inMinistry - Palmer Seminary · TO LEAD PALMER SEMINARY. ... n July 1, Dr. Christopher A. Hall...

inMinistry Fall 2010 1

inMinistryFall 2010

The Magazine of PALMER Theological Seminary

www.palmerseminary.edu

MEET THE DEAN: CHRISTOPHER A. HALL TO LEAD PALMER SEMINARY

inMinistry is published by Palmer Theological Seminary 6 E. Lancaster Avenue Wynnewood, PA 19096 Phone: 610.896.5000 www.palmerseminary.edu

© Palmer Theological Seminary October 2010. All rights reserved.

Christopher A. HallDean

Randall L. FrameEditor, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications

Melodee StephensDesigner

inMinistry

inMinistryINSIDE EDITOR’SNOTE

On Giving Peace a Chance

s I write these words, I’m looking forward to an event later this fall here at the Seminary, namely a public screening of the film Little Town of Bethlehem, sponsored by Evangelicals for Social Action, which is a part of our Seminary. It features three Middle Eastern men—a Christian, a Muslim, and a Jew—all of whom might be considered natural enemies but each of whom chose a path of nonviolence.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how radical a commitment to nonviolence is in this day and age. It seems that violence and forceful approaches to solving problems pervade our culture and consciousness. Last I checked there were at least three channels on my basic cable TV package dedicated to military issues and topics. Even the history channels seem to be obsessed with past wars. And before every baseball game (yea every sporting event) I am prompted to feel proud about “bombs bursting in air.” I love my country, but I’d sure like to learn more about people who show their bravery by pursuing peace instead of war. After all, it takes a lot more courage to enter some type of war zone without a weapon than to do so with one.

Many Christians, I think, would be shocked to know that for the first few hundred years of its existence, the church was pacifist. I imagine that early Christians would be at least confused if not powerfully offended by our contemporary culture’s obsession with guns and violence and a philosophy of might makes right. What seems natural to many of us, I suspect, would have seemed very unnatural to them.

I’m pretty sure that in thinking these kinds of thoughts, I’m far from alone here at Palmer, that I’m surrounded by like-minded people—students, faculty and staff. Not that we all agree on every specific theological issue or political position, but we all know that this place, as it has since 1925, represents a prophetic voice for peace in a culture and a world that desperately need such a voice. I hope this never changes and, thankfully, can see no signs that it will.

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2 inMinistry Fall 2010

Interview with the Seminary’s New Dean 4

Palmer’s new leader discusses his vision for Palmer Seminary.

Stewardship Report 9

Pulpit Humor 13

Community News 14Read up on what’s happening at Palmer and with Seminary alums.

Book Review 17Good News for Anxious Christians: 10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do by Phillip Cary

West Virginia Students Reflect on Theologies of Martyrdom Class 19


We need your help! As some of you have probably heard, earlier this year the University Senate of the United Methodist Church moved to drop Palmer from its list of approved seminaries. This means that, if nothing changes, as of July 1, 2011, students who enroll at Palmer will no longer qualify for ordination as United Methodist pastors or deacons.

Palmer was given no reasons for the action that was taken. However, a spokesperson for the University Senate was quoted in Christianity Today as saying that the purpose of the action was to direct more students to United Methodist seminaries.

Eastern/Palmer Seminary has graduated hundreds of United Methodists over

the years, and U.M. students remain an important component of our community today. We doubt that the University Senate’s action will help U.M. seminaries, largely because the closest ones are over two hours away from Philadelphia. Some Philadelphia area United Methodists may still attend Palmer but will switch denominations. Others will not go to Seminary at all. In either case, the U.M. church in the Greater Philadelphia area has fewer candidates for ordained leadership.

Palmer Seminary is in the process of appealing the University Senate’s decision. If you would like to help and have not already done so, we invite you to send a letter voicing your concerns and perhaps

sharing what Palmer (or Eastern Baptist) Seminary did for you and what you would have done had this Seminary not been an option for you.

Send your letter to Dr. Marianne Inman, President of the University Senate of the United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007. Or you can send an e-mail to Gerald Lord: [email protected]. If you wish, you may copy the Seminary. (Send your letter to Randall Frame at the Seminary or to [email protected].) Thank you for considering this request!

Attention United Methodist Alums and Friends

Margie Gordner, Kenyon College, Gambier, OhioI was drawn to Palmer by its emphasis on social justice.

Palmer Seminary was privileged to welcome many new students for the fall semester. Some of them, including three from Morehouse College in Atlanta, are pictured here. Below are brief statements indicating what drew these students to PTS.

Melinda Pearl Crabbe, Eastern UniversityI came to Palmer to learn how to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” with the additional opportunity to further my career in social work. I was attracted by Palmer’s motto: The Whole Gospel for the Whole World through Whole Persons.

Maurice Williams (top left), Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia I was drawn by Palmer’s emphasis on holistic ministry.

John Brice (right), Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia Some of the pillars of my village, including pastors Keith Marshall Williams and Alyn Waller, are graduates of Eastern Baptist Seminary (now Palmer), and I felt it would behoove me to follow in their good footsteps.

Antonio Ledbetter (seated), Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia I looked at Palmer’s logo and motto and prayed, “Please, Lord, let them do what they say.” I’m proud to be here and even more proud that they do.

WhyJere Mahaffey, Samford University, Birmingham, AlabamaI chose Palmer because I didn’t want just a theological degree. I wanted an educational experience that would holistically prepare me to engage the gospel in the world.

They Chose Palmer


Palmer Welcomes Chris Hall as its New Dean

As you begin your time as administrative leader at Palmer Seminary, what do you feel are the Seminary’s greatest strengths and, conversely, its biggest challenges?

The strengths of Palmer are many. For starters, as our current students and recent alums can attest, we have an excellent faculty—men and women who know their material, understand the church, and care deeply about helping students to prepare for the future to which God has called them. To go with this, we have a curriculum that is both strong and innovative, a curriculum shaped around the needs of our students and the churches they are preparing to serve. And our commitment to the whole gospel, something that has defined the Seminary from the beginning, stands as a prophetic witness in the arena of theological education.

Our biggest challenges are the financial pressures that, as has been well documented, face almost all theological seminaries. We are in better shape than many others, but the pressure is still there. This pressure is related in part to our pursuit of a healthy number of students. The challenges are not insurmountable challenges—not even close. I am confident that we can increase

our enrollment significantly over the next few years. We’ll also be working

to strengthen relations with our alums with the prayerful hope that

financial contributions to the Seminary will increase.

inMinistry feature

n July 1, Dr. Christopher A. Hall began serving as Dean of

Palmer Seminary. He also holds the title of Chancellor at

Eastern University, where he has taught for nearly 20 years. Dr. Hall

has a B.A. in history (UCLA); an M.A. in Biblical Studies (Fuller

Theological Seminary); a Th.M. (Regent College, Vancouver,

B.C.); an M.Phil. (Drew University); and a Ph.D. (Systematic and

Historical Theology, Drew University). The following interview

focuses mainly on his vision for Palmer Seminary.

