Contact: Hope Against All Odds (Spring '12)

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Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

SPRING ’12 | VOL.40 NO.1

Hope a g a i n s t a l l

odds

2 Spr ing ’12 3www.gordonconwell .edu /contactmagazine

Inquiries regarding CONTACT may be addressed to:Editor, CONTACT Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary130 Essex StreetS. Hamilton, MA 01982 Tel: 978.468.7111 email: [email protected]

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contentsThe Ministry Magazine of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

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A Grace Disguised When Life’s Challenges Meet God’s Purposes

Joni Eareckson Tada David Deuel Kathy McReynolds

June 15-16, 2012South Hamilton, MA

The Marshall Hudson Summer ConferenceMarshall A. Hudson founded the World Wide Baraca Philathea Bible Union in 1896. This parachurch organization was designed

to develop greater knowledge and practical application of Scripture in young men and women. This conference is dedicated in

Hudson’s honor to the continual development of strong Christian leaders.

Where is God in the midst of our sicknesses, our loneliness, our losses?Where is He during our world’s disasters and wars? Is God all-loving? Is He all-powerful?

This summer the Ockenga Institute has dedicated its Summer Conference to asking the hard questions of life. Join Joni Eareckson Tada, David Deuel, Kathy McReynolds and others as they tackle finding God’s purposes in life’s challenges. Through main sessions and interactive workshops, we will explore together the answers to these questions and learn to find God’s grace in the midst of life’s storms.

alumni on hope

seminary news

in memoriam

alumni news

opening the wordMaria L. Boccia

Hope in the DesertAnne B. Doll

True Hope You Can Take to the BankEdward M. Keazirian

In the Furnace of Affliction: Lessons from the Life of DanielCarol M. Kaminski

Joy in a Prison CellRoy E. Ciampa

Hope for the WoundedKaren E. Mason

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features

18BOARD OF TRUSTEESDr. Dennis P. HollingerPresidentMr. Tom J. ColatostiChairDr. Claude R. Alexander, Jr.Vice ChairMr. Herbert P. HessTreasurerJoseph W. Viola, M.D.Secretary

Mr. Joel B. AarsvoldMrs. Linda Schultz AndersonDr. George F. BennettRev. Dr. Garth T. Bolinder

Rev. Dr. Richard P. Camp, Jr.Dr. Stan D. GaedeMrs. Joyce A. GodwinRev. Dr. Michael E. HaynesMr. Ivan C. HinrichsRev. Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.Mr. Caleb Loring, IIIMrs. Joanna S. MocklerFred L. Potter, Esq.Shirley A. Redd, M.D.Mr. Timothy B. RobertsonRev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr. Mrs. Virginia M. SnoddyJ. Christy Wilson III, Esq.Rev. Dr. John H. WomackWilliam C. Wood, M.D.

EMERITI MEMBERSDr. Richard A. Armstrong Rev. Dr. Leighton FordMr. Roland S. HinzMr. Richard D. PhippenMr. John G. Talcott, Jr.Rev. Dr. Paul E. Toms

CO-FOUNDER & TRUSTEE EMERITUSDr. William F. Graham

PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEE EMERITUSDr. Robert E. Cooley,

PRESIDENT EMERITUSDr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. President Emeritus

PRESIDENT’S COUNCILDr. Dennis P. HollingerPresidentMr. Robert S. LandrebeExecutive Vice President and CFODr. Frank A. JamesProvostMr. Kurt W. DrescherVice President of AdvancementMrs. Lita SchlueterDean of Students and Director of Student Life Services

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spring ’12 vol.40 no.1

CONTACT MAGAZINE

Director of Communications and MarketingMr. Michael L. Colaneri

Senior Communications Advisor and Editor of Contact Mrs. Anne B. Doll

Senior Graphic DesignerMs. Nicole S. Rim

Graphic DesignerMr. Christopher Anderson

Contributing WriterMrs. Jessica Haberkern


on thefront lines

On an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of

East Africa, two Gordon-Conwell D.Min. graduates

are ministering to the poorest of the poor.

When Todd and Patsy McGregor responded to God’s call to missions in 1991, they determined to go “where the greatest need was.” Today, The

Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd McGregor, now an Anglican Bishop, and The Rev. Dr. Patsy McGregor, an Anglican priest, live in a poverty stricken area in southwestern Madagascar—the ninth poorest country in the world.

In the remote desert area where the couple ministers, daily incomes average 75 cents, gleaned chiefly from subsistence farming. Two and a half years ago, locusts wreaked havoc on this arid region. Last year, famine struck, affecting 400,000 people.

Most people live in small bamboo or tin huts. They have no indoor plumbing. “When it rains,” Todd says, “you’ll see people out on the streets collecting water and bathing right there at the side of the road. At the same time, they are sponging water into their mouths.”

Living next door to Todd and Patsy for four years

was an African Traditionalist shaman and priest, whose daughter, Nolavy, accepted Christ and studied the Bible with Patsy. Nolavy eventually became an evangelist and is now a student at a theological school in Kenya. When she graduates, she could become the first clergywoman in her province. “It’s an amazing story,” Patsy says, “and it’s by the grace of God.”

Nolavy’s path to faith is illustrative of Todd and Patsy’s approach to evangelism. “We indigenously live among the people, just being present and saying ‘hello’ every day,” Patsy explains. Over time, she built a relationship with Nolavy, discipling her through Bible study and prayer. And then two more girls wanted to pray with Patsy, and she would invite them to do things together with her family.

“We’d say, ‘We’re going to the market. Do you want to come along, maybe even watch me play tennis sometime?’ We’d take a walk, or I’d get my hair braided. I got my hair braided a lot just to be rubbing shoulders with the people!”

on thefront lines

Hope in the

desertAnne B. Doll


new Christian told a member of their clergy team, “You won’t believe this. You prayed, and it rained. It rained that day, and it rained hard. And it only rained right above that village.”

During his tenure in the north, Todd planted seven churches, built a girls’ dormitory and trained new and existing evangelists. After he left, a bishop was appointed to live and minister in that area.

In 2007, the McGregors returned to Madagascar to continue their focus on evangelism, education and economic development. Since then, they have baptized thousands of new believers, planted and constructed over 15 new churches, and formed discipleship and small groups. Prayer meetings gather daily at 6 a.m.

Through funds from U.S. donors, they have also purchased land and are starting economic development projects in each parish. So far, five churches have agricultural initiatives, and have received training from U.S. volunteers on how to develop a cooperative agricultural program and start a small business. Half the projects are led by women.

The McGregors’ educational efforts include training clergy/evangelists for ministry, offering the “Introduction to Christianity” Alpha course and “Rooted in Jesus Program,” providing weekly English classes and sponsoring children to attend primary and secondary school. In 2011, they opened a new lay training center and dormitory. This year they expect to break ground for a primary school.

Patsy, who has written several books on Madagascar, grew up in an upper middle class Episcopalian home. She says that moving into a slum was “a very different experience.” She remembers asking the Lord, ‘What do you want me to do here?’ “I didn’t hear a ‘to do’ list. I didn’t hear ‘write a book, get your doctorate.’ I heard, ‘Just observe; just live and be intimate with me.’ And through my intimacy with Christ and seeking him day by day, yes, I wrote books and got my doctorate, and I’m discipling women and young ladies. But the focus is on intimacy with God.”

Patsy admits that Madagascar’s inescapable poverty daily overwhelms her. Intimacy with God helps her maintain hope and convey it to others. For Todd, hope-building occurs in the early morning devotions in their churches.

“We want all our people involved in daily devotions,” he says, “but we do them in community. People have their individual devotions, but they do them in the presence of others. I think that building community and starting off the day together brings tremendous hope for everyone. We are able to provide hope through the Gospel and the Lord Jesus Christ, but it has to be done living in community. And so when we go through difficulties, we’re there to support and encourage each other. We’re there to be.”

on thefront lines

Life as a missionary kid

Growing up on the mission field in Madagascar, Corbi McGregor Sandoe had adventures that young people in America only experience in movies.

A favorite for the daughter of Anglican missionaries Todd and Patsy McGregor was traveling to the rainforest with her father— in canoes, helicopters and on the tops of trucks. There she would discover “tree after tree after tree,” people living in huts or grass houses and spiders the size of an open hand. “There are no roads,” she says, “and you’re usually walking in mud because it’s so wet.

“At the same time, the people are great. It’s all about relationships…getting to know people. It’s not about busy work or trying to succeed in life. It’s just about being yourself, and family…and making sure you look out for each other and the community.”

Corbi was two years old when her family moved to Madagascar. By the age of four, she was speaking fluent Malagasy, the country’s native language. When she and her sister, Charese, were in middle school, the McGregors moved to Kenya so that the girls could attend a boarding school for missionary kids. The students she met there remain her best friends, their kinships forged through life together in another culture.

Corbi admits that returning to the U.S. for college was “for sure” a cultural shock, but one for which the boarding school had prepared her prior to graduation. Likewise, adjustment to life off the mission field has been difficult, because, as she says, “I am a third culture kid, which means I’ve grown up in one culture, but my parents are from a different culture and I live with the combination of the two of them. I don’t truly feel I’m a part of any one culture.”

Now married and living with her husband, Joe, in Lebanon, PA, Corbi says she “really enjoyed” growing up on the mission field. “It gave me a broader perspective and world view…I’ve had an opportunity that other people have never had, and I know how to navigate different cultures a lot better, since I had to grow up in two separate cultures and adjust to them. It gave me a way to be very practical in just life in general.”

L. to R., Corbi, Patsy, Todd and Charese McGregor.

When the shaman initially forbade Nolavy to become an evangelist, Todd and Patsy invited both her parents to their home for soda and cookies. During their visit, Todd recounts, “We asked the shaman, ‘Would you allow your daughter to join the evangelism program?’ And he accepted. He said, ‘I trust you.’”

And when a political coup brought gunfire just yards from the McGregors’ home, the shaman told Todd, “Bishop, I will protect you. The youth of the community and we will surround your home. Do not fear.”

Madagascar’s religious composition includes 5 percent Islam, 40 percent Christian and 50 to 55 percent African Traditionalism. Todd says ancestor worship plays a significant role in the latter faith tradition. Adherents attempt to communicate with deceased ancestors, and, as acts of appeasement, conduct elaborate bone-washing ceremonies several years after their relatives die. African Traditionalists also pray to deceased family members. Todd and Patsy first witnessed this when they happened onto the ceremonial sacrifice of a cow. Afterward, people started praying—first to God, then to Jesus and then to their ancestors. “It was very much a

syncretistic approach,” Todd explains. “This is a problem within the churches…Christianity is just added to their existing belief.”

Despite this mindset, Todd says people are very receptive to the gospel. They have a strong, albeit different view of God, recognizing him as a superior God. They comprehend the concept of sin, perhaps better understanding it as taboo. And because they fear God, they want to know more about him.

“What we try to do,” Todd says, “is to share the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, why he came, and why God sent him…We’re basically looking for them to turn away from their sins….And through building relationships with them, we can then say, ‘Let’s go on a journey together. Let’s study the Scriptures and see what God reveals to us so that we can be pure before him’…A lot of our approach is

just trying to communicate more effectively in their own culture and…grow together. That is why we lived in the slum with them for three and one-half years.”

For the first 11 years of their ministry in Madagascar, Todd and Patsy served in Antananarivo, the capital and largest city. There, through their ministry, People Reaching People, they taught at St. Paul’s Theological College; constructed and started nine health clinics; founded, constructed and ran the School for Lay Ministry; built 11 new churches and planted an international, English-speaking church and missionary school.

In 2002, with their daughters Corbi and Charese about to enter high school, the McGregors moved to Kenya where the girls could attend the Rift Valley Academy for missionary children. The move was an act of faith for Todd and Patsy. Their ministry in Madagascar was flourishing, and they had no idea what lay ahead for them in Kenya. “We decided that if our children were going there, we were going to follow them,” Todd says. “We believed the Lord would open up ways for us to work and minister.”

Todd affirms that the Lord did open doors: for Patsy to direct a retreat center near Nairobi, and for him to

minister in the rural, tribal areas of northern Kenya. For three years, he flew there weekly with AIM and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilots—the only aviators willing to make the treacherous flights.

The semi-arid region where he ministered had no paved roads and little access to water. In some areas, Islamists were prevalent. Where he was working, they were hostile. A number of evangelists were stoned, and Todd was on a hit list. At times, he had to travel with an armed guard. But in the midst of this, he says, “people were coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and we were starting churches.”

On one memorable occasion, he and fellow evangelists were leading a week-long mission in a remote village. At week’s end, they baptized 50 to 60 people, planted a church and prayed for rain. Several weeks later, an excited

on thefront lines

“You won’t believe this. You prayed, and it rained. It rained that day, and it rained hard. And it only rained right above that village.”


IN RECENT YEARS, OUR NATION HAS EXPERIENCED MORE THAN A

SEVEN-FOLD INCREASE IN BANK FAILURES. IN SUCH UNCERTAIN ECONOMIC

CONDITIONS, ONE MIGHT BE ADVISED TO SEEK A MORE HEARTENING

METAPHOR THAN A BANK TO EXPRESS THE SECURITY OF OUR HOPE.

W e might consider Ben Franklin’s proverbial “death and taxes” as an alternative to the banks for expressing dependability, certainty and permanence. However, in a culture that confuses true hope with wishful

thinking, optimism, positivism and other attitudes about the future, even the certainty of death and taxes falls short of the security of the hope we see proclaimed in Scripture. Death and taxes have their temporal limits, but true hope trumps even death and taxes because true hope is eternal.

The best working definition of biblical hope that I have ever heard is simply “faith extended into the future.” Like our faith, our hope is grounded in the unchanging and absolutely trustworthy character of God. And like our faith, our hope is based on three expressions of God’s faithfulness: God’s word, God’s action and God’s promises.

Abraham epitomizes faith because he believed and obeyed God when he had nothing more to go on than the word of God. When God said, “Go,” Abraham trusted and went. In the same way, Abraham also stands as the archetype of hope. Because he was fully convinced that God could do what he promised, Abraham never wavered, but in hope–against all the evidence, humanly speaking–he believed he would become the father of many nations, just as God had promised. His faith fueled his hope, so that what he knew of God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness in the present became his assurance for the future as well. Abraham lived with the expectancy–the hope–that he would inherit all that God had promised him. Although he did not see his hope completely fulfilled in his lifetime,

we are told that he saw and welcomed those promises from afar. Even death did not quell his hope, for he was convinced that God could raise the dead if necessary in order to fulfill his promises.

Long before Jesus ever addressed the doubts of Thomas, Abraham was blessed and honored for believing without having seen. For Abraham, hope is vindicated not on the basis of what he has seen, but because of what God is. True hope is rooted in God. This is a foundational theme of hope throughout Israel’s scripture, but it is especially evident in the raw expressions of the soul in Job and the Psalms.

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Ps. 25:5).

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD (Ps. 31:24).

. . . I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good (Ps. 52:8–9).

Whether the psalmist’s hope is in the LORD or in his name, the meaning is the same. His hope is rooted in the being, character and reputation of God, for the name embraces the very essence of the person. Therefore, true hope–that sense of confidence and expectation that good things will happen in the future–depends on the reality that God is sovereign, in control of all that happens and thus able to direct all circumstances and events for the accomplishment of his purposes; that God is good and

YOU CAN TAKE TO THE BANKEdward M. Keazirian, (M.Div. ’83, Th.M. ’93), Th.D.


in the

furnace of

afflictionLESSONS FROM

THE LIFE OF DANIEL

loving, certain to purpose only what is good and loving for all creation; that God is compassionate and merciful, sensitive to and patient with the limitations of His children in understanding, accepting and submitting to His purposes; that God is righteous and just, committed to vindicating the innocent and punishing the guilty, righting the wrongs that people have suffered, and restoring what was lost or stolen in the unfolding of His purposes from beginning to end; that God is trustworthy, faithful to keep His word and to fulfill His promises; and that God is true, consistent in word and deed with all the perfections of His nature.

Therefore, the godless—those who forget God—have no hope. Just as reeds depend on the water of the marsh for life, so hope must be rooted in God to survive (Job 8:13). When we are cut off from God, whether by our own initiative or God’s, all hope is gone (Job 27:8), for hope not only resides in God, but also derives from God.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge (Ps. 62:5–7).

Because God protects and delivers, we can rest securely in Him, regardless of our circumstances. Whether our physical security, our emotional stability or our public reputation is threatened, God provides refuge and stability. We must not forget this. So much of our experience in life seems contrary to what we would expect of a sovereign, loving God that we are tempted to doubt God, to see ourselves as victims of evil, injustice and ignorance rather than beloved children of a sovereign God. Indeed the evil one is there at every turn in a crisis to sow seeds of doubt and to ask “has God really said…?”

Job exemplifies this struggle for all believers. As strong as his hope is—stronger even than death itself—he nevertheless experiences the silence of God in the crisis. And it seems as though he were uprooted and cut off from all hope, no better off than the wicked and cut off by the very God whose character he trusts more than his own life.

Though He slay me, yet will I hope in him (Job 13:15)…. He has blocked my way so I cannot pass; He has shrouded my paths in darkness. He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head. He tears me down on every side till I am gone; He uproots my hope like a tree (Job 19:8–10).

However, because God is the guarantor of true hope, Job’s hope does not fail. Despite all the contrary circumstances swirling around him, Job can still affirm, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25–27).

Though true hope is focused on the future, it sustains us in the present. We know that no matter what happens, our hope will endure. It will transcend death and it will

ultimately prove to be redemptive simply because it is guaranteed by the God who fulfilled His promises to Abraham—and indeed to all who believe—through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and through the gift of the Holy Spirit. And that, dear friend, is a hope even better than anything you can take to the bank.

As we eagerly await in hope the ultimate consummation of all that God has initiated in word, act and promise, let these affirmations of the psalmist be our own:

We wait in hope for the LORD; He is our help and our shield (Ps. 33:20).

But, as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more (Ps. 71:14).

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption (Ps. 130:5, 7).

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the LORD, who remains faithful forever (Ps. 146:5–6).

DR. EDWARD KEAZIRIAN, Assistant Professor of Greek and Director of the Greek Language Program, joined the Gordon-Conwell faculty in 1995. He is involved in multiple ministries through his local church, the First Baptist Church of Danvers, MA, including Sunday School, the worship team, church boards and spiritual mentoring. He is also currently a member of Balikatan, the U.S. support organization for InterVarsity Christian

Fellowship in the Philippines, and has participated in several short-term missions trips there and in Alaska. Dr. Keazirian is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and Phi Alpha Chi honor society at Gordon-Conwell. His forthcoming book is on peace and peacemaking. He is an avid fan of Boston sports teams.

BECAUSE GOD PROTECTS AND DELIVERS, WE CAN REST

SECURELY IN HIM, REGARDLESS OF OUR CIRCUMSTANCES.


discover the meaning of a dream, in an act of fury he sent out an edict that all the wise men of Babylon were to be killed, since no one had been able to interpret his dream (Dan. 2). Daniel requested that time be granted him so that he could declare the interpretation to the king (Dan. 2:14-16). With death at his doorstep, Daniel had again entered his house to pray. This is why he requested the additional time—not to flee for his life, but to seek God in prayer! We find him praying with his three friends, and together they beseech God to grant them the interpretation to the dream (Dan. 2:17-18), which God does.

What do you do when facing the crises of life? Do you have friends like Daniel’s three friends who will pray with you?

I’m reminded of King Jehoshaphat, when the Moabites and Ammonites waged war against him, how he and the people gathered together to pray (2 Chron. 20).

I’m reminded of King Hezekiah, when the Assyrians were threatening to attack Jerusalem (Isa. 36), how he entered the temple to pray, and he sent for Isaiah the prophet and asked him to pray (Isa. 37).

I’m reminded of Paul and Silas, when they were in prison after receiving many blows, how they prayed and sang hymns together, even while their feet were in stocks (Acts 16:22-30)!

I’m reminded of a friend last week who called me. An unexpected crisis was taking place in her condo building, involving the police and a search warrant. She called to ask

me to pray, and so at that moment we prayed together on the phone. Prayer is indeed the hallmark of God’s people.

Now, many years later, Daniel is facing yet another crisis, and he enters his house to pray. We are told that “he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day” (Dan. 6:10). Kneeling was a sign of submission and humility before God (2 Chron. 6:13). Even though Daniel had a position of great authority in the Persian Empire, he was not too mighty, or too powerful, or too proud to bow down on his knees before his God. He had seen what happened to leaders who were proud and exalted themselves (Dan. 4:1-37; 5:1-31). Throughout his life he had acknowledged that the wisdom in him had come from God (Dan. 2:19-23, 28-30). He knew how to humble himself and seek God (Dan. 1:8; 9:3; 10:1-3, 12), and he is now on bended knee, praying and giving thanks to his God. This is where the crisis has led him.

It is important to recognize that Daniel knows who God is. He knows that his God is the all-powerful and all-knowing God of heaven (Dan. 2:20). He is the God who changes the times and epochs (Dan. 2:21). He is the God

who removes and establishes kings (Dan. 2:21, 36-38; 4:19-37). He is the God who reveals mysteries and brings to light that which is hidden (Dan. 2:22, 28, 47). He is the Most High God who rules over humanity (Dan. 4:24-25, 34-35). He is the God whose Kingdom is everlasting (Dan. 7:9-14, 27). He is the great and awesome God who keeps covenants (Dan. 9:4). And he is the God who answers prayer (Dan. 9:17-22), as Daniel will discover yet again, this time in the lions’ den (Dan. 6:16-28). Yes, Daniel surely knows who God is—and this is why he prays.

Yet Darius’ men soon discover that Daniel has been praying—contrary to the king’s edict. As a result, he is taken into the lions’ den (Dan. 6:11-16). The king is greatly disturbed over what has taken place. Early in the morning he returns to the lions’ den only to discover that Daniel is still alive! He learns that God has delivered Daniel by sending his angel to shut the mouth of the lions (Dan. 6:22; cf. 1 Sam. 17:37; Heb. 11:33). Daniel has indeed trusted in the LORD his God (Dan. 6:23). This is what God wants us all to do in the circumstances of life, regardless of the outcome, yet our vision of God is often too small.

Amidst the afflictions of life, which will surely come, we need to be reminded afresh of who God is. I do not know what circumstances are before you or what difficulties you are facing which seem insurmountable, but I do know that Daniel’s God is our God, and he has not changed. I do know that he is the all powerful God, and I do know that he can

be trusted. We can join with Daniel and confess that our God is “the great and awesome God” (Dan. 9:4), and we can boldly ask him to “incline your ear and hear! Open your eyes and see our desolations” (Dan. 9:18). We may not have all the answers, but we do know that our God can help us! Lord, help us to fix our eyes upon you, and teach us to pray.

DR. CAROL M. KAMINSKI, Associate Professor of Old Testament, has taught Old Testament and Hebrew language courses at the Boston and Hamilton campuses of Gordon-Conwell since joining the seminary faculty in 2002. She is a member of the Institute for Biblical Research, the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. She is currently writing a book, Was Noah Good? Finding Favor in the Flood Narrative.

Dr. Kaminski has also created an Old Testament Timeline, CASKET EMPTY: God’s Plan of Redemption Through History, and has written a companion text, Old Testament Reader’s Guide, both of which are part of the CASKET EMPTY Bible Series (www.casketempty.com). She speaks at conferences and retreats, focusing on in-depth biblical teaching for laity.

THE FIRST THING DANIEL DOES IS ENTER HIS HOUSE TO PRAY. THE CRISIS HAS COME TO DANIEL’S DOOR, AND THE FIRST THING HE DOES IS THE PRECISE THING THAT HE IS PROHIBITED TO DO!

The prophet Daniel experienced major turmoil and uprooting early in his life when he was brought to Babylon in 605 BC. King Nebuchadnezzar had attacked Jerusalem and brought leading citizens to Babylon. Daniel and his three friends are among the exiles. While they are being educated in the literature and language of the Babylonians, God gives these young men knowledge and wisdom beyond their age. Daniel in particular is given the ability to interpret dreams and visions.

Towards the end of Daniel’s life, after serving in the Babylonian court for many years, Daniel witnesses the demise of the Babylonian Empire. Under the new Persian regime, he is given great authority as one of three key rulers. We learn that King Darius (most likely another name for Cyrus) intends to appoint Daniel over his entire kingdom, for Daniel has distinguished himself in leadership (Dan. 6:1-3). Yet at this moment of great honor, which may even be seen as the capstone of Daniel’s political career, a crisis strikes that will bring the prophet to his knees.

The situation takes a turn for the worse when Daniel’s colleagues, who are jealous

of him, devise a plan to prevent him from taking up the new position. Not finding anything against Daniel’s character, they request that King Darius sign an edict, which would forbid anyone from making a petition to any god or man besides Darius for 30 days (Dan. 6:7-8). Anyone who refuses to obey the edict will be thrown into the lions’ den. Darius agrees to sign the injunction, thereby establishing it as Persian law.

Daniel hears about the edict and learns that it has been signed. The crisis has now arrived at his door. What will he do? How will he respond?

The first thing Daniel does is enter his house to pray. The crisis has come to Daniel’s door, and the first thing he does is the precise thing that he is prohibited to do! We discover that Daniel prays “as he had been doing previously” (Dan. 2:10). A cursory reading of the book of Daniel underscores that the prophet is a man of prayer (Dan. 2:17-18; 9:3-22). He is also known among his peers to be a man of prayer, for his colleagues anticipate that his commitment to prayer will be his ruin (Dan. 6:5).

You may recall that many years earlier when Nebuchadnezzar was seeking to

THE AFFLICTIONS OF LIFE CAN COME AT

ANY TIME, AT ANY AGE. THEY ARE

OFTEN UNEXPECTED AND CAN TAKE US

MOMENTARILY OFF GUARD. SOMETIMES

THEY ARE INTENSE AND SHORT-LIVED,

WHILE ON OTHER OCCASIONS AFFLICTIONS OF THE

SOUL REMAIN WITH US, AND WE MUST LEARN TO BEAR

THEM FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. SO THE QUESTION

BEFORE US IS NOT WHETHER WE WILL EXPERIENCE

AFFLICTION—FOR THIS IS INDEED CERTAIN—BUT HOW WE

WILL HANDLE AFFLICTION WHEN THE CRISES OF LIFE

COME KNOCKING AT OUR DOOR.

CAROL N. KAMINSKI (MAOT, MAR ’96), PH.D.


IN A

PRISON CELL

JOY

Roy E. Ciampa, Ph.D.

Of course, hardships were a constant part of Paul’s life. In 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 he speaks of having experienced, among other things, troubles, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments,

hunger and dishonor. Did you notice his use of plural forms? Not a beating, but beatings. Not imprisonment, but imprisonments. And that was before he wrote any of his “prison epistles.”

Later on in that letter he gave more details. He says he had been in prison more frequently than other believers the Corinthians knew and had been “flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again” (11:23). He says,

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and

toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked (11:24-27).

And that was before he wrote any of his “prison epistles!”

Typically, however, when Paul thinks of the hardships he has experienced (or is experiencing), he thinks at the same time of God’s strength, support and grace. The

hardships are reminders of the power of death. Paul knows full well death’s power and its impact on his life and the lives of others. It is seen not only in failing bodies and funerals at the end of earthly journeys; it is also seen in the trials, tribulations and deprivations that are experienced along the way. Paul, however, knows a power that is much stronger than the power of death. It is the power of God and of the resurrection life that will not only be his and ours on resurrection day, but is already manifest as the Spirit provides life in ways that help him—and us—continue on despite death’s power in the here and now. That point is made over and over in 2 Corinthians 4:8-18.

Paul was chained to a Roman soldier, awaiting his day before Caesar,

knowing that his life might soon be “poured out like a drink offering”

(Phil. 2:17)1. And yet, he says in the very same verse, “I am glad and

rejoice with all of you.” In fact, in the same letter he mentions “joy”

or “rejoicing” 14 times!2 That is more than I’ve probably ever mentioned

“joy” on a good day with the sun shining and things going well for me!


We don’t lose heart because, although we can’t help but notice the former, we fix our eyes on the latter, and live mindful of the fact that death comes before resurrection glory, and that God’s grace

is sufficient (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10) to overcome our present sufferings, which are preludes to the glory. In the strength God gives us to persevere despite our difficulties, we see the promise of the ultimate victory of resurrection life and glory.

Is there any evidence that this is the same way of looking at things that undergirded Paul’s tenacious faith while in Roman chains, and that allowed him to write the Philippians a letter so marked by the theme of joy? What was the pattern of thought that Paul urged the Philippians to adopt? Their attitude, he said, “should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). How did he face suffering? He “humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him” (vv. 8-9). Christ was obedient in suffering even unto death, and then was raised to glory.

Of course, Christ’s obedience and glory both outshine any Christian obedience and glory, but the pattern is the same. It is in light of that pattern that Paul can speak, later in that same chapter, of

looking forward to “the day of Christ” (v. 16) and of being glad and rejoicing with the Philippians even if he is being “poured out like a drink offering” (v. 17). And he calls on the Philippians to also “be glad and rejoice with me” (v. 18).

This is confirmed in Philippians 3:8-11 where Paul says he considers all the losses1 experienced in this life “rubbish” (or garbage, or dung) “that I may gain Christ and be found in him” with the righteousness that comes from God by faith (vv. 8-9). Then he explicitly mentions suffering and relates it to the theme of Christ and his resurrection (vv. 10-11): “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Paul’s tenacious hope, his joy in the midst of the challenges he faced as a follower of Christ, was founded on his understanding that as he followed Christ, his sufferings

entailed sharing in Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in death, and that it was the power of the resurrection—at work in Christ and now in him—that would see him through his challenges all the way to the ultimate goal of his final resurrection and the glory that awaited him.

For Paul, it was now impossible to think of death and its friends (e.g., difficulties, trials and suffering of various sorts), without being reminded of the resurrection and the power of resurrection life in the present (to get us through the challenges we face) and the future (where we will experience the final victory), with, and thanks to, Christ our Lord. That was a key to his tenacious faith and joy in the midst of trials.

DR. ROY E. CIAMPA is Professor of New Testament, Chair of the Division of Biblical Studies and Director of the Th.M. program in Biblical Studies. He joined GCTS after 12 years of cross-cultural experience, teaching at two different theological schools in Portugal, and collaborating with the Portuguese Bible Society in the revision of its contemporary translation of the Bible. He is an ordained minister and serves on the

Board of Overseeing Elders at Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA. Dr. Ciampa is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the Institute for Biblical Research, the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical and Theological Research and the Evangelical Theological Society. He is also on the Advisory Council of the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship of the American Bible Society and a regular participant in the annual Nida School of Translation Studies. He is co-mentor of the Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry track in Bible Translation.

1 All Scripture quotations are according to the NIV (1984).2 See Phil. 1:4, 18, 25; 2:2, 17, 18, 28, 29; 3:1; 4:1, 4, 10.3 The “all things” he mentions in v. 8 would include, but not be limited to, the loss of his claim to traditional Jewish religious credentials mentioned in vv. 5-7.

god’s grace is sufficient to

overcome our present

sufferings, which are preludes to the glory.

Crucifixion/Death

4:8a We are hard pressed on every side,

4:8b perplexed

4:9a persecuted,

4:9b struck down,

4:10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,

4:11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake ,

4:12 So then, death is at work in us,

4:14

4:16a

4:16B Though outwardly we are wasting away,

4:17 For our light and momentary troubles

Resurrection/Life

but not crushed;

but not in despair;

but not abandoned;

but not destroyed,

so that the life of Jesus may also berevealed in our body.

so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.

but life is at work in you.

we know that the one who raised the LordJesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Therefore we do not lose heart

Note below how Paul alternates back and forth between references to his (and others’) challenges and difficulties on the one hand and references to God’s sustaining grace on the other. He then ties these to what we know about Christ’s death and resurrection as the pattern that makes sense of our own experience as Christians.

4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

In 4:16a and 4:18 Paul breaks away from the alternating pattern to indicate how it relates to his own understanding of Christian hope and endurance. A comparison of 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 with what Paul says in Romans 8:18 reveals that this is Paul’s constant way of thinking about the issue:

8:18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us

“Our light and momentary troubles” (2 Cor. 4:17), that is, “our present sufferings” (Rom. 8:18) are “what is seen.” But this “is temporary,” not that on which we fix our eyes (2 Cor. 4:18). Rather, our focus is on the “eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17), i.e., “the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18), that “is unseen” and not temporary, but “eternal.”


God gives us an example in the book of Job of what NOT to do. God says to Eliphaz the Temanite, one of Job’s “comforters,” “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not

spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”1 Job’s cold-comfort friends gave Job pat answers2 to his pain. They said that he had lost his family, his livelihood and his health because of sin in his life.

One of the problems with platitudes, pat answers, is that while true in some ways, they tell only one part of the truth, not the whole truth. And they do not acknowledge suffering before inviting hurting people into the discipline of hope. “Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”3

Telford Work notes another reason to avoid platitudes: these add to the injustice the sufferer is already suffering. “...theistic accounts of suffering and evil have fared relatively poorly,” he writes. “Indeed, they have become infamous, especially when they take the form of prooftexts that wound rather than heal...Well-meaning pastors and apologists deliver these one-liners like Job’s friends, intending to comfort the afflicted, but instead ratifying injustice in the world and distancing sufferers from the God they thought was compassionate. For the sufferers, these apophatic responses are insults added onto injury. They are white flags raised in the face of theodicy’s

epistemological crisis, responding to the problem of evil only by intensifying it...”4

We hope in God, but Christians also acknowledge true suffering. We may discount the reality of true suffering when we offer a grieving Christian any one of the following platitudes. Each platitude contains a solid kernel of truth but can also cause pain to those who suffer.

Common Platitudes

She/he is in the Lord’s hands. We literally are. We are engraved on the palms of God’s hands.5 However, C.S. Lewis, after his wife’s death, argues that this is

no comfort because “she was in God’s hands all the time, and I have seen what they did to her. Do they suddenly become gentler to us the moment we are out of the body? And if so, why? If God’s goodness is inconsistent with hurting us, then either God is not good or there is no God; for in the only life we know He hurts us beyond our worst fears and beyond all we can imagine.”6 At these times, the comfort of being in God’s hands may not be a comfort. Wolterstorff, whose son died at age 25 in a climbing accident, writes, “A friend said, ‘Remember, he’s in good hands.’ I was deeply moved. But that reality does not put Eric back in my hands now. That’s my grief.”7

Consider the following scenarios:• Jack made it this far in the recession and just lost his job. He is 53 and knows that it will be hard to get hired elsewhere.

• George lost his job two years ago. He is almost at the end of his pension plan, his unemployment benefits are about to run out and he was just diagnosed with cancer.

• Jill and her husband, Sam, have tried repeatedly to become parents and just gave birth to a stillborn child.

• Sally’s son has been in and out of drug rehabilitation centers and just started using drugs again.

How can we minister God’s hope to these wounded brothers and sisters in Christ?

Karen E. Mason, Ph.D.

Hope for the

Wounded

“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day... is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”

b e jn otuv eb


the psalms are lament. We Christians don’t live in a soap bubble; reality touches us and we have feelings in response to harsh circumstances, feelings that are mirrored for us in the Bible, emotions like anguish and bitterness,28 longing, distress, sorrow and anxiety,29 fear,30 despondency,31 guilt,32 shame,33 indignation34 and grief.35 In fact, when we’re told we don’t grieve as those without hope, we are not told we do not grieve.36

Help with practical details. Comfort in the form of groceries or watching the children means a lot. Jesus said the Sheep and the Goats will be divided based on the practical service we have rendered to others.37 Because people get tired of asking for help, offer to help. And, if you offer help, follow through.

Listen to the story—again. Hubbard tells us, “Our need for listeners grows out of the odd human fact that what happens to us is not finished until the story is told.”38 And retold.

Do not judge,39 because we are all sinners.40

Allow Christians to ask the hard questions about God and faith. Wolterstorff writes, “Faith is a footbridge that you don’t know will hold you up over the chasm until you’re forced to walk out onto it.”41 Though it is hard to listen to, doubt may be the stepping-stone to a broader picture of who God is. C.S. Lewis notes, “God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way to making me realize the fact was to knock it down.”42

Pray. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”43 Bring your brothers’ and sisters’ pain to God, to Jesus who was “a man of sorrow, familiar with suffering.”44

Be there for the long term. It’s hard to be there in the middle of the night in the crisis but it’s even harder to be there six months or a year down the road.

Practice the discipline of hope. Hope may not seem like a discipline, but it’s a “long obedience in the same direction.”45 Just as it’s hard to do sit-ups when you have pneumonia, it’s hard to have hope in the midst of pain. One way we invite the wounded into hope is to maintain it for them.

What is the Christian hope?

Hsu, upon losing his father to suicide, writes, “Most people use hope as a verb: ‘I hope things will turn out better’ … When hope is a verb, it is usually just

wishful thinking on our part. …But the Bible uses hope as a noun. … Hope, in the Christian sense of the word, is … a tangible thing, as real as any object. ‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure’ (Hebrews 6:19). Our hope is a noun, as solid as a cast-iron anchor.”46 As Christians, our hope is based in our faithful certainty of who God is. And sometimes we in the community of faith need to hold onto hope in our God for the person who cannot hold onto hope. In Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring trilogy, we read that Sam and Frodo held onto hope for each other, repeating the Latin dictum, Dum vita est spes est: While there is life, there is hope. Greene-McCreight writes, “Sometimes you literally cannot make it on your own, and you need to borrow from the faith of those around you.”47 In the community of faith, we need to stand as hopeful people for the wounded person who no longer believes that anything can ever get better again. We hold onto hope in the midst of difficulty because we realize with the psalmist: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.”48

Dr. Karen E. Mason, Associate Professor of Counseling and Psychology, has worked in the mental health field since 1990, including managing the Office of Suicide Prevention, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In addition to teaching, she also provides direct care services at Northeast Behavioral Health, Ipswich, MA. She has taught at schools in Colorado, Pakistan and

Haiti. Dr. Mason’s research interests focus on suicide prevention in the church. She collaborated with GCTS colleagues on a Lilly grant on Clergy Referral of Suicidal Individuals, and is currently funded with Dr. James D. Wines, Jr., McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School by a second Lilly grant to research Clergy Engagement in Suicide Intervention and Aftercare.

1 Job 42:72 God calls their comfort “folly.” (v.8) Job con-fronted his friends’ platitudes in Job 6:26.3 Proverbs 25:204Telford Work (2000). Advent’s answer to the problem of evil. International Journal of Systematic Theology, 2(1), p. 103 5 Isaiah 49:166 Lewis, C.S. (1961). A Grief Observed. London: Faber and Faber pp. 24-25.7Wolterstorff, N. (1987). Lament for a Son. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publish-ing Company p. 31.8 Isaiah 14:26-27. See also Job 1-2.9 John 11:35.10 Psalm 7:11 11 Amos 5:2112 Lamentations 3:3313 Romans 8:2814 C.S. Lewis. (1962). The Problem of Pain. New York: MacMillan, 10515 1 Corinthians 2:1116 Hsu, A.Y. (2002). Grieving a Suicide: A Loved One’s Search for Comfort, Answers & Hope. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press p. 143.17 Ecclesiastes 5:218 Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son, 25.19 Biebel, D.B., & Foster, S.L. (2005). Finding Your Way after the Suicide of Someone You Love. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan p. 21.20 Ephesians 6:1021 1 Corinthians 10:13.22 2 Corinthians 1:8-1123 Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son, p. 34.24 Psalm 46

25 Hubbard, M.G. (2009). More than an Aspirin: a Christian Perspective on Pain and Suffering, Grand Rapids: Discovery House, p. 91. See also Hebrews 11:35-37.26 Romans 12:1527 Genesis 2:1828 1 Samuel 1:1029 Philippians 2:26-28 See also Psalm 6:7 and 2 Corinthians 7:730 Matthew 14:26-3031 Psalm 42:5, 11, Psalm 43:532 Matthew 27:333 Psalm 44:15-1634 Psalm 13735 2 Samuel 19:436 1 Thessalonians 4:13. See also Ecclesiastes 3:4 where we are told there is a time to weep and mourn.37 See Matthew 25:31-4638 Hubbard, More than an Aspirin: a Christian Perspective on Pain and Suffering, p. 26139 Matthew 7:140 Romans 2:141 Wolterstorff, Lament for a Son, p. 76.42 Lewis, A Grief Observed, pp. 42-43. 43 Galatians 6:244 Isaiah 53:345 Quote from Friedrich Nietzsche and later Eu-gene H. Peterson.46 Hsu, Grieving a Suicide, p. 134.47 Greene-McCreight, Katheryn. (2006). Dark-ness is My Only Companion. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, p. 8848 Psalm 73:25

It must have been God’s will.

God is in control. This is true in a sense. Nothing happens without God allowing it.8 What this statement does not recognize is that God does not desire sin. His response to death is tears.9 For example, Jesus wept with the mourners even though He knew that He was about to raise Lazarus to life again. God’s response to injustice is anger.10 He hates evil.11 God doesn’t will evil.12

Don’t feel bad. God will work it all out for good. 13

We know that God is able to make good come out of evil. However, the fact that something good can come out of evil does not minimize pain. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. That is what the word means. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine of being made ‘perfect through suffering’ is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design.”14

God wanted your stillborn baby more than you did.

It’s true that God loves everyone, but to assign a particular motive to another human is presumption enough; to assign a motive to God is beyond arrogance because no human being knows the mind of God.15 The surprising end to the book of Job is not an explanation of why people suffer but an affirmation of the impossibility of reducing God to the explicable. Suffering in many ways is inexplicable. Hsu, whose father died of suicide, writes that the wounded “don’t need pat answers to incomprehensible questions.”16 Ecclesiastes reminds us, “God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”17

I know how you feel. We are all human, and we know how feelings feel. But suffering is very personal, and we all suffer in different ways. You don’t really know how someone else feels. Wolterstorff writes, “We say, ‘I know how you are feeling.’ But we don’t.”18

You have to get over this and get on with your life.

True enough. Suffering is all around us and we need to manage it and get on with the business of life. However, as Biebel and Foster note, “You can’t ‘just get over it,’ no matter how much you try or how much others want you to. You must go through it to get beyond it.”19

Be strong. God doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle.

The part of this platitude that has a biblical basis is being strong in the Lord.20 The rest is a rewording of God’s not giving us more temptation than we can handle.21 In 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul writes that he was overwhelmed beyond his ability to endure.22 Paul says that God intervened, not that He gave Paul only what he could endure.

It’s not so bad. This platitude denies the fact that we live in a world marred by sin. Wolterstoff writes, “But please: Don’t say it’s not really so bad. Because it is. Death is awful, demonic. If you think your task as comforter is to tell me that really, all things considered, it’s not so bad, you do not sit with me in my grief but place yourself off in the distance away from me.”23

Take your troubles to God; He will make it better.

Though God in fact is our ever-present help and comfort in our times of trouble,24 Hubbard notes that God isn’t in the business of taking away our pain the way that aspirin takes away a headache. “Contrary to [the thinking that ‘He’ll fix it so I won’t have to live through it’], God refuses to play the magician’s role, nor is God in the business of providing free placebos or heavenly strength aspirin. The idea that if we can only get our burdens to God He will make us instantly feel better is bitterly unfair misdirection to people in pain...this ‘fix-it’ approach makes pain a measure of our distance from God. Indirectly, this idea encourages us to think, ‘If I hurt, I’m a long way from God. If I were close to Him, He would make the hurt go away.’ The God of all comfort ...is an identity quite different...from the idea of God as the ‘Great Pain Reliever.’”25

In the place of platitudes, here are some concrete ideas for ministry to the wounded.

“Mourn with those who mourn.”26 Mourning doesn’t mean being cheerful; it means being sorrowful. Just

as you have shown up for weddings to rejoice with those who rejoice, show up now to mourn. When God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone,”27 He meant that no one can do life alone. This is especially true in times of hurt.

Allow lament. Lament is to deplore the current situation. This means you need to allow emotion. Most Christians have no problem with the “positive” emotions like hope and courage, but some struggle with the “negative” ones like despair. But almost half


Lessons Learned on the Batt lef ie ld

It was a moment of failure in pastoral ministry. It was late 2006 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, and a soldier had

died on the battlefield. I was speaking with the soldier’s lieutenant, a young man feeling responsible that one of his

own would not return home to his family. Feeling anxiety myself, I forgot about pastoral care and immediately got down to other business. “We will need the squad to come up with some photos for the memorial ceremony,” I told the lieutenant. I could see the reaction on his face: “What are you talking about? A man just died! And you’re talking to me about photos!” I wanted to go back in time just 20 seconds and start over.

Since then I’ve had the unfortunate experience of being the chaplain of 30 men who died. I’ve conducted 21 memorial ceremonies and assisted in at least a dozen notifications of death.

Those numbers mean that when death comes near, I’m no longer the anxiety ridden junior officer I was in 2006. Now when I walk into a room filled with grieving soldiers or family members, I do so as a confident pastor of my assigned flock.

These are some of the lessons I have learned along the way.

REMEMBER THAT I AM PRIMARILY A PASTORMy mistake back in 2006 was getting hung up in my own

task list while forgetting to be a pastor. That young lieutenant didn’t need another thing to do; he needed someone to care for his hurting soul. Even now, when tragedy strikes my unit, those higher up the chain immediately begin demanding things from me: reports of recent activity, biographies of the fallen, memorial ceremony bulletins, plans for how I will care for the soldiers, the leaders, the family members. To the best of my ability, I push against these demands. My job early on needs to be my care for those who are grieving. The business stuff can wait a few hours. TIMING IS EVERYTHING

I have learned not to insert myself into the situation at the inappropriate time. If I’m too early, no one will talk. If I’m too late, they’ll say “Where have you been?” So I make an appearance early on, figuring out a way to make sure those who are grieving know I’m there and available. But I don’t demand their attention. They usually need to sleep and eat and conduct self-care anyway. Then, later, I look for the right time to be a little more assertive. I’ll enter the squad room or work area, make small talk, ask a few innocuous questions and get a feel for the room. Hopefully, pastoral intuition will kick in and tell me if they are ready to talk, or if I’m still laying the groundwork for the conversations they need to have. I’M THE EXPERT IN THIS MATTER

Most people, even soldiers, don’t think about death and aren’t around it very often. Pastors, on the other hand, have thought long and hard about death, and we’ve been around death more. We’ve pondered the macro issues and have settled in our own heads some answers to the big questions. When it comes to death and grieving, we are the experts.

I now find comfort in this expertise. When I walk into the room, I remember that I’ve done this before, and that I have something to bring: prayer, words of wisdom, a comforting touch. I don’t give astute theological reflections on death, but I can bring a calming presence to the room that says, “It’s okay.” Which brings me to my final point: CALM DOWN

When someone dies, many people freeze up, or they begin to hyperactively fix things or just do something. I try not to contribute to this mayhem. Instead, I say a prayer, breathe deeply, recall my macro perspective on death (“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55) and then walk into the room as the calm and confident pastor that people are looking for.

In the military, when we need to conduct a death notification, all the principal actors gather in a room to make sure we are ready. Then, the notifying officer and the chaplain get in the vehicle to head to the house of the next of kin. It’s at that point that my heart begins beating heavily and my throat goes dry. But it’s important for me to remember that while I’ve done this before, the guy next to me, the guy who is about to actually pronounce the notification, has never done this before. So I remember my four lessons, I remind myself to provide pastoral care to him, and we do our job. Numerous times I’ve had notification officers say to me, “I don’t know how you kept so calm in there.” It’s their way of saying, “Thanks. The fact that you had it together helped me keep it together.”

Of course, we do none of this alone. As pastors and chaplains, we serve a unique role of representing Christ to others in their hardest moments. He does not leave us to do these things of our own accord. The calling to care comes from Him. Knowing when to speak, when to listen, when to visit—these things come from our pastoral intuition given to us by Him. And being the calming presence in the worst of times springs up from a peace given to us by Him. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 4:7, ESV).

Chaplain (Captain) Patrick Lowthian, Chaplain, U.S. Army, received an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell and served for four years as pastor of First Baptist Church, Crestline, CA, before becoming an Active Duty Army Chaplain. Originally ordained through the American Baptist Churches—USA, Pacific Southwest Region, his current ordination is through Transformation Ministries. He is endorsed to be

an Army chaplain by the National Association of Evangelicals. Stationed at Fort Meade, MD, he has been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

chaplain (captain) patrick lowthian (m.div. ’01)

ALUMNIon hope

Knowing the Lord in prayer, believing the Scriptures and fellowshipping in Christ’s Church make all the difference in the world when facing life’s greatest challenges.

Dr. Terri Fox had given her life to Christ, had joined His Church, had learned how to trust Him in prayer, had studied His Word–even committing to memory Paul’s letter to the Philippians. But she had no idea how God would one day use all of those things in a powerful way.

She and her husband, Roy, have three children: Roy, Jr., Meredith and Margaux. On September 15, 2009, they sent their girls off to school (Roy, Jr. was away at university), not knowing that this day would forever change their lives.

It was a clear day in Memphis, TN. Meredith, a beautiful, five-foot tall student at Evangelical Christian School, a strong believer and an active participant at Second Presbyterian Church, was riding home from school with some friends. Suddenly, they experienced a freak torrential rainstorm that was gone as quickly as it had come. But during those few stormy moments their car flew out of control.

When parents Terri and Roy first heard that Meredith was in an accident, they assumed everyone was okay. But for two hours they called various emergency rooms in town trying to locate Meredith, all with no success, until one of the emergency personnel suggested, “You’ll need to call the police department.” Roy and Terri knew exactly what that meant. In a few moments they received the visit every parent fears, as the Memphis Police Department patrol car pulled up to their house. Lieutenant Simon spoke gently: “We’re sorry. Your daughter has been killed. She didn’t suffer. She died instantly.”

For most people, this would be a devastating moment from which there would be no recovery. But for those who know the Lord, there is an alien strength and comfort we receive. Hear how Terri Fox speaks of her experience: “From the beginning when I received the news from Lt. Simon that Meredith was dead, I felt ‘the peace that passeth all understanding.’ I knew that life would never be the same for our family again, but I could feel what it meant to have the Holy Spirit giving me the strength, composure and ability…to talk to the hundreds of people who came to comfort us at our house.”

The funeral was an enormous expression of love for Meredith, and a massive outpouring of sympathy from all over the city for Meredith’s family. But after everyone had gone home and fallen asleep, the Foxes had to face the quiet, lonely terror of their new nightmare. For many nights they cried themselves to sleep, or just cried themselves into the next morning. Terri struggled with the thoughts and feelings of a devastated mother: “I don’t want to be the mother of a deceased daughter,” she said. “I don’t want to have to cling to Romans 8:28…I want to go to bed and never get up…I don’t want to do anything.”

But no matter how severely or frequently her soul would

feel despair, the Lord would always bring to mind His Word. Terri says that the wonderful words she had memorized in Philippians especially comforted her:

“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (1:21).“I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing

greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8).“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”

(4:13).Reflecting on her family’s experience, Terri says, “I have

learned…since Meredith’s death …that answers to my questions can be found in the Bible, and…[that] God does answer prayer. We don’t always get what we want, but He knows what we need, and [what] we don’t. I have grown so much spiritually since Meredith died…and give all glory to God for what has happened in my life…I know it is only…the power of the Holy Spirit working in me that gives me the hope that I have.”

Terri has also found that God has now given her new ways to encourage others. Recently, she spoke to 400 of our women at a special luncheon to encourage them to look to the Lord in prayer and in His Word during their trials. “People ask me how I could go on like I did with my daily activities and work and my answer was always, ‘I just think about where she is and who she is with. What place could be better than Heaven?’”

People in our city and church still can’t fathom why the Lord chose to take Meredith home at the age of 14, or why the Fox family would experience such devastating pain. But we now know, more than ever, how deeply God cares for His suffering children, and how powerfully He meets us in prayer, His Word and among His people.

We thank Terri and her family for being His special messengers to us.

Rev. Sanders L. (Sandy) Willson (M.Div. ‘82), D.D., Senior Minister of Second Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN, since 1995, is co-founder of the Memphis Center for Urban Theological Studies; co-founder/chair of a leadership mentoring program and a unified evangelical church ministry strategy for the city; a founder of a regional church planting ministry; and a co-founder/ board member of the Second

Presbyterian Church Foundation for missions. He serves on the boards of The Gospel Coalition and World Relief, and the Board of Reference for Union University and Reformed Theological Seminary. Weekly, he teaches 500 men at Amen Bible Study, and his Sunday messages are broadcast on WREG TV. Sandy also ministers with partners in Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East, and speaks regularly in North American churches on world missions. He and his wife, Allison, have five children, three daughters-in-law, a son-in-law, and four grandchildren.

Hope When the Unthinkable Happens

sanders (sandy) willson (m.div. ’82, d.d.)

ALUMNIon hope


How does one talk about hope in the midst of grief and loss? Where does hope reside?

I ask myself these questions (and many others) in the wake of losing my husband of 17 years on March 2, 2011. An early morning phone call from across the country brought me the news. My husband whom I met at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—my husband who had shared a life with me of ups and downs, joys and sorrows, “for better and for worse”—my husband who had just celebrated his 47th birthday—had suffered cardiac arrest and was not expected to live.

Frantic plans were enacted to get me on the first available flight back home. The almost six hour flight stretched on interminably, and the news that greeted me upon arrival was not welcome. While the medics were able to finally re-start his heart, it came 50 minutes too late. A battery of neurological tests presented conclusive, consistent evidence that my husband’s brain function was lost as a result of oxygen deprivation. Machines kept his heart beating and his lungs breathing. Once the decision was made to remove him from those machines, he breathed his last, labored breath an hour and 45 minutes later.

A lifetime was over in 105 minutes. Not only had his life ended, but the life we shared together ended as well.

My new companion is grief. Grief accompanies me through all the “little deaths” I now endure. There are the obvious deaths; anniversaries, birthdays and holidays are now reminders of who is lost, rather than events to be celebrated. I lost my conversation partner, my helper, the one whose breathing was a constant sound in the bed next to me. What I didn’t anticipate was the death I experience in the smallest of tasks. Easily overwhelmed by duties I used to “multi-task,” I find myself confused and flustered, forgetting what was once at the forefront of my mind.

Tasks like going to the grocery store—once a shared event filled with the anticipation of new adventures in cooking—now provoke tears and raise questions that mock my new status as a widow. Just who am I shopping for now? Finishing the last of the coffee filters he had purchased and used each morning to make our coffee signals another death. Foregoing the former pleasure of making and eating pizza together on Friday nights reminds me of how often I now eat alone. Seeing our “pairs” of mugs in the cupboard triggers pain. The dishes we received as wedding gifts are constant reminders of all the meals and celebrations shared with family and friends. Now they largely sit in the cupboard unused and seemingly unnecessary. The eventual distribution of his things looms over me like a specter. The reminders of my husband’s absence conspire against hope. Death and disorientation seem to pervade my very existence, carving a large, hollow cavern in my soul.

As I traverse this undesirable landscape of grief, and even as I feel abandoned by the hope I once had, I sometimes catch myself looking for signs of life and of what remains. The birds in my yard seem to pay special attention to me. My flower garden returns year after year with the blooms and fragrance of roses, lavender, peonies and dahlias. The beauty of creation around me remains and endures.

My quotidian tasks and duties hold me in a routine as regular as breathing. I get up and still make coffee. I weed my garden, and take my dogs for their walks. The clothes eventually must be washed and the house kept up a bit. All of these routines—done

while my husband was alive—remain. And though they are viewed through the scrim of grief as I must do them alone now, they have a surprising power to hold me, to steady me, to keep me, like the constancy of an ancient liturgy. Indeed, they offer faint glimmers of hope that life goes on and endures. While more often than not this thought that my life endures without my husband brings on a weary longing, there is perhaps the hope that one day life will have just as much joy as sorrow.

Poet and author Wendell Berry summarizes this hope in a poem from his Sabbaths 2009 collection. He begins with a quote by William Faulkner. “‘Maybe,’ Mr. Ernest said, ‘The best word in our language, the best of all.’” Berry then proceeds to describe a bookkeeper tallying all the suffering and pain in one column of his ledger, everything he now knows of cruelty and grief, meanness and greed and loss. He reckons these figures in their great weight, though he has no means of truly weighing them. Then he enters all he knows of the opposite decree—of beauty and love, generosity and grace and laughter. And he weighs these unweighable figures as well, knowing they can simply register on his heart. He closes the book, not able to say which outweighs the other—good or evil—though he longs to know. Berry concludes with the bookkeeper’s ponderings:

He only can suppose the things of goodness, the most momentary, are in themselves so whole, so bright, as to redeem the darkness and trouble of the world though we set it all afire. “Maybe,” the bookkeeper says. “Maybe.” For he knows that in a time gone mad for certainty, “maybe” gives room to live and move and be.

Novelist Marilynne Robinson describes one of her broken heroines clinging to a similar maybe. In pain at the loss of her feckless husband, the grandmother of Housekeeping watches the wind fill the sheets she is hanging out to dry and is suddenly relieved by the billowing promise of spring, by the resurrection in the ordinary. In a time mad for certainty, this is my hopeful routine. Editor’s Note: Margaret Manning’s late husband, Sonny Manning, graduated from Gordon-Conwell in 1994 with an MA in Social Ethics.

Rev. Margaret Manning (M.Div., ’96) is writer/speaker for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, in Norcross, GA. An ordained minister, she previously served in pastoral roles focusing on teaching, discipleship, spiritual formation and pastoral care and counseling. Rev. Manning is passionate about communicating the gospel in ways that engage both heart and mind. Her relational teaching style in addressing the critical intersection between Christian faith and

life highlights her emphasis on conversational apologetics. She enjoys reading and research in topics related to world religions, philosophical theology, science and faith, biblical hermeneutics and theology in the arts. In her free time, Margaret also enjoys travel, gardening, hiking, biking, walking and taking care of her two dogs. She currently resides in Seattle, WA.

Incredibly Faithful Folks

KURT DRESChER

R ecently, our advancement team conducted some thoughtful analysis of giving at Gordon-Conwell. It was an inspiring and hope-filled exercise. As you might imagine, woven throughout Gordon-Conwell’s

history are wonderful stories of incredibly generous and sacrificial people and their gifts. You would likely recognize the names of some of our donors, because their substantial giving helped create our seminary, or kept us going at a time of great need, or funded a building or made possible a major initiative that had tan-gible impact on our students and seminary community. We are deeply grateful for these sacrificial gifts from dear friends, and I do not know what we would do without their meaningful partnerships with the seminary.

Our analysis also stunned us, reveal-ing another group of people who stood out, not always because of the size of their gifts, but because of their regular, faithful and loyal giving to the seminary. Frankly, some of the information we dis-covered is downright astounding and heartwarming. If the first category of people I mentioned would be considered

“Significant Partners,” then this second group should be known as the “Incredibly Faithful Folks.” It is important to note that there are friends of the seminary who fit into both categories.

Almost half of our donors are par-ticipating in our Partnership Program, contributing on a regular basis, multiple times per year. The Partnership Program addresses the financial needs of our stu-dents who have been called to ministry, but simply cannot afford the tuition. The program is designed to equip our stu-dents for Kingdom work while relieving the worry of educational debt. We are deeply grateful for these partnerships and continue to see God working in a significant way through our Partnership Program graduates.

There is a fairly significant group of people who have faithfully contributed to the seminary for 10 or more consec-utive years. Add to that number some folks who have faithfully contributed, but might have missed one year along the way, and we are talking about one incredibly faithful group of people.

If we expand the scope to five or more consecutive years, the number of donors almost doubles. This is a very significant fact and one that should never be over-looked. The commitment of these friends both encourages us and demonstrates tangibly the faithfulness of the Gordon-Conwell family.

Even more astounding is that within this group of “Incredibly Faithful Folks” is a small group of donors who have con-tributed to Gordon-Conwell every year since 1984—the year when the seminary first started keeping electronic records. I dare say if we had the manpower to dig through the archived paper files, we would discover that many of these relationships go back even further than that.

There is still another group of donors who have given more than 200 gifts to the seminary, including one couple who has written out 331 checks to Gordon-Conwell— virtually a check every single month since 1984. Think about that for a moment. This couple sat down at their table, wrote out a check, put it in an en-velope, addressed and stamped that en-velope and mailed a gift to the seminary 331 times. That overwhelms us, speak-ing of a level of stewardship that deeply honors their commitment to Christ and the Kingdom work that we are doing at our seminary.

One of the facts I find most encouraging is that faithful folks cover the whole spec-trum of the Gordon-Conwell community:

alums, trustees, friends, faculty, staff and churches. In challenging financial times, when budgets are the topic of many dis-cussions and development folks can start to get a little discouraged, we find hope from the way our great God has used His faithful folks to support our ongoing work. Their giving really matters.

If you are reading this and thinking, “My small gift would not matter,” let me encourage you with some basic math. If 2,000 of our alums and friends gave or in-creased their giving by $20/month over a five year period, those additional gifts would total $2.4 million. Regular giving can make a significant difference for the Kingdom.

These Kingdom investments help to produce thoughtfully evangelical, bibli-cally-grounded leaders for the Church and society. I say with a grateful heart that our “Incredibly Faithful Folks” and their stories inspire me, and I hope they inspire you. To our great God be the glory for the great work He has done through their steadfast, sacrificial giving.

Kurt W. Drescher is

the Vice President

of Advancement at

Gordon-Conwell. He is

an active member of

Grace Chapel, where

he serves on the Board

of Overseeing Elders. Kurt, his wife Sharon

and their two daughters live in Reading, MA.

seminary news

margaret manning (m.div., ’96)

Of Routine & Resurrect ion

ALUMNIon hope


Assistant Professor of Preaching and Ministry

M atthew D. Kim, Ph.D. will join Gordon-Conwell Theological

Seminary in Fall 2012 as Assistant Professor of Preaching and Ministry.

Dr. Kim is currently Senior Pastor of Logos Central Chapel in Denver, CO, and also teaches preaching courses as an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary, Littleton, CO. In 2002, he served as youth

pastor at the Korean Church of Boston in Brookline, MA. In ad-dition, he has been a mentor for the Doctor of Ministry track in Pastoral Skills at Gordon-Conwell’s Charlotte, NC, campus, was the Burnett H. and Dorothy F. Sams Visiting Professor at the South Hamilton campus in January 2008, and was an adjunct professor at that campus in spring 2006.

In addition to an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell, he also holds an M.Th. in Christian Ethics and Practical Theology

and Ph.D. in Homiletics and Practical Theology from the University of Edinburgh in England.

Dr. Kim is the author of two books, 7 Lessons for New Pastors: Your First Year in Ministry, and Preaching to Second Generation Korean Americans: Towards a Possible Selves Contextual Homiletic.

He has written numerous journal articles, book chapters and book reviews, and his sermons have appeared in Preaching Today Online, Preaching, The Preacher and The College of Preachers Journal.

He speaks or preaches often at conferences, retreats and churches. He is currently president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society, and a member of the Academy of Homiletics.

“Dr. Kim is a welcomed addition to the Preaching faculty at GCTS,” says Provost Dr. Frank James. “His pastoral experience will provide our students with a wise mentor and an able guide to pastoral ministry as well as help shape them as preachers of the Gospel.”

Associate Professor of Pastoral Leadership and Evangelism

R ev. Dr. Jim. M. Singleton, Jr., has been named Associate Professor of

Pastoral Leadership and Evangelism at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, effective Fall 2012.

Dr. Singleton comes to Gordon-Conwell with extensive pastoral and academic experience. Since 1991, he has served in Presbyterian churches in Texas,

Washington and Colorado. His most recent position has been as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, CO, a downtown church of 4,200 members. Since 1986, he has taught at various colleges and theological schools, nationally and internationally, most recently at Fuller Theological Seminary.

Dr. Singleton has a heart for missions, having participated in missions work in 11 nations, and he has a passion for helping equip congregations to better fulfill their global mission. His writ-ings include the essay “The Great Commission or Omission” in A Passion for the Gospel: Confessing Jesus Christ for the 21st Century. Dr. Singleton holds an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary and a Th.D. from Boston University School of Theology.

“Dr. Jim Singleton is a leader,” says Provost Frank James. “He brings years of senior pastoral ministry to GCTS and reinforces our commitment to preparing women and men for the Church. He is a thoughtful evangelical with a heart for evangelism, and we are glad he is joining the Gordon-Conwell family.”

Assistant Dean of Jacksonville Campus

D r. Ryan Reeves has been appointed Assistant Dean of the Jacksonville

campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Dr. Reeves, who is also Assistant Professor of Historical Theology, had pre-viously served as Assistant to the Dean at Gordon-Conwell—Jacksonville.

Dr. Reeves received his Ph.D. in Church History from the University of Cambridge. His research interests include political theology and ecclesiology during the Reformation, specifically political obedience and resistance theory. In 2009, he was awarded the Archbishop Cranmer Prize.

He also studied at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, where he received an MA in Theological Studies and an M.Div.

As a student, he served as Research Fellow and Editor at Teleios Research Institute, a non-profit organization, where he created teaching curricula for use in churches and seminaries worldwide. He has guest lectured at Cambridge University and Reformed Theological Seminary.

The Jacksonville campus has grown steadily since its founding in 2006. It is fully accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, has expanded its office and classroom space, developed a library of more than 13,000 volumes, and currently participates in a library consortium. The campus’ second class graduated in May 2011, and students from as far away as Panama City and the Bahamas have benefited from the flexible weekend and one-week intensive classes.

www.gordonconwell .edu /contactmagazine 27

seminary news

New Dean of Boston Campus

Gordon-Conwell has appointed Dr. Mark Harden as the new Dean of the

seminary’s Boston campus (CUME). He has been serving in his new role since January.

Dr. Harden brings to his new position visionary leadership and more than 20 years of combined leadership experience in community service ministry and grad-

uate theological education, as well as international and cross-cultural experience in Croatia and South Africa. Prior to joining Gordon-Conwell, he spent a decade serving with distinction at Bethel Seminary, most recently as Dean of Intercultural Relations, Degree Program Director, and Lead Faculty Instructor for Bethel Seminary’s Community Ministry Leadership program.

An ordained Baptist minister, Dr. Harden has served in various pastoral roles since 1983. He has also been involved in curriculum

development and is an experienced speaker. He holds a D.Phil. from Michigan State University and an MA from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

“We are grateful that Dr. Harden has agreed to join the GCTS family,” says Provost Frank James. “His visionary leadership is obvious to all, and we look forward to his contributions to our community.”

Dr. Harden replaces Dr. Dwight Jessup, who served as Interim Dean of CUME for eight months. Dr. Jessup brought to the posi-tion many years of experience as an academic administrator and was a valuable contributor to the mission of CUME.

The Boston campus of Gordon-Conwell, known as the Center for Urban Ministerial Education (CUME), was founded in 1976 to provide ministerial training for ethnic minority pastors and Church leaders in Boston and throughout the United States.

Interim Dean at Hamilton Campus

G ordon Isaac, Ph.D., Berkshire Associate Professor of Advent Christian Studies

at Gordon-Conwell, has been named Interim Dean for the Hamilton campus of Gordon-Conwell. He is replacing Dr. Carol Kaminski, who stepped down from her position to return to the classroom as Associate Professor of Old Testament.

Dr. Isaac is an expert in Reformation studies and Martin Luther. Until 2002, he was the Associate Editor of Luther Digest and has read papers on Luther at the Sixteenth-Century Studies Conference, The Lutheran Seminary in Kobe, Japan, and at the International

Luther Congress. He has also traveled on occasion to Germany to study and research.

Dr. Isaac is active in the Advent Christian denomination and has served as Interim Pastor at Advent Christian churches in Massachusetts and Maine. He earned an M.Div. from Western Evangelical Theological Seminary, an M.Th. from Luther Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Marquette University.

The seminary will be conducting a new VP for Academic Affairs/Dean of the Hamilton Campus search, and Dr. Isaac will serve in an interim capacity during the search process. Dr. Gary Pratico, Senior Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Language at Gordon-Conwell, will serve as Special Advisor to the Hamilton Dean during this interim period.

Rockefeller Chair in New Testament Studies

E ckhard J. Schnabel, Ph.D., has been named the Mary F. Rockefeller

Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He will assume his new posi-tion in Fall 2012.

Since 1998, Dr. Schnabel has served on the faculty of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL, currently as Professor

of New Testament. He has also served as chair of the New Testament department at Freie Theologische Akademie, Giessen, Germany; as Program Director, Th.M. in Biblical Studies, at Asia Graduate School of Theology, Manila, Philippines; and as a professor at Wiedenest Bible College, Bergneustadt, Germany, and Asian Theological Seminary, Manila. He has also been a Visiting Lecturer or Visiting Professor at theological schools in Poland, Belgium, Philippines, Germany, Canada, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, China.

In addition, he has served as a missionary with Overseas

Missionary Fellowship in Manila, and with Operation Mobilisation in Latin America and Europe, and was in preaching and/or teach-ing ministries at churches in Germany, Scotland and Illinois.

He holds a Lic. Theol. (Th.M.), from Staatsunabhängige Theologische Hochschule, Basel, Switzerland, and a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Dr. Schnabel is the author of a number of books, including the two-volume Early Christian Mission, Law and Wisdom from Ben Sira to Paul and a commentary on First Corinthians. He has also co-edited or served in editorial capacities for additional publica-tions and is widely published in academic journals.

According to Provost Dr. Frank James, “Dr. Schnabel is a scholar of remarkable diversity. He is not only a noted NT scholar who has written the definitive work on Christian Mission in the NT, but he also brings a global perspective, having served on academic facul-ties in his native Germany, the Philippines, Latin America, Hong Kong, as well as the U.S. Dr. Schnabel’s international experience no doubt will serve our students well in our globalized world.”

seminary news


Charlotte Campus Hosts Traveling Exhibit of Biblical Artifacts

G ordon-Conwell Theological Seminary—Charlotte recently hosted a major traveling display of ancient bib-lical manuscripts and rare printed biblical materials as the centerpiece of its yearlong 20th anniversary

celebration. Entitled The Museum of the Bible, this February 10–13 exhibit showcased artifacts handpicked espe-cially for Gordon-Conwell from The Green Collection. Pieces included rare and never before seen biblical artifacts that demonstrate the composition, transmission and preservation of the Bible. Highlights of the exhibit featured the following treasures:

The earliest text of Hebrews, from chapter 11, recently discovered and recovered using new technology. Codex Climaci Rescriptus, the earliest surviving New Testament written in Jesus’ house-hold language of Palestinian Aramaic. A wide variety of ancient scrolls, biblical papyri and biblical manuscripts, including some of the earliest known manuscripts of Scripture. A display of major English Bibles through the emergence of the King James Bible and important early American Bibles. And rare printed items, includ-ing Bibles and historical items from the Reformation.

The Green Collection, named for the David Green family—founders and leaders of the national retailer Hobby Lobby, Inc.—consists of more than 44,000 biblical artifacts, including North America’s third-largest holding of cuneiform tablets, the second largest holding of Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts outside muse-ums in Israel and Jordan, the largest holding of biblical papyri in North America, extensive early biblical manuscripts, codices and many illuminated texts, and a portion of the Gutenberg Bible and multiple first editions of the English Bible through the King James Version.

With 3,000 people in attendance, the weekend also featured special talks by Dr. Scott Carroll, Director of The Green Collection and a noted scholar of ancient and medieval manuscripts. The highlight of these talks was the annual Cooley Lecture. Entitled Ancient Mummies and New Technologies: Resurrecting the Lost Words of the Bible, the lecture addressed new discoveries and techniques that are impacting biblical studies.

“The seminary was thrilled to host this incredible exhibit for the greater Charlotte community,” said Charlotte Academic Dean Dr. Tim Laniak. “The selections from The Green Collection provided an astounding opportunity for visitors to understand the history of the world’s most important book, with many ancient scrolls and manuscripts that have never been seen before on display.”

Dr. Catherine McDowell, Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Charlotte, said of the exhibit, “One of the greatest joys of being an Old Testament professor is to see my students light up with excitement over the Bible. When Dr. Carroll unrolled the Torah scrolls and let my students touch them, examine them and even read from them for themselves, the looks on their faces were ones of wonder, awe and amazement. I am praying that the enthusi-asm generated for God’s word during the Museum of the Bible exhibit would spark revival in my students’ hearts and minds, and that it would spill over into their own ministries.”

One of the most memorable moments of the weekend for Exhibit Coordinator Beth McKnight was at the end of a long and busy day. “Escala, the GCTS cleaning lady from Eritrea, was brought in by one of the staff to see the Bible written in Ge’ez, her native language,” McKnight shared. “Her adult nephew…agreed to read the Bible out loud, which he did in a quiet voice, then left to resume his cleaning. Escala was sent to ask if he would read it again on camera. This time a transformation took place. Suddenly standing straighter, he read in a strong, clear voice, looking up now and again toward the camera. He was proclaiming the Word of God. It didn’t matter that I could not understand him. Just see-ing his face and his pride in what he was doing brought tears to my eyes. How much it meant to them that this Bible was in a museum exhibit!”

Charlotte faculty and staff recall many similar moments of in-spiration and awe vocalized by viewers of the collection, especially the ancient Torah manuscript salvaged from the Holocaust. “Do you know how many souls were lost to preserve these documents?” an elderly man commented. “What are we doing to pass it on?”

Special thanks to The Green Collection for letting Gordon-Conwell—Charlotte help share this living legacy.

seminary news

28 SPRING ’11

seminary news

National Preaching Conference, September 6–7

The center for preaching at gordon-conwell—hamilton will host its biennial National Preaching Conference September 6–7. Entitled “The Sufficiency of Christ,” the conference will promote preaching ex-

cellence by modeling biblical preaching and equipping ministers with practical skills for proclaiming God’s Word.

Speakers will include:Haddon W. Robinson, Ph.D., the

Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching. Named among Christianity Today International’s Top 25 Most Influential Preachers from 1956-2006, he is the co-host of Discover the Word, a radio program broadcasting 600 times a day internationally, and has au-thored several books including Biblical Preaching, Trusting the Shepherd and Biblical Sermons.

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D., Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament Emeritus and President Emeritus. He served as the seminary’s President from 1997-2006, and is the au-thor of many books, including Messiah in the Old Testament and The Majesty of God in the Old Testament.

Kevin DeYoung, M.Div. ’02., Senior Pastor at University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI. A popular blogger, he is also the author of Just Do Something and co-author of Why We Love the Church.

Ramesh Richard, Th.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pastoral Ministries and Global Theological Engagement at Dallas Theological Seminary, and founder and president of a global proclamation orga-nization reaching leaders worldwide. He is the author of Soul Mission, Soul Vision, Soul Passion and Preparing Evangelistic Sermons, among others.

David Wells, Ph.D., Distinguished Senior Research Professor and a Rafiki Foundation board member. He is the author of many publications, including No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland and Above All Earthly Pow’rs. He is cur-rently turning his last five books into a film project.

Winfred Neely, D.Min., Professor of Pastoral Studies at Moody Bible Institute. Dr. Neely is the author of Sermons that Move and Applying Scripture to Contemporary Life. He was also former-ly a missionary to Senegal, West Africa.

Special Events:Alumni Hall Dedication, September 6–7

Pre-Conference D.Min. Post-Doctorate Seminar, Thursday, September 6

Luncheon & Formal Dedication with Special Guests, Friday, September 7

For more information and to register, visit www.gordonconwell.edu/preachingconference.

Personal Collection of Noted Scholar Dedicated at Charlotte Campus

A collection of books from the library of leading biblical

scholar and Charlotte native, Dr. Ben Witherington III, was dedi-cated to its new home at Gordon-Conwell—Charlotte at a chapel service on December 2, 2011.

Dr. Witherington, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury

Theological Seminary, is one of the top evangelical biblical scholars in the world. He is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland, and has taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington

has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings nationally and internationally.

Often interviewed by the media, Dr. Witherington has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E and the PAX Network. He has writ-ten more than 40 books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. Dr. Witherington holds an M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England.

The Witherington Collection, consisting of 4,500 books, joins the Robert C. Cooley Collection among the specialized resourc-es of the Robert C. Cooley Center for Early Christianity at the Charlotte campus. The Center is dedicated to exploring the historical foundations of the Christian faith.


GCTS Global Education

seminary news

30 SPRING ’11

Full-Tuition Scholarship Program

Gordon-conwell is now offering a

full-tuition scholarship program to incoming students. A revamped version of the school’s Partnership Program, this scholarship is de-signed to provide stu-dents with a high-quali-ty theological education while relieving the bur-den of educational debt.

Through the Partnership Program, students bring to semi-nary a network of friends, family and a sending church that

provides prayer and financial support as they prepare academi-cally and spiritually for future Christian service.

In addition, as a part of their curriculum, students gain practical ministry skills, receive education and experience in applying biblical stewardship principles, and participate in discipleship training—all important for future service in church, parachurch and evangelistic ministries, on the mis-sion field and in numerous other areas of Christian leadership.

Originally started in 2004, the Partnership Program was designed partially in response to two Lilly Endowment studies, The Reluctant Steward and The Reluctant Steward Revisited. These reports researched the difficulty ministers have discuss-ing money and stewardship with their congregations. Through Gordon-Conwell’s program, students graduate with the tools needed to practice biblical stewardship personally, as well as to teach it to their churches and ministries.

For more information, visit www.gordonconwell.edu/partnership.

seminary news

New Doctor of Ministry Track in Missions

In january 2013, gordon-conwell will begin offering a new Doctor of Ministry

(D.Min.) track in missions. Entitled Global Christianity and World Evangelization, this track will equip Christian leaders with the global expertise they need to face the challenges of crossing cultures, dealing

with different governments and relating to Christians in various denominations and languages.

The program will focus on the practical outworking of leading Great Commission organizations–missions, evangelism, develop-ment and leadership–and how to multiply global leadership in the Church.

“Dramatic changes in the world in the past 30 years require a fresh understanding and ap-proach to Christian mission, in-tegrating leadership, global/local identity and development,” says

Dr. Todd Johnson, Associate Professor of Global Christianity and Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell. “This track address-es the new context with philosophical depth and practical wisdom drawn from

the best practices of the global Christian community.”

Mentors for the track include Dr. Johnson and Dr. S. Douglas Birdsall, Director of the J Christy Wilson Jr. Center for World Missions at Gordon-Conwell.

Widely accomplished in the demo-graphic study of Christianity and world religions, Dr. Johnson serves as editor of the World Christian Database and co-ed-its the World Religion Database at www.worldreligiondatabase.org. Dr. Birdsall is International Chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. From 1991 to 2007, he presided over Asian Access/Life Ministries, an organization that focuses on evangelism and church multiplication.

COMPASS: Immersed for one month, mentored for three years, changed for life

A select group of high school students from across the country are coming to Gordon-

Conwell this summer as part of the seminary’s COMPASS leadership program for high school students. These students will embark on the Real Ministry Immersion (RMI), an amazing month-long journey designed to encourage and inspire young Christian leaders on a path of vocational discernment and spiritual formation. Together

they will study theology, backpack mountains and travel overseas—all in one month’s time—and then be mentored as they set the course for the rest of their lives.

It’s not too early to nominate youth for the 2013 cohort. Call 978.646.4167, email [email protected] and visit www.gcts.edu/compass.

Trip Recap: Paul & His LettersDates: June 14–July 3, 2011 Countries: Greece & TurkeyProfessor: Dr. Sean McDonough

In summer 2011, Gordon-Conwell students took part in a Global Education course in Greece and Turkey to study Paul

& His Letters. Led by Dr. Sean McDonough, Professor of New Testament, the course enabled students to better understand the historical backdrop of Hellenistic Judaism and the distinct themes of Paul’s letters in the context of his missionary jour-neys in Acts.

“Part of the goal for the course is to show Paul in the real world—not what I call the ‘flanograph universe’ or ‘Bible-land,’ but the actual world we live in,” says McDonough. Students stood on the very foundation where Paul and Silas were imprisoned, walked in the footsteps of Paul at Mars Hill and visited the ancient cities of Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi and Thessaloniki.

“[The trip] made Paul a real person, someone I could relate to,” says MACO student Joanne Yen. Another participant, MACO student Lauren Murphey, says, “To actually worship in the same places where people thousands of years ago worshipped was amazing. I would have missed out on that had I just been in the classroom.” The trip was supported by Gordon-Conwell alum Rev. Dr. David Sparks, whose wife Elizabeth is a Greek national. The Sparks have been leading pilgrimages to Greece for over 17 years.

Upcoming Trip: Seminar in Israel & JordanDates: January 8–25, 2013 Countries: Israel & JordanProfessor: Dr. Jim Critchlow

The study seminar in Israel and Jordan will give students the opportunity to experience new richness and depth in

their ministries and in their personal walks with Christ as they encounter firsthand the roots of their faith.

“This course is not just an academic course or a review of archaeology, but much more than that. It is a return to our roots, a return to our faith,” says Dr. Critchlow, Ranked Adjunct Assistant Professor in Old Testament.

The course will emphasize those places and experiences that bring the biblical story to life. Activities will include following the Israelite journey to the Promised Land, crossing the Jordan River into Israel, exploring Jerusalem and Bethlehem, holding a baptism service in the Jordan and partaking in a communion service at Calvary. As part of the course, participants will also assist at an archaeological dig by removing and sorting rubble taken from the Temple Mount.

Dr. Critchlow has spent time living in Jerusalem and participated in the archaeological dig at Robinson’s Wall in Jerusalem.


Charles “Chuck” Colson

The Gordon-Conwell community is saddened by the loss of Charles “Chuck” Colson, a faithful servant of the Lord and seminary Trustee since 1999.

Colson was the founder and Chairman of the Board for Prison Fellowship, a ministry that reaches prisoners, ex-prisoners and families of prisoners in the U.S. and in 112 countries world-wide. Committed to proclaiming the redemptive and healing love of Christ to inmates, Colson’s ministry developed out of his personal testimony of being incarcerated for Watergate-related charges while working as Special Counsel for former President Richard Nixon. When Colson became a Christian in 1973 before serving seven months in the federal Maxwell Prison in Alabama, he resolved to use his experience to rehabilitate the lost and broken.

Since its beginnings, Prison Fellowship has worked to revive neglected communities shattered by crime, and has led hun-dreds of thousands of inmates to Christ through biblically-based teaching, in-prison seminars and Bible studies.

Colson was also a syndicated columnist, international speaker and author of 15 books. His daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint, reached eight million people weekly. He received 15 honorary doctorates and was awarded the $1 million Templeton Prize in 1993 for making an “exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” Colson donated all of his speaking fees, awards and royalties to further the work of Prison Fellowship.

The Colson Lectureship on Christian Worldview at Gordon-Conwell, named in his honor, educates and equips students to engage in thoughtful dialogue, discipleship and scholarship on various worldviews and cultures.

Chuck received a B.A. from Brown University (’53) and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University (’59). He served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Administrative Assistant to U.S. Senator Leverett Saltonstall before joining Gadsby and Hannah Law Firm in 1961, where he became a partner.

Colson, who was 80, died in his home in Reston, Virginia on April 21, 2012, from com-plications after undergoing sur-gery to remove a blood clot on the surface of his brain. He is sur-vived by his wife, Patty, three grown children and five grandchildren.

in memoriam

Rev. Granville Reed

Rev. granville reed, iii, a founding member of Gordon-Conwell—Jacksonville’s Board of Advisors and a promi-

nent African Methodist Episcopal pastor, died peacefully in Jacksonville, FL, May 21, 2011, at the age of 73.

“Granville was the gentle giant of our Board of Advisors from the earliest days of Gordon-Conwell—Jacksonville,” Dr. Ryan Reeves, Assistant Dean of Gordon-Conwell—Jacksonville and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology, says. “He has been a source of strength and encouragement to me personally and to all the staff and fellow board members at Gordon-Conwell. I will miss our frequent conversations about how the seminary can best serve the church in North Florida.”

Rev. Reed sat on Gordon-Conwell—Jacksonville’s Board of Advisors since the seminary’s fourth campus was founded in 2006. While on that board, he advised on the growth and de-velopment of the campus over its first five years and actively fostered a close relationship between Gordon-Conwell and the AME denomination in Jacksonville. Rev. Reed was also a strong

advocate for locating the seminary in downtown Jacksonville, so that it could more effectively connect with churches of all racial, social and economic settings.

At his death, Rev. Reed was a member of the Judicial Council of the AME church and Pastor of Mount Olive AME Church, Jacksonville, FL. He joined the ministry in 1972 and served a total of 17 churches. His work focused on pastoral care and counsel-ing, as well as ministry to prisoners and those with HIV/AIDS. Rev. Reed was known for his kindness, interdenominational work and frequent mentoring of younger pastors.

Prior to entering the ministry, Rev. Reed worked in journal-ism and was the first black host of a daily television talk show. Entitled “Kutana,” the show, which began in 1969, was directed toward an African-American audience and was one of the first such shows in Jacksonville.

Rev. Reed is survived by his wife, Ida Reed; his daughter, LaShane; a sister and two brothers; and grandchildren.

Spiritual Heritage Tour

seminary news

F rom June 3–5, 2011, friends of Gordon-Conwell explored the rich New England

spiritual heritage that has had such a pro-found influence on the seminary.

Led by Dr. Garth Rosell, Professor of Church History, the group visited historic landmarks like First Church in Ipswich, the Rebecca Nurse Meetinghouse in Danvers, Park Street Church in Boston and many of the sites along the Freedom Trail. Participants learned about the history and significance of each site, ate at famous restaurants, par-ticipated in daily devotions and attended special events such as breakfast at the home of Dennis and Mary Ann Hollinger and wor-ship at Park Street Church.

“No region of the country has been blessed with a richer or more diverse spiritual her-itage than has New England,” Rosell says.

“One could explore this region for an entire lifetime without ever exhausting the store-house of riches that can be found in such abundance in town after town and around virtually every curve in the road.”

The tour was part of a celebration of Rosell’s 2011 publication, Exploring New England’s Spiritual Heritage. The book takes contemporary pilgrims on a spiritual heri-tage tour through the sites and sounds of New England’s historic towns of Boston, Ipswich, Newburyport, Salem, Plimoth, Northfield and Northampton. With seven self-guided tours, full color maps, basic di-rections, and “Did you know” facts through-out each chapter, the book is an excellent resource for contemporary pilgrims living in or visiting this region.

To order your copy, visit http://store.gordonconwell.edu.100 percent of the proceeds support the ministry of the seminary.

Pulpit Rock, Rowley, MA.

"Old South" Presbyterian Church, Newburyport, MA.

Old Burial Ground, Ipswitch, MA.

34 Spr ing ’12 35www.gordonconwell .edu /contactmagazinewww.gordonconwell .edu /contactmagazine 35

Dr. ken swetland has served the seminary 40 years, currently as Senior Professor of Ministry; Senior Fellow, Ockenga Institute and Senior Mentor,

D.Min. Program. Through Oasis, a support ministry for alumni, Dr. Swetland provides individual and group counseling to pastors and other graduates who are facing a crisis, such as chronic conflict in the church, marital stress and moral failure. Oasis also provides support to pastors facing a transition, including examination of call, questions about whether to relocate, issues in facing retirement and others. He is the author of The Hidden World of the Pastor: Case Studies on Personal Issues of Real

Pastors (Baker, 1995) and Facing Messy Stuff in the Church: Case Studies for Pastors

and Congregations (Kregel, 2005).

What motivated you to write your books, Facing Messy Stuff in the Church and Hidden World of the Pastor?

When I first started teaching at Gordon-Conwell, I discovered that students need-ed to consider real life situations in or-der to apply their studies to real ministry situations. The case study method has a proven track record of doing that.

What is the case study method?

This method takes true stories and pres-ents each objectively without bringing a given issue to a conclusion. Students then discuss this issue with a facilitat-ing teacher to reach a resolution that is congruent with biblical teaching, pastoral wisdom and realities of human failures. Sometimes there is no one right option, so students can learn from one another about how best to address real-life issues, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit and God’s people.

Does a person have to have a counseling background to do this?

Not necessarily, but it might help. The case study method has been around a long time and has been used in schools of medicine, business and law as well as seminaries.

What can pastors do to prepare for ministry to people who face crisis situations?

The case study method can help pastors think in advance about how they would address people going through challenging times. Case studies can be read alone to one’s benefit. But they can also be used perhaps to greater benefit with a group of pastors discussing the issues. My convic-tion is that God’s spirit lives in His people and, therefore, there is a greater wisdom in the group than any one individual can have. Often someone else may have some biblical insight that I do not have that will help reach a resolution I may not have considered.

What are ways a seminary can prepare students to help people in their congregations who go through tragic times?

My observation is that our professors do an excellent job of making the subject mat-ter of their courses very relevant to the realities of a fallen world. The case study method is only one way to accomplish this. Faculty members are active in the life of the church and many are, or have been, pastors. They tell stories from their ministries that illustrate how their subject matter applies in a given situation. Gordon-Conwell some-times is accused of being overly academic, but the conviction of the faculty is that the

world today needs well-educated leaders who know how to apply God’s truth to life.

What prepared you best for helping people to have hope in difficult times?

The classical theological education that I received at Gordon Divinity School con-tinues to undergird my ministry practice today. Additional post-graduate studies as well as experience as a pastor helped equip me for a counseling ministry. Often people going through a difficult time feel either hopeless or helpless or both. While people need to understand past experi-ences that may contribute to present dif-ficulties, God can redeem the hurts others have done to us as well as mistakes we have made. But understanding that past is not where it ends. The past does not need to define us. Christian hope means that what will happen in the future with God is more important than what happened in the past. We have to help people see what is ahead in light of God’s present and always redeeming grace.

Interviews by Rhonda

Gibson (MAR ‘10), Director

of Alumni Services.

alumni profiles

Rich Van Pelt (M.Div. ‘73)

R ev. richard van pelt, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, is Director of Ministry Relationships with Compassion International

and President of Youth Ministry Without Borders. He is the author of Intensive

Care: Helping Teenagers in Crisis (Zondervan, 1988),The Youth Worker’s Guide to

Helping Teenagers in Crisis (Zondervan, 2005) and A Parent’s Guide to Helping

Teenagers in Crisis (Zondervan, 2007). Rich speaks globally on issues related to kids in crisis, poverty and world missions.

What was the trajectory into your current role?

I graduated from GCTS with a clear sense that God was calling me to a ministry with youth and their families. Following ordina-tion, I spent my first several years in voca-tional ministry in a Presbyterian church on Long Island, but quickly discerned that I was most passionate about reaching kids beyond the reach of the church. After a brief period of time as Director of a resi-dential facility for adolescent offenders in New Hampshire, Denver Area Youth for Christ invited me to move to Colorado to develop a citywide ministry to troubled youth. In Colorado, I met some of the folks at Compassion International who asked me to help write a curriculum for youth workers to use in educating kids about poverty and their responsibility as Christ-followers.

What prompted you to continue your involvement with Compassion?

The more I learned about extreme pov-erty and Compassion’s strategy to work in partnership with the local church to alleviate it, the more passionate I became about being an advocate for the poor and the ministry of Compassion. For a couple of decades, I leveraged the platform that God gave me to “speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves,” en-couraging people to practically respond by sponsoring Compassion kids. Then 15 years ago, Compassion invited me to come on board full-time.

how can the average layperson have an impact on poverty?

Someone said, “You can’t change the whole world, but you can change the world for one child.” Compassion addresses the problem of extreme poverty “one child at a time.” By choosing to sponsor a child, folks like you and me empower the Church in the developing world to feed, clothe, educate, provide medical care and share the good news of the Gospel with desper-ately needy children and youth.

In addition to meeting very practical needs, sponsors get to personally engage by writing letters and praying for their sponsored child on a regular basis. Many sponsors travel internationally to visit the child they sponsor. A recent article in Christianity Today (The Best Ways to Fight Poverty Really – February 2012) sug-gested, “…of all the long term development interventions, child sponsorship received the highest rating.”

You recently were the featured speaker at a youth symposium at Gordon College. Tell me about that.

The title of the symposium was “Bringing Hope in the Midst of Crisis.” We addressed tough stuff like addictions, eating disor-ders, self-injury, abuse, family breakdown and suicide. The symposium provided practical skills in knowing how to come alongside a kid and a family in crisis and how to engage other helping resources in the community.

What is the responsibility of youth workers to respond to youth in crisis?

Youth workers are often relationally po-sitioned to be “first responders” when kids are in crisis. I’m the first to admit my gratitude for people with skill, train-ing and professional certification, and I’m quick to refer the kids who need that kind of help. But as a disciple maker, I’m not off the hook. God has called me to “come alongside” kids in crisis much like I’ve been “come alongside” in Jesus. It’s my passion to help youth workers understand [that] God can use them in extraordinary ways to make an eternal difference in the lives of broken guys and girls, if they’re willing to take the risk of involvement and connection.

alumni profiles

Kenneth Swetland (M.Div. ‘64)


In MemoriamPaul Peaslee (‘52 B.D.) died June 16, 2011. He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Evangeline, and eight children. Paul and his first wife, Jessie, joined The Central American Mission in 1953. After serving a five-year term in Costa Rica, they moved to Puebla, Mexico, to start a Bible institute. In 1970, he became Field Director for Mexico, and in 1986 became the first Field Chaplain for all of CAM’s fields. He and Evangeline traveled extensively to these countries until retirement in 1998.

Brian Armstrong (‘61 B.D.) died from complications of Alzheimer’s at his home in Hiawassee, GA, at the age of 74. A memorial service was held June 2, 2011, at McConnell Memorial Baptist Church in Hiawassee.

Leon J. Cone, Jr. (‘66 M.Div.) passed away July 16, 2011, at the age of 90 at Wolfeboro Bay Care and Rehabilitation Facility. He held a succession of key staff and administrative positions with Gordon-Conwell for 27 years, while also filling pulpits and interim pastorates in the eastern Massachusetts region until he and his wife retired and moved to Wolfeboro in 1987.

Don Leigh (‘64 B.D.) recently passed away. He is survived by his wife, Judith; son, Steven D. Leigh, and daughter, Susan Leigh Brooke. A memorial service was held September 2, 2011, at First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs, CO.

Robert A. Lowery (‘75 Th.M.), Professor of New Testament at Lincoln Christian University in Lincoln, IL, and Academic Dean of that school’s seminary, died April 30 from cancer.

Joyce M. Carlson (‘87 MATS) passed away after a long illness on December 24, 2011, while at Blueberry Hill Transitional Care in Beverly, MA. In addition to her sister; she is survived by two children, Christopher W. Carlson (wife Sharon), of Hamilton; and Bethany Joyce (Hutchinson) (husband Scott), of East Brunswick, NJ. She leaves four grandchildren, Chris-topher and Emma Carlson, and Emily and Sarah Hutchinson. She has two nieces, Heather Chabot-Plante and her husband, and Megan Elyse Huard and her husband, and one grand-nephew, Cameron Chabot.

Dorothy Johnson (‘05 D.Min.) passed away May 31, 2011. She was Pastor of Indian Hill A.M.E. Zion in Fort Mill, SC, for seven years until her retirement. Services were held June 4 at Livingstone College in Salisbury, NC.

Jennifer Prescott (student and friend of CUME) died July 2, 2011, after a brief illness. She was a physician and Assistant Pastor of Abundant Life Church in Cambridge. She found her abiding passion among people who needed help: her parishioners, those on the streets of Boston and Cambridge, in her immediate family circle, and in the villages of Uganda. She had been pursuing a Master of Arts in Urban Ministry and had been scheduled to graduate in May 2012.

Edward T. Bradley (‘05 D.Min.; ‘85 M.Div.) passed away January 13, 2012, after a lifetime of service to God and the poor. He was Founder and President of Oakseed Ministries.

Joshua “Jack” Hicks passed away from an allergic reaction on Good Friday, April 6, at the age of 27. Josh, who was known for his cheerful spirit, strong faith and musical ability, was a beloved member of the Gordon-Conwell community. He led the worship ministry at Hope Chapel, an Anglican Church in Ipswich, MA; was involved in the local chapter of Not for Sale, and was pursuing ordination in the Anglican Church in North America. He is survived by his mother, father, two sisters, a brother and two grandparents. A memorial service was held May 17 at Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church in Danvers, MA. Josh will be missed by all whose lives he touched.

News + Notes:

1960sRobert Lewis (‘62 B.D.) and his church, Wright Memorial Presbyterian in Barnegat, NJ, were featured on barnegat.patch.com for welcoming visitors with music and hospitality.

George Tooze (‘65 M.Div.) spoke at Judson University’s Founder’s Day celebration October 28, 2011. His chapel mes-sage highlighted the history, biography and legacy of Emily Chubbuck Judson.

Andrew Hoffecker (‘66 M.Div.) recently published Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton (P & R, 2011). This biography highlights Princeton Theological Seminary’s most prominent theologian, journalist and churchman of the 19th century.

Takeo Miyamura (‘66 B.D.) moved May 24, 2011, from Oki-nawa, where he had spent 25 years, into the home of Mr. and Mrs. Otake in Ichikawa Chiba prefecture. He continues to serve at their church as a missionary pastor, and serves each February as an associate missionary at Nago Chapel north of Okinawa.

1970sRonald Peters (‘70 M.Div.) recently became the eighth president of The Interdenominational Theological Center.

Richard Shupert (‘72 MTS) is National Sales Manager for Ministry Development for Dicksons Christian Gift Company. He also recently helped market and develop an iPhone app for Motor Racing Outreach Ministry, which helps NASCAR drivers share their faith with millions of fans nationally. In ad-dition, he continues to operate his Tree of Life book ministry that has been selling Bibles and Christian books since 1974.

Wayne Hicks (‘74 M.Div.) became the new Pastor of Saint Andrews United Methodist Church, Raleigh, NC, on July 3, 2011. With 30 active ministries in the area, Saint Andrews helps others by tutoring and giving to the homeless.

Donald Giesman (‘74 MRE) has joined St. John’s United Church of Christ in Genoa, OH, as pastor.

Kathy Keller (‘75 MTS) was quoted at www.thedailybeast.com about biblical submission. Kathy, the wife of Pastor Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, speaks regularly on the Bible and gender issues.

Timothy Keller (‘75 M.Div.) recently discussed marriage and his new book on Fox News.

Robert Vetter (‘75 MTS), former pastor of Maranatha Bible Church in Salisbury, NC, has begun serving as its interim pastor. He has also pastored Calvary Church in Charlotte, NC, and Providence Baptist in Raleigh, NC. He was featured on salisburypost.com.

Dr. David A. Renwick (‘77 M.Div.) has been appointed Senior Pastor of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. Dr. Renwick, a native of Scotland, received his Ph.D. in New Testament from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. Over the years, he has led PC(USA) churches in Canada and across the United States.

Stephen Williams (‘77 M.Div.) and Jamie Williams (‘79 M.Div.) have recently begun co-leading United Method-ist Church in Libertyville, IL. The couple was featured at libertyville.patch.com.

Buddy Childress (‘77 MTS) founded Needle’s Eye Ministries in 1977. The non-denominational Christian group is perhaps best known for its monthly luncheons with speakers who share their faith stories. The growth of their small group ministries is featured at timesdispatch.com.

John Parkhurst (‘77 MTS) is now retired as a public high school principal. He serves Bethany Church in Greenland, NH, as Vice Chair of the Board of Elders and is Project Manager for the comprehensive renovation of the church’s exterior.

Bob Hager (‘79 M.Div.) recently completed a documentary, At the Crossroads, which addresses the impact of 50 years of cultural change in the field of pastoral ministry. The docu-mentary is available at Vimeo.com.

1980sDavid Jones (‘81 M.Div.) received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadel-phia, PA. The primary focus of his study was on developing global outreach partnerships between Majority and Western World churches.

Jeff Winter (‘81 M.Div., ‘76 MRE) and his wife, Judy, recom-mitted themselves to each other November 17, 2011, in a brief service in the Great Room on the Hamilton campus of Gordon-Conwell. Jeff and Judy were engaged there in March 1974. Dr. David Currie (Director, Doctor of Ministry Program; Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology), a friend and colleague in the PC(USA), officiated. GCTS professors Dr. John Jefferson (Jack) Davis and Dr. Aida Spencer witnessed the event. Jeff is a PC(USA) minister and Pastor of the Faith MV Church of Martha’s Vineyard. Judy is a hospice nurse.

Ronnie Booth (‘83 MATS) received an honorary doctorate during Clemson University’s graduation exercises August 13, 2011. Under his guidance, Tri-County Technical College partnered with Clemson on the Bridge to Clemson Program, which allows academically talented freshmen to attend Tri-County Tech for one year, then transfer to Clemson their sophomore year. He is featured at Clemson.edu.

Timothy Phelan (‘83 MATS) resides in Japan. His home overlooks Natori City, which was severely damaged by the tsunami. He, his wife and her immediate relatives are safe. They live about 52 miles from the Fukushima power plant. Timothy has lived in Japan for 27 of the last 34 years and plans to remain and help those in need.

John Rankin (‘84 M.Div.) shared a message entitled “I Have Never Met a Real Atheist,” at Calvary Fellowship in West Hartford, CT, August 7, 2011. The sermon was featured on WestHartfordNews.com.

Scott Sunquist (‘84 M.Div.) will become Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary July 1, 2012. Sunquist is editor of the Dictionary of Asian Christianity (Eerdmans) and co-author with Dr. Dale Irvin of History of the World Christian Movement (Orbis Books).

Zane Pratt (‘85 M.Div.) became Dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism and Associate Professor of Missions in August 2011. Pratt oversaw International Mission Board work across Central Asia from 1991-2011.

Arthur Stratton (‘88 D.Min., ‘80 M.Div.) joined Foxboro Bible Church in Foxboro, MA, as pastor on Easter 2011. The church, formerly known as First Baptist, had been without a minister for three years before calling Stratton. He was featured at thesunchronicle.com.

alumni news

Construction is under way to convert the former bookCentre to a new alumni hall. Graduates who

give to the Alumni Hall construction project can participate in two ways:1) $20 for 20% – Give a gift of $20 to help us reach 20% participation2) $100,000 matching gift – Join other alumni gifts that will be matched up to $100,000.

On January 18-19, 2012 an Alumni Hall Advisory Committee* met at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

A letter from the committee to alumni states:In the spirit of their stories and yours, we are proud to introduce

Alumni Hall. For the first time in the history of Gordon-Conwell, the seminary is designating space on the Hamilton campus to honor its alumni, the great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us. And for all that come behind us, we want to ensure fu-ture opportunities for fellowship, learning and spiritual growth that encourage the continued expansion of God’s Kingdom in the next generation…We want Alumni Hall to reflect our shared heart for God so that we may join in speaking of the glorious grace of our Lord Jesus Christ—the greatest in the cloud of wit-nesses that surrounds us.

Consider giving $20 for 20% today online and find other ways to participate at my.gordonconwell.edu/alumnihall/online-giving/. Or, mail a gift payable to Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 130 Essex Street, South Hamilton, MA 01982 (include ‘Alumni Hall’ on the memo line).

*Diana Bennett (MATS ‘96, D.Min. ’06), Dennis Gill (M.Div. ‘78, D.Min. ’95), Peter

Conwell Richards (MAR ‘84), S. Douglas Birdsall (M.Div. ‘79), Conley Hughes (D.Min.

‘02), Ken Swetland (M.Div. ‘64), Mary Willson (M.Div. ‘09, Th.M. ‘10)

Alumni Connect

In 2011 and 2012, more than 350 alumni and friends have gathered in the U.S. and abroad in cities including Chicago,

Charlotte, South Hamilton, Falls Church, Richmond, San Francisco, Singapore, Orlando, Houston, Pasadena and at denominational events for the PCA, CCCC and PCUSA. The purpose of the events is to connect alumni – with each other, Gordon-Conwell and faculty.

Some upcoming alumni events:June – PCA General Assembly (Louisville)July – CCCC Annual Family Conference (Colorado Springs)September – Biennial Preaching Conference and Dedication of Alumni Hall (Hamilton Campus)October – Class reunion for graduate years 1960-1964 (Hamilton Campus)November – Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting (Chicago)

Alumni Survey: Tell Us What You ThinkDoes your graduation year end in “2” or “7”? If it does, this is your year!

The seminary has implemented an alumni survey model to target a different segment of its graduates each year. As a re-sult, each graduate will receive a request for general feedback once every five years. Watch your email in May for a link to the online survey.

alumni news

For a complete list of events, be sure to visit the alumni website at my.gordonconwell.edu/alumni

Leave Your Own Legacy: $20 for 20%

36 Spr ing ’12


Opening theWord Maria Boccia, Ph.D., (D. Min. ’03)

Isaiah 40:27-31

As part of the Easter story, we learn not just about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but also what it cost him, what we might learn from it about suffering and how we respond to it.

“He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’ And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will’”1 (Mt. 26:38-39).

How do we respond to suffering, our own or those around us? Matthew’s gospel gives us penetrating insight on how Jesus reacted to the ultimate experience of suffering during his life: his death on the cross. Jesus was “deeply grieved,” or as in other translations, “overwhelmed with sorrow” (NIV) or “this sorrow is crushing the life out of me” (The Message). Jesus’ deep grief (perilypos) was a profound sorrow and disturbance which came from his understanding of what he was about to face. Unlike other words for sorrow, there is no sense of regret for something he had done. Unlike the rest of us humans, Jesus was without sin. Yet, his reaction was decidedly human: “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this!” (The Message).

When Christians are experiencing suffering, we are often pointed to those Scriptures which admonish us to count it all joy when we suffer. Yet, here is Jesus being anything but joyful. How are we to understand this and what can we learn about our own reaction to suffering? The author of Hebrews tells us that he endured the cross for the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus endured the cross for the 1 New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Mt 26:38–39). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

joy to follow. He did not want to experience the suffering he knew was coming. He asked his Father if there was any other way. But in the end, he accepted the Father’s will and endured the suffering for the sake of what would follow.

This helps us understand other Scriptures that admonish us to count it all joy. It is for the result. It is for the Sovereign God who can take any suffering and make good come of it. As Paul says, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope which does not disappoint because God is behind it all (Romans 5:5). It bears repeating: Jesus endured the cross, and we can endure our suffering, because of what God will do with it. Our rejoicing is not for the suffering, but for what God will make of it.

So, with Jesus as our example, we can endure our suffering because we know that God’s will is there, and we can trust His goodness and righteousness to make meaning and bring good out of it. We cannot necessarily see the end as Jesus did, but we can put our faith in the same Father whom he trusted. And we can echo his words, “not as I will but as You will.”

Dr. Maria L. Boccia is a marriage and family therapist and certified sex therapist with experience in the diagnosis and treatment of a range of sexual disorders. She is the Director of Graduate Programs in Counseling and Professor of Pastoral Counseling and Psychology at the Charlotte campus, and maintains a private practice in Charlotte. Dr. Boccia brings to her clinical work over 20 years of biomedical

research on attachment and the long-term emotional and physiological consequences of early loss, most recently at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she focused on the role of oxytocin in these processes.

1990sSandy Richter (‘90 MATS) has preached twice at a weekly revival at Madison United Methodist Church in Madison, MS. Richter is Professor of Old Testament at Wesley Bibli-cal Seminary in Jackson, MS, and author of The Epic of Eden (InterVarsity, 2008).

Steve McMullin (‘91 MATS) recently earned his Ph.D. from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. He has joined the faculty of Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, where he will be teaching evangelism and mission and also direct-ing the seminary’s New Brunswick extension program. This year, he is serving as Program Chair for the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion in Milwaukee.

Steve Hall (‘91 M.Div.) recently contributed an article to worldmag.com entitled, “Trusting in Horses and the War on Terror.”

Curt Lovelace (‘92 D.Min.) will retire from full-time pastoral ministry on October 16, 2012. On October 17, he and Sandra, his wife of 43 years, will move to Prague, Czech Republic, to continue their work with families in Europe. They work with Lifework Forum (www.lifeworkforum.org).

Patrick Gray (‘97 M.Div.) of Christ Church, Hamilton, MA, and his Thursday night Ockham’s Kegger series were featured at hamilton-wenham.patch.com.

Peter Sprigg (‘97 M.Div.) the Family Research Council’s Senior Fellow for Policy Studies, has appeared on several media outlets, including Fox, to discuss ethical issues.

Shigenari Uchiyama (‘97 MAR) lives in Kamisu, Ibaraki, Japan, about 200 km south of the area of the earthquake and tsunami and 150 km south of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. He and his church members are safe, though their church building sank about 25 cm and tilted a bit.

Stephen Cushing (‘98 M.Div.), of New England Seafarer’s Mission, was presented with the 2011 Outstanding Men-tor Award by Katherine Horvath, Senior Administrator of Mentored Ministry and Placement at Gordon-Conwell. The presentation occurred at his home church, West Peabody Community Covenant, September 11, 2011. He was nominated by one of his Mentored Ministry students, Ben Kim, and selected by the Mentored Ministry Department.

Dale Tadlock (‘98 M.Div.) just completed a youth curriculum series for Passport Media, a division of Passport Camps. The first in a four-year series, this Lilly-endowed project develops a sense of call in participants based on a biblical sense of identity. Dale is also currently working on the new youth missions curriculum for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and serves as Associate Pastor-Minister to Young Adults and Students at First Baptist Church, Waynesboro, VA.

James Choung (‘99 M.Div.), National Director of Inter-Varsity’s Asian American Ministries, challenged a crowd of 75 Presbyterians to alter traditional approaches – like apologetics – to win younger generations to Christ at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Big Tent forum in Indianapolis, IN, July 1, 2011. His address was featured at www.layman.org.

Dawn Harrell (‘99 M.Div.) and her husband, Daniel (‘88 M.Div.), moved to Edina, MN, in 2010, where Daniel is serving as Senior Minister of Edina’s Colonial Church. They have a three-year-old daughter. Dawn recently published Ten Ways to Pray: A Short Guide to a Long History of Talking with God (tenwaystopray.com, 2012).

2000sDavid Mantz (‘00 M.Div.) is the new pastor for the First United Methodist Church of Port Jefferson, NY, and his wife, the Rev. Sandra Mantz, is the new pastor for the Setauket United Methodist Church in Setauket, NY. They were featured at northshoreoflongisland.com.

Chris Castaldo (‘02 M.Div.) explains his ministry of Gospel Renewal in a video about people who desire a meaning-ful relationship with Jesus. This ministry includes writing, teaching, workshops, mentoring, networking, and regular podcasts as ways to reach the partially evangelized. The video is available at ChrisCastaldo.com.

Ben White (‘02 MANT) graduated May 2011 with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and he has accepted a tenure-track position in the Philosophy and Religion Department at Clemson University.

Jim MacDonald (‘04 MACH) recently joined Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA, as Chief Financial Officer. Pre-viously, he worked at the USAi.net Internet company, and secured $950,000 in funding to expand that company. He is featured at salemnews.com.

Curt Wanner (‘05 Th.M.,’00 M.Div.) has been named Chair of the Communication Department at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, GA. Wanner joined the TFC faculty in 2006 as Assistant Professor of Communication.

Robert Crosby (‘06 D.Min.) recently wrote an article for ChristianityToday.com on David Wilkerson, a pastor and evan-gelist who shaped the Pentecostal and evangelical movements.

Jeffrey LaBonde (‘06 MAR) and his band, Whitewater Pass, were featured August 2011 at www.delconewsnetwork.com.

Andrew Holt (‘06 M.Div.) and a group of others planted Ember Church in Westerville, OH, in August 2011. He and his wife, Breena, also welcomed their fourth child in October 2011. Bexley joins brothers Cyrus and Ezekiel, and sister Eisley.

Albert Hickman (‘07 MAR) was interviewed June 14, 2011, by Michael Carl of WorldNetDaily in connection with a story about Christian martyrs.

James Daugherty (‘07 D.Min.) will be the keynote speaker at the “Mending Lives - Restoring Families Fundraising Banquet” on November 7, 2012, at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. He has published numerous scientific studies and presented his results nationally and internationally.

Marc Gauthier (‘07 D.Min., ‘91 M.Div.) returned from Af-ghanistan in June 2011, and his family moved from Fort Bragg, NC, to Washington, DC, the next month. In September, Marc started a one-year Senior Service College Fellowship program. He is attending numerous area think tank events, listening to and interacting with senior Army leaders, conducting research, and studying at George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Also in September, Marc learned he had been selected for promotion to colonel. In summer 2012, he and his family will move to Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he will serve as Command Chaplain for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command.

Eric Mason (‘07 D.Min.), along with acclaimed hip-hop art-ists Trip Lee and Lecrae, discussed the disconnect between the teachings of the black, traditional Baptist church and mainly white Reformed theologians on a video posted at thegospelcoalition.org.

Gary James (‘07 D.Min.) is head of a new minority outreach program at the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers, housed at the University of South Carolina’s Moore

School of Business. His vision is to work with denomina-tional leaders, local churches and community-based groups statewide to help their members understand and access existing resources.

Sarai Rivera (‘07 D.Min.) recently won the seat as District 4 City Councilor in Worcester, MA. As a city councilor, one of her goals will be to give prominence to the challenges facing young people. She was featured at telegram.com. On January 6, 2011, she also delivered the benediction at the Inauguration of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Kristin Leathers (‘08 MACC) recently joined Blue Ridge Care Net (BRCN) as a licensed professional counselor. BRCN is a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of counseling services.

Michael Alix (‘08 M.Div.) married Erica Lynn Weigelt on December 18, 2010. Michael was also ordained by the Advent Christian Denomination on October 9, 2010, and installed as Senior Pastor of Blessed Hope Church, Waterville, ME, on October 10, 2010.

Zeke Pipher (‘08 D.Min.) recently published Man on the Run: Helping Hyper-Hobbied Men Recognize The Best Things In Life (Howard Books, 2012).

Jeff Robinson (‘09 D.Min.) has been Lead Pastor of Lin-colnway Christian Church in New Lenox, IL, since 1999. He first felt a call to ministry when a freshman at Transylvania College in Lexington, KY.

Matthew Gladd (‘10 M.Div.) serves at First Baptist Church of Kittery Point, ME, which recently celebrated its 200th anniversary. Gladd and his church are featured at seacoas-tonline.com.

Roxanne Booth (‘10 D.Min.), and the church she and her husband pastor, were featured on TheDailyMail.net.

Mathew Samuelson (‘10 M.Div.) has been installed as Senior Pastor at Glastonbury Community Church in Glastonbury, CT. With his wife, Anne, he seeks to engage those in the Glastonbury area who perceive Christianity to be irrelevant in today’s world.

Ashley Smith (‘10 D.Min.) accepted the newly created posi-tion of Pastor for Families and Youth Activities at The Village Chapel in Pinehurst, NC. Smith had recently joined the chapel as Director of Youth Ministries and Children’s Ministries.

Mary Willson (‘10 Th.M.; ‘09 M.Div.) contributed a blog post entitled, “Training to Guard the Good Deposit,” to The Gospel Coalition. In that post, she discusses practical questions about being equipped for biblical teaching within the local church. Her post is located at www.thegospelcoalition.org.

Brenden Bridges (‘10 MACL) was installed as Pastor of Evangelical Free Church in Northern CA November 13, 2011.

Stephanie A. Mathis (‘10 MAR) was mentioned in a Chris-tianity Today article for her involvement with the Oregon Center for Christian Voices (OCCV) to make child sex traf-ficking its advocacy focus.

Danny Roman-Gloro (‘10 D.Min.) was awarded a Pastoral Study Grant by the Louisville Institute to conduct a study from May 2012 to January 2013 of US Hispanic sermon listeners to discover the most effective preaching strategies within this segment of the Church.

Ernest Clark (‘11 MABS) was named Discipleship Director of Rocky Bayou Christian School in Niceville, FL. In his new position, he will oversee the school’s chapel program, lead its (grades 7-12) leadership development program and student government, and counsel students.

alumni notes

Jesus’ Model of Our Response to Suffering

40 Spr ing ’12

130 Essex Street, South Hamilton, MA 01982

Address Service Requested

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDS. Hamilton, MA 01982

Permit No. 16HAMILTON | BOSTON | CHARLOTTE | JACKSONVILLE

A National Conference on Preaching by the Center for Preachingat Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

The Sufficiency

of ChristSeptember 6-7, 2012South Hamilton, Massachusetts

Walter Kaiser, Jr. Kevin DeYoung Haddon Robinson Ramesh Richard Winfred Neely David Wells

Contact: Hope Against All Odds (Spring '12)

Documents

Transcript of Contact: Hope Against All Odds (Spring '12)