Dreams for My School

I love my school -- I can't picture doing what I do anywhere else in the world. The people here -- students, admin, and other faculty -- make this place fun and dynamic...Recently I was part of an all-day "dreaming event", a time of discernment to see where God might be leading us. What is my dream for the future of my school, Fuller Theological Seminary, as we look to equip ministers in the 21st century? In other words, what is God doing in the world, and what ought to be our response?

I had five minutes to present a few unfinished ideas, and here is what they were...

When Eddie Gibbs and I set out to research new forms of church in the West, were surprised at what we found. We had church growth eyes – the bigger the better – I mapped all the Gen X churches in the world, their music, irreverent preaching, their videos, their candles, their drama Sunday night services. After digging for awhile, I saw another dynamic at work -- a new form of church that was not generational in scope, one that often went by the name 'emerging'.

Like many growing communities throughout the world, Emerging Churches meet in homes, cafes, or as networks. They eat together, serve the poor, create worship together and gather around Scripture. They focus on Jesus. They pray several times a day. They would rather invite someone into their home than argue about their faith. They do not understand the difference between sacred and secular.
These communities might not meet in a church building, they might not have a pastor, and they might not pay anyone for their service to the community. They do not understand the concept of ordination, nor do they ‘go to church’. They are not directly connected to any European church tradition. They are organic in their ethos -- business or institutional models do not make sense of their community.  These movements are fast-growing on all continents and serve as the pattern for many non-Christendom forms of church.

My many conversations with Emerging Churches led to a number of dreams I’ve had for Fuller:

Dream 1 (of 4):  I dream of serving entire communities rather than individual students.

How do we equip men and women for the manifold ministries of Christ and his church, when these communities have shared leadership? When the leader is not the teacher? When the teacher is not the pastor?
A seminary training model is built around the idea that a single person or a set of staff workers has most of the gifts in a particular church community and then we train that one person or group of persons. But, what do we do when the gifts are spread throughout the community as they are in many new forms of church? How do we continue to train the many, rather than the few? 

I dream that my seminary will move away from the professional training model and will equip entire communities for mission.

Some ways to do that ?  Perhaps the seminary might contract with a community on a subscription basis, train their people in the skills they need, e.g. one person takes a preaching class, another takes community formation, another Greek…In a sense, we allow community degrees. Churches or networks pay by community – their community contracts with the seminary so that their community will have access to their resources –

In a very real sense, the community receives the M.Div. rather than the clergy…

Dream 2 (to be continued)

Comments

[JR Rozko]

Not to sound cheesy, but when I read your post I actually got goosebumps! I feel like the kinds of dreams you are beginning to articulate are an incredible (and necessary) counterpart to what we are seeing happen with the rise of emerging churches and a move toward (back to?) a more missional ecclesiology. I couldn't be happier to be at (I wish I felt more justified in saying "part of" as opposed to "at" here) a school that is even considering dreaming in this direction. It's this kind of vision that I look forward to giving my life and even (gulp!) money to. Thanks.

[David]

WOW!!!

Make it happen!!!

[Drew Moser]

Yes! Finally! As a pastor who has had the priveleage of higher theological education, the opportunity to have an instution help educate the faith community would be a huge asset. Where can we sign up?!! Keep dreaming...

[toddh]

Wow! That's a great innovation. It's hard to balance the financial and other needs of the seminary against the obvious needs in Christian communities. That sounds like a much needed start though.

[bil]

I, too, got goosebumps as I read this. Ryan, come to Cincy and talk with us.

[Jamie Arpin-Ricci]

Wow! Thanks so much for this. I had a series some time ago called "Urban Seminary", so this just added fuel to that fire.

Peace,
Jamie

[David]

Thinking more about this, is it really that big a shift for the seminary? It seams like it would be a bigger shift for the church.

What I mean is, if a community wants to make this happen, they can even in the present situation. Just send different people to audit different classes.

[fernando]

It would be a huge shift for the theological colleges I have worked with. The whole curriculum presupposes the singular professional.

Ryan, I've thought a bit down this line and there are interesting parallels to explore in educational approaches built on multi-competency, like training in business, or healthcare, or even in the military.

When we move away from singular/pastoral competency towards congregational competency the model for what a college/seminary needs in terms of assesment, facility, curriculm, staff, in fact everything looks quite different indeed.

[Michael Kruse]

"I dream that my seminary will move away from the professional training model and will equip entire communities for mission."

Bingo.

[Rich]

Looks like you hit a nerve (again) Ryan...

One question: Doesn't this assume a culture where a great majority of the congregation stays in one place?

Thanks for thinking of the future, instead of trying to re-create the past...

God's peace, Rich

[Matt]

Fascinating sounding stuff. As one who is going away to school to prepare for some Christian leadership in the future, this is a great challenge to my grid of thinking about leadership.

[jim.k]

ooooh..."the community recieves the M.Div instead of the clergy"

I like that one. Hope this becomes more than a dream...

[B-W]

I have still not seen an adequate response to why a student should pay the exhorbitant fees to get a degree such as an MDiv, if they will not be able to earn a living under such a degree once they graduate (since church aren't paying for the skills under this model).

[John D]

Equipping for redemptive teamwork and larger mobilzation. Would it be a pre-requisite to have a team/community committed for a length of time? (Rich's question about people and newly taught skills in motion). Would that block the spontaniety of offshoot activity, like Philip peeling off from Jerusalem to go preach in Samaria? (which seemed more than okay to the Holy Spirit.) Empowering and gifting are for the Body's effectiveness, not just the individual believer. Accountability may be beefed up as well, as individual faith/obedience or reluctance can affect the communities ability to carry out what they learn.

[Lara]

I'm interested in dreams 2-4.... are they in progress?

[Craig Detweiler]

It was great to be there, to hear
your presentation in person.
This is the kind of bold, innovative
thinking we must have to forge a
future for church communities.
Eager to work together to initiate it!

[Andrew]

I too am looking forward to dreams 2-4!

[Ryan]

Thanks for the affirming words -- yes, I think it would make for a good number of changes, and if the seminary and church were able to work something like this out in the next twenty years, I'll be more than pleased...

B-W, you have hit on the question of the day -- if seminary loses the professional model, why should the individual still pay? The answer -- if it is truly a community degree, then it should be funded by the community as well. Why a seminary at all? This is an ever larger question, but I think the local church might always benefit from a servant community that engages the questions of the day, questions that the local church, in the midst of the battle, does not have the luxury to entertain. Mission in post-Christendom is one such question, one that will take our generation to answer...

2-4 will be coming...

[Andrew]

Still waiting on your next instalment ;)

[Guerilla]

Hello Ryan.

You say: "We must allow the students' questions to drive the execution of our content."

This having been said, it would seem that you censor your students on the BolgBlog. I got in here today under a false identity. My true identity is systematically blocked after I questioned one of your posts.

Comment?

[Ryan]

Guerilla -- I don't censor anyone -- it must be a browser issue? I welcome your comments! Keep trying - I don't know if it is a typepad deal or what...

[Wogegohaikaky]

Snx for you job!
It has very much helped me!