O

Seminaries have no reason to exist other than to strengthen the church through strengthening those who will serve the church.

As you consider how your leadership will influence the future of the Seminary, what will be your primary goals and emphases?

The number one priority around which all goals and initiatives revolve is our students. The education students receive and their ever deepening spiritual formation lie at the heart of the seminary experience. I can’t state emphatically enough that it’s all about our students. Seminaries have no reason to exist other than to strengthen the church through strengthening those who will serve the church. And so every decision I make and every action I take will be predicated on enabling our students to have the most meaningful and relevant experience they can possibly have at Palmer Seminary.

Your academic interests, which include having served as the associate editor of the 29-volume Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, indicate a strong interest in ancient Christian writers, who were some of the earliest Christian theologians. How did this interest come about?

I studied intensely with theologian J.I. Packer while at Regent University. He introduced me to Augustine. Among other things Dr. Packer had me read Augustine’s City of God from beginning to end. When I moved on to study at Drew University, as a doctoral student I was assigned to Thomas Oden, who was to become a mentor and friend. Dr. Oden introduced me to the world of the ancient church. And once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. These ancient Christians tended to see clearly certain things that contemporary Christians see only dimly if at all. Conversely, I began to

see that modern Christians understand some issues much more clearly than did ancient followers of Christ. And so a sort of ancient-contemporary conversation began that has continued to this day.

Based on this conversation, what lessons do these ancient thinkers have to offer to the church or to individual Christians today?

For one thing, their works continue to help us understand the great doctrines of the faith—doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation. They help us to believe in more deeply significant ways as they offer their perspectives on such things as the beauty of God, the wonder of the Trinity, and the relationship between Christ’s human and divine natures. Also, many today do not fully appreciate how strongly committed these early Christian thinkers were to working for justice. They took strong stands advocating for the poor, the oppressed, those who were overlooked by society. For hundreds of years, they stood against the grain of the predominant cultural and ethical assumptions of Roman society, as they were almost always leading the way in efforts to care for the poor, widows and orphans, and people who were exploited, hungry, or unclothed.

What is the most important contribution that seminaries in general—and Palmer Seminary in particular—can make to the life of the church?

The most important contribution we can make is to make sure that people who graduate from our school have been significantly transformed by what they experienced here. We want to educate men and women well—to shape them spiritually

and to provide for them a solid biblical and theological foundation as well as a mature Christian worldview and ethical framework. Regardless of what their ministry or personal goals might be, we want them to come to know God more intimately and in ways they perhaps never previously imagined. In addition, specifically for those preparing to be pastors, we want to equip them with the knowledge and skills they will need to balance a budget and to manage what amounts to a complex institution—a church.

What one message do you most want to communicate to alums, friends, and others who care about the future vitality of Palmer Seminary?

The most important message is this: We need you. I hope our supporters can appreciate how graciously God has provided for this Seminary over the years. In times of financial need, someone found a Mozart manuscript or a Beethoven. Virginia Palmer’s multimillion dollar gift enabled the Seminary to launch its Accelerated Scholarship Program, reducing tuitions costs by one-third and giving many more people access to seminary education so that they can pursue God’s call on their lives.

I consider it my responsibility to help create an environment in which Palmer Seminary can grow and flourish. I am confident that five, ten, twenty, thirty years from now, Palmer Seminary will not just be alive, but it will be thriving. For this to happen we need the support—including the financial support—of all those who care about strengthening our distinctive mission to share the whole gospel with the whole world through whole persons. iM


Palmer Welcomes Chris Hall as its New Dean


We invite all Seminary alums to send to Palmer a good jpeg photo of the doors to the churches they pastor. We plan to make a poster, tentatively titled “The Doors of Palmer,” out of all these church doors. Our hope is to provide a sampling of the many places where Seminary graduates are ministering. We don’t know how many of your pictures we will be able to include—this will depend in part on the number and variety of photos we receive—but we will do our best to use as many as possible, and of course we will make these posters available to all interested parties. Please send your jpeg photos to Nancy Stahl at [email protected]. Make sure to include your name, your title, and the name and location of your church. Thank you!

Paul Alexander is in the midst of his first semester as Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Policy at the Seminary. He will also be overseeing public policy initiatives for the Seminary’s Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy. He comes to the Seminary after having spent the last four years teaching at Azusa Pacific University’s Haggard Graduate School of Theology. He holds a Ph.D. in Religion from Baylor University and an M.Div. from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in Springfield, Missouri.

Says Dr. Alexander, “I was drawn to Palmer by the opportunity to work on peace and justice all the time. It’s my calling and my passion. It’s when I feel most alive.” He adds, “I’m just trying to follow Jesus’ teaching that we are to be peacemakers and to work for justice.”

Palmer’s Newest Professor

Paul, an ordained Assemblies of God minister, has written two books and edited four more. His book Peace to War: Shifting Allegiances and the Assemblies of God reflects in part his efforts to return his denomination to its founding commitment to nonviolence. Paul notes that in 1940 the Assemblies of God was considered the country’s third largest peace church. The denomination formally shed its pacifist identity in 1967.

Dr. Alexander is co-founder of the organization Pentecostals & Charismatics for Peace & Justice, which holds an annual conference and publishes various resources in pursuit of the group’s peace and justice goals.

YOUR

Send doors!US

“I’m just trying to follow Jesus’ teaching that we are to be peacemakers and to work for justice.”

Paul Alexander


He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.Isaiah 2:4

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding. Albert Einstein

Consider Jesus’ statement “Blessed are the peacemakers.” He did not say, “Blessed are the peacekeepers;” he did not bless those whose primary goal was to keep the peace, to maintain the status quo without regard for justice or equity. No. The ones that Jesus explicitly blessed were the peacemakers, those who actively strove to cleanse the world of oppression and exploitation in order to make a reality where true peace can reign for all.Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. in The Politics of Jesus

I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)

inMinistry fodder

FodderforPastors

If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.Moshe Dayan (1915-1981)

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.William Gladstone (1809-1898)

The price of peace is to abandon fear and replace it with faith—faith that if we obey God’s laws we will receive God’s blessing. The price of peace is to abandon hate and allow love to reign supreme in our hearts—love for all our fellow human beings over the world. The price of peace is to abandon arrogance and replace it with repentance and humility, remembering that the way of peace is the way of love. The price of peace is to abandon greed and replace it with giving, so that none will be spiritually injured by having more than they need while others in the world still have less than they need.Peace Pilgrim (from Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words)

We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we do about peace, more about killing than we do about living. Omar Bradley

When Christ disarmed Peter in the garden, he disarmed all Christians. Tertullian

You have heard it said of old, love your neighbor, but hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you; that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he makes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans do the same? Therefore be compassionate even as your heavenly Father is compassionate. Matthew 5:43-48

You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.Indira Gandhi

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free.The XIVth Dalai Lama

P e r s p e c t i v e s o n P e a c e


Palmer’s D.Min. program is designed

to prepare men and women to

become more effective leaders in

the transformation of individuals,

churches, communities and the world.

