Christ Our Redeemer Seminary Blog

Dr. Peter & Sally Ann Doyle Memorial Scholarship

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:42:47 GMT

Just over one year ago, two dear friends went to be with the Lord: Peter and Sally Ann Doyle. Peter was born in Pensacola, Florida on May 13, 1930. Sally Ann was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 2, 1934. In 1951, he attended Washington and Lee University in Virginia, while at the same time, she enrolled in the nearby Mary Washington College. They met while performing in an American Revolutionary drama entitled The Common Glory, she as a dancer, and he as an actor. After graduation, they married and pursued a calling into vocational ministry. After Peter graduated from Seabury Western Theological Seminary in 1957, they served two years as missionaries in Liberia, West Africa. From there, they went to Basel, Switzerland, where Peter pursued doctoral studies under the eminent 20th-century theologian Karl Barth.

Peter did his doctoral dissertation on Jonathan Edwards, the 16th-century pastor/theologian who was perhaps the brightest theological mind that America has ever produced. Barth and Edwards differed on some important doctrines, but what they had in common bore much fruit in Peter and Sally Ann’s life, which was the centrality of God in everything. In Scripture, in life, and in everything, God is the capital-R-reality to which everything else in time and space must refer, THE Subject from which all other subjects derive their meaning. For Barth, Edwards, and especially for Peter, the fact that God is Triune – the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – had profound implications for not only his theology but also his character.

Our Triune God is a dynamic community, an eternal fellowship of persons in relation to one another. What Edwards brought home to Peter and Sally Ann is that the essential nature of this inner-trinitarian relationship is love. One of the most breathtaking chapters of any book I’ve ever read is the final chapter of Jonathan Edwards’ Charity and Its Fruit. The chapter is entitled “Heaven, a World of Love.”

God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven, fills heaven with love, as the sun, placed in the midst of the visible heavens in a clear day, fills the world with light. The apostle tells us that “God is love;” and therefore, seeing he is an infinite being, it follows that he is an infinite fountain of love. Seeing he is an all-sufficient being, it follows that he is a full and over-flowing, and inexhaustible fountain of love. And in that he is an unchangeable and eternal being, he is an unchangeable and eternal fountain of love.

There, even in heaven, dwells the God from whom every stream of holy love, yea, every drop that is, or ever was, proceeds. There dwells God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, united as one, in infinitely dear, and incomprehensible, and mutual, and eternal love. There dwells God the Father, who is the father of mercies, and so the father of love, who so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son to die for it. There dwells Christ, the Lamb of God, the prince of peace and of love, who so loved the world that he shed his blood, and poured out his soul unto death for men. There dwells the great Mediator, through whom all the divine love is expressed toward men, and by whom the fruits of that love have been purchased, and through whom they are communicated, and through whom love is imparted to the hearts of all God’s people. There dwells Christ in both his natures, the human and the divine, sitting on the same throne with the Father. And there dwells the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of divine love, in whom the very essence of God, as it were, flows out, and is breathed forth in love, and by whose immediate influence all holy love is shed abroad in the hearts of all the saints on earth and in heaven.

There, in heaven, this infinite fountain of love — this eternal Three in One — is set open without any obstacle to hinder access to it as it flows forever. There this glorious God is manifested and shines forth, in full glory, in beams of love. And there this glorious fountain forever flows forth in streams, yea, in rivers of love and delight, and these rivers swell, as it were, to an ocean of love, in which the souls of the ransomed may bathe with the sweetest enjoyment, and their hearts, as it were, be deluged with love! [1]

The Trinitarian circle of love is not a closed one, isolated, insulated, or turned in on itself. Instead, it is like a fountain, flowing ever outward. So it is entirely consistent with his outward-moving, others-centered nature for his love to flow outward and create others with whom to share his love. He is a God for whom love of the other is central to his being.

Because we spurned his love, the cross was the only way to repair the breach. He loves us this much and in this way. If God were like us, the cross is an utter absurdity, but God’s love took the shape of the cross because this is who God is. He cannot be otherwise. On the cross of Christ, we see God acting in perfect harmony with his being. At the cross, we see God for who he is – a God who lays down his life for those he loves.

In time, Peter and Sally Ann were conquered and overwhelmed by the love of God. We could say many wonderful things about them, but their most enduring legacy is this: a lifetime of having the Triune God of love at the center of everything – their marriage, their ministry, their life – resulted in them becoming people for whom sacrificial love of others was their most essential quality. Anyone who knew them would agree. And this is what God is about in our lives, too. He wants to transform us into a people for whom sacrificial love of others is our most essential quality.

After 68 years of marriage, Sally Ann went to be with the Lord on November 16, 2023. Peter followed shortly thereafter on January 2, 2024. A month or so later, one of their dear friends, Betty Thomas, suggested we start a scholarship fund in their honor. So, with the support of the Doyle family, we started the Dr. Peter and Sally Doyle Memorial Scholarship to encourage Christlike character in aspiring leaders.

Why the Doyle Memorial Scholarship?

In seminary education, we could aim to equip students to understand all mysteries and grasp all knowledge, become scholars, and publish books. We could aim to train students to be the best exegetes of Scripture and wow audiences with rhetorical power. We could inspire in them the kind of faith needed to grow churches, plant new ones, send missionaries, reach the unreached, and make many sacrifices in Christ’s name. But without love, what would it accomplish? Nothing.

As Paul told Timothy, “The aim of our charge is love” (1 Timothy 1:5). Students will graduate and be able to teach, preach, evangelize, disciple, and more. But are they being increasingly conquered and ruled by the love of God? Are they increasingly becoming people for whom sacrificial love for others is their most essential quality? In their relationships with their spouse, children, co-workers, friends, neighbors, and strangers, are they becoming more patient and kind, less envious and boastful, more humble and gentle, less demanding and resentful? Do they repent more quickly and know their desperate need for grace more deeply? Do they celebrate the gospel more fully?

Tonight at our annual banquet, we will be awarding the Doyle Memorial Scholarship in honor of two servants of the Lord Jesus, for whom we can respond to these questions with a resounding “Yes!” May this scholarship in their honor encourage many others on this path toward Christlikeness.

For more on Peter and Sally Ann, listen to a two-part podcast interview we did in 2023 with Peter and Sally Ann: part 1 and part 2 .

References:

[1] Edwards, Jonathan. Charity and Its Fruits: Christian Love as Manifested in the Heart and Life . Edited by Tryon Edwards. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 2000. P. 326-7

Lausanne: Developing Leaders with Christlike Character

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:06:04 GMT

by Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Though it has been over four months since the Lausanne Congress, I still often reflect on my experience there. God met us there as the Church from all over the world and I pray that it will be something I never get over. I had written a draft for this article back in November as my final blog post about Lausanne, but it has taken me until now to finish it. I pray that it is both challenging and encouraging to you.

Christlike Leadership: A Global Challenge

In preparation for the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul in September, participants were asked to commit to working on one of the 25 " Great Commission Gaps " that the global Church must close if we are to make disciples among all peoples. There were gaps many that I wanted to work on, but I chose the one focused on developing leaders with Christlike character. Lausanne gave this description of the problem:

Lack of leadership character is a prominent issue erecting barriers to the gospel, causing churches to collapse, workplaces to degenerate, and people to be damaged in a variety of ways. Reports of abusive, narcissistic leaders more concerned with achieving their ‘ministry’ goals, or growing their kingdom business, over and above displaying Christlike character, have wounded gospel witness. The church, parachurch, and workplace must have mature servant leaders who live out kingdom values at all times.

Michael Oh, global executive director of the Lausanne Movement, set the tone in his opening address by acknowledging that

The reputation of the bride of Christ in many places around the world is not good. Rather than people stumbling over the message of the Gospel, as we see in Romans 9, too many are stumbling over the messengers... Too many scandals of pride, power, and impurity have robbed the Church and compromised our witness.

He called for repentance and humility over the Church's "flawed witness in the world" and "flawed mission to the world." "This is not a moment of triumphalism," he said, "but sober repentance."

At the first breakout session for Character Gap the large room was filled with over 400 people from all around the world. The global Church has a black eye due to the sins and failures of both high and low-profile Christian leaders. This has always been a problem in the Church (see Galatians 2:11ff for but one example). What’s different today is that news and social media instantly bring the Church’s failures into the spotlight for all the world to see. Each time this happens, already wounded Christians are more likely to disengage from the institutional church and non-Christians are more likely to either ignore or malign the Church. In the words of apostles and prophets, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you [leaders among God’s people],” (Isa. 52:5; Ezek. 36:20; Rom. 2:24).

