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NAVIGATING THE COMPLEX AND BEAUTIFUL STRUCTURES OF ADULT FORMATION

By Rev. Beth Waltemath, co-pastor, North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Georgia

As I reach my forties, I have noticed a theme to my conversations with friends and church members nearing and living into mid-life. “What now?” “What next?’” as they ask questions about how to measure their success, how to keep the excitement of goal-setting and the hope of attainment alive. Many have checked off several boxes in the chronology of life, have made peace with erasing those that never fit or worked out, or have rewritten the list completely.

Such a list may look like:• Job• Family• Shelter• Travel• Marathon (I resent that this is a trend).Whether we accept it or not, our families, schools, and culture have given us checklists

and a path to chart the maturation from child to adult to sage elder. It is hard not to miss the satisfaction of reaching a milestone or attaining a goal. Spiritual formation is not so linear.

For full story, see www.columbiaconnections.org/.

AN INTELLIGENT PERSON

By Israel Galindo, Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning

I met a rare kind of person last week. He was what I’ll describe as a genuinely intelligent person. There are plenty of smart or knowledgeable people around, and given that I spend a lot of time around “academic types” I run into a lot of them from all fields. But there’s a difference between being merely smart, and being truly intelligent. And often it takes meeting a genuinely intelligent person to learn the difference.

The question of what constitutes intelligence has been around for a good while now. From the work of the statistically cold and psychometric-driven Binet and Thorndike to the nuance of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, to Goleman’s “emotional” intelligence we’ve sought to both identify and enhance intelligence, however defined.


MARCH 3

VANTAGE Winter/Spring 2016 3

BETTER THAN CHURCH? EXERCISE AS A SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE

By MaryAnn McKibben Dana, MDiv ’03

Last week I caught Tom Ashbrook’s show On Point (via podcast). He was talking about the so-called “boutique fitness” trend—exercise classes that promise not only a hard workout but also strong community, and in some cases spiritual enlightenment. The panelists discussed Soul Cycle, CrossFit and other fitness fads.

Unfortunately, the cost of these classes got conflated with the larger issue of spiritual impact. Many of these programs are very expensive and exclusive. People can spend thousands of dollars a year on these classes, and many listeners (and commenters) criticized this trend as yet another symptom of the narcissism run rampant in our culture. I agree, it seems icky to spend that much money on a fitness-related pursuit. Especially since there’s nothing inherently costly about many of these programs.


b e s t o f t h e b l o g

V a n t a g eVol. 108, No. 2, Winter/Spring 2016

E D I T O R

Michael Thompson

D E S I G N

Lucy Ke

P H O T O G R A P H Y

Myung Jin Chae ’15Ralph Basui Watkins

P L E A S E R E C Y C L E After you read this issue of Vantage, pass it along to a friend or colleague, or take it to your neighborhood recycling center.

C O N T R I B U T O R S

Randy Calvo, Jr. ’81Kelly Campbell Pam CottrellCorie CoxMary Lynn DardenStephen EdgeSarah Erickson ’03/DEdMin ’10Israel GalindoJ. William HarkinsTammy JohnsonSteven MillerBarbara PoeSandra TaylorValrie ThompsonDiane ThorneLeanne Van DykKaren H. WebsterWilliam Yoo

This issue of Vantage

is available online at www.ctsnet.edu. Go to

News & Publications, then Vantage.

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The first cohort of the Certificate for Spiritual Development — see story on page 7.


V a n t a g e P o i n t

The Broader Palette of Learning

Wo r d s a r e o f t e n pa i n f u l ly l i m i t e d. We try to express a deep thought or feeling and it falls short. We try to put into words love or disappointment or wonder and we run up against the poverty of language. In our teaching and learning here at Columbia Theological Seminary, we certainly use a lot of words! Books, lectures, sermons, and papers are filled with words. But we use more than words to teach and learn. Often our learning is captured most vividly in experiences.

Do you remember the Malcolm Gladwell rule? In his 2008 book, Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell suggested that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve success in a skill or a field. 10,000 hours of practicing the violin. 10,000 hours of pitching a fastball. 10,000 hours of writing and preaching sermons. Experience is a master teacher.

At Columbia Theological Seminary, we take seriously the need for both “book learning” and experiential learning. Students experience the practices of ministry in their contextual education locations. They develop close relationships with mentors who help them build skills and capacities. They get outside their “comfort zones” through cross-cultural settings. They discuss and explore and even argue with fellow seminarians about big questions in theology, ministry, and culture. They even fail now and then — don’t we all? — and are forged into mature leaders through these difficulties. All of this is experiential learning.

I remember my own experiential learning many years ago when I was a seminary student in The Netherlands for one year. I was an English speaker in a Dutch learning environment. I remember feeling so utterly helpless in trying to express myself in Dutch. I had thoughts in my mind, but I could not express them in this strange and difficult language! I learned through that frustration the important realities of context and culture and “otherness.”

Because of that experience, I now have a special affection and respect for international students who are negotiating their learning in a language not their own. It was my experience that deepened my awareness. This happens to everyone in a wide variety of ways all the time. But it is helpful to remember that teaching and learning has a broad palette of colors. We are committed to using this broad palette, so that our students learn deeply and wisely.

Experiential learning is not a solo adventure. Our seminary community is formed most authentically when we share experiences. When we reflect together on our common commitments as well as our numerous fascinating differences, we begin to acknowledge our core identity as beloved children of God.

You will read some wonderful examples of experiential learning in the pages of this issue of Vantage. We are pleased to share these with you and grateful that this kind of learning is at the heart of who we are at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Many Blessings,

le a n n e Va n dy k

President

At Columbia Theological Seminary . . . .Students experience the practices of ministry in their contextual education locations . . . They get outside their “comfort zones” through cross-cultural settings . . . . They even fail now and then — don’t we all? — and are forged into mature leaders through these difficulties. All of this is experiential learning.


h y P e r – f o c u s

fo r t h e pa s t t Wo y e a r s , t h e Jo h n Bu l oW Ca m p B e l l li B r a ry s ta f f h a s B e e n a C t i V e ly i n Vo lV e d i n d e V e l o p i n g a pa rt n e r s h i p W i t h t h e he a lt h y se m i n a r i a n s-he a lt h y Ch u rC h in i t i at i V e (hshC), a n o n-p ro f i t o rg a n i z at i o n t h at i s h o u s e d at Co lu m B i a th e o l o g i C a l se m i n a ry.

The mission of the HSHC is to help seminary communities, clergy, and church members think theologically about health (in all aspects of the word) and learn practical ways of living into the abundant life Jesus came to offer his followers. Since the library serves as a central campus location for experimentation with various initiatives, the CTS Library and HSHC have worked cooperatively to help the CTS community become more aware of healthy practices.

In order to improve the health of the library environment and to help the CTS community at large, the library instituted several health initiatives suggested by Karen Webster, the Executive Director of the HSHC. Based on Karen’s recommendations, the library purchased health-oriented resources for the CTS community and its guests to explore. The new acquisitions included resources one would typically expect to find in a seminary library — books on food and faith as well as materials on Christians’ perspectives on health, the body, and the environment. However due to the HSHC initiative, resources on stretching, balance,

Standing and Delivering:Experiential Learning

through Library’s partnership with the HSHC


l i b r a r y P a r t n e r s h i P w i t h h s h c

and flexibility training as well as plant-based nutrition, home canning, and organic gardening/permaculture were purchased. The resources are helpful for the CTS community to use on an individual basis, a regular library function, but because of the partnership, the library was able to identify a greater range of resources. This is a tremendous benefit for both current and future church leaders, who are trying to be effective in a rapidly changing Church culture.

Another health initiative that the CTS library staff quickly embraced was healthier seating options for both its staff and students; this change was accomplished by purchasing standing tables and physioballs for people to use as alternatives to chairs. As Karen explained, “Multiple studies have shown that remaining seated for too long is bad for our health, regardless of how much we exercise. Excessive sitting, which is part in parcel with being a seminary student, is strongly linked with obesity, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and premature death. Prolonged sitting is also thought to slow down our metabolism, which affects our bodies’ ability to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and break down body fat. On the positive side, it has been suggested that when we stand, we can burn up to 30% more calories than we sit, which may not seem like a huge amount, but it adds up over time and can help us with our weight control.” The library reported that students are enjoying utilizing the new seating options while studying for long periods of time. The overall response from staff and students was positive.

The Library’s efforts to participate in healthy initiatives have gone even further than the purchase of resources and seating options. For example, library staff members participate regularly in the weekly yoga class that is sponsored by the HSHC Initiative. In addition, the library staff committed to providing healthy food options at all library events. This past October while celebrating Theological Library Month, the library served pizza, a crowd favorite, but the staff intentionally provided fruit and vegetable platters, both of which were a hit among those who attended. Library staff member, Tammy Johnson, is currently serving on the Food Evaluative Group. The Food Evaluative Group was put together by the HSHC to evaluate the food ethos and practices on campus. Members of CTS faculty, staff, and students serve on the group. This group is creating an action plan and report for CTS administration to consider in the upcoming months. The CTS library and the HSHC are been pleased with what they have been able to accomplish together thus far and they look forward to creating new experiential learning opportunities for the CTS community and its guests in the months and years to come.

th e li B r a ry ’s e f f o rt s . . . h aV e g o n e e V e n f u rt h e r t h a n t h e p u rC h a s e o f r e s o u rC e s a n d s e at i n g o p t i o n s . . . . l i B r a ry s ta f f m e m B e r s pa rt i C i pat e r e g u l a r ly i n t h e W e e k ly yo g a C l a s s t h at i s s p o n s o r e d B y t h e hshC in i t i at i V e . . . . t h e l i B r a ry s ta f f C o m m i t t e d to p roV i d i n g h e a lt h y f o o d o p t i o n s at a l l l i B r a ry e V e n t s .


r e a s o n a b l e s e r V i c e

Graduates of the Spirituality Program gathered in the Harrington Center this past October to celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary. The weekend was packed with engaging activities. There was a dinner with a panel of past program directors who joyfully shared some of their favorite memories and things they learned while leading the program. There were reunions among graduates and the formation of new friendships. There were workshops where the participants spent a little time looking back, but a great deal of time looking around and looking ahead to what the Spirituality Program can become.

Many of the participants had completed the Certificate in Spiritual Formation (CSF), others came out of interest in the topic — a hallmark of the hospitality of the CSF.

The CSF offers people in the pulpit, in the pew, in all denominations and stages of life, an exploration of community-grounded Christian spirituality that is rooted in scripture, theology, and a history of the tradition. The program sports a hybrid pedagogy that is intellectual, contemplative, communal and practical. The students read some of the best literature in Christian spirituality, experientially engage in a wealth of spiritual practices such as prayer, lectio divina, and contemplative prayer, and develop skills for inviting others to deepen their spiritual growth. And, as seminary faculty members and other carefully selected, experienced teachers guide them through structured study, they discover the relationship in Christian spirituality between compassion, justice, and effective ministry.

Twenty years can produce a lot of certificate holders! Offering additional training for those looking for more was a need program Director Debra Weir was more than happy to address. “After completing this leg of their spiritual journey

Experiencing Spirituality’s Journey

many graduates wish to continue, Many return to take additional CSF courses but others yearn for a clear ‘next,’” said Weir. “We started looking for ways to accommodate those desiring more.”

2015 saw the Spirituality Program expand from offering the CSF to a program that offers seekers “next steps.”

Two weeks after the 20th anniversary celebration, several CSF graduates and other students formed the first cohort working towards the Certificate in Spiritual Direction. This program of study was designed for individuals who discern a call to the ministry of Spiritual Direction. Grounded in the tradition of Christian Spirituality, the curriculum includes four week-long residencies on the CTS campus, online components, individual reading and reflection, and a supervised practicum in the art of spiritual direction. Organized on the cohort model, the certificate is intended to be completed in two and a half years.

