SPRING 2010

LOOKING OUTWARD CONTENTS

The President’s Preaching and
Speaking Engagements
April 23-25, Leader, Southminster Church,
Missouri City, Texas, Annual Spiritual
Renewal Weekend
May 9, Preacher, First Presbyterian Church,
Lufkin, Texas
May 18, Host, Evening with the President,
New Braunfels, Texas
June 13, Preacher, Sesquicentennial at First
Presbyterian Church, Stephenville,
Texas
August 22, Preacher, Opening Convocation,
Covenant Presbyterian Church,
Charlotte, North Carolina
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
I n my growing-up years, Christian Education was primarily
memory work. As an elementary student in an Atlanta church, Cassandra C. Carr, Chair
2-13 A Christian education primer
there was a year in which I and my fellow third-graders memorized
large gaps of Bible verses which, it was hoped, we might file away Michael D. Allen
2 Christian Education
in a mental file cabinet from which we could retrieve it all in times Karen C. Anderson What can we learn about forming people of faith?
of need. The thing I was proudest of was being required to mem- Thomas L. Are Jr. BY DAVID WHITE
orize, at the end of that year, the Apostles’ Creed, which I could Susan Beaird
then say every Sunday in worship with all of the adults around me. F. M. Bellingrath III 4 The role of the pastor
Dianne E. Brown (MDiv’95) BY RODGER NISHIOKA
Then we moved to a county-seat town in the Lowcountry of
Elizabeth Christian
South Carolina, where I was confirmed as an eighth-grader in an
old church founded in 1736 by Scots who were deeply formed by
Joseph J. Clifford 7 The role of the educator
James G. Cooper BY SARAH ALLEN
the Westminster Confession. To be confirmed in that church, I had Marvin L. Cooper
to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Every Saturday
morning for months, I would sit in the office of Miss Wista
James B. Crowley
Elizabeth Blanton Flowers
10 The role of the congregation
McElveen—the beloved Christian Educator there—and recite to Donald R. Frampton BY C. ELLIS NELSON
her every jot and tittle of that catechism. “Now, Teddy, what is the
chief end of man?”
Richard D. Gillham
Walter Harris Jr.
14 Community news
Man’s…chief…end…is…to…glorify…God…and…enjoy… Bruce G. Herlin 19 Development news
[God]… forever.”
Thanks to those two congregations, I had under my belt, by
J Carter King III (MDiv’70)
Michael L. Lindvall 20 Faculty news
the time I was a middle schooler, a pretty good working knowledge
Catherine O. Lowry
Blair R. Monie
23 Continuing education news
of the most familiar texts of scripture, some of the most formative
psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, the Apostles’ Creed, and the catechism
Lyndon L. Olson Jr.
B. W. Payne
24 Alumni/ae news
of perhaps the sturdiest piece of the theological architecture of the William C. Powers Jr.
English Reformed tradition. Jeffrey Kyle Richard
It was memory work. It didn’t make me a Christian, or even a Teresa Chávez Sauceda (MDiv’88)
better person. It was, after all, only a bit of the “grammar” of Anne Vickery Stevenson
Christian faith. But I believe I have been building on that gram- Karl Brian Travis
mar ever since. In Luke’s account of the Resurrection, the end of John L. Van Osdall
all this grammar is for the Spirit to enliven it with meaning. The Sallie Sampsell Watson (MDiv’87)
Elizabeth Currie Williams W I N D OW S
Resurrection miracle for Luke was that “they remembered his
SPRING 2010
words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven Trustees Emeriti
Volume 125 Number 2
and to all the rest.” Stephen A. Matthews
EDITOR
Christian Education puts us in touch with the grammar of the Max Sherman Randal Whittington
faith, for sure; and, when it is redemptive, it laces all that grammar Edward D. Vickery
Louis Zbinden CONTRIBUTORS
with the living syntax of faith until it’s impossible to tell the dif- Channing Burke
ference between what we know, and how we live this knowledge Shuhan Chan
out. Caitlin Deyerle
This issue of Windows focuses upon Christian education in Publisher & Mailing Statement Nancy Reese
today’s challenging times. In the pages that follow, David White, Lana Russell
Windows is published three times each year
Rodger Nishioka, Sarah Allen, and Ellis Nelson will describe pat- by Austin Presbyterian Theological
terns and trends that may be different in many respects from the Seminary.
way I learned the faith from Miss Wista. What remains the same, ISSN 2056-0556
however, is how the things that we remember are enlivened by the The theological schools of the
Non-profit bulk mail permit no. 2473
Holy Spirit until we are transformed by such memory. You will also Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) no
enjoy the rest of the news that lies within, so start memorizing—I
Austin Seminary Windows longer receive funding from the
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
mean, reading! 100 E. 27th St. basic mission budget of the General
Faithfully yours, Austin, TX 78705-5797 Assembly. Churches are asked to
contribute 1% of their operating
phone: 512-404-4808 Theological Education Fund
Theodore J. Wardlaw e-mail: windows@austinseminary.edu (1% Plan) budgets to the fund, which is then
fax: 512-479-0738 distributed to the seminaries.
President www.austinseminary.edu
 I
a christian education
primer

BY DAVID WHITE
grew up in a small church in Mississippi, where Sunday school
was conducted in the church basement by a company of earnest
teachers wielding flannel boards and picture books. In those
classrooms I learned much of what I know about the Bible, and
I will forever insist that this is an important element of forma-
tion, not simply for the information transmitted, but also for what it
teaches informally about being part of a community of faith. There I
learned to share, to treat others with respect, to let guests go first in the
pot luck line, and to not hit girls (apologies to Becky Sweeney, wher-
ever you are!). Also, in those days, we prayed in schools, observed blue
laws, attended services on Sunday and Wednesday evenings, got out of
school in the early fall to attend community revivals. It seemed one
might absorb Christian faith as easily as breathing the air.
Of course, one has only to scratch the surface of Southern religious
culture to find deep-seated racism and all sorts of things we should not
be proud of. Yet, despite the risk of over romanticizing the past, we
must acknowledge that support for the Christian faith has grown weak-
er at the same time that cultural forces counter to such gospel values as
community, altruism, peace-making, and truth-telling have only grown
stronger. Children and adults do not come to us as blank slates, much
less, as they once did, predisposed toward Christian formation. They
come to our churches already formed by myths, habits, and sensibili-
ties, many contrary to Christian thought. For those concerned about
how we make disciples, or how we form and deepen people in

Christian Education
Christian faith, these current times represent something of a crisis—an
opportunity to review previous assumptions and practices while envi-
sioning more faithful and vital ways of fostering Christian formation.

