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 Keith Russell |
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FROM THE PRESIDENT:
At ABSW we seek to prepare servant leaders who are committed to transformation. A large part of the church's current leadership is not so much transformational as it is transactional. Transformational leadership seeks change in a way that is redemptive while transactional leadership seeks adaptation or compromise with the world as it is. Transactional leaders accomplish things but without the overall intent of change characteristic of the reign of God. Proponents of the prosperity gospel, for example, practice transactional leadership. They promise economic gain in the here and now that is defined by standards of the current age. That new Mercedes is the blessing. Other promised change comes later in some apocalyptic frame at the end of time. This apocalyptic promise may account for the popularity of The Left Behind series, which projects all change to the very end of time and is limited to a very few. Read Dr. Flesher's new book, Left Behind: The Facts Behind the Fiction, to get a better understanding of the limits of apocalypticism. Prosperity linked with apocalypse does not, however, honor the transformation about which Paul speaks and toward which the reign of God points. We cannot settle for a series of transactions, no matter how popular they may seem at the time. We must focus on leadership that transforms, that aims at root change, that holds out for justice, that seeks peace, and that lifts the poor and the oppressed. It is because of their commitment to transformational leadership that ABSW has partnered with the Bakke Graduate University in Seattle to offer a new doctor of ministry program. The Bakke program focuses on training leaders who understand the possibility of effecting deep changes in both the church and the culture. They also believe that transformation requires a global perspective so that students will experience God working in the church and society of another culture. This January, we will begin with our first class at Bakke and then plan to begin another group in June 2007. Our new program will be administered by Dr. Sangyil Park, a United Methodist minister. For information regarding this new program, contact Dr. Park. We have not found another program anywhere that expresses the same commitments that we have to transformational servant leaders who have a multiracial and multicultural worldview. We are quite excited about this new partnership. I hope that you are excited about the ways in which ABSW is increasing its offerings for clergy and laity. In addition to our M.Div. and D.Min., we also offer special certificates for laity to gain biblical and theological training. We seek to expand our impact upon not only our students but on the churches and leaders we are privileged to serve. Perhaps God is transforming American Baptist Seminary of the West. We pray so! We know that we are called to transformation and do not want to settle for less. We want to pray, train, and work for gospel change — change that gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead. We dare not lower our expectation to a lesser hope or train leaders who will settle for success instead of liberation, or church growth instead of peace and justice. Pray for us as we seek to honor and serve the transforming power of our risen Lord. Faithfully yours, |
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of the West
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