lifeasmission
exploring the mystery of life and mission as one and the same
Dr. Rozko?
I have a decision to make. Several months ago I wrote a post about Fuller pulling together a DMiss cohort around the topic of Anabaptist Perspectives in Missional Ecclesiology. I applied to this program and it is scheduled to begin this November.
In the meantime, I accepted a job here in the Chicagoland area at Northern Seminary which is pulling together its own DMin cohort around the topic of missional leadership.
Of course each program comes with its own features and benefits. Both programs are cohort-based and non-residential, but let me lay out some of the distinctives of each program and see what sort of thoughts and advice you might have to offer.
The DMiss…
The DMiss, like a PhD, is a research driven program. The program moves from theological/missiological considerations to issues of context and culture, and finally, to leadership and change dynamics. The final year is given to integration, assessment, and dissertation writing. The cohort will be led, primarily, by Wilbert Shenk and James Krabill.
The DMin…
The DMin is a course driven program, the topics such as, “The Church in Post-Christendom, The Gospel and Culture, Missional Theology, and Misional Leadership.” The program culminates in the writing of a thesis. David Fitch is leading the cohort while Al Roxburgh and Craig Van Gelder will be involved as well.
I think very highly of both of these schools and their programs. I think both programs will do immeasurable good in equipping men and women for service in and to missional churches, but I go back and forth on which one is the best for me, at this time, given the larger scope of all that God is doing in my life.
What sort of questions would you be asking if you were me? What aspects of doctoral level education do you believe are most important and relevant?
Tweets for the Week : 2010-08-30
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Tasered Student http://bit.ly/af7oqA #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: So Very Awful, but… http://bit.ly/aVroN7 #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Toward a Missional Vision of Theological Education: The Fruit of the Problem http://bit.ly/axCBji #FB #
- shared: Bringing Facebook, Twitter and YouTube together to tell a bigger missional story with Taggregator #dmingml http://bit.ly/bFL6ps #
- Only thing better than a 3 hr. work day is following it with Penn Station on your way to OH to camp w/ lifelong friends! #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Human Trafficing :: Global Awareness :: Missional Church http://bit.ly/ddwIiQ #FB #
- Back home after a great trip out west. Got to see family & friends and met some great people affiliated w/ @nseminary. #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: The Scandal of Election http://bit.ly/aVAgAi #FB #
- Evening out in Pasadena w/ @freshgreenbeans #FB http://twitpic.com/2hxbvi #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Job Search 2.0 http://bit.ly/a0LDwG #FB #
- shared: parenting checklist http://bit.ly/9M5gB7 #
- shared: “Christian worship is… http://bit.ly/cv4S2X #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Theology of Ecology http://bit.ly/bxS2k0 #FB #
- Passing Fuller's new library on my way to meet @rbolger @ Vroman's http://twitpic.com/2hif7s #
- With @amyrozko at our old stomping grounds – Fuller Theological Seminary! #FB http://twitpic.com/2hi9g5 #
Tweets for the Week : 2010-08-23
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Turning the Titanic While We Tidy Up the Rooms http://bit.ly/dig2Wr #FB #
Resurrection Health Care
Tell me this isn’t who you want taking care of you if you get sick!
Who even needs insurance??!
Tweets for the Week : 2010-08-16
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Are You Shining? http://bit.ly/b7ZK1z #FB #
- Commissioning & sending celebration picnic at LOV http://twitpic.com/2esdg9 #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Just Cause I Love Ya http://bit.ly/aQwrgk #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: The Story of the Missional Church http://bit.ly/8XpUi9 #FB #
- shared: The Witness of a Transforming Sexually Redemptive Community: Mission and GLBTQ Relations#3 http://bit.ly/c29i38 #
- My blog has been suffering from some serious neglect. Gonna try to put an end to that tomorrow. #
- Evangelism: Sharing stories long enough to discover a common ache & a common hope. D. Allender #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: The People of God and Prophets: A Love-Hate Relationship http://bit.ly/8XlOPv #FB #
- shared: Why Pastors are Suffering Burn-Out http://bit.ly/cw28LI #
- "Where you don't know redemption you won't be able to offer it." D. Allender #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Lots of People in Hell Have Perfect Doctrine http://bit.ly/cLU2Nf #FB #
- Everyone should b so lucky 2 marry someone they can sit on a couch with, view endless Flight of the Conchords clips, & laugh till it hurts. #
- Dumb & Dumber like you've never seen it (via @bobhyatt) http://bit.ly/bpYmaM #
- "People want community, but they don't want the cost of it." D. Allender #
- I'm in some Dan Allender podcasts up to my soul. #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Shame On Us (but not too much…) http://bit.ly/cyVCQt #FB #
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Doug Pagitt is a Good Guy http://bit.ly/9adC2g #FB #
- shared: The Myth Of Autonomy http://bit.ly/a96ro9 #
- The Mission of God's People by Christopher J. H. Wright – http://j.mp/cGs0Ul // This should be a great book. #
Evangelism as the Sharing of Ache and Hope
I love it when objects of two different worlds come colliding together. Think “Say Anything,” “Bringing Down the House,” or “The Toy.”
