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OCTOBER 2002
Back Issues
Contents
Enrollment
increases
Emmanuel
welcomed 53 new students in the Fall 2002 class, an increase of 17%
over last year. With three additional auditing students, this is a
record number of students participating in classes for the first
time. Total enrollment is also up slightly with 159 students,
compared to 156 in Fall 2001. During a time of financial stress,
this is a very encouraging sign.
Emmanuel’s
students come from 57 different colleges and universities. They come
from across the United States and from other countries including the
Dominican Republic, Kenya, Myanmar, Russia, and South Korea.
Altogether, this makes for a rich and interesting social life, as
well as a stimulating environment for class discussions. n
Dennis
Olson to bring Kershner Lectures October 30–31
Dr.
Dennis T. Olson, Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological
Seminary, will bring the 2002 Kershner Lectures at Emmanuel School
of Religion October 30–31. The title of the lecture series is
“The Bible in Crisis: An Old Testament Perspective.” Lectures
will take place each day at 10:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in Emmanuel’s
Mildred Welshimer Phillips Memorial Chapel.
Lecture
topics include: Hosea 5:8–6:6 and the Crisis of Biblical
Authority; The Pentateuch and the Crisis of Truth in a Postmodern
World; The Old Testament’s Responses to the Crisis of Human
Suffering; and Violence for the Sake of Social Justice? Two Old
Testament Narratives and the Crisis of Human Conflict and Moral
Deliberation.
Dr.
Olson received his Ph.D. from Yale University. His academic focus is
on literary analysis of Old Testament narrative and theology,
specifically in the area of the Pentateuch. Dr. Olson has served as
chair of the planning committee for the Convocation of Teaching
Theologians of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is an
ordained minister in that denomination. n
Meditation:
Like
Children
By Joy Jones (MDiv ’99)
I have noticed
something in the past months that gives me pause… I have noticed
that cars give me preference in the cross walks, that people hold
doors open, and that I often get smiles, hellos, and looks of
solidarity or pleasure as I pass strangers on the street. Having
lived in an urban area for some time now, I must say that this hasn’t
always been the norm. In fact, six months ago I would probably have
said that city people are generally in a hurry and not especially
friendly.
Now I have
what my husband calls “the baby card.” As we approach a
notoriously busy intersection and someone slows for us to pass, he
laughs and says we are playing the baby card. It’s true in a
manner of speaking; the sight of a baby or an obviously pregnant
woman seems to bring out the best in people. It seems that for many
people, the mere glimpse of a baby brightens their day. And why not?
Babies are innocent and fragile creatures who are easily delighted
(and often terribly cute). Strangers will go to great lengths to
elicit a smile from a baby simply because they can—because it’s
fun. And maybe, just maybe, because babies are indiscriminate. You
don’t have to worry with babies. They don’t care about your age,
gender, race, economic status, or beauty. Babies just love
attention.
There are
numerous places in scripture that exhort us to be like little
children and to welcome others like children. Though I have heard
and read this concept for years, and even think about people being
God’s children, it has never really occurred to me in quite this
way. What would it be like if I offered the preference, kindness,
and attention to the adults I encounter that strangers have been
showering on my son, Levi? What would it be like if everyone did? If
people delighted in one another like they delight in babies? It’s
an interesting thought. Because while we might not think of adults
as having the innocence of children, they are not all that different
either. Sure, we learn to disguise our fragility and we are slower
and more difficult to delight, but when it comes right down to it,
we still need and desire care. We crave positive attention and long
to be loved, preferred, enjoyed.
Levi is
teaching me a lot these days about what it means to be a child of
God and to live in a world filled with God’s children. In some
ways he sees people a lot more clearly than I am able to. n
Clipnotes
TIM AHO
(MDiv ’92) and his
wife, Tammy, celebrate the launch of worship services for their
church plant in Solihull, England. Dickens Heath Village Church
services began September 22. Tim’s article “Aerial Maneuvers
and Other Risky Business” was published in the August 4 issue
of Christian Standard.
PALMA BENNETT
(MAR ’71) has begun his third year of ministry with the Elk Park
Christian Church in Elk Park, N.C. Palma and his wife, Dink, live in
Fall Branch, Tenn.
TOM BROWN
(MDiv ’89) has been named a Trustee of Puget Sound Christian
College. He lives in Canby, Ore., where he is the Director of North
Willamette Christian Evangelical Association.
DAVID BUTZU
(MDiv ’00) completed his first year of Ph.D. studies at The
Catholic University of America Washington, D.C.
