DTS Update January 31st

Howdy Partners (in ministry)!

How y’all doin’? We really miss all our friends, family and supporters…and snow – at least for skiing! We’re trading in our Canadian “eh?” for Texas-speak now. It’s funny that in greek class, when translating the plural form of “you”, English has no equivalent – except in Texas. Look at the end of the update for a “Texas translation” of John 20:21.

The weather right now is a clear blue 20C outside our window right now, but it certainly wasn’t on Wednesday and Thursday. Check out the video on the right to see what it takes to shut down Dallas Theological Seminary for a day. Over 560 fender benders in Dallas alone!

My studies are going along pretty well so far. I received good marks for both my fall semester and the winter course that I took. Taking a one-week winter course is kind of like doing a “ten-paces duel” Bugs Bunny style and getting shot up with 40-50 paintballs. First you get really wound up and start walking. Then you wheel around and endure lots of pain for a short period of time. The welts go away after two weeks. After the initial 8am-5pm classes for a week, and having the homework subside after two weeks, I now face a spring semester with one less class, which was my goal. I am behind right now in my spring courses but it will not be so for long. I enjoy the professors also, they are very good about meeting for coffee and lunch and they usually pay!

After visiting everywhere from Bible Churches, to Baptist, to Chuck Swindoll’s Stonebriar, etc., etc., Karin and I have decided to join Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCPC) here in Dallas (www.pcpc.org). We have been attending there for a while now. We were also checking out Providence Presbyterian, a small church. We felt that even though we liked the small church for it’s smallness, it was new and did not have developed vision, mission support, types of meetings/studies etc. We are up for being pioneers, but not yet. Park Cities is big and established. It has money. It has been around almost a century. The sanctuary is cathedral-like. At first the many members and big building and the demographic of the members kind of scared us off. But after research and prayer, the picture we have is different. This is a warm, mission minded, faithful church with lots of ways to get involved and be taught how to ‘do church.’ Just last week Sunday night they had the Golden Gate Baptist Gospel choir visiting for a mission conference weekend, and in the words of a middle age white elder, this “award winning” black gospel choir was “rockin’ tonight.” I looked around and saw otherwise stiff folks swaying along with the choir and a lot more “Amen”s and “preach it”s than usual during the sermon.

We are checking out just how many ways we can involve ourselves next weekend on the “Urban Ministries Bus Tour.” A bus is going to take members around to every urban/partner ministry the church is involved in. Prison ministry, outreach centers, pregnancy centers, etc. There are also church classes at church for different ages and purposes. We will join one of those soon. There is a choir. Karin and I are already in “Perspectives” www.perspectives.org, a 16 week mission training course hosted by PCPC and attended by memebers of about 8 different churches. It is an invaluable training program already set up by the U.S. center for World Mission. After finishing we will not only have a solid global perspective on missions, I will be certified to host a Perspectives class if I wish (and I do wish). You can run these classes from anywhere in the world. This event was one of those ‘God moments’ when we realized that the “space” I had in my spring schedule was really God’s way of making sure there was time to do Perspectives. And we have our new church to thank for the scholarship that allowed us to attend for free. We received 500 dollars (250 each) to attend the class and we did not even ask for help – amazing!

Karin is auditing Women in ministry class here and she really enjoys it. It trains the wives of the seminary students how to become effective ministry leaders alongside their husbands. That meets on Friday mornings. Karin is also working away on quilts. Since there is more to show than to tell, the pictures on the right have some of her recent work with descriptive captions. Just click on more photos. In just 24 days, she is headed to Ottawa with these quilts to finish them up, as well as attend her cousin’s wedding February 28th. I will be here all by my lonesome studying away. *sniff* It won’t be so bad as we have my parents visiting the following week after Karin is back! They will be enjoying Dallas with us during my March break (approx Mar 14-21).