But why stop there? Weir recognized that there are folks who want to advance their training even further. So in 2016, the Spirituality Program is partnering with Together in the Mystery to offer a one-year training program, supervisor training for spiritual directors. The training program is for experienced spiritual directors who seek to serve as supervisors for spiritual directors and spiritual directors in training.

“Spiritual directors seek supervision as they attempt to



grow in their ability to notice and respond to God’s presence during spiritual direction sessions,” says Maria Bowen, cofounder of Together in the Mystery. Dr. Bowen explains that “spiritual director supervisors mentor, teach, and consult with spiritual directors as they grow in their abilities.”

To learn more about the Certificate in Spiritual Formation, the Certificate in Spiritual Direction, or spiritual director supervisor training, or any of the programs offered by the Spirituality Program at Columbia Theological Seminary’s Center for Lifelong Learning, visit ctsnet.edu/spirituality-program.

The Spirituality Program would like to acknowledge our most recent graduates in the Certificate in Spiritual Formation program. Congratulations on reaching this incredible milestone!

Jule Nyhuis . . . . . . . . . . . . February ’15

Sally Nielsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . April ’15

Paula Morris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May ’15

Ken Hatcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . July ’15

Catherine Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . July ’15

Lori Dirk Keaton . . . . . . . . . . . . July ’15

Cheryl Gans . . . . . . . . . . . November ’15

Kelly Couch . . . . . . . . . . . November ’15

Jane Govan . . . . . . . . . . . December ’15

Martha Frizlanger . . . . . . . . . January ’16

On Ash Wednesday, we held our Third Annual Community Day.

We started our day with worship and then watched the documentary “3 ½ minutes, 10 bullets” about the shooting of Jordan Davis. Ms. Lucia McBath, mother of the late Jordan Davis, joined us for a discussion and Q&A session moderated by Dean Deborah Flemister Mullen.



Congratulations to Brennan Breed, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, on being selected as one of ten recipients of the 2016 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise, an international award given annually by Forschungsinstitut Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie to outstanding first books in theology. The award is in recognition of his book, Nomadic Text: A Theory of Biblical Reception History. The celebration of the Awards will take place at the University of Heidelberg in May.


introducing the newly revised

christian spirituality concentrationwith an opportunity to acquire a certification on spiritual direction along with the DMin degree.

program starts with the introductory seminarSeptember 19–30, 2016

Application Deadline: June 1, 2016The application is now online.

Educating imaginative, resilient leaders for God’s changing world!

All applications must be complete (including transcripts and references) and in the Advanced Professional Studies Office

by the application deadline.

Columbia is a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Decatur, GA. Advanced Professional Studies degree programs

are open to qualified applicants from all denominations.

Advanced Professional StudiesKevin Park

Associate [email protected]

404.687.4533

For morE inFormation http://www.ctsnet.edu/degree-programs

C o l u m b i a T h e o l o g i C a l S e m i n a r y


e x P e r i e n t i a l l e a r n i n g

in t h e s i x t h C h a p t e r o f ma r k, W e f i n d t h at Je s u s ’ m i n i s t ry i s B u i l d i n g m o m e n t u m a n d g a i n i n g f o l l oW e r s . as Wo r d s p r e a d s a B o u t Je s u s ’ p ro p h e t i C t e a C h i n g a n d m i r a C u l o u s p oW e r s — t h e B l i n d C a n s e e , t h e l a m e C a n Wa l k, t h o s e a f f l i C t e d W i t h l e p ro s y a r e h e a l e d — p e o p l e f ro m t h e s u r ro u n d i n g a r e a s o f

Ju d e a, Je ru s a l e m, a n d e V e n t h o s e B e yo n d t h e Jo r d a n ri V e r, a r e C o m i n g to e n C o u n t e r t h e on e W h o m ay W e l l B e t h e p ro m i s e d me s s i a h. so m e a r e s i C k a n d ot h e r s a r e d e s p e r at e. al l a r e C u r i o u s, p e r h a p s e V e n h o p e f u l t h at t h i s n e W l e a d e r W i l l B r i n g a B o u t t h e C h a n g e a n d t r a n s f o r m at i o n t h e y h aV e B e e n l o n g i n g f o r.

For some of us, the conditions in the Gospel of Mark are somewhat analogous to the current political situation in the United States as different presidential candidates debate one another, offer new plans, and present competing visions in seeking our votes in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Imagine someone in Jesus’ day wearing a hat that reads “Make Judea Great Again!”

In Mark 6:30-34, Jesus and his disciples depart on a boat in order to find a moment to rest and recuperate after a full day of ministry. But their plan is foiled. A crowd of people recognizes them and have already gathered at their destination. So Jesus, having compassion on them, began to teach. As it grew late, the disciples suggest that Jesus send everyone away so they can buy something for themselves to eat.

But in Mark 6:37, Jesus surprises the disciples, as he so often does in the Gospels, and tells them, “You give them something to eat.” But the incredulous disciples respond that they don’t have the sufficient funding to feed everyone. Jesus then commands them to collect food from the crowd — five loaves and two fish — and multiplies this small offering to provide more than enough for five thousand people. Whereas the disciples see a problem requiring the dismissal of people, Jesus sees an opportunity to reveal God’s magnificent glory and demonstrate God’s abundant love.

Just like the disciples distributed what Jesus had blessed and multiplied, the history of theological education in the United States is a story about faithful women and men who have sought to respond to Jesus’ call in order to train and prepare students for various ministries in the church and the world. The word “seminary” comes from the Latin seminarium, meaning “seed plot” and evoking the work of growing and cultivating plants in a garden. Protestant seminaries emerged in the beginning of the nineteenth century. In colonial North America, the most common method of theological education was an apprenticeship in which a local pastor tutored one or more students who had earned bachelor’s degrees and desired a career in ministry. But as denominations expanded and the numbers of ministerial candidates increased, Protestants established seminaries as consolidating institutions with consistent academic standards.

By the 1820s, there were fifteen seminaries connected to the Baptists, Dutch Reformed, Episcopalians, German Reformed, Methodists, Lutherans, and Presbyterians. For the first seminaries, “the five loaves and two fish” took the form of a four-fold pattern of theological curricula in Bible, Dogmatics, Church History, and Preaching. In the twentieth century, seminaries expanded their curricula to include learning in new fields like sociology, psychology, missiology, clinical training, and field education.

The examples of three seminary students from U.S. history illumine the continuing value and promise of theological education. In 1816, a financially poor 20 year-old student

Seminaries Then and Now: Answering Jesus’ call through teaching and learning

By William Yoo, Assistant Professor of American Religious and Cultural History

This essay is adapted from a sermon delivered at Columbia Theological Seminary on November 6, 2015.

th e Wo r d “s e m i n a ry” C o m e s f ro m t h e lat i n s e m i n a r i u m, m e a n i n g “s e e d p l ot” . . . t h e Wo r k o f g roW i n g a n d C u lt i Vat i n g p l a n t s i n a g a r d e n.


at Andover Seminary, Francis Wayland, sold his only coat in the middle of the Massachusetts winter to buy an assigned theology textbook. Wayland’s love for learning and ministry grew as he became the president of Brown University in 1827, an influential Baptist leader, a prolific scholar, and a great supporter of foreign missions.

In the 1850s, Antoinette Brown Blackwell graduated from Oberlin College and excelled as an exceptional student, receiving top marks in Hebrew and Greek among other subjects. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she petitioned the college for admission to their theological program with its emphasis on pastoral ministry. The administration eventually gave in to her request but did not formally acknowledge Brown Blackwell’s presence in the school. Despite this egregious discrimination, Brown Blackwell completed all of the theological courses and became the first ordained female minister in the United States.

In 1926, a 24 year-old Korean man, Kyung-Chik Han, left his home in Pyongyang to study at Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1923, Han, who was studying to become a chemist, had a religious experience in which he prayed in tears as he heard God’s voice beckoning him to preach the gospel. Affirming Han’s potential for ministry, U.S. Presbyterian missionaries raised funds for Han’s studies. Han cherished his seminary studies and returned home after his graduation in 1929 to work as an instructor, pastor, and orphanage director in northern Korea. In 1945, he founded Young Nak Presbyterian Church in Seoul. By 1971, the church had 12,000 members and was the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world.

Here at Columbia Theological Seminary, many of us have similar testimonies as we seek to answer Jesus’ call, “You give them something to eat.” We are amazed, and perhaps a little bit perplexed, at Jesus’ method for revealing God’s glory. Jesus does not distribute the food himself but chooses to use people (in this case the disciples) as the conduits of divine grace. God desires to use us — no matter our age, our physical condition, our racial-ethnic background, our social class, or our gender — to share and to spread the good news of salvation, healing, justice, and hope. As an institution, God faithfully continues to take our “five loaves and two fish” to educate powerful and effective religious leaders. As individuals, God continues to use our “five loaves and two fish” to do immeasurably more than we’ve asked or imagined.

In Mark 6:43, Jesus commands the twelve disciples to pick up the leftovers — broken pieces of bread and fish that fill twelve baskets. As the disciples pick up the leftovers, every piece is certainly a reminder of how they had advised Jesus to send the people away and responded in disbelief when Jesus told them to give the people something to eat. But it is ultimately a redemptive lesson. Jesus provides an indelible learning experience of distributing and retrieving food in order to teach the disciples a new vision for Christian leadership and a new testimony about God’s kingdom. As we too strive and stumble in our theological education, we place our trust in Christ and persevere in answering and enacting Jesus’ call to ministry.

We a r e a m a z e d, a n d pe r h a p s a l i t t l e B i t pe r p l e x e d, at Je s u s’ m e t h o d f o r r eV e a l i n g go d’s g lo ry. Je s u s d o e s n ot d i s t r i Bu t e t h e f o o d h i m s e l f Bu t C h o o s e s to u s e pe o p l e ( i n t h i s C a s e t h e d i s C i p l e s) a s t h e C o n d u i ts o f d i V i n e g r aC e.



The course assignments ask the students to consider the role of the self in ministry, as they seek to find their pastoral authority and voice. This includes exploring what Carl Jung referred to the “shadow self.” Jung described the shadow as a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. “Everyone carries a shadow,” Jung wrote, “and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the denser it is.” This is a part of experiential learning that is difficult, and yet so very important for ministers, therapists, and other caregivers.

The shadow is anything that we can’t or won’t see about ourselves, the aspects of ourselves we may be ashamed of, and that we hide from ourselves, and from others. We each have a capacity for denial and self-deception, and our shadows are often well hidden. Because of this they can have of power over us. Any time we react strongly to something in a way that may be disproportionate to the circumstance, or are too quick to relegate persons different from us to the status of the “other,” our shadow may have been revealed. When we feel righteous indignation about something, and have a need to correct the other and, in so doing, engage in either/or, all-or-nothing thinking, we may have some shadow-work to do.1

In my clinical work, I have realized that religion can be a tool for keeping the shadow hidden. We are encouraged to be a model of virtue, to develop the persona of the “good person.” Richard Rohr writes about this: “The shadow self invariably presents itself as something like prudence, common sense, justice, or ‘I am doing this for your good,’ when it is actually often manifesting fear, control, manipulation, or even vengeance.” So in facing our shadows we might need to be facing what we thought was “helpful” about ourselves. Perhaps we followed the rules because of fear, or pride, or wanting to be seen to be seen as what Rohr calls the “loyal soldier.” In my worship context, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, we begin each service saying “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.” This is a prayerful beginning, an invitation really, to shadow work.

