Covenant Magazine - [Summer 2007]

The Magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary

Covenant

Vol. 22, No. 2

Summer 2007

Kingdom

harvest

FROM THE PRESIDENT

SUMMER 2007 kingdom Harvest

If you visit our campus during the next 15 months or so, you will notice quite a bit of work going on. I’m not referring to the usual hustle and bustle of professors and students engaged in the process of teaching and learning. There will indeed be plenty of that. But, in addition, you will find a variety of workers constructing the new academic building that is a major component of our By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. Architects, contractors, bulldozer operators, concrete workers, carpenters, electricians, and scores of others will be contributing their talents to make sure this building serves the purpose for which so many have generously given: to prepare pastors and ministry leaders to serve future generations of Christ’s Church.

Just as an astounding multiplicity of individuals and abilities goes into the making of one campus building, so too is the Kingdom of God being built through the ongoing efforts of untold numbers of faithful, Spirit-filled people. All are applying their unique talents in the diverse settings to which the Lord has called them. Whether serving as a missionary in a Gospel-starved nation halfway around the world, teaching a Sunday school class in a local neighborhood, or offering up prayers and finances so that others may be empowered to do these things, each of us fulfills God’s calling. Under the watchful eye and the guiding hand of the Master Builder Himself, each of us has an important role to play in constructing the glorious edifice of God’s Kingdom.

In this issue of Covenant, we explore what it means to have a Kingdom perspective on our work for Christ and our service to others. We also offer a look at how some of our graduates, faithful friends, and loyal supporters are living out this Kingdom perspective in various ways. And we pay loving tribute to two godly men—Dr. David Jones and Dr. Bob Vasholz—whose longtime devotion to this institution and our students has helped shape hundreds of Kingdom builders whose lives are making a significant impact for Christ.

Please rejoice with us as the fruit of God’s many blessings rises in tangible form on our campus over the course of the next several months, and please pray with us that God will continue to use each and every one of us mightily as we work together to build His Kingdom—by His grace and for His glory.

1

Bryan Chapell, President

12

FEATURES

Creating Community

Through Cooking

Several families at Covenant Seminary regularly gather to plan and prepare freezer meals that last them for months.

4 Battling

for Christ’s Kingdom in Africa

Alumnus Rick Gray and his family serve the Lord in a village in Africa, where God uses their everyday experiences to teach them about spiritual realities.

8 No

Little Places

Several alumni have answered the Lord’s call to serve in remote places where solo ministry refines and challenges them as they proclaim the Lord’s goodness and mercy.

18 Risen

to New Life

Members of the Covenant Seminary community share their musical gifts on a worship CD with this title.

21 Gospel

Partnership

Covenant Seminary welcomed Japanese students to campus in January, when they participated in a classs.

22 Serving

the Kingdom, Loving the King

Covenant Seminary says goodbye to two of our longest-serving faculty members—Dr. Robert Vasholz and Dr. David Jones.

CONTENTS Alumni profile

Marcus Toole 14 CORE VALUE Kingdom Perspective 20 donor profile

Jo Cutten 26 Seminary news & events 28 alumni news

COVENANT | Summer 2007

B AC K

COVER

student Profile

David Juelfs

COVENANT COMMUNITY

Creating Community Through

Cooking i

magine not cooking for months and yet eating homemade food every night. Sounds akin to a camel going through the eye of a needle, right?

Not so for several Covenant Seminary families.

Every three to four months, groups of four or five women gather to choose 12–15 recipes, after which they meet again to divvy up shopping duties, and then come together for one last time for a marathon day of cooking. The yield? About 30 bags of frozen meals each that last several months. “We’re the largest family,” says Kelly Park of her six-member clan, “so we don’t usually have leftovers. But other families can get two or three meals out of each bag.”

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By cooking this way, the ladies serve one another, deepen friendships, and stretch their dollars—a common need among seminary families. They do this through a willingness to give up time for strategic planning, shopping, and prepping. Together the apronclad women roll up their sleeves and chop, braise, brown, stir, roll, mix, and puree for hours in a local church kitchen. “I like when we do our cooking at night,” says Aimee Silva (tonight’s hostess). “I was dreading that first day,” she admits, “but it was really fun.” So far three groups of campus families cook this way.

One group cooks all organic, another opts to do all their shopping at just one place. Kelly’s group willingly attempts challenging recipes sometimes so that they can have meals they really enjoy.

Tonight Shanna Bean, Jennifer Jung, Kelly Park, Aimee Silva, and Jen Storck gather at Aimee’s on-campus apartment. As one of the committed cooks arrives, she announces with a laugh, “I came in my pajamas. I hope you don’t mind.” A richness and depth exists in the women’s friendships, fostered by community

Cookbook; and Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking. “How ’bout scallops?” suggests Kelly as she flips to one of the sticky notemarked magazine pages. A slight look of uneasiness washes over pregnant Jennifer Jung’s face and she replies, “You know how I feel about seafood.” They debate a recipe that requires boned chicken but decide against it because of how much space it will take up in the freezer. “What about beef stroganoff?” asks Kelly. “Does it have sour cream?” Shanna questions. The women joke with Shanna that she represents the “mayonnaise and sour cream contingent;” she’s a supporter of any meal that has either item. The women good-naturedly yield to one another’s culinary preferences and needs, even if they are specific sometimes (no dark meat chicken, substitute margarine for butter in a few recipes, etc.).

Through the hours spent in preparation and on the day of cooking, these women also share their hearts as they face uncertain futures and deal with specific challenges of combining school and family life. “This group has really been helpful as we talk

left to right: Jen Storck, Jen Jung, Shanna Bean, Aimee Silva

life. All the women involved live in campus housing, so they’ve formed friendships with each other on the playground, at the Log Cabin (where seminary childcare often takes place), and around their apartment buildings as they share lives that revolve around studying and tests.

After friendly updates about a TV show they taped for one another, excited comments on the expanding belly of one of the pregnant women, and offers for dessert and coffee, the chefs tackle the task at hand—choosing recipes and deciding who will do the prep work for each. “Are we doing measurements for the recipes tonight?” asks one. At the “Yes” response, she laughs and asks rhetorically, “So, we’re pulling an all-nighter?”

The five women settle in around Aimee’s table and begin opening binders, flipping through recent food magazines, and busily writing as they verbally toss around suggestions and get each others’ feedback. Believing that variety is the spice of freezer meal life, they’ve determined to choose new recipes this round, so out come cookbooks such as Southern Living Annual Recipes Cookbook, 20th Anniversary Edition; Rachel Ray’s Open House COVENANT | Summer 2007

about ministry options and where God is leading each of us,” says Kelly, referring especially to her first cooking group last year in which three of the families were graduating. They also share resourceful tidbits, such as Jen Storck’s idea of using evaporated milk (which many of them have on hand, stockpiled from the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) in recipes instead of regular milk to make them creamier.

“Did you like that beef stew?” someone asks. “No!” is the emphatic group response. “I tried everything under the sun to make that recipe taste good,” Aimee says. “There’s usually a dud every time,” Jen Storck admits. In between discussing previous food flops and how each family used or enhanced the unfortunate freezer meal, they share about things such as God’s protection of the Park family in a car accident on the way to California at Christmas. They also chat about the joy of growing families and the current campus baby boom—they count and name 10 pregnant women.

While Aimee searches the Internet for a pork recipe, Jennifer

Jung calls her husband to find out if their church is available for the group to use. Large church kitchens have lots of space for prep work and oversize pots and pans, providing an ideal setting for community cooking.

“This is a lot of work,” says Kelly, “but we have fun too.”

When Shanna ventured into a local retail meal preparation store, she discovered that customers assemble 12 freezer meals for $195.

Freezer meals seminary-style provide 25–30 meal bags for about that price ($180–$200), and each meal yields two or three dinners, depending on the family size. So the seminary chefs

Cooking Directions

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Serving Directions

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left to right: Aimee Silva, Kelly Park, Shanna Bean, Jen Jung

definitely come out ahead. “I just wanted a boost of confidence,” says Shanna about her desire to visit the retail store.” She left reassured that the seminary women’s efforts literally pay off.

As the time on the clock ticks along, the group narrows the list to 15 recipe finalists and assigns 3 to each person. “I’ll read the list,” says Shanna, “and if you really want do something, shout it out. Amen? Amen.”

From here each woman will make a recipe sheet that includes assembly directions, freezing directions, serving directions, and comments. Then she’ll figure total amounts necessary to make 10 of each recipe and enter ingredients into a master grocery list.

A recent one included 32 ribs, 64 ounces of pasta, 8 cups of toffee bits, 4 cups of honey, 24 chicken breasts, 8 cans of black beans, and 12 cups of flour. Once they combine everyone’s total recipe requirements, the women split shopping duties based on where each item is most economically priced. Though this endeavor involves a lot of elbow grease on the front end, the women walk away with a couple months of meals, increased unity in their friendships, and enhanced community life—plus the stress relief

of not having to think about the time-consuming task of feeding their families. They can focus on nurturing them because they’ve taken care of nourishing.

“For me this group has really been a blessing because it has freed me up to spend time with my kids after school instead being busy making meals for my family,” says Kelly. “We like hanging out. That’s why we do this,” Shanna says. “Plus, we’re eating healthier,” adds Jennifer Jung. These women testify to the truth of Ecclesiastes 4:9 which says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.” Bon appétit!

(Dawson Bean, Shanna’s husband, continues working to earn his MDiv and anticipates graduating in 2009. Russell Jung, Jennifer’s husband, is pursing an MDiv and plans to graduate in 2008. Patrick Park, Kelly’s husband, expects to graduate with his MDiv in 2008. Aimee Silva is pursuing the MAC and MATS degrees with graduation expected in 2009.

Jon Storck, Jen’s husband, earned his MDiv and graduated this May.) JACKIE FOGAS Jackie Fogas serves in the Public Relations department at Covenant Theological Seminary as the senior copy editor and special projects coordinator. Her husband, Michael, will be a third-year MDiv student in the fall.

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The Grays’ home in Bundimulinga Village

with sons Samuel Wendy and Rick Gray t). Not pictured: (left) and Aidan (righ February 3, 2007) Chase Fletcher (born

Battling for Christ’s Kingdom in

Africa

My wife, Wendy, and I serve the Lord in Africa. As singles, we both felt drawn to live and minister the Gospel of God’s grace among the Babwisi tribe along the remote border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Wendy focused on Bible translation, and I worked to plant churches and train pastors. We figured that our ministries were a pretty good match—and so were we! We married and continued our labors in a place of great spiritual darkness, among people notorious for witchcraft.

The Enemy seems to have a stronghold on our valley. Over the years it became all too apparent that he would not relinquish his reign without a fight. One Lord’s Day, in the summer of 2006, we received a vivid reminder of our foe’s fury.

COVENANT | Summer 2007

Samweli explained: “We’ll pour it on the snake, and it will die. My father has killed several snakes that way.” Bowing to the assured and more experienced reptile exterminator, I hurried off to get a small container of kerosene. Upon my return I handed the pungent liquid over to my fellow hunter.

“What about these?” I asked, holding out the flashlight and sickle. “You hold them,” he instructed.

Then, before I knew it, Samweli poured the kerosene over the slumbering snake. The enraged creature rose up and headed straight for the first threat it could identify—the clueless missionary holding the flashlight! In self-defense I swung the sickle hard at the attacking snake. One blow, two, three…!

All the while Samweli cried, “Get it! Get it! Get it!”

Soon the sickle cut a hole through the thin plywood ceiling, and I yelled for Wendy to make sure the children were not below. After several more swipes at the wounded aggressor,

Because our then-one-year-old son, Aidan, was restless, Wendy gathered him in her arms and left the worship service early. We live next door to the church, so I did not think much about seeing the two of them return just after the benediction. But the message Wendy shared sure gave me pause. “There’s a snake in our attic!” she announced anxiously.

