Applying PT 5000 (By Jeff Liou)

*These thoughts are my own and in no way claim to represent Dr. Sell’s views.

Do you remember Dr. Sell’s flowchart? Do you remember which box he (and Frankena) thinks is most important? That’s right, Box C – the profile of what you want to produce. I think that Dr. Sell makes a great case for us to think through what maturity in our organizations ought to look like. I think he’s also right to call out the “bait and switch” in the contemporary church model that fixates on “felt needs” instead of thinking about discipleship.

But, as I sat pondering the importance of Box C, I began to wonder whether students typically think of what kind of person they want to produce or what kind of community we want to produce. Obviously, we don’t have to choose between developing people and communities. But isn’t the Scripture replete with statements about what the people of God ought to be? Individualistically, we can look to vice and virtue lists. Communally, we can look to passages like Matthew 5:14 (city set upon a hill). For the two aspects presented in tension, we can look to Ephesians 4:1-13. It doesn’t seem optional for us to grapple with the profile of the community we want to produce.

And here’s the rub: If the question of ethnic diversity never crosses our mind, it seems to me that we resign ourselves to whatever racial demographic ends up resulting – and let’s face it… that usually means homogeneity. Is that ok? Let me put it another way: If we feel free to leave Isaiah 56:7 (“house of prayer for all nations”) out of Box C do we not miss something that Jesus desires for his Church (Mark 11:17)?

There may be problems that I haven’t seen with putting a communal spin on Box C. And I know that this is more complicated for churches in, say, North Dakota. But I thought I should ask us. I’m eager for your feedback!

New Event

Prof. Lisa Sung of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School will be sharing her dissertation, which revolves around the issues of race and ethnicity, and looking at the two concepts from a sociological and theological standpoint this Friday, April 25.

“Race and Ethnicity: What’s the Theological Difference?”

A Presentation of Research Based on the Dissertation,

“‘Race’ and Ethnicity Discourse and the Christian Doctrine of Humanity:

A Systematic Sociological and Theological Appraisal”

Prof. Lisa Sung, Systematic Theology, TEDS

April 25, 2008

Reflections on the Recent Violence in Chicago ( by Damien Howard)

“ LET'S FIGHT WHAT FOSTERS YOUNG TOUGHS”

“You can't have a discussion about race without taking stock of the hell that some young black and Hispanic men are putting their communities through. This weekend, a rash of violence has put beset communities further on edge.

Harold Davis understands this far better than I do. He runs Amer-I-Can Enterprises II, which gives teens the opportunity to learn carpentry while they earn money. He sees how hard these youths are working. Some work to stay out of harm's way, others to change their lives.

Davis also sees how futile it often feels to his young charges when navigating in the line of gunfire.

'They're not planning for their futures anymore,' he said. 'They're planning for their funerals.'

I wrote about Davis and his students last May after Blair Holt, 16, was killed on a CTA bus. None of Davis' young workers knew Blair personally, but each understood the pain of having a young relative or friend gunned down in gang violence.

This year is different. Several of Davis' workers have been directly affected by the killings. Some either are related to the 24 Chicago Public Schools students who have been killed since the beginning of the school year, or they're related to the countless other teens—some dropouts—whose slayings have gone virtually unreported."

-Dawn Turner Trice 9:08 PM CDT, April 20, 2008


Everything aforementioned is from Trice's article, my personal contribution is below.

In diverse circles of engagement, I have come across people who share the sentiment that "The Church" has no power. We can sit back and quibble about the ambiguity of the nomenclature-"The Church," and request further clarification of what is meant by this term; or we can take this as a personal attack of our character and wake up to the fact that this argument may have some relevance. The senseless violence that is pervasive in many of Chicago's urban neighborhoods is typical of urban centers across America. According to Eddie Gibbs in Church Next, we live in a world that is growing increasingly non-Christian. He continues by implying, one major argument of post-modern adherents is that we Christians legalistically assert Orthodoxy with inconsistent Orthopraxis.

