Mixed feelings filled the old white bus as it carried the fifteen Fellows away from Charlottesville at the beginning of yet another precious weekend. Just weeks earlier Dennis pitched the idea of attending this conference, which was not on our schedule, and would bump our total number of ‘scheduled away’ weekends from five, to six in three months. But Dennis had us sold on the line-up of speakers at this conference, as he personally vouched for their life-changing potential. Thus, we found ourselves on our way; slightly bummed we were missing the Halloween festivities at home, yet eagerly anticipating how accurate Dennis’ ‘life-changing’ claim really was.The conference, hosted by McLean Presbyterian Church, located just outside D.C., was called “Transform ‘09”. Paige Benton Brown, Katherine Leary, and Os Guinness were lined up to speak on the transformational perspective of the kingdom. We Fellows were all excited about Os Guinness, having just read his book “The Call” as part of our summer reading. Katherine Leary we knew not only to be on staff at Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, but also as the aunt of our very own Rachel Leary! Finally, Paige Benton Brown we knew the least of, other than that she is a former RUF intern at UVA and had significant “life-changing” potential (quote: Dennis Doran). We arrived on Friday night at McLean Presbyterian after having settled our things at our hosts’ house and making a delicious stop for some Italian subs. Quickly settling in our seats, we did our best to prepare ourselves as Paige Benton Brown began her talk. Paige began by defining “kingdom”: the term of the conference. The kingdom of God she said, is the presence of the future, a reality for the whole world, the hub of the entire New Testament. The gospel of the kingdom is not just forgiveness of sins, but also renewal and TRANSFORMATION of sin. This has serious implications for the way we are called to live out our lives, both as the church and kingdom citizens. It means we must not limit our work to the church but also maintain the church/world distinction. It means seeking renewal “as far as the curse is found”. Paige encouraged the audience not to so comfortably identify with the “conservative Christian” title, for the Christian role on earth at this moment in history is not to conserve, but to transform. Paige referred to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 to describe exactly HOW God’s children are to participate in this transformation. She explained that what is expected of us is proportional to what ‘talents’ have been given us, and that it is not okay to just play it safe and bury our talents. We must be bold and risk-taking in employing our talents, trusting that God has given us our gifts for a reason and that even in employing our gifts, He is there guiding us. God is always doing the work and He is using us broken sinners simply because He loves us. Therefore, we need not pray for God to use us; He will use us. We need to pray that we may be useful in Him using us. The following morning Katherine Leary of Redeemer Presbyterian church in New York City, spoke to us about kingdom transformational work, through her personal story. She spoke of her various experiences in the corporate world as well as her current role as Director of the Center for Faith and Work. Katherine encouraged us by way of her story to carry over the transformational kingdom perspective to the workplace, so that hearts may be transformed. Transformed hearts will transform communities; transformed communities will ultimately transform the world. Finally Dr. Os Guinness closed out the evening by sharing a message with us from Acts 13:36. The verse reads “After David served the purpose of God in his own generation, he fell asleep”. From this verse, Dr. Guinness took the meaning of calling for David and allowed us to apply it to our lives. He emphasized the importance of service in calling; how we need to ensure we are serving the purpose of God like David did, and that he did so “in his own generation”, meaning his calling was for him and him alone. Similarly, God’s call for each one of us is specific to each one of us. Finally, Dr. Guinness encouraged us that if we trust God in this, we will ‘fall asleep’ in peace and trust that we have completed God’s work. Being left slightly stunned, tired, ‘transformed’ and with MUCH to digest, the Fellows once again loaded the ‘ol white bus and began the trek home that Reformation (aka Halloween) night. On the way home several Fellows personally attested to the life-changing capacities of the conference, which Dennis had so fervently claimed just a few weeks earlier. A confident buzz filled the bus that night, confirming that it was all worth another precious weekend away.
Common Grounds Post- "A True Portrait is Never Pretty"
Our greatest desire is to be fully known and fully accepted. Deep down we want someone to see us for who we are- the beautiful with the ugly- and neither balk in disgust nor mistake us for something we are not, something better with fewer blemishes and flaws. And yet, we fear the fulfillment of the very thing we desire. Our greatest fear is to be known, found out, rejected. Out of this fear we build up defenses like walls, hiding our weakness, preventing anyone from really knowing us at all. We are like shopkeepers that put mannequins in the window, clean projections of the person we would rather people see (confident, attractive, sociable, interesting, etc), all the while keeping the shop door locked tight, carefully keeping the ugly reality of our imperfect lives out of sight.