About a month earlier, our family had rejoined the fight to advance Christ’s Kingdom in Uganda. Upon our arrival, rats, bats, and lizards were the only other witnessed occupants in our little tin-roof house, so I doubted whether a snake could be among our uninvited guests. “It’s probably just an overgrown gecko,” I reasoned. Nevertheless, I sought out Samweli, a Ugandan friend, and asked if he would join me on a “search-and-destroy” mission.

n Church in New Life Presbyteria ck , the church where Ri Bundimulinga Village to his family’s home. serves, sits next door

Missionary Rick Gray (left) and Samweli found this snake in Ric friend k’s attic.

It provided a great reminder ab out the spiritual battle they fight.

it fell through the jagged opening and plopped onto the room’s cement floor. Close behind, we snake stalkers hurried down the ladder. On the way I picked up a machete in case the scaly intruder needed to be finished off. Then, seeing the long black snake still wriggling weakly, I chopped off its head. We all heaved a big sigh of relief.

Before burying the lifeless reptile and cleaning up the collateral damage, I measured it. It stretched more than six feet.

As best we can tell from a book about snakes in East Africa, our vanquished foe was a poisonous black-necked spitting cobra.

And so, upon our return to Africa, the Lord gave us a timely and sobering reminder about the battle for Christ’s Kingdom. Of course the Church’s adversary is exceedingly more sinister, and the stakes are eternally higher than a little scuffle in the attic.

Upon reaching the house, Wendy directed us to the room where Aidan sleeps. Then she pointed to the ceiling. “It’s up there,” she insisted. So off I went to collect the ladder. Soon Samweli and I ascended into the dark attic, armed with a small flashlight and a sharp sickle. We moved several boxes and boards around until finally Samweli spied the slithery creature.

“It’s a snake, and it’s a big one!” he exclaimed. “What should we do now?” I wondered aloud. “Do you have any kerosene?,” Samweli asked. “Yes, we keep some to run our refrigerator,” I answered. Still I queried, “What will we do with kerosene?”

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But the Kingdom only advances through combat—albeit with quite unconventional weapons. The battlefield is both within and without. Most of the time we have no idea where the enemy of our souls lies or what he is up to.

Yet the Prince of Darkness is never far away, and he is always ready and willing to strike. Still, our Light and Defender keeps constant watch over us. Nothing escapes His notice. Just as He crushed the serpent’s head by ascending Calvary’s tree so long ago, our King continues to lead us victoriously—often in spite of ourselves—as He reclaims territory rightfully belonging to His glorious Kingdom of grace, truth, and love.

above: Rick and Wendy’s sons are very at home in Africa. Here is Aidan (not long after the snake incident) with a few of the boys’ closest friends in Bundibugyo.

above: These men were some of Rick’s students at the Semuliki Institute for Theological Education (SITE), the school he founded in 2000 to train pastors in Bundibugyo. It is currently dormant, though he is trying to reorganize the school under indigenous leadership. “Semuliki” is the name of the valley in which the Grays live. He chose this name for the Bible school because it includes both the Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo sides of the border. The school did have two students from Democratic Republic of the Congo, both of whom were in their late fifties.

COVENANT | Summer 2007

above: This scanned old photo shows an aerial view of Bundibugyo District in the Semuliki Valley. The line in the center of the photo is the grass airstrip that chartered Mission Aviation Fellowship planes use for takeoffs and lan dings.

RICK GRAY Rev. Rick Gray (MDiv ‘87) is regional director for Eastern Africa under Mission to the World.

Rick serves missionaries and indigenous church leaders to impact their communities with the Good News of Christ Jesus. His initial interest in Africa was stirred at Covenant Seminary through his African classmates. Rick and Wendy live in Bundibugyo in western Uganda, in the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains. Rick began living and laboring among the Babwisi tribe in 1989. The Grays continue to fight for Christ’s Kingdom with their sons, Grant (age 4), Aidan (age 2), and Chase (3 months).

Dear Prayer Warrior, “The Lord called me....” “The Spirit led us....” “God directed him...”

I have used words similar to these myself, and I have no doubt that they usually issue from a sincere heart. But as the years roll by, I confess to have grown increasingly skeptical of statements claiming enlightened detection of Divine will. Maybe it is because I have been around long enough to see the questionable outcomes yielded by the initial bold declarations. Maybe it is because I have grown weary of seeing the eternal God blamed for man’s misinterpretation of temporal circumstances. Maybe it is because I am jealous that others seem to hear the Almighty’s voice in ways that I do not. Probably it is a combination of all these reasons and others. But the longer I live, the less confident I am of discerning the Lord’s higher purposes in specific human events.

Prayer Letter As the Grays continue to serve the Lord in Africa, the Lord remains faithful to grow them into the likeness of Jesus. This excerpt from their January 2007 prayer letter reveals a bit about how God has been sanctifying their hearts and minds recently.

Please understand, I am not denying that God speaks to us through His written Word. Nor am I doubting that the Spirit convicts us of sin or prompts us to action. I heartily believe and revel in the reality of a Father who communicates and communes with His children in these ways and more every day. But what I struggle with is a finite and fallen mind fathoming the infinite and holy intentions behind life’s complexities. How can I be certain whether a specific setback is the Lord’s way of redirecting my steps or the Enemy’s attack because I am on the right path? I suppose some have a gift for discernment. But I also suspect others mistake self-will for God’s will. Still, I find myself becoming increasingly hesitant to deduce direction from above through happenings below. It is not because I doubt a connection between the two. Rather, I do not trust my capacity to comprehend the connection.

And although part of me longs to better understand the inner workings of providence in the affairs of man, another part of me perceives that this realm does not belong to me. Mine is to walk by faith, not by sight or sense. The mystery and wonder of God’s activity in, under, and through the daily occurrences of our lives is not so much to be figured out as it is to be embraced by faith. It should not be so much a cause for consternation as a call to celebration. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!” writes the apostle Paul in worship to a sovereign Lord [Rom. 11:33]. Of course Paul was reflecting upon eternal destinies. But I think the same doxology can just as appropriately be sung over the Master’s movement through more mundane matters as well.

“What does all this have to do with missions in Eastern Africa?” you may ask.

Time and time again, I thought God was doing one thing in Uganda, only later to discover He was doing something completely different. In some cases it seemed that the Spirit was at work within a person’s heart, but later it became clear that actions were motivated by the flesh. Other times I surmised questionable intentions that eventually proved quite laudable. So while I can confidently affirm that the Lord is building His Kingdom in Eastern Africa, I cannot be so sure of all the particular ways He is doing so. When I consider how the disciples at first misunderstood Jesus’ death upon the cross, none of this should be surprising. They initially misjudged Calvary as their rabbi’s greatest defeat, only to discover three days later that it was His greatest victory. They surmised their Messiah was saving them from Roman rule, but eventually He proved to be delivering them from an unimaginably fiercer foe....

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p ray live lo v e p r e ach

No Little

PLACES “Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.”

– Mark 6:6b

F

rom exit 62 off of Interstate 75, travelers venture less than three miles to reach the quaint little town of Sweetwater in eastern Tennessee. Sweetwater has always been a small town with a slow pace of life, unlike nearby Knoxville. People travel from as far away as north Georgia to shop for antiques in downtown Sweetwater. Still, Sweetwater retains a distinct small-town flavor, even in the midst of limited growth over the years.

Quotations by Francis Schaeffer in this article are taken from No Little People, in the compilation The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview, Volume Three, A Christian View of Spirituality, Crossway Books, 1982.

In a day when city size is equivalent to influence, small towns are often cast in a negative light—described derogatorily or readily dismissed. Although there is some truth in generalizations concerning small towns (“small” qualifies size whereas “little” carries with it the sense of unimportance or irrelevance), stereotypical characterizations never take into consideration the complexity of the people, the richness of history and tradition, or the blessings of ministry. And through eyes of faith, even the smallest gathering of people is viewed as a significant reflection of the redemption offered in Christ Jesus—proving the words of the late theologian and philosopher Francis A. Schaeffer: “As there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places.”

“Ever since I felt the call to ministry, I thought that I would ultimately end up in a small church in a small-size town,” says Wes Alford (MDiv ’93), pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Sweetwater. “Soon after Beth and I married I knew it was time to pursue the ‘dream’ of being a solo pastor in a small town. The sense of calling to Sweetwater was very definite. We clicked with the people, and it seemed to be a good fit.” The Alfords have been serving in the town of 5,500 residents for a little more than three years. Speaking of service in a church—large or small—and the dangers of generalizations, Wes elaborates, “It’s the place, not the type of place; it’s the church, not the type of church.”

Small churches dominate the landscape between the metropolises of the East and West Coasts of the US. Indeed, 75 percent of churches in the PCA have fewer than 200 members (2005 statistics). These are churches full of real people with real brokenness and a real need to know how the Gospel can transform them where they are. Despite this, finding pastors willing and committed to serving small churches is a recurring issue for the Church at large. How much do the characterizations play a role? “My given situation just does not read like a success story,” Wes affirms.

“The big things within a small church are the small things.”

This attitude, taken from the world, is more dangerous to the Christian than fleshly amusement or practice. It is the flesh.”

“ In our rural town there are many opportunities and open doors for service and ministry.”

Kevin and Erin Ball – Marion, AL

With son Doran (age 2½). Not pictured: Marilla Suzanne (born March 19, 2007)

It goes without saying that small churches and their pastors will rarely be in the media spotlight. The disproportionate attention given to large churches can create a sense of unimportance and inferiority among small-town pastors, as Kevin (MDiv ’04) and Erin (MATS ’06) Ball discovered. The Balls live in Marion, Alabama, where Kevin serves as the solo pastor of Marion Presbyterian Church—a 175-year-old congregation. Like many others who minister in small areas, the Balls wrestle with the church-size syndrome, with size seeming to indicate success.

“The American push for numbers is so culturally ingrained in us that we have found ourselves almost apologizing for ‘settling’ for the call to a small church in a small place. This is not the way that God sees things, but, nevertheless, this has been part of our struggle,” Erin explains. “Once Kevin accepted the call, we found that being in an out-of-the-way place can sometimes leave us feeling forgotten—by the community we experienced in seminary and by the Church at large.”

“In our rural town there are many opportunities and open doors for service and ministry,” Kevin shares. “People still have an innate sense of respect for a pastor as a person in the community who is there for the good of everyone. This has opened opportunities to be involved in the life of Marion in significant and hopefully truth-building ways.” But the reverse is also true.

“I sometimes feel like people value appearances over heart issues,” Kevin notes. “There seems to be guardedness toward discussions about deep issues of life and faith, especially with a newcomer.”

Does this mean that the issues of a small church are really harder than in a large congregation? The pastors interviewed for this article seemed to answer no. But, as Wes Alford explains, “As far as challenges go, if you put any group of saved sinners together, sooner or later there will be challenges. While the problems of life are common enough, they hit you differently when you are a small-town pastor. Since coming to Sweetwater, I’ve been struck by the reality that we as believers truly live in a fallen and broken world—the brokenness of illness, loss, and grief; of family and marital dysfunction; of spiritual malaises; and on and on. These problems are everywhere, but I think you see them more close-up as a small-town pastor, and that has

“ The big things within a small church are the small things.”

– Rev. Wes Alford

Wes and Beth Alford – Sweetwater, TN

With children Gibson (left; age 3) and Christopher (right; age 2).

Not pictured: Elizabeth Abigail (born March 22, 2007)

Francis Schaeffer addressed this by writing, “Not only does God not say that size and spiritual power go together, but He even reverses this (especially in the teaching of Jesus) and tells us to be deliberately careful not to choose a place too big for us.

