Newsletter for the College of Biblical Studies
Volume 2, Number 2
March, 2004

Featuring the Graduate School of Theology

GST Inaugurates Alumni Association

The Graduate School of Theology faculty continue to be interested in working as closely as possible with our graduates. We want to be good partners with our graduates, whether they are serving churches or engaged in the academy. As part of that commitment, the GST is establishing an Alumni Association for all individuals who have done graduate work in either the former Bible Department or in the current GST. We will also provide opportunities for interested non-graduates to be involved in the association.

The GST Alumni Association will allow us to do several things, including the following:

1. We will better be able to get feedback from graduates allowing us to improve our programs.
2. We can communicate with graduates of the GST and other interested parties concerning important programs, initiatives, and needs of the Graduate School of Theology and Abilene Christian University.
3. We will better be able to provide resources for ministry.
4. You will be able to better help us identify and recruit potential students.

Additionally, this partnership will allow you to participate more extensively in helping envision such events as Lectures on Preaching, Ministry Summit, Summer Workshops, etc. We are hoping that we can make available to all GST Alumni Association members access to online resources for research. In other words, everyone will benefit from this relationship.

Look for further information in coming weeks. Membership will be free. Dan Bouchelle, from Amarillo, has agreed to serve as the first GST Alumni Association president. He will help select the first slate of officers and board members. These folks will serve three-year terms and will reflect the diversity of all our grads.

We are looking forward to increasing our partnership with you.

Jack Reese
Dean, Graduate School of Theology

GST Students Prepare for Mission in Czech Republic

Team Olomouc (pronounced "o-lo-moats"), a group of eight friends from the University of Arkansas and Harding University, plans to begin church planting work in Olomouc, Czech Republic, in 2006. The team formed after several of its members participated in a survey trip in the Czech Republic during the summer of 2001. The trip was initiated by Scott Karnes, the missions-minded campus minister for the Razorbacks for Christ, the Church of Christ ministry at the University of Arkansas, and conducted by the missionaries currently working in Prague, Czech Republic. The trip, which included lectures on team formation and church planting and visits to four of the Czech Republic's largest cities, made the first members of the young team aware of the great need in the atheistic Czech Republic and gave them a tangible destination to work toward the Moravian city of Olomouc, home to over 100,000 souls in need of God.

Top row:  Corey Keen, Mitch Anderson, Graham Kervin, Joshua Beall Bottom Row:  Sarah Keen, Christie Shockley, Sarah Beall, Jamie Lockwood

Spread out between Norfolk, VA, Fayetteville, AR, Abilene, TX, and Prague, Czech Republic, they plan to make Abilene their central place of preparation and are gradually gathering there.

GST Increases Course Offerings in Dallas

Drs. Jack Reese and Jerry Taylor will team-teach Preaching in Two Voices: Proclamation within and beyond African-American Churches in the Dallas Fort Worth area in the spring semester of 2005. The course will focus on the interpretation of the text for preaching within a variety of cultural contexts. This course reflects the GST's plan to increase its presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As many as three courses per semester will be offered in a weekend format (Thursday to Saturday on two weekends) for people in the metropolitan area.

The increased presence of GST will be enhanced by Dr. Gailyn Van Rheenen's presence in the area (see article in this issue). Dr. Van Rheenen will teach one course each semester on missions and church planting.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area is vital to the GST because of several factors that include large population in the region. Students may complete as many as half of their courses toward a master's degree in the GST. They may complete the remaining courses at the ACU campus.

J.D. Thomas, former ACU Bible chair, dies in Abilene

For immediate release
Feb. 16, 2004

Dr. James  David Thomas of Abilene, former chair of the Bible Department at Abilene Christian University, died Feb. 16 in Abilene at the age of 93.

The funeral service is scheduled for Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. at the University Church of Christ in Abilene. Burial will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park's "Garden of the Gospels."  Visitation will be at Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home Feb. 17 from 5-7 p.m.

A 1943 graduate of Abilene Christian, Thomas also received a M.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.  Thomas served as assistant city manager of Lubbock from 1939-42 and as a minister at the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago from 1945-49. 

