My Time in Nazareth, by Nancy Slater

Nancy Slater recently came to Nazareth as part of the visiting group from Hope International University. She has written a helpful reflection on her time here. Here is one portion of her reflection:

To say that my time in Nazareth as Hope’s first student to stay three months has changed my life is an incredible understatement!  One of the things that encouraged me to register in the Master’s program at HIU was the opportunity for international studies.  I was thrilled to join the other students on this adventure that began for me on January 1, 2014. It is my hope that after you read a bit of my adventures that you, too, will consider planning a life-changing adventure of your own! 

My life began to change when the reality of actually being in the Holy Land finally set in. The class “Christianity and Islam” reground the lens of my worldview and presented the reality of Islam as it impacts the Middle East and the world.  I learned that in order to bring the Word to Muslims, we must first understand their beliefs, establish a relationship based on respect.  We can then ask, “Why do you believe as you do?” in order to open the door for an exchange of beliefs that lead to conversion.  The lectures presented so thoughtfully and thoroughly by Azar Ajar, Brent Neely, and Makram Mesherky, were even more impactful because the presenters are Christian citizens of Galilee who live as a minority often are persecuted by others. 

I discovered that there was no better way to know the Bible than to see it in living color--to walk where Jesus walked at Magdala, to visit the location of the fishes and loaves miracle, to stand on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and look east to the Golan Heights as He might have done.  In Jerusalem I had to look beyond the sea of noisy pilgrims from every corner of the world, ignore the din of souvenir sellers, and concentrate on the very spot where I was standing in order to focus on the historic significance beneath my feet.  I was standing at Station VI of the Via Delarosa. [...]

Read the rest of her reflection by clicking HERE. We also look forward to visits from other students. 

Visiting students from Hope International University

We were recently privileged to receive a group of scholars from Hope International University in the USA, with whom we have a partnership. This was an excellent time and both the faculty and the students were blessed. Here are two pictures of this wonderful group touring the Holy Land and learning not only by reading but by seeing with their own eyes.

The top picture is from Caesarea and the lower one from Megdala.

2013, the year in review

Our seminary president, Azar Ajaj, has composed this summary of some of the significant goals that we have accomplished at NETS throughout 2013. Download the PDF of the progress report HERE.

Throughout 2013 we also published three Mary's Well Occasional Papers, which you can download here:

MWOP 2:1, by Philip Sumpter, "Bibliography of Arabophone Christianity in Israel and Palestine".

MWOP 2:2, by Azar Ajaj, "Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary: the first six years".

MWOP 2:3, by Brent Neely, "Caesarea and the Mission of God".

We also saw in 2013 the establishment of our presence on Wikipedia (in English, at least), and sharing a number of old and hard-to-find documents through our blog.

Our seminary also saw some key changes in personnel, with the departure of our founding president, J. Bryson Arthur, and the appointment of our second and current president. Also, Phil Hill returned to Wales and Alex Miller to the USA. But 2013 also saw the addition of Andraus Abu Ghazale as our new director of ministerial formation, and a new initiative to visit local biblical and historical sites under the direction of Kamal Farah which has been well-received by local Christians.

We look forward to more accomplishments in 2014.

Review of our Sabbatical program

Rob Sylvester recently took part in our sabbatical program. Here is what he wrote about his experience:

My sabbatical month in the Holy Land has been a wonderful and memorable experience, with many highlights along the way.  It has lived up to the title of ‘Come and See’ and provided stimulation for body, mind and spirit.  There have been excellent presentations/seminars by leading Arab and Messianic Christians, visits to many of the famous sites throughout the country, opportunities to worship at a variety ofchurches, and visits to local projects and Christian communities/missions.  I have hiked in the countryside, swam in Lake Galilee and the Dead Sea and jogged through the streets of Nazareth.  Throughout, there has been time for personal prayer, reflection and meeting with the Lord.  A particular joy has been to meet with local believers and hear their testimonies of the goodness and faithfulness of God at all times, so that I comeaway with a deeper appreciation of the challenges and issues they face, combined with a renewed trust and hope in the plans and purposes of God for his people here.

Learn more about our program by e-mailing us at info [at] nazarethseminary [dot] org.

A history of our seminary's first six years

This article, by our seminary president, Azar Ajaj, is his recollection of the founding of our seminary by Bryson Arthur (and others) and our first six years of life (2007-2013). Anyone interested in Christian higher education or evangelical Christianity in Israel will find this of interest.

Mary's Well Occasional Papers, Vol 2:2: "Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary: The First Six Years" by Azar Ajaj (September 2013).

Previous occasional papers are accessible through the blog menu on the right hand side of the browser.

"Not all narratives are created equal..."

I really liked this quote by Dr. Derek Cooper:

As I teacher, I am part of a noble history of questioning the status quo and calling things what they actually are rather than what they appear to be. And it is my vocation as a teacher to help my students recognize that their participation in the human story of cosmic restoration—which encompasses not only the entire world but each individual—takes precedence over rival stories which compete with the Christian narrative.

Read the whole post at Faith, Vocation & Culture, and check out the other answers as well. Some very nice material.