We all tend to emphasize big works and big places, but all such emphasis is of the flesh. To think in such terms is simply to hearken back to the old, unconverted, egoist, self-centered Me.

– Rev. Kevin Ball

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re-emphasized to me the reality of the fall.” While sin and brokenness are never pretty—in any place of any size—God providentially grants these small-town pastors special graces of unexpected blessing to carry them through their journeys.

“The congregation I serve has been a true blessing,” Wes explains. “They are patient with me and quite accepting of me and my family. Also, the pace of life is great—nice and slow.

This gives me time to live not so fast myself. I feel like my family and I can grow slowly in God’s grace.” Other pastors in similar situations echoed this, affirming that the slower pace of a small town has served to strengthen them.

“ My prayer is that even if I do not see the fruit of my service now, that in 5 or 10 years it will bear fruit.”

– Rev. John Dawson

Rebekah and John Dawson – Brandon, MS With son Oliver (age 18 months).

Assistant Pastor John Dawson (MDiv ’03) of Brandon Presbyterian church in Brandon, Mississippi, agrees. “I especially appreciate what Schaeffer says about growing closer to the Lord while serving in the small places. My ‘well runs dry’ pretty fast as it is. I can’t imagine how fast it would run dry if I pastored a large church,” he says, referring to these words of Schaeffer: “We should seek the lowest place because there it is easier to be quiet before the face of the Lord. I did not say easy; in no place—no matter how small or humble—is it easy to be quiet before God. But it is certainly easier in some places than in others.”

John continues, “I am called to be faithful as an assistant pastor in a small church where I spend most of my time running youth and children’s programs. I am not called to worry about being successful. This doesn’t mean I can be lazy, and it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t go the extra mile to see that ministry is done well. I still have a vision for what God can do here.”

That ability to discern and trust what God is doing is one of the keys to contentment for many pastors in small churches.

When a pastor has such a vision for God’s Kingdom, he is often encouraged in faithfulness. But without such a God-given vision— though he may be wanting and praying for it—small-town pastors can struggle with despondency. “I’ve been surprised at how hard it is to be faithful where God has called you,” John explains. “It’s hard to see the importance of where you are serving when you serve children and teens who sometimes seem so disinterested. It is hard to believe that God is at work and much easier to just want to go someplace where it looks like He’s already been working.”

Though John has faithfully stayed where he has been called, many pastors do not. In fact, pastoral turnover in small churches COVENANT | Summer 2007

is common. Some leave because of challenges, while others leave to fill another, often larger pulpit. Whatever the reason, the effects of such turnover is felt in many small churches. George Robertson (MDiv ’91, ThM ’97 ), pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia, once said to young seminarians, “The Church is spiritually anemic because pastors tend to come to town, preach through the Gospel of John and Romans, and then move on to the next place and preach the same sermons over again.” This “rapid turnover phenomenon” inspired the late Dr. Robert Rayburn, first president of Covenant Theological Seminary, to coin the phrase “the shrinking canon of the Church,” by which he meant that pastors are preaching through less and less of the Bible.

“The real challenge for me is to settle in and stay until I am extruded,” Wes Alford confesses—referring to one of Schaeffer’s comments. “It’s tempting to just want to do your time and then move on to a bigger gig. I try to remember that the Lord has assigned me my task for now in this particular place. That way I can better see the Lord’s hand in the work He has called me to do here, and I know it is not in vain. In fact, it has become a real joy.”

If there is truth to the accusation that many small churches are spiritually immature, some onus of responsibility must rest with the pastors. Commitment to a congregation becomes essential in seeing small churches grow spiritually. “A vision for a church to embrace the mission of the Church—to be a gracious, loving community of redeemed sinners reaching out to others— keeps people from growing stagnant in their faith and worship,” Kevin Ball acknowledges. Not surprisingly, the faithful commitment of pastors to these congregations often results in the radical transformation of each pastor and his family.

“As I am in this ministry, I’m learning about really loving people and about how ministry involves suffering for their good— even if the people never see that,” Kevin reflects. “I am especially being challenged to grow in the area of leadership. Erin and I have been encouraged by how God has been causing growth in my life—growth as a preacher and teacher certainly, but most importantly growth in becoming a real pastor to real people.”

Such transformation expresses itself on every level, as Wes Alford notes. “I see more clearly now the need for dependent, believing prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit, not only in my congregation, but in me,” he says. “When I pray for them, I pray for myself, and when I pray for myself, I pray for them. There truly is a limit to my efforts to bring real and lasting change. I must learn to pray, live, love, preach—and to just hang in there!”

It is perhaps that “hanging on” which is most challenging for pastors of small churches—the struggle with identity, significance, and faithfulness. The provision of Christ by His Spirit and through His Word is, at times, the only comfort for the nagging temptation of discontentment. All these men point back to the centrality of prayer. “The idea that God has called me to be faithful—though not necessarily to be successful—is encouraging,” John Dawson states. “My prayer is that even if I do not see the fruit of my service now, that in 5 or 10 years it will bear fruit.

I am called to be faithful, to plant, and to water. What better

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argument for organic growth in the Church is there than the verse 1 Corinthians 3:6? And I have seen some organic growth in my three short years here. I’ve seen Christians become more willing to serve and have a growing desire to give, and I’ve seen leadership become more unified.”

Faithfulness breeds vision and vision faithfulness as Christ continues to bring unity to His Bride through the service of these pastors. “The opportunity for ministry and impact is huge in our town!” Wes Alford remarks. “My vision is to take us to a place of Gospel-driven influence. I know the potential is there. We just need to find our joy—not our ministry, that’s too intimidating— and then go do it.”

Scripture is clear: God is committed to all places—large and small. The ministry of Jesus was lived out mostly in the villages of the Palestinian countryside. “Every Christian,” Schaeffer writes, “without exception, is called into the place where Jesus stood.

To the extent that we are called to leadership, we are called to ministry, even costly ministry.”

Wes concludes, “I love the stability of the place where I live and the people Jesus has called me to serve. It’s a great place to raise a family and to seek to build up people for God’s Kingdom.”

And God’s Kingdom is built through the faithful service of men such as Wes Alford, Kevin Ball, John Dawson and their families—and hundreds of others who faithfully serve in small towns and small churches—as they embrace the dignity, beauty, and blessing of working in small (not little) churches. They affirm Schaeffer’s statement that, “As there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are no little places.”

pray

right: Kevin Ball accepted a call to serve as solo pastor of a church in Marion, Alabama, where he ministers in various capacities to the 175-year-old congregation.

JOEL HATHAWAY Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) grew up in the small town of Waynesboro, Mississippi, where his father served as a PCA pastor and his mother served as the church musician for 14 years.

Joel retains an affinity for the open spaces of rural living.

To Prepare the Pastor: No Small Sanctuary Since its inception in 1973, the PCA has continued to grow and expand its number of churches throughout the United States— today recognizing 350,000 members. Despite this continued growth, at least 75 percent of PCA churches—both established and new churches—remain smaller than 200 members. Many

part of this exciting venture is the construction of a new preaching chapel.

Features wD esigned wP rovides wS et

with the dynamics of a small church in mind

a 120-seat chapel for realistic small-church setting

up like a sanctuary to give students a practical sense

of what it’s like to teach in a church

graduates from Covenant Theological Seminary are leading, and

As we seek to be good stewards of the overwhelming blessings

will continue to lead, congregations of such size. These churches

God has given us and to pass those blessings on to future

are looking to Covenant Seminary to prepare pastors for the

generations, will you please consider how you might play

unique aspects of ministry in smaller places.

a part in this exciting venture?

Partly in response to this, Covenant Seminary has embarked

For more information contact Director of Donor Relations

on the By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. A vital

John Ranheim at 1.800.264.8064.

li v e lo v e pr each

ALUMNI PROFILE

FRom wa r

Worship TO

… rejoice that your names are written in heaven”

S

– Luke 10 : 20b

tories from Hobbema, written by Marcus Toole (MDiv ’00), read like medieval tales with a bent toward modern-day horror. And what often sounds like a throwback to pioneer missionary work is actually a twenty-first century reality no further away than Alberta, Canada. It is here, on the tribal lands of the Cree people—four separate Indian reserves commonly referred to as Hobbema—that Marcus serves Christ, testifying to the spiritual realities of the Lord and His Church as they fight, “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

right: As Marcus Toole (far right) ministers to Cree people in Canada, some of the most receptive people have been gang members. Prayer is foundational to the efforts in Hobbema, where evidence of spiritual darkness is prominent.

COVENANT | Summer 2007

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“Satan is fighting back, and we see it all the time,” Marcus says, pointing to commonly employed traditional practices such as piping (pipe) and sweetgrass ceremonies, rituals at sweat lodges (the “sweats”), and other forms of animistic spirituality. Medicine men are consulted regularly, and they in turn consult grandfather spirits, which include animal spirits, Mother Earth, and those of ancestors.

“We experienced spiritual resistance in a powerful way last year when Reggie Rabbit, one of the men, rejoined the ministry,” Marcus explains. Reggie, a 25-year-old and direct descendent of Chief Big Bear, is a member of the governing family on his home reserve, the Montana First Nation. The Montana people get their name from when they fled to the state of Montana in the aftermath of the Riel Rebellion (1885) and were returned to Canada by the U.S. Cavalry. “We immediately began to experience intense spiritual oppression from the medicine men on the Montana reserve,” Marcus shares, explaining that this opposition was in direct response to the destruction of a sweat lodge—a ceremonial sauna of sorts where ritual sweating and prayer to spirits take place—located on Reggie’s mother’s property. There are over 300 such lodges—places of worship and demonic interaction—throughout Hobbema. This particular sweat was built on the land without permission from Reggie’s mother.

“I wanted to wait to pray for a season before burning the sweat lodge,” Marcus explains, “but Reggie’s brother and mother both had dreams telling them to burn the lodge and to build a church.

I’m not sure what to make of these dreams, but in Cree culture dreams are taken very seriously.”

The overtly spiritual challenges pitted against the Cree people in Hobbema is bad enough, but the realities of daily living are little better. Many young people are trapped in gang lifestyles—both fueling and fueled by drug and alcohol addictions. In Hobbema, membership of just one of the gangs alone is in the hundreds.

And yet, amazingly, gang members continue to prove more receptive to the Gospel than other segments of the Hobbema population. Perhaps one reason for this trend is the constant threat of death that these young gang members face. As one man put it, “All my friends are dead, and I’m afraid that I’m next.”

Young Native Americans often join these gangs in the first place because they were alienated by the local culture. However, in a short time the gangster lifestyle results in even greater alienation. Sometimes gang members lose so much through the lifestyle that they wake up and realize that their choice is between life and death. Sometimes they choose life and become believers. Sometimes they choose death—and suicide is not uncommon. Marcus says, “The gangsters who meet me quickly realize that I care about what happens to them and will go out of my way to help them when I can. But they also discover that I am very direct about the choices they have to make. I tell them, ‘You cannot serve Jesus and your gang.’ Behind these choices stands the power of the Holy Spirit drawing people to faith. This is why the most important component of our ministry in Hobbema is prayer. It is the power of the risen Lord applied to the lives of people that brings gangsters and traditionalists alike to faith in Christ and to Jesus’ Church.” Such is the essence of a life transformed from war to worship.

“ The gangsters who meet me quickly realize that I care about what happens to them...” above: Marcus Toole visited Cove nant Seminary early this year to talk about his ministry to Native American s in Alberta, Canada.

The violence and destruction caused by the gangs is perceived and feared throughout the culture, even by young children.

During a holiday presentation this last Christmas, one child read this heartfelt desire: “I wish the violence would stop so that we could play in our own yards without worrying about getting shot.”

