Forge and Fruition in Pastoral Apprenticeship | Serious Joy Newsletter Fall 2020

VOL . XII, NO. 1

FALL 2020

A Semi-annual Report to Friends of Bethlehem College & Seminary

Forge and Fruition in Pastoral Apprenticeship

Also: Introducing the 2nd President of Bethlehem College & Seminary

WOVEN TOGETHER: BY TIM TOMLINSON

From the President

Preparing the Bride of Christ for Her Wedding Day As we begin our twelfth year of operation at Bethlehem College & Seminary, and as I begin my last year as president of this marvelous school, I am gripped by the ever-flowing benevolence and grace of God upon me personally and on the school itself. I certainly did not imagine myself in a position like this when I was young in my career. I thought I’d be happily spending my life teaching, writing articles and books, and ministering in the church as a layman wherever the Lord would choose to plant me. The Lord had other plans. leaders would be in the context of the local church. Learning about theology in the context of “real-life” ministry would provide an immediate confirmation of the need for good theology that can be applied to real life situations that church leaders encounter nearly every day.

To our way of thinking, our M.Div. students are “apprenticing” with our pastors as they prepare to become pastors themselves someday. This way, they are learning sound theology while also learning about the ministry life of a pastor, within Tim Tomlinson, President, Bethlehem College & Seminary the context of “real-life” ministry in a church, to better prepare Now, with the selection of Dr. Joe Rigney as the themselves for that aspect of ministry and life. As next president of the school, I am confident that it apprentices, they study and learn theology, but they will continue to be a vibrant, theologically sound also are mentored by experienced pastors and elders institution that you can trust to carry on the and accompany them as they go about fulfilling their marvelous work that has begun here. Dr. Rigney is own ministry responsibilities. an accomplished professor, author, pastor, conference In an effort to recharge and revitalize the speaker, and churchman who will be a champion apprenticeship focus of our Master of Divinity for everything that has made us such a special degree, we have spent significant time over the last institution. I am very pleased and grateful that the two years evaluating, assessing, and designing a Lord has raised him up to be our next president. fresh, enhanced approach to apprenticeships for our When I reflect on what attracted me to the seminary students. With the input and collaboration vision of this school some 20 years ago, one of the of the Bethlehem Baptist Church pastoral staff and key aspects was its close connection to the local our faculty and staff, I believe that our apprenticeship church. To be sure, the main attraction was the model of theological education is going to be better life-transforming truth that I learned under the than ever. Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, Godteaching and preaching ministry of John Piper at honoring theological education in the context of Bethlehem Baptist Church for 30 years. My wife and the local church while gaining real-world, practical I were stunned and awed by the vision of our great, experience in ministry under the mentorship of an sovereign God that emerged from Scriptures as we experienced and godly pastor. absorbed the message of Christian Hedonism. It I am so pleased with the outcome of this dramatically changed how we viewed God, our retooling of our apprenticeship approach to relationship to Him, and all of our future life and theological training and education. This is the ministry. We could never be the same again—and purpose for which our school was originally that was so good and life-giving for us! It also founded. Our aim is to serve the church—the bride changed my view of Christian higher education and of Christ—by equipping and preparing future pastors helped me see the glaring need for theologically and elders to lead her down the aisle as she awaits sound training that would equip future pastors and the arrival of her beloved bridegroom, Jesus Christ. missionaries, as well as lay leaders from all walks Thank you, dear friends, for your continued of life. partnership with us in this most important Another key component that I felt was missing work. We cannot do it without you. Every prayer from nearly every other school of theological higher uttered on our behalf, every volunteer effort, the education was that of a “real-life” context. From the many words and deeds of encouragement, and your beginning, we felt that the most effective approach to financial support—the Lord is using all these things training future pastors, elders, missionaries, and lay and so much more to enable us to accomplish His great purpose for the sake of the church, the bride of Christ.

May we remain in eager anticipation of that great wedding day.

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BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY

NEWS & EVENTS

EVENTS

The Bethlehem College & Seminary Conference for Pastors + Church Leaders Future date to be determined.

The 2021 conference has been cancelled in response to public health restrictions imposed during the global pandemic.

Visit bcsmn.edu/conference to learn of future developments.

Bethlehem College & Seminary

CONFERENCE for Pastors + Church Leaders

LEADERSHIP AND FACULTY UPDATES

Thomas Barclay, (M.Div. ’16) Pastor at Covenant Life Church, Minneapolis, MN, has been named to the Bethlehem College & Seminary Board of Trustees.

David Choe, (B.S., U.S. Military Academy at West Point) CFA, Principal at Riverbridge Partners, Minneapolis, MN, has been named to the Bethlehem College & Seminary Board of Trustees Jared Compton, (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) has been named Assistant Professor of Greek and New Testament Theology

Zach Howard, (M.Div. ’16) Assistant Professor of Theology and Humanities, has been promoted to Director of College Programs

James McGlothlin, (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) has been promoted to Associate Professor of Philosophy and Theology

Juan Sanchez, (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) Senior Pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, TX, has been named to the Bethlehem College & Seminary Board of Trustees

NEWS

J. D. Hettema, (M.Div. ’16) has been named pastor of Echo Church, Chino, CA

TO STUDY, PRACTICE, AND TEACH: FACULTY

Joe Rigney: Digging for Gold

Introducing the 2nd President of Bethlehem College & Seminary

I

t’s a chilly Saturday evening in late November. The Downtown Campus sanctuary of Bethlehem Baptist Church is dark except for the stage lights illuminating the husband-and-wife Christian folk band, The Gray Havens.

Down on the stage, the lead singer David Radford recounts the influence of Joe Rigney on song after song as he urges current Bethlehem students to secretly record lectures and send them to him, so he can, even from a distance, sit in on Rigney’s classes. Up in the dark balconies, Rigney sits alone with his oldest sons, Sam and Peter, grinning as the Gray Havens play their favorite song: “Diamonds and Gold.” Just behind Rigney, Bethlehem Baptist Church’s familiar mission statement fills the eastern wall: “We exist to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.” After close to fifteen years studying, serving, teaching, and pastoring in Minneapolis, MN, Rigney describes much of his writing and speaking as working out the implications of the supremacy of God in all things into the “corners” of life.

A self-described generalist, Rigney’s expansive love both for the word of God but also for God’s natural revelation, provokes him to “want to help people see God in a great many things.” One of Rigney’s current students explains, that he emphasizes “the particulars of the Christian life,” worked out from “universal categories” of the faith. Rigney’s most recent book Strangely Bright (2020) similarly distills the relationship between treasuring God and enjoying his gifts, a theme he first explored in Things of Earth (2015). Rigney is quick to express his love for his wife Jenny, his three sons, Texas, baseball, and pumpkin crunch cake, as well as his delight in God through them, whether to his students at Bethlehem College & Seminary or the congregants at Cities Church. But Rigney’s pastoral gifts make him also eager to take on

complex philosophical and theological ideas and to make them accessible to others at a very practical level.

“I am a born teacher,” he explains, “who loves to tell others about the things that fascinate me.” The result?