Recently, I was talking with two Episcopal priest colleagues, one of whom was a college English Major. My other colleague asked her if she knew much about Shakespeare, to which she replied, “Not as much as he knows about me.” This resonated deeply with me, and

Me and My Shadow, King Lear, and Walter

By J. William Harkins, Senior Lecturer of Pastoral Theology and Care, Co-Director of ThD Program

We are deep into the semester in the introduCtion to pastoral Care, Where students are reading aBout family systems theory, pastoral theologiCal methods, addiCtion and mental illness, psyChoanaly tiC theories of religion, and narratiVe theology, among other topiCs. experiential learning is at the heart of this Course.

1 Richard Rohr refers to this as “Shadow Boxing,” and warns us to be especially careful of any idealized role or self-image such as that of a minister, spiritual leader, mother, good wife, doctor, nice person, professor, moral believer, or president or leader of something or other. He says that the more we are attached to and unaware of such a protected self-image, the more shadow self we are likely to have. We need to carefully observe our “good” things, our “righteous” things, like holy anger, a critical spirit, a sense of being right when all else are wrong, a sense of being alone in our rightness. All of these reinforce our idealised self-image and are a clue that our motives need questioning. CF “Falling Upward,” by Richard Rohr.


also spoke to shadow work, and I found myself remembering my own relationship to King Lear, my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. It is a play about fathers, and daughters, and sons, of course, and about the limits and vicissitudes of human nature. Yet this is not all. It is a tragedy, yes, but it contains much wisdom about life in families, and about kindness, despair, control, compassion, and redemption—in short, about the issues with which we priests, and my fellow pastoral counselors, are immersed in our work. It is also a play about wholeness, becoming a “whole-ier” person, and about living into integrity by becoming aware of and integrating what Carl Jung, Richard Rohr, and others refer to as our “shadow side.”

My favorite part of the play is actually a subplot in which the ageing Earl of Gloucester is, as the wonderful author Wendell Berry puts it, “recalled from his despair so that he may die in his full humanity.” 2 As Berry reminds us the old Earl has been blinded in retribution for his loyalty to King Lear. And, like Lear, he is guilty of what my erstwhile colleague Walter Brueggeman called an operational theology of scarcity: he lives as if life is predictable, ultimately knowable, and within his control. He is, in short, Wendell Berry tells us, in despair.

Moreover, despite his many admirable qualities, the Earl of Gloucester lives as if there is not enough grace to go around, and as such, the prevailing paradigm is that his life is primarily informed by that in relation to which he is afraid. He is asking the wrong questions. The results are predictable. He has falsely accused and alienated his loyal and loving son Edgar. Exiled and sentenced to death, Edgar disguises himself as a drifter, and beggar and, thus disguised to his father, he becomes in fact his father’s guide. Gloucester asks to be lead to the cliffs of Dover, where in his despair he intends to kill himself by throwing himself onto the rocks below. Edgar’s self-appointed task, Wendell Berry tells us, is to save his father from despair, and he succeeds, for Gloucester dies eventually “Twixt two extremes of passion, joy and grief…” (v. iii, 199).3 He dies, that is, within the appropriate boundaries of human living, as God intends.4

This is a wonderful and cautionary tale not only for pastoral counselors and family therapists—the family systems dynamics in Lear are fascinating—but also in light of the goals of any shadow work. It is a journey less Odyssean than Abrahamic, because the final destination is uncertain, and the journey difficult. Odysseus longed only to return to Ithaca, and Penelope, and all that he knew, while Sarah and Abraham left on a journey whose ultimate destination was, and remains, uncertain. As such, Lear is fundamentally a story about transformation, and choices, and grace. It is about the holy resilient among us, and how they become their true selves. Edgar does not want his father to give up on life. To do so is, as Wendell Berry puts it, “to pass beyond the possibility of change or redemption.” And so he does not lead his father to the edge of the cliff, but rather only tells him he has done so. Gloucester renounces the world, blesses his ostensibly absent son Edgar, and as Shakespeare directs, “falls forward and swoons.” Upon regaining consciousness Gloucester is led by his son to believe that he has survived the fall. Pretending to be a passer-by who has seen Gloucester fall, Edgar assumes the remarkable and life-giving role of a spiritual guide to his father. In an exchange that will be familiar to many who have tried to help family members in trouble, Gloucester, dismayed to find himself still alive, attempts to refuse help: “Away, and let me die” (IV, vi, 48). And after several lines in which he attempts to persuade his father that he is a stranger, Edgar speaks what are for me the most significant lines of the play: “Thy life’s a miracle. Speak yet again.” (IV, vi., 55). In so doing, Edgar calls his father back from despair and “into the properly subordinated human life of grief and joy, where change and redemption are possible.”5 Gloucester is transformed in the process.

To presume to have all the answers to human living is to exhaust the infinite possibilities of God’s creation. It is to treat as predictable and mechanical the miracle of the mustard seed

2 Wendell Berry, Life is a Miracle, New York, Counterpoint Press, 2000, pp 4-6. 3 Shakespeare, William, King Lear, The Pelican Shakespeare, Edited by Stephen Orgel, New York, 1999.4 Ibid, Life is a Miracle, p. 6.

ki n g le a r . . . C o n ta i n s m u C h W i s d o m a B o u t l i f e i n fa m i l i e s , a n d a B o u t k i n d n e s s , d e s pa i r , C o n t ro l, C o m pa s s i o n, a n d r e d e m p t i o n—i n s h o rt, a B o u t t h e i s s u e s W i t h W h i C h W e p r i e s t s , a n d m y f e l l oW pa s to r a l C o u n s e l o r s , a r e i m m e r s e d i n o u r Wo r k.


and the harvest of grain, the nature of whose sprouting and growing we know not. To reduce life to the scope of our understanding is to give up on it, and to render it beyond the hope of change and redemption. It is to commit the idolatry of legislating the mystery of God out of our lives by pretending to be gods ourselves. As the father of two sons, I have many memories in relation to which I identify with Gloucester—memories, that is, of my children becoming father to the man. And there have been other young teachers as well, who called me back to life when in my hubris and fear I neglected to ask for God’s love and grace and mercy.

Many years ago, between stints at Vanderbilt Divinity School, I spent a year at Egleston Children’s Hospital as a chaplain intern. Vicky and I were young, poor graduate students, and we had two very young sons. Truth told most days at the hospital were terrifying for me. The hospital treated the sickest children from several states around, and for many, was the treatment of last resort. I struggled to maintain my fragile objectivity while visiting the children and their frantically worried parents. At night, as I read to my sons and held them close to me, I worried over every sniffle and cough. I imagined the worst that could happen because I saw examples of it every day.

One beautiful Easter Sunday morning, late in my internship, I was assigned to the Children’s Chapel. In my arrogance, borne of fear, I told myself that I had more important things to do, and better places to be, and that I had earned the right to be home with my family. I wanted to be anywhere but at that hospital. And yet, there I was, in the makeshift playroom that doubled as the Chapel on Sundays, surrounded by toys, and art supplies, and bereft of children save one, one lone soul in a wheelchair, patiently waiting for the chaplain to arrive. His name was Walter, and he was from Homerville, Georgia. He was 9 years old, and his kidneys were failing. He desperately needed a transplant. His mother introduced him, and he reached out his hand to shake mine, and no doubt needing some blessed time alone, his mother departed for the cafeteria, entrusting her son to my care. In an off-handed, even careless way, I suggested that we draw together. He seemed excited by this, and said, “Will you draw the animals from Noah’s Ark?” I agreed, and we sat together, juice and cookies our Easter morning Eucharist, me awkwardly drawing animals from the ark in an absent minded, disinterested way, Walter smiling, and nodding approvingly, enthusiastically suggesting new animals in turn. All the while the Easter sun rose over the azaleas and dogwoods blooming in the courtyard outside and there I was, wishing to be somewhere else, even as I congratulated myself on my art therapy as pastoral care. I was not fully present—not paying attention—not fully alive in that moment.

When Walter’s mother returned I arrogantly assured her that we had been having a marvelous time. “We’ve been drawing,” I said, delighted with my pastoral art therapy on the fly. “Drawing?” she asked. “Walter can’t draw, chaplain. He lost his sight a year ago because of his illness. Walter is blind.”

Well, there it was; my own self-importance exposed. I sat there in my shame and embarrassment, and in the silence, Walter’s small hand groped for a crayon on the table, picked it up, and held it out to me, smiling, while his other hand clasped around mine, wanting me to announce having drawn one more animal. It was not the pictures that mattered. After all, he could not see them. What mattered was relationship. He had forgiven me a long time ago. Like Gloucester, I was presuming to exhaustively “know” the world prior to examining all the options — prior to paying attention to the richness of possibilities that might be life-giving — this also blinded me to other realities. I had relegated Walter to the status of the “other.” Indeed I, like Gloucester, was blind, in despair, and I had engaged in the hubris of presuming to “know” when in fact I did not.6 Like Edgar, Walter called me into the life-giving possibilities of new relationship


to r e d u C e l i f e to t h e s C o p e o f o u r u n d e r s ta n d i n g i s to g i V e u p o n i t , a n d to r e n d e r i t B e yo n d t h e h o p e o f C h a n g e a n d r e d e m p t i o n. it i s to C o m m i t t h e i d o l at ry o f l e g i s l at i n g t h e m y s t e ry o f go d o u t o f o u r l i V e s B y p r e t e n d i n g to B e g o d s o u r s e lV e s .

5 Ibid, Life is a Miracle, p. 5.


and taught me that in presuming to know what in fact I did not know, I had exhausted the possibilities of life-giving love between us.

Though we have life, its deepest mystery is beyond us. As Wendell Berry reminds us we do not know how we have it, or why. “It is not predictable, and though we can destroy it, we cannot make it. It is Holy. To think otherwise is to enslave life, and to make, not humanity, but a few humans its predictably inept masters.”7 “Thy life’s a miracle. Speak yet again.” Indeed. Gloucester’s suicide attempt is a misguided response to despair, an attempt to gain ultimate control over life—control which he mistakenly believes he once had and has lost. Our prayer must not be that we can justify our righteousness before God, but that we will have the grace to live fully and transparently into the mystery of the new lives we are already living. This is the Paschal Mystery of each moment of our lives. Later, under the guidance of his son, Gloucester prays a prayer that is as Wendell Berry says, exactly the opposite of his previous one—

You ever-gentle gods, take my breath from me;Let not my worser spirit tempt me again

To die before you please. (IV, vi, 213-215)

In so praying, “…he renounces control over his life. He has given up his life as an understood possession, and has taken it back as miracle and mystery.” And this miraculous, redemptive reclamation—this flourishing back to life as a human being—is acknowledged in Edgar’s response: “Well pray you, father.” (IV, vi, 215). Later, King Lear derisively asks Gloucester how a blind man can “see how this world goes.” “I see it feelingly.” Gloucester replies in his restored humanity. I rarely make a pastoral call, or sit with a patient, or teach a class, or advise a student considering CPE, that I don’t think about Walter. He gave me the gift of revealing my shadow self, in this case an entitlement borne of fear. I carry it with me as a gift and a mystery, a box of darkness it has taken me a lifetime to understand. It has made me a person more whole, and more resilient. I hope it has made me a better teacher, and I hope that my students are better able to do their own life-giving, self-differentiating shadow work. As the poet Mary Oliver has written: “Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood. How grass can be nourishing in the mouths of the lambs. How rivers and stones are forever in allegiance with gravity, while we ourselves dream of rising. How two hands touch, and the bonds will never be broken. How people come, from delight or the scars of damage, to the comfort of a poem. Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company always with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.” Walter helps me, even today, to remember my finitude, my shadow self, to lead me into whole-ier incarnations of resilience and integrity, reminding me that if we pay attention, life is always unfolding with grace. As Julian of Norwich said so well, God is our Mother, God is our Father, God is the Trinity in which we are remade and restored, our fragmented lives are knit together and through grace, we are made whole.

