Kindred Spirit - Winter 2013

KINDRED SPIRIT WINTER 2013/2014, Vol. 37, No. 3

DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY MAGAZINE

From the President Dr. Mark L. Bailey Dallas Theological Seminary’s mission is to glorify God by equipping godly servantleaders for the proclamation of his Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide.

KINDRED SPIRIT ® WINTER 2013/2014 Vol. 37, No. 3 ISSN 1092–7492 © 2013. All rights reserved.

Published three times a year

by Dallas Theological Seminary 3909 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75204 Mark L. Bailey, President John C. Dyer, Executive Director of Communications and Educational Technology Sandra L. Glahn, Editor-in-Chief Keith D. Yates, Director of Creative Services and Publications Debbie J. Stevenson, Production Manager Karen Grassmick and Kelley Mathews, Copy editing services SUBSCRIBE Subscriptions are free of charge to addresses in the United States.

Call 800-DTS-WORD or 214-887-5000 and ask for the Kindred Spirit subscription office, sign up online at www.dts.edu/ks, or write to the address below.

EMAIL Contact admissions@dts.edu for information about DTS’s graduate degree programs.

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POSTMASTER Send email address changes to blanghoff@dts.edu, or mail to: DTS‑Kindred Spirit 3909 Swiss Avenue Dallas, Texas 75204 Unless noted otherwise, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.

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Getting a Handle on God’s Love

‘T

he Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Ps. 145:9). Thirty-six years ago, these words became a handle for me to grip—a truth to which I still cling. It has sustained me through decades of trials. Star Wars with Dolby Stereo had just hit the cinemas; Steve Jobs had just introduced the Apple II computer; but—more important to us—my wife, Barby, was in her seventh month of pregnancy. We were thrilled to be expecting our first child.

But eight weeks before she was due, she developed toxemic poisoning. On a Friday in February her condition deteriorated to the extent that it required an emergency Caesarian section that resulted in the arrival of our very premature son. Following delivery, he went into trauma and was whisked off to another hospital’s intensive care unit. Then the news got worse: his condition was declining.

After a difficult Saturday of crying out to God, I was scheduled to teach an adult class at my church. I had been walking my Sunday school class through the Psalms. When I entered the room that morning, I looked around and saw gifts stacked high from people who had no idea our son had been born. They were throwing us a surprise party, and there I was, alone, without my wife and baby. I wasn’t even sure my son would survive.

And when we finished the festivities, I rose to teach Psalm 145.

This psalm of praise forms an acrostic in which each verse begins with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet (except for one). The work, attributed to David, is divided into two parts—a call to praise and the reason for praise. And the key reason given for praise is the character of God. When I reached verse 9, I read those words: “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.” And I was stopped short in my tracks.

In the middle of that lecture, God used this truth to relieve the huge burden I’d been carrying for thirty-six hours, wondering about his fairness and character. I reread it and reasoned, “If God is good to all, he can do nothing else.” I reached out and grabbed that spiritual and emotional handle from the Word and clung to it, trusting the truth that God would be consistent with his character, no matter what the outcome.

I had cried all the way to church; I sang all the way to the hospital.

By God’s grace my wife recovered, and our son went on to thrive, but through the years we have had many more opportunities to trust. And we have not always had happy endings. But through the illnesses and deaths of family members, through walking the unseen territories of war and loss, and through shouldering many traumas of people we love, we’ve had numerous opportunities to wonder about the character of God. Yet because of his promise, we believe in the divine mystery we don’t fully understand: God’s character and kingdom are glorious and gracious. Indeed, “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made”—including me and including you. We may not understand his ways, but we can trust his heart. And that is cause for praise.

Dallas Theological Seminary

CONTENTS WINTER 2013/2014, Vol. 37, No. 3

“The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Ps. 145:9).

Front Cover:

ART SHOW WINNER: “2012” DTS held its inaugural Arts Week during the Fall 2013 semester.

Events included a juried art show with the theme “Ancient Roots, New Beginnings” based on Isaiah 11:1. An independent outside judge chose the winner who, as it happened, was the only DTS graduate to enter the show. Laci Parker (MA/MC, 2013) graduated from our Media Arts and Worship (formerly Media Arts in Ministry) track.

Her oil-on-wood-panel piece, “2012,” appears on the cover of this issue, and she described it as follows: “My paintings consist of people I know, but [the paintings] do not include the whole representation so the viewer can imagine a completed image.

Isaiah 11:1 refers to an anticipated figure, but the original hearers had to rely on limited information and trust the Deliverer to fulfill his prophecy.”

