Valerie Rempel

Portrait of Valerie Rempel

Acting Associate Dean, Fresno campus and Associate Professor of History and Theology

559-452-1722
vrempel@mbseminary.edu

Education

B.A., Tabor College, 1978; M.A., Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, 1992; M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1999; Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 2003; Present Position, 1996-

Mission Statement

My primary mission in teaching is to encourage students to deepen their love for the church and its complexities and to gain both knowledge and appreciation for the Christian tradition. I want students to think about what they believe and why they believe it and to see how those beliefs have been shaped by their theological tradition, their culture and their own experience. As an Anabaptist, I am also committed to the belief that theological reflection is a community task. I want to encourage students to engage in theological conversation with each other as preparation for ministry in the church and world.

Background

Valerie Rempel graduated from Tabor College, Hillsboro, KS, with a degree in Social Work and served for two years as a volunteer with a church planting team in Federal Way, Washington. After working for an insurance company she accepted a staff position at MBBS. For eight years she worked a variety of assignments including publicity, admissions counseling and finally as the Administrative Assistant to the Academic Dean. It was during this time that she decided to further her education and began work on her Master's degree in Historical and Theological Studies at the Seminary. In 1992 she left to pursue doctoral studies in Church History at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Her particular area of focus is North American Religious History but she maintains a strong interest in the intersection of religion and culture as well as the roles of women in church and society. She returned to MBBS in 1996 to teach in the areas of History and Theology. Valerie served two terms as Secretary of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches and was a member of the Task Force charged with the recent revision of the North American MB Confession of Faith.

Books and Articles

  • “To Be, Not Do: Hearing God’s Call on Our Lives,” in Out of the Strange Silence. Brad Thiessen, ed. Winnipeg: Kindred Productions, 2005l
  • “Senior Ministry: Aging Our Vision Gracefully.” The Christian Leader, Vol. 68, no. 8 (August 2005): 10-12.
    *"Where We’ve Been." The Christian Leader, Vol. 67, no. 9 (Sept. 2004): 4-7.
  • “What Do We Do With the Past?” Mennonite Brethren Herald, Vol. 44, no. 06 (Apr. 29, 2005): 8-9.
  • “Paulina Foote: Under God’s Hand.” Profiles of Mennonite Faith, no. 21, Fall 2002.
  • Review of Power, Authority, and the Anabaptist Tradition, by Benjamin W. Redekop and Calvin W. Redekop, Eds. Direction 31 (Fall 2002): 242-243.
  • “Congregational Life,” in For Everything a Season: Mennonite Brethren In North America, 1874-2002, an Informal History. Paul Toews and Kevin Enns-Rempel, Eds. Winnipeg: Kindred Productions, 2002.
  • Review of Calling God Father Essays on the Bible, Fatherhood, and Culture, by John W. Miller. The Conrad Grebel Review 19 (Winter 2001): 103-104.
  • Review of Harold S. Bender, 1897-1962, by Albert N. Keim. Direction 29 (Spring 2000): 75-76.
  • Review of Leaving Anabaptism: From Evangelical Mennonite Brethren to Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches, by Calvin W. Redekop. Direction 28 (Fall 1999): 266-268.
  • Review of The New Age Movement in American Culture, by Richard Kyle. Direction 26 (Spring 1997): 99-100.
  • “In Spite of the Lions,” in All Are Witnesses, edited by Delores Friesen. Winnipeg: Kindred Productions, 1996.
  • “Early Missionary Society Activity among U.S. Mennonite Brethren Women” DIRECTION, 24 (Fall 1995):36-46.
  • “She Hath Done What She Could: the Development of the Women’s Missionary Service in the Mennonite Brethren Churches of the United States,” in BRIDGING TROUBLED WATERS: THE MENNONITE BRETHREN AT MID-TWENTIETH CENTURY Kindred Productions, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1995
  • YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY Kindred Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1992 Co-editor with John E. Toews & Katie Funk Wiebe

Courses

History of the Church
Christian Thought
North American Religious History
Society, Religion & God
Violence & Nonviolence
Anabaptist and M.B. Studies

Current Ministry Involvement

U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, member, Leadership Board
Mennonite Health Services Alliance, Vice-chair, Board of Directors
College Community M.B. Church, member, church council

Research Interests

19th and 20 C. American Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism, Religion & Popular Culture, Women in Society and Religion.

At Your Service

All MB Biblical Seminary faculty members are available for preaching and are prepared to lead a seminar on calling out leaders for training and ministry. Valerie Rempel will consider teaching classes or seminars on topics in addition to those listed here, please contact her for more information.