We will not soon forget the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti (4:53 PM local time, to be exact) and the aftermath of this horrific tragedy. Over 200,000 people died. A million people displaced, living in tents and under tarpaulins. One year after the devastating disaster, we continue to think about and pray for the people of this beleaguered nation where major reconstruction of the country has yet to get off the ground in a significant way.

I was talking with a cousin during Christmas week. She had asked me about my travels in 2010. In the midst of our discussion, I mentioned that I traveled twice to Haiti to participate in activities at our Seminary in the country. She said, “I did not know that we had a school in Haiti!”

 

We do, indeed. The Seminaire Theologique Nazareen D’Haiti was organized in 1952 as a Bible School with seven students enrolled. Missionaries Paul and Mary Orjala arrived in Haiti in October 1950 to open the work for the Church of the Nazarene. Rev. Paul was an educator who believed that pastors must be trained no matter where in the country they served.

Within a few months he had translated Sunday school literature in Creole, the language of the people of Haiti. There were no books available in French or Creole, no library, no commentaries, and no budget. He did have access to a Creole translation of the Gospel of Luke. He was the only faculty member. He began to develop his own curriculum based on the Bible. As a Greek scholar, he was able to translate Greek into French and Creole.

The Bible school continued to grow. Other missionaries directed the school when Paul left Haiti in 1964 to begin the missions program at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City. The residential program of studies continued to operate at the school, and a program of studies was created for rural pastors who could not leave their homes and their farms to enroll in the residential programs on the Bible school campus on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.

The school closed for a period of time in the early 1970’s.  Most of the missionaries were sent home or were transferred to other fields. This was a major setback for the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Haiti.

New missionaries were appointed to Haiti in 1973. Jeanine van Beek arrived in Haiti in 1975 from the European Nazarene Bible College. She was a veteran educator and spoke fluent French and English. The Bible College was opened in the fall of 1975. Jeanine’s only assignment was the Bible College and she worked to advance the program. She worked closely with the Haitian Department of Religion and obtained permission to offer a degree program. The name was changed during the leadership of van Beek. She retired from missionary service in the 1990’s.

The school today is listed in the top six seminaries in the country. Greg Crofford and Scott Stargel were named successive directors of the seminary and the school continued to move forward.

Nazarene missionaries were removed from Haiti in 2005 due to turmoil in the country and Dr. Lucien Jean Baptiste was asked to take over the direction of the school. He had been a student at the same school when Paul Orjala was the leader. The school currently admits men and women, has day courses for the residential students, and evening courses for students from local churches who wish to become better servants in the church. Currently the seminary has a total of 45 students attending both of these educational tracks.

The only damage to the seminary in January 2010 from the devastating earthquake in Haiti was the security wall surrounding the campus. The wall was quickly restored by work and witness teams and campus personnel. The school was closed from the time of the earthquake until mid-April 2010 because many Haitians, including Nazarenes who had lost their homes in the earthquake, retreated to the seminary campus as a safe place to find shelter and food.

Classes on campus began again in the spring and the graduation date for the class of 2010 was held on July 4 with Dr. J.K. Warrick, general superintendent, as commencement speaker. Seventeen students graduated! Over 1000 Haitians gathered on campus for the special event. What a day!

Prior to the commencement service, leadership classes for pastors and district superintendents were conducted on July 1-3 by Dr. David Wilson, general secretary, Church of the Nazarene; Dr. David Nixon, district superintendent, South Florida District, and myself.

 

I returned in September to the Nazarene Seminary in Haiti with former Nazarene missionary to Haiti, Dr. Terry Reed, Dr. Scott Stargel, former director of the school, and Dr. Scoffield Eversley, president of the Caribbean Nazarene College, Trinidad, West Indies.  This International Board of Education (IBOE) consultation team worked with the current seminary president, Dr. Lucien Jean Baptiste, and Rev. Bill Dawson, field strategy coordinator, in re-envisioning the school in light of present realities and needs. The focus is on strengthening the governing board, developing a five year strategic growth plan for school with multiple sites throughout Haiti, and developing the Haitian faculty and staff.

LeBron Fairbanks with
Director, Rev. Dr. Lucien Jean Baptiste
Seminaire Theologique Nazareen D’Haiti

Yes, we have a school in Haiti for which the Church of the Nazarene can be appropriately proud!

Click here to read the NCN News article, “Haiti: One Year Later” by Dr. J. K. Warrick.