4 I Who Was That Young Man?

A two-verse story in the Gospel of Mark about a young man fleeing naked from the scene of Jesus’s arrest has been the subject of much speculation. Who was he, and how does the narrative about him fit with Mark’s message? Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla, associate professor of Pastoral Ministries, says the answers lie in the text itself, and they point to God’s amazing grace.

8 I Seta Saleh: Seeing the New Picture

“Sixty to seventy percent of Iranian churches are populated by women,” according to DTS alumna Seta Saleh. Born in Beirut to Armenian parents, Seta now lives in Los Angeles, but she frequently travels to the Middle East to help equip Iranian pastors to minister to women. “The mutual respect is a beautiful thing,” she said. “Men and women partnering for the sake of the gospel…”

licing through the Jungle with a Butter 12I SKnife: A Student Profile of Aubrey Collins Eleven years ago, Aubrey Collins arrived in Dallas with sixty-five cents in his pocket and a dream of attending DTS. This May he plans to graduate, and along the way he has accumulated quite a collection of “God sightings.”

Also in this issue: Campus News............................................................................................14 Exclusive Online Content....................................................................... 17 Resources....................................................................................................18 Art Show Second Place Entry..............................................................20

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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By Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla

Who Was That “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.

When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”

(Mark 14:51–52)

Detail of original artwork

by Michael Donnelly, titled “Study for Mark 14:52, No 2,” 2010, acrylic and gouache on paper, 24 x 28 cm. Used by permission .

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at Young Man? W

e find this story in Mark’s

Gospel right after the account of Jesus’s arrest, and it’s one of the least understood narratives in the entire New Testament.

Scholars have described the account as strange, bizarre, confusing, enigmatic, and whimsical. But this two-verse story is in the Bible, so we have to assume Mark included it for a reason. Who was the young man, and—more importantly—why did Mark include this information about him? continued >>

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(Un)Cloaked in Mystery Most scholars believe that, like an artist painting himself in a corner of his canvas, Mark included a cameo of himself in his Gospel. The history of identifying this character with the author himself began with a thirteenth-century Coptic manuscript in which a footnote identified the young man as Mark the Evangelist (or as James, son of Joseph). But Papias, the early second-century bishop of Hierapolis, declared that “Mark neither heard the Lord nor followed him” (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.39.15) during Jesus’s lifetime. Others have speculated that the naked runaway was Lazarus, or Joseph of Arimathea, or a number of others. For some scholars, the fact that Matthew and Luke omitted this misadventure provides proof enough that it lacks any obvious theological meaning and that it is irrelevant to the purpose of Mark’s overall story.

What Was Mark Doing?

Such hypotheses and evaluations tacitly assume that Mark was an inept writer. But such a conclusion is unwarranted; of sloppy editing, Mark knows nothing. His work is the product of a sophisticated theological mind, assisted by the Holy Spirit, of course.

In fact, with this vignette, as with all of the scenes in his Gospel, Mark was doing something deliberate and purposeful, as narrators always do. Macbeth, for instance, is not a brochure detailing the history of Scotland, but a work that warns of the dangers of gaining a kingdom by losing one’s soul. Authors do something with what they say. Mark had a goal in telling this particular story. And to determine this “doing,” we must pay close attention to the text itself.

Symbol of Failure The juxtaposition of the brief episode

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Dallas Theological Seminary

in question with that of the disciples’ fleeing is telling. Following the betrayal by Judas and the arrest of Jesus (14:43–49), all the disciples left him and fled (v. 50). Immediately thereafter comes this account of a young man who “followed Jesus” and who, when seized, abandoned his garment and fled. It is significant that this youth is described as one who “followed” Jesus. To follow was what Jesus called the disciples to do, and following was what they had been doing. “Following” is therefore a literary clue. Mark is labeling the young man as a “disciple.” The disciples followed; the young man followed. The disciples fled; the young man fled. Here, then, in the picture of the naked runaway, followers have become “flee-ers.” In Mark’s narrative, the ignominious flight of this anonymous sympathizer serves to underline the complete failure of Jesus’s disciples.

At one time these disciples had left all to follow him. But now, in the abandonment of even the shirt off this young man’s back, Mark shows his readers that the disciples have left all to get away from Jesus. The writer displays this naked runaway as symbolic of the total abandonment of Jesus by the band of disciples who fled to escape the consequences of association with him.

Shame of Abandonment But why include this little scene?

The only substantive fact added here is that the young man had an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction.

His nakedness, mentioned twice, points to the shamefulness of the disciples’ abandonment. Those who had been called to follow had failed.

They chose shame over fidelity to Jesus.

At the Mount of Olives on his way to Gethsemane, Jesus had warned his disciples that they would all fall away

(v. 27). Peter protested that even if all fell away, he would not (v. 29); and the rest of the disciples vehemently denied the possibility that they would be faithless (v. 31). Yet, now, they fled.