God is still so good to us. No real sickness or big trials. We are getting into a church. We got to go to the rodeo last week! (check photos) It’s room temperature outside. We received unsolicited money from the strangest most unexpected places three times in the last two months – even from other students! Just the other day someone delivered 72 containers of strawberries and blueberries to the school lounge; free bread is frequent but not fruit. They were gone in 5 minutes, before I knew they were there. The people who supplied them know us and they saved some blueberries and strawberries just for us, found me walking home and gave them to me. Almost literally a “cherry on top” of our blessings. Things like that happen enough to us that you would think God is right there all the time! And being blessed so richly, we consider it our calling to be a blessing also (as we are learning in Perspectives).

Here’s the Texas translation (true to the greek) of John 20:21: “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending y’all.” That “y’all” is an intentionally plural form meaning all believers.

That “sent” is to those who have not yet heard, “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?​” (Rom 10:14) Both Karin and I are happy to be in a place where we can become well qualified ’senders & sent ones’ and inspire others to do the same.

From Dallas with Love,

Daniel and Karin

 

Christmas Update

Greetings to you all!

Karin and I are sitting here on this partly cloudy Boxing Day morning in a freezing 23 degrees celsius! (update: 27C!) We get arctic air one day and gulf air the next so we never know if it will be freezing (2 days ago) or like this. I really thought it would be 4-5 degrees out when I woke up. I can do my jog outside today!

Just a few highlights since the last update…

We got to go to a Dallas Mavericks basketball game for free last month! Our seats were nosebleed, so at half time we moved down to 15th row from the court. The last 3 minutes were very exciting! We also went to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra again for free. We dressed up and took our Chinese friends Leo and Ivy. They are not DTS students, or Christians (although Leo is interested in becoming a Christian!) We were 7th row center this time which are the best seats in the house. Sounds like a country club down here doesn’t it? Not so much. They are more like glorified study breaks. Leo and Ivy ran back to homework immediately afterwards, as did I. We are meeting with Leo and Ivy next week and likely discussing Christianity. Please pray that we will have boldness to share the gospel and get them over their objections to the faith.

DTS is right on mile marker 23 for the White Rock Lake marathon, held 2 weeks ago on Sunday. We got there right at the 3 hour mark to start supportive cheering and there were quite a few people going by already. 23 miles in 3 hours. That’s a 3 hour 25 minute marathon – and one young lady was just running too fast. Just before we had arrived our friends watched as paramedics did CPR on this woman, in her mid 20’s, right outside our building for over ten minutes. She never revived. It was kind of a weird feeling for a while as we clapped and cheered for the other runners. I like people-watching and found the look on people’s faces after 23 miles fascinating. There were also many who sincerely thanked us for calling their names and telling them they could do it. It inspired me to push past 3 miles at the gym!

Classes finished up in classic whirlwind style. I believe I did pretty well, given some of the marks I have received back on some assignments. Long faces turned gitty as assignments were handed over and plane tickets wielded for trips home. On the Friday evening that I finished course work, Karin was whipping up a massive Turkey dinner for six. A DTS supporter handed out 125 turkey dinners-in-a-box, all fixings included, even pie for dessert for all those not going home for the holidays. This is traditionally the weekend of the Van Minnen Christmas so we wanted to do something. We had my friend John from my spiritual formation group over so we could meet his wife Natalie and get to know them better, as well as some neighbors from our floor – and two crazy toddlers and a baby! We are still eating turkey daily a week later and are only half way through the leftovers. Karin even made the table runner from scratch. (pictures on the right).

Yesterday John and Natalie returned the Christmas dinner favor by ‘adopting’ us into their family for Christmas day at John’s parents house. Grandparents, children, flown in siblings, and us strangers! Once again we ate like royalty and we were invited back to future events like one of the family. We even got gifts! It was a real blessing to have a family open up their Christmas time to outsiders.

I’ve enjoyed a bunch of free time this week, but since I have enrolled in a winter course I am already back at the homework. Getting one of my spring classes out of the way in winter allows more time to get involved in church and at school, and God willing, a hiring thaw and a chance at campus job. I will have no classes after 10:30 am next semester!