Prerequisites include an M.Div. degree

and three years of subsequent ministry

leadership experience.

This three-year program requires

four two-week residency periods.

Students begin immediately to apply

what they are learning in the churches

or other ministries they are leading.

Get Blasted!If you have not already done so, add your name to the growing list of alums and friends who want to stay connected with Palmer. To receive the Seminary’s monthly e-mail blast, contact Randy Frame at [email protected].

Earn a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership of Missional Church Renewal

For more information visit www.palmerseminary.edu or call the D.Min. office at 484-384-2982


2009-2010 StewardshiP reportIf all of our donors had the chance to meet

our students and our faculty, they would no doubt feel extremely

gratified and proud at how their dollars are being invested. We are all concerned about the future

of the church and of the world. The men and women who come through Palmer are filled with

energy and vision, and motivated by the commitment to be ambassadors for Christ—and thus to

change the world—wherever they go.

Thank you for supporting our ministry of theological education and preparation for ministry.

It is extremely encouraging for those who labor here to know that we are not alone.

As you review the names of those who have contributed, please note that this report reflects

the Seminary’s most recent fiscal year: July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010. Every effort has

been made to ensure the accuracy of donor listings. We regret any error or omission and ask you

to contact Mary Gardner, Director of Development, with any corrections: 800-600-8057 or

[email protected]. Also, some of the donors hold more than one degree from the Seminary.

The year listed represents the most recent degree. Thank you once again for your loving support.


$7,500 and overMartha A. EnglerthLucy and Joel HuffVirginia Palmer, ESTATEJanis PlostnieksMalcolm StreetJ. Howard Supplee TRUSTElnette C. Whipple, ESTATEFrances Wiggen, TRUST First Baptist Church, Landsdale, PAFirst Baptist Church, Manasquan, NJ Wabash Center

$5,000 - $7,500Shirley and George S. Claghorn ’44F. Ardell Thomas Abington Baptist Church,

Abington, PAFirst Baptist Church, Stockton, CA

$2,500 - $4,999LaVonne Althouse ’81Althea J. Carnell, TRUSTRichard E. Rusbuldt, Sr. ’51Wallace C. Smith ’74May Crilley, TRUST Eden Charitable Foundation Chesterfield Baptist Church,

Chesterfield, NJFirst Baptist Church, Pedricktown, NJGrace Baptist Church, Blue Bell, PAWayne Presbyterian Church,

Wayne, PAWest Virginia Baptist Convention

$1,000 - $2,499Anonymous (4) Manuel C. Avila, Jr. ’50T. Bennett Dickerson ’54George Hancock-StefanWalter D. Hickman ’52Joseph A. Howland ’54Rebecca J. Husband-Maynard ’05Nathaniel JonesJohn D. JordanWillie P. Mc Kissick, ESTATEMary E. Mest ’07Yoo I. Peal ’60Derrick E. Porter ’02Martha E. RobinsonCharles R. Root ’43Richard R. RusbuldtBrenda RussellPeter and Carol Schreck ’99John A. SundquistWilliam B. Udall ’55Betty R. WardellPatricia A. WarnerDeborah E. Watson ’95 Donald R. Whiteman Cherith Christian Private FoundationRedeemer Italian Bapt Charitable

TRUST American Baptist Churches of

Rhode IslandBelmont Baptist Church,

Broomall, PAFirst Baptist Church, Bordentown, NJFirst Baptist Church, Lockport, NYFirst Baptist Church, Milton, PAFirst Baptist Church,

Southampton, NJFirst Baptist Church, Wellsboro, PAGrace Baptist Church of

Germantown, Philadelphia, PAMoreland Baptist Church, Muncy, PAParkesburg Baptist Church,

Parkesburg, PAPinn Memorial Baptist Church,

Philadelphia, PASeaview Baptist Church, Linwood, NJThe Baptist Church of

West Chester, PAVan Riper-Ellis/Broadway Baptist

Church, Fair Lawn, NJThe Vanguard Group, Inc.

$500 - $999Marion P. BallardB. Frank Belvin, TRUSTJacob L. Chatman ’68James W. Dagino ’59Richard A. Dent ’85Paul Palmer Green ’85Orville T. GuffinCharles R. Hambel ’78Suphornchai Jitima ’96Clifford I. Johnson ’99Connie JohnsonNora L. JohnsonThomas J. Mc Innes ’57Marshall P. MitchellEric OhlmannEarl G. RussellHorace O. RussellRonald J. SiderReginald V. Stephens ’85Jimmie L. Treat ’59Bernadine Wilson, ESTATEMarsha B. WoodardPeter C. Wool ’81 Brandywine Baptist Church,

Chadds Ford, PACalvary Baptist Church of Ocean

View, S. Seaville, NJFaith Deliverance Christian Center,

Norfolk, VAFirst Baptist Church of Passaic, NJFirst Baptist Church, Ashtabula, OHFirst Baptist Church, Kittanning, PAFirst Baptist Church, Pontiac, ILFirst Baptist Church, Reading, PAFranklin Park Baptist Church,

Sewickley, PAGreat Valley Baptist Church,

Devon, PANew Britain Baptist Church,

New Britain, PALower Merion Baptist Church,

Bryn Mawr, PAMain Street Baptist Church,

Binghamton, NYOaklyn Baptist Church, Oaklyn, NJOsbornville Baptist Church,

Osbornville, NJTabernacle Baptist Church, Utica, NYThe First Baptist Church,

Ballston Spa, NYWest Shore Baptist Church,

Camp Hill, PAWhite Rock Baptist Church,

Durham, NC

$250 - $499Dwayne Axworthy ’54Sharon M. BatesDavid G. Berube ’87William BobbFrederick Boehlke, Jr. ’52Elizabeth Congdon-MartinRobert B. CunninghamAlbert G. DavisColleen Di RaddoWesley I. Evans ’58Raymond L. FiteLinda M. Haughton ’82Anup KapurWayne A. Kershner ’68Matthew L. Lyons ’07John C. Murrow ’72Donald W. Shaner ’61Thomas Shreve ’61William M. Stahl ’56Paul L. Webb ’61Foster E. Williams ’58Janet M. Yabroff Berean Baptist Church,

Philadelphia, PABethel United Church of Christ,

Philadelphia, PACalvary Baptist Church, Newark, DEColonial Park Community Church,

