Barnabas File

A positive aspect of teaching classes for Central Seminary (Shawnee, KS) has been the diversity of the student body.     In addition to working with students from a number of denominations, I also have the opportunity to engage students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.     I have especially learned from the experiences of African-American Christians who have been willing to share not only their church culture but their personal experiences as well.     Even with this exposure, I still have a lot to learn about relating across the racial gap, so I appreciate Terrell Carter’s informative and challenging book   Healing Racial Divides : Finding Strength in Our Diversity . Dr. Terrell Carter is an artist (he provided the cover art), pastor, theologian, educator, and former police officer.  He combines these experiences with the insights of theology, the social sciences, law, and cultural analysis to address the key issue in Ameri...

Dr. Terrell Carter invited me to be a guest on his weekly radio program which is broadcast in St. Louis.     We recorded the program last Friday and it was scheduled to be broadcast on Saturday.     This is not something I usually do, but I enjoyed the dialogue that emerged between the two of us. As Terrell asked me about some of the challenges that face the 21 st century church, I said, “One of the biggest challenges that we face is accepting people where they are rather than where we would like for them to be.”  I don’t think that I had actually used that terminology previously.  Whether we intend it or not, we think in terms of the “ideal new member” for our congregation, expecting the person to come up to certain standards.  Unconsciously we are thinking, “This way we avoid the hard work of acceptance.” Of course, we should ask ourselves, “When I first became part of a faith community, was I such a great ‘catch’?” The...

A study released recently by the American Association of Theological Schools found that enrollment in its member schools had stabilized and even showed a slight increase over the previous year.     Perhaps more interesting are the upward and downward trends in student enrolment over the past decade. In downward trends, the enrolment of white students has decreased by 19 percent.  There was a 6 percent enrolment decline for those under 30 and a 14 percent decrease in those seeking the Master of Divinity degree, the basic theological education program. Upward trends included the following:  ten percent increase in racial/ethnic students, 16 percent increase in students over 50 years of age, and an 11 percent increase in those pursuing professional or academic Master of Arts degrees. I would particularly like to address the upward trends and what they mean for the providers of theological education. First, the increasing number of students...

My friend Terrell Carter is something of a “renaissance man.”   A former police officer and now artist, entrepreneur, pastor, and academic, Dr. Carter has a new book coming from Wipf and Stock in the fall entitled "The Lord Gave Me This: Understanding the Historic Leadership Development Practices of the Black Church in Order to Prepare Its Leaders of Tomorrow.” Carter explains that preaching, community, and calling are the key requirements to become an effective pastor in the African-American church and, therefore, are important to the pastor’s preparation for ministry. The centrality of story-telling and an oral tradition in the African culture makes proclamation a true sign of one’s divine call. The call is affirmed by the community and the gift of proclamation is nurtured in community. This approach sharply contrasts to the western model where ministerial identity is shaped through reading, writing, and reflection in a community apart from the church...

When one hears the word “Machiavellian,” the usual response is negative.   The work of 16 th century writer Niccolo Machiavelli is often dismissed as being grounded in self-interest and achievement of success at any cost.   In Machiavellian Ministry: What Faith Filled Leaders Can Learn from a Faithless Politician , Terrell Carter attempts to redeem the work of Machiavelli and apply it to 21 st century leadership, particularly for leaders in the church. Carter also draws on the insights of modern management to interpret and apply the Italian philosopher’s writings to the challenges of contemporary leadership. The key idea is, “How does a leader deal with change?”   The author shows great wisdom in challenging leaders to address “what is” rather than “what ought to be.”   This is especially relevant in a social and cultural climate that continues to shift around us. Carter identifies three positive points of Machiavelli’s advice to a new Medici prince a...