Graduation! Such a major achievement deserves a celebration. We have many life changing graduations during our lifetimes, some are only significant to us such as a personal battle, others are open for everyone to see. BGU’s graduates are global, our celebration of them is a global one.

Leadership today is from everywhere to everywhere. Luke 13:29 celebrates this global phenomenon by saying “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at the table in the kingdom of God.” Our students have feasted at various tables during their academic journey, learning together they have prayed for each other, encouraged each other to persevere during academic difficulties and now are reaping the fruit of their endeavors.

Please pray for them and each other as we seek to bring shalom to the world. Here are some ways you can pray:

• That our graduates continue to seek to understand God-given gifts, experiences, and opportunities in understanding their role as a called instrument of Christ’s transforming work in and above world cultures.

• That they continue to pursue shared experiences, shared plights, shared hopes, in addition to shared knowledge and tasks.

• That they continue to reflect and catalyzes others with the courage, symbols, and example to make meaning in their own lives.

• That their behavior and priority is on servanthood first. In the style of Jesus, they lead by serving and serve by leading.

• That they would recognize the previous work of God in other cultures and seeks to experience its unique gospel expression.

• That they would understands the complexity of today’s global, pluralistic, urban, economic, and political landscape and sees the Church from the perspective of a world church rather than a nationalized, denominational, or localized church.

• That they would pursue reconciling relationships between people, people, and God, people and their environment, and people and themselves. They would continue to work toward the well-being, abundance, and wholeness of the community, as well as individuals.

• That they would speak truth with love to and through power. With sacrifice and humility, they would pursue change in the broken systems and practices in the political, economic, social, and religious life of the city and world. The would choose to give voice to those that have no voice (Prov. 31:8).

These eight points are taken from BGU’s Eight Transformational Leadership Perspectives, they are found at: https://bgu.edu/transformational-leadership-perspectives.