Harrisburg, PACourt Street Baptist Church,

Auburn, MEFirst Baptist Church, Collingswood, NJFaith Baptist Church, Fort Wayne, INFirst Baptist Church, Freehold, NJFirst Baptist Church,

Fredericktown, OHFirst Baptist Church, Jeannette, PAFirst Baptist Church, Lancaster, PAFirst Baptist Church, Long Branch, NJFirst Baptist Church, Malvern, PAFirst Baptist Church, Mansfield, PAFirst Baptist Church, Meriden, CTFirst Baptist Church, Pitman, NJLower Providence Baptist Church,

Eagleville, PAMoulton Memorial Baptist Church,

Newburgh, NYScotch Plains Baptist Church,

Scotch Plains, NJ

2009-2010 STEWARDSHIP report


$100 - $249Anonymous (2) Robert W. Addiss ’58Robert E. Allen ’54Paul Almquist, ESTATEMarie AppelKenneth L. Beale ’77Kent BerghuisHarold R. Blatt ’53Tommie BohnGeorge Boltniew ’94Gerald Borchert ’59Henry Brown ’92Elizabeth J. Burch ’57Allan N. Campbell ’08Barbara A. Campbell-Grant ’10Nathan L. Coleman ’84Denison D. Conner ’43Alfredo Cotto-Thorner ’44Wallace R. Cromwell ’62Robert F. Cunningham ’45Susan C. Czarnecki ’04Juanita DavisSara K. DavisBlake E. Edwards ’73Carmella Evans ’10Harold P. Faba ’59Joseph R. Faith ’52William E. Flood ’49Conrad J. FowlerKurt W. Frank ’61Margie C. FranklinYesenia GarciaMary GardnerRaymond A. Gimmi ’56Donald W. Girdwood ’74William H. Griffith ’75Mary E. HainMargot F. Hakes ’52Janet M. Harmon ’83Michael N. Harris ’75Benjamin HartleyCharles T. Hast ’98Doris HayesDean C. Hegarty ’68Susan B. Hegarty ’82Eric J. Hoheisel ’95Richard C. Holmen ’60William G. Hope ’66Mary R. HutchisonKelvin James ’82Alvin S. JepsonVictor B. Jochen ’58

Charles Johnson ’84Cyril Johnston ’66Chester J. Jump ’65J. Sydney Kane ’43Craig S. KeenerLloyd H. Kenyon ’52Carl M. Kleis ’80H. G. KriebelJohn H. Krier ’50Paul R. LeVan ’55Richard T. Lothian ’66Elizabeth A. Malenke ’94Merrit Marsango ’86Loida Martell-OteroJohn C. Maun ’70Ronald L. Mc Ginnis ’63Douglas MillerNaomi MillerLinda A. Morford ’64Kenneth J. Morgan ’70Lee Morris ’64J. A. Mosher ’76Robert L. Muse ’66Thein MyintFrancesca NuzzoleseJames T. Oldham ’75Katharine E. OlsonBonnie J. Ortiz ’10Henry A. Pedersen ’61Clyde W. Petrie ’57Julia Pizzuto-Pomaco ’97Dana QuanShoushan M. Salibian ’79Donald N. Scofield ’56Richard A. Seeley ’60Jasper E. Slater ’74Duane A. Smith ’84Kevin SnyderVergie Spiker ’53Paul H. Spohn ’90William E. Stone ’76Sharon K. Stoops ’68Virginia Swetnam ’57Al TizonPearl TomlinsonWilliam TribleyVictor Tupitza ’58Clarence Van Dyke ’91Edward VanderHey ’57Helen E. VennellLois H. WaddingtonWilliam K. Webb ’56Nevin J. Werron ’82Robert N. White ’95

Marion E. WoodWinifred B. Wright ’48John L. Young ’91Robert D. Young ’51 Calvary Baptist Church, Clifton, NJCalvary Baptist Church,

Norristown, PAEast Troy Baptist Church,Troy, PAExton Community Baptist Church,

Exton, PAFirst Baptist Church of Glen

Campbell, Indiana, PAFirst Baptist Church, Brookville, PAFirst Baptist Church, Chittenango, NYFirst Baptist Church, Dover, DEFirst Baptist Church, Honesdale, PAFirst Baptist Church, Hyannis, MAFirst Baptist Church,

Merchantville, NJFirst Baptist Church, Monroeville, PAFirst Baptist Church, Newburgh, NYFirst Baptist Church, Oneonta, NYFirst Baptist Church, Pottstown, PAFirst Baptist Church, Trenton, NJFirst Baptist Church, Vineland, NJFirst Baptist Church, Waverly, NYFirst Baptist Church, York, PAFirst English Baptist Church,

Nanticoke, PAGreenfield Baptist Church,

North East, PAImmanuel Baptist Church, Erie, PAKenmore Baptist Church,

Kenmore, NYMt. Airy Church of God in Christ,

Philadelphia, PAOxford Circle Baptist Church,

Philadelphia, PAPicture Rocks Baptist Church,

Picture Rocks, PAShiloh Baptist Church,

Wilmington, DEStelton Baptist Church, Edison, NJSt. Thomas Church, Bernville, PAVictoria Baptist Church,

Springfield, PAVillage Baptist Church,

Fort Edward, NYWhite Hall Baptist Church,

Hughesville, PAWhitesboro Baptist Church,

Whitesboro, NY

$99 and underCorinthia AbbottMyah AbramsNancy AdamsRobert J. AllenJoyce M. AndersonKim W. Anderson ’10Nilson J. Assis ’10H. H. Atkinson ’87Paul E. Backlund ’85Emilie Ballard ’47 William L. Banks ’59Gary BanksCrystal L. Baylor ’10Tracye A. BeattyJerome BellRobert E. Berger ’54Howard D. Berglund ’50Colleen V. BiffenEva R. Bird ’87Eleanor L. BonnellDonald J. BrashDorothy BreitegamB. B. BrodheadRomine W. Brooks ’54Victoria M. By Roade ’97Malcolm T. Byrd ’10Sandie A. Campanell ’06Barbara J. Campbell ’10Howard L. Cassaday ’72David Y. Chen ’71John Chorney ’63Karen M. Close ’10Tamika Cobb ’10Ann B. ColeDonna L. Conkwright ’00Richard P. Cook ’69Alvin R. Cooper ’81Alfred C. CottrellVeronica CovingtonPaul C. Cruz ’10Margaret R. Dabback ’52Fred M. Daugherty ’61Helen Davis ’09Samuel D. Davis ’55Charles G. Detwiler ’62Eugene G. Devers ’10Terrilynn DonnellJohn C. DorfmanBernard Downing ’10Beverly Draughn ’98Anne S. Duncan ’10Calvin C. Edmonds ’88



