It was Wednesday night and James was late for preaching class. It's not like James to be late, or to miss one of the sermons by his fellow students. So when he showed up for class shortly before the mid session break we wondered what was wrong. He spoke of traffic, which is a common problem when one is trying to get to an evening class after a full day's work. But we pressed him a little more, gently but persistently, and he admitted to having had some medical tests. The traditional ten-minute coffee and bread break turned into 20 minutes of James sharing about his condition and its treatment. Having lost a kidney as an adolescent, he had been functioning with only one for nearly twenty years. Now it seemed that his remaining kidney might be letting him down. James is a young man, early thirties, with a lovely young wife, a 3-year-old daughter and a brand new baby girl. As James shared with me and the other 7 students in the class, we all sensed the fragility of life. We could have promised to pray for him and gone back to class, but instead we formed a circle around our brother, laid hands on him and took turns praying for his healing, for his family, and for his journey of faith. There were hugs and tears, and we knew that we had become more than preaching students, and more than "hearers of the word" we had become community, ministers to one another, the body of Christ.

Another Wednesday Night Class, Another Location
Mylinda is co-teaching a Pastoral Counseling class with one of our Costa Rican colleagues. The topic is drug abuse; the special guest is Alejandro, former addict and current director of a Christian ministry for recovering addicts. The pastors and leaders in the class are getting good information on assessment, addiction, and how to deal with the issues their parishioners face. But one student, Pastor Sonia is thinking of a very special parishioner, her son, a drug addict. She has given him food, lodging, and an infinite number of second chances, but it's dawning on her after studying, reading, and hearing Alejandro's testimony, that what her son really needs is not favors or rescuing, but tough love and Jesus. The academic has become the personal, the counselor has received counseling, and Sonia is learning to turn her son over to God and to live her own life in a more healthy way.

We teach a lot of important topics and we're convinced that the reading and studying and practicing make a difference in the lives of the Baptist leaders here. We believe in academic pursuits but we also know that classrooms can become community and that life and learning go hand in hand. So pray for James and his family, pray for Sonia, and for her son, and pray for the Centro Teologico Bautista Metropolitano, that it would be an expression of what it means to be a Christ centered community in Costa Rica.