaching despite adversity have inspired colleagues and students alike.

Calhoun praises God for his current health and plans to celebrate his retirement this summer with a trip to Scotland, a land he loves. He also has several writing projects in the works and will continue preaching and teaching at area churches. t to the great joy of the seminary community, he will maintain an office on campus and teach a course each semester. “I plan to teach the required survey courses during the summer session for as long as the Seminary wants me to,” he says with a gleam in his eye. thus, for this faithful servant of the Lord, retirement is simply an exciting new chapter in a story that—along with each of ours—is but one small part of the ongoing history of what God is doing in and through His people.

RICK MATT Rick Matt (MATS ‘05) serves as associate director of public relations for Covenant Seminary, where he writes and edits a variety of print and electronic materials to support the seminary’s mission of training pastors and ministry leaders for Christ’s Church.

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Reflections of a “Koraiish” Missionary Kid

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in two different languages and learning to communicate orally hen missionary candidates contemplate the possibility of doing long-term foreign mission work, they in a third. (I never learned to read and write in Thai.) My must consider (among other things) the effects of the parents tell me that it took one full calendar year before I even mission experience on their families. There are many struggles began to say anything in Thai, at which time I began speaking for a new missionary in a forin complete sentences. In eign land, particularly when hindsight, it was a tremenit comes to using or learning dous learning experience for a foreign language and underme. I had lived in, through, standing a place’s culture and and out three different languages and cultures through customs. Often missionaries’ the preferred immersion children will likewise struggle method. Because of this, I with the new context, though find tremendous delight in with varying degrees of diffieating durian, the king of culty depending on their ages.

According to some research, fruits in Thailand; in eating children under the age of 12 extremely spicy and garlicare capable of becoming fluladen foods commonly found ent in a foreign language and in Korea; and in eating the culture while older children various kinds of cheeses The Kims and friends crossing a river in Thailand with the family’s first car will most likely become at best found in the United States.

In all three cases, foreigners partially fluent. This means might be turned off, perhaps that the younger the missioneven repulsed by the respecary kid (MK), the more he tive pungent smells of these or she will assimilate to the new context. Issues such as this foods. Veteran missionaries suggest the need for adequate will tell rookie missionaries preparation so that a missionary family can overcome the inevithat one way to truly adapt to a new culture is to eat its more table culture shock and serve the Lord for many years to come. challenging foods. Thus, I recall my family trying to mask the When I was 5 years old, my family moved from Korea to smell of durian with the equally pungent smell of kimchi so Thailand so my parents could serve as missionaries. My situthat we might become more assimilated with the Thai people. ation of being a Korean MK in Thailand and attending an I can honestly say that I am better equipped to serve the Lord because of my experiences as an MK. For me, the Joseph international school where (formal) English was spoken and narratives in Genesis 37–50 are the type of stories that resonate taught was, to put it mildly, challenging. To describe it, I have coined the adjective “Koraiish,” (kor-AYE-ish). It is intenwith my life experience. At the young age of 17, Joseph was tionally combined from the three languages (Korean, Thai, unwillingly sold as a slave in a foreign land, forcing him to learn a new language and culture. Yet by God’s grace, his experience and English) that I encountered daily upon first setting foot in Bangkok, Thailand. Instead of dealing with learning how was a powerful witness to the Egyptians as he testified to his to read simple books or how to write my name in my mother brothers: “… do not be distressed or angry with yourselves tongue like other children my age, I was learning how to do it because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to

Our life experiences can often bring deeper and more wonderful illumination to God’s Word.

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preserve life” (Gen. 45:5 ESV). This is exactly how I feel about my experiences as an MK. Despite being taken to a foreign land, not of my own volition, and being thrust into learning new cultures and languages, I can truly declare to others God’s grace to me through these trying times. In many ways, our life experiences can often bring deeper and more wonderful illumination to God’s Word. For example, a couple who has experienced infertility could read the story of Hannah and Elkanah (1 Sam. 1–2) and share with others how they felt emotionally, physically, and psychologically during their own struggle with infertility. Likewise, an MK might read the Joseph narratives and describe some of the experiences and feelings that Joseph may have encountered during his early days in Egypt. These are just some examples of how we can learn in deeper ways about Scripture from each other in the body of Christ.

Another benefit I see of being an MK is the ability to recognize the telltale signs of culture in Scripture and in people with greater accuracy and nuance. For instance, I can intuitively recognize that certain patterns found in local churches are more a result of context and culture than biblical or theological mandates. The way churches in Korea pray “out loud” versus the common “popcorn” style of prayer found in American churches are good examples of cultural expressions of the biblical mandate for believers to engage in corporate prayer.

Neither is the only means of biblical prayer, nor is one preferable. They are both simply cultural expressions of a biblical mandate and are appropriate within their individual contexts.

In his book American Ways, when Gary Althen writes, “It is not possible to take one or two aspects of a culture and transplant them somewhere else,” he implies the importance of recognizing that a culture—with its strengths and weaknesses— is a complete package. Just because I do not like something about Korean culture does not mean that I can take the parts I do like and transplant them into Thai culture. Each culture is a functioning system in its own right and must be respected as a whole. Thus, I am at the same time comfortable in three cultures yet feel equally foreign in each of them. This is why I can understand intuitively what it means to be a stranger (Hebrew ger) in a foreign land, to be in the world but not of it (see Jesus’ prayer in John 17). It is this experience that has prepared me to more easily assimilate into new cultural environments. Not only do I respect and carefully observe the various cultures represented in the greater St. Louis area but also I find myself respecting and carefully studying the ancient Near Eastern culture from which the Old Testament was written and the Hellenistic culture from which the New Testament was written.

above: When he was 5, Daniel Kim’s (front, center) family left Korea to do mission work in Thailand. right: Durian is a popular and potent-smelling fruit found in Southeast Asia that Daniel learned to enjoy.

This approach has equipped me to be a better expositor of God’s Word.

If you are considering long-term missionary service, I exhort you to seek the Lord’s will in your life and to obey Him. Yes, there are many issues to pray over carefully and to consider before going into missions. Most likely one of the issues will be your children. If you find yourself in this position, I want to encourage you: I can honestly say that my testimony of God’s faithfulness and grace in my life is a fulfillment of His promise found in Romans 8:28 (“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” esv). I believe that a direct result of my parents’ obedience to God’s call has been an outpouring of God’s grace upon my life in remarkable and almost inexplicably good ways.

Dr. Daniel Kim After completing his MDiv, Dr. Kim, assistant professor of Hebrew and educational ministries, served for three years as an assistant pastor in two Korean-American churches on the East Coast. He was born in South Korea and moved to Thailand as a child, where his parents and older brother currently serve as missionaries and where he; his wife, Tammy; and their firstborn, Joseph, also served a one-year short-term mission. Having been raised in a tri-cultural environment, Dr. Kim has firsthand knowledge of many inter-cultural issues. In addition to his interests in Old Testament studies, Dr. Kim has a heart for evangelism, overseas theological education/missions, and adult Christian education.

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Is America a Mission Field? r eaching all people for c hrist means rethinking old boundaries.

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ach one of us lives on God’s mission field every day. Indeed, the perspective that the United States is part of “the mission field” is fundamentally important to living our lives as US Christians with zeal and passion. at the same time, such a perspective is contrary to our inherited american-Christian instinct that “missions” equals american Christians going elsewhere. Instead of that outdated assumption, missions today involves the whole global Church cooperatively following Jesus in His continuing mission to remake the world. one thus cannot “go to the mission field,” as if one’s place of origin isn’t itself “the mission field.” all Christians live on the mission field until they die or until Jesus returns. that’s the way it was with the original readers of 1 Peter, who were instructed to “conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile” (1:17 eSv). We, too, as twenty-first century american Christians, are “sojourners and exiles” as we go about our lives in this world. Where God has already sent us—along with wherever else He might send us throughout our lives—is the/His mission field. “Fair enough,” you might think, “but aren’t some areas of the world more ‘the mission field’ than others?” Such honest wrestling merits honest discussion.

