October 2005 - Abilene Christian University

Newsletter for the College of Biblical Studies

Volume 3, Number 4

October, 2005

Contribution Endows New Reference Collection

We are pleased to announce the "Gaines B. Stanley Sr. Biblical Studies Reference Collection." The generous contribution of Gaines Stanley, Jr. and his wife, Vickie Stanley, endows reference acquisitions for biblical and theological studies in the ACU Library.

This gift greatly enriches the intellectual resources of the university, especially targeting the 300 graduate students in the Graduate School of Theology plus 3,000 undergraduates enrolled in Bible courses each semester in the College of Biblical Studies. This contribution further solidifies ACU's stature in teaching and research in biblical studies, in providing leadership in Christian missions and ministry.

With this gift the Stanleys honor the life and career of Gaines B. Stanley Sr. (class of 1950) who has preached and trained young people for the ministry for six decades throughout Texas and California. You are invited to a reception hosted by the Friends of the ACU Library, in the Atrium of the Brown Library, during Homecoming, Friday October 14th, 3:30 pm.

ACU Centennial Celebration

ACU's official Centennial Celebration year began Aug. 22, 2005 and ends Sept. 11, 2006 with the theme "Called to Faith and Excellence." Alumni, parents and friends are invited to participate with ACU as we celebrate our heritage, reaffirm our commitment to excellence, and glorify God. The official web-site for the centennial celebration is http://www.acu.edu/centennial.html.

Abilene Christian University remembered its spiritual heritage and recommitted its future at the Centennial covenant service, "Renewing the Promise: A Time of Covenant and Blessing," Aug. 21, 2005. The service included reflections on ACU's spiritual history, prayer, scripture reading, songs, a time of blessing and a time of recommitment. ACU faculty, staff, and students, as well as the Abilene community, attended the service.

"It seems appropriate as we begin our Centennial year, and look to our next 100 years, that we reflect on God's presence from the very beginning of ACU's founding, and recommit ourselves in covenant with God and each other," said Dr. Cheryl Bacon, chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication and co-chair of the Centennial Spiritual Reaffirmation Task Force.

"This Centennial is not merely about celebrations but about commitments," said Dr. Jack Reese, dean of the College of Biblical Studies and co-chair of the Centennial Spiritual Reaffirmation Task Force. "We are committed to excellence as a university, to be sure. But we have a prior commitment, to be the people of God. Our covenant service was an opportunity to declare our primary allegiance."

Theology in the Christian University: Prospects for the 21st Century

During the Centennial year, the GST will host a conference on Theology in the Christian University: "Prospects for the 21st Century," March 23-25, 2006.

What roles do theological disciplines play in the Christian university? How do they intersect with other disciplines and inquiries? The answers to these questions have taken several forms in the past century, and numerous challenges complicate the contemporary pursuit of programs that are theologically reflective. As a result, the need for connecting theological reflection with other areas of knowledge is nowhere more keenly felt than in the Christian university.

Given this situation, Abilene Christian University will host "Theology in the Christian University: Prospects for the 21st Century," March 23-25, 2006. This conference will call scholars to rethink the nature of theological education within the Christian university, and will stand out not only for its subject matter, but also for its relevance to the contemporary discussion. The following keynote speakers will help guide our conversation:

Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, Duke Divinity School
Dr. Ellen Charry, Princeton Theological Seminary
Dr. William Abraham, Southern Methodist University
Dr. Darryl Tippens, Pepperdine University

The event will provide an occasion for various religious traditions to cooperate in promoting greater dialogue between Christian education movements. Furthermore, it will furnish an opportunity for participants to investigate concrete strategies for making our reflections on the nature of theological education a reality. You are invited to attend.

For more information

Also on April 20, 2006, at 7:30 p.m. in the Teague Special Events Center, Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain will be a featured speaker. Dr. Elshtain is a political philosopher whose work shows the connections between our political and our ethical convictions. She is the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago. Her books include Democracy on Trial, Public Man, Private Woman: Women in Social Thought and Just War Theory.

