Vol. 57, No. 2 - Fall 2016
learning together
COVER PHOTO: Mystic Nativity, Sandro Botticelli, 1501.
published by Taylor College and Seminary
the
INCARNATION: MYSTERY & MEANING Incarnation Mystery and Meaning, pg. 3-14
Ed Link Story and Photos, pg. 2021 20-21
Alumni Profile Rick Foster (’83, ‘10), pg. 22
A Note from the President “Let the same mind be in which that was in Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote (Phil. 2:5, NRSV). These words contain a profoundly significant challenge for followers of Jesus. Paul points to the humility on display in the Incarnation, insisting that this example of servanthood is to be our new way of life. There are few things more discordant than a proclamation of the Gospel by individuals or institutions that strive for power and status, and cling to it. Conversely, there is nothing more beautiful than observing those whose lives exemplify the message of grace and peace. The Incarnation is a great mystery. Its meaning has been pondered since the days of the prophets, and two millennia of Christian theologians have wrestled with its implications. In this issue of The Bridge, we reflect on this central truth. It is my hope that we are brought to a new and deeper awareness of God’s extravagant goodness, and that we might seek to be changed to be more like Him. In a very real sense, the Incarnation is not merely a one-time occurrence. The Apostle Paul saw it as a template for the Christian life. The same servantshaped posture that characterized the coming of the Son of God is to characterize our lives. In his book Becoming the Gospel, Dr. Michael Gorman
uses the intriguing phrase “cruciform hospitality” to describe the way the church is to live. The word cruciform literally means to have the shape of the cross, and our whole lives are to reflect the extent of Jesus’ servanthood, the way He put the interests of others ahead of His own. Does the church live this way, displaying a welcome of others that is truly “cruciform”, truly incarnational? Thankfully, yes, we see glimmers of Christ-mindedness in the Church, and throughout history there have been many whose lives have served to give testimony to Christ in word and action. Yet we also recognize that we often fail to live up to Christ’s example and His teachings. As you meditate on Jesus’ birth throughout Advent and Christmas, we pray that these articles will serve as a reminder of God’s goodness. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with us, in the form of a servant. As 2016 draws to a close, I want to thank you again for being so supportive and encouraging of the work of theological education. You really can’t know how much each note, email and phone call means, and how significant each contribution is. We count you as among the great gifts we have been given. Have a wonderful Christmas! Shalom!
David Williams, Ph.D. President, Taylor College and Seminary
I wrote to a potential contributor to this issue: “...(your article) could be helpful for our readers in understanding this mystery...” I looked at what I had written: “...understanding this mystery...” Really? Of course, we seek understanding and I don’t mean to suggest that it’s wrong to do so. However, as we acknowledge one of the great mysteries of God, surely we acknowledge that it is beyond our understanding. So, in a very real sense, we ask the Spirit to lead us into this truth, not to merely understand it in the sense of data, fact or even doctrine. Instead, we invite the Spirit to lead us into the Incarnation as a way of life, as the Way. We hope that this issue will also provide food for thought and motivation to action. It is also our hope that you will join us as we meet in March 2017 for the E.P. Wahl Lectures. Dr. Michael Gorman will be discussing the missional and theotic aspects of the Gospel, drawing especially on the epistle to the Romans. Everyone in ministry (and by that we mean everyone) will discover or rediscover something fresh and challenging about how we live in the world. Perhaps our cover story on the Incarnation will whet your appetite for this upcoming educational opportunity! (http://www.taylor-edu.ca/events/) Thank you for your continued support of Christian education at Taylor! Tim Willson Editor, The Bridge
Vol. 57, No. 2, Fall 2016 Published by Taylor College and Seminary to communicate with students, alumni, friends and supporters, as part of our mission to develop Christ-minded leaders who make a difference in the world. Editor: Tim Willson TheBridge@Taylor-Edu.ca Taylor College and Seminary 11525 - 23 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB T6J 4T3 COVER PHOTO: Mystic Nativity, SandroTim Botticelli, Cover: Willson1501. Public Domain.
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He Shall be Called Immanuel, God with Us The Wonder and Mystery of the Incarnation by Tim Willson
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The Church is identified in the writings of St. Paul as he fact that Christmas comes annually is “the Body of Christ,” and that cannot be understood wonderful in many ways, of course, but one as anything but incarnational: we, in our bodies unfortunate consequence is that the story (and (individually and collectively), are the hands and feet implications) of Jesus' coming is not deeply of Jesus. considered for eleven months of the year. Consider also the third person of the Trinity, the Holy There is so much richness in the details of the Spirit, who indwells believers. This, too, is Nativity, so much food for thought in the Gospel incarnational in nature (not in the same degree, but accounts! The ancient Psalms and prophecies, the in the same manner): God the Spirit themes from Adam, Joseph, Moses, was sent to indwell people, and God's David, and the teachings of the presence goes with us as we go. apostles – all of these contribute to a profoundly important theological GOD WITH US – reality: the Word became flesh and PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE REALITY dwelt among us. The Incarnation is The clearest note of the meaning of the larger than just the Nativity, but it is Incarnation comes from Isaiah's familiar most clearly seen in the picture of prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus' birth. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you This may be one of the most a sign. Look, the young woman is with important aspects of Christian faith, child and shall bear a son, and shall as much mystery as doctrine; yet, in name him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV) the four busy, brief Sundays of In Matthew 1:23, the gospel writer Advent, the thunderous implications Photo: Detail of an illustration from an quotes that prophecy and helpfully of the Incarnation can be muted. Armenian Gospel Book: The Nativity includes the meaning of Immanuel: It may be that the Incarnation has and the Adoration of the Magi (c.1455). “...they will call him Immanuel (which come to form a sort of skeletal Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum. means ‘God with us’).” structure for Christmas, an essential While the Nativity is a historical event, framework, but one that is in the the Incarnation is a present reality. It changes background. The details of shepherds and magi, a everything for our present and for our promised virgin birth, angels and temple visits, a bloody future. German pastor and theologian Dietrich massacre of innocents by Herod – all of these Bonhoeffer wrote, “The God of the world draws near compete for our attention at Christmas, and the to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us.” great underlying theme of the Incarnation sometimes gets relegated to a passing mention once As Russell Palmer writes, Bonhoeffer saw how the each year. Incarnation places Christ at the centre: the centre of human existence, the centre of history, and the When we take time to consider the implications of centre (mediator) between God and nature. Palmer God entering human existence—as a baby, no also reminds us that Bonhoeffer did not think we less—we discover that the Incarnation was not should talk about the Incarnation (the “how”) but merely a one-time event: it is a paradigm with that we should talk about the Incarnate One (the implications for how we live. 1 “who”). To reiterate, the Incarnation is not another term for As Immanuel, God did not merely provide a bridge to “birth” or even “conception,” and Jesus' incarnation cross over from where we are to that distant place is not merely a feature of the Christmas story. His where He is but He leapt the gap, coming to us. whole life, his miraculous conception, ministry, Intentional, proactive, relentlessly seeking—God is on suffering, his death, his resurrection and his ascension—even his thirty (mostly) silent years as a 1 Palmer, Russell W. "The Christology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer." resident of Nazareth—all have incarnational aspects Evangelical Quarterly 49, no. 3 (1977): 132-40. Posted online at: and implications. http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/eq/1977-3_132.pdf Come and learn with us! 1.780.431.5200 | www.Taylor-Edu.ca
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a mission and, as His people, so are we. In fact, Bonhoeffer says in effect that as we follow Christ, He leads us back to the world He loves: “...in the Incarnation the whole human race recovers the dignity of the image of God. Henceforth, any attack even on the least of men is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of God in all that bears a human form. Through fellowship and communion with the incarnate Lord, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from that individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race. By being partakers of Christ incarnate, we are partakers in the whole humanity which he bore.” (The Cost of Discipleship) In other words, Bonhoeffer argues, Jesus' followers are brothers and sisters to all because of the Incarnation. We are partakers in a new nature, one that bears the sins and burdens of others. “God with us” is part of everyday life in other ways. Jesus promised that as we offer cups of water, as we feed and clothe the poor, we experience Him in them. Similarly, others experience His presence through our acts of service. And when we gather in groups as small as two or three, He is present. Another important realization is that we serve a Saviour who knows our weaknesses. Christians have often found tremendous comfort in the knowledge that, having lived and suffered among us, God understands; we are not alone in our sorrows. There are also future implications of the Incarnation in Jesus' triumph over death in His resurrection and in the Ascension; among them, sin and death have met their end, and our destiny is life. AN EXPLAINABLE MYSTERY? The doctrine of the Incarnation is a mystery. The infinite becomes finite, and does so as the eternal enters time. And yet this finite One retains an infinite quality eternally. At some level, we understand it—enough, at least, to assent to it. But in some ways it seems also to be a distant star which we can glimpse out of the corner of our eye, but when we look directly at it we can no longer see it as clearly. Something substantial looms in the half-light of our understanding: we can sense