The Mission Field “Out There”

In evangelical circles, the best known wider “mission field” is the rectangular swath of the globe stretching across north africa, the Middle east, India, China, and adjoining areas—collectively known as the 10/40 Window, so-called because of its location between parallel latitudinal lines running 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator. the vast majority of least-evangelized peoples—particularly Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims— live in this part of the world. there is great poverty as well, along with burgeoning megacities. there are several major threads behind this highly prevalent concept of the 10/40 Window that we need to unravel. one is an outdated but still influential medieval european Christendom framework. Having come to the new World with european immigration, this subconscious territorial notion underlies the powerful US Covenant | Summer 2008

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evangelical view of missions as going to the nations “out there.” a second thread is the teaching about unreached people groups. Fueled by a Pauline “ambition to preach the Gospel, not where Christ has already been named” (Rom. 15:20 eSv), this teaching has resulted in a strategy to reach ethnolinguistic groups—peoples or bibliGod in His mercy has brought cal “nations”—with the all types of people together in Gospel, with the goal of starting indigenous America for ... fresh familiarity churches. although with the breadth and depth many of the world’s unevangelized people live in of the Gospel. the 10/40 Window, I fear that subliminal racist and nationalistic notions can abuse the helpful categorization of people groups into an unhelpful objectification of “those people out there,” and keep one from dealing with his or her own kind of people.

Moreover, two significant facts—(1) the western half of the 10/40 Window almost totally comprises Islamic countries, and (2) a large portion of the eastern half is made up of communist China—buttress an american evangelical missions outlook on this section of the world as dark and held in demonic bondage. an inherited european Christendom framework and our racism, nationalism, and long-cultivated political instincts thus strengthen american evangelicals’ understandings of where “the mission field” in general is and where more specific mission fields are situated. the flipside of thinking this way about where targeted mission fields lie (and where Satan is understood to have his strongholds) is that we tend to forget about those places that are allegedly different: Christianized lands that are relatively free of enveloping demonic power. For american evangelicals, the heartland of such territory—even with its downward moral spiral of recent decades—is the US. Has America Become a Mission Field?

For many american (and other) Christians, the United States shines forth as the brightest beacon of what a Christian country should be. even so, many US evangelicals regularly make the statement, “america has become a mission field.” this can have an encouraging ring of opportunity; or, it can carry a pessimistic tone of lament and even resignation. What do people mean by offering such an analysis? one line of meaning highlights the accelerated stream of immigrants that has flowed into the United States since the 1960s. now that internationals of non-northwestern european stock are more prominent in america than ever, “the mission field” (or “the nations”) has come to america. another sense of the claim that america has become a mission field relates to the sweeping social and cultural changes that Christians have battled since the 1960s. the so-called sexual revolution headed a list of seismic shifts in values from an apparent Christian consensus to a pluralistic onslaught. these changes

have led many to refocus their view of american society, seeing it as secular, ungodly, and in desperate need of Gospel ministry— and thus a major mission field. there is an obvious upside to this analysis: there is no place on earth that is not a mission field, and missions thus continue throughout the globe and its myriad contexts— including all of america. there are, however, downsides to claiming that america has become a mission field in either of the senses explained above. First, to assert that non-northwestern european peoples constitute “the mission field” is patently racist and nationalistic. the fact of the matter is that most Christians now are nonCaucasians and non-Westerners, and many immigrants to the United States are Christians. the corollary subliminal assumption that anglo-Saxon americans are not part of the mission field is, I believe, a racially and nationalistically fueled delusion.

In the language of “people group” analysis, to say that mainstream americans are not part of “the nations” is both sociologically and theologically impossible. according to that meaning, “The nations have come to us” is a nonsensical statement. a second downside is that claiming that america socially and culturally has become a mission field implies that it once (prior to the 1960s) was not. that is, this claim alleges that from the time of the country’s founding (or even earlier) through There is no place on earth World War II, colonial that is not a mission field, and then mainstream US society was Christian. and missions thus continue My intent in disagree- throughout the globe . . . ing fundamentally with that analysis is not to launch into an american-bashing tirade.

Rather, based on biblical principles, I reject the possibility of any society or culture becoming, before Jesus’ return, “discipled” or “Christianized” to an extent that it ceases to be in need of growth and improvement—i.e., that it ceases to be a mission field.

Furthermore, one does not need to stop at continuous illtreatment of native americans, institutional slavery, the Civil War, the rise of imperialism in the late nineteenth century, the development of an unhealthy and extreme individualism, racism, nominal religiosity, materialistic greed, flippant pop-culture glorification of romantic love, or other ills to describe the particular, deep-seated shortcomings of america. While some may have perceived a Christian consensus that has been lost, I would suggest that america—in principle and in fact—has always been a mission field. there are americans who do not yet know Jesus; the church in america (in all of its branches) needs to grow and mature; and there is an ongoing need for the Gospel to impact american society and culture.

Contextualization and Syncretism

Related to understanding how america is a mission field is the matter of contextualization—or the ongoing fleshing out of the

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Christian Gospel in particular contexts, whether in america or anywhere else. the corresponding reality of syncretism is best understood as a distortion of a healthy contextualization process.

In that sense, syncretism that arises generations after Christianity has entered an area has been a continual problem throughout Christian history around the world. that is because Christians, weak and sinful as we are, want to ease the discomfort and threat of Jesus’ ongoing reforming mission in the midst of our ever-changing contexts; freezing what has become settled is safe, whether we mean worship styles or lifestyles. our missions efforts are familiar with challenging the type of syncretism, or religion-mixing, that can occur at the front-end of Christianity’s development in contexts.

Just as important for missions new resources is the need to challenge, for To Help you the sake of ongoing Gospel impact, the type of syncretisreach your tic fossilization that can arise mission field among people who have a multi-generational familiarity Jerram Barrs has with the Christian faith. a new book out as we consider Christitled The Heart tianity in the United States, of Prayer: What Jesus Teaches Us we thus can see why mis(fortress Books). sions—which include crossand intercultural stimulation Dr. Phil of what the Gospel is all Douglass has about—have been needed. released What as is the case in all settings, is Your Church’s there is the continual need Personality?

Discovering and to keep fresh the linguistic Developing the expressions (in our case in Ministry Style of english, primarily) of who Your Church. (p&r Jesus is (“Commander in publishing).

Chief,” “Hero,” etc., as well as the old english “Lord”) Dr. Richard Winter’s book and of the Christian Gospel Perfecting (the political-militaryOurselves to Death spiritual proclamation or has been trans“good news” that Jesus has lated and published in Korean conquered sin, death, and (intervarsity press).

Satan). Historically speaking, Christians from europe adjunct professor brought over their versions Dr. Carlton Caldwell of Christianity to the new has published We World. they settled and Are All Ministers. passed on the faith to their children, who did the same for their children. one religion per territory (a transCovenant | Summer 2008

plant of european Christendom) was the order of the colonial day—until the need for different peoples to live together forced a move toward religious tolerance. Racial abuses became codified in various ways: toward native americans during westward expansion, toward african-americans in slavery, toward east asians and Jewish people in the 1924 Immigration act. as post-World War II america developed, excessive materialism and individualism took more definite shape. one result was a syncretistic obsession with personal well-being that has preoccupied many a Christian ministry. a myopic There are Americans who do patriotism (nationalism) not yet know Jesus . . . and clouds much of US evanthere is an ongoing need for gelicalism’s needed capacity to hear the criticisms the Gospel to impact American of the bulk of the world- society and culture. wide Church regarding what others see as america’s inordinate military ventures and bullying foreign policy. (For example, can we as american Christians at least consider one international Christian’s assertion of “the cynical, self-serving nature and essential immorality of [america’s] dealings with the rest of the world”?) We—as part of those who follow Jesus globally—are thus hamstrung in cultivating the capacity to respond domestically with a prophetic and constructive stance. the path of least resistance is simply to affirm what appears best for our own national interests.

“Christ also suffered” (1 Pet. 2:21) needs to be at the forefront of our interest as international Christian people so that we as US Christians can risk heeding 1 Peter’s encouragement truly to “Live as people who are free … [to live] as servants of God” (1 Pet. 2:16). We who are Christ’s international followers are to be free from our surrounding, enveloping nationalistic pressures to serve the cause of Christ’s Gospel for all people and societies—including our own.