Failure! And who among us has not failed in our discipleship as we follow Jesus? In one way or another, in some fashion or another, we have all fallen—in sin, in faithfulness, in courage, in commitment. And we continue to stumble in discipleship. Is there hope for us?

Exchange of Clothing What is interesting in this cryptic story is that there is only one other instance of the Greek word for “linen cloth” in Mark’s Gospel—in reference to the burial shroud of Jesus (15:46).

There, as with the story of our naked runaway, the word occurs twice.

What a clever narrative strategy! In utterly discreditable circumstances, the disciple is stripped of the “linen cloth” he wore, and following an equally degrading crucifixion, a “linen cloth” becomes Jesus’s burial shroud.

The former garment, which represents shame, buries Jesus in death. In other words, Jesus gets the garment of shame from the young man. That, of course, is not to assert that it was the one and same linen cloth. Rather, Mark uses the cloth as a literary device.

The purpose for this device becomes evident when we read the announcement of Jesus’s resurrection (16:1–8). Another “coincidence”: there we find the only other use in all of Mark of the term “young man”—to describe the angelic reporter clad in white (16:5). The only reason for Mark’s unique appellation, labeling as “young man” the one whom the other Gospelwriters called “angel,” must have been to link the two incidents with “young man” in them, in Mark 14 and 16, respectively.

But this “young man” in Mark 16 wears no “linen cloth”; he is wearing white. Another “coincidence”: the only other instance of the word “white” in Mark’s Gospel is where the garments of Jesus’s Transfiguration are so described (9:3). Aha! So that’s where the “young man” in Mark 16 got his whites: Jesus donated his garment of glory to the “young man.”

It appears, then, that garments have been exchanged (in a literary sense, of course): the “linen cloth” the young man wore, that was stripped from him rendering him naked (14:51–52), covered Jesus’s body in the tomb (15:46).

In exchange, the “white” garment Jesus wore at his transfiguration now covers the young man who makes the announcement at the empty tomb (16:5). In other words, the runaway’s garment of shame in Mark 14 becomes Jesus’s in Mark 15, and Jesus’s garment of glory in Mark 9 becomes the reporter’s in Mark 16.

The garment of shame of the “young man” buried Jesus; Jesus’s garment of glory restores the “young man.” All of these not-so-subtle literary sleights of hand point to the rehabilitation of the failed disciple: the naked, shamed one is clothed, and this with the clothing of glory of his master, while Jesus takes on the clothing of shame, the garb of failed followers.

This artistic portrayal of the exchange of garments bears an implicit promise: for those disciples who have failed in discipleship, God offers hope. Yes, there is hope for all of us who follow Jesus, albeit stumbling and failing, clumsy and hesitant. The shame of our failures is exchanged for the brilliance of Jesus’s glory, and we have hope indeed—because of what our Lord did for us. Amazing grace! n

Dr. Abraham Kuruvilla (ThM, 2002), associate professor of Pastoral Ministries, holds a Ph.D. from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

He is also a medical doctor specializing in dermatology.

His research interests include hermeneutics as it operates in the homiletical undertaking and the theology and spirituality of preaching and pastoral leadership. Single by choice, he also has a special interest in the theology of Christcentered singleness and celibacy.

Editor’s note: At Dr. Kuruvilla’s website, homiletix.com/preachingresources/abes-articles/, you can find and download the original version of this article that appeared in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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ALUMNI profile

:

Seeing the New

Iranian Christians carry two pictures in their wallets.

The first time an Iranian

woman walked up to Seta Saleh (MA[BS], 2009) and pulled out her money and I.D., Seta scanned the room for help. She felt trapped by the intense look in the woman’s eyes, but others

around didn’t notice and huddled in their own conversations. Seta turned back to the woman, prepared to protest if she offered money for the ministry received at an Iranian church leadership training conference. But the woman surprised her. She pulled out two photos and held them up side by side for Seta to see. The subjects seemed vaguely similar.

One was a smiling portrait of the woman herself. The other seemed familiar but haggard, maybe a relative.

“This,” the woman held up the picture of

the unknown woman, “is me before I knew Jesus.” She slid it behind the other photo and beamed at Seta. “This is me now.”

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Dallas Theological Seminary

Training a Trainer Born in Beirut, Lebanon, to an Armenian family, Seta Saleh now ministers to the growing population of Armenians in southern California. Whether she hikes in the Sierras or reads in a nearby park, Seta will strike up a conversation with anyone who speaks Armenian and invite the individual to coffee or dinner. She and her guests often end up discussing the orthodox apostolic tradition of the national Armenian Church over home-cooked meals at Seta’s kitchen table. Seta then turns the exchange from the topic of priestly intervention to a personal relationship with Christ.