it but we can't quite map it out. The Church has often had to wrestle with competing ideas about the nature of the Incarnation. Some heresies judged Jesus to be simply divine (not human), or simply human (not God), or partly both; one idea held that there were two distinct natures, and another suggested that these two natures blended together into a third category (neither th human nor divine). The 4th and 5 Centuries were filled with heated arguments, fiery sermons and councils as differing opinions and heresies were sorted through. The Council of Chalcedon in 461 A.D. affirmed that Christ was fully-God and fullyman: Christ made known in two natures, neither one at the expense of the other, and not blended into one. The details were accepted as a mystery. COMING IN WEAKNESS A challenge for us is not to look past Christ's humanity to see his divinity. In Bonhoeffer's view, the manner of his coming in weakness is profoundly important. It is not Jesus-the-man who is humiliated, and Jesus-the-Divine who is exalted; Jesus is not more human in weakness and more divine in strength. “Thus 'humiliation' does not mean a state where the Incarnate One is more man and less God, in other words a stage in the limitation of God,” he wrote. “Neither does exaltation mean a state where he is more God and less man.” For Bonhoeffer, we must consider “the way in which the one who has been made man exists…” This suggests something more important than time and space. This is not simply about being able to see God (the Invisible made visible), and it seems even to be more than about God going to great lengths for us to know Him. It is a demonstration of an aspect of God's character that would be inconceivable to us. The incarnation involves a giving up of power and position. It is the utmost act of humility, casting a pattern of living that is nearly impossible for us to imagine let alone emulate. St. Paul writes about Jesus being in very nature God, yet taking on the form of a servant. It is no small thing that God came, not merely in the form of a human, but in the form of a human infant. The great preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, was not a big fan of the Christmas season, with all its 1.780.431.5200 | www.Taylor-Edu.ca | www.TaylorSeminary.ca
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excesses. Nonetheless, he preached on the themes of Advent and the Incarnation each December. On December 23, 1855, the 21-year old preacher described Jesus’ descent from heaven this way: There had been a sad day in Heaven once before, when Satan fell, and dragged with him a third of the stars of heaven, and when the Son of God launching from his great right hand the Omnipotent thunders, dashed the rebellious crew to the pit of perdition; but if we could conceive a grief in heaven, that must have been a sadder day, when the Son of the Most High left his Father's bosom, where he had lain from before all worlds. “Go,” saith the Father, “and thy Father's blessing on thy head!” Then comes the unrobing. How do angels crowd around to see the Son of God take off his robes! He laid aside his crown; he said, “My father, I am Lord over all, blessed for ever, but I will lay my crown aside, and be as mortal men are.” He strips himself of his bright vest of glory; “Father,” he says, “I will wear a robe of clay, just such as men wear.” Then he takes off all those jewels wherewith he was glorified; he lays aside his starry mantles and robes of light, to dress himself in the simple garments of the peasant of Galilee. What a solemn disrobing that must have been! And next, can you picture the dismissal! The angels attend the Saviour through the streets, until they approach the doors: when an angel cries, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and let the king of glory through!” Oh! methinks the angels must have wept when they lost the company of Jesus—when the Sun of Heaven bereaved them of all its light. But they went after him. They descended with him; and when his spirit entered into flesh and he became a babe, he was attended by that mighty host of angels, who after they had been with him to Bethlehem's manger, and seen him safely, laid on his mother's breast, in their journey upwards appeared to the shepherds and told them that he was born king of the Jews. Spurgeon is describing the indescribable. With imaginative language, he attempts to convey the sense of condescension involved as God the Son becomes the Son of Man. Sixteen years later, Spurgeon has had time to think more deeply about the meaning of the Incarnation to be found in the manner of Jesus' birth. On Christmas Eve 1871, Spurgeon emphasized how the weakness that came Come and learn with us! 1.780.431.5200 | www.Taylor-Edu.ca
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“...there is not the remotest appearance of temporal power here. Mark the two little puny arms of a little babe...” -Charles H. Spurgeon, 1871 with Christ’s humility was a hallmark of the Kingdom: The sign that the joy of the world had come was this,—they were to go to the manger to find the Christ in it, and he was to be the sign. Every circumstance is therefore instructive. The babe was found "wrapped in swaddling clothes." Now, observe, as you look at this infant, that there is not the remotest appearance of temporal power here. Mark the two little puny arms of a little babe that must be carried if it go. Alas, the nations of the earth look for joy in military power... Is it not a nation's pride to be gigantic in arms? What pride flushes the patriot's cheek when he remembers that his nation can murder faster than any other people. Ah, foolish generation, ye are groping in the flames of hell to find your heaven, raking amid blood and bones for the foul thing which ye call glory. A nation's joy can never lie in the misery of others. Killing is not the path to prosperity; huge armaments are a curse to the nation itself as well as to its neighbors. The weakness of submissive gentleness is true power. Jesus founds his eternal empire not on force but on love. Here, O ye people, see your hope; the mild pacific prince, whose glory is his self-sacrifice, is our true benefactor. 2 In this, Spurgeon lays his finger on what may be one of most central implications of the Incarnation: Love does not seek or use power, save what power comes from weakness, from sacrifice. In laying aside divine power, Christ did not enter the world as a powerful human, the strongest, most 2
Sermon transcriptions from http://www.spurgeon.org/
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persuasive, most successful, most attractive, most wealthy. He could have come as a sort of Superman: still human, but with power and all that comes with power. Instead, he took on our humanity and was— at birth and at death— completely vulnerable. In other words, the move was not merely from divinity to humanity, but from divinity to humanity at its weakest. If this truly expresses something of God's character, then it expresses something true about how we are called to live since we are to be like Him. What are we to give up for the well-being of others? What would it look like to give up power to the extent that we are less than those to whom we come? It sounds unthinkable, and it is. But that is what happened in the Incarnation. IMPLICATIONS FOR MINISTRY In an online article about the current usage of terms like “incarnational ministry” and “missional theology”, writer and pastor John Stark of New York argues that “the Incarnation is about a person, not about a mission” (that's actually the title of the article). Stark argues that the term incarnational is best reserved for the hypostatic union, the mysterious combination of divine life and humanity (not half-God/half-man, but fully God and fully man). He takes issue with those who think we can model our ministries after Jesus, saying that in our ministries we cannot begin to emulate how far Christ condescended to us: any move towards the poor or needy is comparatively small for us, whereas God's move to condescend to humans was (is) vast. In making his argument, Stark is taking issue with the likes of Alan Hirsch, who sees Jesus' everyday life over a 30-year period as being very much the model for Christians. Hirsch is quoted in the article as saying that Jesus' everyday life is incarnational and says a lot about how God engages the human situation: “The incarnation thus shows us that God speaks from within a particular culture, in ways that people can grasp, understand, and respond. The incarnation gives us the primary biblical model of engagement—this is how God does it and we who follow his way should take a similar path.” In this edition of The Bridge, we accept Hirsch's position. Our exploration of the Incarnation includes specific consideration of what patterns we might follow as we live out, as we become the Gospel. Of course, Stark's defence of the doctrine of the Incarnation is laudable, but it seems that reserving
the term to refer only to “hypostatic union” narrows its meaning needlessly and causes it to lose its power as a model. Jesus' ministry made God accessible and present; familiar, everyday objects (water, bread and wine) become His means of grace; coins and sheep and grains of wheat become teaching illustrations. The Messiah was a carpenter, one of the neighbours from Nazareth, and his very ordinariness made it hard for some to recognize Him for who He was. More than that, the exercise of weakness as the only form of power is a template for the Kingdom, and seems to be as profoundly important as the divinehuman “hypostatic union.” And that has profound implications for the Church. WORSHIP AND WONDER, FIRST OF ALL Writing about this topic is daunting. What more could be said than has been said by such towering figures as Athanasius, Bonhoeffer or C.S.Lewis? Reflecting on the Incarnation provokes a sense of inadequacy, for there could never be a complete or comprehensive overview. All one can really do is to acknowledge (and hopefully quicken in others) a sense of wonder, adding a glimmer of insight to the path of faithfulness as we live out this mystery. One such glimmer comes from the most familiar line in Scripture, found in John 3:16. God, we are told, sent His one and only Son into the world because God loved the world. The Incarnation, like all divine mysteries, is about love. And love is about relationships. It is primarily about God, the great Lover of the world, who took action while we were helpless. But we may rejoice with weeping that the story is also about His beloved, the world He created and seeks to redeem, restore and renew. “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” the psalmist wrote (Ps. 8:3-4, NRSV). As Pastor Stark reminds us, we do well to consider the astounding condescension God made in the Incarnation: our first response must surely be worship and wonder. As we sing of Immanuel, we marvel anew at His coming, this encounter. A new Kingdom has been inaugurated in weakness and humility, with presence and in the context of relationship. We can receive it and see it come no other way. TB TB Tim Willson is the Director of Communications and Marketing for Taylor College and Seminary, and the Editor of The Bridge. He sometimes risks writing about big topics in the presence of colleagues and readers who know more about them than he does. He lives in Edmonton with his wife, Leanne, and their daughters.