In 1949, Thomas began his 33-year career in the ACU Bible Department.  While at ACU, he directed the annual Bible Lectureship for 18 years and coordinated the Elders Workshop.  In 1981, he originated the Christian Scholars Conference, which was conducted at ACU until 1990.  He was chair of the department from 1970-79.

Thomas was a member of the corporation board of Restoration Quarterly and was a staff writer for 20th Century Christian.   He was a prolific writer of books and articles.  He was listed in Outstanding Educators of America, Who's Who in the South and Southwest, Who's Who in Religion and Who's Who in America.  In 1989, the Kiwanis Club of Abilene named Thomas “Kiwanian of the Year.”

Survivors include his children:  John Paul and Cindy Thomas, Hannah and Dwayne Kissick; his grandchildren:  Sammy Fish, Lucky and Tammy Fish, Christian and Edith Kissick, Packy and Andrea Kissick, Lindsay and Kyle Watson, Scott and Shawna Thomas, Todd Thomas, Shelley and Chris Chorn, Matt Connally, Mark and Lindi Connally; his great-grandchildren:  Jessica Nicholle and Kirstie Dawn Fish, Lawrence Scott and Samantha Angel Fish, Riley  Blake Whisenhunt-Kissick and Colton Patrick Kissick, Hannah Ashlynn Norrell-Watson and Jakeb Aaron Watson, Ryan Hunter and Tana Jo Thomas, Alyson Cherie and Austin Paul Thomas, Courtney Paige and Luke Christopher Chorn, Matthew Corbin and Abigail Brinley Connally.  Also surviving are two sisters-in-law, Grace Thomas and Lena Belle Thomas, and several nieces and nephews.

Dr. Bob Marcho Retires

Dr. Bob Marcho, Director of Graduate Student Services, will retire at the end of the spring semester after fifteen years of service. Most GST students first became acquainted with the program through their visits with Dr. Marcho. During this time here, enrollment in graduate programs has reached an all-time high. In the spring semester, he reported that 318 students were enrolled in the school year 2003-04. He has developed the recruiting program, traveled on behalf of the GST, and assisted students and spouses secure housing and employment. As the only one to serve in that role, he has been a pioneer for the recruiting program in an important way. He will continue to serve as adjunct instructor for the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry.

New Library Endowment Honoring John and Evelyn Willis

During this year's Lectureship, ACU unveiled a new endowment for the ACU Library honoring John T. and Evelyn Willis for their years of christlike, sacrificial service to the Church. Income from the fund will be used to purchase books, journals, and other materials in the theological disciplines in which John is interested. This is a way in which we can permanently honor two of God's greatest servants, whose lives have touched countless students and others.

If you would like to honor John and Evelyn by contributing to this fund you may mail your checks, made out to ACU, to:
ACU Development Office
ACU Box 29130
Abilene Christian University
Abilene, TX 79699

Important: please indicate on the memorandum line of your check that it is for the Willis Library Endowment. If you have further questions, please direct them to Dr. Mark Hamilton at hamilton@bible.acu.edu.

Gailyn Van Rheenen Begins New Mission

Dr. Gailyn Van Rheenen retired from Abilene Christian University on Dec. 31, 2003, to launch Mission Alive, to experientially train Christian leaders as evangelists and church planters. Gailyn and his wife Becky bring much experience to this new ministry. They served for 14 years as church planting missionaries in East Africa and have taught and mentored numerous missions teams at ACU over the past 17 years. They now focus on North America as a mission field.

The Van Rheenens consider Mission Alive, located in Dallas-Ft. Worth area, as a "pathway to church planting." Mission Alive will "discover, equip, and place church-planting leaders who will plant missional churches in suburbs, city centers, and poverty areas with unbelievers as the primary target." Realizing the difficulty of moving from academic studies to ministry, the Van Rheenens created a process of experiential training and field mentoring to equip Christian leaders as evangelists and church planters. Developing leaders will work with the Van Rheenens and other resource people to plant churches in the growing suburban areas of Dallas-Ft. Worth, among the poor (using an apartment-ministry strategy), and in rejuvenating downtown areas.

A board of advisers and many Christian leaders will work with the Van Rheenens in this ministry. Dr. Van Rheenen will continue to teach as an adjunct professor in the GST in areas of evangelism, church planting, and cultural and worldview analyses.