Sharing her faith used to be hard for Seta. Ten years ago, she and her two children had followed her husband to Dallas, Texas, when his job changed.

She touted an MBA and thirteen years’ experience in corporate America. The girls, then six and eight, tried to adjust to elementary school in a new place.

“The last thing on my mind,” Seta said, “was teaching people the Bible on a full-time basis.”

Her peer group included people who were curious about Christ but uncomfortable going to a church. They loved to get together, eat dinner, and talk, however. And their need intersected with Seta’s favorite pastimes, which include playing hostess and making cookies. She thrives on welcoming people into a comfortable environment. And as she came to recognize her friends’ spiritual hunger, she realized they needed her to teach them. continued on page 10

by Annette Ensz

ew Picture

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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Teaching Christian Living Elam Ministries designs its work around education.

When Seta attended her first overseas seminar, she found that the pastors present knew Bible exposition and could interpret the Bible “with their eyes closed.”

Since they were so well-equipped in handling the Bible from years of personal study, mentorship, and training, Seta’s teaching ministry focused on a different need: understanding of practical Christian living.

In the United States, the Ten Commandments form a basic moral law, even for people who deny any Fit for Service belief in them—no stealing, no killing, no lying. But Toward the end of her time in seminary, a friend in Iran, the absence of Judeo-Christian values affects called Seta and took her to a church meeting about converts who struggle to live like Christ without any a mission organization focused on Iran, Elam framework against which to measure life in the Spirit.

Ministries. This mission strengthens and expands

Speaking of those she has trained, Seta observed, the church in Iran and neighboring countries “Even though people meet Christ, become Christians, through leadership training, church planting, and and follow Christ, it takes time to understand the discipleship. Seta sat with her mouth open as she listened to stories of mullahs receiving the Bible after character of a Christian. What does it mean to make decisions like a Christian? What does it mean to live having dreams telling them to wait on God. She also like a Christian, or raise your children as Christians?” heard stories of women praying to know in which Noting that as human beings, we often revert back to closed cities they should share the gospel and plant what we saw in our families—such as how our father churches. treated our mother—Seta said, “It takes education to

After the presenter found out Seta had studied at seminary and grew up in Lebanon, the organization realize that sometimes there were issues there, and maybe we shouldn’t copy them.” offered to bring her to a conference at a location near Iran to teach a session. Since Iran has thirteen neighboring nations, all allowing friendly border Unlikely Pioneers stipulations—similar to those between the United States Through Seta’s work she has heard numerous and Canada—trainers travel to an adjacent country and testimonies from believers in a “closed” nation. pastors leave Iran and join them to get training. Once These brothers and sisters speak of God’s working in Seta had arrived, she found that the Spirit gave her supernatural ways to comfort his people and to bring empathy for the plight of Iranian Christians. Since then, fellow Iranians to faith—such as a prayer walk during she has answered multiple invitations to return and which two women carrying Bibles ended up delivering teach. a copy to a mullah who had waited all day to hear from God.

“I knew I needed more training,” Seta said. “I was thirty-seven years old, and I had never taught the Bible. I knew the basics, but when secondary and tertiary questions would come up, I felt unequipped to answer them.”

She applied to Dallas Theological Seminary, hoping to take a couple of classes whenever she could fit them in. Five-and-a-half years later, she had completed a degree in biblical studies.

Go to dts.edu/ks to access the podcasts Living as a Woman in the Middle East and Life and Ministry in the Middle East, as well as a video alumni profile of Dr. Imad Shehadeh (ThM, 1986; ThD, 1990), founder, president, and professor of theology at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary.

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Dallas Theological Seminary

One Iranian pastor told Seta, “Thank you. I used to think I knew all about women.”

He laughed. “After hearing you speak, I realize I know nothing about them!”

Most of Seta’s work has focused on equipping women to practically support and expand the church.

“Some of these women are major church planters,” Seta said. “They go from city to city. It’s unbelievable.

A woman will be all covered up in a veil and then”— Seta flips her fingers back over her head and laughs— “off comes the veil and there stands this amazing evangelist.”

Ministering to Pastors Until six months ago, Seta taught only the females in the church. But when Elam developed a gathering for pastors and church leaders on the topic of ministering to women, Seta had information they needed.

Difficult subjects such as childhood sexual abuse and drug abuse can stump these pastors because of the disconnect between their faith and their culture. So Seta helps them apply Bible passages that address God’s view of how to treat others and how to treat our bodies.

Then she gives her learners tools for identifying and confronting such problems in their congregations.

“Sixty to seventy percent of Iranian churches are populated by women,” Seta reported. “You have male pastors taking care of those congregations. They know their Bibles and theology very well. But how does a woman think? How do different abuses affect women?