Abraham Malherbe to give Carmichael-Walling Lectures

Dr. Abraham J. Malherbe, Buckingham Professor Emeritus at Yale University, will give the nineteenth annual Carmichael-Walling Lectures at ACU on November 10, 2005, according to Dr. James W. Thompson, associate dean of ACU's Graduate School of Theology. He will lecture on "Indispensable Intermediaries: Paul's Co-Workers" at 4:00 p.m. and on "Mutual Ministry in the Pauline Churches" at 7:30 p.m.. The lectures will be held in room 130 of the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building.

Dr. Malherbe taught at Yale University from 1970 until his retirement in 1994. A native of Pretoria, South Africa, he graduated from Abilene Christian College in 1953 and earned the S.T.B. and Th.D. degrees from Harvard University. From 1963 to 1969, he taught at Abilene Christian University. He is the author of numerous books, including Social Aspects of Early Christianity, Paul and the Popular Philosophers: The Philosophic Tradition of Pastoral Care, Ancient Epistolary Theorists, and the recent commentary, The Letters to the Thessalonians. His students and colleagues have honored him with two collections of essays in his honor. He has also contributed many articles in the major dictionaries and journals. He was the co-founder of Restoration Quarterly and the Living Word Commentary series. He is a specialist in the relationship between the New Testament and the Greco-Roman world.

Pemberton Named Chair

Glenn Pemberton

Dr. Glenn Pemberton was named recently as the new chair of the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry at ACU. Dr. Pemberton succeeds Dr. David Wray who returned full-time to the classroom and church consultation after serving ten years as chair of the department. Dr. Pemberton began his service as chair during the Summer, 2005.

As a graduate of ACU (B.A. '85), Dr. Pemberton earned the M.A. in Old Testament at ACU in 1995 and completed his Ph.D. (Religion and Theological Studies) from University of Denver's Iliff School of Theology in 1999. His dissertation focused on "The Rhetoric of the Father: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Father/Son Lectures in Proverbs 1-9."

Dr. Pemberton has served as preaching minister at Sterling City, TX, Midland, TX, and Buena Vista, CO. He is a frequent presenter at lectureships, seminars, and churches.

For several years, Dr. Pemberton taught Old Testament and Hebrew at Oklahoma Christian University. At OCU, he was honored with the university's Gaylord Chair for Distinguished Teaching and had served as chair of the graduate Bible program. He has several publications in the area of Old Testament scholarship.

The students and faculty of the DBMM are excited about Dr. Pemberton's arrival and anticipate great blessings from his leadership in the department.

New Faculty and Staff in the College of Biblical Studies

	Dr. Flanders is an assistant professor of missions in the GST. After ten years as a missionary in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand, he recently earned his Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary. His dissertation focused on "About Face: Reorienting Thai Face for Soteriology and Mission." Dr. Flanders and his wife Cara have two children.
Dr. Chris Flanders

	Stephanie Lang is the new budget coordinator for CBS. Along with her fiscal responsibilities, Stephanie acts as building manager and oversees the dean's office student workers. She and her husband David are long-time residents of Abilene. They have four children.
Stephanie Lang

	JoAnn Young is the new administrative coordinator at the Halbert Institute for Missions. In addition to her work for HIM, she is finishing a doctorate in history at TCU. JoAnn and her husband Kelly, associate chief financial officer at ACU, have three daughters.
JoAnn Young

Sandy Lowe is the new events coordinator for CBS. In addition to planning in-house events like the departmental pre-session and graduation dinner, she oversees the arrangements for the many conferences, meetings and weddings held in the building. She also coordinates six ElderLink sessions each year. Sandy and her husband Gary are former residents of Corpus Christi, TX. She has two children and one grandchild.

