February 2000
Back Issues

Contents

• Building starts in Emmanuel Village
• Planting a Campus Ministry in Mexico
• From the President: A Seminary for the Stone-Campbell Movement
• New Scholarships Announced
• Dr. Robert Fife publishes new book
• Establish a Charitable Gift Annuity
• Kershner Lectures set for March
• Alums serve Ball State campus ministry
• NACC 2000 Louisville

Building starts in Emmanuel Village

Construction of the Emmanuel Village, the new housing complex for students, is progressing rapidly. Concrete foundations are now poured, walls are up, and the roofs are nearing completion for three courts. The pace of construction will very much depend on the cash flow as supporters of the Village project continue to turn their campaign commitments into actual funding.

As of December 1, cash on hand was adequate to cover the October work done on site preparation as well as Village construction work for November and December. Twelve cottages (three 4-cottage courts) are scheduled to be ready for occupancy by summer with the other courts well under construction. By spring we intend to begin construction on the remaining courts. This would eventually give the Village 26 cottages. Approximately $300,000 will be needed each month from February to June to maintain this schedule. We would like to see the Village built without the necessity of taking out building loans.

We are optimistic that a number of Cottages will be ready for student occupancy this coming August. We are looking toward October 25 as the Day of Dedication for the Cottages and Courts. Once the construction of the Courts and Cottages is completed, we will begin work on the Thompson Community Center. Fundraising for the Community Center continues. Friends interested in supporting projects in The Emmanuel Village are encouraged to contact President C. Robert Wetzel (423-461-1510) or Executive Director of Development Dan R. Lawson at (423-461-1530).

Emmanuel Village construction progress may be seen on the Emmanuel web site at www.esr.edu.

PATRICIO BEAUTELL is an Emmanuel student who was born and raised in the Canary Islands of Spain, where he lived until he came to the United States to attend college. In 1995, Patricio enrolled at Georgia Tech and played collegiate golf. While there, he came in contact with the Christian Campus Fellowship lead by Emmanuel alumus RICK HARPER. Patricio became a Christian while at Georgia Tech.

In the fall of 1996, Patricio found himself searching for direction in his life. He was studying something he did not enjoy, and the dream of becoming a professional golfer was not coming about. He searched the Bible and discovered the words of The Great Commission, thus developing an interest for mission work. When representatives from Christian Missionary Fellowship came to campus, Patricio was challenged to become a missionary. A year later, CMF leaders invited the Georgia Tech campus ministry to join them in starting a campus ministry in Mexico City. That invitation caught Patricio’s attention.

After graduating from Georgia Tech, Patricio enrolled at Emmanuel to prepare for the challenge of planting a campus ministry in Mexico City. Patricio will be joined in this mission endeavor by a team of other students from Georgia Tech’s CCF. They will work with Steve Palich, CMF’s coordinator in South America. Plans currently call for this team of students to plant campus ministries at Monterey Tech South and UAM, both major universities in Mexico City.

Once again God is working out His great plan. He has found a dynamic young man from Spain. He brought him in contact with an energetic American campus minister and ministry where he came to Christ. He challenged him to be a missionary and brought him to Emmanuel to prepare for the task. Soon He will send him out to work in the harvest fields of Mexico City.

God is at work in the lives of the students and alumni of Emmanuel School of Religion.

From the President
A Seminary for the Stone-Campbell Movement

A few months ago, a group from the three streams of the Restoration Movement met at Disciple Center in Indianapolis. This was the second meeting of what has come to be known as the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. And it is just that, a dialogue. Although I did not participate in the first meeting in Cincinnati, I was invited to present a paper in Indianapolis outlining the theological position of the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Similar papers were done by those from the Disciples of Christ and Churches of Christ There was an earnest endeavor to understand each other and our common heritage but, at the same time, readily acknowledging the unhappy history of division.

For me the occasion was filled with hope. I have written articles in recent years in which I express a concern for building bridges with those with whom we share a common history. Of course, this concern has characterized Emmanuel School of Religion from its very beginning. The 1961 purpose statement in its Articles of Incorporation makes this clear when it notes that its intended services are to be “in the interest of churches known as Christian Churches, Churches of Christ or Disciples of Christ.”

During his presidency of Emmanuel, Dr. Fred Thompson wrote a definitive paper entitled, “What Kind of School is Emmanuel?” In it he notes the unhappy division existing between Disciples of Christ (The Christian Church), Christian Churches/Churches of Christ (“Independents”), and Churches of Christ (a capella). He then says of Emmanuel School of Religion, “While our financial support has always been provided by ‘independent’ churches and individual members of the Body of Christ, we have always welcomed students from each of the three communities, without prejudice, to study with us as they prepare for Kingdom service.”

Today Emmanuel continues to receive most of its support from congregations and individuals associated with Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. But we do receive some support from individuals and congregations from the other two fellowships. Furthermore, Dr. Jack Holland from the Churches of Christ (a capella) was recently added to the faculty. Earlier, Dr. Rodney Werline, an ordained Disciple minister joined the faculty. The rest of us have our roots in Christian Churches/Churches of Christ. Dr. Thompson stated well our position when he said, “The perspective of Emmanuel, the vantage point from which the school views the Christian faith, is furnished by the Campbell-Stone tradition which focused from its beginning on the unity of the Body of Christ and repudiation of the sectarian spirit. A concomitant conviction is that Christian origins have normative value for the church throughout history. This particular point is most often expressed as advocacy of the restoration of New Testament Christianity, or of Apostolic faith and practice.”

It is in this sense that Emmanuel School of Religion sees itself as a seminary for the Stone-Campbell Movement.

— Dr. C. Robert Wetzel, President

New Scholarships Announced

Bonnie Linkmeyer Scholarship
Bonnie Linkmeyer of Tarzana, Calif., has established an endowed scholarship fund at Emmanuel that reflects the importance she places on ministerial preparation. The Bonnie Linkmeyer Scholarship will aid students at Emmanuel preparing for the preaching ministry in their effort to further their studies at the graduate level. The scholarship is funded from the cash value of a life insurance policy that Bonnie took out some years ago in which Emmanuel School of Religion is named as beneficiary. Ms. Linkmeyer has served for several years on the staff of the Westwood Hills Christian Church in Los Angeles with Dr. Myron Taylor. It is through the ministry of the Westwood Hills church that she has come to appreciate the importance of a strong pulpit.

Gloria C. Seese Memorial Scholarship
In his estate planning, the late Paul E. Brown of Mesa, Arizona, and Dalton, Ohio, made provisions in his will to begin an endowed scholarship fund at Emmanuel. The gift from his estate will also memorialize Gloria C. Seese, a secretary with his former law firm. The Browns have stated that Mrs. Seese was like a “foster daughter” to them. This gift will be a “lasting memorial to a truly outstanding, unforgettable Christian lady.” The Gloria C. Seese Memorial Scholarship will aid worthy students at Emmanuel in their ministerial preparations at the graduate level.

In the spring of 1997, Emmanuel School of Religion inaugurated the “Robert O. Fife Lectures on Christian Reformation.” It was only appropriate that Dr. Fife be invited to deliver the inaugural lectures. We are pleased to announce that his lectures have been published in his new book entitled Horizons of Reformation.

Dr. Fife’s book can be ordered from the Emmanuel Bookstore at $6.00 plus shipping. You can place your order by mail or by phoning the bookstore at (423) 461-1545. You can also order by e-mail at bookstore@esr.edu.

Establish a Charitable Gift Annuity

Remove doubts … Receive a guaranteed income

Kershner Lectures set for March

Emmanuel School of Religion announces the 2000 Kershner Lectures featuring Dr. Paul J. Wadell, to be held March 21–24 at 11:00 a.m. each day in the Seminary’s chapel.

Dr. Wadell is associate professor of Religious Studies at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. A native of Louisville, Ky., he received his doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1985. Previously, he was a professor of Christian Ethics at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and visiting professor in theology at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Penn.

He is the author of several books, including Friendship and the Moral Life, published by the University of Notre Dame Press, and The Primacy of Love: An Introduction to the Ethics of Thomas Aquinas, published by Paulist Press. His most recent publications include “Learning Lessons of Forgiveness: A Meditation on Oscar Hijuelos’ Mr. Ives’ Christmas,” published in New Theology Review, and “The Practice of Friendship in the Christian Moral and Spiritual Life: Retrieving the Vision of Aquinas,” published in Listening: Journal of Religion and Culture.

Dr. Wadell has given lectures and workshops on Christian ethics and spirituality throughout the United States. His research interests include the role of the virtues in the Christian life, the place of friendship in moral and spiritual development, and the church as a community of hope. He is currently working on a book exploring moral and theological themes in literature.

Alums serve Ball State campus ministry

Emmanuel student Brian Seal, a graduate of Ball State University, and Joe Lieway and Mark Pike, Ball State campus ministers.

Joe Lieway graduated from Emmanuel last Spring. He is a native of Liberia, a country that has suffered from the pains of civil war. Though the war is officially over, stress in the nation continues to the point where Joe’s return to his native land could endanger his life. It is just not safe for educated people to freely exist as they pose a “threat” to those in government positions. Many at Emmanuel prayed that God would open a door of ministry for Joe to remain in the United States, but opportunities for an African native to minister in an American church would be rare.

Mark Pike graduated from Emmanuel in 1990. He has been serving as a campus minister at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., since his graduation. Presently, 400 Ball State students are from outside the borders of the United States. The leaders of the campus ministry have struggled with the challenge of ministering to these international students, hoping that an individual could be added to their ministerial staff with the special abilities to pursue this unique ministry.

In God’s providential way, Mark Pike heard about Joe Lieway. The only thing that these two men had in common besides their love for Christ and His church was their alma mater, Emmanuel School of Religion. Upon meeting Lieway, Pike sensed that he had found the unique individual needed to reach out to international students at Ball State. However, the problem remained in that the position had no funding in the budget of the campus ministry. Lieway was asked to secure his own financial support for the beginning years of the ministry until more permanent funding could be found. God provided and now Joe Lieway, a native African with a bright smile, and Mark Pike, a Hoosier campus minister with a vision for outreach, are working together to minister to this important campus in the middle of Indiana.

Through Bible Study, campus fellowship, a bicycle loan program, a tutoring class teaching English as a second language, a winter clothes closet, and international dinners, this ministry is endeavoring to reach around the world at Muncie, Indiana. God is working through the lives of alumni of Emmanuel School of Religion.

35th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION!
Help honor Emmanuel’s 35 years by attending our celebration breakfast on Wednesday, July 12, 2000, during the NACC. This special event will be at the Louisville Radisson East Hotel (formerly Club Doubletree Hotel), Exit 15 off I-64, at 7:30 a.m. Tickets are $15 each.