LeBron Fairbanks
January 13, 2011

For years I have taken seriously the discipline of a structured yearly review by my supervisor and/or a committee of the Board of Trustees to whom I reported. Recently I was ”reviewed” in a formal annual “job performance” evaluation by the Global Ministry Center jurisdictional General Superintendent and my supervisor, Dr. J.K. Warrick. It was a profitable experience.

Administrators who worked with me over the years at Mount Vernon Nazarene University know how seriously I took the annual (three hour) review and evaluation of our work together. I would use different evaluation instruments each year, but the fact of the review was never in question. It is a critical component of serving in our assignments as faithful stewards of the leadership assignments to which God has called us.

Recently I was asked by a college board in one of our world regions to work with the school principal (in other parts of the world the school principal is called the president, director, or vice chancellor). The Board not only wants an evaluation instrument to use in the Board’s review of the principal, but an instrument that the principal can also use with the school’s senior administers and faculty.

When the word “leader” is used in the draft instrument, (linked below) the word is referring to the person being reviewed—principal, senior administrator or faculty.

Goals
The goals of the official review/evaluation process are as follows:

1. Affirm and strengthen the identity, mission and vision of the institution.

2. Encourage and support the  leader in affirming his/her leadership strengths and addressing leadership initiatives;

3. Provide appropriate input by the Board of Governors into the review/evaluation process (the input of the Board in the review of the principal will be different from the input of the Board in the review of senior administrators and faculty).

4. Identify and clarify existing or potential conflicts between the leader and institutional governing board that may undermine unity needed to sustain the spiritual and numerical growth of the institution.

5. Embrace and strengthen the institutional strategic goals, immediate (1 year); short term (2-3 years) and long term (4 years) as presented by the leader being reviewed.

The review/evaluation has three sections. Sections one and three are to be completed by the leader prior to the official review. Section two is to be completed prior to the official review by the supervisor or Board committee. A “Competency Grid” is included to assist a supervisor and/or an official review team in evaluating the leadership competencies and leadership behaviors of the person being reviewed.

The review of leadership competencies and behavior of the person being evaluated is built around core assumptions that outstanding leaders are usually known for their decisiveness and fierce resolve. For great Christian leaders, you will also find that they:

Speak Gracefully.      They watch the words they speak.

Live Gratefully.          They don’t whine or cry but are grateful.

Listen Intently.           They seek first to understand.

Forgive Freely.          They are proactive in extending forgiveness.

Lead Humbly.            They harness the power of community life and
                                  make decisions with much grace and deep humility.

Care Deeply:             They value people, not power.

Pray Earnestly.          They believe that God can work in them to
                                  become the change they desire to see in others.

For more reflection on these core convictions and assumptions, please read: “When Good and Godly People Collide over Vision” by clicking here for English or Spanish.

You will notice that the entire process is called “Ministry Effectiveness Review and Evaluation” and not “Job Performance Analysis.” Reviews based strictly on measurable goals and results may work in some professions, but not in the vocation of ministry. Goal setting is an essential part of the “Ministry Effectiveness” review process. Equally important for a review in a Christian college, a local church or a Christian not-for-profit organization are questions like:

1. Has your sense of calling and personal ministry been fulfilled through your leadership endeavors? If not, why? If so, how? Do you feel affirmed as a valuable asset? If not, why? If so, how?

2. In what ways have you developed and enhanced your job knowledge and ministry effectiveness? Have adequate opportunities been provided both for training and for personal growth since your last review/evaluation? Please give examples.

3. In what ways have your initiatives contributed to the numerical growth and spiritual development of the institution you serve?

4. In what ways can the Board of the school support you to lead more effectively?

5. What are your three top institutional challenges for the next year? The next four years?

6. What short-term and long-term goals have you established for your assignment and for your institution in the coming year? The next four years? What measure will you use for accountability?

The Ministry Effectiveness Review/Evaluation includes a component whereby the leader identifies key leadership areas in need of developing during the next four years, and concludes with section designed to summarize both the leadership strengths and leadership limitations of the person being reviewed.

Rooted in this process is a deep sense of stewardship of the leadership gifts given to us, and a profound respect for the leadership vocation to which we are called.  To participate in a structured review of our ministry effectiveness is both a discipline and a responsibility. It is not just “Jesus and me,” but includes “my brothers and my sisters….” We live, work, and define our identity in and through a community of faith. Iron sharpens iron. 

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, Thanking God the Father every step of the way.” Colossians 3. The Message. Amen!

Click here to see the draft evaluation instrument and compentency grid.

I welcome your comments and suggestions that strengthen the instrument.

LeBron Fairbanks

January 3, 2011