The promised hope of redemption came earlier in the evening from a child who read, “I wish everyone would honor the real God who sent Jesus to be born in a manger.”

Until recently, Marcus’s main emphasis in Hobbema was sharing the Gospel among the rival gangs—seeing conversions among and discipling men from three of the gangs. But with the growing demands of a congregation, composed of members from all four bands on the reserve, Marcus finds himself stretched. “The logistics of transporting people to and from church are such that, without help, it is impossible for me to keep up all the outreach ministries.” Currently Marcus transports Montana people to and from the church in Louis Bull (Reserve)—averaging 75-minute trips. One solution—and a desired goal—is for the ministry to establish a second worship location on the Montana reserve.

“A member of the Montana Band is in the process of making land available for a church building,” Marcus says. “We are beginning to work through the logistics, but we just can’t know what all it will take to construct a building there.” In order for this to happen, consent would be required from every family on the reserve. Marcus is unshaken, “The Lord gives us enormous grace and favor,” he says. “We trust Him to build His Church.”

For Marcus, what sounds and feels like a battle—against spiritual forces, physical threats, and political bodies—is just that, but it’s a battle already won by our Savior. His, and every Christian soldier’s, cry remains: Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane, But the church of Jesus constant will remain.

Gates of hell can never ’gainst that church prevail; We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.

“Onward Christian Soldiers,” 1865, Sabine Baring-Gould Joel Hathaway Joel Hathaway (MDiv ‘04), director of alumni and church relations, serves to encourage and sustain pastors and ministry leaders in their first five years of ministry and beyond. Graduates of the seminary are invited to contact Joel Hathaway for matters of prayer by e-mail at joel.hathaway@covenantseminary.edu.

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Core Value #7 Kingdom Perspective We believe that God’s purpose is the gathering of His people from every nation and the renewal of all things.

He calls His Church to active involvement with the world’s peoples and cultures, carrying out the mission of bringing the Gospel to those who do not believe and expressing Christ’s lordship in every area of life. In order to train students to make disciples of the nations, our faculty, staff, and students must increasingly reflect the ethnic and cultural richness of God’s worldwide Church.

Kingdom

Dr. Michael Williams

P E RSPE CTIVE

S

even core values amplify and clarify how Covenant Theological Seminary understands its purpose. In the last installment of our series on these core values, Professor of Systematic Theology Dr. Michael Williams discusses the scope of this idea and how it touches every area of the Christian’s life.

As professors teach about the Kingdom of God at Covenant Theological Seminary, they are opening the eyes and minds of many students who have thought of the Christian life in varying ways. What are key concepts about the Kingdom that you address?

One of the greatest blessings for me as a teacher is encouraging students to grasp the amazing scope of the Gospel and God’s lordship over their lives and this world. Most of my teaching takes place in introductory courses, which means that I engage students just as they begin their seminary experiences. This can be both frustrating and an incredible blessing, as it is my calling to introduce students to the world of the Bible—a world that confronts and challenges many of the opinions and commitments, even Christian commitments, that students bring with them.

Many of our students come to us having been carefully nurtured and discipled in the biblical story and have already begun to lay hold of the breadth of it. Many others, however, come only with the story of the larger culture or that of popular Christian culture or with stories that invite them to see the Christian faith as being about and relevant to only their private lives—a spiritual existence that is always to be distinguished from the life of the body, the material world, and the work-a-day world of human social existence.

Students are often more than a bit surprised to hear an understanding of the Gospel and the Christian life that embraces

the entirety of their lives, indeed, the whole of God’s creation.

Putting the issue in the most explicit terms, the scope of God’s redemption in Christ is as big as the scope of God’s creative work.

The God who sent His Son to die for me is the God who created all things in the first place, and His redemptive goal is nothing less than to push sin out of every inch and aspect of His creation.

I have been redeemed in Christ for a purpose: to be a redemptive agent in the reclamation of “all things.” We should not miss what is at stake here. God is jealous for His works. He surrenders nothing to the forces of sin and death. If the Kingdom of God stands for the realization of God’s good will in the world (an affirmation and living out of the way things ought to be) then the loving grace of God lays claim to all things, destroying the Devil’s work and returning every bit of God’s world—every aspect, place, and thought—to its rightful Lord.

What is the most common misunderstanding/wrong thinking about the Kingdom that you observe in students today, and how is this addressed at Covenant Seminary?

Unfortunately, popular forms of Christian faith and piety often tend toward a kind of Gnosticism, the belief that the material world is intrinsically evil, that the human soul is fundamentally good, and that salvation is a matter of the soul leaving the body and the world behind so that it can find its way to God—a God who cares nothing about the world but values only the human soul. It is not at all uncommon to hear the point of the Gospel expressed as “my believing in Jesus so that I can go to heaven when I die.” With that understanding, then the point of the Christian faith is that I get something for myself (salvation) and that salvation bears no relationship to the world in which I live.

Indeed, it negates that world and separates me from it.

Hearing that the biblical portrayal of salvation affirms rather than denies our lives in the world can be quite revolutionary for students as it opens up—and indeed explodes—for many students categories such as evangelism, vocation, environmental concern, and even Christian identity. The Gospel calls us to life in God’s world rather than away from it. The kingship of God over all things calls us to see His creational and redemptive concern as embracing a view of Kingdom calling that touches upon the social, bodily, and corporate aspects of human existence rather than merely an imagined spiritual or private definition of religion or the Kingdom of God. Yet this expansive understanding of redemption and God’s sovereign rule should not be taken to demean the church or its ministries. In fact, the physical church is the gathering point for the energies of the Kingdom, or, better, it is the hub from which the people of God move out toward the world. We sometimes speak of the church as an instrument of the Kingdom. Israel was

called to bless the nations by its worship and tending to the Word of God. By its righteous action in the world on God’s behalf, it was seeking the Kingdom, modeling for all the world the righteous and loving rule of God. The church bears that same mission.

The church is not an end in itself but a servant and instrument of the coming Kingdom of God. Our words proclaim the coming Kingdom of God, and our deeds embody that Kingdom as they bless the lives of those with whom we come in contact.

When the Seminary teaches that every calling in life is to be to the glory of God, what exactly do we mean?

What does that look like in the lives of the faculty and of students? How do we model this?

When we say that every calling in life is to the glory of God we mean that there is no area of life that is secular, a term that, if you think about it, in effect means what is beyond God’s rule and does not belong to Him. The Christian religion is irrelevant in this domain, for it is ruled or normed by something or someone else. There is, of course, an understandable draw to this kind of idea. Such a notion makes the reach of the Gospel and the rule of God small, easy, and manageable. When we say, for example, that religion is solely about our private lives or our spiritual lives, we are essentially saying that God does not care about how we conduct ourselves in our work-a-day lives, our entertainments, or our political or economic decisions.

Yet a survey of the revelation of God’s law in Exodus and Deuteronomy demonstrates something very different. God is concerned about economic justice among His people just as much as He is concerned about their salvation. And clearly He is as concerned with how we treat animals and care for the land as how we treat one another. An example is the exodus of

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Israel out of Egypt. To depict the exodus as merely an act of deliverance so that Israel could worship God is to miss the depth of what was actually going on. The exodus had political, economic, and social meanings and implications for Israel that were every bit as real as deliverance from sin. It would be false to distinguish one from the other.

The prophets show us that God passionately cares about social issues such as political arrogance, economic exploitation, judicial misconduct, the misuse of the land, and the suffering of the poor and the oppressed. The rule of God relentlessly opposes all that oppresses and diminishes the well-being of human beings. As the redemptive work of Christ is God’s answer to human sin and all its effects, living as a renewed image-bearer of God calls us to be agents of that redemption in all that we do and in all of our relationships.

A seminary does not embody every human calling, so what students learn here is, to some extent, exemplary—a kind of modeling that is to be extended into the other domains of life.

As a faculty, we not only teach a vision of the Kingdom of God that is as broad as life itself, but we also seek to set out examples of worship and spiritual devotion, friendship and hospitality, and collegiality and respect among one another and students that demonstrates something of the reach of the Gospel and the claims of the coming Kingdom. In our teaching of Scripture, speaking to the issues of our world and times and our personal modeling, we seek to inculcate in our students a passion for social justice and peace, a concern about the environment, the necessities of good citizenship, and a personal investment in the societies in which the people of God are called to live.

and the Kingdom of God, though we do need to be open to the criticism and transformation of the Word of God. The term “Kingdom of God,” often conjures up many different ideas and understandings. The following explanation

by Dr. Michael Williams gives further insight into what students at Covenant Seminary learn about this amazing truth.

The Kingdom of God As Gordon J. Spykman said, “Nothing matters but the Kingdom, but because of the Kingdom, everything, literally everything, matters.” The biblical image of the Kingdom of God immediately calls up conceptions of God’s sovereign rule and dominion over creation, His providential guiding of our lives and the affairs of nations, and His rightful authority over all things. While the phrase “the Kingdom of God” does not occur in the Old Testament, the theme of God’s sovereign and righteous rule is pervasive in its pages and stands at the heart of the Old Testament message. As the Great King calls His creation Kingdom into existence, orders it, and appoints a place for every creature—and all by the sheer authority of His kingly command (Gen. 1)—so God rules over His people Israel (Ps. 97; 99; Isa. 44:6; 52:7), the nations (Ps. 96), and the whole of creation (Ps. 47:2; Ps. 104; 145). That God is King over the whole universe, ranging from nature and history to every dimension of human life is everywhere acknowledged and celebrated (Ps. 93:1; 97:1; 99:1; 1 Chron. 29:11; Dan. 4:3, 34–35).

That God is the King, and that His creatures are subject to His kingly authority is the basic assumption of the biblical depiction of sin. Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden was nothing less than their rebellion against God’s rightful rule over them. Rather than listen to, live within, and live out God’s good will for them, all of humanity rejected God’s kingship in favor of their own desires.

The garden rebellion introduced a rival regime into human history, a reign of sin and death that would subjugate humanity, bring discord into the world, and incur the judgment of God. While God remains the rightful Lord over all things and upholds His creational word, the entrance of sin into the world means that God will relate to sinful humanity through judgment, crushing the rebellion of sin (Gen. 3:15). But in His mercy God declares that judgment is insufficient by itself. He graciously promises to restore His creation Kingdom. If judgment is the defeat of powers contentious of God’s rule, then redemption is nothing less than the restoration of God’s proper kingship over His creatures. When all sinful insurrection is put down and all its effects upon the world and its inhabitants are remediated, then,

Covenant Seminary teaches that a necessary element of the Kingdom is creational and cultural diversity. Would you expand on this?

The idea of authority is ever present when we think about the Kingdom of God. As the Author of our world and our presence in the world, God bears an inherent status as the Authority over our lives. That God is the King means not only that He has the right to rule, but also that we are called to submit ourselves to that rule. Unfortunately the idea of authority often reflects the notion of authoritarianism for many people. But that is not how God does things. It is rarely the case that there is one lockstep way to obey God, keep His law, embody His rule in the world.

