Columbia Theological Seminary Vantage, 86, number 3, Winter 1994-1995

COLUMBIA
THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY

Vantage

WINTER 1994-95

Faculty, administrator
named at Columbia

Con mbia Theological Seminary has
made three appointments to its faculty
and administration. Kathleen M.
O'Connor has been named professor
of Old Testament and will begin
ten lung at Columbia in February.
Stanley P. Saunders has been ap-
pointed to a five-year term as assistant
professor of New Testament, and
Gary L. Bagley has been named
director of development and seminary
relations.

Dr. O'Connor has taught biblical
studies at Maryknoll School of Theol-
ogy since 1982. She has also taught at
Princeton Theological Seminary and
Providence College.

Her writings include two books,
The Wisdom literature and The Confes-
sions of Jeremiah, and a forthcoming
commentary on Lamentations for the
Nnr Interpreter's Bible. She has also
written a number of articles in the
area of biblical interpretation and
Hebrew scriptures.

She holds the Ph.D. from
Princeton Theological Seminary, the
MA. from Providence College, and
the B.A. from College of New Roch-
elle. Dr. O'Connor is a member of the
Society of Biblical Literature, the
Columbia University Seminar on the
Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament
Colloquium, the North American
Coordinating Committee of Theology

in Global Context Association, and
founder/coordinator of the Hudson
River Valley Chapter of Women in
Theology.

Executive Vice President and
Dean of Faculty James Hudnut-
Beumler said about Dr. O'Connor's
appointment, "When Dr. O'Connor
speaks about biblical texts, she
captures her hearers' attention. She is
an extraordinarily capable teacher
who makes the Bible's texts vital for
today. We are excited about adding
such a gifted scholar to our faculty."

Dr. Saunders joined the Columbia
faculty in 1991 as visiting professor of
New Testament. He has been a
popular teacher, both at Columbia
and in Presbyterian churches across
the region.

He holds the Ph.D. from Princeton
Theological Seminary and has also
studied at Eberhard-Karls Universitat,
Tubingen, and Reprecht-Karls
Universitat, Heidelberg, Germany.
Dr. Saunders is a member of the
Society of Biblical Literature and the
Catholic Biblical Association.

Professor Saunders has also
taught at New Brunswick, Wartburg,
and Princeton theological seminaries.
He served as pastor of West Main
Street Christian Church, Johnson City,
Tennessee.

Dr. Charles Cousar '58, professor

Kathleen O'Connor

Stanley Saunders

of New Testament at Columbia, said,
"We are delighted to have Stan
Saunders with us on a more perma-
nent basis. He has already distin-
guished himself as an excellent
teacher and a productive colleague.
We look forward to his continuing
contributions to the community and to
the wider church."

Dr. Joanna Adams 79, pastor of
Trinity Presbyterian Church in
Atlanta and a member of Columbia's
Board, said, "Stan Saunders is a fine
teacher whose commitment to the
local church is a gift he has willingly
shared with our congregation. I am
thrilled that he will continue to be a
part of the Columbia faculty and the

Continued on page 2

Gary Bagley

Colloquium '95 gives
leaders new forum

Dr. Cynthia Campbell is keynote speaker and Dr. Frank Harrington '60 is guest
preacher for Colloquium '95. The theme for the four-day went is "Doing Pastoral
Theology m a Pluralistic World. "

The first woman to lead a Presbyterian
seminary will be keynote speaker at a
new Columbia event for church
leaders January 9-12. The new event,
Colloquium '95, with a theme of
"Doing Pastoral Theology in a Plural-
istic World," combines Columbia
Forum and January Seminars for
Ministers and includes lectures,
continuing education seminars,
worship, and alumni/ae reunions.

Cynthia M. Campbell, newly
elected president of McCormick
Theological Seminary, will deliver a
series of lectures and lead a continu-
ing education seminar. She currently

serves as pastor of First Presbyterian
Church in Salina, Kansas, and has
held tenure as a professor of theology
and ministry at Austin Theological
Seminary- She also directed Austin's
Doctor of Ministry program.

Her first lecture, "What Shall We
Render to the Lord? Being Religious
in a Secular Society," will be held
January 9 at 10:30 a.m., followed by,
"To Whom Can We Go? Being Chris-
tian in a Religiously Plural World," at
2 p.m. She will speak January 10 at
9 a.m. with the title, "What Is Your
Only Comfort? Christian Reflections
Continued on page 5

Count your blessings

30 toward our goal of $31 .45 million. financial support.

Douglas W. Oldenburg, President

I remi MB! R n 1 - a young boy growing up
in the church singing that old gospel
hymn; "Count vour blessings, name
them one by one, and it will surprise
you what the Lord has done " Our
basic posture as Christians is as
recipients of Cod's gifts ot grace, ,ind
our fundamental response is one <>i
profound gratitude During this
Thanksgiving and Christmas season,
allow me to count a few <>l our
blessings at Columbia, and name
them one by one.

1 am thankful for. . .

. . new faculty members Kathleen
O'Connor (Old Testament) and Carlos
( ardoza-Orlandi (world Christianity),
and new staff members Gary Bagley
(director <<t development) and David
Bridges (associate director of planned
giving and the capital campaign)

. . .the 57 new basic degree
students at Columbia who have come
with energv and commitment; the

more than 1 10 basic degree students
who have returned, the 252 Doctor ot
Ministry students who take seriously
their need tor continuing education;
and the resl ot our students in the
Master ol rheologyand Doctor of
I neology programs

. the early rave reviews from our
new students about our new curm u-
lum course, "Baptism and Evangelical
identity

. . .the publication ot the first
volume m our joint publishing effort
with Westminster/ |ohn Knox Press,
entitled Union with Christ: John Calvin
and the Mi/s//i ism o) Si Bernard, and
the six congregations which hav e
given financial support to the venture.

. ..finishing the 1993-1994 fiscal
year "in the black."

. . all those who have helped
move the capital campaign closer to
our goal: $30 million as oi September

. . .the ^<-> individuals and/or
couples who are including Columbia
in their estate plans, and the 17 life-
income plans totalling over $1.2
million all since the spring of 1993.

. . the h.2 percent increase in our
Annual Fund during the past fiscal
year, reversing a three-year decline,
and for all those who helped meet the
challenge fund last spring

the Columbia Friendship
Circle, which exceeded its goal of

$32,000. and for its prayers and
support of our students.

. . .the anticipated renovation and
expansion of our library.

. . .the new "Jerusalem Pilgrim-
age" continuing education program
which we are beginning in January
and hope to continue each year.