They don’t know.”

She continued, “I was standing there the first day in a room full of former Muslim men whose culture has taught them not to consider their wives any more important than their furniture, and they all listened to me talk to them very openly about sexual matters.

By the grace of the Holy Spirit, they were able to hear, learn, and ask questions.”

The conference opened Seta’s eyes to a harsher culture than she had suspected. The pastors were dealing with abuse in their congregations. More sobering, however, was the realization that several of these pastors had themselves grown up in abusive homes and needed help to overcome their own emotional wounds. Seta has also observed that in families where the men are given all the authority, those with such power have “the license to engage in all sorts of perversion. So we give them a chance to confront that past and find healing so they can minister well.”

The Reality of Freedom In hundreds of wallets across an area steeped in spiritual bondage, pairs of pictures testify to the reality of freedom in a culture known for its vice-like control.

“It was so odd for me the first time I saw someone take out two pictures and show them off,” Seta recalled.

“The darkness and oppression of that country weigh on them. The hopelessness is so heavy that there are actual physical changes in people once they come to Christ.

Some of them look twenty years younger. If I hadn’t believed in life-change before, I would now: Christ is alive. He truly, totally changes lives.”

Indeed, Seta has seen it. God transforms women who lived in fear of their husbands into bold evangelists who approach people on the streets. God empowers pastors to work in their Iranian cities, and then travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying the gospel. God is at work in the Middle East. n Annette Ensz is a writing intern in DTS’s Media Arts and Worship department.

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Student profile

Meet Aubrey Collins Home I’m from Mobile, Alabama.

Planning to graduate I plan to graduate this May with a ThM in Pastoral Ministries.

Work experience I spent seven years in the Navy (Oak Harbor, Washington; Newport, Rhode Island; deployment in The Gulf). The movie, The Flight of the Intruder, is based on my squadron.

For the past eleven years, I’ve worked as a waiter at Pappadeaux restaurant.

Cutting throu Jungle with W

hen I was 20, I wanted to be a lawyer, work for the CIA, and fly jets. I was the first member of my family to earn a college degree, and I was on a path to that career when a pastor in Rhode Island became “a father to the fatherless.” He took me from being a person in the pews to a person of service. I interned for a U.S. senator because I still had the goal of being a public servant. The CIA also expressed interest in me during my last year in the military, but I felt burdened that God wanted me in the ministry. He systematically took my plans away and got me to a place where I know he’ll work it out. I can tell that he cares for me. He always shows up, and he has a plan for direction.

When he says, “Go,” I will go.

How Aubrey heard about DTS When I was in Rhode Island, I started listening to Christian radio. I heard Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. Charles Swindoll, and Dr. Tony Evans, all DTS grads.

One of Many Stories of Provision

Plans I’m open to ministering anywhere, but I would prefer not to go to Siberia. Still, I’ve learned to keep quiet about such preferences. I’m certain that God will send me where I’m supposed to go.

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Dallas Theological Seminary

I arrived in Dallas with sixty-five cents in my pocket. I found temporary lodging with a friend and started working at a restaurant within walking distance of his house. I’ve been with that company ever since. They transferred me to a restaurant in the gay community, and I virtually became the pastor of that restaurant, sharing Christ with people in tough situations—drug abuse, financial difficulty, childhood trauma, promiscuity.

At DTS I’ve been paying my way. To afford it, I would go to school for a year and take off a year. Before I was deployed, the Navy had a group of us go into a small compartment that was pitch black inside and “feel” our way out. They did it so we’d know how to get out of a ship in the dark if it caught on fire. People with claustrophobia couldn’t do it. In that exercise, we were in complete darkness. And at times through the years in Dallas, my life has felt like that dark place.

My mom died while I was here. She was a single parent, and she led me in the faith. A friend in my spiritual formation group described my life as cutting through the jungle using a butter knife instead of a machete.

I rarely registered on time each semester because of my bills.

And for the fall 2013 semester, for the first time I was planning to take out a loan because my car had died earlier in the spring—it had 268,000 miles on it. (To tell you how bad it looked, I once saw kids in

ough the a Butter Knife the back of an SUV taking a photo of it through their back window.) It would have lasted until graduation, but a drunk driver hit it. So, to work with youth, I was riding a bike to church in Dallas’s heat and rainstorms and taking the bus to and from DTS—a two-and-a-half-hour round trip. I planned to use part of that tuition loan to buy an affordable car.

DTS requires students taking out loans for the first time to attend a meeting. And at the meeting, a Human Resources (HR) employee who knew me from my late enrollments turned to Karen Holder, the HR director, and said, “He’s a great example.