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ABOVE: Paul and Clara Gebauer in 1937, having tea while visiting Mbamga Village in west Africa. The Gebauers were ground-breaking missionaries in the way they sought to avoid imposing western-style Christianity on those they served in “the Cameroons.” Photo is from the Baptist Herald, 1957.
Taking the Form of a Servant Profiles of Incarnational Ministry from NAB History by Dr. Allan Effa
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hen the Philippian church needed instructions on how to “be the church,” the Apostle Paul pointed to Jesus' incarnation and the way Christ put the interests of others before his own, emptied himself, and gave, served and humbled himself to the point of death (2:1-11). When North American Baptists look for more recent models of incarnational mission, we can draw inspiration from some of the trailblazers of Baptist work in Cameroon. The Baptist witness in Cameroon stems from an interracial team of British and Jamaican missionaries who carved out a home there in 1844. Just six years after emancipation, Joseph Merrick—the pastor of a large Jamaican Baptist church—led a community on an eleven-week voyage across the Atlantic, to begin a new life and witness in Cameroon. 42 former slaves, including children, joined him on the journey. Merrick joined hands with Alfred and Helen Saker from England who immediately took up the task of learning local languages and Bible translation work. Disease and hardship took a brutal toll on the missionary force and the Sakers were the first to Come and learn with us! 1.780.431.5200 | www.Taylor-Edu.ca
succumb. They buried their infant daughter, followed by many individuals in the Jamaican community. Merrick reduced the Isubu language to writing and translated the Gospel of Matthew within his first year. He also went on to translate Genesis and portions of John's Gospel. With Saker, he established the first printing press and schools before succumbing to tropical illnesses in 1849. By 1851 nearly all of the original community had perished or returned to Jamaica and Saker was left alone to continue translation work, develop agriculture, teach industrial arts and form a Christian town named Victoria (now Limbe). Saker's diaries relate countless bouts with fever and dysentery, and those who met him were shocked by his emaciated frame. Yet he persevered until his 65th birthday, passing away in 1880. Shortly after Saker's death, “Kamerun” was claimed by Germany. The Baptist work was passed on to the German Baptists who solicited the help of their North American partners. Several pioneer missionaries were sent out from what were to become NAB churches, under the society in Berlin.
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Most of them lived for just a short span between 18 to 24 months. The early twentieth century missionaries received training from Walter Rauschenbusch at the seminary in Rochester. Rauschenbusch's theology had been forged by eleven years of pastoring in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, where the plight of immigrants and the working poor helped him articulate a Theology of the Social Gospel. An important part of his teaching was a fundamental belief in the unity of humanity, as reflected in his writings: “The man who intelligently realizes the Chinese and the Zulu as his brothers with whom he must share the earth, is an ampler mind… than the man who can think of humanity only in terms of pale-faces.” 1 CARL AND HEDWIG BENDER Carl and Hedwig Bender lived out this incarnational principle of ministry along the coast of Kamerun, after graduation from Rochester Seminary in 1899. This was a time when colonialism and western superiority were largely unquestioned. Carl prophetically stated, “it is time for us to get away from the notion that they are an inferior and barbaric race. In more than one sense we whites are less civilized and more barbaric than they.” 2 He demonstrated this in a radical way during a torrential downpour when he and a Cameroonian helper were trapped in a hut where they spent the night. Bender insisted that his porter share the one single bed with him. A few days later Bender, exhausted from a weary day's journey, called at a white man's home, asking whether he could rest for a while from the heat of the baking sun. The owner welcomed him in, but said that the native helper would have to remain outside the door. Bender promptly went on his way, unwilling to condone such discrimination. Bender believed that Europeans should not impose their worship forms on other cultures, and encouraged the development of indigenous songs. He studied local folklore and proverbs, he and Hedwig became fluent in Duala and Wakweli, and passionately invested in training local leaders for the church. This had an immediate pay-off when World War I broke out and all twenty-two German and Swiss missionaries were imprisoned. This left Carl and Hedwig as the only Baptist missionaries. The Benders, themselves, spent two weeks in prison until they could convince their captors that they were, indeed, American citizens (Carl was born in Germany). The war years proved to be extremely difficult. Communication and financial assistance were cut off
and food shortages became commonplace. Despite this, the church grew like never before and Carl maintained a constant itinerary of travel on foot, encouraging local teachers and Christians. His shoes became so worn that they cut deep wounds in his feet and eventually he traveled barefoot. The church at Soppo, where the Benders lived, grew from a membership of 129 in 1914 to 850 in 1919 and fully supported eleven evangelists who preached regularly in 28 towns of the surrounding region. PAUL & CLARA GEBAUER Following Benders' footsteps and mentorship were Paul and Clara Gebauer. Paul earned degrees in theology and anthropology and was a brilliant missionary strategist and ethnographer. Clara Kratt was the only daughter of a prominent pastor in Portland, Oregon, who studied at the Chicago Art Institute for three years. Together, they formed a formidable team, investing three decades (19311961) to promoting the progress of the Gospel while preserving all that was good and noble in local cultures. They envisioned a genuinely African expression of Christianity: We shall not take our culture to them… We shall not burden them with our American civilization... We shall not go to them on behalf of the cotton trade or… Fifth Avenue fashion shops but rather to encourage them to remain "Africans of the Africans" as to their styles and customs. We shall not offer another religion to them, for they are sick at heart about the many which they already have. We shall not discard their practical system of education, but we shall perpetuate and perfect it suitable to their peculiar needs. We shall not laugh at their art and crafts but encourage them to carry on and to perfect the expression of their appreciation of the beautiful… They will turn their songs and their music into praises for Jesus…There will be different forms of worship but the same Master. There will be strange music flowing from their lips but the same faith which they will confess, and the same baptism. African music will accompany their psalm. An African Christ will hang upon their cross. An African Church, the tribe of Jesus, will arise to the glory of God. 3 Clara established the first school among the Kaka people and collected and preserved their material art. The Portland Art Museum purchased a significant portion of this collection (The Gebauer Collection) which included many rare sculptures, masks, shields, hand bags and tobacco pipes. She was convinced that a people's art serves as a vital
bridge to one's cultural heritage. Therefore, Gil and Mildred set sail with their young family for throughout their ministry, they encouraged local Cameroon in 1947, oblivious to the personal price artists by incorporating their work into the buildings they would pay. Their infant daughter, Mary Alice, they erected, whether it be their furnishings, local died en route and they had to bury her at sea. matting, plaques and carved posts. The architecture Their appointment was to the most remote region of of the churches at Mbem and Nkwen (in Bamenda) Baptist work, Warwar, where Mildred set up clinic set a standard for the incorporation of Cameroonian and pulled decayed teeth, treated people for art. dysentery, infections, malaria, filaria and other Paul furthermore preserved traditional ways of life parasites. She provided pre-natal care and assisted through his own photographs. At least 9,000 black with deliveries. Sometimes deliveries were and white photographs, and more than 2,400 slides, premature and Mildred tried to keep the infants alive were eventually by using hot acquired by New water bottles. Gil York's was able to Metropolitan employ his Museum of Art. horticultural Despite a lack of skills and do first formal training in hand photography, ethnographic Paul’s work was research. He masterful. “They photographed looked nothing like and documented a scholar's numerous rituals photographs – and ceremonies, they were a collected a vast photographer's number of photographs. They artifacts and showed the eye African proverbs, and technical skill and became an of an artist, and expert in Pidgin the easy familiarity English grammar of one who was and vocabulary. photographing his ABOVE: Rev. Gil and Mildred Schneider with their two children. Another daughter died Several friends and American on the ship as they journeyed to Africa in 1947. Photo is from the Baptist Herald, 1957 museums today neighbors.” 4 house portions of the Schneiders' collections. GILBERT & MILDRED SCHNEIDER When the missionary society decided to create a An incarnational mindset governed another settlement for the many lepers in Cameroon, Gil and remarkable missionary couple, Gilbert and Mildred Mildred volunteered to head this up, creating a Schneider. They grew up on farms and attended the home (New Hope Settlement) for some of the most same rural church in Oregon. Mildred became an marginalized and impoverished people on earth. Gil R.N. and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree. helped make the settlement self-supporting by Gilbert graduated from Rochester Seminary and introducing crafts, a herd of cattle, and a coffee earned an M.A. from the Hartford Seminary plantation; Mildred continued to meet the Foundation, where his interest in anthropology was community’s many physical needs. awakened. While in Rochester, Gilbert compensated Gilbert and Mildred saw themselves foremost as for the lack of cross-cultural flavour at the seminary servants. They entitled their first report to their by joining Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, where he was church constituents, “Our Reasonable Service,” and the only white member in an African-American outlined the various types of ministry they hoped to church. He felt this would be a good way to get to provide: “medical service, social service in village know “black brothers" before actually going to women's groups, Christian example and testimony, Africa. It was in that church that he was ordained adult education of all phases.” They described their and commissioned to missionary service, something new home at Warwar as “the field of labor where Gilbert refers to as a "touching moment in my life.” 5
