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her husband and four daughters. The BA caught up with Amber to ask about her experience and what\u2019s next for her.<\/p>\nAfter sixteen years serving the Church in various educational capacities, Amber Riggs has stepped down as co-director and dean of administration for Artios Christian College. She continues to live near Eugene, Oregon, with her husband and four daughters. The BA caught up with Amber to ask about her experience and what\u2019s next for her.<\/p>\n
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BA: <\/strong>What drew you to work in Christian education, and how has the reality of working in it differed from your expectations when you started?<\/p>\n Amber Riggs:<\/strong> When I was nineteen, I had a powerful experience of staying up all night, alone, interceding for the Church. Around the same time, I also felt a strong conviction to transfer schools and major in youth ministry. But I didn\u2019t dare hope I\u2019d ever have an opportunity to serve the Church through vocational ministry. I just wanted to be better equipped to build up the Church as a member and volunteer.<\/p>\n About five years later, I was offered a job coordinating a distance-learning program for the many members God has called to serve in areas other than pastoral ministry (to complement the pastoral training program). It was downright surreal.<\/p>\n Not long after I began working on this, an instructor asked me where I saw myself in ten years. I loved what I was getting to do so much that I never saw myself doing anything else. I certainly had no ambitions or expectations to ever direct the whole training system. It\u2019s strange to realize that I walked into a training system and am walking out sixteen years later as co-director of a college. Even though a college was the goal from the very beginning, it seemed so far away. But God keeps bringing people to the team who are able to build on the foundations of that training system and fine-tune it.<\/p>\n BA:<\/strong> What are your hopes for Artios moving forward?<\/p>\n AR: <\/strong>My greatest hope is that more people take advantage of the courses, webinars, coaching, and other resources Artios offers. While they are particularly relevant for pastors, these resources are valuable to any Christian who wants to influence their families, churches, communities, and workplaces to more closely partner with God\u2019s plan for the twenty-first century church.<\/p>\n And I hope that Artios continues to cultivate a culture of team leadership that values a variety of gifts.<\/p>\n BA: <\/strong>As co-director of Artios, you were the first woman in CoG7 history to serve as a director of one of our ministry training schools. What has that experience been like, and what would you like to say to other women in the General Conference regarding their contributions to the Church?<\/p>\n AR: <\/strong>When it comes to the mission of God to renew all creation, it is \u201call hands on deck.\u201d His plan involves partnering with all<\/em> of us through His Spirit-given gifts and callings.<\/p>\n Our cultural traditions often undergird an idea that some gifts are masculine and some gifts are feminine, and that some traits are<\/em> masculine and some traits are<\/em> feminine. But in the Bible, David wasn\u2019t deemed feminine because he cried out to God or wrote emotional songs. Rather, he cried masculine tears. Priscilla wasn\u2019t seen as trying to be masculine because she taught Apollos a deeper understanding of the gospel. Rather, the Spirit empowered her to teach in a powerful way, and she retained her femininity even as she taught. The New Testament cites many examples of the Spirit empowering women in a broad range of what we often consider masculine gifts. It also cites examples of Paul enthusiastically partnering with these women.<\/p>\n Our cultural traditions have also shaped us to think about roles \u2014 even ministry roles \u2014 in terms of power: who can have power, who can\u2019t have power, how can I get power, how can I retain power. But Jesus\u2019 ministry had a different relationship with power: He laid down His \u201crights\u201d and, instead, used His power to build up the church. In fact, this is the model Paul gives for how we should relate to one another (Philippians 2).<\/p>\n Even though I was co-director and thus had certain responsibilities, Artios practices team leadership. This looks like men and women in various roles and giftings working together while paying attention to the Spirit\u2019s work in and through each of us. It is definitely \u201call hands on deck\u201d and absolutely exhilarating. I would love for everyone to have this type of ministry experience. But it definitely requires a marriage of laying down \u201crights\u201d with an awareness of how the Holy Spirit is at work, and then a fierce faithfulness to partner with God as we personally and collectively embrace His Spirit-given gifts and callings to build up the church.<\/p>\n BA: <\/strong>What\u2019s next on the horizon for you?<\/p>\n AR: <\/strong>To echo Eric Liddell, \u201cI feel God\u2019s pleasure\u201d when I get to take what I\u2019m learning and create something with it that builds up the Church. I still plan to partner with Artios in that way, but through other roles. I\u2019m also continuing my long-term role of co-directing a much smaller ministry training school with much younger students \u2014 aka the Riggs Family Homeschool. God\u2019s been connecting me with some creative opportunities to build up the Church in ways that more tightly integrate with that role, including developing a home Bible curriculum and working on some writing projects. So I\u2019m excited about pursuing those opportunities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The BA thanks Amber for her long service to the Church, and wishes God\u2019s blessings in all her new endeavors.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After sixteen years serving the Church in various educational capacities, Amber Riggs has stepped down as co-director and dean of administration for Artios Christian College. She continues to live near Eugene, Oregon, with her husband and four daughters. The BA caught up with Amber to ask about her experience and what\u2019s next for her. 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