The Semi Spring 2014.2
VOLF + WRIGHT
Semi-Coherent
Editor’s Notes
Playing a word guessing game during Christmas-time, a friend of mine tried to lead me and another friend to the answer of “Santa Claus:” “This guy is coming to town!” In high-pitched excited unity, my other friend and I both shouted, “N.T. WRIGHT!” This really captures the general fervor on campus when the last week of April/ first week of May is brought up in conversation. No one can quite suppress their excitement about Miraslov Volf or N.T. Wright; copies of Exclusion and Embrace or Jesus and the Victory of God are cropping up everywhere. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Volf or Wright—I knew neither name before coming to Fuller—this SEMI will hopefully whet your appetite. Dr. Carolyn Gordon, chair of our preaching department, has a piece that highlights the importance of Volf for the contemporary church, while Art Bamford, SOT Graduate Union Co-President, has an interview with Wright that give us glimpses of the lectures to come. In addition to this treasure-trove for us theology nerds, there is an important interview in these pages that highlights Earth Day (April 20th). The interview is with Vanessa Carter, a new student at Fuller, who works in the field of environmental justice, a beautiful blend of environmentalism, grassroots activism, and social justice. Check out the interview for what the future of evangelicals in environmentalism should look like. As always, this magazine is here to provoke reflection and conversation that will form us into better leaders for the church and the world. We pray that it may be effective.
Reed Metcalf, Editor *Cover image: Saint Peter and Saint Paul. Oil on canvas by El Greco. circa 16th-century. *Background image: St. Paul at his Writing Desk. Oil on canvas by Rembrandt. circa 17th-century.
The SEMI
Managing Editor Carmen Valdés Editor Reed Metcalf Production Editor Jonathan Stoner
Letters to the Editor
The SEMI welcomes brief responses to articles and commentaries on issues relevant to the Fuller community. All submissions must include the author’s name and contact information and are subject to editing.
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Legal Jargon
The SEMI is published every other week as a service to the Fuller community by the Office of Student Affairs at Fuller Theological Seminary. Articles and commentaries do not necessarily reflect the views of the Fuller administration or the SEMI.
Write for Us
You read that correctly. Email us at semi@fuller.edu to add your voice to the SEMI.
Wo r d P l a y Published Works by Volf +Wright (No fooling around this time.)
E C O K T W Z X R O P E S E D W V V W I X T K F O E O N B Z
D V W E B R X R B D D U W J M H I F U X P H L P T R O S O G
D O G F O Y R O T C I V E H T D N A S U S E J Y L P M I S Q
M C G N I K E M A C E B D O G W O H V P K R S U E E E F D J
U L F F B V F I W Z P L N G B Z F H K A S E C I X J B O I D
P U Z I O S H F E C A R B M E D N A N O I S U L C X E B H S
R O C C O S M X X T T C L Z D W K F X I F U X R Z N W K S O
W Z T E A P S A G B O R J T F M Q E Q P M R P K E B C O L T
D Z D Y R O M E M F O D N E E H T O O R T R L Y C X L N I S
G R P C H X E M N D K F H U Y G Z I R Q C E K G Y K T O C B
Z Q H L O A J I X L S T K A Y K R J C A F C S B R R M D A M
S X H P V W G A A V U S P X Q X L A D H L T F A F Y H W G H
Y A G J Z J N I G C Y F S I D P Q I H O F I T Z B M D G U J
J S F R E V I L A N D T H E J U S T I C E O F G O D H J Z Q
1. AFTER OUR LIKENESS 2. AGAINST THE TIDE 3. ALLAH 4. A PUBLIC FAITH 5. CAPTIVE TO THE WORD OF GOD 6. EVIL AND THE JUSTICE OF GOD 7. EXCLUSION AND EMBRACE 8. FREE OF CHARGE 8. HOW GOD BECAME KING 9. JESUS AND THE VICTORY OF GOD
L M X G F T I R I P S E H T N I K R O W F N L U A I I S V M
B U H M I A S R N R R P U D I E I K A J V O B Z T E P G W Q
Y H A B V P Y N S O K O K V Y A K Z K Z X F E F F R S Z G Q
J B Y X J U B C T B W H Y H S C F I T I C T W E R M B B D E
M W X Y J B U F T H F Y O D H K W E L B U H W W R Y R H Y F
Z I Y S A L L A H B C B T Z M W I S H R J E F Z Q F Q Y B M