Sandy Lowe

	Camille Dickson is the new assistant to the dean. As Dr. Reese's assistant, she works closely with him to oversee many details required to keep CBS running smoothly. Camille's husband Kyle is a professor in ACU's English department. They have two children.
Camille Dickson

	Jeff Emery is the new administrative coordinator for the Marriage and Family Institute. Jeff Emery comes from Enid, Oklahoma, where he served as a youth minister for three years. His wife, Amelia, is employed with Abilene Education Supply. They have three young children.
Jeff Emery

Lectures on Preaching

Dr. Paul Scott Wilson challenged those who gathered at this year's Lectures on Preaching to embrace the preaching task as proclamation. Wilson is a professor of preaching at Emmanuel College (Toronto, Canada) and the author of several important books on preaching (e.g., Four Pages of the Sermon, God Sense, Broken Words). In his lecture he distinguished between teaching about texts and allowing texts to make claims on the lives of those who listen. In this sense, the sermon should be a performance of the Word, not just an explanation. In the same manner, Wilson's student, Dr. Stephen Johnson challenged listeners to consider the apocalyptic nature of preaching. In other words, preaching reveals new possibilities as the kingdom of God comes into sharp contrast with the world as we know it. Johnson, who teaches preaching at ACU, preached a sermon from Revelation to demonstrate how the gospel allows new possibilities to come into view. Order a CD.

Each year, a special feature of Lectures on Preaching is the tribute luncheon where longtime servants are honored for their commitment to God's people through preaching. Franklin Florence went from being a boy-preacher studying under Marshal Keeble to serving with the great names of the Civil Rights movement. An appreciative audience stood with applause for this courageous champion of the poor and the oppressed who serves in the name of Jesus. The luncheon ended with a tribute to Burton Coffman, who along with ACU celebrated his 100th birthday this year. Brother Coffman attended the luncheon and responded to the words of tribute in his customary manner—booming and engaging. All were blessed to have celebrated the preaching careers of these two devoted servants.

Lectureship Preview

"The Truth Will Set You Free: Studies in the Gospel of John" is the theme for the 2006 Lectureship (Feb 19-22, 2006). Drs. Royce Money and Don Jeans will be the featured speakers Sunday Night. This year's keynote speakers include Samuel Twumasi-Ankrah (Ghana), Dr. David Fleer (Rochester Hills, MI), Dr. Rick Marrs (Malibu, CA), Mike Cope (Abilene), Lawrence Murray (Edmond, OK), and Dwight Robarts (Dallas, TX).

This will be the last February Lectureship. The event will move to the fall (September 17-20, 2006). Given that ACU is currently celebrating its centennial, several special events are planned for February, including honoring Drs. Paul Faulkner and Carl Brecheen for their years of supporting Christian marriages. Make your plans to attend now as motel rooms will go quickly. http://www.acu.edu/events/lectureship.html.

Salt and Light Website

Salt and Light Resources is a new website that facilitates an extended missional discussion. Various articles, presentations, and projects revolving around missional themes include congregational life, preaching, worship, and evangelism. For example, one of the preaching projects focuses on Philip Kenneson's book, Life on the Vine. A study guide for each chapter as well as an interview with the author are available.

Currently, the lead article on the web site reports about Al Roxburgh's recent presentations about missional leadership at Ministry Summit at Abilene Christian University, April 21-22, 2005. As always, Roxburgh did a great job helping participants understand why past patterns of leading congregations will no longer work in the current context. He highlighted positive leadership practices that move forward into an uncertain future. Video highlights of his presentations are available.

MFT's New First Year Class (2005-2007)

Twenty new students from around the country and around the world joined the Marriage and Family Therapy program this semester. They came from places as far away as Nigeria, Africa, and as close as Abilene, TX, with ten U.S. states represented in the group. Three of these students are highlighted below:

Ashley Amii grew up in Hawaii, but her family now lives in Arizona. She is an ACU graduate in family studies. When she was deciding where she would attend college, she had plans to attend another university to major in nursing. An ACU admissions officer, however, became an influential person in her life. Ashley believes that the Lord led her to ACU through her admissions officer. Her decision to apply to ACU's MFT program was motivated primarily by her desire to remain in a Christian environment and to learn how to incorporate her Christianity into her therapeutic training. Upon graduation, Ashley hopes to focus on counseling youth and their families in a church setting.

