Midwestern Magazine - Issue 36

BI-ANNUAL MAGAZINE O F M I D W E S T E R N S E M I N A RY AND SPURGEON COLLEGE

A NE W DAY FOR T HE CO L L EGE AT M IDWESTERN

ISSUE 36

THE VISION OF SPURGEON COLLEGE | SNAPCHAT WISDOM | RE-CENTERING STUDENT MINISTRY

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Midwestern Magazine Issue 36

AT A G L A N C E CELEBRATING OUR GROWTH WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION James J. Kragenbring

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THE VISION of

SPURGEON C OLLE GE

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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT Allie Brookens

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT David Holloman

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IN FOCUS Mission Road Bible Church

(Prairie Village, Kansas)

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at Midwestern Seminary

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Jason K. Allen

AROUND CAMPUS A review of news and events BOOKS IN BRIEF Recently published books by

Midwestern faculty and staff

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

RESOURCES FOR THE CHURCH A selection

of articles from the For The Church resources site at ftc.co

4 The Vision of Spurgeon College

Samuel Bierig

Jared C. Wilson

Jared Bumpers

Q&A

E S S AY

E S S AY

6 For the Kingdom

8 Why Attend

12 Don’t Waste

An interview with the Dean of Spurgeon College, Samuel Bierig.

16 Re-Centering

Student Ministry Around the Gospel John Mark Yeats

Spurgeon College?

Consider four compelling reasons to pursue your education with us.

20 Spurgeon College Is For the Nations Erik Odegard

Your Christian Education Make the most of your undergraduate years.

22 Snapchat Wisdom On College Ministry Dos and Don’ts Eric Turner MBT S .EDU

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OFFICE of the PRESIDENT Jason K. Allen, Ph.D.

Dear Friends: The edition of Midwestern Magazine that you hold in your hand brings me particular pride in Midwestern Seminary’s institutional progress, and a particular joy at the expansion of its ministry this publication presents.

As you read this magazine, I now find myself in the seventh year of service as president. During these past many years, the Lord has been pleased to bless Midwestern Seminary, and all that he has entrusted to us, in ways beyond my greatest expectations.

Among the many achievements God has given us is a near tripling of our enrollment, moving the institution from 1,100 students to over 3,500. Additionally, our expected budgeted revenues have nearly tripled as well, going from just over $8 million to more than $22 million.

On the ground here in Kansas City, Midwestern Seminary’s vibrancy is witnessed through the many campus renovations and expansions. In fact, Fall 2018 marks a dramatic expansion of our ministry footprint with the addition of the Mathena Student Center. This facility is a 40,000 square foot, capstone building on the campus.

Within it resides a whole new offering of institutional amenities, including a cafeteria, café and bookstore, gathering spaces, gymnasium, full recreation and exercise areas, and so much more.

These past many months have also witnessed a $3 million renovation of the seminary’s primary classroom and faculty office building. God’s provision of these financial resources through generous donors and sustained enrollment growth has enabled us to complete these projects without incurring any long-term indebtedness.

Yet, ultimately our work is not about buildings, but about people. An enrollment north of 3,500 students is more than a statistical data point, it represents literally thousands of churches that will be served with faithful ministers and hundreds of missionaries who are being trained to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Students would not be flocking to Midwestern Seminary without the stellar faculty and administrative team God has been pleased to assemble. Year by year, the Lord has brought major faculty additions to Midwestern Seminary. These include: Jason Duesing, John Mark Yeats, Owen Strachan, Matthew Barrett, Steven Smith, H.B. Charles, Andeas Köstenberger, and many more.

For those of us here at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College, we feel like the season before us is particularly opportune. With the completion of the Mathena Student Center and a host of other upgraded and expanded campus amenities, the appointment of Dean Sam Bierig, the ongoing expansion of our faculty, administration and staff, and the newly named and relaunched Spurgeon College, I believe we are poised to enter a new season of growth and ministry service at the undergraduate level.

Sincerely,

Jason K. Allen, Ph.D. President Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

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Readers can visit DR. JASON K. ALLEN’S BLOG at jasonkallen.com.

ED I T O R’S N O T E ISSUE 36

ADMINISTRATION Jason K. Allen PRESIDENT

James J. Kragenbring VICE PRESIDENT FOR

INSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATION

Jason G. Duesing PROVOST

Charles W. Smith, Jr.

“This is a fun time to be at Midwestern, isn’t it?” This is what people keep saying to me, wherever I go, whenever they learn I get the great privilege of serving at this wonderful institution. Usually they’re commenting about the enrollment growth, the growing cultural impact of the school on the SBC and on evangelicalism in general, and the increasing addition of world-class faculty and staff. But the thing is, people have been saying this to me for the last four years!

VICE PRESIDENT FOR

INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS

It certainly is a fun time to be at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

It’s fun for a multitude of reasons, but partly because of the continued

EDITORIAL

recalibrations of the institution toward President Jason K. Allen’s vision of existing For The Church. The recalibration we’re celebrating in this—the Fall 2018 edition of the Midwestern Magazine—is the renaming and relaunching of Midwestern’s undergraduate institution. Thus, this issue is dedicated to the new Spurgeon College and devoted to news and resources related to the “new” college’s mission For The Kingdom.

Jared C. Wilson CHIEF EDITOR

ART Jason Muir

LAYOUT & DESIGN

Sam Parkison

COVER ILLUSTRATION

Kristen Lanier Daniel Day Paige Brooks Liz Cotija

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Special thanks to:

JON WOODS

PAT HUDSON

© 2018 Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.

To that end, we interviewed new Spurgeon College Dean Samuel Bierig about the kingdom focus offered by the school, while in his feature article, Dr. Allen explores the overarching vision. Dr. Jared Bumpers, our new director of Student Life and Events, offers some help on making the most of your Christian education, while Dean of Students, Dr. John Mark Yeats, helps us reorient our thinking on student ministry around the gospel.

Additional feature articles, interviews with Spurgeon College students, practical resources, and updates on all the recent happenings on campus all serve to highlight the joyful spirit permeating our community in Kansas City right now. So, yes, it definitely is a fun place to be these days, but mainly because it is clear that Midwestern and its leaders are serious about God’s word and training the next generation of leaders in it. I hope you have some serious fun reading the pages ahead!

For the glory of Christ and, thus, For The Church,

5001 N. Oak Trafficway Kansas City, MO 64118 (816) 414-3700 Midwestern Seminary maintains professional and academic accreditation with two accrediting associations: The Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada and The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC).

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Jared C. Wilson Chief Editor, Midwestern Magazine Managing Editor, For The Church @JAREDCWILSON

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THE VISION of

SPURGEON C OLLE G E

by J A S O N K . A L L E N

M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

THE ANNOUNCEMENT EARLIER THIS YEAR OF THE LAUNCH OF SPURGEON COLLEGE WAS AN EXCITING ONE FOR ME. FOR ABOUT A DECADE NOW, of course, we have had an undergraduate arm known as Midwestern College. Yet, over the past several years, we have undergone a season of review and reflection of how best to position our undergraduate program to impact and to advance the kingdom of Christ. Hence, Spurgeon College was born.

Why Spurgeon College? To begin with, we own on this campus Charles Spurgeon’s personal library.

But more importantly, we affirm Charles Spurgeon’s convictions for his day and share his passions for theology, the gospel, mission, and the church.

Spurgeon was a great pulpiteer, yes, but he also founded some 66 different ministries with myriad points of social and cultural impact. Through Spurgeon College, we will continue to train the minister, the pastor, and the missionary, but we will also raise up a generation of students for the marketplace; men and women of God who will be business people, teachers, and other engagers of the public sphere.

As we look over our shoulders at all that God has done these past six years, we find ourselves in this present moment chasing the future with institutional ambition and determination.

Spurgeon College has brought Midwestern Seminary into a new and expanded phase of our ministry. Superbly led by Dean Sam Bierig,

Dr. Jason K. Allen | President, MBTS; Transitional Pastor, First Baptist Jackson, MS

Spurgeon College is equipping a new generation of students for the Kingdom.

As you no doubt know, Midwestern Seminary’s vision is to exist for the Church. We are giving our very best energies to training a new generation of pastors, ministers, and missionaries. Yet, Spurgeon College’s vision has even gone a touch broader. Through undergraduate programs, we are not only training pastors, ministers and missionaries but also equipping a generation of bi-vocational church planters, business-asmission missionaries, and a whole host of other young men and women who want to be prepared to expand the footprint of Christ’s Kingdom.

So, in addition to the disciplines of Christian Ministry and Christian Studies, Spurgeon College also offers a growing list of undergraduate degrees including humanities, business, communications, and counseling psychology.

Spurgeon College is absolutely different from the typical university or college. From top to bottom, Spurgeon College is positioned to train young men and women who are serious about honoring God with their lives, and are serious about their studies as being preparatory for a life of Christian service, whether in or outside of traditional ministry roles.

I invite you to come experience Spurgeon College.

Perhaps God is even calling you to be a part of this new and fine institution.

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An Interview with the Dean of Spurgeon College SAMUEL BIERIG

Recently serving as the director of Student Life and Events, Samuel Bierig was installed in 2017 as the dean of the newly unveiled Spurgeon College, Midwestern Seminary’s undergraduate institution.

We asked him to share with us the renewed vision for the college and explain the big heart behind the expanded focus.

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WHY IS SPURGEON COLLEGE “FOR THE KINGDOM?” If you know anything about the Midwestern community, you know we exist For the Church.

This is a glorious and appropriate vision and well fits our stewardship here. With the slogan For the Kingdom, we intend to signal a broader scope of educational intentions and possibilities. Bible, theology, missions, and ministry will ever remain the pulsing heart of what we do at Spurgeon College, but we also wish to equip and train Christians to enter into the public square—whether that’s in the business world, or as a public or private school teacher, a banker, marketer, etc.

At Spurgeon College, we want to equip students with a sturdy biblical worldview while tethering them to the local church, wherever that may be, at home in the States or in the Christian world abroad.

WHAT KIND OF STUDENTS IS SPURGEON COLLEGE LOOKING FOR? Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan that if one were to cut him, he would bleed Scripture. That is the kind of student we are looking for at Spurgeon College. We are looking for students who, if you were to cut them they’d bleed Bible—no matter the program or degree. We hope to attract, train, and deploy students who take the truths of the Scripture and the beauties of the gospel wherever they go to advance the kingdom as though the Bible were in their very blood. Furthermore, we seek to train students who push out the frontiers of the kingdom for her king, Jesus Christ.

WHAT DEGREE PROGRAMS OR OTHER EMPHASES MAKE SPURGEON COLLEGE UNIQUE? We try to give you the A-Team in every course. In regard to Bible and theology, the 2018-19 academic year will afford Spurgeon students the opportunity to take Preaching from our President Dr. Jason

K. Allen, Systematic Theology with Dr. Matthew Barrett, Pastoral Care and Counseling with Jared Wilson, Hermeneutics with Dr. Owen Strachan, and Intro to Youth Ministry from Dr. Jared Bumpers.

In other areas, we have Mrs. Candice Scott, who has nearly 12 years as a practitioner in the field, teaching Accounting courses. Dr. Glenn Miller, who is teaching Intro to Business & Finance, has 24 years of teaching experience and even more as a practitioner in the field of finances.

In regard to programs, both Accelerate and Fusion are experiencing banner years. Both broke enrollment records this Fall, and both are exhibiting unprecedented health, strength, and maturation.

WHAT’S SOMETHING ABOUT SPURGEON COLLEGE THAT MAY SURPRISE PEOPLE? I don’t know that it would necessarily surprise anyone, but the most notable comment friends and guests often offer is how joyful our students are. Spurgeon students genuinely enjoy each other, their professors, and the intentional life-on-life discipleship opportunities they receive here.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR THE COLLEGE? Just over the horizon for Spurgeon is expansion.

The Mathena Student Center has already become an unrivaled campus hub. It provides students with spaces that were previously unavailable to them. The artisan coffee shop, bookstore and reading spaces, and cafeteria are all top notch and provide natural spaces for community. Further, the workout area and gym provide outlets for health and play.

