Leaving May 13!

Three weeks from today I begin life in Colombia. After about seven months of preparation, it's hard to believe I'm finally nearing departure. While I'm sad to leave Montana right before the weather gets great for hiking, I am filled with anticipation for what God will do in and through me (and, more importantly, the whole Biblical Seminary of Colombia community!) over the next three years as I teach. I am also deeply grateful to the many people partnering with me through prayer and finances to make this ministry possible. I truly am humbled at the outpouring of support I have seen as I have shared about this ministry over the past seven months.

For those who have known me for a long time, you know that teaching in Colombia is the fulfillment of what I've been dreaming of doing for the last ten years, though with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Since college I have felt called toward being a bridge person who can help connect two worlds that often have little to do with each other: the church and the academy. While I love academic work, my heart is not to perpetuate academia for its own sake, but to take the insights of scholarship and make them accessible for the church so as to see people more firmly rooted in the gospel and more fully equipped to participate in God's mission in the world. If theological education doesn't lead to a deeper passion for the gospel and commitment to the ministry of the local church, it has lost its way.

Many aspects of what life and ministry will look like await to be seen. I will continue to send out my monthly newsletter updates with stories from ministry and prayer needs, but I hope to use this blog to help you get a better idea of where I'm serving, to see what life is like in Colombia, and to hear thoughts as I wrestle with cultural adaptation, teaching, and theology. Much of the day in, day out work of teaching is not glamorous, blog-worthy material: long hours spent reading books, pulling together ideas, and trying to find ways to stimulate discussion and critical thinking. I make no promises to a blog full of one profound insight after another, but I hope this can be a place to get a fuller glimpse into what God is doing in me and what he is doing in Colombia for his glory.