Rigney brings “an infectious energy and joy to the classroom, pulpit, and all of life,” explains Bethlehem College & Seminary’s academic dean, Brian Tabb.

Of Books and Baseball

G

iven Rigney’s family history, it is no surprise that Rigney has pursued the mind in a predominately theological and academic vocation while also being an unapologetic evangelist for the glories of baseball.

Rigney describes his maternal grandfather, James Reese, as an entrepreneurial polymath: a man who

started a number of businesses in West Texas before becoming mayor of Odessa and eventually running for Congress against George W. Bush in the 1978 Republican primary as Bush’s first primary opponent. Always very interested in the ways big ideas work themselves out in history, Rigney’s

The Board of Trustees of Bethlehem College & Seminary has called Dr. Joseph James Rigney to be the institution’s 2nd President. Rigney is to assume office June 1, 2021.

Dr. Rigney is a member of the Bethlehem College & Seminary faculty serving presently as Assistant Professor of Theology and Literature. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chester, where his dissertation was on “Diverse Excellencies: Jonathan Edwards on the Attributes of God.” He holds a Master of Classical Christian Studies from New Saint Andrews College, a Master of Biblical and Pastoral Studies from Bethlehem College & Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Texas A&M. He also serves as a pastor at Cities Church here in neighboring St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also a member of the National Board of Directors of the Association of Classical Christian Schools. Rigney is married to his wife, Jenny, and they are the parents of three young sons.

“It is with a deep sense of my own insufficiency and a deeper sense of God’s all-sufficiency that I accept this call.”

Joseph James Rigney, PhD, September 23, 2020

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SERIOUS JOY

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grandfather was the first to send Rigney books. But the love of baseball is also in Rigney’s bones. Rigney’s paternal grandfather, William “Bill” Rigney, who had played for the New York Giants before the team moved to San Francisco, became the team’s manager, and then went on to manage the Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins. Baseball, and his father’s managerial career, moved Rigney’s own father to West Texas, where he fell in love with the mayor’s daughter, got married and gave up baseball to settle down and raise three sons. Rigney grew up with two younger brothers playing baseball, football, and more baseball in the fields of West Texas. Now after living over a decade in Minnesota, Rigney and his wife Jenny still consider themselves Texans: “We are Texans in exile,” Rigney explains. “Minnesota is home, but Texas will always be home home,” Jenny adds.

Awakening a Christian Hedonist

I

t was at Texas A&M as a freshman in college that Rigney’s wide and ranging theological interest swelled.

Studying communications and English literature, Rigney found his Shakespeare and Bible-asliterature courses “paradigm shifting,” maturing a love of literature he had discovered studying Dante and the Greek Tragedies with Mr. Walker at Midland Public High School.

At the same time, Rigney began listening to John Piper’s sermons on Napster. Rigney was compelled by the vision of God and the methods of Bible study he encountered under Piper’s teaching. Although Rigney describes himself with the “instincts” of Christian Hedonism before he read Piper, he remembers “the Bible breaking open in fresh ways” as Piper’s Desiring God (1986) “blew the doors open theologically” for him.

Curious to know what a theological emphasis marrying the sovereignty of God with Christian Hedonism looked like “with legs on,” Rigney attended the 2003 Desiring God National Conference on Jonathan Edwards as a college junior. Further

encouraged by a friend from his hometown who had graduated from Bethlehem College & Seminary’s earliest iteration, The Bethlehem Institute (TBI), Rigney applied to TBI and moved to Minneapolis in the fall of 2005. In the midst of that transition, Rigney began dating Jenny, whom he first met in a Bible study while both were at Texas A&M. After years of being very good friends with

“I have known Tim Tomlinson and Joe Rigney longer than Bethlehem College & Seminary has existed.” ӹ

Both are men of serious joy—Christian Hedonists, eager to glorify Christ by treasuring him above all else.

ӹ

Both are men of the sacred book—unashamed to stand with what the infallible Bible teaches.

ӹ

Both are happy subjects of the sovereign God— glad that the future and the past is in his hands not theirs.

ӹ

Both are visionaries straining forward to what could be but is not yet.

ӹ

Both are embattled, because of faithfulness to what they see in God’s word.

And both are uniquely and wonderfully gifted for that peculiar season of future and past grace which will be called their presidencies.

So to president Tomlinson, we say, since most of your presidency is in the past, “We thank God for you.”

And to president-elect Joe Rigney, we say, since all your presidency is in the future, “We trust God—that he is for you, and in you, and behind you and before you.”

We commend you both to God’s inexhaustible and everarriving future grace.” ӹ

The Rigneys are passionate about the American pastime. Joe’s grandfather, Bill Rigney, was manager of both the Minnesota Twins and San Francisco Giants.

From Remarks by Chancellor John Piper, September 23, 2020.

“differences that kind of drew us to each other,” Jenny notes, Rigney and Jenny began dating. They dated for five weeks, and Rigney left a ring on Jenny’s finger as he moved north to start TBI. They were married that October, and Rigney moved his Texan bride to Minneapolis to their basement apartment just as the last leaves had fallen off the trees.

Jenny survived that first winter and the fourteen Minnesota winters that followed (she expected to stay for two) as Rigney transitioned from TBI to a full-time teaching role in Bethlehem’s insight program. Rigney, who had expected to go directly into pastoral ministry, began to wonder if maybe he was “cut out for word-based ministry in the classroom.”

Great Books in Light of the Greatest Book

A

s the insight program matured into Bethlehem College & Seminary’s undergraduate program, Rigney helped to design the “History of Ideas” major, alongside Bethlehem’s first biblical studies majors with concentrations in exegesis and cross-cultural missions. Although his training was in Bible and theology, Rigney found himself increasingly teaching more literature, history, and philosophy: “I was increasingly more interested in branching out and trying to figure out how to do the great books in the light of the greatest book.” Pursuing these questions, Rigney finished a master’s degree in Classical Christian Continued on pg. 12

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BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY

Forge and Fruition in Pastoral Apprenticeship What better place to prepare for vocational eldership than in the life of a local church? he concept of apprenticeship dates to the 13th century as a system of vocational preparation in which inexperienced craftsmen served under the tutelage of master craftsmen in the discovery of their trades. In that multi-year journey, the apprentice graduated to journeyman status and then to master, qualified to teach others. When the journeyman carpenter, engraver, mason, or even baker presented the qualifying piece of work, it was deemed a “masterpiece,” more specifically a masterpiece of God and nature.

Think of the Bethlehem College & Seminary Master of Divinity degree as in-the-church pastoral apprenticeship for vocations of biblical, elder-level leadership in pastoral ministry, missionary service, or future theological scholarship. In this, our flagship academic program, a small cohort of 18-20 men share a four-year journey of rigorous biblical language and theology studies, reallife experiences in church leadership and congregational care, as well as a host of cross-cultural ministry opportunities, all in the context of a globally minded church and its local plants in this multi-ethnic urban center.

During the last four decades God has supplied scores of pulpits, ministries, missionary endeavors, and seminaries with God-enthralled Bethlehem men who discovered—while serving alongside pastors here—that God is most glorified in

them when they are most satisfied in him. Since 2009, pastoral apprenticeship has been the foundational practicum in the Master of Divinity program.

