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Message from Charles

Message from Charles

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Dear Carey Students

I trust the break has gone well for you all and that you are looking forward to another semester of lectures and training. Please be assured that Carey exists for its students and as Principal I am very interested in your thoughts and ideas. Don’t hesitate to send me an email or arrange with Shireen to come and have a chat – it is important for me that I hear from you! I particularly want to mention this to our Distance Students – an e-mail or visit to Carey is always appreciated!

I am keen to communicate the announcement below to you all. The Carey Board and Staff are very excited about this development and believe it will strengthen our ability to produce even stronger graduates for ministry, mission, and the marketplace. We will talk more with you about this over the semester that is ahead.

If you are an on-site student can I encourage you to join with me and other Carey staff at our weekly prayer time – Wednesday from 12:40 to 1pm (just before lunch), in the Chapel when the bell is rung. We have some significant staff appointments to be made over the next semester, in the Biblical Studies area, and I would love nothing more than all our College community coming together to seek God’s direction.

May God continue to encourage you in your study

Charles

Colossians 1:28-29

Director of Mission Research and Training

At Carey Baptist College we take seriously our task of producing graduates for ministry and mission in the world we are about to live in. As a result of this we are creating a new teaching and training position at the College focusing on contemporary mission.

We are pleased to announce that Dr George Wieland will be our first Director of Mission Research and Training and will commence this role at the beginning of 2012. George has been part of our staff team since 2000 as our New Testament specialist, and has already established a reputation as a researcher, teacher, and trainer with a deep passion for mission both within New Zealand and overseas. Prior to coming to Carey, George had ministry experience in cross-cultural mission in Brazil, a pioneer pastorate in the North of England, and pastoring an inner-city church and community project in Edinburgh. Within New Zealand he has a particular interest in the challenge of creating authentic intercultural community and partnership in ministry and mission.

The College is creating this new role because we want to:

  • bring mission more clearly into the foreground of who we are and what we do
  • enable students to experience and understand the heart of God for all people and the radical inclusiveness of the Body of Christ
  • speak into the changing face of New Zealand society – both in attitudes to the gospel, and also our increased multi-cultural make-up
  • produce graduates who a have confidence in the gospel, and a creativity in the way they engage with a secular world
  • produce graduates with a strong global awareness, and an ability to minister effectively in the various cultures and worldviews to which they are called (both locally and internationally)
  • contribute to contemporary mission related research
  • develop stronger partnerships with mission agencies and training institutions (both locally and internationally)

The Director for Mission Research and Training will have responsibility for:

  • teaching in the area of contemporary mission
  • co-ordinating the training of students preparing specifically for mission roles
  • conducting and encouraging mission-related research
  • cultivating partnerships in mission and training (both locally and overseas)
  • providing mission-related resourcing to NZ churches and agencies
  • ensuring that our learning environment is welcoming and relevant to students of all cultural backgrounds

George reflects on his evolving mission focus:

While continuing to teach Biblical Studies my focus over the past few years has been shifting towards areas of mission and cross-cultural engagement. As a member of Tranzsend’s Mission Council I have become more aware of the realities and issues of contemporary mission. Spending time in India, Nepal, Thailand and elsewhere has broadened my cross-cultural experience and built relationships with many national Christians and cross-cultural workers. Here in NZ my intercultural awareness has been extended through involvement with both indigenous Maori and immigrant churches and Christian leaders. I am often asked to speak and preach on mission topics and to meet with church leaders to discuss intercultural challenges.

My academic research in Biblical Studies has also had cross-cultural dimensions, with published papers and conference presentations on missional engagement in Titus, intercultural community in Romans, socially located Bible reading, migration in the Bible, etc. My current research, on the experience of immigrant Asian Christians in NZ, is in the field of Migration and Religion. Of course the New Testament is itself a mission book and I have always seen my Biblical study and teaching as in the service of God’s mission. The last eleven years of in-depth engagement with the New Testament have deepened my convictions and stretched my understanding of God’s saving purpose for the world. This new role offers an opportunity to work with others in preparing for and addressing challenges of that mission.

In semester 2 of this year George will be co-teaching a new Carey paper, Theology and Practice of Relief and Development, with Chris Clarke and other World Vision staff. It is expected the following papers will be included in the 2012 curriculum: Exploring Mission in the Book of Acts; Issues in Contemporary Mission; and Reflective Field Education (Cross-Cultural). George will also teach a Masters paper, Mission and Ministry in the Letters to Timothy and Titus. For 2013 a new course will be developed, The Mission of God (developing a missional hermeneutic, articulating a mission-oriented understanding of God and the world, and developing applied theological/missiological approaches to issues of life and ministry).

As a College we are extremely excited about the development of this position. For further information please do not hesitate to contact Charles Hewlett (Principal) on Charles.hewlett@carey.ac.nz