New Book by Frederick Aquino

Communities of Informed Judgment by Frederick D. Aquino is being released by The Catholic University of America Press, 2004.

Is Christian belief rationally acceptable? Must every Christian defend his or her beliefs with exhaustively logical arguments, or is belief solely a matter of faith rather than logical argument? In Communities of Informed Judgment, Frederick D. Aquino offers an alternative route, showing how John Henry Newman's notion of the illative sense of reasoning paves a way for constructing a fresh account of the rationality of Christian belief. Moving beyond both modern and postmodern accounts of rationality, Aquino constructs a proposal of informed judgment, blending Newman's notion of the illative sense of reasoning with recent work in social and virtue epistemology.

The book has an interdisciplinary focus, drawing from recent work in social epistemology, virtue epistemology, and cognitive science. It also takes up issues relevant to the philosophy of religion, epistemology of religious belief, systematic theology, ecumenical dialogue, and studies in John Henry Newman.

For more information, please send an email to cua-press@cua.edu.

GST Enrollment

Once again we were blessed with a record-setting recruiting and enrollment year. The summer/fall class of 74 incoming students, and the 37 new spring students set individual records for each semester. The 111 new students for the 2003-2004 academic year set another record. Our spring enrollment of 233 students was a new term record. Finally, our non-duplicated count of 318 students fro the 2003-2004 academic year also set a new record.

We also showed slight growth in women in the program as well as other under-represented ethnic groups. However, we still have a great deal of work to be done in this area. We presently have enrolled 45 women, 18 Blacks, 10 Hispanic, 3 Asian, 3 Native American, and 13 international students. Our goal is to continue becoming more diversified. The GST deeply desires to meet the changing needs of churches that are serving an ever increasing multi-cultural world.

GST Courses

• Summer Schedule
• Fall Schedule
• Internet Schedule

ElderLink Forum 2004 Atlanta

The mission of the ElderLink Ministry is to equip, encourage, and link those who lead and serve as elders in Churches of Christ through collaborative relationships, informative resources, and shared learning opportunities. ElderLink offers a range of services to elders, one of them being a gathering of elders such as the upcoming ElderLink Forum 2004 Atlanta being co-sponsored by Abilene Christian University and Lipscomb University. The event will be held this spring on Saturday, March 27, 2004, in Atlanta, GA, at the shared facilities of Campus Church of Christ and Greater Atlanta Christian School, 1575 Indian Trail Road, Norcross, GA, 30093. Telephone: 770.923.0449. The site is conveniently located off IH 85 at exit 101 (Indian Trail/Lilburn Rd.) 25 miles from Atlanta International Airport and downtown Atlanta. See details about the forum including registration, lodging and schedule.

ElderLink Northeast 2004

Date:	Saturday, September 11, 2004
Times:	Saturday 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m
Site:	Nashua Church of Christ in Nashua, NH

The first ElderLink Forum Northeast 2004 will be held at the Nashua Church of Christ in Nashua, NH. This highly successful program brings together experienced church leaders who will share their understandings of the challenges elders face. Practical resources and strategies for responding to these challenges will be offered along with special topics of interest. Attendees will receive information rooted in scripture and Biblical principles from qualified speakers who will address the issues and challenges elders deal with daily as they seek to lead their churches according to God's will. An added feature for women attending is an outstanding woman speaker who will present a session designed to strengthen the church leader's wife in her role.

In addition to the opportunity to learn more about the role and function of elders, a side benefit of attending ElderLink Forum is the opportunity to develop relationships with other elders and church leaders from area churches. Sharing in group discussions, praying and worshiping together, and eating lunch together provide rich opportunities for learning about one another and the ways in which each leader leads and serves. These are relationships that endure for years to come.

Registration for the forum covers the cost of the very valuable resource notebook, a continental breakfast, catered lunch and break refreshments. Return to this web site in the near future to see a listing of the speakers and topics planned for ElderLink Forum NE 2004 and to register online.