Seminarians are assigned to a pastor on one of Bethlehem Baptist Church’s three local campuses, or at one of its several local church plants, and then serve alongside that pastor in the style of the historic master-apprentice pursuit of tradecraft, or like medical residents making hospital rounds with a supervising physician. They see the pastoral office in its rewards and its rigors, its mountaintops and its valleys.

Service to the pastor and the congregation are at the center of this apprenticeship, but deep mentor relationships inevitably emerge as a fruit of such up-close collaboration. The product, we hope and pray, is an emergent stream of passionate gospel heralds who are precise and able in their wielding of the Sword of Truth and careful in their handling of the hearts of God’s people.

In this issue we asked a few of those “master” pastors and their apprentices to comment on the forge and fruition of this unique seminary experience.

John Piper with Daniel Fuller, Fuller Theological Seminary, “the most influential teacher in my life.

The father of all my mentoring.”

“The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man. The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism. There is an infinite difference between the pastor whose heart is set on being a professional and the pastor whose heart is set on being the aroma of Christ, the fragrance of death to some and eternal life to others (2 Cor. 2:15–16).”

J O HN P I P E R , B R OTHERS WE ARE NOT PROFESSIONAL S : A P L E A TO PASTORS FOR RADI C AL MI NI ST RY

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John Piper on Gregg Heinsch, Cory Dahl, Dana Olson, and Tom Steller At the end of 1980 I wrote my first “Annual Report” as the Pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church. Yes. In those days there were no elders and I was the only “pastor.” Reformation was on the way.

In the annual report I wrote, “Every other week I meet with interns for 1.5 hours of consultation, Bible study, and prayer.

There are also meetings with three other seminarians doing field work at Bethlehem.”

Tom Steller, Dana Olson, Gregg Heinsch, and Cory Dahl were all students at Bethel Seminary. Within a year all of them would be on staff parttime. Tom began when I did and never left for 40 years. Dana came as Intern for Visitation, mainly caring for our seniors. Gregg came as Intern for Jr. High, and Cory as Intern for Sr. High. After finishing seminary, Dana, Gregg, and Cory left

their internships and became full-time pastors.

What you see in this picture (which I presume I took) is Greek Testaments open, smiling faces, and one necktie. Those three things capture the goals of my mentoring. 1) Build Bible-saturated exegetes who will feed their flocks with God’s word. 2) Awaken serious joy in Jesus so that their churches would absorb Christian Hedonism. 3) Become all things to all people, developing culturally appropriate engagement for Christ (wear a tie when visiting seniors).

Together these brothers represent over 150 years of faithful pastoral ministry.

I count them all friends to this day. It is deeply gratifying to have had a few years of face-to-face influence in their lives. I love them.

JOHN PIPER IS CHANCELLOR OF BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY, MINNEAPOLIS, MN.

John Piper + Gregg Heinsch, Cory Dahl, Dana Olson, Tom Steller

Gregg Heinsch on John Piper

Cory Dahl on John Piper

Dana Olson on John Piper

Tom Steller on John Piper

It should come as no surprise that

I was teaching high school when I

Those earliest years were such a

In 1975, as a young believer, I took

being an apprentice to John Piper

concluded the Lord was leading me

thrilling time to be at Bethlehem.

my first class from Dr. Piper. He

meant learning to minister by the

to give myself to pastoral ministry. I

There was great excitement in the

guided my experience-passion for

primacy of God’s Word. Specifically,

decided to go to seminary at Bethel.

air. I was delighted to be part of the

God into the solid foundation of

it meant acquiring the skill of arcing

John Piper called and asked if I

team. Weekly we were included in

God's Word. This deepened my pas-

a text to determine its meaning—just

might be interested in high school

staff meetings where John shared

sion for Christ and encouraged the

as the author intended it and spend-

youth ministry while I worked on my

powerful devotionals and led us in

ing a good deal of time soaking in an

M.Div. I said yes.

Being on staff with Pastor John for three years made all the difference for my life and ministry.

But it wasn’t mainly because I worked with high school youth. It was mostly because Pastor John worked closely with the interns, bringing us together for weekly meetings on Monday afternoons and staff lunch on Wednesdays. He used us regularly on the Sunday morning platform. We participated in staff retreats (complete with highly competitive touch football) and shared meals with the Piper family.

John was generous in many ways, including gently and clearly helping me understand where I could improve in ministry and relationships. He modeled love for the Lord and his Word and commitment to his family and the church family.

I missed out on having Dr. Piper as a professor in college. But I thank God for his great gift to me: my mentor and lifelong friend, Pastor John.

prayer as well as the essential items

longevity of my passion for him.

He fed me from God's Word as a teacher for three years and as a pastor for 33 years. I've never stopped feasting on the banquet he prepared through his teaching and preaching week after week for all these years.

I cried during his first sermon on July 13, 1980, and I often find my eyes filling with tears as he preaches into his seventies.

He modeled expository exultation in the classroom long before he coined that term to describe his understanding of the preaching event. I learned from him that it is every bit as true in classroom teaching as it is in the pulpit.

He empowered students to see for themselves the glories of Christ and the whole counsel of God emerging out of a rigorous and meticulous study of the Scriptures, issuing forth into real-life application and whole-hearted doxology.

Space keeps me from shining more light on the multi-faceted diamond of the most influential mentorship in my life—which has fueled my passion to mentor.

early typed copy of Fuller’s Unity of the Bible.

It set the trajectory of my whole pastoral career to then see this authoritative Word integrated into every aspect of pastoral ministry in a real live church like Bethlehem. What kept this from being a mere academic exercise was a corresponding passion for a God who loves his own glory with infinite intensity and learning that this is his righteousness and the immovable ground of our assurance. It’s at his right hand that I can find the real pleasures! This emphasis on the Word indeed fully equipped me for every good work.

But these were also the days when John was able to do our premarital counseling, check out an occasional BBC softball game, have me teach his boys wrestling moves, and regularly open up his home to let us into his life. With the possible exception of my mom and dad, no one has had a greater impact on my faith and pastoral instincts. Thanks be to God! GREGG HEINSCH IS LEAD PASTOR, CELEBRATION COMMUNITY CHURCH,

CORY DAHL IS PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, STURGEON BAY, WI

for that week. It was a heady time.

I learned so much about spiritual leadership. Tom Steller was discipling me with arcing. Like so many, what John and Tom instilled in me was an even greater love for Jesus and the text of Scripture, building on the foundation of my own home growing up as a PK and on my years as a Bible major during the golden era of the Bible department at Bethel College.

My internship was visiting senior adults and leading an evangelistic visitation ministry. One skeptical lady I visited said, “I think John Piper is just using Bethlehem as a stepping stone to a seminary position.” I listened and smiled.

He certainly did get a seminary position out of the deal. I don’t think she meant an entire college and seminary! I wouldn’t trade my time at Bethlehem from ’81 to ’83 for any amount of money. It meant the world to me then and still does today. And I got an extra, added benefit: marrying Noel’s younger sister Christa. Our 37th wedding anniversary is coming up soon.