This is demonstrated, I think, in the rich diversity that we see in God’s creation. All the colors and textures of creation glorify Him. As God has made plants and insects, mammals and birds, planets and stars—in dizzying array, and all to the praise of His name—so He has made the human family one of diversity rather than one in which each of us is but a copy of the other. Aside from being male and female (an absolutely delightful pluralism) we are also diverse in our ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and historical realities—a pluralism that is no less precious to God. Although all of us are called to love and worship the one true God, serve one another, and cultivate God’s good earth, there is no one way to do these things. One of God’s own characteristics that we human beings are invited to emulate is His creativity, His love for diversity. The diversity of ways of thinking about the world that we bring to the people of God by virtue of being creatures in God’s world and the products of the climates and cultures that bear us are means of blessing both for the Church COVENANT | Summer 2007

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“ T he Kingdom of God is just as relevant to

business

as it is to

family nurture ;

just as appropriate to to

citizenship as it is

churchmanship;

of God

and the Kingship

just as relevant

to the

arts ,

education , and the sciences as it is to personal devotion and worship.” as theologian Graeme Goldsworthy says, “the renewing process of redemption will result in the fullness of the Kingdom of God.” The fullness of the Kingdom will see the overthrow of the wicked and the coming of justice for the oppressed. Peace will come to the nations, and the land will be fruitful beyond imagining. Rejoicing among God’s people will replace the shame and dishonor of sin.

All of this will take place within a renewed creation that is free from death and pain (Isa. 61). Quoting from Isaiah 61 and its promise of the coming renewal of creation, Jesus proclaims that in His person and work the Kingdom of God has come (Luke 4:18–21; Matt. 3:1–2; 12:28). Although the Kingdom has not yet arrived in its fullness and we remain in a world that is yet to be delivered from the influence of sin and demonic powers (2 Cor. 4:4), in Christ the old age is passing away in the coming of the new (2 Cor. 5:17), the fullness of time has begun (Gal. 4:4), and today is the day of God’s salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).

In Jesus—God’s Messiah, the promised Davidic King—the Kingdom of God is present as an anticipation of the coming restoration of creation. The Gospel of the Kingdom is that the crucified and risen Jesus is Lord of the world.

A distinctive belief of the Reformed tradition is that Christ is Lord over all things, and, thus, the coming Kingdom of God lays claim to all of reality. Just as all the fullness of the Creator God resided in Jesus of Nazareth, so by His atoning death and resurrection Jesus guarantees a healed and renewed creation.

Through Him God has reconciled to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven (Col. 1:19–20; compare Eph. 1:9–10; 2 Cor. 5:18–19; Rom. 8:19–21; Matt. 19:28). “Exalted to the right hand of God,” Jesus reigns as Lord over all and subdues all of His enemies (Acts 2:32–36; compare Phil. 2:9–11). His kingship embraces all things—in heaven and on earth—covering all creatures and dimensions of life. As Matthew 28:18 states, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to [him].”

The cross is good news not just for the individual sinner but for all of creation, for every dimension of creaturely existence that has been touched by sin. As Jesus has come into the world to subjugate the powers that stand allied against God’s rule (1 John 3:8), so the Gospel lays royal claim to all that sin and evil have touched.

As God is the rightful King over all the earth, so the kingship of Jesus is equal in scope. Nothing is excluded from the reach of His dominion. Reductions of Christ’s kingship to the private

sphere, the inner “religious” life, or the ecclesial are to be rejected.

The modern dichotomy between the sacred and the secular, politics and religion, the spiritual and the common, would have made no sense to people living in biblical times because for them all of life was lived before God. Because Jesus reigns over all, all of life is religious. The Kingdom of God is just as relevant to business as it is to family nurture; just as appropriate to citizenship as it is to churchmanship; and the kingship of God just as relevant to the arts, education, and the sciences as it is to personal devotion and worship.

Here then is the key to Christian identity. Being a believer in Jesus Christ means seeking the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33) because God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13 esv).

The people of God have been redeemed for a purpose, a mission— to participate in the coming of the Kingdom, the redemption of God’s whole creation from the wreckage of sin and evil.

The people of God are called to witness to the Kingdom, to be posters and advertisements for the redemptive grace and creational normativity of the righteous rule of God. As people who, in Christ and by the power of His indwelling Spirit, worship God, the Church is called to fly the flag of the coming Kingdom in its proclamation of the Gospel and its search for human wholeness in justice and righteousness. This suggests that every calling in life is to be brought under the lordship of Christ and is to serve and proclaim His Kingdom. Neither the Kingdom nor the vocations into which God has called us can be limited by the institutional boundaries of the church. The people of God worship on Sunday as a witness of God’s Kingdom to the world. On Monday morning, we go to school and work, we keep house and play, we visit and vote, and we do this all as people who wait for and hasten the coming day of God (2 Pet. 3:12). The church is the locus, the “beachhead” of the Kingdom (that place where God’s rule is seen by a world seeking a word of grace), but the Kingdom’s field of operation is wider than the church because it aims at the dominion of God in every sphere of human endeavor. Thus Paul can instruct the Church: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31 esv).

If you would like to learn more about this topic or just learn from Dr. Williams, you can download for free all the lectures and course materials for Dr. Williams’s class on God and His Word through Covenant Worldwide. Go to www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide.

DR. MICHAEL WILLIAMS Dr. Williams is professor of systematic theology at Covenant Seminary. He has a strong reputation among Reformed and evangelical theologians, due largely to dozens of astute articles and book reviews. He has written particularly in the areas of the nature of theology and theological method, and history.

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Rock of Ages

Words: Augustus Toplady, 1776 ADAPTED BY Burress McCombe, 2005 Chorus and Music:

Burress McCombe, 2005

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.

Chorus:

Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages Let me hide my soul in Thee; Rock of Ages, Rock of Ages, Let me hide my soul in Thee.

Not the labors of my hands Can fulfill Thy laws commands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone.

Chorus

While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne: Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

Chorus

©2 005, One Story Songs.

All rights reserved.

Used by permission.

Other songs on this CD: “In Remembrance” “The Old Rugged Cross” “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” “Immanuel (You’re the God-man)” “Sweet the Moments” “The Least of These” “We Are Coming to the Cross” “No, Not Despairingly Come I to Thee” “Come, for the Feast is Spread” “Amazing Grace”

Risen to N Psalm 98:1 says “Sing to the Lord a new song,” and Psalm 95:2 encourages us by saying “Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.”

Through the selection of timeless hymns and special arrangements and accompaniment using a variety of instruments, a group of musicians (some future worship leaders) at Covenant Theological Seminary have done just that. Twice a week, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Mark Dalbey and Chapel Coordinator Claudia Wootton (MATS ’08) diligently work to organize chapel services to encourage the Covenant Seminary community in worshipping together. “During these times of worship, God has been drawing us together and deepening our need for and understanding of the Gospel,” reflects Claudia.

“This CD is a fruit of the richness of chapel expressed in the singing of ‘psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.’ ”

New Life If you would like a copy of this CD, please contact Kit Bloomquist at 1.800.264.8064, or stop by the Covenant Seminary booth at the 2007 PCA General Assembly in Memphis, Tennessee, June 12–15.

This past January a group of Covenant Seminary students and a few faculty members gathered in between classes, exams, group projects, and family priorities typical to a semester to create a CD together. Traditional hymns loved by many, including “Rock of Ages,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” and “Amazing Grace,” were rearranged in meaningful ways, exhibiting not only the breadth and depth of talent available on this campus, but also—and more importantly—displaying the gifts of those God has called to serve His Church. Four other hymns from the Church’s past not often sung were also given new life by revising the tunes so that they are more accessible to worshippers today.

Three hymns are original works written and composed by two of the musicians.

This CD features musical arrangements performed primarily

by Eric Ashley (MDiv ’07), Dr. Zack Eswine (faculty), Burress McCombe (MDiv ’08), Ryan McMillen (MATS ’09), Luke Morton (MDiv ’09), Eric Stiller (MDiv ’08), Andy Wood (MDiv ’07), and Claudia Wootton (MATS ’08). Other supporting vocalists and musicians including Dana Ergenbright (MATS ’07), Jason Polk (MDiv ’07), and Denise Wichlan (staff) were brought in to enhance the production. “Many of our students

have musical gifts that they sometimes think they need to lay aside while they study at seminary,” says Dr. Dalbey. “We encourage them instead to keep developing those gifts as part of their ministry preparation and look to how God will use them in future ministry.” The design of the CD project (shown here) was created by MDiv student Derek McCollum (MDiv ’09).

Audio-Visual Services and production specialists Chris Bryan (MDiv ’09), future student John Patton, and Bailey Mohr (MAEM ’08) worked alongside the musicians in the recording process—exhibiting the many ways by which our work, done for God’s purposes, display His glory and goodness.

Whether this music encourages us to “worship the Lord with gladness” as the psalmist exhorts in Psalm 100, or like David proclaims in 1 Chronicles 16:29 “...worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness,” there is no doubt that the eternal inspiration from God’s Word (the same inspiration that encouraged the authors to pen beautiful songs centuries ago) is the same inspiration that fuels musicians today around the nation and at Covenant Seminary to continue giving Him all glory and praise. They seek to worship God in Spirit and truth as they draw on both the richness of past expressions of biblical worship and the freshness of present ones that bring new life to the Church today.

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www.covenantseminary.edu

DONOR PROFILE

No L i t t l e

Gifts … she, out of her poverty, put in everything— all she had to live on.

– Mark 12:44

A

57- c ir c a 1 9

Your Investment Matters As the number of students continues to grow at Covenant Seminary, so does the need for scholarships to support those training to lead God’s people. The prayer of the Seminary board, faculty, and staff is that God would raise up additional individuals and churches to partner with us in providing for the financial needs of the next generation of Christ-centered, Gospel-centered, Reformed pastors.

If you are interested in finding out how you can encourage spiritually and support financially pastors-in-training, please contact John Ranheim, director of donor relations, at 1.800.264.8064.

COVENANT | Summer 2007

s Jesus sat in the temple watching passersby put money into the offering box, a woman described simply as “poor” came along. Maybe people pushed past her as she unwrapped her cloth with two copper coins— unaware of the watchful eyes of those around her. But Jesus saw, and His praise made her forever remembered for her gift. In God’s Kingdom, there are no little gifts.

After more than 50 years of faithful, monthly support of Covenant Theological Seminary, Joanita Cutten—Jo, as she prefers to be called—testifies to such a reality. From her first gifts—“a very small amount,” as Jo describes—through today, her donations have been a real means by which generations of pastors have been prepared for Gospel ministry. Future generations have, in part because of Jo’s faithfulness, the chance hear their Maker faithfully proclaimed.

Jo moved from Pasadena, California, in 1956—when Covenant College relocated to St. Louis, Missouri, and Covenant Seminary began. “I came from a broken family,” Jo shares. “The Rayburn family was very good to me, as were Rudy and Collyn Schmidt. They loved me and helped me grow spiritually.” In those days, Dr. Robert Rayburn served as the president of Covenant Seminary. Rudy Schmidt served as the registrar and taught history. “I started investing in the Seminary because of my personal relationships to these families,” Jo explains.

“I know the money is going to educate young men for the ministry.”

Children have been the focus of her lifetime ministry. “A class of 25 kindergartners is ideal for me,” Jo shares. Including her service in Christian schools and Sunday school, God has used Jo to personally reach more than 1,000 children with her witness of the Gospel. “There is something about recognizing how the Lord leads you and fits you,” Jo says. “I fit with small children. In the life of a child, every little bit helps,” she explains. “Give me a child till he or she is 5, and I’ll have that child for the rest of his or her life. You can instill something in children that you don’t know you’ve done till 20 years later. You did it because you love the Lord and the kids needed that foundation. I knew I never wanted to go to the mission field, but there was something I could do at home.” Jo breaks from the conversation to shush her pet dog. She returns and gently insists, “Don’t make too much of me, you know. It was God. I was just His messenger.”

Truly Jo’s is a life of faithfulness to children, for Christ’s sake.

JOEL HATHAWAY As director of alumni and church relations, Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) serves to encourage and sustain pastors and ministry leaders in their first five years of ministry and beyond. Graduates of the seminary are invited to contact Joel for matters of prayer by e-mail at joel.hathaway@covenantseminary.edu.