6 Ed Farley, Good and Evil, “The Interhuman Sphere,” pp. 31-62., Minneapolis: Fortress. This is a remarkable chapter in what continues to be for me a deeply important text. Farley writes: “What actually happens when human beings share emotions or engage in dialogue? Levinas, Marcel, and others contend that something happens in human being-together which is not just negotiating agendas or calculating how self -interests might be met. Something is going on that is irreducible to the negotiations of role, power, and status. Emmanuel Levinas’s theme is somewhat startling. When we experience the face of the other, or when the face occurs in conjunction with being-together, we experience a summons, an invocation (Marcel), a claim, a call to commitment and responsibility. This primordial summons is the basis of values in the normative culture: the normative culture is not the basis of the summons.” Levinas suggests an ethical choice between the infinite mystery of the other, or the “totalizing” reduction of that mystery limited to what we claim to know. Levinas, Emmanuel (1969). Totality and Infinity, Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press. See also John S. McClure, Other-wise Preaching: A Postmodern Ethic for Homiletics, St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2001.

7 Ibid, Life is a Miracle, p. 9.

ou r p r ay e r m u s t n ot B e t h at W e C a n J u s t i f y o u r r i g h t e o u s n e s s B e f o r e go d, B u t t h at W e W i l l h aV e t h e g r a C e to l i V e f u l ly a n d t r a n s pa r e n t ly i n to t h e m y s t e ry o f t h e n e W l i V e s W e a r e a l r e a d y l i V i n g.


I had experiences that taught me to love God and appreciate my history, physically participating in the acquisition of equality, ensuring equal consideration for everyone. This had been engendered by a dual worship experience on Sundays with parents who emphasized active participation in the community. This dual message and spirituality led to an investigation of “religion” that has encompassed many teachings and finally has strengthened the message of Christ leading me to Columbia Theological Seminary.

Simple religious involvement, though, did not fulfill all of my cultural and social needs My God-given talents were developed and utilized to initiate and maintain an extremely profitable and corporeally satisfying profession in medicine. After 30 years, and at the insistence (and persistence) of God, I retired using the newly acquired free time to gain new experiences and further study including Bible School for yet another degree.

This process has not been direct, easy, nor acquiescent, as I came to the realization of this call only through gut-wrenching, agonizing, contemplation, soul searching, and prayer. Fighting, kicking and sometimes crying and yelling at God, I found assurance of what God wanted instead of what I believed He wanted. Oh how I wished that I could have been more sensitive to His call sooner to avoid the pain of the cattle prod instead of the gentle guiding of the shepherd’s staff.

Having now started my seminary education, the end point is not always clear. My family does not fathom, my friends cannot comprehend, and my fellow clergy cannot discern this call for me. It is just there and has provided a great joy and relief now that the experience has begun. There is a lessened fear of failure because I know that it is not me, the individual, that was responsible for this experience, but the Spirit that is the driving force. Concerns about finances, wealth, time, and challenges are lessened allowing me to forego or change relationships and sometimes explain what it is I am doing. I know in the end it will be the right thing to do, even if it is not necessarily the most socially anticipated result.

This is supported by others who have similar second- (or sometimes third-) career paths here at Columbia Theological Seminary:

BRYAN AMICK is a second-generation general contractor with a wife and family with small children. He has been extremely successful in his chosen occupation, and has resisted the call to ministry since childhood. His indirect path included an initial calling to a ministry providing contracting and construction services for churches and other non-profits, often saving them thousands of dollars. Modifying the call to incorporate pastoring a church, Bryan found that he had a deep desire to move full-time into the pastorate. Assuming the role of primary breadwinner, his wife has found her own liberation and fulfillment in teaching and being closer to her parents, while Bryan enjoys more time with the children.


God’s Call for a Second-Career Student

By Stephen Edge, MDiv ’18

Co m i n g f ro m W h at i C o n s i d e r e d to B e a n o r m a l, Cat h o l i C, h a r d-Wo r k i n g, d u a l-pa r e n t h o u s e h o l d, m y l i f e t i m e C o n C e n t r at i o n h a s B e e n o n g a i n i n g a n u n d e r s ta n d i n g o f go d’s Wo r d a n d W h at he Wo u l d h aV e m e d o W i t h m y l i f e .


“JANET” (name changed) is an elementary school teacher, here with her young daughter. She is struggling to meet daily needs, such as babysitting, so that she can fit her studies and other activities. She is blessed that her pre-teen daughter recognized that mom is working on something extremely important both for them and for society.

CARLA GAINES is an attorney who diligently studies and attends classes while maintaining her full-time law practice. Managing clients, surviving on 3 hours of sleep a night, even giving up weekends, she finds fulfillment in God’s will and call for her life. God has provided her a kind, considerate husband who understands her commitment. Carla’s response to God’s call began several years ago when she went to law school with no funding and no residence. God provided her with a residence and even a full scholarship, which was completely unexpected. Now, in spite of her social success, she has been directed to Columbia Seminary on a new path entirely.

LINNECKO CASH is a social worker and social activist who left her successful business to come to Columbia Seminary to pursue a new call for God’s kingdom. For her, seminary is like training for a job: one receives spiritual and academic training just as one receives training in any profession. Having been successful in the private sector establishing a non-profit for adolescent counseling services, one would think that she has already had a fulfilling life. God has other plans, and we are already benefitting from her new call.

MARK MERRITT and his wife agreed that she would now be the breadwinner while he goes to seminary. For his children, this was a cataclysmic transition leaving home and kin to go and live in “The Village” with other families. Being an extremely well-read and a knowledgeable mental health professional, he found solace and comfort in such books as Saving Jesus from the Church. However, he concluded that he could not save Jesus from the church, and was left feeling that he was falling short of his purpose.

What is it that these second-career students bring to the seminary, that the typical student straight out of college might not? For many, there is the experience of dedication, understanding, faith, and trust in God as provider, counselor, and friend confirmed in a life and career already lived. These established professionals know the difficulties of a hectic and stressful life with its resultant challenges and problems for them and their families.

Further, as ministers we are called to gain an understanding of those we serve by listening and experiencing their lives through their stories. Second-career students have a certain sensitivity and understanding of the vast and varied world in which we live and can share that with other students. In fact, they have their own stories to share which may benefit other students and future congregants.

The common theme in all of these individuals is the desire to do the will of God: responding to God’s call, God’s persistence, and God’s presence in our lives. It is the undying, relentless, and overwhelming desire to find and fulfill the will of God in our lives, influencing and cherishing our communities to hear and understand the Word of God at work in daily practice. In this way, for those to whom we minister, others may also learn to hear the call of God in their own lives, finding their own satisfaction and comfort that comes from acknowledging and answering that call.

Wh at i s i t t h at t h e s e s e C o n d-C a r e e r s t u d e n t s B r i n g to t h e s e m i n a ry, t h at t h e t y p i C a l s t u d e n t s t r a i g h t o u t o f C o l l e g e m i g h t n ot? . . . . se C o n d-C a r e e r s t u d e n t s h aV e a C e rta i n s e n s i t i V i t y a n d u n d e r s ta n d i n g o f t h e Va s t a n d Va r i e d Wo r l d i n W h i C h W e l i V e a n d C a n s h a r e t h at W i t h ot h e r s t u d e n t s.

OCTOBER 17,2015

The Elmhurst Patch: Biblical Scholar Walter Brueggemann to Receive Niebuhr MedalProfessor Emeritus Walter Brueggemann is the first Elmhurst College alumnus ever to receive the Niebuhr Medal, established in 1995 to recognize extraordinary service to humanity. The Niebuhr Medal reflects the values of fellow Elmhurst graduates Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr.

CNN Opinion: How Faith Should Guide Presidential CampaignProfessor Emeritus David Bartlett writes about the role of religion and rhetoric in politics. He further promotes the work of Professor Emeritus Erskine Clarke and others on the “Appeal to Christians in the United States.”

The Christian Century: Immigration as Opportunity and ThreatProfessor William Yoo writes a brief review of immigration in American history leading up to the current political debate. He then reflects on how Presbyterians have and should respond.

For links to these and more stories, visit www.ctsnet.edu/columbia-in-the-news.

News Releases from Columbia

New VP for Institutional AdvancementPresident Leanne Van Dyk recently announced the appointment of the Rev. Steven Miller as Columbia Theological Seminary’s next Vice President of Institutional Advancement. He is currently the Vice President of Resource Development for Cornerstones, formerly Reston Interfaith. Based in Reston, VA, Cornerstones is a nonprofit organization that promotes self-sufficiency by providing support and advocacy for those in need of food, shelter, affordable housing, quality childcare, and other human services.

Rodger Nishioka to Join Staff of Village ChurchDr. Rodger Nishioka has announced his resignation as Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary effective March 31, 2016. He was recently introduced to the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS as their new director of Adult Educational Ministries.

Calvin Theological Seminary Names Columbia President Leanne Van Dyk Distinguished AlumnaThe Board of Trustees and the faculty of Calvin Theological Seminary recently invited Columbia Theological Seminary President Leanne Van Dyk to attend their Commencement this year to receive that seminary’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

For links to these and more stories, visit www.ctsnet.edu/news-releases.

FEBRUARY 19

JANUARY 27

FEBRUARY 4


c o l u m b i a i n t h e n e w s

FEBRUARY 10

MARCH 8


l i f e l o n g l e a r n i n g

The Biblical Art of Sadao Watanabe o n e x h i B i t i n t h e ha r r i n g to n Ce n t e r

The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary is hosting a new exhibit, Witness to Faith: The Biblical Art of Sadao Watanabe, featuring original works of graphic art by Japan’s foremost Christian artist of the 20th century. The exhibit is on display now through April 25, 2016.

Born in 1913, Watanabe was baptized as a Christian at age 17 and devoted his life to depicting the stories of the Bible in a visual language understandable to the Japanese. Watanabe saw himself as a Christian printmaker whose mission was “to stand within the artistic tradition of Japan.” In his interpretations, the creatures entering Noah’s Ark correspond to the animal signs of the Asian zodiac; Jesus and his disciples wear kimonos and gather at the Last Supper to eat fish and drink sake.

Watanabe found inspiration in the Mingei folk art movement that developed in Japan in the mid-1920s to promote traditional handcrafts made from natural materials. Working with his wife, Harue, Watanabe cut all his stencil patterns by hand and printed his images on handmade paper, coloring them with vegetable and mineral pigments.

He created small biblical scenes on untreated sheets of washi Japanese paper and large folio-sized prints on momigami wrinkled paper, made by crumpling and stretching sheets of mulberry paper to create a textured surface. Examples of both types of prints can be seen in the exhibition along with Christmas card print reproductions that Watanabe authorized for publication each year.

Watanabe’s stencil prints can be found in the permanent collections of the British Museum, New York’s Museum of Modern Art, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, and the Vatican Museum of Modern Religious Art. His chief desire was for his biblical prints to be seen in a variety of public places by as broad an audience as possible.

The exhibit is on display on the second floor of the Harrington Center through April 25. It is open to the public during regular office hours (8:30 – 4:30 PM, Monday – Friday). Arrangements to view the exhibit at other times may be made by contacting the Center for Lifelong Learning at 404-687-4577 or [email protected].



th e ro m a n g o d Ja n u s i s d e p i C t e d i n a t Wo-fa C e d p ro f i l e , l o o k i n g B a C k Wa r d a n d f o rWa r d at t h e s a m e t i m e a n d Wa s t h e g o d o f B e g i n n i n g s a n d e n d i n g s, a n d t h e r e f o r e, o f t r a n s i t i o n s.

