lifeasmission

As a prelude to something else I want to post soon, I wanted to say some more about where I work and what I do.

I am a part of a team of people who work with Fuller’s Master of Arts in Global Leadership Program.  Though often confused with a bent toward global domination ;), the heart of this degree program is to bring together Christian leaders from around the world in such a way that, instead of leaving their cultures and contexts, they engage in more of a praxis model of theological education whereby they are constantly integrating learning and practice with the benefit of a global perspective as they participate in classes as part of a cohort, a community of learning.

I am an academic advisor as well as a teaching assistant.  This means that I get to interact with students at the level of helping them through their degree program as well as with their course work.  Cohorts come to town twice during their program for two back-to-back 1-week intensives.  This is my favorite part of my job as I get to watch and contribute to the formation of community amongst students as well participate in small ways in the classes themselves.  We just had our 12th cohort (aka Mission 12) in town (still a pretty young program with 3 cohorts launching each year) for their first seminar, which meant they were taking “Character, Community, and Leadership” with Dr. Bobby Clinton and “Biblical Foundations of Mission” with Dr. Mark Hopkins.  

I had the privilege of TAing for both of these courses as well as having a few small teaching segments.  In the first class I offered an introduction into the Emerging Church and a session on community formation around the books “Jesus  and Community” by Gerhard Lohfink and “The McDonaldization of the Church” by John Drane.  In the second, I offered some brief thoughts on the relationship between the Kingdom of God and the Church.

While I truly have nothing negative to say about my more traditional experience at Fuller, I really appreciate the approach the MAGL is taking.  I think it’s a big step toward where I am convinced theological education needs to move.  Instead of trying to get all the right information into people before they launch out into “full-time ministry,” we are seeking to partner with those already engaged in Christian leadership, drawing on their unique experience and setting.  More than this, from what I have been able to see first-hand, there is a sense of community which emerges amongst MAGL cohorts that really doesn’t in the more traditional seminary setting.  By the time these cohorts finish with the 9-course cohort sequence, they are usually begging for more ways to stay connected and interact.

All that to say, I am a big fan of the MAGL program, the team I get to work with, and the student-leaders I have gotten to get to know and learn from.