Missions efforts directed toward US contexts help to affirm the positives of american life as well as point out shortcomings and blind spots and in turn clear pathways toward redemptive Gospel progress. accordingly, God in His mercy has brought all types of people together in america for cross-pollination and fresh familiarity with the breadth and depth of the Gospel. all Christians must have ongoing reminders that our identity as Jesus’ international body trumps and affects every slice of our identity, including ethnicity and nationality. now more than ever missions are needed in the US to deal with such urgent issues as those of poverty, imperialistic tendencies, unbelief, and skewed sexuality. May God in His mission use Christians’ missions efforts all around the world, including in america.

DR. J. NElSON JENNINGS This article is adapted from Dr. Jennings’s book god the real superpower: rethinking our role in missions (P&R Publishing, 2007). He is professor of world mission at Covenant Seminary.

Dr. Jennings has served in pastoral and teaching roles in Japan and is the current president of Presbyterian Mission International (PMI) and editor of missiology: an international review.

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Thank you for your partnership and prayers!

The practice preaching chapel, which will model a small church atmosphere View from the stairwell

The upper entrance, which connects to the chapel

Offices in the student services area

Founders Hall Open House Sunday, July 20 from 2 to 4 p.m.

Come take part in an open house and tour for friends of Covenant Seminary!

For more information and campaign updates, visit www.covenantseminary.edu/alumni/campaign.

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The Value of a campus “You wouldn’t happen to be Keren and Jonathan, would you?” I ask the young couple entering Edwards Hall on a Friday night at Covenant Seminary.

With a look of pleasant surprise, the campus visitors answer yes to me—one of their dinner companions tonight. they’re visiting from Seattle, Washington, and they chose this particular time to check out the Seminary because of the Christ-Centered Marriage weekend class being taught by Covenant theological Seminary president Dr. Bryan Chapell and his wife, Kathy. We meet up with my husband, Michael, a current MDiv student, and talk about life and seminary over Pan-asian cuisine. though we all talk about our current ministries and future desires, and Michael and I answer questions about the Seminary, we also speak honestly about challenges in our lives and what it looks like to live out our faith in the midst of difficulties.

For potential Covenant Seminary students, such interaction is vital to discerning if this school is for them, so the Seminary’s admissions team seeks to build it in to each campus visit. there’s no script or agenda given to current students who interact with visitors. the desire is for potential students to connect with as many people as possible so they can disAdmissions staff member Kent Needler (left) leads visitors on a tour.

cover what seminary life is truly like. When someone begins to sense a call to further ministry training, many emotions surface about the next step, and a campus visit can make a world of difference in this often daunting prospect.

Taste and See

Because seminary degrees—namely the MDiv—often require three or four years to complete and the choice of school signif significantly shapes one’s future and ministry, a campus visit seems critical. Kent needler (MatS ’06), associate director of admissions, says it’s especially important for people who are married and have children. “I wouldn’t want someone to choose a school sight unseen,” Kent shares. “I want people to be firmly encouraged about where they are going.” He helps visitors interact with as many current students as possible so they can ask the question, “What is life like for you here?”

Kent sees himself as a conduit, connecting what the Lord is doing specifically at Covenant Seminary with individuals. “My job is to say, ‘taste taste and see.’ that’s it,” Kent says. Sometimes t this requires acting as a sounding board for a recent college graduate as he explores his ministry desires and giving him a taste of what ministry training could look like as well as helping him clarify his calling. at other times, it entails negotiating an apartment rental rate to make a family’s experience at the Seminary affordable. though Kent’s tasks vary, they all fall under a unified vision: to be a facilitator of God’s grace by showing people what the Lord is doing here at Covenant Seminary and to help potential students apply that to their own lives. one visitor asked to come to campus on a Saturday during the January term, but Kent encouraged him to find another time to visit because of the reduced student and faculty presence at that time. “You can come to the Seminary and see the

VisiT buildings then,” Kent told him, “but that’s not what makes Covenant Seminary Covenant Seminary—it’s the people.” For the visitor’s sake, Kent wanted him to the see true community life at the Seminary. “attending a couple of classes and a chapel service won’t give someone the full picture of what happens here, but hopefully during a visitor’s time—through personal contact with the Covenant community—people will see the beating heart behind all that goes on at Covenant Seminary.”

While meeting with a professor on his campus visit, a recent visitor honed in on one aspect of how the Covenant Seminary staff lives out the Gospel. “It is very visible how much you as a faculty love your students,” the visitor told Dr. Donald Guthrie. “I have never experienced this before.”

Current student Justin McGuire (MDiv ’10) also experienced the genuine care of the Seminary faculty on his visit. It contrasted sharply with his visit to another seminary where his friend was a student. “after class, my friend trailed the professor out of the classroom to ask a follow-up question,” Justin explains. “as he posed his question, I stood beside him hoping to meet the professor. no such introduction was made, and the professor took little notice of my presence. this was really no big deal to me until I visited Covenant Seminary. I sat in on Dr. Jennings’s God’s World Mission class, which consisted of probably 80 students. Dr. Jennings lectured for the first half of the class and then gave us a break. When I returned from the break, Dr. Jennings came to my seat, gave me a copy of the course syllabus and the lecture notes for that class, introduced himself, and warmly welcomed me to Covenant. It blew my hair back that in a class that size he noticed the one stranger and went out of his way to make me feel very welcome.”

Regarding the admissions process, Kent says, “that’s the great thing about the sovereignty of God. I’m not selling visitors on a product. the process is about sharing our lives—and that doesn’t stop once someone becomes a student.” the authenticity and care displayed by another staff

member during Justin’s interview encouraged him greatly and ultimately proved a deciding factor in his choice. “It was evident that he was genuinely concerned about me being where the Lord wanted me, not with making sure I knew Covenant was the best seminary around,” Justin shares. “He prayed for me, answered my questions, and told me to ask myself this question: ‘of the seminaries that you’ve visited, which one feels the most like home?’ that seminary turned out to be Covenant in an unmistakable way.”

The Covenant Difference

even on unannounced visits, the Seminary community embraces visitors and exudes a Gospel welcome. a brief impromptu

“it was evident that he was genuinely concerned about me being where the lord wanted me, not with making sure i knew covenant was the best seminary around.”

–Justin mcguire (mdiv ‘10) visit to check out the on-campus apartments changed everything for tucker t else (MDiv ’09), who was planning to attend another school. alumnus Chris Barnes (MatS ’07) “was kind enough to invite us in to show us his home. He answered a lot of my questions,” says t tucker. Both have Baptist backgrounds, and Chris helped t tucker see how Covenant Seminary ministers to students from a range of denominations. of the four seminaries that t tucker visited, he says of Covenant, “this seemed like a place where we could actually be in the community rather than floundering around on a big campus trying to find our niche.”

Justin noticed the benefit of the compact campus as well. the other three schools he looked at were commuter campuses. “they all lacked the sense of community that was evident at Covenant,” Justin explains. “they also would have made it more difficult for my wife to find instant friends like the ones she’s made here at the Seminary.”

Seminary folks often use the term “Covenant community” to describe the ethos here, so the staff is greatly encouraged when they hear how people experience this—especially visitors. Current student Dean Hollenbeck (MDiv ’11) appreciated the emphasis on discipleship and community present at the Seminary. “Before even visiting the campus, I learned that Dr. [Phil] Douglass spends a great deal of time with his students [helping them understand their gifts and how they line up with their ministry desires],” he says. “also there was a sense of community on campus as I walked the halls with Kent. other students greeted him and spent time encouraging my wife and me to attend Covenant.” the impressions Dean had about the emphases of Covenant Seminary were solidified last February when his wife was hospitalized with an infection. “She seemed to be allergic to all of the antibiotics that were administered to

her by the physicians,” Dean recalls. “I remember being on the phone with Jeremy [Kicklighter (MDiv ’06), director of admissions] as he encouraged me to trust in the Lord and shared many verses to strengthen my faith. Jeremy prayed for me and asked the admissions team to pray for us as well.”

Admissions Assistance

Sometimes people come to Covenant who have no previous connection to the Seminary, but often they come because of the high recommendation of someone they know. no matter who visits, the admissions staff desires to help each individual discern whether or not the Lord is calling that person specifically to attend Covenant Seminary; part of their job is to walk with potential students through this discernment process.

