Ray Bakke started the day off with a lecture on reflective leadership. This year marks his 50th year in ministry, so he gave us an overview of his life experiences over the years. I have read a lot of this in his books such as Street Signs, The Urban Christian, and A Theology as Big as the City. It was a unique experience listening to an author fill in the gaps with stories and details orally. People have accused Bakke of being "anti-rural" because of his urban reputation, but he told us that wasn't true. He values all environments, including urban, suburban, or rural. If we are all made by God, there is no reason to hate or dislike people based on where they choose to live. He gave his autobiography over the course of about an hour. I won't repeat it in this journal, but if you haven't read his life story it's worth reading it in his latest book, Street Signs.
Bakke's experiences as a young pastor propelled him into a lifelong journey to explore a theology of the city. Many people, especially Christians, had viewed cities as evil places. Many Christians viewed God as a rural God, meaning that He is only found in the wilderness. So this is what caused him to take a year off from seminary in Chicago to study a theology of the city. The word city is found 1,250 times in the Bible. Over 140 cities are mentioned in the Bible. Ezekiel 16 is a classic piece of urban scripture. In urban theology, cities are all connected. So, urban and suburban are connected to one another. Suburbs are the sisters of cities, and we need to love them just like we would our own family member (even if we disagree with them). Bakke said that when James Dobson talks about the family, he fails to consider the "community" or city as a part of the family. He disagrees with Dobson's view of the family as only a nuclear unit. We're connected with the people in cities and suburbs... they're our relatives in a way because of the way God describes the connectedness of the city in the Bible. As another example of urban theology, Bakke challenged us to read Genesis 41 and 47. After reading both chapters, try to determine if Joseph was a capitalist or a socialist. He was both. He applied capitalist and socialist strategies in leading the land. Daniel is another fascinating case study in urban ministry.
Bakke argued that the New Testament is an urban book. Paul never went anywhere that had a smaller number of people than Thesselonica. His missionary strategies focused on cities in order to spread the gospel. Bakke thinks theology should be shaped by scripture, history, context, and the church. He said western theology is viewed in lateral, or horizontal terms. For instance, how far can we send missionaries around the world? Eastern theology is viewed vertically. For instance, in light of the past two thousand years of Christian history will the next generation embrace Christ? He argues that both horizontal and vertical aspects of the great commission are essential in an effective missiology.
Another good example of reflective theology examines the Old Testament books of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Each of these books focuses on the context that God used to transform a culture. Esther infiltrated the king's harem in order position herself politically for the sake of righting an injustice against her people. Nehemiah took the mantle by getting a letter of credit from the king and physically rebuilding the city. Then, Ezra emerged to provide spiritual and cultural structure to the society. God used each of them to transform the same city.
During the "dark ages" of the Old Testament in the book of Ruth, God gives several perspectives on the importance of history. In the first part of the book, the reader must ask the question, "Is history cyclical?" In the second part of the book, the reader must ask, "Is history just an accident or luck?" In the third part of the book the reader must ask, "Is history a conspiracy, or a manipulation by people in power?" Finally, in the fourth part of the book, God shows us that history is neither cyclical, accidental, or a conspiracy. God is moving, God is in control, and He takes history very seriously!
When you reflect on how the book of Matthew begins, you notice that he starts with a listing of what Bakke called the four grandmothers. They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba. What's unique about this? Some theologians have noted that they were all sinners, but then again so were the men listed as well. Luther noted that each of the women were foreigners (Canaanites, Hittites and Moabites), and it's a reminder that foreigners and people who are different than us should never be left out of missions work. Also, Mary and Joseph were both descendants of these women. God chose scandalous blood lines to incorporate into His own body. By doing this, Jesus smashed racism! He was the mixed-racial Savior of the world! He was also an Asian baby who became an African refugee, as noted in the story of the flight to Egypt. In knowing how God values all of these things, how should this shape our current views in America on race and immigration?
History ties us to the past, so reflective leadership is critical. The people in history are having their voice heard through the scriptures, and this has a profound implication on missions.
