DR. PIPER RETURNS TO HIS CLASSROOM “Check this out, dude.” Two second-year seminary students exchange arcing homework now squabbling, now congratulating each other on the agreement between their analysis of “grounds” and “purpose” clauses in the first chapter of Philippians, as the others file in to a semi-circle around Dr. John Piper and fill up the remaining, available seats. Piper fiddles with his document lamp so that the text leaps on to the projector screen. As demonstrated by the most recent Desiring God National Conference, “Look at the Book,” Piper is preeminently a teacher from the text of scripture. Class begins as sixteen voices join in five verses of the hymn “Be Thou My Vision.” Piper follows song with a reflection from Jeremiah Burroughs, and all read along from The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, one of the course textbooks for this book study on Philippians. For Piper, the discipline of arcing, which he learned as a student under Daniel Fuller at Fuller Seminary, imitates the attitude of the Puritans toward Scripture. “The Puritans are penetrating,” Piper announces. “They go for the marrow.”
source and goal. Christ is the all-satisfying reality we were created to know and love. Therefore, to be lackadaisical about the truth is to be unloving.”
A proclaimer at heart
For Piper, this new season of life in the classroom has given him more unrestricted time to spend studying scriptures in preparation for his classes and alongside his students. As he describes it, “The greatest privilege in the world is to know and love God through his treasure-laden, self-revealing word. None of God’s self-revelation outside the Bible can lead to salvation. Nor can it fill in the spectacular contours and colors of the indistinct impression of majesty that comes through nature and conscience. But the Bible! O the Bible! What a treasure chest of holy joy! In this book we can really know him. It is his own word. And it is inexhaustible. Therefore the prospect of being able to spend the last chapter of my life on earth going deeper, and taking aspiring preachers with me, is irresistibly attractive.” Piper’s return to the classroom has generated a lot of enthusiasm among “Treat them like gold” the students. When asked what he found different between Piper’s preaching Piper takes yet another minute to clarify why he has his students arc and teaching, second-year student, Adam Polhman remarked, “ Surprisingly every passage they bring to class: “Arcing, alone, does not take you to the they are not much different. He is at heart a proclaimer.” Classmate Luke marrow of the text; Bostrom agrees, “Pastor arcing is the beginning John still preaches to us of understanding, not in the classroom.” For the end, but it does Danny Francis, Piper’s eliminate dozens of preaching only made misinterpretations.” His him seem more familstudents use it to begin iar when he entered their exegesis. And as the classroom: “I feel as Piper walks through if I already know him his arc of the text on from his sermons I’ve the projector, students heard and his books join in, offering other I’ve read.” Ben Katterrelationships between son, also a second-year each of Paul’s phrases and student who works with clauses. “I am looking the high school youth to see that your arc is at the Downtown Camconsistent with itself, not pus of Bethlehem Bapthat it matches mine,” tist Church also finds Piper reminds them. Piper’s preaching and As Piper passes back teaching similar. “Now, arcs, diagrams, and study in the classroom,” he questions from the week “...John is unleashed again to do what he loves most, teaching students to think through says, “we get to see the the Greek text for the feasting of their own souls and the feeding of the flock. ” Tom Steller before, one complains, kind of motor that is “Pastor John, I am havunder the hood. He ing trouble reading your is still single-mindedly notes in the margins.” To which Piper responds without missing a beat, “Prepassionate for the word. We knew that about him before. Now we see how tend my notes on your homework are from an illegible, handwritten manuthat plays out in his exegesis tool shop.” script of Jonathan Edwards, and treat them like gold.”
A way of loving students
Dr. John Piper has returned to teaching in the classroom after a year’s writing sabbatical in Tennessee. Academic Dean Tom Steller describes it, “Pastor John has been serving Bethlehem College & Seminary in the classroom for years, primarily teaching the preaching class. Now for the first time in over 30 years John is unleashed again to do what he loves most, teaching students to think through the Greek text of the New Testament for the feasting of their own souls and the feeding of the flock.” Piper himself sees his teaching role as a way of loving his students. When he spoke at the school’s inaugural convocation he announced that: speaking the truth is a form of loving students just as falsehood is a form of hating one’s students. For Piper, this means running hard after truth in the classroom, as he summarized, “Amazingly Paul says, in his famous love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, ‘Love rejoices in the truth.’ That means that we do most good for people when we are passionate to know the truth. The ultimate reason this is true is that Jesus said, ‘I am the truth’ (John 14:6). In other words, if we see all things truly, we see them in relation to Christ as their
Simply, “Pastor John”
Students have been continually encouraged by Piper’s disarming humility. Luke Bostrom laughed when asked what it is like to sit under such a highprofile professor, “I remember on the first day of class, one student asked Pastor John how he would like us to address him, given the many titles he has. Pastor John smiled and said, ‘I’m not going to answer that question.’ So some of us call him Pastor John, some Dr. Piper, some just ‘professor.’” After a month in the classroom with Piper, for Clay Harris, a seminary student on staff with Cru, Piper is “now simply Pastor John. As with many of our other professors his competence, passion, and pastoral heart break through any preconceived barriers I may have had.” For Piper, the ability to train future pastors in such a close and concentrated setting has long been a strong desire: “Now, the dream I once had is a reality: I get to teach men who are so close to church ministry we can taste it together. I have never regretted 33 years in the pastoral ministry of preaching. Now I am thrilled to be able to teach generations of men who will take up that great work.”
Spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ. 1
Woven Together By Tim Tomlinson, President, Bethlehem College & Seminary
Spreading a Passion NEW CHURCH PLANTING CURRICULUM TO BE LAUNCHED Bethlehem College & Seminary has launched a new concentration in the M.Div. program for Church Planting in addition to the Worship Pastor concentration. The series of courses for the concentration will include The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Church Planting and Revitalization, Church Growth and Renewal and a two-semester church planting internship. Those seeking admission for the 2015–2016 school year who are interested in the church planting concentration should contact info@bcsmn.org for more information.
DESIRING GOD AND BETHLEHEM TEAM-UP FOR 2015 CONFERENCE FOR PASTORS You’ve likely noticed something different about this edition of Woven Together. First, it has a new name, Serious Joy. Second, it is a longer format allowing us to give you more insight into the ministry of Bethlehem College & Seminary. And third, it has a slightly different tone to it as we continue to mature as an institution and as we continue working to improve our communication with you. We have begun our sixth year of operation as a degree-granting institution and have nearly 200 students this fall between our college and seminary programs. When we began the school in 2009, we prayed for wisdom regarding the optimal size of the student body. The Lord led us to what we believe is the ideal size of 250 students. We’re now getting close. We’re also closing in on our pursuit of accreditation through the Association for Biblical Higher Education. An ABHE evaluation team visited our campus October 8–10. If we are able to demonstrate that we meet the association’s criteria, it is possible we could become accredited as soon as February 2015.
The Desiring God 2015 Conference for Pastors in Partnership with Bethlehem College & Seminary will take place February 2–4, 2015, at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This year’s theme is “Where Sin Increased: The Rebellion of Man and the Abundance of Grace.” Plenary speakers will include John Piper, Bryan Chapell, Conrad Mbewe, Steve Childers, and Sam Storms. The program is newly expanded to include workshops for elders, worship leaders, pastor’s wives, women ministries leaders, and other church leaders. Discounts are available for early and group registrations. For more information or to register, visit desiringgod.org/events/2015conference-for-pastors.
At the heart of Christian Hedonism
So why Serious Joy? What does that mean anyway? Well, it is a hallmark of our school, and one that I believe makes us unique. It is what we want our students to learn, to know, and to live as they come here to study and prepare for a lifetime of God-glorifying, effective ministry. It is a natural outcome of living out the truth that “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.” The idea of serious joy is a major theme throughout the New Testament. The apparent paradoxes of suffering and delight and seriousness and joy are not paradoxes at all. Suffering and seriousness are actually the pathways to delight and joy. Christians throughout history have erred in understanding this truth. Many have too often felt the sting and pain of suffering but failed to see past it to a glorious eternity with Christ. As a result, they have approached life with a seriousness that snuffs out joy. Some Christians have made the opposite error of mustering up a surface-level façade of happiness that, in the end, cannot endure because it is not founded on the profound experience of joy that can only be found through the pathway of suffering: Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. John 16:20–22 20
Jesus makes it clear in this passage that sorrow and joy go together. Sorrow leads to a joy that cannot be taken away. Unlike the fleeting happiness that results from circumstances, joy that is accomplished through suffering is everlasting. I can point you to many such passages throughout the Scriptures: Acts 12:14, 13:52, 2 Corinthians 7:4, 8:2, 1 Peter 1:8, et al. Perhaps the most powerful of such verses is Hebrews 12:1–2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
A joy that makes them fearless
Jesus endured the cross—the most excruciating, torturous death—for the “joy that was set before him.” He suffered for the sake of achieving joy everlasting—a joy that could only be achieved by that pathway. We aim to provide education in such serious joy. We want our students to be the those who persevere until the end and whose delight and joy in the Lord are everlasting and make them fearless in the face of suffering and persecution. May the Lord be pleased to fill all of us such joy!
2
ASSOCIATION OF BIBLICAL HIGHER EDUCATION TEAM MAKES SITE VISIT Bethlehem College & Seminary hosted a comprehensive accreditation visit by a team of evaluators from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) October 8–10. The Commission on Accreditation will use the evaluation from this visit, along with the school’s self-studies submitted in November of 2013 and August of 2014, to determine the school’s progress toward accreditation. Those interested in reviewing the standards for accreditation with the ABHE can find them on the ABHE website at www. abhe.org.
