Heart & Mind
| Bethel Seminary is blessed with a vibrant alumni council committed to spreading the word about the seminary, lifting it up in prayer, supporting its administration and faculty, and sacrificially giving for its financial well-being. To better equip themselves for their mission, this hardy group representing all locations of the seminary took planes, trains, and automobiles to visit all four teaching sites of Bethel Seminary of the East earlier this year. |
St. Paul
Stan Rendahl, who graduated from Bethel Seminary in 1941, was the elder statesman of the trip. Well past retirement age, he packed his bags and reported for his 5 a.m. security check at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. He was joined by the Twin Cities contingent of the Alumni Council: Joe LaLuzerne, vice president for alumni and parent services, Bethel University; Brian Doten, discipleship pastor, Wooddale Church; Kevin Sharpe, pastor of outreach and missions, Christ Presbyterian Church; Sandy McMaken, pastor at Oak Haven Church; Helmar Heckel, pastor of Bay Wind Christian Church; and John Quam, director of Mission America. Group members were eager for a close-up view of Bethel Seminary’s newest eastern locations to share with alumni, prospective students, and all of Bethel’s various constituencies.
New York
In New York the group met Wanda Lam, director of pastoral care and small group ministry at the Chinese Bible Church of San Diego, and John Lillis, dean of Bethel Seminary San Diego. East Coast council member Steve Chamberlain, pastor of Branford Evangelical Free Church in Branford, Conn., rounded out the group.
A cab ride took the entourage to First Baptist Church of Flushing, N.Y., a multicultural congregation with two Sunday services in Chinese, one in Korean, one in Filipino, and one in English. There they shared a luncheon of ethnic dishes reflecting the international nature of the church. Joined by Doug Fombelle, dean of Seminary of the East, the council had a chance to fellowship with alumni and talk to faculty. Dr. Torrey Robinson, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Tarrytown, N. Y., (and son-in-law of Nancy and the late Bethel President Carl Lundquist) gave an inspiring lecture.
Walking to the subway to hop a train to Boston, council members observed the cosmopolitan, urban melting pot that is New York. They were filled with a new excitement that Bethel Seminary is connected with the heartbeat of a changing world.
Boston
After an Amtrak ride through the beautiful New England countryside, the team arrived in Boston and piled into vans for a shuttle to the Worchester area. The next day they met at Faith Baptist Church in Auburn, the Massachusetts teaching site. The council attended classes on homiletics and culture and ministry, where they observed exceptionally well-prepared students. During another luncheon, they also visited with a gathering of Bethel Seminary alumni who live and work in the region.
Philadelphia
Morning found the group on the train to Chelten Baptist Church of Dresden, Penn., outside of Philadephia. Dean Fombelle and his wife Cathy invited them into the modern church building the administrative headquarters of Bethel Seminary of the East. Leland Eliason, executive vice president, executive director and provost of Bethel Seminary, joined the group and traveled with them by van to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
With much anticipation, the council arrived at First Baptist Church of Glenarden, Md., a thriving black metropolitan church in the suburban D.C. area and Bethel Seminary’s newest teaching location. The church has grown from 500 to 6,000 active members and more than 90 ministries under the leadership of Pastor John K. Jenkins Sr. Jenkins, who had personally approached Bethel Seminary about forging the new partnership, met the entourage at the church door.
Council members sat in on the Old Testament class of Ish Mudliar a brilliant professor who speaks seven modern languages and also reads 
Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. He prompted an energetic discussion with students on the text. The council was impressed by the serious nature of each student most were older and already active in ministry. Then Mudliar put alumni council members on the spot with questions. The classroom became lively and filled with laughter.
Home again
Flying back to the Twin Cities, Stan Rendahl thought about what he had seen and heard. In his journal, he described the amazing differences among the four sites. But all, he observed, bring ministry training to students who can’t leave their current parish assignments and jobs. And all Bethel Seminary students receive practical pastoral training to serve in a multitude of cultural and ethnic settings.
In light of Bethel Seminary’s coast-to-coast network of locations in St. Paul, San Diego, and the Eastern Seaboard, Rendahl quipped, “This is not your father’s seminary!”