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GOSPEL Pa rtnership

P

art of training students at Covenant Theological Seminary includes special opportunities to play a strategic role in training and equipping the worldwide Church. This was the case January 11–13 this year.

A group of seven Japanese visitors came to Covenant Seminary to attend the Understanding Prophesy Today weekend course taught by Dr. Richard L. Pratt Jr. This group of visiting students is part of Christ Bible Seminary (CBS) in Nagoya, Japan. They represent various denominations, backgrounds, walks of life, and callings, but they have one goal in mind—to further advance God’s Kingdom in Japan.

Covenant Seminary was their first stop on a three-week tour. Their goal was to visit and develop partnerships throughout the United States. In addition to attending the weekend course, the group also toured St. Louis, visited with other Japanese Christians in the area, met current seminary students who have spent time in Japan, and had a special lunch with Dr. Pratt. They stayed with families in the area and were hosted by professors, faculty, current students, and friends of the Seminary.

In order for the visitors to understand the lectures, four members of the Japanese Christian Fellowship in St. Louis volunteered to translate the lectures from English to Japanese as the class took place.

The Japanese students completed class assignments similar to the ones given to Covenant Seminary students, and they received credit from Christ Bible Seminary for participating in the class.

The forming of this partnership began a few years ago when friendships began between CBS President Michael Oh and various members of the Covenant Seminary community. Last May, Dr. Bryan Chapell, Covenant Seminary’s president, taught an intensive course at CBS in Nagoya. The presidents of both seminaries reconnected in January in St. Louis.

Over the years many groups of international students have visited Covenant Seminary. While our Japanese visitors were finishing up their course here, Associate Professor of World Mission Dr. Nelson Jennings headed to Mérida, Mexico, to teach a week-long course on world religions. This course was part of the beginning of a new master’s program at a seminary there. Just two years ago, a group of five Mexican pastors from Mérida visited Covenant Seminary to attend a January course. The Seminary has developed and nurtured a wide range of partnerships—with various institutions and churches worldwide— over the past several years because our Gospel understanding calls us to involve ourselves with furthering God’s Kingdom throughout the world. We consider it a privilege to steward God’s blessing of resources this way, and we are delighted to partner with brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe.

JULIE TAYLOR Julie Taylor (MDiv, MAC ’08) works in the World Mission office at Covenant Theological Seminary. Upon graduating from college, Julie spent a year overseas serving in campus ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ. She hopes to use her training, teaching, and counseling to encourage missionaries on the field.

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Free Covenant Seminary Classes Covenant Worldwide, an online ministry of Covenant Theological Seminary, offers an assortment of classes from Covenant Seminary’s master’s degree programs. w P rovides

a broad, foundational knowledge of the Scriptures as well as guidance for engaging a variety of ministry contexts.

w M akes

available all lectures for more than 20 courses (MP3 format) as well as study guides (PDF format) and other courseware.

w O ffers

notification as new resources are posted.

To find out more, or to download the free materials, go to www.covenantseminary.edu and click on the Covenant Worldwide icon on the right side of the page.

Covenant Seminary encourages the sharing and distribution of these materials for non-commercial purposes in order to serve and equip God’s people throughout the world.

top: Covenant Seminary student Seima Aoyagi ([MDiv ’08] back row, third from left) felt at home with the visiting Japanese students and volunteer interpreters. bottom: Two of the Gerlits children made new friends when their parents, Ken (MDiv ‘09) and Shannon, helped host the Japanese families who visited Covenant Seminary for a class in January. www.covenantseminary.edu

Serving

Kingdom,

Loving King THE

TH E

One of Covenant Seminary’s greatest assets is its faculty of dedicated pastor-scholars who give their time and their talents to teaching and mentoring future leaders for Christ’s Church.

As the 2006–2007 academic year closed, the Seminary said goodbye to two of our longest-serving faculty members— Dr. Robert I. Vasholz and Dr. David C. Jones—who retired after a combined 75 years of service. We reflect here on the contribution that these fathers in the faith have made to the life of the Seminary community and the influence they have had in shaping the ministries of many of our graduates.

S

tudents in Dr. Bob Vasholz’s classes have sometimes been bewildered by the intricacies of the Hebrew weak verb or the mysteries of the Hiphil tense, but they have always been amused by his humorous stories and sayings (“You know what they say about Hebrew—it goes faster than it comes!”). They are especially intrigued by his reminiscences about growing up in a Jewish family in Kansas City, Missouri. Born there in 1936, young Bob attended Hebrew school for six years and was bar mitzvahed at age 13, a ritual that announces approval to read the Torah in worship. How he came to be preaching the Gospel and teaching the Old Testament at a Reformed Presbyterian seminary is a fascinating story in itself.

“I became a Christian through my mother’s influence,” Vasholz notes. “She met a Christian lady and was very impressed with her manner. This lady exuded a joy and a love for God that my mother had never seen before.” The woman felt called to witness to people of the Jewish faith. She visited the Vasholz home many times over the course of several years, opening the Old Testament with Vasholz’s mother and showing how Jesus was present in it.

One night, as his mother lay in bed, she saw the shadow of a lamppost on her ceiling. It was in the shape of a cross. “It wasn’t what I would call a vision,” Vasholz says, “but from that time she began to see Jesus as the Messiah.”

Mrs. Vasholz became a Christian, and, through her influence,

Then, one day, Dr. R. Laird Harris came to Greenville to meet with students who had contacted him about the fledgling Covenant College and Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. The reputations of Dr. Harris and his colleagues and their strong Christian witness left a great impression on Vasholz. “They were what attracted me to Covenant Seminary,” he says.

So, in 1964, he came to St. Louis to pursue a Master of Theology (ThM) degree at the Seminary. He graduated in 1967 and taught at area schools and universities for a time, including a brief stint as adjunct professor of Hebrew at Covenant Seminary.

He also served for more than a year as interim pastor of Dardenne Presbyterian Church in St. Charles County, Missouri.

In 1972, Vasholz came back to the Seminary as part-time Hebrew instructor and part-time director of admissions and assistant dean of students. In 1975, he was appointed to the full-time faculty. He has been there ever since, teaching Hebrew and a variety of Old Testament courses. In 1976, Vasholz completed a doctoral degree from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Over the years he has also written many articles and books, perhaps most significantly, The Old Testament Canon in the Old Testament Church: The Internal Rationale for Old Testament Canonicity. The book, which has been translated into several foreign languages, presents a carefully reasoned and well-supported argument against the historical-critical approach to the development of the Old Testament and in favor of a more traditional

Handing on a Heritage of Hope: first her children and then several other members of her family did as well. Bob was in his early teens at the time.

“It was before my bar mitzvah,” he remembers, “but Mom made me go through with it anyway because if I hadn’t, she said, I wouldn’t be able to have a good testimony to the people in our Orthodox Jewish community.” Because his mother’s Christian friend was part of a Plymouth Brethren church, the Vasholz family became part of that faith community.

“It was a good situation for Christian nurture,” Vasholz notes.

“It was a vibrant community with a focus on the person and work of Christ and God’s grace. The people there ministered well to each other. It seemed natural, not forced. I was probably more stimulated to ministry from being around them than from anything else.”

His newfound faith also sparked the young man’s interest in studying the Old Testament and the Hebrew language. When the time came for college, Vasholz attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. It was here that Vasholz met Julia Martin, the woman who eventually became his wife and gave him a daughter, Rachel. And it was here that he first began to explore and be drawn into the Reformed faith.

“I was assigned a paper on missions in the Old Testament,” Vasholz says. “With my background, I thought the Old and New Testaments did not meet, but then I began to see the more universal aspects of the Bible and its covenantal connections.

That eventually led me to consider traditional Presbyterianism.”

D r . B ob Vasholz

understanding of that development. Vasholz was recently asked to produce a revised and updated version of it.

Throughout his Christian life, Vasholz has never lost touch with his Jewish roots and maintains a strong interest in establishing closer bonds of friendship with people who are in many ways our spiritual forebears. This heart for “his people” led Vasholz in 2006 to coordinate the production of an evening of music by students, faculty members, and members of the Seminary community in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust.

The free event drew together a good mix of Christians and Jews from the St. Louis area.

Now that he has ended his long career at Covenant Seminary, Vasholz knows that he will miss the classroom and the daily interaction with students and colleagues. But he has more than enough planned to keep himself busy. Spending time with his five grandchildren (four girls and one boy) ranks high on his list of priorities.

“I’ll probably also teach on occasion,” he says, “and do some pulpit supply. And I hope to be involved in some short-term foreign mission trips. I have several writing and publishing projects to work on as well. Reading, too. I like to read biographies.”

Even in the midst of retirement, two things will remain constant for Bob Vasholz: his love for the Lord and his desire to serve God’s people—of whatever ethnic background—by handing on to them the heritage of hope in Jesus Christ with which he himself has been so graciously blessed.

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www.covenantseminary.edu

Selected Bibliography for Dr. Robert Vasholz books w L eviticus

(Mentor/Christian Focus Publications, forthcoming, 2007).

w Benedictions:

A Pocket Resource (Mentor/Christian Focus Publications, 2007).

w T he

Old Testament Canon in the Old Testament Church: The Internal Rationale for Old Testament Canonicity (Edwin Mellen Press, 1990).

w H ebrew

Exercises: A Programmed Approach (Baker, 1981).

Articles and essays

w

“ Scribes and Schools: the Canonization of the Hebrew Scriptures.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (Dec. 1999): 701–4.

Dr. Bob Vasholz (center) and Dr. David Jones (right) participated in their last graduation Ceremony this year.

Newer—but also well-loved—professors such as Dr. Jay Sklar (left) are carrying on the commitment to train the next generation of ministry leaders.

w“ Is

the New Testament Anti-Semitic?” Presbyterion 11 (Fall 1985): 118–23.

A Principled Approach to LIFE and Faith:

D

asked me to do it. I was not specifically prepared for it academically, but I saw the need and began studying toward that end. Originally the ethics material was emphasized as a special part of the systematics curriculum. It was part of various other classes for a while before becoming a separate course.”

That course, the book that resulted from it—Biblical Christian Ethics (1994)—and the man who has taught it for so many years have shaped the way countless Covenant Seminary students think about ethical issues. In the process, Jones himself has become something of a go-to guy in the PCA when questions on ethical matters arise.

He has served on or chaired several denominational committees that have prepared official position papers on such thorny topics as divorce and remarriage, abortion, end-of-life issues, and nuclear weapons, and he constantly receives calls asking for his advice on various ethical dilemmas. With compassion for people and commitment to the truths of Scripture, Jones offers insight into each situation by applying overarching principles gleaned from years of careful study of God’s Word. “If there’s one thing I want students to take away from my classes,” Jones notes, “it’s that perspective on the Christian life— having that scriptural framework in place so you can apply these principles to various situations. In ethics, you begin with the vision of God’s purpose—sharing the glory and joy of Christ—and extend that to all the world, motivated by love for Him. In light of that, we understand the teaching and example of Jesus. The Ten Commandments are the organizing principle for our practices,

r. David Jones has been teaching at Covenant Seminary since 1967. He had come to St. Louis the previous year to begin doctoral studies at Concordia Seminary. In the meantime, Dr. J. Oliver Buswell Jr. (one of the founding professors of Covenant Seminary) had a stroke, and the school needed someone to help with the teaching load. Jones was brought in as a part-time instructor and assistant librarian. That led to his being made a full-time assistant professor in 1968 and, except for sabbatical leaves, he has been teaching at the Seminary continuously ever since.

Though his field of expertise is systematic theology and he is perhaps best known for his Christian Ethics course, the first class he was asked to teach at the Seminary was, oddly enough, Hebrew.

