Esther: 鈥淩eality is person-like, and our essential human desire is to know, to understand, to have intimate contact and communion with reality.鈥�

There is a contagious sense of delight in how Esther presents her ideas, and it鈥檚 a bit sneaky: She鈥檚 engaging dense, complex theories, and if you鈥檙e not already into philosophy it might be easy to say 鈥淥h I鈥檓 not interested in that,鈥� or 鈥淭hat鈥檚 over my head.鈥� But if you listen, you might start to hear a contagious, almost childlike joy. Esther describes it as 鈥渆xuberant realism鈥濃�攁 grounded, thoughtful desire to approach the big questions of life with vibrant love and an openness to delight. With this posture, philosophy is not about abstract theory detached from our day-to-day realities; it鈥檚 a discipline that invites us to wrestle with the deep needs of our time in new and meaningful ways.

鈥淭here鈥檚 one thing you need to be philosophical, and that is to be born. Because to be human is to be philosophical.鈥�

Esther: 鈥淚t has everything to do with love of God, but it has everything to do with love of his reality, too.鈥�

Much of this conversation stems from the conviction that our 鈥渄efective modernist epistemology鈥� and our attempts to control reality are problematic, and that we are in need of a new perspective on our relationship to the real. Esther shares how, in her teaching and writing, her hope is to cultivate 鈥渓overs of the real鈥濃�攊ndividuals whose adoration for God and God鈥檚 creation compels them to ask better questions, to pursue meaningful work, and to welcome each other with hospitality and delight. Derek and Esther discuss how that turn toward others is also reflected in what we know of human psychology: to be gazed upon with delight, and to offer delight toward others, is a central part of developing an integrated identity.

Esther: 鈥淭o be seen with delight by someone else is something that allows you to find yourself in that gaze.鈥�

Derek: 鈥淚n the current political climate of our country, it鈥檚 been hard to delight in each other, very hard to see beauty. What we seem focused on is ugliness, and our inability to see each other and delight in each other has been a real challenge.鈥�

Esther鈥檚 insights and philosophies have profound implications on how we conceive of God, how we serve each other, and how we respond to trauma and dis-integration in our world. We are deeply grateful for her work and for the generosity of her presence with us. Thanks to Dr. Esther Meek for joining us, and thanks to all of you for listening!

Resources to Go Deeper

• For more from Esther Meek, you can watch her presentation from the 2018 Stanley Grenz Lecture Series, including a panel conversation with Dr. Dan Allender and Dr. Chelle Stearns: Integration in a Dis-Integrated World.
• Esther鈥檚 writing has been an important presence in our classrooms for many years. To jump into her work for yourself, a good starting point might be .
• Esther cites Francis Schaeffer鈥檚 book as helping her realize at a young age that her questions about God and the world were not sin, they were philosophical.
• Much of Esther鈥檚 ideas have been developed in conversation with the work of Michael Polanyi, whose text seemed like the only voice in Esther鈥檚 philosophical quest that addressed her deepest questions about reality.

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天美视频鈥檚 Founding President Dr. Dan Allender in his book, , states,

鈥渕y character is a superb fit for a startup, edgy, academic world, but I would be a trapezoid peg in a round hole if I were to try and teach or administrate in a traditional academic world.鈥�

Twenty-one years ago, our first President gathered a group of like-minded people and moved to the edge of the Salish Sea, to one of the most edgy, educated, innovative cities in our country.

They dreamed big, took personal and professional risks, and acted like fools for the sake of the Gospel. They wanted to challenge the numbness of our own Christian traditions, in search for a new narrative that defies the oppressions and injustices within our societies, and to work with the traumas within our own stories that hinder us from full engagement in our God-given lives.

Dr. Allender once asked our dear friend and New Testament professor Stanley Grenz, who left us and this earth far too early, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 others take these risks?鈥� Dr. Grenz replied, 鈥淏ecause other seminaries don鈥檛 hire fools to be the President!鈥�

What a difference fools can make!

Our second President, Dr. Keith Anderson, understood this foolishness and placed his mark on this institution with his insistence on maintaining the edge by charting an alternative consciousness, representative of the Christian message.