He’s in his last year, and he’s taking a loan.” After the meeting, Karen asked me about my needs, and apparently mentioned me to Steve Golding, president of Dallas Seminary Foundation. He contacted me and told me a donor had set aside $15,000 for a lastyear student. “He doesn’t want you to worry about finances,” Steve said. “I will give him a call—you seem ideal for that scholarship.” I was five days short of age forty-one.

The donor agreed I could use part of the money to buy a car. But when Steve mentioned my need to Karen, she asked, “What happened to the car someone donated to DTS last year?” That very morning, a seminary representative had gone to get that car appraised in order to sell it. It was a Lexus.

As I was leaving class and on my way to the bus stop, Steve called. By that afternoon, my bill was paid, and I was driving a 2001 Lexus. I had planned to buy something cheap and reasonable with payments that wouldn’t hurt too much. And when Steve told me DTS had a car, I pictured something “barely breathing.” But it’s the best car I have ever had—by far. When all this happened, God moved in my heart and made me realize that he had led me out of the dark place. n For information on how you can help students like Aubrey, contact Dallas Seminary Foundation at 214887-5190, send an email to sgolding@dts.edu, and/or go to dallasseminaryfoundation.org.

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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CAMPUS NewS

DTS Marks 90-Year Milestone This winter, DTS reaches the 90-year milestone. Founded in 1924, our mission is “to glorify God by equipping godly servant-leaders for the proclamation of his Word and the building up of the body of Christ worldwide.” In other words, we want to help men and women fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20) and the Great Commandment (Matt. 22:35–38), or more simply: Teach Truth. Love Well.

Free* Bible Software for Every DTS Student DTS has forged a partnership with Logos Bible Software to offer free* software and theological resources to all DTS students. Those who graduate from one of our master’s or doctoral programs may keep this software for life. DTS is the only seminary to give every student this Logos Bible Software loaded with $14,000 in resources including Hebrew and Greek lexicons and top commentaries. This partnership uniquely prepares the next generation of leaders for tomorrow’s ministry challenges. Go to dts.edu/logos for answers to frequently asked questions about this new benefit for all students. *DTS underwrites the cost through donor support and a portion of the technology fee.

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DTS Sees Record Enrollment

E

nrollment for the fall 2013 semester reached a new high of 2,149 students. This includes 498 new students, a 22% increase from last fall. The Houston student body has now passed the 250-student mark with a total of 256 students, including 26 Chinese-language students. We also have an influx of students in our online programs. Now in our online English program we have 421 enrolled, and another 110 study online in Chinese. More than 500 additional students take online courses alongside their traditional courses on campus and at extension sites.

Also, DTS is offering a hybrid program called Mobile Seminary in Fargo, North Dakota; Nashville, Tennessee; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In these cities, DTS offers a combination of three types of coursework: classes on the ground, online courses, and one-week intensives at the Dallas campus.

New Building/Renovations Planned

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n October 18, 2013, DTS celebrated God’s gracious provision in a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Administrative and Global Learning Center and the interior renovations of both Stearns and Davidson Halls. The new structure will house administrative offices and the Global Learning Center, with advanced video and audio production studios. These upgraded facilities will allow the school to capitalize on the success of The Table podcast, online education, and cultural engagement initiatives to deliver more and improved theological training worldwide.

With the DTS board as well as dozens of faculty, students, and staff in attendance, Chancellor Charles Swindoll and President Mark Bailey spoke of the Lord’s faithfulness to the Seminary since it was established in 1924. Thanks to the generosity and vision of DTS supporters, the upcoming campus construction project will serve a new generation of students as they train to become godly servant-leaders.

The Administration and Global Learning Center will be named in honor of Andy and Joan Horner, longtime friends and ardent supporters of the Seminary. It will serve as the focal point of the redesigned entry to campus from Apple Street. The familiar exterior facade of Stearns and Davidson will remain the same, but their interiors will be updated to improve their usefulness.

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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CAMPUS NewS What a Deal!

Israel Trip March 2015 Next year in Jerusalem! Start planning now to join DTS’s next Israel tour. Sail on the Sea of Galilee. Read your Bible in the setting where its events took place.

And walk where Jesus walked. Keep watching dts.edu/travel for more information.

Information You Can Use Dallas Seminary Foundation has a new website for clients of the Foundation as well as DTS donors. At dallasseminaryfoundation.org you’ll find forms, newsletters, and testimonies, as well as frequently updated resources for planned giving, charitable giving, and related tax issues.

Get the DTS Mobile App The DTS mobile app can connect you, through your phone and/or tablet, with God’s work through our faculty, students, and alumni. App users have easy access to media such as Kindred Spirit articles, chapel, alumni story videos, online courses, the Table Podcast, and a unique find-a-church feature. Access to more than 2,000 alumni churches and more than 4,000 ministries allows users to browse by location, size, or denomination to discover and connect with ministries around the world. Go to dts.edu/app to download.