What can we do about it? There is much we can do, but here I will mention just three things that were emphasized at Lausanne.

Repent

The first was repentance. As Martin Luther wrote in the first of his 95 Theses , “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Perhaps the Lord is using the world’s spotlight to call his Church to personal and corporate repentance. During the conference, the Lord convicted me of character flaws and the bad fruit it bears in my life. Facing the truth about ourselves is never comfortable. Sometimes we fear it could undo us. So we tend to excuse, downplay, blameshift, or cover up. Yet if the gospel is true, repentance is not a thing to be feared but an invitation to rejoice in God’s grace to forgive and power to transform.

We also need to repent of our complicity in broader cultural patterns that distort our corporate life together and witness in the world. American culture is now a celebrity culture that elevates leaders to idolatrous platforms, a proclivity that distorts both leaders and followers. Our culture tends to value the outward appearance of things more than the inward character of things (1 Sam. 16:7). It tends to praise influence and impact more than integrity. It tends to foster the “Babylonian” spirit of building our little towers to make a name for ourselves, even over against others in the body of Christ. Ours is a cancel culture that lacks the humility, love, and wisdom to listen, understand, and engage in charitable dialog. These toxins are in the cultural air we breathe, and the Church is not immune to them. We must repent of these when the Lord brings them into the light and strive to be a distinctive counter-cultural community.

Discipleship Unto Christlikeness

The second emphasis at Lausanne on this theme was discipleship unto Christlikeness. Like with repentance, an emphasis on discipleship is not new. Both are basic to following Jesus. But we need to continually renew our commitment to them. We must set Christlike character formation as a primary goal in discipleship. While biblical knowledge, doctrinal clarity, and ministry principles are important, we must remember they are means to an end. The end is a living fellowship with our Triune God by which we become partakers of his divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). As Paul told Timothy, “the aim of our charge is love” (1 Tim. 1:5). Without genuine love, all of the so-called knowledge and ministry “results” are nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

Servant Leadership

A third emphasis at Lausanne was servant leadership. Dr. Phillip Ryken, the president of Wheaton College, gave a challenging message in which he called us the pattern of our Lord Jesus Christ who came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He challenged us to embrace humility, simplicity, integrity, and service in the home, in the church, among other leaders, and for the lost. Servant leadership must become our way of life. Again, servant leadership is not a new concept among Christians. But Dr. Ryken was right to call us to a renewed commitment to

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves…Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

- Philippians 2:3-8

What about us?

As the Church in Auburn/Opelika, may we humbly repent of our character flaws and the damage it causes to those inside and outside the Church. As his disciples, may we abide deeply in Jesus Christ and be transformed more and more into his likeness. And as leaders, may we embrace the role of a servant, giving our lives away for others in joyful obedience to the Father.

Let us keep looking to Jesus, the purity of whose character was on full display as he gave up his life for us. Trusting in his grace, let us be honest about our dross, submit to his refinement, and hold on to his promise that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 1:6).

A Valentine's Day Reflection

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 15:42:42 GMT

by Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Though Valentine's Day has been captured by consumerism, it's still a day that calls the whole world to reflect on the nature of love. For some it's a joyous day; for others it touches on a void. Wherever you find yourself, Valentine's Day brings us near to the reality that the human heart has an inner thirst for love. We long both to love and to be loved. We want to truly be someone to someone, to be fully known and fully accepted. The Bible not only acknowledges this universal human experience, but it reveals why this is the case and leads us to the fountain of all love.

God is Community

The Biblical narrative begins with the profound statement, "In the beginning, God..." (Gen. 1:1). Have you ever stopped to think about what God was doing before that? Before the beginning, when all there was was God, what was he doing? This is the question that Michael Reeves explores in his excellent book Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith .

Interestingly, Genesis 1 doesn't let us peek behind the curtain of time to find our answer. It simply begins with God in creative action, speaking the world into being. But as we keep reading in Genesis and on through the rest of the Old Testament, there are clues to an answer. The OT is clear that there is only one God – "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one,” (Deut. 6:4) and "I am God and there is no other," (Isa. 45:5) – and yet there are hints that this one God is a complex unity.

When Jesus arrives on the Biblical scene, he pulls back the curtain into the mystery of God's being. Jesus revealed that God's complex unity is what the third-century theologian, Tertullian, called the Trinity. God is a Tri-Unity, a being who is in himself three-in-one and one-in-three. Of course, the Trinitarian formula of "one God in three persons" is impossible for us to fully get our minds around, but Jesus put it in more specific and concrete terms. He referred to God as Father, himself as Son, and the Holy Spirit as proceeding from the Father and Son. Jesus revealed what had been until then a mystery - God is, has always been, and always will be Father, Son, and Spirit.

Commenting on this, the Trinitarian theologian, Colin Gunton, observes that "The nature of God is communion."[1] God is not a static hierarchy but a dynamic community [2], an eternal fellowship of persons. God is the three persons of the Trinity in relation to one another. The Father is not the Father apart from the Son. The Son cannot be the Son unless there is the Father. The Holy Spirit cannot proceed but from the other two. A current-day Trinitarian scholar Michael Reeves writes,

The Father is never without the Son but, like a lamp, it is the very nature of the Father to shine out his Son. And likewise, it is the very nature of the Son to be the one who shines out from his Father. The Son has his very being from the Father. In fact, he is the going out—the radiance—of the Father's own being. He is the Son. [3]

God is Love

So what was this eternal three-in-one Triunity doing before he created all things? And what does this have to do with Valentine's Day? The answer...

Loving!

The Father was loving the Son. The Son was loving the Father. The Spirit was communicating the love of the Father & the Son. God is Father, Son, and Spirit and God is love. Within his own being, God has always been others-centered and outward moving. The Father always moving out in love by the Spirit to the Son who receives and reciprocates the Fathers love through the Spirit. Commenting on this, Reeves says, "Being perfectly loving, from all eternity the Father and the Son have delighted to share their love and joy with and through the Spirit." [4] Missionary John Samaan wrote this,

Within God's very nature is a divine rhythm or pattern of continuous giving and receiving– not only love, but also glory, honor, life...each in its fullness. Think. God the Father loves and delights in the Son, Jesus receives that love and pleases the Father. Jesus honors the Spirit and the Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son. Each person in the Trinity loves, honors and glorifies the other and receives love and honor back from the others....there is never any lack. [5]

There is no other God than the one God who is the Father, Son, and Spirit, eternally loving, delighting in, honoring, and glorifying one another. At the center of all reality is the Triune communion of perfect love. He is a God for whom the love of the other is central to his being. This kind of God, and no other kind, was before all time like this. That is what was happening before the world began.

God's Love Overflows

To go back and finish the first sentence of the story, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…" (Gen. 1:1). God does not become loving at creation. Loving others is not extrinsic or external to his nature. Rather, love is his nature, and creation is its overflow. The Trinitarian circle is not a closed one, isolated, insulated, or turned in on itself. Instead, it is like a fountain, flowing ever outward. So it is entirely consistent with his others-centered, outward-moving nature for his love to flow outward and create others with whom to share his love.

But how can we really know that God is this way? Is he really this loving? What does his love look like? And how far does it go? How much is he willing to share? To what extent does he truly love us? The Apostle John tells us:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

- 1 John 3:16

God's love goes all the way to the cross. He loves us this much and in this way. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). The love demonstrated on the cross is not a departure from God's nature but its fullest revelation. God's love takes the shape of the cross because this is who God is. He cannot be otherwise. To quote Michael Reeves again, "Through the cross, we see a God who delights to give himself."[6] Again, Reeves comments,

Astonishingly, the moment when Jesus finally reaches the deepest point of his humiliation, at the cross, is the moment when he is glorified and most clearly seen for who he is. On the cross we see the glorification of the glory of God, the deepest revelation of the very heart of God—and it is all about laying down his own life to give life. [7]

For Us!

As we reflect on the profound nature of love revealed in the Trinity and demonstrated through Christ's sacrifice, we are reminded that Valentine's Day can be more than just a commercial holiday. It can serve as a powerful reminder of our deepest longings and the ultimate source of love. The Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—exists in perfect, eternal communion, and invites us by faith into this divine fellowship of love. Through Jesus' self-giving love on the cross, we see the depths of God's love for us and the pattern for our own relationships. This Valentine's Day weekend, may we be inspired to love others with the sacrificial, others-centered love that flows from the heart of the Trinity and poured out unconditionally at the cross. Whether we find ourselves celebrating or longing, let us remember that we are deeply loved by a God whose very nature is love, and who calls us to reflect that love to the world around us.