We intend to expand and strengthen faculty, class and degree offerings, as well as campus culture. For those unable to join us in Kansas City, there’s never been a better time to engage in theological education through online platforms. Spurgeon’s online programs continue to expand, allowing for students to receive training in their current ministry post.

Samuel Bierig | Dean, Spurgeon College; Pastor, Liberty Baptist Church, Liberty, MO

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WHY AT T E N D SPURGEON COLLEGE

by J A R E D C . W I L S O N

One of the beautiful tensions of theological education— and, really, higher education in general—is how often one must “go back” to go forward.

Christ’s church, of course, is rooted in Christ’s historical work in the gospel and tethered to the historical word of the Scriptures, tethered to a long tradition, too, of doctrinal faithfulness. To always be reforming is of course to always be returning to the gospel and the biblical markers of orthodoxy.

With this in mind, it makes perfect sense that the new day for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s undergrad institution be a renewal of the vision from the “olden days.”

To be specific, what was formerly Midwestern College has been renamed and relaunched as Spurgeon College.

Why? Because the vision Spurgeon cast in the Victorian age, and the legacy he left afterwards, is a fitting vision for the future of our institution.

That’s the nutshell “why” on the college’s new name. How about the “why” for prospective students? If you’re a high school student looking at what comes next—or a parent or pastor helping one figure that out—here are three simple reasons Spurgeon College ought to be on your radar.

A continued commitment to the Scriptures One thing that hasn’t changed at Midwestern’s undergrad level is the robust and rigorous devotion to the Bible. Like the Prince of Preachers for whom the college has been named, we are devoted to God’s word and believe it is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. If man cannot live except by every word that

proceeds from the mouth of God, what would our preparation of young men and women be without rooting them in those very words? Whether a student is preparing for vocational ministry or preparing for the marketplace, Spurgeon College believes the best equipping for the world is a grounding in the word.

A kingdom mindset One thing hasn’t changed since Spurgeon’s day, and it is this: the temptations to drift from the unchanging word of God are found both in the religious world and out.

Spurgeon sought to hold the fort for orthodoxy during the Downgrade Controversy while at the same time seeking to apply the Bible’s vision for God’s rule in the world to social and institutional issues of his day. His was a whole kingdom mindset, and Spurgeon College’s vision of existing For the Kingdom is providing students with the same. Spurgeon launched a preacher’s college and an orphanage. He preached against doctrinal drift in the church and against slavery in the world. He preached a whole Christ for the whole world, and thus students coming to Spurgeon College ought to prepare to have their whole selves engaged in God’s whole kingdom.

“HE PREACHED A WHOLE CHRIST FOR THE WHOLE WORLD, AND THUS STUDENTS COMING TO SPURGEON COLLEGE OUGHT TO PREPARE TO HAVE THEIR WHOLE SELVES ENGAGED IN GOD’S WHOLE KINGDOM.”

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“IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN WHICH JESUS IS THE CENTER OF THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, SPURGEON COLLEGE IS FOR YOU.”

Advanced opportunities From helping you apply God’s truth to your pursuit of a degree in business or education to preparing you to think through the depths of philosophy or theology, the opportunities to take big steps forward in your life are abundant at Spurgeon College. Our Accelerate degree program allows students to pursue both their B.A. and M.Div. simultaneously in just five years of intensive study.

The FUSION process allows students exploring a call to missions to get hands-on and roundthe-world experience. The Kansas City metro is a growing and increasingly diversifying mission field.

The nations are coming here. The opportunities to grow in your faith while growing in your education are accumulating by the day.

Community spirit The Spurgeon College campus is warm and engaging. The options for local church membership are numerous and the fellowships are gracious. Profs

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at Spurgeon College love their students and make ample time for coffees and lunches and informal get-togethers. Kansas City is a fun and vibrant place to live and explore. And if you’re looking for a campus culture that is centered on the gospel and all of its implications, this is the campus you’re looking for. The gracious community spirit is the beating heart of campus life, while the fun fellowships, conferences and concerts, and numerous leadership opportunities keep the place jumping.

The saying goes, “Those who forget their past are destined to repeat it.” We realize the world is changing rapidly, and the demands on ministry and mission are increasing because of it. But we know that the best way of navigating the future is staying connected to past faithfulness while trusting in Christ’s everpresent faithfulness to uphold the universe by the word of his power.

As Midwestern Seminary Provost Jason Duesing has said, “The naming of our college for C.H. Spurgeon reflects our joyful mission. For, in the name Spurgeon, we are not only upholding the legacy and core theological commitments of this Baptist theologian and preacher, but we are pointing to what Spurgeon spent his every breath pointing—namely Jesus Christ.” Ultimately, this is the biggest reason to attend. If you’re looking for an educational experience in which Jesus is the center of the entire system, Spurgeon College is for you.

Jared C. Wilson | Director of Content Strategy, MBTS; Managing Editor of For The Church

GROUNDED IN THE TRUTH. READY FOR THE WORLD.

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Education grounded in God’s infallible word.

SPURGEON COLLEGE IS DEDICATED TO TRAINING THE LEADERS OF TODAY AND TOMORROW. Our dual degree option grounds students in the truth while getting them ready for the marketplace. So whether you’re joining us for residential studies in Kansas City or taking your courses via our online virtual class room, Spuregon College is the sensible option to prepare and equip you for leadership today and tomorrow.

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DON’T WASTE YOUR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

by J A R E D B U M P E R S

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IN HIS BOOK DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE, JOHN PIPER INFAMOUSLY WARNED SENIOR ADULTS NOT TO WASTE THEIR RETIREMENT YEARS BY COLLECTING SEA SHELLS.

W

HILE STUDENTS WHO ATTEND A Christian college or seminary are not likely to waste their college days collecting sea shells, there are other activities that threaten to drain their energy and steal their time. Social media, friends, video games, and a host of other things are always waiting to distract Christian students from their studies on a regular basis. What a tragedy for students to gain a large following on social media in college, develop many friendships, go on multiple dates, master certain video games, and yet neglect their studies and fail to prepare adequately for ministry! So how do students make the most of their time in college or seminary? Let me suggest three ways students can maximize their studies and avoid wasting their Christian education.

1

Prioritize Personal Devotions

College students are busy. They take classes.

They work. They maintain a social life. Yet they must ensure they do not become too busy to consistently read their Bibles and pray. Religious

“Religious instruction at a Christian institution cannot and should not substitute for personal piety and devotion.”

instruction at a Christian institution cannot and should not substitute for personal piety and devotion. A vibrant devotional life is key to spiritual health, and college students cannot afford to neglect this foundational component of their Christian life.

A vibrant devotional life will not happen accidentally, though. Students attending Christian colleges and seminaries must commit to reading their Bibles and praying regularly, and they must manage their calendars to reflect this commitment.

Intentionally plan time to study God’s Word and pray. Write it on the calendar. Set a reminder on your phone. Whatever you do, make sure you prioritize personal devotions.

2

Commit to a Local Church

The local church is not simply an option for Christians; it is a necessity. Corporate worship, real community, and church discipline are essential for the Christian life. College students are not an exception; they need the body of Christ. This is true of every college student, but it is particularly true of students who move away from home to attend a Christian college.

Students who attend a Christian university or seminary still need the worship, community, and discipline of a local church in order to flourish. The church is essential for their spiritual growth, and the church provides a context for them to serve and begin to implement their newly-acquired knowledge and skills. Bottom line: every Christian college and seminary student needs the local church for personal spiritual growth and ministry experience.

Find a good church. Join it. Attend it. Serve it.

Commit to a local church.

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3

Love God with Your Mind

Christian education provides students with an opportunity to fulfill part of the Great Commandment by loving God with all their mind (Matthew 22:38-40). Students attending Christian institutions should view their academic journey, not merely as a time to accumulate knowledge, but as an opportunity to love God with their whole being, and especially with their mind. Approached this way, college and seminary become vital contributors to the spiritual formation of students.

“Find a good church.

Join it. Attend it. Serve it.”

Let me hasten to add that Christian education is not merely an intellectual endeavor. As students engage their minds in theology and church history and biblical interpretation and a host of other studies, their hearts should be stirred to love God and serve Him. Studying at a Christian university or seminary should stretch the mind and enlarge the heart. So, commit to academic excellence. Love God with all your mind.

It is possible to make the most of your college and seminary years. Yes, a host of things will always be lurching, waiting to distract you from your studies.

Yet it’s possible to maximize your time in college and graduate well-equipped for life and ministry.

Establish a consistent devotional life. Join a solid local church. Commit to academic excellence to the glory of God. Make the most of your studies. Whatever you do, don’t waste your Christian education.

Dr. Jared Bumpers | Director of Student Life and Events, MBTS & Spurgeon College

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RE-CENTERING

STUDENT MINIST

AROUND THE GO

by J O H N M A R K Y E A T S

THE WEEKLY GATHERING OF TEENS WANED OVER THE LAST DECADE. The church tried to figure out why their student ministry didn’t seem to be reaching the same number of students. Lay leaders floated ideas from their experiences in the 90s – “More fun!” “More games!” “More events!” “More music!” – but the pastor already knew the fruit the attractional model bore. Plenty of evidence existed to put those ideas away. It would be easy to point to the greater challenges of a culture that no longer prioritized church or youth group. Students in sports barely have time to study, much less show up at a weekly youth meeting.

So how do we overcome these and a host of other issues? How do we help young adults own their faith during their high school years so that they stand firm in college? Instead of focusing solely on the metrics, perhaps we should reclaim a gospel-centered student ministry. These five primary components to a gospel-centered student ministry can help:

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TRY

OSPEL

“AS A BYPRODUCT, GOSPEL-CENTERED STUDENTS RADIATE JOY AND PRESENT A CAPTIVATING PICTURE OF WHAT JESUS DOES IN THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE!”

moment we find ourselves in where fewer young adults have ever heard the basic message of hope found in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. For students growing up in the faith, there is nothing more essential for their continued growth in understanding of the claims that the gospel continues to place on their life. As a byproduct, gospel-centered students radiate joy and present a captivating picture of what Jesus does in the hearts of his people!

1

Gospel-centered student ministry focuses on the essential message of the faith – the good news of Jesus Christ.

This statement should go without saying, but let’s be clear: It’s easy to bypass this mark altogether by assuming all of our students have some level of familiarity with the message of the gospel. This is a horrible trap that misses the missiological

2

Gospel-centered student ministry is word-driven.

It’s the word of God that provides solutions for the lives of our students. No amount of tweetables, kitschy-ness, or activity that may draw crowds can fulfill the spiritual thirst of teens. Give them the word. Your large gatherings and small groups should all connect students to the timeless truths of Scripture. Allow the Spirit of God to engage the hearts of students through the word of God. Choose camps and conferences

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that have speakers prioritizing the Bible above fads, humor, or entertainment.

3

Gospel-centered student ministry grounds students in theology.

Gospel-centered student ministry grounds students in theology. “This we believe” is part of small-group discipleship that builds upon the regular teaching of the word of God. Students should be very familiar with the confessions of the congregation so that, when asked, they are able to give an answer from the Bible about what they believe.

This requires some level of intentional catechetical instruction within the structures of the ministry, but every bit of intention in this area reaps rewards.

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“ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAPS COMING OUT OF THE STUDENT MINISTRY MOVEMENTS AT THE END OF THE LAST CENTURY WAS THE THOUGHT THAT YOUTH DIDN’T HAVE A PLACE IN THE BROADER COMMUNITY OF FAITH.”

Gospel-centered student ministry sends students on mission.

For all of their learning, give them opportunity after opportunity to share Jesus with others.

Take them locally to serve others in food kitchens and homeless shelters, but make sure they are given the chance to verbally share Jesus with those they serve. Prepare them and send them overseas to share Christ with people who have never heard the gospel. Help them fall in love with missions and a God who sends his children to the ends of the earth.

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building hard silos between student ministry and the rest of the church. Make sure your students are worshipping with senior adults and younger children. Help them see the beauty of intergenerational worship. Connect them with the concept of the ministry of presence – how their personal vitality and passion invigorates the faith of older and wiser members. Set expectations for students to serve in the broader context of the community of faith.

