The Lunch Diaries... 1,2 & 3

When I worked at Randpark Ridge United, the highlight of my first 3 months there was having coffee with one of my youth leaders. Inspired by that memory, and to get the most out of my time here, I have been having some lunches/coffees/chats with interesting people here too.
Here then are the up-to-date Lunch Diaries Of Gareth Beyers:

Lunch 3: Chris Henry (student) - Tues 12 Dec
(Pic: Chris, Elizabeth & Kendall camping outside Chic-Fil-A in 2005)
We'd been trying to get in touch for ages, and finally scheduled an appointment during exam week (yesterday). Chris showed me a neat sushi place, and we spoke for an hour and a bit, before having to get back to write papers. He has interesting connections to Maake Masango, and would like to come to SA sometime. At Duke he got to know Peter Storey very well. Chris enjoys Hauerwas' virtue ethic, works at a homeless shelter twice a week, likes Paul's apocalyptic, and is rather clever. His explanation for why the Presby church here is dwindling: Presby's have fewer kids (and those that aren't born aren't retained well in the church). We will chat again next semester.

Lunch 2: David Bartlett (Professor) - 28 Nov
This was one of the best days that I'd had here so far. David has a great beard, a quick sense of humour and a great laugh! He was very gracious in wanting to hear my story, and in sharing his. He is a NT prof, though lectured Homiletics at Yale where he was for many years. We spoke about pivotal moments in his life, the CTS community and its atmosphere, honest struggles with faith, and balancing ministry and teaching as callings. He asked if I was a firstborn, and he thinks that there is a strong link between firstborn kids and calling to ministry. He is also very good friends with big name theologians like Wayne Meeks and Miroslav Volf, though he tries not to name drop;)

Lunch 1: Greg Simms (student) - 11 Nov
Greg had been making some very interesting remarks in my Jesus & the NT class, so I told him I'd be interested to chat to him. He thought the same of me too! We met for a breakfast on a Saturday in Decatur. Greg is married to Gina and they have just fallen pregnant with their first child! He worked in NGO organisations (helping resettle refugees) for a few years before meeting Gina and coming to CTS. He is a member of the Nazarene church, and working out where and how to take this degree. We spoke of church struggles, moving denominations, NGO opportunities, theology and married life. Greg thinks that the church needs to be involved in practical things on the ground, and not just 'spiritual matters'.

(Disclaimer - i have had many more meals than this, but often with groups, or with close friends, and they are rarely as theologically focussed as these are. Just in case my friends think they are not interesting enough;)