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our brother's need becomes our blessed opportunity.” 6 These stories serve as windows through which we see God's incarnation a bit more clearly: this generous, self-giving God who embraced creation, crossing the boundary between heaven and earth, to become a creature in a particular culture, place and time. Incarnation meant renouncing power and status, deliberately foregoing privilege, position and strength, to take on the form of a servant, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Incarnation involved the renunciation of wealth: born to Galilean peasants, placed to rest in an animal feed trough, and traveling about with His band of disciples with nowhere to lay his head at night. Incarnation meant the renunciation of immunity: a vulnerable exposure to danger, disease, hunger, thirst, sunburn, violence and ultimately death. God in the flesh did not wear a sterile space suit, but got dirty feet, was exposed to germs, viruses, grief and the searing pain of loss and suffering. Any sense of ease could be robbed by a power-hungry tyrant's tantrum, instantly forcing him to flee for refuge to a foreign land. Incarnation
meant an open-armed affirmation of humanity and its social constructs. Jesus learned to speak, read and write Aramaic, and probably a bit of Greek as well. He fully participated in the passages of life, the feasts, pilgrimages, wisdom, customs and celebrations of his Middle Eastern community. As an astute missionary communicator, this common frame of reference became the springboard for offering His invitation to share in the joy of kingdom life. TB Dr. Allan Effa is the Ray and Edith DeNeui Professor of Intercultural Studies at Taylor Seminary. He has lived and taught in countries around the world and is a life-long practioner of cross-cultural friendship. He lives in Edmonton with his wife, Karen. FOOTNOTES: The Social Principles of Jesus (NY: Grosset and Dunlop with the Women's Press, 1916), 75. 2 Proverbs of West Africa. Little Blue Book, no.505. (Girard, Kansas: Haldeman-Julius Company, 1924), 6. 3 Paul Gebauer, “The Pentecostal Field of the World” in The Baptist Herald. (April 1, 1935), pp. 101,104. 4 Susan Vogel, “The Gebauer Collection at the Metropolitan Museum” in Art of Cameroon, (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979) p. xiv. 5 Personal Interviews with Gilbert and Mildred Schneider, 1992 6 Gilbert and Mildred Schneider, “Our Reasonable Service” in The Baptist Herald, (September 1, 1947), pp. 6,7. 1
The Incarnation Across Cultures Two alumni reflect on this mystery in their ministries
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issionary Yuri Nakano (’91, ‘03), a Canadian who serves in Japan, says that the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation has the power to surprise audiences in Asia, even though incarnation and reincarnation are common beliefs.
“Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, believes that there are many gods and they can come in the forms of animals or trees...basically anything. So, the concept of God coming into the world in the person of Jesus may not be so surprising,” Yuri says. “What would be rather more surprising is the concept that there is only one Creator God and that He would embody one Man, Jesus.” She sees her ministry as incarnational because as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we become ambassadors of Christ. “The Church is the Body of Christ,” she says.” In our ministry here as missionaries, the goal is that the churches that we are trying to build do indeed become the presence of Christ in homes and communities. “ One of the ways the church plant in Komyo is displaying His hands and feet is by serving at a nearby seniors home. “I am personally getting involved in my community centre volunteering with seniors hoping that by my presence there, people will see Christ's Presence,” Yuri says. “But more importantly, I think it is just our ordinary daily lives and how we allow the Holy Spirit to have reign in our lives that is the best expression of incarnational living.” For Harold Roscher (’05) of Edmonton, he doesn’t remember thinking too much about the Incarnational until he was ministering to his fellow Cree. “For many Native people the idea that Jesus was sent by his Father is not a hard concept to understand,” he says.”It affirms the familial connection with Creator. So it is not such a radical idea.” Harold discovered that he had really only thought of Jesus as being born in the middle of history, but realized that “Christ was there right at the beginning of the world being created and this made sense in my Cree world and life view that God was always present in the world. When the baby Jesus was born was just a confirmation that God walks closely with His image-bearers and all of creation.” TB
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Incarnational Service & Ministry Preparation To be “Christ-minded” is to surrender privilege, to be willing to serve by Dr. David Williams
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n Philippians chapter three, Paul draws his readers’ attention to the privileged place he held within Judaism at the time when he came to see that Jesus was the Messiah. If anyone has means to boast, he says, I have more: …circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (Philippians 3:5-7) Paul knew that in recognizing that Jesus was Israel's Messiah he could no longer claim the privileged place he once enjoyed. (Given what we read in the New Testament and how difficult it was for some of Paul's fellow Jews to accept Gentile believers as equal participants in the New Covenant, we realize that this was no small feat.) Paul knew that in Christ there was new creation; the old things were gone and the new was here (2 Cor 5:17). Gone were the days when Jews were privileged over Gentiles, men privileged over women, the rich privileged over the poor, or the free privileged over slaves. The new creation had begun, and it was as if Jesus would turn the world upside down. Privilege and status is a seductive thing. It sneaks up on us and traps us when we're not paying attention. Throughout the pages of the New Testament we read about the struggle of the early
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Christians and their all too human tendency to find ways to exalt their own status, their own privilege, over against each other. In Galatia, their struggle was in not treating Gentiles as second class citizens, as if they had to become Jews before they could follow Christ. In Corinth, it was resisting cliques that were being formed according to who was baptized or taught by whom, especially when it was one of the important leaders of the church (1:12 …“I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Cephas, I follow Christ.”). Earlier in Philippi it was a more general tendency to privilege oneself by “taking care of number one.” Paul admonishes his readers to: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:3-7) “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit … value others above yourselves.” Strong words in the first century, they are hard for us to hear today. Paul goes on to say that they are to have the same mindset that was in Christ Jesus: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God
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something to be used to his own advantage…” I love this translation. (Not the least because I have argued for this translation in my Bible classes for at least 25 years!) I love that the NIV has used this phraseology and thus made it the standard reading for many Evangelical Christians. Older translations say equality was not a thing to be “exploited” or “grasped” but I didn't think this really got us to the right point. The NIV's translation does so much better: Jesus didn't consider equality with God “something to be used to his own advantage.” You see, being God has privileges. God sits atop the highest mountain, commanding the greatest respect, being the most important of all there is. You just don't get more privilege, status, and power than God. Yet Paul's hymn celebrates the reality that Jesus, who being in very nature God (thus showing us what God is REALLY like), didn't use all this status and privilege for His own advantage, but rather made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. It is so easy for us to overlook just what this means, that Jesus didn't use his equality with God to His own advantage. It's easy to overlook what it means for us to have the same mind as Jesus. We seldom see ourselves as privileged, or with status or power. We often see the privilege and status of others, especially those who have more than us. But our own privilege, we don't see. That's part of the problem in Philippi; the Christians there were blind to the way they were using what God had given them for themselves and not for others. They were looking after their own interests instead of the interests of others. And this is not the way of Jesus. PARTNERSHIP WITH CAMEROON Our mission here at Taylor is to develop Christminded leaders who make a difference in the world. Because of this, we think it is essential that we not only teach our students here “to have the same mind as that which was in Christ Jesus” but that, as an institution, we also have that mind. That is, we know that we must embody in our institutional life what we are teaching our students. One way we have attempted to live this out has been as we have renewed and deepened our relationship with seminaries in Cameroon and with the Cameroon Baptist Convention; this educational partnership also includes Sioux Falls Seminary and the NAB Conference. As many Evangelicals have become painfully aware of in the last number of