Tim Parker came to ACU from Flint, MI. Tim graduated from Rochester College with a degree in biblical studies. Tim and his wife, Samantha, got married one week before the start of the fall semester. As Tim said, they have been experiencing culture shock on multiple levels. Tim's decision to come to ACU for his MFT degree was influenced by several factors. He was impressed with the program's reputation. He liked the Christian emphasis of the program but also appreciated the emphasis on theory and research. Although Michigan is home to Tim, and Ohio is home to Samantha, they decided that they would like to experience life away from their familiar surroundings. After graduation, Tim would like to do mission work, probably in Africa. He is also interested in teaching, joining the military, and opening a private practice.

Eniabitobi (Tobi) Esi-Edodo is from Nigeria, Africa. Tobi has two bachelor degrees, one in microbiology and one in theology. While in Nigeria, Tobi was involved in two Non-Governmental Organizations, or NGOs. She planned, developed, and ran a church-based NGO that focused on women's health and rehabilitation. She also began the Girls Rehabilitation Home, a place where girls and young women who were prostitutes, who are pregnant, who were abused, or who have HIV/AIDS are invited to live and rehabilitate their lives. Tobi also worked for Pro-Health, an NGO focused on medical missions. Her responsibility was to provide preventative health education to the communities served by Pro-Health. Tobi is the author of three books, The Home, Mother and Child, and Recipe for Small Scale Production. Tobi is at ACU as a fellow for the Ford Foundation's International Fellowship Program. When she returns to Nigeria after graduation, Tobi hopes to continue her work with the Girls Rehabilitation Home but plans to add a required therapeutic component to the program. She has plans to write a book on marriage before returning to Nigeria, and she hopes to be involved in policy-making and advocacy work for Nigerian families.

Hurricane Relief Effort

There are two criteria by which students are selected for the Marriage and Family Therapy program at ACU. The first is high academic abilities and the second is a heart for the Lord and hurting people. Dr. Halstead stated, "We desire to have this combination in order to prepare therapists who will live incarnational lives as they minister in this country and throughout the world."

This desire to be Christ to others does not simply occur following graduation. God is using the MFT students while they are being trained. They sit with people who come to the clinic on a daily basis in the Marriage and Family Institute but also offer their services when other opportunities present themselves.

Katrina volunteers

An example of one of these opportunities was the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Numerous calls for assistance requested help as Abilene and the surrounding communities welcomed evacuees. The first opportunity came with Lake Cisco Bible Camp. The Cisco Church of Christ agreed to offer these facilities to house some of the evacuees from New Orleans. About fifty people arrived to take advantage of the temporary housing and to get back on their feet. Five of the interns, Liz Howey, Beau Davis, Naomi Thurlow, Nicole Byrum, and Josh Kellar, went out to spend the day ministering to them. They were paired with psychology graduate students to interview the adults. They asked questions ranging from "What food do you like?" (for the cooks) to "What was the worst thing you saw?" These interviews took several hours and ended as the people were transported into town to buy necessities. Jason Nadasky joined them the next day as they went out again to continue conversations with those with whom they had connected.

Another opportunity arose on a Friday night as the Impact church in Houston called ACU asking for counseling help. Impact was giving physical aid to many evacuees, but needed assistance with the emotional needs. Eight students, Sara Blakeslee, Ashley Gregory, Julie Barchers, Gemma Avisado, Jacob Gregson, Bryanna Martin, Beau Davis, and Jill Hancock made the seven hour trip to spend four days working alongside the staff and volunteers of the church. They had numerous conversations with people as they helped them get the resources they needed to get back on their feet. They then turned around and came back on Tuesday night, arriving home early in the morning. A few hours later they were at ACU going to classes, seeing clients, and working.

It is an honor to work with students of this caliber. They find joy in this service of the Lord and recognize that truly the joy is not only in the destination, but also in the journey of becoming a therapist.

Missions Focus 2005

Summer Seminar in Missions is a unique learning experience. Students study missions, but also enjoy that experience with missionaries who are home on furlough. The learning dynamic is greatly enhanced through exposure to those who are actually involved in missions.