Your church can reach the students God brings to your congregation! By God’s grace, a gospelcentered student ministry will demonstrate near-term fruit in the form of new followers of Jesus and long-term fruit in the numbers of students who head out from your congregation equipped to face the challenges of the age anchored in the beauty of the gospel.

Gospel-centered student ministry maintains integration with the church as a whole.

One of the greatest traps coming out of the student ministry movements at the end of the last century was the thought that youth didn’t have a place in the broader community of faith. We should not be

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Dr. John Mark Yeats | Dean of Students; Associate Professor of Church History, MBTS

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SPURGEON COLLEGE IS FOR THE NATIONS

by E R I K O D E G A R D

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EARLY IN 2017, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO VISIT TWO NORTH AFRICAN COUNTRIES WHERE SPURGEON COLLEGE’S FUSION TEAMS ARE SERVING ALONGSIDE INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD MISSIONARIES.

their English students, public evangelism in local shops and during everyday life, and intentional sharing during home visits. The result is often rejection and opposition; however, the Lord has brought a number of people to inquire further and even to trust in Christ in these locations.

These young believers have taken ownership of new believers, helping to establish them in the Scriptures and lead them to obedience.

This is the second phase of these undergrads’ Fusion experience; all the training these teams received at Spurgeon College in the fall semester is put to the test in hard places among unreached peoples in the spring semester. When I observed the work of three teams in two countries, I was struck by their usefulness in the long-term strategy of their IMB field partners and was struck anew by the great privilege our college has in actively serving on God’s mission to the nations.

While IMB partners are involved with the teams at varying levels, the Fusion teams I observed took responsibility for one another’s growth in God’s grace. Individuals devote themselves to the daily study of God’s Word. Two brothers hit their knees at 6:00 am each morning to pray for one another.

Teams meet for daily worship, sharing, confession, and prayer. The loving confrontation of sin and active pursuit of reconciliation in the midst of daily conflict was ever present. These young believers possessed a demonstrable commitment to personal and corporate growth in their walks with Christ.

THE RESPONSIBILITY IS BIG

TRUSTED WITH GROWING IN GRACE

While this is not the case These young believers are not “The loving with every Fusion team, the exceptional. These are typical three teams I visited were 18-21 year olds who came from confrontation of sin all entrusted with teaching typical youth groups and typical and active pursuit of English classes to locals. churches. Most of them are less than reconciliation in the These English courses a year removed from high school provide legitimacy to the graduation. But with only a semester midst of daily conflict IMB field partners they of intensive training and life-on-life was ever present.” work with. In other words, discipleship, these young believers these partners depend upon are used by God to advance His English centers to provide a government approved, glory in hard, unreached places in humbling ways. culturally acceptable reason to live in their North The opportunities provided through Fusion and African cities. They trust these young believers, its sponsorship by the International Mission Board with minimal support, to teach the English courses evidence Spurgeon College’s heart for the kingdom, upon which their long-term presence depends. In and thus for the nations. this way, the responsibility is commensurate with the task.

There are young believers throughout our churches who are capable to be trusted with significant TRUSTED WITH GOSPEL LABORS responsibilities, gospel labors, and growing in Fusion teams work under the church planting grace. I pray that we would recognize that God strategy of IMB and seek to make a significant has gifted young believers for the edification contribution. These teams in North Africa proclaim of our churches (1 Corinthians 12:7), raise our the gospel broadly and boldly as they use creative expectations of them, sharpen them in training, distribution strategies, relational evangelism with and entrust them with significant tasks.

Erik Odegard | Director of Fusion at Spurgeon College

Learn more about FUSION at spurgeoncollege.com/fusion.

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SNAPCHAT WISDOM

ON COLLEGE MINISTRY DOS AND DON’TS

by E R I C T U R N E R

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NO, THIS IS NOT A POST ABOUT HOW TO USE SNAPCHAT (OR ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA) FOR GROWING A COLLEGE MINISTRY. SO LET ME EXPLAIN: I

had this crazy idea once upon a time to flood all of the college students I know on Snapchat with an informal research question.

For those who do not know, I served as a college and singles pastor at Lenexa Baptist Church in Kansas City, and I currently serve as a New Testament faculty member at Hannibal-LaGrange University. My point is, I know a lot of college students, and I am always looking for wisdom on how better to engage in effective ministry toward them. For the record, the number of students may not be statistically significant, but at least it was enough to arrive at some interesting conclusions.

So, if you are currently doing college ministry or are pondering how to begin a college ministry, you may find what I am about to share helpful, or at least, insightful.

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Form friendships with college students with the intent of sharing the gospel.

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Do not dumb down the gospel.

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Know your audience.

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Do not isolate your students from the larger body of believers.

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Open up your life to your students.

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Do life with them.

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Keep your ministry “missional,” get it outside the four walls of the church.

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Be careful in choosing your leadership.

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Stay relevant.

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Use challenging material that will make them dig deep.

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Do not have too much structure; the ministry should have an organic feel.

Now, here is the Snapchat question I asked:

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What is one Do and one Don’t of college ministry?

From these and from my experience in college ministry, here are a few observations and principles that may help you get on the right track.

I received a variety of responses. Allow me to list a few of them for you, and then I will draw together some observations/principles for those of us who seek to faithfully minister to this unique generation. Here is a sampling of what they said…

•

Do not expect an immediate response when starting your college ministry.

Teach theology to college students.

1

THE SIZE OF YOUR COLLEGE MINISTRY IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS YOU THINK IT IS.

Very little was said about students wanting to be part of a large college ministry. What was noteworthy is that students appear to value

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“PUT AWAY THE GAMES YOU PLAYED IN YOUTH GROUP AND START DIGGING DEEP INTO JESUS.”

substance over sheer numbers.

Unfortunately, from a pastor’s perspective, we have used numbers to gauge success in the past. From the perspective of students, this conversation is not on their radar. You would do well as a college minister to not base your worth on the size of your group.

Churches, I exhort you, stop playing the numbers game with your leaders.

2

COLLEGE STUDENTS DO NOT WANT SHALLOW TEACHING, THEY LONG FOR DEPTH.

Over and over again, from a majority of the students polled, I heard that depth of teaching was a major factor in whether they were attracted to or stayed connected to a college ministry. One student sent me this response: I once had a Bible study on campus with students through Romans. You would not believe how hungry they were for depth.

They were taught Sunday School answers all their life. Students love being part of meaningful conversations. I had one student so shocked that the Jews rejected Jesus, she slammed her fists on the table and yelled, “We need to tell them!”

In other words, put away the games you played in youth group and start digging deep into Jesus.

3

RELATIONSHIPS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN STRUCTURE IN COLLEGE MINISTRY.

Often, we begin with the opposite strategy. We are taught to develop the structure (what we do) and then when we attract students, the focus shifts to building relationships (who we are).

Almost every student responded with something about the importance of relationships. None of them were concerned at all with the format of the ministry. As a caveat, this is not to say that you M I DW E S T E R N M A G A Z I N E

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have zero structure and throw caution to the wind as you drink coffee with your students in a casual atmosphere. What I am noting is the priority you place on building relationships. In other words, focus more on who you are rather than what you do. As one student boldly declared, Build a relationship with me before you lecture me.

4

COLLEGE STUDENTS NEED ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WIDER BODY OF CHRIST, NOT ISOLATION.

Here is a secret worth its ministry weight in gold: College students want to serve in your church. Give them leadership opportunities, however, as one student rightly said, Do not allow students to serve if they are living a life of unrepentant sin. Connect students with married couples, senior adults and, above all, find places for them to serve out of the gifts they possess. Just because they are college students does not mean that they share in less of a portion of the Holy Spirit.

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PATIENCE IS A MUST AS YOU SEEK TO DISCIPLE COLLEGE STUDENTS.

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YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO OPEN UP YOUR LIFE BEFORE COLLEGE STUDENTS.

One of the first “snaps” that I received back read, Do not get discouraged when students seem to be living double lives, continue pouring into them.

Another remarked, Do not make decisions for your students when they come to you for advice. Help them make their own decisions. I have discovered that ministry to college students is often messy, but so is ministry to any other age group. It takes a calm, wise, and patient leader to help guide students into Christ-likeness.

I would note if you are going to do effective, longterm ministry to college students, this principle is non-negotiable. They want to have fun with you as a leader, but they do not want you to act like a college student. They crave examples that they can follow and imitate. They want encouragement, but they value transparency the most. One student wisely said, Be willing to just hang out with me – but remember, it doesn’t always have to be about coffee.

Some of our deepest relationships have been and continue to be built as we open our home and our lives (for better or for worse) to college students.

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FOOD, FOOD, FOOD…

It may seem simplistic, but if you feed them, they will come. One of the replies was telling as it got right to the point; Food – it is hard to hear over a grumbling stomach. Remember this and get this next sentence embedded in your strategy. A home-cooked meal may be the lifeline that a college student is longing for, especially if they eat off of a meal plan in their campus cafeteria, but even more importantly, if they are struggling with homesickness and afraid to tell someone. For many, this is the first time they have been separated from family. Your family could become their family.

“IT TAKES A CALM, WISE, AND PATIENT LEADER TO HELP GUIDE STUDENTS INTO CHRIST-LIKENESS.” Again, this post is a somewhat unscientific assessment on the best practices and common pitfalls of college ministry, the dos and don’ts.

But, I believe what is important to consider is that these principles are drawn from college students themselves. So, if you are doing college ministry or thinking of starting one, heed this practical wisdom. I truly believe that the generation that is in college right now is poised to do significant kingdom work. My prayer is that we see incredible gospel results as we faithfully minister to them.

Dr. Eric Turner | Provost; Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek, Hannibal-LaGrange University, Hannibal, MO

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CELEBRATING OUR GROWTH WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION

by J A M E S J . K R A G E N B R I N G

T

his fall, Midwestern will again celebrate God’s kindness in the continued renewal of our campus—a renewal that reflects the vitality of our academic programs and continues to enhance the reputations of Spurgeon College and Midwestern Seminary as premier schools at which to pursue theological training.

What is happening this fall continues a remarkable renaissance on our campus. In 2013, we completed our new chapel complex.

In 2015, we completed a full renovation of our administration building, which was recently dedicated as Berquist Hall, in honor of our founding president, Dr. Millard Berquist. Also in 2015, we completed the Spurgeon Library, which houses the extant personal library of the great 19th century English Baptist, Charles Spurgeon.

When students arrived on campus this fall, they were greeted by a fully renovated Trustee Building. This building houses three crucial foci of campus life: classrooms, faculty offices, and student services. The first floor of the building is now a “one-stop shop” for student services—the headquarters for Spurgeon College greets students as they arrive, along with the Offices of Admissions, Financial Services, the Registrar, and Information Technology. On the second floor, our classrooms have been fully refreshed, including all-new, stateof-the-art technology. And opposite the classrooms

Jim Kragenbring | Vice President for Institutional Administration, MBTS

are new faculty offices, which now allow the majority of our faculty to office in the heart of our main campus, in much better proximity to classrooms and, crucially, to students.

But student life at Spurgeon College is not all work! This October, we will dedicate our new 40,000 square-foot Mathena Student Center. The construction of this building was made possible by a generous lead gift from the Mathena family and the tremendous kindness of many more donors who have joined the Mathenas in investing in the next generation of leaders For the Kingdom. We expect the Mathena Student Center will quickly become the epicenter of all kinds of student life.

The student center will house an all-new, expanded Sword & Trowel bookstore, an artisan coffee shop, high quality food service cafe, and multiple spaces for studying and meeting. It includes a large recreation room with games of all sorts, a full-sized gymnasium, full workout facilities, a racquetball court, a Crossfit-like box, and a childcare area to accommodate students with children. In short, the student center will prove plenty of places to hang out—whether studying or recreating.

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STUDENT HIGHLIGHT

Meet

ALLIE BROOKENS

P

erhaps the biggest benefit of having an undergraduate institution that is intentionally designed For the Kingdom is the kind students that such a vision attracts. Spurgeon College has been blessed with a great number of Jesus-following young men and women who are exploring how their place in the church and the gospel’s place in the world might be best stewarded for God’s glory.

