August 2001
Back Issues

Contents

• Financial Update
• Fall Semester begins August 28
• Meditation: Worship Woes!
• Clipnotes
• Book Review: Henri Nouwen: The Road to Peace
• DMin Quote of the Month
• 2001–2002 DMin Course Schedule
• Faculty News
• Development & Recruitment on the Road

Financial Update

In this publication and in letters this past year, friends of Emmanuel were informed that at the end of January there was a shortfall in the General Fund of over $400,000. This kind of deficit had not been seen since before Dr. Wetzel became president. Mindful of your generosity to the General Fund as well as to the Heritage of Excellence Campaign, we came to you to ask for increased giving. And bless you, you responded!

At the end of our fiscal year on May 31, the 2000–2001 General Fund shortfall proved to be about $125,000. The School was able to cover this with some limited reserve funds, which we hope can be replenished in the year to come. Although we are unable to say that we completed another year in the black, with the reserve funds coverage Emmanuel was able to begin the new fiscal year without a deficit. We thank God daily for our many faithful friends and supporters. n

Fall Semester begins August 28

We are pleased to welcome our new students and a new faculty member to Emmanuel School of Religion for Fall 2001. Dr. Chris Rollston joins Emmanuel as Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. We also welcome the return of Dr. Rollin Ramsaran, Associate Professor of New Testament, after a year-long sabbatical.

Registration for new and returning students is Monday, August 27, and classes begin on Tuesday, August 28. We expect a large entering class this year, numbering over 40 applicants at this time. We also hope to have international students from Kenya, Korea, India, and Russia. n

Meditation:
Worship Woes!
By April Alford (MAR ’96)

“Come let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” Psalm 95:6–7

Does your Sunday morning worship ever go something like this?

“Good morning! It’s great to see you! Welcome! Here’s a Children’s Bulletin for you.” Where are my greeters who are supposed to be doing this? “Hi!” singing “Lord I Lift Your Name on High. Lord I love to sing your …” Oh, would you look at that! They left out a word of the song on the screen! “Good to see you, too.” How embarrassing! Why are so many people coming in late? “Hi. Let me find you a seat.” Don’t they know we start at 10:45 a.m. NOT 11:15 a.m.! “Excuse me. Would you mind moving over for our visitors here? Thank you.” If they would just move over when we ask them to every Sunday, I wouldn’t have to interrupt their worship. Singing “Every move I make I make in you, you make me move Jesus, Every breath I take I breath in you…” Smile at children who are looking back at you. I hope they liked the songs we added for them this morning. They are so stifled over here, bless their hearts. When we sing that song in Junior Worship, they do the motions and really sing out. Over here they look like nervous little rabbits afraid to be noticed. Have I made them feel that way? Oh we’re praying... Dear Lord, thank you for such a beautiful day, umhm, uhum, umhm, set our hearts to worship, uhhuh, uhhuh, yes. In Jesus Name, Amen. Oh, I could barely hear the speaker during that prayer. Singing “My Jesus, My Savior, Lord there is none like you.” They are putting out more chairs. Singing “Shout to the Lord all the Earth, Let us sing, Power and majesty Praise to our King, Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name!” Oh there’s Debbie, I need to remember to find her after the service and give her the lesson plan for next week. Did they prepare enough communion? It’s freezing in here! Singing “And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy. And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy. And we cry Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb.” Turn the speaker mic up! Is this elder going to stay under the time limit? Let’s see it’s 11:25 right now. Uh huh, one minute... two minutes... three minutes... 30 seconds. OK! Good, Good... n 

Clipnotes

MICHAEL BAIN (MDiv ’76) has completed 20 years as Librarian at Atlanta Christian College. Mike and his wife, Barbara, live in East Point, Ga.

CARTER BOOKER (MDiv ’95) and his wife, Suzanne, announce the birth of their third child, Jack William, born May 28. Carter is continues his graduate studies at the University of Iowa. He and his family live in Iowa City.

ED CHARLTON (MDiv ’81) recently completed ministry with New Covenant Christian Church and now works as a tax accountant for Bowen, Powell, and Co., Certified Public Accountants. He and his wife, Jody, live in Columbus, Ohio.

JEFF DYE (MDiv ’95) has accepted a position as Discipleship Minister at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., where Jeff, his wife, Kim, and their three children reside.

RON FINLAY (MDiv ’78) became board chair of the Christian Evangelistic Association in Washington. Ron is an elder and chairman of the board at Highline Christian Church in Seattle, Wash. He and his wife, Emma, live in Des Moines, Wash.

ALEK JACK (MDiv ’97) and his wife, Christine, celebrated the birth of a son, Benjamin Alex, on July 17. Alex and his family reside in Greeneville, Tenn., where he ministers with Central Christian Church.