Come to the Waters: 2004 Lectureship Review

Inspiring. Momentous. Historic. These are a few words that might be used to describe this year's 86th Annual Bible Lectureship. Enthusiastic audiences soaked in inspiring messages from Isaiah. Theme lectures were often interrupted with applause and capped with standing ovations. Several classes capsized their classrooms with persons standing in the halls and sitting on the floors. The Teague Center was overrun at the lunch hour with guests looking to grab a sandwich, listen to singing groups, and share fellowship. In the new environs of the Teague Center, the Women for ACU sold more pies on opening night than they had the previous two years combined. One exhibitor, upon seeing the new arrangements in the Teague Center for exhibits exclaimed, "Teague at last, Teague at last, thank God almighty, Teague at last!" With apologies both to God Almighty and Martin Luther King, Jr, this sentiment captured for many the enthusiasm for the new use of the Teague Center.

The traditional afternoon forum was historic this year. This year's forum featured conversations with the International Churches of Christ. For the first time in nearly 20 years, leaders from these two groups spoke to one another. Listeners were moved both by the extensive apologies offered by ICOC members and by the reported changes in ICOC practices. Listeners were equally moved by apologies from mainline participants for lack of charity and for belittling language and superior attitudes. Though these initial conversations were from a declaration of unity or merger, both sides left encouraged that the future would be more open and cooperative.

One final word to characterize lectureship--wet. We invited guests to Come to the Waters. And God did not disappoint. Record rainfalls marked lectureship this year. Talk of gopher wood and the gathering of animals could be heard in the hallways. Less than efficient West Texas drainage systems left lectureship guests to ford parking lot streams and coliseum encircling motes. We even had snowfall Tuesday evening. What would lectureship be without a few weather stories? We'd like to find out.

Tapes from this year's lectureship are available through Gaylor media. An ordering link is on the lectureship webpage. We hope to see you next year, February 20-23, "Since You Have Been Raised With Christ: Messages from Colossians."

Recent Faculty Accomplishments

Doug Foster co-edited the Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement that will debut in June. Doug also serves on the National Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission Executive Committee. He will also make a presentation on the Last Will and Testament of the Springfield Presbytery in March at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference in Cincinnati. This is the 200th anniversary of the Last Will and Testament. Finally, Doug will be co-leading a Stone-Campbell Heritage Tour in Great Britain and make a presentation of the World Convention of Churches of Christ in August, in Brighton, England.

Carroll Osburn wrote The Text of the Apostolos in Epiphanius of Salamis (Brill). He read a paper at the 14th International Patristics Conference in Oxford, and is currently co-editing Acts with Barbara Aland for the Novum Testamentum Graecum Editio Maior Critica in Muenster, Germany.

Frederick Aquino published "The Craft of Teaching: The Relevance of Newman for Theological Education." Christian Higher Education 2 (2003): 273-288. ACU Press also released At the River's Edge: Meeting Jesus in Baptism. This in-depth look at baptism with a study guide was co-written by Jeff Childers and Frederick Aquino.

James Thompson wrote "Reading the Letters as Narrative," in Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching: Reuniting New Testament Interpretation and Proclamation, edited by Joel B. Green and Michael Pasquarello III, Baker Academic, 2003.

Published in the last issue of Leaven are the following articles: Tim Sensing, "After the Craddock Revolution: A Bibliographic Essay," Stephen Johnson, "Apocalypse, Theology, and the Performative Reading of Scripture," and Mark Love, "The Word is Near To You: Preaching Beyond Analogy," Leaven 11:4.

Tim Sensing also read a paper at the Academy of Homiletics, "As Even Some of Your Own Poets Have Said." He serves on the steering committee of ATFE (Association of Theological Field Education). He also spoke at the preaching seminar in Rochester, MI on "Reimagining the Future: Past Tense Words in a Present Tense World."

Mark Hamilton and Jack Reese serve as co-executive directors for ACT (Association for Case Teaching). Both will be doing several one-day seminars in the coming year and hosting the annual ACT Institute at Harvard this summer.

Recommended Books in Philosophy

Dr. Frederick Aquino provides a list of key resources in philosophy. Ministers looking to go beyond popular treatments and casual surveys will find complex concepts made more accessible in the following works.

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Thinking it Through: An Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy (Oxford, 2003)-an excellent introduction to contemporary philosophical issues, thus making them come alive. This book shows us why philosophy should matter to those who wish to live a more thoughtful life.