Kent and his team—which really includes the entire student body—introduce campus visitors to the bridge that exists between the classroom and the campus community. this bridge is a well-traveled thoroughfare as theological exchange and developing relationships continue both in and out of class. visitors to the Community Center in edwards Hall often find it brimming with life as students engage in a variety of faithand friendship-building activities: discussing a lecture on John Calvin while buying a cup of coffee, praying together as they sit on a couch, working through a group project at an oversize table, or just talking and laughing while eating lunch together.

Because the admissions staff knows the faithfulness of God to Covenant Seminary over the years and relies on it for the future, they approach potential students in a way that reflects this trust. “My goal is not to have people leave from their visits thinking, ‘this is where I’m definitely going,’ ” Kent says. “If God calls someone into ministry, He’ll equip them. I hope it will be here, but it may not be.” Ultimately, Kent desires that potential students leave Covenant Seminary saying, “Wow. the Lord has been good to the community called Covenant Seminary. there are things I saw there that I want to implement in my own ministry.”

JACKIE FOGAS Jackie Fogas serves as the senior copy editor and special projects coordinator in the Public Relations office at Covenant Theological Seminary. Her husband, Michael, is a third-year MDiv student.

Student Dean Hollenbeck (center) and his wife, Lea, discuss with Dr. Phil Douglass (left), professor of practical theology, how their personalities interact within their marriage and ministry.

your campus visiT ExpEriEncE Visitors to Covenant Seminary usually stay in guest housing on campus, attend a chapel service with a student, attend a few classes with other students, and talk with professors and even more students. “We want to give people a firsthand view of what students experience here, and we want to hear about what is going on specifically in their lives,” says Kent Needler, associate director of admissions.

Covenant | Summer 2008

meet with staff (e.g., the admissions director, alumni and church relations director, or financial aid director) visit and eat with current students attend chapel Tour campus, including on-campus housing visit and eat with a professor attend classes

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from left: Last summer Rev. Mike Graham spent time preaching and teaching in India. On his trip he visited a children’s home in northern India. Mike also took time to enjoy the the view from the Charmina, a Muslim holy site. Mike experienced God’s mercy as he taught impromptu a church history seminar to pastors in Chennai.

Thank You for CovenanT WorldWide!

Dear Covenant theological Seminary, Dr. Michael Williams, and Covenant Worldwide: “At this time 250,000 people per month are downloading and taking the courses that [Covenant Seminary has] put on the Internet.

What they do with those courses once they download them, we’ve no way of knowing …” as Dr. Bryan Chapell reported this information at the 2007 PCa General assembly, I was in Bangalore, India, in the office of Paul Billy arnold (MDiv ’93), a fellow Covenant Seminary alumnus, listening by webcast. I simultaneously read through notes from God and His Word, [a Covenant Seminary class taught] by Dr. Michael Williams [professor of systematic theology] which I had downloaded from Covenant Worldwide (www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide).

I can’t speak for others, but I do want you at Covenant Seminary to know of at least one way downloaded course materials are being used and how you have blessed many people through them.

For two days last June, I conducted a seminar using God and His Word in Kavali, India, with 30 local pastors who were preparing for licensure and ordination exams in the newly formed Presbyterian Church of South India. also in attendance were an additional 30 local pastors from other denominations (along with their wives) who live in the Kavali area and wantwant ed pastoral encouragement. att first I was concerned. How could these people pay attenatten tion for nine hours each day? I thought it would be like drinking water from a fire hose. But nine hours later (with breaks only for lunch and tea)—even though I was exhausted—they wanted to keep going. the he second day 125 pastors and their wives attended.

When asked why there were so many more people, the answer was: “We brought our friends.”

With all the barriers to communication, I wondered what actually got through to these people. at the end, some pastors asked for an opportunity to share what they had learned for my encouragement. I was astonished. the Spirit of Pentecost had indeed been translating the truths from the God and His Word class at Covenant Seminary. amazingly He did this through two speakers and multiple languages, translating it into individual hearts in personal, living, and active ways.

Climaxing these testimonies, Sundarson, my interpreter from Chennai, turned to me and said, “now let me tell you what I learned this week. I have been a pastor for 15 years. this week I learned what the story of the Bible is about. I thought it was about my personal salvation. this week I learned that God’s redemption extends ‘as far as the curse is found.’ ” However, perhaps no one received as much from this course as the one teaching it. When I was a seminary student, I learned a great deal under Dr. Williams. But his teaching came alive in my own heart as I taught it and owned it for myself. I can’t imagine that anyone learned more than I did. therefore, as a group, we thanked and praised God for Covenant theological Seminary, Covenant Worldwide, and Dr. Michael Williams, who so ably taught us about God and His Word. and it is my privilege to share this public letter of thanks and praise to God for the boldness and Kingdom insight of Covenant Seminary to make this invaluable teaching freely available through Covenant Worldwide. I do hope your faith is encouraged as you have so encouraged us.

Living by faith to the glory of Christ, Mike Graham REV. EV.. MICHAEll A. GRAHAM EV G Mike Graham (MDiv ’01) is the pastor of Hickory Grove Presbyterian Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

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InTErCHAnGES on GoD’S

Missional Highways

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fter graduating from Covenant theological Seminary, Luciano (MDiv, thM ’02) and Luciene (MatS ’02) Pires returned to their native Brazil to establish Colloquium, a home-based Christian institute, in Goiânia, a city of 1.2 million people with more than 20 universities (approximately 65,000 students). the mission of Colloquium is to present the truths of the Gospel in a way that challenges the hearts and minds of this generation. Colloquium activities are geared toward reaching out to non-believers and equipping Christians to live their lives under the Lordship of Christ. the annual Colloquium Conference attracts 350 people. the following are highlights from my visit to last year’s conference.

May 31, 2007: Depart St. Louis, Missouri, for Goiânia, Brazil

I, along with the Seminary’s Director of Development, John Ranheim (MDiv ’06), am headed to Goiânia, Brazil, home of student Gustavo Formenti (MDiv ’08), who is there assisting Luciano and Luciene Pires with preparations for the largest Colloquium Conference yet.

June 1: Arrive in Goiânia

Because of the desire for the Colloquium Conference to attract Christians from many denominations in addition to young professionals and students who are exploring Christianity, the conference will be held at a central loca location instead of at the Pireses’ church. as we arrive, Gustavo top: The South American Theological is translating for Jerram Barrs, Seminary in Londrina, Brazil. above: Professor Jerram Barrs (right) taught at professor of Christian studies the 2007 Colloquium Conference and is and contemporary culture at scheduled to teach again this summer.

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Covenant Seminary, who is speaking on the roles of Christians within particular cultures. Things are familiar, yet different.

During the break, we meet Marcos Rocha, a young church planter. as we hug old friends, we introduce them to new ones. Marcos tells us that he recently moved to Goiânia to join a more experienced church planter in identifying and training additional church planters. Many are needed, he explains, because of their church’s unique approach, which focuses on reaching various “urban tribes” within the rising generation. over the past three years, the network of congregations that sprang from their home church, Sal da t terra (Salt of the earth), has grown to 52. Marcos tells me that he is very encouraged by the emphasis of the Colloquium Conference: cultural transformation through radical discipleship.

During the next session, Dr. Hans Bayer, professor of new testament at Covenant Seminary, directs our attention to t the end of Mark 8 and the question of Jesus to His disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” Dr. Bayer—through his translator, Luciano—presses us further. Jesus’ question is personal, not academic. If you recognize who He is, you must follow Him. If you follow, you must know that His life on earth led to the cross: “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it” (Mark 8:35 ESV). those who are called to follow Jesus are called away from a self-directed life and enlisted in a Gospeldirected life. the good news of Jesus is both an announcement of His forgiveness and a summons to His service.

By 9 p.m., when the Covenant Seminary contingent returns to the Pireses’ home, it is not too late for a Brazilian supper. Hearts and stomachs are filled as we listen to Luciano speak of Colloquium’s weekly gatherings of 25 or more students to discuss the Scriptures and a thought-provoking movie. Things are familiar, yet different.

June 2: Visit a local café with John, Gustavo, and the Pireses

Luciano and Luciene pick up last night’s dinner discussion, sharing the need for ministry training in Brazil that stresses

both justification and social justice and both evangelism and the cultural mandate. Gustavo summarizes it well when he says, “Disciples and churches must be equipped for integral mission; they must see that proclaiming grace or performing gracious acts alone are not enough—both are integral to Gospel living.”