GARY JENKINS (MAR ’69) began his 18th year of ministry with Harmony Church in Choctaw, Okla., where he and his wife, Janet, reside.

GEORGE KRAUS III (MAR ’01) recently celebrated ten years of ministry at Nezperce, Idaho, Christian Church. George and his wife, Holly, live in Nezperce.

MARVIN HATFIELD (1989–91) completed a Doctor of Divinity degree at Christian Bible College and Seminary in Independence, Mo. He and his wife, Georgie, reside in Butte, Mont., where Marvin is the Senior Pastor at First Christian Church.

MICHAEL HILLEY (MAR ’85) recently began ministry with Fort Caroline Christian Church in Jacksonville, Fla. He and his wife, Terri, live in Jacksonville.

MARK LITTEN (MDiv ’93) serves as senior minister at First Christian Church in Beaver, Penn. Mark and his wife, Margaret, have partnered with Christian Missionary Fellowship International and will participate in a church planting mission trip to Concepcion, Chile.

JOHN OWSTON (MDiv ’88, MAR ’93) began his 18th year of ministry with Belvue Christian Church in Kingsport, Tenn. John and his wife, Nancy, live in Kingsport.

DOUG ROUSE (1991–92) and his wife, Jennie, celebrated the birth of their second child, Michael Charles, on June 10. Doug and his family live in West Hills, Calif., where Doug is the Deacon of Administration at West Valley Christian Church.

MARK STEVENS (MDiv ’97) and his wife, Kathy, recently celebrated 25 years of marriage. The family lives in Boise, Idaho, where Mark is business manager at Boise Bible College. Mark also recently returned from a short-term mission trip to Kenya.

GEORGE TVARDY (MDiv ’92) is a children and youth therapist with Frontier Health in Greeneville, Tenn. He, his wife Cindy, and their two daughters currently reside in Greeneville.

STEVE WILHITE (MDiv ’99) now serves as Associate Minister with Lake Tapps Christian Church in Sumner, Wash., where he and his wife, Kari, reside. Steve and Kari are expecting their second child. n

Book Review:
Henri Nouwen: The Road to Peace
Edited by John Dear
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999

Reviewed by Dr. Kip Elolia

The Road to Peace, edited by John Dear, is a collection of writings of the late Henri Nouwen. As an activist of Peace himself, John Dear found courage and spiritual nourishment in Nouwen’s writings. He was introduced to Nouwen’s work in 1989 and was instantly “hooked,” as he puts it. The two corresponded regularly for seven years until Nouwen’s death in 1996.

As John Dear reminds us in The Road to Peace, Henri Nouwen touched the lives of many through his compassion and deep spirituality as expressed in his writings. In dozens of books, he invites countless persons to enter more deeply into intimacy with Jesus and solidarity with a wounded world. Everywhere he was invited, either to direct retreats or on a peaceful demonstration, Nouwen pointed people to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Nouwen made it a point to call on Christians to be peacemakers in the fullest sense by rooting their witness in prayer and a spirit of love. After he joined the L’Arche community in Toronto, he was convinced that peacemaking required living and working among the poor and the broken. From his support of the Civil Rights Movement to ministry among the handicapped members of L’Arche community, Nouwen immersed himself in the mandate of the gospel.

In The Road to Peace, John Dear explicitly underscores Peace and Social Justice as central themes in Nouwen’s understanding of Christian discipleship. Chapters 1 and 2 incorporate unpublished manuscripts on peacemaking as well as stories of Nouwen’s participation in the Civil Rights March in Selma and reflections that came out of his experience at the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Nouwen’s adoption of non-violent means as a tool to resistance came out of this experience. In Chapter 3, Nouwen reflects on the presence of Christ with the oppressed in Latin America, the legacies of Oscar Romero and Thomas Merton. Chapter 4 focuses on the meaning of L’Arche and the lessons of the heart that he learned while serving among the handicapped. Chapter 5 is based on his 1994 address on “compassion in the time of Aids” and Chapter 6 concludes with interviews and reflections on prayer and the need for solidarity with the human family and this includes the healthy and the broken.

In the book, the editor helps us to catch the full breadth of Nouwen’s vision and discipline. His spirituality of peace, and the example of his life journey invite us to reject the temptation of despair. He challenges us to a life of prayer for without prayer, our actions become fearful and fanatical survival instincts. Prayer is constantly living in the presence of God. Convinced by this challenge, the author writes with conviction and respect of Nouwen’s principles of love and commitment and out of that, he calls us to root all our actions in God’s love without which the peacemaker would be ravaged by the same anger, resentment and violence he or she is trying to fight.

