June 1997
Back Issues

Contents

• Emmanuel Names Assistant Professor of Old Testament
• Marshall Leggett Receives James A. Garfield Award
• From the President: Spring Banquet Reflections
• 1997 Alexander Campbell Scholars Announced
• Emmanuel Confers 29 Degrees on June 1
• Middle-East Travel Seminar Participants Named
• Emmanuel Events at the North American Christian Convention

Emmanuel Names Assistant Professor of Old Testament

Emmanuel School of Religion announces the appointment of Dr. Rodney A. Werline to the new position of Assistant Professor of Old Testament. He will begin teaching in the fall of 1997, offering courses in Hebrew, Old Testament Theology, and Post-Exilic Religion. Dr. Eleanor A. Daniel, Emmanuel’s Dean, said, “We are pleased to have Dr. Werline join us in the is newly created position. This will assist us to serve our growing student enrollment more effectively.”

Dr. Werline received his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in December 1995, where he concentrated on Judaism and Christianity in the Greco-Roman World. Prior to that, he received the M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the B.A. from Kentucky Christian College.

Serving as instructor and adjunct professor at the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, and Wartburg Theological Seminary has given Dr. Werline extensive teaching experience. His dissertation, “The Development of Penitential Prayer as a Religious Institution in Second Temple Jerusalem,” has been accepted for publication by Scholars Press for their series, “Early Judaism and its Literature,” and he has nine articles in the forthcoming Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible.

In addition, Dr. Werline has more than eleven years of ministerial experience, serving as pastor of the Pleasant Hill Christian Church, the Urbana Christian Church, and the Urbana United Methodist Church (all in Iowa).

Rodney and his wife, Kathy, have two children: Madison, 8, and Baylee, 6.

Marshall Leggett Receives James A. Garfield Award

Marshall J. Leggett, retiring president of Milligan College, has been named the 1997 recipient of the James A. Garfield Award at Emmanuel School of Religion. The award was presented by President C. Robert Wetzel during Emmanuel’s commencement on June 1.

Dr. Leggett has given himself to an ever-widening ministry of the church for more than forty-five years. He completed his baccalaureate education at Milligan College, where he met and married Jean Fritts. He was ordained at Hopwood Memorial Christian Church and gained his early experience in ministry at Old Union and Bethel Churches of Christ. He then earned the B.D. degree at the School of Religion at Butler University, the Master of Arts from the University itself. Milligan College, Kentucky Christian College, and Midwest Christian College have all conferred upon him honorary doctoral degrees

He has been an unwearying advocate for the local church and a valuable contributor to the heritage of the Stone/Campbell movement. In addition, he has made a substantial contribution to education within the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ through his role as President of Milligan College and as a founder of Emmanuel School of Religion.

The James A. Garfield Award is the highest citation bestowed by Emmanuel School of Religion. It is named for the twentieth President of the United States of America, who was also an educator and preacher in the Christian Churches. Candidates for the James A. Garfield Award have rendered noteworthy service to the church, whether it be through administration, benevolence, scholarship, pastoral ministry, or other forms of service.

From the President
Spring Banquet Reflections

As I drove to the Emmanuel campus, my mind was more on the weekend traveling I would be doing rather than on the occasion which took me back to the School on a Friday evening. On Saturday morning I would be leaving on a 350-mile trip to represent the School at two Ohio churches on Sunday. But tonight it was the student’s annual Spring Banquet.

About 140 students, spouses, and friends had gathered in the auditorium for this momentary respite from the mountain of work which accumulates near the end of the semester. It was an evening of good fun and fellowship. Scott Isom and Steve Wilhite showed they had a nose for music by playing a duet on the piano—with their noses. Darren Johnson demonstrated his versatility with three different styles of music with guitar, harmonica and voice—the classic one-man band. Miriam Perkins and Michelle Ramsaran then gave us a demonstration of what surely must have been an art form born in Emmanuel—0147;liturgical clogging.”

The evening became more serious when Wade Wilson led a student tribute to retiring missions professor Charles Taber. Wade had accumulated letters of tribute from some of the most prominent names in missiology from around the world. There were expressions of student appreciation as well which concluded with a standing ovation for Dr. and Mrs. Taber.

It was one of those evenings that I could sit back and enjoy without responsibility. As I looked around the room, I thanked God for the quality of people who were investing their lives in ministry. They had responded to God’s call for Christian service. Many had turned away from lucrative employment, and many spouses were making considerable sacrifices in order to make preparation for ministry possible. Tonight they were enjoying themselves and each other. It was a precious moment in the Christian community. But who knows what their tomorrows will demand of them in ministry? In any event I am confident they will be ready.

As I left the banquet that evening, I prayed, “Thank you, Lord, for this reminder as to why I will be traveling tomorrow.” Traveling, representing the School, and asking for support is a relentless necessity for those of us who share in the development work of the School. But there are those moments when we are forcefully reminded as to why we give of ourselves to the ministry to which God has called us. Furthermore, I am reminded with heartfelt gratitude of all who support Emmanuel School of Religion without these refreshing experiences that come in living in the Emmanuel community. May God bless you with a similar sense of satisfaction and assurance that you are participating in the preparation of men and women for service in the name of Christ.

—Dr. C. Robert Wetzel, President

1997 Alexander Campbell Scholars Announced

Emmanuel School of Religion’s Alexander Campbell Scholarship Program is named for one of the leaders of the 19th Century Restoration Movement who demonstrated in his ministry a combination of leadership, scholarship, and effective communication of the Gospel. The scholarships cover full tuition for up to 90 hours of course work at Emmanuel. They are intended to serve as an encouragement for those with outstanding potential for ministerial leadership to continue their educational preparation for ministry at the graduate level.

Emmanuel Confers 29 Degrees on June 1

Middle-East Travel Seminar Participants Named

Four students from Emmanuel School of Religion have been selected to participate in the 1997 Middle East Travel Seminar, sponsored by the Parker and Pittulloch Foundations of Atlanta. This is the sixth year in which Emmanuel students have participated.

This year’s participants are Brad Dewing, Mike Kerrick, Frank Shirvinski, and Steve Wilhite. The students, under the guidance of Dr. Gerald Mattingly, Professor of Old Testament at Johnson Bible College, and Dr. Max Miller of Candler School of Theology, joined others from Duke University Divinity School, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Mercer University, Candler School of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary for a three-week tour of Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and Greece in late May and early June.

Candidates for the tour were recommended by the Emmanuel faculty and chosen by an interviewing committee from the foundation on the basis of their potential for leadership and their promise of contributing to the overall experience of everyone on the tour.

The seminar not only provides an opportunity for Emmanuel students to see lands of the Bible, but it also helps build the bonds of friendship between various Christian groups and schools.

Congratulations to the participants of the 1997 Middle East Travel Seminar!

Emmanuel Events at the North American Christian Convention

• Stop by our booth number 231/330 and chat with: President C. Robert Wetzel, Chancellor Calvin Phillips, Dean Eleanor Daniel, Director of Admissions David Fulks, Executive Director of Development Dan Lawson, Associate Director of Development Wayne Ashworth, Director of Library and Learning Resources Tom Stokes, Administrative Assistant to the President Shirley Marshall, and Administrative Assistant for Development Adele Spurgin.
• The annual Emmanuel Breakfast is at the Marriott Downtown on July 2 at 7:30 a.m. in the Count Basie Ballroom A. Ray Stites (MDiv ’74), President of Nebraska Christian College, will speak. Breakfast tickets are $15 per person and may be obtained by sending a check payable to Emmanuel School of Religion to: Office of the President, Emmanuel School of Religion, One Walker Drive, Johnson City TN 37601-9438.
• The Annual Alumni Meeting will follow the breakfast at 9:00 a.m. in the Yardbird Suite A.
• Workshop: Dr. Eleanor A. Daniel will lead the workshop “Developing A Philosophy of Christian Education in Your Church Which Promotes Church Wide Participation,” on Wednesday, July 2, at 2:00 p.m.