By the time we finish our second cup of coffee, a translation and publication project has been formulated. In partnership with Covenant Worldwide (the online initiative of Covenant Seminary that makes print and audio materials available for more than 20 master’s level courses free of charge, www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide), Colloquium will expand its theological training arm beginning with the translation of materials for the apologetics and outreach and Life and Letters of Paul courses into Portuguese. “now that students know Professor Barrs and Dr. Bayer through the conference,” Luciano says, “they will want to learn more from them.” this partnership takes advantage of the explosive growth of Internet usage in Brazil (42.6 million users, the most in Latin america). However, Luciano points out that in addition to Brazil and Portugal, Portuguese is also the official language in places such as angola, Cape verde, v t timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. In many of these locations, Internet access is unreliable, too expensive, or not available. therefore, Colloquium will also publish Covenant Seminary’s translated course materials for distribution at cost.

June 3: Covenant Semiary faculty, students, and alumni fan out across Goiânia to minister in four Presbyterian churches

It is a beautiful Sunday morning in Brazil. after enjoying Luciene’s breakfast, Gustavo and I head out to his parents’ church where I am to preach for an hour and a half. the time goes quickly as Gustavo and I find a rhythm of proclamation and translation. My text is from the book of acts, and I focus on the necessity of risky, loving witness for vibrant, dynamic worship—the Church’s integral mission.

Things are familiar, yet different.

June 4: Visit South American Theological Seminary in Londrina, Brazil, along with John and Gustavo

as we enter the last leg of our journey on God’s missional highways, I am particularly thankful for the Maclellan Foundation, who made this trip a required part of the grant they gave to Covenant Seminary for Covenant Worldwide.

Steve Steele, a member of Maclellan’s executive staff, had met with Brazilian church leaders and given them CD copies of the 21 courses now available on Covenant Seminary’s Web site. Just as with Marcos Rocha in Goiânia, we are in Londrina to meet with another church-planting trainer, Dr. Rubens Muzio. Dr. Muzio is a faculty member at South american theological Seminary (SatS) in Londrina. Last year Dr. Muzio conducted church-planter training workshops across Brazil that addressed more than 1,000 students.

SatS houses and administrates a research center that provides in-depth demographic, sociological, and theological analysis of church-planting movements in Brazil. as we discuss the current research project and the need for theological training to strengthen the Church’s integral mission of personal and social change, we often reference the name and work of the late Dr. Francis a. Schaeffer, the influential pastor and theologian. Things are familiar, yet different. our host, Dr. Marcos almeida, invites me to speak to bivocational seminary students on Paul’s urban missionary strategy. after their day’s work, evening students fill the lecture hall for class from 7 to 10 p.m. their faces are alert and their questions sharp. I tell them that Paul declares one, true Gospel, but he explains it differently in each city and region.

In Corinth, he focuses on Christ as the expression of God’s wisdom. t to the Romans, he writes of God’s justice and justification through Christ for the Jew first but also for the Greek. Like a strong and healthy grapevine, the Gospel is one species; it produces grapes, not oranges. But when planted in various cultural fields, it takes on the challenges and opportunities of those top: Spring Covenant Seminary graduate unique places. Things Gustavo Formenti and professor Dr. Greg are familiar, yet different.

Perry worked closely during the 2007 Having established a Colloquium Conference in Brazil. above: (from left) Gideon Lidorio, large pool of eager, young John Ranheim, Gustavo Formenti, Marcos church planters, Sal da Almeida, Rubens Muzio, Greg Perry terra and other churcht planting trainers recognize their need to develop a middle tier of mentoring leaders. this is where they think Covenant Worldwide’s course materials could be most helpful. as John and I return to St. Louis, we are familiar, yet different. the love and witness of our Brazilian brothers and sisters has changed us.

DR. GREG PERRy ERR ERRy Dr. Perry, assistant professor of biblical studies, came to Covenant Seminary after more than 10 years of ministry in local churches and overseas. He is currently a board member of Third Millennium, an organization created to bring theological education to church leaders in the developing world. Professor Perry has a heart to disciple students in creative cultural applications of the Gospel.

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Glorification

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dventure, romance, and excitement … followed by “happily ever after.” It’s how a fairy tale is supposed to work. Sadly, too many of us see the Bible’s storyline in the same way: This life is where the part of the story worth telling takes place; all the rest is a vague “happily ever after,” reminiscent of Disney’s Cinderella II—a tired sequel, vastly inferior to the original. In short, we believe that the only thing we have to look forward to as Christians beyond this life is boredom. Thankfully, Scripture gives us an effective antidote to this mindset: glorification.

What is Glorification?

“Glorification” is shorthand for the biblical promise that when Jesus returns, He will transform all who trust in Him to perfectly conform to His image. The term itself derives from Romans 8, especially verses 29–30 (ESV): “For those whom he [God] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Though the past tense “glorified” is used, context makes it clear that glorification belongs to the future. At present, we share in Christ’s sufferings, but in the future we will “be glorified with him” (vv. 17–18 ESV). Like the creation itself, we wait “with patience” (v. 25) to enter “the glorious freedom of the children of God” (v. 21), which begins with “the redemption of our bodies” (v. 23). Paul uses the past tense to say that the fulfillment of this promise in us is certain because it has already been realized in Christ, the “firstborn among many brothers” (v. 29 ESV). Glorification is thus another way of saying that what Jesus experiences now of His Father’s goodness is the pattern for what we will experience when we are “conformed to [His] image” (v. 29 ESV).

A Comparison

To appreciate the immensity of this promise, we need to understand three patterns of logic that pervade biblical teaching on glorification. The first involves a comparison and can be summed up with this question: Why settle for good or better when you can have the best? Life as a creature in the world God made is good (Gen. 1:31), and life as a “new creation” in Christ is even better (2 Cor. 5:17). But life will be at its best only when Jesus returns to finally overturn all the effects of sin on our hearts, our bodies, and even our world. Yet when contemporary Christian culture tells us that our greatest hope is “to die and go to heaven,” it is training us to value better more than best.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t value the better: Paul says explicitly that it is “far better” to “depart [this life] and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23 ESV) than to live in this fallen

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world. Yet Paul describes our ultimate longing not in terms of our going to heaven but of Jesus’ coming from heaven to “transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Phil.

3:21 ESV). In the language of systematic theology, Paul wants us to desire the final state of glorification more than the intermediate state (the temporary, bodiless state a believer experiences between death and resurrection) we typically refer to as “heaven.” Put more pastorally, our greatest hope in the face of death is the assurance that to be “away from the body” is to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8)—although our greatest hope is never to face death again.

A Chain Reaction

In a nuclear bomb, when a single neutron “bullet” causes one atom to split, it sets off a chain reaction that releases an amount of energy—and destructive power—that staggers the imagination. But what if such an event could repair rather than cause damage, give life rather than destroy it?

Glorification will have such an effect, and it too involves chain reaction logic, with resurrection serving as the trigger.

Believers’ new bodies, like that of the resurrected Lord Jesus, will be “imperishable” (1 Cor. 15:42–54), unable to experience decay and death. Indeed all of creation will share in this “glorious freedom” (Rom. 8:21) so that the entire world will be released from its present experience of groaning, futility, and decay (Rom. 8:19–22). Because death and decay are the penalty for sin, resurrection life implies freedom from sin—a life in which we will never depart from wholehearted love for God and neighbor nor even be tempted to do so. Along with sin and death, the resurrection will also banish fear from our lives because all opposition to God’s glorious reign—including death, “the last enemy”—will be under the feet of our faithful Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 15:24–26, echoing Ps. 8:5–6).

A Presupposition

All that we’ve learned so far has prepared us to understand a verse that serves as a one-sentence summary of glorification: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”

(Rom. 8:32 ESV). As coheirs with Christ, we will inherit everything that our Father intends us to have (Rom. 8:17).