“I had the ‘beth’ section of Dr. Harris’s Advanced Hebrew class,” Jones recalls, smiling. “It was named after the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but the students said that it was a euphemism for ‘bonehead.’ ” Early on, he also taught the survey class on Bible content as well as courses on doctrine for the MA program before taking on the systematics curriculum in 1969. As for what many now consider his signature course on Christian Ethics, that came about almost by accident. “Basically, I was pushed into it,” Jones says with a laugh.

“Actually, there was a real need for something like this, but the department chair at the time didn’t want to teach it himself, so he

COVENANT | Summer 2007

D r . David J ones

24

which don’t make sense without the persons we are becoming by the grace of God. We have to learn to view our practices in light of God’s overall purpose, to see the purposeful fulfillment of His calling in our lives.”

Jones’s teaching centers on this principled approach to life and faith. It derives in part from his study of Scripture and theology, but also in part from the influence of his mentor, the great John Murray, who taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for many years.

Born in 1937 in Greenville, South Carolina, to a Christian family of the Independent Baptist variety, Jones later attended Bryan College in Tennessee, where he came to know and love the Reformed faith. While there, he met Dr. Robert Rayburn, then-president of the newly founded Covenant College and Seminary, who visited Bryan College. Jones was impressed by the man and by the world- and life-view approach taken by Covenant.

He attended Covenant Seminary briefly in 1959–60 (overlapping there with his future colleague Dr. David Calhoun), before moving on to Westminster Seminary, where he came into Murray’s orbit.

After earning his Bachelor of Divinity from Westminster in 1962, Jones stayed on there for two more years to earn a Master of Theology under Murray, whose classic Principles of Conduct and other works left an indelible mark on him as they have on many others. It was during this period in his life that Jones met Sue Ellen Bilderback, whom he married in 1962. The couple now has two

grown sons—Mark and Keith—and five grandchildren (two girls and three boys).

Upon graduation, Jones served with World Presbyterian Missions, pastoring a mission church in the West Indies for two years. When plans to teach at a seminary in Japan fell through, he came to St. Louis in 1966 to pursue his doctorate and was asked to teach at Covenant Seminary. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In his 40 years at the Seminary, Jones has worn several hats. In addition to teaching, he served as dean of faculty from 1978 to 1988.

In 1978, he was moderator for the General Synod of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), and, as noted, has been part of several denominational committees, first for the RPCES and later for the PCA. He maintains an active preaching and speaking ministry as well. On top of all this, he enjoys playing the tuba and has occasionally recruited student musicians to join him as part of a brass quintet during campus chapel services and school picnics. Over the course of four decades, Jones has also seen many changes at the Seminary, including its phenomenal growth in recent years. For Jones, this growth is a coming to fruition of the Seminary’s original mission, the fulfilling of the vision of the institution’s founders.

“We’re becoming more of what we were intended to be,” he notes.

“We have matured so much pedagogically, apologetically, and missionally. And we have a top-notch faculty that is deep in talent and expertise. It’s been a privilege to serve here. But I could not have even begun to do it without my wonderful life companion and part-

“If there’s one thing I want students to take away from my classes, it’s that perspective on the Christian life—having that scriptural framework in place so you can apply these principles to various situations.” – Dr. David Jones

Selected Bibliography for Dr. David Jones books w Biblical Christian Ethics

(Baker, 1994).

Articles and essays w “ Christ-Centered Ethics.” In

All for Jesus, ed. R. Peterson and S. Lucas (Mentor/Christian Focus Publications, 2006). w “ The Westminster Standards and

the Structure of Christian Ethics.”

In The Westminster Confession into the 21st Century, vol. 3, ed.

J. Ligon Duncan, III (Mentor/ Christian Focus, 2006). w “ Report of the Heroic Measures

Committee, Presbyterian Church in America” and “Christian Responsibility in the Nuclear Age.” In PCA Digest, Part V: Position Papers, 1973–1993, ed. Paul R. Gilchrist (PCA, 1993). w “ Love: The Impelling Motive of

the Christian Life.” Presbyterion 1986): 65–92.

12 (Fall

ner in ministry—my lovely and gifted wife, Sue Ellen.”

And what will he do now that he is retiring? Jones smiles.

“Well, I’m retiring from the Seminary but not from my vocation,” he says. “I have some writing projects to work on. I’m doing a chapter for a handbook on John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion in celebration of the 500th anniversary of his birth [in 2009], and I’ve been asked to do a treatise on Christian virtue ethics. I would also like to produce a treatise on family, church, and state—the primary institutes that God has ordained for human flourishing.

I’m scheduled to teach ethics in Mexico next January, and I expect that there may be other opportunities to take my show on the road— call it ‘the antiques road show.’ ” He laughs, then adds, “I also plan to get back to playing my tuba. I’ve let that lapse in recent years.”

Like his colleague Bob Vasholz, Jones will miss the challenge of teaching and the joy of daily interaction with students and fellow faculty members. But, also like Vasholz, he knows that retirement is not really the end of a long and fruitful career; it is, rather, the beginning of many new and exciting opportunities to pass on the blessing of God’s grace to others.

How could it be otherwise for two men who have devoted their lives to serving the Kingdom and loving their King?

Rick Matt Rick Matt (MATS ’05) serves as associate director of public relations for Covenant Seminary, where he writes and edits a variety of print and electronic materials. He is grateful for the opportunities he had to unlock the mysteries of Hebrew under the tutelage of Dr. Vasholz and to work through the complexities of modern ethical dilemmas with Dr. Jones.

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www.covenantseminary.edu

SEMINARY NEWS (CONT.)

SEMINARY news and events

Infant Baptism Booklet

by Dr. Chapell Recently P&R Publishing released Why Do We Baptize Infants?, a booklet by Covenant Seminary’s president, Dr. Bryan Chapell. It is part of their Basics of the Reformed Faith Series. This series has been designed to introduce lay readers to Reformed distinctives.

Hans Bayer on Sabbatical Dr. Bayer is on sabbatical from August 2007 through January 2008.

This October he plans to teach New Testament theology in Ukraine.

Groundbreaking Celebration STAFF REALIGNMENTS Recently, in response to the blessing of the growth of the Seminary, we have made some adjustments to several staff positions as we seek to best utilize the talents and gifts of the people whom the Lord has brought to Covenant Seminary.

They are as follows.

During the sabbatical of Professor Barrs (May 2007–December 2007), he will continue to work on numerous book manuscripts dealing with topics such as Jesus’ role as an evangelist, Jesus’ teaching on prayer, and the way the Lord relates to several women in the Bible. He will also work on books about Francis Schaeffer and his writings, and on author C. S. Lewis and how God has used him. Jerram has plans to visit friends and family in California, Colorado, Florida, and Oregon as well as Brazil and England. His writing endeavors will be a priority during his travels.

COVENANT | Summer 2007

Dave Wicker

Jerram Barrs on Sabbatical

Dave Wicker has been appointed vice president for advancement and chief of staff. In this new role, Dave will work with the other vice presidents to coordinate President’s Office priorities, future growth strategies, and brand development.

Finding Future Church Leaders— Today!

Your influence today can have a major impact on the next generation. If you are a graduate of Covenant Seminary, what originally drew you here? Did you come because a pastor, church

26

To find out about Seminary happenings and events, visit our Web site at www.covenantseminary.edu.

As Covenant Theological Seminary closes its celebration of 50 years of God’s faithfulness, we have taken a major step forward in preparing for the next 50 years of training ministry leaders. On April 27, we held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new academic building. It was a joyous time of thanking the Lord for His provision and seeing His goodness at work among us. Construction of the new building is under way, thanks to the generous support of private and public donors to our By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. Also, as we continue to pursue academic excellence, we celebrate the goodness of God in the graduation of our fiftieth class of students.

Dr. Mark Dalbey has been named vice president for Student Services.

Diane Preston and her staff will join the Student Services team.

Diane will be associate dean of Student Services. Her primary focus will remain advising and registrar oversight.

Dr. Zack Eswine, in addition to teaching, will take responsibility for the newly created position of associate dean of ministry formation within Student Services.

Tasha Chapman, in addition to her teaching and work with instructional effectiveness, will help expand women’s, family, and community enrichment initiatives in her newly created role of associate dean of student life.

leader, campus minister, or other Christian you respected took an interest in you and urged you to do so? Are you providing the same kind of leadership and mentoring opportunities for others who show promise as possible pastors or ministry leaders? How can we help you be more effective in identifying and encouraging these potential leaders? Call our Admissions office at 1.800.264.8064, or e-mail your thoughts to admissions@covenantseminary.edu.

Mark Dalbey

FACULTY NEWS

Calendar

Upcoming Events PCA Called to 50 Days of Prayer

PROFESSORs’ SPEAKING SCHEDULES

May 3–June 21

Jerram Barrs

Zack Eswine

Mission to North America (MNA) and Christian Education and Publications (CE&P) have called the PCA to 50 days of prayer leading up to the 35th General Assembly. It began on May 3 (the National Day of Prayer) and will end June 21. Content of the Faith of Our Fathers devotional guide is available on the MNA and CE&P Web sites during these 50 days.

Visit www.pca-mna.org or www.pcacep.org.

Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture, Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute

Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Associate Dean of Ministry Formation

May 25–June 3 Gioania, Brazil. Colloquium

2007 Conference. Preaching at area churches and visiting with alumni who have opened a L’abri-like center in Brazil.

June 10 Grace Evangelical Church;

Germantown, TN.

Hans Bayer Associate Professor of New Testament

Alumni Dinner at General Assembly June 13

Covenant Seminary is pleased to announce that its annual Alumni Dinner at General Assembly will take place on Wednesday, June 13, at 5:30 p.m. Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Seminary, will present an update on the Seminary’s By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. Due to the overwhelming response to this event in recent years, attendance will be limited to those who have reserved tickets in advance (limit 2 tickets per family). For more information please contact the Alumni Office at 314.392.4055 or joel.hathaway@covenantseminary.edu.

SAVE THE DATE! Fall 2007 Francis A. Schaeffer Lectures October 19–20

The Francis A. Schaeffer Lectures bring together noted Christian thinkers and speakers to discuss critical issues facing the Church and society. The theme for the fall 2007 lectures, held October 19–20 at Covenant Seminary, is The Emerging Church: Discerning a Missional Milieu. The keynote speaker for the event will be Rev. Darrin Patrick, lead pastor of The Journey, an interdenominational church in St. Louis. The emerging church has been described as a controversial, twenty-first century Christian movement seeking to engage people, especially the unchurched, living in postmodern or postcolonial cultures. Proponents call the movement an emerging “conversation” to emphasize its developing and decentralized nature. A common characteristic is the concept of missional living where Christians are sent out into the world to be a blessing wherever they are.

What are the differences and similarities between the “emerging” and “emergent” church? Has the emerging church struck a chord with engaging the younger generation? How do we engage the emerging church? How should we respond to the challenges it raises? Please join us as we wrestle with these questions and more.

May 27–June 11 Gioania, Brazil;

Colloquium 2007 Conference.

Andrew Jumper Institute; Sao Paulo, Brazil.

LECTURES: Discipleship in the Gospel of Mark.

Bob Burns

May 29–June 1 Covenant Theological

Seminary; St. Louis, MO. DMIN COURSE: Ministry Project/Dissertation Preparation.

Donald C. Guthrie Associate Dean of Educational Ministries, Associate Professor of Christian Education June 4–7 Accra, Ghana; National

Conference on Educational Administration. Plenary and workshop speaker.

June 13 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. General Assembly.

“A Framework for Small Groups.”

TOPIC:

July 9–13 St. Louis, MO. Pastors Summit.

Cohort facilitator.

Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology

J. Nelson Jennings

June 4–8 Covenant Theological Seminary;

Associate Professor of World Mission

St. Louis, MO. DMIN COURSE: The Pastor as Change Agent.