CELEBRATION, FL

TOM STELLER IS AN ELDER AT BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, AND DIRECTOR OF

DANA OLSON IS SENIOR PASTOR, FAITH

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR

BIBLE FELLOWSHIP, SIOUX FALLS, SD

TRAINING LEADERS INTERNATIONAL, CAMEROON, AFRICA

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BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY

Tom Steller on Dieudonné Tamfu

Dieudonné Tamfu on Tom Steller

I met Dieudonné Tamfu when I visited a tin-roofed church in Ndu, Cameroon.

Tom Steller is the most down-to-earth, loving, and faithful follower of Christ I

His golden voice boomed forth from the pulpit amidst a torrential rainfall that

have ever met. While there are many who have written books and articles and

drowned out every sound except for his joy-soaked exposition of a passage

whose fame has spread worldwide, Tom Steller’s publications are the many men,

from Ephesians.

Dieudonné was the town barber turned Gospel preacher. After I met him, I had to find a way for him to join us at Bethlehem to further equip him to return to Cameroon as a preacher and teacher of the Word of God which so transformed him and gave him such a fire in his belly.

In Minneapolis he lived with my family for three years, learned his Greek and Hebrew, and inspired just about everyone who conversed with him. Armed with his Bethlehem certificate, an M.A. in theology from Bethel, a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and two years of pastoral experience at a young church-plant in an urban neighborhood, he returned to Cameroon with his wife and ministry partner, Dominique, and their two children.

Within two years he has launched a church and a church-based seminary, teaching and preaching the Word of God with passion and delight, training leaders who will train others who will train others. It is now my pleasure to come under his leadership and work side-by-side in Cameroon.

serving Christ all over the world, who have been influenced by this man. My life and ministry, not to overstate it, are Tom Steller’s publications. My guess is that every apprentice who has passed through Bethlehem College & Seminary would say with Paul’s words, “We are Tom Steller’s letter, written in his heart, known and read by all men; being manifested that we are a letter of Christ, cared for

by Tom Steller, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:2–3).

DIEUDONNÉ TAMFU, PH.D., IS EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR OF BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY, YAOUNDÉ, CAMEROON.

TOM STELLER IS AN ELDER AT BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, AND DIRECTOR OF THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR TRAINING LEADERS INTERNATIONAL, CAMEROON, AFRICA.

Dieudonné Tamfu + Tom Steller

Jason Meyer + Dave Zuleger

Jason Meyer on Dave Zuleger

Dave Zuleger on Jason Meyer

We quickly bonded as mentor and mentee during my years as Dave’s professor

When I met Jason Meyer he was a professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary

at Bethlehem College & Seminary. I remember what a delight it was to meet

and my mentor. Jason Meyer taught me what it meant to make disciples. He

with him in my little office that felt more like a closet. It was so small that when

made time for me. He was relentless in pointing me to deep love for Jesus in my

I turned my office chair around to meet with him, our knees would almost be

studies, in my family, and in my ministry.

He gave me opportunities to minister with him and without him and then was eager to give me feedback—citing the ways I did well and gently helping me see things I could improve. He got to know my wife and family to make sure they felt known and loved as well. He was a rare blend of academic rigor and pastoral love that made me aspire to follow him as he followed Jesus. He prepared me to pastor after seminary with a deep love for the word, Jesus, and the people of God. More than anything else I learned first-hand what passionate love for Jesus looked like and how that translated to loving our neighbors as ourselves. My third son—Apollos Meyer Zuleger—was named after him, and by God’s kind providence, they share a birthday. I count a privilege that the Lord has seen fit for me to partner with him in ministry at Bethlehem.

touching! During those times together, I could literally see the dynamics of 1 Timothy 4:15 come to life before my very eyes: “Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” What a thrill to see someone’s progress in reverently and accurately handling the word of truth and obeying it.

After I became pastor, I hired Dave as my pastoral assistant. He would say that he learned so much during that apprentice time that he could not have learned in the classroom. That experience was vital because so many seminary students think they are leaving seminary as a trained pastor, but they are really only a trained student. When Dave took his first pastorate, he would often tell me that he would be in meetings, and he would just know what to do because we had walked through much of it together already, and he had seen how I had handled similar situations.

What an unspeakable joy it was for me to hand off the baton of preaching to Dave Zuleger in 2020 as the Pastor for Preaching and Vision at the South Campus of Bethlehem Baptist Church. I am not sure words can do justice to how much I admire this man and all that the Lord has done in his life.

DAVE ZULEGER, M.DIV. ’14, IS PASTOR FOR PREACHING AND VISION-SOUTH, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, LAKEVILLE, MN

JASON MEYER, PH.D., IS PASTOR FOR PREACHING AND VISION-DOWNTOWN, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN

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Steven Lee on Tom Boyer

Tom Boyer on Steven Lee

I observed Tom Boyer up close as my ministry assistant at the North Campus,

At Bethlehem College & Seminary, seminary students uniquely seek out aged

and also as a church planting resident. More than his sharp theological acumen,

wisdom. Whether it’s the 40 year pastoral resume of Tom Steller or the 30 year

more than his love for the church, and more than his desire to plant a church, I

blended resume from one of our non-vocational elders. However, mentors don’t

appreciate his love for God and for his family. He's a good dad and a husband

need to have gray hair to show their value and aged wisdom. Don’t believe me?

who lives in an understanding way with his wife, Emily. As he juggled seminary,

I present to you my former mentor and friend, Pastor Steven Lee, and his fine

work, caring for his family, and preparing to plant a church, I saw discipline,

head of jet-black hair.

Pastor Steven, an early Bethlehem College & Seminary graduate, serves as the Lead Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church’s North Campus. Steven has many responsibilities—from corporate preaching to individual counseling, from congregational vision casting to leading a church staff. I personally know what Steven does, because I have seen it! I have seen him work, I have seen him care for his family, I have worked alongside him, and I have even worked in his place.

I have grown through Steven’s intentional leadership. Steven, like all great leaders, invite his mentees into the trenches with him. Steven doesn’t simply say “Figure it out,” but he says, “Come, observe, and grow. And when there’s time, let’s get lunch!”

Steven’s hair pigment may not scream “aged wisdom!” But his leadership sure does.

commitment, eagerness, and a desire to both submit and to lead.

As he and his team plant Emmaus Church in the White Bear Lake region, I am eager to see them establish another gospel outpost that shines forth the light of the glory of Christ. Tom knows that God uses weak and insufficient people to display his all-sufficiency. Nonetheless, his gifts and skills will be a blessing to many, as he submits them to the Lord.

My prayer for Tom, his family, and his new flock is Philippians 1:9–11, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” STEVEN LEE, M.DIV. ’12, IS PASTOR FOR PREACHING AND VISION-NORTH, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MOUNDS VIEW, MN

TOM BOYER, M.DIV. ’20, IS LEAD PASTOR, EMMAUS CHURCH, WHITE BEAR LAKE, MN

Steven Lee + Tom Boyer

David Mathis + Ken Currie

Ken Currie on David Mathis

David Mathis on Ken Currie

I have been impressed by and blessed to share friendship with David Mathis for

We met on our feet: running errands, exercising, working on home and building

over 20 years. Even before I met him while serving in campus ministry, there was

repairs. Ken Currie showed me the everyday as a Christian in every sphere of

a rumor going around of a freshman who could bench press 350 pounds. While

life. As an apprentice and seminary student at Bethlehem in 2003–2005, I had

note-worthy, David’s physical prowess is far outweighed by his spiritual maturity.