[1] Colin E. Gunton as quoted by Uche Anizor in “A Spirited Humanity: The Trinitarian Ecclesiology of Colin Gunton,” Themelios 36. No. 1 (April 2011): 28.

[2] Uche Anizor, “A Spirited Humanity: The Trinitarian Ecclesiology of Colin Gunton,” Themelios 36.1 (2011), p.28.

[3] Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012), 26.

[4] Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012), 41.

[5] John Samaan, "The Triune God: A Dance of Love," Mission Frontiers (September-October 2006): 8-9.

[6] Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2012), 114.

[7] Ibid., 115.

Lausanne: A Gathering of Hearts Hungry for God

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 02:14:46 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

As I mentioned in my previous two posts , it was the context of Lausanne 4 that made a deeper impression on me than the content. As one of the 5,200 delegates from over 220 nations, I was deeply moved by the palpable hunger for God, the spirit of humility and repentance, and the warm call to friendship in Christ. It was a gathering of hearts hungry for God, and God met us there.

A Hunger for God's Presence

From the moment we gathered, there was an evident longing for God's presence and move among us. Sarah Breuel, director of Revive Europe, captured this sentiment beautifully when she said , "God comes where He's wanted. There is no formula. God comes to hearts and communities who are hungry, who are desperate for him.” We were and he did.

The worship times, led by the renowned Keith and Kristyn Getty and the Korean band Isaiah 6tyOne, were nothing short of extraordinary. Worshipping our Triune God alongside believers from such a great and diverse multitude, being as close to Revelation 7:9 as I had ever been, was at times too much for me to take in. On the last morning, I was so moved that I couldn’t even talk for several minutes after the music stopped.

Hunger for God is, in a way, its own satisfaction, isn't it? When we're hungry for God, our souls are strangely nourished. And when our hunger is joined together with that of many others, it is more filling still. But when a corporate longing for God is met by God himself in a special way, when he draws near to his people by the Spirit, you feel as if you could sing forever. That's the way it felt in Korea. The thought occurred many times during the week, “if worship can be this satisfying now, with all the remaining sin in my heart and brokenness in the world, what will it be like then?" I can only imagine.

Humility, Repentance, & Renewal

A recurring theme throughout the congress was the need for humility and repentance. Far from having a triumphalist, self-congratulatory tone or showing off our great achievements, the Congress called us to face the truth about ourselves. The leaders drew our attention to the Church’s failures, sins, and weaknesses. I quite possibly heard the word “repent” or “repentance” more times in that one week than I have in the last several years.

Michael Oh, global executive director of the Lausanne Movement, set the tone in his opening address by acknowledging that "the reputation of the bride of Christ in many places around the world is not good. Rather than people stumbling over the message of the Gospel, as we see in Romans 9, too many are stumbling over the messengers... Too many scandals of pride, power, and impurity have robbed the Church and compromised our witness." He called for repentance and humility over the Church's "flawed witness in the world" and "flawed mission to the world." "This is not a moment of triumphalism," he said, "but sober repentance."

He also called us to lament the "isolation" and "competition" in our ministries, saying, “We're so self-focused, self-confident, self-sustained and perhaps flat out selfish, that we don't see a need for… working with others - other ministries, other businesses, other schools, other denominations or parts of the body.” Oh's words resonated deeply as he identified what he called "the four most dangerous words" affecting the global Church today: "I don't need you.” Echoing Oh’s challenge, Dr. Patrick Fung said, "A divided church has no message for a divided world. God has called us to a unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Are we content with divisions? Are we content to live as if we don’t need each other? Are we content with just focusing on our own ministries instead of collaborating to reach the whole?

Dr. Patrick Fung, Global Ambassador of OMF International, gave one of my favorite talks of the week. In his exposition of Acts Acts 8:1-4 and Acts 11:19-26 , he highlighted how the gospel movement in Antioch that led to launching of global missions was started by "unnamed, unknown, and uncelebrated ordinary disciples.” Those who make the most impact for Christ in the world are so often those who never make it into the history books. Dr. Fung said, “They live to be forgotten so that Christ will be remembered.” What a convicting contrast to our celebrity culture, where we are constantly tempted to focus on building our own name, brand, reputation, and personal kingdoms instead of humbly serving Christ without need for recognition, let alone fame.

Humbled by the Spirit, Sarah Breuel from Brazil brought us a fresh word of hope, reminding us that repentance opens the way for renewal. God opposes us the proud but gives grace to the humble. She reminded us of examples of how repentance has paved the way for the Spirit to move in power, from the Korean renewal of 1907 to the recent Asbury renewal.

Humility and repentance weren’t just talked about from the stage, however, they were brought to the heart by the Spirit. One friend of mine found himself seated all week near someone with whom he recently had a bitter conflict. He thought to himself, “God, you must be kidding. In a room of 5,200 people, you put me next to him!” But during the week God softened his heart. On the final day, as he approached to confess his sins to his brother, the other leader unexpectedly confessed his sins first! They reconciled in tears, and it has since led to fruitful collaboration. I had my own moments of being cut to the heart by the Spirit, especially over cowardice, insecurities, and unbelief. The emphasis on repentance and renewed faith in the gospel of grace refreshed us all.

Gospel Friendship

While people came with a hunger for God and were moved to repentance, the Congress planning committee intentionally made room for gospel friendship. In fact, friendship in the gospel has been a central value of the Lausanne movement from the start. At the most basic level, Christians are friends following Jesus together. As CJ Davison wrote about the movement back in 2021 , “The world is struggling with racial tension, religion, immorality, abuse, and equality. Friendship in Christ can address them all. Friends come together around what they love.” Jesus is the center, drawing those who love him into friendship.

One simple but impactful way they fostered friendship was to arrange the enormous conference room with nearly 900 tables having six chairs each. Each participant was assigned a table for the week. Mine was G53. My G53 table mates were Esther from Kenya, Emadel from the Philippines, George from India, Collin from Canada, and Ken from Salt Lake City. After each plenary talk, we had a time of discussion and prayer to help us process what we had just heard. In this way, we journeyed through the week together as friends.

Another example of how the Lord drew us into friendship was through the lodging arrangements. In God’s providence, my roommate was the president of the Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology , Ronald Lal Dinsuah. I so enjoyed getting to know Ronald and we connected over many things we shared in common, including an appreciation for missional theology. In Ronald, I have a new gospel friend.

This spirit of friendship was palpable throughout the Congress. Through worship, discussions, times of prayer, mealtimes, coffee breaks, workshop sessions, and countless other ways, we journeyed together as friends, helping each other grasp the significance of God’s work among us until we meet again.

Next Quarterly Seminar: Global Missions: Implications for Us from Lausanne

Please join us at our next quarterly seminar , where we will share the profound implications that Lausanne 4 has for the Church in our community.

Thursday, November 14th

10:30 am - 2:00 pm

@ Auburn Grace Chinese Christian Church

1345 Annalue Dr

Auburn, AL 36830

Click here to register !

Lausanne: A Bit of God's Tomorrow Today

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 22:01:41 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

In his book, " The Gospel in a Pluralist Society ," Lesslie Newbigin describes the Church as "a sign, instrument, and foretaste of God's redeeming grace for the whole life of society" (p. 233). It is the place in the world where "the reality of the new creation is present, known, and experienced." (p. 232). It is the time in history when the light of God’s tomorrow breaks into the darkness of our today. By drawing together such a diverse body of believers from over 220 nations, the Lausanne Congress offered us a profound glimpse of where he is taking all of history and allowed us to experience a bit of his tomorrow today.

An Answer to Jesus’ Prayer

On the night of his arrest, Jesus prayed for all future believers, " that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me …” (John 17:23). It is clear that Jesus desires for the Church to be one, that is, to be united. In an ultimate and eternal sense, this prayer has already been answered. Jesus has reconciled us to God and to one another through his blood. Regardless of color or ethnicity, regardless of tribe, tongue, or nation, regardless of denomination or theological tradition, all who belong to Christ are one in Christ. There is and only ever has been one body of Christ. The world tries to create unity around a great many other things. But these efforts cannot but fail because they are not centered on Jesus Christ. Without him and his finished work, the universe would fly apart. But in him and because of him, the Church is the tangible, real-world evidence and witness to the fact that it will not. It is the one place in this chaotic and divided world where we can find a footing whose foundation is in the world to come.