As a Kindred Spirit reader, you may receive copies of Daniel, from the John Walvoord Prophecy Commentary series, for a donation of $10, while supplies last.

The donation includes shipping. As a benefit to readers, DTS is making this offer available to you for up to three copies per person. Go to dts.edu/ks to order.

DTS Training On Site in the Middle East Dallas Theological Seminary and Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary are now partnering to offer a Doctor of Ministry degree to students already serving in the Arabic-speaking world. The program was created in response to an increasing need for higher-level biblical and theological training in the Middle East. Many JETS graduates and missionaries serving in the Arab World are unable to complete residency requirements for a PhD/ThD program. Combining practical ministry with advanced seminary training, the joint DMin enables students to complete their doctorates without leaving their countries.

Join Us for “DTS Week” at Mount Hermon July 27–August 2, 2014

Each summer, Dallas Theological Seminary partners with Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center (mounthermon.org) to offer a weeklong family camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Intergenerational worship services, indepth Bible teaching, and an array of recreational activities give families the opportunity to worship, learn, and relax together. Plan now to join us!

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Dallas Theological Seminary

Brought to You by the Hendricks Center

Only Online

The Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement invites you to attend Hendricks Center Conference

Mission to the City: Houston February 24, 2014 At Bridgepoint Bible Church, Houston, Texas The church in North America exists in an increasingly post-Christian context. Explore how to faithfully embrace the church’s exilic nature and recover the original essence of discipleship as Spirit-filled communities on a mission.

For information and/or to register for this event, visit dts.edu/mtchouston or call 214-887-5253.

The Table Conference

Your Work: More Than a Paycheck April 4–5, 2014 At Irving Bible Church, Irving, Texas When God created humanity in his image, he made us to be creative and manage our world. Yet often we view work either as a god that consumes us or a necessary evil that keeps us from Christian service. But work is a sacred call.

Join DTS for a dynamic two-day conference that will help you approach work in a fresh way as one sent as an agent of worship and ministry.

For information and/or to register, visit dts.edu/ thetableconference or call 214-887-5253.

Hear the Podcast, Read the Blog

Read an article by John Dyer (ThM, 2008), executive director of Communications and Educational Technology, about ministry and technology.

Check out a profile of Dr. Octavio Esqueda (MA[BS], 2000; MA/CE, 2002), a professor at Biola, and learn what he has to say about rest.

Read an excerpt from Gloria Furman’s (MA/CE, 2007) book, Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in Your Home.

Steve Smith (ThM, 2012) writes a blog about spiritual abuse. See his post titled “10 Questions a Church Should Ask When It Receives Bad Press.”

Recently featured in Christianity Today was The Wall Around Your Heart: How Jesus Heals You When Others Hurt You, by Mary DeMuth (wife of Patrick, ThM, 2004). Read an excerpt.

Trevor Main (MA/MC, 2013) reviews the film The Butler for Manna Express Online. Find out his opinion.

Watch/listen to The Table Podcast with host Dr. Darrell Bock. Among the numerous new topics are views of American Christianity by younger internationals and how to fight human trafficking. dts.edu/thetable

Read an excerpt from Dr. Sandra Glahn (ThM, 2001) and Malia Rodriguez’s (ThM, 2010) book, Chai with Malachi.

Want to know how to talk to your kids about sex?

Deal with your flaws? The Hendricks Center blog addresses these and other topics designed to help readers engage the culture. dts.edu/hendrickscenter

Sharifa Stevens (ThM, 2004) considers the woman who had been “unclean” for twelve years. Check out the article she wrote for Manna Express Online, “Internal Bleeding.”

Attention Alumni Readers!

Do we have your most recent email address? If not, please send it to alumni@dts.edu. And don’t forget to keep up with your fellow alums in the pages of the Connection.

Rowland Forman (MA/CE, 1991; MA[BS], 1991) has written The Lost Art of Lingering: Mutual Mentoring for Life Transformation. Read an excerpt.

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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New Resources from the Seminary Family

More resources at dts.edu/books.

Interpreting the General Letters: An Exegetical Handbook Charts on the Book of Hebrews Dr. Herbert Bateman (ThM, 1987; PhD, 1993)

His Word in My Heart: Memorizing Scripture for a Closer Walk with God Janet Pope (ThM, 2011)

A Commentary on Judges and Ruth Dr. Robert Chisholm (ThD, 1983)*

The Little Book About God The Little Book About Heaven The Little Book About the Bible Dr. Ron Rhodes (ThM, 1983; ThD, 1986)

Passion Pursuit: What Kind of Love Are You Making?