BETHLEHEM INSTITUTE ONLINE LAUNCHED WITH BIBLEMESH Bethlehem College & Seminary, in partnership with BibleMesh, has launched the new Bethlehem Institute Online. This virtual extension of Bethlehem Institute offers a variety of rigorous, God-centered classes to equip Christians worldwide with biblical and theological knowledge. The first release includes three core courses. Systematic Theology 1 unpacks the doctrines such as Scripture, the Trinity, Creation, Mankind, and the person and work of Jesus Christ. Systematic Theology 2 continues Systematic Theology 1 by introducing the doctrines of the Holy Spirit, Salvation, the Church, and Christ’s Return. Christian Hedonism and the Life of Faith is an introduction to living the Christian life in a God-centered way. New courses will be made available throughout the coming year. For more information, or to order, visit biblemesh.com/bethlehem.
Disproportionate Impact Chancellor John Piper said in 2013, “I believe Bethlehem College & Seminary will have a disproportionate effect in this world—disproportionate to its size, faculty, student body, campus, wealth and fame. Its effect will include the sending out of students whose minds and hearts will exert in the world more and deeper God-exalting influence than would ordinarily be expected. Why? Because at this school there is a deeply felt, strongly believed, passionately commended emphasis on God, the sovereignty of God, the word of God, and the preciousness of truth.”
GRADUATES OF THE CLASS OF 2014 Certificate in Theological Studies Jonathan David Dierenfeld Gala Jean Kubat Rockne Dean Trail Kraig Robert Westendorf Associate of Arts Andrew John Horning Trevor Steven Johnson Tyler Matthew Pierson Bachelor of Arts Sean Eliot DeLorme
Brian Daniel Fergus Peder Josef Kling Devin Richard Ingolf Mork Mark Jacob O’Neill Joshua Daniel Schmitter John David Skinner Daniel Wainman Stanley
David William Andrew Hegstad Scott David Johnson Christopher Thomas Klein Gabriel Benjamin McCracken Garrett Shane Warfield
Justin Mark Woyak David Alexander Zuleger
Master of Divinity Charles Emerson Ackmann William Nathaniel Barkley
Bryan Sean DeWire Joel Michael Dougherty Andrew Leo Jacobson Tyler James Kenney Joshua Aaron Koehn Lance Marvin Kramer Christopher Nicholas Robbins Matthew Patrick Rowley Jesse Roy Scheumann Joseph Carl Scheumann Matthew Jason Sheppard Daniel John Viezbicke Daniel Henry Irving Weller
Dan Walton, TBI ‘03
Kelly Capps, TBI ‘06
Wesley Melton, BTh ‘11
Aaron Jameson, MDiv ‘13
Chris Davis, TBI ‘04
Josiah Leake, Insight ‘08
Dieudonne’ Tamfu, TBI ‘10
Stephen Johnson, MDiv ‘13
Chris Lent, TBI ‘04
Emilie Brown, Insight ‘08
Jon Winslow, DCP ‘11
Jeff Lacine, MDiv ‘13
Master of Arts in Biblical and Pastoral Studies Joseph Allen Herzberg
Bachelor of Theology Josiah Daniel Bird Nathan Keoni Cadman Roger Lee Cowan Jonathan David Crappel
Master of Theology Ryan Matthew Currie Matthew Patrick Rowley
ALUMNI UPDATES* Stephen Witmer, TBI ‘98
Pastor, Pepperell Christian Fellowship New Testament Teacher, Gordon-Conwell Author, Eternity Changes Everything Pepperell, MA
Matt Perman, TBI ‘01
Author What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms The Way You Get Things Done Minneapolis, MN
Gary Steward, TBI ‘00
PhD Candidate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY
Justin Taylor, TBI ‘00
Senior Vice President Crossway Books PhD Candidate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Elder Board Co-Chair, New Covenant Bible Church Blogger, The Gospel Coalition Author, The Final Days of Jesus Glendale Heights, IL
Todd Wilson, TBI ‘00
Senior Pastor Calvary Memorial Church Oak Park, IL
John Kimbell, TBI ‘01
MDiv ’03 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary PhD ’08 Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Pastor of Preaching and Discipleship Clifton Baptist Church Author, The Atonement in Lukan Theology Louisville, KY
John Beckman, TBI ‘02
MDiv and MA Gordon-Conwell MA Harvard Assistant Professor of Old Testament Bethlehem College & Seminary PhD Candidate at Harvard University Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Minneapolis, MN
Ken Boer, TBI ‘02
Director of Music Covenant Life Church PhD Candidate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY
Jonathan Leslie, TBI ‘02
Associate Pastor Oakridge Community Church Stillwater, MN
Working in a Software Start-Up Joining Monument Hill Baptist Church Castle Rock, CO Pastor, Whitton Avenue Bible Church Phoenix, AZ
Associate Pastor The American Protestant Church Bonn, Germany Working at The Gap Praying for job opportunity in China San Francisco, CA