C U Q N J I C V E A T D S T H H N J V T U S Q X Z A R B D A
J P T B O C A P T I V E T O T H E W O R D O F G O D L O E I
H S U H U F R U I D E S A G X R H L B H S N R D S N C X B Y
K V R Q I A N O D S Q I P G H A M C F E S O A E X A Z G E A
S G O G C I T M E Q X R W C E C Z I U U Z F W L T H C A T R
I J U N X T J L U T J P R J J M A D S U F G W M U F Y J X E
P Y I W P H S A B W M R N U L P M P Y B G O L L C A A R M L
G S H X Q G D V L L K U G V N B Z D I F L D S X H E P I P P
Z L H O E E T U T F U S P B D W T Y G Z L K T A R P P O T U
E W F Q T W Z F N Y C R M T S W O J Z O S C G I H P W I E E
10. PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD 11. SIMPLY JESUS 12. SURPRISED BY HOPE 13. THE END OF MEMORY 14. THE RESURRECTION OF THE SON OF GOD 15. WORK IN THE SPIRIT
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y ller Fu inar Sem
The Writing Center We
all know that good writing takes work, but writing in a seminary setting has its peculiar difficulties. Theological research and writing is based on the assumption that while our words might seem as thin as chaff, they can still be used to say something meaningful about God, Christ, and where our lives are going. Writing at seminary, we can write our way into unexpected epiphanies or labyrinths of jargon. So our words—and the responsible use of them—become more important than we might realize. It reminds me of what the poet Charles Wright said about words:
“I used to think the power of words was inexhaustible, That how we said the world was how it was and how it would be. I used to imagine that wordsway and word-thunder would silence the Silence and all that, that words were the Word, that language could lead us inexplicably to grace, as though it were geographical. I used to think these things when I was young. I still do.”
The
night before a paper is due, it’s hard to see the greater spiritual purpose in citations and a title page. But if our words can somehow “lead us inexplicably to grace,” then we must make sure our words—even our commas—lead us in the right direction.
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This
is why the Fuller Writing Center is a service offered at this seminary. We exist to empower students throughout the writing process: from the first steps of research to grammar and footnotes, from brainstorming to precise theological writing. We work with international students, PhD students, psychology students, and anyone else looking for guidance as they write. Whether you’re drowning in exegesis or looking for pointers to boost that B+, we would love to work with you.
We
offer workshops every quarter, we can proofread your paper online, and we are happy to meet with you in our office on the third floor of the library. Look in the SEMI for an offer for a free session, and please contact us if you have any questions. We see ourselves as stewards of language on behalf of Fuller, and we look forward to helping you in your writing in whatever direction it may lead.
Michael Wright, Managing Editor email: writingcenter@fuller.edu website: writingcenter.fuller.edu phone: (626) 584-5431
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FREE Writing Center
Consultations for first-time students! That’s right!
If you’re a timid soul who’s never used our services, we want to give you your very own and very FREE thirty-minute online or office consultation. We exist to empower students in every stage of the writing process—whether you are a minister catching up to academic standards, a psych student trying to escape the valley between A- and B+ grades, or an international student frustrated with English grammar, we want to help. To redeem this offer, schedule a consultation at writingcenter.fuller.edu and write TRIAL in the “Additional Questions or Comments” section. Have any ques-
tions? You can email us at writingcenter@fuller.edu. *If you’ve had two or more consultations, you can benefit from this offer as well. For every student you refer to us, we’ll credit thirty minutes to your account!
