Deputation - Baptist Bible Tribune

f i s c h o o l n e w sb a p t i s t b i b l e c o l l e g eLet's reclaim ourfuture...together!b o s t o n b a p t i s t c o l l e g eNew stuffby Jim Edge | President | Baptist Bible CollegeBBFI President Mark Hodges has called upon our Fellowship topray for revival. Our officers, pastors, church leaders, and missionariesare praying for a moving of the Holy Spirit that will gripour hearts and inspire a fresh unity and vision. We at Baptist BibleCollege are committed to praying for our Fellowship and colleges toexperience a fresh encounter with God. Consider this informationfrom the Association for Biblical Higher Education regarding theeffectiveness of the church in North America:• Only seven church denominations or fellowships experienced anynet growth in the past decade — and that includes the Mormonsand Jehovah’s Witnesses.• The growth rate of established churches over the past decade iszero percent.• No county experienced church growth over the past decade.• Fifty percent of churches did not record one conversion last year.• Seventy-two churches close each week in North America, while48 new ones are being planted.While we hope that the above statistics do not apply to thechurches of the Baptist Bible Fellowship, we also must admit thatwe have lost momentum in recent years.At BBC, we have asked God for revival to begin in our heartsand the hearts of our students. As a college, we have been throughthe fire. When others were ready to pronounce the doors closedat BBC, God saw fit to sustain His college through the generosityof churches and individuals and the sacrificial work of faculty andstaff. We are grateful for how God has worked, yet we realize that ourgreatest need is for personal revival both in our lives and in the livesof our students. If our students are to truly impact their world, theywill need the constant empowerment and wisdom that only a meaningfuldependency upon God can provide. To reclaim our future, weare committed to join with the BBFI Executive Committee and otherleaders to pray and prepare our hearts for revival.In a world where darkness prevails, we will be more committedto the light of absolute Truth. In a world where selfishness and arroganceis the norm, we will model and teach humility and a spirit ofsacrifice as demonstrated by our Savior. In an environment whereleadership is seen as maneuvering and manipulating, we rededicateourselves to a spirit of servanthood, cooperation, and unity. In a culturewhere materialism and carelessness have replaced disciplineand hard work, we recommit to work strategically and tirelessly toreclaim the future for BBC and the Baptist Bible Fellowship.We believe that revival is possible because God’s desire forworld evangelization through the local church has not changed.More than ever we need every agency in our Fellowship to work andpray for one another’s success.by David Melton | President | Boston Baptist CollegeDid you get it? Whatever new thing — that Christmas gift youwanted — did you get it? Lots of us have been making “experienced”cars, carpet, furniture last a little longer than plannedbecause these aren’t the greatest days for buying anything new. ButChristmas is the exception. Surely all of us got something new.Here in Boston we have been waiting and still will wait a whilefor some new stuff we want. We do need a lot of new carpet, somenew computers, a new snow blower or two... “new” would be nice.But it is okay when we don’t go “new” just exactly when we thoughtwe would. I am glad, however, that we do have something new... Iam sure I see a newness in our students.I often say that our students get younger every year. That is justa “new” way for me to say that the age gap between them and mebroadens each year! We have to keep stretching to bridge the generationaldivide, and while that can get old, the payoff is a truckloadof “new” that shakes up the halls and classrooms of Boston BaptistCollege.Many of our students are new Christians. Most years almosthalf of our students are first-generation Christians, those not raisedin Christian homes. These young people bring lots of questions tocampus, and they have the most adjustment to get into our routine,but they also bring extraordinary new energy. I laughed to mysoul at one of them the other day. He used to be a drug dealer and adrunk. He told me his new faith was “so cool” because this was thefirst holiday he could actually remember!Our students also bring a new appreciation for grace. So muchhas been written and said about the impact of the implosion of theAmerican family on this generation. But I think not enough hasbeen said about how these young people respond to their adoptionas God’s sons and daughters. I know they have some differences, andI will be the first to admit that I don’t understand all of them, but Iabsolutely love to hear them talk about salvation. That is the onlyupside to sin that I can see — the young people who are saved out ofits depths seem to revel and bask in the warmth of the gospel. I jokewith them that they are addicted to their iPhones. But along withthat, I see in our students a reckless passion for the God who boughta relationship withr them on a Roman cross.I did get a new thing or two during the holidays. Our collegedid too. We have a couple more new supporting churches and severalmore new students. I must say, though, that this generation ofyoung people, so different from me in a lot of ways, these studentsat Boston, keep making ministry education “new.” We can assumelittle about them, but we ought to expect much from them. The gospelisn’t old hat to them. I’m sure glad we have them.26 | Baptist Bible Tribune | January 2010