David White is the C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Associate Professor of
Christian Education at Austin Seminary. The author of Awakening Youth
Discipleship in a Consumer Culture (Cascade, 2007, coauthored with Brian

What can we learn about forming people of faith?

Mahan and Michael Warren) and Practicing Discernment with Youth (Pilgrim
Press, 2005), he received a Valparaiso Project research grant to explore the practice
of discernment among local congregations.

WINDOWS / Spring 2010 3

2
T R
The Sunday school model of Christian education educators, like other scientifically minded moderns, have
hroughout the centuries the church has drawn from come to view learning as independent of a sense of body
many influences in its ministry of forming Christians; and place—that is, the knower is unaware of how his or
influences as diverse as the synagogue schooling of Jesus’ her interpretation of the facts of the world are necessari-
day, third-century catechetical preparation for baptism, ly influenced by his or her experiences in the world.
medieval cathedral schools, and Reformation emphases One example of the myth of objectivity was the “sci-
on Scripture and family formation. Throughout the his- entific” notion at the turn of the 20th century known as
tory of the church, Christian formation has involved the “Great Chain of Being,” in which white Western
much more than instruction, narrowly conceived as class- anthropologists posited a hierarchy of creatures with
rooms and curriculum. Yet, the term “Christian educa- Caucasian European males at the top of the evolutionary
tion” denotes a particular historical response to the ques- ladder, with women being inferior and with Africans and
tion of Christian formation. other aboriginal peoples somewhat below higher pri-
Sunday school, conceived as an hour each week of mates in status. Such “science” was undertaken as “objec-
religious instruction alongside Sunday worship, has not tive” without recognizing how it was embedded in the
changed a great deal since Western male experience.
its founding in 1780 by When this view is
Too often, Christian educators have assumed context, learning becomes
Robert Raikes. In its earli- adapted for the teaching
est iterations, trained cler-
that conveying the right “ideas” is
gy conducted Sunday the mastery of mere facts
schools, but these quickly without acknowledging
sufficient to transform our behavior.
became the domain of lay their dependence upon
In reality, it may be the other way around:
volunteers. Begun as out- social, cultural, or linguis-
reach to the poor, they tic contexts. For Christian
al terms—“knowing as loving.” According to St. Gregory,
“It is impossible to find truth without being in love. Love
itself is knowledge; the more one loves the more one
knows.”
Many Christian educators are coming to recognize
that the acquisition of knowledge that constitutes educa-
tion within Christian communities is bound up entirely
with the praise and adoration of God within the
Eucharistic fellowship of the body of Christ gathered
together in worship. To know, in this way, is to be trans-
formed. What we do in the liturgical assembly shapes us
in powerful ways, forming in the most basic sense who
we are in relation to God, neighbor, and the Christian
vision. It is in Eucharistic worship that we know most
fully, not in the sense that we grasp or master the sacra-
mental mystery, but in the sense that we, in worship, are
created as a people who abide in the truth of God’s own
Trinitarian life. In this way, the liturgy fulfills its teaching
function, as Debra Dean Murphy says, “not as exposition
apart from faith, but as a performative act of faith.”
Despite this growing emphasis on worship, we
should not dismiss more traditional forums for learning,
such as classrooms, provided they remain close to the
Christian education for a way of life
elated to the problem of Christian education’s separa-
tion from the worship context, another contemporary
concern has been the overly narrow focus on the intellec-
tual life of the learner. Too often, Christian educators
have assumed that conveying the right “ideas” is suffi-
cient to transform our behavior. In reality, it may be the
other way around: our minds may be changed by our
practice.
We have long assumed that practices are manifesta-
tions of our obedience to God, when in reality they may
also be opportunities for meeting God in surprising ways.
Under the leadership of Craig Dykstra and Dorothy Bass,
many Christian educators are embracing the notion of
forming people in Christian practices. Educating in
Christian practices assumes that, for the most part, acts
of kindness are not random but are established in our life
because we have learned to create spaces, however small,
to reach beyond ourselves in love toward God and neigh-
bor.
Establishing Christian practices is urgent because the
rhythms of our daily lives are relentlessly shaped by eco-
nomic and cultural pressures to consume, objectify, and

our minds may be changed by our practice.

soon became a standard education, merely learning experience of worship. Constructive proposals for wor- compete—so that the scandalous Christian story and
means for educating lay facts without acknowledg- ship-centered education include lectionary-based Sunday vision survives only as private piety. And even personal
people. ing their larger significance school curricula, adult mentors who can teach young piety is difficult to sustain when cultural forces cultivate
Enough cannot be in the context of life and people the habits and skills that flow from worship, and sensibilities, such as fear or greed, which contradict our
said about the importance faith is problematic. a Sunday school paradigm that intentionally comple- hunger for justice, joy, and community.