Jonathan Glover, Humanity (Yale, 2000)-a provocative read on the moral tragedies of the twentieth century, along with constructive suggestions for the future. His focus on the development of moral imagination is extraordinarily relevant.

Pierre Hadot, What is Ancient Philosophy? (Harvard, 2002)-an accessible read on the world of ancient philosophy, showing the connection between philosophical investigation and practical ways of living. It masterfully highlights the spiritual/transformative dimension of philosophy.

Anne Marie Mongoven, The Prophetic Spirit of Catechesis (Paulist Press, 2000)-a helpful synthesis of theory and praxis, illustrating how the process of catechesis can reflect profound respect for the Christian tradition while engaging the contemporary scene.

G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, The Philokalia, 4vols. (Faber, 1979-1995)-these volumes contain a vast collection of writings from spiritual exemplars of the Orthodox Christian tradition, ranging from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries. They show effort toward integrating head and heart.

Gregory R. Peterson, Minding God: Theology and the Cognitive Sciences (Fortress, 2003)-a helpful survey of the cognitive sciences, along with incisive theological and philosophical interpretations of these sciences. This book unfolds profound implications for engaging important theological issues such as human nature, consciousness, freedom/determinism, and so on.

John Sanders, The God Who Risks: A Theology of Providence (InterVarsity, 1998)-a careful and challenging approach that navigates through the complex discussion of providence. The portrait of God in the book is dynamic and refreshing.

W. Jay Wood, Epistemology: Becoming Intellectually Virtuous (InterVarsity, 1998)-an exceptional introduction to virtue epistemology, showing how the formation of proper habits of the mind is central to fulfilling our Christian call. Cognitive excellence is compatible with and contributes to the growth of the Christian life.

Paul Woodruff, Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue (Oxford, 2001)-an impassioned case for the fundamental importance of this virtue for our context today. This book is sure to reach anyone interested in standing humbly before an expansive universe and the complexity of human experience.

GST Alumni News

Bert Reynolds (MDiv 1999; bertr@chenalvalleychurch.org) is now the preaching minister at the Chenal Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, AR.

Chris Benjamin (MDiv 1994; benjamin_chris@yahoo.com) is now the preaching minister at the West-Ark Church of Christ in Fort Smith, AR.

John Siburt (MDiv 1999, jsiburt@carechurch.org) is preaching minister at the Richardson East Church of Christ in Richardson, TX

Ben Siburt (MDiv 2003, bensiburt@tyler.net) is the minister to adults at the Glenwood Church of Christ in Tyler, TX

Darin Kennedy (MDiv 1995, daddyk1969@yahoo.com) is pulpit minister at the Blue River Church of Christ new Kansas City.

Sam Barrington (MDiv 1996, Barring1@aol.com) has been preaching at the Donmoyer Ave. Church of Christ in South Bend, Indiana for 7 years. He and Kelly have three children, Isaac, 7; Caleb, 4; and Alexandria, 2.

Ron Nelson (MS 1998, rnelson71@hotmail.com) has been preaching at the Randolph Church of Christ in New Jersey since 2002. He and his wife Wendy have two little girls - Alexandra (5), and Mikaela (1).

Kenneth Hsu (MDiv 1999, hsumit2002@yahoo.com) with his wife Jessica, continues his mission work in Taiwan.

We would like to hear from you. Send us information about significant events or changes in your life.

What Do Oxford University, Tony Ash, C.S. Lewis, and Sophomores Have in Common?

Students this fall, especially sophomore Bible majors, will be offered the experience of a lifetime. The Study Abroad office in conjunction with the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry has worked together to provide an opportunity to study at Oxford University during the fall semester. Though the experience is open to students in all disciplines, Bible majors have often had difficulty going abroad and staying on track to graduate in four years. The primary reason for this problem is the requirement of completing four sequenced semesters of New Testament Greek. In previous semesters Greek has not been offered abroad, but this is no longer a problem. Starting this fall, Beginning Greek I will be included in the list of classes offered at Oxford. Kevin Kehl, director of Study Abroad office, states, "The College of Biblical Studies feels that this is an important part of the student's experience, and they have worked to make this happen. Now that Greek will be offered, Bible majors can travel abroad and stay on course to graduate in four years."