In the here and now, we can experience our unity in Jesus Christ to greater or lesser degrees. We can honor that unity or dishonor it, but we can never undo it. Our present experience cannot change that blood-bought reality. It is a permanent and indivisible union. However, Scripture is clear on the point that when we do honor it , visible unity among Christians has a clear missional impact. We should not be surprised by this. This is the meaning of the " so that " in Jesus' prayer: "that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know..." Here, we see the unbreakable link between unity and mission.

What does this have to do with the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Korea? It was an answer to Jesus’ prayer, albeit a partial one. According to the Global Peace Index 2024 , there are over 50 armed conflicts in the world today, the most since WWII. It reports that 92 nations are currently involved in armed conflicts outside of their national borders. The ACLED Conflict Index for January 2024 estimates that one in six people in the world have been exposed to conflict in 2024. In the days of Noah, “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and … filled with violence” (Gen. 6:11). Is the world that different today?

Here’s one thing that is different: the Church. In the world, there is war, but in the Church, there is peace. The Church is alive in all of t he 50 most turbulent countries in the world today, and Christians from nearly every one were able to come to Lausanne. Russian Christians and Ukrainian Christians were sitting down together for lunch. Arab Palestinian Christians were worshipping alongside Israeli Jewish Christians. Mainland Chinese believers enjoyed fellowship with Taiwanese believers. Christians from nations killing each other were declaring the unity and peace that is ours in Jesus.

At the end of the closing session, Rev. Jae-Hoon Lee of Korea & Dr. Masanori Kurasawa of Japan led us in celebrating communion. Given the history between Japan and Korea, leading the Lord’s Supper together was a powerful witness to the reconciliation accomplished by Christ’s death. For Rev. Lee, that moment was the greatest highlight of the whole Congress.

A Foretaste of the Future

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus opens the scroll and reveals the meaning and end of history. By his blood, he ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation and made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth (Rev. 5:9-10). There will one day finally be peace and harmony on the earth under the loving rule of God.

This Congress provided a visible preview of that bright tomorrow, a foreshadowing of that great eschatological scene where believers from all times, places, and peoples unite in the worship of our Triune God. It was a foretaste, to be sure, and not the full meal. In Korea, we were not perfect in our worship, love, and service. The peace and harmony among us were still strained and tainted by remaining sin. No, it was not perfect, but it was true and real. We experienced the Spirit’s real and earnest deposit of the full inheritance to come. It was palpable, at least for me. It was not perfect, but it bore witness to the perfection that is sure to come.

A Catalyst for Collaboration

At Lausanne, "collaboration" emerged as the fourth most spoken word after Jesus, gospel, and repentance. Because we are one in Christ, we are free to work as one for Christ. We are, after all, one body, one people, one kingdom under one Lord and King. The Congress exemplified this spirit, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and cooperation in global missions. It facilitated partnerships among diverse Christian communities and shared information, resources, and strategies for the Great Commission. Lausanne highlighted current challenges facing the global Church and called for unified action to reach the world for Christ. God is working through globalization, urbanization, and technological advancements to give us opportunities to collaborate in ways our predecessors could not imagine.

The Fourth Lausanne Congress stands as a powerful witness to the unity of the global Church and the transformative power of collaboration in Christ's name. It not only provided a glimpse of God's coming kingdom but also ignited a renewed passion for unified mission efforts. As we move forward, let us carry the spirit of Lausanne with us, embracing our diversity while working together to fulfill the Great Commission. In doing so, we continue to experience the answer to Jesus' prayer for unity and offer the world a compelling witness of God's reconciling love. In my next post, I will share how the heart posture of Lausanne’s leaders and participants opened the way for God to move powerfully among us.

Next Quarterly Seminar: Following Lausanne: Implications for Us

Please join us at our next quarterly seminar , where we will share the profound implications that Lausanne 4 has for the Church in our community.

Thursday, November 14th

10:30 am - 2:00 pm

@ Auburn Grace Chinese Christian Church

1345 Annalue Dr

Auburn, AL 36830

Click here to register !

In the meantime, check out my previous blog post about Lausanne and a recent podcast episode about Lausanne.

Lausanne: the Power of Context

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 21:25:22 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

During the middle of the Fourth Lausanne Congress, a friend from the States texted me asking how it was going. I replied, “The content has been good, but the context has been incredible.” Over the next four blog posts, I want to share four aspects of the context that deeply impacted me. The first contextual aspect was the Congress setting: Incheon, South Korea.

The Significance of Incheon, South Korea

The Congress was held just out of Seoul, South Korea, in the city of Incheon. Far from being a random location, this was the entry point of Protestant Christianity into Korea. American missionary Horace Allen arrived in Incheon in 1885. By the turn of the century, Christianity had made modest progress, and about 1% of the Korean peninsula claimed faith in Jesus Christ. What happened next, though, set Korea on a path to becoming known as the “Jerusalem of the East.”

Revival broke out in 1907 in Pyongyang when Pastor Kil Sun-ju confessed personal sin to his congregation. It sparked a movement of repentance, Bible study, evangelism, and missions. As one Korean pastor reflected, “The fervent repentance of the missionaries and church leaders was the main catalyst for this revival, which attracted many new believers and enabled its spread across the country.”

Today, there are about 9.3 million Protestant Christians in South Korea (~18% of the population). What is more impressive is that there are about 35,000 Korean missionaries, most of whom serve in the 10/40 Window among unreached people groups . That’s one missionary for every 266 Christians. By comparison, in the U.S., there are about 84 million evangelicals ( ~25% of the population ) and 135,000 missionaries (across all denominations). This amounts to one missionary for every 622 evangelical Christian. According to the Lausanne State of the Great Commission Report , only three percent of international missionaries go to the unreached. Most go to already evangelized areas. The Church in Korea sends more missionaries per Christian and focuses missionary efforts more on the unreached.

It was entirely fitting, then, that in this era of polycentric Christianity and polycentric missions , the Fourth Lausanne Congress would take place in Incheon - a city that so clearly exemplifies the Spirit’s work of transforming a former mission field into a mission force. Reverend Jaehoon Lee , Pastor of Onnuri Community Church, welcomed the 5,200 participants on the opening night, saying, “This historic city was the entry point of early Protestant missionaries who brought the good news of the Gospel to this country. And now, here we are. Join me in prayer throughout this week that God will do an amazing work of His grace as we humbly and sincerely work together for His glory and for the good of the global church.”

The Hospitality of the Church in Korea

The significance of the setting wasn’t just about where, but who served as the host - the Church in Korea. Asian culture is known for hospitality, but this was something altogether different. The hospitality of these Korean Christians began long before the Congress began and was born in the secret place of prayer. For well over a year, Korean Christians had been praying and planning to care for us down to every last detail. If you’ve ever experienced Korean Christianity, you know that when they pray, it is with fervency, and when they plan, it is with precision.

Additionally, for months leading up to the Congress, over 200 churches in Korea collaborated to preach the same sermon series through the book of Acts. One senior Korean pastor said this coordinated sermon series fostered a new unity among Korean churches and leaders. This isn’t just beautiful but missionally powerful. Who knows what will come from that committed display of the Church’s unity under Christ’s lordship!

During the Congress, over a thousand Korean volunteers greeted us every morning with smiling faces and blessings and sent us home every night with the same. All during the day, they set up, rearranged, fed, cleaned, and much more I’ll never know about. Feeding 5,200 people lunch and dinner within one-hour time slots every day was a logistical tour de force. It reminds me of Jesus’ words when he said, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do,” because while Jesus fed the 5,000 once in his earthly ministry, they fed the 5,000 twelve times that week! And they did all this with such a sweet spirit of joy and thankfulness, reflecting their dependence on the Spirit and welcoming love of our Father.

The Humility of the Church in Korea

Lastly, on the fifth day of the Congress, we witnessed a moving performance celebrating the 140-year history of the Church in Korea, from its humble beginnings to becoming a missionary-sending country ( you can watch it here ). Far from a self-congratulatory triumphalist tale, they humbly shared about God’s victories despite their failures and shortcomings, past and present. As missiologist Timothy Tennent shared on his blog , “It was one of the greatest expressions of transparency and humility I have seen in a major global gathering like this, and I will never forget it.” Through their Christlike hospitality and genuine humility, our Korean brothers and sisters made a lasting impression on me and many others. They served as an example for the global Church to follow.

In my next post, I will share how this global gathering powerfully previewed the end for which Christ died.

Next Quarterly Seminar: Following Lausanne - Implications for Us

I believe that there are several important lessons we can learn from Lausanne that have implications for the Church in our community. I plan to share these at our next quarterly seminar on Thursday, November 14th, 10:30 am - 2:00 pm. Please join us to consider working together to increase our participation in God’s global mission. Click here to register .