God has gifted David in two particular ways that work together to the great benefit of his church and other believers. David is both faithful in interpreting the Word of God and faithful in applying the Gospel to life. I remember David studying his Greek New Testament as a Bethlehem student. He absolutely loved it and had a natural knack for exegesis as well as a quick grasp of deep theological concepts. At the same time, David is always eager to talk about how the Gospel applies to all of life. While truly gifted as a first-order theologian, he does not live in a theological ivory tower but seeks to bring Scripture to bear on his own life, and the lives of those around him. The habits of grace about which he’s written, and which he preaches and lives are rooted in the depths of the revealed Word of God and are practical means to know Jesus and to rest in his finished work. Oh how grateful I am to God for this pastor and brother.

the great honor and privilege of receiving Ken’s direct and regular influence and

KEN CURRIE IS PASTOR FOR STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN

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investment. To be discipled by Ken was to share life together, not simply to sit down for a regular exchange of information. He drew me into his life as a husband and father of five and a full-time pastor and elder at Bethlehem.

Then there was on-the-group “plurality.” No one has shown me like Ken what it means practically for church elders to work as a team. Ken has a wonderfully functional, not just theoretical, understanding of what it means to do ministry together as a plurality. Now, more than a decade and a half later, I can’t shake the depth and extent of Ken’s influence—and wouldn’t want to! Multiple times each week, in team meetings at Desiring God and pastors meetings at Cities Church, Ken’s fingerprints quietly shape and serve our labors—not to mention a depth of all-life impact that touches nearly every hour of the day.

DAVID MATHIS IS PASTOR, CITIES CHURCH, ST. PAUL, MN, AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR AT DESIRINGGOD.ORG

Chuck Steddom on Chyingtawng Naw Zau Naw

Chyingtawng Naw Zau Naw on Chuck Steddom

In one of my early trips visiting the Kachin Bible School in Northern Myanmar,

It’s a rare gift to know men like pastor/professor/musician Chuck Steddom. It’s

a music student at the college was accompanying the congregation in sing-

an even rarer gift to sit under and learn from such men, but it has been my joy

ing from the piano and violin. I remember being so impressed by his charisma,

and a great blessing to do just that. Pastor Chuck is a wonderful man who loves

passionate musical performance, and ability to express joy in worship as he led

the Lord and delights to serve him in Kingdom work.

I met Chuck at Kachin Theological College & Seminary nineteen years ago.

I’ve watched Chuck use his talents as an exceptionally gifted worship leader and a skilled musician. As a member of his worship team, I’ve found that he brings joy, fun, wisdom, and confidence into any setting where he uses his gifts to lead people into worship. Pastor Chuck is also Dr. Chuck, an experienced teacher and an awesome mentor. I have been deeply touched by him, and I’ve learned and gained much from him and from his wife, Carol, who is the most amazing pianist I have ever seen.

I thank God for his kind heart that loves others, feels deep compassion, and has a great sense of humor. On a personal level, I value Chuck’s passion for multi-ethnic worship—his passion to help the members of Christ’s diverse body grow from “monocultural” to “multicultural” in our daily lives and in our worship.

the student body in campus worship. I never forgot that chapel experience with Chyingtawng Naw Zau Naw—or “Chying Chying,” as the students called him.

As our relationship grew, Chying Chying and I began to dream about what God might be pleased to do in building up the Kachin Church through radically God-centered, culturally appropriate worship. God has given Chying Chying a passion to see the Kachin church grow in understanding, and practice Godcentered, worship and theology.

Very soon Chying Chying will return back to Myanmar as an accredited, trained worship pastor/professor who will model and train the next generation of worship leaders among the Kachin people. God has also given Chying Chying great favor among the leadership of the 450+ churches across the Kachin state.

Chying Chying represents the culmination of twenty years of worship training and mentoring among the Kachin people.

CHYINGTAWNG NAW ZAU NAW IS A FOURTH-YEAR SEMINARIAN AT BETHLEHEM COLLEGE

CHURCH STEDDOM IS PASTOR FOR WORSHIP AND MINISTRY DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AND

& SEMINARY AND WORSHIP PASTOR AT NJANG KAWNG BAPTIST CHURCH, KACHIN

DOWNTOWN, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS AND LAKEVILLE, MN

STATE, MYANMAR

Chyingtawng Naw Zau Naw + Chuck Steddom

Daniel Souza + Dan Holst

Dan Holst on Daniel Souza

Daniel Souza on Dan Holst

The faithful providences of a loving God promised in Hebrews 4:16 hold out

I became the pastoral assistant to Dan Holst in my third year of seminary. Up to

hope that we may “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Daniel

that point I had certainly had plenty of opportunities to “plug in” at Bethlehem.

Souza was the providential personification of “help in time of need” for this

But it was not until I came under the mentorship of Dan that I began to see and

harried North Campus Pastor from 2012–2015.

These were years of phenomenal growth and unsettling transition at Bethlehem and Daniel, in his varied roles as husband, father, seminary student, and financial provider, took on the additional role of Ministry Assistant to the Lead Pastor, North. Serving in this vital part-time job, Daniel displayed remarkable managerial skills with interpersonal sensitivity and God-given grace.

Though he willingly dove into the deep end of the pastoral pool alongside this “multi-hatted” Campus Pastor, Daniel exuded faith-filled confidence, load-lifting assistance, and real-time battlefield counsel at every turn. He proved himself as thoughtful, humble, diligent, joyful, light-hearted, and trustworthy. His partnership was inestimably valuable to Bethlehem’s pastoral and elder teams; his servant-hearted leadership was a blessing to many among the congregation.

In the ensuing years, God has guided Daniel to the noble task of shepherding flocks pastorally—both internationally and domestically—with the kind of Spirit-dependent giftedness and Word-saturated life that Bethlehem College & Seminary seeks to cultivate among the next generation pastors.

understand the true inner workings of church life and ministry—the late nights of counseling, the balancing act of pastor and family man, the elder meetings, rehearsals, retreats, weddings, funerals, and so much more. In short, I was exposed to the all-encompassing life that is this thing called ministry.

But there was more. I also happened to have a front row seat to a man who led in dependence on the Holy Spirit, who reminded me both in actions and in words that apart from Christ we could accomplish nothing. And I had the privilege to walk alongside a man who exhibited joy in all that he did. Even if circumstances seemed to dictate otherwise, he showed me what it looked like to fight for joy in spite of them.

It has been said that some things are better “caught” than “taught.” Well, I can attest that this is true. I am deeply grateful to this day for the intangible things I “caught” as a pastoral assistant and mentee to Pastor Dan Holst.