. . .the wonderful China Mission-
ary Reunion on our campus on
October 14-16 and the effective and
gracious way our faculty, staff, and
students planned and hosted it, and
for the several churches who provided

. . the production of eight 30-
minute videos for the "Signs of the
Times" series by our Theology, Media,
and the Church program, which was
seen on cable television in Atlanta and
will soon be available for local congre-
gations

. . the joy of working with the
best Board of Trustees of any school,
the greatest faculty in the world, the
finest group of administrators and
staff who work to make this a great
seminary.

. . .for you and all those who keep
us in your prayers, offer words of
encouragement, and support us with
vour financial resources.

. . .and the greatest blessing of all,
God's unconditional love revealed in
Jesus Christ!

Why don't you try it? "Count
your blessings, name them one by
one, and it will surprise you what the
Lord has done." It happens every
time! Thanks be to God! Q

Officers for KASA are (l-r) Samuel Park, se< retary; Bom Cho, immediate past presi-
dent. Insook Lee, treasurer; and Chin Kim president,

Korean- American Student
Association organized

Korean-Ami RI< \\ mi i-i \is at Colum-
bia have formed an organization to
represent themselves: the Korean-
American Student Association
(KASA).

Ratified by faculty vote last fall,
the association plans to improve
communication and cultural under-
standing on campus, according to
Hak Chin Kim, 1994-95 KASA presi-
dent. Korean-Americans and Korean
international students now constitute
the largest single ethnic minority on

campus.

KASA has two goals First,
Korean students hope to work with
the seminary to better prepare Ko-
rean-American students tor their
unique ministry context. A typical
Korean-American church is divided
between tust-generation immigrants
.ind second-generation members
already familiar with American
language and culture

I \ ery Sunday in a Korean-
American church there are two

separate worship services going on at
the same time/' said Kim. "In the
main sanctuary is a worship service in
Korean for the first-generation mem-
bers, while in another part of the
church, the younger members wor-
ship in English." Most of Columbia's
Korean-American students will focus
their ministry on the second-genera-
tion group.

Similar generational divisions
exist in Korean-American homes.
"Because of the language and culture
barriers, there often is little dialogue
between parents and children," Kim
said. Such divisions complicate the
pastoral tasks of strengthening
families and building congregational
unity.

KASA's second goal is to increase
multi-cultural awareness among
Columbia students. Korean-American
seminarians are not the only ones
facing a multi-cultural ministry
setting. Studies predict that by the
year 2050, Anglo-Saxons in the United
States will be a minority ethnic group.

"We at Columbia must ensure
that all students understand the
American context as a multi-cultural
context for ministry," said Robert
Ramey, professor of ministry and
faculty advisor to KASA. "There's a
growing sensitivity among the faculty
to multi-cultural issues, and the
presence of KASA will enhance it.
Korean- American congregations are
among the most dynamic within the
Presbyterian Church, and we have
much to learn from them."

To develop cross-cultural contacts
with fellow students, KASA plans to

host campus events celebrating
Korean culture and history. "Korea
has a 5,000-year history," noted Kim.
"We want to share our culture, our
theology, and our perspectives on
ministry with this campus."

Greg Lund '95

New faculty, administrator
continued from page /

life of the greater church. His insights
and scholarship have greatly ben-
efited our work and worship as a
community of faith."

Dr. Bagley is heading the Office of
Development and Seminary Relations,
having joined the administrative staff
after Vice President Frank Willey's
move to Louisville, Kentucky. Dr.
Bagley comes to Columbia from
Georgia Baptist Medical Center,
where he had several administrative
responsibilities, including director of
marketing and managed care contract-
ing for psychiatric/mental health
services and chaplain.

He is a graduate of Furman
University and holds the Master of
Divinity and Doctor of Ministry
degrees from Southern Baptist Theo-
logical Seminary He has served as
pastor of several leading Baptist
churches throughout the Southeast
and is in the process of transferring
his ordination to the PC(USA).

Columbia President Douglas W.
Oldenburg said, "Gary has all the
traits that are found in successful
development officers. We are confi-
dent he will continue the good work
that has been done in recent years by
our development office." D

VANTAGE

Professors Lucy Rose, Will Coleman '85, ami Chuck Campbell

Faculty members earn Ph.D.s

While a student at the Graduate
Theological Union in Berkeley, Califor-
nia, assistant professor of theology and
hermeneutics Will Coleman met
weekly with three other African
American theologians to share experi-
ences and ideas.

Dr. Coleman credits the conversa-
tion with helping him focus his own
doctoral project one of the first
comprehensive studies of slave narra-
tives as a source for religious thought

" I came to know what it means for
African American men to work to-
gether toward a common goal," Dr.
Coleman writes in the acknowledg-
ments to his doctoral dissertation, "A
Study of African American Slave
Narratives as a Source for a Contempo-
rary, Constructive Black Theology/'
which he finished in 1993. Dr.
Coleman is revising his dissertation for
publication by Penn State Press.

In constructing the slaves' thoughts
about God and church, Dr. Coleman
read volumes of interviews compiled
as part of a Federal Works Administra-
tion project from 1936-38. The 20,000-
page collection recounts conversion
experiences, worship, and secret prayer
gatherings.

While historians, sociologists, and
African American authors have used
the narratives, Dr. Coleman said
theologians have only recently turned
to them as a resource. He contributed a

chapter to a 1991 book, Cut Loose ) our
Stammering Tongue: Black Theology in
the Slave Narratives, that was the first
effort to incorporate the materials in
theological study.

Like Dr. Coleman, two other
Columbia faculty members have
worked recently to complete Ph.D.
projects as they continued to teach
Lucy Rose, assistant professor of
preaching and worship, and Charles
Campbell, assistant professor of
homiletics, have written dissertations
on theories of preaching.

Dr. Rose, who expects to earn the
Ph.D. from Emory University in Mav,
constructs a preaching model that
describes the minister and congrega-
tion as partners in faith. As a Ph.D.
student at Duke University, Dr.
Campbell studied Yale theologian
Hans Frei to produce a preaching
theory that seeks to understand each
congregation as a "community of
interpretation."

Dr. Rose responds to three
theories of preaching, all of which
presuppose a gap that separates the
minister from the congregation. She
worked with Fred B. Craddock,
Emory's professor emeritus of preach-
ing and New Testament, as the
dissertation adviser.

"My proposal places the preacher
and congregation together on the
same side of the gap with text or

meaning or the world on the other
side/' Dr. Rose said. "The preachei is

not the expert, not has the preacher

had an experience that thecongrej
tion needs to replicate i he preai hei
and congregation share a common
faith and ministi \

Beginning her Ph D, studies in
1989, she applied several methods ol
literary criticism in ordei to learn how
narratives generate meanings I Ins

research, in turn, led her tOCOnstTUCi a
preaching model m which the minister

deliberately leaves Interpretation

"open-ended so th.it the entire
community engages with tin- mystei
ies behind a text

"When I read homiletu.il theor)
no one was dest ribing w ha! I Jo v\ hen
I preach," she said. "Hut when l read
about what people were doing in the
arts, it sounded familiar. I kept askm
Isanybod) saying what l think I do?'"