Associate Pastor Celebration Community Church Celebration, FL
Dan Brendsel, TBI ‘05
MA Candidate Grand Canyon University Praying for a missions opportunity Ohio City, OH
Minister, Mission Training Academy and Adult Education Grace Church DuPage, IL
Erik Schaefer, TBI ‘08
David Griffiths, TBI ‘05
Brianna Pratt, Insight ‘08
MABPS ‘12 Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church Palmyra, WI
Church Planting Team Christ Community Church Newton, MA Title Clerk for Rydell Auto Outlet Nanny for Bethlehem Global Partners Attending New City of Nations Church St. Paul, MN
David Mathis, TBI ‘06
Drew Sharp, TBI ‘08
Executive Editor desiringGod Ministries Minneapolis, MN
MABPS ‘12 Associate Pastor New Hope Church Ogallala, NE
Matthew Wireman, TBI ‘05
Program Director of Christian Ministries College of Adult Professional Studies North Greenville University Greenville, SC
Courtney Ayers, Insight ‘09
Joe Herzberg, TBI ‘06
Nick Laparra, Insight ‘09
MABPS ‘14 Agricultural Ministry The Navigators Senegal, West Africa
Church Planter Soma Family of Churches Tacoma, WA
Joshua Little, Insight ‘09
Wesley Hill, TBI ‘06
Assistant Professor of New Testament Trinity School for Ministry Author, Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Gay Celibate Christian Ambridge, PA
Nicholas Nowalk, MDiv ‘12
Working in corporate communications Serving with The Navigators Chicago, IL
Aaron O’Hara, TBI ‘09 Church Planter The Rising Church Eugene, OR
Grant Winnes, TBI ‘10
Teaching Fellow Christian Union Harvard University Cambridge, MA
MABPS ‘12 Soon to become Pastor of Adult Ministries Hampton Falls First Baptist Church Hampton Falls, NH
Jesse Peterson, TBI ‘07 Ministry Fellow Christian Union Columbia University New York, NY
Nick Jackson, DCP ‘11
Served among the Mayan Q’eqchi’ people in Guatemala Indianapolis, IN
Joseph Randall, TBI ‘07
Christopher Majors, MDiv ‘11
Pastor, Olney Baptist Church Philadelphia, PA
Andrew Wilkinson, Insight ‘07 Missions Pastor Immanuel Baptist Church Louisville, KY
Currently in missionary service Working with special needs children Central Asia
School Mentoring Ministry Staff Jubilee Community Church Minneapolis, MN
Director of Business Development DKLEVY Architecture Knoxville, TN PhD Candidate Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Preparing to return to Cameroon to do church-based theological education Louisville, KY Working in sewing machine sales Preparing for service with Pioneers Church Deacon Portland, OR
Steve Lee, MDiv ‘12
Associate Pastor Christ’s Church at Fox Creek West Des Moines, IA Aftercare Coordinator Mille Lacs Academy Worship Team Leader Fellowship Bible Church Pierz, MN
Pastor, Sellwood Baptist Church Portland, OR
Mike Littell, MDiv ‘13, ThM ‘13
Pastor of Small Groups and Community Outreach College Church Wheaton, IL
Candidate for Ordination Presbyterian Church in America Called to be Assistant Pastor South Dayton Presbyterian Church Dayton, OH
Gil McConnell, MABPS ‘12
Kevin McClure, MDiv ‘13
Brad Nutt, BA ‘12, Insight ‘10
Mickey Sheu, MDiv ‘13
Neil Schindler, MDiv ‘12
Ryan Currie, ThM ‘14, MDiv ‘13
Marshall Segal, MDiv ‘12
Bryan DeWire, MDiv ’14,
Brett Toney, MDiv ‘12
Andrew Horning, AA ‘14
James Waldemar, BTh ‘12
Andrew Jacobson, MDiv ‘14
Brandon Bellomo, MDiv ‘13
Matthew Rowley, ThM ‘14, MDiv ‘14
Pastor for Children and Family Discipleship Bethlehem Baptist Church Minneapolis, MN MDiv Student Redeemer Seminary Dallas, TX
Interim Pastor Word of Grace Baptist Church Minneapolis, MN Executive Assistant to John Piper Content Team Member desiringGod Ministries Minneapolis, MN Associate Pastor for Administration Five Points Community Church Auburn Hills, MI Stone Mason Pursuing training in Biblical Counseling Lake Elmo, MN Lead Pastor Fellowship Bible Church Pierz, MN
Robert Ivy, MDiv ‘13 Director of Missions The Park Church Charlotte, NC
ThM Candidate Bethlehem College & Seminary Pastoral Intern Capitol Baptist Church Washington, DC High School Teacher RiverTree School Crystal, MN
Preparing to serve with Christian Missionary Alliance Mongolia BTh ’10, Insight ’08, Communications Manager Sovereign Grace Ministries Glen Mills, PA
Guitar Performance Student Moody Bible Institute Chicago, IL
Pastoral Intern Grace Presbyterian Church PCA Stuart, FL PhD Candidate University of Leicester Reader at Tyndale House Cambridge, England
Dan Weller, MDiv ‘14
Pastoral Resident for Local Outreach College Park Church Indianapolis, IN
* A number of Bethlehem alumni serve in areas of the world in which publication of their names would represent a threat to their security.
