Day Four

“Even if I had dropped out after the first year,” says Regent Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership student Bishop David Oginde. “I would have called it the most transformative experience of my life.” Bishop Oginde, who has passed his comps and is now in the dissertation phase of the program, was speaking to 25 prospective Ph.D. students in a classroom at Pan Africa Christian University (PACU) in Nairobi, Kenya. Some had come from Southern Sudan just to hear about this wonder: the first faith-based Ph.D. in all of Africa. I couldn't help but wish we had a video camera rolling to capture this remarkable endorsement from a Kenyan leader who is already changing his world.

This was a culminating event here at PAC), where we hope to launch this degree with a qualified cohort of 20-30 East African men and women, all hoping to catapult their careers as newly-minted Drs.

Karen and I began our day at PACU visiting with Vice Chancellor (equivalent of a U.S. university president) Godfrey Nguru, whom we had met last year in South Africa. He recounted for us the remarkable history of this place, situated on about 40 acres in Nairobi. “PACU was built by the Soviets in 1963 as a Communist training center,” he explained. “All of the faculty was Russian. I remember coming here with a friend as a prospective student, and they told me all about Communism and how it would bring stability to Kenya. Today, we are graduating students with a world view that seeks to transform this nation for Christ. What the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good.”

During the 'signing ceremony' (we signed a Memo of Understanding that will help us launch the degree) with Chancellor Adoye, 15 students from eight countries sing worship songs in English and Swahili. Their angelic voices swell in a rich harmony; the 150 in attendance sway to the music as one. “This is a historic day for PACU and Kenya,” begins Adoye. “We have sent our Kenyan son, Barack Obama to the United States to lead that great country. Today, we look to Regent University to help us equip African leaders who will lead with values that will transform our nation and our world. Our two schools today come together in an African marriage, and while the bride price may be high (a reference to our tuition, which we have discounted 50 percent, but it is still very high by Kenyan standards) she is worth every shilling.”