of Sunday school and its role in the health of the church
through the last few centuries. It is fair to say that the
church owes much of its vitality, if not its very life, to the
faithfulness, creativity, and ingenuity of countless Sunday
school teachers and administrators. Sunday schools, espe-
cially as embraced by American churches, became con-
gregations-within-congregations, creating opportunities
for members to care for one another, to reach out in mis-
sion, and to assimilate newcomers into the wisdom, prac-
tices, and perspectives of the community. Today, despite
the postmodern tendency to deconstruct nearly every-
thing, most thriving churches continue to experiment
with various forms of Sunday school programs.
However, the Sunday school model of Christian edu-
cation is not without its problems in this postmodern
era. Specifically, many educators have adopted theories
from modern secular disciplines—education, psychology,
sociology, philosophy, etc.—often at the expense of the-
ology. Among the assumptions they appropriated were
Western scientific appeals to objectivity—the idea that
individuals are capable of interpreting the facts and sig-
nificance of the world without regard for such influences
as social context or tradition. Unfortunately, Christian
M
Worship as the heart of Christian formation
ore recently, Christian educators have begun to
reflect theologically on what is distinctive about the
Christian education context. They have concluded that
religious knowledge is not neutral, abstract, or universal,
but is highly defined by the particularity of its context
and practice—especially that of Christian worship.
Christian educator Debra Dean Murphy concludes that
the “illusion of objectivism” is, in the end, a “strategy for
avoiding our own conversion,” while the knowledge that
Christians aspire to is knowledge of God and self, dis-
closed only in and through the doxological—the praise
and adoration of God. In other words, learning the dates
of the kingdoms or tracing Paul’s missionary journeys do
not, in themselves, transform us, apart from grasping
these facts in the context of God’s mighty acts of salva-
tion and our gratitude.
Knowing a fact neither challenges nor saves us.
Parker J. Palmer asserts that knowing in the
Christian tradition cannot be reduced to grasping distant
objective facts, but, following the analogy of the incarna-
tion of Jesus, is best understood in personal and relation-
ments the liturgical life of the community.
Debra Dean Murphy relates a compelling story of
her own church in which a group gathered to study
Christian response to the war in Iraq. The temptation
was for participants to express opinions downloaded
from their favorite political party or news outlet, but
these were not adequate perspectives for considering the
question of war in light of the Christian faith. Murphy
requested that participants refrain from expressing their
opinions for several weeks while they explored the litur-
gy and rites of baptism and Eucharist, especially for their
relevance to the topic of war. Only when they reminded
themselves of their own liturgical concepts and practices
did they have the language and context for discussing
war. In this way, one congregation was able to consider
how their response to war might be an extension of their
worship, or “the liturgy beyond the liturgy.”
This emphasis represents an attempt on behalf of
Christian educators to move beyond an unreflective
embrace of social science categories to reclaim theological
reflection, not only toward the end of Christian educa-
tion but also through its approaches.
Dorothy Bass, director of the Valparaiso project,
insists that the church represents a source of wisdom that
responds to the spiritual hunger of our age. Specifically,
when we join others in such practices as honoring the
body, forming ourselves as community, household economics,
saying yes and saying no, forgiveness, healing, dying well,
welcoming the stranger into our midst, keeping the Sabbath,
giving our testimony, or discerning God’s will for our lives,
we engage “patterns of communal action that create
openings in our lives where the grace, mercy, and pres-
ence of God may be made known to us. They are places
where the power of God is experienced. In the end, these
are not ultimately our practices but forms of participa-
tion in the practice of God.”
Reclaiming an emphasis on Christian practices rep-
resents a revolutionary prospect for Christian education.
Such an emphasis does not ignore the more rational
dimensions of faith that Christian education has tradi-
tionally embraced, yet, participating in and refining such
Christian practices opens qualitatively rich spaces for
children, youth, and adults to study and reflect on the
stories and doctrines of Christian faith. Christian prac-
tices (and perhaps only Christian practices) make our

4 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 5


concepts intelligible and meaningful. If, as Alasdair
McIntyre asserts, “tradition is an embodied argument
about the good,” our witness to the beauty of Christ
must mobilize our whole selves, individual and corpo-
rate.
During World War II, the French Huguenot village
of LeChambon harbored dozens of children fleeing cer-
tain death at the hands of the Nazis. Their decision to
open their homes and barns to these children, always at
great cost and risk, was not a random act of kindness but
a christian education pri
m er
course of action in a specific context. The value of a prac-
tical-theological approach to teaching is that it provides
an opportunity for more deliberate reflection on particu-
lar life experiences—where there is suffering, anger, frus-
tration, joy, or hope. It attempts to bridge the sometimes-
great divide between our theology and our concrete life
experiences.
Christian education in this approach is not unilater-
al—it is not the teacher pouring knowledge into passive
students—but acknowledges that all learning is situated

The Role of the Pastor

was nurtured by their long-standing habit of showing in some context. It is an attempt to honor Karl Barth’s
hospitality to each other and to wandering strangers, gen- double aim of reading the newspaper in one hand and

eration after generation. According to Dorothy Bass and
Craig Dykstra:
The practice of hospitality is instructed by the
glad surprise that came when Abraham welcomed
three strangers to his tent … It is empowered by
seeing the practice in the life of Jesus, who
accepted the hospitality of sinners and preached
about a banquet to which people would come
from east and west, from north and south. It con-
tinues within a centuries-long process of forma-
tion and reformation, as successive generations of
Christians seek, in ever new contexts, to shape
ways of life that show forth the love of God and
in Christian Formation
the Bible in the other and seeks to form students in the
spiritual habits of listening to the world’s cries, under-
standing their social contexts, and discerning, in com-
munity, forms of faithful response in the world. In other
words, the practical-theological approach to teaching
engages the heart, mind, soul, and strength of the learn-
ers in community.
This approach seeks to make Christian theology BY RODGER NISHIOKA
more than inert ideas but brings theology into the serv-
ice of faithful life. People often find themselves needing
to make sense of their contexts. For example, a group of
teenagers in South Central Los Angeles needs to make
sense of the violence in their communities and how God

W
the love of neighbor in the very concrete practice is calling them to respond. Others wonder how God is
of hospitality to strangers. calling them to respond to the fact that much of their

