5 Questions with Al Tizon

Dr. Al Tizon

Author, Teacher

Interview conducted at Northeastern Seminary by Kaitlin Harding. Some answers edited for space. 

It seems so obvious that we need to reach out. What do you see as the barriers that have kept us from being where we need to be missionally? I think, ultimately, our problem is our propensity to dichotomize. Fundamentally, it begins with the dichotomy between theory and practice. Churches can feel great about theorizing, theologizing, and we can do the practice if we have the time. It’s dichotomizing of things, and even when we get into the nature of mission, dichotomy is still the culprit. Is it evangelism or social justice? It’s both! We have to proclaim, we have to bear witness to the gospel with our mouths, and we have to bear witness to the gospel with our hands and feet. It’s not either/or. That, to me, is why we are where we are. We should be a both/and kind of people. What does missional preaching mean for those of us who aren’t going out into the field? The term missional was precisely to remind people that mission isn’t just sending missionaries off to some exotic land, even though that’s still a legitimate thing to do. There are people called to go to the far away “over there” kind of place, but the missional church, that word is new in the Christian Lexicon, and what’s new about it is that it’s reminding us that we are sent by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are sent by God to be here. The missionary church is a church that sends specialized people to exotic lands. The missional church movement said, “Wait, there’s something missing there. What about us? There’s something more to this; mission. You are missionary, your church is sent right here. You’re sent to be missional here. You mentioned that wisdom is not the same as head knowledge. Do you feel that head knowledge gets in the way of wisdom, or the mission of God? It can, because of that dichotomy of theory and practice. Head knowledge could deceive people into thinking they did something. Because we have all this knowledge, we have all our principles and ideas in a row, and we can organize it, and articulate it; wow! Great!  In that sense, yeah, it can be a hindrance to our service in the world, and our mission to the world, which is why I advocate for the word orthopraxy, which is different from orthodoxy. Orthodoxy is right thinking in order to write a doctrinal statement. Orthopraxy is right thinking for the sake of right doing. That, by the way, is a liberation theology term. So, Head knowledge isn’t the same as wisdom because of that. Wisdom, in fact, is practical knowledge. It’s knowledge for life as opposed to knowledge for a degree. You mentioned you got the idea for writing a book about missional preaching because you didn’t really find any books on your shelves that combined all of these things, but what prompted you to focus on it and start learning about it? Two loves did it for me; my love for the church, and my love for the world. You talk about being a missional church, and being a missional person. Is it difficult to be missional on a Christian college campus?

There’s certainly need on a Christian campus, but it’s true that we interact with less and less non-Christians. If we don’t do something about that, there could be a time in our lives where we don’t interact with unbelievers at all….That could mean on any given day intentionally getting to know a merchant, somebody in the store, to take the time to talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. Write a letter to my congressperson about in issue, it could mean sending an email to a friend who doesn’t know about Jesus, not to talk about Jesus, just to be me. So I’m defining it broadly, but it’s a discipline for me.

Northeastern To Offer Classes in Syracuse

Starting this August Northeastern Seminary (NES) will offer graduate level courses toward Master of Divinity and Master of Arts degrees on the campus of Onondaga Community College (OCC) in Syracuse, N.Y. Part of an expanding distance education program in service to the greater central New York State region, the courses will be offered via video conferencing in which the community of learners in Syracuse and Northeastern’s main campus in Rochester, N.Y. are linked though live video feed.

The PolyCom interactive video distance learning technology allows for multidirectional streaming so professors can teach from either the Rochester or Syracuse location and engage students through lecture and multimedia resources at both sites, and students can interact with each other as well. This classroom format is integrated with on-site small group interactions and periodic chapel services to enhance community and provide instruction in spiritual formation, a distinctive of the NES education.

Through the use of video conferencing, NES successfully launched a distance education location last fall in Williamsville, N.Y. “Our recent expansion into the Buffalo area and the upcoming course offerings in Syracuse are part of our commitment to making a seminary education even more accessible across all of New York State,” said Academic Vice President and Dean Doug Cullum. “It reflects the Seminary’s vision to prepare increasing numbers of theologically-reflective, spiritually-formed, professionally-competent persons for ministry.”

To date, NES has been authorized by the Association of Theological Schools Commission on Accreditation to offer up to 50 percent of the Master of Divinity program through distance education. Under the current model the remaining classes in the program are available to all students at the Rochester campus.

Of the collaboration with OCC, Dean Cullum said, “We are pleased to partner with a community-minded organization like OCC who clearly shares our vision for serving the members of the greater Syracuse region.”

Dr. Tizon to Speak at Northeastern

Dr. Al Tizon, director of Word and Deed Network, will be speaking at Northeastern Seminary's Rochester location this March 5 as he responds to the conversation about the missional movement in today’s church with the “what” and “who” of preaching. In this half-day seminar, comprised of three presentations, including a roundtable discussion over lunch, Tizon brings together critical theological and pastoral insights in ways that strengthen the call and practice of preaching. In an approach guided by the revelation of the missio dei, Tizon inspires confidence in a holistic, global, and transformational type of evangelicalism.

Missional Preaching Seminar

Dr. Al Tizon, director of Word and Deed Network, will be speaking at Northeastern Seminary's Rochester location this March 5 as he responds to the conversation about the missional movement in today’s church with the “what” and “who” of preaching. In this half-day seminar, comprised of three presentations, including a roundtable discussion over lunch, Tizon brings together critical theological and pastoral insights in ways that strengthen the call and practice of preaching. Preachers-teachers from among the church will find his honest, passionate, and experienced pastor’s voice strong and encouraging as they consider how their preaching can have impact well beyond the organized church. In an approach guided by the revelation of the missio dei, Tizon inspires confidence in a holistic, global, and transformational type of evangelicalism.

Al Tizon also serves as associate professor of Holistic Ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. A native of the Philippines, Dr. Al Tizon is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Covenant Church who from 2001 till 2006 served as lead pastor at Berkeley Covenant Church in Berkeley, CA. He has also served several other churches as associate and interim pastor both in the Philippines and in the United States. He is the author of Transformation after Lausanne: Radical Evangelical Mission in Global-Local Perspective (Regnum 2008) and co-author (with Ron Sider, John Perkins, and Wayne Gordon) of Linking Arms, Linking Lives: How Urban-Suburban Partnerships Can Transform Communities (Baker Books 2008).

Registration is $30. Seminar information at www.nes.edu/al-tizon-missional-preaching .

Northeastern Seminary Offers Annual McCown Symposium featuring Dr. Joel B. Green

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College is pleased to host this year’s McCown Symposium, “Conversion as a Way of Life: Lukan Perspectives, Cognitive Insights,” featuring Dr. Joel B. Green. The Symposium will provide students, alumni, ministry leaders, and community members with insightful ideas needed to provide a better understanding of what happens when someone enters the community of the people of God. Special attention will be paid to the distinctiveness of Luke’s Gospel account and its relevance to conversion. Sessions will be held Monday, September 26 at Northeastern Seminary on the Roberts Wesleyan Campus, from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
     The featured speaker, Dr. Joel B. Green, yields over 25 years of seminary teaching and 12 years of pastoral ministry experience with special expertise in Luke-Acts 1, Biblical hermeneutics and theological interpretation. “For Luke, embracing this new conceptual scheme is a new way of seeing things, an opening of the mind,” says Green of the upcoming symposium.  He is the associate dean for the Center of Advanced Theological Studies and a professor of New Testament interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He has written or edited 30 books, four of which have won awards, in addition to scores of essays and reviews. Green is also the editor of the Journal of Theological Interpretation and an active member of the International Society for Science and Religion.
Drs. Wayne and Darlene McCown have been active participants in the Roberts Wesleyan College community since 1988 and their goal in endowing this symposium is to provide "in perpetuity" for an annual lectureship on the Bible and/or Wesleyan theology. These two subject areas represent vital interests that they wish to share with the students, faculty, and constituency of Roberts Wesleyan College.
    Interested parties are invited to visit www.nes.edu/symposium2011 for additional information and registration forms. Participation in the full-day of sessions costs $40 and it is an additional $10 for lunch, which includes a roundtable dialogue on the topic ‘Believing is Seeing’. Northeastern Seminary and Roberts Wesleyan College students, staff, and faculty are welcome to take part in the sessions – free of charge.

Culture Making Conference

Northeastern Seminary invited Christian author and social commentator Andy Crouch – winner of the 2009 Christianity and Culture Book Award from Christianity Today and a “starred review” from Publisher’s Weekly for his book Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling – as the keynote speaker for its 2011 Conference on Ministry, June 7-8 in the Cultural Life Center on the Roberts Wesleyan College campus.

In his acclaimed book, Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, he explains, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and waged misguided “culture wars.” But they must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed them to be. “Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us,” Crouch says. “By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making.”

As keynote speaker at the NES Conference on Ministry, Crouch will unpack the complexities of how culture works and recommend tools for cultivating and creating culture. He navigates the dynamics of cultural change and probes the role and efficacy of Christians’ various cultural gestures and postures.

Crouch’s keen biblical exposition shows that “creating culture” is central to the whole scriptural narrative, the ministry of Jesus and the call to the church. He guards against naive assumptions about “changing the world,” but points to hopeful examples from church history and contemporary society of how culture is made and shaped. “Ultimately, our culture making is done in partnership with God’s own making and transforming of culture,” he says.

Plenary sessions will address the following topics:

* The Horizons of the Possible: Defining and Understanding Culture
* Gestures and Postures: Recovering a Biblical Framework for Our Cultural Calling
* The Broken Image: Injustice, Idolatry and Restoration
* Learning to Play: Excellence and the Disciplines in Everyday Life
* A Model of Cultural Change

Workshops will be conducted on the following issues:

* What the church needs to know about ministry in the city
* Images and Culture: Making room for visual creativity in ministry
* Theological underpinnings for integrating music styles
* Blogging and the “missio Dei”: Addressing the central cultural issues


General admission for the two-day conference is $110, with discounts available for groups and NES students and alumni. For more information, contact Northeastern Seminary by phone at (585) 594-6800 or 800-777-4792, or online at www.nes.edu/com/2011.

Crouch is special assistant to the president at Christianity Today International, where he was executive producer of the documentary films Where Faith and Culture Meet and Round Trip, and editorial director of the Christian Vision Project. He serves on the governing boards of Fuller Theological Seminary and Equitas Group, a philanthropic organization focused on ending child exploitation in Haiti and Southeast Asia. Crouch studied classics at Cornell University and received an M.Div. summa cum laude from Boston University School of Theology. He also is a classically trained musician.