Bethel Southwest Winter 2011

Ministering in Tanzania Page 2

Meeting World Needs Page 3

BethelSouthwest www.bethel.edu Winter 2011

Opening the Resources of Bethel Seminary San Diego to All Friends of Bethel University in the Southwest U.S.

Miles and Tiénou Headline Upcoming Distinguished Lecturer Series

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ethel Seminary San Diego welcomes Margaret Miles, Ph.D., and Tite Tiénou, Ph.D., as featured guests in the seminary’s ongoing Distinguished Lecturer Series. Please join us from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 18, when Miles presents “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know: Reflections on a Fundamentalist Child-

hood.” Admission to this luncheon and lecture is $15 for pastors and lay persons, $10 for students. From 7 to 9 p.m. that evening, Miles will deliver a free public lecture titled “From Behind My Own Back: Augustine (and Freud) on Self-Deception and Conversion.” Miles served as dean and professor at the Graduate Theologi-

Bringing Shalom to a World in Need

DEAN’S CORNER

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ith the recent news of unrest in many parts of the world, I am reminded again of the concept of shalom, or God’s wholeness. As we celebrated the mystery of the incarnation recently in our Christmas gatherJohn R. Lillis ings, we celebrated a God who came to bring restoration, peace, and wholeness. In a word, Christ came to bring shalom to our broken and often torn apart world.

Since its inception, Bethel Seminary San Diego has believed that an essential part of its purpose is to prepare women and men to be a part of that divine mission to bring health and wholeness to the people in our hurting world. In this issue of Bethel Southwest you’ll read the continuing saga of how our students and alumni are actively engaged in innovative, missional ministries around the world. Please enjoy these stories about Bethel students, alums, friends, and donors who are working to bring about that sense of wholeness and peace. •

Margaret Miles, Ph.D.

Tite Tiénou, Ph.D.

cal Union, Berkeley (19962002), and as Bussey professor of theology at Harvard University Divinity School (1978-1996). She is the first woman at Harvard Divinity School ever to receive tenure. Among her many publications are Augustine and the Fundamentalist’s Daughter (2010), and The Word Made Flesh: A History of Christian Thought (2005).

On March 4, our Clifford Anderson Annual Missions Lectureship features noted African theologian Tite Tiénou discussing the question “Is Contextualization of the Gospel and Ministry Necessary in an Age of Globalization?” at a noon luncheon, and “Can Globalization Enhance the Contextualization of the Gospel” at 7 that evening.

Tiénou is senior vice president of education, professor of theology of mission, and dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Previously he served as president and dean of the Faculté de Théologie Evangélique de l’Alliance Chrétienne in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and was founding director and professor for the Maranatha Institute in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Missionaries and missions pastors are invited to join us for the noon luncheon and lecture, admission $10, and the public is welcome to the free lecture at 7 p.m.

Please RSVP to eventssandiego@bethel.edu or 619.325.5227 by Feb. 14 for the Miles lectures and

by Feb. 28 for the Tiénou lectures. •

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The Dominican Republic: Training Ground for Seminarians and Local Pastors Alike

H Ministering in Tanzania

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hile fellow seminarians enjoyed a respite from studies last summer, three Bethel students labored for the Lord halfway around the globe in Tanzania. Matt Herbst, Ryan Castillo, and Chris Cho traveled with a team for two months sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ among the mostly Muslim population of this eastern African nation. The team also provided training to pastors in Mbeya, Tanzania, who otherwise may never have an opportunity to attend a seminary like Bethel.

Approximately 50 local ministry leaders learned how to lead in Bible study, worship, prayer, and evangelism.

Team members concluded their journey enduring a 30-hour bus ride to northern Tanzania to assist an American missionary with ministry structures already in place. There they taught lessons, conducted sports outreach, fed the hungry, and distributed Bibles.

“Jesus said ‘Go!’ and so I went,” says Herbst. “I wish I could say that the process and experience was much deeper and more philosophical that that, but it was kind of that simple!”

For more about the team’s ministry in Tanzania, visit www.teammbeya. blogspot.com/. •

ow does Bethel Seminary San Diego live out its core value to train global leaders? A good start is the requirement for all Master of Divinity and M.A. (Theological Studies) students to take the Introduction to Global and Contextual Ministries course. “It is part of the foundation for church leaders who want to have global impact in their ministries,” says Dean John Lillis. But perhaps what really drives it home is the seminary’s innovative, hands-on approach to intercultural training. “For example, last October we merged a course in facilitating community development with a pastors conference in the Dominican Republic (DR),” Lillis shares. “The result? Significant ministry to the church in the DR, and significant impact in the lives of our students.”

