\\ \ \ \ \ \ VOL. 65 NO. 3 / APRIL 1971 NEWS BULLETIN FROM COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY \\ \\ \\\ \ DECATUR, GEORGIA THIRTEEN MINISTERS PARTICIPATE IN APRIL CONTINUING EDUCATION Thirteen ministers are participants in the April 20-29 Continuing Education program on worship and preaching, ac- cording to Director Harold Prince. Led by Professors Huie, Taylor, and Wardlaw of the Columbia faculty, the men consider preaching, the meaning of the present revolution in worship pat- terns, and how a local church can be con- structively involved in that revolution. Taking part in the concentrated nine- day study seminar are Alva M. Gregg, Franklin, La.; Finley M. Grissett, Salis- bury, N. C; William Ottis Moore, Jr., Norfolk, Va.; Sterling J. Edwards, Jr., Birmingham, Ala.; Charles L. Barnett, Excelsior Springs, Mo.; Charles E. Kirk- patrick, Fayetteville, N. C; Edward B. Cooper, Pageland. S. C; William G. Karnes, Hampton, S. C; George Damer- on, Miami, Fla.; Walter S. Swetnam, Rock Island, Tenn.; Marcus B. Prince, III, Pineville, N. C; James F. Anderson, North Palm Beach, Fla.; and Dwight S. Bayley, Ormond Beach, Fla. The May 4-12 Continuing Education program will bring about a dozen mem- bers of Columbia's class of 1966 to the campus for an evaluation of their min- istries during the period since their grad- uation. The Rev. Minor Powers and the Rev. Sherwood Harvard, both of Nashville, Tenn., talk with Columbia Librarian Harold Prince during a Continuing Edu- cation Conference, Jan. 12-21. Partici- pants pursued independent study with the assistance of Mr. Prince. President-elect Kline and Board Chairman J. Davison Philips. DEAN C. BENTON KLINE ELECTED COLUMBIA'S FIFTH PRESIDENT In education especially theological people. In the person of C. Benton Kline educator, administrator, loyal Presbyteria and open, stable. Elected by Columbia's Board of Di- rectors on March 26 as the seminary's fifth president, Dr. Kline faces the in- stitution's future with a brief headshake about human frailties and a strong, en- thusiastic confidence in Columbia's con- tinuing vision for the ministerial needs of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. In a recent interview, the president- elect talked about his understanding that "it's clear that the people of the Church want ministers who can function and make the Church go. They are excited about the way we are preparing men to function with groups of people, to ad- minister a church, to know the Bible, to preach Biblically." Talking about the plan for that prep- aration, Dr. Kline mentioned the "need to design a program of theological edu- cation that has built into it the possibility education a president is all things to all that possibility exists: minister and pastor, n, faithful presbyter and churchman, Ircsh of change the dynamic of change and we have a very high potential here for doing just that." "A seminary ought to be about pre- paring men and women for the ministry, irrcgardless of its form. And we have to plan for the fact that there is something to define as 'ministry' regardless of whether or not it is parish-based. The determination of the form of ministry has got to be done by the Church, not by the seminaries. And Columbia is con- tinually reworking its preparation of those men and women witness our cur- rent study of the Doctor of Ministry degree in its effort to meet the needs of the Church." He continued, "The seminary owes its very existence to its five supporting synods. We depend on them for students. (Continued on Page 3) COMMENCEMENT, SPRING SPEAKERS ARE ANNOUNCED Commencement speakers and four other visiting lecturers will bring added interest to campus life during the re- mainder of the academic year. Dr. Billy O. Wireman, president of Florida Presbyterian College in Saint Petersburg, will deliver the commence- ment address June 6 at Columbia Pres- byterian Church. Baccalaureate preacher will be the Rev. P. C. Enniss, Jr., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Tallahassee, Florida. The service will be held at Central Presbyterian Church. Dr. Wireman became president of Florida Presbyterian College in 1968, having joined its faculty in 1960. He earned his B.A. degree at Georgetown College (Ky.), his M.A. degree at the University of Kentucky, and his Ed.D. at Peabody College. He was chairman of the Task Force on Changing Values for Florida's 1970 Report to the White House Conference on Children and Youth. Dr. Wireman has authored numerous articles for National Observer, National Enquirer, Vital Speeches of the Day, College and University Journal, Academy for Educational Development Papers. and other publications. Mr. Enniss, a Columbia graduate (B.D. '58; Th.M. 70), earned his B.A. degree at Davison College. His former pastorates include Hillside Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Ga., and Meadowview Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rev. Charlie W. Nhedd is visiting instructor in professional ministry at Columbia for the spring quarter. He is teaching "Church Renewal Through Prayer" and "Writing for the Masses." Mr. Shedd