wfn.org | Seminary professor to teach in Ghana

[Beth Hawn]

Microsoft Mail v3.0 (MAPI 1.0 Transport) IPM.Microsoft Mail.Note
To:  'Worldwide Faith News'
Date: 1999-04-14 15:56
Priority: 3
Message ID: 61008B30AE86BE11810A7611E65C8882
Conversation ID: Seminary professor to teach in Ghana

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April 14, 1999
Mennonite Board of Missions
Beth Hawn
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

Seminary professor to teach Pauline theology in Ghana
ELKHART, Ind. (MBM) -  As part of his research on the teachings of Paul,   
a
professor of New Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary will   

teach a course this spring in Ghana. Some of the costs of his travels,   
where
he will teach a course on Paul's letters at the Good News Theological   
College
and Seminary in Accra, will be underwritten by Mennonite Board of   
Missions as
part of its ongoing support of the seminary in Ghana.  The course begins   
April
26 and will be condensed into a three-week period ending May 18.

Currently on sabbatical from AMBS, Jacob Elias will use his time in Ghana   
to
collect information for a book he is writing on Pauline theology.  The   
book
takes a narrative approach to Pauline theology, tracing Paul's story, the   
story
of Jesus, congregational stories and ultimately God's story.  He is   
developing
first-century case studies of congregations, and comparable late-
twentieth-century case studies, which span a variety of cultural   
contexts.

Taking a culturally diverse approach to Paul's letters is a priority with   

Elias.  "One thing I have realized over the years is that in a context   
such
as AMBS, the learning environment is greatly enriched by having a   
(variety)
of backgrounds and cultures in the mix.  I have learned a lot from having   

students from all over the world," he said.  "The global context for   
church
and mission is a value that I hold very important."

The necessity of a multicultural approach to reading the Bible became
apparent to Elias while traveling in the Middle East during a previous
sabbatical.  "Standing at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I saw orthodox
Jewish boys worshipping with their fathers.  During a trip to Athens, I   
caught
the cosmopolitan flavor of this cultural center in the Greco-Roman world   
of
the first century," he said.

Through these experiences, Elias realized the vast cultural chasm that
Paul, who also had been a Jewish boy praying in Jerusalem, had to
overcome in order to preach in Athens and the rest of the Mediterranean.   
   

"I recognized that I need sisters and brothers in Christ from other
cultures to help me see more clearly the meaning of the gospel,"
he said.

On weekends in Ghana, Elias hopes to visit various congregations
and pastors to dialogue with them about Paul's letters and their   
churches.

"I am excited about meeting people who profess the same faith and whose
commitment to Christ is comparable to mine, but who live in different   
cultures,"
he said.  "There is so much one can gain from fellowship and worship with   

people from another culture."

Earlier this spring Elias also visited congregations in Paraguay and   
attended
the Latin American Anabaptist Consultation in San Lorenzo, Paraguay, in   
an
effort to broaden the scope of his sabbatical work.

Elias hopes to use his book as a text in his AMBS classes next fall.  "I   
hold
global context as important here at AMBS, where we have a mission to   
prepare
people for ministry and outreach around the world," he said.

Elias has been at AMBS since 1977 when he completed his doctorate in
New Testament at Toronto School of Theology (Toronto, Ontario).  He
has served as the international students' sponsor at AMBS.

GNTCS will provide Elias with room and board while he is in Ghana and
MBM will pay his travel expenses.  MBM was instrumental in the founding   
of
GNTCS and has supported some full-time faculty at the school.  The
seminary's mission is to provide training for lay leaders and pastors in
West African independent churches.

Elias's wife, Lillian, will remain in Elkhart, where she will finish her   
masters
of divinity at AMBS this spring.  Together they have three children and
three grandchildren.

* * *

Minda Kauffman