June 12–15 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. General Assembly.

“The Pastor as Change Agent.”

TOPIC:

July 9-13 St. Louis, MO. Pastors Summit.

Dealing with ministry, marriage, and family.

TOPIC:

David B. Calhoun Professor of Church History June 11–13 Billy Graham Center; Wheaton,

IL. Coalition on the Support of Indigenous Ministries Conference. Presbyterian Mission International representative.

Bryan Chapell President and Professor of Practical Theology May 29–June 1 Covenant Theological

Seminary; St. Louis, MO. DMIN COURSE: Grace-Centered Leadership.

June 10 Lawndale Presbyterian Church;

Tupelo, MS. June 14 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. General Assembly. Speaking at evening worship.

July 23–24 Beeson Divinity School;

Birmingham, AL. 20th Annual Beeson Pastors School. Preaching in evening worship service and leading a seminar.

SEMINAR TOPIC: “The Necessity of Grace in Christian Preaching.”

Phil Douglass Associate Professor of Practical Theology May 29–June 1 Covenant Theological

June 13 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. General Assembly.

“Christians, Muslims, and America’s Superpower Status: Reports and Analyses of Some Recent Research.”

SEMINAR TOPIC:

June 15–June 17 Techny Towers; Techny, IL.

American Society of Missiology. Annual meeting.

Sean Michael Lucas Vice President for Academics and Dean of Faculty, Assistant Professor of Church History June 11–12 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. Pre-General Assembly conference: Westminster Confession for Today. TOPIC: “Coalescing Conservative Dissent: Southern Presbyterians and Confessional Revision in the 1930s.”

June 12 Memphis Cook Convention

Center; Memphis, TN. General Assembly.

Seminar with Rev. Chris Harper. TOPIC: “A Conversation on Shepherding Ministerial Candidates.”

Robert A. Peterson Professor of Systematic Theology May–August Twin Oaks Presbyterian

Church; Ballwin, MO. Sunday school.

Christ’s saving work.

TOPIC:

Daniel W. Zink Assistant Professor of Practical Theology June 4–8 Covenant Theological Seminary;

St. Louis, MO. DMin course: Pastoral Counseling.

Seminary; St. Louis, MO. DMIN COURSE: Grace-Centered Leadership.

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www.covenantseminary.edu

ALUMNI news

Robert Earl Bell (MDiv ’84) celebrated the marriage of his son R. Andrew to Shannon Johnson on October 14, 2006. The ceremony was held at Timonium Presbyterian Church in Timonium, Maryland, and Rev. John Ceselsky (MDiv ’98) participated. Ten days later, on October 24, Robert’s daughter, Alison, gave birth to Colum William Belt, who weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and measured 21 inches. The Bells youngest son, Aaron, is, among other things, a proud uncle.

John Boles (MABS ’77) pastors three PCA churches in rural Alabama and serves as a full-time hospice chaplain with Odyssey HealthCare in the Montgomery area.

On January 28, Reuters, the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, published a photo of Roger McCay (MDiv ’05) performing a benediction in Iraq.

On December 17, 2006, Sara Mersfelder (MDiv ’04) married Jess Bartley, a surgery resident and member of City Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado, where Sara has directed the church life ministry since 2004. Rev. Kirk Adkisson (MDiv ’04) married the couple. Leslie Fisher (MAC ’04), Ashley Lare Watson (MAC ’02), Jennifer Baker (MAC and MDiv ’06), Lloyd Jackson (MDiv ’07), and Deb Adkisson were in the wedding party.

Sam Murrell (MDiv ’86) currently pastors Forest Park Community Church, the oldest African-American congregation in the PCA. The Baltimore, Maryland, church will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year.

Steve (MDiv ’84) and Julie Reese are celebrating their eleventh year at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Parker, Colorado.

The Reeses helped plant the church in 1995.

Redeemer is now extensively engaged in a partnership with the local women’s crisis center to host a support group for abused women.

Julie serves as the language arts coordinator for seventh grade in the Cherry Creek School

District. The Reeses have three children: Lizzy (age 14), Katherine (age 12), and Chris (age 10).

Rev. James Routszong (MDiv ’77) went to be with the Lord on January 8 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 66. Jim is survived by Barbara, his wife of 46 years, and three children—Dawn (Perkins), Stephen, and Philip. He served churches in Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina. At the time of his death he was serving as minister of congregational care/Christian education at Draper’s Valley Church in Draper, Virginia.

We celebrate with Corrin Ranney (MDiv ’05) and Clifford Schlecht on their marriage, June 24, 2006. Corrin currently serves as director of community at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, while Clifford is earning his PhD in organic chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis. Rev. Rob Hamby (MDiv ’00) performed the wedding.

Dottie Sidebotham, wife of Tom Sidebotham (BDiv/MDiv ’58), went to be with the Lord on July 23, 2006. For 49 years Dottie faithfully served the Lord alongside her husband, an honorably retired PCA pastor and career Navy chaplain. Dottie is survived by husband Tom; their son, Dr. Bruce Sidebotham (an Army Reserve chaplain and teaching elder in the PCA); and their daughter, April Radcliffe. The couple has six grandchildren.

Brad Wos (MATS ’06) and his family have been serving in South Africa since 1999.

He is the campus ministry coordinator at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Africa. They praise God for their core group of 50 students. They have had an incredible year of growing in grace together.

BIRTHS Sasha (MDiv ’03) and Debbie Bukovietski, who currently serve in Ukraine, welcomed Michael Jesse Alexander into their family on

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We Want to Hear from you!

Alumni, we consider you family, and we’d like to keep in touch! Please let us know where in the world God has called you, and fill us in on what you’re doing there.

Update us about your family as well. Send e-mails to alumni@covenantseminary.edu and written correspondence to Alumni News, Attn: Joel Hathaway, 12330 Conway Road, St. Louis, MO 63141.

August 21, 2006. He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 21 inches long. Michael joins three older sisters. Sasha is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine and is involved in publishing and teaching seminary.

Rick (MDiv ’87) and Wendy Gray announce the birth of their third son, Chase Fletcher, born February 3. Chase weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 20 inches. Chase joins older brothers Grant Tucker (age 4) and Aidan Samuel (age 2). The Grays live along the Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo border, where Rick serves with Mission to the World as regional director for Eastern Africa.

Congratulations to John (MDiv ’06) and Elizabeth (MAC ’05) Ranheim on the birth of their son, Jacob Paul, born January 9.

Jacob weighed in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and stretched 20¾ inches. The Ranheims have remained in St. Louis since graduation.

John currently works as the director of donor relations for Covenant Seminary.

Brad (MDiv ’06) and Caroline Tubbesing praise the Lord for the birth of their firstborn, daughter Eliza. Eliza was born October 17, 2006. She weighed 8 lbs. and was 21¼ inches long.

Michael and Beth (Wirtjes) Wendling (MAC ’05) welcomed their first child, Jonathan Gerald, born November 24, 2006.

He weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was 21½ inches long. The Wendlings make their home in Champaign, Illinois. Beth continues to write for Christian publications and teaches parttime for Greenville College Opportunities in Adult Learning extension program in Champaign.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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Executive Editor David Wicker Managing Editor Stacey Fitzgerald Editor Jackie Fogas

The only significance of L IFE

Assistant Copy Editors Rick Matt Nicolle Olivastro Photographers and Image Contributors Lisa Hessel Wes Alford J. Nelson Jennings Kevin Ball Kelly Park John Dawson Marcus Toole Rick Gray Joel Hathaway

helping to establish the

kingdom of God;

Design and Production 501creative, inc.

Circulation Nicolle Olivastro Editorial Contributors Stacey Fitzgerald Jackie Fogas Rick Gray Joel Hathaway

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Covenant Theological Seminary 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63141 Tel: 314.434.4044 Fax: 314.434.4819 E-mail: covenantmagazine@covenantseminary.edu Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (esv) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News publishers. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Volume 22, Number 2. ©2007

Covenant is published by Covenant Theological Seminary, the Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America.

The purpose of Covenant Seminary is to train servants of the triune God to walk with God, to interpret and communicate God’s Word, and to lead God’s people.

and this can be done

only by means of the acknowledgment and profession of the truth b y each one of us.

— Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) — The Kingdom of God is within you

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STUDENT PROFILE

kingdom Eyes

David and Heather Juelfs and their two children, Wyatt James (33 months) and Addie Grace (6 months), are entering their final year at Covenant Seminary and looking at how they will serve the Lord after graduation.

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you….

– Eph. 1:16–18a ESV

A

part from eyes of faith, it is possible for a Christian to go through life almost ignorant of God’s work. David (MDiv ’08) and Heather Juelfs discovered this sobering reality after two years at Covenant Theological Seminary. “We recognized that I could train to be a pastor,” David explains, “that I could go on to serve as a pastor my whole life, and that I could do it all while not walking with God. I could be a pastor for 40 years, working hard out of my own strength but not trusting God to work mightily. What’s more, we were terrifyingly close to being on that path.

Unless something changed in us, that is exactly where we would be.”

This awareness hit David when his father became a Christian last summer. David’s father was radically transformed in every aspect of his life. “Although I know that our Scripture is the story of God redeeming every aspect of His creation,” David remembers, “witnessing firsthand a piece of that redemption in my dad and then finding myself shocked that God actually works that way showed me that I was not fully trusting God’s commitment to redemption.

My hope and trust was in my own strength and competence. It is sobering to discover your lack of faith. It is scary to be shocked by doubt that you did not know you have.” The salvation of David’s father showed the Juelfs family that God alone is worthy of their trust, and He alone is the source of hope.

David and Heather came to Covenant Seminary after four years

of service in churches in South Carolina and Ohio—during which time the Juelfs witnessed the glory and the brokenness of the Church. “We would not have chosen to go through some of our experiences,” David comments, “but God used them to strip away our unrealistic expectations of ministry, to reveal our sin, and to remind us that there is nowhere to turn but to our faithful God.” Heather, reflecting on their preparation for seminary and call to the ministry, notes, “When you are in the midst of a crisis, you have a hard time understanding why it’s happening. We hit a point where we looked at our situation and asked, ‘Is God calling us to the ministry or not?’ ” Despite the difficulties they experienced, a Kingdom vision confirmed the Juelfses in their ministry plans.

“Even though God walks with us and directs every step,” Heather explains, “it was frightening to know that by deciding on ministry, we were basically choosing a path that would be painful.” Realizing their utter dependence on God, David and Heather imagined their future ministry with idealistic notions of the pastorate dispelled.

David adds, “We keep asking ourselves, ‘Do we actually believe and expect God to move in radical ways, like in the conversion of my father?’ I mean, are we praying for God to work this way—praying and maybe not seeing it, but still believing it? This is our prayer.”

Heading in to their final year of seminary, David and Heather begin to envision where the Lord may call them to serve. “I don’t know where that call will lead,” David says. “We’re interested in church planting, but I am excited to work in any capacity that sees the Kingdom expanded. Whatever we do, I’ve come to understand the power of preaching. Before coming to Covenant Seminary I had a superficial view of preaching. However, God has deepened my understanding of preaching as a powerful means by which God shapes His people and effects change in the world.”

“Our experiences have taught us what ministry is,” explains Heather. “It’s relating to people as well as speaking the Gospel and letting it saturate our lives and the lives of others. It is a call to embody the Gospel—especially in our weaknesses—acknowledging our constant need for Christ. Realizing and walking in our need for the Gospel is just as much our call as speaking that truth to other people.”

Joel Hathaway Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) is one of six children and the son of a PCA pastor. Seeing his parents’ ministry struggles and successes helped solidify Joel’s love for the Church and those who shepherd it.