BGU Journal - 1/12/09

Wow, today was incredible!  I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, and it was such a great experience.  My first class started this morning at about 8am, and I just returned to my hotel room in downtown Seattle at about 7:30pm.  About 20 students from around the world are here, representing places such as America, India, China, the Phillipines, Amsterdam, and Kenya.  

This morning the academic dean at BGU, Grace Barnes, gave a lecture about being strangers (as we are all meeting each other for the first time), the nature of transition (as this program is a major life transition for all students), and an overview of the Transformational Leadership for the Global City degree.  

Then Ray Bakke lectured for about an hour.  This was a real treat for me as this was the first time I've heard this amazing urban ministry leader speak.  He talked about how God is urbanizing the world.  In 1900 only 8% of the world's population lived in cities.  Now, over 50% of the world's population lives in cities.  508 cities in the world have over 1 million people.  Bakke also discussed the need for Christians to plunge into global urban ministry.  In 1900, 80% of Christians were white, northern, and Western.  Now, 80% of Christians are outside the West.  China and India are now the largest English speaking countries in the world.  Africa is the fastest growing urban continent.  He then gave an overview of the DMin program at BGU.

Brad Smith, the president of BGU, then lectured before lunch.  He discussed the unique learning environment at BGU, which is structured but also designed to incorporate creativity, stories, and experiences into the learning model.  Cities are the labs, and students serve as the practitioners.  Students may find that faculty will ask tough questions instead of just providing outlines of information.  Sometimes even professors disagree on viewpoints, and they see that as a good thing.  He then described this program as a pioneering environment for advanced leaders.  It has a lower structure (intentionally) and higher dissonance. 

I had lunch with Ronnie McCowan, an African American pastor of a church in Kansas City.  Our lunch exercise required us to have lunch with one other person in order for us to share our life stories with one another.  He has a great story, and it was fun meeting someone new.  After lunch Brad Smith led a group discussion in which we were asked to share a couple highlights of our time spent with the other person at lunch.  

Brad Smith then lectured again.  This time he gave his perspective on how the world has changed (similar to what Ray Bakke discussed).  He described how technology and a global economy have impacted the world, and especially ministry.  Christians need to understand what is going on in the world in order to engage effectively.  He also gave an overview of urban ministry 101:  Relief, Development, and Advocacy (Justice).  He gave some unique insight into a statement I've heard before.  The statement goes:  "In urban ministry it's important to give someone a fish (relief), but it's also important to teach someone how to fish (development)."  Smith added that justice must also be added to this equation.  What happens when the lake is contaminated, or there is a fence around the lake that keeps the person from fishing?  This is why urban ministry leaders must also be involved in justice.

For the remainder of the day, Ray Bakke led us on a tour of downtown Seattle.  Seattle is beautiful and has had many great accomplishments, but is has also been built on injustices (mostly to the native American people who were here before settlers arrived).  First, we visited Columbia Tower (the tallest building in Seattle).  Then, we walked across the city to have dinner at a Pizza restaurant in a huge mall.  Bakke lectured as we walked, explaining that Seattle is a Pacific Rim city now.  It faces west across the Pacific to China and Japan instead of east as it has typically in the past.  He also described how the freeway systems were built in America, and how they were not neutral.  Many people were discriminated against when these highways were built after World War II.  He also discussed the analogy of Colossians and Phillipians in relation to urban ministry.  Colossians tends to lead the reader to see how Jesus is involved socially and in systems.  Phillipians tends to lead the reader to see how Jesus is personal.  What's needed most is balance between the social and personal perspectives of Christianity in order for leaders to be effective.

I have to admit this first day was exciting but overwhelming.  This was just the beginning of my learning here, and I can already sense that my urban ministry paradigm is being shifted.  I was pleased to experience that, as advertised, this learning model fits right in with me.  I love to learn in a hands-on style.

Also, I can tell already that I will be learning from and alongside some amazing urban ministry leaders.  Everyone who lectures here leads from a base of credibility in urban ministry developed over a number of years.  Although all of the leaders were impressive, I was probably most impacted by the time with Ray Bakke.  Having read his books and hearing so much from other people about his unique perspectives on Christianity, it was a real pleasure to be able to listen to and interact with him for a whole day.

Another highlight of the day was the diversity represented in my classmates.  I love learning with these folks who have travelled here from all over the world.  The table I sat at for dinner was representative of this.  To my left was a man in his 70's who directs a mission organization for Russia and Kazakstan.  Beside him were two Africans, one who pastors a church in Kenya and another man from Nigeria who attended seminary in London and now serves as a missionary in Houston, Texas.  To my right were two women from Hong Kong who were able to share their experiences in training pastors in rural China.

This entire program ties in so well with what I'm doing with LAMP and other outreach efforts at North Way Christian Community.  I really needed a program that was practical and hands-on, and this was definitely it.  Also, I'm so pleased to be able to learn from and be mentored by people who are on the cutting edge of innovation in the church and urban ministry in general.  I am very encouraged at the moment that in Pittsburgh, we are on the right track with LAMP.  Furthermore, there are resources out there that can help to equip me for issues related to mentoring, church and state partnerships, urban and suburban partnerships, cross-cultural relationships, and much more.