“A part of us at a priority level.”
Jason Meyer, PhD Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church, and Associate Professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary
“Discipleship is a biblical essential. The flock must be edified and equipped, but not every church is going to have the same level of leadership development. You don’t have to have a seminary to be a biblical church, but we do. We train future pastors. We are instilling our DNA in them, and they are a wing of our outreach. They are going to go and plant churches near and far. Bethlehem College & Seminary is also an instrumental part of our in-reach. Bethlehem College & Seminary is not a separate institution, it is like a department within the church. We must be clear on this point. It is not Bethlehem and BCS, as if we are separate institutions. Think of it like the example of embryo adoption. The government does not define embryos as human life. It is not embryo adoption to them, but donation, and then adoption becomes a property transfer. We can take advantage of government definitions for tax purposes, but we better be clear in our minds that we are talking about life, not property. In the same way, Bethlehem College & Seminary may be separate 501c3s for tax purposes, but we better be clear that they are part of us at the priority level.” Excerpted from a sermon delivered March 8, 2014
3
Let The Nations Be Glad Dieudonné Tamfu, TBI ’10, Returns to Cameroon With A Bethlehem-Sharpened Sword
the then-nascent Bethlehem program. He is on track to complete his doctoral studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary later this year. Dieudonné returned to Ndu in August as the featured preacher the national youth camp, also attended by over 60 pastors from all over Cameroon. He preached from the book of 1 Corinthians. He preached carefully, never stepping aside from the biblical texts. He preached boldly, courageously skewering idols, calling out false teachers, and condemning sexual immorality. He preached passionately, often through tears, pleading with all to taste and see the glorious Christ who is so obviously his own treasure.
Cameroon is a West African nation of 20 million people who live amidst standards of human development that rank among the bottom 16% of the rest of the world. A representative of the Cameroonian Baptist Convention who welcomed a seven-member Bethlehem delegation to a 2,000 attendee Youth Camp in August said, “Only the love of a God could bring you here. We have Ebola and Boko Haram at our borders. HIV remains rampant, and a cholera epidemic has broken out. You will not find us in the tourist brochures.” God saw into the hovels of Ndu and placed a claim on one of the little boys who ran and played among the muddy paths, a child left by earthly parents to the care of a grandmother. Even his family name, Tamfu, was made up as he didn’t quite fit the genealogies important to tribal society. His given name, Dieudonné, right- He preached passionately, often through tears, pleading with all to taste and ly proclaims in French that he see the glorious Christ who is so obviously his own treasure. is a “gift of God.”
“Reverend Barber”
As a local barber—imagine a guy cutting hair in a one-chair, streetside closet—Dieudonné scoffed at students from the nearby Cameroonian Baptist Theological Seminary (CBTS) who would stop in for a trim. That is until one said, “If you will argue with us, barber, you must first read our Book.” He did and the hardness of his heart melted in the process. A recording from Desiring God featuring a sermon from John Piper affected Dieudonné and spurred him to enroll in the seminary. “I listened to that tape, over and over,” says Dieudonné. Later Piper visited Ndu. “I was excited. I thought then that Piper was like Spurgeon, a longgone saint from history. Imagine my surprise to learn that not only was Jesus alive, so too was John Piper.” Bethlehem brought him to Minneapolis where he pursued two degrees, simultaneously, one at a The seminary students told Dieudonné, “If you will argue with us, barber, you must first read local accredited college in order to our Book.” maintain a student visa, the other at
Teaching Trip Perpetuates 116-Year Relationship with the Kachin of Myanmar. By Jesse Albrecht, Fourth Year Seminary Student I spent two weeks in Myanmar this summer, but the story begins in 1898. That year, Dr. Ola Hanson left a Swedish Baptist church in Minneapolis to spend his next 30 years translating God’s Word for the Kachin in Myanmar. Progress felt slow, but upon completion the gospel spread so rampantly that the nation soon considered itself Christian. What does this story have to do with Bethlehem College & Seminary? Everything. Bethlehem Baptist Church used to be the same Swedish Baptist church that sent Dr. Hanson. This year, I went with two other seminarians and three pastor-professors to help with training. It is hard to pick a highlight. What about when they started seeing the supremacy of Christ in the Old Testament? Or when they realized that Jerusalem was just a copy of the heavenly Jerusalem, the invincible city of God? Or when their evangelistic zeal was rekindled for their neighbors through reading Galatians 3? But this is my pick: On the last day Darren Carlson taught on the Modern Missions movement. The challenge: be what Hanson was to you for one of
4
Psalm 97:1
A passion was spread
Meanwhile, Brett Toney, M.Div Class of ‘12, and Associate Pastor of Five Points Community Church, Auburn Hills, MI, was ably teaching seminary students at CBTS. Bethlehem College & Seminary’s ethos of meticulous scrutiny of God’s Word was obvious throughout the entire village. So-called “prosperity” or “health and wealth” preaching is pervasive on the African continent. Dieudonné stood on 1 Corinthians 1:12–13 to lift the sword against false teachers. That night, one of the pastors came to the house to say, “Pastor, I have been listening to the conversation in the small groups, and the leaders are saying you mean to suggest only, ‘We make too much of such teachers.’” Dieudonné looked pained and said, “This was not my intention.” The next morning, he again warned of the dangers of following prosperity teachers. As the passion of his preaching reached a climax, he said in loud staccato as he sliced the air with his hand like an axe: “T. B. Joshua of Nigeria is a false teacher!”