In each instance people who have virtually nothing in common are thrust into one another’s lives creating the opportunity for, to borrow a phrase from my friend Geoff, “generative tension.”
This happened in my life recently.
To the list of ‘socially awkward misfit meets valedictorian,’ ‘lawyer meets convict,’ and ‘poor black adult meets rich white kid,’ I can now add, Dan Allender meets Eminem.
A few days ago I began listening to a series of talks offered by Dan Allender, a Christian counselor, author, speaker, and the President of Mars Hill Graduate School in Seattle, WA.
In one of his talks, he offered this little nugget,
Evangelism is essentially sharing our stories long enough to discover a common ache and a common hope.
Now, as my friend Annie pointed out in a conversation about this sentiment, it doesn’t capture the full scope of what might qualify as evangelism (and I don’t think that was Dan’s intention anyway). However, I do think it pushes us to a place of realization that, inasmuch as Jesus was God’s way of entering into the story of humanity’s deep aches and fulfilling its greatest hopes, we are called to do the same for others.
Somewhere in the course of listening to these talks, I came across a new music video by Eminem featuring Rihanna entitled, “Love the Way You Lie.” (ht: Jonathan Brink)
I’ll embed it below, but let me offer 2 things first, a disclaimer and a reflection.
Disclaimer: The video contains language and imagery that some might find objectionable. If you can’t get past that, please do us both a favor and skip it. I’ll say this though, the language and imagery is far from gratuitous. I think it is used appropriately and poignantly to convey the weight of the issue.
Reflection: The song and video tell the story of a couple who quite transparently have deep aches and deep hopes. The tragic irony of the situation is that they are trying to come to terms with both through a violent and endless cycle of love and hate, truth and lies.
I think the reason that I like this quote from Allender so much is that it asks us to be come alongside people as guides as opposed to stand at a distance and offer directions. There is this great tendency we have to get so focused on telling people that they need to arrive at a particular destination that we completely neglect the more important matter of identifying the “You are here” spot at which they stand. Directions, after all, are of little use unless you know where you’re starting from.
The last observation I’ll make as a result of the generative tension between Allender’s quote and Eminem’s video is that without the right direction, we create our own personal hells – something that is visually captured at the end of this clip. As people of ache and hope, when we try to alleviate our aches and fulfill our hopes in ways that God never intended, we suffer. All the more reason for those of us who have been met by God at the point of our ache and who place our hope in God’s salvific work in the world through Christ to listen to the stories of others as we share ours and allow God to do that same work all over again.
Popular Posts
recent posts
Share-Worthy
- Me Vs. Craig Carter on Same Sex Relations: How My Position Differs from the Traditional Evangelical Approach (Reclaiming the Mission)
- A Missional Ecclesiology [In Brief] – Part IV (Dream Awakener)
- Deprivation and Hope {into the story} (winncollier)
- The Nature Of Faith (Jonathan Brink)
- Thoughts on the mosque at Ground Zero (J.R. Briggs)
tweets
- . @amyrozko made pesto & it was out of this world good. Like, "I'm gonna put it on my cereal tomorrow" good. #FB http://twitpic.com/2koy8h 16 hrs ago
- shared: Me Vs. Craig Carter on Same Sex Relations: How My Position Differs from the Traditional Evangelical Approach http://bit.ly/dzSs0X 20 hrs ago
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: Halloween Party http://bit.ly/c8lOdh #FB 22 hrs ago
- lifeasmission ReDeux:: My Friend Jason: A Real Man of Genius http://bit.ly/ce2XPV #FB 2 days ago
- Blast you 6:30! Why can't you be more like your brother, 8:00!! 2 days ago
- More updates...
Recent Comments
- Rob on Dr. Rozko?
- jrrozko on Dr. Rozko?
- jrrozko on Dr. Rozko?
- matttebbe on Dr. Rozko?
- jrrozko on Dr. Rozko?
Ecclesia Bloggers
