A pastors gathering with Dr. Ray Bakke on May 15, 2015, Grace Fellowship Community Church, San Francisco, CA
At a lecture given among over 80 San Francisco clergy on Friday morning, May 15th, 2015, Dr. Ray Bakke shared: “Theology never happens in a vacuum. Many years ago, Ted Ward, a famous educator and friend said, ‘Ray, I think that as you get older, people will be more interested in how you learn, than what you know.’ I thought about that, and I decided that I would try something today. I would do a little reflection, on where the theology comes from and what happened in my own transformation, because I am still on that journey, and will be sharing that with you. Obviously, the theme of today, as announced, is: a Theology as Big as the City, but you should know that the words that were left out of the title by InterVarsity was MY SEARCH for a theology as big as my city...My text is Psalm 31:21, ‘Blessed be the Lord who has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city’ ...[which is] a gift of common grace, paid by tax money, with transit systems, health care systems, school systems, sewer systems - all gifts of common grace. And as John Calvin would say, when he told his deacon board to supervise the hospital in Geneva to make sure they were caring for the poor, that the hospital is a public ministry, a gift of common grace. We’ve got to come get back to this understanding - the city as a gift of common grace. We have to re-capture God’s role for the city.” - Hear the entire lecture >