KEI EUN CHANG (MDiv
’97) successfully completed his eschatological comps and orals in
May at Boston University where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Early
Christian Studies.
BOB CLARK
(MAR ’90) and his wife, Debbie, were featured in the Spring 2002
InterVarsity Graduate Faculty Ministries Newsletter. The Clarks
minister to an interdenominational group of graduate students and
faculty at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
DAVID DRULLINGER
(MDiv ’83) serves as the Senior Minister at First Christian
Church, Bend, Ore.
JEFF DYE
(MDiv ’95) has accepted the position of Minister of Discipleship
and Pastoral Care at Fern Creek Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.
ADRIAN FEHL
(MDiv ’96) and his wife, Jennifer, delivered their third child,
Darby Sue, on May 9, 2002. Adrian and Jennifer returned to Ethiopia
in August for their second term of service with CMF, where they are
church planters with the unreached Gumuz tribe.
MIRIAM PERKINS FERNIE (MDiv
’97) completed her first year of Ph.D. studies at The Catholic
University of America Washington, D.C.
CRAIG FRALEY
(MAR ’92) has accepted the position of Senior Minister at Normandy
Christian Church in Seattle, Wash.
ALAN HANDMAN
(MDiv ’02) and his wife, Debby Fleenor Handman (MDiv ’01),
have been called to minister with Orchards Christian Church in
Lewiston, Idaho.
M. THOMAS HARNED
(MDiv ’73) has accepted the position of Wing Chaplain, Second Bomb
Wing, at Barksdale AFB, La., and resides on base with his wife,
Donna Jo.
CHARLES D. HENNEY
(MDiv ’78) was recipient of a kidney transplant in June. Charles
is minister of First Christian Church, Ellensburg, Wash., where he
resides with his wife, Georgia (MAR ’78).
JONATHAN HUDDLESTON
(MDiv ’99) transitioned from his teaching position at Nebraska
Christian College to serve as minister of Steele’s Chapel
Christian Church in Corbin, Ky., in July.
CAL HULTGREN
(MDiv ’01) and his wife, Heather, welcomed their first daughter,
Skye Kristina, on February 15, 2002. Cal serves as the Youth and
Family Minister at Bow Valley Christian Church in Calgary, Alberta,
Canada.
GREG ISHMAEL
(MAR ’91) has accepted the position of Senior Pastor at Central
Christian Church in Snohomish, Wash., beginning September 22 after
nine years on staff at Overlake Christian Church in Redmond, Wash.
STEVE ISOM
(MDiv ’80) now serves on staff at Beaverton Christian Church in
Beaverton, Ore., as Minister of Christian Education.
AARON T. JONES
(MDiv ’97) published an article in the September 22 Christian
Standard titled, “Have you ever said, We have churches in
South Dakota?” Aaron ministers with the Huron Christian Church
in Huron, S.D.
MIKE KERRICK
(MDiv ’01) resigned his position as Youth Minister at Kansas
Christian Church in Kansas, Ill., to move to Wheaton, Ill., where
his wife, Sarah, has started a doctoral program. Mike is currently
seeking a ministry in the Wheaton area.
TIM KIRK
(MDiv ’91) moved to Vincennes, Ind., in August to accept the
position of Senior Pastor at Franklin Heights Christian Church.
SAM LUBAG (MDiv
’91, DMin ’99) and his wife, Juanita, announced their
resignation as President and Library Overseer of Philippine College
of Ministry in Baguio City during its 10 year anniversary in June.
The couple will start a new ministry in Long Beach, Calif., reaching
international people.
JONATHAN MARITIM
(MDiv ’94) earned his Doctor of Missiology at Fuller Theological
Seminary in June. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Pasadena, Calif.
MARK MATSON
(MDiv ’88) wrote the volume John, which was published by
John Knox Press in its Interpretation Bible Studies series. Mark is
Academic Dean at Milligan College and lives in Johnson City, Tenn.,
with his wife, Joy.
BRYAN MOORE
(MDiv ’02) was recently called as pastor of Fordtown Baptist
Church in Kingsport, Tenn., where he and his wife, Shaun, reside.
TOM PFAFF
(MDiv ’82) celebrated his 30th year of ordination in June, and 30
years of marriage to his wife, Jan, in September. Tom has served 18
years of active duty as an Air Force chaplain and was deployed to
Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia for Operation Southern Watch
(91 days) beginning September 11.
DEBORAH M. POWELL
(MDiv ’98) moved to Norfolk, Va., in February, 2002, to accept the
position of Cataloging Services Librarian at Old Dominion
University.