C
Christian education as practical theology
ontemporary approaches to teaching acknowledge the
importance of context for discerning God’s direction
while also acknowledging historic and normative sources
of theology. Thus a third important trend in contempo-
rary Christian formation is “practical theology.” This
approach recognizes the difficulty of taking principles
taught in one historical era and imposing them upon
another. It also acknowledges the church’s need to teach
practices that help people make sense of their particular
daily lives.
Typically, such practical-theological teaching meth-
ods involve some version of the following tasks: descrip-
tive-empirical, interpretive, normative, and pragmatic. The
descriptive-empirical task of practical theology asks:
What is going on? The interpretive task asks: Why is this
going on? The normative task asks: What forms of
Christian praxis take place in this particular social con-
text? Finally, the pragmatic task asks: How might this
area of praxis be shaped to more fully embody the com-
mitments of the Christian tradition within a particular
context of experience?
The goal of these tasks is to determine a more fitting
6 WINDOWS / Spring 2010
clothing is made in Indonesian sweatshops. Still others
yearn for systematic means of reflecting on such things as
abortion, homosexuality, or health care. These are diffi-
cult conversations that Christians must participate in
using the resources of Christian theology in community
with other believers.
I have a deep appreciation for my childhood Sunday
school experience and especially for my teachers.
However, the world is experiencing a cultural sea change
that has in many ways grown hostile to my young
Christian hopes, and it is tempting to imagine that the
most the church can do is support the status quo: after
all, what can the church do? Like so many, I yearn for a
life in community with others, as gathered church,
reflecting the life of God.
Christian education at its best has always affirmed
the fullness of Christian vocation, including the priestly
role of comforting the afflicted and the prophetic role of
afflicting the comfortable for the sake of justice.
Christian education in the second decade of this new
century must not merely conform to traditional roles but
must diligently re-imagine the possibility for Christian
Continued on page 10
hat does the pastor need to know about Christian education?
1. That it is all about you.
Educator Parker Palmer writes in The Courage to Teach that “good
teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes
from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” When Palmer talks about
“identity,” he means the intersection of all those inner and outer forces that
make up who we are (e.g. faith, family, culture, relationships, values). And
when Palmer talks about “integrity,” he means bringing all of those forces into
some coherent whole so that our lives are not merely compartments but rather
reflect authenticity and health in the whole of our life.
I return to Palmer’s definition time and again. When people ask for help
in Christian education, more often than not I worry they are asking for the
latest technique or gimmick. I understand that. Techniques and gimmicks are
novel and attractive and fun. I am not dismissing the role of technique or
method. But even the best technique means little if the teacher lacks a sense
of his or her own identity as a follower of Jesus and integrity in that journey
of following.
Rodger Nishioka holds the Benton Family Chair in Christian Education at
Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. He was Austin Seminary’s
2010 Jones Lecturer.
7
 a christian education
primer
In my research with young adults, persons in their 20s and 30s, many of
whom we baptized and confirmed and the vast majority of whom are no
longer in our churches or any church for that matter, I asked about the role
of the pastor. Focusing on technique, I asked if the pastor is more approach-
able if s/he is not wearing a robe. The question didn’t make sense to these
young adults. The vast majority said they really didn’t care. Instead, they said
that if the pastor was real, s/he was going to be real whatever s/he was wear-

The Role of the

ing. And if the pastor was fake, s/he was going to be fake no matter how s/he
was dressed. Technique didn’t matter. The identity and integrity of the pastor

Educator
did.
In this sense, it is all about you. It is about your identity and integrity.

in Christian
I am the son of a Presbyterian pastor and evidence that you can be a pas-
tor’s kid and still love Jesus. One of my earliest abiding memories is waking

Formation
up and going to use the bathroom in the early morning hours and seeing my
father sitting in the living room reading his Bible by the light of a solitary
lamp. He always greeted me and smiled. As I headed back to

Even the best technique means little

bed for an hour more of sleep, that image would remain with
me as it does to this day. He never told me what he was read-
ing or pointed out some new learning. What he taught me,

if the teacher lacks a sense of his or her

however, is that he loves the Bible. Truly.
What should you know as a pastor about Christian edu- BY SARAH DEMAREST ALLEN

own identity as a follower of Jesus and

cation? That it is all about you—your identity and integrity.

integrity in that journey of following.
What else should you know?
2. That it is all about Jesus.
I understand incarnational theology. I understand that at
its core, incarnational theology understands that the Word was
made flesh in Jesus—that God became human and walked
among us and in so doing, closed the gap between God and humankind. I
understand the ongoing tension inherent in this between the more inclusive
view of the incarnation and the more exclusive view given the religiously plu-
ralistic world in which we increasingly find ourselves.
Here is where I get nervous. I get nervous when we transfer our theology
of incarnation too easily to ourselves—that just as God was revealed in Jesus
Christ, God is now only revealed through us. I, too, love 16th-century mys-
tic Teresa of Avila’s prayer that “Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours…” but here is where it starts to get
creepy and make me nervous. I worry that especially for us who are pastors,
this incarnational theology encourages us to take on the messianic mantle—
the idea that the only way children, youth, and adults are going to learn about
God is through us. That is a problem.
Several years ago when I was running at a frightening pace, one of my best
friends, also a pastor, insisted on taking me out to lunch. At lunch, she told
me she had good news for me. When I asked her what the news was, she said,
“The messiah has come.” I looked at her puzzled and said, “Okay ...” Then
she said, “I have even better news.” I asked her, “Well, what is it?” Then she
leaned over to me, smiled, and said, “You are not him!”
Lately, I have been telling my students that while we strive to be Christ-
like, we are not the messiah. And that while God is at work in us through the
Continued on page 13
W
hen the primary goal of Christian education is the formation of
disciples, then the role of educator becomes companion on the
journey toward Christ. The educator, whether volunteer, staff, or
clergy, shares both knowledge about the living God and discovery
of the living God.
This is a privilege and a challenge. It is a privilege to share in the forma-
tion of disciples; to be present when someone discovers the life-giving grace
of Jesus Christ, to help instill and form habits of life-long discipleship. It is a
challenge to speak of God and God’s Word in ways that invite relationship
with the living God; to speak of God and not only about God. It is easier, and
perhaps our nature as fallen people, to distance ourselves and to only speak
words about God instead of to recognize and embrace the very presence of
God as we speak, teach, and learn.
Our faith teaches us that Christ is indeed present whenever we gather.
The goal of Christian education is not solely biblical literacy or knowledge of
doctrine, but the cultivation of Christ-like habits and practices that grow us
as disciples. To live as a disciple is to live in recognition and in response to
God’s presence in one’s life and the world. The life of a disciple begins with
practice. And, it is the educator—the pre-K teacher, the VBS leader, the youth
Sarah Demarest Allen is a 2007 graduate of Austin Seminary and serves as
Associate Pastor for Children, Youth, and Families at First Presbyterian Church
in Austin.