That image rings true for those in mid-career, a time often perceived as stable, an epoch of feeling “settled.” Adventures are behind us, goals and dreams of the younger self have either been realized or deferred. But as the Janus image represents, the stage of vocational mid-career is one of movement and change, even as one looks back while looking ahead. For those experiencing the years of mid-career, the

“I struggle with the ‘now what?’ question. Having been in ministry 17 years, 12 in my current congregation, I wonder what I am called to be and do next. I’m uncertain if it will be parish ministry, though staying provides some sense of security. But is this where God wants me?”

“My wife retired a few months ago. Someone asked me, ‘When will you retire?’ I answered, ‘It depends on how jealous I get.’ I think my answer has something to do with aging. I do not have the physical stamina or resilience I once had. I feel physically tired and emotionally weary. I have gotten more tired, and I have started to tire of the parts of ministry that drain energy from me rather than energize me. I find it harder to stay invested, to work creatively and initiate new things rather than tend existing things. That can stagnate a vital ministry and, for my personality type, can lead to boredom.”

“I am aware that I need to cultivate new friendships and a supportive community of peers. I no longer have significant relationships with my seminary peers. Some have left ministry, relationships have drifted, and most now have different interests from my own. I have not found others who have the same questions I do at this stage in life and ministry.”

“I struggle to find energy to maintain my spirituality in the midst of the demands of church and family. Finding any sense of ‘balance’ eludes me. Dealing with the mundane issues of church management has become numbing: budgets, buildings, committees, etc.”

“‘What next?’ is the question that most often shadows me. I’m happy in my church, but finding myself this side of 50 I wonder what else may be out there for me for the next fifteen years. Twenty years?”

The Stirrings of Janus:

Mid-Career Clergy Share Insights and

Reflections

poise and confidence that comes with experience and competence belies internal stirrings of the heart.

Mid-career can bring confidence and accomplishment, but also uncertainty, angst, restlessness, and new challenges. Some embrace feeling settled, while others may experience restlessness and dissatisfaction. Some

need to reclaim a vocational calling, others need courage to take on new challenges, while others can only hope to manage plodding along in the face of pressures and limitations too complex to overcome.

When asked what challenges they face in mid-career, here is what a group of clergy shared:


“I still experience the joys of ministry, and I carry a token in my pocket that reminds me to ‘finish strong and well.’ Yet I feel tired. The fatigue, in whatever form, makes it hard to keep up with the increased workload. I have gifts and experience that equip me for the work, and I find it harder and harder to have the weekly personal Sabbath time that refreshes me.”

“My biggest challenge right now is staying energized in a ministry setting that is ‘stuck,’ while not necessarily unhealthy in terms of good relationships and committed members. I do wonder if what my members are committed to have much to do with what Church is supposed to be about, however. The congregation is growing grayer. And while they care for each other, there is not much motivation to care for the needs of those outside the church. It challenges my sense of calling and purpose, even as I feel affirmed and loved by them.”

“Last year I sank into a depression that took me completely by surprise. With no specific crisis in the church I can only describe this as a Dark Night of the Soul experience. I’m finding it harder to find meaning in what have become predictable patterns, and the endless chores and demands of ministry.”

“I am beginning to explore other forms of ministry other than the church, or rather, congregational parish ministry. I am anxious about whether it’s too late to make a career change into chaplaincy or a non-profit organization. To tell the truth, I still don’t know what form a new ministry context may take. I am feeling more and more that my calling is changing.”

“For one, I have been forced to ponder retirement and how will I spend that time. I do not plan to retire until about the age of seventy-five, so I have about twenty more years of fulltime ministry. However, I now feel a little more pressure to prepare for that time and also to reflect how I will spend these last years of fulltime ministry.”

“Some of my questions have to do with the forms of church in the future. I do not think I could keep the demanding pace a pastor experiences today. I have my personal tastes in worship styles that differ from the more contemporary styles widely used among newer churches. What will church and ministry look like in the future? I serve as a resource person for churches and their leaders. What will that mean a decade from now and beyond?”

“A more positive challenge I now face is the transition from the person asking for advice to the person younger ministers come to for advice and encouragement. I like this part of aging and would not go back to the early years. I am learning to embrace my station in life and feel “real” for really the first time in my life.”

As part of its Pastoral Excellence Programs the Center for Lifelong Learning will offer a Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy. This experience will meet twice a year, August 2015 and January 2016. This peer experience is led by two co-leaders with experience in parish ministry and

pastoral care. For more information ctsnet.edu/colloquy-for-mid-career-clergy.



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The American Theological Library Association Serials (ATLAS) research database is available to Columbia alumni/ae. The database provides online access to more than 150,000 articles and citations, and to the full text of hundreds of peer-reviewed journals.

Columbia’s library provides funding for this valuable resource for alumni/ae. It is a

key tool for lifelong research, study, and sermon preparation.For more information — and a login ID and password —

contact Erica Durham (404-687-4661 or [email protected]).

The alumni/ae, faculty, staff, administration, and students of Columbia Theological Seminary are part of a living tradition that reaches back to the earliest days of God’s people reflecting on their world, their experience of God, and their sense of God’s calling. The title of this section of Vantage reminds our readers of our common connection to this venerable and ever-changing stream of witness. Tauta Panta refers to “all these things,” as in “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6.33).

Edited by Columbia’s Associate Professor of Worship Kimberly Bracken Long and David Maxwell, Inclusive Marriage Services offers wedding liturgies that are able to be used by a range of couples in a variety of circumstances. The book includes four newly-composed services; inclusive liturgies from churches in Canada, Australia, Scotland, and the United States; two new services for couples reaffirming vows taken previously; a sourcebook of liturgical texts for use in weddings; four new wedding hymns; and brief essays on practical concerns. The ecumenical team of writers includes Kimberly Clayton, Columbia’s Director of Contextual Education.


t a u t a P a n t a

Myung Jin Chae (MDiv/MAPT ’16) was awarded the C. Virginia Harrison Memorial Award. Virginia Harrison served in innumerable capacities from 1925 to 1961. Upon her death, members of her family established an award to be given each year to a rising senior who is conscientious, responsible, hardworking and who shows great potential for leadership in the church. Jin is under care of Greater Atlanta Presbytery and a member of Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in GA. He and his wife Sehee have been married for 9 months. He graduated from South Eastern University with a BS in Church Music.

Mary Lynn Darden, Assistant to the President, was presented the Betsey Burgess Staff Award. Betsey served Columbia Seminary faithfully for 22 years, and upon her retirement established this award for one “who has demonstrated faithfulness, dedicated service, and Christian character upholding the Seminary’s purpose and mission.” President Leanne Van Dyk presented the award to Mary Lynn who has served faithfully in a spirit of kindness, generosity, and commitment. Mary Lynn came to CTS in 2007 and has served two presidents. She also served an acting president and an interim president in the space of about 10 months. She brings to Columbia skills gained through service in administration, as a music missionary serving in Brazil, and as a church musician.

Awards

There are more news stories about faculty and staff on pages 26–31.


t a u t a P a n t a | Alumni/ae News & Notes

About Our Alums

1950sRoland Perdue ’59 is interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, NC.

1960sR. Alan Chapman ’60 retired as temporary pastor of Rosemont Presbyterian Church, Bristol, TN . . . . . Stephen Huntley ’61, ThM ’69, DMin ’00 retired as associate pastor of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta . . . . . Joe Pack Arnold ’66 is a disaster response team volunteer with the Red Cross in Hattiesburg, MS and works as needed at Pine Grove Recovery Center.

1970sDavid Turner ’75 retired as pastor of the Barnwell Presbyterian Church, Barnwell, SC . . . . . Lynn Shurley ’74, DMin ’95, retired as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Paducah, KY.

1980sDean Chapman DMin ’82 is a hospitalist at Springfield Hospital, Springfield, VT . . . . . Mark Jumper DMin ’82, a professor at the Regent University School of Divinity in Virginia Beach, VA, was recently named as that school’s Director of Master’s Programs. He also recently completed a mission trip training Ukrainian military chaplains at Kiev Theological Seminary. These chaplains are regularly in front-line combat service as their army faces the invading Russians . . . . . Hugh Henderson ’85 retired in Columbia, SC . . . . . Mary Huie Jolly ’86, ThM ’88 is CPE Supervisor at the VA Medical Center, Atlanta . . . . . Richard Hill ’87 is interim senior pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Atlanta . . . . . Drew Tomberlin ’87 is chaplain at the VA, Decatur, GA.

1990sSue Boardman ’90, DMin ’97 just published two books on Amazon, Grandmothers Are In Charge of Hope: real tools that build more love, stronger families and a better world and We Gather Together…holiday feasts with the family you have! . . . . . James Dant DMin ’91 is pastor of First Baptist Church, Greenville, SC . . . . . Polly Deppen-Williams ’92 is interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Lexington, NE . . . . . Ann Pitman ’93 is interim pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, IN . . . . . Patricia (Susie) Cashion ’94, DMin ’04 is interim associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Hilton Head Island, SC . . . . . Scott Huie ’94 has accepted a position as president of a new Christian music booking agency in Nashville, TN . . . . . John Cole ’98, DMin ’05 is pastor of First United Presbyterian Church, Oak Park, IL . . . . . Carolyn Heyward ’98 retired as associate pastor of the St. James Presbyterian Church, Charleston, SC . . . . . Jan Stewart-Tolbert ’98 retired as pastor of Carrollton Presbyterian Church, Carrollton, GA . . . . . Carol DiGiusto ’99, DMin ’07 retired as associate pastor of the Palms Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, FL and is now pastor of Lake Shores Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville . . . . . Joe Hinds ’99 is credit analyst in the commercial loan department at Unity National Bank in Piqua, OH.

2000sJoe Albright ’01 is pastor of Geneva Presbyterian Church, St. Johns, FL . . . . . Jan Edmiston DMin ’01 and Denise Anderson are candidates for co-moderators of the General Assembly PC(USA) . . . . . Kazy Hinds ’01 was elected Mayor and 5th Ward Commissioner of Piqua, OH . . . . . Barbara Jordan ’01 is supply pastor focusing on congregational care at Ozaukee Congregational Church, Grafton, WI. She is also a chaplain at Zilber Family Hospice in Wauwatosa, WI . . . . . Robert Williamson ’01 has been named director of the Miller Center for Vocation, Ethics and Calling at Hendrix College, Conway, AR. He currently holds the Margaret Berry Hutton Odyssey Professorship which, like the Miller Center, focuses on the intersection of academics, service and vocation in the context of faith and values . . . . . Lucy Youngblood ’01 began nursing clinicals in January at Palmetto Health Hospital, Columbia, SC . . . . . David Cozad DMin ’02 is interim pastor of Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC . . . . . Susan Haynes ’02 is interim pastor of Newnan Presbyterian Church, Newnan, GA . . . . . Clayton Rascoe ’03 is Executive


t a u t a P a n t a | Alumni/ae News & Notes

In MemoriamWilliam R. Conine ’59 . . . . . . . November 12, 2015James W. Flanagan, Jr. ’57 . . . . . . February 1, 2014A. Stuart Nickles ’66 . . . . . . . . . January 27, 2016E. Moss Robertson ’50 . . . . . . . . February 19, 2016Norma Tyson ’10 . . . . . . . . . . . . January 5, 2016

Director of Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center in Harrisonburg, VA . . . . . Susan Takis ’03 is part-time pastor of Middleburg Presbyterian Church, Middleburg, FL . . . . . Troy Bronsink ’04 is the director and founder of The Hive, a center for contemplation, art & action, Cincinnati, OH . . . . . Allen Cross ’04 is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Shelbyville, TN . . . . . Nancy Oehler Love ’04 is pastor of Union Presbyterian Church, Ft. Madison, IA, and Montrose Presbyterian Church, Montrose, IA . . . . . Jane Barwick ’05 was elected to the Superior Court of Fulton County, GA . . . . . Matt Schlageter ’05 and Sara Varnado ’07 are relocating to the Washington, DC area where Matt will serve as chaplain at Children’s National Medical Center . . . . . Leigh Jones ’07 is associate pastor of Ormond Beach Presbyterian Church, Ormond Beach, FL . . . . . Catherine Neelly ’08 and husband John are proud parents of baby girl, Alice, born February 20, 2016 . . . . . Nancy Meehan Yao ’09 is transitional pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Watkins Glen, NY.

