Inform Vol. 66 No. 6 October 1972 News Bulletin From Columbia Theological Seminary Decatur, Georgia ALUMNI, SMYTH LECTURES SET T JLw .wo distinguished churchmen will be the Alumni and Smyth Lecturers on Columbia's campus during the 1972-73 academic year. "Putting it Together in the Parish" will be the topic of Alumni Lecturer James D. Glasse, president of Lancaster (Pa.) Theo- logical Seminary, for Ministers' Week, Jan. 8-10, 1973. The program for the week is specifically designed for those at work in ministry. The Rev. Dr. Wilhelm Pauck has given the title "The Religion of the Protestant Reformers" to the 1973 Smyth Lectures, scheduled for the week of March 26. These Lectures on the Thomas Smyth Founda- tion were established in 1911 by a bequest of the Rev. Thomas Smyth, long-time pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston, S. C. The Alumni Council and the faculty- student worship and convocations com- mittee are working with President Glasse to develop a full schedule of activities for participants in Ministers' Week. He has said he will be discussing it from the viewpoint of "the pastorate as a specialized and experimental ministry". At their annual luncheon, on Tues., Jan. 9, the alumni will honor the Rev. Dr. Samuel A. Cartledge, who retires at the end of the academic year after 42 years on Columbia's faculty. Dr. Glasse, who assumed the presidency of Lancaster in the fall of 1970, will bring a broad understanding of ministry to his presentations from his background as a pastor, professor and director of field education. He has served pastorates in North Caro- lina and Tennessee, and has been mod- erator of the United Presbyterian Holston and Nashville Presbyteries. His nearly 20 years of involvement in theological educa- tion began in 1953 when he was named assistant director of field work and director of professional studies at Yale Divinity School. He was director of field education, professor of practical theology and associate dean of the divinity school at Vanderbilt University between 1956 and 1970. During one year, he was also visiting professor of ministry and management in the Graduate School of Management. Dr. Glasse is a contributing editor of Presbyterian Outlook, co-author of Educa- tion for Ministry, and author of Profession: Minister and Putting it Together in the Parish. He earned his undergraduate degree at Occidental College (Los Angeles) and his divinity degree at Yale Divinity School. Prof. Wilhelm Pauck, noted Reforma- tion scholar, will divide his lectures on the Smyth Foundation in four parts: "The Basic Structure of the Reformers' Faith", "Martin Luther", "John Calvin", and "The Anabaptists". Born and educated in Germany (Uni- versity of Berlin for both undergraduate and theological studies), Prof. Pauck's teaching career has been in the United States, first at the Chicago Theological Seminary, then at the University of Chicago, Union Theological Seminary (New York), and Vanderbilt University Divinity School, where he and Dr. Glasse were colleagues. He is now visiting pro- fessor of religion at Stanford University. Prof. Pauck's writings include Das Reich Gottes auf h'rden; Karl Barth, Prophet of a New Christianity"^ The Church Against the World: the Heritage of the Reformation: Luther's Lectures on Romans: Melanch- thon and Bucer: and Harnack and Troeltsch, Two Historical Theologians. Inform F, ROM THE PRESIDENT We hear a great deal these days about di- versity in the cliurch, and we also hear about that diversity producing division or being accepted in reconciliation. We at Columbia Seminary have lived with diversi- ty a long time. We are firmly committed to the belief that divershy in itself is no cause for dividing the church. We seek ways of being reconciled so that our diversity is set in the context of our basic unity. It seems to me that two things are needed in the life of our church today. The first of these is to correct our vision of priorities, so that we can see what is truly important the witness we are called to bear to the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be critical of those who see that witness as involving social action or of those who do not, to sit in judgment on those who use a particular form of personal witnessing or those who do not - to spend all our energy on criticism, judgment, and controversy is an evasion of our mission as servants of Jesus Christ. We need to get on with that mission, and in that need we are truly united. Ihe second thing that is needed in our life is fairness. To talk of reconciliation, to hold listening sessions, is meaningless un- less we are willing to act in fairness. Fairness involves providing adequate repre- sentation in decision-making bodies. It involves willingness to engage in debate and to be convinced by the Holy Spirit and Scripture. It involves not pushing for decisions prematurely simply because the voting strength has been calculated. The 17th century preacher, Richard Baxter, put it this way: "In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity." And the apostle Paul said it from prison to the Philippian Church: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will . . . What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." (Philippians 1:15, 18) My prayer is that we may achieve in our church that sense of priority and that fairness. N lEW YEAR OPENS WITH 184 ENROLLED Olin Marsh Whitener, Jr., Charlotte, N. C, is one of the 184 students at Columbia Seminary this fall. Son of Mrs. 0. M. Whitener, Sr.. of Montreat, and the late Mr. Whitener, he enrolled in the Master of Divinity program this fall with the hope of being accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program in about two years. Olin, shown below with Dean Charles B. Cousar, came to Columbia specifically for this possibility. When he was living in Greenville, S. C, he attended Fourth Pres- byterian Church where he came to know John Payne, a 1969 graduate of Columbia, who was then in an intern year at the church. Olin, a salesman of computer business forms for Standard Register, de- cided during this time that the ministry was where he ought to be. Partially because of Mr. Payne's in- tluence, he considered a year of supervised ministry as an integral part of his decision. "I anxiously await that year; I wouldn't do anything to deny myself and the people I will minister to that one year just to finish seminary more quickly," he says. "In all honesty, too," he adds, "I cannot deny the impact of a doctorate degree in a degree- oriented society." Olin earned his B.A. degree in English at the University of North Carolina in May of this year. Of the 184 students, 109 are enrolled in the undergraduate program (Master of Divinity), 22 are Master of Theology candidates, 8 are in the Doctor of Sacred Theology program, 19 are auditing courses, and 1 is in an intern year program. Students who have completed two com- ponents (roughly equivalent to two aca- demic years) can apply for admission to degree candidacy in the D. Min. program. If admitted, they can then expect to earn the degree after the satisfactory com- pletion of an additional two components, including a 12-month period of supervised field ministry, in combination with certain academic work. M, ISSISSIPPI CAMPAIGN PASSES $30,000 Over $30,000 in advance gifts has been received in the Columbia Campaign in Mississippi toward a goal of S350,000 for student aid, student housing, campus ex- pansion, general endowment, and a pro- gram of graduate and continuing education for pastors. Solicitation of pledges from the churches will take place during October and November. Coinciding with the completion of Columbia's first 50 years as an institution of the Synod of Mississippi, the campaign looks ahead to a second half-century of partnership in training men and women for the Gospel ministry. In a recent interview. Dr. CecU Thompson, a member of Columbia's Board of Directors and the pastor of Central Presbyterian Church in Jackson, com- mented that "The Church today needs ministers who are 'truly furnished unto every good work', prepared to minister as spiritual shepherds to all the needs of all ages. The Church must provide the means for our seminary to prepare men and women (who are) adequately equipped as proclaimers of God's Word and shepherds of the sheep." In recognition of the need to "provide the means", the Synod of Mississippi authorized the present campaign. Ministers and laymen across the Synod have accept- ed positions of leadership and are con- ducting the carnpaign in the seminary's behalf. Plans call for the major solicitation efforts to be completed in 1972, with pledge payments extending for three years. I^TUDENTS FORM NEW GOVERNMENT A new plan of student government has been established at Columbia. Using the representative structure of state and national government, it is organized in three branches executive, legislative, and judicial and four major committees (community life, community service, aca- demics, communications). Senior William J. Holmes of Columbia, S. C, its first president, and -Senior B. Bradford Hestir, III, Atlanta, the vice president, were the chief architects of the new plan. "To facilitate community'among the seminary family, it was felt leadership from all the classes and from all the living areas (not just campus organizations) would be the most helpful," Brad explain- ed. "We're hoping to generally improve community life and to help the wives of students feel more involvement in the seminary process," added Bill. Inform Po Hestir Holmes Other officers in the executive branch are Beverly H. Smith, Winfred, S. D., secre- tary, and Thomas H. Barclay, Corpus Christi, Tex., treasurer. Sr. J. Mark Wilburn, Jackson, Miss., is chief justice of the judicial branch, and the other members are Jerald H. Bailey, Dothan, Ala., Dewey Bowen, LaGrange, Ga., Joseph E. Ross- man, Albany. Ga., and P. David Snellgrove, Columbus, Miss. Legislative branch representatives are Fahed Abu Akel, Galilee, Israel, W. S. Barton, Daytona Beach, Fla., Mary M. Bettis, Knoxville, Tenn., Margarita Ana Boyce, Mexico, Dorothy Burgess, Mon- treat, N. C, John S. Carothers, III, Birmingliam, Ala., Scott C. Girard, Charlotte, N. C, Michael B. McCrorey, Atlanta, Ga., Richard P. Neldon, Atlanta, Ga., John A. Roper, Wagram, N. C, Etta C. Rossman, Pulaski, Va., Thomas J. Aycock, Jacksonville, Fla., Sheryl Aycock, Tampa, Fla., Bennett E. Cox, Mooresville, N. C, William P. Lancaster, Sparjtanburg, S. C, A. Lamar Potts, Newnan, Ga., and Glenn A. Ruggles, Dade City, Fla. Wo rOMEN'S COURSE INITIATED A course on the emerging role of women in church and society and a coordinator of womein's activities are the first actions of the women's studies program initiated this fall by the Atlanta Theological Association and the Atlanta Committee on Women and Religion. The four schools involved are Candler School of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, Erskine Theological Seminary, and the Interdenominational Theological Center. Columbia enrolls 18 of the nearly 50 women students at the four seminaries. According to Director of Field Education J. Richard Bass, Columbia's seven rising middler and senior women in the field education program were all placed in pastoral situations this past summer. "They are also doing Sunday supply preaching," he added. OSSIBILITIES FOR MINISTRY DATES ANNOUNCED Weekend conferences in November and February and three student teams are part of a new Columbia program for discussing the Possibilities for Ministry with men and women considering the ministry. Two teams of students are being select- ed and trained for programs in local churches to give particular emphasis on evangelism. A third team will host visitors on campus. The Nov. 10-12 conference is designed especially for couples who are considering vocational change, while the Feb. 2-4 conference is planned for college students considering the ministry. Conference leaders will be Columbia Seminary faculty members and students and pastors of Atlanta area churches. Call- ing, ministries, and seminary training will be considered in a format that combines presentations with informal opportunities for participants to discuss their own questions with conference leaders. The total program of conferences and team ministries is an attempt to assist individuals and the churches from which they come to think through questions about their vocational choice in light of God's call. Faculty members and students will seek to supplement the ministry of I pastors and local church leaders by sharing their own experiences and providing additional factual information about the possibilities for ministry today. The student host team members are M.Div. candidates Joyce Rimes, shown below with Vice President Steve Bacon, Lamar Potts, William Carr, and John Roper. All except Miss Rimes, a senior, are middlers. Mr. Carr, son of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Carr, Sr., of Matthews, N. C, received his B.A. degree in political science from Davidson College in 1968. A former ambulance driver-attendant and police officer, Mr. Carr also served two years with the U. S. Army med'ical seiA'ice corps. He was discharged, after a Vietnam tour of duty, with the rank of first lieutenant. While at Columbia, he has been student assistant at Columbia Presbyterian Church, Decatur. Ordained an elder in 1961, Mr. Potts owned his own concrete and construction business from 1958 to 1968 in Newnan, Ga. He served two years with the United States Army artillery corps. This past summer he was student assistant at Jack- son, Miss., Central Presbyterian Church. A candidate under care of the Presbytery of Atlanta, he is the son of Mrs. Lamar Potts of Newnan and the late Mr. Potts. Miss Rimes, president of the Society for Theological Scholarship at Columbia, re- ceived a B.A. degree in religion from Stetson University in 1962. Since that time she has been director of Christian educa- tion at First Presbyterian, Palatka, Fla.; Arlington Presbyterian, Jacksonville, Fla.; and First Presbyterian, Birmingham, Ala. During the summer of 1972, Miss Rimes directed the Bay Treat Center of the Mobile Government Street Presbyterian Church. She is under care of Birmingham Presbytery. Mr. Roper, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Roper of Wagram, N. C, received his B.A. degree in history from St. Andrews College where he was elected to Who's Who Among American Students in Colleges and Uni- versities. He is under care of Fayetteville Presbytery. C ONTINUING EDUCATION SCHEDULED Eleven Continuing Education Programs have been scheduled for the 1972-73 aca- demic year. Nearly 250 ministers and lay persons will participate in the two- to ten-day events with Columbia professors and other resource people as the leaders. Participants will be responsible only for their own travel expenses and a nominal fee for the course (usually S25); room and board during the session is provided by the seminary. Inquiries for further details should be mnde to Dean A. Milton Riviere. Plans for the year's schedule include: Church Officer Development Workshop (Oct. 10-19), Pastoral Care of Families (Oct. 31 -Nov. 9), Theology, Ministry, and Economic Systems (Nov. 16-18), Group Dynamics Training Workshop (Nov. 27-Dec. 1). Atlanta Presbytery Adult Leader Training Workshop (Dec. 8-10), Clinical Pastoral Practicum (Jan. 9-18), Communication Through Mass Media (Feb. 5-10), Growth in Ministry: Worship with Preaciiing (Feb. 20-Mar. 1), Preaclicr - Camera - Playback (Apr. 2-4), (irowih in Ministry: Contemporary Issues in Church and Society (Apr. 24-May 3), Growth in Ministry: Exploring Prophetic Ways (Mav 8-17). Inform M, cKEE VISITS NEAR EAST In the summer of 1971, Dr. Dean G. McKee, Columbia professor of Biblical exposition, and rising senior Mark Wil- burn, a football player from Jackson, Miss., spent three months traveling in the Near East - or, as Mark puts it, "he ran the legs off of me". Since his return, he has spent countless hours sorting, cataloging, and putting in order the slides he took during the trip in preparation for his very popular lecture "The Middle East Speaks to the Church througlT Crises Ancient and Modern", his successful attempt to combine Bible study with illustration so that this "broader perspective gives force and power to the particulars" of in-depth Bible study. This year he has traveled to many parts of the Church to give the lecture nearly a dozen times before various groups. This kind of approach to his teaching, coupled with his conviction "never to meet a class without an awareness of God, making the students aware of Him in their lives, so that the crises of life still show God's purposes for us", make his teaching a vibrant experience. This former seminary president (Bibli- cal, New York) started his educational career in mathematics, but found himself interested in political and social issues. So, even though a friend pursuaded him to enter Biblical Seminary, he was still plan- ning to do a masters degree in mathe- matics. He found an exciting influence in the late Dr. Howard Kuist and, when he went on sabbatical, taught his beginning Greek course for him, finding, to his surprise, that he was remaining on the faculty there for more than 30 years. Tapped repeatedly for administrative responsibilities (which he never wanted, and considers a great test of patience). Dr. McKee became president in 1946, resigning in 1960 because he wanted to get back to teaching. His urge to return to teaching is com- pelling when he talks about it: "Teaching and preaching are an un- believable effort; I feel great empathy with Moses when he argues with God that he didn't have the gift of gab." "I want ministers to be the best teachers in their churches, so I'm trying to teach them how to teach themselves. I have to discipline myself not to lecture because I want to keep my classes active with partici- pation, freedom, relaxed but working as hard as I do in the teaching function." "I want to keep students concerned about God at work in the institutional Church and in people." When his strong feelings about church music ("you can measure the piety and test the attitudes of a congregation by the way it sings and by the quality of the music it uses") and his precise and beautiful carpentry are added to this picture, it is easy to see why his unique, rich contri- bution to the life of Columbia permeates the lives of its students and faculty. Photos on pages 2, 3, 4 by Richard Stanford, class of 1973. H OPEWELL IS NEW A.T. A. DIRECTOR James Franklin Hopewell is the new execu- tive director of the Atlanta Theological Association as "God's retribution for an ecumenical bureaucrat who has pontifi- cated for ten years about theological edu- cation," he says. Columbia Seminary welcomed him to his new post Sept. 1, along with the other participants in the ATA: Candler School of Theology, Interdenominational Theological Center, Erskine Theological Seminary, Urban Training Organization of Atlanta, and the Georgia Association for Pastoral Care. From 1960 to 1967, Dr. Hopewell was associate director and then director of the Theological Education Fund of the World Council of Churches. Before that he had been dean of the divinity school and vice president of Cuttington College and Divinity School in Liberia where he was also professor of Bible and comparative religion. Since returning to this country in 1970 he has been professor of religion in contemporary sub-Saharan African society at the Hartford Seminary Foundation. "Right now, I've been doing an awful lot of listening, and I am impressed by the breadth of the ecclesiastical, academic, ethnic, and training possibilities in the ATA mix," he added. The chance to partic- ipate in producing a better ministry through ecumenical theological education and the possibility of working out the general principles of it in a concrete setting were the main attraction to him of this new position. Dr. Hopewell sees a move to more substantive discussion of ministry and mission and the manner in which the schools will accomplish this. COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY DECATUR, GEORGIA Vol. 66, No. 6 /October 1972 Elizabeth Andrews, Editor Published 7 times a year / Jan., Feb., Apr., May, July, Oct., Nov. 30031 Inform SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT DECATUR, GA