Each year, Mary Rainwater, MHGS Library Specialist, attends the Seattle International Film Festival to watch some of the greatest movies you’ve never seen. She sent over this report:

Seattle’s 36^th International Film Festival (SIFF) begins Thursday evening, May 20^th and runs thru Sunday June 13^th at multiple venues in and around Seattle. Documentary, narrative, animated and experimental films from the Northwest and around the world give you plenty of chances to try out something new – something you might never get the chance to see anywhere else. With literally hundreds of films to choose from, and little or no advanced reviews, it is a gamble – obviously every film is not to every taste.  But, what you see will almost certainly be different than what is playing at your local cineplex.

I have been attending preview press screenings for the last 3 weeks and have seen about 35 films so far. Here are some of my favorites that I believe might be of interest to MHGS folks:

WINTER’S BONE – Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance this year, this extraordinary film is set in the rural Ozarks of Missouri. This is a community of grinding poverty, fierce independence, simmering violence and complex blood ties. Ree is only 17 years old but doing her best to feed & care for her young siblings and ailing mother.  When her meth-cooking dad posts bail using the family home as bond, she heads out to track him down to make sure he returns to stand trial.  Problem is, nobody in the community (most of who are related to her) wants him found.  This film is both bleakly beautiful and stunningly powerful with a heroine you will never forget.

HEDGEHOG – a delightful French film based on the best-selling novel “The Elegance of the Hedgehog.”  Disenchanted with life’s hypocrisies, an 11-year old Parisian girl decides to end her life on her next birthday.  However, in the intervening weeks she closely observes life in her apartment building and discovers unexpected new friendships that just might change her mind.  (This is a French film however, so don’t expect too happy of an ending!)

RAPT – another French film – this one a thriller about a rich industrialist kidnapped for a huge ransom, but as facts about his life come to light, his family and his company begin to wonder how much he is really worth to them.  (This one has an icky bit – about 30 seconds of his finger being cut off – but you can close your eyes).

LETTERS TO FATHER JACOB – a lovely Swedish film about tough and sullen Leila who is pardoned from a life-sentence in prison to work at a parsonage answering letters for the elderly and blind Father Jacob.  This one is visually lush with a beautiful musical score and is a heart-felt and graceful tale of love and redemption.

NOWHERE BOY – an English film telling the story of John Lennon’s early years – it ends as the very young Beatles head off to Germany for the gig that started them on the road to fame.  Young John had an interesting but difficult childhood with a strange (histrionic? bi- polar?) mother who turned him over to his aunt to raise, but still hovered around his life.   As my friend Sally said, this would be a fascinating movie even if it wasn’t about someone who later became a Beatle.

Some practical SIFF advice:

• Pick up a schedule anywhere around town or visit the website (www.siff.net)
• Each film only shows a couple times so it is best to keep alert.
• Films with good word-of-mouth often sell out, so buying tickets in advance is good.
• Get to your theatre early and bring your patience.  There will probably be massive lines and crowded theatres (but that can be part of the fun – everyone around you will want to talk about what they’ve seen and what they’ve heard is good).
• Be willing to experiment.  If you have trouble choosing what you want to see, just pick something at random and try it out.  Surprises abound.

Mary Rainwater is part of the MHGS Library staff and prolific movie watcher. When she’s not enjoying SIFF, Mary is in the library processing ILLs and offering students the best movie recommendations.

Each year, Mary Rainwater, MHGS Library Specialist, attends the Seattle International Film Festival to watch some of the greatest movies you’ve never seen. She sent over this report:

Seattle’s 36^th International Film Festival (SIFF) begins Thursday evening, May 20^th and runs thru Sunday June 13^th at multiple venues in and around Seattle. Documentary, narrative, animated and experimental films from the Northwest and around the world give you plenty of chances to try out something new – something you might never get the chance to see anywhere else. With literally hundreds of films to choose from, and little or no advanced reviews, it is a gamble – obviously every film is not to every taste.  But, what you see will almost certainly be different than what is playing at your local cineplex.

