Dr. Larry Perkins Volume 7 Issue 1 February 2006 65 Years of Preparing Effective Leaders for Evangelical Baptist Ministry and the Kingdom of God Northwest News just can’t keep up. We have emergent churches, emerging churches, missional churches, contemporary churches, rural churches, urban churches, ethnic churches, multicell churches, seeker-sensitive churches, etc., etc., etc. I have not begun to name various theological emphases that also create more diversity. The name “Fellowship Baptist” may be on the sign, but I am never sure anymore what ‘kind’ of church I am entering! Is this a good thing? Does it really matter? Can we find a “real church” in the midst of this diversity? How will we know when we find it? What are the essential features that define and identify a community of people as the church of God in Christ? The Reformation theologian-pastor, John Calvin, said that “wherever we see the word of God sincerely preached and heard, wherever we see the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there we cannot have any doubt that the Church of God has some existence, since his promise cannot fail,…(Matthew 18:20)” (Institutes IV.1.9). Our Baptist tradition understands baptism and communion as the ordinances. We would also add several additional elements, namely the significance of community, the expression of holiness, and the practice of church discipline. Calvin probably implies these in his insistence that God’s word be proclaimed and heard, i.e. applied personally for salvation and sanctification. Although the church has diverse purposes, i.e. evangelism, worship, ministries of compassion, etc., these will be accomplished only if God’s word is sincerely preached and heard and the ordinances are administered as Christ intended, so that a true community of faith exists. What is interesting is that Calvin includes in his definition I Where Can I Find A Real Church? nothing specific about organization or leadership. Probably such matters are implied in the function of preaching and the proper administration of the ordinances. If these are the marks of the church of God, then there seems to be a lot of room for diversity when it comes to local expressions of the Christian community. There are foundational values, but diverse applications of these values. To discern if a group claiming to be the church of God truly is God’s church, we should look first to see whether God’s word is being taught well and truthfully, and whether the people’s lives demonstrate a positive, holy response. As well, we should discern whether baptism and communion are being administered as Christ mandated so that people are entering the community and maintaining their spiritual life within it appropriately. If these are the marks of the church of God, then what kind of church ministry leaders should Northwest be equipping? They must be effective, sincere proclaimers of God’s word. This requires them to have competence in studying, interpreting, applying and communicating God’s word. If people should be responsive to the proclaimed word, then this also will require ministry leaders who have a passion for the spiritual development of people, knowing how to encourage and enable them to respond to God’s call fully in their lives. (Continued on page 4) Northwest Baptist Seminary@ACTS Dr. Larry Perkins, President of northwest Baptist Seminary Northwest People Where is home and where did you grow up? I was born in Laval, Quebec – just north of Montreal. My dad had immigrated from Hungary in the 50’s because of the political unrest. He is a forestry engineer. When I was 12 my mom died. It was difficult. But then my dad remarried and so in my teens I had to learn how to relate to a new mom and two new siblings. There are six of us now. My younger sister lives in Australia and works in a gallery that specializes in aboriginal art and the rest of my siblings are in Montreal – one is a hotel manager, two are in business, and one works in a shop. Amongst them all I have seven nieces and nephews…so far! Interviewed by Larry Perkins When the relationship with my friend ended, I prayed and sought God’s help and He immediately gave me wonderful peace. A few days later I went looking for a church and found one down the street. It was an English language Baptist church that I had never really noticed before. It was just what I needed. But then I moved to England. When I arrived in London, I ended up attending another Baptist church. That’s where God led me to meet a girl who helped me to learn how to serve God. That friendship was a crucial one for me. After a year I returned to Canada and the pastor in the Quebec church that I mentioned earlier put me to work. I loved it. I was involved in reviving the junior church, starting with 3 children and now it is very large. Another lady stepped into the leadership. So I moved over to the youth and helped to develop that. I like to take care of people – feeding them, praying for them, talking, helping however I can and so I enjoy volunteering too. My dad has encouraged This pastor was connected with New me to get the very best education. So, Tribes Missions. He knew I was interested when I finished high school I attended in people from different cultures. I ata good Cegep for two years – that’s tended a Missions Fest where New Tribes how things are done in Quebec – and Alexandra Palfy had a booth and he challenged me to get then I attended McGill University and Northwest student involved in cross-cultural ministry. So I completed a Bachelor of Education went to Papua New Guinea on a 7 week in the Master of Arts degree with a focus in Primary educamission trip. That missionary training proin Cross-Cultural tion. I taught for the next four years at gram