Reflections on MBBS

We asked a number of former MBBS students to reflect on their time at MB Biblical Seminary, answering the following questions:

1. What was the best thing I took away from MBBS?

2. If I could pick the brain of MBBS professors today, I would ask them about . . .

Here are three responses.

I have many positive memories of our two years studying at MBBS in Fresno. I think the best thing I gained was confidence to pastor. I went to MBBS believing God was leading me, yet somewhat overwhelmed at the prospect of being a pastor. I remember starting seminary with the thought that here are pastors, missionaries, Bible teachers and me. And one of these things is not like the others.

Towards the end of seminary I said to my wife Heather, “If I will walk humbly, live faithfully, and depend on God to empower me, He will use me to give effective pastoral leadership.” It was not that I was then so educated that “I” could do this. But I believed God had equipped me to pastor His church. I have encountered many situations I was not specifically prepared for, but with the tools I received I have had confidence to minister pastorally and provide leadership.

I don’t have a specific question for seminary professors today, but I would enjoy another year (or semester) of study at some point. As a pastor I am continually trying to lead and nurture others. I have been enriched along the way by seminars and short courses, but it would be great to have another extended time of receiving in the areas of Bible, theology and church leadership. I’m sure I feel this way because MBBS was such a positive experience.

Lorne Willms, pastor, Coaldale (Alta.) MB Church

Some of my best memories of seminary include the privilege of studying under some of the people whose names have become synonymous with the seminary’s foundational history. How blessed I’ve been to take a theology course from J.B. Toews, Old Testament Theology from Elmer Martens, Romans from John E. Toews, Preaching from J.J. Toews, Christian Education from Loyal Martin, New Testament Epistles from D. Edmond Hiebert, and Revelation from David Ewert. There were other important influencers as well, but I feel like I studied under the “MB Professors Hall of Fame.” What an encouragement they were to me as I continued listening for God’s confirmation for pastoral ministry during those demanding years of developing new disciplines for biblical study.

In reflecting on my seminary experience one of the best things I took from those years was the capacity to do biblical study. We were schooled on the difference between a biblical seminary and a school of theology, and we learned that MBBS was a biblical seminary based on very deep convictions about the importance of approaching biblical studies from that vantage point. While a course or two in systematic theology could have enhanced what I learned, the biblical studies approach gave me the resources to develop my own systems that I can express and pass on in the context of a preaching ministry as a pastor.

If I could pick the brain of one of the professors today I would ask counsel and help in creating ways to draw more people into pastoral ministry. Why aren’t we training more pastors and how can the seminary and church work more closely to meet this growing need?

Dennis Fast, senior pastor, Reedley (Calif.) MB Church

In my last of three years at MBBS I experienced three crucial dynamics that have been part of my ongoing growth and commitment to life-giving spirituality. While my time at seminary was important in many ways, not least of which was equipping me for my profession, it was these three dynamics that set me on the road to self-awareness, freedom and an abundant life.

The first was being in psychotherapy myself. After almost a decade of struggling with a blank and empty feeling in my heart, I began to sense the gentle, fearsome rising of aliveness within me.

The second life-giving dynamic was my clinical supervisor, Jan Ritchey, whose picture I have displayed in each of my professional offices since graduating. Jan was a mentor, guide, and teacher. She taught me to have the heart of a therapist. She enveloped me in truthful acceptance and believed in what I could bring to the healing journeys of those who sought therapy with me.

The third crucial dynamic occurred as I did the research for my thesis. The material I read resonated strongly with my own experience, my own longings for validation and freedom as a woman in the church, and built on the foundation of community and mutuality I had known in my home congregation. Much of what I learned at MBBS was by persevering through the challenges of adversity. In contrast, these three dynamics were enriching and growth-producing and set the direction for the subsequent years of my life.

Most of the professors who taught me are no longer at the seminary, but have retired or moved to other academic institutions to continue their work. During my time at MBBS most of my attention was focused on my own learning and character development. If I could “pick their brains” now, I’d be much more curious about their own experiences as men and women in a church school, dealing with constituency expectations and conflicts, wishing to understand what caused them to teach in a denominational school, and eventually leave the school. I would be curious about the life and educational events that had an impact on them and shaped them. I would be curious to know how they experienced abundance in their lives.

Joanne Klassen, director, Recovery of Hope, Winnipeg, Man.