Brett Toney, MDiv ’12, made his second teaching trip to the Cameroonian Baptist Theological Seminary in Ndu, Cameroon.
The assembly erupted in cheers and applause. Young people clambered to greet him, speaking admiringly of his boldness. Dieudonné, lion in the pulpit, had become now as a lamb among men and could only say repeatedly, “Praise God.” His admonitions were featured prominently on Cameroonian national news broadcasts. A passion was spread.
the unreached people groups in the 10/40 window. After he had finished, tears welled in my eyes as their leader stood up and pledged to be a missionary to China in his retirement. I praise God that the partnership is not an “us-tothem”, but an “us-with-them” for the joy all peoples through Jesus Christ.
My seminary classmate, John Norris (R), and I are pictured here with our dear brother, New Testament Professor Naw Awn, in front of the chapel at Kachin Theological College, Myanmar.
To Study, Practice, and Teach
Ezra 7:10
God’s World is Full of Good Things The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:15–17)
FOREWORD by
JOHN PIPER
Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts
JOE RIGNEY
If we extend this divine endorsement of sight and taste, then here we see God enthusiastically endorsing our joy and delight in all sensible pleasures (that is, pleasures we receive through our bodily senses, pleasures that we see, smell, taste, touch, and hear), provided they are enjoyed within the boundaries established by the Giver of every good gift. Perhaps God could have done it another way. He might have made an immaterial world populated by purely spiritual beings. Infinite wisdom preferred stomachs. And tongues. And every combination of sour, sweet, bitter, salty, and savory that the chefs on the Food Network can discover. Because that’s what they are doing: discovering all the ways
that God chose to communicate his goodness, his sweetness, even his bitterness to human palates. My guess is that it’ll take a while. The creation of food, tongues, and the human digestive system is the product of infinite wisdom knitting the world together in a harmonious whole. The symphony of glory that sounds from the Triune Being contains notes of corn salsa and Sour Patch Kids, of sweet tea and rye bread (the kind that fills the belly). The variety of tastes creates categories and gives us edible images of divine things. “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps. 34:8). Our sense of hunger and thirst are divinely designed to highlight the soul’s hunger for spiritual food: “He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). And there’s no shortcut. Apart from our experience of empty stomachs and parched throats, of full bellies, quenched thirsts, and the incredible variety of taste, our spiritual lives would be impoverished and we would have no real vocabulary for spiritual desire, no mental and emotional framework for engaging with God. So then, the provision and supply of food and drink, along with the corresponding senses and systems to receive them bodily, are a gift from God, a testimony to his approval of our finitude and embodiment. Excerpted from The Things of Earth: Treasuring God by Enjoying His Gifts by Joe Rigney, Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview, Bethlehem College & Seminary. Available January 2015 from Crossway.
Faculty Updates
JOHNATHON BOWERS Instructor of Theology and Christian Worldview Accepted into the PhD program at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
JASON S. DEROUCHIE, PhD Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology Co-edited with Jason Gile, and Kenneth J. Turner, For Our Good Always: Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel Block Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013
LANCE KRAMER Promoted to Director of the Degree Completion Program and Bethlehem Institute
ANDREW NASELLI, PhD Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology Co-edited, Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: Three Views, B&H, scheduled for release February 15 Continued as Assistant Editor of the NIV Zondervan Study Bible, under the supervision of D. A. Carson, General Editor
JOE RIGNEY Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview Successfully defended his M.St. thesis in Classical Studies at New Saint Andrews College, ID
E. MICHAEL RUSTEN, PhD Adjunct Professor Delivered a keynote address to the Greater Philadelphia Writer’s Conference
BRIAN TABB, PhD Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies Promoted to Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Named Managing Editor of Themelios theological journal
By Bethlehem Faculty Authors
Praying With Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation D. A. Carson and Brian Tabb Nashville: Lifeway, 2014
Seeing Beautifully and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis John Piper Wheaton: Crossway, 2014
Push: Is This The End? E. Michael Rusten with Mark R. Ammerman Lancaster: Bridge Street Books, 2014
What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About: A Survey of Jesus’ Bible Jason S. DeRouchie, ed Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2013
REMEMBER TO SELECT BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY AS YOUR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION ON AMAZONSMILE (SMILE.AMAZON.COM). A portion of all of your purchases on AmazonSmile, books or otherwise, will help us to continue to provide students with affordable tuition that lets them launch in ministry free of student loan debt.