In the wake of the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville last year鈥攁 rally he referred to as a 鈥渂latant and vile display of racism and anti-Semitism鈥濃�擠r. Anderson reminded us who we were by recounting,

foundational to our education at 天美视频 is that we seek to sustain curiosity in the midst of differences, discourse in contested conversations, listening when we want to walk away, offering a table in the very presence of those with whom we strongly disagree, and embodying a spirituality of our own repentance even as we call it forth from others.

The DNA in this institution, Dr. Detweiler, is filled with fools, edgy faculty, staff, and students who are stirred up by hurts, pains, oppressions, traumas, and injustices. People who yearn to be participants in the energizing story of the Incarnate Christ. We are psychologists and ministers standing in solidarity with those in the margins and immersing ourselves in the traumas of those who seek our counsel, recognizing that transformation takes place in our points of surrender and vulnerability.

I believe, Dr. Detweiler, that those on the search committee and the Board of Trustees knew this to be also true of you. They knew of your willingness to leave the security of what you know鈥攖o know more. To let your creative imagination imagine anew.

And now here you are, our third President. May I say, perhaps, our third fool.

The Third in psychology refers to a psychic space that interrupts complementarities, sameness, exclusiveness in an attempt to create and imagine new configurations, adjustments, a place to breathe, to think more creatively and spontaneously. The Third is always grounded and discovered through relationship.

The Third in theology is understood as the Triune God and in specific, the Holy Spirit, who gives breath and breadth. The Spirit who disrupts our labored minds drawn to binaries, certainties, power, and invites us into risky, mysterious places empowering us (as we read in our collective statement of faith) to resist systemic powers that strike against justice, peace, and equity in our world. The Third is also grounded in the complexity and beauty of the holy relationship of the Trinity.

天美视频 is now all grown-up. It is 21 years old. We are now legitimate, accredited, recognized鈥攚e are a part of the norm. We are impressive! We are adults. But we know how easy it is for adults to slip into arrogance, defensiveness, and power grabs. So we must be careful to remember our 鈥済round,鈥� that is, where we have come from, as we faithfully continue to dream big and be imagineers of the next.

鈥淲e must be careful to remember where we have come from as we faithfully continue to dream big and be imagineers of the next.鈥�

The Puget Sound was officially renamed the Salish Sea in 2009. Why? Because someone remembered.

They remembered the First Nations people鈥攖he very first inhabitants of this incredible place that several million now call home. Biologist Bert Webber along with 70 First Nation Tribes sought to rename one of the world鈥檚 largest, biologically diverse and rich inland seas鈥攏ot simply to rename and honor the past, but to ensure the sustainability and future of their culture and the fragile ecosystem of the sea.

Remembering the past orders the future.

This is also demonstrated in our ancient ritual of the Holy Eucharist, where we gather at the table to remember, to confess, to restore. It is food for the journey. But we don鈥檛 remain at the table, for to do so would be gluttonous. To remain would be to escape the realities of our lives and others and to ignore our participation in being Christ鈥檚 presence in our world. No, the cleared table serves as a vantage point and signals us to get up and go.

Your task, Dr. Detweiler, as the Third at this non-traditional academic institution, is to encourage us to sit and to get up. To gather us to remember, to confess, and to restore, and then to go on to live on the edge, foolishly imagining and implementing Christ鈥檚 Kingdom here on earth.

As we go forth, help us remember our groundedness.

Keep us as wide-eyed as those foolish founders who had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Be our Third鈥攖hat one who is restless and impatient with the norm, the existing state of affairs, the easy, the expected. Be our Third who ignites our imaginations and our passions, that Third that breaks up our places of stuckness standing in the way of being fully alive.

For we know that the glory of God is the human person fully alive!

I wish to assure you that you will not be alone, for you will joined by a group of other fools who believe we exist to make a difference, here on the edge of the Salish Sea.

Thank you.

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This year, we were grateful to have as our featured speaker, Reverend Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, a professor, pastor and dynamic author whose life work has revolved around theology, lament, and racial reconciliation.

As a community we were invited to reflect on the importance of lament, especially as it relates to racial division within our country. Dr. Rah reviewed the prominence of lament in Scripture and challenged us to consider the ways in which our culture and the American Church has run from lament, leading to a mentality of exceptionalism.

