Bethel Seminary

Taking the boy out of the country by Scott Wible

Bethel Seminary’s new Master of Arts in Global and Contextual Studies is a dream-come-true for program creator and lead faculty Wilbur Stone, an Illinois farm boy champin’ at the bit to deliver the message of Christ to the great cities of the world.

H&M: Why offer a Master of Arts in Global and Contextual Studies degree program? Why now?

Stone: One thing we want to communicate even with the name “Master of Arts in Global and Contextual Studies” is that this degree is not solely about missions. A lot of students come thinking that we’re going to talk about missions, and in a sense we are, but global and contextual studies have to do with preparing people for effective cross-cultural ministry both here and abroad. More and more students are recognizing the need to prepare to deal with cross-cultural issues, to reach out to people from other cultures and from very specific contexts, whether that’s rural Minnesota or one of the major cities in the United States or abroad.

"I believe that God in these latter days is actually bringing the world to the church, especially in urban areas. I call it the 'Reverse Great Commission.”

I believe that God in these latter days is actually bringing the world to the church, especially in urban areas. I call it the “Reverse Great Commission”-and the church must rise to the challenge and begin to reach out in love, compassion, and humility to develop effective cross-cultural ministries to these persons coming into our midst.

This postmodern age is an exciting time. Others wring their hands over what the future holds, but actually I’m quite excited about it because I think there’s a new emphasis, particularly among the younger generation, on the importance of relationship, on the role of community, on belonging prior to believing-all of which is very healthy. In many ways the young people of today offer a corrective to the way church has been done in the past. And when that’s applied to the mission field so that you enter into another culture or people group with respect, you enter as learner rather than judge. I see all kinds of exciting possibilities for people in cross-cultural ministry.

All over the world there’s a search for spirituality. The good news is that people are more open spiritually than I’ve ever known them to be in my life. The bad news is that they’re open to anything. The challenge for us as Christians is to live out our spirituality in a genuine, powerful way so that people can see the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated in our lives as well as in our words. We must embrace people and then love them into the kingdom. Sometimes I say “disciple them into conversion,” which I find a fascinating concept.

H&M: What is unique about Bethel Seminary’s Master of Arts in Global and Contextual Studies? What sets it apart?

"It really took a work of God's spirit in our hearts, because I was and still am in many ways a country bumpkin. I love the farm. Yet in spite of my love for nature and animals and raising crops, I've really come to love urban ministry and the challenge and complexity of the city."Stone: First, we are intentional about preparing people for urban ministry. Very few mission agencies or seminaries adequately equip people to handle the complexity, rapidly growing population, internationalization, and globalization of today’s big city. Strategies that work in rural or small-town settings are ineffective. So we train students to exegete an urban context, to recognize the multiplicity of needs that must be met with a multiplicity of strategies.

Second, we prepare people to deal with the realities of folk religion rather than just teach them about world religion on a more formal level. Ninety percent of the followers of any major world religion practice it at a folk level; they often do not understand the formal tenets of their faith. So we train people to confront the complexities of folk religion and the need to address people at that level.

Third, we require students to spend at least one term studying in a cross-cultural context, preferably overseas. In some cases we may approve a local setting with a group in the Twin Cities, San Diego, or one of our East Coast teaching centers, but ideally we want our students to study abroad in a major context of their choosing. Eventually we hope to partner with mission agencies, national church leaders, and other seminaries on each of the major continents so that we can send students to South America, Africa, Asia, Southeast Asia, India, China, Europe, the Middle East-wherever they might wish to go.

H&M: You talked about the multiplicity of needs within a city, and the importance of exegeting cultural contexts from one city to another. But have you observed any thread of commonality among the world’s major metropolitan areas?

Stone: Yes. For example, there is a surge of migration from rural areas into the city and from poor areas of the world to large urban centers. And poverty in the world’s major cities is on the rise. Our students must receive solid training in community development and how to minister effectively with the poor.

I believe cities represent the great mission field of the present day and of the future, and quite frankly we run a real risk of losing the cities of the world if we do not adequately prepare and challenge young people to respond to the needs of those cities.

I challenge students to enter into another people or religious group as learners, to adopt an open, positive attitude towards people of other cultures and faiths rather than denigrate what they already believe, and to seek what one might call the “fingerprint of God,” some trace of evidence that God has been present within that group’s history, culture, mythology, or religion-points of contact from which to point people to Christ.

H&M: What from your experience has influenced your heart for cross-cultural ministry Picture of Wilbur Stone teaching and your dream for the future of this degree program?

Stone: My wife and I have been particularly moved by our encounters with migrants and urban poor around the world. Sheila worked with female migrant workers in Hong Kong and Malaysia who came from desperately poor situations. The only way they could see to advance their lives and that of their families was to leave their homes and become what essentially were indentured servants to people in another culture. Some had good experiences, but the majority were physically or sexually abused, tricked or forced into prostitution, and often defrauded of their wages. Some would return home only to discover that their husbands had abandoned them or spent the money they had worked so hard to send back on other women. In a couple of cases people’s children had been sold and they didn’t know where to find them.

To see children living on garbage dumps, scavenging through the moldering waste to find enough to stay alive; to see girls 10, 11, 12 old selling their bodies to provide food for their families; to see children who have been sold into white slavery or trafficking in prostitution-as two rather naïve Midwesterners, our eyes were really opened to the exploitation, abuse, and poverty around the world, and our lives are transformed as a result. These are the issues that have shaped us, changed us, and given us a burden not only to intervene but also to challenge others to do likewise.

Equally motivating is to see people all over the globe respond to the message of Christ when it’s presented in a way that makes cultural sense to"Doug Magnuson, associate professor of intercultural programs and director of Muslim studies at Bethel Seminary, lives and ministers in a Middle Eastern context; I’m so thrilled that he is able to offer interested M.A.G.C.S. students the opportunity to study with him onsite!” them. I have yet to find any person or group who is opposed to Jesus or the teachings of Jesus. Many of them are opposed to Christianity or to the church as it’s been developed in their midst, but few if any oppose Christ or His teachings. The challenge for us is to present and live out theGospel in a way that lets people really see what it means to be a follower of Christ, and then without any pressure allow them to explore that.

H&M: How would you describe your vision for the Master of Arts in Global and Contextual Studies program, and for the future of Bethel Seminary’s commitment tocross-cultural ministry?

Stone: I have a dream that one day Bethel-trained persons will be serving on every major continent around the world. I’d love to see people leave Bethel Seminary with a vision to reach our world for Christ, people who not only possess a solid understanding of the Word of God and of basic theology, but who also know how to apply that knowledge in various contexts around the world in a way that creates goodwill for the Christian message and opens the doors for ministry.

I pray that somehow, in the limited time I have with students, they will begin to pick up a passion for the lost, the poor, the hurting, the sinned-against, and begin to look at others around the world with the eyes and heart of God, to reach out in love and compassion.