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An interview with Bishop N.T. Wright March 27th, 2014 By Art Bamford
N.T. Wright might be the foremost biblical scholar of our era. The former Bishop of Durham has produced a massive amount of writing of the highest caliber. Just as impressive is his heart for the church herself; Wright’s work is firstly for the community of God over the academy, though his writing stands among the greatest in the academic field. His trip to Fuller is in the wake of publishing the fourth volume in his Christian Origins and the Question of God series, the monumental Paul and the Faithfulness of God. An incredible 1500 pages of examining the Apostle to the Gentiles, Wright’s newest book is being hailed as a landmark in Pauline studies. The conference at Fuller will see Wright offer us fresh perspectives on Paul and implications for the people of God in the present day. Here, Fuller’s Art Bamford (MDiv ’15) interviews Wright about Volf, Paul, and what the Epistle to the Angelinos might have looked like.
Art Bamford : Your upcoming vis- N.T. Wright : it looks like it will be an interesting mix of lecturing, preaching, panel discussions, worship, and so on. I was hoping you could share a bit about how you have been preparing to be our featured guest. Are there any unifying themes or ideas that you hope will stand out during this time? As someone who will both present and participate is there anything that you yourself are hoping to take away from the conference?
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My hope is that we will be able to focus on the major themes of Paul’s writing as I have set them out in my new book, Paul and the Faithfulness of God. Despite the length of this book I always learn new things when discussing the issues with others and I look forward to that happening here. But the main thing is that I hope to hold out to people a new way of looking not only at what Paul said but at why he said it – what made Paul, effectively, invent this thing we now call
Interpreting Paul for the
Future World of the
‘Christian Theology’. It wasn’t just that he wanted to teach people certain truths; it
strongly with our contemporary culture than they perhaps have in the past?
“Every generation brings its own perspective to Paul, and that’s right and proper as long as we then allow Paul to reshape our questions and force us to think differently about them, rather than us forc\ ing Paul to speak to the issues we imagine he should have done!” was that he wanted to teach them how to become mature in their Christian thinking and hence living, being ‘transformed by the renewal of the mind’ as he says.
AB:
The title of the conference is “Interpreting Paul for the Future of the World.” Could you tell me a bit about what initially sparked your interest in Paul? Are there certain things about Paul’s life and writings that you think resonate more
NTW :
Every generation brings its own perspective to Paul, and that’s right and proper – as long as we then allow Paul to reshape our questions and force us to think differently about them, rather than us forcing Paul to speak to the issues we imagine he should have done! I have been interested in Paul since teenage years when we had endless debates about predestination, justification, ethics, holiness and so on . . . Romans 7 and Romans 9-11
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always loomed large, and they still do, though I now read them very differently. Our contemporary culture has rightly been concerned about the NT’s teaching on Jews and Judaism in the light of the horrible events of the twentieth century, and clearly Paul has a lot to say about that – but again we have to beware of making
NTW :
Any pastoral and preachingministry desperately needs to be solidly grounded in scripture. In my own view, though people of any faith or none can study the New Testament, there is a sense that this is a text (like a musical score) not just to be studied but to be performed. That’s not to say that the performers always understand it very well; an academ-
“In my own view, though people of any faith or none can study the New Testament, there is a sense that this is a text (like a musical score) not just to be studied but to be performed.” him answer our questions. We have also had a massive new interest, and rightly so, in discovering how the church can truly be for ‘Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female’, and Paul’s vision of a different type of community, often obscured in previous readings, has now come to the fore. But again in order to see what he’s really getting at you have to understand the underlying shape and structure of his theology, and that’s at the heart of what I hope this conference will be doing.
AB: A number of Fuller students wres-
tle with whether to pursue a vocation in ministry, in higher education, or in something that will allow them to split the difference somehow. Many of my classmates and I appreciate, and have been inspired by, how you are able to navigate between these two seemingly disconnected worlds, and maintain a comparable level of respect in both. Is there any advice you would give to those of us struggling to decide which direction to turn after Fuller, and hoping to eventually follow a path similar to your own?
