COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DECATUR, GEORGIA Founded 1828 A Program of Advance IK ttti t-tt" ^ uJL. PROPOSED LIBRARY AND CENTRAL TOWER FOR COUNTRY FOR CHURCH FOR CHRIST PREPARING TO PREACH IN THE SEMINARY CHAPEL PUBLISHED QUARTERLY Volume XXXVIII JUNE, 1945 DECATUR, GEORGIA No.. 1 Entered as Second Qass Matter May 9, 1928, at the Post Office at Decatur, Georgia, Under the Aat of August 24, 1912. CAMPBELL HALL The Theological Seminary and the Church The work of the ministry is the heart of the Church. Every aspect of the Christian enterprise, as we know it, is vitally affected by the man who stands in the pulpit. The calling of men to the ministry is an act of God, through such agencies as He chooses. The responsibility for training these men rests with His Church. In the provision of this training the work of the theological seminary is indis- pensable. It is the West Point and the Annapolis of the Church. Here the leaders of Christian forces both at home and abroad are prepared for their task. This is a form of education which cannot be given by the state, and for which the Church cannot afford to rely on any independent agency. It must provide adequately for theological education if it is to live and to grow. Nothing less than the best will be sufficient. The theological seminary is primarily a place where men are prepared in mind and in spirit for the preaching of the Gospel. It is more than that, how- ever. Every seminary is a recruiting agency as well. Its very presence is a challenge for the young men of its area to face the question of a possible call to the ministry. As its professors and students go out into the churches nearby, they are reminders of that call, by their very presence as well as by their words. It is a significant fact that in a recent year the twelve states of our country having the smallest proportionate number of candidates were states in which no theological seminary was located. Again the seminary is an agency for the strengthening of the Church and the advancement of the Church's entire program in its area. Its library, its short courses, and its faculty are a source of strength to ministers in its surrounding territory. Its professors serve constantly as supplies of vacant pulpits and conduct special services or training classes as the opportunity arises. Its students receive their practical training by serving in home mission churches and in religious edu- cation programs for which workers would otherwise not be available. Its gradu- ates, for the most part, begin their ministry and remain for a number of years in the general area served by the institution. Missionaries from the Foreign Field come to its campus for rest and for study during their periods of furlough, and in coming they inspire students to volunteer for appointment as missionaries. Money invested in a theological seminary is truly invested in the whole program of the Church. COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Columbia Seminary is rich in the traditions of a great past. More important far, however, it is blessed with the opportunity for a great future. Existing primarily to serve the Presbyterian Church and the cause of all the Churches in the Southeastern States, it is owned by the Synods of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. These courts of the Presby- terian Church, U. S., govern the seminary by the election of its Board of Directors. It is maintained for their benefit and to them it must look for support. For a period of 117 years Columbia Seminary has made a contribution of tremendous importance to the life and thought of the Church. During this century and more it has trained 1257 men as ministers of the Gospel. Most of these were Presbyterians but a number have served in sister denominations, for the institution has always opened its doors and extended its welcome to candidates of all the Evangelical Churches. Among the outstanding leaders whom it has trained are such men as Benjamin M. Palmer, James Henley Thornwell, J. Leighton Wilson, J. B. Adger, Charles Colcock Jones, James Woodrow, John L. Girardeau, Hampden C. DuBose, C. A. Stillman, C. W. Grafton, Samuel L. Morris, and many others. Woodrow Wilson was the son of a professor in the institution, made his first profession of faith in its little chapel, and enriched his mind by long hours of reading in its library. Late in his life he declared that he had never heard such eloquence elsewhere as he heard from its professors in those years on its old campus in Columbia, S. C. At least 64 sons of the institution have gone as missionaries to the foreign field, and this number is being increased with every class which graduates. Dr. C. Darby Fulton, an alumnus of the seminary, is now serving as Executive A RECENT GRADUATING CLASS Secretary of Foreign Missions and another alumnus, Rev. Richard T. Gillespie, has recently been appointed as Candidate Secretary. Hundreds of Columbia graduates have served in the equally important task of Home Missions. Others have made their contribution as pastors of all types of churches or as faculty members in our institutions of Christian learning. Of the 505 graduates of the seminary who are now in the ministry 78 have served during this war as chap- lains in the armed forces of the United States. One of these has laid down his life for his country, and several have been decorated for gallantry. Columbia Seminary is a member of the American Association of Theological Schools and is accredited by that body. The ability of its faculty is recognized throughout our Church. In addition to their work as teachers, preachers, and presbyters, these men have contributed to the thought of the churches through many scholarly books and articles. At present the institution is cooperating with the Navy in the V-12 program for the training of Navy Chaplains being the only seminary of the Presbyterian Church, U. S., which is included in that program. In recent years Columbia Seminary has also instituted a Bible Training Course for the benefit of prospective missionaries and of teachers in our public schools. A cooperative agreement with Agnes Scott College makes it possible for a number of courses to be taken there. The degree of M.A. in Biblical Education is awarded to college graduates who complete the required work. This depart- ment of the seminary's work seems destined to be of increasing importance in the future. IEW FROM CAMPBELL HALL FACULTY HOMES AGNES SCOTT IN DISTANCE THE DORMITORY COLUMBIA'S OPPORTUNITY Columbia Seminary is strategically located in the very heart of the South and has easy access to every part of that section. The area embraced in the five states for which it has an especial responsibility contains 247,785 square miles with a population of over 10,000,000 persons. Less than one-half of this popu- lation is affiliated with any branch of the Church. Our denomination in this territory reports 1,124 churches, 162,469 members, and 721 ordained ministers and licentiates. Presbyterianism has not done its part in winning the South for Christ. It can hardly hope to do its part in the future without maintaining a strong theological seminary in this immediate area. It is vitally important to our success in this task that our seminary shall be thoroughly equipped for its task. The South is still a predominantly rural section. The major part of the farm population of our country is found in this area of the United States. The im- portance of this fact will be recognized at once when we remember that this is the element in our population which is rearing by far the largest number of our children. The major part of our nation's future leaders will probably come from our farms, and great numbers of these from the South. Here is one of the greatest challenges which confronts our Church today. One of the next forward steps at Columbia Seminary must be the establishment of a Chair of Rural Church Work and Evangelism. At the same time the South is almost certainly destined to witness great industrial developments during the decade following the war. The City of Atlanta, for example, is basing its plans today upon an expected population of 1,000,000 in the reasonably near future. Other cities of this section likewise antici- pate rapid expansion. The population of the South may increase very rapidly with a proportionate increase in the task of the churches. Even without that increase the post-war years will bring greater problems to the Christian forces of America. The real danger of America today lies not in external enemies, but in moral decay at home. The future of our nation will depend ultimately upon its attitude toward God. It is time for the Church to sound the advance all along the line. In the work of the Presbyterian Church for the Southeastern States, Columbia Semi- nary has an opportunity and a responsibility of inestimable importance. It must be ready for its task. RECENT PROGRESS AND A FUTURE PROGRAM In 1927 Columbia Theological Seminary was removed from its old site in Columbia, S. C, to its present location in Decatur, Ga., so that it might more adequately serve its territory. In 18 years, despite the difficulties of Depression and of War, it has made remarkable progress. A beautiful campus of 57 acres and two handsome buildings of modern design, with five faculty residences, were provided for the seminary by the Presbyterians of Atlanta. The value of this property is conservatively estimated at $500,000. For the past 1 1 years consecutively the institution has operated without a deficit, and in 1936 its total indebtedness of $100,000 was paid in full. During the past eight years its endowment has increased from approximately $300,000 to the $734,257.76 reported in its last audit. Its student body had also grown steadily until the interruption imposed by war, and the seminary was sending more men into the service of the Church than ever before. It is expected that there will be a further steady growth when the war is ended. Gratifying as its recent progress has been, however, Columbia Seminary has now only reached that stage of stability at which long range plans for the future can be made with confidence. Its endowment is still small as compared with that of most similar institutions. Its Board of Directors is convinced that its mini- mum endowment in the early future should be $1,000,000, so that two full professors may be added to its faculty. A new library building should be erected at a cost of $150,000. This would enable the seminary to serve its students and the ministers of its area more effectively. It would also make possible a larger contribution to the Greater University Center of Georgia, a cooperative educational enterprise in which the seminary has been included from its inception some years ago. There is also need for the erection on the campus of a number of apartments to provide living quarters for missionary families on furlough and for married students of the seminary. The need for these latter will be especially great just after the war, when a number of men from service will '.v r MM ii^ *i% A CAMPUS SCENE be returning to study for the ministry, many of them having already established their families. The growing student body which is expected will also call for an increased number of scholarships. Ministerial candidates usually come from homes of moderate financial means. Their own resources are often exhausted in providing for the four-year college course which is a prerequisite for admission to the seminary. They will receive small salaries when they enter the ministry. It is important that they should not be heavily burdened with debt when they enter upon their work. The seminary should be able to provide them with financial aid when this is needed. THE NEXT STEP FORWARD In recognition of its need to prepare for the future, friends of Columbia Seminary in Atlanta have recently promised a gift of $50,000 for its endow- ment, upon condition that $100,000 be secured from other sources by January 1, 1946. Columbia Seminary has learned through experience that a quiet campaign which does not involve high pressure methods and heavy expenses is most desirable from every viewpoint. It has found its friends ready to respond to such an appeal in the past, and their loyalty has made possible an amazing record. In 1940 a total of $200,000 was secured for the institution at a cost of $6,764.13. In 1943, $100,000 was secured at the even lower proportionate cost of $1,166.73. Of all pledges made in these campaigns 99.3% have now been paid in full. The fact that Columbia Seminary has had two campaigns recently makes its present task far from easy. Nevertheless the opportunity and the need before us are so great that we must not be turned aside by difficulties. Of the $100,000 which is necessary, approximately one-half has now been raised in cash or is already promised. Less than six months remains for the raising of $500,000. Every dollar which is given now will be the means of bringing another dollar to the institution. Columbia Seminary appeals to its friends to help it meet this chal- lenge, as it prepares for a future of larger and more useful service. Gifts of United States Government bonds for the seminary's endowment provide an excellent opportunity for a dual contribution to the welfare of our nation and of the Church at this time. GIFTS OF MEMORIAL AND OF GRATITUDE As a result of the most awful war the world has known, countless homes have been bereaved. Many individuals and families will wish to establish lasting memorials to loved ones who have made the supreme sacrifice for country and for humanity. What memorial to a Christian soldier could be more appropriate than an endowment fund to prepare men for preaching the Gospel of the Prince of Peace? Equally appropriate and timely was the action of a father who recently sent