An integral component of Summer Seminar is Missions Focus. Each year missions resource people are invited to share their experience and expertise. This year Dr. Sherwood Lingenfelter came from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is assistant to the Provost and Senior Vice President at Fuller. Dr. Lingenfelter has written widely regarding cross-cultural ministry.

From his time spent with the people on the small Micronesian island of Yap, Dr. Lingenfelter had provided great insights into understanding another culture. His topics included: 1) Is culture Positive, Negative, or Neutral? 2) Incarnational Living, Learning, and Witness; 3) Basic Values and Ministry; 4) Cultural Bias and Pilgrim Living; 5) Resources and Power in Ministry Partnerships; and, 6) Power-seeking vs Power-giving in Ministry Relationships.

Missionaries today are coming to understand the importance of partnership. Understanding culture is essential and good. Yet, understanding the dynamics of power and partnership is critical for a church to be planted and nurtured to maturity. Missionaries no longer can minister from a position of power. Dr. Lingenfelter was a master at leading the participants into these understandings.

Along with the valuable resource, Missions Focus provided times for worship that the students experience other cultures. Worship times were rich focusing on African, Islamic, Jewish, and a persecuted church contexts. These worship times not only praised God but helped participants understand how people in other cultures praise God in their own unique ways.

This next summer the Halbert Institute for Missions has invited Dr. Laura Mae Gardner to be the resource person. She has many years of missions experience and has served as head of Wycliffe Bible Translators member care unit. She will facilitate the discussion on the challenge of providing missionary care.

Summer 2005 Internships

The mission of ACU is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. Supervised internships facilitate the accomplishing of this mission. This past summer, ACU sent out 75 undergraduate students all over the United States and to several foreign countries.

During ACU Lectureship, students were given a chance to interview with over 90 churches and Christian organizations to secure an intern position. Many of those organizations wanted several of the students at their location.

Most internships were youth ministry positions. The other internship job descriptions called for ministry to children, inner city, hospital chaplaincy, summer camp counseling, and pulpit ministry. A variety of internships for students promotes the diversity necessary for training future ministers.

If your church or organization is interested in securing an ACU student intern for next summer, consult the web-page where some basic questions are answered and your church can sign up. http://www.acu.edu/ministry/centers_institutes/youth_family/internships.html.

WorldWide Witness

For missions coordinators at ACU, summer means international travel. This summer found Dr. Gary Green in Australia. In Brisbane, Gary visited with two WorldWide Witness interns, Jeremy Webb and Brittany Bassham. WorldWide Witness has partnered with the Holland Park Church in Brisbane for the past four years. The church uses interns to run the summer youth program, including classes, activities and camp. The church reported that Jeremy and Brittany made vital contributions and praised their work.

In Sydney, Gary's visit coincided with transitions in the Northwest Church. Though some might consider it awkward to arrive in a city when the church is disbanding, it was a wonderful opportunity to minister to God's leaders in the church. The church in Australia faces daily struggle in an advanced postmodern culture.

After meeting with students from ACU who hope to plant a church in Australia, Gary traveled up the road to Newcastle. The next week included interviews with local business people, visiting neighborhoods, networking with churches, and every other form of information gathering imaginable. The metropolitan Newcastle area is a fantastic opportunity for a future team. The city is in transition from a base of industry to tourism. Along with the transition comes an openness to change in other areas. Gary stated, "Our prayer is that can be timely in taking advantage of this opportunity for the Lord."

New Tool for Determining the Effectiveness of Congregational Youth Ministry

The Center for Youth and Family Ministry has designed a new instrument to help churches evaluate the effectiveness of their youth ministry program. The instrument is based on the 16 ministerial competencies developed by the ACU Bible faculty.