8 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 9

 a christian education
primer
sponsor—who creates the space where these practices are first tried; from the

M
preschool class that habitually lights a candle and says together “Christ is here”
to the high schoolers who share their lives with God and one another in com-
munal prayer Sunday after Sunday. These first steps, when practiced over and
over again, become habits and practices that shape the very fabric of one’s life.
Debra Dean Murphy has said that, “prayer is a skill we cultivate and practice
in the midst of our fumbling toward faith, in our halting, hesitating steps ost Christian congregations assume that the way to encourage chil-
toward mature discipleship.” Perhaps the whole of Christian life is one of dren and teenagers to become disciples of Jesus is to enroll them in
“fumbling toward faith,” with the educator’s role to lead that Sunday schools and encourage them to attend worship services.

The goal of Christian education

fumbling; to encourage movement, however clumsy, toward These agencies of nurture that were developed in the 1800s are still
mature discipleship. needed today, but they are not sufficient for the twenty-first century.
In my ministry with youth, children, and their families, I
is not solely biblical literacy or
Children are influenced primarily by the society in which they live, the
have found Jerome Berryman, Episcopal priest and founder of church they attend, and their parents. The importance of parents and the
Godly Play, insightful. When training youth and children’s church in Christian nurture has not changed. But American society has
knowledge of doctrine, but
Sunday school teachers, I often share his understanding of the changed enormously, and this sets the agenda for Christian education for the
adult’s role as guide. The guide model emphasizes companion- twenty-first century.

the cultivation of Christ-like

ship and de-emphasizes expertise. The guide leads the learner. During the nineteenth century, American culture was formed by evangel-
And while the guide indeed teaches the learner, he or she also

habits and practices that

learns from and discovers alongside the learner. In the Sunday
school classroom, the role of guide is played out as guide and
learner enter into a biblical story, wondering and discovering

grow us as disciples.

The Role of the

together how God speaks afresh. As Berryman says, “We all come
equally to a parable to discover what it means for our lives.” We

Congregation
all come equally to God’s stories, and we all come equally before
God as well. Those of us who guide others must be willing to be
guided by Christ, for we as Christians are on a life-long journey of disciple-

in Christian
ship. We are forever students of Christ, our great teacher. When we believe
that we have “completed” our Christian education, we fall into trouble

Formation
because we lose sight of our Guide. Even the guide needs to keep his or her
eyes open, for we follow a living Lord, and he continues to teach and to guide
us.
Those charged with educational ministries in the church have a privilege
and a challenge; to guide others in “fumbling toward faith.” We have the priv-
ilege of witnessing first steps, and often of seeing those clumsy first steps
BY C. ELLIS NELSON
become a well-practiced dance with the Triune God. We have the challenge of
guiding disciples toward faith and not simply teaching them about faith. We
have the challenge of practicing prayer, worship, hospitality, and social justice
together because we know that in practicing our faith, we deepen it. We take
on this privilege and challenge of guiding disciples firmly believing that we are
all guided by God in Jesus Christ. L

Christian Education
Continued from page 6
formation to engage in God’s prophetic work. The church is called to be the
outpost of God’s Kingdom and provide teaching that equips members for life
in the Kingdom. Attending to such formation is not merely the responsibili- C. Ellis Nelson (MDiv’40) is Research Professor in Christian Education at Austin
ty of Christian education professors or Sunday school teachers in dimly lit Seminary. This essay is adapted from his most recent book, Growing Up
basements. It is the responsibility of all who seek to give leadership in the Christian: A Congregational Strategy for Nurturing Disciples (Smyth &
church. L Helwys, 2008).