John Dear helps us to appreciate the life of a man whose faith and contemplative life has touched millions of people around the world. In this volume, John Dear highlights for us the other dimension of Nouwen’s life as a peacemaker. Nouwen’s writings on peace as they appear in this volume are as crucial to the faith as those on contemplation and prayer. The Road to Peace can benefit any Christian who seeks a balance between private and public spirituality. It is an excellent and refreshing reading. n

DMin Quote of the Month
By Thomas E. Stokes
MDiv ’74

“I entered Emmanuel’s Doctor of Ministry program with eagerness, but, also, with much trepidation. After all, it had been more than twenty years since I had been in the classroom as a student. I also feared that I would be too old to start such a degree program as rigorous Emmanuel’s D.Min. Furthermore, I knew I would be a student with some of my former students and some of my faculty colleagues would be my professors. These and other excuses kept me from starting my program.

“What I have found is that all these excuses (read, ‘roadblocks’) melted away from the first day of my first D.Min. class. Since that time I have found the faculty to be encouraging mentors, the assigned readings to be enlightening, the class discussions to be stimulating, and the program to be invigorating and, most importantly, life changing.

“I encourage all who have been out of school and involved in ministry to consider entering Emmanuel School of Religion’s D.Min. program. It will not only enhance your ministry, it will change your life.”

For information about Emmanuel’s Doctor of Ministry degree program contact Melissa Noble at 1-800-933-3771. n 

2001–2002 DMin Course Schedule

*Registration for Doctor of Ministry degree classes must be completed three months prior to the beginning of the class in order to prepare reading assignments. All classes meet at Emmanuel School of Religion except Northwest Courses.

Faculty News

ELEANOR A. DANIEL taught at TCM International’s Haus Edelweiss in Austria August 1–18. She will teach a workshop at the Tri Cities Children’s Ministry Conference in Johnson City, Tenn., September 15, and will be in attendance at the Mission Services board meeting in Knoxville September 14. In addition, the Dean will attend the Assessment of Theological Learning Committee for ATS in Chicago on September 27. Dr. Daniel recently published thirteen entries in the new Evangelical Dictionary of Christian Education published by Baker.

JACK B. HOLLAND will speak on “The Difference the Love of God Makes in Your Marriage,” at Harrison Christian Church on October 12. Dr. Holland will attend the National Association of Christian Social Workers Convention in San Antonio, Texas, October 18–21. He will present a paper there titled, “Schools, Families and Communities in Texas: Progress and Potential for Partnership.”

ROBERT F. HULL JR. attended the annual meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association at Seton Hall University August 4–7. Dr Hull reviewed Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants by D.H. Williams (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999) for Journal of Early Christian Studies (Summer 2001). In the second quarter 2001 issue of Leaven, Dr. Hull wrote an article entitled, “The Practice of New Testament Teaching as Pastoral Medicine.”

FREDERICK W. NORRIS published an article for the Second Quarter 2001 issue of Leaven entitled, “The Returning Recognition of Religious Pluralism”.

CALVIN L. PHILLIPS wrote an article for the Spring 2001 issue of One Body entitled, “What’s So Great About Baptism?”

ROLLIN A. RAMSARAN returned from a year-long sabbatical in Boston, Mass. Graciously hosted by Boston University School of Theology, Dr. Ramsaran engaged in research and writing on a forthcoming book. July 31–August 5 he attended the annual meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamentum Societas in Montreal.

BRUCE E. SHIELDS wrote an article titled, “The Hermeneutics of Alexander Campbell,” for Restoration Quarterly 43/3 (Third Quarter, 2001). He will participate in the steering committee of the Association for Doctor of Ministry Education, September 21–22. In addition, Dr. Shields continues to volunteer for chaplain duty at Johnson City Medical Center. n

Development & Recruitment on the Road

DAN LAWSON to Kansas in August; to Oklahoma and Northern California in September; to Texas and the National Missionary Convention in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in October.

JEFF MCNABB to Southeast Indiana in August; to Kentucky in September; to Northeast Indiana in October.

JERRY RUDBERG to Mill City, Turner, and Bend, Ore., and Week of Missions and Family Bible Conference in Cloverdale, Ore., in August; to the Septemberfest in Cloverdale, Ore., to Eugene, Ore., and to Lewiston, Idaho, in September.

C. ROBERT WETZEL taught at TCM Internationals’ Haus Edelweiss in Austria August 3–20. Dr. Wetzel was a member of the editorial board for the Second Quarter 2001 issue of Leaven. September 21–30, the President will be in Poland, and he will then attend the North American Christian Convention Committee meeting in Columbus, Ohio, October 2–3. Dr. Wetzel will speak for chapel at Dallas Christian College on October 4 and at the missions fair at Valley View Christian Church in Dallas, Texas, October 7. n