I hope to keep a good standard not just for myself in classes but for our supporters also. We are interested in not only sharing good marks with you, but in building your confidence in us to do what God has called us to, even as we build confidence in ourselves. Although initially I felt inadequate for the task of seminary, I am pleased that after one semester I find myself well prepared intellectually. My understanding level was a real confidence booster. Any fears I had of making it through in other ways are dissolved by patient support from Karin. And some of the character building in class (not just facts!) and by fellow students is supplying growth in all other areas as we learn to serve Him more fully.

We thank all of you who have made this semester possible through your prayers and through your giving. We hope you enjoy the remainder of your holidays and have a very happy New Year in 2009.

P.S. There is a video, but you must be very patient with the hurricane sound! It is a one minute hello to you.

 

Thank You

We just wanted to take a moment on this American Thanksgiving to share a message with all of you, our supporters.

I am so thankful this morning for the great privilege that I have to study here at Dallas Theological Seminary. I went out for a morning walk around the very quiet streets and empty campus and thanked the Lord for all I had learned and all the people we have met as a result of being here. Then I came home and thanked Karin again for coming along with me to Texas to walk with me on this journey. I walked for as long as I had things to be thankful to God for. It took me nearly 20 minutes! You were on the list.

Without supporters like you we would not be here. We are thankful that God has moved many of you to give and pray. We are thankful at the continued interest and support in every way you show it. By this support I will someday, by God’s grace, become the motto we have at DTS to “Teach truth, love well” and inspire others to do the same: in my family, the church and to those who have not yet heard.

I will leave you with the words the apostle Paul used when he was thankful for the very same things to the very same kind of people as you – loving supporters:

“I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received…the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

“To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Love,

Dan and Karin

 

DTS Update November 8th

Greetings everyone – as Peter says, “May grace and peace be yours to the fullest measure.” I would like to thank you up front for continuing to read our updates and pray along with us who are here at DTS in the southern US training to become competent expositors of God’s word; to teach truth and live well. We think and pray for all of you guys, especially when we hear the ups and downs and how God is working in your lives.

As crunch time descends upon us students, we look forward to a two week stretch of rest and catch up, starting only one week from now. One week for reading break, one for American Thanksgiving, and then a mad dash for the finish line of first semester at Christmas! It is weird to have reading break so late (in contrast to Redeemer University), but nice to be two full weeks. Speaking of breaks, for those interested the exact times of seminary breaks throughout the year are as follows:

Friday November 14, 4:00pm – Sunday November 30.
Friday, December 19 – Sunday January 11.
Friday, March 13, 4:00pm – Sunday March 22.
Saturday May 9 – Commencement ceremony. Summer begins.

(We each plan on taking a class in the winter term, Dec 29- Jan 8. The Lord willing. Unfortunately, for financial reasons we do not intend to come home for Christmas or at other times before summer.)

It’s crunch time around here in more ways than one. Although we as students pay to attend DTS, we’ve been told that our tuition is less than half of what it should be, thanks to the many donors that give generously to the seminary. For example, there are a few hundred prominent businessmen in the Dallas area who love the Lord deeply and have given greatly; our president does a Bible study with them and he’s told us of their love and respect for DTS. And then the economy tanks. There’s a hiring freeze on campus (no new student jobs). Donors are re-thinking the amounts. People who work at this school are losing their savings. Chaplain joked last week in chapel that “our 401k’s are now our 201k’s” (for the Canucks that’s RRSPs). The board met and discussed the way forward. But God is faithful.

As the board was here meeting they also dedicated the new student dorm, Washington Tower – for single students. (It’s named for the street it’s on, not the president) “Prof” (Dr. Hendricks) remembers the great depression, WWII, Vietnam, the oil crisis, etc., and he reminds us that we men and women of God are going to graduate into one of the most fascinating times in history. He told us that we would be bringing the hope to the world that they need. He said the seminary has survived and has us convinced that these events are far bigger than money. And he asked us all to pray that the seminary as a whole along with it’s students would make it through crunch time. Prof was excited about our prospects because of the God we follow, and so am I!

