Covenant Magazine - [Spring 2008]

COVENANTThe magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary

Spring 2008

by Sin,

to ServeREBUILT

BROKEN

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:24–25 esv).

Preparing to be a minister of God’s Word requires more than simply studying a few texts on preaching and master-ing the biblical languages. It requires a total commitment of one’s self to the person and mission of Jesus Christ—the Son of God, who took on flesh, died on the cross, and

rose again so that we might live in Him and with Him forever. As Jesus’ first disciples learned the hard way (which is really the only way it can be learned), this kind of com-mitment demands that we be broken on the Rock of our salvation so that the deep-seated sin that festers inside us may be fully revealed. Only then can we begin to see ourselves and others as Jesus sees us. Only then can our hearts begin to beat in rhythm with Jesus’ own. Only then—when our old selves have been broken and battered—can the distorted pieces of our identities be put back together in a way that resembles more clearly the image of God. And only then—when we have experienced the healing balm of the Gospel message in the deepest depths of our souls—can we begin to proclaim Christ’s message with power and authenticity.

We simply cannot offer a strong witness to the Gospel of grace until that grace fills up every nook and cranny of our being. Often the Lord must use the difficult experi-ences of our lives to crack through our inner walls and make enough room in the coldness of our hearts for the warmth of His love. This truth is evident in the lives and ministries of every fruitful believer I know—from the most effective pastor and lay church leader to the businessman who leads a Bible study at his office to the stay-at-home mom who pours her energies into caring for and raising her children.

Though this process of learning and growing in Christ can be long and painful, at some point we begin to catch a glimmer of what it’s all about. We begin to understand how different we are than we were before, and we begin to understand that just as God’s original call on our lives was an act of pure and unmerited grace, so too is this difficult time of breaking and being rebuilt. And in the midst of this realization comes the desire—indeed, the compulsion—to share this incomparable grace with others who have also been shattered by sin.

We are saved by grace, and by that same grace we are made ready—through trial and testing—for the works which our Lord has prepared for us to do (see Eph. 2:4–10). Whether we are pastors, church leaders, businesspeople, or stay-at-home moms, we live, love, and lead by grace so that the Word of God may go forth to claim the hearts and shape the souls of other sinners like us.

Bryan Chapell, President

COVENANT | Spring 2008

FROM THE PRESIDENT SPRING 2008BROKEN BY SIN, REBUILT TO SERVE

FEATURES

1 Equipping as Pastors, Scholars, Friends Participation in Covenant Groups prepares students for ministry—and establishes lifelong friendships.

5 The Good Marriage in a Relationally Traumatized World Though marriage can be hard, it’s a wonderful relationship that grows us through the challenges.

7 Leading by Faith Leaders live in the tension of taking initiative while being uncertain of the outcomes. This tension moves the idea of walking by faith from a concept to a lifestyle.

12 Masculine Spirituality There is a battle for the hearts and souls of men, and the Church can embrace it.

16 Deep is the Saving Wisdom of God The doctrine of salvation is fundamental to our faith. Professor David Chapman explores how this doctrine is applied to churches.

18 Holiness in Marriage What does holiness in marriage look like? Galatians 5 tells Christians how to flesh out holiness in their everyday lives without getting sidetracked with Christian duties.

19 Ministry Training in the Physical Plant Department Amid a hodgepodge of machinery and tools, a group of future min-istry leaders work the Seminary grounds to help equip themselves for their future service.

CONTENTS

10 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

14 SEMINARY NEWS & EVENTS

15 ALUMNI NEWS

BACK STUDENT PROFILE

COVER

Michael Wichlan

VOL. 23, NO. 1

f the journey of becoming a pastor were as simple as reading a book or listening to online lectures, attending a weekend class or learning a biblical language, then ministry equipping could happen anywhere—on the fly, as it were. But the very

fact that personal, spiritual, and character (moral) transformation occurs only in the context of ongoing relationships is evidenced by such scenes as this: six men gath-ered around a table for conversation, encouragement, and prayer. These Covenant Groups—part of the first-year pastoral training program at Covenant Theological Seminary in which groups of students get together with a professor or seminary staff member for times of discussion and prayer—meet weekly around campus and have proven to be an essential part of ministry preparation.

Equipping as

Pastors, Scholars, Friends

“…the Christian community becomes an instrument of

grace because God’s love becomes the substance of the

Church’s soul.” – Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Theological Seminary

“I feel like this group is better preparing me for ministry because I’m learning that I can’t expect ministry to unfold in a scheduled, containable way.” 1 www.covenantseminary.edu

above: Students (left to right) Jason Schubert,

Brandon Lauranzon, Joe Haack, Gavin Ortlund,

and John “Penny” Pennylegion have spent the past

year in a Covenant Group where they regularly

encourage and challenge one another.

I

Brandon Lauranzon (MDiv ‘09)

Joe Haack (MDiv ’09) says, “If I hadn’t had this kind of structure and accountability, chances are—because of my default setting—I would just gradually be tucked in a corner alone, getting my work finished and making sure that my grades were good. It would be awful and lonely, but that’s my temptation.” Joe is not the only student like this. Despite the popularity of online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, people in our culture remain lonely—wanting to to be vulnerable, to be known, but not knowing what that looks like and often fearful of finding out.

“I came to seminary thinking it would be a place where great people would all become friends easily,” adds Gavin Ortlund (MDiv ’09). “There are great people here, but the conditions for

friendship are often not present because of the busyness. For me, this Covenant Group has become a time when I have to sit still and talk. It’s good. It’s healthy.” And yet, this format of life-on-life engagement wasn’t what all of these students expected—or wanted. In some ways, the groups provided both less and more than members bargained for.

John “Penny” Pennylegion (MDiv ’09) says, “My expecta-tion was that the group would be a chance to plumb the depths of a professor’s theological mind. Initially, I was disappointed [to be in a group led by staff members]. But after a couple of weeks, I was thankful for it. I realized I could sit and talk about theology anywhere at any time with anybody. However, to be

able to sit in a room and say, ‘My marriage is really difficult right now’—that doesn’t happen by just hanging out on cam-pus. What’s more, my wife, Kat, is thankful for this group. She is glad to know that there are other guys I can talk with—that I’m not just talking about theology and word studies but that we are talking about life.” It’s not that discussions of theology are absent in this group, but the discussions quickly turn to practically applying that theology to the group members’ lives and ministries. In a recent conversation about the sacraments, for example, the discussion centered on how God’s covenant is appropriated in the lives of the group leaders’ children.

Joe adds, “I appreciate that they talked about their children because it gave me a greater opportunity to feel the struggle—to not only state what I believe and why, but also to submit to leadership. The issues aren’t just intellectual or abstract. I’m free to share what is going on in my heart, life, and marriage. If the Seminary’s mission is to equip us in a holistic way—where we live and embody what we learn—these groups are pretty essen-tial.” The level of trust developed in this particular group is pal-pable. No question is off limits: how one spends his time, where he spends his money, what he is doing on his computer, how he loves his wife—all these are fair game in the Covenant Group context. And this time of sharing on a deeply personal level is equipping these future pastors for the ministries in which they will serve.

“I feel like this group is better preparing me for ministry because I’m learning that I can’t expect ministry to unfold in a scheduled and containable way. The issues people deal with today are going to be completely different tomorrow,” Brandon Lauranzon (MDiv ’09) notes.

Gavin adds, “Being in this group and observing the dynamics and conditions that have to be present for people to open up and feel comfortable sharing has been extremely help-ful for me.” Many people assume that relationships are purely organic—that they grow naturally and never develop out of established structures. But in the Church—just as in ministry preparation—such assumptions often prove untrue.

Jason Schubert (MDiv ’09) agrees. “I’m coming from nine years on the college campus—first as a student and then as min-istry staff,” he says. “All you do there is hang out. Relationships are everywhere. But in seminary—I’m married and have obli-gations at home. Other people have children and jobs or live

COVENANT | Spring 2008 2

This time of sharing on a deeply personal level is equipping these men for the ministries in which they will serve as future pastors.

“The issues aren’t just intellectual or

abstract. I’m free to share what is going on in my heart, life,

and marriage.”Joe Haack (MDiv ‘09)

30 miles away. I feel like this group has given us an example of what it looks like to develop relationships when everybody is so busy.” In Jesus’ High Priestly prayer (see John 17), He prays that the various members of His body will move closer and closer into unity, dependency, humility, and love in the context of His Church. Today, the level of vulnerability and honesty modeled by Church leaders often helps to initiate that interdependency within their congregations.

Speaking of the group’s openness, Joe says, “It was critical for the environment of the group that from day one our leaders led by laying out their hearts and personal struggles. I’ve thought a lot about how they modeled the type of leadership we hope to have in the pulpit.”

Co-leader Brad Anderson (MDiv ’99), senior director of enrollment, says, “Many of us have been in enough small groups to know that some work and some don’t. I didn’t know where this group might end up when it started. There were hopes, but not expectations. Ultimately, God has to get at these relation-ships, and He did.” As He often does. In the vein of vulner-ability, Brad continues. “Personally, I needed this group. Just to be around these guys was a means of healing in my own life,” he shares. Far beyond the requirements of the first-year curriculum, these men have committed to continuing as a group throughout their time in seminary and, hopefully, into the coming years.

Brandon says, “I’m looking forward to knowing that there is a group of guys in similar situations who are doing the same types of ministry. I know these men better than anyone else here at the Seminary.”

“After hearing about and observing the loneliness in min-istry,” Gavin adds, “I want to see us make and take the time to encourage one another in the years to come.”

Penny agrees. “Maybe that means traveling to see each other once a year or asking people to visit us,” he suggests. “Even though these relationships won’t be at our doorsteps and we’ll be spread out, it would be encouraging to know that we are committed to seeing each other.”

Brad casts other options. “You could also try to find a

common call-ing,” he offers. “If someone is called to church plant and someone else to campus ministry, you could work as a team. Think about it—to willingly make the necessary sacrifices to be in ministry alongside someone who knows your wife, loves your children, and will help raise them—there is just no substitute for old, longtime friends. We all need these—there’s no denying it. You’ll all be in ministry, what, maybe 40 years? That’s not much time. It’s going fast. Old friends are good.”

With the close of another meeting, each member rises to go his separate way. But even in their departing there is a bond that holds them together and is serving to make them into pas-tors, into leaders, and even—by God’s grace—into old friends.

JOEL HATHAWAY

Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) is one of six children and the

son of a PCA pastor. Seeing his parents’ ministry struggles

and successes helped solidify Joel’s love for the Church

and those who shepherd it.

3 www.covenantseminary.edu

Just over a year ago these men knew almost nothing about each other. Now, after their participation in a Covenant Group (a requirement for first-year MDiv students), they are bonded for life and have been encouraged in their current ministry service.

The Broken Beauty of Marriage


In any relationship, glimpses of God’s glorious love intertwine with snapshots of human brokenness. A marriage is no different. In His grace, however, God also leads us toward holiness as He refines our hearts through the difficult parts of marriage.

In this issue, two professors share perspectives on God’s role in a marriage:

Dr. Dan Zink: Page 5–6 • Dr. Jay Sklar: Page 18


Marriage is supposed to be tough. It is also a lot of other things—most of them good. It is exciting, fulfilling, sustaining, encouraging, enduring,

and so forth. But it is tough. Some might prefer I chose a different word, a more comfortable word such as “challeng-ing,” “stretching,” or even “difficult.” But wouldn’t choos-ing comfortable words be an effort to soften the blow, to make gentle with the hard truth? I think so, because if we are honest, marriage is tough.

We are seven sentences into this article and I expect that most readers want to argue with me. Most of us have a strong preference to believe that marriage is anything but tough, so who wants to listen to something different? Who wants to think that marriage is supposed to be some-thing other than a mysterious merging of two children of God to share emotional and physical completeness and pleasure as well as to raise godly offspring while together advancing God’s Kingdom? I know marriage has glorious purposes and can be lived out in glorious ways. And I hope that we all do just that. But the chances that we will experience glorious marriage relationships and missions are diminished if we look for, expect, and seek only positive or comfortable things in our marriage relationships

Having a glorious and fulfilling marriage is most likely when we embrace the tensions inherent in marriage, when we embrace marriage as good and hard—a hard that is good—intertwining the two until we know that one can-not be sustained without the other.

Marriage is supposed to be tough. But for what pur-pose? God uses marriage to grow us. As marriage exposes, flays, and keeps us unsettled, it creates the necessary context for us to grow. It takes difficult times and difficult things for us to grow and to be pressed to do the hard work needed to change. I mean really grow—not only spiritu-ally, but emotionally as well, resulting in a wholehearted, whole person, deep maturity.

Most of us do not date, get engaged, and get married expecting marriage to be challenging. Our central motiva-

tion to marry is the perks of marriage. Most of us assume that although marriage might be hard for many—includ-ing the kind of hard that results in failed relationships and broken marriages—it will be different for us. We usually assume that the difference will look like smooth sailing on tranquil seas with smiling faces and happy hearts for years to come. After all, marriage is a God-created, God-given, unique relationship. But there is a dark side to this wide-eyed, marriage-is-only-good attitude that we maintain while turning a blind eye to the challenges and struggles that are inherent in marriage.

A major problem in marriages today is the lack of con-nection between spouses. This limited connection is due largely to a lack of self-awareness regarding the inner emo-tional life. This low connection, low emotional content style of relationship occurs because so many have learned to play it safe in relationships. They do so by not honoring feelings, not trusting, and not talking about these things. As a marriage counselor, I observe many marriages—some strong, others not. A common factor in these marriages is that spouses struggle to be a couple. This struggle flows from their difficulty to be clear with each other about their own hearts, from their inability to talk about what they feel and to trust each other in the process. Couples often come to counseling expecting information to fix the relationship when what they need is greater emotional self-awareness and to be clear to themselves and each other about their hearts. What they need is the courage to face their fears in order to address their feelings. It is then that they grow toward the maturity that enables them to respond with freedom, thoughtfully and lovingly instead of reactively. If we recognize such a problem in ourselves, we open the door to finding a way toward fuller and richer marriage relationships. Pursuit of the good marriage must be built on conscious efforts to become aware of those times when we are not attending to our own feelings, to see when we are not trusting, and then to exercise the courage to talk about these things with our spouse. Good,

The Good Marriage in a Relationally Traumatized World


rich marriages are built by turning “don’t” feelings and their compatriots into their opposites—do feel, do trust, and do talk.

How do we pursue a good marriage in a relationally traumatized world? There are no simple answers to this question, and we must proceed with caution. We too easily make the mistake in this information-centered society of presuming that good marriages will be achieved if we have correct and ample information. We need to realize that becoming “marriage experts” does little to establish good relationships. Marriage experts are most expert in what their spouses do wrong. This tears down the marital relationship rather than building it. We must look more deeply than the infor-mation level for guidance and growth in marriage.

Each person’s relation-ship with God is funda-mental in maturing us as people who see below the surface, who see life more fully. Growing in relationship with God is not primarily about gaining information and becom-ing “God experts.” Growth in relationship with God is having a continual, honest, wholehearted experience in which God’s love for us and our love for Him becomes clearer. In this way, a relationship with God prepares spouses for pro-gression in their marriage relationship.

The best place to begin is for husbands and wives to share more of their feelings with each other. Many may protest that they already do that. But perhaps this shar-ing is not what we think it is. It may not include the kind of depth that builds connection over time. One sign that our sharing is not deep enough is if it generally revolves around anger at other people or each other. Anger is the easiest feeling to talk about and requires little awareness of what is stirring deeper within. For example, perhaps you are angry with your co-worker about something. What else do you feel? Fear? Shame? Guilt? Betrayal? Abandonment? Injustice? Have there been other times when you felt like this? When was the first time? The most recent time? The

most difficult time? What damage, if any, to your heart does this reveal? What legitimate, but perhaps unmet, longing does this highlight? Exploring such feelings together will take many couples to a depth of sharing that has been lost in logistics, business, and thoughtless avoidance of feelings and discussion of them.

If the best place to begin is sharing more feelings, an important condition for this sharing is greater self-awareness

in each spouse. This is not easy. It runs directly counter to typical marital attitudes and behaviors. Most of us are certain that our marriages would be nearly perfect if our spouse would just get his or her act together. All spouses try to fix each other. They have a mentality that says, “If I can believe you are the problem, I do not have to think about my contribu-tion, disappointments, or pain in this relationship. I

don’t have to be honest. I don’t have to feel or trust or talk. I don’t have to exercise the cour-age to face my fears.” But grace applied exposes this attitude

and requires us to recognize our needy sinfulness. Grace drives us toward self-awareness.

How do we pursue a good marriage in a relationally traumatized world? Ultimately, the key is honesty. Deep honesty pays attention to what one feels and speaks those feelings. This honesty resists the pull of fear which draws us toward being numb, blind, and silent. It courageously asks God for the courage needed to remain honest. In the process, our good marriage looks the way God said it could be—we know each other deeply and accept each other anyway; we are naked without shame (Gen. 2:25).

DR. DANIEL D. ZINK Dr. Daniel D. Zink, associate professor of practical theology, served for 11 years as a fam-ily counselor, caseworker, and supervisor of public children’s services before coming to the Seminary. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Dr. Zink was the founding director and a five-year head of New Hope Counseling Services, a ministry of nearby Chesterfield Presbyterian Church.

Most of us are certain that our marriages would be nearly perfect if our spouse

would just get his or her act together.


leading by faithLeaders live in the tension of taking initiative while being uncertain of the outcomes. This tension moves the idea of walking by faith from a concept into a lifestyle.

ictionaries define ambiguity as a state of uncertainty, a time of lacking clarity. A friend of mine once put it this way: “The only thing certain in life is uncertainty.” Self-help authors capitalize

on ambiguity by addressing the need to achieve greater peace of mind in today’s troubled times. But this is nothing new. The theme of learning to live with life’s instability can be traced back to the day of Adam’s fall.

At the same time, it is rare to find the theme of ambiguity tied with that of leadership. In their 2001 article “The Work of Leadership” for the Harvard Business Review, Ronald H. Heifetz and Donald Laurie explain that “a leader has to have the emotional capacity to tolerate uncertainty, frustration, and pain.” Walt Turner, chairman of the board of trustees of Covenant Theological Seminary, provides a faith-based perspective on this when he states: “As a husband, father, elder, and businessman, I am never sure what an outcome will be. I want to keep looking into the future through the windshield of life to see what will happen. I tend to calculate the risks and rewards and try to line up my decisions with the will of God. But more often than not, the only clear vision I have is through the rearview mirror, where I see that God was faithful and things worked out.”


D

This idea of learning to walk by faith in a world filled with ambiguity has been one of the fruitful lessons of the Intersect Forum, an initiative sponsored by Covenant Seminary’s Center for Ministry Leadership (see box on page 9). The Center began in 2004, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., to explore what it takes to sustain excellence in ministry. While the Center’s initiatives focus on pastors, the lessons learned apply to the entire Church. Such is the case with the leadership theme of coping with uncertainty.

Concerning this challenge, Larry Catlett, a PCA ruling elder and investment banker, said:

I think ambiguity is part of being in a fallen world. Sometimes we assume that if we don’t come across as confident, or if we don’t have the absolute right answer, that it is a sign of weakness, poor leadership, or a lack of conviction. I think we fear not having all the truth or not having the absolutely right answer. But we don’t have a crystal ball. Trusting in God and accepting the ambiguity of living in a fallen world teaches me humility. It keeps me from being overconfident, allows me to tolerate failure in myself, and helps me extend God’s grace to others.

Learning to live with ambiguity is embedded in two biblical principles that were often referenced in the ministry of the late Francis Schaeffer, a theologian and pastor. The first principle is that we are created in God’s image and are therefore called to be “co-creators,” reflecting the One in whose image we are made. The second principle is that although God’s revelation to us is absolute truth, as fallen creatures living in a broken world, we are not able to grasp God’s truth absolutely.

Think of the first principle. Genesis 1 and 2 teach us that we are created in God’s image. Therefore, as His image-bearers, each one of us is called to re-create and reflect God’s truth in all that we do. Such re-creating can be seen in many ways: estab-lishing a beautiful garden, creating a work of art, writing a musi-cal selection, or resolving a conflict between friends. It can also be seen in the leadership activities of a pastor or businessperson. For example, the natural life cycle of businesses and churches is to grow, develop, peak, and then decline. However, leaders express their image-bearing role by intentionally creating times of evaluation and reflection that require their people to wrestle with reality, take responsibility for their fallen condition, and face their most significant challenges.

At the same time, leaders also grapple with the second principle. While God’s truth is absolutely true, no finite human can understand it absolutely. As the apostle Paul says in

1 Corinthians 13 (esv), today we “see in a mirror dimly,” but one day everything will be clear. Yet in the here and now, as we seek to live and work in obedience to God’s truth, we struggle to understand how to do this in our day-to-day responsibilities.

So here is the ambiguity. As leaders serving in God-given roles—be it as businesspersons, pastors, teachers, parents, or others—we want to reflect God’s truth, leading “after God’s image.” Yet we are unable to do this perfectly. For example, I recently visited my son and his wife, who are raising three chil-dren under the age of five. Their commitment (as declared when they baptized their children) is to raise them in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” They have the Scriptures, a committed family, their church community, and a shelf of books to support them in this task. But at the end of a long day when their son has a meltdown because he doesn’t want to go to bed, they are forced to apply their best understanding of God’s truth at that moment and evaluate their actions after things have settled down.

In a similar manner, Christians in leadership roles are called to lead from their limited understanding of God’s truth and humbly rely on the grace of God in their successes and failures. This struggle is beautifully expressed by the author of Ecclesiastes when he states, “I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (3:10–11 esv).

One pastor involved with Intersect Forum has poignantly shared how this struggle has reshaped his understanding of leadership.

About three weeks after graduating from seminary, my wife announced that she was leaving me and the church. It was incredibly painful. I had been train-ing to be a pastor, to lead God’s people, to be held up as some sort of a model as a believer and as a leader, but my life fell apart. It was during that time that the Lord taught me that leadership is not the projection of an image of a perfect follower of Christ. It is someone who knows how to embrace the truths of the Gospel and embrace the gray areas of life. It was in those lessons of learning how to walk in the midst of profound ambiguity that the Lord shaped me into a different kind of a man and leader.

Leadership in a broken world requires that we learn to embrace ambiguity. By doing so, the idea of walking by faith transitions from a concept to a lifestyle. It means that we must learn to trust in a sovereign Father in heaven who knows what He is


doing even when we hardly have an inkling of His purposes. It means that we learn to live by His grace, being profoundly aware of His kindness when things go well and being willing to acknowledge our mistakes when things go awry. Finally, it means that we recognize that we cannot accomplish God’s purposes on our own. We are part of a larger system—the body of Christ—and are dependent on one another.

A family business leader at the Intersect Forum shared the following story of how he sought to live by faith, expressing God’s will in the midst an uncertain situation.

In our business, we consider the people who work for us our most important resource. I had one employee—a distant relative whose mother also works with us—who is the fourth generation of his family in our business. He got involved with using heroin. [Legally] I could have fired him immediately. Or, because he is family, I could have orchestrated a way to hide his problem. Instead, we worked with his union representative and went the extra mile for him. Eventually we had to terminate him when he was tested and failed for the third time, but we didn’t just drop him. We helped him reenter a rehabilitation unit and work on a new career. That was tough because of family and union involvement. But it was the righteous thing to do.

Another Forum participant explained how he learned what it means to embrace ambiguity and live by faith.

My wife has a viral disease that makes the future extreme-ly uncertain. We don’t know what is going to happen. Basically our life is filled with profound ambiguity. Walking in faith is really the only option we have—and it demands that we be more understanding and gentle with one another. This has taught me about grace-centered leadership. I’m very much of a driven hard-charger, and I want to be in control. But the Lord has His thumb on me to not let me be that person anymore.

Just as those involved with Intersect Forum have learned about leadership, I encourage you to take time to reflect on your own life and the ambiguity that God has built into it. Consider how He is using this to shape you into a leader who is learning to seek first God’s Kingdom and righteousness.

DR. BOB BURNS Dr. Burns came to Covenant Seminary in 2004 to direct the Center for Ministry Leadership, a continuing education and renewal center. In 2007, he joined the faculty and began oversight of the Doctor of Ministry program. A veteran of two church plants and ministry positions work-ing with youth, singles, families, adults, worship, and the arts, Dr. Burns has a heart to nurture ministry leaders in sustaining pastoral excellence. Growing out of his desire for the Church to serve the needs of today’s world, Dr. Burns founded Fresh Start Seminars and is the author of The Fresh Start Divorce Recovery Workbook.


The Intersect ForumIn 2004, Covenant Theological Seminary received a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to discover what it takes to sustain excellence in pastoral life and ministry. One of the initiatives funded by this grant is the Intersect Forum.

At the Intersect Forum pastors join Christian family-business leaders who are members of their congregations to discuss the mutual leadership challenges they face in their individual contexts. All of the family businesspersons are Christians who are highly involved in and committed to the Church.

The statistics on the economic impact of family-controlled firms are astonishing. These businesses generate more than 50% of the US Gross National Product (GNP). Family interests control nearly 47% of the Fortune 500 firms, 60% of all US public companies, and even higher percentages of the largest companies in every other free market country except Japan.

At the Intersect Forum, participants have discovered many correlations between leadership in a family firm and in the Church. One of the most significant findings is that each context must be viewed as both an organization and an organism. It is assumed that a family firm attends to busi-ness matters, but it must also be sensitive to interpersonal dynamics. Businesses that fail to do so are impacted both in the financial area and in their sustainability over generations. Similarly, churches must be attuned to program and relational concerns. Failure to maintain balance in both areas impacts their Kingdom witness.

If you are interested in learning more about the Intersect Forum, contact Denise Wichlan at 314.392.4203, or e-mail her at [email protected].


Praise God with us for the generosity of His people! Through the gracious donations of many dedicated individuals, churches, and charitable foundations, the commitments toward Covenant Seminary’s By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign have now surpassed our original goal of $12.5 million—and are rapidly approaching $14 million! This increased giving will allow us to grow our en-dowment and provide for the ongoing maintenance of our 30-acre campus.

Please pray that God will continue to bless our efforts during the final stretch of the campaign and that all commitments made thus far will be honored in a timely fashion. God has indeed blessed us through faithful friends such as you who are committed to the future of Covenant Seminary.

Campaign Funding Update

Thanks be to God for Your Partnership in the Biggest Initiative in Our History!

New organ in Rayburn Chapel

Expanded and improved playground behind Edwards Hall


Building for the FutureThe new Founders Hall is under construction and scheduled for completion by fall 2008!

Mark Your Calendar!Preview Weekend for the newly constructed Founders Hall

July 20—Open house and building tours for families and friends

Make a Difference for EternityVisit us online at www.covenantseminary.edu and click on the By His Grace, For His Glory icon to:

~ Learn more about this campaign. ~ Take a virtual tour of the new academic

and administration building. ~ Make a donation online.

Your partnership with Covenant Seminary in this campaign will have an impact not only in the lives of the students we are training today, but also in the lives of those to whom they will minister tomorrow and for generations to come.

For more information call 1.800.264.8064 and ask for Dave Wicker or John Ranheim.

For nearly 10 years researchers have been lamenting the “boy crisis” in America. I didn’t realize how pervasive the crisis was until I taught in a Christian high school.

I found guys whose fathers were physically, emotionally, and/or spirituality absent. I found over-mothered boys struggling emotionally and spiritually. Standing outside my classroom, I watched parades of high school guys slouched over, heads down, and limping with no passion for leadership. I realized then that the Church was in trouble. I had to act.

I locked arms with the ninth-grade history teacher, and we petitioned our administrators to let us lead a men’s Bible study. Thinking most of our attendees would be boys from single-parent families and broken homes, we were surprised to see sons of elders, deacons, and church leaders show up. These boys were hungry. It was then that we realized that most churches—despite their multiple ministry programs—did not provide direct, intentional contexts for the masculine formation of boys. There was nothing about how to be initiated as Godly, image-bearing men.

Questions That Haunt MenWhat is a man? Am I a man? How do I know? Do I have what it takes? Does my father delight in me? Like a siren, these ques-tions haunt the American male. How do you answer questions such as these? Or better yet, how can the Church embrace the battle for the hearts and souls of men? Is the answer to be nice, stay out of trouble, and read your Bible so you don’t sin? Or is there something more?

When these questions go unanswered, they are really answered negatively. Boys left to figure things out on their own misinterpret messages they have received from their fathers and other men in their communities. However, by design, Christ-centered masculinity is bestowed from one man to another—from father to son or in a community of men.

Boys without godly discipleship are Satan’s playground. The Enemy deceives men into answering those vital questions with sports, work, or women. Success in athletics, academics, careers, and female conquests mark a perverted right of passage for boys today. Sadly, many Christian homes nurture this false masculin-ity and consider it as spiritual success or being well behaved because they never do anything to embarrass their parents.

In a fallen world, men who seek to answer these vital ques-tions through work or career often get good grades or even become CEOs. Men who take their questions to women boast of having had many girlfriends or are husbands who do whatever their wives want but cannot offer them their strength.

The Walking WoundedEvery man carries wounds. We live in a fallen world and are born into broken families. Woundedness begets wounded-ness. The Enemy delights to see men shackled to their pain. Moreover, most men have wounds that go unhealed or unad-dressed because there are few contexts in which men are free to disclose them and receive long-awaited, regular validation from God and other men. Most men will not journey down that road. Men will deny the wound behind bravado, minimize the effects of past pain, or simply swallow it and attempt to move on. Meanwhile, we’ll live as posers and frauds, fashioning a fig leaf, faking life as if we have it all together, and running from things that might expose us.

The wounds of our youth affect us as adults. For example, over-mothering undermines a man’s ability to pursue female relationships in a healthy way. Women who marry passive men or find themselves in cold, stagnant marriages often turn to their sons as surrogate husbands to get much-needed support. Experts have found that this over-mothering ruins a boy’s masculine for-mation. One man recently wrote me this:

MASCULINESPIRITUALITY

My parents never divorced; they just lived separate lives under the same roof. But as the older son, I became my mom’s surrogate spouse. It took me years to figure out what I had gone through.

I’m 36 years old, a solid Reformed Christian, have a good job as a lawyer, and generally enjoy life. But I’m absolutely ruined as far as relationships are concerned. I give time to my church, work, and use my spare time to travel the globe. But I don’t even bother dating anymore.

Additionally, men so desperately long for their fathers’ approval that many choose careers they hate or overwork them-selves to get straight A’s just to hear their fathers say, “I’m proud of you.” Even worse, men embracing their fathers’ piercing articulation of them as unworthy often live out that prophecy with reckless abandon.

What Is NeededArticulating biblical masculinity always brings controversy, resentment, and fear because most of us define biblical masculin-ity in terms of our own histories with men during childhood and adolescence.

Those nurtured around abusive men tend to define mas-culinity in terms of gentleness and meekness. Those with pas-sive, soft-spoken, weak fathers tend to misinterpret passivity as normal or reject any appeals to a more assertive definition of masculinity, believing that any talk of masculinity is an appeal to the macho. Histories aside, extremes should not keep us from highlighting masculine formation while the Church passively defaults to a call for young men not to be troublemakers.

Boys and men need intentional, long-term masculine forma-tion in a community of men in order to fulfill their vocation as Christ-centered men. During my second seminary teaching year, I taught a class called “Masculine Spirituality” because, like the high school boys I had 10 years ago, I looked around and saw many men wounded and limping. It was a life-changing semester of intentional masculine formation, the type desperately needed in the Church today.

Christ-centered masculinity entails nothing less than fight-ing for the cosmic cause of the Kingdom, fighting evil, accepting responsibility, leading with radical fortitude, pursuing justice for others, showing empathy for the things that God cares about, and living out the implications of the Gospel in every area of life in ways unique to our vocation as men (Prov. 5; 1 John 2:12–14 ).

Masculine formation is not a onetime event that happens on a retreat. It does not happen during a once-a-week men’s bas-ketball game or a Thursday-morning informational Bible study. Formation is a long-term process—life-on-life validation beyond mere accountability confessionals. Masculine formation is both formal and informal as men engage in intentional formation in the image of Christ at all stages in the masculine journey.

In recent years, I had the privilege of co-leading groups of men into the wilderness of Canada. It was an invitation to men with the hopes of initiating a journey of intimate, empowering relationships—fueled by the Gospel—to be later cultivated in local churches. Sending men to be alone with God to wrestle with their pain, questions, identity, dreams, and to covenant with their brothers to support each other for the long term has blessed me beyond words.

According to a 2006 study by Duke University, the typi-cal US congregation draws an adult crowd that is 61% female and 39% male with virtually no men in their early twenties. Please join with me in this effort to establish true masculinity. Unless we reinvigorate intentional masculine formation into our Kingdom mission, the Church will remain stagnant and impo-tent, and the whole creation will suffer for it.

ANTHONY B. BRADLEYAnthony Bradley (MDiv ’98) is assistant professor of apologetics and systematic theology. He also serves as a Research Fellow for the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is completing a PhD in Historical and Theological Studies at Westminster Theological Seminary. His doctoral work focuses on the intersection of black liberation theology with economics.


MENTOR Program Aids Pastors in First Years of MinistryAs part of its ongoing commitment to graduates and their

families who are serving the Church, Covenant Seminary

has launched the Ministry Enrichment Through Ongoing

Relationships (MENTOR) program. During their first five

years of ministry, younger alumni can be partnered with

older, more mature ministry leaders for the purpose of mutual

encouragement, growth in ministry vision, and instruction in

basic ministry practice.

These MENTOR teams can then take part in a variety of

ongoing ministry and leadership development opportunities

such as Covenant Seminary’s Lifetime of Ministry (LOM) cours-

es, cooperative post-graduate studies, and discounted partici-

pation in the Embers to a Flame church and pastoral renewal

conference (a ministry of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in

Birmingham, Alabama).

If you are a Covenant Seminary graduate and an experienced ministry leader who is interested in helping equip a younger pastor in ministry, or if you are a recent graduate who would benefit from having someone to walk along with you during your formative years of ministry, please contact Joel Hathaway, director of alumni relations, at joel.hathaway@ covenantseminary.edu.


Jerram BarrsProfessor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture; Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute

FEB. 15–16 The Kahler Grand Hotel; Rochester, MN. L’Abri Fellowship conference: Culture and Common Grace: God’s Good Gifts in All of Life. Teaching. TOPICS: “Harry Potter and the Triumph of Sacrificial Love.” “The Kindness of God in a Broken World.” “When God Seems Distant and Silent.”

MARCH 5–7 Grove City College; Grove City, PA. Ethics and Character Formation lecture series. Speaking.

APRIL 10 St. Louis, MO. Ethnic Ministries Summit. Speaking. TOPIC: “Standing Together That We May Be One.”

APRIL 11–13 Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church; Birmingham, AL. Teaching. TOPIC: “The Heart of Evangelism.”

Hans BayerProfessor of New Testament

FEB. 15–16 The Kahler Grand Hotel; Rochester, MN. L’Abri Fellowship confer-ence: Culture and Common Grace: God’s Good Gifts in All of Life. Teaching. TOPIC: “Spirituality in Contemporary Culture.” Workshops. TOPICS: “The Canon of Popular

Culture: Gnosticism vs. Orthodoxy Revisited.” “Living in a Besieged City: A Jewish Testimony of Survival.” “New Perspectives on Paul and Contemporary Culture.”

MARCH 17–21 Ukraine Biblical Seminary; Kiev, Ukraine. Teaching. TOPIC: New Testament theology.

Bryan ChapellPresident; Professor of Practical Theology

MARCH 2 Westminster Presbyterian Church; Lancaster, PA. Missions conference. Preaching.

MARCH 28–29 Atlanta Marriott Century Center; Atlanta, GA. The Gospel Man conference. Plenary speaker.

APRIL 26–27 Elgin, IL. Westminster Presbyterian Church. Church anniversary; preaching.

MAY 17–24 Ireland. Pastor’s con-ference. Speaking to ministerial students and preaching.

Philip D. DouglassAssociate Professor of Practical Theology

FEB. 29–MARCH 1 Covenant Theological Seminary; St. Louis, MO. Readiness for Church Planting Assessment. Assessor.

MARCH 5–7 Atlanta, GA. National meeting of the Mission to North America Committee.

Donald GuthrieAssociate Professor of Educational Ministries; Associate Dean of Educational Ministries; Senior Director, Francis A. Schaeffer Institute

MARCH 5–7 Grove City College; Grove City, PA. Ethics and Character Formation lecture series. Speaking.

APRIL 26–27 Covenant Community Church; Scottsdale, AZ. Teaching and preaching.

Richard WinterProfessor of Practical Theology

FEB. 15–16 The Kahler Grand Hotel; Rochester, MN. L’Abri Fellowship confer-ence: Culture and Common Grace: God’s Good Gifts in All of Life. Teaching. TOPICS: “Between the Bible and Brain Scans: Understanding Depression.” “Sex: Agony and Ecstasy!“

FEB. 24–APRIL13 Greentree Community Church; Kirkwood, MO. Sunday School. TOPIC: Sexuality.

Dr. Philip D. Douglass, associate professor of practical theology, has a new book published by P&R Publishing. What is Your Church’s Personality? Discovering and Developing the Ministry Style of Your Choice will be in book-stores on March 1.

Pray for library director Jim Pakala as he trav-els to Atlanta, Georgia, February 26–27 to chair the Presbyterian and Reformed Chaplains Commission.

Dr. Robert A. Peterson, professor of systematic theol-ogy, has a new book expected to be released in March. Faith Comes by Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism is co-edited by Dr. Peterson and Christopher W. Morgan and will be published by InterVarsity Press.

Dr. Jay A. Sklar, associate professor of Old Testament, will be on sabbatical January–August 2008. The focus of his sabbatical will be to con-tinue work on a commentary regarding Leviticus with the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series. He will also attempt to spend six to eight weeks in France in order to improve his French. This is in keeping with his long-term goal of spending a few weeks each year doing theologi-cal education in French-speaking countries.

Dr. Robert I. Vasholz, professor emeritus of Old Testament, has joined the pastoral staff at First Presbyterian Church of Augusta, Georgia, where alumnus George Robertson (MDiv ’91, ThM ‘97) is the senior pastor.

SEMINARY news & events

PROFESSORS’ SPEAKING SCHEDULES

Theology Lectures FEBRUARY 15

Instructor: Dr. Sean Lucas, associate professor of church history and vice president for academics. Guest speaker: Dr. Richard Lints, professor of theology and apologetics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Discovering the Personality of a Church FEBRUARY 15–16

Instructor: Dr. Phil Douglass, associate professor of practi-cal theology

Latin America FEBRUARY 22–23

Instructor: William C. Yarbrough, visiting instructor in world mission

Preaching the Johannine Gospel FEBRUARY 22–23

Instructor: Stephen Um, visiting instructor in practical theology

Music and Theology FEBRUARY 29–MARCH 1

Instructor: Denis Haack, visiting instructor in contem-porary culture

History of Hymnody MARCH 7–8

Instructor: Kevin Twit, visit-ing instructor in educational ministry

Crossing Ethnic and National Boundaries APRIL 10-12

Instructor: Dr. Nelson Jennings, associate professor of world mission

Covenant Seminary regularly offers weekend and weeklong courses in its Lifetime of Ministry (LOM) program. Any LOM course can be audit-ed (non-transcript audit) for a minimal fee of $25 per credit hour. These classes are now free to Covenant Seminary alumni, students, faculty, staff members, and their spouses not taking the classes for credit.

Register online at www.covenantseminary.edu/news/default.asp, or call 1.800.264.8064 or 314.434.4044 for more information. Students must contact the Registrar’s office. LOM courses offer a unique opportunity for practical learning and spiritual growth.

Lifetime of Ministry Courses Now Free for Alumni!

Spring 2008

FACULTY NEWS

14

ALUMNI news

After serving five years as assistant headmaster and dean of faculty at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery, Alabama, James Albritton (MDiv ’94) accepted the position as assistant professor of history at Huntingdon College (also in Montgomery) where he and wife Carey live with their children, McLean (age 7) and Emma (age 5). Carey is enjoying motherhood and serv-ing the church and the community as a volunteer.

Scott Cobb (MATS ’99) recently joined Southeastern Asset Management, Inc., the investment advisor to the Longleaf Partners Fund. His wife, Erica, completed her PhD in Spanish literature from the University of North Carolina in 2006. Scott and Erica have one daughter, Imogen Evelyn, who is one year old. They currently live in London.

Joseph Crumbley (MDiv ’83) graduated with a PhD in historical theology/Christian apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary in Glendale, Pennsylvania, in May 2007. Joseph lives in Gainesville, Georgia, where he has been teaching Bible at a Christian high school. He is an ordained PCA pastor and works part-time at Westminster Church PCA (Gainesville) while he searches for a seminary- or college- level teaching position.

Ellen Dykas (MATS ’99) accepted the role as women’s ministry coordinator for Harvest USA, where she directs the national office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ellen has also served as a missionary in Romania with the Evangelical Free Church of America and as coordinator of missionary equipping and care at First Evangelical Free Church of St. Louis County, Missouri.

Jonathan Entrekin (MDiv ’06) was ordained on August 5, 2007, at New City Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Retired chaplain Col. Randy Nabors (MDiv ’76) preached. During the service, Jonathan took an oath as a Chaplain Captain in the Army and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Jonathan and wife Suzi have four chil-dren: Asher (age 9), Kinsman (age 6), Nouwen (age 4), and Ransom (age 1½).

In June 2007, Stan Gale (DMin ’97) published the book The Prayer of Jehoshaphat: Seeing Beyond Life’s Storms (P&R Publishing). In addition, a revised and expanded edition of Stan’s book Community Houses of Prayer: Ministry Manual (Deo Volente Publishing) was released in May 2007. It is an evangelism tool for believers. Stan serves as the pastor of Reformed Presbyterian Church of West Chester, Pennsylvania.

After four years of serving at Salem Presbyterian Church in Gaffney, South Carolina, Todd Gothard (MDiv ’00) accepted a call to serve as the membership pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Todd and wife Jaclynn have three boys: Joshua (age 10), Nelson (age 9), and Austin (age 5). Jaclynn recently completed nursing school and is now a registered nurse.

After two years as an assistant pastor at New Covenant Church (EPC) in Pompano Beach, Florida, Scott Lawry (MDiv ’00) accepted the call as the pastor of Grace at Bell Road (EPC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Scott’s wife, Rachael, is a full-time mom and part-time physical therapist. They have been blessed with two daughters, Anna Faith (age 3) and Mary Grace (age 1).

John Nganga (MAET ’95), now in his twentieth year of ordained ministry in Kenya, continues his work with the organization he co-founded, Marafiki Global AIDS Ministry. It provides food; shelter; medical care; education; a safe, Christian living environment; and is a loving support to children worldwide who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. John’s wife, Faith (MATS ’93), is a registered nurse. They have two sons: James (age 14) and Jacob (age 10).

After serving as church planter/senior pastor of Riverside Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri, for four years, Scott Sauls (MDiv ’96) accepted a call to serve at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, New York, as the senior director of community formation. Scott and his wife, Patti—whose ministry passion is for her family—have two children: Abigail (age 9) and Ellie (age 5).

Michael Subracko (MDiv ’04) and Susan Bach (MDiv ’05) were married on September 8, 2007, at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito, California. John Haralson (MDiv ’99) per-formed the ceremony. John Pa (MDiv ’02) was one of two best men. Mike and Susan live in Seattle, Washington, where Mike serves as an associate pastor at Grace Seattle.

Marc Swan (MDiv ’01) was installed as pastor of Grace Church (PCA) in Rochester, New York. The sermon was delivered by Steve Resch, senior pastor of Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Gahanna, Ohio. Steve Froehlich, pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Ithaca, New York, gave the charge to the pastor. Marc, wife Wendy, and children Samantha, Michaela, Joshua, and Jacob live in Penfield, New York.

After more than five years as the children’s wor-ship pastor at Perimeter Church in Duluth,

Georgia, Jason Walch (MDiv ’99) accepted a call as the children’s ministry pastor at Chesterfield Presbyterian Church in Chesterfield, Missouri. Jason and wife Nina have two children: Elliot (age 8) and Stone (age 6).

BIRTHS

Jon Dunning (MDiv ’01) and his wife, Tricia, celebrated the arrival of their second child, John Charles “Jack”, on July 31, 2007. Jack joins 3-year-old sister Lucy. Jon continues to enjoy serving as pastor of youth and family ministries at Oak Hills Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas.

Matt (MATS ’05) and Alina Kodatt (MAC ’05) celebrate the birth of Karis Alina, born July 7, 2007. Matt currently serves as the director of youth and worship at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Paso Robles, California. Alina works as an elementary school counselor in the Paso Robles Public Schools.

Rusty (MDiv ’05) and Jennifer (Darrell) Milton (MATS ’01) rejoice to announce the birth of their daughter, Adalae Faith, born April 10, 2007, and weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz. Adalae joins proud big brother Phinehas (age 2). Rusty serves as the pastor of Grace Fellowship Presbyterian in Clanton, Alabama. The Miltons praise God for the growing faith of many new and young believ-ers in their congregation.

Kevin (MDiv ’96) and Stephene (MAC ’95) Vanden Brink welcome Alia Makayla Joy, adopted December 27, 2006. Alia joins siblings Samuel and Benjamin. Kevin served as an asso-ciate pastor of Crosspoint Green Lake in Seattle, Washington, from 2003 to 2007. The Vanden Brinks have transitioned back to St. Louis, Missouri, where Kevin serves as the lead pastor for New City Fellowship of St. Louis.

We Want To Hear From You!Alumni, we consider you family, and we’d like to keep in touch! Please let us know where in the world God has called you, and fill us in on what you’re doing there. Update us about your family as well. Send e-mails to [email protected] and written correspondence to Alumni News Attn: Joel Hathaway 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, MO 63141

If you don’t currently receive e-Connect, our monthly electronic newsletter, but would like to, send your request to [email protected]. 15

hile engaging in campus ministry in Atlanta, Georgia, I had multiple opportunities to share Christ

with people who responded that they had already been introduced to Him multiple times. They would announce this even though their present lives displayed scant evidence of com-mitment to Christ. On the other hand, when I lived in Europe, people often greeted overtures to the Gospel as if I were invit-ing them to join an outmoded religion as dated as the medieval churches in which it was being practiced. Both responses suggest

that something is wrong in common cultural perceptions of the doctrine of redemption. The first reaction contends that the Gospel can be considered as “eternal fire insurance,” the recep-tion of which is gained by a short ecstatic experience. The sec-ond reply indicates that many imagine the Christian message to be (at best) an artifact of mere historical interest. Both responses signal a lack of appreciation of the glorious intricacies of God’s redemptive purposes.

As we at Covenant Seminary equip students for further ministry, I am often aware of cultural perceptions that we face. How should we then better teach the Good News of redemption in our churches, and how can we communicate the Gospel better to the world around us? There are several ways.

First, we must insist that the Gospel is not a meager prom-ise of an insured ticket into heaven. Rather, redemption truly concerns the whole story of human history. In the narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation we are caught in a vision of the very intentions of God Himself. Before the creation of the world, God planned the salvation of His people (Eph. 1:4). From the curse of the fall we learn of the proto-evangelium (Gen. 3:15)—the hope that the serpent’s, even Satan’s, head will be crushed. We are engaged in a celestial battle for our very souls, and the whole creation itself awaits the assured outcome (Rom. 8:19–23). Via covenantal dealings with Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and others, God has disclosed throughout the ages His saving purposes. The prophets of old foretold the coming of a Messiah. The Scriptures—especially Isaiah 52:13–53:12—

reveal, centuries before Jesus walked this earth, that Jesus’ death and resurrection had always been the core of God’s redeeming plan. In addition, much to the amazement of God’s chosen nation Israel, God purposed to bring Gentiles into these sav-ing designs (Eph. 3:1–13). After all-too-briefly plumbing the depths of the saving work of God in Romans chapters 1–11, Paul responded by proclaiming, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33a esv).

As we present the redeeming work of God to our congrega-tions, we must convey amazement similar to that of the apostle Paul. We are part of something on a scale that is scarcely imag-inable. God’s redemptive plan encompasses the whole created order. It is not outdated, humdrum news, or something to lightly engage in through an occasional emotional moment in church. No, the redemption of God rightly causes us too to cry out, “Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” (Rom. 11:34).

Second, we must take seriously the weight of sin. I suspect that most people receive the Christian message lightheartedly because they vastly underestimate how abhorrent our sin is to the one holy God. From the advent of human history, the result of sin was death (Gen. 2:16–17; 3:19; cf. Eph. 2:1–5). Cast out from Eden and alienated from fellowship with God, humankind has been at war with our Maker. We were “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12b). Yet, into this predica-ment God Himself sent propitintion for our sins (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), imputed to us Christ’s righteous-ness, and spoke peaceful reconciliation with us (2 Cor. 5:18–21). If the Church understates the cosmic destructiveness of sin, then the cross appears virtually unnecessary to the world around us. If all I need to atone for is a few misdeeds, then a simple lip-service commitment to Christ might seem all that is required to assure eternal delight. However, if the full brunt of our sinfulness is felt—if we perceive ourselves as having actively sided against our very Maker—then we have no choice but to cast ourselves wholly on His mercy.

Third, we must contemplate the cost of God’s salvation work. The blood of sheep and goats could not cleanse for all time a sinful rebel band such as we are. Such simple sacrifices could not perfect our sinful consciences and draw us unto God (Heb. 9:9; 10:1–18). Only the sacrifice of the very Son of God Himself, pinned naked to the cross of pain and shame, could deliver us from our sins. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16)—the cost of redemp-

COVENANT | Spring 2008 16COVENANT | Spring 2008 16

Deep is the Saving Wisdom of God

We are part of something on a scale scarcely imaginable.

W


tion was the most extreme imaginable. If we can somehow help people glimpse the depth of God’s love, then we all can come to a fuller appreciation of the wondrous mystery of the Gospel.

Fourth, we must believe that the Gospel does not stop at the cross. The Good News leads us through Jesus’ atoning sacri-fice and on to His glorious resurrection victory (Rom. 4:23–25; 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:3–8; Col. 2:13–14; 2 Tim. 2:8). The grave lay empty, and the Son of God is proven triumphant in resurrection (Rom 1:4). It is that resurrection hope that grants perseverance to the world-weary soul (e.g., 1 Pet. 1:3–9). Risen in Christ, we conquer the grip of sin in this life through His strength (Rom. 6:4–11). Through Christ’s resurrection, we too shall rise to praise the risen Lord eternally (1 Pet. 1:3–5; John 11:25–26; Acts 4:2; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 6:14; 15:20–23; 2 Cor. 4:14). Could it be at times that our failure to engage our culture meaningfully comes in part because we do not adequately proclaim the hope of His resurrection?

Fifth, we must perceive the sovereignty of God that elects us unto salvation. We cannot lay any claim on God’s grace. Even our own adoption into the redeemed family of God results from His having chosen us from the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3–14). For those who love God, “all things work togeth-er for good for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28 esv). Yet that call springs from God’s foreknowledge and predestination, which seeks the remaking in Christians of the divine image, once twisted in the fall and now increasingly conformed again to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). The called are justified, love God, and will be glorified in the resur-rection to come (Rom. 8:28–29). Such election grants us con-fidence before the Lord that nothing will separate us from His love (Rom. 8:38–39). If that confidence, wholly reliant on God’s grace, were to be truly grasped by our churches, we could not help but be caught up in amazement at God’s mercy. Such con-fidence that God actively calls people to Himself also motivates us to evangelism because we have certainty that He can use our efforts to accomplish His sovereign ends.

Sixth, we must understand that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing. One consequence of the Enlightenment was to separate the Jesus of history from the Christ of the Gospels and to lay on Paul the fabrication of the doctrine of salvation. Thus the European rationalist might wonder whether Jesus would have taught the Gospel of Paul. Yet it was Jesus Himself who predicted His suffering, redeeming death, and victorious resur-rection (e.g., Mark 2:20; 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:32–34, 45; 12:7–8; 14:8, 21, 27–28 and parallels). It was Jesus who said over the bread, “This is my body,” and Jesus who spoke over the cup, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:22–24). The Christian has every right to hear the whole New Testament—from start to finish—speaking with united voice the hope of salvation and to understand Jesus Himself as relating His death to the Messianic promises of the

Old Testament (Ps. 22; see Matt. 27:46; cf. Isa. 52:13–53:12). Seventh, we must affirm that redemption helps focus us

into perseverance and good works. Having just written study Bible notes on the book of Hebrews, I am all the more aware of how that author beckons his fellow Christians on to endur-ance in this life. The Reformed tradition has rightly emphasized that the saints will persevere. We must declare the truth that salvation—which comes only by grace through faith—still issues forth into the good works that God prepared for us to do (Eph. 2:8–10; Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–8). We have become enlisted as God’s increasingly sanctified instruments for proclaiming His Gospel and for renewing His creation. The person who shows no evidence of allegiance to Christ ought rightly to question whether salvation has yet come upon him or her.

Finally, we must seek to understand both the simplicity and the complexity of redemption. Sometimes it appears to me that Christians, having heard repeatedly the message of redemption, are bored with church and humdrum about the Gospel. There is a profound simplicity to the Gospel call that “Christ died for my sins and was raised again on the third day.” Yet that simplic-ity rightly expands into the great complexity of unpacking the depth of that Gospel. One can spend his or her life seeking to comprehend the many ways God prepared this message through the Old Testament covenants, prophets, and sacrificial typol-

ogy. How can one fully plumb the complex biblical imagery of salvation such as regeneration, union with Christ, propitia-tion, redemption, justification, reconciliation, and adoption? How can we truly perceive in this life the celestial reign of the already-victorious Lamb of God who will return again to call His elect unto glory?

Perhaps, as we teach and learn anew the redeeming grace of God, we too can lead others to proclaim: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:33–36 esv)

DR. DAVID W. CHAPMAN Dr. Chapman is assistant professor of New Testament and biblical archeology. His recent research focuses on the understanding of crucifixion in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. Other inter-ests include enhancing appreciation of the New Testament through study of relevant Jewish and Graeco-Roman literature and through archaeological investigation. He has recently published “Marriage and Family in Second Temple Judiasm” in Marriage and Family in the Biblical World, ed. by Ken M. Campbell.

The Gospel is not a meager promise of

an insured ticket into heaven.

DR. JAY SKLAR Dr. Sklar, a native of Canada, serves as associate professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary. He originally wrote this article for a ministry called Two Becoming One (www.2becoming1.com). Dr. Sklar has led youth and children’s ministries in both church and camp settings. He has also spoken often at college and youth events in addition to preaching regularly, and has taught a leadership study for St. Louis-area men on Covenant Seminary’s campus.


hen you think of holiness, what comes to mind? For many of us, our concept of holiness often involves

very spiritual things, such as reading the Bible, attend-ing church, having consistent devotional lives, praying long and fervently, and sharing our faith. Naturally, all of these things can be indicators of holiness in our lives. But what exactly is holiness?

At its core, holiness in Christians means that we reflect the very character of God Himself. Is God loving? Then we reflect holiness in the love we show to others. Is God pure? Then we reflect holiness in the purity of our lives. Is God patient? Then we reflect holiness by our patience with others. In short, holi-ness in our lives fleshes itself out in very tangible and construc-tive ways. This will be especially true of holiness in marriage—it is a very practical thing.

Galatians 5 is a beautiful illustration of this. Here we read about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. That is to say, the different fruits that are mentioned here are all illustrations of the holy character of God. Take a close look at what these fruits are: “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23a esv). Did you notice how many of these fruits are things that we demonstrate—or should demonstrate—in the context of relationships? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. These fruits of the Holy Spirit are at their core very useful things that work themselves out in our everyday lives and in our everyday relating with those around us.

When we think of holiness only in terms of spiritual activi-ties such as reading the Bible or praying, we make two mistakes. The first is that we can underestimate the different ways that those around us—especially our spouses—demonstrate the holy character of God. This hit home with me when my friend Tim shared about his own pilgrimage in understanding holiness. When he was a young believer, he thought of holiness in terms of the religious activities listed above. As a result, when he did not see his wife praying or reading the Bible as much as he thought she should, he concluded that she was not very holy. What Tim did not notice, however, was the joy and gentleness of his wife (see again Gal. 5:22–23a). She was always smiling and had a very gentle spirit. In other words, she exhibited the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Tim missed these aspects of holiness in his wife, though, because he was measuring holiness only in terms of spiritual activities.

The second mistake that we make by evaluating holiness by one’s religious works is that we tend to overestimate our own holiness. If we think of holiness only in terms of doing Christian duties, then holiness becomes a task that we place a check mark beside when we are done. However, holiness as set forth in the Bible is extremely different. The holiness of the Bible shows itself in a life transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we reflect the very character of God Himself. This is not just a duty that we mark off our to-do lists. It is a radical trans-formation of the heart and life that has a deep impact on how we interact with other people—including our spouses. As a result, holiness has a very practical impact on marriage because as we become more like God, we are enabled to interact with our spouses with more “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23a esv).

Discussion Questions

Here are some practical questions for you to consider.

1. How have you thought about holiness? Is your under-

standing of holiness related to completing a certain

spiritual task, or do you also understand holiness to be a

transformation of the heart and life that shows up in very

practical ways in day-to-day relationships?

2. Read again the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

self-control” (Gal. 5:22–23a esv). How do these fruits

manifest themselves in the way that you relate to your

spouse? How should these fruits of the Holy Spirit mani-

fest themselves in your marriage relationship? Try to be as

concrete as possible.

Always remember that the Lord has provided us with His

Holy Spirit to help us become more like Him. Becoming

holy is not a matter of self-transformation. It is a matter

of looking to God in repentance and faith on a daily basis

and seeking His help to become more like Him.

Holiness in MarriageW

mid a hodgepodge of machinery and tools, a group of ministry leaders—dressed in tattered clothes and overalls—bow in prayer for one another, the campus of

Covenant Theological Seminary, and safety in the day’s labor. With a hearty “amen,” they set off to their various tasks of mowing, raking, pulling weeds, collect-ing trash, spreading mulch, and installing a new playground as the grounds crew of the Seminary. In other words, work; work that is, in short, equipping them for ministry.

Daniel Henry (MDiv ’09) says, “I feel like this work is part of our call to be humans. We were created to be in the garden.” Daniel—who has spent the last two summers ministering at Native American reservations—has a background in music. “The work is relaxing, and it takes my mind off the stress of studies. More than that, I always feel like I’m doing something for which I’m created.”

Matt Wicker (MAEM ’08) concurs. “The biggest lesson I’ve learned is about being a servant,” Matt says. “A lot of the tasks we do—cleaning drains, cutting grass, keeping the grounds pretty—won’t ever be noticed. People tend to just walk by us. If they don’t know we’re students, it can be as if we’re not there. We’re just servants.” In fact, most of the

Ministry Training in the Physical Plant Department The Soil of the Heart


above, left:

Matt Wicker

(MAEM ’08) has learned

a lot about service through his

role on the grounds crew.

left: The manual labor performed by

these future ministry leaders often involves

exhausting tasks in sometimes harsh weather.

A

Eric Kessels (left), director of grounds and

equipment, gives direction as he works with

Daniel Henry (right) and others to install new

playground equipment.


attention these men receive comes either when the job is not done, or when they are making too much noise doing it.

Michael Barber (MDiv ’07) says, “It’s like you’re the hired hand. You’re just the person digging the ditch and so I shouldn’t

talk to you.” But even in that there are exceptions—like the mother who recently sent her son to deliver a bag of cold Gatorade® bottles to these hardworking men.

“However, there are times,” Matt shares, “when people go out of their way to talk to us. And then it’s like seeing the love of Christ.” The Lord uses these encounters—or lack thereof—to shape these men for pastoral ministry.

“For me the issue isn’t so much being ignored as a worker as it is knowing that I do all this work and most people won’t ever notice it,” Michael says. “But that’s what ministry can be like, too. One of my homiletics professors taught me about how someone can be a pastor and there will never be a book written about him; no one will remember his name. We are working for God’s Kingdom—and we are often a nameless, faceless people. All the work that gets done around here, people don’t really know that we did it.” Michael, who spent several years in the Peace Corps before attending seminary, wants to preach after he graduates.

The work is physically demanding, and each of these men has scars to prove it. They pull up pant legs and roll up sleeves to show old and new gashes, cuts, bruises, blisters, and calluses. Aaron Odle (MDiv ’11)—who worked a desk job as a civil engineer before coming to seminary—says, “The first two weeks were the worst. Coming out here to do manual labor was exhausting. Every night I went home and laid on the couch, my entire body aching.”

Matt reflects, “It’s amazing how, as you keep doing it and persevering, the body gets used to it. You develop stamina.” Such stamina is also needed for a lifetime of ministry. These les-sons learned do not just shape the men’s experiences—they also shape their theology.

“It’s like the theology of the trash run,” explains Russell Jung (MDiv ’08). “When you’re emptying the trash can, you end up

looking for every scrap and straw wrapper. Nothing is insig-nificant. Nothing is too small. You have to get it all. You have to get it out.”

“And when you’re doing the trash, you experience the filth, grime, and stink,” adds Michael. “As pastors, that’s real-ly what we’re getting into with people—getting into their sin and ‘trash.’ We deal with it quietly. Nobody sees us do it, and we just say, ‘Okay, that’s fine. It’s my job.’ There is something ministerial about that. We’re getting dirty and taking people’s ‘stuff’ away, but it’s just in the quiet, when no one is around. No one sees us do it.”

“Everything becomes more obvious the more you get involved with it,” Matt notes. “Like weeding, for instance.The more you pull weeds, the more weeds just pop out at you. It becomes blatant. As you get involved with people’s lives, you start seeing even the little sins.” This wanting people to be cleansed fully by the Gospel, by the sanctifying blood of Jesus is Christlike. No sin is insignificant. No sin is too small.

In a1972 article titled “Proposal for a New Seminary,” phi-losopher John M. Frame wrote about the place of character-forming labor in the lives of ministry candidates, noting of this proposed institution that, “When he first arrives, a [seminary] student will spend most of his time in menial work around the building and grounds. He will be expected to manifest the Spirit in the sight of all before he is accepted as a full candidate for ministry.” Aaron, Daniel, Matt, Michael, and Russell, like so many other students at Covenant Seminary, are doing just that—engaging in tasks considered menial as part of their equip-ping for ministry. With backgrounds in music, education, engi-neering, the military, and ministry, these men could easily find cleaner, easier jobs, and possibly better-paying positions. But their commitments have bound them here.

“I feel like I’m part of this community,” Russell explains. “Being part of this group of guys—the teamwork, the camara-derie, the attitude that says, ‘Let’s get together and attack the Seminary grounds’ appealed to me. Last summer, my son even helped us do some of the mulching.” More than anyone else, it is the children on the Seminary campus—even those who don’t know these men—who tend to engage the laborers directly.

“Kids like to be busy. They don’t want to sit around,” Matt says. “It’s nice to be part of this covenant community, to show them what it means to work hard. Sometimes the children come by just to watch us work or to say ‘Hi.’ Or they come with normal fascination a of a child, showing off a stick that’s bumpy

These lessons learned do not just shape the men’s experiences—they also shape their theology.

Michael Barber (MDiv ’07)

Daniel Henry (MDiv ’09)

and curved that looks like something from a cartoon they’ve seen.”“The kids kept wanting to know when we’d have their new playground finished,”

Aaron adds. All the men laugh—because it is funny, and because it is true. In that laughter there is a brotherhood, a bonding that flows from common studies and common callings into lives lived in the moment. This brotherhood—and this honesty—sustain them in their challenging tasks.

“What Russell was saying about doing the work together—that’s something I appreciate about Eric’s [Eric Kessels, the Seminary’s director of grounds and equipment] leadership,” Matt shares. “Eric nurtures camaraderie in our lives. He allows time for us to come together and pray and share concerns with one another. That helps me get through the week. I’ve really learned to appreciate when I work with someone. Just having that support—someone to plug along with—gives me so much more motivation.” Certainly, that is a lesson that will go with these men into ministry—the need for help, support, encour-agement, and friendship. So I ask them John Frame’s ques-tion: Should every pastor have a garden?

“I think about nurturing something small or taking some-thing big and breaking it down so that it can flourish in the future,” Matt responds. “There is something to that. Although you sometimes get to see work finished quickly, there are some jobs that go on and on.”

Michael agrees.“With some of the trees and plants, we know it’s going to be years and years before we can see the result of our efforts. For example, the trees we moved last summer may be here 30, 40, or even 50 more years. There is an aspect of gardening that moves you beyond what you’re doing now; you aren’t just thinking about the immediate job but are try-ing to plan for the future.”

Russell concludes, “There is even some good theology in that—that Christ will return someday, but not yet, so we need to live our lives in that tension. It’s like building a new structure or planting a tree—we can’t know how long that build-ing or that tree might be needed, but we build it or plant it anyway.”

These are the words of garden-ers and theologians—words that reveal the commitment of pastors whose hearts are fertile soil that is nurtured by the Spirit of God. In the years to come, these men will employ lessons of stamina, patience, longevity, and camaraderie in places far and near. They’ll love people, shepherd them, and nurture their spiritual growth with the tender care of a gardener who plants, waters, and fertilizes. As Scripture reminds us, some plant, others water—but only God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6–8).

JOEL HATHAWAY Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) is one of six children and the son of a PCA pastor. Seeing his parents’ ministry struggles and successes helped solidify Joel’s love for the Church and those who shepherd it.

Executive Editor David Wicker

Managing Editor Stacey Fitzgerald

Editor Jackie Fogas

Assistant Copy Editors Libby Lothman Rick Matt Nicolle Olivastro

Photographers and Image ContributorsJoel Hathaway Lisa Hessel Steve Jamieson Michael Wichlan

Design and Production 501creative, inc.

Circulation Nicolle Olivastro

Editorial Contributors Anthony Bradley Bob Burns David Chapman Jackie Fogas

Covenant Theological Seminary 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63141

Tel: 314.434.4044 Fax: 314.434.4819 E-mail: [email protected]

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (esv) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Volume 23, Number 1. ©2008

Covenant is published by Covenant Theological Seminary, the Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America. The purpose of Covenant Seminary is to train servants of the triune God to walk with God, to interpret and communicate God’s Word, and to lead God’s people.

Joel Hathaway Rick Matt Nicolle Olivastro Daniel Zink

top: A recent large project undertaken by the grounds crew was preparing post holes for the new playground equipment.

Aaron Odle (MDiv ’11)

situations. Over time God used Michael to water and cultivate seeds of faith that had been planted in the hearts of several co-workers, and he had the privilege of seeing some of them drawn into a rela-tionship with the Lord. After 15 years in the corporate world, the quiet inward call to a ministry career grew exponentially louder to Michael, and a counsel of elders affirmed his gifts and desire to pursue seminary.

Since the Wichlans’ arrival in St. Louis in 2004, they have watched God provide continually for their needs as Denise became the sole breadwinner for the family. During their second year, she landed an on-campus job with the Seminary’s Center for Ministry Leadership utilizing her administrative and hospitality gifts, giving her and Michael the opportunity to interact with various groups of pastors and their wives. “We can’t even put a price tag on the expe-rience. It’s been amazing,” Michael shares. For their final year, Michael received a Founders Scholarship—a newly developed and relationally based program that pairs a donor with a specific student. The donor pays that student’s full tuition, and the donor and student have the blessing of developing a relationship throughout the year.

Though Michael and Denise have experienced tremendous blessing while here, unexpected parenting issues exposed areas in which they needed to grow—as parents and in their marriage. When a friend pointed out some attachment issues in the girls simi-lar to what she had experienced in childhood, the Wichlans took her concern seriously and pursued family counseling, which unex-pectedly exposed communication breakdowns and behaviors and habits that had crept into their 15-year marriage. “Many things have been uncovered while we’ve been here. Family-wise it has uncovered how much we have needed the Gospel and continue to need it,” Michael says. He admittedly came to seminary with thoughts of ministering to others but has found himself receiving an outpouring of care from the body of believers. “In many ways we were drawn here to be ministered to so that we can go out and min-ister to others,” he says.

As they gaze at the horizon beyond graduation, Michael recog-nizes the high calling and the humility required to come alongside a church flock and earn the right to speak truth into the members’ lives.

“I don’t want people to see someone with a bunch of knowledge in his head,” Michael says, “but someone who has been broken and is daily being broken.”

hen Michael (MDiv ’08) and Denise Wichlan married in 1991, Michael—then a committed Catholic—didn’t

even own a Bible. Though faithful to his church, Michael did not anticipate that he would one day hear a gentle whisper from the Lord calling him into pastoral ministry.

During the first years of their marriage, Michael and Denise wor-shipped at separate churches. “At that time, I had a religion but not a relationship with Christ,” Michael explains. Through a bit of prod-ding, Michael landed in a Promise Keepers Bible study at Denise’s Southern Baptist church. He needed no convincing to return. The Lord began to impress on Michael a desire for Denise and him to attend church together. When he asked Denise about it, she was thrilled. “That’s what I’ve always wanted,” she said. A steeple that Michael often saw when driving through town beckoned him, and in 1995 they providentially visited that church—Trinity Presbyterian in Plano, Texas. They immediately felt at home. It was at the church’s Inquirer’s Class that Michael committed his life to the Lord.

Michael quickly experienced the valleys and summit experi-ences of a life of faith as he and Denise dealt with infertility. “I can’t imagine how difficult that would have been without Christ,” Michael shares. In 1997, God blessed them with Baylee and Maddie, two daughters whom they adopted from the Philippines.

For the next several years, the Wichlans grew in their knowledge of God’s Word and put their gifts to use in the church—Denise singing in the choir, organizing hospitality events, and co-leading a small group, and eventually Michael serving as elder and deacon as well as co-leading a small group and participating in the church’s evangelism and discipleship efforts. “I immediately thought I needed to be in full-time ministry,” Michael says, “but I was advised to slow down and grow in my faith. That was wise counsel. My ministry at the time was my workplace.” Michael offered a listening ear and a heart of compassion as co-workers confided in him during difficult

JACKIE FOGASJackie Fogas is the senior copy editor and special projects coordinator for the Public Relations department at Covenant Seminary. Her husband, Michael, is a third-year MDiv student.

STUDENT PROFILE

As Michael Wichlan graduates this spring, he and his family are excited to consider the ministry to which God is calling them.

Shaping of a Shepherd

W

Michael, Baylee, Maddie, and Denise Wichlan

Covenant Magazine - [Spring 2008]

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Transcript of Covenant Magazine - [Spring 2008]