Continue Reading What's Mary Watching? – Report from SIFF

Dear MHGS Alumni and friends:

It is with great excitement and personal enthusiasm I announce to you the appointment of J. Derek McNeil, PhD to the position of Academic Dean at Mars Hill Graduate School. Derek brings the unanimous support of the Board of Trustees and my complete confidence to this strategic role. Derek’s intellectual acumen, wisdom, deep spirituality, commitment to theological inquiry and innovative thinking about education will provide significant leadership for our academic program and for the school.

Dr. McNeil comes to us with extensive experience including almost 15 years at the Wheaton College Graduate School where he worked with doctoral students in counseling psychology. In addition, Dr. McNeil has worked as a clinician in private practice, a diversity advisor and coordinator, and as an organizational consultant and administrator.

His Ph D. is in Counseling Psychology from Northwestern University and he has also earned an M Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. Dr. McNeil’s deep commitment to education and ministry is timely as we look forward to developing our work with the Association of Theological Schools in the next year. His research, writing, and speaking have also focused on issues of ethnic and racial socialization, the role of forgiveness in peacemaking, the identity development of African-American males, and marital intimacy. Dr. McNeil’s teaching has also included coursework on Social, Cultural, and Spiritual Foundations of Mental Health, Family Systems Therapy and Group Theory and Therapy.

I know you will enjoy reading his vita to see a sample of the work he’s done most recently. You can find it here (PDF.)

His wife, Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter-McNeil, spoke to the MHGS faculty, staff, students, alumni, and our spouses/significant others last fall as part of a conference called Humanity Through Community. She is the director of Salter-McNeil & Associates, an organization which works specifically in the fields of intercultural competency and racial reconciliation. Derek and Brenda have two children, Omari and Mia.

Derek has served on our Board of Trustees for the past two years; he is committed to our mission and the development of therapists, leaders, and people in all forms of ministry.

Please join me in celebrating God’s movement which brings Dr. Derek McNeil to the MHGS community.

Revising a mission statement after more than a decade is not something to be done without care and intention. Over the past year, the faculty, led by Interim Dean, Tom Johnson, has considered the wording of our mission statement and offered a revision to the Board of Trustees for their consideration. In March the Board voted to accept the proposed revision. Thus, we are pleased to announce to you the revised wording of the MHGS mission statement:

The mission of Mars Hill Graduate School is to train people to be competent in the study of text, soul, and culture in order to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships.

The motivation for revising the mission statement is, in part, our ongoing process of institutional review and assessment. The former wording of the mission statement called us to train people in the study of text, soul, and culture “in order to experience God…” How do we assess that outcome? How do we “know” if we have met our stated purpose?

The new statement says we train people “to serve God and neighbor.” It reflects who we are and what we do. It clarifies our intentions and, therefore, sharpens our congruence with our long held mission. We have always understood our mission to focus on practice, embodiment and contextualization. The revision more clearly states what we have cared about from the beginning:  practice, doing, knowing in embodied and contextualized ways. Amongst other things, we will celebrate the work of internships, portfolios of practice, placement by alumni and service in church and the larger culture.

At the same time, we should be very clear that we don’t want to lose the idea of “experiencing God” as a core part of our mission. The kind of transformation we are talking about can only be experienced by serving (encountering) God and neighbor. We believe the revision more fully incorporates and articulates what it is to “experience God.”

We also claim in our mission statement what we have always claimed: we serve God and, thus, we believe we are called to our mission by the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. And we serve neighbor. Our work is always “for the sake of others.” Our mission statement implicitly declares, “it is the people whom our alumni serve.  It is the communities to whom we go, with whom we declare solidarity.” In the work we share, we join a centuries-deep, worldwide community who respond to the resurrected Lord with gladness and joy. In the company of Jesus, we serve God and neighbor.

