In my last days of college, I sat down with one of my theology professors for a final conversation before graduation. We spoke about my future plans, and I thanked her for everything she’d taught me. In a moment of reflection, I found myself thinking out loud, “After four years, I think I learned that the same old Sunday school answer is still the answer for everything: Jesus.”
She gave a ready nod and said, “In a way, we don’t study theology to get new answers. We do it to better understand the questions.”
Her words have remained with me since, a sort of solid ground on which to set my feet. This is not to say my theological education didn’t change me. On the contrary, my studies—both in college and, later, during my time at Fuller—transformed me profoundly, guiding me by those earth-shaking questions, which I’ve come to learn change as often as the world itself does.
While yesterday and tomorrow demand their own inquiries, today’s questions touch on—among other things—advances in technology, the continual churn of globalization, sweeping calls for justice, and a world-altering pandemic that upends all we know of the ordinary. The world keeps changing, and change always begets more change. A new world means reimagined selves, a reimagined church, and a reimagined way in which disciples of Jesus are prepared to encounter the challenges before us, even as our hope amidst a shifting landscape remains the same: the good news of Christ’s love and justice, God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
I’m thankful that Fuller Seminary understands itself as a place in continual need of this kind of transformation, for the sake of the good news and for the important work this news requires. As world and church continue to be remade, it is essential that seminary education and Christian formation undergo their own transformations as well. This means that new things are on the horizon for Fuller. In this issue of FULLER magazine, catch a glimpse of the conversations taking place and the important questions being asked, as we shape what’s next for Fuller in the years ahead.
In my last days of college, I sat down with one of my theology professors for a final conversation before graduation. We spoke about my future plans, and I thanked her for everything she’d taught me. In a moment of reflection, I found myself thinking out loud, “After four years, I think I learned that the same old Sunday school answer is still the answer for everything: Jesus.”
She gave a ready nod and said, “In a way, we don’t study theology to get new answers. We do it to better understand the questions.”
Her words have remained with me since, a sort of solid ground on which to set my feet. This is not to say my theological education didn’t change me. On the contrary, my studies—both in college and, later, during my time at Fuller—transformed me profoundly, guiding me by those earth-shaking questions, which I’ve come to learn change as often as the world itself does.
While yesterday and tomorrow demand their own inquiries, today’s questions touch on—among other things—advances in technology, the continual churn of globalization, sweeping calls for justice, and a world-altering pandemic that upends all we know of the ordinary. The world keeps changing, and change always begets more change. A new world means reimagined selves, a reimagined church, and a reimagined way in which disciples of Jesus are prepared to encounter the challenges before us, even as our hope amidst a shifting landscape remains the same: the good news of Christ’s love and justice, God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
I’m thankful that Fuller Seminary understands itself as a place in continual need of this kind of transformation, for the sake of the good news and for the important work this news requires. As world and church continue to be remade, it is essential that seminary education and Christian formation undergo their own transformations as well. This means that new things are on the horizon for Fuller. In this issue of FULLER magazine, catch a glimpse of the conversations taking place and the important questions being asked, as we shape what’s next for Fuller in the years ahead.
Jerome Blanco (MDiv ’16) is editor in chief of FULLER magazine and Fuller’s senior content editor.
Mark Labberton, Clifford L. Penner Presidential Chair, writes about the unpredictable and tumultuous realities of the present, and on the ways Fuller is reimagining and renewing itself to engage with our changing world.