As a portrait artist, the goal of my paintings is to subvert this practice of building defenses, and instead create a conversation with the viewer that is open and honest. You look at the person on the canvas and they look right back at you. Hopefully there is intimacy in that moment of examination. Maybe it is because the person in the canvas never looks away. You can look and look, critiquing every wrinkle and zit, but the subject has no shame.
I recently had a show that consisted of a bunch of portraits of folks I know from around Charlottesville. At one point I stood up and made a brief artist’s statement, which pretty much began like the first paragraph above, talking about lowering our guard and allowing ourselves to be known. I talked about how the bright colors were meant to represent each subject’s character and affirm their dignity as image-bearers of God. A question came from the back of the room, “Why don’t you have any self-portraits up, and if you did, what colors would they be?”
Uh.
Er.
I, uh.
I half jokingly replied that putting a self-portrait on the wall for the entire world to examine would demand that I unlock the “shop door” and let people in. But seriously. It is much easier to talk about not being so guarded than to take an honest look at oneself and stop pretending. I will hang up a portrait of a friend and subject them to public scrutiny long before I will subject myself. Why? Because even if you tell me you won’t reject me, my mind says, “you don’t know what I know.”
So what’s the solution- how do we get over the fear of exposure? The answer is certainly not try harder. Rather, I think the answer has to do with resting, resting in the promises of the God “to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.” This is the gospel: that God walks into a gallery, sees your face on the wall- knows every bit from the surface right on through to the core- and is utterly mesmerized by the beauty. He may as well be looking into a mirror. We are utterly known and profoundly accepted.
Transforming Futures for Trinity Fellows
by Reynolds Chapman When I graduated from college I don’t think I fully grasped how much power had been given to me. In fact, since power was a negative concept in my mind, I probably played down my social, professional, political, and spiritual capacities out of some false humility. And although I had gained knowledge and tools to dive head-first into the “real world,” I lacked a robust framework for engaging with it as Christ would have me. As I reflect on the past year spent in the Trinity Fellows Program, I see how it helped me recognize the power I have been given, and how God is forming me to steward it for His Kingdom.
In his book Power and Passion, Samuel Wells says “…those in power do no good by failing to realize the power they have. Power is not wrong or bad or inherently corrupt; it is given for a purpose – to reflect the truth, to set people free – and only becomes sinister when it is not used for the purpose for which it has been given.” Perhaps one of the greatest challenges of the Church in America is our unwillingness to be honest about the influence and agency we have. We can understand why - a denial of power allows for a denial of responsibility. What the Fellows Program seeks to do is catch Christians at that fork in the road where they can either treat their gifts as inadequate, irrelevant, or even non-existent, or they can use them to engage God’s world.
This vision is built on a theological foundation established in the seminary classes we take. In our Biblical studies courses, the recurring theme of humiliation before exultation was implanted in our hearts and minds. Centered on Christ, who “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant…becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross,” we saw how our lives in the Church, our communities, our families, and at our jobs should take the form of service and humility. We saw that our power and privileges are not for our own personal peace and affluence, but are to be channeled as a blessing to the world in the name of Jesus Christ. In our cultural engagement courses we dug deeper into what the world looks like and the specifics about how theology translates into society. These classes challenged our assumptions, and helped transform us to view the world in a Christ-like manner.
Our discussions of theology and cultural engagement became practical in our workplace internships. One of the chief aims of the fellows program is bridging the divide between the sacred and secular – affirming that worship not only occurs when we gather together at the end of Fontaine Avenue, but also when we’ve been sitting at an office in front of a computer for three hours and we still have five hours to go. We saw that in God’s Kingdom, the value of someone who works in financial consulting, or someone who cleans houses for a living, is equal to a pastor or missionary. We were also able to engage our community by tutoring low-income students at Abundant Life, which allowed us a brief departure from our privileged lifestyle and granted us a snapshot into a community neglected and overlooked by most of Charlottesville.
As we affirmed the importance of engaging the world, it was indispensable to see that without the Church, any of our pursuits in this world are meaningless. In America, where we worship the gods of status, wealth, and security, the Church becomes an afterthought. We operate under the rule that when we’re working sixty hours a week, there’s just not time to go to a church prayer meeting or to pursue accountability with our brothers or sisters in Christ. But being plugged into the Church was invaluable this year, especially for many of us who are going into the marketplace. We were welcomed with open doors and open arms by our host families, who were willing to take a stranger into their home for a whole year. We had the opportunity to serve the youth in the Church, while being served in many ways by our mentors and the host of Church members and those on staff who spoke with us and prayed for us.
