Time Flies

​Time flies when you are having fun… Or so the saying goes.
 
On November 1, 2013, I began my tenure at Midwestern as Dean of the College. It’s hard for me to fathom that. In many respects, it seems like only yesterday we were moving to KC, but in other ways, the community here makes if feel as if we have belonged all our lives.
 
Many of you are aware of the grace God continues to pour on our campus. We are seeing lives changed, church leaders transformed and Gospel impact throughout every aspect of our work here. With new friends and donors, new academic resources, and new colleagues joining the work, we are enjoying one of the sweetest seasons in our ministry!
 
In reflecting on my second anniversary at MBTS, I thought I would list 5 key things I’ve learned while serving at Midwestern:
 

1. Leadership Matters – Getting the right people in place is very important. Dr. Allen tirelessly works to put the right people in the right places. When this element of synergy begins to function, things happen. This atmosphere shapes every aspect of our campus life. For those of us on the leadership team at MBTS, we work hard together and strive for God’s best in all that we do. As a unified team, this makes every challenge and every battle much easier to engage. Serving under a God-called leader brings joy to the task at hand.
2. Vision Matters – What defines everything we do? Our central vision is simple: We are for the church. What shapes our programs? The things that matter to the church. What defines our lectureships? The issues that face the church. What drives our faculty? A love for the bride of Christ – the church. Our passion is to equip men and women for service for the church! Such a clearly defined vision makes hard decisions so much easier to resolve. Does it fit the vision or not?
3. Trustees Matter – There is not a finer group of men and women on the planet than those who serve Midwestern. They work tirelessly to ensure quality in our educational systems, to represent the people of the Southern Baptist Convention and to hold us to the doctrinal fidelity we share as Baptists. They are gifted men and women who make Midwestern fit for service and bring quality to all we do. We are perpetually thankful for their heart.
4. Faculty Matter – Can I tell you how rare it is to find such quality in a faculty? Men and women trained at many of the most prestigious institutions globally, yet carefully training the next generation of global leaders for the church! They write books, speak at conferences, challenge students in the classroom, shepherd the hearts of students and serve in their local church. If I were choosing a school, I would always look at the faculty. At Midwestern, quality abounds.
5. Cooperation Matters – Every semester, students look at their registration and their bill. They wonder how they are going to make it through another semester. Yet Southern Baptists step in every term and lighten the load. In another powerful demonstration of what we can do together as churches, Southern Baptists, through gifts to the Cooperative Program, grant our SBC students a tuition break that amounts to about ½ of their total cost. Unbelievable. While students at other denominational schools sink into debt that mortgages their future ministry effectiveness, the SBC sees the benefit of investing in each of these students as they prepare to reach the world for Christ.

 
It’s a great day at Midwestern! I’m exceptionally thankful God called me here. I’m thankful for the President I serve, for our trustees and the men and women I serve with day in and day out. Every day I’m reminded about the greatest treasure I have is serving the approximately 45,000 Southern Baptist Churches for whom I have the opportunity to serve by training their next pastor, missionary, or lay leader.
 
As the time flies, we realize more and more - God is so good!