Generous donation launches Business and Cultural Engagement Scholarship

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Don DancerLocal Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) supporters gave an initial gift of 100,000 dollars to create an endowed Business and Cultural Engagement Scholarship for Southeastern students and another 5,000 dollars to launch the scholarship awards this fall.  

The scholarship provides financial assistance to students enrolled at Southeastern for undergraduate, graduate or advanced degree programs. A candidate will be selected based on gifting and passion for “opportunities to bring the gospel and its implications to bear in business and culture.” These areas include science, medicine, law, technology, arts and politics

Ken Keathley, director for the Bush center for Faith and Culture said, “In order to be truly Great Commission Christians, we are going to have to teach our people to think Christianly about all vocations.

“We need to have a good theology of business, economics and money,” Keathley said. “We are not just talking about the 10 percent that you give to your church. One hundred percent of our lives, gifts and abilities all belong to God. We are to understand it is not just pastors and missionaries who are to fulfill the Great Commission.”

The Bush Center for Faith and Culture desires to help students answer the question, “How does one go about fulfilling the Great Commission where one works and fulfill God’s purpose for oneself?”

“The scholarship addresses a vital area that needs to be developed in Baptist life,” Keathley said. “People are often not taught a healthy view of vocation. We have failed to present that every Christian is equal in the church and is to be engaged in serving the kingdom of God.”

Keathley believes that it is important to provide ministry services in the workplace as well as an understanding of how to conduct business that brings about human flourishing.

The scholarship will be awarded to students who have an aptitude in the area and believe that God has called them to study business and cultural engagement.

The “Business as mission” model encourages Christians to have a missional attitude towards their business. This is a return to New Testament teaching where everything Christians do is connected to the Great Commission.

In the spring of 2014, the idea was born out of enthusiasm from participants at the Business, Vocation and the Great Commission event at Southeastern. The event highlighted the Bush Center and Southeastern’s commitment to advance the kingdom of God in every arena of life.

The Financial Aid Office will award the scholarship in consultation with the Director of the Center for Faith and Culture.

Don (pictured right) and Lucy Dancer of Greensboro, North Carolina are the founders of the scholarship. Don Dancer is a retired corporate attorney and currently teaches at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
The Dancers hope that additional partners will contribute to the scholarship and grow its impact. 
 
To support the Business and Cultural Engagement scholarship or for more information on establishing a scholarship, please contact Daniel Palmer at [email protected] or 919.761.2352 or write to Financial Development, P.O. BOX 1889, Wake Forest, NC 27588-1889.

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