In the meantime, check out my previous blog post and a recent podcast episode about Lausanne.

The Lausanne Movement & Its Significance for Global Missions

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:06:38 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

In 1955, Billy Graham and John Stott formed a friendship out of a common burden for the unity of the Church and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. At the time, the Church in the West was fractured by the fundamentalist-modernist controversy. To the non-Christian world, the Church’s infighting betrays her gospel of reconciliation. The Church at that time needed a way out of the slums of fundamentalism and the swamp of theological liberalism. What was at stake? Nothing less than the name of Jesus in the Church and among the nations.

Also at this time, the global Church was in the midst of a major transition. Largely due to the missionary efforts of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Church in Africa, Asia, and Latin America had witnessed dramatic growth. Graham’s ministry over the years had afforded him the opportunity to befriend and partner with leaders in these young but vibrant churches. He had won their trust and they, his. And yet, many of these leaders did not know each other. Graham gained a vision for bringing these leaders together to seek the Lord together as the global Church. But for his vision to be realized, Graham needed Stott. John Stott was one of the world’s most trusted theologians at the time and Graham enlisted his help to form a doctrinal basis for evangelical partnership in missions.

Through their efforts, around 2,700 Christian leaders from 150 countries traveled to Lausanne, Switzerland in July 1974 for “the First International Congress of World Evangelization.” Time magazine reported at the time that it was “possibly the widest-ranging meeting of Christians ever held.” It was not only marked by diversity but by humility, genuine dialogue, and repentance.

Perhaps the most important and lasting contribution of this gathering was the Lausanne Covenant . It not only provided a theological definition of evangelicalism, it is perhaps the most influential document in modern evangelical missions. This is because it is not merely a statement of belief but a covenant. By the end of the congress, the delegates who signed the covenant pledged themselves to cooperative action with one another for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. It was truly a historic moment. When Graham was interviewed by Newsweek in 2006, he reported that the ‘74 Lausanne Congress and the resulting Lausanne Movement was perhaps his most significant contribution to the world.

This movement convened again in Manila in 1989 and Cape Town in 2010. In keeping with Lausanne ‘74, the purpose of these gatherings was to call leaders from the global Church together to affirm our unity in Jesus Christ, our commitment to doctrinal faithfulness, and to partnership in the Great Commission. These were not mere conferences but congresses that hammered out decisions leading to committed action in the years ahead.

As we seek to be faithful to the Great Commission in the 21st Century, the need for a comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative global mission has never been more pressing. The Lausanne Movement is therefore convening for the Fourth Lausanne Congress this week in Seoul, South Korea.

CORS at Lausanne 4

We are honored that CORS president Hoffman Rhyne is able to join the 5,000 participants from around the world in the Fourth Lausanne Congress. He is there now and is excited about what the Lord will do and the longterm fruit that we pray will come from this gathering.

There are three ways that you can participate in this as well:

Pray . You can participate in this event through prayer . Lausanne has a prayer guide as well as a 24-7 online prayer room. The prayer room has information to guide your prayers as you join with Christians from all over the world in prayer for God to make Christ known everywhere!
Listen . Lausanne also has a great podcast series you can check out. Mission Shift is another excellent podcast on global missions today.
Learn . Also, for our next quarterly seminar on Thursday, November 14th , Hoffman will be sharing with our community key lessons and insights from this gathering of the global Church and how we can increase our participation in God’s global mission. Click here to go ahead and sign up for that seminar. Also, to learn more about the Lausanne Movement, here are some good places to start:
History of Lausanne
CT article by Joshua Swamidass , A Theological Monument to Unity Amid Diversity
An Exposition and Commentary of the Lausanne Covenant by John Stott

Our City Walls

Sat, 16 Dec 2023 07:40:05 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

No two cities are alike. Each has a particular character. We're familiar with the charming side of Auburn's character, but in this post and a recent podcast interview with Auburn Police Chief Cedric Anderson , we take a look at the less-than-charming side.

City-Data.com is a helpful website that puts census data in a user-friendly format. It calculates a crime index based on the number and type of crimes per 100,000 residents, weighing serious and violent crimes more heavily. A higher number indicates a more serious crime rate. The U.S. average is 254.8. The crime index for Auburn in 2020 was 94, which is 2.7 times lower than the U.S. average. It is also significantly lower than that of the state of Alabama. It has also steadily declined since 2007 when the index was 344.4. Thefts comprise 73% of crimes, followed by assaults (11%) and burglaries (8%). Violent crimes are relatively rare. Sex trafficking is an issue in our area, but one that is notoriously difficult to quantify and stop.

According to another website that analyzes FBI crime data , the chances of becoming a victim of any kind of crime in Auburn is 1 in 80. The chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime are close to 1 in 1,000, which is over five times lower than in the rest of the state.

Here is one last bit of relevant data: currently, the Auburn city police force has about 150 officers, including 80 patrol officers. The number of police per capita for Auburn is quite lower than state and national averages.

Putting all of this together, while Auburn's population has been rapidly increasing, Auburn's crime rate has been going in the other direction and is, in fact, much lower than state and national averages. Correlating the two, Mayor Anders said in a recent interview that Auburn's reputation for public safety is one of the main factors behind the population growth. So, while every city has a darker side, Auburn's is less dark than it could be. While this is something we should celebrate, how can we continue to strengthen public safety as a means of and witness to God's ultimate protection and salvation in Christ?

Implications for the Church

In the ancient Near East, what defined a city was a human settlement enclosed within a wall. The wall is what made a settlement a city. Life outside of Eden in a world corrupted by sin can be dangerous, and cities are places that offer protection. While our cities today aren't surrounded by physical walls, protection comes in the form of our justice system: the police, the courts, and the correctional facilities.

Because the world rejected God, it remains a dangerous place, but because God has not rejected the world, it will not always be so. When Jesus returns and brings the heavenly Jerusalem down to earth (Rev 21:1-2), there will be no more sin and nothing to make us afraid. The city "walls" will remain but be repurposed. We'll never need to lock our doors, and the city gates will never be shut (Rev 21:25). This future is sure because of Jesus' victory at the cross. Until then, however, we need our justice system as a means of and witness to God's justice, protection, and restoration. I want to encourage the Church here to do three things in relation to our justice system here locally:

Pray - Pray for our local justice system (the police, the courts, and the correctional facilities) that they honor their God-appointed role in our community - to protect, to uphold justice, and to serve as agents of redemption. Pray also for God to protect and bless them and their families. One network of Christians systematically prays for every single police officer. Comment below if you would like more information about that prayer ministry.

Communicate - Chief Anderson urges citizens to communicate with the police force and public safety officials to voice concerns, offer feedback, and show appreciation. The police department receives over 200,000 calls a year from citizens, in addition to emails, letters, and every other form of communication. If w e see something that needs attention, he urges us to pick up the phone and call his office at (334) 501-3100 or send him an email at canderson@auburnalabama.org .

Encourage Christians to take up this vocation - Currently, the Auburn police department needs 15 more officers. Can we, as the body of Christ here, seek to fill these positions? And what would it look like for the justice system over time to become thoroughly seasoned by Christians who know the grace of God? And what if leaders in this field were grounded in a robust theology of justice shaped by the biblical story? What difference would it make? May the Lord encourage those already called to this role and call many more to it.

Feel free to drop us a comment or question. We'd love to hear your thoughts about our missional context and the Church's role here.

Ministry to AU is Crucial for Missional Faithfulness

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 07:38:11 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

While our community here on the plains is undergoing rapid transformation, Auburn University remains the central pillar, shaping the identity of our community. It provides the most jobs, draws the most diversity, and produces the most economic output. More importantly, in our late modern age, the urgency of campus ministry has never been greater. For the Church to be faithful to God’s mission here, we must continue to be deeply involved there.

AU’s Local Influence

Auburn’s total enrollment for Fall 2023 was 33,015, including undergraduate, graduate, vet, medical, and nursing school students. If we estimate that 80% of these students live within the Auburn city limits, AU students comprise 29% of Auburn’s population. AU has approximately 5,600 full-time employees and 1,300 non-student part-time employees. AU students and employees combined comprise over 40% of Auburn’s residents.

According to the most recent economic impact study released this year, Auburn University reports having a $6.34 billion impact on the State of Alabama - $2.53 billion direct and indirect economic impact and $3.81 billion in the earning power of its graduates who reside in the state. Additionally, the same study reports that AU is responsible for creating 30,296 jobs in addition to its direct employment.