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ic musician may understand a Beethoven sonata better than an amateur performer. But ideally it ought to be a fusion of the two. The American church and academy both conspire to keep the activities separate, and indeed the demands of time, family, energy and so on may mean that comparatively few people will be able to do both very thoroughly. There are always compromises, as I know only too well. But ideally at least holding the serious study of Bible and Theology together with the serious practice of pastoral, preaching and teaching ministry ought to be a regular aim.
AB: Many students are particularly ex-
cited that you will be joining Miroslav Volf, whose visit to Fuller this spring happened to overlap with your own, for a panel discussion moderated by President Labberton. I am curious what your familiarity is with Volf ’s work and/or with him personally prior to this upcoming visit? Are there any specific topics or ideas that you are eager to discuss with him?
NTW :
I have enjoyed Volf ’s work, especially his stunning Exclusion and Embrace. We have worked together on Christian-Muslim dialogue. I will be eager to see how his reading of my work might stimulate fresh thought on both specific topics of dogmatic theology (e.g. Christology, justification and so on), and on the question of the relationship between biblical and dogmatic theology as a whole.
AB:
Hopefully students will already know a bit about the topic of your upcoming presentations here but I was hoping to get a kind of sales pitch directly from you. Every Fuller student needs to attend these events because…
NTW :
…because, I hope, we will together be discovering a larger, and somewhat different, portrait of Paul than what
NTW :
For Paul two things were paramount: the unity of the church and its holiness. (These are both deeply Jewish concepts.) Paul would be horrified at the way we have cheerfully colluded with various kinds of disunity. For him, the only disunity he could envisage would be that caused by immorality and unholiness in the church – in other words, by a paganization of the message and movement. We have exchanged his ‘unity’ for a loose ‘tolerance’, and his ‘holiness’ for a general bland niceness. Paul would suspect that this is because we have lost our grip on the meaning of the Messiah’s cross and resurrection themselves; in other words, that these are, in his language, ‘gospel’ issues. The gospel is always scandalous to some and nonsense to others, and he would remind us of the need to embody a different
“Paul would be horrified at the way we have cheerfully colluded with various kinds of disunity.... We have exchanged his ‘unity’ for a loose ‘tolerance’, and his ‘holiness’ for a general bland niceness.” we are normally used to – a portrait which should set ideas flowing in fresh directions for preaching, pastoral ministry, and theology. I believe a new study of Paul, the church’s first theologian, should always be near the centre of any fresh appropriation and living-out of the gospel.
AB:
If you were to imagine Paul writing a letter to the churches in Los Angeles what do you think he would want to focus on, and to say to this, or any modern city, in particular?
vision of society, culture and human life from what we find all around us – not to escape the challenge of being human in the world, but precisely because God’s new world has come into existence in Jesus the Messiah and we are called to be part of that, to be the good news of which we speak. +
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N A I T S I a CHR on E V I T C E P S R PE E
L A T N E M N O R I NV
E C I T S JU
An interview with Vanessa Carter By Reed Metcalf
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“There is little doubt that the world is in environmental trouble. From worldwide over-fishing of sharks to soup-thick smog in Beijing, global warming to a plastic refuse pile the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, most people know that we have plenty of environmental challenges to tackle. Many don’t feel accessible to the Average Jane or Joe, however. Vanessa Carter, an employee at USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), works with programs that focus on making issues of environmentalism addressable by local communities. I got to speak to her about her work, her studies, and the God Who calls us to love the earth, our neighbor, and our cities.” -Reed Metcalf, Editor
Reed Metcalf :
dens of pollution the most. What is your role there and what sort of issues do you deal with?
Vanessa Carter:
Environmental justice is one of the areas of focus on along with regional equity and immigrant integration. We do that work with social-movement organizers—for example… Barack Obama was a social-movement organizer. Environmental justice is a part of that work, and you’re right—it’s strongly connected to those with fewer economic resources, but the stronger correlation is between environmental injustice and race/ethnicity. For instance, a more affluent African-American is more likely to be subject to environmental injustice than a white person of the same income level.