5
What is an Education in Serious Joy?
JOY SCHNEIDER
LEWIS GUEST IV
Fourth Year College Student
Fourth Year Seminary Student
“It is spending a great amount of time reading works of literature and seeing how these books compare to the Great Book. I feel so blessed to be at a school where the ultimate goal of a classical education isn’t merely in comprehending authorial intent and literary motifs, but also in bringing the great books into subjection to God. Doing deep and serious study of great works of literature has made me see more clearly the beauty of the gospel which has overflowed in joy over the complexity and pervasiveness of God’s work.”
“If God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him and in the church he is to be glorified throughout all generations (Eph. 3:21) then education in serious joy is of utmost importance and a worthy pursuit. It would be a great privilege upon graduation to equip the saints through pastoral ministry with such an education so that together we can see more of Christ, be joyfully amazed and with one voice glorify God (Rom. 15:5–6) for his glorious grace (Eph. 1:6). Bethlehem College & Seminary has prepared us well for this seriously joyful endeavor with the goal of building up the body of Christ and proclaiming the gospel to the nations. I can’t wait!”
JOSHUA VALLEJOS
JOSH CARLSON
First Year Seminary Student
First Year College Student
“We are educated for all of life in subject matter which is as serious as the cross and as joyful as the resurrection. Such education is accomplished in dependence on the Holy Spirit to cause our hearts to fuel our minds, and our minds to fuel our hearts. The result: whole lives spent to glorify God, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“An ‘Education in Serious Joy’ means counting the cost of this world. It means doing hard things, requiring hard thinking, with the knowledge that persevering in these produces a disciple of Christ. It means that the hard work now will reap joy beyond measure, joy beyond comprehension, joy eternal, in the days to come.”
Completing This Act of Grace By Rick Segal, Vice President of Advancement Five years ago with only the slightest visibility to available earthly resources, but with abounding confidence in a sovereign God to supply all of our needs, we launched into a bold effort to bring glory to God through a ministry of higher education. Last month, by God’s glorious grace, Bethlehem College & Seminary began its sixth academic year with 200 students enrolled. God gets all the glory. This educational enterprise makes little sense through worldly eyes. In contrast to the popular youth culture, our program is decidedly countercultural. As other institutions lower the bars of educational challenge and excellence, we have raised them, demanding much more from our students in both intellectual and spiritual discipline. As other schools seek to outdo each other in conceiving spectacular, entertaining student facilities and experiences, we do our work in the unadorned simplicity of re-purposed Sunday school rooms. As the price of higher education generally continues to climb, well outpacing the rate of inflation, we have made tuition unusually affordable by subsidizing more than half the cost of our students’ educations such that they may launch immediately into ministry without the entanglements of student loan debt. A freshly minted mba from one of the best business schools would look at our business plan and say, “Unsustainable.” But, God. It has been said, more than once, “He likes what we’re doing.” Our financial needs are myriad: $1.2M required simply to provide education to this year’s student body, to replenish cash reserves that are mostly depleted, and to establish a permanent endowment that can provide scholarship support in future years. Would you please seek the Lord on our behalf, and then share with us any ideas, counsel, or resources He may encourage?
How Bethlehem College & Seminary Is Funded Bethlehem College & Seminary receives no funding or grants from either the U.S. government or the State of Minnesota. The school also receives no direct cash support from Bethlehem Baptist Church or desiringGod Ministries. Operations are sustained by the intentionally low tuition payments required of students, small proceeds from the Bethlehem Bookstore and Bethlehem Press, and mostly by the generous contributions of individuals, donor-advised funds, and private foundations.
Tuition is kept intentionally low so that graduates may launch immediately into ministry without student loan debt.
TO CONTRIBUTE, VISIT: WWW.BCSMN.ORG\DONATE
6
We Want You to Know
2 Corinthians 8:1
This “Statement of Financial Need” was duly and diligently reviewed and prayed over by the Bethlehem College & Seminary Board of Trustees in its standing quarterly meeting of September 18, 2014, and we do hereby certify that it presents a true and accurate representation of all the resources we discern are required and which we hope God will call forth for the advancement of his purposes in this institution.
