USA Africa Dialogue Series - AD ASTRA??—Dr. Caleb O. Oladipo, Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions

More news of wondrous achievement. Many congratulations to our brother Prof Caleb Oladipo.  How very important it is to have persons not only of scholastic excellence, but broad human engagement in such positions of huge responsibility. 

All of us who teach and/ or write, impact not only on the mind, but also to a greater or lesser degree on the heart and soul of those with whom we connect. Prof Oladipo's connection with heart and soul, however, is direct, primary and carries the root force of engagement. 

I am greatly encouraged and reassured by the Campbell attestation to Prof Oladipo; and in particular the emphasis given to his commitment " …in helping our students move beyond traditional boundaries and categories, reaching across cultures to make a difference both around the world and around the corner.” 

Prof Aladipo will know that David and Anna Hinderer, 1850s Pioneer CMS Missionaries in Yoruba country and Ibadan particularly, had no Campbell University resource back-up to support them. [See compelling account of their odyssey/ severe challenges, in Ann Meakin's recent and revealing book, Anna Hinderer, Pioneer Missionary, (Norwich, UK: Connaught Books, 2016)  http://connaughtbooks.com/index.php?pr=Anna_Hinderer ].  However their message of "Light and Inclusion" was extended/ cast forward. The seed eventually took root. 

Today there is universal hunger for these rudimentary elements of Civil Life function. Folk of all countries/ cultures/ religions are passionate in their quest; spurred no doubt by profound dysfunction in so many of their respective communities. Prof Oladipo not only is well aware of this present state of "World Soul & Being" through his extensive life and learning in the academy and "real world" beyond; but also through the strain of a primary root in Yoruba Culture which has always seen Yoruba folk as seated comfortably within the wider world of folk and land and belief. 

Who is to say that in 50 years' time, the names of Campbell University and Prof Oladipo will not be renowned even in remote parts of this world, as the "Ecumenical Pioneers" achieving the first major break-throughs in this cybernetic age—an age which already dominates so much of our thought/ belief and actions? 

I note Campbell's motto:  "Ad Astra per Aspera". Indeed. …Not unlike the End of Term comment regarding this hard-struggling 10 year old pupil, penned by the Head of the school he then attended. " Per ardua, this year," said the Head,  "ad astra, next year." That pupil, of course, was me.  In fact, I was to encounter plenty of "per aspera" (difficulty) before "astra" came anywhere in sight.   

I wish you all good things, my friend.  

Best,  Baba Mike

From: Prof Toyin FALOLA <toyinfalola@austin.utexas.edu>
Date: Tuesday, 10 May 2016 00:29
To: USA-AFRICA dialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>, Yoruba Affairs <yorubaaffairs@googlegroups.com>
Cc: Caleboladipo <caleboladipo@gmail.com>
Subject: Dr. Caleb O. Oladipo, Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions

With a great deal of humility and happiness, Caleb, my friend and brother of many years, informed me of his elevation today, "the day the Lord has blessed,” to the prestigious chair of Christian Evangelism and Mission at Campbell University. Do please join me in congratulating him. We spoke, and he is full of energy to commence and expand upon his very distinguished career.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

May 9, 2016

 

Contact: Peter Donlon

Director of Church Relations & Development

Campbell University Divinity School

pdonlon@campbell.edu | 910-893-1847

 

Campbell Divinity names Dr. Caleb O. Oladipo Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions

 

BUIES CREEK, North Carolina—The Campbell University Divinity School has named Dr. Caleb O. Oladipo its Snellings Endowed Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions, effective August 1, 2016.

 

Currently, Oladipo is the Duke K. McCall Professor of Christian Mission & World Christianity and director of the Mission Immersion Experience Program at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

 

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Oladipo to the faculty of Campbell University Divinity School,” said Campbell Divinity Dean Andy Wakefield. “Dr. Oladipo brings not only a strong academic record, but also practical and personal experience with cross-cultural missions. We believe he is uniquely suited to help us develop a robust program not only in missions and evangelism, but in helping our students move beyond traditional boundaries and categories, reaching across cultures to make a difference both around the world and around the corner.”

 

As the Chair of Christian Evangelism and Missions, Oladipo will oversee and expand Campbell Divinity’s missions and evangelism curriculum, as well as direct the World Religions & Global Cultures Center.

 

 “I am very grateful that the Campbell University Divinity School invited me to join its strong faculty and serve in an environment of genuine intellectual freedom,” Oladipo said. “I look forward to what I am going to give and receive by God’s grace as we work with students during their formative years to interpret mainstream Christianity faithfully for our time.”

 

Before joining the Baptist Theological Seminary in 2003, Oladipo was an assistant professor in the Department of Church-State Studies at Baylor University and an adjunctive professor at Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.

 

He is a widely-respected scholar, lecturer, and instructor in world religions and Christian doctrines. He has taught courses in and written numerous scholarly articles, reviews, and book chapters related to missiological studies, religion and body politics in contemporary Africa, Christian movements in the non-Western world, theology of liberation, and interfaith dialogue. He is also the author of two books: “The Will to Arise: Theological & Political Themes in African Christianity and the Renewal of Faith and Identity” and “The Development of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Yoruba (African) Indigenous Christian Movement.”

 

Complementing Oladipo’s scholarship is his cross-cultural experience. A native of Nigeria, Oladipo speaks or reads six languages: Yoruba (his native language), English, Koine Greek, Biblical Hebrew, French, and German.

 

He has also lectured or served as a visiting professor at seminaries and schools around the world, including the Baptist College of Theology in Benin City, Nigeria; Theological Seminary of Armenia in Yerevan, Armenia; and Indian Baptist Theological Seminary in Kerala, India.

 

“This is one of the best times in human history to study the mission of God in the world,” Oladipo said. “The church in the Majority World is not only a mission field, but also a laboratory of knowledge for spiritual and Christian transformation. I remain grateful to God that the future global Christianity we have been waiting for has arrived, with new challenges and opportunities.”

 

Oladipo earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Wayland Baptist University, Master of Divinity from Southeastern Theology Seminary, Master of Sacred Theology from Yale University Divinity School, and Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies from Baylor University. He received Wayland Baptist University’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003.

 

He is a member of several professional associations, including the American Academy of Religion, African Studies Association, Association of Professors of Missions, and American Society of Missiology.  He also serves as a member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Mission Council.

 

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Toyin Falola

Department of History

The University of Texas at Austin

104 Inner Campus Drive

Austin, TX 78712-0220

USA

512 475 7224

512 475 7222 (fax)

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