AU’s Student Body Makeup

Auburn received a record number of freshmen applications for Fall 2023—nearly 50,000—which led to the largest freshman class ever —over 6,000. The Fall 2023 freshmen class had the highest-ever average ACT scores (over 28) and GPAs. The applicant pool included students from every county in Alabama and every state in the US. So, this class represents the biggest, brightest, and most diverse incoming group in Auburn’s history. According to President Chris Roberts, “The demand for an Auburn degree has never been greater.”

As a land-grant university, AU’s mission is first to serve the residents of Alabama. By policy, 60% of the undergraduate enrollment are Alabamians. The other 40% come from across the country and the world. There are over 2,100 international undergraduate students, nearly double what it was in 2012, representing over 100 different nationalities.

With regard to diversity, the total percentage of non-white minority students (not including international students) is around 14%. African American students account for about 5% of total enrollment, compared to about 17% of the city of Auburn and 27% of the state of Alabama. As a result, Auburn University started the Presidential Task Force for Opportunity and Equity . The primary goal of this task force is to recruit and retain black students and faculty.

Implications for the Church

These numbers highlight what we all know - Auburn University significantly shapes our community and, therefore, must significantly shape how the Church serves Christ here. Here are four reasons why ministry to AU, especially students, is crucial to missional faithfulness.

First of all, the college experience continues to create an open space in the lives and minds of students. This is nothing new, but its continued significance is worth highlighting. Being away from parental supervision and the pressure to conform to cultural expectations from peers and institutions back home, college students want to explore other ideas and find their own way in the world. It is the time in which people make some of life’s most trajectory-setting decisions - who will I be (identity), what will I do (career), and with whom (spouse)? As Onward Campus Ministry president Bill Boldt often says, “Who you become in college is who you will likely be the rest of your life.” And for many, the college experience also provokes the deeper question of why. Tim and Michael Keller observe that “there’s no other place in our culture that affords listeners the space and freedom, time and posture, to talk about the meaning of It all.”

Secondly, while these dynamics have been at play as long as universities have been around, the radical secularism of our late-modern age has so intensified them it puts the radical claims of the gospel in stark relief. All the traditional foundations regarding identity, marriage, meaning, purpose, and truth have been destroyed. The only footing a student can find from which to build a life in this culture is one they create on their own - unless, of course, they encounter Jesus Christ. He alone can and does make sense of it all. Jesus, crucified and risen, must be the chief topic of conversation with students and the chief reference point for all other topics.

Thirdly, the diversity of Auburn University provides the Church an opportunity to bear witness to the boundary-breaking power of the gospel. Jesus alone can and does reconcile us to God and one another. Living out that reality in the Church and in all our social relationships is a sign and foretaste of the salvation Jesus wrought for us on the cross.

Fourthly, many of AU’s international students come from places with little to no Christian presence and from areas of the world that are home to the major world religions of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and the secular atheism of China and Japan. Now that they are here, they are not far from God because they are not far from you and me. While cross-cultural ministry requires much humility, wisdom, and love, it is an incredible opportunity for us to be involved first-hand in making disciples of all nations.

Feel free to drop us a comment or question. We’d love to hear your thoughts about our role in God’s mission here as it relates to Auburn University.

From a Village to a City & Why That Matters

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 07:31:00 GMT

photo @goodmorningauburn/Instagram

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

In 1966, Rosemary and Ronnie Anders started Anders Book Store on Magnolia Ave. With a population of only around 16,000 and a slow pace of life centered around the university, Auburn could be described as a village back then. But now, with a population of over 82,000, we’ve transformed from a village to a city. People, of course, define “city” in a variety of ways. Richard Sennet, professor of sociology at the London School of Economics, defines it this way, “cities are places where strangers are likely to meet.” With the university here, this has always been true. But it’s true far beyond the campus now. People from all over the country and all over the world are here and are doing all kinds of things.

In his book Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City , Tim Keller defined cities as “walkable, shared, mixed-use, diverse areas that are centers of commerce, residence, culture, and politics. They are centers of influence.” By both definitions, it’s fair to say that Auburn is indeed a city - a place where strangers are likely to meet and a nexus of diversity with a growing level of influence. While Keller focuses on top-tier global cities like New York, London, and Tokyo, his principles still apply to cities of all sizes and degrees of influence.

A Place of Convergence

In future podcast episodes and blog articles in this series called Our Missional Context, we will talk more about a biblical theology of the city, but here, I want to make one simple observation: because Auburn is coming into its own as a city, it is increasingly a place of convergence for human potential.

In drawing together people, cities draw together the incredible power and potential God has invested in his image-bearers. We were made to rule the world with God, take the raw materials and latent potential that God packed into creation, and make something good and beautiful. We were made to be world-shapers, and as our cities grow, they amplify that world-shaping potential. The Bible is clear about this, and as Mayor Ron Anders shared on a podcast interview, it is increasingly true of Auburn.

However, the Bible is also sober in its view of cities. We can use our God-given power and potential for good or evil. Theologian Geerhardus Vos observed that while the city is an “accumulator of the energies of culture [it also] is an accumulator of the potencies of evil” Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments , p. 274. To quote Keller again , “The city draws and aggregates people’s talents in such a way that the greatest works of culture are produced there, but it does the same thing with human sin. So the city … [brings] out both the best and the worst in human beings.” It is doing that for each one of us, too.

Two Implications for the Church

As Auburn and Opelika grow, I want to highlight two implications for the Church here. First of all, we need to cultivate a biblical sober-mindedness about the growing potency of our cities - whether for good or evil, for justice or injustice, for generosity or greed, for selfishness or selflessness, compassion or callousness, self-denial or consumerism. The stakes are higher than we might imagine.

Secondly, as the Church here, we need to keep to humbly loving our city together in the power of the Holy Spirit - pray for, serve, and seek the good of our cities in ways that bear witness to the reconciling love of Jesus Christ and the blood-bought unity of his Church. This statement has a lot to unpack, which I hope to get to in future podcasts and articles.

In the meantime, check out Our Missional Context podcast series and feel free to share any thoughts or questions with us.

Our Missional Context : Outgrowing Jordan Hare

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 06:39:57 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Auburn & Opelika are Growing Rapidly

In our last post , we saw that the population in Lee County grew by 24.2% between 2010 and 2020 and is now home to over 175,000 people. Not surprisingly, over 61% of people in Lee County live either in Auburn or Opelika.

Auburn’s population increased by 42.6% between the two census periods - a rate of about 6 people per day (190/month or 2,276/year). As of October 2023, Auburn is home to an estimated 82,000. At this rate, by the 2026 football season, Auburn’s population will surpass Jordan-Hare’s seating capacity. Auburn is now Alabama’s seventh most populous city.

Opelika’s population grew by 17.1% over that same period - a rate of about 1.2 people per day (38/month or 455/year). Currently, Opelika’s population is around 34,000. Considering both cities together, the O/A community is home to over 116,000 people.

If these trends continue, conservative estimates put Auburn’s population would surpass 90,000 and Opelika’s over 37,000 by the year 2030. To put it simply, the Auburn/Opelika community will be home to nearly 130,000 people by 2030.

Some Implications for the Church

There are so many implications that this has for the Church here, but I merely want to highlight here our posture towards the public service sector. City councils, law enforcement officials, the fire departments, public utility leaders, school administrators and faculty, healthcare professionals, and many others are grappling with how to serve and care for the growing number of people in our community. This is a daunting challenge with many complexities and often no clearcut solutions.

In Auburn/Opelika, many who work in public service are Christians and that is a tremendous blessing. But whether they follow Jesus or not, their service to our community reflects the character of God who orders, protects, and sustains our world so that life can flourish. God’s lovingkindness is mediated, albeit imperfectly, through the thousands of people serving our community in thousands of ways every day.

So while it is easy to complain about some problem or policy we don’t like, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to live differently. Here are three ways we can do that:

Pray - First of all, we can commit to praying for those serving our community, from decision makers to the garbage truck driver. Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1–4, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Encourage - A life of public service usually comes with a lot of griping but not a lot of gratitude. Make an effort to thank those serving our community, bearing witness to how their service reflects the character and goodness of God.

Engage - In a culture that trains us to be consumers, the gospel trains us to be servants, to lay our lives down, to steward our influence and resources for the common good. There are many ways to do this, from attending city council meetings to serving on the school PTA. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others,” Letters and Papers from Prison.

Stay tuned for future blog articles and our podcast that unpacks other implications for the Church in light of our missional context.