DANIEL SOUZA, M.DIV. ’13, IS TEACHING PASTOR AND ELDER, CALVARY BIBLE CHURCH, MT. PLEASANT, TX

DAN HOLST IS PASTOR FOR WORSHIP-NORTH, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MOUNDS VIEW, MN

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Kenny Stokes on Dan Shambro

Dan Shambro on Kenny Stokes

Just before his second year of seminary, I hired Dan to be my pastoral assis-

Since 2016, Kenny’s title has been “Pastor for Church Planting” but he has actu-

tant, and I became his mentor. My first impression of Dan was that he loved the

ally filled the role since 2003.

Elaborating the metaphor to explain his pastoral role in it, Kenny has labored for nearly two decades like a church gardener, both in the greenhouse (recruiting and equipping in the residency and seminary) as well as in the field (supporting and caring for planters and their churches).

For over 9 years, I’ve had the unique privilege of being under his pastoral care in the church, the greenhouse, and the field. In all three settings, two graces in Kenny’s life stand out. First, he exudes the peace of Christ even to the most distraught people in the most difficult situations (2 Cor 1:3–4). Second, he infuses those he disciples with a humble confidence in the all-sufficient grace of Christ (2 Cor 9:8).

He’s nurtured Bethlehem’s church-planting network, Treasuring Christ Together, with that peace and grace, and God has been pleased to cause much growth. Speaking on behalf of TCT, we thank God for Kenny’s labors. Humble gardener that he is, he would likely respond, “It was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

Bible, and was detailed, humble, and teachable. He must have thought of me as stretched with ministry responsibilities as lead pastor for the Downtown Campus and overseeing church planting because I always had more hands-on ministry to share with him.

By the end of our 3-year mentoring relationship, God blessed our relationship in at least two ways.

First, Dan had grown in his pastoral leadership skills. He preached. He taught membership classes, baptism classes, and three adult Bible studies. He provided pre-marriage counseling, visited the dying, and mentored other students. He wrote curriculum and helped develop an internship program for college students. And he learned to handle the administration that inevitably comes with pastoral ministry.

Second, Dan and I had become good friends. In the mentoring process, we had shared not only the gospel but our lives with one another (cf.

1 Thessalonians 2:8). Now, several years later, I am filled with ‘fatherly’ joy at seeing my ‘son’ in the Lord, loving his wife Angela, and family well, and wisely shepherding his own church.

DAN SHAMBRO, M.DIV. ’15, IS PASTOR, EKKLESIA CHURCH, EAU CLAIRE, WI

KENNY STOKES IS PASTOR FOR CHURCH PLANTING, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN.

Dan Shambro + Kenny Stokes

Ben Katterson + David Livingston

David Livingston on Ben Katterson

Ben Katterson on David Livingston

Happy-go-lucky, free-spirited Ben Katterson was “just passin’ through.” To an

Here are three scenes for John David Livingston (or JDL): An older saint remarked of departed friends, “I wish you could have known them.” The poignant pause was broken by JDL’s confident reply, “They will!” He is a fearless lover. JDL challenged me when I wanted to marry a particular ministry assistant of his (which I eventually did). He has lovingly put his finger on a wound that I lingered over, a sin that I loved, or a limitation that I had not cast on the Lord’s shoulders. He fears the Lord enough to love others well.

At a prayer meeting I sat longing for more of Jesus because of JDL’s desolation in prayer. His tears poured for the Savior, sinless and holy, dying on the cross for sinners. While my mind had been carnally preoccupied, JDL’s heart was captivated by the sacrifice of the Lamb and grieved to tears. Whether reviewing a book, discussing a ministry situation, or “drawing my heart out of deep waters,” JDL has rhythmically led my heart in worship to the Savior.

In this scene JDL is quick to laugh or draw you into a hug. The punctuation mark of his life is a full-bellied cackle. He loves slightly zany, slap-stick humor.

This last scene of JDL’s life is no glib, personality-driven happiness. If you take the three scenes together, he loves like the apostle John, trusts like King David, and risks like Dr. Livingston, because he is saved by Jesus the Christ.

adventurous “military brat,” Minnesota may have been just a temporary stopover on his way to parts yet unknown. But Bethlehem figured into that first visit as the brand new church home of his brother and father. Fifteen years later, Ben has never made it out of town; instead, a tumbling tumbleweed has been transformed into an oak of the Lord’s planting.

His dad introduced us, and for Ben, to know me was soon to lay eyes on Amy Anderson, dear to my wife and me like a spiritual daughter, and my omni-competent ministry assistant at Bethlehem’s newly formed South Campus. The wonderfully incomprehensible “. . . way of a man with a maiden” (Prov. 30:19), kicked in. The determined suitor not coincidentally became “logistics coordinator” at the South Campus in 2007 and closed the deal on October 18, 2008, when I officiated their wedding.

God’s call sharpened for Ben not just to educate children but to do so with the theological depth and spiritual passion the school could provide. And so five arduous and sacrificial years of undergraduate and graduate education ensued, as four beautiful sons came and he and Amy scraped by. Those early years Karin and I relished being second-parents to them and grandparents to the boys as Ben worked with both the South Campus and Downtown Youth.

Though I am no apostle, Ben is “Timothy-like” in his proven worth, his genuine concern for the welfare of others, and his service with me in the gospel. All Godwrought and unforeseeable when the blonde-haired man-child hit town in 2005.

DAVID LIVINGSTON IS PASTOR FOR GLOBAL OUTREACH MEMBER CARE, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN

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BEN KATTERSON, M.DIV. ’17, IS DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE SCHOOL AND FAMILY DISCIPLESHIPNORTH, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MOUNDS VIEW, MN

Brad Nelson on René González

René González on Brad Nelson

I met René over ten years ago when we were about to bring a youth team to

As part of Bethlehem College & Seminary commitment to “Education in Serious

El Salvador for a ministry trip. He met us, housed us, and showed us around

Joy,” each apprentice has the opportunity to be mentored by a pastor, professor,

his church, helping us prepare for a wonderful trip for our youth. He came here

or senior student. During these last three years, I have had the privilege of meet-

in 2017 with a real desire to learn and become better equipped in order to go

ing regularly with Pastor Brad Nelson. Let me share at least three reasons why

back and better serve his people in El Salvador. He so longs for the church in believers to be mature in their faith.

René is also an incredibly positive person even under much strain. He is doing masters studies in his second language, which takes more time and effort.

His wife is a medical doctor but is unable to work due to visa issues, so financially it is tight for the family. They had their third child while here, which made him even more needed at home with the family. He is helping with translation work and leading our Hispanic Sunday School class. He is on the worship team helping lead the entire congregation on Sunday mornings. On Fridays he helps out at the local food distribution site ministering to the Hispanic folks who come for assistance. And on top of all that he just became a Downtown Campus elder.

this has been one of the highlights during my time in seminary.

First, because of the modeling of how healthy relationships work in pastoral ministry and the way that this relationship inspires me to do the same with others under my care in the future. Second, the mutual encouragement, accountability, and trust that provides timely spiritual help, wise advice, and loving correction when necessary, and the ways these interactions have helped me to grow in holiness and wisdom. Lastly, the blessing of counting Pastor Brad as a true friend, a co-laborer in Christ and a man I can walk along side and closely consider the outcome of his way of life and imitate his faith.