LEONARDO SALVADOR
(MDiv ’88) reports increased enrollment of 165 students at Manila
Bible Seminary in the Philippines. Leo and his wife, Zeny, teach
full time at MBS. Leo is also the General Secretary for the
Philippine Association of Christian Education and will serve as
Chairman for the National Christian Education Convention in Quezon
City, Philippines, October 28–29, 2002.
CARA SNYDER
(MAR ’82) reviewed the book Disciplines of a Godly Woman by
Barbara Hughes in the August 18 issue of Christian Standard.
RICHARD TINKER
(MDiv ’73) retired from the Army Chaplaincy with the rank of Lt.
Col. after 28 years of commissioned service. He was awarded the
Meritorious Service Medal. Chaplain Tinker now serves as the
Chaplain of Lawton Correctional Facility in Lawton, Okla., the
largest prison in the state.
EDGAR A. WALLACE
(‘87–’89) and his wife, Joyce, have concluded an interim
ministry at Spencer Memorial Christian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C.
They are currently embarking on a church start, Serenity Church of
Christ, in Kernersville, N.C. Edgar continues his work with the
Department of Veteran’s Affairs as a Licensed Clinical Social
Worker with the homeless program. He has also been certified as a
Clinical Addictions Specialist by the state of North Carolina.
MICHELE
HOUSER WOLLERt (MAR
’90) and her husband, David, are pleased to announce the birth of
their daughter, Malynda Ellen, on April 27, 2002. Michele currently
teaches education courses at East Tennessee State University and
Northeast State Technical Community College, and is working on a
dissertation about transformative learning and faith development for
her Ph.D. at the University of Tennessee.
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Book
Review:
Open
Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through a Country Church
By Richard Lischer
New York: Doubleday, 2001
Reviewed by
Jack Holland, Assistant Professor of Christian Care and Counseling
Open Secrets
is the candid and profound account of the author’s first
pastorate. Equipped with a “new Ph.D. in theology” and
anxious to begin his quest for a “distinguished” ministry,
Lischer found himself assigned to a small Lutheran church in rural
Illinois.
Weaving
accounts of the sometimes-quirky behavior of a community that was “as tightly sealed as a jar of home-canned pickles,”
Lischer describes how he came to understand the call on his life as
more than leading the most prominent church in town. He exposes the
incongruity of his pastorate, noting that “at seminary we
brooded over the mysteries of God for four years only to turn up
later as chaplains to covered-dish suppers.” This incongruity
evolves into a formative context of ministry as he learns to bring
his theological training into practical conversation with the simple
wisdom of the rural people.
Lischer
consistently balances respect and empathy for the sometimes-tragic
aspects of his congregants’ lives, along with hilarious portrayal
of the eccentricities of the “church of the one-armed
cross.” He tells of the mysterious woman who regularly broke
into the church to pray, of the member who stomped angrily out of a
worship service, and of the man who operated the PA system “which, as everyone knew, didn’t work.” The most
striking characteristic of this book is how the stories portray the
changes in Lischer. His writing is inductive, allowing the narration
of events to “speak” the lessons learned. The reader is
moved by the surprise of a grace that touches this small church and
awakens its minister to the embrace of a community that gave him the
experience of a “wholeness” he had never before
experienced.
Open Secrets
is for the new minister who, freshly trained and idealistic, needs
first to listen to the community. It is for the seasoned pastor who
will be reminded that the minister is neither above nor outside the
stories of the congregation. It is for the academician who must
remember that we release students to churches of “one-armed
crosses,” not only as theologians, but also as chaplains of “covered-dish suppers.” Finally, this is a book for those
who simply enjoy a well-crafted story. n
Emmanuel
Financial Update
Emmanuel
School of Religion faced many significant challenges during the 2001–2002
fiscal year. It has been a difficult year economically both for
Emmanuel and for many of those who contribute to the school. For the
first time in 15 years, Emmanuel closed its fiscal year in the red
with a shortfall of just over $300,000. However, the year concluded
better than we would have if our donors had not risen to the
occasion to help us. Emmanuel is thankful for the donors who believe
in our mission and purpose and are willing to support us even in
these difficult times.
Excluding
special campaign and endowment funds, the Seminary must raise
$1,750,000 in gift income to resolve the 2001–2002 general fund
shortfall and meet 2002–2003 budget needs. The general fund budget
is what the educational area of the Seminary depends on. In order to
focus on the general fund, there will be no new capital development
efforts this year.
Out of a
desire to operate within our means, all departments of the Seminary
were asked to aggressively cut their budgets for the new fiscal
year. However, since the demand for gift income is even greater than
expected due to lost endowment income, the Development Department
felt that it must reinstate all direct fund raising efforts in order
to meet the goals of the new budget. Two phonathons and six to seven
appeal letters are scheduled by the close of May 2003.