Loving your neighbor has been sort of a theme of our last month that God has shown me especially. First, a neighbor loved us by inviting us to American Thanksgiving with them. Second, I am reading about it in 2 classes. Third, whites and blacks especially on campus, in the wake of a historic election, discussed the way forward in loving each other in America in a godly way. I am coming to appreciate the sensitivity of this issue even on campus. Even Dallas Theological Seminary was segregated! This ended within the lifetime of most of the older professors here. Make no mistake, Canadians, Obama is a big deal for political and social reasons bigger than Democrat, Republican, and even America. If you saw Obama’s acceptance speech you will have understood when afterwards Tom Brokaw remarked, “The magnitude of what has happened here tonight has not hit us yet.” And finally, we students were challenged in relation to that emerging global race and culture to have a heart for the world of Islam. What?

Our chapel speaker all week is Dr. Phil Parshall, a leading conservative evangelical thinker and missionary to Muslim peoples in Bangladesh for over 40 years. He has authored at least 10 books on the subject including: Lifting the Veil: The World of Muslim Women with his wife co-authoring. He was there in 1971 when Bangladesh was formed amid armed conflict. He challenged the students against racism and bigotry (but not to total acceptance) toward Muslim peoples and to get the audience to understand he spoke of his own racism growing up in Florida against blacks. The room was very quiet when he told of how mean he was to anyone black before becoming a Christian; you could have heard a pin drop. He was pushing us intentionally in this direction: okay so we are getting over segregation, who is our next target to love?

Dr. Parshall correctly pointed out that Muslims will be the biggest “Samaritan” on the radar in the 21st century. Many in the US hate them more than they hated blacks. (Consider the ‘Arab’ accusations some used to try and take down Obama.) Parshall was nearly shot by a Muslim who hated him for being Christian, yet he spent all week here very carefully trying to convince a Republican leaning seminary audience that we should join him, even to the extent of being the next to spend 40 years in Muslim countries, and to in fact love Muslims and share Jesus with them, not repeat the past. This is a room full of people that will influence large numbers of Christians all over the US and the world. What does that message of love and forgiveness really look like? Can we students handle it? Can you handle it? Who’s your Samaritan?

Behind all the thoughts about what world we are headed for is the ever-present training. Classes are still good. Even though I am finished one class already, I am falling behind in the others – thank God for reading break! I try hard. To study, and to grow up in the Lord. Karin is the biggest reason I have great marks instead of simply decent ones. She is taking care of me and finding her way more. There is always the sound of a sewing machine going now as she is taken on quilt production as a money maker/hobby. We are still looking for a church and we trust that God will bless our efforts. I am very happy Karin went through my mission class with me, and we are making friends with the mission prof Dr. Waters and his wife. They have already proved valuable mentors and very encouraging toward me and Karin as we consider what our future holds. God is faithful and good to us, no matter what. I believe it!

Good bye, everyone! We hope that this letter finds you in good health and in good spirits. Even if it does not, as Peter says, we are “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice…” 1 Peter 1

Love,

Dan and Karin from Texas

 

DTS Update October 10th (7-8 minutes)

How y’all doin’! Greetings from Texas, the bible buckle, land of oil, where everything is bigger – especially the portion sizes!

As for the weather, you can follow that with the permanent link to it I’ve got on the right side but sufficed to say it’s finally not boiling hot out! We have the windows open and I’m not sweating. Maybe by American thankgiving we’ll need to wear windbreakers or something. One thing I told Karin I really miss is seeing the leaves come down in Algonquin. Other than that, ha ha ha from balmy Texas.

