I'm returning to Liberia.
The return was not in my plan. It bubbled up. It surprised me. Indeed, it confounded me.
When I went to Liberia--returned to Liberia--in January 2013, it was as a researcher. I went looking for Edward Wilmot Blyden, an under-appreciated giant of nineteenth century intellectual history who changed Liberia through his passion for education and promoted Liberia as a diplomat with stunning successes.
For the last year I have lived with the legacy of Blyden: Linguist. Scholar. Journalist. Educator. Statesman. Pioneer. Explorer. Bridge builder between Christian, Muslim, and traditional West-African religions.
Along the way I began to see Blyden as a potential key for a future, not only in West Africa, but more broadly in Christian-Muslim engagements.
A subtext emerged. I was "theologian in residence" at Ricks Institute from January 2013 until early March. I gladly embraced that role. In addition to doing research on Blyden--including an enlightening trip to Freetown, Sierra Leone--I tried to learn more about Liberian Baptists.
I went to Greenville in Sinoe County, which is 150 miles from Monrovia. I went to Edina in Grand Bassa County, where the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Education Convention (LBMEC) was formed. I visited the grave of Joseph James Cheeseman, founder of the LBMEC (1880) and President of Liberia (1892-1896).
In late May I was back in Liberia, this time with a group of Mercer University students from the Tift College of Education. Since 2008 Mercer on Mission has had groups of students at Ricks Institute, a K-12 boarding school near Monrovia.
Mercer has a growing partnership with Ricks and, by implication, with Liberia.
In early June I was in the company of Rev. Dr. Olu Q. Menjay, Principal at Ricks and President of the LBMEC and Rev. Dr. Craig McMahan, Director of the Mercer on Mission project at Mercer. We took a break from the adventure of our Mercer on Mission students and made our way to the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary in Paynesville City (I had been there several times before). I was the preacher of the hour for the seminary's chapel program. The service was at the Bradley Brown Chapel (named for the first President of the seminary in 1976).
In mid-June I returned to Macon, GA and began the process of re-entering my life as a teaching theologian.
One of the projects Menjay and I worked on while I was in Liberia was ways to expand Mercer's partnership beyond Ricks Institute. We talked about many options. In the end we wrote a paper, "What Liberia Needs," and submitted it to Mercer admin.
By July conversations were afoot and we were beginning to open conversations on many of our campuses.
In late August I visited with President Underwood to give an update. He surprised me with a different agenda: "I think you need to go to Liberia as the President of the seminary." I was floored. I protested on various grounds: marital status (with profound desire to have it stay the same!), age, university policies, etc. Each time he had a response that kept things going. "At least think about it," he said. "Talk to Lucy." The conversations were frequent and focused.
I accused Menjay of asking for me to come to Liberia. He was adamant in his denial. "I did not ask for you, professor. I only asked the President to help us find someone to bring some stability to our seminary." I believe him. He and President Underwood have, after all, become friends these last many years.
President Underwood has deep commitments to the developing world. Mercer on Mission is evidence enough to support the claim, but the commitments run deeper than programs.
Since 2009 Mercer, under President Under-wood's leadership and support, has made it possible for a dozen Liberians to come to Mercer on scholarships--with the proviso that they return to Liberia upon the completion of their undergraduate degrees. Slowly we (the Mercer/Liberia partnership) are laying a foundation for a brighter future for Liberia.
Tomorrow I leave for an adventure larger than any I ever imagined. Nearly 20 years ago Menjay was a war refugee sitting in my class (Introduction to Christian Theology). Now he is historian of missions and the church (Ph.D, University of Wales), a force for good in the education of children in post-war Liberia (as the Principal at Ricks Institute), and the sitting President of the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Education Convention.
And, I must add: he will be one of my supervisors as I take up the task as President of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary next week.
The return was not in my plan. It bubbled up. It surprised me. Indeed, it confounded me.
When I went to Liberia--returned to Liberia--in January 2013, it was as a researcher. I went looking for Edward Wilmot Blyden, an under-appreciated giant of nineteenth century intellectual history who changed Liberia through his passion for education and promoted Liberia as a diplomat with stunning successes.
For the last year I have lived with the legacy of Blyden: Linguist. Scholar. Journalist. Educator. Statesman. Pioneer. Explorer. Bridge builder between Christian, Muslim, and traditional West-African religions.Along the way I began to see Blyden as a potential key for a future, not only in West Africa, but more broadly in Christian-Muslim engagements.
A subtext emerged. I was "theologian in residence" at Ricks Institute from January 2013 until early March. I gladly embraced that role. In addition to doing research on Blyden--including an enlightening trip to Freetown, Sierra Leone--I tried to learn more about Liberian Baptists.
I went to Greenville in Sinoe County, which is 150 miles from Monrovia. I went to Edina in Grand Bassa County, where the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Education Convention (LBMEC) was formed. I visited the grave of Joseph James Cheeseman, founder of the LBMEC (1880) and President of Liberia (1892-1896).
In late May I was back in Liberia, this time with a group of Mercer University students from the Tift College of Education. Since 2008 Mercer on Mission has had groups of students at Ricks Institute, a K-12 boarding school near Monrovia.
Mercer has a growing partnership with Ricks and, by implication, with Liberia.
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| Bradley Brown Chapel at the Liberia Baptist Seminary |
In mid-June I returned to Macon, GA and began the process of re-entering my life as a teaching theologian.
One of the projects Menjay and I worked on while I was in Liberia was ways to expand Mercer's partnership beyond Ricks Institute. We talked about many options. In the end we wrote a paper, "What Liberia Needs," and submitted it to Mercer admin.
By July conversations were afoot and we were beginning to open conversations on many of our campuses.
In late August I visited with President Underwood to give an update. He surprised me with a different agenda: "I think you need to go to Liberia as the President of the seminary." I was floored. I protested on various grounds: marital status (with profound desire to have it stay the same!), age, university policies, etc. Each time he had a response that kept things going. "At least think about it," he said. "Talk to Lucy." The conversations were frequent and focused.
 |
| Olu Q. Mejay and William "Bill" Underwood |
President Underwood has deep commitments to the developing world. Mercer on Mission is evidence enough to support the claim, but the commitments run deeper than programs.
Since 2009 Mercer, under President Under-wood's leadership and support, has made it possible for a dozen Liberians to come to Mercer on scholarships--with the proviso that they return to Liberia upon the completion of their undergraduate degrees. Slowly we (the Mercer/Liberia partnership) are laying a foundation for a brighter future for Liberia.
 |
| Richard F. Wilson and Olu Q. Menjay |
And, I must add: he will be one of my supervisors as I take up the task as President of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary next week.
I think my first class with you was either the required Great Books or an OT/NT class. I was so intimidated by you. Yes, I had breezed through high school and graduated third in my class, but with a couple exceptions, I rarely had to think (or even read) in those years. I could tell I was in a different ballpark, and I wasn't always comfortable. You frequently warned us naive teens/twentysomethings to "fasten our seatbelts" before you challenged our thinking, but I still wavered.
ReplyDeleteI was intrigued, though, and kept signing up for your classes. Intrigue quickly turned into another major. I was hooked on thinking, reading, debating, challenging.
I wish I had been able to articulate to you when I was your student how much I appreciated what you did for me. I am thrilled that we have stayed in contact, and I strive to inspire my students to think and challenge themselves. I look forward to reading about your adventures in Liberia. Good luck and best wishes as you take on a new part of the world.