What are you up to at fuller and how did you end up here? I’m in the Certificate of Christian Studies program. I have been working for 7 years in a research organization that does research for community-based organizers in the areas of immigration, environmental justice, social-movement building, and regional equity. It’s a secular organization. My incredible supervisors and directors have given me the go ahead to connect with faithbased organizers to consider the faith side of these issues. At a certain point, I said, “I came to this work because of Jesus, because of the church,” and I wanted to make sure to stay rooted in why I was doing this in the first place. I had a conversation with my mentors, Erica and Robert Romero—Robert is a professor at UCLA and had just started his Masters of Theology here at Fuller—and they said, “If
VC :
My role is Senior Data Analyst for the program, and I have the great pleasure of working with an incredible team led by Dr. Manuel
"I came to this work because of Jesus, because of the church, and I wanted to make sure to stay rooted in why I was doing this in the first place." you want to think about your work—race, justice, environmentalism—and its intersection with faith, Fuller is the place for you to be.” At that point in my life, I just decided to give it a shot. I applied, was accepted, and decided to keep going as long as God makes a way. Since the first class with Dr. Hak Joon Lee, I have been hooked. It’s been infusing the other areas of my life with a new kind of energy.
RM: I understand you are a part of a pro-
gram at USC that focuses on environmental justice—the overarching theme being that those with less economic power feel the bur-
Pastor, who is the funniest and most sociable economist I have ever met. We help provide data and research to the world of social justice organizers, specifically in Los Angeles and California, and to a certain extent to national organizers. I have done everything from crunching census data to writing that data up. I work with our team to make our research accessible to popular audiences. In terms of environmental justice in particular, we work with environmental justice groups across LA and California. We’ve been part of a collaborative for years that deals
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particularly with health outcomes along the 110 and 710 freeway corridors, in particular, and other lower-income places like Pacoima. Places like these and the ports have a massive amount of diesel trucking, and though most of us breathe in particulate matter every day, the people who live in these areas breathe in an exceptionally high amount, and it is extraordinarily fine particulate matter at that. This super fine matter can and does cause cancer and asthma. This collaborative works with schools and communities that are right next to freeways or refineries. So when kids are out on recess playing soccer, they are breathing much more concentrated emissions from diesel trucks or factory exhaust than the rest of us. Their asthma rates are significantly higher than average. Folks like Rebecca Bacon, who wrote an article with me for Sojourners Online and is a community organizer, work with the com-
RM: You are also a part of the blog Jesus forRevolutionaries. What is that about, and what is your role there?
VC: Jesus for Revolutionaries is the title of a
book by Robert Romero that grew out of the ministry he and his wife Erica run. The ministry is called Christian Students of Conscience and is intended for students who have a heart for both the evangelical church and social justice, two things that have not always been supported in concert. CSC led to the Jesus for Revolutionaries blog, which I have written. One of our big areas of concern is that of immigration reform. The Romeros have done a great job of creating a unique space, a sort of borderland where it is okay to be both an evangelical Christian and pretty hardcore for grassroots justice. And it isn’t just talking about it poverty, but helping come up with economic solutions to help us out of these injustices. And we’re not just talking about en-
“Christian Students of Conscience isn’t just talking about poverty, but helping come up with economic solutions to help us out these injustices. And we’re not just talking about environmentalism, we’re finding ways to tackle environmental injustice.” munity to lift up and make known the issues that are affecting them and to think through possible solutions to the problems. Many of these groups need hard data to show policy makers that these are not isolated incidents, but instead widespread across swaths of the LA basin. Data like that is persuasive to policy makers, and we help collect and analyze that sort of data. Out of that work, we also do Cumulative Impact Mapping. This is a method where we can look at airborne toxics, ground toxics, social vulnerability (income, immigration status), and climate change, all in different layers. This will allow various government agencies to look at the map and recognize the heaviest impacted and most vulnerable areas for pollution, which will hopefully lead to great care and deliberation as to where new emitters will be allowed to set-up shop.