Our Missional Context: Lee County’s Rapid Growth

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 23:31:12 GMT

Parker Williams, Research Assistant at Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Much has been written about recent migration trends in the US. For the past several decades, historic population centers have seen a declining growth rate, while smaller metropolitan areas are growing. This phenomenon is seen most dramatically with residents in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast moving to the South or the Rocky Mountain region.

This trend only heightened with the onset of the COVID pandemic. Countless people began working remotely and were untethered in a way they had never been before. Others moved with a specific purpose in mind, perhaps seeking a better climate, lower cost of living, or just a simpler lifestyle.

Alabama has been no stranger to these national migration trends. Many areas of the state have proven themselves to be popular destinations for those moving to the South for the first time. Over the last few decades, the state’s population growth rate has kept pace with the national average. This has coincided with a trend of Alabamians moving out of rural areas to the urban centers or suburbs.

As of 2021, there were four counties in the state that had over 100,000 residents and a Domestic Migration Rate greater than 12%: Limestone (32.0%), Baldwin (28.7%), Shelby (13.2%), and Lee (12.2%). The populations of these counties have been growing since 2000.

What factors are contributing to the substantial growth in these specific counties?

Baldwin, Limestone and Shelby counties sit adjacent to the state’s three most populous metropolitan areas: Mobile, Huntsville, and Birmingham respectively. The suburban phenomenon is no doubt a major factor for those counties.

But what about Lee County? Lee is now home to over 175,000 people, up 24.2% since 2010. This makes Lee County the eighth most populous county in Alabama . While many have moved from Montgomery to Auburn, this factor alone does not explain the whole story. Why are people moving to Lee County, particularly to Auburn and Opelika, and where are they coming from?

These are questions that we will explore in future articles and on our podcast.

Our Missional Context Research Project & Podcast Series

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 14:27:10 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Our community here in Auburn/Opelika is changing rapidly, both demographically and culturally. We are also growing in our influence across the State and beyond. It doesn’t take more than a casual drive through town to notice the changes, which raise important questions for the Church as we seek to fulfill our role in God's mission today.

Lesslie Newbigin, perhaps the foremost missiologist of the 20th Century, said in his book The Gospel in a Pluralist Society :

“Authentic Christian thought and action begin not by attending to the aspirations of people, not by answering the questions they are asking in their terms, not by offering solutions to the problems as the world sees them.

It must begin and continue by attending to what God has done in the story of Israel and supremely in the story of Jesus Christ. It must continue by indwelling that story so that it is our story, the way we understand the real story.

And then, and this is the vital point, to attend with open hearts and minds to the real needs of people.”

Allowing the story of Scripture to shape our loves and actions, we want to attend to the real needs of the people in our community:

Who is moving into our community and why? What are their hopes, dreams, needs, fears, anxieties, vulnerabilities, and God-given potential? Where do we see the glory of God reflected here? Where is their idolatry and injustice? Who has power and resources, who is on the margins, and how can we connect them for the common good?
What else is changing here besides demographics? How are the seismic shifts happening in American culture effecting us here? How can we respond with truth, love, and grace-infused winsomeness?
How can we faithfully bear witness to Jesus in light of the unique opportunities and challenges before us?

Beginning over a year ago, the seminary launched a multi-phase research project to address questions like these. In phase 1, we conducted a basic quantitative study looking primarily at the U.S. Census and other readily available published population data. We will be releasing key information from this report in the next few blog posts.

We’ve now entered into phase 2, which is a qualitative study relying primarily on interviews with people who can offer insightful perspectives on our community, including a range of people from leaders at the center of things to people on the margins. We are recording these interviews and we began releasing them on our podcast November 3rd. We plan for this phase and podcast series to carry us through the summer.

Sometime next year, we hope to enter phase 3, in which we plan to interview scholars who have published work on cultural and worldview trends in North America and bring those works into dialogue with local leaders to understand how those macro-trends affect the hearts and minds of people in Auburn and Opelika.

We want to turn the whole project toward God in prayer, asking him,

“What are you up to here? What would it look like for your kingdom to come here as it is in heaven? Given the particularities of our context, what role do you have for the Church here? What particular cross must the Church bear here if we are to faithfully bear witness in life and word to the cross of Christ?”

The larger and longer-term purpose is that this project will help foster conversations, relationships, and partnerships between Church, ministry, and community leaders for the good of the whole community.

Seeking to Strike the Balance

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 19:24:40 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

In the sacred journey of seminary education, as teachers and administrators, we continually grapple with a crucial question: how do we challenge our students without overwhelming them with an excessive load of reading and assignments?

Seminary should be challenging. First of all, the primary subject matter is, after all, God - the One who is holy - wholly other - who is not from here and is not like us. He truly is an overwhelming subject - vast, majestic, powerful, fearsome, wonderful, beautiful, tender, gracious, and kind. He is awesome! We will spend eternity getting to know him, continually overawed and overjoyed at his splendor and glory. We can empathize with Solomon when he prayed, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27).

Secondly, the Bible is not a simple book. Our awesome God has revealed himself to us in this ancient text we call the Bible, a brilliantly complex work of literary art that tells the story of Israel, culminating in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Learning to “rightly handle the word of truth” is critical for Christian leaders, but it is not easy. This is why Paul instructed Timothy to “make every effort to present yourself to God as one who is approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed” (2 Timothy 2:15).

Thirdly, our 21st-century ministry context is complex and rapidly changing. Massive cultural and worldview shifts are taking place. The Church is in need of continual renewal and clarity about how to be a contrast-community in an idolatrous world. We also need increased fervor, commitment, and wisdom for missionary efforts to reach the unreached peoples and places of the world.

Lastly, the call to lead like Christ, in any sphere of influence, is a call to die - to sin and to self. It is the path of the cross. It requires an ever-deepening humility, repentance, and renewed faith in the gospel of grace and the power of the Spirit. Seminary is a time for deep reflection on this call and resolve to be conformed at all costs to the character of Christ.

For all these reasons and more, please pray for our current students who are tomorrow’s ministry leaders. No curriculum, teacher, or assignment and no amount of student effort will amount to anything without the Spirit applying the grace of God to us. The good news is that that is precisely what we have - the grace of God in Jesus Christ made present and powerful to us by the Holy Spirit. Pray for more grace!

At the same time, pray for us as administrators and teachers. Yes, seminary should be challenging but not crushing. God has given the Church a wealth of experience, knowledge, and wisdom. Thousands of pastors, missionaries, and theologians have written thousands of excellent books over the 2,000 years of Church history. To help students meet the challenges above, we want to expose them to the best of these resources and create assignments that foster critical thinking, character development, and real-life application. Yet we know that overburdening students is very counterproductive. Seminary education demands intellectual rigor, but also requires an atmosphere conducive to spiritual reflection and personal growth. Pushing too hard can lead to burnout and diminish the capacity for genuine contemplation. How can we strike a healthy balance?

That balance can be different for each student and course. So far, we’ve hit the mark in some cases and missed the mark in others. Thankfully, students have expressed their thoughts through course evaluations and other means of feedback, and we’re trying to respond appropriately. We’re learning, but by no means have we arrived. Our students matter to God, matter to the Church, and matter to us. Pray for wisdom for us to serve them well as we serve Christ.

Why Missional Theology?

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 18:23:30 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

If you have looked at our website, hopefully you noticed our emphasis on " missional theology ." At first glance, this may seem like a mere rephrasing of the well-established way of doing theological education. However, we aim at something more profound, beginning with the relationship between God’s mission and the Bible.

It’s common in missionary circles to talk about the "biblical basis of missions" and look for passages in the Bible that relate to God's plan to redeem people from every nation. While following this biblical thread from Genesis to Revelation is necessary, if this is all that shapes our understanding of mission, then we've missed something essential about the Bible and even God himself. Therefore, while a Doctrine of Scripture course must deal with topics such as divine inspiration, infallibility, and inerrancy, it must first explore why we have the Bible in the first place. It is because the Triune God is on a mission to reveal himself and his salvation to the world. Our understanding of mission cannot rest on the "Great Commission" passages alone. Rather, we must see the Bible itself as a missional phenomenon. It is both the product of and witness God’s redemptive mission human history. This mission culminates in the gospel of Jesus Christ and results in the restoration of the entirety of human life and all creation for all who believe.

Thus when it comes to biblical education and ministry preparation, we want a robust theology of God’s comprehensive mission to shape all subjects. We do not merely want to add more courses on missions, evangelism, culture, church planting, etc., as helpful as those are. Rather we are exploring how a missional theology will realign the whole curriculum to the goal of equipping the Church for our role in God's mission. This is not a rejection of the rich theological heritage we have received from the historical Church and the insights of various theological disciplines. Instead, as Michael Goheen advocates, we seek " to engage the same material and reframe it with a missional lens ."

