Mennonite Weekly Review

DENVER — As Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary transfers its Fresno, Calif., programs to Fresno Pacific University, U.S. MB leaders are looking toward their future in graduate-level theological education.

Leaders from the U.S. Conference of MB Churches convened a meeting of presidents and board representatives of MBBS, FPU and Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan., April 14-15 to renew the national mission of pastoral leadership development and explore future collaboration.

District ministers from the North Carolina, Central, Pacific and Southern District conferences were present for a portion of the meetings.

“In order for us to be effective in mission together as a family of churches, we needed to get all the players around the same table,” said Steve Schroeder, chair of the U.S. Conference.  

MBBS, the MB seminary for graduate-level theological education, will complete the transfer of its Fresno programs to FPU by June 1.

The group addressed concerns from those who felt they had been on the margin of the transfer decision, including Tabor board members.

“We spent time on our knees, humbling ourselves before God and asking for his wisdom and grace,” said Ed Boschman, U.S. Conference executive director. “We experienced the freedom as a group of leaders to speak the truth in love.”

The leaders reviewed how the MBBS board negotiated the transfer of mission, assets and programs to FPU. The review examined the timeline of events between the fall, when MBBS ended negotiations with Fuller Theological Seminary about partnering to offer some courses, and Feb. 5, when the seminary announced its transfer to FPU.

The review also clarified the MBBS board’s authority for the transfer and identified details of the financial transaction.

“When it is unavoidable that changes occur quickly and not everyone is equally in the loop, it is good to communicate full and accurate information about the whys and the hows,” Boschman said.

Participants learned how the seminary’s identity, mission, evangelical-Anabaptist biblical theological perspective, faculty and curriculum will be protected by creating an asymmetrical relationship with the other schools of the university. For example, FPU has created a separate corporation for donations restricted to seminary student scholarships and faculty salaries.

The leaders explored possible future collaboration among Tabor, FPU and the seminary. Though they did not agree upon a comprehensive, long-range partnership, representatives agreed that regular faculty academic consultations, courses taught via video-conferencing technologies and shared curriculum in other programs would provide first steps in increased cooperation.

“Each of the leaders is committed to finding ways that we can work together,” Schroeder said. “Beyond that, there was a clear commitment to move forward with future conversations that will culminate in a plan that serves all of our districts well.”