years, it is very easy for those in the West to partner with those in the majority world yet be blind to the way such helping can be a source of real harm. We have been very attentive to this reality as we have partnered in Cameroon. We have tried to enter into these new relationships recognizing that we are not the “Western experts” bringing all the answers, but rather that we too are looking for answers to our problems of promoting and advancing theological education. We take the posture that we have as much to learn from them as they do from us. We are very aware of the fact that many relationships between the majority world and the West create destructive forms of dependence that doesn't faithfully serve the majority world partner, the western partner, or the Kingdom of God. What we are striving to embody in our renewed educational partnership with the work in Cameroon is not really new for the NAB's work there. The NAB has taken this Christ-minded posture since the beginning of our work there climaxing in the transfer of total control of the ministry to the nationals as they were ready to take on that responsibility. This is truly an inspiring embodiment of the way of Jesus that all NABers should know about and rejoice over. The workers who laid the groundwork for that amazing story is told by Dr. Allan Effa in this issue of The Bridge. PARTNERSHIP WITH STUDENTS Another expression of our attempt to live out this model of Christ-mindedness has to with the educational model that informs what we do here. How do we make sure we are looking after the best interests of our students? One response has been to empower our students to have significant input into the things that impact their education. Rather than assuming we know what they need, we ask. For example, every semester we hold sessions with our students to ask them how we might better serve them and what we might do to make their experience at Taylor more rewarding for them. We have also made curricular revision that empowers students by giving them more say in the courses they take. As important as these forms of empowerment are, deeper curricular changes are being considered as well. Research shows students are invested in what they help create. Learning how to give students a greater role in creating their own educational path is a necessary but difficult job. It raises a number of significant and difficult issues such as the role of the
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faculty, the responsibility of students, and the preserving the institutional integrity of each. standards of accreditation, especially for Seminary Whenever two institutions work together as closely education. It difficult work but it's what we are as we are working with SFS, issues of power and called to do. privilege come into play. Many things impact the In the E P Wahl Centre we have much greater culture of the working relationship. SFS is much flexibility to empower those we are called to serve larger than Taylor, and the larger institution tends to to participate in the creation of the programs we dominate the culture, agenda, and decisions. SFS is offer to them. “Build it, and they will come” has in the US, and all of us are aware that the US culture been the traditional approach to program tends to dominate in relations to Canadian culture. development. The assumption behind that is “we How can this partnership not swallow up Taylor? know what you need and we are going to provide it One of the things that has been most confirming to for you.” We have rejected this approach in the me that the Spirit of God is leading this process has Wahl Centre. We have adopted a been the awareness of and more collaborative approach. sensitivity to these issues by the Rather than building programs leadership of SFS, particularly their “for” a particular community we President, Greg Henson. At every try to build programs “with” those stage of our conversation, we are called to serve. President Henson has been The result has been strong diligent to make sure that the way programs dealing with sabbatical we go forward empowers the preparation and ministry resilience ministry of Taylor in the best way for pastors, and support for church possible. For us to know that this administrative professionals. We is what God is doing, it must be have had high quality offerings for what is best for both institutions In a world that teaches us that addressing significant cultural and what is best for the Kingdom. you must first take care of issues such as interfaith dialogue, President Henson has yourself and make sure you end of life issues, and serving demonstrated that he has been protect what you have, it is a those with special needs in our deeply shaped by what Paul was powerful witness when those churches. These have been great trying to teach the Philippians, with power look not to their but collaboration is very time and that those who live by the Spirit of own interests but to the labour intensive. Jesus need not attend to their own interests of others. interests, but can earnestly pursue As an institution we are aware of what is best for the other. - Dr. David Williams the power we have— particularly in the lives of our students. Our In a world that teaches us that you desire is to faithfully use that which God has given must first take care of yourself and make sure you to us and to be diligent in making sure that we are protect what you have, it is a powerful witness doing our very best to use it to empower those when those with power look not to their own whom we are called to serve. interests but to the interests of others. That's what Paul was trying to get across to the Philippians. PARTNERSHIP WITH SIOUX FALLS That's what Taylor strives to embody in our As many of you know in recent years Taylor has interactions with others, and that's what Taylor has talked to several institutions about a partnership. experienced from others in relationship with us. Those conversations have included a wide variety of It's not a way of life that sounds wise: it sounds different ways of partnering and each time the pretty foolish. It opens us up to abuse, being taken Board was asked to discern where they sensed God advantage of, or even worse, to death. That's the was leading the institution for the next 75 years of risk for those who follow that man whose birth we ministry. celebrate at Christmas, who serve the God who What we have settled on is a partnership with our became flesh. TB sister NAB seminary in Sioux Falls. Since the Triennial in Sacramento in 2015, Taylor and Sioux Dr. David Williams is President of Taylor College and Seminary, Falls Seminary (SFS) have been working together in and Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics. a formal partnership that will bring the institutions Originally from Texas, he and his wife Jeanne have lived into as close a working relationship as we can while in Edmonton since 2004. Come and learn with us! 1.780.431.5200 | www.Taylor-Edu.ca
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The Word in Art: The Mystic Nativity Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece depicts Jesus’ birth (and more) by Tim Willson
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he two most famous scenes in the life of Jesus are His birth and his death. Each suggests the other in our theology, His birth necessary for sacrifice. Through the Renaissance era, patrons of art eagerly supported depictions of these two important events in the life of Christ, and many of these images are familiar to many. The Nativity has become especially familiar in our modern imaginations, as much through the ceramic, plastic or wood nativity sets that adorn homes and churches in December, and through Christmas. One of the great masterpieces of the Renaissance was something of a riddle until recently. Detective work by art scholars finally solved some longstanding puzzles about Sandro Botticelli's Mystic Nativity. Painted shortly before his death, the scene shows the infant Jesus in a manger, along with Mary and Joseph, ox and ass; it features a number of unknown figures, and a significant amount of text – some of which has only recently been seen using infrared technology. It has been discovered that this painting shows clear references to one of the great figures of the Reformation era, the fiery preacher Savonarola. The text on the scrolls and the imagery used (notably the ten crowns) are quotes from a sermon by Savonarola, and the story of this discovery was made into a BBC documentary. Savonarola was highly critical of corruption, within the church and without, and suffered greatly for his challenge to the powerful. He was an apocalyptic preacher, often stressing themes of judgment and of Christ's second coming; among the inscriptions in this painting are references to Revelation 12 and the birth of a child to a woman clothed with the sun. Botticelli inscribed the painting with this reference, and noted that he was painting it at the end of 1500 (Savonarola had been executed in 1498). The reference to Savonarola is now clear but other elements of the painting continue to mystify. Are the men embraced by angels at the bottom of the painting a reference to Savonarola and his fellow martyrs? Who are these figures?
PHOTO: Mystic Nativity (1500) was painted by Botticelli under the clear influence of Catholic reformer Savonarola.
Some elements within the painting might be more common to a painting of the Final Judgment and Christ's second coming. We see five demons impaled on their own weapons, and the devil buried. He lived in a troubled time, and Botticelli believed he was living in the time of the Great Tribulation. This nativity scene shows the meeting of heaven and earth. We have Christ at His coming (and possibly at His second coming) with angels descending, dancing and singing, wearing robes of green, white and red which mark them as angels of faith, hope and love. As Jesus reaches for his mother, she worships Him; in the foreground, angels embrace the people of earth. And we see evil fleeing at the sight. TB
justice) has been echoed throughout history but in Christ we see true righteousness/justice and glory, including through the shame and suffering of the cross. Gorman says the rhetorical climax of Romans comes in chapter 15 as Paul directs that believers be joined in welcome and worship.
Romans: a Missional Text Reading Paul’s epistle through new eyes by Tim Willson
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s a theological term, “theosis” has a little baggage. It refers to the process of taking on the attributes of God, and some Christians have warned that it could be misunderstood to mean that we become God (a heresy). Properly understood, though, theosis is simply the process of becoming Christlike/Godlike. For theologian Dr. Michael Gorman, this is an under-appreciated theme of the Book of Romans. In his new book Becoming the Gospel (Eerdmans, 2015), Dr. Gorman goes further; he suggests that theosis (becoming like God by participating in the life of God) forms a master-theme of Paul's epistle. He also makes the point that theosis is inherently missional: we are not merely to proclaim the Good News of God's righteousness/justice and glory in Christ, but we are also to become the Gospel of God's righteousness/justice and glory by participating in the life of God, as Christ did in the Incarnation. In one intriguing section, Gorman shows how dikiaosynē (righteousness/justice) and doxa (glory) were major themes of the Roman Empire. In a counter-cultural move, Paul makes theosis political: Christ's kingdom is God's work of restoring humanity's lost dikiaosynē (righteousness/justice) and doxa (glory), which looks nothing like Caesar's version. The Roman pseudo-gospel (of glory through might, of salvation by earthly leaders, of empires dispensing
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“…the Christological imperative and paradigm of Romans 15 is ultimately a theological (divine) imperative and paradigm,” he writes. “The cruciform hospitality to which Paul summons the church [in Rom. 15] is ultimately willed and effected by the Father who sent his Son into the world. To be like Christ is to be like God: to share God's desires and to do God's will.”