Sunday T. Eke-Okoro ’02James H. Eldridge ’44Chantell L. EllisRebecca EnglerthPer FaalandRobert E. Faatz ’62Aubrey A. FentonPaul R. Fetters ’69Edwin C. Flexer ’66Donald R. Forden ’69W. R. Foster ’82Graham C. Freeman ’60Howard W. Fritz ’79M. S. GantMargot A. GaryDavid G. GelzerRosemary L. GilsonLyle J. GordonJanet L. GreenDonald GreenDavid C. Greulich ’68John E. Hao ’08F. M. Harvey ’52Ernest L. Hastings ’45Carlton Hatcher ’01James D. Hawkins ’10Robert W. Hays ’59Melissa Heise ’10Lorie C. HersheyRebecca HightKymberly K. Hockman ’10Glenda R. HodgesJames HodsdenRuth H. Hosley ’49Kirk Houston ’10Shirley E. JohnsonAzalia D. JohnsonDorothy L. Joint ’09Robert Jones ’10Eileene E. Justice ’64Robert L. Kanagy ’60Andrew D. Kane ’73Lydia M. KartachakCarolyn KeeferEdith W. Keucher

Agnes KiahJacob Kilikpo ’10John C. King ’88Robert F. Kobele ’67Cynthia G. Koski ’85Phillip J. Ladd ’88Frederick W. Lanan ’62Walter G. Laseter ’93Paul M. Lederach ’47Lowell D. Lee ’57Ai S. LeeWilliam W. LongGerald R. Losh ’75Nora O. Lozano-Diaz ’91Teresa LucasKimfuemina Luvuma ’95Sheri A. Magness ’04Beatrice L. Manns ’91William H. Marshall ’67John R. Martin ’72Charles MartiniE. L. Mc Crary-Sanders ’90Barbara M. Mc Kinney ’10Valentino J. Mc Neal ’10Daniel L. Meadows ’09James I. Meek ’59Rose M. Melton Sparrow ’10Clara S. Mercado ’41Robert P. Meye ’90Craig MillerLois O. Miltimore ’10Nancy MinnisCarolyn MitchellKevin F. Modesto ’92Walter N. Montague ’04Donald D. Moore ’10Arlene Z. Moreira Reyes ’87Brian MoyerTiffany S. Murphy ’10Sharon L. Myers ’04William E. Nash ’64Joann NewmanAn T. Nguyen ’10Andrew NormanTheodore R. Ochs ’65

Kenneth A. Ohlinger ’50Aaron S. Onelangsy ’05Sydney L. Parker ’50Mayra G. Picos-Lee ’96Robert PittmanJoyce PleasCarol S. Ramsey ’07Janet Reedy ’88Marjarine Revels ’07David E. Richardson ’10Polly Riddle ’00Margaret Roberts ’86Herbert S. RodwellDuron RutenberJusuf Salam ’79Kathleen SalicoCharles SamuelsJames J. Schmitz ’80Willard A. Scofield ’52Stanley B. Scott ’63Sara K. SharpShirley A. Sharp-KendallRoberta M. SherwinViola Short-DavisonNicholas Sichangi ’10Albert R. Siebert ’46Henry G. Skoog ’54Elbert N. Smith ’58John W. SmithScott M. Smith ’97Alden H. Snell ’78Eleanor Sniffen ’44Joan G. Spangler ’10Deborah J. Spink ’85Nancy StahlEvelyn Stupp ’79Vardell Swett ’53James A. TaliaferroJ. B. Taylor ’81Cynthia A. Taylor-Shannon ’10Roberta V. ThompsonNorman W. ThompsonAllison A. Trites ’61Samuel J. Troyer ’88D. G. Vanderlip

Rebecca Watkins ’04Winona B. WatsonCarmen Watson ’10Edward Watts ’77Frederick K. Weimert ’77Joyce WeiserMary WeyantRudolph White ’10Jackson WilcoxL. R. WilkesCatherine E. Williams ’10Hays Wiltshire ’58Marquerita Wimberly ’10Lee H. Wong ’10Robert L. Wood ’67Gerald Worrell ’10Saleem Wright ’10Anne M. YoderJeanne Yurke ’81Peter F. Zimmerli ’82 Central Square Baptist Church,

Portland, MEClinton Baptist Church,

Montgomery, PAFirst Baptist Church of Laurelton,

Brick, NJFirst Baptist Church, Arcade, NYFirst Baptist Church, Deposit, NYFirst Baptist Church, Wilkes Barre, PANorth Country American Baptist

Association, Adams Ctr, NYWesleyville Baptist Church, Erie, PAWestgate Baptist Church,

Lancaster, PAWhite Deer Baptist Church,

Allenwood, PA



inMinistry humor

Letters to a pastorDear Pastor,I know God loves everybody, but He never met my sister. Yours sincerely, Arnold (age 8)

Dear Pastor,Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson. Sincerely, Pete (age 9)

Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something. Robert (age 11)

Dear Pastor, I’m sorry I can’t leave more money in the plate, but my father didn’t give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love, Patty (age 10)

Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week even if she has a cold. Yours truly, Annette (age 9)

Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won’t be there. Stephen (age 8)

Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to your church if you moved it to Disneyland.Loreen (age 9)

Dear Pastor, Please pray for all the airline pilots. I am flying to California tomorrow.Laurie (age 10)

Dear Pastor, I hope to go to heaven some day but later than sooner.Love, Ellen (age 9)

Sins Cast into the OceanA child, in the car with his mother, began asking his mother questions about the pastor’s sermon: “Mom, is it really true that when we commit sins, God forgives them and they go far, far away?”

“Certainly,” his mother replied. “That’s what the Bible tells us.”

“And all the wrong things we do are thrown into the ocean and go all the way to the bottom?”

“Yes, son, just like pastor Dave said,” replied the mother, adding, “You were really listening today, weren’t you? Do you have any more questions?”

“Well, just one,” the boy responded.“What is it?” his mother asked.The child replied, “You weren’t

planning on going fishing any time soon, were you?”

Shirley and MarcyA mom was concerned about her kindergarten son, Timmy, walking to school. The boy didn’t want his mother to walk with him. She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence, but she also wanted to make sure he was safe. The mom had an idea for how to handle it.

She asked a neighbor if she would follow the boy to school in the mornings, staying at a distance so he wouldn’t notice her. The neighbor agreed, saying that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for the two of them to get some exercise and fresh air.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with another neighbor girl he knew. They did this for a whole week. As Timmy and his little friend walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, the little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to have been doing all week. Finally she said to Timmy, “Have you noticed that lady and the little girl following us to school all week? Do you know them?”

Timmy replied, ‘Yeah, I know who she is. Her name is Shirley Goodnest. And that’s her daughter, Marcy.”

“Shirley Goodnest? Who is she and why is she following us?

“Well,” said Timmy, “every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers ‘cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, ‘Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life,’ so we’re just gonna have to get used to it.”