Dr. Tony Ash

An equally significant part of this fall's Study Abroad experience will be the presence of Dr. Tony Ash as the faculty-in-residence. Before coming to ACU as a professor in the Department of Bible, Missions and Ministry, Dr. Ash was a long-time minister as well as author of numerous articles and books. However, what makes Dr. Ash such a valuable asset to this year's trip is his knowledge of the literature of the great writer C.S. Lewis. While at Oxford, Ash will be teaching a class on The Religious Teachings of C.S. Lewis. Since Oxford is the site where Dr. Lewis spent most of his career, visiting these sites will only enhance the value of the students' Study Abroad experience. Dr. Ash is excited about going and highly encourages Bible majors to take advantage of this opportunity. "Ministers who are exposed cross-culturally appreciate their training and their calling more than those who have not traveled. Oxford is rich in religious history as many of the premier events in English church history center around Oxford. Students are able to experience such a historic place, fulfill degree requirements, and also see a large part of Europe." Students who are interested should contact Kevin Kehl in the Study Abroad office (Hardin Administration Bldg. Room 215) to answer any questions and pick up application packets.

Message of the Old Testament First Distant Learning Offering

Undergraduate distant learning becomes a reality this summer at ACU. For a number of years the Graduate School of Theology has offered online theological courses which can be taken anywhere in the world. For the first time in ACU's history, there will be undergraduate courses offered via technology. This summer the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry will premier Message of the Old Testament, and the Department of English the literature course Major British Writers I as the first distant learning courses.

Dr. Rodney Ashlock

All ACU students are required to complete fifteen hours of Bible during their undergraduate studies. One of those required courses, The Message of the Old Testament, is being offered in three different sections. Dr. Rodney Ashlock, assistant professor of Bible, is serving as the professor of record. Students may choose a four and one-half week format in either June or July. They also have the option to stretch it out over much of the summer and complete the class in a nine-week period. The benefits of offering such a class are numerous. Dr. Ashlock states, "The obvious advantage to offering such as class is that the students and the professor are not required to physically come to the ACU campus for a class. Students can return to their hometown, get a summer job, and still get three hours of credit toward their degree. We hope this will both generate revenue for ACU as well as reduce the number of students taking it in the fall." Ashlock hoped for around one hundred students to register for the course, and as of the middle of February, approximately seventy students had enrolled.

What does this hold for the future? Anticipating that this summer the offerings are well received, Ashlock envisions multiple textual, mission, and ministry classes being offered through the Internet in the future as well as classes in other disciplines. According to Ashlock, "It is an honor for the university to invite the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry to provide cutting edge pedagogies for this new venture."

Pre-Marital Training for Ministers

The Center for Youth and Family Ministry hosted a pre-marital training workshop on Thursday, Feb. 26th at the conclusion of the 2004 ACU Lectureship. This was offered to encourage churches and ministers to develop effective pre-marital programs for young couples who are considering marriage.  It is used as a way to lower the divorce rate in a preventive way.

The Prepare Inventory is an 165 question instrument that takes couples through areas of marital expectations, conflict resolution, children and parenting, communication, financial matters, personality issues. It is developed by Life Innovations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

There was a fantastic response on this initial offering. There were over 40 who attended the eight hour training session that was facilitated by Richard Ellis. Robert Oglesby, ACU's Director of the Center for Youth and Family presented how this tool could be implemented into a church community. Robert has monitored over 300 couples across the last 9 years who have gone through this program. The divorce rate for couples who go through this is less than two percent! The program will be offered again again on the ACU campus within the next year. Please consult the Center for Youth and Families web page for information.

New Salary and Benefits Survey for Youth Ministers

The Center for Youth and Family completed a nation-wide salary and benefits survey that includes 21 different states and a variety of church sizes. The survey was completed on Jan. 1, 2004. The information is available on the Center's website.

The Center hopes to provide current information to youth ministers and elderships on fair salary and benefit packages. There is a more detailed breakdown of the survey results for churches in the Hiring Guide which can be purchased through the website.

Summer Seminar in Missions

Summer Seminar in Missions is more than course work; it is an EXPERIENCE. While you attend classes you also network with others who care about missions. You experience the full impact of three weeks focused on missions. Students preparing for missions, missionaries on furlough, campus ministers, those seeking second careers in missions, and missions faculty and staff experience learning about missions in community.