I am really enjoying being in school again. I’m not enjoying being punished by it but I enjoy the parts of my brain that are lighting up again that really should never have slept. I am also enjoying the concepts that I have really never encountered or focused on, such as how to dig into the Word of God and see things I didn’t know were there, by means of the simple tools of observation and interpretation that  we are learning. I mean simple. Stuff a first year college student could grasp outright, and anyone could with somewhat more tutoring.

And the eye is ever on the future; on us being able to reproduce this for laymen we encounter everywhere. So seriously do they take this that Dr. Hendricks (84 years young) warned us that if we fail in our duty to teach our people in the future how to read and study the Bible, he’ll track us down and straighten us out – and he’s literally done it! If you know the man, he means it out of the most tender, sincere love for us and more so for God and His Word to be known among who we meet. More top evangelists that can communicate really well, in demand for speaking, writing, etc. came straight out of Hendricks classes, including Dr. Erwin Lutzer of Moody Bible church who I will mention below. It’s nice not just to know, but to have 58 years of track record from one teacher, that when DTS is done with us we’ll be the best of the best at what we do, by God’s grace!

Interesting tidbit: Dr. Hendricks was good friends with Jim Elliot, who died trying to evangelize a tribe when they speared him and his four colleagues to death. The amazing part of the story: all of the missionary’s surviving wives moved in with the very same tribe and brought them the gospel of Jesus Christ! This story was most recently made into “The End of the Spear” narrated by Steve Saint, the son of one of the men killed (movie review found here: http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0002501.cfm)

As you can see on danphoto on the right, I went to a real Texas ranch (and dairy) in Stephenville! Karin was going to come but then she started a class that meets Saturdays (see below) so I had to go on my own. Friendship Partners is a group that orchestrates the meeting of foreign students with students from (north) America for the purpose of making friends. I hadn’t really thought of this, but the majority of foreign students in America never enter the home of an American during their entire program. We know what that felt like when we lived in Korea. So, Friendship Partners asks 10 DTS students to help host 90 foreign students from a number of different universities on a ranch near Stephenville, 2 1/2 hours from Dallas. We had a great time and I met people from as “close” as California and as far as Nepal. The Koreans loved me! We shot guns, fished, rode horses and had a campfire. On Sunday we had church in a honky-tonk opry house (50 person church with 105 guests = need new church building!) and then we toured DeVries’ dairy. Yes, we came all the way to Texas and we find a dutchman named DeVries running 1200 head on a dairy farm. Small world.

We also got involved with Friendship on a related activity: friendship buddies. Karin and I signed up to be friends with a Chinese couple studying at UTD here in town. We met them and are going to be their ‘American’ friends and hang out with them and be pen pals and stuff like that. The nice thing is that I get out of my tests and papers for world missions for this. Another bonus of DTS is the mission department – they place so much importance on incarnational mission that they provide great help for us to get out the door and making friends right away!

Speaking of friends, after one month of being here, we are making friendly with a really great couple from Sweden. We have gone to the symphony with them once, hung out at a restaurant, played board games and had them for dinner. Although I remain worried that both Karin and myself will make friends that will really help us grow, God is providing in the meantime, and for being here only one month and not having a church yet, we are not doing too badly. I met with my spiritual formation (SF) group today and these guys are turning out to be a really great group of guys. We meet to pray together and work through a cirriculum designed to bring to full expression who we are in Christ and how to put that to use. John from SF has invited us over to his house for dinner next week, just for a good time and so that Karin can meet John’s wife, since right now only the men have seen each other.

One struggle that we are having is that Karin has not found work yet. She does not like to be in neutral. We have worked on a bunch of angles. Her most promising idea is to get a sewing machine and find a legal way to sell stuff she makes with it. We just don’t know how to get the sewing machine. We are also waiting on any openings in the embassy. Karin is now auditing two classes: my world mission class and a linguistics class. The linguistics is to prime her for possible pro level english teaching when we return to Canada. The mission class is to prime her for being married to me. She is really enjoying it and I am VERY happy, because it speeds up any discussion on a future involving missions about 1000 times since we can talk assuming the knowledge of that class. In the meantime Karin is reading some of my textbooks and has a book list from SWIM group to keep her thinking. She also does all the chores which I really appreciate because I take so long to study!