10 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 11

ical Protestantism. Virtually every area of American society—from Sabbath
observance to public schools, from public office to the judicial system—
embodied a distinct set of white, Protestant, evangelical values. These shaped
not only understandings of Christian faith but also notions of civic duty. In
1892, the U.S. Supreme Court flatly concluded, “This is a religious people …
a Christian nation.”
The result was a fusion of Protestant evangelical Christianity and nation-
al identity—a “Christian America,” as evangelical leaders pro-
The latter part of the twentieth
claimed. One can argue—accurately—that the reality was not
as authentically or as pervasively Christian as its many propo-
nents claimed. But there was a discernible Protestant “spell” or
century changed the rules of
spirit that shaped American culture.
The latter part of the twentieth century changed the rules
engagement between the
of engagement between the churches and American society.
This is no longer a Christian nation, shaped by evangelical
churches and American society.
beliefs and values. It is a secular society in which the church
now competes for the allegiance of people. Consider only one
example—Sabbath observance. Evangelical Protestants
strongly believed in the sanctity of the seventh day of the
week. To that end, they urged their congregations to avoid certain practices
(work, buying and selling, etc.) and embrace other behavior (especially church
attendance). They helped pass so-called blue laws that closed businesses and
prescribed certain behavior on Sunday. Today—in large cities and small
towns—the story has changed dramatically: stores are open for business and
parents weigh whether to send their children to soccer games or Sunday
schools.
In short, the twenty-first-century church now competes with American
society for people’s time, values, money, and behavior. American society is a
secular society, in which individual values and communal institutions are
developed independently of the Christian faith.
Most congregational leaders and parents recognize this new reality. There
is no turning back, but the resources of the past—newly conceived—can help
us understand the task of communicating the Christian faith today.
G
Strategies for Christian nurture today
iven the gradual secularizing of American society and, to some extent, the
family, what can congregations do to more effectively nurture children and
teenagers to become disciples of Jesus? There is no easy answer, but there are
three areas of influence where congregations can make a difference. Along
with their regular Sunday school and youth groups, these will help children
and teenagers become disciples.
First, culture is a powerful form of influence—for both good and ill. The
negative effects of culture on Christian discipleship are fairly obvious, but the
good news is that the power of culture is also available to sub-cultures, such
as congregations.
Raising the consciousness of a congregation about its role as a sub-culture
may be the most important thing it can do to influence members and their
children.
If a congregation through its worship, service to the community, and con-
cern for the welfare of its members were oriented to continue the ministry of
Christ, it would be a sub-culture. As a sub-culture, it would have beliefs in
12
harmony with the Bible and promote a distinctive lifestyle for its members.
Children and teenagers would probably learn more about being Christians by
being part of such a congregation and from their parents than by being
schooled in the particulars of Christian doctrine.
Second, we must realize that adults have the most influence in a congre-
gation. This is because they are the officers, teachers, leaders of various church
projects, and parents. Thus, in order for a congregation to move toward
becoming a Christian sub-culture, it must give priority to an education plan
that would include almost all adults. The classes would include Bible, theolo-
gy, ethics, and for new members, a course on how new members can help the
congregation become “in, but not of, the world.”
Third, congregations should have a well-designed way to help parents
practice their beliefs in their homes. Although the family is recognized as the
place where children first get acquainted with God and what God expects of
them, many church families are so busy that not much is done to help young
children in this regard. Someone from the church should visit homes to dis-
cuss the parents’ role in Christian formation. This may be frightening or
intimidating, but it can be as basic as leaving short, simple prayers for use
before a meal and some booklets that contain Bible reading
Children and teenagers would
and stories to be used with a child at bedtime.
The Sunday school and other agencies of Christian educa-
probably learn more about being
tion must continue. But these agencies operate in a new
world—a secular society.
Ironically, the task of Christian nurture of young people is
Christians by being part of such a
really focused on adults. They need to find a relationship with
Christ and live a new life of discipleship with and for the next
congregation than by being
generation of the church. Before children can experience God’s
love in Jesus Christ, adults must affirm it and live it in the
schooled in the particulars
communities and sub-cultures we call congregations. In doing
so, they will be models and mentors of Christian discipleship.
They make the words of Jesus come alive: “Let the little chil-
of Christian doctrine.
dren come to me …” (Matt 19:14). L
The role of the pastor
Continued from page 8
presence of the Holy Spirit, we are not God. The person I now encourage my
students to most emulate is John the Baptizer. John kept looking for Jesus and
pointed out the Messiah when he appeared. John—eccentric, bizarre, won-
derful John—directed the attention of the people away from himself and
toward God revealed in Jesus Christ.
So what is important for pastors to know about Christian education?
That Christian education is both all about you and it isn’t. Ultimately, it is all
about Jesus Christ. Surely this is Good News for us all. L
WINDOWS / Spring 2010 13
COMMUNITY NEWS
Alumni/ae and
seniors honored at
ASA Banquet
T he Austin Seminary
Association (ASA) held its
Annual Meeting and Banquet on
Wednesday, February 3, 2010, and
honored two Distinguished Service