Leading the course in community development were faculty associates David Diener and David Walden. Six Bethel students explored ways to minister to the poor in the DR, develop sustainability, and facilitate development

without creating dependence. During the pastors conference, the same students led breakout groups to help conference attendees apply what they were learning in the plenary sessions.

“This was similar to what we did in Uganda last year,” explains Arnell Motz, lead faculty for Global and Contextual Studies. “We introduced hermeneutics and sermon preparation in the large session, but it was in the groups that the pastors understood it, because they had to apply it to a text.”

More than 100 pastors and church leaders attended the conference, which was conducted entirely in Spanish. “By the second day I was having my doubts as to whether this was going to work,” Motz remembers. “But when we came to the conclusion of the conference and saw the outpouring of appreciation for the seminarians as group leaders, I realized that God had used it in some significant ways for the ministries of these leaders.” •

Alums take Bethel Community to the Homeless The deep community and friendships students enjoy at Bethel Seminary San Diego often extend well beyond graduation day…

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on (fictitious name), homeless and hurting from debilitating injuries, arrived at the San Diego Rescue Mission’s Recuperative Care Unit (RCU) hoping only to get in off the streets while he healed. He’d been sleeping in some bushes when a car accidently backed over his arm, necessitating extensive reconstructive surgery at a local hospital. Now, with no thought toward changing his lifestyle, he just wanted a safe place to recover. That’s when Bethel Marital and –2–

Family Therapy alums Tavis Walker ’08 and Jason Hespenhide ’09 met him.

As director and associate director of the RCU, the first of its kind in San Diego County, Walker and Hespenhide see from 30 to 40 injured or sick homeless people every month. Walker builds and maintains relationships with area hospitals and social agencies, while Hespenhide works directly with the clients. Their mutual, lifelong passion for the homeless, paired with the training they both received at Bethel Seminary —Homeless continued on page 3

Supporting What the World Needs

Faculty Footnotes

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he thing that stands out at Bethel is the community,” says Carolyn Kubitschek.

“I see it and feel it as soon as I walk through the door. I’m greeted by friends who are amazingly loving, kind, and welcoming.”

After hearing about Bethel’s mission through her church, Emmanuel Faith in Escondido, Calif., and getting to know Bethel’s senior development officer for the West Coast Mark Pearsey, Kubitschek wanted to experience Bethel Seminary San Diego for herself. She began attending various events a couple years ago. Last March, for example, she heard Terry Muck, dean of the school of World Missions at Asbury Seminary, speak on Buddhism as part of Bethel San Diego’s annual global missions lectureship. “He really helped us understand the basic tenets from a Christian viewpoint,” she explains, appreciating the opportunity for lifelong learning. “It also showed me that Bethel students are getting a very broad-spectrum education, and it’s intellectually top-notch.”

Kubitschek and her late husband provided medical care to missionaries for 27 years. A research scientist and nurse by background, Kubitschek is now an entrepreneur. She trades, does health and nutritional consulting, and is in the process of beginning a ministry – a retreat house for missionaries who need a respite after years in the field. Excited about what she’s seen and experienced at Bethel, she is also committed to giving toward Bethel’s mission, believing it’s just what the world needs.

“Bethel represents what the Lord intended for the church – a place where people feel welcome no matter where they come from or what baggage they carry,” she says. “When I think of going to Bethel, I smile because there’s this automatic anticipation that I’m going to meet and connect with someone! And these exchanges that God orchestrates always enrich.”

We are blessed to partner with people like Carolyn in the mission and vision that God has given to Bethel Seminary San Diego. For more information about how you can partner with us, contact Mark Pearsey at m-pearsey@ bethel.edu or visit bethel.edu/development. • —Homeless continued from page 2

San Diego, make their partnership a perfect fit. They credit the supportive and loving community they found at Bethel with nurturing their capacity to care for clients like Don, daily addressing the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs of the whole person.

“Change is rarely immediate or dra-

Jason Hespenhide ’09 and Tavis Walker ’08

matic for most of our clients,” Walker observes, “but we see God’s transforming power at work again and again.”

Walker concedes that Don was difficult to work with and hard to figure out. But over the course of several weeks, the RCU staff earned Don’s trust. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Don felt respected and genuinely cared for. By the time he was well enough to leave the RCU, he had enrolled in a 12-month program that would help him make the long-term changes necessary to stay off the streets and rebuild his life.