Gorman argues that the church is at the heart of Paul's letter, and a community which is becoming the gospel is the best form of evangelism. Jew and Gentile, called together by the will of God, exemplify the “cruciform hospitality” that Gorman describes as they welcome one another and worship together in unity, and as they serve together to extend the mission of God to the whole earth. Gorman suggests specific ways that we are to become like God/Christ, including showing exorbitant honour to one another, being patient in suffering, living in peace with others, and practising humility. Becoming the Gospel is filled with insights into how we ought to read Paul (especially the book of Romans) through missional eyes. It has been called a “superb and groundbreaking exegetical study” (Michael Barram) and “a tour de force in missional hermeneutics” (Dean Fleming). Dr. Gorman will join us on the Taylor campus for the 2017 E.P. Wahl Lectures, exploring the missional message of Paul's letter to the church in Rome. Taylor students have been using Gorman's book in the course of their studies in 2016, and we look forward to hosting him on March 17, 2017. The E.P. Wahl Lectures are not just for students, but for pastors, ministry practitioners, academics and anyone interested in learning from leading scholars. We welcome all who can join us. You can find out more and register online at www.Taylor-Edu.ca/Events. TB
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Alum Leads Sobering Blanket Exercise Harold Roscher (’02) helps students experience painful history
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aylor Seminary’s chapel service on October 13, 2016 was emotional. Students experienced Canadian history in a participatory parable, a blanket exercise in which the space available to move (or even stand) got smaller and smaller. Blankets covered the floor at the beginning but were folded into smaller and smaller sections, depicting the effect of shrinking territories on indigenous peoples. As participants were restricted to increasingly smaller parcels of land, others read quotations from actual laws, and from lawmakers about the intended effects of those laws – namely, genocide. This was in part a response by Taylor Seminary to the recent work of the Truth and Reconcilation Commission. This sobering chapel service was an effort to seek to understand and acknowledge the wounds that have been unjustly suffered by so many in Canada, and to pray and work for healing. We were privileged to be joined by the Minister of Indigenous Relations, Richard Feehan. He also presented a number of books to Taylor, and the school was pleased to present him with Dr. Goltz's history of Taylor For God and Truth and a copy of our devotional booklet, Strength for Today. TB
ABOVE: Harold Roscher (’02), centre, leads a ‘Blanket Exercise’ during a Chapel Service at Taylor Seminary. Blankets covered the floor at the beginning of the service to represent the land, but over time shrank into smaller sections to which participants were confined (below). The service was also attended by residential school survivors, and those present found the truth to be painful. October 13, 2016.
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ABOVE: Prof. Ed Link, as shown in the faculty section of the 1956 CTI Promoter (just a few years after accepting an invitation from Rev. E.P. Wahl to join the Christian Training Institute, now Taylor). LEFT: Professor Link will always be thought of in connection with the Choristers, the traveling student choir that criss-crossed North America over the years, ministering in churches and sharing the story of what God was doing through this school.
Remembering Prof. Ed Link Legendary choir director passes away in Edmonton
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e was just three years old when he met Rev. E.P. Wahl, but Ed Link’s life would be forever changed. Rev. Wahl was pastoring in Olds at the time, and he recognized the young boy’s enthusiasm and gift for singing. He encouraged Ed to sing, and even before he turned seven he heard his pastor’s prediction that he would someday lead the church choir (which he later did, while still in his teens). Years later, Pastor Wahl had left the church in Olds and founded the Christian Training Institute; he reached out to his former parishioner who, at 27 years of age, was pastoring Victoria Avenue Baptist Church in Regina. E.P. Wahl invited him to join the faculty as Professor of Music. Prof. Link served at CTI/NABC for 28 years, and led many tours across North America with the Choristers, the traveling choir that ministered and promoted the college. The Choristers performed for tens of thousands of people over the years and even recorded numerous albums. Prof. Link also taught a number of other subjects at CTI/NABC, including church history and missions. He stepped down in 1980, and began serving as an
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interim minister at a succession of local churches over the next dozen years. Edward had a close relationship with his former pastor and mentor (and boss). He wrote and published a biography of Dr. E.P. Wahl titled You Who Have Dreams, and he spent his retirement as successor to Dr. Wahl as chaplain at Salem Manor Nursing Home in Leduc. He was known as the “singing Chaplain” – no surprise, for he had been singing all his life. At his funeral at Greenfield Community Church in Edmonton, friends and colleagues such as Dr. Richard Paetzel, Rev. Peter Schroeder and Pastor Lloyd Kresier shared their memories of serving—and singing—with Ed. Another tribute was paid by Rev. Dieter Gohl, who has succeeded him as Chaplain at Salem Manor; he said that until the last days of his life, Ed wanted to know how things were going and how the residents were doing at Salem. Edward Link was married for 67 years to Violet, who survives him along with three children, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. TB
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News and Notes In Sympathy Elsewhere in this issue we paid tribute to Edward Link, whose service to Taylor (CTI/NABC) students spanned 27 years. (See pg.15) We note with sorrow the passing of Brian Stelck (’84), alumni and long-serving trustee (1994-2013) who was also President of Carey Theological College for many years. Brian was a champion of theological education, especially in western Canada and in Kenya, where he frequently traveled to teach. Gord Stork ('81) passed suddenly in Winnipeg this fall. Gord was the regional minister for the Northern Plains Region serving churches in Manitoba, Montana, North and South Dakota. He attended Taylor from 1980-81, and went on to graduate from Sioux Falls Seminary. Len Semrau passed away Sept 17/16; he was a former trustee of this institution, serving from 1973-1985. One of Taylor’s earliest students passed away this spring; Eleanor Stark (’42) of Camrose was 95. After attending CTI, Eleanor went on to become a nurse, and served on the mission field in India for over 20 years. Ben Breitkreuz (’58), originally from Onoway, AB, passed away in New Orleans in August. After attending CTI and the U of A, he earned his doctorate from Hebrew Union College in Ohio, and was a faculty member at Sioux Falls Seminary for a time. Anita Henkel (’56) of Calgary passed away suddenly in early December following a fall. She had many connections to Taylor, having attended CTI for two years. (Her sisters Manetta Hohn and Ellen Breitkreuz, and daughter Marlene Baerg are also alum.) She served in ministry with her first husband, Manfred Taubensee, serving NAB churches in Winnipeg, Lethbridge, Port Coquitlam, and Creston, as well as at Green Bay Bible Camp in West Kelowna. Ten years ago, following Manfred’s death, she married Rudy Henkel.
Births Joshuah Clayton (’09) and his wife Ashlea are celebrating the birth of their son, Patrick,
born on September 13th. Allan (’14) and Kathy Fiebich celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary in August with the birth of their daughter, Norah. Current Taylor Seminary student Edward Cho and his wife Maria announce the birth of their first child, Hara Abelia Cho, August 4, 2016. Michael and Rachel Swanberg (nee Weisenberger) (both ‘06) welcomed a son. Peter Emanuel was th born on Dec. 6 .
Marriages Congratulations to two recent students who have just become newlyweds. Rachel de Waal (’16) married Sonny Green this October in Calgary (if the cowboy hat didn’t give that away!). The couple live in BC. (Photo: © Kristy-Anne of Up and Away Studios)
Philip Chow (’11) married Regina Wu in Hong Kong in early December. Since earning his MDiv at Taylor Seminary, Philip has been serving in pastoral ministry in Hong Kong.
Alumni News Randell Loewen (’02) writes: “After serving 14 years at Hope Mission as a chaplain in Edmonton, my family (Kimberly and three children-William, Daniel and Abigail) and I have headed north to Yellowknife to pastor at Calvary Community Church (CBWC).” Rev. William ('93) and Sharon ('93) Leung recently moved back to Toronto after serving 15 years as the General Secretary of Alliance Global Serve, a crosscultural mission organization in Hong Kong. Gwen Bouchard (nee Stover) ('82) writes: “After living in various places in Canada and Europe, we have finally returned to live in Alberta after 28 years away!!” Just months after graduating with his MDiv from Taylor, Mark Dixon (’16) has accepted the call to become the new pastor at West Meadows Baptist Church, Edmonton, AB. Andrew Eising (’08) and his wife Grace celebrated their second (Canadian) wedding in August in Abbotsford. The couple were married earlier in the year in Korea. After serving with Operation Mobilization’s Mercy Ships for a number of years, Andrew is now studying at the Graduate School of International Studies at Korea University.
News and Notes, cont. from pg. 18
Faculty News
Ken Au (’96) has stepped down from pastoral ministry at Edmonton Community Christian Church (where he was also one of the founding members). He retired in February, and received his DMin in April of 2016. Jeff (’96) and Sonya Kilmartin have announced plans to join the NAB missionary team in Cameroon. They have been pastoring for twenty years, currently at Wiesenthal Baptist Church (Millet, AB). Their main work will be at Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary in Ndu, but they will also be working with the Fulbe people in West Africa. Brent Dunbar (’05) recently accepted the call to pastoral ministry at Snowdon Baptist Church in Montreal. Originally from Edmonton, Brent had been serving as senior pastor at Renfrew Baptist Church in Calgary, AB. (Brent is featured in this issue’s ‘Alumni Profile’ on pages 22-23.)
Dr. Randal Rauser’s newest book An Atheist And A Christian Walk Into A Bar was published in early December 2016. Rauser and coauthor Justin Schieber took part in a “Crucial Conversations” event at Taylor in 2015 about atheism and Christianity. This book is a lively continuation of that important conversation. “Imagine sitting at a table in your local bar or coffee shop and overhearing two smart, energetic, and creative thinkers go at it over the existence of the Jewish/Christian/Islamic god. ...Anyone who enjoys a hard-hitting but classy philosophical dustup will love this fun and informative book.” —Guy P. Harrison, author of 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian
Alumni Updates We invite you to share your news with us -marriages, moves, babies, careers... we want to note these important events! Please stay in touch by email: alumni@Taylor-Edu.ca. Telephone: 780-431-5200
New Patio Furniture Donated Contribution from Jubilee’rs helps students enjoy the outdoors
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arm weather wasn’t the only reason Taylor students spent extra time outdoors this fall. A gift of furniture from the Jubilee’rs (a seniors’ group loosely affiliated with Taylor) arrived just before the Fall Semester.