SAM CRABTREE – Chairman of the Board of Trustees
For the Period Ending July 31, 2014 Fiscal Year July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015
TIM TOMLINSON PhD – President
Current Year Operating Income
Budget
Actual YTD
Current Estimate
Variance
$100,000 $1,145,000 $408,830 $923,700 $301,255 $227,000 $145,283
$0 $16,068 $18,049 $15,448 $19,569 $0 $12,445
$100,000 16,068 $408,830 $923,700 $301,255 $227,000 $145,283
$0 $1,128,932 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Subtotal
$3,251,068
$81,579
$2,122,136
$1,128,932
Expenses Payroll Staff General Facilities Technology Professional Library Cost of Goods Miscellaneous
$2,059,657 $72,658 $268,710 $373,579 $204,066 $27,450 $26,200 $164,700 $53,803
$143,268 $647 $2,176 $19,655 $5,357 $2,005 $10,588 $5,944 $1,876
$2,059,657 $72,658 $268,710 $373,579 $204,066 $27,450 $26,200 $164,700 $53,803
$0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Subtotal
$3,250,822
$1,929,504
$3,250,822
$0
$246
-$109,937
-$1,128,686
$ 1,128,932
Grants Gifts Gifts-in-kind Tuition Bookstore Conference Other
+/- Current Year Operating Operating Reserve Account
Six months annual Operating Expenses held in reserve as institutional working capital, accessed as an interest-free, internal, revolving line-ofcredit subject to covenant requirements.
Six Months Operating Expenses Account Balance
$1,625,000 $200,000 $ 1,425,000
Variance Scholarship Endowment Funds under professional management sufficient to provide annual earnings at least equal to the scholarship support offered every student in our commitment to provide an affordable, debt-free higher education.
Seminary
College
Actual Annual Cost of Education Individual Student’s Tuition Cost
$16,100 $4,700
$10,700 $5,760
Donor-Subscribed Scholarship Support *Estimated Annual Rate of Return Total Annual Scholarship Support x no. of Students
$11,400 4% $285,000 64
$4,940 4% $123,500 180
Annual Faculty Compensation *Estimated Annual Rate of Return Total Annual Endowment per Chair Number of Chairs
$90,000 4% $2,250,000 2
$75,000 4% $1,875,000 2
Note: This number will decrease as the number of endowed chairs increases and offsets the required amount per student.
$40,470,000
$8,250,000
*Endowment Required Fund Balance
$40,470,000 $39,000 $ 40,431,000
Variance Capital Building Fund BCS has, with help from Minneapolis-based development and architectural firms, developed a concept plan for a full-campus building to be located along 7th Street on the properties owned by Bethlehem Baptist Church. Initial development estimates indicate full project costs in the $18–20M range.
*Capital Fund Required Fund Balance
TOTAL FINANCIAL NEED
Variance
$20,000,000 $426,000 $ 19,574,000 $ 62,558,932
Introducing The Rising Generation Fund The Rising Generation Fund offers contributors a vehicle for blessing students with intellectual, religious, and economic freedom for generations to come. In order to preserve the intent of our contributors’ generosity, the use of earnings from The Rising Generation Fund have been restricted exclusively to expenses related to the completion of academic degrees and certificates in programs that honor the school’s original Mission and Affirmation of Faith. For more information, contact Rick Segal, Vice President of Advancement, rick.segal@bcsmn.org, 612.455.3420 ext. 1122, or visit www.bcsmn.org/rising.
7
Forthcoming Events NOV 26–30
Thanksgiving Break
DEC 1
Women’s Mentor Meeting
DEC 4
Board of Trustees Meeting
DEC 5
Gym Night at North Campus
DEC 12
Christmas Party at Downtown Campus
DEC 31
Last Day to make a tax-deductible contribution in 2014
JAN 16
Friends of Bethlehem Meeting, Atlanta
FEB 2–4
desiringGod Pastors Conference in Partnership with Bethlehem College & Seminary
FEB 6
Board of Trustees Meeting
MAY 1–3
Chancellor John Piper at New Canaan Society, Washington, D. C.
MAY 15 Commencement
SERIOUS JOY
A Semi-Annual Report To The Friends of Bethlehem College & Seminary
Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 3844 Twin Cities, MN
BETHLEHEM COLLEGE & SEMINARY 720 13TH AVE. S MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55415
IN THIS ISSUE • Dr. Piper Returns to His Classroom • Woven Together by Tim Tomlinson • Bethlehem in Cameroon and Myanmar • Excerpt from Joe Rigney’s New Book
We Thank God for You When my wife and I moved from teaching English in Korea in 2010 to attend Bethlehem College & Seminary, we had no debt and significant savings. Our plan was for me to focus on school while my wife would work to provide for us both through school. In God’s providence, we became pregnant the first month of seminary. Along with the excitement of God granting us a baby, there was a weightiness I felt providing for my family. I thought I would have to leave seminary to support my family. Thankfully, the Lord’s has provided abundantly. Through your continued support of our institution, I have graduated debt-free while serving for the last two years as the director of admissions. I am able to give first-hand testimony to prospective students of God’s faithfulness through the generosity of like-minded friends of Bethlehem College & Seminary. My wife and I continue to trust God for provision as we now raise support to pastor an international church in Indonesia. We believe that the faithfulness of generous supporters to our school has launched us to do ministry in an incredibly strategic area of the world. Thank you for helping to prepare students to serve God wherever he would send them.
Will Barkley, MDiv ’14, and his family: (L–R) Pierce, Theresa, and Mercedes.