My question is- How is "The Church" planning on responding to this violence that is taking place in our nation? If we see all humans as being made in the image of God (Imago Dei), we should quickly become aware that WE MUST DO SOMETHING to work towards the preservation of people from these distressed environments (The Sanctity of Life Argument). I believe, in the vein of Dr. Martin Luther King, that NOW is the time- not just for strategic planning, but more importantly, strategic action!

I pray that the two criticisms that are mentioned in this submission, against the church, are not true. I pray that we don't lack power- I don't see how this could even be possible if our bodies are truly the temples of the God’s Spirit. And, if in fact, our bodies are vessels of the Holy Spirit, this should denote a "Christ-likeness" that imperatively calls us to action when confronted with the reality of heinous misdeeds and callous injustices. As I pray, I also hope that we won’t take our gift of the Holy Spirit for granted. If God has given us power to effect change in societies through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, it is an utter disservice to our Father if we just "sit on" his gift to us.

What are you going to do with your talent(s)?

Call to Action- As a community, lets stimulate substantive conversation of what we can do to combat the violence taking place in our nation's urban centers and also elsewhere (from the perspective of theologians, activist, or concerned Christian citizens).

What I am Interested to know- Is this reckless violence something that we, as Christians, should be talking about and working to change? I am really interested to know what you think because I rarely hear these concerns conversed in areas where these problems are less prevalent.”

A link to the article commented on can be found at [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-trice-21-apr21,0,454035.column]

Damien Howard is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Trinity Chapel Speaker Tomorrow!

Don't miss out on Rev. Stan Archie... this Tuesday and Thursday at 11PM in the Chapel. I'm not sure what he is talking about, but he is a very passionate and seasoned veteran in fighting for social justice. Coming from one of the most violent cities in America, Archie has extensive experience that we can certainly learn from...

Archie is the Founding and Executive Pastor of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in Kansas City, MO. He works not just within the church but also partners with state and city governments to make life better for those in the inner city. To give you a glimpse into some of his work outside of the role of pastor, Archie is:

- a Member of the Missouri State Board of Education (which is a very notable position)- President of the Kansas City Leadership Foundation (an organization devoted to community betterment and strengthening individual ethics and character)
- National speaker, workshop facilitator and private consultant in the following areas:Diversity/ Unity Training, Community Development, Conflict Resolution, Relationship Development, Urban Family and Parenting, Urban Development, Business Advisor, Leadership Development Specialist, Character Counts (Character Education), and National Adopt-A-School Implementation Training

With 20+ years working in Kansas City, partnering with other churches and organizations for causes related to social justice, I'm sure Archie will offer some great insights and wisdom. I've heard him speak a few times and this is one chapel you won't want to miss. Come to the chapel service at 11 and the Q & A /Free Lunch afterwards (on both Tuesday and Thursday). C-ya There!

Mark Hershey is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

A Few Thoughts on Re-envisioning Evangelical Christian Politics. (By Mark Hershey)

Friends,

I want to share with you an awesome 39 min sermon on multi-racial churches, inner city ministry, social justice, racism, and the desperate need for change in American churches... all rolled into one. I watched it last night and the speaker, Soong Cha Rah from North Park Theological Seminary, covered a lot of different issues and brought up some great discussion starters. His sermon is called: "Freedom to all Captives and Pardon to all Prisoners"

Just one quote:

"There are 90+ passages on looking after the orphan, widow, and illegal alien. There are 0 passages on the right to bear arms. Why are there more Christians who are members of the NRA than Christians who would like to see immigration reforms."

Okay, make that two:

"We need to understand that racism is not just an individual issue. It is corporate. We can argue against that saying, ‘I’ve never owned a slave. I didn't take any land from the native Americans... I'm not a racist’ ... but you have benefited from an economic system that was built on free land stolen from the Native community and free labor kidnapped from Africa. Now if you're an economist, and you get free land and free labor, you know that you better have a booming economy. America was given free land and free labor and built an economic system.... and today we are still benefiting from that unjust corporate system....so we have the responsibility today of that unjust corporate system because we are still benefiting from it."