The inventory has been designed by Robert Oglesby, director of the Center for Youth and Family Ministry. Oglesby will consult with the leadership and the youth minister to customize each inventory. The inventory can be customized to evaluate individual programs or specific issues that need to be examined. When the inventory is finalized, Oglesby will activate the survey link, and the church will send it through their e-mail list to the target survey group which includes teenagers, parents, general members, staff, and eldership. Upon receiving the e-mail, they may click on the link and start the 15-20 minute survey. When finished, they can simply click submit. The results are automatically sent to ACU which gives complete confidentiality. Most churches keep the link active for two weeks to give everyone a chance to participate. Oglesby will compile the results and send a comprehensive report to the youth ministers and leaders within a week. For more details see the web-page at http://www.acu.edu/ministry/centers_institutes/youth_family/consultation.html.

2005 Ministers Salary Survey Results Now Available

The results of the 2005 Ministers Salary Survey are now available on the Ministry Resources web page at http://www.acu.edu/ministry/salarysurvey/2005_survey.html.

Dr. Charles Siburt, Vice President for Church Relations at ACU, recently administered a nation-wide survey to gather information about current levels of compensation for ministers in the Churches of Christ. This survey was completed by 585 ministers of diverse ages and ministry positions and from churches of all sizes. The survey compares minister compensation packages, including allowances and benefits, as well as comparing number of years in ministry and educational background and experience. With this detailed and diverse set of information, it is difficult to establish any basis for a salary standard. It does, however, document the current compensation range for ministers and provide powerful information for a reassessment and reevaluation of a minister's compensation package.

ACU hopes the survey will be an invaluable resource for ministers and other church leaders, as they consider and negotiate compensation packages that provide the highest level of support for ministers in Churches of Christ. The survey will be revised and updated annually. Dr. Siburt anticipates that more churches and ministers will participate each year, providing a greater pool of information for increased precision. If you were unable to participate in the 2005 survey but would like to participate in the future, please send your name and email address to ministry@bible.acu.edu.

Dallas ElderLink Forum 2005

The 2005 Dallas ElderLink Forum is scheduled for Saturday, November 12 at the Highland Oaks Church of Christ. Details about registration, hotels, and other information can be found at http://www.acu.edu/ministry/elderlink/conferences/dallas.html .

The schedule for the day is as follows:

7:30 a.m. Registration, Coffee and Continental Breakfast
8:15 a.m. Welcome and Worship
8:30 a.m. Plenary Session I ~ Doctrinal Disagreement: Must It Be War? - Part 1 ~

Randy Harris
9:15 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m. Breakout Track A - Part 1 ~

Rick Marrs, Leadership in the Old Testament
Robert Oglesby, Jr., The 360 Degree Youth Ministry Evaluation
Jan Hailey, How Elders Wives Can Lead the Women's Ministry in Your Church
Tom and Sandra Milholland, Ministering to Marriages - Part 1

10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. Breakout Track B ~ Part 1

Fred Aquino, Becoming Fully Human: A Posture of Reverence
David Wray, The Missional Church
Richard Beck, Ministering to Believers from All Theological Worlds
Charles and Judy Siburt, Help! Im a Church Leader's Spouse

11:45 a.m. Break
12:00 noon Catered Lunch
1:15 p.m. Breakout Track A ~ Part 2

Rick Marrs, Lessons from Old Testament Leaders
Robert Oglesby, Jr., "Raising the Bar" in Youth Ministry
Jan Hailey, Suggestions for Promoting Women's Ministry in Your Church
Tom and Sandra Milholland, Ministering to Marriages - Part 2

2:15 p.m. Break
2:30 p.m. Breakout Track B ~ Part 2

Fred Aquino, Integrating Knowledge and Insight: The Quest for Practical Wisdom
David Wray, The Missional Church
Richard Beck, Ministering to Believers from All Theological Worlds
Charles and Judy Siburt, Strategies for Surviving and Thriving as a Church Leader's Spouse

3:30 p.m. Break
3:45 p.m. Plenary Session II ~ Doctrinal Disagreement: Must It Be War? - Part 2 ~ Randy Harris
4:30 p.m. Evaluation and worship
5:00 p.m. Dismiss

We look forward to seeing you in Dallas. Future ElderLink events can be seen at http://www.acu.edu/ministry/elderlink/conferences.html .

