Funeral plans announced for MBTS student
By BP Staff
The family of Caylee Dugger, who was killed in an automobile accident Feb. 2, has announced plans for her celebration of life service. Dugger was a student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as well as youth director at First Baptist Church North Kansas City.
Her family has invited the seminary community or anyone interested to attend her memorial service in person or via live stream.
The service will be Wednesday (Feb. 8) at 1 p.m. Central time at First Baptist Church Joelton, 7140 Whites Creek Pike, Joelton, TN. There will be a visitation from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 7) as well as one hour prior to the service.
For those unable to attend, the service will be available via live stream starting at 1 p.m. on Wednesday. It will be available on the church’s website here or on Facebook.
SEBTS holds conference on human formation
By Chad Burchett/SEBTS
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) – Theology and other disciplines — such as the sciences or philosophy — are not dread enemies. Together they enable the Church to minister effectively to the whole person.
Despite the tension and perceived conflict between theology and philosophy or theology and the sciences, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary wants to help Christians develop a biblical perspective on engaging various disciplines about the topic of human personhood.
On Feb. 2-3, Southeastern’s L. Russ Bush Center for Faith and Culture (CFC) hosted its second annual conference in its ‘Being Human: Theology and Praxis’ series. This year’s conference, “Exploring Personhood: Human Formation,” invited Christian theologians, scientists, philosophers, psychologists, counselors, and pastors to weigh in on what their fields can contribute to the conversation on human formation.
“Ministry at its core is about seeing people formed into Christlikeness,” said Nathaniel Williams, North Carolina pastor and CFC editor and content manager. “Pastors and church leaders need all the tools in their toolbox to be able to fulfill this task well. ‘Exploring Personhood: Human Formation’ was designed with this need in mind. By bringing together experts from various fields, we hope to foster ongoing dialogue that will help us love God and serve people better.”
Committed to the sovereignty and authority of God in all areas of life, Southeastern believes the Church can often be enriched and equipped by dialogue with scientists, philosophers and counselors. In a world created and sustained by God’s power and provision, God’s people need not fear or avoid dialogue with other disciplines and may benefit from their insights when received with humility and biblical discernment.
“The CFC is leading the way in encouraging healthy dialogue between the Church and other disciplines so that the people of God can be thoroughly equipped for ministry,” Southeastern President Danny Akin said. “We hope to model how Christians can think biblically about matters of science, philosophy, theology, and counseling and use discernment when availing themselves of insights from various disciplines.”
As conference speakers reminded attendees, philosophy and the sciences are not only tools for enrichment but also domains that are brimming with opportunities for vibrant Great Commission ministry. This year’s conference cast a vision for how the Church can biblically engage the sciences, disciple scientists in their local churches, and reach a culture indelibly shaped by science and technology.
“Scientists are in our churches,” said Drew Rick-Miller, project codirector of Science for the Church. “How are we caring for them? How do we help them understand their work as a Christian vocation? Also, how do we engage a community saturated with science and technology?”
This discipleship framework is integral to faithful engagement with other disciplines on the topic of human formation. As conference speakers and panelists noted, every human is being formed toward something, and the end of that formation profoundly matters.
“We have to see humans as holistic beings, and their formation has to be holistic as well,” said Kristin Kellen, associate professor of biblical counseling and associate director of EdD studies at Southeastern. “Our entire being is being conformed into the image of Christ. … We direct others toward a particular end: conformity to the image of Christ in love for his glory and for delight in Him.”
