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November 2003
Back Issues
Contents
Emmanuel faculty and staff recognized for service
Three of Emmanuel’s faculty and
staff were recognized for their faithful years of service to the
Seminary at the annual Board of Trustees dinner on October 22:
Mary Ann Jobe, 25 years; Bruce Shields, 20 years; and Dan Lawson,
15 years.
M ARY
ANN JOBE has
served as Administrative Assistant to the Dean and Registrar since
June 1978. Mary Ann was born and raised in Johnson City, Tenn.,
and studied Business Administration while attending ETSU. She
married David Jobe in 1965 and moved to Greece for 17 months while
David served in the Air Force. Mary Ann and David have two adult
sons, Brian and Barry, and a six-month-old granddaughter, Sydney.
B RUCE
SHIELDS is
the Russell F. and Marian J. Blowers Professor of Christian
Ministries at Emmanuel. He began teaching at Emmanuel in 1983, but
was no stranger to East Tennessee, having graduated from Milligan
College and having ministered with two churches in the area. While
a student in Germany, he served for five years as the
German-speaking minister of the Christliche Gemeinde (Christian
Congregation) in Tübingen. He also ministered for twelve years
with churches in Pennsylvania and taught speech at Eastern
Christian College and New Testament at Lincoln Christian Seminary.
Bruce received his B.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and
his Dr.Theol. from University of Tübingen. He and his wife,
Rosemarie, have three adult children (Karen, James, and Robert)
and two granddaughters.
D AN
LAWSON has
served as the Executive Director of Development at Emmanuel since
1988. He comes from a background of twenty-two years in youth and
singles ministry. Dan held ministries in Arizona, Illinois,
Kansas, Indiana, Tennessee, and Oregon. Dan has led Emmanuel in
two successful fund raising campaigns, “The Investment in
Excellence” campaign, which greatly increased Emmanuel’s
endowment, and “The Heritage of Excellence” campaign, which
resulted in the construction of The Emmanuel Village. Dan received
his B.Th. degree from Northwest Christian College and his M.Div.
degree from Emmanuel School of Religion. Dan and his wife, Linda,
have two adult children, Andrea and John.
Australian Jim Harrison presents Theta Phi Lecture
at Emmanuel
Dr. Jim Harrison, head of the Department of
Theology at Wesley Institute in Australia, delivered a Theta Phi Lecture at
Emmanuel School of Religion on November 11, 2003. His lecture was entitled
“Paul’s Impoverished Benefactor (2 Corinthians 8:9): The Social
Implications of Grace in the First Century A.D.”
Harrison earned his Ph.D. at Macquarie
University in Australia (working especially with Edwin Judge in the Ancient
History Department). He is a popular lecturer, has a number of seminal
publications, and is active within the Society of Biblical Literature.
During the summer of 2003, the Emmanuel
School of Religion chapter of Theta Phi (an international society for
seminarians and distinguished religious leaders) inaugurated the “Theta
Phi Occasional Lectures.” The purpose of these addresses is to provide
free lectures that are timely and of interest and value to the general
public, delivered by specialists, but in a form that is semi-popular in
nature.
2004 Doctor of Ministry Course Schedule
Click
for 2004 schedule.
Meditation:
The Parable of the Two Sons
By Jeffrey D. Miller, MDiv ’95
Matthew 21:28-32
What do you think? A man had two sons; he
went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’
He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and
went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered,
‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his
father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell
you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of
God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you
did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed
him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and
believe him” (Matthew 21:28-32, NRSV, italics added).
Adding to this parable’s difficulty is
the diversity of the manuscripts that pass it on to us. In most
manuscripts the son who said no but then went is the one who did his
father’s will. There are, however, several manuscripts that attribute
doing the father’s will to the son who said yes but did nothing.
Consider two reasons for the oddity of
this latter scenario. First, scribes have occasionally copied it wrongly.
Second, and more important, the offense of saying “no” to one’s
father is lost in American culture. We should not underestimate the
severity of such a response in the ancient East.
Having mentioned these curiosities, let
us return to the NRSV and come to the point. The son who answered, “I
will not,” later “changed his mind.” The words “change your minds”
are then repeated in the final sentence. Perhaps Jesus’ question, “Which
of the two did the will of his father?” is about repentance, not about
gardening.
Book
Review:
Introducing Theologies of Religions
By Paul F. Knitter
Orbis Books, 2002, pp.256, cloth $25
Reviewed by S. K. “Kip” Elolia,
Associate Professor of Christian Doctrine and Missiology
This volume started out as a revision of
the author’s earlier book, No Other Names? A Critical Survey of
Christian Attitudes Toward World Religions, published in 1985. The
current book incorporates new voices and viewpoints. It was written for
ordinary people who are interested in deepening their knowledge of
religious pluralism. The book exposes the multiplicity and variety of
theologies of inter-religious dialogue while maintaining the uniqueness of
Jesus within the context of Christian Mission.
The author frames his discussions around
Acceptance, Mutuality, Fulfillment, and Replacement Models. Christians who
endorse the Acceptance Model can also learn from the Mutuality Model that
no one religion should make absolute claims as the final expression of the
divine truth and revelation.
The Fulfillment Model upholds dialogue as
an essential part of the mission of the Church. It claims that there is
truth and grace in other religions. This follows the affirmation in the
new development in ecumenical theology that other religions can be ways of
salvation. In this view, God’s Spirit can touch people’s lives outside
the Church (Catholics) and outside the preached word (Protestants). The
virtues of holiness, peace, and compassion found in the lives of
non-Christian religions are seen to be the outcome of the work of the Holy
Spirit. It also upholds Jesus as the source and standard of all the truth
and goodness in other religions.
The Replacement Model claims the Bible,
particularly the New Testament, as its controlling point. It makes the
claim that God has provided one clear coherent path in Jesus. Jesus and
Christianity stand for what is considered the truth, while other religions
need to be replaced by Christianity.
Although the book is important for its
proposed purposes, it presents some difficulties. First, it is limited to
Anglo-American discourse and ignores many of the Eastern Christian authors
on the subject. Secondly, the book gives prominence to Roman Catholic
theology of religions as the pioneer in the field of dialogue. The author
ignores the contributions of the World Council of Churches as well as
individual churches and theologians. Thirdly, the book does not present
the theologies of other religions. One wonders how one can write a book on
theologies of religions without presenting their theological perspectives
and voices. This is a problem common to many western scholars.
You may purchase a copy of this book in the
Emmanuel Bookstore .
Contact 423-461-1545 or email bookstore@esr.edu.
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Clipnotes
BOB (MAR
’90) and DEBBIE CLARK (’85-’86) moved to Fergus, Ontario, in
November to serve as the National Directors of Faculty and Graduate
Student Relations for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada. They
will work to establish a group at the University of Guelph and will serve
as resource people for other key Ontario campuses.
NATHAN GILMORE (MAR
’02) is pursuing a Master of Arts in English while teaching freshman
English at the University of Georgia in Athens. Nathan and his wife, Mary,
reside in Bogart, Ga.
KEVIN HUDDLESTON (’78-’79)
and his wife, Gaye, recently adopted a four-year-old daughter from
Kazakhstan. Kevin serves as Chaplain at St. Mark’s School for Boys in
Dallas, Texas.
CODY MOORE (MAR
’00) wrote a response, “Hit the Nail on the Head,” in the Mailbox
feature of the November 9 issue of Christian Standard. Cody serves
as senior minister of West Side Christian Church in Denver, Colo.
JASON MURRAY (’95
-’96) and his wife, Karen, celebrated the birth of a baby boy, Iain
Matthew Murray, on September 9, 2003. Jason has served as youth pastor at
First Christian Church in Anaheim, Calif., for the past three years.
WILLIAM L. PARK (’66
-’69) retired on October 15 after serving 45 years in ministry. He and
his wife, Vinita, will reside in Oklahoma City, Okla.
JOHN SCHMIDT (MDiv
’78) completed 25 years of ministry with Alvadore (Ore.) Christian
Church on October 15. John and his wife, Katherine, reside in Eugene, Ore.
RICHARD TINKER (MDiv
’73) has completed three years of service as the Facility Chaplain for
Lawton (Okla.) Correctional Facility, the largest prison in the state of
Oklahoma.
RICK TOWNSEND (MDiv
’82) published the article, “Leadership and Depression,” in the
November 9 issue of Christian Standard. Rick is the chair of the
Department of Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling at Johnson Bible
College and director of the New Hope Counseling Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
Rick recently published a book, How to Find Happiness in Life, available
from Publish America, where the topic of his article is discussed further.
TONY TWIST (MDiv
’81) published an article, “Experiencing His Presence,” in the
October 26 issue of Christian Standard. Tony serves as president of
TCM International Inc., in Indianapolis, Ind., as well as president and
professor of leadership and spiritual formation for TCM International
Institute in Vienna, Austria.
ROBERT VAN DYKE (MDiv
’00) and his wife, Stacey, are the proud parents of a baby boy,
Nathaniel Kwasi Van Dyke. Nathaniel was born on June 29 and adopted into
the Van Dyke family on July 1. Rob teaches occasional courses at Alberta
Bible College in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where the family resides.
ROSS WISSMAN (MDiv
’98) was the guest evangelist for the revival held at Belvue Christian
Church in Kingsport, Tenn., November 2-5, where JOHN OWSTON (MDiv
’88, MAR ’93) is in his 20th year as senior minister.
RON WYMER (’88-’91)
recently graduated from Grace University in Omaha, Neb., with a M.A. with
honors in Counseling. He continues to serve as Senior Minister to the
Missouri Valley (Iowa) Church of Christ and is adjunct professor of New
Testament studies at Nebraska Christian College. He and his wife, Becky,
have three children, Nathan (11), Ian (8), and Hannah (3).
Faculty
News
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ELEANOR
A. DANIEL
attended
the TCM board meetings in Indianapolis, Ind., November 14-16. She will be in
India November 27-December 15 working with D.Min. student Abraham Thomas in
Kerala State.
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JACK
B. HOLLAND continues
to preach twice monthly at Sonlight Church of Christ in Greeneville, Tenn.
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ROBERT
F. HULL JR. will
teach the combined Church and Community and Salt classes at Grandview
Christian Church in Johnson City, Tenn., during December on “Biblical
Themes for Advent and Christmas.” He will attend the annual meeting of the
Society of Biblical Literature in Atlanta, Ga., November 21-24.
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THOMAS
F. JONES JR. will
serve as Director of Recruitment and Assessment for Stadia Southeast region,
coaching church plants in New Orleans, Lexington, Charlotte, and Cherokee
County, Ga., in November and December. Dr. Jones will teach for Stadia’s
Church Planting Lab at Christ’s Church at Whitewater in Fayetteville, Ga.,
January 5-9; he will attend Southeast Stadia team retreat in Orlando, Fla.,
January 13; and he will attend the church planters’ retreat in Orlando,
Fla., January 14-16. Dr. Jones continues to edit a church planting book for
College Press to be published in the spring of 2004.
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ROLLIN
A. RAMSARAN will
deliver a paper “From Mind to Message: Searching for Oral Performance in 1
Corinthians 15” to the Wisdom and Apocalypticism Group at the 2003 annual
meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Atlanta, Ga., November
22-25. Dr. Ramsaran continues teaching Paul’s Letter to the Philippians on
Wednesday nights and teaching Romans to the Koinonia Class on Sunday
mornings at Grandview Christian Church, in Johnson City, Tenn.
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CHRISTOPHER ROLLSTON’S
article,
“The Sons of God(s) and the Daughters of Men (Genesis 6:1-4): A model text
for Interpretive Method,” is in Leaven 11/3 (2003): 145-151.
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BRUCE
E. SHIELDS will
attend the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Studies in Atlanta,
Ga., November 21-24. He will present a paper, “The Areopagus Sermon and
Colossians” at the annual meeting of the Academy of Homiletics at
Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif., December 4-6. He will
preach at Westwood Hills Christian Church in Los Angeles, Calif., December
7. Dr. Shields has seven sermons published in The Minister’s Manual 2004
Edition, James Cox, ed., San Francisco: Josey-Bass, pp.81-83, 86-87, 91-93,
96-98, 239-241, 256-258, and 347-349. He has a review of O. Wesley Allen
Jr., Preaching Resurrection, in Encounter 64/2 (Spring 2003).
Dr. Shields wrote the article, “Light from Unlikely Sources,” in the
November 23 Christian Standard.
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C.
ROBERT WETZEL wrote
a response, “Communion Issue was Superb,” in the Mailbox feature of the
November 9 issue of Christian
Standard.
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Emmanuel
on the Road
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DAVID
FULKS
will
travel to Manhattan Christian College, Central Christian College of the
Bible, St. Louis Christian College, and the National Missionary Convention
in November. He will travel to Atlanta Christian College, Auburn University,
Georgia Tech, Emory University, and to the Florida Collegiate Retreat in
January.
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Dan
Lawson will
travel to Nevada in November; and to southern Florida and Arizona in
January.
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Jeff
mcnabb will
travel to northern Kentucky and Ohio in November; to North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Indiana in December; and to Illinois and Knoxville and
Sevierville, Tenn., in January.
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JERRY
RUDBERG will
travel to southern Oregon in December; and to the Seattle, Wash., area, and
to western, central, and Portland, Ore., in January.
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C.
ROBERT WETZEL will
be at Park Side Christian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 23; will preach
at First Christian Church, Columbus, Ind., November 30; will preach for
Christian Fellowship Church, Kingsport, Tenn., January 4; will attend the
“Funds for Theological Education Forum” in Indianapolis, Ind., January
6-7; and will attend the meeting of Christian Standard Contributing
Editors in Orlando, Fla., January 26-27.
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DMin Quote of the Month
by David Tysinger (MDiv Hon ’83), D.Min.
Student
“The most practical program in Emmanuel’s
arsenal is the D.Min. program. The courses and the open forum style of
teaching lead to a sharing of wisdom and experience from diverse walks of
life. This discipline equips the minister with a broader choice of ministry
options for his or her congregation.”
For more information about Emmanuel’s
Doctor of Ministry degree program, contact Melissa Noble by
email at noblem@esr.edu, or
by calling 1-800-933-3771.
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