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“Say, Officer, I bet you’ve never been part of a real live sermon illustration about grace…”


Professor Borror Named to Presbyterian Monitoring Group

Palmer Seminary Affiliate Professor of Christian Heritage Dr. Bill Borror has been named by the leadership of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to that denomination’s Monitoring Group on the Middle East. Formation of this monitoring group was authorized by the PC(USA)’s 2010 General Assembly.

Dr. Borror is one of seven selected based on “demonstrated experience with and knowledge of the complex dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the larger concerns of the Middle East.”

Bill has since 1995 served as pastor of the Media Presbyterian Church in suburban Philadelphia. His areas of focus at Palmer have included historical perspectives on Jewish-Christian relations. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Jewish-Presbyterian dialogue group and is

a participant in the National Council of Churches-Jewish conversation.

Teaming Up with Ryan Howard

Heather Haywood, a student in the Seminary’s Priscilla Institute for Women program, was quoted in the same Philadelphia Inquirer article that featured Philadelphia Phillies slugging first baseman Ryan Howard. The article focused on efforts to refurbish and reinvigorate Philadelphia’s 87-acre Hunting Park. Haywood, secretary of the fledgling friends group Hunting Park United, was quoted as saying, “It gets to the point when you tell people where you live, the reaction is off-putting. But we have families here. We have college students here. We have students that have dreams and hopes. We haven’t given up. We’re still fighting, and we’re still striving.”

At least two PTS Masters students attend a church (mentioned in the article) that sits on the border of Hunting Park. For his part, Howard, whose family foundation has donated $100,000 toward the refurbishing effort, wielded a shovel as a first step toward rebuilding the Hunting Park baseball field.

Good News for EU

The Seminary’s parent institution, Eastern University, has for the first time been ranked in the top tier of North Regional Universities by US News and World Report. Eastern came in at number 84 among regional universities in the Middle Atlantic and New England states. Eastern University was started in 1952 (as Eastern Baptist College) by Palmer (then Eastern Baptist) Seminary.

Faculty and alumni/ae news and notes of the Palmer Seminary community.

Three Profs and Dean Hall at Lausanne III CongressAs this issue of inMinistry is being printed and mailed, Palmer Seminary is being extremely well represented in Cape Town, South Africa at Lausanne III—the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. Three PTS professors, along with Dean Chris Hall, are in attendance: theology professor Ron Sider, Old Testament professor Emmanuel Itapson, and Evangelism and Holistic Ministry professor Al Tizon. Dr. Tizon was invited based partly on his role as director of Word & Deed Network, a ministry of the Seminary’s Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy/Evangelicals for Social Action.

The four will be joined in Cape Town by emeritus Seminary professor J. Samuel Escobar, who now resides in Spain and is a member of the Lausanne III Advisory Council. The first Lausanne Congress was held in Switzerland in 1974, the second in Manila, The Philippines in 1989.

Ron Sider Emmanuel Itapson Al Tizon


Professors in Print

Several PTS professors have been active in the publishing world. Professor of Theological Bibliography Melody Mazuk co-authored the chapter “The Role of Theological Libraries and Library Networks” in the Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity.

New Testament Professor Craig Keener’s 831-page book The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, as well as his 1,040-page The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, have both been published recently by Eerdmans. And Dr. Keener’s The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (InterVarsity) has surpassed half a million in sales, including more than 50,000 Korean-language copies.

Dr. Keener has also in recent months written articles for various academic and popular journals, including the Bulletin for Biblical Research, the Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies, Charisma, and Christianity Today. He’s lectured, preached, or presented papers in numerous venues, including Wheaton College and Asia Pacific Theological Seminary in The Philippines.

Christian Ministries professor Francesca Nuzzolese wrote the chapter “Just Care: Pastoral Counseling with Socioeconomically Vulnerable Women” for the Fortress Press book Women Out of

Order: Risking Change and Creating Care in a Multicultural World.

Associate Professor of Constructive Theology Loida I. Martell-Otero wrote the chapter “Encuentro con el Jesús Sato: An Evangélica Soter-logy” for the book Jesus in the Hispanic Community, published by Westminster/ John Knox Press. Dr. Martell-Otero served recently

as project director for a Wabash Center grant to explore Latino/a pedagogy and another Wabash Center grant to explore “Spirituality and the Academy: A Latina Evangélica Perspective.” She was awarded the Justo L. Gonzalez Professorship Award for Excellence in Theological Scholarship at the 22nd Session of the Hispanic Summer Program earlier this year at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Fourth Annual Costas LectureDr. Daisy Machado, Dean of Academic Affairs at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and the first Latina to earn a Ph.D. in theology, spoke at the Seminary’s annual lectureship in honor of the late Orlando E. Costas. The yearly Costas Community Service Award was presented to Elizabeth Hernandez, executive director of The Place of Refuge, a ministry that provides underserved urban communities with professional, faith-based trauma counseling services.

The Orlando Costas Student Award, given to a PTS student who exemplifies the values of Dr. Costas, was given to Angel Marrero, who has been a part-time M.Div. student since 2001 and who pastors a multi-cultural church of English and Spanish speakers, both first and second generation.

Melody Mazuk

Craig Keener

Francesca Nuzzolese

Loida I. Martell-Otero

Left to right: Luis Cortes ‘06, President of Esperanza USA;

Costas lecturer Daisy Machado; Dean Chris Hall; Professor

Loida Martell-Otero; Eastern University

President David Black; and Rose Costas, widow of

the late Orlando Costas.At the awards luncheon that followed the lecture, Elizabeth Hernandez (right) expressed her deep gratitude for being chosen to receive the 2010 Costas Community Service Award.


Inez Louise Thompson ’84 died on August 20 at the age of 85. A strong advocate for the rights of seniors she was a member of the senior citizen advocacy organization Gray Panthers.

Former Seminary employee Joan S. Wooters died on September 20 at the age of 73. Joan served the Seminary faithfully for well over three decades as Director of Placement. Hundreds of students who attended what was then Eastern Baptist Seminary in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s benefited from her dedication, her expertise, and her loving commitment to those she served. Alums of that period know that it was difficult to walk by Joan’s always open door without

hearing her invitation to come in so she could find out how things were going. She loved the Seminary and work. Her family relayed Joan’s request that memorial donations be given to Palmer Seminary.

Stephen J. Andrews ’79 co-authored (with Robert D. Bergen) 1, 2 Samuel: Holman Old Testament Commentary Volume 6, published by the B & H Publishing Group. Stephen directs the Morton-Seats Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and serves as professor of Old Testament, Hebrew, and Archaeology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. His degrees include a D.Phil. and M.Phil. from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Rev. Randolph Palada, ’86 in June concluded 20 years of pastoral ministry at the Gilbertsville Baptist Church in upstate New York. He was installed as Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Oneonta in August. Palmer alums who attended the installation service were Mark Caruana ’85, Jim Horton ’85, and Sundar Samuel ’84 and spouse, Debbie.