has authored nine books and more than 50 magazine articles. He is director of the Christian Writers Coun- cil and pastor of the Jekyll Island (Ga.) Presbyterian Community Church. His former pastorates are LaSalle. Col.; Lex- ington. Neb.; Ponca City, Okla.; and Houston, Tex. A graduate of Coe College (B.A.), Mr. Shedd received his B.D. degree from McCormick Theological Seminary. The Visiting Instructor in Professional Ministry program brings to the Columbia campus each quarter a guest instructor from a Presbyterian board or agency, a person engaged in a specialized or ex- Charlie B. Shedd VIPM J. Sherrard Rice Evangelism perimental ministry, or someone from a traditional ministry in a congregational setting. These guests help students re- late classroom experiences to the prac- tical demands of church life. The Rev. J. Sherrard Rice, an execu- tive with the Presbyterian Church, U. S., is teaching "Contemporary Methods of Evangelism" during the spring quarter at Columbia. Secretary of the Division of Christian Witness of the Board of National Min- istries, Mr. Rice has authored two study books. Let There Be Light, and Glory in the Church. He is a former professor of Bible at the Presbyterian School of Chris- tian Education, and has held pastorates in Huntington, W. Va., Tyler, Tex., and Columbia. S. C. Mr. Rice received an A.B. degree from Davidson College, a B.D. degree from Union Theological Seminary (Rich- mond), and a Th.M. degree from Prince- ton Theological Seminary. Joseph Roberts Black Theology The Rev. Joseph Roberts, director of corporate social ministries for the Pres- byterian Church, U. S., is teaching black theology in the historical-doctrinal course "Problems in Theology" with Prof, Guthrie during the spring quarter. Mr. Roberts was pastor of the Wcc- quahic Presbyterian Church in Newark, N. J., and of the Elmwood United Pres- byterian Church in East Orange, N. J.. before joining the Board of National Ministries. He received his B.D. from Union The- ological Seminary (New York), and his Th.M. from Princeton Theological Semi- nary. The Rev. Dr. Seward Hiltner, profes- sor of theology and personality at Prince- ton Theological Seminary, will be a guest lecturer on the Columbia campus April 29 and 30. On April 29, he will address a con- vocation, lunch with the faculty and clinical training supervisors from the Atlanta area, and address the Society of Theological Inquiry. On the following day, he will be the chapel leader and will meet the senior course "The Work of the Ministry". Dr. Hiltner has authored several books, among them Eerment in the Min- istry, Pastoral Counseling, The Christian Shepherd, and The Context of Pastoral Counseling, and numerous articles. He is a consultant with the Menninger Clinic in Kansas, and was on the faculty of the Chicago Divinity School before going to Princeton in 1961. A graduate of Lafayette College, Dr. Hiltner earned his Ph.D. at Chicago Di- vinily School. ALUMNI ELECT 70-71 OFFICERS Freeman, Smith and Hammet Officers for 1971 were elected at the Feb. 2 Alumni Day luncheon attended by 150 alumni. They are the Rev. Cook Freeman ('52), president; the Rev. Jerry Hammet ('57), vice president; and the Rev. Carl Smith ('61), secretary-treas- urer. Mr. Freeman is associate pastor of the North Avenue Presbyterian Church, At- lanta; Mr. Hammett is Presbyterian min- ister to students at the University of South Carolina; and Mr. Smith is pastor of the College Park, Ga., Presbyterian Church. Dr. Shirley C. Guthrie, professor of systematic theology at Columbia, and a panel of four Columbia seniors presented the luncheon program from the histori- cal-doctrinal department on the theme of the development of students' theology during their course work. The Rev. Dr. Charles Blanton Cousar will be installed as professor of New Testament language, literature, and exe- gesis at the annual Honors Day pro- grams scheduled for Mon.. April 26 The Rev. Dr. J. Davison Philips, chair- man of the Board of Directors, will pre- side. Dr. Cousar's inaugural address will be "The New Testament and the Task of Interpretation." Honors Day highlights scholarly work by faculty and students. Four senior fel- lowships and the Indiantown Church Award are scheduled for presentation during the dinner program. Dr. Cousar joined the Columbia facul- ty in 1960 as assistant professor of New Testament and registrar. He holds an A.B. degree from Davidson College, B.D. degree from Columbia Seminary, and a Ph.D. from King's College of the University of Aberdeen. Ordained in June of 1958, he is a member of Congaree Presbytery. He has been minister to youth at the Decatur (Ga. ) Presbyterian Church, and a guest associate professor of Bible at Agnes Scott College. ITC AND COLUMBIA JOIN IN THIRD SUMMER "CHURCH AND INDUSTRY" Seven men and women from Columbia and the Interdenominational Theological Center will take part in the third Atlanta Church and Industry Institute this sum- mer. The ten-week session, directed by Prof. J. Richard Bass of the Columbia faculty, and sponsored by The Church and In- dustry Institute of Winstom-Salem, N. C, opens June 15. Participants will be involved in secular employment and in background and re- flection seminars with Atlanta business executives and with Mr. Bass. A session for management games, a method of understanding management problems through role-playing, is also scheduled. Participants are nominated by Mr. Bass, and final selection will be made by May 1. (Continued from page I) pulpits for our students to fill and, cer- tainly, financial support. We, in turn, have to attempt to fill their needs, both the stated ones and those that are not verbalized. "The seminary must be a leader tor the Church and not just a tag-along. It not only must be responsible lor the pro- fessional training of ministers, and tor helping to meet the need for lay leader- ship training, but it can assist the Church in coming to an understanding of what it must do. "Under our program of continuing education we bring hack to the campus each year several small groups of alumni so that, in the academic atmosphere, they can pursue independent study with (he seminary's resources of library and faculty available to them. This helps to keep them sharp and helps us remain sensitive to the problems and needs ol the local parish. "I would like to sec continuing edu- cation not only involve ministers, but also become a resource lor lay education leadership education, church officer training, equipping groups m a congre- gation to minister in an urban situation there arc lots of forms of leadership, but we cannot get caught in the trap of thinking leadership education is limited to teacher training. "We are fortunate that Dr. Richards has built the kind of faculty here that can teach this kind of education, too. And let us not forget that this method of educating is important to the faculty, too. They need to do this in order to keep touch with what life in the Church is - and will be tomorrow so they can know to what it is they are preparing men and women to minister. It is helpful for them to have been in pastoral situa- tions before they join a faculty, but to have that experience sometime ago is not sufficient; it has lo be a continuing experience through day to day contact with the people in the churches, and through the wisdom they gain by being faithful presbyters." Dr. Kline has served the Duryca Pres- byterian Church, Brooklyn, N. Y.; De- catur's Clairmont Presbyterian Church; and the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, Ala. A member of Atlanta Pres- bytery since January of 1952, Dr. Kline was ordained by Monmouth Presbytery of the United Presbyterian Church in 1948. He is a former moderator of Atlanta Presbytery, and has been chairman of Campus Christian Life, chairman of the Subcommittee on Urban and Special Ministries of the Church Extension Com- mittee, and a member of the Commission on the Minister and His Work. For the Synod of Georgia, he has been chairman of the Presbyterian Guidance Council and, also, of the Campus Chris- lion Life Council. As an educator. Dr. Kline has been a member of the Committee on Standards for Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is currently a member of the Commission on Ac- crediting of the American Association of Theological Schools. He has been a member of the DeKalb County Advisory Committee of the Fam- ily Service Society, a vice president of the United Nations Association of At- lanta, and a member of the Southern Society for Philosophy of Religion. Holder of a Ph.D. degree from Yale University, Dr. Kline earned his B.D. and Th.M. degrees from Princeton Theo- logical Seminary, and his B.A. degree from the College of Wooster. His formal teaching experience began when he was a teaching fellow at Prince- ton. He was an assistant in instruction in the philosophy department at Yale, and for 20 years has been an educator in the southeast. In 1951 he became an assistant professor of philosophy at Ag- nes Scott College. During the next ten years he taught philosophy in four sum- mer sessions at Emory University, and in 1961 became an associate professor at Agnes Scott, and was elevated to a full professorship in 1962. He was made chairman of the philosophy department and became dean of the faculty while still an assistant professor. Dr. Kline's affiliation with Columbia Seminary began in 1964 when he was asked to be a visiting professor of the- ology. In January of 1969, he became professor of theology and dean of Co- lumbia's faculty. He admits he will miss his close in- volvement with curriculum planning and relationships with the faculty in this particular way, and his reduced class- room opportunities. But Dr. Kline ac- cepted the presidency because of his con- viction of the importance of theological education today, and because of the challenge of keeping the seminary doing its job and being related to the Church in flux. He finds exciting the role Columbia has in training ministers for an urban society as a Presbyterian, U. S., semi- nars set in the midst of the life of a major metropolitan community and working with a major educational com- plex. Dr. Kline was born May 13. 1925, in Pittsburgh. Pa., the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. Benton Kline, Sr. His father is now deceased, and his mother resides in De- catur. On June 6, 1950, he and Mary Christine Hicks were married. They have two children: John is a University of Georgia junior, and Mary Martha is a sophomore at Decatur High School. The Kline family's church home has been the Decatur Presbyterian Church, since the fall of 1961. where the Rev. Dr. J. Davison Philips ('43) is pastor Dr. Kline has taught adult education and leadership classes and led youth retreats and family schools. Mrs. Kline has taught primary and junior level classes in the Christian education program and Bible studies for circles of the church. Mrs. Kline, since 1967 head librarian at the Oakhurst School, earned her B.A. degree at Texas Women's University in Denton and her Master of Religious Education at Princeton Theological Semi- nary. She is enrolled in the master of library science program at Atlanta Uni- versity. A former assistant director of Chris- tian education in the First Congregation- al Church of West Hartford, Conn., she has also been an assistant teacher at the Decatur Presbyterian Church Kindergar- ten. Mrs. Kline is a former president of the Winona Park School Parent-Teacher Association. For two years, she assisted with leadership training in Atlanta Pres- bytery. The immediate and scattered seminary community looks forward to welcoming the Klines as its new first family this summer alter Dr. Richards' well-earned retirement. No man can be all things to all people all the time. Even when he cannot be, Columbia Seminary will be most for- tunate to have the wisdom, thoughtful- ness, humanity, and integrity of C. Ben- ton Kline in its presidential office. Faculty Profile . . . HUBERT V. TAYLOR Listening to Hubert V. Taylor talk, it would be easy to imagine he is a sociolo- gist. This professor of speech and music at Columbia Seminary is that and much more. Perhaps equally well-known in re- ligious and secular settings for his in- cisive, creative use of video tape record- ings and television. Dr. Taylor is a pio- neer in the use of video tape recordings as a teaching tool in theological educa- tion, to Columbia's benefit. From church musician to consultant for business and political use of television and video tape? "My professional life have been a pilgrimage," he said. After receiving his B.A. degree from Lafayette College and his Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and having two year's work in a local church (Saint Paul's Presbyteri- an, Philadelphia), Dr. Taylor joined the staff at Central Presbyterian Church with dual responsibilities in Christian education and music. Soon after he be- gan work on his B.D. degree at Colum- bia, this transplanted northerner feels his vocational change was made possible by "a new environment and a new culture." Dr. Taylor has found himself "fas- cinated with the dynamics of speech, oral communication, the strategy of change, and other aspects of communication." As this fascination emerged, graduate study in his joint fields of interest (speech and choral music) became very attractive. Dr. Taylor received a grant from the American Association of The- ological Schools for graduate study that would tie together speech and choral music. After he had begun work in such a doctoral program at Northwestern Uni- versity, he found that the university's speech and music departments were sepa- rate, not only in administration but in working relationships, also. Surrender- ing the advanced work in music, he com- pleted his doctorate in speech. In the meantime (1947), he began his Columbia teaching career in the fields of preaching, worship, and pastoral care. Since then he has done a significant amount of work with the use of tele- vision by business, military chaplains, political candidates, and several denomi- nations. He has been vice chairman (and is currently chairman) of the Presby- terian Commission on Television, Radio, and Audio-Visuals, and has also been a member of the board of trustees of the Episcopal Radio and Television Foun- dation. He and his wife are joint di- rectors of music at Columbia Presbyteri- an Church. The latest turn in this pilgrim's journey has taken him into the publishing world. He and two others edited last year's Preaching in American History, and Sermons in American History will be published by Abingdon Press May 10. The first book was subtitled "Selected Issues in the American Pulpit. 1630- 1967" and was praised as "a scholarly, readable book that successfully bridges the gap between preaching and speech". Sermons is a companion and illustra- tion for the first volume. It was designed to show polarities of specific issues. Dr. Taylor has contributed a study of the preaching on slavery, which had its roots in his dissertation. But his defini- tive mark on this set goes back even further to his suggestion that the history of American preaching, long-desired by the Speech Association of America, be an issue-oriented study of preaching. Thus was conceived Preaching. The studies of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish preaching were con- tributed by members of the Mennonite. Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Southern Baptist. United Methodist, Church of the Brethren, and Lutheran Churches. Among the schools using Sermons as a text is the University of Georgia. Dr. Taylor sees the relating of our faith to life now especially to urban society as one of the most important questions before the Church today. "The plus for Columbia is that we're right where the action is and we are beginning to relate our theological enterprise to this revolution. "In the communications industry and political structures, we must keep people talking in communication. (Knowing men in political leadership is of personal value for this reason.) My work is to help students be believable to people in their communication." Where will the pilgrimage touch next? Wherever, it surely will expose yet an- other tantalizing facet of the many of- ferings of Hubert Vance Taylor. BOARD, STUDENTS, FACULTY, ALUMNI ASSIST IN SEARCH Richards Retirement Activities Planned The Columbia Board of Directors has been deeply involved in the activities surrounding the election of the new pres- ident and in planning events honoring Dr. Richards' retirement. In May 1969 the Board elected a com- mittee of its members to study the office of the president at Columbia and later this same committee was instructed to nominate to the Board a successor to President J. McDowell Richards. The chairman of the Search committee was the Rev. Dr. Wallace Alston (Ga.). Members of the committee were C. Charles Benz, Jr. (Fla.). Frank B. Davis (Ala.), Arthur Magill (S.C.), Thomas E. Rast (Ala.), Cecil A. Thompson (Miss.), and Marc C. Weersing (S.C.). During their first year the committee prepared a report concerning the role of the president and then they continued the work to bring their nomination to the board. Three other groups from the seminary community were gathered by this com- mittee to aid their work. Student Gov- ernment Association President Charles Evans, named the 1969-70 student group, and the 1970-71 president, Wayne Grif- fin, appointed this year's group. The faculty committee consisted of Professors Charles Cousar, Harold Lyon (1969-70), Will Ormond (1970-71). Wade Huie, and Shirley Guthrie The alumni group included Messrs. Chilton Thorington (Ga.), Frank Har- rington (S.C.). Harry Beverly (Fla.), Columbia student John Larson, Vicks- burg, Miss., discusses new book with Miss Lena Claused, Columbia's first visiting instructor in professional minis- try. Miss Claused is associate pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Lake Charles, La., and was on the Columbia campus during the winter quarter. (See p. 2 story on spring quarter's VIPM.) John Newton (Ala.), and William Cros- land (Miss.). The board has designated the Rev. James Speed, pastor of the Woodlawn Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. Ala., as chairman for the special events to honor Dr. Richards. He will be as- sisted by Dr. Alton Glasure. Dr. Charles Cousar, the Rev. Chilton Thorington, and the Rev. William Crosland. A dinner, publication of his sermons and papers, a volume of letters from alumni, former associates, and friends of Dr. Richards, and personal gifts are among the plans. ATLANTA PRESBYTERY OKs RICHARDS FUND At its January meeting, a standing ovation by Atlanta Presbytery paid tribute to President Richards and en- dorsed the J. McDowell Richards Fund for Graduate and Continuing Education. Pledges of SI 00.000 that have been received towards the $1,000,000 goal of the fund include gifts from Columbia's faculty and board, the John and M.u\ Franklin Foundation of Atlanta, and a limited number of other friends of Dr. Richards and the seminar) . A special emphasis in this campaign will be solicitation in the Synod of Georgia where Dr. Richards has served his entire ministry. Plans for the Atlanta area in this campaign are coordinated by Mr. Howard Ector of the Trust Company of Georgia. State director is the Rev. William A. Adams, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Athens, Ga, Income from the fund will be used to develop a unified program of gradu- ate and continuing education that will strengthen the professional competence of ministers through both degree pro- grams and intensive short-term programs, according to Mr. Steve Bacon, vice presi dent for development. DO WE HAVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS CORRECT? If not, please make corrections opposite your name and address below, and mail to us in a separate envelope. PLEASE CHECK CHANGES DESIRED: 1. Change name or address as shown below Q 2. Please remove name below from mailing list 3. Receiving another copy (please return both address copies, indicating one to be removed) // you have a friend who would like to receive the Columbia Seminary Bulletin, please send name and address. Second Class POSTAGE Paid at Decatur. Ga. VOL. 65, NO. 3 / APRIL, 1971 Published 7 times a year / Jan., Feb., Apr., May, July, Oct., Nov. COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY P. O. Box 520 * Decatur, Georgia 30031