Beeson Podcast, Episode #670 Dr. David Parks, Mrs. Callie Trombley Date >>Announcer: Welcome to the Beeson podcast, coming to you from Beeson Divinity School on the campus of Samford University. Now your host, Doug Sweeney. >>Doug Sweeney: Welcome to the Beeson Podcast. I am your host, Doug Sweeney. I am here with two delightful colleagues who are responsible for the ministries of Beeson Divinity School’s Global Center. We’ll hear from them in just a minute. Before we do, let me make a brief service announcement to those who may be interested in studying with us here at Beeson Divinity School, or may have loved ones who are. We want to invite all such people to the next two preview days here at Beeson Divinity School. The very next one is September 12th, that’s a Tuesday. There will be another Preview Day on October 20th. Come and join us, experience a day in the life of a Beeson Student. All the people who come will hear from me talking about our sense of purpose and mission at Beeson. You’ll hear from faculty members, students, staff members. And everybody who attends one of our Preview Days will have their $35 application fee waived. So, visit www.BeesonDivinity.com and click the “Visit” button to learn more. We hope to see you there. All right. I have before me, Dr. David Parks and Mrs. Callie Trombley, the leaders of Beeson’s Global Center. They are dear colleagues. They are great at what they do. They’re here to update us on all kinds of physical improvements to the Global Center that have been going on for several months now. And then the line-up we have in store for people who want to come and join us this fall through the ministries of the Global Center. So, David and Callie, thank you very much for being with us. Why don’t we, just for the sake of those who haven’t been around recently, introduce you a bit to them. Dr. David Parks, you have been for quite a while now the Director of our Global Center. You teach missions here. You wear a lot of hats. Would you introduce yourself just briefly to us? How did you come to know the Lord? And how did you get involved in missions work to begin with? >>Parks: Yeah, I’m actually from Birmingham, so I’m a local boy. I grew up in church. It was really my freshman year where I began to be convicted that I didn’t even know for sure if I was saved. I had one foot in the church and one foot in the world for a while. It was finally, ironically, a little bit connected to international missions because I was in the world of college tennis. I was interacting with people from all over the world. I was seeing Christianity through their eyes. For the first time in my life, I began to ask this question, “Okay, so I say that I believe there’s this man who said he was God and that everyone should follow him. Okay. Maybe that’s weird.” And so I began to ask myself, “Do I really believe this? Do I really believe Jesus is the Way?” And I began to be convinced that what I had been taught was true. So, God saved me through that time. Immediately I had an interest in other cultures as well, which eventually worked itself out after I finished seminary. But I went to undergrad Samford, I went to Beeson Divinity School, finished in ’97, met my wife, and before long God called us to be missionaries. We were in Southeast Asia for a while until we wound up coming back here. >>Doug Sweeney: And did a PhD. How did the timing of coming back to Beeson work? >>Parks: So, yeah, I did a PhD in missions at Southern. And the people I met there both equipped me and eventually I was connected to that position in southeast Asia where we worked with people from various religions, worked with students ... I taught people in seminary part time. I taught youth ministry, actually. After that I went straight into the field. So, we were gone a total of six years, three of our four kids were born there. We came back here. We were actually raising support to return there. We thought we were going to go back to Malaysia. The short description is that that door closed and then the door to be here opened. And I’ve been here over 11 years now. >>Sweeney: Wonderful. We’re grateful to God that you have been. All right. Callie Trombley? How about you? How did you come to faith? What’s your background in missions? How did you get to Beeson Divinity School? >>Trombley: Sure. So, I grew up the daughter of an Air Force chaplain. I come from five generations of credentialed ministers in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. So, I’m very grateful for that heritage. Grew up hearing about the Lord. Came to faith at a young age. Became really serious about my faith probably about my junior year of high school. It was about that time where I felt like the Lord was beginning to call me to ministry, into missions. After I graduated high school I went to a small Pentecostal Holiness school, Immanuel College in North Georgia. I studied Christian ministries there. During my last semester I had the opportunity to spend three months in Kenya as a teaching intern at a bible college there. That’s really when I fell in love with missions and the opportunity to work there. But also learned the need to connect international missionaries with global pastors and local leaders. And that was kind of my heart, because I began looking into masters programs of how could I connect the global and local? And so I pursued a masters of Intercultural Studies with an emphasis in Church Planting at Asbury Theological Seminary. It was a unique hybrid program that was designed for people who are already on the field. So, I had the opportunity to have an in person learning component as well as being able to do my field work while I was studying. During that time I met my husband, Josiah, who is in the process of pursuing the Navy Chaplaincy himself. He told me he felt like the Lord was either calling him to missions or to the military. I said, “Well, I just got off the plane from Kenya, so I’m okay with that!” I grew up in the home of a military chaplain and my mom was quick to remind me that the military is just as much of a mission field. And so that’s kind of where we’re heading long term. My husband, Josiah, is in his third year here at Beeson and was just ordained a Deacon in the Jurisdiction of Anglican Chaplains. I am ordained now in the Pentecostal Holiness Church myself. And so together we’re working towards a career in the Navy and wherever the Good Lord and Big Navy takes us, that’s where we’ll go. But coming to Beeson ... one of the things that drew us here was the interdenominational aspect, because we knew that in the chaplaincy that’s what our parish was going to look like. But also we heard about this wonderful thing called the Cross-cultural Ministry Practicum. And we saw from early on the emphasis that Beeson places on missions. And then we found out about the Global Center. And the first time we walked on campus I walked into the Global Center and said, “This is something that I’d like to be a part of.” And about two weeks later a position opened up! (laughs) Anna Russell moved into the Events Coordinator position and that presented an opportunity to apply. And the more and more that we thought about it and we prayed about it we knew that this was the Lord in His goodness and His grace, allowing us an opportunity to work together at Beeson and serve here and for me to do ministry in this way. >>Parks: So, I have to say that she showed up to the interview with a torn cornea. And she still showed up. She didn’t ask to meet at another day. She shows up with this major physical issue going on. Her eye is just watering profusely the whole time. >>Doug Sweeney: She was moved by everything you said! (laughter) >>Parks: And she is saying, “Oh, I’m sorry.” I thought, “Wow, this woman has got some spunk! She’s got some perseverance. She’s knocking the questions out of the park.” And she says she doesn’t really remember it. >>Trombley: I think I remember maybe two questions for that job interview. (laughs) >>Doug Sweeney: Well, apparently it went well. >>Trombley: I guess so. (laughs) >>Doug Sweeney: All right, let’s start at a little bit of a macro level and tell our listeners about the Global Center itself and its mission. And maybe a little bit about your jobs at the Global Center. Dr. Parks, we’ll start with you because you’re in charge of it all. And then we’ll move to Callie and ask her to just tell us a little bit about how she fits into the mission and what her work is day by day. But again, let’s start with you. What is the Global Center at Beeson? And what are you trying to do? >>Parks: That is a good question, because the Global Center includes things we do, it is a space, ultimately our mission is to encourage, equip, and connect the local campus and the local church communities with global mission. We do that through various things through the school. I teach Missions. We have a cross-cultural ministry practicum. All MDIV students must go somewhere a minimum of two weeks to have a cross-cultural immersion experience. Where they really encounter either evangelism church planting cross-culturally or some kind of pastoral training, theological education – sometimes it’s a combination of both. Because we want them to be able to have that experience to broaden their perspective, to continue their ministries, even if they’re here in the States. We want them to know how to partner for missions – what actually happens on the field. And we also want them to have the tools to reach those of different cultures down the street. >>Doug Sweeney: Yeah, that’s great. And you have some students, right, who want to be missionaries and for whom the two weeks is not enough. >>Parks: Yes, so we have a Missions Certificate here. Think of it kind of like a minor, where they use two of their electives to not only take Christian Missions, which everyone takes, but they also take World [inaudible 00:11:01] and World Religion and Strategies & Missions. Their cross-cultural ministry practicum is a minimum of six weeks. We kind of work individually with that person to find a place that would be a best fit for them. >>Doug Sweeney: Wonderful. All right, Callie, how do you fit in? What’s your job at the Global Center? >>Trombley: So, my job as the Program Assistant is I kind of do most of the behind the scenes things. I work with our Events Coordinator, Anna, in planning our events, lining up speakers. Dr. Parks usually gives me a great list of speakers for our Global Voices event and I connect with them and get those running and work with our team to market those- >>Parks: Sometimes she gives me good ideas for speakers! As an example, this coming year we will have a certain speaker ... >>Trombley: President Timothy Tenant from Asbury. >>Doug Sweeney: Oh, from your alma mater, yep. >>Trombley: So excited to have him. So, that’s kind of what I do for the contextual learning side. Probably one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to know each of the students throughout their practicum journeys. Both for their cross-cultural ministry practicum as well as their supervised ministry practicum. I’m one of the few people in the building who really gets an opportunity to talk to almost every single – at least MDIV student – while they’re here and hear a little bit more about their story and what God is calling them to. And gets to walk with them from the beginning to the end of the their practicum journeys. So, that’s kind of my job. >>Doug Sweeney: We’re starting to talk already about speakers. We will wait a few minutes to tell our listeners what speakers are coming soon and invite them and so on. But Callie, maybe you could tell them a little bit about the auspices under which we invite speakers and let them know what opportunities there might be even for people who aren’t students at Beeson to come and listen to missionaries and people with experience in the global church. >>Trombley: For sure. So, Global Voices is our sort of lunch lecture series that we have during the semesters. It’s semi weekly. That’s open to the community. That’s open to all of campus. We’ll share a little bit later on about where you can find that information. But that just is an opportunity ... the subtitle of Global Voices is “Stories from the nations.” So, we have different individuals who come and share about what God is doing in and through them and around the world. International Lunch Club is another event that we do that has really kind of branched out on the Samford campus. In years past we’ve had students come from UAB to get connected and learn about different cultures from our students, and allow our students to learn more about their culture and kind of open up another window to the world. And then Go Global is our big event in the fall, where we’ll have ... and we’ll talk a little bit more about this year’s speaker later ... someone who comes and talks about what missions looks like. But we also have a missions agency fair where about 20 different missions agencies from around the globe come and share about opportunities that they have for both Samford students and Beeson students. And then in the spring we do World Christianity Focus Week, where we share about what world Christianity looks like and what does it look like to be a Christian outside of America and outside of even the West. And that’s the week that Dr. Parks eluded to that Dr. Tenant is coming. So, those are some of the big opportunities. But almost always Global Voices, World Christianity Focus Week, Go Global – those are open to the community. Recordings of those are always found online as well – so you can go back and listen to even last year’s and the previous year’s speakers for those as well. >>Doug Sweeney: Those are some of the best speakers and events that we have at Beeson. So, we can’t commend them more strongly than we’re doing now. They’re wonderful. >>Parks: It should be said that some of them can’t be recorded because of the sensitive nature. Sometimes those tend to be our best ones. >>Doug Sweeney: So, you have to come in person. All right. Dr. Parks, there’s been a lot of activity in your corner of the building recently. Some major renovations. I know you’ve played a significant role in overseeing some of these renovations. Would you tell our listeners just a little bit about what’s been going on and what they might expect the next time they come for an event at the Global Center? >>Parks: I am pretty excited. This has been many years in the making. There have been times I thought it was going to happen and then due to circumstances that couldn’t be helped had to be put off. So, finally we have the renovations happening. So, I like to talk about the renovations in two phases. Phase One is pretty much complete now. And this is that we have taken the display areas at the top floor and the bottom floor where the globe was ... and for some people you’re already sad because you’re hearing the globe is gone ... I’m sorry. But it just didn’t serve a lot of functionality. >>Doug Sweeney: It was pretty big, too. It took up a lot of space. >>Parks: There are study cubicles there that people are a little disappointed ... Some say, “I’ll miss the study cubicles.” Well, that’s not the purpose of the Global Center. Years ago, Bill O’Brian started the Global Center as a center to come and get information about missions. That was great, it was cutting edge. He couldn’t have known that there was going to be something called the internet afterward that would make it so easy for people to get that information anywhere. So, that space began to really be unused. So we have cleared it out and the downstairs combined with the upstairs is an event space. We’ve added a balcony to the upstairs. If you have been to the Global Center and you kind of picture that, think of a balcony looking toward the outside wall. Another way to put it, there’s a massive screen under the windows. And this is our window to the world. There will be other screens as well. But we want to have this going on a daily basis to show things ... for example, we have this YouTube channel we’re showing that is a population clock, which is also a shout out to Bill O’Brian who had a population clock in the Global Center. Did you know that there was a population clock in there? >>Doug Sweeney: Long ago, you mean? >>Parks: Yes, from ’95 until 2013, I think it was. I felt really bad it died on my watch. It always displayed the population growth and it was the thing that really captured people’s attention. And for years people asked me, “What happened to the population clock?” Well, it died and the technology was too old for Rob to get parts to fix it. So, one of the first things I put on the screen was a much more complex global population count from a YouTube channel. We’re using this to display information about mission statistics, global needs, global culture, sometimes we’ll just be showing something that shows what traffic looks like in another country. We want people, even when we’re not having an event to feel like there’s a window into the world in the Global Center. So, Global Voices will be in the Global Center finally for the first time in a long time. We used to have it in there but it’s been too big to have it in there for a while. >>Doug Sweeney: How is that going to work? People who think they remember what the Global Center looked like a few years ago probably are scratching their heads. How can you pull off an event where you’ve got 50,60, 70 people in the Global Center now? >>Parks: Right. Well, actually we can comfortably fit 80. And so there will be plenty of room downstairs for 45-50. That’s not a stretch at all. And then upstairs you have the balcony level, the level above it, and then you can even put high chairs beyond that and easily put another 30. >>Doug Sweeney: All right. You mentioned two phases. Was all that Phase One? >>Parks: All that was Phase One. >>Doug Sweeney: All right. So, what’s in store for Phase Two? >>Parks: Okay. A quick description of what’s left of Phase One. We’re going to have two other screens. One will display Beeson and Missions, CCMP, things like that. The other one I want to mention, because if people are listening to this from Samford, there’s going to be another one that displays Samford & Missions. I very much want this to connect with the campus at-large. We will have Samford faculty who are doing incredible things globally. People like Dr. Rachael Haiggs who will be one of our speakers this semester. We want people to see that. We want them to know that there’s a global missions scholar program for the undergrad. And we want undergrads who are in love with missions to also feel like this is their place as well. Phase Two is going to be a timeline of the history of salvation for all tongues, tribes, and nations. It’s going to start downstairs in the hallway where there are artifacts from various missionaries. And just if you know what’s down there, we’re not going to get rid of Lottie Moon. (laughter) So, no need for pitchforks. And if my mom is listening – Mom, I’m not getting rid of Carl Wehrle, I promise you. He has a strong connection to Samford, my mom went to church with his kids. We’re not getting rid of that. But most of the hallway will be a biblical timeline that walks people through different acts, if you will, of the Old Testament and New Testament to show them how it fits together and what it has to say about all the nations. So, starting with creation, the fall, then Abraham – how he’s called to be a blessing to the nations, other Old Testament acts, the exile, and how God gets his glory among the nations even in the exile. Then go into the New Testament, the theme will be “Step into the story.” You’ll be able to step into those cubicles, maybe watch a short video of Old Testament missions, New Testament missions. There will even be a place where there is kind of a mirror that puts you on the same plane with people of various tongues, tribes, and nations. You see yourself literally among the nations and in the background will be scripture in the New Testament, for example the Great Commission. And you will see the visual narrative of the New Testament and Jesus. So, that’s the hallway. And as we walk people through that and do tours, which we will be able to re-introduce the Global Center to campus. We still occasionally do tours for churches, sometimes students ... I think we’re going to have a lot more now, because we will promote this. We will be able to share the gospel. We will be able to help them understand the “WHY” of missions. We didn’t start with the Great Commission, the whole bible is leading to this. And then as we walk into the downstairs part of the Global Center, there will be a timeline of the history of missions that will start 100 AD and go eventually through present day. And it will include a lot of quotes and a lot of the people that we have had on the walls in the Global Center already. It will ultimately end in a visual depiction of what the New Creation might look like based on Revelation 21 and 22. >>Doug Sweeney: Wow. Well, Dr. Parks, you’ve done a fantastic job conceptualizing that. And of course just as importantly the guys who have been doing the hard labor, the physical work this summer in the Global Center, have made it look really nice. Looking forward to welcoming people back and letting them check it out a little bit. All right. Well, before we conclude, let’s let people know what’s going on in the ministries of the Global Center at least this fall? We want to invite our listeners to come and attend some of these things. I’m not sure how the two of you would prefer to kind of lay some of this out, but let’s tell people what we have in store for them. >>Trombley: Sure. So, we have several Global Voices this semester. We start off with Dr. Ben Birdsong from Christ Church here in Birmingham. And his topic is basically how to build a good local missions partnership in your local church with global missions. So, he’ll be our first one. We have, as David mentioned, Dr. Rachael Haiggs who is a Samford professor. She’ll be coming to share about her work with Abrham Village in Tanzania. So, we’re really excited about that. We have a Beeson alum who is actually coming to share about how sports opens up doors for engagement in closed access countries. That’s one of ours that is going to be really, really good but because we have to protect him we can’t record it. So, we highly recommend you come to that one! We actually have one of our cross-cultural ministry hosts from this past year who is coming and she is sharing about her work that she did with students in Ecuador this summer. And extending that opportunity. That’s Anne Marie. So, we’re super excited to have her. For our Go Global speaker we have another wonderful Beeson alum, Dr. AK [LAMA 00:24:29]. He is coming to share with us and he’ll speak in the Tuesday chapel of that week and then he will do a presentation that Wednesday about some of the work that he is doing in transforming and teaching leaders in Asia. And then International Lunch Club is another one of our ongoing events that allows Beeson students and Samford international students to connect and kind of learn about one another’s cultures. Sometimes it opens up the door for these students who have never heard about Jesus to hear about Jesus and to see the love of Jesus. And our always favorite event of the semester, Taste of Christmas around the world, will be back. And it will actually be happening near the end of finals week so students can come and after their done with their finals they can come and taste celebratory foods from around the world. So, those are some of our global voices and our Go Global speaker for this semester. >>Parks: I will say one more thing. When Dr. AK LAMA is here, he’s going to do a training that’s primarily aimed at local ministers, pastors who are interested in potentially going and teaching a week or two somewhere in another culture. And so he’s going to talk about what it means to teach cross-culturally. And so that’s the first Thursday of October. October 5th. So, if you’re interested make sure you look at our website for that event. And at that event we’re going to announce ... I guess I’m announcing it now. (laughter) We’re going to have what we call a Global Training Network. Where we are trying to take needs around the world for some kind of pastoral theological education from formal to very informal and match it with local resources, people who are very well qualified to train leaders and pastors. I believe strongly that if local pastors and other leaders who are qualified, simply knew of the options they would probably choose to do that a little more than simply taking their church on a trip that’s only doing evangelism. Maybe they would take their church on that same trip, but maybe think a little bit more ahead of time about how they could train leaders as well. So, we want to do what we can to match these things happening. Because there are so many needs around the world for pastoral training on a simple level that a lot of people locally really do have something to offer and we want to try to begin to find a way to match these needs and resources. >>Doug Sweeney: Marvelous. All right. So, how do people who have been listening to this and want to participate do so? Do they have to sign up? Do they just come? How do they find out when and where? >>Trombley: They can go to the Beeson website. They can either go to the events page at www.BeesonDivinity.com/events and they can click on the events tab. All of our events will be there. They can also go to the Global Center page on the Beeson website and all of our events are there as well. And they can sign up at either of those places. >>Doug Sweeney: But you do ask that they register? >>Trombley: We ask that they register ahead. >>Doug Sweeney: Sometimes there’s food and so on. You need to know how to plan. >>Trombley: Yes. We will feed you, we just need to know that you want to be fed. Yeah. >>Doug Sweeney: Great. Thank you for the marvelous work that you’re doing. Global Center is one of the most exciting things about Beeson Divinity School, certainly for me. I think you know we usually end these interviews by asking folks what the Lord is doing in their lives these days. So, I’d love to move us towards that question. And maybe start with you, Dr. Parks. Is the Lord teaching you anything new? Doing anything new in your life? How are you growing these days in your walk with him? >>Parks: I guess it would be just little by little, re-learning the old lessons of trusting him with both the little things and the big things. As not just a director of the Global Center, but as a father and a husband. That God is growing me in learning to leave things in his hands. >>Doug Sweeney: That’s good. How about you, Callie? Anything the Lord is doing in your life these days that might be edifying for our listeners to know about? >>Trombley: For sure. Currently, I have been studying the Book of Hebrews for a bible study that I have coming up. The author constantly exhorts his audience to endure - and the strength and ability to endure comes from looking to Christ, the author and perfector of our faith. And my husband, Josiah, and I have walked through some major challenges in the past year. And so it’s constantly come back to the joy of the Lord truly being our strength and looking to our author and our perfector to provide that endurance that we need to make it through. But also just being able to have that joy and to persevere because we’re looking forward to the joy set before us. So, that’s what he’s teaching me in this season. >>Doug Sweeney: Yeah, thank you. We sure are. Well, you have been listening to David Parks and Callie Trombley, who lead the Global Center here at Beeson Divinity School. They are dear colleagues doing fantastic work. We invite you to check it out on our website. We invite you to come and be part of our community as we learn and grow as disciples and disciple makers. Thank you, Dr. Parks and Callie for being with us. Thank you, listeners, for tuning in. We love you. We thank you for praying for us. And we say goodbye for now. >>Rob Willis: You’ve been listening to the Beeson podcast; coming to you from the campus of Samford University. Our theme music is by Advent Birmingham. Our announcer is Mike Pasquarello. Our engineer is Rob Willis. And our show host is Doug Sweeney. For more episodes and to subscribe, visit www.BeesonDivinity.com/podcast. You can also find the Beeson Podcast on iTunes and Spotify.