With these two quotes, I also want to say that Soong Cha Rah isn't just a deconstructionist, but he does offer some solutions and encouragement. Here is a link to the lecture. Check it out. Post your comments. Let's chat.

Audio Podcast:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/Uywi07AudioPodcast

Video Podcast:
Go to iTunes Store and type "uywi07" - Click on "Freedom to all Captives and Pardon to all Prisoners" to download for free.

Mark Hershey is a first year Masters of Divinity Student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

A More Perfect Union (By Akele Parnell)

It seems surreal for the first time ever in America history, an African-American is making a real vie for the highest, most prestigious, and most influential office in the free world. Indeed Barack Obama may well be on his way to becoming the president of the United States of America. For me, this is truly remarkable considering that when my father was a teenager the majority of African-Americans couldn’t even vote, let alone run for president. Had you asked me a just a year ago if I thought an African-American, or any non-white male, had a real shot at becoming the president, I would have chuckled and said no. Now, judging by the looks of things, it seems as though I was wrong. Surely, the Obama-mania that is sweeping the country is good evidence that America has come a long way in the area of race relations. It might even lead some to suggest that Obama’s nomination is a sign that America is now a post-racial, perhaps even colorblind, society. But, the recent furor surrounding retired pastor Reverend Jeremiah Wright (Obama’s former pastor) and his controversial remarks remind us that America is still a racially polarized society.

Wright’s racially charged and inflammatory statements have been called everything from "racist" and "anti-American" to "the unadulterated, prophetic truth on American society." Still, regardless of one’s opinion on the issue (and I must admit the issue is far more complex than the media’s prima facie treatment of it), they give us an opportunity to have a dialogue on race that could help bring unity and healing to the church and the rest of the America.

It is for this reason and in an attempt to quench the conflagration of controversy that threatens to destroy Obama’s bid for the presidency, that Obama has made one of the greatest and most accurate speeches on race in America, of any presidential candidate since JFK. His speech was poignant, honest, and direct, and if we look at just a few of the key points in Obama’s speech we may glean some critical insight into the context of our racially divided past, our much improved but still racially divided present, and we may find hope for a more unified, multicultural future.

In his speech, Obama emphasized that we cannot nor should we ignore the issue of race; and I agree. We can’t pretend that we live in a colorblind society and as good as the whole colorblind theory sounds, it simply is not grounded in reality or history. Just look around and you can see profound segregation almost everywhere, from neighborhoods and schools, to churches and social clubs, to the cafeteria here at Trinity. But to fix this we shouldn’t pretend we don’t see it; we can't pull the cover of so-called “colorblindness” over our eyes so that we don’t see de facto segregation in our closet. We me must understand that we live in a racialized reality and, as Obama reminds us, “understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point.” Only then will we be able to explain our current racial disparities and begin to address them. We do this not to stir up old wounds, though it will be uncomfortable, but as Obama’s opening quote from the preamble indicates, we do so “in Order to form a more perfect Union”, not just in America but in the church.

Obama also reminds us of what Billy Graham first lamented in 1950 and what Martin Luther King Jr. later reiterated: “eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week.” This reality should be offensive for Christians who believe that the Gospel transcends racial divisions and believe that Christ wasn’t kidding when he prayed that we would be one. For Graham and King, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the most unifying force in the universe. But is our passive acceptance of segregation saying to the world that the division of the church down racial, economic and other lines is stronger than the redemptive power of Christ? I know many non-Christians who think so.

Obama reflected on how the great Civil Rights activists sought "to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time." Perhaps we, as the church, should seek to narrow that gap between the promise of our faith and the reality of our time.

Akele Parnell is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.