2010sRobert Lowry DMin ’10 serves as the Ozarks Collegiate Parish’s lead minister and dean of the chapel at University of the Ozarks, Clarksville, AR . . . . . Hamilton Barnes ’10, MAPT ’12 and Carrie Bowers Barnes ’11, MAPT ’14 are proud parents of Miller Hamilton Barnes, born January 16, 2016, weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz . . . . . Kelly Fitzgerald ’10 and Mike Frandsen ’11 are proud parents of Hayes Elizabeth Frandsen, born January 21, 2016 and weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz . . . . . Wylie Hughes ’10 and his wife Njeri Wagana Hughes are serving from January to April, 2016, as locums at Scots International Church, Rotterdam, Netherlands . . . . . Meghan Brown Saavedra ’10 and husband Raul are proud parents of a baby girl, Lucia Emilia, born December 7, 2015 . . . . . Richard Carr ’11 is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Rock Hill, SC . . . . . Carson Overstreet ’11 is pastor of Van Wyck Presbyterian Church, Van Wyck, SC . . . . . Daesung “Teddy” Son ’11, MAPT’12 and his wife are proud parents of a baby boy, born January 18. Youn Bae weighed 6.3 lbs . . . . . David Markwalder ’12 (DMin) retired as pastor of Gateway Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs, CO . . . . . Elizabeth Toland Smith ’12 is parish associate at The Holy Way Presbyterian Church, Tucson, AZ . . . . . John Fawcett ’13 is associate pastor for discipleship and mission at Wake Forest Presbyterian

Church, Wake Forest, NC . . . . . Sarah McClelland-Brown ’13 was ordained January 2, 2016 at First Christian Church, Valdosta, GA and installed January 3, 2016 as pastor of First Christian Church, Eastman, GA . . . . . Rachel Hood Vogado ’13 is associate pastor for Christian Formation at First Presbyterian Church, Concord, NC . . . . . Betsy Lyles ’14 was ordained December 12, 2015 at Davidson College Presbyterian Church, Davidson, NC. Betsy serves as director of recruitment and admissions at Columbia Seminary . . . . . Jennie Sankey ’14 is associate pastor of Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church, Duluth, GA . . . . . Andrew Hart DMin ’15 is co-pastor with his wife, Laura Batten Hart, at The Presbyterian Church of Falling Spring, Chambersburg, PA.

For more details, see course descriptions on page 32.

t a u t a P a n t a | Faculty & Staff


John Azumah, Professor of World Christianity and Islam, Director of International Programs, joined a delegation of four from Lambert Palace during March 7–12 to visit Israel and to meet with church leaders on the situation of Christians in the Middle East, especially Syria and Iraq. He taught a series on Islam for St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, Dunwoody on February 17, 24 and March 2. John spoke at the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference organized by the Bethlehem Bible College. Coming up: John is organizing a one-day Missions Seminar with the Greater Atlanta Presbytery and PCUSA World Mission Office at Louisville on April 13 for congregations in the Broyles Leadership Center. The main speaker for the seminar will be Dr. Tharwat Wahba, a Professor of Missions from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, Egypt. John is leading a series on Islam for the Georgia Army National Guard annual State Chaplains Training on April 15, and speaking on Christian-Muslim Relations at North Avenue Presbyterian Church on April 16. From April 25 to May 10, John will be leading an Explorations class to Brazil.

Linzmarie Bason, Staff Associate for Center for Lifelong Learning, participated in Conversations at the Carter Center for a dramatic reading of interviews performed with the women of Liberia, Guatemala and Bangladesh called “The Power of Information.” Brennan Breed, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, taught a two-part course on the book of Job at Trinity Anglican Mission in Oakhurst on January 19 and 27. On February 5, he led a day-long staff retreat at Williamsburg Community Chapel in Virginia that focuses on the post-exilic period of ancient Judah, drawing from Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Malachi and Isaiah 56-66. Brennan taught an adult education class on Lamentations at Church of the Epiphany in Decatur on February 7. Along with Carol Newsom, he presented a paper on the task of writing commentaries at the South Eastern Regional AAR/SBL meeting in Atlanta on March 5 titled “Of the Writing of Commentaries There is No End: Commentaries and Reception History.” Coming up: Brennan will lead a two-part series on the question, “What is the Bible?” at Church of the Epiphany in April. This Spring, Brennan will appear on two podcasts, New Books in Religion (http://newbooksinreligion.com) and On Script (http://onscript.study) to discuss his first book, Nomadic Text. On May 6, Brennan will travel to Heidelberg,

Rhonda Weary passed away on February 20, 2016. She was a 14-year employee of Columbia Theological Seminary beginning in 1996 as the Seminary Receptionist and then retired in 2011 as the Staff Associate for Contextual Education. Rhonda is survived by her spouse Paul Weary, Central Services Coordinator for the seminary, and their children Preston, Otis, Jr., and Jordan, as well as Rhonda’s extended family.



Germany to receive the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise, a first book award in Religious Studies offered by the Forschungsinstitut Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie at the University of Heidelberg. He will publish “Reading Job as a Kierkegaardian Text: The Incarnation of Indirect Communication,” in the journal Biblical Interpretation this Spring. Brennan has also been named the Wister Cook Theologian in Residence at The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany in Decatur, GA. William Brown, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, continues a nine-month sabbatical at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ (www.ctinquiry.org). He is part of a 12-member research team involved in a NASA-funded program to study the “societal implications of astrobiology.” While there, he is also writing a new introduction to Old Testament exegesis that offers best practices and includes a diversity of approaches to be published by Westminster John Knox. Bill made a presentation at the AAAS meeting on February 13 on the “Theological Reasons for Protecting Biodiversity” in Washington, DC. On March 10, he gave the William Witherspoon Lecture at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ on “The Comforting Cosmos: God, Creation, and the Book of Job in the Light of Astrobiology.”

Kathy Dawson, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Director of MAPT Program, taught with Joel Winchip, Executive Director of Presbyterian Camps and Conferences this February as part of the Compass Points Camps and Conference Certification that Columbia shares with PCCCA through our Lifelong Learning. The topic was program development and implementation. Kathy gave an “Ed Talk” at the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators Annual Event in Chicago on the importance and characteristics of collaborative learning communities for Christian educators. She also gave a workshop regarding lessons learned from one year with the Hope4CE sharing site and collaborative Facebook community. The Hope4CE site that Kathy facilitates now has more than 1,000 followers.

Mark Douglas, Professor of Christian Ethics; Director of MDiv Program, convened and moderated a conversation on Reinhold Niebuhr and Race in November at the annual meeting of the Niebuhr Society. In January, he participated in a consultation on Ecology and the Environment held at Columbia Seminary. Mark presented a paper on pacifism and the early church, and convened two other sessions at the Society of Christian Ethics meeting in Toronto. In February, he preached and taught with William Yoo at the NEXT Church conference. He also taught at Trinity Presbyterian Church (6 weeks on “The Bible, Marriage, and Christian Faith”), Peachtree City Presbyterian Church (“Ethics and the Environment”), and Ottawa Presbyterian Church, OH, and helped lead two Georgia Interfaith Power and Light Clergy Breakfasts. Sarah Erickson, Director for Lifelong Learning, co-led “Come to the Waters,” the Horizons Bible study for 2015-16, at North Decatur Presbyterian Church in February and March. She moderated the quarterly Open Forum membership meeting and the second virtual annual meeting of the Association of Leaders of Lifelong Learning for Ministry on February 23 and April 28, respectively. She preached and lead worship at Forsyth Presbyterian Church, Forsyth, GA on March 6. Coming up: She will preach at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Macon, GA on April 17.

Anna Carter Florence, Peter Marshall Associate Professor of Preaching, preached and lectured for the Bast Preaching Festival at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. During her time there, she also preached at the Pillar Church, a dual-affiliation congregation of the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed Church in North America, and at “The Gathering,” a Sunday night worship service for students at Hope College. Anna gave the charge to Betsy Lyles at her ordination at Davidson Community Presbyterian Church in Davidson, NC. She traveled to Victoria, British Columbia, to preach and lecture at “Epiphany Explorations,” an annual event hosted by the United Church of Canada. Anna led the annual White Memorial Presbyterian Church Women’s Retreat, which took place at Pinehurst, NC, and gave a Saturday night lecture and Sunday morning sermon



at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN. Returning to Davidson, she gave the Staley lecture at Davidson College, and preached at Davidson Community Presbyterian Church while she was there. Coming up: In May, Anna will preach and lecture at the annual Festival of Homiletics, held this year in Atlanta.

Israel Galindo, Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning, continues to write for the Columbia Connections blog posting articles: “What Will You Choose When You Have a Choice?,” “The Benefits of Planning for Teaching,” “Seven Concepts on Leadership,” “Books, Tablets, E-readers, and Typewriters,” “For the Bookshelf: Urban Disciples,” “Experience and Learning,” “Coming of Age in Faith,” “Five Ways to Become a Popular Leader,” “Speaking the Truth in Love,” “Is Your CE Program Making a Difference?,” “What Will They Say About You?,” “An Intelligent Person,” “Life Assessment,” “Reasons for Not Attending Church,” “Can You Pass this C.E. Test?,” “Volunteerism and the Future of Church Ministry,” and “Great Quotes on Ministry.” Israel has published four parts of a series on “Ten Curriculum Assessment Tools Every Dean Needs” in the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning blog for Theological School Deans. In November, he presented at the ATS Chief Financial Officers and Technology Professionals conference in Phoenix, AZ. In January, Israel presented at the “Peer power: Cultivating clergy communities of practice and training for peer group facilitators,” conference of the Pastoral Excellence Network, Orlando, FL. He was interviewed for the January issue of In Trust Magazine on, “The Role of Faculty in Shared Governance.” In February, Israel presented “How to Really Use PowerPoint” at the Tech Tuesday Faculty development program. He participated in a video webinar by the Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning for Ministry. In March, Israel presented at the Leadership in Ministry Workshop on “Leadership Lessons from the Dog Whisperer.” He attended the Southeast gathering of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion at Mercer University, as well as the Advisory Committee meeting of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion in Indianapolis, IN. Israel consulted with the Asociación para La Educación Teológica Hispana on online learning, Orlando. He provided

the chapel address for Come See Columbia Day. Coming Up: Israel plans to publish new blog posts on “Raising a Normal Teenager,” “What Tough Leaders Do,” “Checking Your Leadership Assumptions,” “A Repertoire for Leadership in Anxious Times,” “Dealing with the Pushy Parent,” “Back to Basics: Leadership Rules 101,” “The Hawthorne Effect,” “Getting to Know the Familiar Stranger,” and “Tucker’s Top 10.” In May, he will give presentation at the Leadership in Ministry Workshops in Boston, MA and Portland, OR.

Bill Harkins, Senior Lecturer of Pastoral Theology and Care, Co-Director of ThD Program, was featured in an article in the Cigna/Church Pension Group Health and Wellness Newsletter http://pages.exacttarget.com/conditions/ in the January 2016 edition. He participated in the ECUSA National Leadership and Impairment Commission gatherings in December and January, in Baltimore. Bill attended the CREDO Faculty Training Convocation and Psychological Health Faculty Working Group meetings in Memphis, TN. Coming up: He will participate on a panel at the Georgia Association of Marriage and Family Therapists at Jekyll Island, in April. He will present a workshop on Family Systems Theory at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church for the Community of Hope lay cohort. Bill will serve as Psychological Health Faculty at CREDO for Recently Ordained Clergy at Trinity Episcopal Conference Center on the Outer Banks of NC in May 2016.