Lecture

A few notable quotes from the lecture:

鈥淪piritual confusion can lead to spiritual health. Without disturbance of ourselves, why would any of us want to change?鈥�

鈥淚srael had only two choices in Lamentations: to run away and hide or to lament.鈥�

鈥淓vangelism from the ark works poorly because it is not for others.鈥�

Panel Discussion

Dr. Rah was joined by Dr. Caprice Hollins,听Dr. Ron Ruthruff, and for a panel discussion.

鈥淓xceptionalism keeps me, as a white person, from messages other than 鈥榊ou are helpful鈥� or 鈥榊ou can do it.鈥欌�� – Dr. Ruthruff

鈥淚 see lament as awakening truth and then grieving.鈥� – Dr. Hollins

鈥淲e need both windows and mirrors to see ourselves and others.鈥� – Tali Hairston

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The Dialogue

What about your story has shaped your love for the earth?
Steven: I was fortunate to grow up with woods behind our house and have fond memories of wandering through them. Year round, I would spend time outside and gained a tactile sense of which trees were which, though I couldn鈥檛 name them. With both parents on an academic schedule, we would spend 2-3 weeks each summer tent camping or vacationing in a pop-top trailer. The summer before senior year, I became a camp counselor at a camp that focused on canoeing and backpacking. I realized I could do that for the rest of my life. Later, in 1980, I started Wilderness Adventures, which ran during the summers.

What do you mean by ecological homelessness?
Steven: I began to pick up on different kinds of homelessness. I remember one philosopher saying, 鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling homeless in our homeland because of global warming.鈥� To feel at home is to have an affiliation with a place, to know what is going on, to feel safe, and be at rest. Many are not feeling safe or connected in the environment, and we are losing a sense of what the environment around us is like.

What have been the main ecological degradations and improvements?
Steven: Global climate change has been huge because it affects so many issues. There is also the rapid loss of biodiversity; three species a day going extinct is not sustainable. Water quality and quantity are low in many areas. Thankfully, we are seeing some positives. Air quality has improved in a number of places. There have been opportunities to make changes, as with the Paris Accord. However, if we just keep going with business as usual, we will have serious problem within a couple of decades. And, in some ways, the future is happening now.

What are the images of hope that you have seen?
Steven: The Montreal Protocol is one that is well known. But I believe local efforts are most important. For example, our community raised $15 million to clean up the mess of local watershed. There are also educational changes. Now, some preschools are environmentally-oriented, and there is an emphasis on project-based learning in middle schools.

Highlights and Takeaways

• Why time in the wilderness can be directly connected to the joy of relating with others
• How Scripture addresses ecology in many ways
• Where positive trends in the environment are coming from: not top-down influences but percolating up from the bottom (entrepreneurs and other locals in the environment)

Stanley Grenz Lecture Series
*This year, we are pleased to welcome Reverend Dr. Soong-Chan Rah as our keynote speaker for the Stanley Grenz Lecture Series. Dr. Rah will open the series on Tuesday morning, November 6 with a lecture entitled 鈥淭he Necessity of Lament in a Broken World鈥� and close in the evening with a dialogue engaging 鈥淲hite Supremacy, Racialized Trauma, and the Need for a Redemptive Mediating Narrative.鈥� We invite you to join us for this annual, free event honoring the legacy of Dr. Stanley Grenz and our ongoing commitment to the intersection of theology and culture. .

About Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger
Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger is a professor and prolific author in the realms of theology, ecology, and environmental studies. He serves as Professor of Religion, Director of the Environmental Studies program, and Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning at Hope College in Michigan. He has written more than 100 articles, essays, and reviews, and his book publications include The Greening of Theology, For the Beauty of the Earth, and Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.

About text.soul.culture
Hosted and curated by Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Academic Dean, text.soul.culture is guided by a commitment to understanding narrative, wrestling with intersections, resisting reactivity, and fostering radical hospitality. Every other week, Derek is joined by faculty members, alumni, visiting thought leaders, and other conversation partners to explore what it means to foster wisdom and imagination for a world in need of complex thinkers and healers.

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