Both undergraduate and graduate level courses are offered in Seminar. Those courses can be taken for academic credit or for continuing education units. The dates for the seminar are: (Session I: May 17-27) and (Session II: May 25-June 4). You will notice there are three days when Sessions I and II overlap (May 25-27). No academic studies are going on at that time, but those are three days of practical training regarding missions called Missions Focus. (Read the related article.)

The Seminar courses are taught by our ACU missions faculty and staff. We have also invited several individuals who will come and expand our offerings. During Session I, Janine Morgan will teach Spiritual Formation and the Missionary Family at the undergraduate level. Janine has served as a missionary in Brazil, ACU's Oxford study abroad site with her husband Ron, and is finishing her doctorate in missions from Fuller. Dr. Evertt Huffard, dean of the Harding Graduate Schol of Religion, will be teaching Gospel and Islam at the graduate level. Evertt and his family served as missionaries in Israel. Session II will include a course called Language Acquisition taught by Brad Willits, a Bible translator in Guinea, W. Africa, with Pioneer Bible Translators. Dr. Monte Cox from Harding University will teach Missions in the 21st Century at the graduate level. Monte was a missionary in Kenya and directs Harding's Center for World Missions. Other courses that prepare missionaries and equip mission committee members are offered. Generous scholarships are available. Check out all our courses at our Seminar website www.bible.acu.edu/missions/summerseminar.

Seminar continues to be a place where individuals can come and receive training in missions. In three weeks you can complete two courses and experience much practical training during the three days of Missions Focus. Come and join others who are passionate about God's mission in the World.

Other Institute for Missions programs can be seen at http://www.acu.edu/missions .

Missions Focus

Missions Focus is something NEW. It is "the heart of Seminar." While it is part of Sessions I and II, Missions Focus is also a "stand alone" event. Church leaders and members interested in doing a better job in missions and evangelism can attend Missions Focus only. Those three days will change your life. The cost of Missions Focus is minimal but the benefit if great. Check our website for more information regarding costs and registration for Missions Focus.

Each day will begin and end with worship. God calls workers out of a worshipping community. He deserves our worship. During Missions Focus we will worship God in ways that make us aware of how he is worshipped in other cultures. This year we have invited two well-known missions resource people to be with us. Dr. Paul Hiebert and Dr. Monte Cox will address "Paradigms Lost and Found: Missions for a New Era." They will equip students and church leaders for evangelism in a pluralistic, postmodern world. These two men are uniquely equipped to speak to the context of today's world. Church leaders and missionaries will benefit greatly from these sessions. The church needs to be equipped to address our changing domestic situation as though it were a mission field, which it is.

In the afternoons participants will experience "training modules." These modules will address issues which are pertinent to missions, whether you are going to do missions or are sending missionaries. The topics covered are:

• The Work of a Mission Committee
• Sharing Your Faith
• Reaching the World of Islam
• Faith Response to Poverty
• Stress Management
• Financial Challenges Facing Missionaries
• Producing Quality Multi-Media Reports

While Seminar and Missions Focus address the need to increase our knowledge of how to do missions, we also want to address the special needs of missionaries. Many missionaries come to Seminar while they are on furlough. Some are finishing their degrees and some come because it is a place to hone their ministry skills. The Institute for Missions and Evangelism has developed a missionary care component for seminar. ACU has partnered with the Abilene medical community to provide free services to missionaries on furlough. Services that missionaries can access are physical exams, eye exams, dental cleaning, lab work, and counseling. Seminar is a place where missionaries can learn and also be ministered to.

Therefore, Summer Seminar in Missions and Missions Focus have become a place where church leaders and missionaries can come and study missions as well as serve and honor those who participate in missions. Seminar is much more than academic study. Come and experience study, worship, practical training, ministry to missionaries, and fellowship with others passionate about missions at Summer Seminar in Missions.

The Mission of the Church

by Ed Mathews

See the essay about the necessity and motive of missions.

Reaching the Islamic World

by Dan McVey

Today, there is a great opening to the Gospel of Jesus among Muslims in almost every quarter of the Islamic world that is unprecedented since Muhammad began this religion in the deserts of Arabia. [ read more ... ].