Dr. Campbell, in writing his
dissertation, "Preaching lesus I |. m
Frei's Theology and the C ontOUTS "t ,i

Postliberal I lomiletic/' worked with
theologian and ethicisl Startle)

1 lauerwas, w horn he had admired as .i

master's student at ^ ale and w Kile .i
pastor at First Presbyterian <. him h In

Stuttgart, Arkansas |)r I lauerwas. in
turn, called Dr Campbell's disserta
tion "one of the best I've dire< ted
"It is full ol rich suggestions

ecclesiologically," Dr I lauerwas said
"A focus of his dissertation is on how
theology is ,i narrative prai ti< i? and
how to embody that in the church and
in teaching is .i demanding business."

In his work, Di ( ampbell said he
agrees with Frei that biblical interpre-
tation and theology must be under-
stood from the perspa tiveol partu u-
lar faith communities I lis conclusions
have influenced his own preaching by
forcing him to "rely less on general
human experience to set up issues and
emphasizing the text more as .i starting
point."

Further, Dr. Campbell said semi
nary courses on preaching should nol
be geared to "the teaching of prea- h
ing but the formation of prea< hers.
Now preaching is taught as a method.

But that is not really how it happens, it

is a trait."

Both Dr. Rose and Di < ampbell

have worked to incorporate theil
arch into the < lassroom. Dr.
( ampbell said he will use an up om-
ing sabbatical to think about new
teaching strategies; Dr. Rom tea< h. . a
class, "Narrative Preaching," that she
has refined during her stu< I .

The dissertations and related
research not only help elevate the
seminary's reputation, faculty mem-
bers said, but affet t the whole of
seminary life.

"When a faculty member writes,
that is a sign that the faculty is learn-
ing," said Shirley Guthrie, Columbia
professor of systematic theology.
"There is an immediate benefit U >l
students when the teachers themselves
are learning." Q John Turnbull '95

Library seeks

congregational

histories

ini [ohn Bi lov\ < ampbell I ibran
wants youi congregational history! In
an effort to strengthen Its collet tion of

historical material on the local PreSDJ

terian ( hun h, the librai j seeks gifts
ol published commemorative i ongre
gational histories

l oca! church histories pro\ Ide
unique infoi matior foi indents,
faculty, and \ [siting si holars and help
familiarize < olumbia's ministers-in-
training with the parishes they will
oneday serve Ml congregational
histories given to the librarj will be
cataloged and processed foi the
i in ulating book coll tion I he
librarj is i ommitted to making the
story ol Presbyterians in the Southeast
and the nation available to all its
patrons.

I he librarj also welcomes dupli-
i ate i "pies oi Minutes from f< u mei
P< I Sand i P( i SA presbyteries in

Hi- Southeast. Donated minutes mav

help the library till In gaps In Its
current colle< tion. rhese donations

ensure lor the new IiIm.iis a Strong

base lor its special colla tions ol
Southeastern Presbj terian resean h
materials.

i tonoxs are reminded oi the
.ii' hives ol the Presbyterian t hiuri h
(USA) Department ol i listorj al
Montreal and Philadelphia Minutes
should nut be given to the [ohn Bulow
I ampbell I Ibrary instead ol the
Department ol i lister) . rather, the

library seeks dupln ates Ol Minutes

already in the Montreal or Philadel-
phia ( ollCH lions.

it you wish to donate a histor) ol

yOUl I Ihii. h "i Minutes, please

i "Hi. 1. 1 ( layton I lulel at the library. D

'Come See
Columbia Day'
set for March 30

I'm i,imi. Women i ri im a< ross the
southern United state-, are invited for
' olumbia Friendship Circle's ''Come
See< olumbia Day," March 30, 1994,

on the < olumbia ampus

I hiring ( ome See ( olumbia I a\

the i- re< ipientsol the 1994-95
olumbia Friendship < irele
Si holarshps wiU Bpeak; Allen I luff of
' r annah Presbytery, Charles
Vorderberg ol ( herokee Presbytery,
Ri( k Douylliez of St. Augustine
Presbytery, Insook Lee of Northea i
I Georgia Presbytery, Doug Ferguson of
I i ntral Florida Presbytery, and
Margie Boyd of Salem Presbytery.

I . >r more information about the
Columbia Friendship Circle or "Come
See Columbia Day," contact Barbara
Poe, CFC Liaison, at 404/378-8821.

WINTER 1994-95

Continuing

Education

Calendar

For further information or to register for courses, call or write:
Rebecca S. Parker, Director of Continuing Education, or
Richard S. Dietrich, Director of the Lay Institute of Faith and Life
Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA 30031/404-378-8821.

December 2-3 Training Presbyters Leaders For presbyter) leaders for Commit-
tees on Ministry and Preparation lor Ministry, and the Permanent Judicial
Commission. Presbyteries are encourage to send the chairperson or moderati n
and individuals nev\ I) elex ted in these areas I eaders William Holmes, Dick
Baldwin, Richard ( ushman. Coile Estes, Charles Marks, Paige McRight,
Eugene Witherspoon. Cost: $55, im ludes two breakfasts and lunch on Friday.

December 2-3 WEEKEND LAY SCHOOL Ol BlBl I VNdThEOLOGI FORi B rRAL Ala-
aia See article on this page

January 9-12 COLUMBIA COLLOQUIUM See article on page!.

January 27-28 COMMISSIONED 1 \- PREACHER Traininc. Pk< < ,k am FOR FLINT Rn/ER

I 'i i - io 1 1 r , See article on this page.

February 6, 13, 20, 27 Evening Lay ScHOOi oi Bibli \nd ["HEOLOGa See article on
this page.

March 10-11 CaringforOni Another Leader: Dr fasper Keith. Cost: $35.

March 10-11 Rj i o N WD HWJ \l

March 13, 20, 27 THE STEWARDSHIP Ol Moni v Leader: James Hudnut-Beumler.
Cost: $35.

April 17-25 Week in Jamah \

April 23-29 CONTEMPLATIVE ReTREAI FOR WOMEN

April 23-26 MINISTRY Ol mi LaTTY CONFERENCl u MONTREA1 Leaders: Isabel
Wood Rogers, Ed White, Jack Stewart. Cost: $95.