The next lecturer was Janet Marrow, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at BGU and the founder of an organization called TRUST in Chicago. She described TRUST as an organization that brings stakeholders to the table through relationships, in order to reach understanding through relationships. Over the years the organization led to many strategies that transformed the city of Chicago. She really believes that all Christian leaders need to be able to understand and influence systems. Many Christians, especially those with an overly individualized view of the gospel, tend to shy away from systems because they think they are all evil or corrupt. Actually, God calls us to engage systems. There are many examples of this throughout the Bible. Systematic change works best because we are all connected.
After lunch with the BGU board of directors, we heard lectures from Grace Barnes about servant leadership. This was an interesting topic in a group as diverse as this, because this concept has a different meaning culturally in many of the cultures of the people present in this class (China, Africa, Phillipines, America, etc.). Servant leadership occurs when servants become leaders, and leaders lead by serving. It's a bottom - up approach. The hierarchy is turned upside down, and the leader views their role as equipping others to succeed. It is a leadership style that is focused on other people. Although servant leadership is important, it cannot and should not be the only type of leadership style used by a good leader. Leadership is a paradox. For instance, personal development in a leader is also important. How can we lead others effectively if we cannot lead ourselves effectively? Leaders should understand their calling to God first before they try to lead others.
Once again, this day's material was a lot to take in. It's all interesting because the information consists of many countercultural ideas. But then again, being a Christian is in itself a countercultural way of life. I did not really feel threatened by any of the material, but I know many people who might definitely be threatened by a lot of these ideas. For instance, I know many leaders of organizations, groups, or even their own families who I would not consider to be servant leaders. They rule authoritatively instead. Many of these leaders are not reflective, and they are not very interested in personal development. What would a leader like this think of the idea of intentionally giving up control in order to elevate others? How would their organizations or people they influence respond if they suddenly tried to do this?
How will people react to the evidence that in Genesis Joseph applied socialist principles for the benefit of a society? How will people react if I challenge James Dobson's view of the family? Does James Dobson have the final say on what a family is supposed to look like? What do white evangelical Christians in America think about a Jesus who was a multi-racial refugee from scandalous blood lines? Do Christians read scripture with a rural bias (meaning that God is only found in the wilderness)? Do I understand history as it relates to theology? These are all questions I'm processing through for the first time.
This journey is causing me to seek God in places that I have seldom thought to look. I can very clearly remember my first week of college at California University of Pennsylvania in 1994. All of the football players were required to live on the same floor of one dorm, and suddenly I was shoved into the world of cross cultural relationships. I was a minority on a team of mostly African American players, but it was a great learning experience as a 17 year old kid.
Moving to California to teach was another great cross cultural experience starting in 1999. I remember the very first class I taught. It was about 110 degrees outside, and four teachers brought their first grade students to me for a physical education class. As these children sat and listened to my instructions, I suddenly realized that about 50% of them had no idea what I was saying because they only spoke Spanish! Also, 80% of my students were Hispanic. It became very obvious that I would be the one who would be needing to change my approach... and fast!
Moving back to Pittsburgh to work with LAMP was another similar learning curve for me. As a leader, I had to navigate through many cross cultural issues as a result of serving the children in the Homewood and East Hills neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. Thankfully, Errika Jones from the Pittsburgh Board of Education was an excellent mentor and she was very patient with me (and North Way in general). She continues to model effective cross cultural relationships, and systematic thinking, for many people in Pittsburgh. Joanne Galinowski, one of our LAMP partners from Family Guidance, Inc., is also very effective at cross cultural relationships. I continue to be grateful for her servant leadership style as well.
I share these personal stories because they are a part of my journey toward hopefully becoming a better follower of Jesus. I am enrolled in this DMin program at BGU to broaden my worldview and strengthen my leadership abilities. I am trying to develop an understanding of the whole body of Christ, not just a white American view of God. Only 13% of the world's population is white. Less than 5% of the world's population is American, yet American Christians seem to have an overly important view of themselves in relation to our modern world. I have a long way to go!
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