Linda Dillow (spouse of Jody, ThM, 1969; ThD, 1978) and Dr. Juli Flattery

Paul and the Law: Keeping the Commandments of God Dr. Brian Rosner (ThM, 1988)

Grounded in the Faith: An Essential Guide to Knowing What You Believe and Why Kenneth Erisman (ThM, 1978) with foreword by Dr. J. I. Packer

Minding the Heart: The Way of Spiritual Formation Dr. Robert Saucy (ThM, 1958; ThD, 1961)

Kingdom Woman: Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities Dr. Tony Evans (ThM, 1976; ThD, 1982) and Chrystal Evans Hurst

Living the Psalms: Encouragement for the Daily Grind Living the Proverbs: Insight for the Daily Grind Dr. Charles R. Swindoll, chancellor (1963)*

The Lost Art of Lingering: Mutual Mentoring for Life Transformation Rowland Forman (MA/CE, 1991; MA[BS], 1991)**

A Reader’s Lexicon of the Apostolic Fathers Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, senior editor (ThM, 1979; PhD, 1995)*, Brittany Burnette, editor (ThM, 2005), Terri Darby Moore, editor (ThM, 2003)

Crafted by God: Examining the Divine Design of the Bible as a Living Book Dr. Dan Hayden (ThM, 1969)

The Jeremiah Study Bible Dr. David Jeremiah (ThM, 1968) Contributing editors: Dr. Ronald B. Allen (ThM, 1968; ThD, 1973)*, Dr. Robert Chisholm (ThD, 1983)*, and Sten-Erik Armitage (MA[BS], 2012; ThM, 2012; PhD student) contributed to this project.

Grace-Filled Marriage: The Missing Piece; The Place to Start Dr. Tim Kimmel (ThM, 1976)

*DTS faculty member **Excerpt online

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Dallas Theological Seminary

From the CHANCELLOR Dr. Charles R. Swindoll

A Picture of God’s Knowledge and Care

I

f you’ve ever been a part of a large organization, such as a multibillion-dollar corporation or a governmental agency or a large university, it’s unlikely you’ve ever met the people at the top of the leadership chain. You heard their names and read their announcements, but you probably didn’t know them personally. And they undoubtedly wouldn’t have known you from any other person in the organization. So, it’s only natural to wonder if the supreme ruler of the universe has the slightest idea who you are.

In the first four verses of Psalm 139, the psalmist gives us sufficient information to reveal that God is omniscient. He knows everything, as stated in verses 1–4:

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.

The inspired songwriter says that God searches him. The Hebrew term that led to this translation originally meant “to explore,” and it sometimes conveyed the idea of digging into or digging through something. The thought is that God explores, digs into, and examines us through and through. God “digs” us! In the next sentence David pictures himself in two phases of life—passive (sitting down) and active (rising up). Our most common and casual moments are completely familiar to our Lord.

Furthermore, even our thoughts are an open book. We can see thoughts enter people’s heads as their faces “light up” or in some other way telegraph the entrance of ideas. We can hear thoughts as they leave people’s minds through their mouths. But we cannot see what happens between the entrance and the exit. God can. In fact, God understands what prompts us to think certain thoughts. He therefore understands the hidden, unspoken motives behind our words and actions.

Years ago my wife, Cynthia, and I bought our small children an “Ant City.” It was a plastic ant bed filled with a narrow sheet of sand, built out of transparent material that allowed us to watch the inner workings of the insects. Normally, all we can see in an ant bed in the ground are these busy little creatures crawling in and out of their holes. But this ant city allowed us to watch what happened after the ants went into their holes—we could watch these small insects as they journeyed through their tunnels. That is exactly what verse 2 is saying about our thought-life before God. He monitors the entire process. Nothing is unknown or hidden from Him.

How well does God know us? The first four verses of Psalm 139 tell us that He could not possibly know us any better! Just in case the grind of insignificance is still doing a number on you, ponder this: we are the objects of the ruler of the universe’s loving attention every moment of every day. . . including this one.

God understands what prompts us to think certain thoughts.

He therefore understands the hidden, unspoken motives behind our actions.

The back cover Dawn Waters Baker, daughter of DTS professor Dr. Larry Waters, created the second-place entry, “The Olive Tree,” in the Seminary’s inaugural juried art show. The theme was “Ancient Roots, New Beginnings” based on Isaiah 11:1.

Dawn described her oil on gessobord piece as follows: “Blue, to cast a sense of the spiritual, the tree grows in a thick darkness. The Bible compares Israel with an Olive Tree, from whom will come the Divine, as prophesied in Isaiah 11:1.

The roots like a waterfall, like rich olive oil: fragrant, flavorful, anointing, and illuminating.”

Kindred Spirit, Winter 2013/14

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