One such student is Spurgeon College junior Allie Brookens of Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Pursuing her B.A. in Counseling Psychology, Allie also serves as a Residential Assistant on campus to undergrad girls and attends Raintree Community Church in nearby Lee’s Summit. Jared Wilson visited with her about her college experience thus far and asked her to offer some advice to those considering their next educational steps.

JARED What unique aspects of Spurgeon College made it appealing to you?

ALLIE

I came to Spurgeon College in kind of a unique manner. I started taking college classes online at Liberty University. I knew it was a

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good school, and I loved what I was learning (psychology), but something felt a little off. I was alone for hours studying, and all I could think of was living like that for the next four years. That thought made me want to give up on school altogether. So, I sat down one day and knew something “I knew that I was going had to give. My to be biblically trained, to pastor had just moved to Kansas serve in a church or still City and enrolled at Midwestern for serve Christians outside the his Ph.D. Someone suggested I look church, without sacrificing into Midwestern high academic standards.” too, to see if they offered anything for counseling. I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes and said, “Okay, but I think it’s just a seminary, just for pastors.”

The one thing I did know was that I wanted a degree program that could set me up to pursue my M.A. in Counseling. I had done a lot of research, so I called admissions with my list of

questions about counseling philosophy and my convictions, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The school’s counseling objectives got me in the door. I knew that was something I could get behind. I knew that I was going to be biblically trained, to serve in a church or still serve Christians outside the church, without sacrificing high academic standards. But even broader than that, I am simply formulating a Christian worldview and learning to study the Bible for myself. No matter what the future holds, I know these things will serve me well.

JCW What have been your favorite classes, and why?

AB On a content level, my favorite classes have been counseling-related. There are few greater feelings than being in a class where the discussion ignites your passion so much that you have a hard time keeping quiet or sitting still. I often find myself thinking about how I would love to pick a professor’s brain about a certain topic. On the other hand, I have loved classes like Christian Doctrine, Old Testament, Ethics, and Philosophy because of how incredible the professors have been. When Midwestern says that the professors care, it’s not just a cliché. They joke with you in class, want you to enter into discussion with them, and genuinely pray for you. Just last

week I had a professor stop me in the hallway and asked about a difficult prayer request I had shared two years ago! He was still praying. That kind of teaching transcends the classroom.

JCW What’s something people outside the area might not know about Kansas City?

AB There’s always something going on! I still haven’t made it through the list of coffee shops and ice cream places I want to visit. On top of that, we have a ton of parks, great shopping, the zoo, museums, and culturally diverse restaurants and festivals. Oh, and let’s not forget those Royals!

JCW What word of advice would you give a high school student considering which college to choose?

AB Think long-term and short-term. What I mean is, ask yourself where you want to be in five years.

Not just in a career, but how do you want to have developed as a holistic person? Then work backward and find the place and people that will spur you on to that. It’s too easy to just drift during this season of life. But also think short-term. You won’t arrive at your goal today. So, determine what you can do each day to serve God where you are. Do the next faithful thing.

“There are few greater feelings than being in a class where the discussion ignites your passion so much that you have a hard time keeping quiet or sitting still.”

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ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT

DAVID HOLLOMAN* Missionary to the Middle East

BA, CHRISTIAN MINISTRY | 2016

One of the greatest and gravest responsibilities Spurgeon College has is the sending out of God-called men and women trained to proclaim the gospel in hard (and sometimes hostile) places. David Holloman, whose name has been changed to protect his identity as he serves in such a place overseas, is one such graduate. He took some time to answer our questions about his work with the International Mission Board, and how he was prepared for this endeavor through his time at Spurgeon College.

When did you first gain a vision for international missions — a sense of calling — and what was that like?

Through their affirmation and the other elements mentioned I saw these as clear indicators of God’s call on my life.

I became a Christian at the beginning of high school and was able to go on several short-term trips which at least gave me a desire to be a part of missions. Those trips were my first exposure to missions. Then after high school I read the book Don’t Waste Your Life (by John Piper) which led me to want to do more, and ultimately to go. But it was not until after participating in the Fusion program at Spurgeon College and getting married to my missions-called wife that I felt called to international missions long term. Fusion was a big part of that because it helped me get a better taste of what missions actually was about.

What’s the nature of your work now?

My calling was not a specific moment. It was a combination of things. First, it was the clear teachings of Scripture about the need. Secondly, it was a God-given desire to live where the gospel is not. Then, thirdly, it was the regular affirmation from my church that I should go.

I sought to have regular conversations with people from my church who knew me well, where they could examine my life and give me feedback about if going seemed right for me.

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I currently live in the Middle East where I am working to learn Urdu. Our hope is to move to South Asia to a predominantly Muslim country and begin work there to equip churches to plant churches as well as one-on-one disciple making.

How did your time at Spurgeon College prepare you for this work?

Spurgeon College helped tremendously in preparation for living and working overseas.

First, working with the Fusion team, I got to spend a whole semester overseas. Spending four months overseas took away the false sense of glamor that short-term missions can sometimes give. With that, though, the Lord taught me through his word and through others during my time in the Midwestern Seminary community that missions is about and sustained by the glory of God, which drove me to want to go. This was and is much more compelling and lasting than some sort of religious wanderlust.

*Name has been changed.

Learn more about FUSION at spurgeoncollege.com/fusion.

“I am encouraged by the thought that the work in this particular mission field is not just my work but also part of how God is using my local sending church.”

Aside from that, both Spurgeon College and my local church in Kansas City helped grow my understanding and confidence in Scripture. The reality in missions is that you need much more than just missiology, because you are regularly teaching and answering questions on a variety of theological topics.

Spurgeon College was a place where I learned to think through these ideas well and teach them from the authority of Scripture, not my personal opinion.

What was most valuable about your time in the Fusion Program?

A big takeaway would be exposure to what longer-term missions is like but the most valuable take away from my time in Fusion would be the deep discipleship relationships that I am still benefiting from today. In Fusion you live with several other guys who are sinful like you, but together, you get the opportunity to fight for each other and regularly remind one another of truth. Many of the guys I lived with in Fusion are my closest friends who I now call for advice and input into my life.

How important is a local church connection for missionaries?

The local church is vastly important for missionaries. For one, a person with no accountability is dangerous. The church needs to be sending qualified men and women to the nations. Also the church needs to obey and love the Great Commission. I am encouraged by the thought that the work in this particular mission field is not just my work but also part of how God is using my local sending church.

We need people praying, giving, and going– no aspect should be overlooked.

Learn more about THE INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD at imb.org.

On the other hand, local churches in South Asia are key for the gospel advancing. As just one person, I will be limited in my reach, but the local churches of South Asia can be more effective and have longer lasting presence with the gospel than me. This is why it is vital we come alongside the local church. The local church is important for the missionary being sent as well as for the missionary’s works.

What word of advice would you give a high school student interested in pursuing a call to missions about choosing a college?

I would encourage them to look for several aspects in a college. Find one that has opportunities to live or work with internationals. Look for places that have gospel-preaching churches who desire to see the gospel spread to the nations. Then regularly seek opportunities to go overseas while in college. Different degrees have different benefits, from medical to business to a Bible degree but the above aspects are important no matter your degree. They help Christians develop in maturity and preparedness for cross-cultural ministry.

I would encourage anyone who has an interest in missions to consider the Fusion process at Spurgeon College. It is a program that provides college credit alongside experience. The leadership in Fusion loves the gospel, and they truly desire that the glory of God would be made known around the world. Spurgeon College was a great experience for me and is worth considering since it fits the criteria above. And Kansas City is a diverse metroplex with multiple healthy churches. Either way, I would say high school students should find the place that puts them in the best position to be discipled and to make disciples for a lifetime.

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IN FOCUS: MISSION ROAD BIBLE CHURCH

MISSION ROAD BIBLE CHURCH LOCATION: Prairie Village, Kansas

I

n every edition of the Midwestern Magazine, we seek to highlight churches in our region that distinguish themselves in faithful, gospel-rich ministry and gracious partnership in our pursuit of equipping the next generation of leaders for the Church. Mission Road Bible Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, certainly fits the bill!

Planted in 1958 out of the missional labors of the Central Church of Kansas City, Mission Road was founded on the values of gospel witness and expositional preaching, values which mark its ministry presence to this very day.

Dr. Rick Holland became the senior pastor at Mission Road in August 2011 after nearly 25 years at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he served on the ministerial team under Pastor John MacArthur. Under Dr. Holland’s leadership, Mission Road Bible Church has chosen to affiliate with the SBC. We asked Dr. Holland for some of his insights on the significant ministry of Mission Road.

The incredible emphasis on the Scriptures was there from the very beginning, wasn’t it?

Yes. The church was really formed out of a simple commitment to the Bible. Even though it has always been a “Bible church,” it was never a part of the Bible Church movement of a few decades ago. The church was simply staunch in their conviction to be as biblical as possible in doctrine and philosophy of ministry.

And the vision for the church has always come from the biblical vision for the church, not from any ideas in the culture.

Our church highlights this mission statement, often recited on Sundays: “We exist to magnify God and spread a passion for His glory by making disciples and shepherding them to value Jesus Christ above all else, in every dimension of life, as regulated by the Word of God.” At MRBC, we are very aware of our shortcomings. However, watching God work on and through the lives of Christ’s body in our congregation provides constant reminders of our need for the gospel and its greatness.

How does this mission work in the community outside the walls of Mission Road?

Dr. Rick Holland, Senior Pastor, Mission Road Bible Church

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Our missions outreach is a definite accent in the life of our church. We currently support five missionaries and ministries serving in Africa, Italy, England, and Jewish outreach here in

Photos courtesy of Mission Road Bible Church

the States. The church’s desire is to direct more support to fewer works (instead of less support to multiple works) so we can be more involved and invested in missions and outreach. Our staff frequently travels overseas to teach in pastoral training centers, and we are working on improving our short-term mission trips for the congregation.

We also have a door-to-door ministry in the neighborhood surrounding our church, singles outreach, multiple outreaches to the assisted living facilities in our area, and try to equip our members for evangelism in their context of work, school, families, and neighborhoods.

What have you enjoyed the most about tending the flock at Mission Road?

Eight years ago, when I was considering the transition from an associate pastor to a senior pastor position, my wife and I looked at several churches where we might serve. Honestly, living in Kansas City was not on our map of possibilities. But when we visited the church, we were wonderfully ambushed by God. We immediately

Learn more about MISSION ROAD BIBLE CHURCH at mrbckc.org.

sensed something special about MRBC. There was an evident love for Christ, a desire to know the Word of God, and a group of leaders who were unified, humble, and convictional.

More than that, however, the main reason we wanted to come to MRBC was that we saw it to be the place we wanted to raise our three sons and enjoy the blessings of the body of Christ ourselves.

As the church has grown in recent years, we had to move to two services. After a few years in this model, we found that this was not best for the body life of our church. Last year we remodeled the worship center to seat our church in one service. The benefits of moving back to one service have been immeasurable. Worshipping together in one service has greatly improved our ability to shepherd and oversee the souls in our care.

And I love serving with our elders and pastoral staff! We are more than ministry comrades, we are the best of friends. And the general commitment our congregation has toward knowing and serving Christ is contagious and enriching.

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AROUND CAMPUS

Photo courtesy of Baptist Press and Van Payne

Allen explains Midwestern Seminary’s “profound stewardship” to SBC churches in President’s Report

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen’s report to the messengers at the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting reflected a focus on the concept of stewardship.

Through the many great signs of favor God has outpoured onto Midwestern Seminary over his nearly six-year tenure, Allen noted

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these are not taken for granted by him or the institution’s leadership team. Likened to the apostle Paul’s urging for Timothy to “guard what has been entrusted to him,” Allen said the school’s leadership team possesses a profound stewardship on behalf of the some-45,000 churches who come together to support theological education.

“Over the past five years, God has been pleased to bless this institution in remarkable ways, and I am proud of that—not merely because of the strength it has enabled us to demonstrate but because of what that communicates about the men and women sitting before me and scattered throughout and around our denomination,” Allen said.

