A Special Announcement from Bob

Looks like it is time to update the brief bio on our Team page.

I am delighted to announce that I have accepted a new position with African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM).

In the aftermath of genocide in his home country of Rwanda, Celestin Musekura founded ALARM in 1994 “to help the African church serve as an agent of change and transformation that goes deeper than superficial, nominal Christianity.” Now with staff and offices in eight countries of east and central Africa, ALARM is equipping leaders to bring about healing and holistic transformation in their communities.

Operating out of ALARM’s Dallas office as Director of Leadership Development, I will come alongside the African leaders in their fulfillment of this vision. My primary responsibilities will be in the areas of staff and volunteer learning, curriculum development, and donor relations.

When I started seminary, Julie and I hoped to be a part of theological education overseas, possibly in Africa. We did not expect the family circumstances that redirected us to Dallas, nor did we expect that I would teach at Dallas Seminary for 17 years. And we certainly never expected that God would bring us to this new place, restoring aspects of our original vision after so much time had passed. In short, we are as surprised by this as anybody, and we are absolutely thrilled!

Missiologist Andrew Walls contends that “the Christianity typical of the twenty-first century will be shaped by the events and processes that take place in the southern continents, and above all by those that take place in Africa. . . . The characteristic doctrines, the liturgy, the ethical codes, the social applications of the faith will increasingly be those prominent in Africa.” Further, “What happens about Christianity and nation-building in Africa . . . may indicate whether Christians have anything of importance to say or do about civil society, or any characteristically Christian way of influencing it, anywhere in the world.” ALARM is positioned to make a major contribution to this future, and we are grateful to God for the opportunity to join with them.

We would appreciate your prayers through this transition. This is an exciting time that will bring many changes!

Bob