Thank you, Bethlehem College & Seminary, for connecting me to this godly and humble servant of Christ. Thank you, Pastor Brad, for your intentional friendship, timely wisdom, commitment to Christ, and joyful heart.

BRAD NELSON IS PASTOR FOR GLOBAL OUTREACH, BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH,

RENÉ GONZÁLEZ IS A FOURTH-YEAR SEMINARIAN AT BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY

MINNEAPOLIS, MN

AND AN ELDER AT BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN

El Salvador to be God-centered, Christ-loving, and Bible-saturated, discipling

Brad Nelson + René González

Lewis Guest IV + John Erickson

John Erickson on Lewis Guest IV

Lewis Guest IV on John Erickson

One of the beautiful things about the nature of God’s design for the church is

I have rubbed shoulders with plenty of pastors. One pastor recognized the

the ebb and flow of giving and receiving. It has been a great joy to walk along-

Lord's calling on my life. One pastor taught me how to tie a tie. One pastor

side Lewis in various capacities for the last eight years.

Lewis volunteered with our youth and then walked through our pastoral internship. He then came on staff part-time and prepared and became a gifted and godly elder and full-time pastor. With each step, God’s grace has been evident and sweet for our family and me. What a gift to see marriage and children come by God’s gracious hand and his dear bride Elizabeth! I have felt more benefit from him than anything I have offered. He is a friend and a tremendous blessing.

In God’s kindness, my oldest son Johnny has been mentored by Lewis from the beginning of high school through his last year of college. So often, this is the nature of the church. Older invests in younger and yet those who invest are themselves refreshed and encouraged and blessed in unexpected ways that prove to be a rich source of joy.

Ministry is a battle. Preparing for it is sober work. And walking with Lewis Guest IV has been a distinct honor and high privilege.

made sure I did not fall through the cracks during the dark night of my soul. One

JOHN ERICKSON IS LEAD PASTOR, JUBILEE COMMUNITY CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, MN

pastor broke my heart. One pastor restored the image of a Christ-exalting and Spirit-dependent shepherd. Enter John Erickson. There is no way to put a price tag on the type of apprenticeship John has sacrificially forged for my pastoral development and my pastoral care. In fact, through John's embodied pastoral care, my pastoral development has a model to imitate and, therefore, accomplishes an apprenticeship's goal. Through constant encouragement, wise advice, hours of conversation, acknowledgments of weakness, confessions of sin, and teachable moments, John has demonstrated the marks of a shepherd, which has made my time under his tutelage disproportionally impactful.

There have been many meals my family has enjoyed with his family. We have sipped countless cups of coffee and consumed the pages of many good books.

We have experienced the lows of felt mutual sorrow over the eruptions of deep societal brokenness. We have tasted the heights of the glory of our Triune God in the Scriptures. We have burned the midnight oil through long elder meetings.

This is what apprenticeship is.

LEWIS GUEST IV, M.DIV. ’15, IS PASTOR, JUBILEE COMMUNITY CHURCH, MINNEAPOLIS, AND A MEMBER OF THE FACULTY OF BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY.

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Continued from pg. 4 Joe Rigney: Digging for Gold Studies from New Saint Andrews College in 2014. Directing the History of Ideas program, Rigney found himself “further into the weeds,” teaching works that were new to him and surprising and refreshing: “My wife distinctly remembers me sitting on the bed, reading Pride and Prejudice as I was getting ready for class, and cackling constantly at the humor.” Rigney confesses he had owned a copy of Austen for years but hadn’t read it: “I kept it on the shelf in college to impress the girls.”

Whether in teaching Shakespeare

and Dostoyevsky on envy and desire, or Anselm on the atonement and Edward on the trinity, Rigney sees his teaching as helping students come to “know and love God in Christ through his word and through his world.” He calls his teaching method of choice “Socratic lecture” in which he, as the professor, serves as a “chief reader” who uses questions to stop and camp on important moments in the texts.

Rigney often begins his lectures with the question, “What do you see in this scene?” A steady stream of questions follow in which he and the students banter back and forth: “What is the narrative strategy here? Which

characters are acting out of character?

How do we see a change in the mood?

When does the conversion occur? Is this holy or pagan love? How can we tell? If this were true, what else does this make sense of? What do we do with this repetition? What do we do with this appearance? What is missing?

Is there a reason for this absence? I have just called this into question; what do you make of this? An hour in Rigney’s classroom might sound like a barrage of questions, but the students are quick to pick up on the pattern: Rigney is drilling. Zach Woodyard, a recent Bethlehem College & Seminary graduate, describes the experience like mining: “It feels like we are all

working together to solve a problem or mine a gold deposit.” Current senior, Alaina Rudin, describes Rigney’s commitment to “turn his students into their own teachers” as worth the mess of it all: “We started like toddlers falling down a staircase, learning by the force of gravity. But I have begun to ask the right questions on my own.” Rigney’s students do not just walk away from his classes mining texts; they learn to probe their own hearts. Zach Woodyard adds, “Through Shakespeare, Dr. Rigney helped me see the secret jealousies in my heart, but also the glorious redemption on the other side of repentance.”

Above: D. A. Carson and Joe Rigney engage one another at The Bethlehem College & Seminary Conference for Pastors + Church Leaders.

Right: Rigney is the author of several books on Christian Hedonism, and on the life and work of C.S. Lewis.

The Pastors of Cities Church, St. Paul, MN, c. 2018 - L-R Josh Foster, Michael Thiel, Nick Aufenkamp, David Easterwood, Joe Rigney, David Mathis, Kevin Kleiman, Jonathan Parnell.

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BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY

Intellectual Friend of Edwards and Lewis

R

igney’s own questions have led him deep into the Trinitarian theology of Jonathan Edwards beginning with his days in TBI under John Piper and Walter Schultz, to his own lectures in Bethlehem’s seminary classrooms, through his doctoral studies at Union School of Theology and his dissertation exploring the connections between Edwards’ doctrine of the Trinity and his understanding of God’s divine attributes and purpose in creation. Also a life-long student of C.S. Lewis, Rigney has recently published Lewis on the Christian Life (2018). In addition to the many things Rigney credits Lewis with teaching him in Live Like a Narnian (2013), Rigney has learned to model an “organic unity” between how he learns and how he serves.

Pastor Joe

R

igney is ever quick to turn his research towards resourcing the local church. Since 2015, he has served with a team of pastors at Cities Church, sharing the teaching, preaching, and shepherding load. Cities’ lead pastor, Jonathan Parnell, a Bethlehem College & Seminary graduate, describes Rigney’s strengths in “sustaining ministry values” with his probing reading and study, “Because of Joe’s influence on me, the truths about God I believed six years ago are truths I believe more deeply today.” Similarly David Mathis, executive editor at Desiring God, a pastor at Cities Church, and a Bethlehem College & Seminary graduate, locates Rigney’s strength in his ability to lead through difference toward the main thing: “Joe is not afraid of different instincts and emphases, but he also knows how to triage what’s most critical and winsomely keep us together on the watershed issues of our day.”