Kimberly Bracken Long, Associate Professor of Worship, led two workshops on inclusive marriage liturgies at the national conference of the Covenant Network in Denver, Colorado, November 5–7, 2015. She presented a new marriage liturgy to the Liturgical Language Seminar at the North American Academy of Liturgy in Houston, Texas, January 8. Her essay, “Why Ashes Matter” appeared in the Lent 2016 issue of Journal for Preachers. She will help lead a regional consultation on the Book of Common Worship February 11-13 in Louisville, Kentucky and will lead a retreat for the Presbytery of West Virginia February 22-23. Coming up: Long will be a keynote speaker for the Peace River Presbytery (Florida) April 27-28. Professor Long will give the Siang-Lien Lectures at Taiwan Theological Seminary in Taipei, Taiwan, April 18-20. An essay titled “A Table for the Garden” will appear in the Spring issue of Liturgy. Her book, From This Day Forward: Rethinking the Christian Wedding, will be published by Westminster John Knox Press in June.



Betsy Lyles, Director of Recruitment and Admissions, was ordained on December 12, 2015 at her home church, Davidson College Presbyterian Church. Rev. Dr. John Kuykendall preached the service. Other participants included Rev. Dr. Anna Carter Florence, Rev. Sharol Hayner, Rev. Dr. Leanne Van Dyk, former trustee Rev. Lib McGregor Simmons, current trustees Rev. Pen Peery and Jan Swetenburg and alums Rev. Shelli Latham and Lisle Gwynn Garrity.

Martha Moore-Keish, Associate Professor of Theology, attended the AAR meeting in Atlanta November 21–24: participating in a panel discussing the book Dogmatics in Outline by Brian Gerrish and chairing a panel on Comparative Theology. Her response to Gerrish’s book will also be published in an upcoming volume in the International Journal of Systematic Theology. A separate book review will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Presbyterian Outlook. She spoke at Alpharetta Presbyterian Church on October 26 and at Carrollton Presbyterian Church on January 17, both times on “Persevering as the Body of Christ.” She preached at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta on December 13, taught Sunday school classes on the book of James at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta on January 24 and 31. She taught Sunday school classes at Covenant Presbyterian Church February 28 and Northminster Presbyterian Church March 6. She preached at the ordination of Jennie Sankey at Pleasant Hill PC in Duluth on February 28.

Michael Morgan, Seminary Musician, completed a 3-month interim as organist at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory Campus, and played for services at North Avenue Presbyterian and First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. At Columbia, he presented an exhibit on “The First Generation of the English Bible” for the international Bible conference in November. In January he lectured for Dr. Ryan Bonfiglio’s doctoral seminar on “The Pentateuch as Reflected in Hymns from the New Presbyterian hymnal, “Glory to God.” He taught a Sunday class at Northwest Presbyterian Church on the English Bible on January 10, and lectured to the Atlanta Friends of the Presbyterian Heritage Center on the Bible at First Presbyterian Church on January 24. In the spring, he has been invited to join Dr. Martin Dotterweich at King University for a series of lectures on the English Bible and Shakespeare. In March, his article, “Singing Our Lives

Through the Psalms,” appeared in “The American Organist,” the national journal of the American Guild of Organists.

Rodger Nishioka, Benton Family Associate Professor of Christian Education, announced his resignation from Columbia Theological Seminary to be the new director of Adult Educational Ministries at the Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, KS.


Dominique Robinson, Staff Associate, Contextual Education, closed out 2015 preaching for the AME Zion Christian Education Department’s annual denominational gathering. In January, Dominique served as the Sermon Evaluator Coordinator for the Academy of Preachers in Lexington, KY; she also was the guest preacher for Calvary Baptist Church there. Dominique led a #MYLIFEMATTERS youth event in Wilmington, NC and preached at St. Stephen AME Zion Church (Asbury Park, NJ) and for Atlanta Medical Center for the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. She also served as the guest preacher for the Welcome Back Vespers Service at Morehouse College. Dominique lectured for the SM510C course at CTS on “Social Media and Ministry.” In February, Dominique lectured at Candler School of Theology on “Social Media Linguistics and the iHomiletic™.” She also co-lectured at Yale Divinity School with Dr. Rodger Nishioka on “Adolescence, Joy and Resilience: How Adolescents Bounce Back in the Face of Adversity” for the Youth Ministry Initiative. Dominique preached the closing worship experience for CTS’ Ash Wednesday Day of Reconciliation and Reflection; the kick-off of The Encounter, a young adult 3rd Fridays worship experience, at Berean Christian Church (Stone Mountain, GA); the culmination service for Youth Week at Metropolitan AME Zion Church (Kansas City, MO). In March, Dominique preached at Crossroads AME Zion Church (Marshville, NC), Rock Grove AME Zion Church (Rock Hill, SC), and Neely Grove AME Zion Church (Gastonia, NC). She taught at Trinity Baptist Church (Louisville, KY) for their Teen Summit and for Children’s Church at House of Hope ATL. Coming up: In April, Dominique is scheduled to preach at Pulse Church ATL where Board member Rev. Billy Honor is the founding pastor.



Michael Thompson, Director of Communications, made a Sunday School presentation with his wife Caryn at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Conyers, GA on behalf of NAMI Rockdale/Newton on the “Faces of Mental Illness.” Jeffery L. Tribble, Sr., Associate Professor of Ministry, offered the pastoral prayer at Faith AME Zion Church the Sunday after Rev. Clemente Pickney and 8 church leaders were slain at the Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, SC. His pastoral prayer is included in a book edited by Rev. Thomas Ball, A Storm Has Passed Over, a collection of prayers and sermons delivered at churches in Atlanta on the Sunday following the murders of the Charleston 9. He preached Pastoral Appreciation Services for Rev. Dr. Travis Harris of Zion Baptist Church in Marietta, GA and Rev. Reginald Morton of Faith A.M.E. Zion Church in Atlanta. He reported on the ministry of the churches of the Atlanta District and on his labors as Presiding Elder of the Atlanta District at the Georgia Annual Conference, held at Shaw Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Smyrna, GA. He completed a 5 year commitment to collaborative research grounded in worship as one of the invited participants to the Collegeville Institute Exploring Integration in Theological Education. He is a contributing writer to a book emerging from this research. Jeffery conducted a leadership training workshop and preached at the Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church in Middletown, CT. Dr. Tribble attended an American Academy of Religion Society Workshop on Ethnography and Theology. He was an invited presenter on a panel co-sponsored by the AAR Ecclesial Practices Group and the Religion and Social Sciences Group which highlighted a plurality of considerations and approaches to the intersection of social science and theology through ethnographic research. He and Rev. Cherlyn W. Tribble facilitated a life group session for engaged and newly married couples at Truthville 2015, the Winter Meeting of the Christian Education Department of the A.M.E. Zion Church, held in New Orleans, LA. At that same meeting, Jeffery facilitated a life group session for preachers and led a discussion of a case study that he wrote with members of the Presiding Elders Council of the AME Zion Church. He responded to questions in the first of several Candidate Forums with other Candidates for Bishop in the A.M.E. Zion Church at

Truthville 2015. He attended the South Atlantic Episcopal District Convocation, Ordination Service, and Checkup meeting at the Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center in Rock Hill, SC. At this checkup meeting, he was named supply pastor of the Wood Station-Napier Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, a small rural congregation in North Georgia. He was a participant in a Presiding Elder’s Retreat with Presiding Elders of the South Atlantic Episcopal District, Central North Carolina Conference, and North Carolina Conference at the Kenneth Monroe Transformation Center. The Steering Committee for the Celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary selected him as one of 45 Outstanding Black Alums. When selecting this persons, the committee looked for persons “who are outstanding in their person, excellent practitioners in their ministries, and demonstrate a commitment to seeking justice.” Coming up: Jeffery will be on sabbatical during the Spring and Extended Spring semesters doing research on “jazz as a metaphor for ministry.” He is an invited participant in a one week writing workshop which will be held at the Collegeville Institute. In addition, he will be traveling to various conferences of the AME Zion Church as a Candidate for Bishop in the A.M.E. Zion Church. The election of bishops will take place at the A.M.E. Zion General Conference July 20–27, 2016 in Greensboro, NC.

Haruko Nawata Ward, Associate Professor of Church History, contributed a chapter, ”Women Apostles in Early Modern Japan, 1549-1650,” in Devout Laywomen in the Early Modern World, ed. Alison Weber, Ashgate Publishing, 2016. At Columbia Theological Seminary, she served as a panelist for Bible, Empire, and Reception History Conference on November 19, 2015. She served as a panelist and led a workshop, “Grounded in Conversation with the Women from the Reformations World,” for Grounded: Exploring the Sense of the Sacred Within Us and the World event with Diana Butler Bass at the Center for Life Long Learning on January 20. She serves on the board and steering committee of Pacific Asian North Asian American Women in Theology and Ministry, and chaired a panel of paper presentations at its 31st annual meeting on “Activism for Social Transformation in the Urban Context” at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary on March 10-13.

Ralph Basui Watkins, Peachtree Associate Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, participated with the Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies in November on the theme “The Arts, Race, and Activism: From the Classroom to the Streets” and at the American Academy of Religion with a paper presentation / video presentation on “The Generational Divide in the Black Church: The Future of the Prophetic Witness in a Time of Crisis.” Ralph was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Apex Museum in Atlanta, GA. He led a Wabash Teaching Fellowship Workshop for Pre-Tenure Religion Faculty of African Descent in Mustang Island, TX. Ralph preached for the Church Anniversary at St. Mark Baptist Church, Columbus, GA.

Debra Weir, Associate Director Spirituality and Lifelong Learning, will lead with Brennan Breed, Beth Johnson, and Carl McColman, the Immersion Experience: An Invitation to a Deeper Spiritual Life for the Certificate in Spiritual Formation Program. She will co-lead with Jim Dant Incarnation: Theology, Tradition and Practice of Spiritual Direction in the Certificate in Spiritual Formation. Coming up: Debra will attend the Spiritual Director’s International Conference in San Diego, CA, April 7-10, participating in the Leadership Institute for Spiritual Direction program leaders. In May Debra will co-lead with Maria Tattu-Bowen Supervision Training for Spiritual Directors at Columbia Seminary.

Christine Roy Yoder, Professor of Old Testament Language, Literature, and Exegesis, taught a sample class on Esther in February to students from the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama who are participating in a Lilly Endowment funded and FTE administered program called Campus Ministry Theological Exploration of Vocation. In March, she is leading the Women’s Retreat for Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA at Camp Calvin, Hampton, GA. The title of the retreat is “On Desire and Flourishing.” Coming up: In April, Christine will be the speaker for the Currie Enrichment Series at First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, TX. She is the author of an article titled “Sheaves, Shouts, and Shavuot: Reflections on Joy”



forthcoming in Journal for Preachers (Pentecost, 2016). She is the editor of a volume titled “The Senses in Israelite Wisdom Literature” of the peer-reviewed journal Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel (Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming spring/summer 2016).