Randolph is concluding a two-year term as President of American Baptist Churches of New York State. He continues to be very active in the East Coast Asian American Baptist Caucus. He is on the Board of Directors for Springbrook, Inc. (formerly the Upstate Home for Children) and serves as a Chaplain at AO Fox Hospital in Oneonta. He is married to Laura Palada, a registered nurse at AO Fox Hospital in Oneonta, NY. They have two daughters, Khaya and Elaina.

In May, Dr. Frank Billman DMin ’88 brought a team of 13 people to Liberia, West Africa, to lead a Life in the Spirit seminar, a Lord Teach Us to Pray seminar, and a Worship in Spirit and Truth seminar at the Gbarnga School of Theology there. Frank serves half-time as Director of Church Relations at Aldersgate Renewal Ministries in Goodlettsville, TN. He also pastors (half-time) Forest Grove United Methodist Church in Joelton, TN. He is pictured here with Yatta Young, Dean of the Gbarnga School of Theology.

Tim Forbes ’09 notified the Seminary a few months ago that he and spouse, Sabrina, have become the proud parents of a son, Brinas.

In May, Catherine Williams ’10 had the honor of graduating with her son, Harran Jesse Williams ’10, who received the Diploma of Biblical and Theological Studies from Eastern’s School of Christian Ministry, which is the same diploma mom Catherine had earned in 2005. Catherine assures that her son entered the program on his own, “with no pressure from me or his dad.” Jesse, a software engineer for a trading firm, is also one of the musicians and youth leaders at the Abundant Life Fellowship in Edgewater Park, NJ, making him a fourth generation minister in the family. And he is the percussion instructor for the Delran High School marching band. Meanwhile, Catherine is an assistant pastor at Princeton United Methodist Church with responsibilities for pastoral care. She also teaches in both the ESCM and Masters programs at Palmer.

Please keep your alum family up to date by sharing your news, including any publications, awards, recognitions, achievements, and new ministry positions. Photos are welcome. Send your news and photos to Randy Frame: [email protected]. Thank you!

ALUMnotes

INmemoriam

The Williams family: Harran, Sr.; Catherine, Joanna, and Harran Jesse.


Recommended Reading for Pastors

Phillip Cary’s Good News for Anxious Christians: 10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do

ome 12 years ago, Professor Phillip Cary was reading a paper written by one of his philosophy students. The paper was based on a classroom discussion of the concept of revelation. Dr. Cary assumed that his students understood that “revelation” meant the Bible. But to the student whose paper he was reading, “revelation” meant a voice from God that this young woman was somehow supposed to be hearing in her heart. Her paper expressed deep anguish, rooted in her inability to distinguish God’s voice from her own.

As reported in his book, Dr. Cary wrote on the student’s paper something like this: “I have good news for you: the voices in your heart are all your own. So you don’t have to get all anxious about figuring out which one of your voices is God. None of them is. The revelation of God comes in another way, through the word of God in the Bible, and this is something you can find outside your heart.”

With this, Good News for Anxious Christians (Brazos Press, 2010) was born. The author’s goal is to get readers to relax, to stop fretting over such things as whether or not they are doing a good enough job of “letting go and letting God” control their lives or if they married that one and only right person God picked out for them.

The author attributes the misguided thinking in these areas to the “new evangelical theology” that has become prominent in recent years, a theology reflected not just in many sermons and Bible studies, but also in the Christian media, including publishing. This theology, according to Dr. Cary, has people stressed out over whether they have the right motivations, if they are doing a good enough job of finding God’s will for their lives, and much more.

The author makes a strong case that this new evangelical theology “is not God’s word and it’s not even traditional evangelical theology, which was originally built on faith in God’s word.” Dr. Cary contends further that the new theology is rooted in consumerism, and that various Christian organizations have a vested interest in making Christians anxious, for there is money to be made in providing the products and services needed to make things right.

The book’s chapter titles—such as “Why You Don’t Have to ‘Find God’s Will for Your Life’” and “Why You Don’t Always Have to Experience Joy”—reflect the subtitle’s “10 Practical Things You Don’t Have to Do.” Following is a small sampling of the author’s perspective and counsel:

“We won’t get a sanctified heart by listening for the Spirit, but by listening to God’s word. Knowing the Spirit therefore does not depend on recognizing some special feeling or intuition as the presence of the Spirit. It means knowing Christ through his word, the gospel—a knowledge which is the fruit of the Spirit working in us.”

“Obedience does not mean letting the master do your work for you—it means doing the work he’s given you. It does not mean yielding up your will, but willingly doing what he’s commanded, like a faithful servant or loving son.”

“Young people…need to know that a good marriage comes of two good people being faithful and good to one another and being good parents together. It’s not the result of finding the one person you’re supposed to marry—an imaginary person, the very idea of which gets them anxious about all the wrong things.”

Although it was college students who inspired this book, there are no doubt plenty of anxious Christians sitting in church pews as well. Which makes this book important reading for pastors. In fact, Dr. Cary’s perspectives, far beyond merely offering a few pieces of good advice, address the very foundations of ministry.

Randall Frame

S Dr. Cary directs the philosophy program at Eastern University.


One thing I did not learn in seminary was how to retire. Probably this is because at the time retirement seemed so far away. Nevertheless, I read recently that retirement planning should begin on the first day of work. This is the case for all people, including those in ministry. Of course, as we move through our ministry careers, the retirement plan will likely be revised and modified many times. Among the questions we must regularly ask and answer are: Do I have enough financial resources to retire? When should I retire? What will I do during my retirement years? Where will I live? How will my health affect where I live and what I do in retirement?

The Time to Plan for Retirement?Note: Many of Palmer Seminary’s most longstanding and loyal alums reside at the Penney Retirement Community in northern Florida. This community was established for pastors, missionaries, and other Christian workers. One of its most attractive features is that it affords ample opportunity for ministry-minded people to continue to serve as they are able. (After all, the desire to reach out to others does not just come to a screeching halt when a person decides to retire.) The following article was contributed by alumnus Robert A. Fisher.

Many people in ministry live in a community for five, ten, or fifteen years, and then our calling takes us to a different place. Thus it’s not uncommon for our children to be scattered across the country, if not around the world. Given these circumstances, it can be very difficult for our children to care for us in our later years as many from my generation cared for our own parents.

One answer is a continuing care retirement community. Today’s retirement communities are far, far more than simply places where people go to live out the rest of their years. People do many of the things they’ve enjoyed doing throughout their lives, and perhaps even pick up a new

hobby or two. If and when they need more (or different) health care, the community adjusts to meet the need.