Not long ago, Walker encountered Don reading his Bible. “You know, this prayer thing is for real!” Don exclaimed, waving his almost fully healed arm. And the transformation continues… • –3–

James D. Smith III, Ph.D., professor of church history, served as consultant for a revision of Justo Gonzalez’ twovolume classic The Story of Christianity; published “Christians in Baseball History: A Starting Lineup” in Sports Spectrum magazine; lectured at the University of San Diego on “The Radical Reformation and Anabaptists;” and portrayed St. Nick in the cooperative “St. Nicholas Project” Advent celebration held at San Diego State University by area churches for U.S. military families.

Mark Strauss, Ph.D., professor of New Testament, presented his paper “Christology and the Spirit” at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in Atlanta, Ga., and completed work on a revision of the NIV Study Bible together with general editor Ken Barker, Ph.D., and associate editor Ron Youngblood, Ph.D., Bethel Seminary professor of Old Testament emeritus. The new revision is scheduled for a 2011 release.

Ben Lim, Ph.D., professor of marital and family therapy, and his wife Soh Leong spent Christmas 2010 in Beijing, China, teaching a 40-hour intensive on “Parenting: Raising Godly Responsible Children” and “Clinical Development in Structural Family Therapy and Bowen Family System.” They also published an article in the Journal of Family Psychotherapy special section on China titled “Po Xi Wen Ti – The ‘Mother-inLaw Problem’: Navigating Tradition and Modernity in Transforming Familial Relationships in the Chinese Family.”

Pamela Powell, D.Min., faculty associate for pastoral care, attended Lausanne Congress III in Cape Town, South Africa, with more than 4,200 other participants from approximately 200 different countries. This was the third such congress where Christian leaders from around the globe gathered to address world evangelization; the first two were held in Lausanne, Switzerland, 1974, and in Manila, Philippines, 1989. •

CALENDAR OF EVENTS February 18 Distinguished Lecturer Series with Margaret Miles, Ph.D., on “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know: Reflections on a Fundamentalist Childhood.” Noon-1:30 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. Luncheon lecture: $15 for pastors and laypersons, $10 for students. Register by Feb. 14 with Mitchell Campbell at 619.325.5227 or mitchell-campbell@bethel.edu.

18 Distinguished Lecturer Series continues with Margaret Miles, Ph.D., on “From Behind My Own Back: Augustine (and Freud) on Self-Deception and Conversion.” 7-9 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. Free public lecture. RSVP to Mitchell Campbell at 619.325.5227 or mitchell-campbell@bethel. edu.

25 Black History Month Celebration with Joy J. Moore, Ph.D., associate dean for black church studies and church relations, and visiting assistant professor of homiletics and the practice of ministry at Duke University. Presentation, discussion, and reception, 7 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. Admission free.

26 Prepare/Enrich Workshop for mental health professionals, pastors, lay leaders, church counselors, and community members led by Professor of Marital and Family Therapy Ben Lim, Ph.D. Learn how to help couples identify their strengths and growth areas in communication, conflict resolution, spiritual beliefs, personality profile, and financial management. 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. $160 for attendees; $150 for Bethel Seminary students and alums; $90 for returning facilitators. Register by Feb. 16 with Scott Wood, scott-wood@bethel.edu.

March 3 Bethel Preview Day, 6-8 p.m. Learn about Bethel’s degree

programs, tour the campus, visit a class, meet with our

admissions team, and enjoy a light dinner. RSVP to

j-wilmer@bethel.edu.

4 Clifford V. Anderson Missions Lectureship with Tite Tiénou,

Ph.D., on “Is Contextualization of the Gospel and Ministry

Necessary in an Age of Globalization?” Noon luncheon at

Bethel Seminary Chapel for missionaries and missions pastors.

Cost: $10. RSVP by Feb. 28 to 619.325.5227 or

mitchell-campbell@bethel.edu.

4 Clifford V. Anderson Missions Lectureship continues

with Tite Tiénou on “Can Globalization Enhance the

Contextualization of the Gospel?” 7 p.m., Bethel Seminary

Chapel. Free public lecture. RSVP to 619.325.5227 or

mitchell-campbell@bethel.edu.

29 Integrating Media with Preaching, an interactive workshop

with Bill Ankerberg, Ph.D., lead pastor of Whittier Area

Community Church, and David Briggs, producer for Disney

and Universal Studios. Learn how to enhance your preaching

with media. 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. Cost:

$35 (includes lunch), $20 for seminary students. RSVP by

March 22 to 619.325.5227 or mitchell-campbell@bethel.edu.

April 1 Women’s History Month Celebration featuring a panel of women sharing from their experience in life and ministry.

Enjoy lively interaction and discussion with the audience.

7-8:45 p.m., Bethel Seminary Chapel. Reception to follow.

Admission free.

seminary.bethel.edu/sandiego Bethel Seminary San Diego 6116 Arosa Street San Diego, CA 92115

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