While income
statistics for the 2002–2003 fiscal year are not sufficient to
tell a story, you may be interested to know that general fund gift
income is up 5% for the seven calendar months of 2002, and up 12%
for the first two months of the present fiscal year. We pray that
this trend will continue. n
Faculty
News
ELEANOR A. DANIEL will
attend a meeting of the ATS Character of Theological Learning
Committee November 1–3. She will teach a Doctor of Ministry class
at Emmanuel November 4–9 on Development and Administration of
Education in Congregations. She will attend the TCM board meeting
November 9–10.
JACK B. HOLLAND preached
at Locust Street Christian Church in Johnson City, Tenn., on June
30. He also wrote the article, “Christ and Culture,” for
the Youth in Ministry website in August. Dr. Holland has submitted
an article to the Journal of Christians in Social Work titled
“Pastoral Counseling in the Local Congregation: A Qualitative
Review of ‘Front-Line’ Perceptions.”
FRED W. NORRIS led
a Faith Promise Rally at Florence Christian Church in Florence,
Ore., August 3–4, 2002, and was the Bible Lecturer at the Week of
Missions at Wi-Ne-Ma Camp in Ore., August 4–9. Dr. Norris reviewed
the book Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslin Life and
Beliefs in the September 1 issue of Christian Standard.
ROLLIN A. RAMSARAN preached
the sermon, “Genuine Love,” for the installation of Dr.
Rodney A. Werline at First Christian Church in Greensboro, N.C., on
May 19, 2002. Dr. Ramsaran presented a paper, “In the Steps of
the Moralists: Paul’s Rhetorical Argumentation in Philippians
4” at the Heidelberg 2002 Conference on Rhetoric, Ethics, and
Moral Persuasion in Biblical Discourse, in Heidelberg, Germany, on
July 24. He also published a chapter, “Living and Dying, Living
is Dying (Phil. 1:21): Paul’s Maxim and Exemplary Argumentation in
Philippians” in Rhetorical Argumentation in Biblical Texts:
Essays from the Lund 2000 Conference, ed. Anders Eriksson, Tom
H. Olbricht, and Walter Uberlacker. Harrisburg: Trinity, 2002, 325–38.
Dr. Ramsaran will teach a class on The New Testament Apocrypha for
the SALT class at Grandview Christian Church, Johnson City, Tenn.,
during the fall quarter.
n
Development
& Recruitment on the Road
David
Fulks will
travel to Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo.;
Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo.; San Jose Christian College
in San Jose, Calif.; and Hope International University in Fullerton,
Calif., in October. In November David will travel to Nebraska
Christian College in Norfolk; Dallas Christian College in Texas;
Milligan College in East Tennessee; and attend the National
Missionary Convention in Wichita, Kansas.
Dan
Lawson will
travel to northern California and Colorado in October and November,
and to Nevada in December.
Jeff
McNabb will
travel to North Carolina in September and October; to the
Cincinnati, Ohio, area in October; to the Pittsburgh, Penn., area in
November; and to the Richmond, Va., area in December.
Jerry
Rudberg will
travel to Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; Grangeville, Idaho; and to
the Emmanuel board meetings in October. He will travel to Seattle,
Wash.; Beaverton, Ore.; and Portland, Ore., in November.
C.
ROBERT WETZEL will
speak at the Area Seniors Rally in Elizabethton, Tenn., on October
10; co-host with Milligan College the annual meeting of the
Presidents Association of Christian Colleges on October 10–11;
speak at the Faith Promise Rally at Valley View Christian Church in
Dallas, Texas, on October 13; speak at Raintree Christian Church in
Lubbock, Texas, and be the keynote speaker at the Restoration Forum
in Lubbock, Texas, on October 20. He will attend the Emmanuel board
meetings October 23–24, and speak at Knott Avenue Christian Church
in Anaheim, Calif., on October 27. In November he will speak at
First Christian Church in Hugoton, Kansas, on November 10; attend
the National Missionary Convention in Wichita, Kansas, November 14–17;
speak at West Side Christian Church in Wichita, Kansas, on November
18; attend the Restoration House Board Meeting in New Hampshire on
November 23; and attend the Iowa Christian Convention on November
29. In December, he will speak at First Christian Church in Council
Bluffs, Iowa, on December 1; speak at First Christian Church in
Green Bay, Wis., December 8; and speak at East 91st Street Christian
Church in Indianapolis, Ind., on December 29. n
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