This was another intense day of teaching in Trichy, India. It was truly a joy to see the students grasping the information and becoming excited about implementing the incarnational ministry models in their own cities and contexts. The main topic of the day was transformation... the kind of positive change that is lasting even though it takes longer to work toward. We talked about how to enter into other people's pain, and how that can be done by developing a theology from below. There are many examples in the Bible of God leading a process of transformation through pain.
Cities are complex, and there are many dynamics of transformation. I gave some practical examples from my experiences in Pittsburgh. Theory and practice go well together when it comes to learning.
The process of transformation in cities leads to the type of city that is described in Isaiah 65. How can we as transformational change agents bring about this shalom in our own cities?
For the final small group project, I described a healthy city in which all of the people and places benefit from God's peace. Then, I described how we live in a present evil age and I slowly described the break downs in the people and places of the city. The group was tasked with how they would serve as incarnational urban ministry leaders to bring about transformation in the sample city. Complex problems require complex solutions, and Christians should be out in front of culture leading the charge. If the world is migrating to cities, then that's right where Christians should be found giving ourselves away to others.
Our new friends then took a final, comprehensive exam covering the content from this week. Over the course of just five days, we learned about the foundations, theology, history, modern context, and practical implementation of incarnational urban ministry. The students did very well! Here are the results from some students.
It has been an amazing week! In the afternoon we went to a local Hindu temple where we could see out over the entire city. We loved the view, and we spent some time there praying for God to transform the city.
The School of Urban Missions really spoiled us this week. They were so generous. They gave us gifts and personally thanked us for coming this week. Julie is loving the gift that she got... a new sari.
We are loving the cross-cultural experience. We were privileged to be able to share so much about our city this week, and it was wonderful to see the spark that was lit for the leaders to embrace their own cities throughout India and Sri Lanka. We're hoping that tomorrow will be another great day.
Cities are complex, and there are many dynamics of transformation. I gave some practical examples from my experiences in Pittsburgh. Theory and practice go well together when it comes to learning.
The process of transformation in cities leads to the type of city that is described in Isaiah 65. How can we as transformational change agents bring about this shalom in our own cities?
For the final small group project, I described a healthy city in which all of the people and places benefit from God's peace. Then, I described how we live in a present evil age and I slowly described the break downs in the people and places of the city. The group was tasked with how they would serve as incarnational urban ministry leaders to bring about transformation in the sample city. Complex problems require complex solutions, and Christians should be out in front of culture leading the charge. If the world is migrating to cities, then that's right where Christians should be found giving ourselves away to others.
Our new friends then took a final, comprehensive exam covering the content from this week. Over the course of just five days, we learned about the foundations, theology, history, modern context, and practical implementation of incarnational urban ministry. The students did very well! Here are the results from some students.
It has been an amazing week! In the afternoon we went to a local Hindu temple where we could see out over the entire city. We loved the view, and we spent some time there praying for God to transform the city.
The School of Urban Missions really spoiled us this week. They were so generous. They gave us gifts and personally thanked us for coming this week. Julie is loving the gift that she got... a new sari.
We are loving the cross-cultural experience. We were privileged to be able to share so much about our city this week, and it was wonderful to see the spark that was lit for the leaders to embrace their own cities throughout India and Sri Lanka. We're hoping that tomorrow will be another great day.
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