Keith Anderson
President of Mars Hill Graduate School

“A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. As long as we think the next election might eliminate crime and establish justice or another scientific breakthrough might save the environment or another pay raise might push us over the edge of anxiety to a life of tranquility, we are not likely to risk the arduous uncertainties of the life of faith. A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace.”

~Eugene Peterson

I must admit that I found myself caught up in the hype of the Obama presidential campaign…and I knew better. Now don’t get me wrong, I still believe he was the best candidate for the job. I still believe that people like him can begin to right some of the wrongs of this country and world, can move our nation toward justice and equity for all. I still believe that people like Bono and Jeffrey Sachs can move us toward the elimination of global poverty. I still believe that governments and institutions can, and should, be instruments for good in this world. I just can’t buy into the hype, though, the empty promises inherent in any kingdom of the world.

I put my trust, rather, in the kingdom of God. I trust that the upside-down way of life that Jesus put on display for the world will ultimately transform this world. I have seen enough to know that by giving up all that I have, I will have so much more, and so will everyone else. I have seen enough to know that loving my enemies and praying for those who persecute me will always result in less bloodshed than a life of seeking revenge and redemption through violence. I have seen enough to know that the way of Jesus Christ is the best possible way of living and that I would give my life to this dangerous, compelling existence any day over an allegiance to even the best possible kingdom of the world. I choose the world of grace.

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Jason Bowker is a 2nd year M.Div. student at Mars Hill Graduate Student. He is passionate about the church and preaching and plans on pastoring or church planting following graduation. In his free time, Jason enjoys rock climbing, camping, playing sports, and playing guitar. He and his wife are in communal living with 2 other married couples and serve as worship leaders at a small Episcopal church in Maple Valley, WA.

Our friends and editors of The Other Journal, Chris Keller and Jon Stanley (both MHGS alumni), were recently interviewed by Church and Postmodern Culture about their new book, “God is Dead and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself.” When asked about how Seattle’s context has impacted the conversation on the “new atheism,” Chris responded:

The obvious reason for putting together a book is that there has just been so much new atheism literature over the past few years.  But then—and this ties into our particularity—everyone who is a Christian in this city is living as a Christian in the midst of a general population that has Bill Maher sensibilities, and thinks Christian faith is simply ‘Religulous’.  Does being a person of faith essentially mean living a life that is running blind on the wheels of faith?  That’s what pisses Maher off so much. But here’s the catch: that’s what pisses our readership off as well—the anti-intellectualism that grows like a fungus in some Christian cultures.  As for Christian responses, we see folks all the time “respond” to atheism with all sorts of tactics like anger, sarcasm, vitriol; the people who do it best in my opinion realize there is an art form and humility to being a person of faith and that we must be in dialogue with people different than ourselves. As Brian McLaren says in his endorsement, ‘atheism isn’t just something to oppose or refute—it also can be a mirror, with much to teach us about ourselves and our distorted and unworthy ideas about God and religion.’ So when we were soliciting content a few years ago for this issue I really felt the pressing need to think about what an authentic response to the new atheism might look like, one that might be able to have some traction in a city like Seattle.  I don’t really see the new atheism as a threat to the Christian faith, as such, but it certainly does pose a serious (and much needed) threat to certain iterations of the Christian faith.  I don’t feel, most days, offended or threatened by the new atheism, but this is a much more interesting and culturally significant conversation to have than, say, tithing or porn.

Check out the whole interview, it’s a great read. PS. You should already be reading The Other Journal. It’s a great collection of writings on theology and culture.

When I was first exploring Mars Hill Graduate School and deciding if this was the place for me to study, one of the deciding factors was the series of incredible stories I consistently heard of current and former students stepping out in faith to respond to the needs of their community and world. Andrew Bauman, a counseling psychology student, is one of those inspiring stories. The following is a brief letter from Andrew about the work that he and his wife are doing in Africa, and the ways that you might partner with them in “instilling hope in a hopeless world.”

