The Legacy of William E. Pannell

The theme for my ordination was the great cloud of witnesses from Hebrews 11-12.  My theme for my sabbatical is "a web of connection."  And so I am both honored and humbled to be able to say that I am connected to Bill Pannell through this great cloud, through this web.

Pannell was a long time professor of preaching and practical theology at Fuller, as well as Dean of Chapel.  But even more than that, Pannell was an ardent proponent within American evangelicalism for racial justice and racial reconciliation.  His book My Friend the Enemy, written in 1968, shook up the evangelical consciousness.  Here was a black man, speaking the language of mostly while evangelicals, naming the subtle and insidious ways that the sin of racism undermines the message of the gospel.  He courageously proclaimed the gospel mandate for racial justice in spite of much opposition and has left a legacy of reconciliation behind.

Over the past three days, Fuller has hosted a series of events in honor of William Pannell.  They have also officially renamed their Center for African American Church Studies after him.  It is good to see Fuller honoring Pannell's legacy by carrying on and stewarding his message to the church; especially in the wake of the unresolved racial tension that has come to the surface in this country through recent events in Ferguson, Staten Island, and other places.

Obviously, issues of racial reconciliation are important today just as they were during Pannell's active ministry.  And thanks to his ministry, Fuller, and the rest of the church, is in a better position to pick up the torch where he left off and shine the light of the gospel into a dark world by proclaiming the gospel of peace to every tongue and tribe and nation, and to continue down the path of justice, healing, and reconciliation.

Dim Sum? Yes, Please

Yesterday our ministry connection was with Hyun and Sue Park-Hur.  We decided to meet for some Chinese Dim Sum, and it was amazingly good.  Hyun and Sue knew of a great place to go in Arcadia, and being that this was my first time eating Dim Sum, they were also good guides to help us navigate the process and choose the best dishes from the dozens and dozens of food carts whizzing by our table.  Sorry that the pictures are from after we ate our meal.

Hyun was born in Korea to a politically active family.  His father founded the Korean anti-communist party.  With such a background, Hyun was schooled in the mentality that if the communist take over, the first people they will come after would be his family.  He was taught to fight and fear and hate his enemies.  But he was also raised to be a Christian.  And as Hyun read the scriptures and followed Jesus, he was drawn to Jesus' teachings about peace and loving one's enemies.  Because of this, when he came of age he took the courageous step to petition for conscientious objector status and not serve the mandatory military service required of him.  This was met with a lot of resistance, both from his family and the government.  They thought his views were fringe and not credible. But he stood firm and convicted.  Finally they relented and said if he could find one historic example of a Christian peace church that still exists today, he would be granted his request for conscientious objection status.  Hyun went searching, and this historic quest eventually led him to the 16th century Anabaptists and their heirs, the Mennonites.



Hyun then came to America, met Sue who is Korean-American, got married, and eventually started studying at Fuller.  While at Fuller they started a church plant called Church for Others with the vision of being an outreach to Koreans in the Los Angeles area and to introduce them to the Jesus-way of peace.  They've since handed leadership over to another pastor so that they could dedicate more time to starting a peace center called ReconciliAsia.  Their mission is to teach peace theology and practical peace-building skills to Korean church leaders in Los Angeles with the vision that this will not only transform Korean churches here, but that it would also have a transformative influence on the church in Korea as well.   Hyun and Sue have always had a heart for the Korean church.  They dream big, they aim big, and little by little, they are having a big impact.

As they have been working to establish ReconciliAsia, they also recently received a call to be co-pastors of a small, traditional, Anglo Mennonite congregation in Upland, CA called Mountainview Mennonite Church.  They also have 3 children; two teenagers and a 5-year-old.  Needless to say, they are busy people, but they do it all with a lot of grace, joy, and skill.

We talked a lot about life, the importance of a Christ-centered peace witness, and our experiences as first-time pastors.  Such a good time.  Yes, it was gift to Hyun when he first discovered the Anabaptist tradition.  But now they are gift to the Mennonite Church and to me as well.