Marriage and Family Therapy and TAMFT

The relationship between ACU’s Department of Marriage and Family Therapy and the Texas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy has been one of mutual collaboration since the program’s inception in 1979. This relationship was especially evident at the 31st Annual Conference of TAMFT held in mid-January in Houston. The theme of the conference, "The Year of the Child in Texas Family Therapy," provided the backdrop for presentations by leaders in the field of marriage and family therapy as well as the original research of the Department’s second year interns.

All fifteen of the Department’s second year interns and their faculty mentors presented either posters or workshops. Topics included Assessment and Treatment of Relationship Ambivalence, Forgiveness Therapy and Marital Satisfaction, Hope in the System, and Faith and Postmodern Therapies. Student presenters were Tracy Fleet, Melody Ford, Steven Franks, LynnAnne Joiner, Kirsten Jones, Liz Lashower, Kathryn Ling, Lisa Merchant, Jason Northup, Sun-Ho Pak, Jamie Schlegel, Michael Spell, Kristi Stewart, Andy Williams, and Courtney Wilson. Former students Meredith Hedges, doctoral student at Texas Tech University, and Dr. Michelle Robertson, assistant professor at Friends University, Wichita, Kansas, also presented.

Additionally, twenty first-year interns served as student volunteers. Drs. Bradley and Halstead were elected to the TAMFT Board of Trustees. Three first year students were elected to offices of the TSAMFT, the student association for marriage and family therapy, Sara Darling (president-elect), Mark White (treasurer), and Shannon Humphrey (recorder).

Unveiling Glory

Why did Jesus come to earth in the flesh and live among us? In what sense did he both embrace this world and reject it? How should our view of Christ form the way we live and act as Christians in our families, neighborhoods, nations, and churches? Unveiling Glory seeks to address these topics and others, boldly considering many of the problems facing Churches of Christ today and insisting that the key to their resolution lies in a deeper commitment to Jesus.

The introduction establishes the premise for the book when it declares that "approaching Christ with transformation in mind has not always been a key element in…our heritage. Yet we are convinced that whenever scripture is allowed to speak with its full voice, the notion of Christianity as transformation into the image of Christ becomes inescapable." The book seeks to deliver on this promise, leading the reader through the important events in Jesus' life and unveiling their significance for the Christian today.

Unveiling Glory will be an invaluable aid for churches and individuals as they seek to embody Christ and to bring his story to a needy world.

The first three books in the Heart of the Restoration Series are being made available to congregations at a special group discount, according to Thom Lemmons, director of ACU Press. "The books in this series were conceived and written in order to take an important place in the current discussions among Churches of Christ," Lemmons said, "and we want to do everything we can to help that discussion continue." Congregations across the country are using the books, Lemmons says, both for individual and group studies of the issues presented.

Churches wishing to make a group purchase of one or more of the books in the Heart of the Restoration Series may send a message to lemmonst@acu.edu. For purchases of twenty or more books in the series, buyers will receive a 10% discount from the retail price. Shipping charges and sales tax for Texas residents will be added to the order.

In The Crux of the Matter: Crisis, Tradition, and the Future of Churches of Christ, Jeff Childers, Doug Foster, and Jack Reese give voice to several crucial decisions now facing Churches of Christ, placing those decisions in a comprehensive historical, cultural, and biblical context. God's Holy Fire: The Nature and Function of Scripture (Ken Cukrowski, Mark Hamilton, and James Thompson) focuses on hermeneutics, or the way members of Churches of Christ read, understand, and interpret Scripture. Future volumes in the series, all written by members of ACU's College of Biblical Studies faculty, will deal with the church, and worship.

River's Edge: Meeting Jesus in Baptism

ACU Press announces the release of "River's Edge: Meeting Jesus in Baptism," a special supplement to the Heart of the Restoration Series. The 48-page booklet will be available in conjunction with ACU's annual Bible Lectureship, February 22-25, 2004.

Adapted from Chapter Three of the latest volume in the Heart of the Restoration Series, "Unveiling Glory: Visions of Christ's Transforming Presence," this booklet highlights the biblical significance of baptism for followers of Jesus Christ.

The booklet is priced at $2.99 per copy. For more information, please send an email to lemmonst@acu.edu