Oahu Theological Seminary, Partner Trip Report
Upon arriving in Hawaii--after about 14 hours in transit--I was whisked away by Chris to attend their Tuesday evening seminary classes. Oahu Theological Seminary--named for the island in which it is headquartered--is still in its infancy, but it already has ten students from the Hawaiian islands (several others have already graduated). This may not sound like a lot, but relative to the number of churches--and the number of healthy, Bible teaching, Gospel focused churches--merely these ten will, upon graduation, constitute something of a revolution.
It is hard to speak of "the churches of" any one place--every church is different and every region is unique. However, here's my report: all of the pastors and churches I interacted with were good churches, and yet every pastor I spoke with described how they wished they'd had formal theological training--like what OTS offers--and how the lack of such training has affected their ministry negatively.
One pastor I spoke with was going through fresh conflict, but lamented his lack of preparation for such things. Another pastor I spoke with had returned to the islands for the seminary convocation--he had been raised in Hawaii, but left because there was no theological education there, and now lives in the Midwest--he grieved over not having been able to stay in Hawaii and serve. Almost no pastor I spoke with had been seminary trained--the few I met who were, were part of OTS.
And these are just the churches trying to be healthy and faithful. Every version of unfaithful, unhealthy, church that you can imagine--and many you can't imagine!--are also present on the islands, in higher density than what we find on the mainland. In other words, ten seminary trained church leaders will make a meaningful difference! And that's just for starters.
So I sat in--and chimed in on--Tuesday's New Testament Greek class and then the Old Testament Survey class (on the Pentateuch). Wednesday we helped the Bruno's prepare for and host their small group meeting. (Note: throughout this account, you should assume that I jumped in the ocean at every possible chance. I'm just not going to repeat that fact.) Thursday we flew to the Big Island for a seminar on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. I participated on Friday, and led Saturday morning. Then we flew back Saturday afternoon, whereupon I got to my normal Saturday evening work (from about 7:30-10p) of reviewing and tweaking the Sunday sermon. Sunday we left at 8am (FYI, 3am WI time!) to attend Grace Fellowship Hawaii, where I re-preached the sermon on 1John 4:12. We fellowshipped with some of the elders of that church and then attended church with the Bruno's in the afternoon. Monday was Labor Day--take it easy, brah! Tuesday we relaxed through the day, but then I again attended Greek class, and I taught the OT Survey class (on the Historical books). Wednesday afternoon we went with the Bruno's to the western side of the island, where Chris and Katie are hoping to relocate to be part of a church plant. (Because, a) they love the local church, b) there's literally like one single good church on that side of the island to serve a rapidly increasing population, c) and they see it as communicating a long-term commitment to the church in Hawaii.) Thursday was mostly about packing up, and also preparing for the seminary convocation in the evening. (This is a special service at which someone is installed in an important office, in this case Chris himself as the President of OTS.) Friday we flew home, getting back at 1am Saturday morning. (If I seemed "out of it" Sunday, I was!)
In summary, my appreciation for what Chris is doing grew. There is, again, literally no one like Chris doing what he's doing in Hawaii. There is no other seminary, and theological education is desperately needed. And also, I appreciated the wisdom and care with which Chris is going about this. First, he's emphasizing partnerships with local churches. I don't think it's a stretch to say that all of the Gospel preaching churches in Hawaii are connected to OTS, and to each other, through Chris. Second, Chris is not just providing a top-notch theological education, he's emphasizing relationships with the students which ensures not only a more effective seminary experience, but also a healthier ministry for the seminarians as they have mentors in Chris and the other OTS facutly.
Hawaii is a lovely place to visit, but it's a hard place to live. You can find all the typical fast food you find on the mainland, and even some fancy stores and restaurants we don't have in Wisconsin. But it's a lot different when you step away from the resorts. There are many "spiritual" people in Hawaii, and it's a hot bed of quasi-religious and new-age cults. But you will not find many healthy pastors. You will not find many healthy churches. You will not find many healthy Christians.
There, as here, it's hard to do Gospel ministry. But here, unlike there, I have easy access to many well-trained fellow pastors leading stable, healthy, churches. When I need counsel, I have 5-6 seasoned pastors I can get coffee with. And I have personally attended five different seminaries, plus the Bible college I graduated from--none of which are even well-known! Hawaii has a lot of natural beauty, but they lack the resources necessary for stable, healthy, growing, Gospel preaching churches.
Our partnership with Oahu Theological Seminary is working to change that. And it's working. There's something there that hasn't been there for a long, long time. Let's continue to keep them in prayer.
Thank you for your support of that good work, and thank you for sending Jenecia and I there to experience it. As they say in those fragrant islands: Mahalo!