kept me busy – courses, language Ministries Program schools for children with special needs study, ethnography, excursions with na– in the meantime I completed a Ditionals. ploma in special education. I then moved to England and spent a year teaching youth with special needs at the High God used all of these people and experiences in profound School level. ways to shape my Christian understanding but also the diWhen I returned to Canada I found a different, but related rection that I have taken. role doing employment counseling and job-coaching for adults with a wide range of special needs. This involved me in providing them with employment support, advocating for them and contact with employers. Which people were the important influences in your life that led you to follow Jesus? I grew up in a Catholic setting but my family weren’t really church-goers. I met Christ through a dating relationship. My friend’s mom was a strong evangelical believer, but he was not walking with Christ. When he realized that I did not understand the Gospel, he explained it to me. His mom wanted to help, but she spoke only Greek so that created some challenging, but interesting experiences. I learned some Greek and she learned some English and so we managed. We are still good friends. At that time I got connected with a church that was quite legalistic in its perspective. I had finally understood that salvation was about freedom, not getting more rules and so it became scary. I stopped going to church for a number of years. What do you sense your calling in Jesus to be and how did you discern this? Teaching children with special needs was great, but something was missing. I also loved working with and counseling adults with special needs, but still it was not “it”. I knew that God was giving me some direction and that I needed to be in Montreal for a time after my return from England, but I had not yet reached the destination He had for me. It was during the missions trip to Papua New Guinea that I made the decision to pursue Biblical education. When I told my father what I wanted to do he encouraged me to go on to a Seminary. He doesn’t actually agree with what I am studying but appreciates that it is a master’s degree. I am truly grateful for, yet surprised by his reaction. How did you learn about Northwest/ACTS? Some Intervarsity Christian Fellowship workers came and spoke in my church. I shared my desire to go to Seminary and how I wanted to be with people similar to my own age. (Continued on page 5) PAGE 2 65 YEARS OF PREPARING EFFECTIVE LEADERS FOR EVANGELICAL BAPTIST MINISTRY AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD The Kiln program for people who feel called to a career in Christian camping. These programs are directly serving our ministries, allowing our best leaders to mentor our best students. We appreciate your support for these innovative initiatives. Northwest Students at the Ministry Centre for a Fellowship Supper Rev. Bruce Christensen Three years ago Dr. Kent Anderson introduced a way for the Fellowship Ministry Staff and the new students registered at NBS to meet together and connect. Each September and January we have the privilege of meeting over a meal where we are able to put names to faces. It is an excellent relationship building time. Once again this January we were introduced to a number of quality students that are attending our Seminary. It is exciting to meet new students and see their heart for ministry. Our time together is spent in an interactive way informing them of the Fellowship and its various ministries as well as sharing with them ministry opportunities. Fifteen new students attended the supper at the Ministry Centre in Langley. This is another way in which the Seminary and the Ministry Centre are working together in placing graduate students into our churches. I had several serious conversations with students interested in serving with the Fellowship. Some are looking at Church Planting, Youth Pastorate, Chaplaincy and others at an Ethnic Ministry. This has become a rich time in which we see God using the Seminary to train men and women for ministry. Keith Ikoma and Kolby Milton, YLTP diploma graduates with Northwest Dean Dr. Kent Anderson Northwest Enhanced-Entry Programs in Youth, Cross-Cultural Ministry and Camp Leadership Dr. Kenton Anderson We continue to be excited about our enhanced entry programs at Northwest. We now have nine students involved in various levels of our Youth Ministry Leadership Training Program (YLTP). All of them are actively serving in youth ministry positions in Fellowship Churches while they earn their degrees. Kolby Milton (Northstar Baptist, Quesnel) and Keith Ikoma (Ruth Morton Baptist, Vancouver) both recently celebrated the completion of the first pre-seminary stage of the program and are now actively studying toward their Master of Arts in Christian Studies. We are also now preparing to admit our first “Khidmut” student (our cross-cultural ministries training program). We are also working with one of our camps toward a new enhanced entry Both Bruce Christensen and Dan Chapman from the FEBBC/Y Ministry Centre participated in sharing their individual roles and perspectives with Northwest students. VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 Page 3 Northwest Bits and Pieces Best Practices for Church Boards Dr. Lyle Schrag In reviewing the results of Faith Communities Today, the largest survey of churches conducted in North America, Aubrey Malphurs draws the following conclusion: The weight of leadership in the vast majority of churches across North America and beyond lies as much with the governing board as with the pastor. Yet, while most boards are well intentioned, most have not been