President of the Taylor Seminary Students Association, thanked the Jubilee’rs, telling them how important it is to know that students have the support of the wider community. TB
Cast concrete tables and benches were delivered and installed in August. As sunny September (and even October) lingered, students were often seen having lunch or studying on the patio. Greg Garbutt,
ABOVE: Students gather on the patio at Taylor Seminary, enjoying the gift of new tables and benches provided by the Jubilee’rs (alumni and friends of Taylor). LEFT: Delivery and installation of the furniture before classes began.
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PHOTOS: 1-2. Attendees at the 2016 Church Administrative Professionals Symposium (CAPS), enjoying some after-lunch humour with a performance by Canadian comic Leland Klassen. | 3-4. At the CAPS event, Jessica Bender of Leduc provided some health and fitness tips to workers who find themselves sitting in the church office all day. | (Photos 5-9 from onWORD 2016) 5. Dr. Vern Peters leading an exploration of scripture in Edmonton’s river valley. 6. Keynote speaker Rob Loane addressing the theme, Keeping Company with God. 7. Dr. Preston Pouteaux used a series of paintings to guide our exploration of the Scriptures. | 8. Pastor Daunavan Buyer (right) and his team, leading worship at onWORD 2016. | 9. During a session on contemplation, a delegate found a quiet spot outside in the October sunshine. | 10. Students gather for prayer during a chapel service at Taylor Seminary. | 11. The Radke Brass Ensemble, performing at the Jubilee’rs gathering in September at Taylor. The ensemble includes brothers Rudi and Herb Radke(’74 and ‘94), cousin Curt Radke (all Taylor alumni) and Marty Hayes (Herb's pastor in Athabasca, AB). | 12. One of the early chapel services during the Fall Semester 2016 at Taylor dealt with the topic of joy. Incoming student Miranda Sutherland of Jamaica (standing) was among those who shared a recent experience of joy.
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Alumni Profile - Brent Dunbar (’05, MDiv) Student: 2002-2005, MDiv program (full-time), with a concentration in Pastoral Leadership Hometown: Edmonton, AB Presently Serving: Snowdon Baptist Church, Montreal, QC
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ccording to Google, it is 3,589 kilometres from Renfrew Baptist Church to Snowdon Baptist Church. In some ways, it seems much farther than that, as Taylor alumnus Pastor Brent Dunbar (’05) and his family have been finding out. Renfrew is located in Calgary, within sight of the Rocky Mountains. Snowdon is located in Montreal. Both are Baptist churches (Renfrew is an NAB congregation, Snowdon is affiliated with the Fellowship Baptists), and both are English-speaking churches. But the context, as you might expect, is very different. So, leaving a pastoral position in Calgary to become the senior pastor at a church in Quebec is not a decision to be made lightly, but it’s a great ministry adventure. We spoke with Brent recently (via email) to hear more about his journey since graduating from Taylor Seminary more than a decade ago. Brent was a professional musician, a drummer, when a growing ministry involvement in his church led him to enroll at Taylor Seminary. *Can you take us back to the beginning of your ministry journey – How did you first understand God's call on your life to serve in pastoral ministry? It was around 1995, when April and I were freshly married. Our pastor at the time became terminally ill, resulting in his having to reduce many of his duties as a full-time pastor. Some of us lay-types were then called upon to step up into various roles, and to make a long story short, that is when I first had opportunity to preach in front of a congregation, and lead an adult Sunday school class, etc. The congregation confirmed a giftedness that they saw in me, and eventually the fulfilment I experienced in serving the church grew to the point where seminary studies became a desired 'must.' After three great years at Taylor, I entered into the role of Sr. Pastor at the first church we served, Fellowship Baptist in Fort Saskatchewan. Previous to the “pastoral journey” I had worked as a professional musician. What was your student career like? We decided, with our young family, to jump in fulltime and earn the M.Div. in a three year period (back when it was 96 credits). That plan was
undertaken, and we managed to stick to it! During that period I was serving as a part-time Young Adults leader at Calvary Community Church. The three years at Taylor were some of the best of my life. It Pastor Brent Dunbar (’05) is adjusting was a tremendous to ministry in a very different part of time of growth, Canada, having just moved from relationship(s), and Calgary to Montreal. challenge. What are some of the Taylor moments, big or small, that you remember fondly, or which now strike you has having had a lasting influence in your life and/or in your ministry? So many people (both professors and students) had a lasting impact on my life and ministry! One particular life-changing aspect of my time at Taylor was that Dr. Jerry Shepherd introduced me to the field of Biblical Theology, and ever since I have been a hopeless BT addict! In fact, I am just now finishing my D. Min. at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and my concentration is none other than Biblical Theology! (Thanks a lot, Dr. Shepherd ). That particular branch of theology has shaped my preaching ministry especially, and I am more convinced than ever that a biblical-theological diet is needed greatly in contemporary congregations. (My D.Min. thesis title is: “Preaching the Book of Exodus: Developing Servants, Missionaries, and Worshipers” . . . last I checked it will end up being about 211 pages. Whew!) *Was your time at Taylor significant in your ministry journey? 100 %, yes. I rank those three years as some of the most formative, important years in my tutelage as a servant and pastor. *It can’t have been easy to leave your ministry role at Renfrew Baptist. What are some highlights from your tenure in Calgary. I have so many memories. I suppose the hardest
ABOVE: Pastor Brent Dunbar (’05) with a farewell selfie at Renfrew Baptist. TOP RIGHT: Induction service for Brent as senior pastor at Snowdon Baptist Church, December 4, 2016. RIGHT: The Dunbar family: Brent holding Ezra, with Autumn, Silas and April.
thing about leaving Renfrew was saying goodbye to the many good friends we had. Of course we will maintain long-distance relationships, but there's nothing like being able to see one another face to face over coffee or at the church. I also miss being so close to the church! In Montreal I have a 1.5 hour transit commute to the church building, whereas in Calgary we lived next door to the church, in the parsonage. The transition from pastoral ministry in Alberta to Quebec is not common – How did that come about? What about this opportunity grabbed your heart? Of course we did not enter into the decision lightly, to move to Montreal. As is typical with many churches, the interview/candidating process lasted for many months, and we wrestled with our decision right up until the end of the process. But the main “draw” for us, I would say, was both the Christ-like warmth, and the multi-ethnic makeup of the congregation, the latter being part of the ministry “DNA” of my wife April and I since our experience at Edmonton Community Worship Hour, when we first met. We always dreamed of serving in a church where the nations were literally gathered to worship, and at Snowdon Baptist, that was already happening. In fact, as Caucasians we are certainly in the minority! We love the people at Snowdon, and we look forward to the many missional opportunities that will arise naturally with such a demographic. How has this adjustment been for your family? For our family transitioning into Quebec, there have
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been definite ups and downs. Particularly for Ezra, Autumn and Silas (our three children, aged 9, 11, and soon-to-be 16), the change has been a real challenge. The French language and school curriculum are very different than what they had grown accustomed to in Alberta. I have also found the bureaucracy in Quebec, at the level of government, to be challenging in many ways. There are lots of other little things, some of which are admittedly quite inconsequential: *No right turns on red lights within Montreal, but it's okay everywhere else in Quebec * No four-litre milk jugs here (missed dearly by our family. Haha!) * No 7-11s anywhere to be seen * We live on the west island of Montreal, in Pierrefonds, which has many English-speaking people. I've noted that there is an increasing level of ‘Francophone-ness’ further east (within city limits) * Maple syrup is ubiquitous, as are maple trees * At Tim Hortons, there is no strawberry cream cheese, a treat that I used to have on my cinnamonraisin bagels while we lived in Alberta! * Our kids's history homework is quite Quebec-andFrance-centered * Stop signs are everywhere in Montreal! * The process to register an out-of-province vehicle is very complicated and expensive in Quebec * On all government and legal documentation in Quebec, married women must sign their maiden names, which is quite different Having said all that, April and I have always understood ourselves to be missionaries to our own nation, and what better area in Canada could one undertake such activity? Even though Quebec is a hard place in many ways, characterized by a suspicion of the church and (in some cases) disdain for the church, we are willing to serve God here and dig in for the gospel until he says otherwise. We appreciate your prayers so much! TB
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ABOVE: At the close of a workshop on Special Needs and the Church, presenter and special education specialist Jodi Graf stops for a quick photo. November 19, 2016.