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vironmentalism, we’re finding ways to tackle environmental injustice. Many privileged Christians haven’t heard of the ways those with less privilege in our very own nation are struggling. I’ve been fortunate enough to learn a lot of these things through our team's work, but the majority of the middle-class church just has not been exposed to neither these issues nor the theology that points us to caring for those in our very own regions -- our neighbors. But Scriptures like Acts 6:1-7 give me hope. There, an injustice was running unchecked in the church itself: Hellenistic widows were not being cared for in the church’s food distribution. The apostles bless the Hellenists to oversee the food distribution in a fair manner, and they do. That is community organizing. That is actively engaging and righting an injustice while enabling the community members themselves to take leadership. That is the kind of work we are about.
RM: You have already talked a bit about the
Acts 6 passage, but what other Scriptures drive you? Why should Evangelicals care about the environment and social justice? Why should we care about the place that those two intersect? What Scriptures would you point the rest of us to?
VC: I think it’s harder to ask the reverse ques-
tion: what Scripture would stop us from doing this? Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, caring for the environment was in the water; the Bible brought to the forefront for me the concepts of caring for the poor and oppressed. I took a class with Dr. David Downs at Fuller that helped me think about this—Romans 6-9 and how Sin (capital "S") is a sort of system with agency of its own. There are the Genesis passages about caring for the earth, Revelation’s view about earth being re-
or creation care movements. It brings justice home to the local level. This is important; I don’t think there is an evangelical anywhere who would deny the importance of loving your neighbor. Environmental justice is the environmental side of that task. Creation care and climate change issues—they’re important and I am invested in them—and they feel so far away sometimes. Too often they are confined to the policy realm. But environmental justice exists here in LA and it is focused on our literal neighbors. This is also a matter of caring for children in our midst. To be born in certain places—like the corridor between the 110 and the 710, from the ports to Downtown—is to have a significantly lower life expectancy than others based on pollution-induced illnesses. I was born in a middle-class area where life expectancy is very high, but that isn’t true for
“We as the church are really good at taking care of children overseas.... There are also kids here who are in need here. There are families in Los Angeles strug\ gling with major problems brought on by the destruction of our environment.” deemed and recreated…. I just don’t see how this love of God’s creation and the love of neighbors—which is the intersection that is environmental justice is—is not there.
RM: What now? What is the role of the Evan-
gelical church in all of this, or what should it be? How and where to do pastors and other leaders take stands for environmental justice?
VC:
Connected to the Jesus for Revolutionaries group, there is a handful of us talking about what we have termed, “The Middle-class—Grassroots Justice Gap.” Environmental justice is the grassroots side of some of the more mainstream environmentalist
everyone. How are we taking care of those kids in those heavily polluted areas? We as the church are really good at taking care of children overseas, and we need to continue doing that. There are also kids here who are in need here. There are families in Los Angeles struggling with major problems brought on by the destruction of our environment. Our witness as Christians will ring more hollow if we do not have a local impact by loving our neighbors here in our city. +
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” -Jeremiah 29:7 13
Hey, Fuller! CHECK THIS OUT! Chinese Worldview Today Seminar JUNE 21 - JULY 9, 2014 BEIJING & XIAN, CHINA Spend two weeks learning the teachings, history and development of China’s main religious and philosophical traditions. Learn how these traditions and Marxism influence Chinese thought and society. This course is taught by a combination of Chinese and North American faculty and visits major historical sites in Beijing and Xian to learn both inside and outside the classroom. Credit available through Denver Seminary.
Seminar Facilitators: Dr. Diane Obenchain, Professor of World Religions, Calvin College and Dr. Kevin (Xiyi) Yao, Professor of World Christianity and Asian Studies, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
New for 2014: Students will be paired with a graduate student with a religious studies major from Minzu University of China in Beijing for discussion and cultural exchange.
Program Cost: $1850 – includes tuition, hous-
Two-unit FE546 Hospital Chaplaincy intern-
ships are being offered at Glendale Adventist in Glendale, St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Providence Holy Cross in Mission Hills.