trained for their work and most have not thought through or fully understood what they are doing1. Without adequate training serving on a church board can be a tough assignment. Realizing that the health of the church rests upon the spiritual ministry of the governing board, the question has to be addressed: Is it possible for well-intentioned but illprepared laypeople to guide a church into a Christhonoring ministry? In 2005, a unique partnership of the Northwest Baptist Seminary, the Ministry Centre of the FEBBC/Y, the Northwest Centre for Leadership Development, and the Church Development Commission of the FEBBC/Y decided to answer that question with an innovative initiative: Best Practices for Church Boards. In October, 2005, board members and pastors of 9 Fellowship Baptist Churches met for a one-day workshop led by Dr. Bob Rose. The plenary sessions presented practical, Biblical principles about the function of a Church Board. Served by trained facilitators, the leadership teams took the principles to heart in a dynamic discussion. In each case, the teams designed a plan to develop their boards around well defined and vital goals. The success of this event has confirmed the future development of Best Practices for Church Boards as a practical instrument to create and support dynamic church leadership teams that are properly trained and spiritually equipped to lead Fellowship Baptist Churches. 1 Leading Leaders, Aubrey Malphurs, p. 12 (Continued from page1 …a Real Church) Good ministry leaders will understand the role of baptism as the initiation of believers into the life of the Christian community and will find ways to develop and apply their giftedness. Response to the Gospel is not complete until people have entered fully into the life of the church through baptism. As well, ministry leaders will take the ordinance of communion seriously, seeing it as central to the worship, unity, and spiritual nurture of God’s people. So I am not particularly concerned about what a particular Christian community looks like among these many different categories of church. What is important is the presence of biblical, foundational marks of the church, if we are to declare it God’s church, the “pillar and ground of truth….” These foundations define our values; applications will express our values. Good ministry leaders must understand these fundamental marks of the church of God, and give themselves without reserve to nurturing the body of Christ. Wisdom comes in knowing how to reflect these eternal values in the visible fabric of the local church. This is what Northwest’s mission requires of us and these are the kinds of ministry leaders our churches must have. Dr. Larry Perkins Spring 2006 Enrolment Statistics The Spring 2006 semester is well underway and sees Northwest with an enrolment of 52 students across the various programs. The numbers in our programs break out as follows: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Master of Divinity ………………………………………… 17 Master of Theological Studies ………………………… 6 Master of Arts in Christian Studies ………………… 16 Master of Arts in Cross-cultural Ministries ………… 3 Master of Applied Linguistics & Exegesis…………. 3 Master of Counselling ……………………………………. 1 Diploma and Non-program …………………………….. 3 Youth Leadership Training Program………………… 3 We also have three students continuing on in our Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation program. Within ACTS Seminaries overall we have a total of 330 students enrolled this semester. God continues to direct our way, men and women who are called to prepare themselves to serve Him more effectively. WWW.NBSEMINARY.COM Page 4 65 YEARS OF PREPARING EFFECTIVE LEADERS FOR EVANGELICAL BAPTIST MINISTRY AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD (Continued from page 2 — Interview with Alexandra Palfy) this area right now. What are you enjoying most about your graduate studies at Northwest@ACTS? I so appreciate the people – faculty and students – meeting them, working with them, praying with them. They are real – seeking to be what and where God wants them to be. I am grateful to God for the friendships that have developed. What currently are you doing in your ministry? I am involved with a Christian recovery program for women who have drug and alcohol addictions. I also work for ACTS Student Life in hospitality. And I do respite care with a great little boy who has autism. I am keeping my hand in all the things I love to do. As you have come to Seminary, what vision has God given to you? What is it that you want to accomplish for Him? God has given me a ministry direction that a lot people affirm and that is a good fit for me. Giving a name “Chaplaincy” to what I do quite naturally and had always wished could be my ministry was really exciting. I would be able to exercise pastoral gifts and work missionally in Canada – walking alongside, helping and caring for people from all regions of the world. Given your own journey, what advice would you give to people thinking about preparing for a ministry vocation? If God is challenging you to take a risk, to step out of your safety zone, whatever area of life that may be in – trust Him and go for it. I truly believe that God does some really fantastic things when we depend on Him in that way. How can we pray for you as you look forward to these opportunities? I still feel the need for God’s guidance and direction. Walking alone is not easy and I need God’s help so that I will be a woman of God. They mentioned ACTS knowing that their friend Stephanie Hall, another young woman from Quebec, was very happy with her experience. So I checked out the website and then applied. God seemed to direct me quite strongly to Northwest@ACTS. What challenges