We had the honor to sit down with President Hagan, PhD from North Central University as he answers “How do you see the marketplace becoming part of God’s mission?”
Transcript:
Erik Cooper: Well, hey this is Erik Cooper, President of the Stone Table and I’m here with my friend Scott Hagan, the president of North Central University. I should say Doctor Scott Hagan now its official.
Scott Hagan: It is official but I always tell people you know. It is bizarre. I gave up two names. I used to be called Pastor Scott and now I’m called President Hagan. And so it’s odd. Now I throw this third thing on it, but I tell people as long as you call Jesus Lord you can call me anything you want.
Erik Cooper: If I had my doctorate, my wife, she’d call me Doctor.
Scott Hagan: No, I am glad it’s done, I’m very glad its done.
Erik Cooper: So we want to talk to you just for a few minutes. I mean we do a lot of just trying to encourage marketplace people. Who are trying to engage the mission of God from their seat? You know? So you are President of university. You’ve been a pastor. But you’re the President of university that has a passion and growing business department that is really trying to help engage, train up, release a whole new generation of Kingdom marketplace people. So, I mean from your seats. I mean what would you say to us about how do you see the marketplace becoming part of God’s mission?
Scott Hagan: Well, it’s very interesting cause the irony is. It is complex, but it’s also simplifying, and so there is this death of this separation of that whole sacred secular thing. We always talk. We sound like we have marbles in her mouth trying to explain our theology, but in a in a very beautiful way. Things are simplifying Erik. I think there is a real absence of that separation going on, and so people aren’t thinking in terms of that binary world. I’ll behave this way here and then behave another way there. I’ll be innovative here and then I gotta put on this other innovation thing here. I think people are thinking what’s the most creative, engaged way I can bring the gospel into every setting that God has opened up for me. And so you know, people, even you have to be disciplined to separate your work day from your rest day. You know during any given day. But in reality, even when I’m resting, I’m thinking about the things of God and when I’m thinking about the things of God I’m resting, I know I’m not trying to be hyper philosophical, but I think business. Mission being a Great Commission leader, utilizing every tool that is in my tool belt, all my giftings, all my talents all of it combines into this beautiful life for the Lord and I think people are emerging more powerful than ever utilizing business as mission. And never leaving mission when they’re in business?
Erik Cooper: Yeah, well, it’s one of the things we love about North Central. Just one of the many things we love about North Central is the way you are raising up marketplace students to engage the Kingdom. You know it’s. You even said at one of our board of regnant meetings that you’ve been talking to. Some of the AGWM folks and they were telling you probably see this more eloquent than me. But you know, we need scientists, and we need educators and we need business people right too?
Scott Hagan: I was just I was just on a zoom call this week. Imagine that a zoom call with all the area directors around the world, of which several are out of this university. I mean overseeing just really the global watering of the earth through the AG and they were saying emphatically that the missionary of the future has to go into that field. No one’s getting their visas as a resident missionary because they studied missions at a Bible college. You’ve gotta come from a university like a North Central. That is a broad-based platform educational platform and you’ve got to go in with a business education degree. Something in medicine. That is opening door ’cause these countries want to know what contribution are you bringing to the country. But are you bringing and so you can’t say I studied to be a missionary can I come into Saudi Arabia? It is. It’s more far more nuanced than that, and so it’s really. We’re cultivating some great potential global missions workers out of our Business School and people that come to study missions are now studying business and their eyes are being opened. Its powerful what’s going on
Erik Cooper: it is it’s really powerful.