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“Together, when we brace our backs and bend our knees, can we then carry the weight of hope for the hopeless.” Founder of Collective Hope, Andrew J. Bauman

Collective Hope is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 out of a desire to do something. Something might not sound heroic or a word of much promise but when we do as little as something to fight global poverty we can be a part of radically transforming lives and instilling hope in a hopeless world.

Nearly 3 billion people live on less than US $2 day.

About 1.4 billion live in extreme poverty on less than US $1.25 day.

Collective Hope comes out of our longing to do something to help alleviate this poverty in some of the poorest countries in the world. Our first step is currently on an 11-acre farm in Malawi, Africa. We are in the birthing stages of creating a sustainable farm and a farm exchange program.

According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die each day due to poverty.

Collective Hope’s vision is to do something for these children who remain sick, orphaned and unseen. By creating small loving“Parent Homes” for orphans with HIV/AIDS, birth defects, malaria and other diseases that render these children nearly hopeless.

More Global Poverty Statistics

It is simple to get overwhelmed by the amount of need in this world, to become frozen or numb. It is far easier to live a life ofignorance and insulation, than to actually feel the pain of hunger, disease and isolation. Yet our hope is that you will enter into the sorrow and poverty with us, that you help us gather hope to fight global poverty.

For more details on how you can join the fight against global poverty please find us on the web at collectivehope.org. Make sure to join us on Facebook, and Twitter as well.

Peace to you- Andrew & Christy Bauman

I always thought a story was something I read, not something I lived.

‘Tis a new year, my friends. The calendar pages have turned and we all have a fresh start, a clean slate to be whatever we want. Most people decide who they want to be through a tradition that we call ‘new year’s resolutions’ where we make lists of things we want to accomplish in the next 365 days. When asking friends what their resolutions are for 2010 you might hear things like loose weight, quite smoking, make better grades, etc. which are all great things to desire… but I can’t help but believe that there should be more.

My friend Stephany told me one year that instead of making resolutions every New Year she will write out a yearly To Do list: go sky diving, pay off my credit card, travel to a new city with friends. It made her year more of an adventure and something to experience rather than something to (hopefully) accomplish. Donald Miller also wrote a book called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years about editing his life and living a story that is worth telling. Stephany and Donald have hit the mark with something because when you resolve to loose weight or eat healthier then it is all on you because there is isolation in a resolution. When you choose to write a better life story you will find that you are not alone, that you are a part of a larger story full of people who long for meaning and depth to their narrative and that you will engage with others in the midst of your story.

2009 was the most fulfilling year of my life thus far. I accomplished most things on my yearly To Do list and my life was truly changed because of certain people along the way who shared their stories and their lives with me in my journey. I had the opportunity to finally move to the Pacific Northwest, a dream that I have a had for years. I read a classic book that I had seen every movie version ever made. I had adventures with friends because I challenged myself to ‘just say yes’ to opportunities that came my way and am a better person because of it.

This year is the year I will be active. Why? Because I have signed up to run a 5K in June with some friends here in Seattle. This year I will travel. Why? Because I long to see to world and experience new and different cultures, and a trip for Ireland is being planned for July. This is the year that I will live out the adventures that stir my heart to change my life because I want to live a life that is a grand adventure. What are you doing in 2010?

Whenever a Mars Hill Graduate School student talks about their school here in Seattle, a question about our affiliation with Mars Hill Church is soon to follow.

The confusion between the school and the church becomes all the more problematic when you realize how different we actually are. David Von Stroh explains some of the basic disparities:

Since I find myself having to explain several times a week how Mars Hill Graduate School (my seminary) is not affiliated with Mars Hill Church, I thought it would be helpful to set the record straight. I know, its confusing. We’re both here in Seattle, and started around the same time, took our names from Acts 17, and both have red brick buildings in Belltown. But the similarities drop off there. My seminary, Mars Hill Graduate School, is actually of a very different orientation than is the Mark Driscoll pastored Mars Hill Church here in Seattle. For example. we are very affirming of women in leadership in the church, where Driscoll’s church takes a stance against it. We have a very progressive education, though still very much evangelically-theological. (Though we’re very diverse, there is no “party line” at my school. Everything is questioned. Deconstruction and reconstruction are the norm.) The gospel is most often talked about at MHGS in terms of justice issues and real-world transformation. Poverty issues, sex trafficking, trauma recovery, counseling (pastoral and professional psychology), engaging culture and contextualization…these are all important issues for us. I understand that Driscoll is now of a more fundamentalist orientation, even with his innovative and helpful approaches to missional models of church. Brian McLaren, Dan Allender (one of our faculty), N.T. Wright, Jurgen Moltmann, Richard Hays, Martin Buber (“I and Thou” is probably THE foundational text at our school), Pete Rollins…these would be some of the primary influences at MHGS, whereas Driscoll’s church is probably most influenced by John Piper. The Rob Bell pastored Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI is actually far more similar to MHGS than is the Mars Hill Church of Seattle.

It is ironic also that we have the name Mars, being that Mars was the Greek god of war. MHGS has many pacifists, in fact, pacifist/Anabaptist/Mennonite views on war and peace are probably largely in the majority here. The Mars Hill reference, however, refers to Paul’s preaching to the Athenians on the Areopagus (Mars Hill) about the “unknown God”, using a piece of their own religious devotion to begin explaining the story of Jesus.

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While there are many differences between our school and the church, many students are members at Mars Hill Church and find great connection and community through their ministry. Still, it is helpful to know our differences so that prospective students can make an informed decision about studying at MHGS.

David lives in the Rainier Valley and is a student in the Master of Divinity program at Mars Hill Graduate School and worships at Rainier Avenue Church.  Before moving to Seattle, David ministered in the slum communities of Bangkok, Thailand with Servant Partners for five years, pioneering new house churches, mentoring Thai leaders, organizing squatter communities for relocation, and consulting micro-business development operations.  David loves researching the Buddhist context and pioneering new ways of sharing the gospel of Jesus.  His pioneering work on Buddhist contextualization has been published in Communicating Christ in Asian Cities: Urban Issues in Buddhist Contexts, edited by Paul De Neui.

We recently spotlighted the creative expression of a church community located in the Aurora strip (which you can read here.) Aurora Ave. is notorious for heavy prostitution and drug dealing but the neighborhood also houses many of the fringe and outcast people in our city. Lisa, a resident of Aurora and second-year MDiv student, has been looking for humanity and hope for her neighborhood. Through community dinners and support of local business, Lisa and her community have come to see beauty where many have already given up hope. She shares her story below:

Aurora is less of a neighborhood and more of an old highway – a busy street, replete with run-down motels, automotive businesses, and fast food joints. Yet a neighborhood is emerging here.  We feel a particular call to helping make this happen.

Before you have a neighborhood and before you can know how to love your neighbor, you have to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Awake is learning that our neighbors live in motel rooms on Aurora and nice homes in Licton Springs and Greenwood. They attend AA and NA meetings at local cafes and get their groceries at the upscale PCC. They ride the 358 bus and jog around Green Lake. All of these different people are our neighbors!

Recently, a front-page article in the Seattle Times argued what many others have already said: Aurora is a problem and needs to be fixed. Lisa replied to the article in order to help us see what is actually happening in her neighborhood.

There are beautiful stories of transformation on Aurora. People loving one another exquisitely. There are prostitutes crying from exhaustion and loneliness – caught in the evil dual-diagnostic cycle of poverty that keeps them there. And the police will not allow us to help them because of the laws that are in place. May we talk about that please? There are barbeque’s that bring together 50 people from the Fremont Fellowship, homeless vets that live in their vans on our street and us, their neighbors – and laughter happens there. There is dignity already present. There is hope. There are people who believe in one another – who believe in the addicted – that they will be free. There is a community garden.

You can read Lisa’s full response here. Below are images from the community that has begun to sprout from the desire to answer a simple question: who is my neighbor.

Lisa is a 2nd year MDiv student and a member of the Awake Church community.