Those of us associated with Palmer who live at the Penney Retirement Community have found it to be ideal, largely because most of us want to continue in ministry, though not at the intensity and pace we maintained during our working years. Here at Penney, we have opportunities to preach, sing, visit sick and house-bound persons, help disabled persons, advocate for young people in juvenile court, tutor in local schools, serve at a hospice, and much more. It’s easy to find opportunities to continue doing what we were called to do and still love doing.

The Penney Retirement Community was established in northeast Florida in 1926 by department store magnate J.C. Penney for retired ministers, missionaries, and Y.M.C.A. workers. He founded it in memory of his parents, as his father was a pastor in the Primitive Baptist Church. The community has changed and grown through the years. Today it is home to more than 500 retired persons from many different walks of life. It represents some 25 denominations, with American Baptist and United Methodist being the largest. It has independent and assisted-living facilities, as well as an outstanding nursing home and dementia unit. Many of us continue to minister as volunteers within the retirement community itself and through Penney Memorial Church, other area churches, nonprofit organizations, and local government.

Remember it’s never too soon to think about retirement. And as you do, I invite you to consider Penney. You can learn more at www.penneyretirementcommunity.org. You are also welcome to visit us any time. We would especially love to see friends from Palmer. When you visit, I’m sure you’ll become acquainted very quickly with the joy the retirement years can bring.

Robert A. Fisher, Class of 1956

inMinistry feature

nowA relaxing day at the Penney Retirement Community.

to share their faith without fear. Their obedience to God led them to death, yet their faith led them to glory with God throughout eternity. I was amazed at how ready and prepared these missionaries were to die. But their hope was in God and in the promise of reward in heaven.

As we examined the history of martyrdom, our eyes were opened to a world of Christians who suffered for their faith, sometimes until death. Many still suffer today. I developed a sense of how the universal church should be connected so that we may know of the injustice and persecution of other Christians. Even in our backyard, human trafficking and other forms of injustice are causing people to suffer. What are we doing to help them?

The class helped me realize how little I knew about suffering and martyrdom throughout history. The knowledge I gained has presented a different and challenging perspective on what it means to follow Christ. The experiences of suffering and death that we studied may never be part of our lives, yet the class prompted each of us to ask, “Are we prepared if we are called to suffer and die for our faith in Christ?”

Upon the conclusion of the class, I left with more questions than answers. How does my faith have to change to follow Jesus (who calls us to suffer because he suffered for us) in such a way to be ready to suffer? Are we taking the freedom we have to follow Christ for granted? Do we realize the extent of persecution our brothers and sisters in Christ our experiencing in other countries? What are we willing to do as individuals and as local churches and as the universal church to raise awareness and show support for persecuted Christians around the world? How are we called to be a witness for Jesus? Are we truly ready and prepared to serve Christ by suffering?

Kevin Sions inMinistry Fall 2010 19

People who do not believe in God often ask, “If God exists, why is there so much suffering in the world?” But perhaps this same question

should be asked of the non-believer: “If there is no God, why is there so much suffering in the world?” For if there is no God, then all we are left with is ourselves. We have to be the cause of our suffering since there is nothing and no one else. But if God does exist (and He does), then the appropriate question becomes, “What purpose can there be for suffering?”

The Bible tells us that God heard the suffering of his people in Egypt. He sent Moses to persuade Pharaoh to let his suffering people go. After a miraculous display of God’s power, demonstrated by the plagues, we are told, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was not willing to let them go.” This is not so much a statement about God as it is a statement about the condition of Pharaoh’s heart. The sun’s effect on a candle is to soften it. But that same sun’s effect on clay is to harden it into brick. This tells us something about the character and nature of the object. The condition of Pharaoh’s heart was hardened toward God and toward the suffering of the Israelites.

For many, if not most, witnessing suffering has a powerful effect. When we see commercials about or images of suffering children or animals, we are moved to compassion. In a similar way, although God does not cause suffering, God uses suffering. Not only is God moved by the suffering of his people, but God uses the suffering of people to soften hearts, including mine.

I think about Christians who are starving or freezing or suffering with some

kind of sickness. I think of Christians who have been imprisoned, left all alone in the dark because of their faith. I think of others who are tortured or sold into slavery. Does God not care? When people suffer, where is God? And, just as important, where is the church? Where are we, the Body of Christ? Where am I?

God does not abandon those who suffer; he suffers alongside them. In their darkest moments, God’s light remains with them. When they are hungry, the bread of life can still feed them. God comforts the sick and visits the prisoner. The God who suffered for them now suffers with them.

Just as the Centurion who witnessed Jesus’ suffering proclaimed, “Surely this was a righteous man,” many have been moved by the suffering of God’s people into a relationship with the living God, whom to know is to have eternal life. By the suffering of Jesus and the suffering of Jesus’ followers—his people—God is still softening hearts.

Steve Dunlap

Dr. Hancock-Stefan has the ability to interweave his wealth of knowledge on suffering and martyrdom and his personal stories.

As for the content of the class, one of the challenging questions we discussed and processed was this: “If we are not suffering for Christ, then are we truly following Christ?”

The main concepts we focused on were found in Joseph Ton’s book Suffering, Martyrdom, and Rewards in Heaven, which included an overview of suffering in the Bible. We also studied other works, including the biographies of missionaries who felt God’s calling on their lives

On Suffering and MartyrdominMinistry asked two West Virginia students—Steve Dunlap and Kevin Sions—to reflect on the class “Theologies of Martyrdom,” taught at the Seminary’s West Virginia site in September by Professor George Hancock-Stefan.

6 E. Lancaster Avenue

Wynnewood, PA 19096-3495

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PHILADELPHIA, PA

PERMIT No. 1832

Coach Training is designed to equip pastors and other

ministry leaders with basic coaching skills that can enhance the

ability to lead and increase ministry effectiveness.

This Expo runs each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The first half (Basic

Coach Training) runs Monday morning through Wednesday noon

and focuses on basic coaching skills for clergy. Among other things,

participants will learn to distinguish between coaching on the

one hand and therapy/counseling/mentoring on the other. The

remainder of the week (Wednesday noon through Friday) consists

of afternoon or morning workshops such as “Coaching Teams and

Small Groups” and “Coaching Your Music Minister.” (Basic Coach

Training, which may be taken for one unit of graduate credit or for

CEUs, is a prerequisite for all workshops.)

A complete schedule of the week’s events may be accessed at

www.coaching4clergy.com. Participation in this Expo can lead

eventually to International Coaching Federation certification.

Those who complete the Basic Coach Training will receive a

certificate from the organization Coaching4Clergy.

Coaching for Clergy Expo January 10-14 at PALMER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Cost Basic Coach Training: $250 ($295 for those seeking CEUs) plus $49 for textbook

Workshops: $49 per workshop ($25 for PTS students enrolled in a Masters program)

Register To register visit www.coaching4clergy.com

(Those seeking CEUs must register through Palmer. Contact the Registrar’s Office: [email protected] for details.)

Registration DeadlineDecember 20

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