William Yoo, Assistant Professor of American Religious and Cultural History, visited Newnan Presbyterian Church in Newnan, GA, with two current Columbia Theological Seminary students, Colleen Cook and Jocelyn Wildhack, to preach and lead worship for Theological Education Sunday on September 20. He visited the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, PA, from October 22 to 28 to present a research paper on the nature and purpose of the General Assembly for a joint meeting of the Committee on General Assembly and the Board of the Presbyterian Historical Society within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and to conduct archival research for his book project with Routledge, American Missionaries, Korean Protestants, and the Changing Shape of World Christianity, 1884-1965. He participated in the Wabash Center’s Teaching and Learning Workshop for Pre-Tenure Theological School Faculty from January 7 to 10 in Corpus Christi, TX. He is a new contributor to The Christian Century Then and Now blog, which seeks to connect current issues in our society with historical and theological reflection. His first essay, “Immigration as threat and opportunity,” was published on February 10. He preached at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, GA, on February 14. He co-led a workshop with Professor Mark Douglas during the NEXT Church Conference on February 22 in Atlanta, GA. He will lead a seminar for the Flint River Presbytery’s Celebration of Faith event from March 4 to 6 in Cordele, GA. Coming up: He will present a paper, “Competing for Converts with U.S. Missionaries in Korea: Malcolm Fenwick and the Canadian Protestant Missionary Experience, 1889-1917,” at the American Society of Church History Spring Meeting from April 8 to 10 in Edmonton, Canada.



Beyond Summer!

We’re already looking into 2017 (even 2018!) and have some great new classes beyond summer. From returning favorites to leadership skills development, theological and Spiritual formation, the Center for Lifelong Learning has classes for everyone. For a complete list of classes, information on certificate programs, and news on special programs, please visit ctsnet.edu/lifelong-learning.

August 1 – 3Who Is Jesus? What a Difference a Lens Makes (2016-17 Horizons Bible Study Author Course)

This is the popular author’s course designed to prepare leaders of the Horizons Bible Study for the coming year. In Who Is Jesus? What a Difference a Lens Makes participants of Presbyterian Women Circles and church school study groups will look through nine different lenses referring to Jesus. Course participants will share with one another how they see and experience the various lenses and how these different perspectives impact who they understand Jesus to be, the implications for being his disciple, and how to facilitate learning in their study groups. Join Judy Yates Siker, author of this year’s study, for this event. Early registration and discounts for 2+ from same group available. Please note that there will not be a weekend version of the Horizon’s Bible Study leader training this year.

August 4 – 7Immersion Experience: An Invitation to a Deeper Spiritual LifeCertificate in Spiritual Formation

Discover the key ideas and foundational practices for the grand adventure of a deeper spiritual life! During this Thursday evening - Sunday afternoon course, we will explore the origins of the Christian spiritual tradition, while learning the formative elements of Biblical, monastic, and Christian spirituality from the Reformation onward. August 8 – 31Money and Your Ministry | ONLINE COURSE

Using the current book by Margaret Marcuson by the same title, this course will focus on helping participants interpret and reframe their understanding about money in the congregation and approach the issue of money in the church from a less anxious frame of reference.

August 8 – September 30 Readings in Christian Spiritual Classics: St. Augustine’s Confessions | ONLINE COURSECertificate in Spiritual Formation

This course is part of a series (“Readings in Christian Spiritual Classics”) for those interested in learning more about the classic literature and writings that have shaped Christian spirituality over the centuries. Through selected readings, studies, and writings of celebrated writers in Christian spirituality, participants will review current topics and trends that impact and inform personal spirituality and ministry practice. This course, led by Deedra Rich, will focus on St. Augustine’s Confessions.


COLLOQUY FOR MID-CAREER CLERGY (CMCC)Pastoral Excellence Program

Session I . . . . . August 15 –17, 2016Session II . . . . .January 23 – 25, 2017

Our popular application-based cohort program returns for a second year! This program is designed for mid-career clergy (fifteen to twenty-five years into full time ministry) who are seeking to participate in a professional formative conversation or to reflect on their vocational experience, and assess their ability to meet the leadership demands/needs of their organization. Attention will be given to addressing common experiences and issues of mid-career clergy: facing either a normative or unanticipated career transition, standing at a vocational crossroads of some sort, engaging in reflective self-assessment, and finding support among peers.

Save the Date! August 13 – 15Leading a Congregation Toward a Culture of GenerosityLaura and Chuck Mendenhall, Leaders

September 22 – 25Henri J. M. Nouwen: Be Still! Be Loved! Be Grateful! Three Imperatives of the Spiritual LifeCertificate in Spiritual Formation

Henri Nouwen, the author and priest who described the minister—every Christian—as The Wounded Healer, published 40 books on the spiritual life during his lifetime, and even more were published posthumously. Readers of his serious reflections who never had the opportunity to meet or hear him may miss his charisma, humor, and playful personality. But his student and lifelong friend Chris Glaser brings these dimensions to life. Glaser will review Nouwen’s contributions to Christian spirituality through personal stories, audiotape and videotape.

October 3 – 28The Role of the Minister in a Dying Congregation | ONLINE COURSE

In our success-driven culture the topic of dying congregations is taboo, yet that is a reality many pastors and congregations struggle through with little guidance for discernment. Using the book by the same title, this course will focus on helping clergy and laypersons explore the challenges of pastoring and leading in a dying congregation. Author and course leader Woody Jenkins will provide a forum and resource to church leaders on one of the most critical issues facing congregations today: how to help a congregation conclude its ministry life cycle with dignity and meaning.

October 5 – 7Governance and Ministry

October 24 – 26Preaching the Verbs II

Back by popular demand, this seminar will teach you to read the biblical “script” by focusing on the verbs that are given and chosen by the characters. If you do a quick survey of any bible passage, you’ll find that the verbs dominate. It’s what we do and don’t do that preoccupies human beings. And it’s the verbs we cannot imagine for ourselves (live, liberate, forgive, resurrect) that the church offers, and that we reach for, week after week. Dr. Anna Carter Florence and Rev. Khalia Williams put a twist on dramatic theory and invite us to see and hear new things in both our sacred text and our human drama when we connect the verbs. How can that, in turn, change and renew our preaching?



October 31 – December 2Contemporary Readings in Christian Education: Christian Formation | ONLINE COURSE

This five-week online course is part of the “Contemporary Readings Series” for persons interested in deepening their understanding of contemporary issues in Christian Education. This year’s focus is on the subject of “formation,” a popular phrase that has almost replaced “education” as an approach to educating in faith in congregations. It’s a concept many use, but few may really understand. Through selected readings in the literature, studies, and writings of contemporary writers and researchers in the field of Christian Education, participants will review current topics and trends that impact and inform ministry practice. Early registration discount available.

November 1 – 13Desert Spiritual Traditions of the Southwest Domestic PilgrimageCertificate in Spiritual Formation

Pilgrimage is one of the oldest and most important spiritual disciplines, and the capstone of the Certificate in Spiritual Formation. In this pilgrimage we will explore the Desert Southwest in northern New Mexico and engage many of the diverse spiritual traditions that settled there. Daily excursions will include Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Chimayo, Dar al Islam Mosque, Taos Hanuman Temple, and Taos, Santa Clara, and Tesuque Pueblos. We will be staying on Ghost Ranch at Casa Del Sol. This pilgrimage is jointly sponsored by Columbia and Pittsburgh Theological Seminaries and will include leaders and participants from both programs. Eligible participants must have completed all other certificate course work by March 15, 2016.

November 7 – 11Growing in Discernment: Attuning our Spiritual SensesCertificate in Spiritual Formation

Interest in discernment has grown significantly over the past few decades. An ancient spiritual practice, it is once again being recognized and embraced as a timely and practical means of grace. Marjorie Thompson will lead this class in exploring the nature of spiritual discernment, and practical patterns that can help open our spiritual sensibilities to the gift of growing clarity.

January 26 – 29, 2017History of Western Christian SpiritualityCertificate in Spiritual Formation

Today there is a search for forms and practices of Christian Spirituality that worked in the past, as well as a search for new structures and patterns. In this course, led by Catherine Gonzalez, we will study three historic periods in which there was agreement about what form Christian spirituality took for everyone who wished to be spiritual. We will then consider what is helpful for us.

February 5 – March 2, 2018The Hidden Lives of Congregations | ONLINE COURSE

This course is a study of the often unseen congregational dynamics the affect the life of a congregation. Special attention will be given to the nature of congregations as a particular model of the Church. By reading the course textbook, The Hidden Lives of Congregations by course leader Israel Galindo, participating in formal guided discussions, reflecting on their personal experience, and examining latent concepts and assumptions about congregations, Church, and leadership, students will gain a new understanding of their congregation and their leadership roles.

There’s still time to register for these 2016 classes, but they’re filling up! Visit

ctsnet.edu/lifelong-courses-and-events for links to registration and more information.

May 2 – 6Attuning Yourself to the Sacred Within: A Contemplative Retreat (Certificate in Spiritual Formation)

May 2 – June 3Thriving As a Church Ministry Staff Associate (An Online MOOC Course)

May 9 – 12Being the Beloved Community: Welcoming Children of All Abilities to Church

June 12 – 15Hospitality as Spiritual Practice: The Welcoming Voice of the Book of Ruth (Certificate in Spiritual Formation)


c a n d l e l i g h t s

Hope is delicate suffering.— Amiri Baraka, Poet

If there is any philosophy, it’s that those who have walked a certain path should know some things, should remember some things that they can pass on, that others can use to walk the path a little better.

— Ella Baker, Civil Rights Activist

You know what, it’s not your life, it’s life. Life is bigger than you, if you can imagine that. Life isn’t something that you possess, it’s something that you take part in and witness.

— Louis C. K., Comedian

Growth is the only evidence of life.— John Henry Newman, Priest

It is the habit of most generations to see themselves in crisis, and to imagine that their experience is without precedent in history.

— Bayard Rustin, Civil Rights Activist

Old memories are so empty when they cannot be shared.— Jewelle Gomez, Poet

Train up a child in the way he should go — but be sure you go that way yourself.

— Charles Spurgeon, Preacher

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.

— G.K. Chesterton, Writer

There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience.

— Archibald MacLeish, Poet

Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.

— John W. Gardner, former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

One must view the world through the eye in one’s heart rather than just trust the eyes in one’s head.

— Mary Crow Dog, American Indian Activist

Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won’t have time to make them all yourself.

— Alfred Sheinwold, American Bridge Player

Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don’t.

— Pete Seeger, Singer

VANTAGE Winter/Spring2016

P.O. Box 520

Decatur, GA 30031

404-378-8821www.ctsnet.edu

C o n t e n t s

Best of the Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Vantage Point: President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Hyper-Focus: Library Partnership with HSHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Reasonable Service (News) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Experiential Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Seminaries Then and Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Me and My Shadow, King Lear, and Walter . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 God’s Call for a Second-Career Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Columbia in the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Tauta Panta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22–31 Alumni/ae News and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Faculty/Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Lifelong Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19, 20, 32Candlelights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Look inside for our “Candlelights” section! Each issue, we will highlight inspirational quotes and artwork reflective of our theme. Our next issue will be about “Global Leadership.” Feel free to submit your own ideas to [email protected].

CTSeminaryF o l l o w U s

NonProfit OrganizationU. S. Postage PAIDPermit No. 40Decatur, GA

FEBRUARY 21 THE BIBLICAL ART OF SADAO WATANABE ON EXHIBIT IN THE HARRINGTON CENTER

The Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary is hosting a new exhibit, Witness to Faith: The Biblical Art of Sadao Watanabe, featuring original works of graphic art by Japan’s foremost Christian artist of the 20th century. The exhibit is on display now through April 25, 2016 in the Harrington Center. The Columbia Seminary campus located at 701 S. Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA, near Atlanta. The event is open to the public.

Born in 1913, Watanabe was baptized as a Christian at age 17 and devoted his life to depicting the stories of the Bible in a visual language understandable to the Japanese. Watanabe saw himself as a Christian printmaker whose mission was “to stand within the artistic tradition of Japan.” In his interpretations, the creatures entering Noah’s Ark correspond to the animal signs of the Asian zodiac; Jesus and his disciples wear kimonos and gather at the Last Supper to eat fish and drink sake.

For full story, see page 19 or www.columbiaconnections.org/.

vantage winter/spring 2016

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