have you faced at Seminary? I have gained clarity on what I believe – the essentials. What I am willing to die for, you might say. I am stronger in what I see as black and white, but I see more issues as grey now too. I had to grapple with some things like the question of the role for women in ministry leadership because it is so widely discouraged back east. What is great is that as I grappled God helped me to discern my calling. I have also become a cheerleader for my female friends in ministry! I am now able to make more informed decisions using Scripture, dialoguing with other students and my faculty mentors, all with a view to discerning what is appropriate and understanding the different perspectives in light of God’s Word. This was a different way of teaching and learning – being encouraged, enabled and helped to form my own opinion, but with careful reflection upon God’s Word. God has also led me through some deep, characterbuilding experiences – such as being hit by a car – that were very difficult. Some personal issues came together at that time too and I struggled with physical and emotional issues. But God enabled me to work through them and to do well in my studies – which still surprises me. I am so grateful for all the people who were praying for me. It has encouraged me tremendously. Who have been significant mentors for you? How have they helped you? My girl friend in England was a wonderful spiritual supporter. She started seminary in England at the same time as I began at Northwest and so we have a lot in common. My father has also been very significant. He has challenged me – especially about my beliefs – but still encourages me to go the way I believe God wants me to go and to continue my education. He supports me in every way. He has great confidence in me. But there are actually many different people along the way who have spoken into my life – in Quebec, Britain, here in B.C. and even during my travels. What program are you completing and what do you want do after graduation? I am registered in the Master of Arts in Cross-Cultural Ministry (MACCM). I have a desire for missions, but not in the traditional way. I do not sense God calling me to work overseas. I desire to be with people who are from all over the world and this is exactly what Canada offers. I wondered about getting involved in church-planting in Montreal. But things did not happen and so it seems more and more that I am moving in the direction of chaplaincy, particularly in a cross-cultural situation. In fact, I am doing my practicum in Dr. Perkins and Alexandra discussing this article for Northwest News VOLUME 7 ISSUE 1 PAGE 5 40th Anniversary Reunion of the 1967 Graduating class of Northwest Baptist Theological College Friday, June 30th through Saturday, July 1st, 2006 Sunnybrae Bible Camp, Tappen, BC, Canada For more information go to www.nbseminary.com and click on the link to the 40th Anniversary Reunion or e-mail Sandy Hatch directly at larry_and_sandy@hotmail.com Northwest to Celebrate its 65th at FEBBC/Y Convention Evening Dessert Celebration Tuesday, April 25 from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. Northwest Baptist Seminary will be celebrating our 65th anniversary at Convention this year with a dessert function after the evening meeting on Tuesday, April 25 from 9:00 to 10:00 p.m. Convention this year will be at Immanuel Fellowship Baptist Church in Abbotsford, BC. Please come and celebrate God’s faithfulness with us. Besides the dessert evening Northwest will be hosting three workshops on the Monday afternoon of Convention (April 24). The workshop topics will be: ? ? Best Practices for Short Term Missions Projects — Mark Naylor from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Best Practices for Leadership Development in the Local Church — Dr. Lyle Schrag from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Best Practices for New Church Board Members — Dr. Larry Perkins from 4:30 to 6:30 Cost $15 ? Register with Dianne Gleave at 604-888-7592 Northwest’s Financial Health Our 2005 fiscal year ended December 31 and we are thankful to God that our revenues matched our expenses. We were able to increase financial aid as well as to increase our endowments slightly. Thank you for your investment in our ministry. We are one month into our new fiscal year. Our goals this year include the following: ? ? ? increase financial aid funding by 15%. This will require us to raise $21,300. implement the second phase of our in-church ministry training process called “Next Step”. This will require us to raise $10,000. implement the first phase of our project to equip ministry leaders in the country of Colombia in cooperation with our churches and missionaries. This will require us to raise $5,000. to support our annual fund we will be asking God to supply $15,000 from our churches and $58,000 from personal supporters. To meet these and other goals will require $8700 per month in gifts. In January God has provided $8,400. We know God has abundant resources to meet these goals and He will do it through His people as they catch the vision for developing good ministry leaders. We trust that you will value this kind of investment that pays continuing Kingdom dividends for our Northwest Baptist Seminary churches and com7600 Glover Road, Langley, BC V2Y 1Y1, munities. Please Canada pray with us for Phone: (604) 888-7592 God’s supply and Fax: (604) 513-8511 rejoice as He anE-mail: contact@nbseminary.com swers our prayers. WEB: www.nbseminary.com Northwest depends on the gracious gifts of its friends, both churches and individuals ? Page 6 65 YEARS OF PREPARING EFFECTIVE LEADERS FOR EVANGELICAL BAPTIST MINISTRY AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD