The West

In The Nine Nations of North America, Joel Garreau argued that the political boundaries between Mexico, Canada, and the United States are in certain respects less important than the economic and cultural differences between regions. Garreau re-drew the map of North America into nine cultural regions or nations which, he said, would provide a key to understanding the most important commonalities of each region. The nine regions were Quebec (for Garreau, a nation unto itself), New England (including the Maritimes), the Foundry (the industrial Northeast), Dixie (the Old South), the Islands (the whole Caribbean and much of Central America), the Breadbasket (the agricultural Midwest), Ecotopia (the Pacific Coast), Mexamerica (the desert Southwest and Mexico), and the Empty Quarter (the open spaces of the Rocky Mountain West and the far North).

Garreau wrote during the early 1980s. If he were to redraw his map today, I suspect that Mexamerica would extend far into the region that he characterized as the Empty Quarter. In 1981, he considered Denver to be the capital of the Empty Quarter, and it still dominates much of the Rocky Mountain West. Now, however, it has become much more Hispanic and Southwestern in its flavor. In other words, the boundary between the West (or what used to be the West) and the Southwest is not as clear as it used to be.

Another feature that might be more prominent than Garreau reckoned is the presence of a virtual Mormon nation in the middle of the Empty Quarter. As a cultural unit, the Mormon nation blankets not only Utah, but also much of Idaho and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nevada. Some of the strongest (and, frankly, zaniest) Mormon influence is focused on all sides of the Four Corners area.

Ministry in the West and Southwest is different than ministry in the East, the Midwest, or the Old South. For one thing, distances are much greater, meaning that church congregations are likely to be more widely dispersed, as are opportunities for inter-church fellowship. People often value privacy and are accustomed to isolation, matters that require a unique pastoral approach. Western individualism and self-reliance can easily cross the line into colorful idiosyncrasy. History also has lingering effects: the people who settled the West were often looking to make a fortune or to have a good time, and pursuit of recreation often outpaces spiritual interests—even for long-time church members.

Men who intend to minister in the West need to have some idea of its values, customs, norms, and rites of passage. No training institution east of the High Plains or west of the Sierra Nevadas is equipped to fulfill this task. It cannot be accomplished by simply adding a course in, say, Rocky Mountain Culture or Latino Influences to an eastern institution. You learn the West by living in the West and experiencing its mores. The best way to prepare men to be effective at Western ministry is to train them in the West.

Of course, I am not suggesting that only born cowboys can minister in the West. Many easterners have experienced successful ministries in places where semi-formal means clean jeans, a new belt buckle, and a Buck knife. To some extent, however, they have all had to re-learn ministry in order to be effective. Those who can make the transition have contributed to the Lord’s work; those who cannot have usually gone home. When it comes to preparing ministers for the West, however, there is no substitute for training them in the West.

In this respect, the West is no different than anywhere else. Wherever missionaries go into new cultures, they first lead souls to Christ, then plant churches, then personally train pastors, and then establish training institutions. Sending Brazilians or Filipinos to Illinois for their ministry preparation has not exactly been a successful plan. The most effective training comes from within the culture itself: Romanians teaching Romanians in Romania or Indians teaching Indians in India. Putting Bible colleges and seminaries in the West or Southwest is nearly as important.

At one time, such an institution existed in Colorado. Known as Denver Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, it grew out of the heritage of the so-called Conservative Baptist Hard Core. While the school (especially the seminary) had much to offer, it could not survive the political exigencies of Baptist fundamentalism from the East. Some looked askance at its ruin simply because it did not require the right version of the Bible, others refused support because it did not enforce the stricter taboos of Eastern fundamentalism, and still others vowed its ruin because they identified too closely with some ecclesiastical potentate who lived on the other side of the Missouri. Both college and seminary were permitted to die, creating a vacuum of education from which the West has never recovered.

Part of that deficiency is now being addressed by another school, International Baptist College and Seminary in Chandler, Arizona. International opened its doors as Denver was declining. It has been consolidating and improving its ministry over the past thirty-odd years. Much of its ministry was erected under the leadership of Pastor Jim Singleton and president Jerry Tetreau. The school has continued to flourish under the pastorate of Mike Sproul and the presidency of David Brock. It represents well the better traditions and perspectives of historic fundamentalism while also serving the culture of the West and Southwest.

International Baptist College is still small enough to allow a very personal relationship between teachers and students. It offers very credible biblical training, an urban environment, a strong focus upon the local church, and a good dose of Southwestern culture. IBC occupies a new campus and is beginning to offer an array of new and generous scholarships. It is within range of ministry to Hispanics, Mormons, various tribes of First People, and several Anglo constituencies. It is a good choice for college students who want a smaller school. It is also a good training institution for men who plan to minister in the West.

Because of its small size and strong connection to a local church, International Baptist College may not always receive the credit that it deserves. As someone who began pastoral ministry in the West, however, I am grateful that it exists and I hope that it flourishes. Right now, International Baptist College is able to fulfill a role that few (possibly no) other institutions are capable of accomplishing.

Lauds
David Oestreich (1970- )

At last sunrise, for the first time
in this new year, I woke to hear
an oriole call out sublime
delight at merely being the bird
it was. Its song exposed, I thought,
as incomplete each dawn without.

Could ever I—how better fed
and clothed, how better loved!—
leave any word of joy unsaid
or fail to lend my syllables
to daybreak’s hymn? Herein I sing
my poor and truant offering.

Copyright ©2012 David Oestreich