Columbia Theological Seminary Bulletin, 44, number 3, October 1951

Bulletin of

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
DECATUR, GEORGIA

Vol. XLIV

October, 1951

No. 3

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Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Decatur, Ga., under Act of August 24, 1912
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT DECATUR, GEORGIA

CAMPAIGN REACHES INITIAL COAL-
SECOND PHASE BEGINS

RECORD ENROLLMENT FOR NEW SESSION

REV. THOMAS H. McDILL, ]R.
ADDED TO FACULTY

THE SEMINARY CAMPAIGN AN END

AND A BEGINNING

The first phase of the seminary's campaign for an en-
largement of its facilities and its endowment has now
been successfully completed. During the last week of
September, it was announced that the original goal of
$250,000 had been reached and that the conditional
gift of $ 1 00,000 which had spurred the effort had been
claimed. Thus the assets of the institution have already
been increased by $350,000, of which $100,000 is for
endowment. The Directors and Administration of the
school would express their profound gratitude to all who
have helped to make this achievement possible.

The second, and equally necessary, part of the De-
velopment Program has already been begun. An addi-
tional $125,000 to be used in meeting the increased cost
of construction, in equipping the library, and in adding
$25,000 more to endowment must be secured. If that
is in hand by January 1, 1953, friends in Atlanta will
give an additional $100,000 to provide a much needed
addition to the Administration Building. The task will
not be easy, but the Directors believe that it must be
done and, therefore, that it can be done. Every dollar
contributed in this campaign will be worth virtually two
dollars to the seminary. The institution again appeals
for the prayers and the gifts of individuals and churches
throughout its supporting synods.

OPENING OF THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR

An address delivered by Dr. Albert Grady Harris of
Macon, Ga. and the formal admission of the entering
class were features of the impressive service which
marked the opening of the new session at Columbia
Seminary on September 18, 1951.

Sixty-eight new undergraduate students were enrolled
for the fall term, of whom sixty-five were Juniors, two
Middlers, and one a Senior. Thirty-four colleges and
universities were represented among these men who
come from seventeen states of the Union. Presbyterian
College heads the list of institutions represented in point
of numbers, having contributed twelve men to the enter-
ing class. Three members of the class are Baptists, one a
Lutheran, one a United Presbyterian, one an Associate
Reformed Presbyterian, and two are members of the
U.S.A. Presbyterian Church. All of the others are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian Church, U. S.

The registration for the new session now numbers
222. exceeding the total enrollment of last year which

was then a record enrollment by fifteen. One hundred
ninety-nine of these students are undergraduates; 20 are
candidates for the Th.M. Degree, and 3 are seeking
their M.A. in Biblical Education.

The record size of the student body has taxed the
facilities of the seminary to the utmost and makes it
imperative that the institution complete its building pro-
gram at the earliest moment possible.

REV. THOMAS HALDANE McDILL, JR.
ELECTED TO THE FACULTY

Announcement has already been made through the
Church press that Rev. Thomas H. McDill, Jr., formerly
pastor of the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian

Church of Atlanta, has
accepted the call of the
Board of Directors to
become a professor of
Columbia Seminary in
the field of Practical
Theology.

Mr. McDill is a son
of the A. R. P. manse.
He was born in Little
Rock, Ark., on June 9,
1917. He received his
B.A. from Erskine
College in 1938 and
his Th.B. from Erskine
Theological Seminary
in 1940. He did special work in Psychiatry at the Uni-
versity of California in 1944, and was a student at
Princeton Seminary for one quarter in 1946. After com-
ing to Atlanta, he enrolled at Columbia Seminary where
he earned his B.D. in 1947, and subsequently completed
a portion of the requirements for his Th.M.

On December 26, 1938, Mr. McDill was married to
Miss Lila Williams Bost of Due West, S. C. The home
which they then established has been blessed by the
birth of their son, Thomas Calvin McDill, who is now
ten years of age.

Mr. McDill was licensed and ordained by the First
Presbytery of the A. R. P. Church in Charlotte, N. C,
on June 3, 1940. His first pastorate was in the A. R. P.
Church of Russellville, Ark., where he served for a
little more than two years. During that brief period, the
membership of his church increased from 99 to 171.

In October, 1942, he entered the Chaplaincy of the
United States Army with the commission of a First Lieu-

tenant. After training at the Chaplains' School, Harvard
University, he served throughout most of 1943 with the
10th Armored Division. Subsequently he saw service
with the 76th Infantry Division, with the 951st AAA
Battalion, and with the 158th Regimental Combat Team.
He was on duty in the Pacific Theater of operations
from February, 1944, to December, 1945. In March,
1946, he was honorably discharged with the rank of
Major and with the following awards: American
Theater; Asiatic-Pacific Theater with two battle stars
and arrowhead; Philippine Liberation with one battle
star; Legion of Merit (for action in the Battle of Ma-
nila); Victory Medal.

From June, 1946, to September, 1951, Mr. McDill
served as pastor of the First A. R. P. Church of Atlanta.
During that time the membership of this church in-
creased from 348 to 773. One hundred sixty-nine of the
accessions to its membership came by Profession of
Faith, 8 by Reaffirmation, and 375 by Certificate.
During the same period, the membership of the Church
School increased from 201 to 523, and the total annual
gifts of the church from $14,218 to $61,593. The num-
ber of tithers in the congregation grew from 41 in 1946
to 171 in 1951, and the number of family altars from 23
in 1946 to 90 in 1951. Under Mr. McDill's leadership,
his church also sponsored in 1949 the organization of
the Candler Road A. R. P. Church, which now has
115 members.

Both Mr. McDill's native gifts and his highly success-
ful experience as pastor and preacher promise well for
his usefulness as a teacher of men in preparation for the
work of the ministry. As a further preparation for his
work, he has been granted leave of absence for work
toward his Doctorate at the University of Chicago, where
his studies will be particularly in the field of Pastoral
Counselling. After being received into membership in
Atlanta Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, U. S.,
he has already taken up residence in Chicago with his
wife and son, and will remain there until his special
course of preparation is completed.

When Mr. McDill assumes his active duties as a pro-
fessor, he will assume responsibility for the courses in
Pastoral Theology which are now taught by President
Richards, and will also offer several important new
courses in Pastoral Counselling and related subjects.
Dr. Richards does not plan to give up all duties as a
professor, however, but expects to teach certain courses
in the field of Biblical Theology. It is probable that
Mr. McDill will not begin his work at Columbia Sem-
inary until the fall of 1953.