Before doing the Fellows Program, I would have asked “Wouldn’t a weekend-long conference on faith and work be sufficient and effective?” After doing the Fellows Program, I would answer no to this. This year has not taught me ideas, but has rather given me a community and experiences that have transformed me to see the purpose of the gifts God has given me. On behalf of the 2007-2008 class, thanks to Trinity Presbyterian Church, and may God bless the incoming fellows as they embark on this journey together.
Pictures from NYC Trip
During the last week of February the Fellows and Dottie went up to New York City for a three day conference hosted by the International Arts Movement A few snapshots of our time...
Click the pictures to see full size.
Our fearless leaders
Guys' room at the hostel
Mariko, Jamie, Rose, and Austin waiting for the subway
Musical performance during the conference
Times Square at night
Mike and Sean. No explanation needed.
Jamie and Mike in Times Square
Tripp and Lora. Hungry? Excited? Both?
Group shot
Headed home
Sesame Street, Study, and Sanctification
By Dr. Bill Wilder
Do you remember watching Sesame Street as a child? I’m thinking of those times in the show when, say, a peach, an apple, an orange, and a potato would be pictured side-by-side as someone sang, “One of these is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong. Can you tell me which thing is not like the others, by the time I finish my song?”
That illustration comes to mind, because I’m aware that a rigorous, academic study of the Bible can seem to be as out of place in the spiritual formation of Christians as a potato in a bowl of fruit. This came home to me one day in Nigeria when it came my turn to answer some questions from a man sent out by my missions agency. “What is the nature of your ministry at the seminary?” he asked. “I mainly teach Greek and Hebrew” was my reply. The man was incredulous. “You teach Greek and Hebrew to students planning to be pastors in the bush?” It was clear that he considered such education an immense waste of time. Alongside practical courses like preaching and evangelism and counseling, Greek and Hebrew were a set of courses that just didn’t belong.
I can well imagine a similar response to the requirement in the Trinity Fellows Program to take and pass challenging academic courses in the Bible. Compared with one-on-one mentoring, working through relational issues, direct involvement in ministry or missions, studying theology may simply represent an unwelcome intrusion into the wounding and wonderful labor of building relationships. “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” Or so it certainly seems.
The first thing to be said, of course, is that such detractors may be right. It is perfectly possible for the study of Scripture to be “out of place”—for such study to lead to the neglect of other obligations in the Christian life. But then again, such disordering is possible for any good gift of God. We may indeed honor study (of theology or anything else) more than we should; I am guilty of it myself. Yet we may also love our friends or our children or our spouses or even our ministry more than we should. Because we are fallen, we tend to love things both more and less than we should. Study of Scripture and theology is not exempt.
So the question isn’t whether it is possible for the rigorous study of Scripture or theology to be misused. Of course, it is. It is no less exempt from our fallenness than, say, our relationships. The question is whether such study, properly used, is necessary for spiritual growth and transformation of God’s people. It seems to me that the answer to that question is yes, for at least two reasons. The first has to do with our growth in understanding of the truth. The second has to do with the role of that understanding in our sanctification. Let’s take these in turn.
First, study of Scripture is necessary because of our distance from the times and places in which God’s Word was first revealed. Put provocatively, we have to study (which may include taking courses) to even begin to approach the level of an ancient Near Eastern or first-century Palestinian peasant. Those things they took for granted—language, cultural conventions, genres, customs peculiar to their cultures—are foreign to us and so must be studied and learned with some effort on our parts.
Indeed, I am quite certain that the missions representative would have affirmed the need for diligent study with respect to understanding the particular people group (the Yoruba) to which we were called. It is commonplace in missions these days to claim that one cannot hope to understand a given people group without a knowledge of their heart language and an appreciation for their cultures, their customs, their stories, their history.
And yet, if this is true (as I think it is), then is it not also true that a deep understanding of Scripture cannot come without the same commitment to the particular times and places (languages, cultures, customs) in which it was revealed? True understanding of anything (people groups, friends, husbands, wives, children, and, yes, the Word of God itself) requires careful attention, even study. Since God has chosen to reveal himself in particular times, places, cultures, and languages, we must attend to the particularities of that revelation in order to understand and know him better.
This leads me to my second point. Study of the Bible is also necessary because of our distance from God’s truth in our fallen minds and hearts. Or, put more positively, study is necessary because the transformation God intends for us is comprehensive: it includes our minds as well as our hearts and actions. If every part of us has been affected by the Fall, every part of us (mind, hearts, bodies) is included within God’s redemptive purposes for creation in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
This total transformation is ultimately a work of the Spirit, of course, but it is not without its struggle on our parts. We are tempted to do the wrong things (actions), to succumb to our feelings and inclinations of the moment (affections and will), to accept a version of reality that denies God’s truth in some way (minds). Sanctification thus involves a transformation of all these aspects of our being (mind included).
Indeed, there’s very little hope of transformation in these other areas apart from a transformed understanding of the world through sustained study of God’s truth. If the substance of Christian obedience comes down to love—of God, fellow human beings, and his world—in both our affections and actions, it is also true that Christian love cannot be divorced from the truth: love is, among other things, “rejoicing in the truth” (1 Cor 13).
Why study then? Because we are created, time-and-space-bound beings who must be alert to the very particular times and places, languages and cultural forms in which God has revealed himself and his truth. Because we’re fallen beings who are being redeemed—not without struggle—in our minds as well as our wills, affections, bodies, world. Because such study is therefore not out of place in a faithful Christian community. It is rather one more appointed means of grace which God deigns to use in his gracious work of transformation in our lives. Diligent study belongs to our vocation as Christians as surely as all that we are belongs to Him. Now that’s worth singing about.
Dr. Bill Wilder is current Director of Educational Ministries at the Center for Christian Study in Charlottesville, Virginia. Besides regularly teaching on a host of Biblically centered and theologically driven classes throughout the year, he is also intimately involved with the education of the Trinity Fellows. Among several things, Dr. Wilder yearns to see a resurgence of "worshipping God with your mind" within the Millenial Generation. You can read more about his work and life here.
Dream Big...Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal
By Peter Moore, D.D.
The Fellows Initiative has been diligently working to spread the idea of the fellows program to other churches. In the next year, our programs will double and hopefully the development of leaders who think deeply about their vocation, faith, and culture will follow. Trinity Fellows, and other friends of the program the one thing I want to say to you -- and I actually know a couple of you reasonably well -- is that you should dream great dreams. That's one of the results of Pentecost, that "their young men will see visions, and your sons and daughters will prophesy." (Acts. 2:17,18)
To me this has always been a challenge to think about what I could do in life that others couldn't. What unique contribution might I make to the world that would leave it better, and more ready for the Kingdom that is here and coming? It's led me in many strange directions, and I've started more organizations and movements than I probably should. But, the adventure of seeking where the Spirit is leading next has been exciting, and has caused me to have a better understanding of what I could do (and what I shouldn't do, too) than any other single thought. So, go ahead, and dream. Where would you like to be in 10 years? What would you like to accomplish with your life? These things ought to keep you awake at night -- at least for a while.
Peter Moore is the founder and current executive director of FOCUS, an organization devoted to seeing private school students and families come to know the grace of Christ. Peter desires for young people to think about the really big questions: God, life, death, suffering, hope, and relationships. Dr. Moore also serves on the board of the Fellows Initiative and is the former President of the Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania.
Would Wilberforce Have Been a Fellow?
By Courtney Carlisle
“I apprehend the essential practical characteristic of true Christians to be this: that relying on the promises to repenting sinners of acceptance through the Redeemer, they have renounced and abjured all other masters, and have cordially and unreservedly devoted themselves to God.... It is now their determined purpose to yield themselves without reserve to the reasonable service of the Rightful Sovereign. They are not their own: their bodily and mental faculties, their natural and acquired endowments, their substance, their authority, their time, their influence, all these they consider as belonging to them...to be consecrated to the honor of God and employed in his service.”
So wrote William Wilberforce in his manifesto, A Practical View…of Real Christianity, in his ongoing efforts to practically apply faith to life and vocation. While he is perhaps best known for his efforts to abolish the slave trade in Britain in the late eighteenth century, Wilberforce was first and foremost a man deeply devoted to Jesus Christ, with core beliefs that became the basis by which he worked to accomplish his cause.
However, without his unique circle of friends, Wilberforce’s goals may not have been realized. This group, the Clapham Sect, began to form after Wilberforce’s first motion for abolition was defeated in 1789. Led by Wilberforce, the group included Parliamentarians Henry Thornton, Charles Grant and Edward Elliot, brother-in-law to William Pitt; William Smith; abolitionist Granville Sharp; former Governor-General of India John Shore (Lord Teignmouth); poet and playwright Hanna More; Reverends Thomas Gisborne and Charles Simeon and more who joined over time. Remarkably, even with the shifting numbers of the group and the widely varying occupations of its members, the Clapham Sect remained committed to its general goals: incorporating their faith into all aspects of life, making family life and friendships clear priorities, and reforming the political and social policies of the British Empire.