“Students who come and donors who give represent a denomination that believes wholeheartedly in our work, the strength of our faculty, the integrity of our vision, the clarity of our mission, and that we are committed, indeed, to serving the local church.”

Allen added that the school’s unchanging vision, while upkeeping this stewardship, is to exist “For the Church.”

“Our ambition is to be the premier institution in North America training ministers, pastors, and evangelists for local church service, not just in a generic sense, but particularly for Southern Baptist churches,” Allen said. “That has propelled us forward in a whole host of different ways, and this past year was another of unprecedented institutional achievement.”

Among the many achievements for which he is thankful, Allen noted record enrollment, significant progress on campus construction projects, hiring a highly-respected faculty member, and the recent announcement about changes to the school’s undergraduate program.

Along the enrollment front, Allen expressed his gratitude to God for continued enrollment growth. He said that Midwestern Seminary’s enrollment surpassed 3,400 students this academic year, which means the school’s enrollment over the past six years has tripled. Additionally, all early metrics portend another record enrollment this fall.

Updating the messengers, Allen said that construction on the 40,000-square-foot Mathena Student Center—that will include a gymnasium, cafeteria, bookstore, café, seminar space and workout facilities—is swiftly approaching

“We exist for the church; we exist for your church; and we are doing that as faithfully as we can, by God’s grace, and we are thrilled with the results God has given us.”

- Jason K. Allen completion. The facility will be in use by the beginning of the fall semester, and thanks to the generosity of the Mathena family of Oklahoma City and many others, the construction will be accomplished with no long-term debt.

Another simultaneous construction project—renovating the existing classroom and faculty building—is only weeks away from completion as well. The results of this undertaking, Allen said, will well-position the school’s infrastructure well into the 21st century.

Allen also announced the hiring of Andreas Köstenberger as research professor of New Testament and biblical theology. Köstenberger will also serve as director of a forthcoming Center for Biblical Studies. Of the hire, Allen praised Köstenberger as “one of the elite New Testament scholars in the Evangelical world,” and added, “He comes in and compliments and strengthens our

Biblical Studies Department.”

Finally, Allen shared with messengers about a plan over the past year-and-a-half to unveil changes to how the institution’s undergraduate program could better-serve the churches of the SBC. Renaming the school’s undergraduate arm as Spurgeon College, the ideology was to emulate the man, C.H. Spurgeon.

“As you know,” Allen said, “we own the Spurgeon Library; we house the Spurgeon Library; and more over we share Spurgeon’s convictions and ambitions for ministry.”

These include Spurgeon’s steadfast commitment to the Word of God; his veracious commitment to the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ; his willingness to defend the faith; and his determination to impact society through a host of social ministries.

Allen said, “So for us, it is natural, fitting, and right to launch Spurgeon College to help us extend our mission of training undergraduate students…who need that preparation. We are proud to stand in the gap for you and to serve you through Spurgeon College.”

Concluding his report, Allen explained, “’For the Church:’ that is why we exist. This is a perennial vision, and we will not unveil a new one next year or the year after. That is who we are, and for me the great delight is to see how that vision has migrated from being ‘my’ vision for the seminary to ‘our’ vision for the seminary to ‘the’ vision for the seminary.

“We exist for the church; we exist for your church; and we are doing that as faithfully as we can,

by God’s grace, and we are thrilled with the results God has given us.”•

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AROUND CAMPUS

Contemporary challenges facing the SBC discussed at For The Church regional conference in Dallas

by T. PATRICK HUDSON

Engaging the topic of unity within the Southern Baptist Convention, Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen moderated a panel discussion during the fourth annual For the Church Regional Conference held on June 12 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center.

Over 1,000 attendees filled the room to hear a spirited discussion between J.D. Greear, Mark Dever, Thom Rainer, H.B. Charles, Jr., Noe Garcia, Vance Pitman, and Micah Fries.

Allen queried the panelists on four main points: the general state

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of the denomination’s unity; can social media be used in a healthy manner in creating unity; the state of unity in the local church; and why should the denomination be hopeful about unity?

Discussing the general state of unity within the SBC, Fries, who serves as pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn., noted two trends he finds troubling.

“There has been an emphasis on performance over piety,” he said. “As a result of this, I feel we’ve lost our moral and ethical center to some degree….

What ultimately results is a lack of Christlikeness in our lives, and particularly in the way we engage with one another.”

Fries added that another area of concern is that at the national level, many people engage one another in a way they would never do at the local church level. “We treat each other differently, again, because of a lack of a moral and ethical center that needs to be reclaimed through a commitment to holiness and piety.”

Narrowing the focus from the larger perspective to a more

personal perspective is an area Rainer, who is president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, felt could get to the root of the issue.

Instead of wondering what the denomination or local church might do to address such issues, he noted personal introspection might be the greater need of the day.

“When I begin to ask, ‘God, what would you have me to do?’ about a certain issue, I realize I have so far to go that I don’t have the wherewithal or integrity then to criticize others because I fall so short myself.

I wonder what would happen if several million Southern Baptists would simply say, ‘I want to be a gospel-bearer; I want to be a man or woman of integrity; and I’m going to worry about myself first, and then my church.’ As a result, you’ll see the church and denomination become much happier.”

Garcia, who pastors North Phoenix Baptist Church, thinks of Ephesians 4 when the subject of unity arises. Particularly within the passage are the words, “be eager to keep the peace.”

“Unfortunately, we have failed somewhat to do this in the SBC. Here is my fear. It is that the LDS tells a better story than the SBC does,” Garcia said. “We’re doing so much good, but you wouldn’t know it because social media gives ‘feet’ to the bad.

“We’re so concerned about being right on social media that at the same time we disregard the bride of Christ. We have to be more eager to protect the bride of Christ than being right in the SBC.” Moving to the topic of ways social media affects the unity of the denomination, Allen asked if there is a healthy approach to using this

medium to get messages across.

Also with a positive perspective, Rainer proposed a three-step Dever, who pastors Capitol Hill process he considers before interBaptist Church in Washington, D.C., acting on social media: added that over the 25 years he’s “First, I understand that been in the nation’s capital city, the anything I place on social media number of evangelical Christians has becomes permanent; then, I ask increased—not just in the SBC but how I would want to be treated; in other denominations as well. and lastly, I ask if what I’m saying “There are more people in is doing something helpful for the more assemblies where the gospel body of Christ,” he said. is preached every Sunday in the Allen said he considers “to whom D.C. area than there was 25 years am I speaking” as a governing princiago. There’s really good news out ple when interacting on social media. there,” Dever said.

“I try to treat it the way I would Wrapping up the event, Allen speak to someone in my church. I pointed a question to Greear, who try not to be trill, angry or sarcastic pastors The Summit Church in Rawhen I type it out. It takes maturity leigh, N.C., and will serve as the next on all of our parts to inter“We are seeing in multiple ways that act on social media responGod is moving in the SBC, and he is sibly and to build unity.” answering some prayers in ways we Allen’s might not have expected. I see this third question transitioned to as an invitation to respond to God.” the state of the local church - J.D. Greear when it comes to unity.

Pitman, who pastors Hope president of the SBC. Allen asked, Church in Las Vegas, stated that “Why are you hopeful for the SBC?” he feels like there’s a fresh move of Greear responded, “We are God being felt within SBC churches, seeing in multiple ways that God especially through church planting. is moving in the SBC, and he is “The young guys I’m around answering some prayers in ways we who are planting churches and might not have expected. I see this have a heart for the mission and as an invitation to respond to God.” engaging the city—who see the “There are some 6,400 unreached church as the tool to engage the people groups,” Greear added. “This city and nations for the gospel— means the greatest days of God’s are a fresh wind. I’m super enmovement are in front of us. I really couraged…the number of baptisms want to be part of that, and I want through new churches planted in my kids to be a part of that. I want to pioneer areas in America, and it is see God continue to work through incredible and amazing to see what us because the nations are waiting God is doing through the SBC.” on the gospel.”•

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Midwestern Seminary trustees add Köstenberger, launch Spurgeon College

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

Assembling for its spring meeting on April 9-10, members of Midwestern Seminary’s Board of Trustees conducted significant seminary business and celebrated the hiring of a noted New Testament scholar.

The meeting’s highlights came on Tuesday, when the trustees elected Andreas J. Köstenberger to the full-time faculty and announced the renaming/rebranding of Midwestern College, which is now known as Spurgeon College.

Köstenberger elected to Faculty Based upon a recommendation from the Academic Committee, Köstenberger was elected by the Trustees to Midwestern Seminary’s faculty as research professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology.

He will also serve as director of a forthcoming Center for Biblical Studies that will showcase his longtime scholarly vision of restoring biblical foundations for the family, the church, and society.

“We could not be more pleased to announce the election of Andreas Köstenberger to the faculty of Midwestern Seminary,” said President Jason Allen. “Dr. Köstenberger is among the most accomplished New Testament scholars in the greater evangelical world today. In fact, within our denomination and

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conservative Evangelicalism-in-general, Dr. Köstenberger is part of a ‘Big Three,’ which includes D.A. Carson and Tom Schreiner.

“In addition to bolstering our already-robust biblical studies department through his research, teaching and writing expertise, Dr. Köstenberger will provide mentorship to our younger faculty members as well.

“We welcome the entire Köstenberger family to the Midwestern Seminary community and look forward to the Kingdom impact they will have for many years to come.”

“I am deeply humbled and honored by the invitation to join the faculty of Midwestern Seminary and to direct the new Center for Biblical Studies,” Köstenberger said.

“I love President Allen’s commitment to the centrality of the Bible and am confident the seminary will continue to thrive under his dynamic, visionary leadership.

“I am also greatly looking forward to serving alongside other prolific scholars who love the Lord and love serving his church.”

“Dr. Köstenberger is someone I have known for almost 20 years having first studied with him at Southeastern Seminary,” said Jason Duesing, Midwestern Seminary’s provost. “To have him join us at Midwestern in these days is a vital addition to our developing team of faculty-scholars, but even more, it is a joy to have the Köstenberger family join us as they are wonderful and delightful people and will contribute much to our entire community beyond their capable and proven scholarship.”

Köstenberger comes to Midwestern Seminary after serving for more than 20 years at Southeastern Seminary as senior research professor of New Testament and Biblical Studies. He is also a well-established author, having written, edited, or translated dozens of books.

He is the author, editor, or translator of numerous books including The Final Days of Jesus, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, Going Deeper with New Testament Greek, and God, Marriage & Family.

He is also the editor of several series on New Testament Greek (EGGNT) and biblical theology (BTNT, BTCP).

Köstenberger has been a guest lecturer at several major universities and seminaries. He has

been featured on numerous radio interviews and has had numerous speaking engagements, including marriage conferences.

He is also the founder of Biblical Foundations, a resource center devoted to encouraging a return to the biblical foundations in the home, the church, and society.

Köstenberger also serves as editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Midwestern Seminary’s newest professor earned master’s and doctoral degrees in Social and Economic Sciences from Vienna University in Austria; his M.Div. in Cross-Cultural/New Testament/Counseling from Columbia Biblical Seminary in South Carolina; and his Ph.D. in New Testament and Biblical Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

He is married to Margaret Köstenberger and together they have four children.

College Renaming In another major move, Midwestern Baptist College was renamed “Spurgeon College” as a result of the Trustees approving a recommendation from the Board’s Executive Committee.

“We at Midwestern Seminary are thrilled to announce that Midwestern College is being renamed and relaunched as Spurgeon College,” Allen said. “We believe it portends a new season of great training for young men and young women wanting to impact the world for the cause of Christ.”

Allen noted that for the past decade, the undergraduate arm of Midwestern Seminary has been known as Midwestern College;

“It is our desire at Spurgeon College to raise up Kingdomminded leaders for the Church, marketplace, and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad.”

- SAMUEL BIERIG yet over the past several years the school’s administrators have undertaken a season of review and reflection as how to best position the undergraduate program to impact and to advance the kingdom of Christ.

As a result, Allen added, Spurgeon College was born. The name isn’t just derived from the fact that Midwestern Seminary owns the Spurgeon Library, rather it focuses more on the person, Charles H. Spurgeon, and his character.

“More than the books and the artifacts of the Charles Spurgeon Library, we share his passions, his convictions, his commitment to ministry, to serving the local church, and to reaching the community and the world with the Lord Jesus Christ.,” Allen said. “Certainly, Spurgeon was great in the pulpit, but also he founded some 66 differ-

Learn more about SPURGEON COLLEGE at spurgeoncollege.com.

ent ministries and different points of social and cultural impact.”

Among those was an affinity for education, and Allen said the mission of Spurgeon College will be to educate the next generation of leaders to impact the world in the workforce.

“Through our college, we will maintain a Bible-based, ministry-focused curriculum, but also alongside of that will be degree options for those who are not only called to serve the local church, but to also be prepared to make 1,000 different touch-points of light for the cause of Christ stateside and around the world.

“Just like Midwestern Seminary is known emphatically as being for the Church,” Allen said. “Spurgeon College will be known emphatically as, for the Kingdom. It speaks to the breadth of the ministry, and it also speaks to our hopefulness that from this place, indeed, the Kingdom will be shaped and expanded.”

Sam Bierig, who was named dean of the college in February, will lead Spurgeon College into this new season. He noted that the college will maintain its focus on biblically-based degrees as well as providing students with disciplines that can train them to work in the marketplace.

“Spurgeon College is hard at work to expand degree offerings in the fields of Bible, business, and education,” Bierig said. “It is our desire at Spurgeon College to raise up Kingdom-minded leaders for the Church, marketplace, and educational institutions throughout the United States and abroad.”

Midwestern Seminary Provost, Jason Duesing, echoed Allen’s sentiments about the college’s namesake saying, “The naming of our college for C.H. Spurgeon brings a smile

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and reflects our joyful mission. For, in the name Spurgeon, we are not only upholding the legacy and core theological commitments of this Baptist theologian and preacher, but we are pointing to what Spurgeon spent his every breath pointing—namely Jesus Christ.”

Trustee Meeting Business During his President’s Report, in addition to an update on the progress of construction on the Mathena Student Center and Trustee Building renovation, which included tours of both spaces, Allen announced to the board record enrollment for spring semester and discussed the operating budget planned for the next year.

In presenting the institution’s spring semester enrollment, Allen explained that both headcount and hours sold had reached record levels.

“We are grateful to the Lord that he continues to allow us to be in a season of incredible enrollment growth,” Allen said. “If all

trends continue, we are on course to have 3,300 students enrolled this academic year. This is up from 1,107 students in 2010-11. Our continued focus is the residential M.Div., but our online, master’s, and doctoral degree programs continue to flourish as well.”

Also, during his report, Allen informed trustees about the school’s operating budget for 2018-19. In presenting the coming year’s budget of more than $22 million, Allen noted that the aim of the institution’s business model is to properly steward the finances supplied by God, as provided through the SBC’s Cooperative Program, tuition, and other revenue streams.

In other business, during the plenary session the trustees welcomed a new member, re-elected and promoted faculty members and selected board officers for the upcoming year.

In recommendations coming from the Academic Committee, the trustees re-elected to three-year terms Rustin Umstattd as assistant professor of theology and ministry; Stephen Andrews as professor of Hebrew and Old Testament; Alan

Branch as professor of Christian ethics; and Michael McMullen as professor of Church History. The trustees also promoted Umstattd to associate professor of theology and ministry; John Lee to associate professor of New Testament; and Sung Jin Park to associate professor of biblical studies.

In another academic matter, Allen introduced to the trustees Sam Bierig, who assumed the role of the dean of Midwestern College in February.

Additionally, with nominations coming from the Governance Committee, the Board elected its 2018-19 officers. John Mathena, a businessman from Edmond, Okla., was elected as chairman; Lee Roberson, a businessman from Hobbs, N.M., was named first vice chairman; Chad McDonald, a pastor from Lenexa, Kan., will be second vice chairman; and Bryan Pain, a pastor from Duncan, Okla., was elected as secretary.

Finally, Trustee Chairman, Ken Parker, welcomed one new member, Billy Van Devender, who is a member of First Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss.•

“We are grateful to the Lord that he continues to allow us to be in a season of incredible enrollment growth. If all trends continue, we are on course to have 3,300 students enrolled this academic year. This is up from 1,107 students in 2010-11. Our continued focus is the residential M.Div., but our online, master’s, and doctoral degree programs continue to flourish as well.”

- Jason Allen

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Midwestern Seminary introduces Women’s Ministry concentrations, names Owen Strachan new director of The Residency

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

With a goal of providing degree options which cultivate a Christian lifestyle, offer instruction in classical theological disciplines, and develop the theoretical understanding and practical skills necessary for women’s ministry, Midwestern Seminary introduced two women’s ministry concentrations on May 31.

In another academically-related move, the school named a new director of its residential Ph.D. program known as “The Residency.”

Women’s Ministry Concentrations Announced Beginning immediately, students studying at Midwestern Seminary for a Master of Divinity degree can earn a concentration in women’s ministry, and those working toward degrees

through the Midwestern Training Network can obtain a Master of Theological Studies with an emphasis in women’s ministry.

“The main impetus for Midwestern Seminary in offering these degree concentrations is to more fully serve the local church, specifically in the area of women’s ministry,” said President Jason Allen. “If our goal is to develop and maintain strong local churches, then that means we must properly educate and train members for service in each distinctive ministry within the church.

“Women have long-served vital areas within the local church and played key roles in spreading the gospel. These concentrations will afford them the opportunity to develop their God-given spiritual gifts and abilities to an even fuller extent.”

While each student will work through the traditional core courses for a M.Div. or a MTS degree, the new

concentrations will focus on specific practicum courses related to women’s ministry. These include courses such as a Biblical Womanhood Practicum, Women’s Ministry Internship, Women’s Discipleship Practicum, Women’s Evangelism and Missions Practicum, and Age Group Ministry.

In all, the M.Div. with Women’s Ministry concentration will take 90 credit-hours to complete and the MTS with Women’s Ministry Emphasis will be a 45-credit hour degree.

Speaking to the new women’s ministry concentrations, Provost Jason Duesing noted, “The addition of focused avenues of study for women’s ministry is something we’ve been working to add to Midwestern’s programs for several semesters.

“I am thankful for the team of students, faculty, and deans that worked to provide input and recommendations that are seen in these new concentrations. Midwestern Seminary

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is a wonderful place for women to receive training for the church.”

To register for the M.Div. with Women’s Ministry concentration or the MTS with Women’s Ministry Emphasis, visit mbts.edu/womensministry.

Strachan Named Director of The Residency In other academic news, Midwestern Seminary announced that due to the significant growth within its Doctoral Studies Program, Owen Strachan has been named director of The Residency, Ph.D. program.

Strachan, who will officially assume the role on August 1, also serves as associate professor of Christian theology and director of the Center of Public Theology.

“At Midwestern Seminary, we’re seeing unprecedented growth in our Doctoral Studies Program, including our residential Ph.D. program, The Residency,” Allen said. “I can’t be more pleased to announce Dr. Owen Strachan’s oversight of this vital track of study.

“Dr. Strachan, as a mentor to this next generation of Christian academicians, will inject great energy and expertise into the lives of these students. They, in turn, will come away from here on a trajectory of study that qualifies them specifically for a future in theological education or Christian higher education, which will, in turn, benefit the local church as well.”

The Residency, which began in the fall semester of 2017, is intended to provide students an experiential context of campus life for immediate application of their academic training. The program serves Doctor of

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Philosophy (Ph.D.) students who have the freedom to pursue their degree within the community of Midwestern Seminary’s Kansas City campus.

Allen noted that the program combines the best aspects of the American Ph.D. program and the traditional United Kingdom doctoral model by merging independent advanced theological research with cohort-based mentorship and oversight by adding regular, intensive engagement with faculty and other theological leaders within the everyday rhythm of the unique on-campus ministry culture of Midwestern Seminary.

Strachan noted that God is moving in an incredible way at Midwestern Seminary, especially in the school’s Doctoral Studies Program, and he’s ready to take the program’s reins.

“I am beyond excited to lead the Residency,” Strachan said. “In an age when many seminaries are paring their residential programs, under the visionary leadership of Dr. Allen, MBTS is investing in personal ministry training with a vengeance.

“This is what I’m in it for: to train churchmen, leaders, pas-

tor-theologians, and scholars for the over-spilling glory of God. We will have numerous facets of the Residency to announce in coming months. For now, I can say that we will feature theological discipleship, regular mentoring, select teaching and publishing opportunities, and a spirit of unfettered exultation in the life of the Christian mind for the church’s upbuilding.”

Midwestern Seminary’s Provost, Jason Duesing, lauded Strachan’s selection to lead The Residency, saying, “Having Dr. Strachan give attention now to The Residency, Ph.D. Program is like having Steph Curry on hand to coach your college basketball team.

For these students to have regular access to a theologian like Dr. Strachan, who is critically engaged in his field, is an educational experience that few have in some of the most wellknown Ph.D. programs.”

For students interested in learning more about The Residency at Midwestern Seminary, visit mbts.edu/theresidency, or contact Mindy Akright in the Doctoral Office at makright@mbts.edu.•

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Midwestern Seminary professor relaunches Credo Magazine with “an embarrassment of theological resources”

by T. PAT R I C K H U D S O N

With accessibility, enjoyability, and relevancy for its readers in mind, Matthew Barrett, Midwestern Seminary associate professor of Christian theology, relaunched Credo Magazine on May 24.

The publication, which one endorser noted as having “an embarrassment of theological resources,” was founded by Barrett in 2011 to bridge the gap between the evangelical church and the academy in the field of theology.

As Credo’s readership and influence have grown over the ensuing years, Barrett began thinking of ways to keep the magazine upto-date and accessible to readers.

This is where the recent revamping became a clear choice.

“I could not be more thrilled to announce that Credo will have a fresh look with many new resources,” Barrett said. “While Credo always has, and continues to be an independent ministry, we are delighted to form a partnership with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Mere Agency to bring our readers resources that have never before been available to us.”

Midwestern Seminary Pres-

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ident Jason Allen noted that promoting Credo serves the school’s mission of existing for the local church.

“Credo Magazine is an excellent resource for any person desiring to learn more about the topic of theology,” Allen said. “Dr. Matthew Barrett has honed-in on a very practical need in today’s culture and continues to meet this need through the content he produces in the magazine.

“I am grateful for Dr. Barrett’s drive and desire to bring the truth of God’s Word to bear through Credo Magazine, as he does in the classroom as well. Credo is truly another fine resource that serves the local church at every level.”

The newest resources available to Credo’s readers include a website, a podcast, and a video element.

According to Barrett, Credo will have a new website that will not only be fresh in its look but accessible in the resources offered and enjoyable to navigate as readers browse the latest content.

Powered by Mere Agency, who has created sites like Getty Music, For the Church, Challies.com,

Core Christianity, and others, the new website will allow visitors to search a wide range of Credo resources and quickly transition across the site to read, listen, and watch new material.

Additionally, a new and improved magazine will result from the relaunch.

“For the first five years, the magazine was offered to the public free of charge as a pdf and digital book,” Barrett said. “But with the new website, this online platform will bring new issues of the magazine to readers with a simple click. No cumbersome downloads, no endless scrolling and searching, but articles, interviews, and reviews that are easy on the eyes and readily connected to social media outlets.”

Another new element of Credo is a podcast that is devoted solely to the topic of theology.

“With the release of the Credo podcast, listeners will have the opportunity to eavesdrop on theological conversations between today’s top theologians,” Barrett explained.

“As the host, I will be asking difficult theological questions and having conversations with our

listeners’ favorite theologians to help them better understand theology and, in the end, be better equipped to live the Christian life.”

Upcoming podcast guests include Fred Sanders, James Dolezal, John Frame, Thomas Weinandy, Michael Kruger, Scott Swain, Michael Allen, and Thomas Schreiner. New episodes of the podcast will release every other week.

“Whether you are washing dishes, stuck in traffic, running on the treadmill, or sitting down with a hot cup of coffee, this is a podcast that will give you theological meat you can chew on and digest,” Barrett added.

The last new element added to Credo is a monthly video in which some of the most important theological questions are answered by Barrett and other theologians. The intent of the videos is to provide a resource that can be passed along to friends

who may be curious about the topics and then providing questions they’ve always wanted answered.

Over the course of the next year, longer videos – which will include brief talks on a variety of topics as well as roundtable conversations and dialogues between today’s sharpest thinkers – will also be available on the site.

Barrett said his impetus for starting the magazine originated as he increasingly noticed that the church was suffering from theological drought. He noted that numerous churchgoers knew little theology, and pastors and ministry leaders were overwhelmed by the demands of ministry and unable to find the time or resources to keep studying theology.

Then the thought came, “What if there was a publication that was neither watered down nor über

academic but was somewhere in between – accessible and clear, yet convictional and theologically challenging, stretching the thinking lay person and pastor? What if there was a resource that helped Bible-minded churchgoers, students, and pastors think theologically? And what if this publication drew from top-notch scholars and pastors to demonstrate just how much theology matters for the church today?” And so, Credo Magazine was born.

“I don’t think I ever could have imagined Credo Magazine becoming as well-read and influential as it has been in the last seven years,” Barrett said. “I am grateful to God for the way he has used it around the world to help Christians understand just how much doctrine matters.”

Credo Magazine remains free of charge and can be accessed at credomag.com. •

With Midwestern’s Resurgence Comes a Literary Renaissance

by S TA F F

The ink is flowing on campus!

Along with the tremendous and unprecedented growth at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College has come a renaissance of literary endeavors. Faculty and staff alike have seen increasing opportunities in the world of Christian publishing, penning an ever-growing series of serious contributions in service to the church.

President Jason K. Allen, of course, has followed up his previ-

ously successful books Discerning Your Call to Ministry, Portraits of a Pastor, and The SBC and the 21st Century with a new book aimed at equipping new believers with a gospel-centered primer on wholelife discipleship: Being a Christian: How Jesus Redeems All of Life. Aimed at walking readers through the gospel’s impact on all facets of life, Being a Christian was published by Broadman & Holman, with whom Dr. Allen has also recently signed a

contract for two more books in the near future.

Midwestern academic Provost Jason G. Duesing has also followed up his recent 7 Summits in Church History with a new B&H title of his own, Mere Hope: Life in an Age of Cynicism, which offers a Christ-centered perspective on the suffering, fear, and injustice of contemporary life.

Samuel Bierig, newly appointed dean of Spurgeon College, has recently signed a contract with Rainer

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Publishing to produce a book on the “stewardship of words” promoting the gracious use of the tongue and pen by Christian brothers and sisters.

The “stewardship of words” is continuing to be well-administered by still more members of our growing roster of faculty authors as well: Owen Strachan recently released a new edition in one volume of his previously published series of reflections (with Douglas Sweeney) on the life and writing of America’s greatest pastor-theologian. The Essential Jonathan Edwards was published May 1 by Moody. Dr. Strachan also has numerous projects in the works.

On the heels of his monumental volume Reformation Theology, Matthew Barrett will publish this May via Kregel Academic 40 Questions About Salvation. This book will help Christians who want to grow in their understanding of what the Bible teaches about salvation, covering the most common and difficult questions about election, the order of salvation, perseverance of the saints, and more.

John Lee recently released The Risen Lord Visits the Failed Disciple: 21 Reflections on John 21 from Korean-language publisher Jordan Press, which will also publish Dr.

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Lee’s The Gospel of Zacchaeus this December. In the fall, Mohr Siebeck will publish Lee’s (English-language) Christological Re-reading of the Shema in Mark’s Gospel. Lee has also recently signed a contract with Lexham Press for a book to be published in 2020.

Lexham Press will later this year publish Dr. Alan Branch’s book Transgenderism and Christian Ethics, adding a much-needed word in this culturally relevant conversation.

Sung Jin Park recently authored Typology in Biblical Hebrew Meter: A Generative Metrical Approach, which was published by Edwin Mellen.

Thomas Johnston is set to release a new revision of his evangelism notes. All three volumes of Evangelizology appeared in August.

Rodney Harrison will be completing a three-book series co-authored with Glenn Miller and Jeff Klick on pastoral leadership with Navigating Conflict: A Pastor’s Guide, which will publish from The Institute for Church Growth in December.

And of course many of our professors continue to see short pieces appear in theological and ministerial journals, magazines, and web resources throughout the year. The For The Church website, hosted by the

seminary, is also a great and ever-expanding repository of short pieces in the pastoral, practical, and devotional veins, further shaping Midwestern’s reputation for literary stewardship.

Midwestern Seminary staffers are also continuing to make forays into publishing. Sam Parkison, until recently an admissions counselor at Midwestern and currently worship pastor at nearby Emmaus Church, signed a contract with Rainer Publishing to author a book on worship. Director of content strategy Jared C. Wilson also continues his prolific ways, following up his recent Supernatural Power for Everyday People (Nelson) with a book on leading gospel-centered church transition (coming Spring 2019) from Zondervan and signing a contract for another book with Nelson in the genre of Christian living to appear in 2020.

These are exciting days for Midwestern Seminary community, as the influence of and investment by the institution repeatedly resounds far and wide. And with more academic, practical, and literary contributions to come, these are great days for students to join the spiritual and intellectual resurgence taking place in Kansas City. •

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

BOOKS IN BRIEF New and Upcoming Releases from the Midwestern Seminary Community

ALWAYS IN GOD’S HANDS: DAY BY DAY IN THE COMPANY OF JONATHAN EDWARDS

SOLA HOW THE FIVE SOLAS ARE STILL REFORMING THE CHURCH

by Owen Strachan (Tyndale)

Edited by Jason K. Allen (Moody)

NOVEMBER 2018

JANUARY 2019

Through daily quotes from Edwards’s letters and sermons, this inspirational devotional reveals the soaring theology and comforting spirituality of one of history’s most faithful and gifted pastors. With each meditation, Strachan offers refreshing and relevant insights, encouraging you in your walk with God.

Featuring entries from Midwestern Seminary authors Matthew Barrett, Owen Strachan, Jason Duesing, Jared C. Wilson, and editor Jason K. Allen, this volume explores the riches of the five solas of the Reformation and their ongoing relevance to the church today.

THE DOCTRINE ON WHICH THE CHURCH STANDS OR FALLS: JUSTIFICATION IN BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL, HISTORICAL, AND PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE

Edited by Matthew Barrett (Crossway) MARCH 2019 This comprehensive volume of 26 essays from a host of scholars — compiled and edited by Midwestern associate professor of Christian theology, Dr. MatthewBarrett — explores the doctrine of justification from the lenses of history, the Bible, theology, and ministry, revealing the enduring significance of this pillar of Protestant theology.

THE GOSPEL-DRIVEN CHURCH: UNITING CHURCH GROWTH DREAMS WITH THE METRICS OF GRACE

by Jared C. Wilson (Zondervan) March 2019 The latest book from Midwestern staffer Jared C. Wilson tells the fictitious story of a pastor leading his church through the difficult transition toward greater gospel-centrality and explores principles biblical and historical to help readers do the same.

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CAMPUS LIFE

WELCOME WEEK CONCERT | ANDREW PETERSON

RUN FOR THE NATIONS 5K

STUDENT SHOWCASE

FOR THE CHURCH | DALLAS JUNE 12

MWI COCOA & COZIES

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For MORE CAMPUS EVENTS AND PHOTOS visit our events page at mbts.edu/events.

BERQUIST HALL DEDICATION

SPRING PICNIC

FOR THE CHURCH NATIONAL CONFERENCE KANSAS CITY | SEPT. 24–25

ALUMNI LUNCHEON | DALLAS JUNE 13

DINNER AT THE DEAN'S MBT S .EDU

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RESOURCES | FTC.CO

GOSPEL-CENTERED RESOURCES

FOR THE CHURCH Re c e nt art icle s

M O R E R E S O U R C E S AVA I L A B L E AT F T C . C O

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For Young Adults Considering Ministry

by A S H LY N P O R T E R O

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is counseling young adults who are interested in exploring the world of full-time ministry. I love the conversations with bright-eyed college seniors who have served as lay leaders and are eager to know what it’s like to “do ministry full-time.” I’m challenged and humbled by young professionals who sense the desire to leave their jobs in the marketplace and follow a call into vocational ministry. These conversations are ones to which I always say yes.

That being said, I am probably one of the worst examples of how to enter into vocational ministry. I never planned on it, never wanted it, never charted out a course for myself in this kind of role. I had firm plans to attend graduate school to eventually teach, or, as a privileged college grad with minimal real-world experience, take a gap year and figure out life.

Instead, the Lord led me to take a position at City Church that could barely be considered part-time, which I supplemented by working at the mall and as an office manager for a private company in town. That role eventually became a position as a ministry assistant for four years, which grew into a director-level role I have occupied for about a year and a half.

I didn’t take a straight shot into fulltime ministry. When I joined the City Church staff, I had no idea you could listen to pastors on podcasts and I’d never read a John Piper blog post. Lead-

ership pipelines meant nothing, and my first real dip into theology was when a friend walked me through the meaning of TULIP at a Jimmy John’s near Florida State’s campus when I was 22.

So when I get asked what it looks like to work “in the church world,” I have to keep a light perspective, because I believe God calls the most unlikely of people. Serving full-time on a church staff is, in the words of Dr. Albert Mohler, “the worst profession but the best calling.” I feel a deep conviction to give young adults an encouraging, yet brutally honest, look at what it means to follow a call into ministry. This will certainly not be an exhaustive delivery of wisdom, but it will share practical advice learned the hard way that should be kept in mind when considering a transition into vocational ministry.

IF THERE ARE ANY SELFISH AMBITIONS IN YOUR MOTIVES, DON’T DO IT.

Please know that this is not to say that I was a humble servant entering consciously into ministry. In fact, if ministry has done anything to me in five years, it has exposed many of my weaknesses and not just humbled, but crushed me many times. I simply mean that if you’re looking to climb some kind of ladder or become a professional guru, a church staff is not the place to do that. When I was about a year into my role as a pastoral assistant, I read a quote from a blog post written

by Rich Hawkins, who now serves at The Village Church with Pastor Matt

Chandler: “This is not about you getting any credit for your good work.

Your role is about the gospel going forward.” That’s it. Is your greatest desire to see the gospel go forward in the place where God has you? I’d urge anyone considering ministry to search his or her heart and ask the honest question, “Do I understand that this is not about me?” There is nothing wrong with taking the time to serve as a volunteer leader to further explore your interests and passions within the local church. There’s also nothing wrong with striving to achieve your goals professionally. But if your personal goals rise and fall on ministry success, you’re going to be let down because ministry is long, hard work.

YOUR WORLDLY CONCERNS ARE GOING TO BE CHALLENGED.

This is a tough one. We’re currently in a place at City Church where we’re implementing a new concept of bringing on staff who fundraise part, or all, of their own financial support. It’s difficult to sit down with a 20-something who could get a full-time job at a tech company or a PR firm making $50,000+ a year and ask him or her to forego that to serve in the local church. I can read all of the thoughts and questions passing across his or her face — about salary, health benefits, taxes, what parents will think — I’ve thought about all of those things too (and in full disclosure, I do not fundraise). There’s nothing wrong with wanting security in your job, and we strive as a church to provide excellent compensation packages and

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take care of our staff. However, at the end of the day, you’re going to sacrifice something by going into ministry.

Maybe it’s taking longer to earn the salary you want – or never earning it.

Maybe it’s being challenged in generosity beyond what your heart wants to give because you’re asking your entire church to practice the same spirit of generosity. Maybe it’s not about money, but about living up to standards set by a family who has seen generations of professional accolades. No matter what, entering into vocational ministry is going to put pressure on our tendency to prioritize worldly concerns. I’m not saying that you should be careless, but you should know that if God calls you to ministry, He will provide a way for you to live, even if it’s not the plan your career coach gave you in college.

asking people to grow into, then how can you expect them to love it, serve it, and belong to it? Before applying for a position or pursuing a path of vocational ministry, ask yourself if you really love your church, and if you’d still continue to do everything you’re already doing if you knew that you’d never get a paycheck for it. Any professional “achievement” I’ve ever had could quickly be brought back down to Earth by the simple reminder that there are individuals at City Church who work 50+ hour work weeks in the marketplace and show up at 6:30am on Sunday mornings, simply because they love the Lord and want to connect others to the gospel through a local church experience.