Two-unit FE548 Hospice Chaplaincy internships are being offered through Roze Room Hospice and Mission Hospice.
These courses emphasize spiritual care training in a hospital or hospice setting. Students will learn how to be present to patients and/or their families during a crisis, as well as the preliminary steps in performing a spiritual care assessment. Before registering for a chaplaincy course, interns must be interviewed and accepted by the prospective hospital or hospice chaplain. Start the process early! Depending on the site, the approval process can take from 3 to 8 weeks. *These are not CPE internships. If you are looking for CPE internships, you may find that information on our Field Education website.
Contact FEMF at 626-584-5387 or fielded@fuller.edu for more information.
ing, visa, activities, Xian trip and insurance. Food is on your own (about $100). International travel not included. Partial scholarships may be available for seminarians or full-time ministry workers. Scholarship deadline: 4/1/2014
Fuller Mission Fair Events VOCATION AS MISSION MAY 6 - 9, 2014
Teaching opportunity: After the course, participants have the option to extend their time in China and do ministry by teaching English.
Global Worship Night: 5-6:30pm Tues.,
•
Field Education Announcements
May 6, at Catalyst. Free food provided. Mission Fair: 11am-4pm Wed. and Thur,. May 7-8, on the Arol Burns Mall.
•
Vocation as Mission Discussion:
CHAPLAINCY INTERNSHIPS SUMMER 2014!
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For information, email errc@errchina.com
The following hospital and hospice chaplaincy internships* are being offered during the Summer Quarter of 2014.
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7-9:30pm Wed., May 7, at Catalyst, with refreshments. All Nations Banquet: 5:30-8pm Fri., May 9, in the Garth (near Payton Hall). A Celebration of Culture Through Food.
For more information about these events, please contact rebekahneel@fuller.edu
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Miroslav Volf at the 16
Payton Lectures By Dr. Carolyn Gordon
Recently, I was asked, “Why should stu- intellectual horizon and to think about dents come to hear Dr. Miroslav Volf?” At first, I was a bit taken aback by the question and wanted to dramatically reply, “Really? Because he’s Miroslav Volf.” And then with great pomp and circumstance shrouded in righteous indignation, I would walk away…while praying for the redemption of all who would ask such a question. But instead, I pondered. I pondered to the point of realizing that the question was an excellent one, and if I wanted students to take time off from their overly committed schedules to at-
what their education mean within a global context.
In recent weeks, World Vision Inter-
national announced that it would start hiring Christians in same-sex marriages and disgruntled donors responded by flooding the organization with calls withdrawing their support. Within 48 hours, the organization announced the reversal of its decision, but not before approximately five to ten thousand children were left without sponsorship. I read the blogs
Miroslav Volf is both nationally and internationally known as a theologian and a public scholar. He has the uncanny ability to help the world make sense of itself, while at the same time, challenging evangelical Christians to embrace the world or “the other” with Christian reverence and love. tend this year’s Payton Lectures, then I should be willing to take the question seriously. So, as Chair of the Ministry Division, this year’s lecture host, I write.
I know for many students, both com-
muters and residential, there is little time to attend any outside lectures or events that are not directly or indirectly related to current course requirements. Study time is sacred and nothing should get in its way. But it is Mark Twain who is credited with saying,” Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education.” Miroslav Volf is both nationally and internationally known as a theologian and a public scholar. He has the uncanny ability to help the world make sense of itself, while at the same time, challenging evangelical Christians to embrace the world or “the other” with Christian reverence and love. In essence, he’s an educator and students could learn much from spending a couple of days with him in dialogue. It is a rare opportunity for students to broaden their
and followed the arguments. Some were agreeing with the donors. Others were vehemently disagreeing. Joining the debate was an avowed atheist who basically declared that he didn’t care about World Vision International, nor did he believe in its Christ, but he did care about the children and would continue sending in his contributions to World Vision International for them.
Wow, Christian love with an atheist twist?
