Summer - Lee University

Campus NewsDEPARTMENTAL FOCUSSchool of Religion: Building the KingdomBy JEROME BOONE, chair, Departmentof Bible and Christian MinistriesThe School of Religion at LeeUniversity continues the originalpurpose and mission of the schoolwhich was established in 1918 as aplace “where workers could betrained for the field.” The evangelisticzeal of the Church of God in theearly 20th century was spreadingthe gospel of Jesus Christ so aggressivelythat ministers were needed tosupport the great harvest of souls.From that first term of a dozen studentsat Bible Training School, theschool has grown to serve over4,000 student course enrollments inany given semester. The mission ofthe school has expanded along withits enrollment. The School of Religionhas a dual mission these days:to help every student be conversantin the Christian faith, to articulatetheir own beliefs and to actualizetheir faith, as well as to prepare menand women for full-time vocationalministry.In essence, the mission of theSchool of Religion is to help othersknow God truly and faithfully. Buildingthe kingdom of God is the hopefuloutcome of all of our work. In theclassroom, faculty strive to revealwho God truly is. They also press forthe implications of that knowledge:how, then, should we live our lives?The logical complement to the classroomwork is the Christian servicerequirement which enables everystudent to “love others” in a practicalway through benevolence and socialjustice activities.A true expression of puttingfaith into action was the studentand faculty response to HurricaneKatrina. Weekend after weekend,students and faculty from the Schoolof Religion rode the Lee bus to the gulfcoast and worked to help clean up thehurricane damage as well as bring foodrelief to those displaced by the hugestorm. The faith-in-action work of ourstudents is evident every semester inand around Cleveland at the soupkitchens, economically depressedneighborhoods, and benevolence ministriesat local churches.The work of the School of Religionintensifies in the preparation of menand women for ministry. The preparationextends to developing theologicalperspectives on ministry, skills for ministryand practical experience of ministrythrough internships. All of thispreparation is carried out within anethos of character developmentthrough the spiritual disciplines of historicalChristianity.A vital part of student experience isministerial internships. Many studentswork in local churches or their homechurches in the various areas of churchIntercultural Studiesstudents in Zambiaministry. Students serve dozens ofchurches in the Cleveland/BradleyCounty area every week as volunteeryouth workers or children’s workers.They are often working with our ownalumni who serve as pastors, youthpastors and children’s pastors in nearbychurches. The Intercultural Studies(missions emphasis) students most oftenserve in an international context: mostrecently in Zambia, South Africa, Cambodia,Thailand, India and Panama. Theinternships bridge the path from academicprogram to field ministry. Bothstudents and the church benefit fromthe relationship.Students find many opportunities toenhance their educational experience inthe School of Religion. A favorite is theIsrael Study Tour. Students travelthroughout Israel tracing the life andministry of Jesus. They begin inNazareth at the birth place. They visitthe villages around the Sea of Galileeand finally spend time in Jerusalemand Judea. Another popular education-20 TORCH • Summer 2008