April 24-29 Contempi vnvi Kiikiai for Men

April 28-29 HAGGADAH: Tin PaSSOVI R NaRRATTV] I eader Rabbi Scott Saulson.
Cost: $35.

April 28-30 FELLOWSHIP GATHERING MEETING THE MASTER IN nil Moi MAINS AT

MONIKI M

Lay Preacher Training course
set for Flint River Presbytery

Students in Flint River Presbytery's
Commissioned Lav Preacher Training
Course will meet at Columbia January
27-28 for part of their training. Asso-
ciate Director of the Library Clayton
Hulet will introduce students to the
seminary library. Charles Campbell,
associate professor of homiletics. will
lead a day-long seminar in preaching
and worship.

The Commissioned Lay Preacher
Training Program in Flint River was
designed by Rick Dietrich, director of
Columbia's Lay Institute, in conjunc-
tion with the presbytery. The 18-
month program features seminars led
by Columbia faculty and members of

the presb) tery It also makes use of
distance learning methods and re-
quires extensive reading bv and
practical experience for students.

Among Columbia faculty partici-
pating in the program's leadership are
Charles Campbell, Richard Dietrich
Lucy Rose, C.eorge Stroup, and Stan
Saunders In addition, Walter
Brueggemann, Charles I ousar, and
Shirley Guthrie have taught class,
way of videotape.

Students who began the program
in January 1993 will complete then
work and be commissioned in June
1994. For more information, contact
the Lay Institute.

Evening Lay
School planned
for February

Evening Lay School will
i 'ik r courses in New Testament,
prayer and spirituality, and ethics.
The courses will meet 7:30-9:30 on
Mondav evenings in February (Febru-
ary 6, 13, 20, 27) on the Columbia
Seminary campus. The Evening Lay
School is sponsored by the Lay
Institute of Faith and Life. Teachers
include Dr. David P. Moessner,
associate professor of New Testament;
Dr. Robert Ramey, professor of
ministry; and Dr. Charles Campbell,
assistant professor of homiletu s

Dr. Moessner will teach on the
book of Acts. Dr. Ramey will investi-
gate some oi the many byways along
the Christian spiritual journey Dr.
Campbell's course is entitled "Dimen-
sions of Christian Friendship."

Dr. Richard Dietrich will teach
this year's Morning Lay School
course. Morning Lay School will be
held Thursday mornings in February
(February 3, 10, 17, 24). Classes meet
from 10:00- 11:30 a.m. in the
Harrington Center on campus.

"Apocalypse, Now?" will look at
key passages from the book of Revela-
tion, asking about their relevance in
history and for today.

Cost for a course is $35. For more
information or to register, contact the
Lay Institute.

Lay Institute
designs spring
courses

The Lay Institute of Faith and Life at
Columbia offers a number of winter
and spring courses, in addition to the
Winter Lay Schools. In 1995 there will
be courses in Christian nurture,
religion and culture, and spirituality.

Dr. Jasper Keith, professor of
pastoral care and counseling, will
teach a weekend course on how
Christians care for one another. The
course meets Friday evening, March
10, and Saturday, March 1 1.

Dr. James Hudnut-Beumler,
associate professor of religion and
culture, will teach "The Stewardship
i >l Money" during the evenings of
March 13, 20, and 27. All aspects of
the Christian's responsibility for
material possessions will be fair game.

Rabbi Scott Saulson, Ph.D., will
teach a course on the Passover as an
expression of Jewish spirituality and
teaching. The course will meet over
the Sabbath oi April 28-29 (Friday
evening -.md Saturday).

For more information or to
register, call the Lay Institute. D

Weekend Lay
School offered
in Alabama

Lay people from central Alabama will
meet December 2 and 3 at Chapel in
the Pines Presbyterian Church in
Birmingham for a Weekend Lay
School of Bible and Theology offered
through Columbia's Lay Institute of
Faith and Life. The school will begin
at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and end Satur-
day afternoon.

Teaching in the Weekend School
will be Dr. Shirley Guthrie, professor
of systematic theology at Columbia;
Dr. Paul Hooker, minister of Rock
Spring Presbyterian Church in At-
lanta; and Dr. Rick Dietrich, director
of the Lay Institute.

Dr. Guthrie will address "Chris-
tian Faith in the Holy Spirit," and Dr.
Hooker will teach "Isaiah and the
Expectation of Christ." "Apocalypse
Now - or Later?" is the title of Dr.
Dietrich's course.

The weekend will also provide
information about the Lay Institute's
certificate program in Spiritual
Formation to be offered in central
Alabama beginning in February, 1995.
The program, open to 25 select
students, will be taught by Columbia
Seminary faculty both on site and via
distance learning methods. It will
involve two years of practical work in
spirituality as well as study in the
areas of Bible, theology, Christian
nurture and practical Christianity.

More information about the
weekend is available from the Lay
Institute or from Chapel in the Pines,
2269 Chapel Road, Hoover, AL 35226;
205/822-4210. For more information
about the Spiritual Formation Pro-
gram, contact the Lay Institute.

Smyth Lectures
held March 7-9

The Smyth Lectures, established at
Columbia in 1911, will be held March
7-9, 1995.

E. Brooks Holifield, Charles
Howard Candler Professor of Ameri-
can Church History at Emory Univer-
sity, will deliver three one-hour
lectures at 1 1 a.m., offering a survey of
congregations and their leaders from
the seventeenth through twentieth
centuries.The lectures themselves will
also address an unconventional
theme: American religious history
viewed from the perspective of
congregations.

Dr Holifield, author of five books,
pined the faculty of the Candler
School of Theology at Emory in 1970.
Since then he has taught courses in
Puritanism, John Wesley, Calvinism,
Jonathan Edwards, U.S. intellectual
history, and women in church history.
1 le is an ordained minister of the
United Methodist Church.

VANTAGE

UT* **

Bishop K.H. Ting looks at pictures from
Chum with reunion participant Edgar

Richardson.

Missionaries
recall China
service

More than 160 Presbyterian mission-
aries to China and the children of
missionaries gathered at Columbia
October 14-16 for a historic reunion.
Participants from their forties to their
nineties came from all parts of the U.S.
to remember their lives and service in
China.

The effect of the missionaries'
work seemed uncertain when Chris-
tianity was banned as part of the
cultural ferment of the 1940s and
1950s, but during the reunion week-
end participants shed tears when they
learned that Christian faith thrives
and that their service is remembered.

"For many, the whole China
experience as a missionary or as
children of missionaries was still
unfinished business," said G. Thomp-
son Brown, professor emeritus at
Columbia, chairperson for the
reunion's program committee, and
himself the child of missionaries.

Some of them were forced out oi

China. That left scars, even after all
these years."

Bishop K. H Ting, president of
the China Christum Council, con-
ceived the event through contacts
with Columbia Seminary and deliv-
ered a major address in which he gave
an update on the church in China and
apologized tor the treatment of the
missionaries

"I want to apologize to former
China missionaries and their families
tor all the suffering wrongly imposed
on them forty years ago," he said. "I
would be glad if you take my pres-
ence here as a token of healing and
reconciliation in Christ."

In worship, over meals, and in
seminary classrooms, participants
shared stones and passed yellowed
photographs from a time when their
service intersected with political and
cultural upheaval.

Yenren Ting oi the Amity Founda-
tion, which trains English teachers
and arranges for Bible printing, said
the Bible now is the second most
popular book in China after the works
of Mao Tse Tung. Some 2.3 million
will be distributed in 1994.

There are now 10 million Protes-
tant Christians in China out of a
population of 1.2 billion, according to
the China Christian Council. They
worship in 8,000 churches and 20,000
house churches, depending largely on
lay leaders to make up for a severe
shortage in ordained clergy.

Charles West, professor emeritus
of Christian ethics at Princeton
Theological Seminary and a mission-
ary to China in the late '40s, said
about the weekend, "We fell into the
arms of people we had not seen for
years and traded memories with
people we had not met but who
shared the same history. Bishop Ting
was the occasion for this, but also the
messenger. Thanks to his presence
and report, we can participate in and
support the mission of the church in
China with new insight."

John Turnbull '95

Colloquium
continued from page /

on Dying and i i\ i

l he continuing education seminal
[n Season and Oul will be held
lanuaix 10 from 2-5 p.m. and fanuarj

11 from 9 .i in I J noon

Colloquium's guest preachei is w.
Frank Harrington, pastoi oi Peai htree

Presbyterian Church in Atlanta I le

will preach [anuarj 9 in and 1 1 si
7:30 p.m. Dr. Harrington co-chaired
the Billy ( Iraham C rusade for Atlanta
m October and is, haii ol the Board ol
trustees tor Presbj terian * ollegeand
Presbyterj ol ( Ireatei Atlanta's New
Church I K\ elopment ( ommission.

Alumni/ae activities will be held
January 9-10. Wade I [uie who wa
Peter Marshall Professor ol I lomil. h. .
at Columbia from 1957 91, Will be the
alumni/ae luncheon speakei on
January l ' I le will tea< h a workshop,
"Preparing tO Preach for I ent and
Easter/' fanuary 10 from 2-5 p.m. and
January 11 from 4 a.m. -5 p.m.

As part of the alumni/ae acti\ i
ties, the Alumni/ae ( ouncil holds its
annual meeting Januar) 9 V luncheon

Dr. Robert Bohl. center, moderator of the General Assembly, PC(USA). spoke October 4
at the seminary's Columbia Founders Dinner and later addressed students, faculty, and
Board members on the subject "Theology Matters " With him are Dr. Frank
Harrington '60, president of the Columbia Founders, and President Oldenburg

union i lasses will be fanuary 10
at 12 noon including the classes ol
1945, 1950, 1955, I960 1965 19
1975 1980 1985 1990 and 1994 Dr.
< ampbell w til address . dinnei foi
women students and alumnae fanuar)
it' at 6 p m,

I hree .uldihon.il continuing

education workshops will be offered
fanuarj 11-12 [wan Russell [ones
bssck late professor ol theology media
and the i hun h, will tea< h Sai red
[mages Religion and Populai ( ul
run on fanuarj 1 1 from ! i p m
Earl] Smith i haii ol the HIV/
ibcoinmittee ol ( hUTCh and

So< ierj foi the Presbyter} ol [ampa
Baj n ill lead > class titled, "i he
P< 'i SA) \u ( hurch Has UDS/'on
fanuarj 12 from 9 a m p m

\i " "ii fanuarj 12, 1 uke I
Johnson. Robert VV Woodmft Piofes
soi ol New restamenl and ( hristiar
1 Wginsal the< andlerS hool oi
i heologj w ill lead a workshop on the
lettei ol fames from 9 a m.-5 p m
c ost foi the workshops ranges from

to $95.

i "i more Information oi to
register foi anj "i I olloquium
i vents, call W4/378-8821. D

Winter reading recommendations
by Columbia's faculty

A Widcucss in GoaZs Mercy by Clark Pinnoi I

Ministry in the New Testament by I )a\ id i Bartletl

All the Pretty Hoi \es and The I tossing bj < ormai M< ( arthy

Principles and Practices o) I hristian I ducation An I vangelicai Perspectiveby

Robert W. Pazmino

A Whole New Life by Reynolds Pi ii e

Homosexuality in the( hurch Both Sides of the Debate ed by leffrey S l >ii

Six American Poets \n Anthology ed bj [oel( onarroe

Growing in Authority, Relinquishing I ontrol b) < elia Ulison I lahn

She Who Is The Mystery of God in a Feminist Theological Discourse b) I lizabeth

Johnson

Facingthe \busiveGod A Theology of Protest b) David Blumenthal

Christian Dm trine (revised) by Shirley ( ( luthrie

Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawn fhabvala

A Violent Evangelism The Political and Religious ( onquest of the Amen a bj Luis

N. Rivera

There Are No Children Heir In Ale* KotlowitZ

The Western Canon: TheBool and School of th Igesbj Harold Bloom

/ teked foi lutnihh i/ Storiesoj Blessings, Betrayals and Birthings by Renita I

Weems

New Horizons in Hemteneutics by Anthony I i hisi It. o i

Poststructuralism and the New Testament Derridaand Foucault at the I ooi oj the

L mss b\ Stephen D Moon

How We i He Reflet tion on I ife I inai I haptei by Sherwin B Nuland

Continuing the Reformation 1 \ay on Modern Religious Thought by Brian I lerrish

The Wounded Heart oj I )od The \ nan < oncepi o) Han and the I hristian I to trineoj

Sin by Andrew Sung Park

The Souloj the American Univei nty I rom Protestant I stablishmeni to I stablished

Nonbelief by George Marsden

Eleanor Roosevelt Volume One, 1884 I933by BlancheW Cook

TheSign ofOw Time The Secret Meanings of Everyday Life b) [ackSolomon

Who Will Roll Away the Stone Discipleship Querie foi First World Christians by

Ched Myers

Sharing the Delirium ' I .eneralion AID^ I'Ln/ and I'fitoiinuthcsud. by

Therese Jones

New Directions in Mission and U ationed by James A. Scherer and

Stephen A. Bevans

Catholicism (revised) by Richard McBrien

En La Italia (In the Sh I Hispanu Women's Liberation Theology by Ada

Maria Isasi-Dia/

The Past Won't Stay Behind ) OU Poem by Samuel I l.i/o Continued on page 6

WINTER 1994-95

For the Record

If you have recent news you would like to contribute to this section,
please send it to the editor.

Charles Cousar '58, professor of New
Testament, along with Beverly R
Gaventa, former professor o\ New
Testament at C olumbia, | Clinton
McCann, and James Newsome '55,
professor oi Old Testament, published
Texts for Preai king \ I a tionm u
Commentary Based on the NRSV )em <
in September. Dr. ( busar pre.u lied at
the Newnan, GA, church and led an
i (fficers' retre.it ,mu\ pre.u lied at
Westminster i hurch, Knowille,

TN William Bryant (DMin HI),

member of the Board of Trustees, has
been named executive director of the
Outreach Foundation. He had been
pastor of First i him h, \'ash\ ille. I'M,
since 1981. Howard Cameron '54
has been assigned by Worldwide
Ministries Division to a volunteer
position in /aire to work with

Rwandan refugees there Carol

Boggs Clark '90 is pastor of the

Wimberlev, TX, church Mark Clark

'91 is practicing law m Wimberlev,

TX C. Benton Kline, president

emeritus and interim director of the
library, led a workshop on The Book Oj
Common Worship for a Northeast
Georgia Presbyter} education event
and a session retreat for the Roswell,
GA, church. He preached at Agnes
Scott College for Investiture Sunday in

September Sarah Speed McTyre

'88, assistant to the dean of faculty, led
a women's retreat for Fourth clum h,
Greenville, SC, a church retreat for the
James Island church, Folly Beach, SC,
and preached at First church, Vlm.i,
AL.

George Telford '58, director of
advanced studies and aSSO( iate
professor of theology and church, was
part of a group of se\ en who met at
Columbia to plan for the next Gospel
and Our Culture Network consulta-
tion. The group was charged with the
responsibility of designing a "conver-
sation among several cultural commu-
nities for which the issue of the
encounter between 'the gospel and
our culture' is a living engage-
ment." .... Lucy Rose, assistant proles
sor of preaching and worship, led a
workshop on preaching at the Wee
Kirk Conference. She has preached at

the South Aiken, SC, church John

Gilmore, vice president for business
and finance, was part of an Associa-
tion of Theological Schools accrediting
team at Canadian Theological Semi-
nary, Regina, Saskatchewan Clark

Simmons, director of church relations,
was also named director of the capital
campaign at the Board meeting in

October Rita Cochrane '94 is in the

Master of Theology program at

Columbia Will Ormond '43,

professor emeritus, preached at the
Immanuel church, Montgomery, AL,

in September.

Scott Lawson '93 is asso< iate

pastor of the [vyland, PA,

church Mary Stewart Hall '90 is

( haplain at Methodist Medical c enter,
I Jallas, TX Shirley Guthrie, profes-
sor ot systematic theology, led a
retreat for ministers ( t the Presbytery
of South Louisiana and an officer
training event tor churches in central
> lei irgia I l<' pre.u hed and lectured at
I irst , Inin lies. \!\ rtle Beach, SC, and

Concord, NIC Robert Ramey,

professor of ministry, has preached at
First churches. ( ,r ilfin, GA, and
Danville, VA. He led spiritual growth
retreats tor I ake\ lew church, St.
Petersburg, FL, and for Cherokee

Presbytery Rebecca Parker, director

of continuing education; was keynote
speaker for Presbyterian Women at
Northminster church, Macon, GA,
and led workshops tor Presbyterian
Women of ( herokee Presbytery and
.it "C elebrating Our Presbyterian
I lei it.ige" Day in Mobile, AL. She
was guest teacher at a Sunday school
Jass .it Redeemer I utheran Church,

Atlanta John Patton, professoi "l

pastoral theology, gave two lectUl
on "Discovering Forgiveness: Psycho-
logical and Spiritual Dimensions" at
Valdosta State University. He pub-
lished a chapter on "Forgiveness, Lost
(. ontracts, and Pastoral Theology" in
///- Treasureoj Earthen I Vessels, edited
by Brian Childsand David Waanders.
Dr. Patton also wrote the "Pastoral
Implications" section for the Novem-
ber lectionary texts m / et tionary
Hom/tefzcs, Vol. 5, No. 12.

Ernestine Cole, associate dean of
students, preached at Rice Memorial,
and Trinity church, Decatur, GA. She
attended the African American
Pastors and Laity Conference at
Interdenominational Theological

Center Lee Wyatt (MATS 79) is

pastor ot the St Andrew church,

BIRTHS

To Bob '90 and Beth Reese, a daugh-
ter, Anna Elizabeth, July lb. 1994.
To Clover '91 and Tim '91 Beal, a son,
Seth Kandler, Aug. 31, 1994.
To Paul '93 and Sarah Lang, a son,
Daniel Burden, Sept. 4, 1994
To Scott '9? and Laura Worth, a son,
Kyle Newell, Oct. 11, 1994.
To Rebecca, director of continuing
education, and Buddy Parker, a son,
Joel William, October 12, 1994.

DEATHS

Benjamin Collins '53, May 19. 1994.
Robert Smith '57, July 31, 1994.
Burnell Chaney (DMin. '84), Sept. 1,
1994.

Longview, TX James Newsome '55,

professor of Old Testament, has
preached at the James Island church in
Charleston, SC, and at First church,
Columbus, GA, where he helped to

install John Bell '88 as pastor Will

Coleman '85, assistant professor of
theology and hermeneutics, preached
at the South Highland church, Bir-
mingham, AL, and presented a paper,
"African American Religious Thought
in a Post-Modern Context," at the
international conference on Christian-
ity and Modernization in Beijing in

C >< tober Michael O'Neil '93 is

associate pastor of First church, Lake

Jackson, TX John Ragsdale '94 is

interim pastor of the Orange Park, FL,

church David Moessner, associate

professor of New Testament, led a
series at First church, Atlanta, on
"Paul, at the End of His Career" for a

Sunday morning adult class Wade

Huie '46, professor emeritus, has
preached at the Sequoyah Hills
church, Knoxville, TN; Shadyside
church, Pittsburgh, PA; James Island
church, Charleston, SC; First church,
Aiken, SC; and Oakland Avenue
church, Rock Hill, SC. He has led a
preaching mission at the Washington,
GA, church and a seminar on preach-
ing for the ministers of Providence
Presbytery

Ronald Cram, associate professor
of Christian education, led an adult
leadership seminar at the Peachtree
church, Atlanta, and an adult Sunday
church school class on "Feminism and
Caring" at First church, Atlanta. As a
recipient of a faculty development
grant, he took mediation courses at
the Settlement Institute, Atlanta. He
has preached at the Hapeville, GA,

church Tom Watkins '94 is in the

clinical pastoral education program at

Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta

Charles Evans '78 is teaching French
and Bible at the Heritage International
School in Kampala, Uganda. He is
also continuing his work with Food
for the Hungry International and the
PC(USA). Gloria Jennings '90
(MATS '88), director of alumni /ae
relations and associate director of the
annual fund, has preached at St.
Luke's church, Atlanta, and Covenant
church, Augusta, GA. She taught at a
retreat for Presbyterian Women in

Toccoa, GA Sung-yul Kang,

visiting scholar from Korea, has
translated The Land by Walter

Brueggemann into Korean Sara C.

Juengst '83 has published "The
Children's Sermon Instrument of

Grace" in Worship Leader John

Herndon '85, pastor of Fellowship
church in Huntsville, AL, has over-
seen the demolition and reconstruc-
tion of the church building.

Will Jones '96 was appointed the
first voting student member of
Columbia's Board of Trustees at the

meeting in October Brian Childs,

professor of pastoral theology and
counseling, led a church officers'
retreat for Morningside church,
Atlanta and a workshop for Provi-

dence Presbytery and the South
Carolina Conference (United Method-
ist Conference) for pastors on "Family-
Systems and the Congregation." He
participated in the annual meeting of
the Society for Health and Human
Values in Pittsburg and finalized a
study guide for the General Assembly
Task Force on Physician-Assisted
Suicide and Euthanasia. Dr. Childs
coordinates and teaches monthly
"Ethics Grand Rounds" at Georgia

Baptist Medical Center, Atlanta

Walter Brueggemann, professor of
Old Testament, has preached and
lectured at the Presbyterian "Fig Tree
Assembly" in Syracuse, NY; for the
I piscopal Diocese of Utah; and at the
Schooler Institute on Preaching for the
Methodist School of Theology. He
spoke at Druid Hills church, Atlanta,
and lectured at Christ Church Cathe-
dral, Indianapolis, and at Ursinus
College. Dr. Brueggemann preached
on All Saints' Day at St. Philips
Cathedral, Atlanta, in a memorial
service for the homeless. His recent
publications include A Social Reading
of the Old Testament, "Exodus" in New
Interpreter's Bible, and an article in
Biblical Theology Bulletin.

Book recommendations
continued from page 5

Religion and Race: Southern Presbyteri-
ans, 1946-1983 by Joel L. Alvis, Jr.
Reconstructing Christian Theology ed.
by Rebecca S. Chopp and Mark Lewis
Taylor

The Oxford Book of American Short
Stoi ies ed. by Joyce Carol Oates
/ at ing Evil by John Kekes
Making Sense oj It All: Pascal and the
Meaning of Life by Thomas V. Morris
In the Face of Mystery: A Constructive
Theology by Gordon Kaufman
Giving Bnth Reclaiming Biblical
Metaphor for Pastoral Practice by
Margaret L. Hammer
Skin: Talking about Sex, Class, and
Literature by Dorothy Allison D

Vantage

Volume 86, No. 3, Winter 1994-95
Published quarterly by
Columbia Theological Seminary
Circulation: 25,000

The Office of Development/
Seminary Relations

Editor: Juliette Harper
Director of Publications
and Publicity

Postmaster: Send address

changes to Vantage

Columbia Theological Seminary

P.O. Box 520

Decatur, GA 30031-0520

VANTAGE

During the meeting of Providence Presbytery on October 9, President Oldenburg
presented a plaque in memory of J. McDowell Richards to the Liberty Hilt, South
Carolina, Presbyterian Church. Dr Richards, an alumnus of Columbia, was president
of the --cm oiary from 1932-1971. He and Mrs. Richards are buried in the church
cemetery. Accepting the plaque on behalf of the session were Margarette Richards (left)
and Virginia Richards Sauls, first cousins of Dr. Richards Dr Richards' quote on the
plaque is from an exchange of views with Ralph McGill, editor of the Atlanta Consti-
tution, in 19b7, and reads:

"Out of the difficulties of the present, we believe that there will come a stronger, a
more consistent and a more effective church. It will be a church vastly i oncerned with
and involved in contemporary issues and needs as was its Master, but which, like him.
will continue to declare that God reigns and that life /> not merely a matter of the here
and now. "

From the Bookstore

No. of
copies

New titles by Columbia faculty members:

Looking for God in the Suburbs: The Religion of
the American Dream and Its Critics, 1945-1 96 i
by James Hudnut-Beumler

Awake, Arise, and Act: A Womani->t Call for
Black Liberation by Marcia Y. Riggs

Retail Columbia
price price

$16.00 $16.00

$12.95 $11.01

The first volume in the new Columbia Series in Reformed Theology:

Union with Christ: John Calvin and the Mysticism $lh.()() $13.56

of St. Bernard by Dennis E. Tamburello

Total amount for books

Georgia residents: add five percent sales tax

Shipping and handling (orders under $20.00, add $4.00;
from $20.00 to $49.99, add $5.50; over $50.00, add $7.00.
All books shipped via United Parcel Service.)

Total

Method of payment (please check one):

check payable to CTS Bookstore (included with order)

VISA MasterCard Discover

Please print information below:

Visa /MasterCard /Discover # Exp. date_

Name (as it appears on card)

Street address for UPS shipment:

Address

City

State

_Zip.

Please send this completed order form to: CTS Bookstore, P.O. Box 520,
Decatur, GA 30031 . .

Development/ Seminary Relations

By Gary L. Bagley, Director of Development and Seminary Relations

'\ i con ro know w here j ou're
going before you can know w ho von
want to go with you says Sam Keen.
1 recalled these words aftei meeting
with President Oldenburg in late Jul)
and hearing his global vision foi
c olumbia I hal same phrase came
back to mind -it the end ol August
(just a few days before mj offu ial first
day) during the faculty retreat at
which 1 listened to schedules being
hammered out and proposals bj
professors a\~\<.\ administrators for
modifications to mee] new needs and
changing times.

While learning more about
Columbia, l contacted Dr Daniel
Aleshire a formei administrator at my
theological alma mater who is now
with the Assoc iation ol Theological
Schools. Of the 220 accredited theo-
logical institutions in the i fnited States
and Canada, he told me that he places
C olumbia in the top I I hiring those
weeks of exploring the possibility of
coming to Columbia, I became in-
creasing!) delighted with everything 1
learned. One doesn't always have the
opportunity to join such an energetii
and gifted team as Columbia's.

In Lewis Carroll's iu>\ el, Alu e in
Wonderland, Alice finds horse 1 1 ,ii m
intersection ol roads. Perched in a
nearby tree is the Cheshire Cat. Alice
looks at the different paths and then
asks the Cat which road she should
take. "That depends on where you
want to go," responded the ( .it "( )h,
it doesn't reall) matter/' quipped
Alice. "Well then, it doesn't really
matter which road you take, does il
said he. In mv conversations with
administration and faculty, trustees,
students, denominational and church

leaders, I've always had the feeling
that Columbia is focused on its goals.

And that makes me energetic about
helping undergird this great endeavor
for the future I pledge to give my
best energy and wisdom to the task
before me.

Planned giving In the spring of
1993, the Board ol Trustees took a< lion
to become more involved In
Columbia's planned giving program.
Working part-time, Richard Dodds
'54, coordinator of planned giving,
agreed to initiate tin endeai or. Since
establishing the program/ 9h indi-
viduals and /or couples have added
Columbia to their estate plans; 17 life
liuome plans have been established
(charitable trusts or gift annuities)
totaling $1 .2 million In September,

/ )avid Bridges assot iate dim tor of
planned giving and the capital campaign

David Bridges joined the de\ flop

menl stafl .is .i full-time asso< late In
planned gfa Ing and will be training
u ith i m. k i lodds i >a^ id w 111 also

assist C lark Simmons with ihe t ,ipital
I ampaign in New Harmony

Presbj tei j I >.i\ Id is a graduate ol the
University i il k entui ky and I ouJ w ille
Presbyterian I heological Seminary.
I [e joins the stafl al ( olumbia aftei
bsj \ ing as Intei \m assoi late i ta iti u ol
I >v enanl I 'resbytei Ian ( hun h in
Mai ietta, l leorgia i )avid has also

\ ed .is assoi late minister al

Peai htree Presbyterian ( hum h,
Atlanta I le i omes w ith a "familj
i x i Itage" "i planned giving profea
sionalism. Well i >me, David!

Alumni/ae A i las i agenl pn i
is being established to build i losei ties
between ( olumbia and its graduates
i ighl members ol the Alumni/. ie
Association are serving as a I ore
Advisor) I ommittee to formulate and
implemeni the program.

i a i May, the Reverends l larry
Barrow, lames Bowden, Berl
.nun. hael, foan ( Ira) , I aurey
Murphy, ( atherine raylor, William
Wade, and I tebbie Zarretl met with
( lloria [ennings, director of alumni/ae
relations, to Initiate this program

< lass agents will serve a two-yen
period, informing the seminary ol the

persona] - oro ems ol alumni/ae and

keeping alums up to date with the

ieminary's programs and neei I

< reated to be under the supervi-
sion of the Alumni/ae Association
I ouncil/thei lass agent program will
enhanci communii ation and mutual
support as Columbia and itsgradu-
hrist and the church.

Conference on Ministry

for prospective students

February 24-26, 1995

For more information or to register, call the Office of Admissions at Columbia,

404/378-8821

WINTER 1994-95

In 'Signs/ Columbia studies
church-culture connection

On Super Bowl Sunday last January,
as the Dallas Cowboys an J the
Buffalo Bills squared off in the
C.eorgia Dome, a media crew from
( olumbia Seminary contributed to
the hubbub outside.

Filming the first segment tor
what would become an eight-part
series, "Signs of the Times/' [wan
Russell-Jones, Columbia professor of
theology, media, and the church,
interviewed Emory Universitv
anthropologist Brad Shore about
football and American culture.

Eventually Russell-jones would
take his student and staff crew to
shopping malls and automobile
showrooms, wrecking yards and
gyms to shoot the program's docu-
mentary segments, which form the
basis for discussions of Christians
relationship to cultural icons Pro-
duced for $25,000, the series aired
September 27 through November 15
on AIB-TV, an Atlanta cable station,
and will be distributed nationally for
youth and adult Christian education.

Ideas for "Signs of the Times"

began forming in the fall of l c >93 in a
( lass of the same title taught by
Russell-Jones and Will Coleman '85,
assistant professor of theology and
hermeneutics. With research assis-
tance from students, faculty, and
staff, Russell-Jones and others,
including media assistant Alden
Poetker, devised themes and
storyboards for filming.

In order to host group discus-
sions that are part of the program, a
television studio was constructed in
Columbia's Richards Center with
broadcast-quality lighting, sound,
and cabling to a director's room
upstairs. Construction of the studio
brought more community involve-
ment. Two faculty spouses, Brenda
Smith and Lynette Cram, were
responsible for design and execution
Steve Mann '94 took charge of all
technical aspects

"We couldn't have done it
without Steve," Russell-Jones says.
"It was providence he was here at the
time." In addition to providing
technical expertise throughout the

production, Mann, now on the staff of
Peachtree Presbyterian Church, pro-
vided studio direction for all the shows
and did most of the final editing.

Richard S. Dietrich, director of
Columbia's Lav Institute of Faith and
Life, called the show a "community
project" from beginning to end. "Many
of the faculty appear on screen, but
there were students behind the cameras.
And students and staff behind them,
writing and researching." Among other
things, senior Tim Slemmons wrote the
music for the show.

Each program strives to document
cultural trends through interviews with
Columbia faculty, professors of theol-
ogy and communication from around

the country, and with such dh erse
voi< es as gun collectors and car
salesmen

The icons, or themes, eventually
chosen tor production were television,
the automobile, the gun, professional
sports, the shopping mall, the bod)
and the computer.

"We do engage with culture and
culture engages us," said Dietrich. "It
is important to be in dialogue with
these signs in ways that are aware ^nd
critical."

The show on the body proved the
most challenging topic, said Russell-
Jones, since it seemed to be set apart
from other programs that dealt more
explicitly with technology "It's so
obvious in a way we've all got one
but it's also this incredible icon of the
culture, especially in advertising/'
said Russell-Jones. "But it's not so
obviously an icon in the way a car is
or the television."

For more information on the series
or to place an order, contact the Lay
Institute at the seminary.

John Turnbull '95

Vantage

P.O. Box 520

Decatur, Georgia 30031

CONTENTS

New faculty, administrator 1

Colloquium '95 1

( mint your blessings 2

Korean-American Student Association 2

Faculty earn doctorates 3

Library seeks histories 3

'Come See Columbia Day' 3

Continuing education events 4

Smyth Lectures I

China missionary reunion 5

Winter reading recommendations 5

For the Record 6

From the Bookstore 7

Development/Seminary Relations 7

The making of 'Signs' 8

Second Class
Postage
Paid at
Decatur, GA

Publication No. 124160

COLUMBIA
THEOLOGICAL
SEMINARY