Although my days do not feel any bit empty, I do not have a job either. I watched as all the on campus positions were filled before my eyes. I even had chaplain Bill helping me in food services one day, to look for the boss. You are not allowed to go to department bosses to beg for work (you must hand your resume to campus HR and they pass it on) but we were doing it anyway and it’s not the chaplain’s job either. Jobs occasionally open up during the semester, but my best chance is next semester. So, needless to say, we have a number of people here praying for our financial needs and keeping their ears open. I’ve got one well positioned lady ready to tell me about any job postings before they hit the campus job board. Other than that we are leaving it in the hands of God (once again, see Dr. Erwin Lutzer below)

Thanks to Luke’s ministry online we are slowly finishing furnishing our house and our wardrobes for free. And thanks to Luke’s closet grocery bills stay lower. We continue to look for a church, having gone to three two weeks ago and two last week. We will find our way before too long.

It’s time for me to get to my systematic theology paper but before I let you go, I just want to leave you with a link to our chapel speaker this week. (http://www.dts.edu/media/chapel/ Two of the messages are up and the rest will be soon ) We have a lecture series at this time every year, so all week we heard from Dr. Erwin Lutzer, pastor of Moody Church in Chicago. He is a regular on three radio programs, on 700 radio stations around the world, and has written a big bunch of books on various subjects for the popular audience. I got the opportunity to sit down with him for a half hour yesterday and ask a few deep questions. I think he deserves his reputation. He gave four messages dealing with suffering and unanswered prayer. I was left moved and challenged to cast my biggest burdens at the feet of the cross, where God is in charge and He is doing something about our finances, our marriages, our sicknesses and the rest of the crazy world we live in. Read and study Habakkuk (short book!) for a good primer before you listen!

As Chuck Swindoll has challenged me and so I challenge you, “For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:7) We are freed from sin, and now it’s time to live that way!

Until next time!

Love,

Dan and Karin Van Minnen

 

DTS Update September 7th

Happy Fall Everyone! (Sorry there are no pictures now. Flickr is acting funny. Next time.)

Well, I should say happy fall Canada. It is more like a happy ‘cooling down’ here. It is only low 30s for a high ths coming week! We still need to hide out with the AC on for another few weeks or so. I am priming you for a long read, but first reports can get like that. Please have patience and enjoy!

Although we were on vacation in Canada only August 14th, it feels like a long time ago already. So much has happened here, so many people met, so much reading done and lots of new people have been met. It’s been exciting, stressful, challenging and fulfilling – sometimes too much of that at the same time! Here are some highlights of the past little while.

After travelling for two days, we finally arrived at a LaQuinta hotel and lived there for a week. Our apartment was ‘not ready’. What we found out was that it was empty, they just hadn’t cleaned it up and inspected it yet. A necessary technicality that caused us to live in a hotel for a week, but we had a fun time finding new little restaurants for dinner that we won’t be eating in again for a while! Now we finally live in Swiss Tower which the school owns and is right across from the class buildings on campus. We did not want to use the car so this is a blessing.

God is really taking care of our material needs. International students were allowed into the ‘back room’ of Luke’s Closet, the on-campus charity clothing and goods store to get first picks. We picked up the following for free thanks to the DTS support community (all new): kettle, toaster, two sets of dishes for 4, cups, a queen sheet set, a new Cuisinart coffee pot, and a 32inch TV with a Sony receiver, among some other small things. We rented a U-haul and drove around to pick up some stuff we bought: a couch ($100 new), mattress, table and chairs, and the free TV all in one go. We receive free food from Luke’s pantry every Wednesday and I must say that we’re impressed with all you can get. And someone donates so much bread to the school we will not buy bread, bagels, hot dog or hamburger buns until we graduate. Karin found a cheap Mexican grocery store nearby. The meat is quite cheap and barbecuing is free here downstairs so it’s cheaper to barbecue meat than to run our appliances and pay for them. We have access to Baylor Hospital’s Fitness Center for $55/year, which is around 5% of full price. There are two pools, indoor and outdoor tracks, hot tubs, steam room, saunas, weights, running, cycling, step machines, wooden lockers, etc. Doctors, nurses and professionals work out there so conversations in the steam room have been quite interesting. The campus is beautiful also. In many respects, we are well taken care of for less money than we thought.