Before we get anywhere with this point, it needs to be said that hopefully your church really loves the gospel.

If not, you might want to reconsider your prospective ministry role. If you sometimes second-guess your own church membership because of gospel or theological reasons, then you probably shouldn’t be pursuing a ministry role where you are. If that’s all squared away, then again, you need to really love your church. You need to be a part of the life of your church – in community, practicing good membership, submitting to the preaching, serving, trusting the leadership, and participating in corporate worship.

A couple years ago I started praying a prayer that God would let me love my church and love serving here, even if the only thing I ever got to do at City Church was take out the trash. That sounds a little superfluous because I currently serve full-time in a senior-level role, but the intent was that God would keep my role fully dependent upon Him for any function. So far, He has been faithful, but there have been times where in my sin I’ve depended on my own strength and idolized my own talents. I’ve spent too much time worrying, “What am I doing well? How am I moving us forward? How am I holding us back?” When I talk to young adults who are interested in pursuing full-time ministry, I look for those attitudes. A professional church member is an exhausting thing to be, but a real one is life-giving.

A large part of your role, no matter your organizational title, is probably going to involve helping people assimilate into these various aspects of your church.

If you don’t love the body that you’re

Ministry exposes all of your weaknesses and pulls stuff out of you that you never knew was there, so I’d advise any person going into ministry to find a good mentor and a good counselor.

YOU NEED TO REALLY LOVE THE GOSPEL, AND REALLY LOVE YOUR CHURCH.

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At the same time, it also can give you some of the best friends and co-laborers you could ever dream up, showing God’s gracious hand for those whom He calls. More than that, you get a front row seat to watching the gospel of Jesus Christ radically change lives and turn the world upside down. These are only a few points, but I hope they give a tiny look into the heart of local church ministry, and I pray that God raises up many more laborers willing to walk unknowingly into the fight, like me, and that He sustains us. •

ASHLYN PORTERO serves as an executive director at City Church in Tallahassee, FL. She is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in English Literature, and is currently pursuing a MTS degree at Midwestern Seminary. Ashlyn serves on the Leadership Council with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The Un-Millennial Church

by C O L E D E I K E

Never would I have admitted it, but in my first year as a local church pastor, I was deeply insecure and at least a little bit embarrassed by the word “pastor.”

I am not alone in this insecurity, especially as a young adult who is neatly categorized and narrowly classified as a “millennial.” So I hope it’s okay for me to be earnest about how this religious embarrassment impacted both my pastoral and church planting narrative.

First, I wanted to rebel against every stereotypical notion of how pastors were perceived, and in the vacancy of these stereotypes, I wanted to be seen as relevant, hip, and with-it. Hopefully you’ll honor the frankness of my confession with forgiveness: I wanted to be a hipster pastor.

Second, I wanted to calibrate all the nuts and bolts of the church I was about to plant toward rapid, catalytic movement. Perhaps if our church moved fast enough, the whirling blur of our church’s speed would distinguish us from the plodding, archaic churches in decline.

I cringe now as I type this, so I beg of you, go easy on me: I wanted to plant a hipster church.

Luckily for me then, the church planting world offered me buzz-words and pop-phrases to baptize my insecurity. I could say something like, “We want to reach millennials” and voila! - my conscience was eased. Or I could say, “We want to be relevant” and poof! - my idolatry to be novel hid in self-justification.

To want to reach young adults, to matter

in the public sphere, to make a difference in the life of millennials, these are very good ambitions, and I say this because I fear being misunderstood. I am confessing that my desire to be a hipster pastor who planted a hipster church had more to do with vanity than it had to do with gospel influence. And that’s why it was a problem. For me.

The Lord had to do a lot to change me.

I received well-deserved hard feedback from loving church planting assessors.

The church the Lord planted in reality turned out to be far different from the church I planted in my imagination, and God sovereignly put good, godly books (think of authors like Wendell Berry and Eugene Peterson) in front of me as a corrective, sanctifying force.

And, stubbornly, I still believe that God wants to use our local church and his local churches around the world to reach the next generation. But I don’t think that God wants to reach millennials by planting churches that prioritize millennials. I don’t know if you truly reach anybody (you may attract them, allure them, and charm them) by prioritizing them. Jesus reaches us not by catering to us, but by prioritizing his Father’s glory.

How is that for a ministry model?

So maybe the best way to reach young adults, and by reach I really mean attract, transform, and equip, is to plant and lead un-millennial churches.

Our church plant is slowly maturing, laden with struggles, and shouldn’t serve as a best practice or heroic example to

anybody. We’re slowly and unimpressively discovering our identity with Jesus in the narrative of his gospel. But maybe, just maybe, these three decisions made by a church plant in Des Moines, Iowa, can be a small, helpful voice in a sea of articles drowning you with loud, caustic, impossibly cool tips and criticisms on how to reach millennials.

1. HIP TO HERITAGE.

The most surprising feature of our church plant is our decision to integrate confessional liturgy into our Sunday gatherings. Our church is only around one year old, our dominant demographic is young adults, and we meet in a hip music venue. So you can imagine the surprise of most visitors when a liturgist ambles to the stage between worship songs to lead us in responsive readings.

Conventional and pragmatic wisdom says remove historical practices to reach younger generations. But what if one of the deepest needs of the younger generation is to be immersed in practices that constantly remind them that they’re not the first generation to ever worship Jesus? What if one of the most pressing needs of the younger generation is to be submerged in communal practices that gently remind them that the local church is not only about their immediate, emotional experience but also their corporate, unified experience with the body?

Because of confessional liturgy, rarely does a week go by without questions on why our numbers might even be slightly lower, and our church feels a little more un-millennial. But for those we are

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reaching with this practice, I really think we are reaching.

2. FAST TO SLOW.

When God called me into church planting, he called me out of public school teaching and wrestling coaching. That adjustment felt tectonic, I floundered with transitioning from the industrial standards of teaching to the invisible realities of soul care, and some wise spiritual fathers and mothers in the faith came alongside me and assessed my impulses this way: I had “an unhealthy focus of coaching over and above pastoral ministry.” They were right, and I was rocked by their diagnosis.

As I have sat under the weight of that assessment, God has helped grow my ability to value character over competence. This shift inevitably means that our church is much slower than I thought we would be to multiply small groups and install leaders. Some in our church, especially those of us enticed by the language of “moving up,” even find this frustrating. But as a result, we find ourselves less tempted to define our church with vague, industrial jargon, and more comfortable with referring to our church personally and warmly.

Before, we felt an itch to call our church plant a movement, but now we are more content in calling our church plant a church. We are less tempted to call our church a catalyst, and more content in calling our church a family. We certainly welcome rapid growth at our church, but we haven’t experienced that. So we have come to appreciate being a slow church, so long as families have a healthy church to gather and worship with fifty years from now.

3. PRESENT TO FUTURE.

By “un-millennial church,” I don’t mean to glory in historical practices

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for the sake of religious nostalgia. For the health of our young church plant, we have found it equally important to look both forward and backwards. If it’s imperative to remember the historical church for the sake of mortifying our vanity, it’s also imperative to imagine the future church. So, as a family, we have developed three goals to guide us and one of those goals is: We want to plant our grandchildren’s church.

In other words, we’re very aggressive linguistically about communicating that this church is not about us. We are going to make decisions on the basis of endurance, not fad. We will relentlessly herald the gospel in the life of our church even if some find it redundant, because the gospel creates endurance.

We will integrate slow practices like weekly communion, because if our novel idolatry isn’t sufficiently killed, we’ll always be looking for what’s next rather than what’s in front of us. And the impulses of "Give me something new!" and "What’s next?!" are slogans for fads and enemies of endurance.

Pastors and church planters, soak yourselves in your imputed, foreign identity granted by your crucified savior until you are cozy and snug identifying with being just a pastor who is part of just a church.

After all, the church has always been in the world and never of the world and by definition, then, irrelevant. I think it would please God and intrigue the next generation if we would just own that. •

COLE DEIKE is the lead planting pastor for Frontier Church, an SBC church plant. Frontier Church exists for the glory of Jesus and the joy of Des Moines, Iowa. Before his call to church planting, Cole was a high school English teacher and wrestling coach.

College Students Need Biblical Theology

by N AT H A N W I L L I A M S

Last spring my wife and I sat down for breakfast with two young Christian women who were nearing the end of their undergraduate degrees.

They had been at our church for a number of years during college.

Neither had a job lined up after graduation or any expectation of a "ring by spring," which at their Christian college validates the whole school-debt-without-a-job situation.

They had a look in their eyes that said "life is getting way too real," and they wanted to talk through their anxiety with us. So we met them for coffee and looked back over God's faithfulness in our lives and theirs.

Fast forward to late July and the same two girls were back at our church together for a visit after graduation. Both have wonderful ministry opportunities over the next year, and we couldn't be happier for them.

In a couple of weeks, tens of thousands of college students will start the journey that those two girls just concluded. Others will head back to school for their last fall of sleeping in a dorm room. Churches all over this country will have a unique and God-ordained opportunity to minister to them in this very crucial season of life. But let me suggest that this fall you don't

just give the students at your church a home cooked meal, a listening ear, and too many turns in children's ministry.

Instead, give them something that will anchor them for that moment when they remove the cap and gown and face whatever God has for them. Give them biblical theology.

WHAT IS BIBLICAL THEOLOGY?

James Hamilton has said this about the discipline of biblical theology: "To do biblical theology is to think about the whole story of the Bible." While much more could be said about biblical theology as an academic study, it is essentially about fitting the parts of the biblical story into the whole. In other words, biblical theology means to read and teach the Bible with an eye to the whole narrative from creation to new creation. This focus on the entire story is essential for all believers, but it is particularly important for the season of life in which college students find themselves. Here’s why: 1. THE RIGHT STORY MATTERS

Listen to these wise words from Andrew Delbanco’s book The Real American Dream: We must imagine some end to life that transcends our own tiny allotment of days and hours if we are to keep at bay the "dim, back-ofthe-mind suspicion that one may be adrift in an absurd world."

The bottom line for your students is that they have no other option than to build life on a particular story. At this point their story has probably been shaped by all sorts of cultural narratives from consumerism to postmodernism.

A major focus of our discipleship needs to be exposing the vacuity of secular stories and helping them fall in love

with the biblical story. They desperately need to live and move in the biblical narrative and see how their lives fit within the redemptive story that goes from creation to consummation. Give them the biblical story so they can live with hope and direction.

2. DECISIONS NEED A CONTEXT

Just think about all the important decisions that 18-year-old freshmen will make in the next 4-5 years. College students are setting the trajectory for the rest of their lives in the most important areas. We need to teach them what true human flourishing looks like in work, play, and church life, and biblical theology is absolutely necessary to put these areas in the proper context.

It’s not enough to push the ol’ Protestant work ethic and tell them to give to the church from the money they make.

We must ground the purpose and goal of work in the redemptive plans of God. Biblical theology gives every area of life a broader scope and motivates us to see even the mundane details of life within God’s plans.

Let’s love our students enough to show them how their lives fit within God’s great plan by giving them biblical theology. •

NATHAN WILLIAMS has served as the college ministry pastor at Timberlake Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia since 2010. He received his M.Div. from The Master's Seminary in Los Angeles and is currently working on a D.Min. in Biblical Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

3. BIBLICAL THEOLOGY CURES MORALISM

In his book Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Graeme Goldsworthy suggests that the trend of so many young people leaving the church at college age may be due to the steady diet of moralism our churches had been feeding them. If he is right, we must battle the false gospel of moralism with a robust emphasis on biblical theology. I find that many students are wide-eyed with wonder when they are introduced to the united, unfolding drama of the biblical story. Once you have tasted the sweet honey of the gospel story, why would you go back to the bitter water of moralism?

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