Noted author-pastor joins Ambrose Seminary
DUNCAN, BC—When pastor and well-known author Mark Buchanan was offered a new job teaching pastoral theology at Ambrose Seminary in Calgary, he says he was uncertain at first. But slowly he came to realize that God was opening a new chapter in his life.
"When I went to Ambrose to 'candidate,' I fell down the rabbit hole when they put me in a classroom and let me engage with the students. I was dizzy with the thrill of it," he writes in an e-mail. "I realized that I had prepared my whole life for just such a time as this."
Buchanan accepted the position of associate professor on April 5. Two days later, he resigned as lead pastor of New Life Community Baptist Church in Duncan on Vancouver Island, a church he had led for more than 17 years. During that time, it has grown from 300 to about 1,200 members.
"Mark will give our students a fresh perspective on pastoral ministry, pastoral leadership currently," saysArch Wong, dean of the Faculty of Theology at Ambrose. "It will be very helpful to students to receive wisdom from a seasoned veteran."
Ambrose president Gordon T. Smith calls Buchanan "a superb communicator" of the gospel. "We are keen for our students and indeed for all of us at Ambrose to grow in our capacity to be able communicators of our faith in a secular and multi-faith society," he says.
Buchanan is also one of Canada's most successful Christian authors. He has written seven non-fiction books, including Spiritual Rhythm and Your Church is Too Safe. He writes regularly for Leadership Journal and Seven, and is a contributing editor for Christianity Today. His first novel, David, will soon be released.
"Part of my attraction to this position," he says, "is the rhythm of the academic year. I hope, perhaps naïvely, that professorship will allow me more time to ply my craft."
Still, Buchanan does worry that leaving the pastorate will cost him the regular interactions with the people in his church and community that have "fuelled" much of his writing.
"The pastoral life has furnished a dozen encounters a week with life, death, burial and resurrection. I get to live the book of Acts all the day long," he says. "And now I only get to talk about it: but maybe, just maybe, I now get to train up a whole army to go and do likewise. For this, I dare to walk away."
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