Rigney is not afraid to shepherd in the hard places.

Rigney also delights in shepherding his family. “First and foremost the banner that Joe has hung over our family and over our marriage is that he would be the

smile of God to me and our children,” explains Jenny. “His heart is that they would flourish under his fathering, and he leads in being patient and in delighting in us.” When Rigney is with his sons, Jenny describes, “He is all in. Whatever interests them interests him.” So he is in his classroom. So he

is in his pulpit. For Rigney no object is too mundane to refract God’s glory, and therefore, Rigney’s field of inquiry is expansive, and his pursuit, keen.

Rigney is all in, rejoicing in the world God has made, and in it, stoking the fire of love for God in Christ.

Up in the balcony of the Downtown Campus under Bethlehem’s mission statement, Rigney smiles at his sons as the Gray Havens’ “Diamonds and Gold” fills the sanctuary and fades: “So take it back to the soul / Burn'n with the fire, with the fire / That we felt before / Take it back to desire / Let it bloom let it grow.”

By Betsy Howard, M.A., Adjunct Professor of Literature

The Rigneys (L-R, Peter, Jack, Joe, Jenny, and Sam)

FALL 2020

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13

IN LIGHT OF THE GREATEST BOOK

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy” Augustine on Psalm 126

This new section features some of the best writing by undergraduate students who are studying “Great Books in light of the Greatest Book for the sake of the Great Commission.”

Why does the psalmist refer to God’s people as “those who sow in tears”? If we live doing good deeds in the hope of a certain resurrection, why should we weep? Why in tears? This simple question is the launching pad for Augustine’s sermon “On the Response of Psalm 126.”1 He answers it carefully and patiently by showing how the psalmist’s description of weeping sowers applies to specific kinds of people within the body of Christ, as well as to the body as a whole. He explains why Christians weep, and concludes that Christians are indeed “those who sow in tears,” even though our weeping is full of hope and will someday give way to eternal rejoicing.

We know very little about when and why this sermon was preached.

The only known surviving copy is in a liturgical collection of sermons from the 8th century, in which it is categorized as a sermon appropriate for reading during a feast of martyrs.

Scholars tentatively date it to the year 404 a.d., three years after Augustine wrote his Confessions and in the thick of his long controversy with the Donatists.2 There is nothing in its content to suggest a specific audience or a particular occasion for its preaching. Strangely enough, it seems appropriate in this case

for the sermon to be tied to no particular time or place. Its message, after all, is one that speaks to all believers of every era, regardless of our circumstances.

Augustine begins to answer his introductory question by pointing out that the description “those who sow in tears” is appropriate for the martyrs.

Many Christians, imitating Christ, have laid down their very lives in the service of his gospel and his church.

Their love has been proved through terrible suffering; they “fought bravely and endured great tribulation.” They are like Christ, who—despite the ultimate joy that he knew awaited him—approached his sacrifice with deep sorrow.

The next kind of believer to whom the description particularly applies is those who are weak and fearful.

Christ’s sympathy toward his weak sheep was shown in the Garden of Gethsemane, as he faced the prospect of death with tears. Augustine points out that the Jesus who sorrowed deeply in the garden was the same Jesus who said, “I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again. No one shall take it from me, but I myself will lay it down and take it up again.” It was not Jesus’ own helplessness that brought him to tears, but the fact that he was bearing the weaknesses of his people—he had “transposed the weak members of his body into himself.”

Christ’s tears remind us that “even if [we] have sown in tears, the pain and the sighing will pass away. Sadness passes at the end, and gladness comes without end.” Even if we are beset by fears and weeping, we need not despair.

In the next section, Augustine shows how the description is actually fitting for all believers. From the moment we are born, we are moving toward death. “Is there anyone, after all,” he asks, “who doesn’t cry here, along this bad road, seeing that the very infant begins with crying?” Yet the righteous man cries for the sorrows of others as well as his own.

He weeps for those who weep in vain and for those who are happy in illusions. Of all people, Augustine says, the righteous man “cries the most,” because he sees the true state of others. Moreover, he is an exile, and an “exile doesn’t long for home without tears.” Crying is right for Christians, because we yearn intensely for something we do not have; we should be more concerned, Augustine explains, if we do not cry at all. Yet our tears will not last forever. They are here for the journey, but not for the homecoming. When we arrive, it will be “with merrymaking, carrying [our] sheaves.” Laughter is our destination.

Augustine uses several particular techniques in this sermon to answer his guiding question and to impress the answer upon his hearers. He uses progression, beginning with smaller, more specific examples (e.g. martyrs and the weak in faith), then expanding to look at the church as a whole. He also demonstrates his consistency with all of Scripture by quoting liberally from the Psalms, the Gospels, and Paul’s letters. A third technique—and one of the most powerful aspects of this sermon—is his use of contrasts: sowing versus reaping, weeping versus joy, exile versus homecoming, condemnation versus salvation. The final section, describing the torment of the damned and the reward of the saints, is not simply a clear conclusion of his argument, but an overwhelming emotional experience. A fourth technique Augustine uses is referencing works outside of Scripture that his audience, presumably, would have recognized. The editor points out that Augustine’s statement, “There are tears of the pious, there are tears of the saints,” is an imitation of a famous passage from Virgil’s Aeneid. In this passage, the exiled hero Aeneas comes upon a temple with a depiction of the

fall of Troy, his former home. Seeing his lost city remembered by strangers comforts him, and he bursts into tears. For the first time, Virgil writes, his fears are set at rest; “for the first time he dared to hope.”3 In the midst of his discussion of Christian sorrow in exile and hope for a future home, Augustine alludes to a well-known story with similar themes, thus bringing all his hearers’ emotional associations with Virgil to bear on the truth of their own lives.

This sermon is a beautiful example of why Augustine’s works are still valuable for us today. Not only is he preaching on themes that apply to all Christians in every age and place, but he does it with wisdom, compassion, and a heart for building up the church. He speaks with a thorough understanding of Scripture and an insightful knowledge of the human heart, evident not only in the content of his message, but in the techniques he uses to express that content. Augustine’s message encompasses the entire church, from the radically courageous martyr to the trembling doubter, comforting and strengthening us to weep with hope and to rejoice in the expectation of everlasting laughter.

By Elizabeth Hayse, B.A. '20

1. Augustine, “Sermon 31: On the Response of Psalm 126: Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap in Joy,” in The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century (Brooklyn: New City Press, 1990), Part 3, Volume 2, 131.

2. Brown, Peter, Augustine of Hippo (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 184, 233.

3. Virgil, The Aeneid, translated by David West (London: Penguin Books, 1990), 17.

Bibliography Augustine. “Sermon 31: On the Response of Psalm 126: Those Who Sow in Tears Shall Reap in Joy.” In Sermons II (20–50) on the Old Testament, edited by John E. Rotelle, translated

by Edmund Hill, 131–136. Part 3, Vol. 2 of The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century. Brooklyn: New City Press, 1990.

Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by David West.

London: Penguin Books, 1990.

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