We know that God will give us “all things” because He has already given us something greater than “all things”—namely, his Son. To be glorified is therefore to participate in the resurrection life of one who outweighs the universe! Rather than anticipating boredom, awaiting glorification means—in the words of theologian Charles Hodge—preparing to be “inconceivably and intolerably ravish[ed]” by splendor at the return of Christ. Yet the Bible’s teaching of glorification is more than a promise for the future. It is also a sustaining power that gives us hope and courage in the present. God’s Word does not deny that your life and mine are filled with overwhelming sorrows, stresses, and struggles; but so that we “do not lose heart” (2 Cor. 4:16), it does remind us that God has in store for us “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17; see also Rom. 8:18).

And now we are able to note the presupposition behind the Bible’s teaching on glorification: every human being who lives in this broken world desires something better. We may not use the language of glorification, but every time we groan under the miseries of a sin-distorted universe, we are agreeing with the biblical testimony that we long to be ravished by irreversible splendor. Put another way, all of us want the story of our lives to have the best ending we can imagine—whether the secular version (money, comfort, fame, family and friends), the Christian version (going to heaven when we die), or the fairy-tale version. Glorification means something infinitely better: because of Jesus, the story of our lives will have the best ending God can imagine.

Dr. Clarence DeWitt (Jimmy) Agan III Dr. Agan (MDiv ’95), associate professor of New Testament, is wellequipped to train and pastor future Gospel ministers. He has ministry experience as a senior pastor as well as teaching experience at both Covenant and Erskine Seminaries. He brings with him a great desire for students to understand that leading God’s people means following after Jesus, who made Himself the servant of all.

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alumni PROFILE

Grace: The Final Frontier Dawn Elementary is the only traditional Christian school in Odessa, Ukraine, and Paul Alexander continues to raise funds to help with this ministry.

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hile the title of this piece plays on the well-known introduction to the popular Star Trek television series (“Space: The final frontier …”)—the urgent truth is that, for many people, a deep, full, and personal understanding of grace remains a last great frontier of the Christian faith. Most believers seem to easily grasp the concepts of law, justice, and even (to some degree) mercy, or pardon. But grace—receiving what we do not and could never deserve—remains a great mystery: a final frontier. Those who change in the face of grace often become those who lead others to such a new and beautiful frontier.

Paul Alexander (BDiv ’58) and his wife, Lorraine, arrived at Covenant Theological Seminary one week after their marriage in 1956 “with a car payment due, $7 in our pocket, and no place to live.” They had met several years earlier while Paul attended Faith Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A 1954

“My years here [at Covenant Seminary] were especially valuable because the professors were so close to all of us as students.” division within the Bible Presbyterian Church (the denomination with which Faith Seminary was associated) led Paul and others in 1956 to move to the fledgling Covenant College and Seminary— then still together on one campus in St. Louis, Missouri.

Paul expounds, “I came out to Covenant Seminary with professors I highly admired, including Drs. J. Oliver Buswell Jr., COVENANT | Summer 2008

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Laird Harris, John Sanderson Jr., and Bill Sanderson. We had a small class; and I think the total student body on campus for both the college and seminary was 44 or 54.” Times were different then, but the challenges that seminary students faced—and the encouragement they received—were much the same.

“I had completed two years at Faith, and when I came to Covenant Seminary I took two more years,” Paul says. “I could have finished in one, but because we had just married and I needed to work to support us, we took two years. My years here were especially valuable because the professors were so close to all of us as students.

We were like a family, and it was a wonderful experience.”

Paul grew up the son of a pastor who described himself as “a man who has read every word John Wesley wrote.” “I am confident that Dad, though he was not a Calvinist, dearly loved the Lord,” Paul says, “and I believe my calling to ministry came during the early years of my hearing him preach. I originally went in a premed direction but soon was convinced that I could do nothing but preach. I just couldn’t go against that grain. I felt the Holy Sprit convincing me of that—and I must confess, since I was 18 or 19 years old, I’ve been in love with nothing but preaching.”

Upon graduation from seminary, the Alexanders felt called to Huntsville, Alabama, where they lived for 43 years. Starting with a small group of 14 men, women, and children, Paul planted and served as the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church from 1958 to 2001. Paul remembers, “From the beginning, we wanted to be a church-planting church without growing

left: The Dawn School reaches many young people like these for Christ. center: Paul and Lorraine Alexander spent 43 years in stateside pastoral ministry before focusing their efforts in Ukraine. right: Ukraine has more than 100,000 orphans who are products of the country’s troubled past.

too large ourselves. So we tried to keep the church at about 150 members. It never would stay there. We grew it to more than 300 two or three times and were planting other churches nearby. We planted two congregations in Huntsville and saw two grandchild congregations born.” Under Paul’s leadership the church also started Westminster Christian Academy (WCA), which began in 1964 with a handful of students. Today, WCA has more than 700 students and serves the broader Huntsville area.

“I have often described myself as a recovering Pharisee,” Paul says. “I think that the legalism that came out of my father’s preaching—and I would never describe it as purely legalistic because God and grace were always there, too, and I believe I was converted genuinely under his ministry—was still very influential in my life when I got to Huntsville. I was still preaching a lot of legalism because I hadn’t truly recovered. Then, in my readings, I discovered two men who I think helped save me from that: Geerhardus Vos and Ed Clowney. I began to read their works, and it was a wonderful, freeing, liberating experience. I came out of that legalistic spirit and into the discovery of grace. I began to train all my church officers in ‘Vosianism’ and to preach grace.”

It should not surprise us that as people are changed by grace they are also often moved by grace—literally taken to strange and alien places never previously considered. It was so for Paul.

Despite many years of faithful service to the congregation of Westminster, the Alexanders began to feel called to another place: Ukraine. Paul says, “The transition wasn’t easy because I still dearly loved the people at our church, but we were able to do it because the transition went on for so long. It was nearly seven years from the time we first began to visit Ukraine to the time we made the decision to go to Ukraine full time.”

At 68 years old, after 43 years of full-time pastoral ministry, Paul became the country coordinator for Mission to the World’s (MTW) work in Ukraine, serving largely in administrative roles. Only when these duties kept him from his deepest love of conveying the message of grace to new listeners did he step down from that position. Torn between Western freedoms and Marxist ideals, Ukraine is a country in transition and turmoil; yet it remains an anchor in Europe. Under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, an estimated 7 million of the once-independent farmers of the country perished after he set in motion events to cause a famine.

Today, Russia—under Vladimir Putin’s leadership—continues to pressure the struggling country. (As recently as February, Putin threatened to direct missiles at Ukraine.) Internally, Ukraine’s own people suffer the residual effects of communism—high sui-

cide rates, fear of political recourse, alcoholism, discouragement, and isolation. The effects of these spiritual ills show most clearly on the faces of Ukraine’s orphans—totaling more than 100,000.

“But the Gospel is doing beautiful things,” says Paul. “Atheists are being converted. There were two atheist women in the first group with whom we met—women who went to high school together and who competed to be the most outstanding atheist of the town. Both of them were converted. There’s nothing more beautiful than that. And now you see these people emerging into leadership.” Ironically, elderly women retain a place of great honor throughout that society.

The Alexanders returned to the United States in 2005, but in this postscript of ministry, Paul’s primary focus remains the proclamation of grace. He regularly returns to Ukraine—and other central-Asian and Islamic countries—for grace-based preaching seminars. Partnering with small churches in often-closed and troubled countries, this “recovering Pharisee” is the vessel of God’s grace for a new generation in a faraway land.

Additionally, Paul assists in raising support for a Christian school in Ukraine. “Dawn Elementary, the first and only traditional Christian School that MTW has been able to establish in Ukraine, has a mere 42 students from kindergarten to

It should not surprise us that as people are changed by grace they are also often moved by grace—literally taken to strange and alien places never previously considered. fourth grade. We want to see a Christian School movement get started—but we are just in the infancy stages now. Right now we are trying to encourage home schooling,” he says. “I raise funds for the school and try to counsel them on how to use those funds and hire teachers. We think our little school in Odessa, which is five years old, is prospering well.”

Just as infancy doesn’t last, those who truly taste the graciousness of God grow into full maturity in Christ. Sinners converted, orphans adopted, and leaders emerging—this is the reality of Kingdom life on that mysterious final frontier of grace.

Joel Hathaway Before seminary Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) served as project administrator with Mission to the World, working with teams in Central America.

He is the Seminary’s director of alumni and church relations and lives in Ballwin, Missouri, with his wife, Shannon (MATS ’07), and three sons.

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www.covenantseminary.edu

aLUMnI Mike Allen (MatS ’03) received his first ordained call to pastor McBee Presbyterian Church (PCUSa) in McBee, South Carolina. Mike and his wife, Pam, moved from Jasper, Georgia, to McBee last august to start work in that church, which was established in 1901. Mike received his MDiv from erskine theological Seminary in 2007. He turned 61 this year.

Luke Bobo (MDiv ’03) is an assistant professor and director of Christian Ministry Studies (CMS) at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. He also manages the CMS degree in the accelerated program (Lindenwood College for Individualized education), which is designed for working adults. Luke is pursuing a PhD in adult education. He and wife Rita have two children: Briana (age 18) and Caleb (age 13). on July 1, 2007, Bill Connors (MDiv ’07) was ordained and installed as assistant pastor of City Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado. Bill will be planting a PCa a church in Denver upon completion of a two-year church-planting apprenticeship at City Presbyterian. Bill and his wife, Michele, have four children: Caleb (age 6), andrew (age 4), Brendan (age 2), and newborn Sydney elizabeth. after three years in england, a e Rodrigo (MDiv ’03) and Ana (MatS ’03) DeSousa returned home to Brazil, where Rodrigo now serves as a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil. In the fall, Rodrigo successfully defended his PhD dissertation at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) in biblical studies. ana a continues translation work on theological resources (from e english to Portuguese). t their son, Gabriel, is 2. a graduating from Covenant t after theological Seminary, Phil Edwards (MDiv ’70) taught at Christ’s College in taiwan for three years. He also helped with the tayal t t tribal churches. Married in 1984, Phil and his wife, Janice, moved in 1994 to e england, where Phil served with the Chinese overseas Christian Mission (CoCM).

He retired in 2006 after 11 years of service with CoCM. Phil and Janice have one son, Christopher.

Jamie Eshbaugh (MaC ’01) married Jacob Pollard on June 23, 2007. Jacob is the hospital chaplain at Parkland Health Center in Farmington, Missouri. after six years of serving as the school counselor for deaf/hard of hearing students in St. Louis County, Jamie began her work as a teacher of special services for Farmington R-7 School District. the Pollards reside and care for people in Farmington. after seven years in Budapest, Hungary, Rob (MDiv ’99) and Tunde (GC ’99) Futo moved to the small town of Biatorbagy. their work continues as before, with one exciting addition—the start of a Budapest Bible school this fall. Spring graduate Gyuri Suhai (MDiv ’08) plans to join the Futos this year. the Futos have two children: Hajni (age 8) and Csenge (age 6).

Anna Gallant (Maet ’07) has been accepted as a member of Wycliffe Bible t translators, Inc. Having completed her new-member orientation, she is seeking certification in applied linguistics from the

news

Graduate Institute of applied Linguistics in Dallas, texas. Upon completion of the training and supportt raising process, she is likely to be stationed in Central africa, Southeast asia, or the South Pacific. after working at Remuda Ranch—an intensive inpatient and residential program for women suffering from eating disorders—in arizona for more than four years, Elizabeth George (MDiv, MaC ’03) has joined an outpatient counseling practice in Kansas City, Kansas, where she now resides.

Charity Irvine (MaC ’06) married current MDiv student Steven Jones on June 30, 2007, in ephrata, e Pennsylvania. Charity’s father, Rev. Keith C. Irvine, helped officiate the service. t the wedding party included Liz DiSilvestro (MaC ’07), Elizabeth Pickett (MaC ’07), Jason Brown (MaC ’06), and current MDiv and MaC student Jeremy Weese. Charity is currently working in the behavioral health unit of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. after four years as associate pastor at Christ Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Indiana, Dale Kulp (MDiv ’03) and wife Shelly have moved to easton, Maryland, where Dale serves as the solo pastor of Shore Harvest Presbyterian Church. Dale and Shelly have seven children: emily, 19; Selah, 18; Samuel, 16; Isabel, 14; Grace, 9; Kathryn, 7; and Daniel, 6. after two years in McIntosh, Florida, at Community Presbyterian Church, Tom Lloyd (MDiv ’03) accepted the call as pastor of St. James evangelical Church, an independent church in new Haven, Missouri. t tom and his wife, Sally, have three children—all of whom are married—and six grandchildren.

Following his ordination in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, evangelical Synod (RPCeS), in 1981, Tom Lutz (MDiv ’79) spent several years assisting in the development of several churches in Baltimore, Maryland. t tom demitted the ministry of teaching elder in 1985 to serve as a ruling elder at Faith Christian Fellowship and to pursue God’s call to develop Kingdom businesses. t tom formed and continues work with v vision Planners, LLC (www.visionplanners.com). after 30 years of pastoral ministry in seven different churches, Joe Moore (MDiv ’77) retired from fulltime vocational ministry and is serving as a part-time staff member for a large church in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, teaching in the college-division learning center. He currently resides in Bristol with his wife, Marilyn. the Moores have three adult children: Kristina, Michael, and Kevin.

Ken Shomo (MDiv ’03) is celebrating his first anniversary as the assistant pastor of new Covenant Presbyterian Church in virginia Beach, virginia.

Previously he served as the assistant pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church of Millburn-Short Hills, new Jersey, for three-and-a-half years. Ken and his wife, Cheryl, welcomed their first child, Cullen James, on august 17, 2007.

the Covenant theological Seminary family extends its condolences to David (MDiv ’05) and Mia (GC ’04, MatS ’06) Stancil at the death of David’s mother, Mary ann Stancil, on December 18, 2007. t two years ago, David lost his father, Wayne Stancil. David, Mia, and their son, Jonah (age 2), relocated to Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2007 to care for David’s mom. David will re-enter professional ministry this year. on november 18, 2007, T. J. Wolters (MDiv, MaC ’07) was ordained and installed as the pastor of young families at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, alabama. t t. J. and his wife, Martha Jane (Wood) (GC ’07), have two children: James (age 2) and John Spears (6 months).

BIRTHS Congratulations to Chris (MDiv ’02, MaC ’04) and Nicole (Wicker) (MatS ’04) Jennings on the birth of their triplets, born January 8, 2008. Samuel was 3 lbs. 8 oz. and 15 inches long; thomas was 3 lbs. 2 oz. and 16 inches long; and Caroline was 4 lbs. 3 oz. and 17 inches long. the Jenningses live in Columbus, Georgia, where Chris serves as the assistant pastor of children’s ministries at St. andrews Presbyterian Church. on December 18, 2006, Frank (MDiv ’02) and Suzanne (MatS ’01) Matthews welcomed elisabeth “elise” Moore, who weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. elise joined brothers Joshua (age 6), Micah (age 6), and aaron (age 2). the Matthewses live in Gainesville, Florida, where Frank is assistant pastor of Christ Community Church.

Matt (MDiv ’04) and Michelle (MatS ’04) Novenson welcomed Levi Joseph, born on november 16, 2007.

Levi weighed in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20½ inches long. He joins older brother Hans (age 2). Matt is working on his PhD in new t testament at Princeton theological Seminary. Michelle is a mentor for Covenant Seminary’s Distance education program.

Eric (MDiv ’07) and annette Phillips welcomed Caleb James, born august 15, 2007, who weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz.

Caleb joins older siblings Micah (age 6), Gabriella (age 4), and Joshua (age 2). eric and annette live in Las vegas, where eric serves as an assistant planting pastor v to church planter Philip Glassmeyer (MDiv ’07) as part of Mission to north america’s north Las v vegas project.

Emmanuel (MDiv ’01, thM ’03) and Susana Pulido Viray welcomed their daughter, Isabella, adopted in love on May 14, 2007. Isabella was born on June 7, 2006. the virays live in Chicago, Illinois, where emmanuel works for the Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois and is an on-call chaplain at Rush north Shore Medical Center in Skokie.

Susana works as a church administrator for Christian Reformed Church.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM yOu! send updates to alumni@covenant seminary.edu. also, let us know if you’d like to receive e-connect, our monthly electronic newsletter.

SeMInaRY news & events PROFESSORS’ sp spEaKing ing SCHEDulES Jerram Barrs Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture; Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute

AuGuST 8–20 central Europe,

including Balatonfüred, Hungary, for international association for mission studies Quadrennial international conference.

MAY 23–29 Hotel Eger park;

Eger, Hungary. European leadership forum.

JunE 3–6 goiânia, Brazil.

colloquium conference.

JuLY 31–AuGuST 3 sacramento,

ca. l’ l abri conference.

David Chapman Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Archaeology JunE 14–AuGuST 2 abila,

Jordan. directing the abila archaeological Excavation.

Philip D. Douglass Professor of Practical Theology MAY 27–30 covenant seminary;

st. louis, mo. co-teaching doctor of ministry course.

Topic: “leading the church Through renewal.”

JunE 10–13 dallas, Tx. pca

general assembly. Topic: “recruiting pastors, staff, and lay leaders who fit y your church’s unique ministry style.”

J. Nelson Jennings Professor of World Mission MAY 11 Bonhomme presbyterian

church; chesterfield, mo.

Topic: “understanding muslims in iran.”

JunE 10–13 dallas, Tx. pca

general assembly.

JunE 19–21 chicago, il.

american society of missiology.

JunE 22–JuLY 3 addis ababa,

Ethiopia. covenant seminary service and learning trip.

Daniel Kim Assistant Professor of Old Testament JuLY 25–28 wheaton,

il. Korean mK ignite conference. workshop: “mK in full-time ministry.”

Greg Perry Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies JuLY 29–AuGuST 2 lund,

sweden. society for new Testament studies annual meeting. speaking.

Robert Peterson Professor of Systematic Theology SunDAYS, MAY–AuGuST

redeemer presbyterian church; columbia, mo. preaching. Topic: 1–2 peter.

Richard Winter Professor of Practical Theology and Counseling MAY 23–30 Hotel Eger park;

Eger, Hungary. European leadership forum. leading the counseling track. lEcTurE and discussion Topics: sexuality, forgiveness, depression, psychology and theology, over overcoming barriers to maturity.

JunE 22–JuLY 3 addis ababa,

Ethiopia. covenant seminary service and learning trip.

Dan Zink Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Counseling JunE 22–JuLY 3 addis ababa,

Ethiopia. covenant seminary service and learning trip.

uPDATES

Executive Editor David Wicker

on January 30, Greg Perry, assistant professor of biblical studies, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation for a phd in new Testament at union Theological seminary in richmond, virginia. His work, entitled “luke’s narrative shaping of Early christian identity,” is on luke’s use of the old Testament in the acts of the apostles.

Managing Editor Stacey Fitzgerald

July 1 will mark the first day in 37 years that Hugh Collison is not the owner of the campus bookstore.

Hugh and his wife, roberta, each earned a master of Bible degree at covenant seminary in 1969. in 1971, Hugh bought the bookstore.

He now hands over the reigns to Nick Gleason (mdiv ’05), who worked for Hugh for three years while in seminary. nick and his wife, suzanne, are taking over ownership of the bookstore. Hugh’s presence on campus will be missed, but his service to an entire generation of church leaders will long be appreciated. at their respective winter 2008 board meetings, the Higher learning commission of the north central association and the association of Theological schools of the u.s. and canada voted to reaffirm the seminary’s accreditation through 2017–18. we are thankful for the careful work of the joint comprehensive team during their october visit and for their helpful recommendations; we look forward to implementing their suggestions in the coming months. we are especially grateful to the faculty, staff, students, alumni, board members, and st. louisarea church leaders who helped make this process so successful.

Editor Jackie Fogas Assistant Copy Editors Rick Matt nicolle olivastro Photo and Image Contributors Libby Lothman Paul alexander John Ranheim Mike Graham Lisa Hessel Daniel Kim Design and Production Libby Lothman Circulation nicolle olivastro Editorial Contributors Jimmy agan Jackie Fogas Joel Hathaway nelson Jennings

Daniel Kim Rick Matt Greg Perry

Covenant theological Seminary 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63141 Tel: 314.434.4044 Fax: 314.434.4819 E-mail: covenantmagazine@covenantseminary.edu Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, new International version®, nIv®, ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (esv) are from the Holy Bible, english Standard version, ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good news publishers. Used by permission. all rights reserved. volume 23, number 2. ©2008

New Staff Positions •

Brad Anderson, formerly director of admissions, has become vice president of advancement, adding the development department to the teams already under his oversight.

•

Stacey Fitzgerald has been named vice president of media and organizational development. she will also continue to serve as the director of public relations.

•

associate professor of church History Dr. Sean lucas has taken on the role of chief academic officer, which enfolds the student services team into the areas he currently oversees.

Covenant is published by covenant Theological seminary, the seminary of the presbyterian church in america.

•

Dave Wicker has been named chief operating officer of covenant Theological seminary. in his new role, he will coordinate the business, advancement, and revised media team efforts.

The purpose of covenant seminary is to train servants of the triune god to walk with god, to interpret and communicate god’s word, and to lead god’s people.

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nonprofit org.

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12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Mo 63141

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Building Bridges, Making Peace

eaching across cultural barriers to share the redeeming message of the Gospel is a challenge under the best of circumstances; it is even more difficult when animosities resulting from past missteps get in the way. Learning to listen to others and attempting to understand their backgrounds, traditions, and beliefs are key to developing relationships of trust that pave the way for successful Gospel communication.

Building bridges in this way is central to what Josh Charette (MDiv ’10) and his wife, Katie, hope to do when they leave seminary. Lord willing, they will return to the Billings, Montana, area where they were both raised to plant churches and minister to the large native american population there. Josh, who is native american as well as a lifelong Christian, has seen firsthand how great the divide can be between “natives” and “anglos”—especially when it comes to religion—and understands the need to approach the subject carefully. “native americans are more diverse than most people in this country realize,” Josh notes. “there are more than 500 tribes altogether; 40 of them are represented in the Billings area. v very few of them are believing Christians. each tribe has its own history, its own culture, its own beliefs. t to preach the Gospel to them all in the same way won’t work. We need to understand who they are—both individually and collectively—and bring the Gospel to them in intentional, contextualized ways.” this passion for reaching people who have often found the message of grace accompanied by cultural suppression is what brought Josh and his family to Covenant theological Seminary.

Having served in a variety of non-PCa churches and experienced the joyful ups and painful downs of ministry, Josh recognized his need for deeper training. He was blessed to be mentored at one point by alfred Poirier, author of The Peacemaking Pastor and pastor of a PCa church in Billings. Josh was impressed by the Gospelcentered, grace orientation of the pastors and ruling elders he met through this church and began to think that perhaps the PCa was for him. “that was a turning point for me,” Josh says. “they were people I longed to be around.” Many of these same men encouraged him to apply to Covenant Seminary.

Katie comments, “two two different pastors said to us, ‘If I had t the chance to go to seminary all over again, I’d go to Covenant.’ the Lord began to open doors for us from there. He provided

Josh and Katie Charette with sons Aiden (left) and Alex

generous people who helped us get here so that we’ve never had to struggle to raise support.”

“Covenant is a great place to prepare for pastoral ministry,” Josh says. “I’m very blessed to be here, to be learning so much about the doctrine of grace from such godly and grace-filled professors. With my previous ministry experience, I learned a framework for what pastoral ministry looks like, and that helps me see how to apply what I’m learning here in a very practical way. the familyoriented atmosphere here made us feel welcome from the first.

Covenant really can’t be beat.” though only the Lord knows what He has in store for Josh and his family once he graduates, Josh and Katie both feel strongly that He has brought them to the Seminary for the purpose of preparing them to bring His Word to the native americans back home.

“I don’t know exactly what that will look like,” Josh shares, his eyes fixed firmly on the future, “but being native american myself will be a helpful bridge. t to reach people effectively we must acknowledge our differences while building on our commonalities.”

Josh’s words serve as a strong reminder for all those who would attempt to build bridges for the sake of the Gospel so that broken people everywhere—of whatever nationality or ethnic origin—might know the peace and the joy that can only be found in Jesus.

RICK MATT Rick Matt (MATS ’05) serves as associate director of public relations for Covenant Seminary, where he writes and edits a variety of print and electronic materials to support the Seminary’s mission of training pastors and ministry leaders for Christ’s Church.