Those in the Clapham group were held together not only by their common desire to apply their faith to all areas of their lives, but by their common concern for a variety of moral, religious and social causes, and their strong love and support for each other. It is certain that the fellowship of this group and the important contacts created through its members empowered Wilberforce to throw all his weight behind the mighty task set before him. Indeed, as John Wesley told Wilberforce concerning his unenviable mission, “unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you?”
The love of God and common love for each other significantly strengthened the Clapham Sect’s community. Historian Sir Reginald Coupland wrote, “It was a remarkable fraternity—remarkable above all else, perhaps, in its closeness, its affinity. It not only lived for the most part in one little village; it had one character, one mind, one way of life…They could mostly have been of leisure; but they all devoted their lives to public service. They were what Wilberforce meant by ‘true Christians.’”
The Clapham Sect of course presents an extraordinary model for all Christians to follow in respect to fellowship and community. Gathering together with similar goals to be God’s representatives in all areas of life and to spur one another on, like the members of Clapham, we strive to work together unified in Christ’s love and purposes.
Not only should this be the goal of every church, especially our own, the centrality of the gospel present in the Clapham Sect should be a target aimed for by any discipleship group, Bible study, small group or simply one’s circle of friends. And the group of Trinity Fellows is no exception, as is outlined in the Trinity Fellows Mission Statement: “We affirm that we belong to Christ, and we are committed both to serving others and to pursuing a mission greater than ourselves.”
The 12 of us hail from places across the country, from California to Indiana to Alabama. We represent different personalities, perspectives on life and callings to which we are committed. However, it is our hope that this year as Fellows we have strived to have the resolve of the Clapham Sect: that our faith might overflow into all aspects of our lives, and that the character of our community might reflect Proverbs 27:17, in which “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Like Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect, may we all be empowered, by Christ and each other, to go forth valiantly with a mission greater than ourselves.
Courtney Carlisle is a graduate of the 2006 Trinity Fellows Program. As a fellows class, we urge you to learn more about William Wilberforce's life, leadership, and vocation by attending the movie, "Amazing Grace" currently showing in theaters nationwide.
I, too, have a Dream
By Kate Beach
My dream consists of the idea of creation and shalom.The way things are supposed to be.No suffering. No injustice. No segregation. No unequal treatment.No abuse or children being stripped of a childhood. We choose to celebrate people’s lives that have had an affect on our nation, but the celebration needs to move beyond speakers who remind us of what someone once did.The celebration needs to move us to a place of non-complacency.
This past Martin Luther King Day I helped coordinate and celebrate the life and mission of Martin Luther King, jr.This man of God chose to say yes to the struggle of fighting non-violently, overcoming segregated odds and opposition from white clergymen to see a nation of equality and justice. As a white believer of Christ and his life’s story, I see that we are missing out on the moral of His story as well as Martin Luther King, Jr.Are we living out of the call for equality in our country and world?
“Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an arch defender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.” Martin Luther King, jr- excerpt from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
Please do not misunderstand this quote.I do love the church and although I have been a Christian for most of my life I have only recently been able to catch a glimpse of what the church should be. I have seen people who would not otherwise come together lift each other up, pray together, and come together because of a deeper common bond.
I believe this is what Dr. King’s ultimate dream was.Not only did he want people of all different colors to come together but he wanted people to come together with a common bond that transcended color, economic and educational barriers. Dr. King initially did not want the responsibility of leading the civil right movement but since he was called into that position.He was first a human being, believer in Christ, husband and father, preacher then revolutionary icon.Although we are not to be color blind, it is our Christian calling to be first identified as a human, all created in the image of God.This is the lens in which we are to view others.The way God sees us.
So if we were to be revolutionary Christians, as all Christians are supposed to be, we are to be above the influence of our culture and society.A society that still tells us that if you are born in a certain area of the world or with a certain pigment to your skin that you don’t deserve as many opportunities.If we were countering our culture, as we are called to do so, than we would be a church that would be as powerful as the early church.We would be feared for our unrelenting power of love and non-violent fight against injustice.Instead we have become a church of charity.Although generous, we must move to ask God what more we can be doing to CHANGE the way God’s children are being treated in our country and world.
“In the midst of blatant injustices inflicted upon the Negro, I have watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.” Martin Luther King, jr- excerpt from the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”
I, too, have a dream
Kate Beach is a graduate of Messiah College with an emphasis in social work, an employee at a local faith based non profit, Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries, and a current member of the Trinity Fellows Program.Among several passions, she longs to see the holistic redemption of communities.
Another component of the Fellows Program is a job placement in an area of personal interest where one puts the ideas, principles, and education to practice for the benefit of the common good.