Special Needs Workshop a Sellout Fifty people from churches across Alberta gather to discuss and learn
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rowing out of the last edition of The Bridge was a sense that our discussion about the topic of special needs ought to continue. The magazine prompted positive feedback from various quarters, and it was even featured as a recommended resource in a Christian Education publication for the Evangelical Mennonite Conference (pictured at right). After readers expressed an interest in exploring the issue further, the E P Wahl Centre hosted a workshop on the topic. Jodi Graf, a special education consultant who contributed one of the articles to the magazine, led the workshop. The discussion started with the role of the church in the ministry of healing and wholeness, and time was spent discussing the barriers to participation by those with physical or cognitive challenges. The workshop was designed to allow discussion, and
the question that warranted extensive consideration was thinking specifically about the opportunities for ministry. A number of delegates attended as part of a ministry team, but even those who came along from their church were given time to think about a vision for ministry. Practical suggestions and action steps were presented, and there was a sense of renewed vision. Many of those in attendance had a personal connection to disability, either personally or in their family. Each person who attended was given a DVD containing an interview with Dr. Heidi Janz, whose story was featured in spring issue of The Bridge, along with a discussion guide. There are plans for a more extensive resource dealing with special needs (available in 2017) as Taylor seeks to continue to encourage this important ministry effort. TB
New DVD and Devotional Publication Available by Suzanne Van Herk
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or over a year, Taylor has been compiling devotionals written by our alumni for a oneyear daily devotional book project. Last year, we created a 30-Day devotional as a sampler that is in its third printing, and we are pleased to announce the release of Volume 2 of Strength for Today (sampler) from the submissions we've received so far. It is taking longer to compile and finalize the one-year book than we thought, partly because we've had a hard time generating content – 365+ devotionals is a lot to collect! We are still looking for more submissions, and anyone is welcome to submit – God teaches us all powerful lessons worth sharing to edify and challenge His Church in truth. Those of you who speak or preach often likely have great stories and insights you could share, even already written down to send in! For more information on the devotional format and submitting, please contact me (contact information follows). To give you a “teaser”, one of my favourite quotes is the words of Barry Kossowan from Day 6 of the book: “I fail God daily! Hourly! And Satan is always ready to tell me I don't measure up – that I'm worthless in God's eyes. But I remember that God's love is perfect: I can do nothing to earn it and nothing to lose it.” Hallelujah! This book is full of wonderful reminders. Pick up your own copy of the newest sampler, as well as extras for family, friends, neighbours – they make wonderful Christmas gifts. They are available from the General Office, or you can request copies by mail. There is no cost, but if you'd like to help cover the printing and shipping fees, please feel free to do so. As mentioned, we continue to solicit contributions to the full year-long devotional. We need more than 150 more submissions, and we are hoping to hear from those willing to participate before the end of
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January 2017. You can write on any topic but we ask that entries be connected to a passage of scripture and meet the guidelines for length and format. To learn more, email me directly at suzanne.vanherk@taylor-edu.ca, and thanks for considering this opportunity to share your insights with the wider Taylor community. SPECIAL NEEDS INTERVIEW/DISCUSSION GUIDE Taylor recently released a DVD with discussion guide on the topic of Special Needs and the Church. This follow-up to the Spring 2016 edition of The Bridge includes a 28-minute interview with Dr. Heidi Janz, and is an excellent resource for churches and ministry teams. The accompanying study guide will facilitate group discussion about the ministry opportunities that exist in our communities, and helps volunteers and church ministry teams think deeply about the physical, programmatic and relational barriers faced by those with special needs. Response to the Spring 2016 issue of The Bridge was very positive, pointing to an eagerness by churches to engage with this issue. This interview with Dr. Janz is important as she shares her share her experiences and insights with humour and passion and we pray that its impact will be significant. Request a copy by email (Info@Taylor-Edu.ca) or by phone (1-800-567-4988). Again, there is no charge for these resources, thanks to the generous financial support from people like you who share our vision for theological education. TB Suzanne Van Herk serves in the Communications Department at Taylor College and Seminary. Photos: Strength for Today Sampler, Vol. 2, now in print. Vol. 1 of this devotional series is also still available, now in its third printing. Special Needs and the Church: a Visit with Dr. Heidi Janz is a new DVD designed for group discussion by ministry teams and practitioners.
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26 Since Graduation: A Note from Jon Pettinger (’15) Since I graduated from Taylor I have continued to serve as pastor of Melville Baptist Church, I continue to preach and teach and walk with “my people” through the joys and sorrows of life—and occasionally through the valley of the shadow of death as well. Perhaps the most significant change in the last year has been that assignments and school projects no longer take up space on my calendar. While I can't say that I miss the work of being a student I certainly do miss the steady and positive influence of good teaching and deep conversations that Taylor provided.
ABOVE: Jonathan Pettiger giving the Valedictorian Address during the 2015 Taylor Seminary Graduation Service.
Looking back, I can see that my final week at Taylor—studying Ethics under Dr. Williams—was one of the most formative times of my life. I say this because two significant decisions were made as a result of this week of study. First, my family and I are working towards becoming a foster family. (The process is slower than we might like and includes stops and starts as our file is shuffled from one desk to another but, the room is ready and the door is open for the child that God allows us to welcome!) Second, my church has partnered with the Mennonite Central Committee to sponsor a refugee family. Again, we find ourselves ready (or at least we think we are!), waiting and trusting God's timing. Please pass along warm greetings and my thanks to the Taylor staff for their faithful ministry. May the Peace of Christ be with you! Jonathan Pettinger Pastor, Melville Baptist Church Melville, SK
White Cross Volunteer Honoured for Long Service We who do White Cross work at Bethany Baptist Church wanted to put an article in The Bridge highlighting a lady who has done White Cross work for 62 years now. Katie Blessin is in her 90`s, and still brings in completed items, especially baby jackets, almost every week. Katie became involved in the White Cross ministry at Bethany when it first started in 1954, and she is still sewing. She is pictured here with the President of our Women’s Ministries, Heather Senges, who is presenting her with a small framed memento depicting 60 years of White Cross work. Who knows how many baby jackets, diapers, blankets, etc. that Katie has sewn over the years? Thank you Katie, may God bless you. Joan Rompf Bethany Baptist Church (Richmond, BC) TB As part of the E P Wahl Centre, White Cross Canada works with churches to provide medical supplies to West Africa.
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UPCOMING EVENTS Taylor extends a warm welcome to all who can join us for some of our upcoming educational offerings. Jan. 11: REACH Capital Campaign Dessert Night at Taylor Feb. 8: Turbulence: Navigating Church Conflicts with Grace Feb. 15: Sabbatical Preparation Workshop Feb. 22: CAPS Lunch and Learn Mar. 17: E.P. Wahl Lectures (Dr. Michael Gorman) May 16: Building Healthy Church Staffs May 30-June 2: THRiVE! 2017 June 23-30: Parish Nursing Institute 3 2 nd A N N U A L
E.P. Wahl Lectures
March 17, 18, 2017 2016
READING
E.P. Wahl Lectures March 17, 2017
Dr. Michael Gorman’s work on reading the writings of St. Paul missionally has generated a great deal of interest and conversation. Taylor is pleased to welcome this esteemed scholar as he explores the Epistle to the Romans through Dr. Michael J. Gorman new eyes. Highly relevant! The 2017 Wahl Lectures will be recorded and posted online at www.Taylor-Edu.ca/AudioArchives
ROMANS
MISSIONALLY a one-day lecture series featuring
Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary
THRiVE (Camp Caroline) May 30-June 2, 2017
the Wahl Centre at Taylor presents
We invite pastors and spouses to join us for this special retreat at Camp Caroline. THRiVE! offers teaching, discussion and personal reflection on the five key areas that contribute to resilience in ministry.
2 0 1 7 part of the Healthy Pastors Initiative
Parish Nursing Institute June 23-30, 2017 The E P Wahl Centre is launching a major new initiative aimed at providing training and credentials for individuals and churches that want to deepen their ministry of hope and healing through parish nursing. More details will be announced soon, but interested parties should save the date (June 23-30). Plan to join us at Taylor for this rich week of intensive learning. REGISTER ONLINE: www.Taylor-Edu.ca/Events Downstream of Downtown, Edmonton, AB. December 2, 2016. Photo by Tim Willson.
SAVE THE DATE:
NAB TRIENNIAL
Edmonton, AB | July 26-29, 2018
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HOPE (2015), by Teresa Petovar Pencil on Paper, 4” X 6”
ABOUT THIS IMAGE Hope was the result when visual artist Teresa Petovar began thinking about the meaning of Christmas. Jesus pre-existed His birth,” she says, “but it was in His Incarnation that we gained the opportunity for a new relationship with Him. So it is in Jesus’ coming that we have hope, and that’s why I drew them together in this image.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in Portugal, Teresa Petovar has lived in Edmonton for over 30 years. She learned to paint from her aunt (and godmother) who is a well-known Portuguese artist and nun. Teresa’s art is often whimsical, featuring cats, owls, penguins and other creatures, and she loves to share her work to make others happy.
Taylor alumni are invited to submit photographs, paintings and other visual art projects for publication or display on campus. Learn more at www.Taylor-Edu.ca/creative
11525 - 23 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6J 4T3