The hard stuff that I signed up for has not been slow in coming. I have three short papers to write as we speak. This is on top of regular homework for classes: Greek grammar, pastoral ministries, systematic theology, bible study methods and hermeneutics, world missions, and spiritual formation – a not for credit two year program to insure Christian character development throughout seminary. Quickly, I find greek: challenging review (I’ve taken some years ago), pastoral ministries: a challenging reflection of the attributes of God. Systematic theology: an interesting overview of the school’s mission statement. Bible study methods: taught by an 84 year old man of God who wants nothing more than for us to dig deep into and love God’s Word and is one of the foremost educators in the country on how to get there (he’s a 25 year old trapped in an old man’s body). In Spiritual Formation: I learned that not only am I not crazy for having the ministry dreams and desires I have, but they’ve seen 50 of me before and they’ve got internships and full guidance and prayer support for all of it.

The highlight of my weekend academically was in World Missions. In World Missions we are not only learning about missions being at the center of God displaying His glory to the nations, but we had the option of turning the World mission course we are taking ourselves into an on-line course for Internet Biblical Seminary, a divsion of BEE World. BEE world specializes in pastoral training for Christians all over the world, especially in closed countries, with contacts on the ground in a lot of dangerous places.

The BEE guy who trained us started out in Eastern Europe in 1979, behind the Iron Curtain. He said that he saw God do amazing things there and they developed this vision to educate pastors and lay leaders on a wider scale – thus Internet Bible Seminary (among a number of other things). We received 5 hours of training on how to get started and the 7 of us formed a team. Two team leaders, Daniel Roeber and myself are heading it up and by the end we’ll have a course ready to go on World Missions that will be used by students through Internet Biblical Seminary (IBS) from free as well as closed countries such as China and Muslim countries in the Middle East. Website work, translation, and oversight come from the BEE world staff in Colorado Springs as well as foreign nationals – ‘guys on the ground’ in target countries getting the material working in languages we don’t even understand.

Just to let you know how dangerous studying can be, some of the students making use of IBS could be jailed or even killed for being students, or just owning a Bible. The technical priority of IBS is to be able to go on-line for only 30 seconds or less at a time if need be, to download class material, upload discussion threads, etc. This keeps the student off the internet so the communist or Islamic net police don’t arrest them. Think it’s an exaggeration? An IBS facilitator from China has to leave there because he was busted for helping people study God’s Word through IBS. In a number of the countries we’re targeting, this is the ONLY seminary they have, and some have more to fear for their survival than their graduation. Our team stepped up to help.

Due to our IBS involvement we are exempt from final exams in World Missions but I don’t care – what we are doing will equip pastors and layleaders around the world be able to teach God’s word effectively where they are. There are 1000 new pastors a day, every day in the world. Less than 1% of them get training even close to mine. BEE world is going to use IBS, and ‘insignificant’ us, to train 1,000,000 pastors by 2020. Our team is going to put a dent in that number for them, by God’s guidance and grace.

I must now wrap this up before it gets even longer. We are very pleased to keep our support community posted and in the loop and please send questions if you want more info on something I did not cover.

Please pray for us in our continuing needs:

Karin to receive work at the Canadian Embassy or somewhere God provides.

Me to stay focused.

For us to find a faithful, vital, mission minded church.

Money for the long haul (this year is okay).

Strengthened marriage through the changes.

We love all you guys from near and far.

With Love,

Dan and Karin

 

Christian the Lion

A little ‘foretaste’ of Heaven.