Or just authentic love without evangelical Christian biases? Whatever the case, each Fuller student will at some point in life, if not already, be forced to confront his/ her beliefs concerning something that goes against prescribed basic Christian tenets. Currently, the issues are ranging in scope from immigration, to same sex marriage, to the authority of the church and the role of women, but more issues are on the horizon. Students don’t have to have all the answers concerning what will
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be done, but should at least have the ability to soundly wrestle with the issues from a global Christian perspective and not just from one’s own narrow portico.
Being the son of a Pentecostal preacher,
having been born in Croatia and raised in Marxist Serbia, Miraslov Volf, has a different perspective on how Christians should relate to the world and I believe in hearing him, students will be provided a glance into Christianity from a different point of view. It will definitely be an educational experience. Additionally, attending the Payton lectures is also a wonderful opportunity for students to learn how to live out an old gospel in new ways.
church audiences. He frequently served as a guest writer for Christianity Today. For years he was a columnist for The Christian Century and regularly wrote the column, “Faith Matters.” He earned his “public intellectual” nomenclature by making and keeping a commitment to write for both the church and the academy. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s Speaking of Faith and Public Television’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly”.
To date, he is credited with writing and/
or editing more than seventeen books, eighty-five scholarly articles and more than 150 editorials and articles for “popular” or cultural publications. In 1998, Dr.
Why should students attend the Payton Lectures to hear Miroslav Volf? Be\ cause it will be an educational experience that will help students see the world and Christianity from a different perspective. And because, “It’s Miroslav Volf.”\ Miroslav Volf, a graduate and former
professor of Fuller, began preaching before the age of 18. He served as a preacher and teacher in Croatia and once arriving in the United States, he continued preaching and teaching, but extended his pulpit to both radio and television. According to his CV, while pursuing his doctoral studies and teaching in Croatia, Dr. Volf also worked for the Croatian Christian monthly magazine, “Izvori.” He used his creativity and cultural interests to re-design and re-brand the magazine. During that time, his father, then General Secretary of the Pentecostal Church in Yugoslavia, was the publisher. Serving as the magazine’s co-editor for five years and then editor for an additional five years, Dr. Volf frequently wrote articles for the magazine that he would later use as seed beds for writing more in depth articles for academic publications. Upon returning to the United States, Dr. Volf continued writing for
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Volf became the Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School and currently serves as the founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture.
Miroslav Volf has given many presti-
gious lectureships including the Dudleian Lecture, Harvard; the Chavasse Lectures, Oxford; the Waldenstroem Lectures, Stockholm; the Gray Lectures, Duke University; and the Stob Lectures, Calvin College. At the end of the month, he can add one more to his list: Payton Lectures, Fuller Theological Seminary.
Why should students attend the Payton
Lectures to hear Miroslav Volf? Because it will be an educational experience that will help students see the world and Christianity from a different perspective. And because, “ It’s Miroslav Volf.” +
PAY T ON L E C T U R E S 2014 PAY T ON L E C T U R E S 2014 PAY T ON L E C T U R E S 2014 Fuller’s School of Theology Presents Fuller’s School of Theology Presents Fuller’s School of Theology Presents
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APRIL 30 & MAY 1, 2014 APRIL 30 & MAY 1, 30 Congregational & MAYChurch 1, 2014 2014 10 a.m.APRIL to 12 Noon First of Pasadena 10 a.m. to 12 Noon First Congregational Church of Pasadena St., Pasadena, CA 91101 (corner of Los Robles Ave. and Walnut St.) 10 a.m.464 toE.12Walnut Noon First Congregational Church of Pasadena 464 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101 (corner of Los Robles Ave. and Walnut St.) 464 E. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91101 (corner of Los Robles Ave. and Walnut St.) For a complete schedule of all related events please visit fuller.edu/paytonlectures For a complete schedule of all related events please visit fuller.edu/paytonlectures For a complete schedule of all related events please visit fuller.edu/paytonlectures
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Dr. Miroslav Volf is the Dr. Miroslav Volf is the Professor of Dr. Miroslav Volf is the
founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright Theology, Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut. founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright