LOOKING OUTWARD

BOARD OF TRUSTEES short while back, a colleague—a president of another Presbyterian semi- Elizabeth C. Williams, Chair Anary—sent me a note. In the note, he explained that he had preached the previous week at a Presbyterian church in Florida where two former parish- Michael D. Allen ioners of mine in Atlanta had been visiting while on vacation. Recalling how Carolyn W. Beaird I used to encourage people to be sure to find a church in which to worship, Jay Dea Brownfield James W. Bruce Jr. even when on vacation, these good peo- Diane E. Buchanan ple had scrawled a note on the back of Peggy L. Clark an offering envelope there in that La Unah S. Cuffy church in Florida and had given it to Paul R. Debenport my fellow seminary president—hop- Frank Diaz ing, apparently, that a note from him to Donald R. Frampton me, with their own note enclosed, Judye G. Hartman would count as sufficient proof that Bruce G. Herlin they had taken my encouragement to Robert T. Herres heart. Their note—the note within the Jerry M. Hilton note—ended with words to this effect: James R. Hunt “We will remember you, and we pray Betty Wilson Jeffrey J. Carter King III that you will remember us.” John M. McCoy Jr. I have been thinking about that David G. McKechnie note—not just as a welcome personal Virginia L. Olszewski word from two former parishioners to a William C. Poe former pastor, but, in a larger sense, as Leila L. Power a word from the church to the semi- Cheryl Covey Ramsey nary. “We will remember you, and we Sydney F. Reding pray that you will remember us.” Max R. Sherman I sense that their commitment, Jerry Jay Smith that plea, is being profoundly spoken to Rex C. Vermillion the seminary in our time, and from Hugh H. Williamson III t h r oughout the church. And, Lord Trustees Emeriti knows, we need to remember each other! In our tradition, the church and the Clarence N. Frierson seminary are two essential elements in an ecosystem, after all. It is in the local Stephen A. Matthews church, most often, that the pilgrimage toward the seminary begins. An Weldon H. Smith encouraging word is spoken by a Sunday school teacher, or an elder sponsor Edward D. Vickery in someone’s confirmation process, or a youth pastor, or any of a number of others; and something purposeful starts reverberating in a person’s heart that sends them, sooner or later, to seminary. Wherever this journey begins, and in whatever of a thousand routes this journey takes us, the point is that not one of us got to the seminary altogether by ourselves. Every one of us is indebted to somebody, or to a collection of somebodies, who have helped us discern a call from God. The church remembers the seminary in multiple ways—through prayer, through encouragement, through disciplined financial gifts and planning; but, most significantly, through claiming its own role in that ongoing ecosys- tem whereby one generation of theological students after another gets help in hearing a call and figuring out what to do about it. Will you keep this in mind as you see someone in your midst whose destiny might depend, in part, upon your word of encouragement? Meanwhile, know that we will remember you, and we pray that you will remember us. Theodore J. Wardlaw President CONTENTS 2 - 1 3 The Seminary and the Church 2 Echoes in the temple Called by God through the voice of the church BY DAVID GAMBRELL 6 A new voice for a new century An interview with President Wardlaw 11 Where in the church is the Austin Seminary faculty? Mapping the intersection of faith and scholarship

Cover: Inspired by the Chapel rose Senior fellowships awarded window and the celtic cross, Austin 14 Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s new 2003 MidWinter Lectures logo also symbolizes the interwoven-ness 15 of our connectional church. Without the Development news circle of support formed by the many 20 churches and denominational bodies that Community news are our partners in the work of 21 theological education, this picture would Faculty news be incomplete and our mission would be 23 impossible. To paraphrase Paul’s letter to Alumni/ae news the Philippians, “we thank God every 24 time we remember you because of your sharing in the gospel.” Illustration by David Gambrell

W I N D O W S Spring 2003 Volume 118, Number 2

EDITOR Randal Whittington

ASSOCIATE EDITOR David Gambrell

Publisher & Mailing Statement

Windows is published three times each year by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The theological schools of the ISSN 2056-0556 Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Postmaster: Address service requested no longer receive funding Austin Seminary Windows from the basic mission budget Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary 100 E. 27th St. of the General Assembly. Austin, TX 78705-5797 Churches are asked to Non-profit bulk mail permit no. 2473 Theological Education Fund contribute 1% of their (1% Plan) operating budgets to the phone: 512-472-6736 e-mail: [email protected] fund, which is then fax: 512-479-0738 distributed to the seminaries. www.austinseminary.edu Echoes in the Temple Called by God through the voice of the church the Seminary the & Church

THEN I HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LORD SAYING, “WHOM SHALL I SEND, AND WHO WILL GO FOR US?” AND I SAID, “HERE AM I; SEND ME!” —ISAIAH 6:8

BY DAVID GAMBRELL saiah was in the temple, attended by seraphs and hemmed in with the fabric of God’s robe. For Moses, it was a burning bush, perhaps the biblical equiva- Ilent of a neon sign. Abraham and Sarah were visit- ed by strangers in the heat of the day. Hannah heard her call in a pastoral conversation with Eli. Paul saw the light on the road to Damascus. How does God call leaders for the church today?

The liturgy for the service of ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reminds us that vocation begins with bap- tism, where we are chosen and claimed for the service of Jesus Christ. For most pastors, however, it’s a long journey from the font to the pulpit, with only the occasional neon sign for direc- tions. Who supports them and guides them along the way? How do they continue to hear God’s voice through the din of competing claims and choices? Another clue from the liturgy for ordination: we are “called by God through the voice of the church to enter upon ministry

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 3 of Word and Sacrament.” Today’s church leaders—lay into churches, out of service and into service to others.” people and pastors alike—shoulder the responsibility for A significant part of Riccobene’s vocation is helping identifying, encouraging, nurturing, and supporting the people in congregations realize how influential they are church leaders of tomorrow. To be sure, the call to min- in the lives of fellow members—particularly those with a istry originates with God and God alone; but are we not call to ministry. In his travels to visit churches, colleges, called to echo God’s voice to the future ministers in our presbyteries, and pastors around the country, Riccobene midst? challenges them: “Have you ever thought, ‘That person Austin Seminary President Emeritus Jack Stotts’s would make a good pastor’? Do you ever ask the ques- essay “A Theology of Vocation,” helps to clarify this tion, ‘Have you considered seminary?’ ” point: “It is the people who are called, prior to the indi- Furthermore, Riccobene gives them specific guid- vidual. The people who are called are a people who have ance on identifying promising pastors, culled from the been prepared to discern the call experience of leaders in the fields of and to respond. That is what we theological education and prepara- mean by ‘p rov i d e n c e .’ God has tion for ministry. These five identi- provided for the people to be ready fying characteristics of good candi- to hear and to see, to discern God’s IT IS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE dates for ministry were proposed presence among them.” by Melissa Wiginton, director of Stotts explains how the church CALLED, PRIOR TO THE the Fund for T h e o l o g i c a l is a “mediating agent” for God’s Ed u c a t i o n’s Pa r tnership for INDIVIDUAL. THE PEOPLE WHO call to individuals: “The church Excellence: 1) an inner life, 2) a becomes God’s subordinate calling ARE CALLED ARE A PEOPLE sense of wonder, 3) an appreciation agent in the world, God’s mouth- of ritual, 4) “connectionality,” and piece. It calls all people to receive WHO HAVE BEEN PREPARED 5) engagement for healing the the gift and to participate in the TO DISCERN THE CALL AND world. ministry. The church does so, it is According to Evelyn Hwang, hoped, by its own life of worship, TO RESPOND. THAT IS WHAT associate for resourcing committees community, and world construc- on preparation for ministry with WE MEAN BY PROVIDENCE tion—its activities in the world. ‘ .’ the National Ministries Division of And one way is by calling leaders GOD HAS PROVIDED FOR THE the PC(USA), there are currently for its life.” 164 Pre s byterian congre g a t i o n s The community of faith that PEOPLE TO BE READY TO (out of 11,200) with three or more extends God’s claim through the HEAR AND TO SEE, TO inquirers or candidates for ministry water of baptism is called, over and under care. The church with the over, to remind its members of DISCERN GOD’S PRESENCE largest group is Un i ve r s i t y God’s purpose for them, through Presbyterian in Seattle, with a total worship, through Christian educa- AMONG THEM. of twenty-seven. Austin Seminary tion, through mission, through fel- —JACK STOTTS junior Crista Gregory spent four- lowship and love. And when that teen years in that congre g a t i o n community re c o g n i zes part i c u l a r before coming to seminary. “Even gifts for ministry, it is called to help though it’s a large church,” she its members cultivate those gifts for explains, “there is a kind of creed service to the church and world and seek creative and rel- that every member is a minister. This empowers the laity evant ways to share those gifts with others. to be involved in ministry. Everyone is significant and You might compare Austin Se m i n a r y Di rector of has gifts to contribute.” Vocation and Admissions Sam Riccobene’s work to water No doubt this environment had a profound effect divination. He’s looking for pro s p e c t i ve seminarians, but on Gregory. The church’s pastors also played an impor- m o re than that, he’s seeking springs, fountains, re s e r- tant role in cultivating her call. “I had a couple of pastors vo i r s — c h u rches and communities with “living water” — who were very influential in my decision. They said, the spiritual re s o u rces to sustain the candidates for min- ‘You have great gifts for ministry.’ They have affirmed i s t r y in their care. Riccobene compares life before and after that all along the way.” s e m i n a ry to a river: “Students flow out of churches and Historically, it is the case that strong pastoral leader-

4 the Seminary the & Church ship has been an important factor in identifying future sider the ministry,’ that person must understand that she pastors. When Prescott Williams, emeritus professor of or he can depend on the calling community.” Being sup- Old Testament languages and archaeology, arrived in ported and surrounded by the community of faith is, for 1959, he discovered that, every fall, four pastors consis- the ministerial candidate, perhaps even more important tently sent students to Austin: Jack Bennett, Joe Brown, during the years of seminary and through the ordination James Allen Smith, and Arch Tolbert. What was it about process. these four very different ministers that inspired people to Senior Matt Miller knows what a difference that consider following in their footsteps? kind of relationship can make in a student’s seminary “All of them wore their pastoral identity comfortably, experience. “We miss our church terribly,” he says. Miller with integrity and conviction,” Williams remembers. and his wife, Marie, are members of Central Presbyterian “They had the same voice when they were preaching. The Church, Denver, Colorado, where Seminary Trustee ministry wasn’t something they put on and took off with Hugh Williamson is a member. “My home church has their robe.” The people with whom been incredibly supportive. They’ve they came into contact couldn’t been so genero u s — I ’ve had as help being swayed by such an much financial assistance as anyone example, Williams concluded. could ask. I got to preach there, “They didn’t know it, but they MAYBE MORE THAN and our daughter Grace was bap- were being given opportunities to tized when we were home for the consider becoming ministers. The ANYTHING ELSE, THE CHURCH summer after Greek.” Miller will call is contagious.” graduate this Ma y, but Central Carl McCormack (MDiv’95), NEEDS TO GET REALLY Pre s byt erian Church has alre a d y pastor at First Pre s by t e r i a n INVOLVED AGAIN IN THE identified another candidate for Church, Harrison, Arkansas, and ministry among its members who former president of the Au s t i n VOCATIONALLY IMAGINATIVE will begin in Austin Se m i n a r y’s Seminary Association, was one of Master of Divinity program in the WORK OF INSPIRING, the many people Jack Be n n e t t fall of 2003. influenced. “I was number twenty- ENCOURAGING, AND St rong re l a t i o n s h i p s five,” McCormack is quick to say. between churches and seminaries “He was a companion, helping me SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE are essential for keeping this vital through the discernment of my WHOM THE CHURCH connection. “The seminary needs call. I told him I wanted to do the church,” says Austin Seminary more in the church, and he said DISCERNS TO HAVE THE President T h e o d o re J. Wa rd l a w, ‘Let’s see what God has in store for “certainly to do all the things the GIFTS AND TALENTS AND you.’ Next thing I knew I was in church has done in the past, to be Austin at a Prospectus Weekend.” SKILLS FOR MINISTRY. generous and to help fund what McCormack has passed on happens here, but maybe more Bennett’s legacy, by identifying and —THEODORE WARDLAW than anything else, the churc h nurturing pastoral candidates in his needs to get really involved again in own congregation. He got to know the vocationally imaginative work Brett Hendrickson when the young of inspiring, encouraging, and sup- church member was a junior at p o r ting the people whom the Columbia University. “Brett was already thinking about church discerns to have the gifts and talents and skills for vocation,” McCormack remembers. “I tried to talk to ministry.” him about what it meant—and what it meant to me.” God’s call—the same voice that has, through the Hendrickson graduated from Austin Seminary last year ages, summoned men and women for service and leader- with the class of 2002, and is now co-pastor, with his ship—will continue to summon people for ministry in wife, Alex, of a church in Lebanon, Kentucky. the church and world. We the people of the church must Of course, the work of churches in supporting a can- continue to respond to that call, watching for the work didate for ministry does not end with that person’s first of the Spirit, discerning and affirming God’s gifts, and day of seminary. “If the church calls a leader,” Stotts echoing God’s voice to those who will lead us into the writes, “and says to this person, ‘I think you should con- future. ▲

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 5 A new voice for a new AMY MEYER century the Seminary the & Church

The new president at work ... …greeting students after worship in Shelton Chapel…

Even before taking office on November 9, Austin Seminary’s ninth president, Theodore J. Wardlaw, was hard at work getting to know faculty, students, and other constituents. As he prepares for his inaugural on March 28, Wardlaw reflects on the journey from pew to pulpit to the presidency.

What role did the church play in helping define your was that special, but because these churches, I think the personal identity? church at a certain time in the past, must have felt more I grew up in a family in which church was the center of invested with the enterprise of ministry. It knew that its our lives. My whole family, as far back as I can go trac- job was, in part, to be thinking about the next generation ing the connection with my ancestors, of pastoral leadership and to encourage have all been either Presbyterian min- people who felt led to be that. So, I got isters or Presbyterian elders. So there is I THINK THE CHURCH AT A that kind of message. And when I, this strong sense of church being part CERTAIN TIME IN THE PAST indeed, felt called to investigate semi- of not just my immediate family, but MUST HAVE FELT MORE nary, it was from the same church where that fellow had stood in the there in my gene pool, and I am INVESTED WITH THE encouraged to see that it’s the same narthex handing out chewing gum, way with my children—they think ENTERPRISE OF MINISTRY. IT that the Fellowship Class committed that church is just something we do. KNEW THAT ITS JOB WAS TO for the four years I was in school to BE THINKING ABOUT THE send $100 a quarter to Union Semi- How did the church guide and sup- NEXT GENERATION OF nary toward my education. So in ways port you as you followed the call to like that there was this powerful sense PASTORAL LEADERSHIP become a Presbyterian pastor? . of investment on the part of a number When I was growing up, every Sunday of people. The support that I felt in the morning at Rock Spring Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, church was financial, it was encouragement, it was there was a man named Frank Oerting whose job it was prayer, the sense that you are a part of us and we are to give a stick of chewing gum to every child who came investing in you. And I just wish that would be the expe- in the front door of that church. And what that stick of rience for every soul who goes to seminary. To have chewing gum said to me was, “As you are, you are accept- somebody to be serving, in a sense as the “balcony peo- ed and loved and welcome here.” So that’s my first expe- ple,” who watch and cheer. And now, in a real sense in rience with church, just to feel celebrated. And not as a my life most of those folks are literally in the balcony; child of the minister, but just as a child. Period. And it they’ve died and have become part of the communion of was also in numerous places and from the lips of numer- saints. ous people the encouragement, “You know, you ought to think of being a minister.” I can recall an unbroken line You considered becoming an academic, going to Yale of people who said that to me, and, again, not because I for another degree after seminary. What changed?

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 7 There was a lot of anxiety and fear around the whole sense of the unknown. I was leaving a form of ministry that I knew something about and moving toward a par- adigm where everything would be new and different. But the enduring thing was to be a representative to the sem- inary on behalf of the church and to the church on behalf of the seminary. I think it’s worth noting that Presbyterian seminaries seem less reluctant than they have been at other times to look for their leadership to people who are not necessarily academicians but who are practitioners, and I think there must be some unspoken sense on the part of theological education, at least in the Presbyterian Church, that it wants to establish more pro- found connections with the life of the church. So being …preaching on the steps of the Texas Capitol with the Reverend able to come and help that happen is one of the exciting Rosie Johnson (MDiv’94) and Rabbi Monty Eliasov… things about this job. At Yale I was interested in American church history and I did a master of sacred theology degree with Sydney What is similar about the two jobs? Ahlstrom, a preeminent American religious historian. In both you leave at the end of the day just begging for- But in the course of being there, I really got challenged giveness from God for all you didn’t get done. They both by the possibilities of preaching. At the Beecher Lectures, require leadership, whether that gets done in a faculty this Southern Baptist from Jackson Mississippi, John meeting or a session meeting, from the pulpit in the Claypool, introduced, to me at least, a style of preaching Chapel or on a Sunday morning in the sanctuary. Both that was new. It was very interested in a certain narrative require you to be an ambassador to different arenas. To approach, a certain confessional approach, with a lot of me they both require a certain amount of courage and attention to how the gospel is presented and gave me a they both have a certain amount of loneliness. I think new appreciation for the strategy of preaching. And I that in both places I am essentially a pastor. People in sort of got turned on by the prospect of trying to go out this setting don’t expect exactly the same contract that and serve a church and care about preaching. And that they do in the parish, but I’m already discovering that so got confirmed, really, in the churches I served. much of what I’m getting into here turns around trying to understand and love and relate to people. You served parishes in suburban Memphis, town- and-gown Sherman, Texas, a 330-year-old “Establish- How would you describe the relationship between the ment” church on Long Island, and a center-city seminary and the church? What does each need from “urban cathedral” in Atlanta. What was the common the other? denominator for those disparate churches? They are part of the same ecosystem, and a lot of that To me the thing that connects the dots with all four of ecosystem is under serious renegotiation right now. The them was that they were all real Presbyterian churches. They had that ethos when it came to worship, they had a certain reasoned approach to faith, they appreciated the life of the mind in service to God. In all the churches there was this expectation that what happened in wor- ship and what happened in the pulpit was profoundly important to the larger affairs of human history and the way those folks tried to live.

In your first sermon to the Seminary community you acknowledged a reluctance, at first, to hear the call to Austin Seminary. What finally moved you to leave Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta to come and be Austin Seminary’s new president? …presiding over the monthly faculty meeting…

8 the Seminary the & Church whole phenomenon of denominationalism as we have known it is up for grabs in a way that hasn’t been in memory. There’s a greater sense in our polity that a lot of it is broken and needs fixing. And there are all kinds of solutions for how to fix it: Some people would say let’s try harder to make it the way it used to be. Other folks say let’s reinvent it from the ground up. Some say let’s do away with the judicatories, what we need are healthy congregations. So a lot of that system is broken, but what to me is clearly not broken is the church as it’s expressed in general at the congregational level and as it’s expressed in the seminary. Whatever happens ultimately to our structures, what is still needed is educated leader- ship for the churches. Leadership that is both educated, …in the classroom… in the best sense of that word, and trained, in the best to time, the players of that conversation together into a sense of that word, to provide direction to the churches context that is prayerful and generous and hopeful and is in a new era. And in return, there is the sense that if the not partisan nor confrontational. Sometimes I think the churches don’t continue to encourage people in the way toxicity of some of the conversations in the church today that I felt encouraged into the ministry, then who in the may, in great measure, be a result of the seminary’s abdi- world is going to do that? cating that role.

How will you try to convince the churches? Do you have some specific examples of how that The thing that I enjoy doing the most when I go out and might happen in this seminary? preach is, whatever else they may have Take one of the issues that is a source of planned while I’m there, I ask the host new anxiety in the church, that is the pastor, “Would you please find some LET US PLAY THE ROLE issue of the person and work of Jesus time for me to meet with people whom THAT ACADEMIC Christ. I think we’ll make more head- you can identify who either have an INSTITUTIONS HAVE PLAYED way on this issue if seminaries can, as interest in seminary, or who, in your some of them have already been doing, AT THEIR BEST, OF SETTING sense, ought to be thinking about it.” I have a colloquium on Christology and preached in December at St. Stephen’s A TABLE AND GIVING PEOPLE invite people who have contributions in Fort Worth, for example, and I asked A CHANCE TO STRUGGLE to make to that discussion from a wide one of the pastors to set up that kind of WITH EACH OTHER AND, variety of starting points. Let us play meeting. And in the hour between the the role that academic institutions have HOPEFULLY, COME TO first service and the second service there played in the church at their best, of were eleven people in a classroom ready HIGHER GROUND. setting a table and giving people a to meet with me and talk about semi- chance to come to that table and strug- nary. Two of them were sixth graders and one of them gle with each other and, hopefully, come to higher was a guy in his early sixties, and everything in between. ground with each other. I would hate to see a seminary We had a great conversation and I considered, even for become captive to a more partisan take on these issues those sixth graders, that I’m playing a role in funding because then its sense-making re d e m p t i ve power is their theological imagination for serving the church. diminished.

You’ve been described as a “bridge builder.” What OK, first impressions: how would you characterize sort of role should the seminary take in the struggles this seminary you find yourself leading? of the denomination? I think it is fundamentally healthy. It has a strong finan- I don’t think the seminary needs to be identified as car- cial foundation, laid brick by brick for over a hundred rying water for a party of the church. I do think that the years by multiple generations of people. It has a strong seminary can have a role in laying out kind of a playing sense of commitment to its original charter of training field within the bounds of which a conversation before and supplying ministers to the Southwest. It has a fabu- the church ought to take place, and inviting, from time lous faculty who are great scholars and who deeply love

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 9 the church and it shows. There are places where people probably fuss, and with some good cause, about how detached seminaries are from the life of the church, but that’s not the case here. And I can tell as I start knowing them, that we have a very fine student body—how tal- ented they are and what wonderful experiences and con- texts they come from, how much they care about the church and about being servants of the church. And on top of that, the campus is so pretty. I love the live oak trees, about as wide as they are tall. I love the St. Augus- tine grass. I love the way in which this place is positioned at the edge of the largest residential university campus in the country. And the way it’s positioned in this very …and with Trustees Carter King and Betty Wilson Jeffrey. exciting city. All those things I was initially struck by and back to the church. For instance, I never will forget one the more I get around, the more that’s confirmed. of my members in Atlanta, someone of means, to whom I went one day with a significant need—to buy a new Considering the number of preaching engagements bus I think—and I took him to lunch and I had this on your calendar, it appears that the biggest differ- carefully planned speech, and I said something to the ence between your being a seminary president and a effect of, “Would you be willing to think about prayer- pastor is the frequent flyer miles. What’s your agenda fully considering the possibility of examining what you for the first year? could do to help in the task of…” I had all the qualifiers. Simply to be in front of as many of this seminary’s tradi- Finally I got around to the thing I was asking him for tional constituency as possible. And to listen. And to and he just looked at me and said, “Sure.” And he wrote represent. me a check for $50,000 right on the spot. And then he went on to say, “I feel that I have been blessed with far What will you be looking for in new faculty hires? greater abundance than I ever expected, and in my mind, I’ll be looking for excellence in scholarship. And for a none of this belongs to me. It’s all God’s. I don’t even commitment to the church. I’m not interested in faculty mind paying taxes. Because I believe I’m part of a larger who don’t have an appreciation for, in terms of their own civil contract, and part of my job is to be a player in that personal commitment, the life of the church. And the because of the means I’ve been given. So, I’m always sense that they really love what they do, the whole teach- happy to entertain a request like this, because I believe ing / learning covenant with students. it’s a privilege to give.” I’ve found that here, people whom I meet, even This spring you’re co-teaching the “Introduction to when I’m not asking them for money, tend to tell me Preaching” course with Carol Miles and Scott Black something about their gratitude to the One who has Johnston. How do you like it? given them so much and this obligation and deep joy I really love it. It is thrilling. I agree with my friend Tom they feel in giving to something like Austin Seminary. Long—here’s a guy who’s been teaching preaching all of his adult life, and apparently he has never tired of being Austin is known as the live music capital of the world. in on that first moment when that first-year student What’s in your personal record collection? stands in the pulpit and struggles for the word of gospel First off the Dixie Chicks (my women—all three of to say aloud. What a privilege it is to be in on that. them—have turned me on to the Dixie Chicks) and the acoustic heroes of my youth like Crosby, Stills, Nash, You were head of alumni/ae giving for a successful and Young, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell; then Bruce capital fund drive for Union Seminary and benevo- Springsteen—the Boss. I like McCoy Tyner and Miles lent giving was up when you left Central. What is Davis. I love Bach and Handel and Mozart, organ and your “theology of stewardship”? choral music; while in Atlanta I gained an appreciation I really do love the role of asking for money for things for black gospel music. Kay and I got introduced last that I believe in. And there are people out there in the summer to the Flatlanders, who opened for a Keb Mo church who have on their hearts every day the impor- concert. Someday soon, I want to scope out whoever’s tance of continuing to give of their bounty, providing playing in Luckenbach! ▲ 10 the Seminary the & Church Where in the church ...

leep in on Sunday? Not likely. The scholars of the Austin Seminary fac- is the ulty are also pastors, elders, preachers, and teachers on the Sabbath. SAccording to Timothy Lincoln, director of Institutional Effectiveness and official keeper of Seminary statistics, during the 2001-2002 academic year, the faculty preached and led worship off campus two hundred twenty- Seminary seven times; they taught in congregational settings an additional three hun- dred nineteen. In a show of solidarity with the faculty he now leads, President Wardlaw has already accepted thirty-four invitations to preach. In addition to their full-time Se m i n a r y teaching re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , faculty? Professors John Alsup, D. Thomason Professor of New Testament Studies, and Salatiel Palomino-López, director of the Hispanic Theological Institute, weekly tend their flock of parishioners at Sunrise Beach and El Buen Pastor Pre s byterian Churches, re s p e c t i ve l y. Professor of Church Hi s t o r y El l e n Babinsky and Associate Professor of Liturgics Stanley Hall are parish associ- ates at Genesis Presbyterian Church. And every week, Lewis Donelson, pro- fessor of New Testament, and William Greenway, assistant professor of philo- sophical theology, lead their long-standing Sunday school classes at Central and University Presbyterian Churches. Turn the page to find out where the Austin Seminary faculty will be this spring.

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 11 JA N U A R Y 23 Preach, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, Ted Wardlaw Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, 5 Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Oklahoma, Cindy Rigby Cindy Rigby 6-9 Preach, Princeton Theological Seminary Institute for 24-26 Lead weekend retreat, First Presbyterian Church, Bryan, Youth Ministry, Mt. Hermon, California, Carol Miles Texas, Lewis Donelson 11-12 Teach, First Presbyterian Church Annual Seminar, 26 Lead workshop on Islam for the Lay Licensed Ministers Granbury, Texas, Kathryn Roberts of the United Church of Christ, Burton, Texas, 12 Preach, Austin Mennonite Church, Whit Bodman Whit Bodman Teach “The Church in Asia, Africa, and Latin America,” 27 Speak at a gathering of clergy and educators, University University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Arun Jones Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, Ted Wardlaw 13 Preach, “30 Good Minutes,” Chicago Sunday Evening 28 Deliver charge at installation service; Mission Presbytery Club, aired locally on PBS station in Chicago, Meeting, Covenant Presbyterian Church, Austin, nationally on the Odyssey Channel, Carol Miles Michael Jinkins 15 Teach “Pluralism in America,” St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Denton, Texas, Whit Bodman M A R C H 19 Attend dedication of the new sanctuary, First 1 Lead pastors’ workshop on Islam, New Covenant Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, Texas, Ted Wardlaw Presbytery, Houston, Texas, Whit Bodman Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Attend Mission Presbytery meeting, Mike Miller Arun Jones 1-2 Lecture and preach, Parkway Presbyterian Church, Preach, General Assembly Redevelopment Conference, Corpus Christi, Texas, Ted Wardlaw Dallas, Texas, Cindy Rigby 2 Catechist, Genesis Presbyterian Church, Austin, 22 Speak, Wednesday night gathering, First Presbyterian Ellen Babinsky Church, Midland, Texas, Ted Wardlaw Speak at Christian Educators’ Appreciation Banquet, First Teach, Pastors’ School, Wichita, Kansas, Cindy Rigby Presbyterian Church, Georgetown, Texas, 23 Lead a colloquium of pastors and elders, Tres Rios Andy Dearman Presbytery, First Presbyterian Church, Big Spring, Teach, “‘You Shall Utterly Destroy Them’: Violence in Texas, Ted Wardlaw the Old Testament,” Westlake United Methodist 26 Preach, United Christian Church, Austin, Whit Bodman Church, Austin, Kathryn Roberts Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Teach, Canyon Lake Presbyterian Church, Canyon Lake, Arun Jones Texas, Whit Bodman 30-February 2 Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, Stan Hall Attend annual meeting of Presbyterian seminary Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, presidents and board chairs, Santa Barbara, California, Oklahoma, Cindy Rigby Ted Wardlaw Preach, Austin Mennonite Church, Steve Reid 5 Preach, Ash Wednesday Service, Westminster F E B R UA R Y Presbyterian Church, Austin, Kathryn Roberts 1 Teach course on worship, Mission Presbytery Lay 6 Speak, Ecumenical Lenten Luncheon series, First Leadership Institute, Agape Dome, David Johnson Presbyterian Church, Blanco, Texas, Mike Miller 2 Teach course on Islamic theology, University Presbyterian 7 Preach, Pines Presbytery, First Presbyterian Church, Church, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Whit Bodman Texarkana, Arkansas, Ted Wardlaw Teach “The Church in India,” Northwest Hills United 7-9 Preach and teach “Praying the Psalms,” Spanish Fort Methodist Church, Austin, Arun Jones Presbyterian Church, Spanish Fort, Alabama, Teach “A Theological and Sociological Slant on Steve Reid Marriage,” Peace Lutheran Church, Austin, 8-10 Preach and teach Sunday School, University Presbyterian Tim Lincoln Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Meet with Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, Presbytery of South Louisiana Committee on Higher Oklahoma, Cindy Rigby Education, Mike Miller 7-9 Deliver keynote addresses, “Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the 9 Catechist, Genesis Presbyterian Church, Austin, Call to Discipleship,” Synod of Mid America’s Youth Ellen Babinsky Vocation Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, Lead Lenten series, “Wisdom’s Musings: Qoheleth’s Michael Jinkins Questions for When Life is Out of Control,” 8-9 Keynote Speaker/Preacher, Faith Presbyterian Church’s Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, 30th year anniversary celebration, Sun City, Arizona, Kathryn Roberts Cindy Rigby 11 Preach, St. John’s United Methodist Church, Austin, Preach, Faith Presbyterian Church, Austin, Ted Wardlaw 9 Arun Jones 10 Teach, “Comparing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam,” 12 Preach, Lenten Service, Westminster Presbyterian Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church, Austin, Church, Austin, David Johnson Whit Bodman Teach, Lenten series, “Life from Death, Order from Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, 16 Chaos,” Parkway Presbyterian Church, Corpus Christi, Cindy Rigby Texas, Kathryn Roberts 17 Lead Mission Presbytery Educators’ and Pastors’ Retreat, Mo-Ranch, Cindy Rigby

12 the Seminary the & Church 13 Lead pastors’ workshop on Islam, Westminster 13 Preach, First Presbyterian Church, Brenham, Texas, Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas, Whit Bodman Ted Wardlaw Teach “Pastor/Scholar” program, Center for Theological Lead Lenten series, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Inquiry, Baltimore, Maryland, Cindy Rigby Austin, Kathryn Roberts 13-15 Meet with Board, campus minister, and students, Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, University of Texas, El Paso, Mike Miller Oklahoma, Cindy Rigby 16 Catechist, Genesis Presbyterian Church, Austin, 16-27 Lead workshop and preach, Central Presbyterian Ellen Babinsky Church, Longmont, Colorado, Cindy Rigby Lead Lenten series, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 22-29 Attend, Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee for the Austin, Kathryn Roberts Standard Ordination Examinations annual meeting, 19-21 Attend Annual Board Meeting of Presbyterians For Jacksonville, Florida, Stan Hall Renewal, First Presbyterian Church, Douglasville, 27 Lead a series, “The Child in Christian Thought,” Georgia, Andy Dearman Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, Dave Jensen 20 Teach on Book of Revelation, St. Mark Presbyterian Teach “Introduction to New Testament,” Westlake Hills Church, St. Louis, Missouri, John Alsup Presbyterian Church, Austin, Andy Dearman 23 Lead series “Christian Faith in a Pluralistic Age,” St. Teach, University Presbyterian Church, Austin, David’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Dave Jensen Arun Jones Lead Lenten series, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 27-29 Retreat, preaching and teaching, First Presbyterian Austin, Kathryn Roberts Church, Camden, Arkansas, Lewis Donelson Catechist, Genesis Presbyterian Church, Austin, M AY Ellen Babinsky 1 Preach, Synod of the Sun, Waxahatchie, Texas, Preach, Genesis Presbyterian Church, Austin, Ted Wardlaw David Johnson Attend Synod of the Sun Meeting, Mike Miller 25 Retreat for Committee Chairs of Higher Education 2-4 Lead Bible Study for the annual Mo-Ranch Men’s Division, Synod of the Sun, Austin Seminary campus, Conference, Ted Wardlaw Mike Miller 4 Teach, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, Austin, 27 Host Convention of Hispanic Presbyterian Churches of Andy Dearman the Central Texas Cluster, Austin, Salatiel Palomino- Teach, “How Can I Keep From Singing? A Musical López Introduction to Christian Theology,” Round Rock Teach, Oak Hills Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, Presbyterian Church, Round Rock, Texas, Michael Texas, Stan Hall Jinkins 29 Preach, Elim Church of God Seventh Day, 11 Teach, Round Rock Presbyterian Church, Michael Jinkins Salatiel Palomino-López Teach, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, Lead Encuentro Workshop on the Psalms, Alamo Heights Dave Jensen United Methodist Church, San Antonio, Steve Reid Teach, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, Austin, 28-30 Lecture, teach Montview Presbyterian Church, Denver, Andy Dearman Colorado, Cindy Rigby Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, 30 Teach, St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Dave Jensen Oklahoma, Cindy Rigby Lead Lenten series, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 14 Lead discussion with retired United Methodist clergy, Austin, Kathryn Roberts Tarrytown United Methodist Church, Austin, Preach, First Presbyterian Church, Blanco, Texas, Arun Jones Mike Miller 18 Teach, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, Dave Jensen A P R I L Teach, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, Austin, Speak and lead retreat, “Time Out in the Trenches: The 2-3 Andy Dearman Emotional, Physical, Spiritual, and Family Health of a 25 Teach, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, Austin, Church Executive,” Executive Presbyters Forum, Dallas, Andy Dearman Texas, Mike Miller Moderator, General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical Mission Presbytery Committee on the Preparation for 4-5 Relations, PCUSA General Assembly, Denver, Ministry, Austin, Mike Miller Colorado, Ellen Babinsky Preach, lead workshop, First Presbyterian Church, Le 5-6 Teach, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Dave Jensen Claire, Iowa, Cindy Rigby 31-June 2 Teach Sunday School, Highland Park Presbyterian 6 Attend, Covenant Group Retreat, Evergreen, Colorado, Church, Dallas, Texas, Andy Dearman Andy Dearman Lead Lenten series, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Austin, Kathryn Roberts J U N E Teach, Westlake United Methodist Church, Steve Reid 15-22 Leader/participant in a pilot parent-youth conference on 9 Teach Lenten series, Parkway Presbyterian Church, “Teen Christian Practices,” Holden Village, Corpus Christi, Texas, Kathryn Roberts Chelan,Washington, Ted Wardlaw 10 Participate in colloquium of Houston-area pastors, 23 Preach, Ordination Service, Grundy, Virginia, Ted Wardlaw Kathryn Roberts 10-12 Participate in a Sacraments Study mandated by General Assembly 2003-2006, Louisville, Kentucky, Stan Hall

13 Senior fellowships announced at ASA Banquet ach year Austin Pre s by t e r i a n is Do rothy “Do l l y” Ca m p b e l l carries a stipend of $3,000. A mem- ETheological Se m i n a r y award s Hunt. A member of First Presbyter- ber of Un i versity Pre s by t e r i a n four major fellowships to graduating ian Church, Shreveport, Louisiana, Church, Seattle, Washington, Tracey seniors in recognition of their out- Hunt earned a B.A. from Auburn was born in Carthage, Illinois. She standing academic achievement and University and a master of pastoral earned a B.A. from Seattle Pacific promise for ministry. This year’s fel- studies degree from Un i versity and spent two ye a r s l ows hips we re announced at the L oyola Un i ve r s i t y. w o rking with high school yo u t h Austin Seminary Association Annu- Early in her life, f rom Un i versity Pre s by t e r i a n al Meeting and Banquet on Wednes- Hunt, the youngest Church and at Children’s Hospital day, January 29, 2003. of eight childre n , Regional Medical Center in Seattle. The alumni/ae associa- Huff completed a Clinical tion of Austin Se m i n a r y Pastoral Education unit at h o n o r ed the Se m i n a r y’s Harborview Medical Cen- fourth president by estab- ter in Seattle, Washington, lishing the David L. Stitt and a nine-month teach- Fe l l owship for continued ing church internship at study in 1971. The winner C ovenant Pre s by t e r i a n of the 2003 Stitt Fellowship, Church in Austin, Texas. which carries a stipend of Huff is engaged to the $10,000, is Dhawn Bristol Reverend Dan Cravy. Martin. A member of For- The Janie Ma x we l l est Hills Pre s by t e r i a n Morris Fe l l o wship was C h u r ch, Helotes, Te x a s , established in 1953 by a Ma rtin earned a B.A. bequest from Mrs. Milton degree from Wellesley Col- Morris of Austin, Texas. lege and an M.A. from the The recipient of this year’s University of Durham, Eng- Fellowship winners Matt Miller, Dhawn Martin, and Dolly Hunt Ma x w ell Morris Fe l l ow- land, where she studied on a with Academic Dean Andy Dearman (second from right). Inset: ship, which carries a grant Ro t a ry In t e r n a t i o n a l Tracey Huff. of $2,000, is Ma t t h e w Ambassadorial Scholarship. Ernest Miller. A member She also received a Ford Research believed she was called to service in of Central Pre s byterian Churc h , Grant to study, at Harvard Universi- the church, co-preaching her first Denver, Colorado, Miller received ty, the media’s impact on presiden- sermon at a children’s service in the his bachelor’s degree in creative writ- tial elections. While at Austin Semi- sixth grade. At Austin Seminary she ing from the Un i versity of Col- nary, Martin has served as a member has served as president of the Stu- orado. Before coming to seminary, of the Admissions and Program of dent Senate. Hunt completed one he had careers in musical theater and Study Committees. She completed unit of Clinical Pastoral Education facilities management and was active her Supervised Practice of Ministry at Christus Schumpert Hospital in in the life of Central Presbyterian re q u i rement at Madison Sq u a re Shreveport, Louisiana, and a sum- Church in Denver, where he was an Presbyterian Church in San Anto- mer internship at First Presbyterian elder. Miller completed one month nio, Texas. Church in Fort Worth, Texas. She is of pastoral care in a hospital setting In 1984 an endowment was married to Glen Hunt. at St. David’s Hospital in Au s t i n , established in honor of Leo V. Pile, In 1946 an endowment was and a summer internship at Fi r s t Helen Po r ter Pile, and Ed m o n d established by Mrs. W. P. Newell of Pre s byterian Church in El g i n , Holland Morgan of Ha r l i n g e n , Albany, Texas, as a memorial to her Texas. He is married to Ma r i e Texas, and Estella Martin Morgan of husband. Tracey Elizabeth Huff is Mi l l e r, and they have two chil- Dallas, Texas. The 2003 recipient of the 2003 recipient of the W. P. d ren: Miranda and Gr a c e . ▲ the $8,000 Pile-Morgan Fellowship Newell Memorial Fellowship, which

14 Lectures, reunions spark interest

he 2003 MidWinter Lectures were held January 27-29 on the Austin Seminary campus. Presenting the TThomas White Currie lectures, “Grace and Money,” was Kathryn Tanner, professor of theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She is the author of Theories of Culture: A New Agenda for Theology and The Politics of God. Delivering the Westervelt Lectures, “Creative Adventures in Biblical Preaching,” was Paul Scott Wilson, professor of homiletics at Emmanuel College in the University of Toronto. His books include God Sense: Reading the Bible for Preaching and The Practice of Preaching. Brett Webb-Mitchell, assis- tant professor of Christian nurture at Duke Divinity School, gave the Robert F. Jones Lectures, “The School of the Pilgrim.” His books include God Plays Piano, Too: The Spiritual Lives of Disabled Children, and his lec- tures are part of a manuscript he is preparing for publication.

CURRIE LECTURER FACT: The net wealth of the ten richest bil- Kathryn Tanner lionaires is $133 bil- —lecture review by Reno lion, more than 1.5 Lauro, MATS student times the total nation- al income of the least “For I am about to cre- d e veloped countries. ate new heavens and a The cost of eradicating new earth; the former poverty is 1% of glob- things shall not be al income. Ef f e c t i ve remembered or come to debt relief to the twen- mind. But be glad and ty poorest countries rejoice forever in what I would cost $5.5 bil- am creating … no more l i o n — e q u i v alent to shall the sound of weep- the cost of building ing be heard in it, or the Euro Disney.3 cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an There was a point dur- infant that lives but a ing the 2003 Currie few days, or an old per- L e c t u res where I son who does not live The 2003 MidWinter Lecturers, with Seminary President Theodore J. c o u l d n’t help but Wardlaw (second from left), were Paul Scott Wilson, Kathryn Tanner, and out a lifetime; for one notice the audience in Brett Webb-Mitchell. who dies at a hundred Shelton Chapel. As Dr. years will be considered hunger. This represents one in ten Kathryn Tanner spoke a youth, and one who falls short of a households in the United States (10 of theology and economics, people h u n d r ed will be considere d percent).1 were shifting in their seats, faces accursed. They shall build houses were getting flushed—some from FACT: Poverty is the principal cause and inhabit them; they shall plant discomfort over the topic—and oth- of hunger. There are 1.2 billion poor vineyards and eat their fruit … for ers were following the dizzying pace people in developing countries that they shall be offspring blessed by the with wonder. It was then I realized live on $1 a day or less. Of these, LORD.”—Isaiah 65:17-18a, 19-21, that I was listening to theology at its 780 million suffer from chro n i c 23b NRSV best. This was theology making bold h u n g e r, which means that their statements, theology taking risks, FAC T: T h i r t y - t h ree million peo- daily intake of calories is insufficient p rophetically challenging sacre d ple—including thirteen million for them to lead active and healthy cows and daring to dream. The the- children—live in households that lives.2 sis was direct; what does theology experience hunger or the risk of

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 15 have to do with money? Tanner says that the Scriptures challenge the present notion of a com- p e t i t i v e mark e t - b a s e d econo-my.4 The grace of God is not distributed in a competitive manner— although it has been i n t e r p ret ed that way— where a minority of the population can success- fully accumulate spiritual capital leaving a majority of the population fight- ing to become their own spiritual virtuoso one d a y. In actuality, the Kingdom of God is based on a non-competitive model (a principle cen- tral to Tanner’s Christo- MidWinter lecturer Paul Wilson with host Professor Scott Black Johnston during the conversation hour. logical theology) where grace is freely given to all people ele- is a good or service that has two tion to this world’s present econom- vating them to the richness of the characteristics: non-rivalry in con- ic principle. The revelation of God giver. Significantly, this kenotic giv- sumption and non-exc l u d a b i l i t y.5 tells us that God’s principles lay in ing by the Creator is done without Unfortunately, this is never reached dramatic juxtaposition to everything loss to the Creator’s being. While with our present economic system that is not given witness to in the self emptying in nature, good Chris- because it is an incidental issue. In revelation of God in Jesus Christ. tology will remind us that nothing is the theological economy, says What does theology have to do with lost in God’s essential being during Tanner, the public good would be money? —Everything. God’s act of love for us in the person the goal. of Jesus Christ. In the end, my words cannot do 1 http://www.bread.org/hungerbasics As the disparagement between justice to the complexity of Tanner’s /domestic.htm the prophetic words of Isaiah and p r esentation; howe ve r, I implore 2 http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/ L e a r n / w o r l d % 2 0 h u n g e r % 2 0 f a c t s % 2 0 2 0 0 2 . the current facts show, the non- you to examine this topic further. htm c o m p e t i t i ve model of grace as Karl Barth reminds us that we have 3 h t t p : / / w w w. u n d p. o r g / t e a m s / e n g l i s h / f a c t s revealed in Jesus Christ was used by been called by God to be ambassa- .htm 4 6 This is America’s sacred cow, and since the Tanner to challenge our assump- dors of a “strange new world;” the fall of communist Russia, the world’s. In tions about the validity of modern world of God that is breaking forth 1989 Francis Fukuyama, in his book, The capitalist theories in light of the into a creation (humanity, animals, End of History and the Last Man, went as far Gospel message. This theological vegetation, etc.) groaning for as to say that with the fall of the Soviet 7 Union, and with it the hopes of the commu- economy, as proposed by Tanner, redemption. Trusting only in the nist ideal, history had come to an end. Cap- would not venerate super-profits at revelation of who God is in Jesus italism had proven itself to be the apex of the expense of many, but would Christ, we are called to bear witness human civilization. 5 h t t p : / / c o l l e g e . h m c o. c o m / e c o n o m i c s / t a y- allow for the free distribution of to that revelation before the princes lor/econ/3e/micro/students/glossary/ch15. wealth—as in Go d’s Kingdom— and idols of this world. The words html without loss by the giver. The closest in the book of Isaiah bear witness to 6 Karl Barth, The Word of God and the Word an eschatological promise that, if we of Man, tr. Douglas Horton (New York: p resent economic theory would Harper & Row, 1957), 28-50 come to modeling this principle is are to believe lays claim on us in this 7 Romans 8:22 NIV in the public good. The public good very day, lies in dramatic juxtaposi-

16 WESTERVELT LECTURER Wilson, “The energy that comes cal text, 2) trouble in our world, 3) Paul Scott Wilson from the reading should go directly grace in the biblical text, and 4) into the sermon.” grace in our world. For Professor Paul Scott Wilson, the In his second lecture , In his third lecture , essential question for the preacher is “Theologizing: The Gracious Text,” “Moralizing: The Conflicted Text,” always, “W h e re is God in, or Wilson contended that every ser- Wilson began by describing the behind, the biblical text?” His lec- mon should contain both a word of postmodern influence on pre a c h- t u res, “Cre a t i v e Ad ve n t u res in trouble and of grace, and that a suf- ing—with its excess of meanings Biblical Preaching,” helped define ficient reading of the text will reveal and competing claims—especially as the process of forming and respond- both. These two theological cate- practiced by the Radical ing to that question. gories, formalized as Law and Postmodern School. The pro p o - In his first lecture , Gospel, are essential for good nents of this movement: 1) seek to “ Historicizing: The Fluid Te x t , ” preaching. The Law, what we must avoid any hierarchy in preaching, 2) Wilson analyzed some of the do, “addresses conscience, discloses are radically for the marginalized, 3) changes within the discipline of original sin.” Gospel, what Go d deny transcendence (for them lan- homiletics in recent years. He does, “transforms people, plants guage is non-referential and truth, likened the old style of sermon love in their hearts, equips them for always conditional), 4) espouse a p reparation to a preacher who good works.” Trouble, or Law, puts theology from below (with radical b o a rds three separate buses to the burden on us, while grace, or evil as the pervasive worldview), and “Sermon City.” First, she grabs her Gospel, puts the burden on God, 5) hold that theology is metaphori- commentaries and climbs aboard who has already accepted the bur- cal in nature. Their influence, said the exegesis bus which carries her den in Christ. Wilson, could represent a significant deep into the heart of the biblical Wilson cited two formulae for shift in homiletics. text itself. Next, she transfers to the moving from Law to Gospel: verti- In the second part of the lec- homiletics bus where she begins to cal, from God down to “t h e ture, Wilson contrasted the pejora- discern the meaning of the text as it accused,” and horizontal, in which tive “moralizing” with the more use- might apply to the life and work of the preacher “holds the mirror up to ful concept of ethical instruction. her congregation. Finally, she catch- us describing the judgment that has “Sermons,” believes Wilson, “tend es the hermeneutics bus which a l ready befallen us. It demands to deal less with ethics and more ambles forw a rd, enabling her to identification with the problem.” often with moralizing, because the craft a message appropriate to the More than a rhetorical form for former demands more preparation, present context. the sermon, this movement from more nuanced thought.” He com- But, said Wilson, as boundaries Law to Gospel becomes an underly- pelled preachers to stretch to teach a between the elements of exegesis and ing theological stru c t u re for any theological lesson, with an action in interpretation have blurred, sermon model of sermon. Wilson described mind for the congregation. Ethical preparation is more art than science. it as a “deep grammar” that enables d i rec tion, he said, normally will “The process,” he asserted, “is more preachers to become better theolo- arise naturally from a moral princi- like one bus with three groups of gians. This is critical, he said, for ple in the text. He cited Proverbs conversations going on simultane- sermons to avoid becoming anthro- 11:25 as an example: “A generous ously, and the preacher moves freely pocentric. The theological reflection person will be enriched, and one among them all.” The destination is reminds hearers that “this is what who gives water will get water.” A the same, indeed, the route is identi- you are doing, and this is what God literal interpretation endorses gen- cal, but the journey is a different one is doing to enable you to work erosity as a means to get rich. A altogether. through your ministry.” moral interpretation implies that we Preachers, Wilson argued, need Wilson then described a must be generous. A theological to be thinking about the congrega- process, contained in his book, The i n t e r p retation looks at the sur- tion from the very first reading of Four Pages of the Sermon (Nashville, rounding texts as well as how the the text; interpretation and compo- 1999), of incorporating these theo- moral action relates to God’s action. sition need to happen alongside logical reflections into an inter- The conclusion: only God, in research. “Going to notes is like changeable page a day of sermon Christ, is the perfect give r. We can- going to a used tea bag,” said preparation: 1) trouble in the bibli- not become poor if we are rich in our

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 17 relationship with God and others. It seems that God in Christ brings Marcie D. Brown (MDiv’98), One of the places I learned about the us together with people who are our who participated in the marks on the body of Christian pil- guides. Likewise, God as Spirit also “Conversation with the Lecturers” grimage was in the old elementary lets us know when it is time for us to session said, “Paul Scott Wilson’s school gyms on the way to El lead others. urging for preachers to find both the Santuario de Chimayo in northern 6. Presence of the communion of ‘trouble’ and the ‘grace’ in each text New Mexico. The dusty floors creaked saints. is immensely helpful. For all who try loudly with each stumbling footstep each week to preach faithfully and made by the pilgrims when we arrived I came face to face with the witness of with creativity, his approach honors to our daily stopping places. The gyms the saints when I was on Lindisfarne, the biblical message and asks us to were turned into a community of the the Holy Isle in northern England… seek imagination in bringing God’s foot at the end of each day as we all home to Saints Aidan and Cuthbert, word of hope into the present.” took stock of our main form of trans- real-life characters and saints that the portation: the foot, or among those in Venerable Bede wrote of.… wheelchairs, the hands and arms. In One evening, after taking a the evenings, the gyms were infir- warm bath on a cold night I followed JONES LECTURER maries, if not triage units, where we a strange impulse to go to the Holy Brett Webb Mitchell would take care of our wounded feet, Isle’s graveyard. The rickety wooden legs, arms, tired spirits, and exhausted fenced gate that is usually open in the I am a Christian pilgrim. thoughts. There the young boys mas- daytime is closed tonight and locked. I sage the old men’s feet and calves, the sit on the gate itself, swinging my legs With these words, Brett We b b - sweet smell of Ben Gay mingling with to and fro like a small child, and peer Mitchell invited his listeners into a witch hazel ointment permeating the deeply into the dark cemetery until my journey of growing into the life and entire gym. I watch as a young boy eyes are used to the light, a dim light body of Christ. By learning the ges- washes down the varicose-laced veined given by a cloudy milky moon. A tures and rituals of pilgrimage—the leg of an old man with rubbing alco- small blue search light from a fishing synthesis of spirit, body, and hol…. Amid the elements of foot pow- boat in the harbor swings and casts a mind—we remember Christ’s call to der and Ace bandages, sewing needles steady beam around the grounds every action: and foot sprays, scissors and moleskin, twenty seconds or so, glancing off the the seeds of Christian community are c e m e t e r y’s inhabitants and their Eat this... Drink this... Do this in sown in the body, as well as the mind respective tombstones… I began, with remembrance of me. and spirit of each pilgrim, every day. no reason at all, to talk to the saints: Peppered with narrative from his “Thanks for bringing me here, Aidan, own pilgrimages, We b b - Mi t c h e l l’s 3. The rituals of the pilgrimage: Cuthbert, Oswald,” I say matter of lectures outlined the ten variables remembering whose we are. It is in factly, assuming all the while they that are critical for understanding rituals that we are literally re-mem- were listening and hearing my voice, his concept of “The School of the bered, re-connected, with a body of sensing my nervy presence. A friend Pilgrim.” people, of knowledge, of beliefs, of among friends who know my name, I 1. The gestures of Christian pil- traditions, of ideas, of the God who thought it only fair to start off with a grimage. The education of a pilgrim was, who is, and who is to come. note of gratitude to their saintly pres- ence. No response. So I turned my begins with the simplest movement 4. The building of love of Christ words into a questioning, an interro- or gesture forward. among companions along the gation, because of the nagging feeling way. Relationships are central to pil- 2. Discovering the whole person that I had wasted my time in coming grimage. Such friendship is possible on Christian pilgrimage: body, all the way up here. I mean, why on because Jesus called us “friends,” mind, and spirit. Gestures of pil- this rocky shoal, in the middle of a bringing us closer to the God of cre- grimage re c over what has been bay, would you saints bring me here? ation. diminished, if not lost, in the way My voice began to rise in the dark n e s s . we educate Christians in the mod- 5. The role and place of the pil- I started to spit out my anger, and my ern church: the importance of the grim guide and becoming a guide. anguish, believing that someone, some- body.

18 w h e re, was listening and will answe r. Silence. Quiet. Space of time. Suddenly, like doors on a dam welded shut but now free, I sense the movement from the inside looking out, of water gushing forward, pushing me, flooding over me, benign inquisition and stagnant creativity giving way to revelation and uncontrolled discovery. Christian pilgrimage is not something we create, or have to re - c re a t e . Pilgrimage is a repertoire of gestures we are to perform, that we inherit from those who are traveling with us, before us, and following us. The way of the pilgrim was already trod by Jesus himself, whose birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heav- en is done in order that the Paraclete may descend and walk with us now, showing us the pilgrim’s way to the glorious reign of God.

7. The land. Tending to the earth, sky, and water is part and parcel of being a pilgrim, for this is the con- text of the School of the Pilgrim: earth. 8. The shaping of character amid the spontaneous moments of pil- grimage. Our very character is nur- tured with an increased love of God and one another. 9. The importance of solitude. 10. The destination of the pil- grimage. Pilgrimage is a place where God resides. What would Christian education be like, mused Webb-Mitchell, if we embraced the art of pilgrimage? If, for instance, we propped a bucket of walking sticks next to the baptismal font to remind us of the journey that begins with remembering who and whose we are. He ended his lec- tures with the words that seem to start all pilgrimages:

Leave… Follow… Come. ▲

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 19 DEVELOPMENT NEWS Congregations’ gifts advance Seminary’s mission

ealth, wisdom, and work. The gifts range from a monthly guide students through at least WThat’s the shorthand we contribution of $25 from a churc h three months of “real world” expe- sometimes use when we talk about of about 125 members to a $20,000 riences. Classroom knowledge the gifts brought to Austin gift from a large urban church with transforms into wisdom as the con- Seminary, in varying degrees, by its own foundation. In comparison, gregation and the pastor-to-be trustees and other volunteers. The Austin Se m i n a ry’s share of the share this invaluable learning expe- same maxim, when applied to Pre s byterian Church (U.S.A.)’s rience. Austin Seminary has thirty- churches, helps describe the impor- Theological Education Fund, the two pastors (and congregations) tant corporate relationships that only denomination-wide source of currently active in the Supervised have developed, and that continue funding for theological education, Practice of Ministry program. to grow, between Austin Seminary was $211,000 for the ye a r. Work. Hearing, recognizing, and the congregations it serves. Wisdom. Since the mid-1970s, and acting on a call to ordained We a l t h . Austin Se m i n a ry every M.Div. graduate at Austin ministry can be a joyous experi- re c e i ved $286,000 from 131 con- Seminary has completed a ence, but is not always an easy one. g regations in 2001-02. All but Supervised Practice of Ministry Seminarians cite “encouragement about $50,000 of that was ear- experience. Ordained ministers, from pastors, elders, and the con- m a rked specifically for scholarships serving in a parish setting and gregation” as the single most influ- and direct aid to seminary students. trained by Austin Seminary faculty, ential factor in discerning their call. The congregation’s work in identi- fying and nurturing candidates for Full-Tuition Scholarship. With an eye toward the future of ministry is vital to the call process. pastoral ministry, Margaret J. Lowdon, a lifetime member of First If your church is involved with Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, Texas, has pledged $125,000 Austin Seminary in some way right over two years toward endowing a full-tuition scholarship. The now—and there is a good chance Margaret J. Lowdon Endowed Scholarship will help Austin that it is—you have our deep grati- Seminary attract the best and brightest candidates for ministry. tude. Austin Seminary could not Annual income from the Lowdon Endowed Scholarship will provide have come this far without you. a full-tuition grant for a seminary student with strong promise If your church is not partici- vocationally for the ministry of the church. pating somehow in the life of Austin Seminary through its stu- Child Care Center. The Trull dents or faculty, let’s talk. Wherever Foundation of Palacios, Texas, has you are, know that you are not too pledged $125,000 over five years far away, or too large, or too small toward construction of an on- for us to work as partners toward campus child care center. This the “great ends of the church.” $500,000 campaign objective will Either way, we pledge to work address one of the most pressing hard in the coming months and needs for students. Seminary years to provide opportunities for families will benefit greatly from you to get to know Austin child care that is safe, nearby, and Seminary better, and to help us affordable. Currently, thirteen prepare people for ordained min- children are enrolled in the istry and other leadership positions popular after-school program in in the church. the Hicks Community Center. —Timothy Kubatzky The new center is designed to Vice President of serve fifty children, including full- Institutional Advancement day care for preschoolers.

20 COMMUNITY NEWS

pastoral counselor. For seven years New Doctor of he served as director of the Harmo- Ministry director ny Grove Counseling Center in Lil- burn, Georgia. In Long Island Pres- appointed bytery, he served on the Committee on Ministry. he Reverend Dr. David L. Academic Dean Andrew TJones has been appointed the Dearman describes Jones as a director of Austin Seminary’s skilled pastor with excellent creden- Doctor of Ministry program. Jones tials and a distinguished record of is currently the pastor of community service. “Since May of Amagansett Presbyterian Church in 2002 I have served as the acting Amagansett, New York (Long director of the D.Min. program,” Island). His appointment is effec- says Dearman, “so obviously I’m tive May 1. thrilled that David will be in place Jones earned a B.A. degree for the June D.Min. term. I am from Messiah College, an M.Div. in Jackson, Georgia; Kelley Presby- also grateful for the contributions from Princeton Theological Semi- terian Church in McDonough, of Professors David Johnson and nary, an A.A.S. from Sullivan Georgia; and First Presbyterian Cynthia Rigby and other faculty County Community College (Alco- Church in Jeffersonville, New York. members who worked hard to hol and Drug Abuse Counseling), Greater Atlanta Presbytery named maintain the program in the and a Th.D. in pastoral counseling him Small Church Pastor of the absence of a full-time director.” from Candler School of Theology Year for his work in Jackson. He David Jones is married to at Emory University. Before going also has experience as an emer- Jennifer, a pediatrician, and they to Amagansett, Jones served as pas- gency services clinician, a police have a two-year-old daughter, tor of Jackson Presbyterian Church chaplain, and a community-based Faith.

Austin Seminary students excel on 2002 ordination exams

Austin Seminary students scored well above the national average in all areas of the ordination exams given last fall. The exams, required for ordination into the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), are given twice each year in the areas of biblical exegesis, theology, worship and sacraments, and church polity. In the chart at left, Austin Seminary students’ averages are shown in black and the national aver- age in gray. Dolly Hunt, president of the Student Senate, said, “The stu- dents felt well prepared for the tests.”

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 21 COMMUNITY NEWS

WELCOME Paul Hernandez joined the Computing Services staff in December as technical associ- ate. He brings a wealth of knowl- edge from his previous experi- ence working for Dell Computers. When he’s not examining a desktop system, Paul enjoys golf, mountain biking, and his dogs, Jinx and Felix. Donald Frampton, senior pastor of St. Charles Avenue The Goddess(es)… This Nike, Goddess of Victory, once adorned Presbyterian a public building in Ephesus in Greece. Surrounding the stone goddess Church in New are members of the Austin Seminary community and friends who trav- Orleans has elled to Turkey and Greece this January with Professors Andy Dearman joined Austin and John Alsup: Brenda Stegner, Harvey Gresham, Carole Alsup, Seminary’s Board Amanda Ayers (junior, Fresno, California), Nancy Profit, Sabelyn of Trustees. A Pussman (middler, Austin), Timberly Eckelmann (middler, San former moderator of the Presbytery Antonio), Tamara Strehli (MATS, Austin), Heather Williamsen, of South Louisiana, Frampton (middler, Kilgore, Texas), Joyce Kelly (MATS, Austin), Reyna currently serves on the Mission and Mairena, and Sarah Melton (middler, Vicksburg, Mississippi). Direction Task Force. He and his wife, Colleen, have three children. Martin Luther King Jr. Worship Service

The Reverend Dr. Larry A. Earvin, president of Huston- Tillotson College in Austin, was the 2003 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Preacher. The Huston-Tillotson College Choir sang the anthem during the worship service on February 11. The event was planned by Austin Seminary’s Multicultural Student Association.

22 FACULTY NEWS

IN BRIEF the Hispanic Summer Program, June 29-July 3, in Chicago, Illinois. Ellen Babinsky, professor of church history will be inaugurated Laura Lewis, professor of Christian as a full professor on April 9. Her education, was selected to partici- inaugural address, “Christological pate in the Association of Transformation in Marguerite Theological Schools “Women in Porete’s ‘Mirror of Simple Souls,’” Leadership” program in Pittsburgh, will be published in the April issue Pennsylvania, in October 2002. of Theology Today. The seminar focused on “Women Charting the Future for Theological Whit Bodman, assistant professor Education.” Lewis also attended the of world religions, is leading a six- Association of Professors and week course on Islam at the Researchers in Religious Education, Lifetime Learning Institute in “Leading with Hope: The Vocation Austin in February and March. of the Religious Educator,” in October in Philadelphia, Dave Jensen, assistant professor of Pennsylvania. In January, she was Reformed theology, has written an among 1,200 participants at the article, “Religionless Christianity Association of Presbyterian Church and Vulnerable Discipleship: The Educators Annual Meeting in Interfaith Promise of Bonhoeffer’s Denver. Theology,” for the most recent edi- tion of the Journal of Ecumenical A sermon on vocation, “Who Do Studies (Summer ’01). Jensen will You Want to Be When You Grow participate in a conference of Up?” by Carol Miles, assistant pro- Presbyterian seminary professors on fessor of homiletics, was featured “Facing Racism” in Louisville, on “Cloud of Witnesses: An audio Kentucky, April 4-6. journal on youth, church and cul- ture” Vol. 4, produced by Princeton Michael Jinkins, associate profes- Theological Seminary’s Institute for sor of pastoral theology, will attend Youth Ministry. Miles also had an the annual conference on Church article, “The Preacher as Sage: Old Leadership, sponsored by the Testament Wisdom for the Academy of Religious Leadership, Christian Pulpit” published in D i s c o ve r y We e k e n d April 25-27. The academy is also Catalyst (November 2002). launching its new journal this October 24-26, 2003 spring, The Journal of Religious Salatiel Palomino-López, director of the Hispanic Theological Union, For more information, call the Leadership, with Jinkins serving as associate editor. led a workshop, “Globalization and Office of Vocation and the Border: Biblical and Admissions, 1-800-241-1085, David Johnson, director of Theological Guidelines for the or visit our web site at Supervised Practice of Ministry, is Church’s Response,” for the Border www.austinseminary.edu teaching the course, “Reformed Ministries Council of the U.S. and Theology,” for Philips Theological Mexican Presbyterian churches in Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. San Antonio, Texas, on February 13. He also taught an intensive Arun Jones, assistant professor of course on Reformed theology at the mission and evangelism, will attend Hispanic Lay Academy of Grace the American Society of Missiology Presbytery, March 21-22, in Fort June 19-22, in Techny, Illinois, and Worth, Texas.

WINDOWS / Spring 2003 23 ALUMNI/AE NEWS Abbott, Huser, and Zbinden ASA elects officers honored by ASA Board and expands board uring the annual meeting of he Austin Seminary Association Dthe Austin Se m i n a ry T(ASA), at its Annual Meeting and Association (ASA) on Ja n u a r y 29, Banquet, recognized Priscilla Abbott, 2003, Ro b e rt S. R i c e ( D Mi n’ 8 9 ) , G. Thomas Huser, and Louis H. pastor of First Pre s byterian Churc h , Zbinden Jr. for their extraordinary Norman, Oklahoma, was elected contributions to the church and to p resident, and Ma r y Cu r r i e Austin Seminary. ( M Di v’79, DMi n’90), pastor of St . Since 1968, Priscilla Abbott James United Pre s byterian Churc h , (MDiv’88) has served the church in L a Po rte, Texas, vice president, of Japan, first as a teacher of English, the ASA B o a rd for 2003. Ou t g o i n g then as a district missionary, then, President Ilene Du n n ( M Di v’ 8 0 , after receiving her degree from Austin D Mi n’97), pastor of Ma d i s o n Seminary, as the pastor of the Tarami Sq u a re Pre s byterian Church, Sa n Mission Church in Nagasaki. She is Two of the 2003 Service Awardees: Louis Zbinden and Tom Huser. Antonio, presided over the meeting. currently the chaplain in a retirement The ASA unanimously complex and nursing center, preaching in chapel three times a week to a approved the board’s recommenda- community of nearly 300 residents and staff members. A native of tion to expand the size of the board Brownsville, Texas, and a graduate of Austin College and Texas Christian by adding a new member to each University, Abbott was a public school teacher for seven years before being class, beginning with the Class of commissioned by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as a missionary. 2004. While the existing board has After graduating from Austin Seminary, G. Thomas “Tom” Huser representatives from many of the (MDiv’62) served as pastor or interim pastor in many churches in Texas, presbyteries in the Synod of the including Quanah, Midland, Sweetwater, Houston, Orange, Lake Jackson, Sun, this new configuration offers Corpus Christi, and College Station. He has served as a member of the the opportunity to involve alum- Committee on Ministry, a Synod commissioner, and a board member for ni/ae from beyond the Synod. In the Presbyterian Pan American School for twelve years. Huser was the addition to geographical diversity, a organizing pastor of Northwoods Presbyterian Church in Houston, which larger board also will allow for rep- grew to a membership of more than eight hundred in six years. In his last resentation from denominations pastorate at College Station, he merged two struggling congregations to other than Presbyterian and from form Covenant Presbyterian Church. all three degree types. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern at Memphis (now Elected to the Class of 2004 Rhodes College), Louis H. Zbinden Jr. graduated with honors from Union were: David O’Neal (MDiv’81), Theological Seminary in Virginia, where he was a Perkins Fellow. He later pastor of First Presbyterian Church, received his doctorate, also with honors, from Princeton Theological Tyler, Texas, Lemuel García Seminary. Zbinden has dedicated his life in service to the church, both his Arroyo (MDiv’95), associate current congregation and the larger church through its institutions. The list executive for multicultural of boards on which he has served includes: Austin College, Trinity ministries, Synod of the Sun, University, Mo-Ranch, the Presbyterian Pan American School, the Texas Jackie Saxon (MDiv’00), associate Presbyterian Foundation, and the Presbyterian Outlook. He has served as a pastor, University Baptist Church, pastor in many churches and is currently in his 32nd year at First Austin, Lori Beer (MDiv’97), Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas. In his nine years as an Austin pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Seminary trustee, the last three as chair, Zbinden worked behind the scenes Rockport, Texas, and Tammy to strengthen the role and focus of the board and administration. He helped Brown (MDiv’94), pastor of raised funds to build the McCord Community Center, and has brought in Westminster Presbyterian Church, millions of dollars of leadership gifts for the Seminary’s Centennial Charleston, South Carolina. Campaign.

24 CLASS NOTES WELCOME NECROLOGY 1980s To Austin Sink, son of Jennifer Fleet G. Cook (MDiv’54) Hot David Leslie (MDiv’88) was a and Paul Sink (MDiv’00), born Springs Village, Arkansas, guest preacher at the National November 19, 2002, in January 19, 2003 Statesville, North Carolina. Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on John F. Martin (MDiv’66) Sunday, January 19, 2003, in To Edwyn Lowry Brock, son of Montgomery, Alabama, July 19, honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Margaret “Maggie” and Brian 2002 Day. Leslie is currently the execu- Brock (MDiv’02), born tive director of Ecumenical December 27, 2002. Ministries of Oregon.

1990s a Your friends would love to hear from you. a A hymn text by David Gambrell Please e-mail your “Class Notes” to [email protected]. (MDiv’98) has been chosen as a co-winner of a national competition sponsored by Macalester-Plymouth United Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Please join us for Luncheon at General Assembly Back on campus to enjoy the MidWinter Lectures were classmates celebrating fifty- and sixty-year reunions. Representing the Class of 1953 (above) are: Joe B. Donaho, Fran Denver, Colorado Gibbs, and Charles R. Gibbs III. Representing the Class of 1943 (below) are: Martha Wednesday, May 28 Crossman, Linington Crossman, William Gould, Marilyn Moore, and F. Otis Moore. 11:30-1:30 Convention Center Room C103 $26

Speaker: President Theodore J. Wardlaw THE REVEREND THEODORE J. WARDLAW Inauguration

FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2003

SERVICE OF WORD AND SACRAMENT AT 10:00 AM with the Reverend Thomas G. Long, preaching

BRUNCH AT 11:30 AM

INAUGURATION CEREMONY AT 1:00 PM

UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

2203 SAN ANTONIO STREET, AUSTIN

The public is welcome; reservations are required

WINDOWS Non Profit Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Organization 100 East 27th Street, Austin, Texas 78705-5797 U.S. Postage PAID Address Service Requested Austin, Texas Permit No. 2473

Spring 2003