Now Accepting Applicants for the Doctor of Ministry Program

Applications for the Doctor of Ministry program at Abilene Christian University are being accepted through January 15, 2006. The Doctor of Ministry is an advanced degree oriented toward ministerial leadership. Applicants must meet the following criteria for admission:

Have an accredited Master of Divinity degree or its educational equivalent.
Have completed three years of ministry since completing their first theological masters degree (M.A. or M.Div.).
Have a minimum of a 3.2 GPA on graduate work.
Have a minimum of 450 on the oral component of the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) or a minimum of 40 on the MAT (Miller Analogies Test).
Have strong references.

If you would like to know more about the Doctor of Ministry Program at ACU, please contact Dr. Charles Siburt at siburt@bible.acu.edu or 325-674-3732.

New Books of Interest by CBS Faculty

The Body Royal by Mark Hamilton

The present volume seeks to identify the underlying code of meanings about the Israelite king operating in various ways in texts and other artifacts surviving from the culture. The focus is upon the (living) body of the king, its anatomical characteristics, its constitution through ritual, and the conventions concerning its proper self-display by the king. This study combines careful linguistic and historical-critical analysis of the texts considered (both biblical and ancient Near Eastern, the latter used comparatively where appropriate) with a critical use of contemporary approaches to the study of signs in language, objects, and movements (semiotics), in general, and the study of the body, in particular.

This book argues that the royal psalms contain a set of officially sanctioned notions about the royal body and its use. The king was thought to have an outsized, superhuman body owing to his being the son of the deity, a status he attained upon his coronation. Other texts, often from circles outside the royal court, significantly altered these notions.

The king's body was thus for ancient Israelites the locus of reflection on power, gender, religion, and even international relations. Through careful historical analysis, it is possible to reconstruct the terms of an Iron Age intellectual inquiry that still influences our contemporary world.

The Body Royal can be ordered from Biblical Interpretation Series .

Communities of Informed Judgment Newman's Illative Sense and Accounts of Rationality by Frederick D. Aquino

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 first part of the book focuses primarily on Newman's treatment of the illative sense in the Grammar of Assent, with the University Sermons as a backdrop. The second part addresses the problem of securing a common standard of justification. Though Newman acknowledges the social and communal facets of judgment, his focus is primarily on the personal dimension. Aquino develops Newman's insights into a social epistemology of informed judgment, transposing the problem of common measure into a problem of trusting the illative sense as a reliable belief-forming process in communities of informed judgment.

An original contribution to Newman studies, 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.

Communities of Informed Judgment can be ordered from Catholic University Press .

Seeking a Lasting City: The Church's Journey in the Story of God by Mark Love, Douglass Foster, and Randall Harris.

The latest volume in the Heart of the Restoration Series focuses on the nature of the church.

"Seeking a Lasting City is about church, for the church, and by thoughtful, careful, and creative church-men whose lives and essays are profound evidence of a high view of their subject and audience.

Seeking a Lasting City is an ecclesiology in service to the church, making intelligent theology readable for every one serious about living Christianity in community. Each chapter abounds with energetic thinking and engaging prose, blending serious ideas with even more serious ways for implementation. If this book is consumed by preachers, elders, and Bible class teachers it will spark meaningful dialogue and renew essential commitment, helping us recover our original sensibilities as a story-formed people living in these post-Christian days." --David Fleer, Vice President for Church Relations and Professor of Religion and Communication, Rochester College

The Body Broken: Embracing the Peace of Christ in a Fragmented Church by Jack Reese

"What to do about differences within the Body of Christ? Jack Reese shows us how to love and serve Jesus and, at the same time, faithfully love one another. In The Body Broken, Reese restores my faith that those who gather at the Lord's Table can be one." --William Willimon

Both Seeking a Lasting City and The Body Broken can be ordered through ACU Press .

Upcoming Courses in the Graduate School of Theology

Fall 2005 Courses
January and Spring 2006 Courses
May and Summer 2006 Courses
Weekend Courses
Internet Courses