Likewise, a course on hermeneutics will teach us principles of interpretation in light of Scripture's role in God's mission. As students learn to attend to the original author, audience, and meaning of a passage, they will learn also to listen for the Spirit's address to the Church then as well as now, drawing people to faith in Jesus and equipping them for God's mission. It will teach students to consider how the gospel shapes our missionary engagement with the cultural idolatry of our day.

A Doctrine of God course will undoubtedly explore the attributes of God. But to remain true to God's character, it must also attend to how these attributes are revealed only in the context of the story of the Father who sent the Son who sends the Spirit who sends the Church to embody and proclaim this story to the ends of the earth. Thus the Church's mission is based not primarily on the command of God but on the character of God.

A Church History course will not only explore key leaders, councils, and events but do so in light of the redemptive timezone between Christ's ascension and his return, a time that only makes sense in light of God's plan to redeem a people for himself from every tongue, tribe, and nation. The historical and theological developments since Acts 28 are testimonies to the Church's faithfulness (or lack thereof) to our missional identity as the gospel engaged new cultural frontiers.

These are just cursory examples, but hopefully, it gives you a feel for how we want to approach theological education. From beginning to end, the Bible is an epic story of God's mission through God's people to save God's world. This story finds its climax and center in the good news of Jesus Christ. Because of Christ's finished work, the story's conclusion at his return is the restoration of the whole creation and all of human life to God's eternal praise and glory. We want our students to be thoroughly shaped by and take up their roles in this incredible story! Thank you for partnering with us!

Local Seminary Celebrates Two Years

Wed, 24 May 2023 21:46:04 GMT

Kendyl Hollingsworth, kendylh@opelikaobserver.com

originally published by Opelika Observer

Local Christians who feel called into vocational ministry won’t have to travel far to receive that instruction.

Twelve churches across Lee County have partnered with Christ Our Redeemer Seminary, the area’s only accredited seminary offering a “holistic approach” to earning a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree.

As Christ Our Redeemer Seminary comes to the end of its second year in operation, President and Academic Dean Hoffman Rhyne said he is excited to see what the future holds.

“This idea had been developing in my heart for several years, but it wasn’t until 2019 that it began to take shape,” he recalled. “I started talking with other pastors and leaders that fall about it, and they resonated with the vision.”

The following February, Rhyne organized a meeting to gauge local interest, and to his surprise, he said, 40 pastors and other Christian leaders from across the county showed up.

“This model of seminary can only exist by collaboration, and I needed to know if there was enough buy-in to bring the idea to fruition,” he said. “From that point forward, we formed a launch team and moved quickly to be able to launch with our first cohort the following August. God blessed us at each step of the way.”

The seminary currently consists of two cohorts and will welcome its third this summer. Only eight to 14 students are accepted into a cohort following a formal application process. According to Rhyne, the students in each cohort “commit to be a learning community together” throughout the entire three-year degree program.

The teaching faculty is made up of local pastors, church planters, ministry leaders and missionaries — all from Auburn and Opelika institutions.

“It has been a joy to see them pouring their lives into our students,” Rhyne said. “We truly have some stellar leaders in our community who could have chosen the path of professional scholarship but instead chose the path of pastoral and ministry leadership. Their strength lies in being able to help students engage with the best scholarship while speaking from a depth of experience.”

According to the seminary’s website, the practicum and mentoring program are designed so that students can experience them in their local churches. Rhyne said the students have 15 mentors to whom they can turn when it comes to personal matters — something he said is also a crucial part of the journey. The students can meet with a mentor one-on-one to work on building character and overcoming trials.

“Character development is critical but often overlooked or avoided due to fear, shame, lack of self-awareness or a host of other issues,” he noted. “Because the gospel is true, we can face the truth about ourselves even when that truth is unpleasant. Our mentors help students to get comfortable with this so that the grace of God can change us profoundly over time. We have a lot of room for improvement, but we celebrate how far we’ve come by the grace of God.”

In addition to the third cohort, Rhyne said Christ Our Redeemer Seminary will soon implement a new certificate program for a broader range of people. Students will be able to complete this program in two semesters consisting of four biblical courses and one course on the spiritual disciplines. The program will also be able to act as an introduction into theological education and ministry preparation, Rhyne added.

Rhyne said promotion is also a priority for the seminary. With time, his hope is that the ministry will grow to include students from farther out, such as Columbus, Georgia, and Montgomery.

At the end of the day, Rhyne said love and outreach are at the heart of ministry. The main goal is to “embody and proclaim” the story of Jesus Christ and reach out to others in love.

“Our vision for the seminary is that the love of Jesus Christ will so change our students that they dedicate their whole lives to spreading the love and news of Jesus to the ends of the earth,” he added. “… We see this not so much as a new thing but as one way in which the church is carrying forward this legacy in our generation. We are humbled to be part of his work in our community and the ripple effects it could have throughout the world.”

What I Learned in China: That Our Joy May Be Made Complete

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 22:46:04 GMT

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

originally published by China Partnership

Editor’s note: Fellowship with brothers and sisters in the global church helps us to better understand ourselves and our times. Even more importantly, this fellowship with other believers enables us to more fully know and worship God. This November, a seminary president from the U.S. shares how a letter to recent Chinese college grads letter taught, encouraged, and challenged him and his students.

“Do you know God? Can you tell me about him?” These words came within the first five minutes of my first conversation with “Tucker.” It was September 2000, and I had been in China for only three weeks. As the year went on, I learned that Tucker was one of many Chinese college students at that time who was hungry to know God. The Spirit of God was at work. I thought to myself, “Who am I that I get to be a part of this?” What a gift! I wanted to stay until Christ’s return. Though I had to leave in 2010, the joy of those early years has never faded. Far from it! I tasted this deepening joy once again when I read Li Yingqiang’s recent letter to the graduating class of Western China Covenant College, entitled Night is Far Gone , Day is at Hand .

I want to make just two observations about how Li’s letter brought me joy.

Close Enough to Empathize; Far Enough to See Clearly

First, I was amazed at his sober reflection and critical analysis of our cultural moment. I say “our” because, in exposing the cultural idolatry in China, he exposed it here as well. Li is precisely right in saying that if Chinese authoritarianism is removed, the church there will likely face the more formidable foe of secular humanism. While opposition in China is now overt and painful, the “magic potion of individualism, materialist ecstasy, and the hypnotic drug of relativism” is perhaps more deadly. He expressed so clearly what I have been trying to say to Christians here. I immediately shared it with our seminary students to help them see what we are up against.

For decades, Christians in the West have been hard-pressed into the secular mold. At the root of the problem is the belief that we can save ourselves and our world from all its woes. But salvation always comes from the outside. The prophetic voice that bears fruit comes from one who is near enough to empathize, but with enough distance to see the matter clearly. This is how I received brother Li’s message. This is why the church in the West needs the church in the East, and vice versa. To that can be added the church in every part of the world and in every age of history. For the church to be faithful in any time and place, we must be open to dialogue with the church from every time and place. Only a brother can show us our blind spots, and we theirs.

Other Christians Help Us Know God

Secondly, I was reminded how we need each other not only to know ourselves, but to know God himself. The opening section of John’s first letter ends with a curious phrase: “We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” Why does John say “our” instead of “your”? John personally saw, heard, and even touched Jesus, the source of all joy. How can he speak of a joy made complete only when others share in divine fellowship? This question has captured my imagination for many years. Reading Li’s message renewed my experience of what I believe John is saying.

In his book, The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis reflects on the nature of friendship.

In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets…

In this, friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to Heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest.

Simply put, we see and enjoy more of God together than alone. Other Christians bring to light aspects of God’s glory that we would not otherwise see. Their lives manifest the beauty of faithful obedience to Jesus in ways we could not otherwise behold. We need each other. This is true of any two Christians, even those from the same culture and family. But our enjoyment of God increases all the more when those who share come from very different vantage points. Everyone has a specific vantage point, limited by many personal and cultural factors. We ought not to think that with such a limited view, we can capture the whole of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. He is simply too magnificent, like a diamond the size of Mount Everest. I am grateful for the work of the China Partnership because Christians everywhere need the Christians in China and vice versa. We need one another, not only to show us our blind spots, but to show us God.

As I read Li’s reflections on faithfulness to Jesus Christ in a challenging context, I tasted more of the joy that awaits us all. For when the redeemed from every tongue, tribe, and nation gather before the throne, seeing and declaring to one another the excellencies of God – only then will our joy be finally made complete.