Celebrating the Work of Dr. Barbara Austin-Lucas
The biblical mandate is grounded in teaching the Body of Christ to do the work of discipleship and evangelism. Since one cannot teach what one does not know, the church must have a lifelong commitment to teach….Ultimately, I understand God as educator, Jesus Christ as exemplar, and the Holy Spirit as the empowerer of those determined to be teachers/learners within the Christian faith.
These are some of the words that echoed from your philosophy of Christian higher education submitted with your application to begin working at Alliance Theological Seminary as an adjunct lecturer 11 years ago in 2005. Bordering these words was your further belief that “the church must not be self-serving; teaching must involve in-reach (congregation) and outreach (community outside the church’s doors). Leadership must be equipped to provide an education which empowers congregations to impact local and global communities.” This would be the beginning of your undeniable passion to usher Alliance Theological Seminary students into a positions of leadership and service. Since then your work to help students evolve from pursuit of calling to accomplishment has left a lasting mark that goes beyond the hallowed drawers and walls of our institutional archives.
Your philosophy and development of curriculum that would combine teachings in areas of koinonia (fellowship), leiturgia (worship and prayer), kerygma (preached word), diakonia (ministry service), as well as counselling, and spiritual disciplines led to your appointment to full-time Professor of Religious Education within the same year you began with us as a lecturer – 2005; a role that would evolve as you became Director of Spiritual Formation for the Alliance Theological Seminary Manhattan Campus in 2008. We knew then what our students have experienced under your teaching, guidance, and advisement for over a decade; that the spiritual formation of leaders is critical to the spreading and preservation of the Gospel and the work of the church and its leaders. For your work in this critical and moniker aspect of the Alliance Theological Seminary ethos in Christian education will forever serve the students and history of our institution.
It is significant that we also acknowledge the impact and reach of your career outside the walls of our institution. Your recognition by both the New York State Assembly and Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. speaks not only to your influence on generations of seminary students, but also their communities. Your impact on the lives of civic leaders, community leaders, both secular and sacred (across religious beliefs and denominations), and academic institutions as far reaching as Africa, Italy, Haiti, and Canada is a testament to your gifts, integrity, and the measure of care you carry for the building of God’s kingdom, its people, and the world we are called to love, change, and serve through the Gospel.
Your advisory role to countless organizations throughout this country that work in advocacy and support of the rights and leadership of women, social justice, and urban ministry has afforded our students and the greater Alliance Theological Seminary community access to partnerships and alliances that resulted in a deeper understanding of our individual and collective responsibilities to uphold the Gospel and its role to mankind beyond the walls of the church.
As you move forward to assume your next level of ministry as a Bishop in the Dunamis Covenant Connection Fellowship of Churches, and further in your work educating local and global communities, we say thank you for sharing your gifts, wisdom, and knowledge with the students of Alliance Theological Seminary. We honor you and the groundwork you have helped us lay that will continue to serve us and generations of leaders to come.
With great respect and admiration,
Your community at Alliance Theological Seminary and Nyack College