Northern News

On Saturday, May 31, students will be celebrating their graduation from Northern at the Seminary’s 93rd commencement ceremony. Each year, Northern has been pleased to present an outstanding keynote speaker to address the graduating class. This year we are honored to have the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell address the class of 2008.

Julie Pennington-Russell has served at Decatur First Baptist since August of 2007. Prior to moving to Decatur, Julie served as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, TX, and Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco, CA. Julie received her B.A. in Communicative Disorders from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, an M.Div. From the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California, and is in the final phase of completing a D.Min. at Baylor’s George W. Truett Baptist Theological Seminary. Baptists who attended the New Baptist Covenant gathering in Atlanta in January would have heard her preach at one of the worship services.

Graduation will be held at Rock of Ages Church in Maywood, IL at 10:00 a.m.

The Grow Center of Northern Seminary and Koinonia House National Ministries (KHNM) are now working together to bring biblically based discipleship training program to men living in the KHNM residence program in Wheaton. The Grow Center will oversee the Certificate in Church Leadership KHNM. These courses will be taught to the residence members and staff. The Certificate Program will become a vital component of the KHNM discipleship program.

The curriculum for this 16 class program was developed by The Urban Ministry Institute (a ministry of World Impact). To complete the total certificate program the learner receives over190 instructional hours plus completing written assignments. The certificate is both biblically based and grounded in practical ministry.

The Grow Center and KHNM requests prayer for three things involved in moving this partnership forward;

1) Funds to support the program. Textbooks, workbooks and other fees must come from other sources than the intended learners. For the most part prisoners or those just recently released will not have the financial capacity to pay for these courses.

2) That instructors will be found that have a heart for both theological education and those who are incarcerated or recently released.

3) Because of the excellent working relationship that KHNM has with administrators and chaplains within the State of Illinois correctional system, contacts are being made with state correctional officials. Pray that the Certificate Program can be offered at state correctional facilities.

For more information please visit the Grow Center, Koinonia House National Ministries, or The Urban Ministry Institute.

Northern Seminary is pleased to present the 2008 William W. Brady Lectures, Global Urbanization and Christ’s Mission, featuring former Northern faculty member and global urban minister Dr. Ray Bakke.

Raymond J. Bakke is Chancellor, distinguished professor of global urban ministry, and chairman of the Board of Regents at Bakke Graduate University of Ministry. From 1959 through 1979 Dr. Bakke pastored inner-city churches in Seattle and Chicago. During that time he also co-founded the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education (SCUPE), and taught Bible at Trinity College and Church History at McCormick Theological Seminary. Between 1979 and 1989 he served as Professor of Ministry at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ray founded International Urban Associates (IUA) in 1989, which animated a network of more than 100 urban-based church and mission leaders in many of the largest cities of the world. Between 1990 and 2001, he was Professor of Global Urban Ministry at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He served as Senior Associate for Large Cities with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism from 1979 to 1995.

Since 1979 Dr. Bakke has personally led or served as a major resource leader for urban ministry consultations in more than 200 large cities on six continents. He is author of The Urban Christian (InterVarsity Press, 1987), a groundbreaking book on urban ministry which has been translated into eight foreign languages. Ray’s most recent publication, which is co-authored with Jon Sharpe, is Street Signs

(New Hope Publishers, 2006). Other publications are A Theology as Big as the City (InterVarsity Press, 1997), The Expanded Mission of City Center Churches (International Urban Associates, 1998), which he co-authored with Sam Roberts, and A Biblical Word for an Urban World (Board of International Ministries, 2000), which contains a series of Bible studies that both inspire and direct the reader to come to the texts in ways that bring engagement in Christian mission from a global perspective.

Registration deadline is April 30.
Register online at Northern Seminary’s website www.seminary.edu or click here to sign up directly.

On March 7, 2008, in a meeting characterized by a profound sense of God’s leading, the Board of Trustees of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary unanimously elected the Rev Dr. Alistair Brown the Seminary’s tenth President.

Dr. Brown currently serves as the General Director of the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) with its World Mission headquarters in Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK. The General Director is the CEO. BMS is responsible for 160 mid and long term mission workers and 200 plus supported partner workers (indigenous personnel). The Society has a staff of 70 with an annual budget of 14.4 million dollars.

Alistair Brown is originally from near Edinburgh. After a short career in journalism, Dr Brown sensed a call to ministry and studied at the University of Edinburgh, gaining a BA with Merit, a BD Honours degree in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology, and a PhD with a thesis that examined metaphors of baptism in the Pauline literature. Later, while serving with BMS, he gained an MBA from The Open University.

In 1979 he began work as a pastor, first as a church planter in Livingston and for more than ten years as senior pastor of a large city centre church in Aberdeen. In 1996, he joined BMS World Mission as General Director.

His work with BMS has taken him to an almost uncountable number of countries. He has also written extensively, including Near Christianity and I Believe in Mission. Alistair has been a main platform speaker at events like Spring Harvest, Leading Edge, the Baptist Assembly, and at international meetings run by the Baptist World Alliance.

Dr. Brown has told friends for years that the only thing that could ever pull him away from his current role is preparing people for ministry. As he pondered the possibility of becoming Northern’s president he wrote, “Walking by faith never ends, so exploring this role is part of my faith journey. Christ is more real and more precious now than ever before, and my determination to know and do his will controls all my decisions. … With every breath and every act I seek to serve Jesus and always will.” In responding to Northern’s call he quoted the language of Northern’s prospectus seeking a new president, “The next leader of Northern will come because following Jesus offers no other choice.”

The Chair of Northern’s Board and chair of the search, Ted Rodgers, stated, “We are profoundly grateful to God for guiding us to Alistair Brown. Dr. Brown is a proven effective and visionary leader with the skills and breadth and depth of experience necessary to lead Northern as she approaches her second century of preparing congregational leaders.”

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In his letter to the Board of Trustees of March 7, 2008 Dr. Brown stated, “It’s said that nothing ever takes God by surprise. I agree. But God certainly takes us by surprise. God holds me, as he holds Northern in his firm grasp, and that’s all we need. … Right now we may be a little surprised at what God is doing. I look forward to the surprise turning into wonder and gratitude as we see God accomplish far more than we can imagine.”

February 18, 2008

President John Peters and
The NIU community, students, parents, president, faculty and staff
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois 60115

Re: Where There are No Words

There are times when words fail. This is one of those times. Words cannot convey the depth of our sorrow, the extent of our longing to hold you close, or the urgency of our prayers for healing.

The students, faculty and staff of Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois grieve with you. Scripture tells us there is a “time to mourn.” We join you in mourning.

Because these are times where words fail, our time in chapel this week will include both verbal prayer and a time for each to speak in the language of the soul to the God of all Comfort for you and all who are hurting.

With faith in Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, Jesus, the Christ.

On behalf of the Northern community,

John Kirn
Interim President
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
660 E Butterfield Rd.
Lombard, IL 60148
630-620-2101

Northern has recently posted the course schedule for Summer 2008 on the website. Summer classes are often a good way for students to pick up some extra classes as they are held on an accelerated schedule. Tuition for summer classes is also reduced from the regular cost per credit hour.

This year’s offerings include a number of incredible opportunities. Dr. John Sundquist will be leading a group of students to the Republic of Georgia in this year’s Experiencing World Christianity course. Dr. Wayne Gorden and Dr. Ray Bakke will be leading an Urban Field Experience in Chicago.

Summer 2008 also features two new online courses. Dr. Karen Walker Freeburg will be teaching Baptist Polity. This course is a requirement for all who are seeking ordination into the ABC and is also a great refresher course for current pastors. Dr. David Fitch will be teaching Readings in Postmodern Theology, an advanced theology course.

Students can pre-register and reserve their places online for the upcoming Summer term at www.seminary.edu.

What do you get when Baptists from around the world gather together in Atlanta? You get 20,000 people celebrating their shared Baptist heritage and working to ministering together in the future. On January 30, students and faculty from Northern Seminary arrived at the Georgia World Congress Center to take part in this historic Baptist gathering of the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant.

According to their website, the New Baptist Covenant is:

“An informal alliance of more than 30 racially, geographically, and theologically diverse Baptist organizations from throughout North America that claim more than 20 million members. Representatives of these Baptist organizations have reaffirmed traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality, as well as their obligations as Christians to fulfill the biblical mandate to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.”

Participating Baptist organizations included ABC-USA, the Baptist World Alliance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. While the Southern Baptist Church did not officially participate in the Celebration, many individual Southern Baptists were in attendance. The theme of the conference was “Unity in Christ.” Attendees were encouraged to find common ground in shared Baptist values and minister together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Five plenary sessions, entitled “Baptist Unity in Seeking Peace With Justice;” “Baptist Unity in Bringing Good News to the Poor;” “Baptist Unity in Respecting Diversity;” “Baptist Unity in Welcoming the Stranger;” and “Baptist Unity in Setting the Captive Free,” further emphasized the theme of unity and the ministry that can be accomplished when Baptists come together. Speakers for the plenary sessions included Tony Campolo, best-selling novelist John Grisham, and President of Children’s Defense Fund Marian Wright Edelman. Northern student Giosep Vo gave the Scripture Reading for the session featuring Grisham. Northern faculty member Karen Walker-Freeburg commented, “We left the conference energized from the top of our heads to the bottoms of our toes.”

Walker-Freeburg added, “Our Northern students networked with Baptists of every ilk from 8 am to 11 pm for the entire three days of the conference. One of the most exciting outcomes is the determination of the Northern group to develop a book out of the conference, which will provide a young Baptist response to the New Baptist Covenant. Several of the Baptist press have already indicated an interest in the book – and our students found dozens of seminarians from Cooperative Baptist, Progressive and National Baptist institutions who are eager to participate in the writing. These young Baptists are discovering a passion in regard to their Baptist roots and are eager to forge into the future.”

Several Northern students took advantage of The Stephenson Seminary Scholars Program, which allowed students to have an opportunity to study with Dr. Bill Leonard of Wake Forest. Many schools are granting two hours of credit for this study, however, Northern is supplementing this with additional coursework in Spring 2008 to allow students to receive a full three hours of credit. Northern blogger John Withum was one such student and posts a full account of his experience on his weekly entry. Said Withum of the experience, “it was magnificent.”

On November 30-December 1, 2007, pastors and theologians from around the country gathered at Northern Seminary’s 2007 Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future Conference to discuss article two of the Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future, “On the Primacy of the Biblical Narrative.”

Moderating the conference was David Neff, Director of the Robert E. Webber Center for an Ancient Evangelical Future and editor of Christianity Today International. Keynote speakers were Edith Humphrey, William F. Orr professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary; Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University; and Kevin Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After the speakers’ presentation’, panel discussions took place. Panelists included David Fitch, Vincent Bacote and Howard Snyder with the speakers themselves.

Conference attendees participated in blended worship and heard Vanhoozer on “The Drama of Christ,” McKnight on “Stories of the Story” and Humphrey “On Persons, Plots, and Propositions.” Time for Q & A was included in the conference.

Attendee response to the conference was positive and many indicated that the material would be helpful in their ministries. Attendee Darin commented on Scot McKnight’s blog, Jesus Creed, ” I enjoyed AEF very much. The combination of presentations, panel discussion, audience questions and participations worked very well.”

Several people wrote about the conference in their blogs, including Scot McKnight, David Neff, Al Hsu, and Desert Pastor Chris Monroe.

“A Call to an Ancient Evangelical Future” is an appeal to evangelical leaders to resist conforming themselves to the “current cultural milieu and the resurgence of religious and political ideologies.” The document also resists “evangelicals’ accommodation to civil religion, rationalism, privatism and pragmatism,” and insists that “God’s story” is the single interpretive narrative by which the church must live. Robert Webber crafted the Call with several other evangelical theologians. “On the Primacy of the Biblical Narrative” was the second of several conferences on the Call to be held at Northern Seminary.

On Monday, November 12, the Northern Community gathered for lunch and refreshments in celebration and thanksgiving. The occasion? The conclusion of a successful visit by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

Northern Seminary’s previous accreditation visit was in 1997. This visit, which took place November 5-7 was the culmination of three years of preparation, led by Northern faculty member, Dr. Claude Mariottini. In the two days that the accrediting team spent on campus, they spoke with students, staff, faculty, alumni, management and trustees.

At the end of their visit, the team recommended that Northern Seminary be accredited for ten more years without notation. While this recommendation has yet to be finalized, pending final reports in early 2008, this is still tremendous news for Northern Seminary. A hearty thank you to all the friends of the seminary who participated and were praying for a favorable outcome!

Northern Seminary is a graduate school accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). Northern’s central purpose is to offer graduate, professional and academic, evangelical theological education to men and women for Christian ministries. Northern offers equal opportunity for students, administrative staff and faculty concerning matriculation, employment, or service without regard to matters of sex, race, ethnic heritage, nationality or economic position.

At the present Northern Seminary is going through a process of reaccreditation with both institutions of higher education. On November 5-7, 2007 a visiting team from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC/NCA) will be on campus to conduct a study of the work of the Seminary.

Students, alumni, friends of the Seminary, and the public-at-large are invited to meet with the visiting team and speak on issues related to the work and mission of Northern Seminary. If you are interested in meeting with a member of ATS or of HLC/NCA, you may contact Dr. Claude Mariottini, Director of the Self-Study at (630) 620-2186 or email him at cmariottini@seminary.edu.

You may contact ATS directly at the Association of Theological Schools, 10 Summit Park Dr., Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1103, phone: (412) 788-6505. ATS is the national accrediting agency for theological schools in the United States and Canada.

You also may contact the HLC/NCA at the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, 30 North LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602-2504, phone: (800) 621-7440.