Award recipients and five graduat-
ing students.
Austin Seminary’s annual
Distinguished Service Awards are
given to alumni/ae for their endur-
ing contributions to the church.
Award recipient Laura Mendenhall
received her Doctor of Ministry
degree from Austin Seminary in
1997 while she was head of staff at
Westminster Presbyterian Church,
Austin. She then went on to serve as
president of Colombia Theological
Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, from
2000 to 2009. She is now senior
philanthropy advisor for the Texas
Presbyterian Foundation. Well
known for her service to the
Presbyterian Church, Mendenhall
has been involved in the life of the
church at every level. Mendenhall’s
interests include the role of the
sacraments in the life of the church,
the use of daily prayer in structuring
Christian community, and strategies
for faithful proclamation of
Christian stewardship.
The second Distinguished
14
Maury Rabb and Andrew Payne, children of the late Clint Rabb (MDiv’74),
and Laura Mendenhall (DMin’97) accepted the 2010 ASA Award for Service.
Service Award was given posthu- became Assistant General Secretary
mously to Clinton C. “Clint” for Mission Volunteers overseeing
Rabb, who graduated from Austin the 110,000 UMC volunteers
Seminary in 1974. Rabb spent around the world. After thirty-five
almost twenty years as a pastor and years of ordained ministry, Clint
chaplain in Texas, then in 1995 he Rabb died in January from injuries
began to serve on the General Board sustained in the earthquake that hit
of Global Ministries of the United Port au Prince, Haiti. According to
Methodist Church working to re- President Wardlaw, Rabb had
establish the United Methodist learned of this honor in December
Church in Lithuania and Latvia as and was humbly and joyfully antic-
those countries emerged from Soviet ipating its acceptance; two children
rule. He also worked to establish a of Rabb and his wife, Suzanne
Methodist presence in Laos and Field Rabb (MDiv’95), attended
Vietnam. He created the program the banquet to accept the award in
“In Mission Together” which part- his memory.
ners U.S. congregations and individ- The first of five student fellow-
uals with UMC mission centers ships, the Janie Maxwell Morris
around the world. In 2006 Rabb Fellowship was established in 1953
by a bequest from
Mrs. Milton Morris
of Austin, Texas. It is
given to a senior to
pursue further gradu-
ate study; the fellow-
ship carries a grant of
$2,000. The winner
of the 2010 award is
Paul DuBois. A
member of Manchaca
United Methodist
Senior fellowship winners: Jason Webster, Stella Burkhalter, Lisa Straus, Paul
Dubois, and Ken White.
Church, Dubois has a BS degree in
geophysical engineering from the
Colorado School of Mines and was
an environmental consultant before
coming to seminary. He is currently
serving in an internship at
University United Methodist
Church, Austin, and is pursuing
ordination as an elder in The United
Methodist Church.
In 1946 an endowment was
established by Mrs. W. P. Newell of
Albany, Texas, as a memorial to her
late husband, W. P. (Dick) Newell.
The income from this fund is to be
used annually to “provide a scholar-
ship, a graduate study fellowship, or
in some other manner enrich the life
of a person training for the
Christian ministry.” This year, the
fellowship provides a grant of
$3,000 to Ken White. With a BS
degree from the University of
Evansville and an MS from
Memphis State University, White
worked as a software developer
before coming to seminary. He
served in an internship at Church of
the Savior in Cedar Park, Texas, and
has recently accepted a call as their
associate pastor for discipleship.
WINDOWS / Spring 2010
The Alsup-Frierson Fellowship
for Excellence in Biblical Studies and
Hermeneutics was established in
2005 by the families of Professor
John Alsup and Carol Alsup of
Georgetown, Texas, and former
Trustee Emeritus Clarence Frierson
and Betty Frierson of Shreveport,
Louisiana. The fellowship is given
“to enable the honoree to pursue fur-
ther study in the biblical field toward
the end of fostering the ongoing dia-
logue with scripture in preaching
and teaching, within the context of
an ecclesiastical calling,” and carries
a grant of $4,000. The winner of the
2010 award is Stella Burkhalter. A
member of Oak Hill United
Methodist Church, Burkhalter has a
BS degree from the University of
Texas at Austin and worked in pub-
lic relations, marketing, and event
planning before coming to seminary.
She served in a teaching church
internship at The Rock United
Methodist Church, Cedar Park.
In 1984, an endowment was
established in honor of Leo V. Pile
and Helen Porter Pile of Harlingen,
Texas, and Edmond Holland
Morgan and Estella Martin Morgan
of Dallas, Texas, the income from
which is to be awarded to a member
of the graduating class for the pur-
pose of post-MDiv advanced stud-
ies. Selection is made on the basis of
Christian character, scholarship, and
personal ability; the fellowship car-
ries with it a grant of $8,000. The
winner of the Pile-Morgan
Fellowship for 2010 is Jason
Webster. A member of Westlake
Hills Presbyterian Church, Webster
served in the military, studied mar-
tial arts in Thailand, and worked in
communications and technology
before discerning a call to Christian
service. He has pursued the MDiv
while continuing to work full time
as an executive vice president at a
local technology firm. Jason is mar-
ried with two children, and he and
his wife are planning to enter the
mission field after completing fur-
ther graduate studies.
The Alumni/ae Association of
Austin Seminary established the
David L. Stitt Fellowship for contin-
ued study in 1971 in honor of the
Seminary’s fourth president. The
Board of the Austin Seminary
Association grants the award to one
member of the senior class on the
basis of scholarship, Christian char-
acter, personality, and ability. The
fellowship carries an award of
$10,000. The 2010 David Stitt
Fellowship recipient is Lisa Straus.
A member of Westlake United
Methodist Church, Straus is a Jean
Brown Scholar. She has a BA degree
from Smith College in classical lan-
guages and French studies and
taught Latin and worked in educa-
tional administration while pursu-
ing graduate studies at Stanford
University before discerning a call to
seminary. Straus is interested in
studying women in the Bible, theol-
ogy, and Christian ministry and has
been accepted into the ThD pro-
gram at Boston University.
15
COMMUNITY NEWS

16 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 17

COMMUNITY NEWS DEVELOPMENT NEWS
NEWS BRIEFS Silver Anniversary
Seminary achieves re-accreditation. Austin Seminary recently received
re-accreditation from both the Association of Theological Schools (ATS)
and the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
First Presbyterian,
and Schools (SACS). Austin Seminary was one of the first institutions to go Bryan, lauded for
through a concurrent accreditation process with the two agencies. commitment to
The Stanley R. Hall Liturgics Lab, a gift from the Class of 2009, was ded- Christian education
icated on February 2. Participating in the service were Gail Snodgrass,
widow of Professor Hall; alumni/ae Carrie Finch (MDiv’09), Jean Reardon
(MDiv’05), and Matthew Thompson (MDiv’09); Professor Bill Greenway;
student Kaci Porter; and President Ted Wardlaw and Dean Michael
I n the early 1980s, First
Presbyterian Church, Bryan,
Texas, received two bequests from
Jinkins. members of the congregation. The
funds were invested and, according
Christian Theological Seminary President Ed Wheeler was the Martin to the pastor at the time, the
Luther King Commemorative Preacher, February 9. Reverend Bob Leslie (MDiv’59),
“The Session had, I thought, a ter- Pam Engler, below left, receives a plaque from President Wardlaw commemorating her work over the past twenty-five years
Fuller Seminary Professor Jehu J. Hanciles delivered the Settles Lectures, coordinating the Christian education seminars at Austin Seminary. Above, fans of the seminars gather to celebrate the
rific idea. They decided that the
February 25, on migration and mission and African Silver Anniversary of the program.
income would be used for two pur-
Christianity.
poses: to enlarge the ministry and very largest congregations.” necessity of the seminary and
“Images of Spirit: Voices of Faith,” an exhibit of metal mission of the Presbyterian Church For Leslie it was critical local church to be constantly
working curated by Artist-in-Residence C.D. Weaver, is (U.S.A.) and to enlarge the min- for the seminars be held on in conversation and dialogue,
showing between March 1-April 30. An Open House for istry and mission of the First the Austin Seminary campus. and this has been a way of
the eight exhibiting artists was held on March 22. Presbyterian Church, Bryan.” “I’d had [Professor] Ellis facilitating and implementing
After consulting with Austin Nelson for Christian educa- that concept.”
Austin Seminary Day on March 24, brought one hun- Seminary’s interim president, C. tion, and it was so superb This extraordinary ongoing
dred visitors to campus, including several who chartered a Ellis Nelson (MDiv’40), the that I really wanted other commitment on the part of
bus from the Dallas area. They attended worship, sat in on classes with church offered to provide funding people to know that Austin First Presbyterian Church,
Professors Cynthia Rigby or David Jensen, and enjoyed a box lunch with for continuing education seminars Seminary had a concern for Bryan—in particular the vision
the Seminary community. devoted to the topic of Christian Christian education. I wanted and tenacity of Bob Leslie and
education. to get people who were Pam Engler—was celebrated
The 2010 Nancy Taylor Williamson Distinguished Scholars Conference
“At that point there were not a involved in Christian educa- during the “Silver Anniversary”
took place April 9-10. The conference theme was “Children, Youth,
lot of opportunities for continuing tion—whether the professionally conference, “Envisioning the
Church, and Culture.” Fourteen invited scholars included Austin Seminary’s gations, many of whom have writ-
education in Christian education— trained educators or the people Future of Christian Education and
Allan Cole, Dave Jensen, and David White; Jon Berquist, Jerome ten the Session letters of apprecia-
especially affordable opportunities,” who had the responsibility for Formation: Talking across
Berryman, and academicians Marcia Bunge, Pamela Couture, Joyce Ann tion. Part of Engler’s role has been
says Pam Engler, director of devising and managing the Disciplines,” April 5-7, on the
Mercer, Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Evelyn Parker, Katherine Turpin, Bradley as a liaison between the church and
Christian education at FPC, Bryan, Christian education work of a local Austin Seminary campus.
Wigger, Karen Marie Yust, and John Wall. seminary. “We do try to be quite
since 1983. “And so the intent was church—to get on the Seminary
intentional about talking about the
The 2010 College of Pastoral Leaders Annual Conference was April 12- to make this affordable, not only campus. The resources that were
ties between this congregation and
14, at Austin Seminary; Professor Jennifer Lord was the keynote speaker. for a person receiving a salary but available, not only in terms of
Austin Seminary,” she says. “I want
for the volunteers who needed or bringing in outside educators to
the congregation to know how
The George S. Heyer Lecture will be held on April 21. The speaker, Dr. wanted the training.” lead these seminars, but simply
many lives they are able to impact,
Stephen Inrig, assistant professor (History of Medicine), Division of Ethics The church would pay hono- being on the campus, with the
how many congregations are
and Health Policy, at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center raria and expenses to bring an resources of persons and the library,
enriched by the fact that people
at Dallas, will present a historical perspective on the recent health care expert to campus twice each year, would be invaluable to them in
from their churches attend these
reform debate. and participants would only pay a their future work.”
seminars. I know you can’t come up
small fee for registration and hous- For twenty-five years, many of
The Association for Doctor of Ministry Education (ADME) 2010 with an exact number on that, but
ing, if needed. Says Leslie, “That the brightest stars in the constella- Please name
Meeting will be held on the Austin Seminary campus, April 22-24. Dr. it’s a lot.”
made it possible for people to come tion of Christian education have
David Jones, director of Austin Seminary’s DMin program, serves as presi- from churches of limited means as inspired countless participants to
“Because I have opted to be a Austin Seminary
dent of ADME. Guest speakers include Marsha Snulligan-Haney, Sam pastor for forty-one years,” Leslie in your estate plans.
well as for those coming from the continue their work in local congre-
Haddad, and Carl Savage. says, “I am very much aware of the
18 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 19
FACULTY NEWS
David Jensen inaugurated as full professor
FACULTY NOTES
in Shelton Chapel ceremony John Alsup, The First Presbyterian
Church, Shreveport, D. Thomason
D r. David Hadley Jensen was inaugurated as Professor of Constructive
Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary on March 11,
2010. Cassandra Carr, Chair of the Board of Trustees, presided over the serv-
Professor of New Testament
Studies, has written an extensive
dialogue-review for the next issue
ice with assistance from Seminary President Theodore J. Wardlaw, Dean
of Horizons in Biblical Theology on
Michael Jinkins, and Professors Arun Jones, Cynthia Rigby, Allan Cole,
D. C. Parker’s New Testament
and Lewis Donelson.
Manuscripts and Their Texts
D a v i d
(Cambridge, 2008). He also led a
Jensen has been
Lenten Season study series at The
teaching at
Sunrise Beach Federated Church.
Austin Seminary
since 2001. Prior Allan Cole, the Nancy Taylor
to that, he Williamson Associate Professor of
taught theology, Pastoral Care, co-edited “Male
church history, Melancholia, Identity-Loss, and
and ethics at Religion,” published as a double
Manchester Col- issue of Pastoral Psychology, 58 nos.
lege in Indiana. 5 & 6, 2009. He presented a paper,
Jensen earned a “What Makes Care Pastoral?” at
BA from Car- the New Directions in Pastoral
leton College, an Theology at Union Seminary and
MAR from Yale delivered the lecture, “The Life of
David Jensen celebrates his inauguration with his mother, University, and Prayer,” at The Moorings
Gretchen Jensen, his wife, Molly, and daughter Grace, and the PhD from Presbyterian Church in Naples,
his father, John Jensen, and aunt Marcia Knutson. Vanderbilt Uni- Florida.
versity. His
teaching and research explore the interconnections between Christian theol- Stitt Library Director Timothy
ogy and daily life. His inaugural address was titled, “Adopted Into the Fami- Lincoln has been awarded a publi-
ly; Toward a Theology of Parenting.” cation grant by the American
Jensen’s books include Living Hope: The Future and Christian Faith Theological Library Association for
(Westminster John Knox, 2010); The Lord and Giver of Life: Perspectives on his project, “Theological Students
Constructive Pneumatology (editor, Westminster John Knox, 2008); Responsive at Work: A Phenomenological
Labor: A Theology of Work (Westminster John Knox, 2006); Graced Study.” The research focuses on the
Vulnerability: A Theology of Childhood (The Pilgrim Press, 2005); and In the process of writing research papers
Company of Others: A Dialogical Christology (Pilgrim, 2001). He has a chap- undertaken by seminary students.
ter, “The Bible and Sex” in the recent book, The Embrace of Eros: Bodies,
Desires, and Sexuality in Christianity (Margaret Kamitsuka, editor, Fortress In January Jennifer Lord, associate
Press, 2010). Jensen is currently working on two book manuscripts—one that professor of homiletics, presented a
develops a theology of human sexuality and another that reflects on the expe- paper and convened the Liturgical
rience of parenting in light of Christian faith. He is also editor of a book series Language seminar group at the
with Fortress Press, “Mindful Living,” that encourages theological reflection annual meeting of the North
on everyday practices such as eating, shopping, playing, and working. American Academy of Liturgy
Professor Jensen is on the steering committee of the Childhood Studies (NAAL). She was elected Delegate
and Religion group of the American Academy of Religion and serves on the for Seminars and now serves on the
editorial board of four journals, including Religious Studies Review and Austin executive committee of NAAL. In
Seminary’s faculty journal, Insights, for which he served as editor in 2009. February she became a member of
Jensen has been appointed acting academic dean beginning in the Fall 2010 the Presbytery of Arkansas.
Continued on page 23
20
Academic Dean Michael Jinkins is
serving as director of the 2010-11
Colloquy for Deans of Theological
Schools for the Wabash Center for
Teaching and Learning in Theology
and Religion, the first such pro-
gram for academic deans under the
auspices of the Wabash Center. On
March 2-5 he conducted congrega-
tional leadership workshops for the
Presbytery of Northern Kansas. On
April 17 he addressed The
Reformed Institute of Metropolitan
Washington D.C. on the subject:
“The Life of the Mind in the Serv-
ice of God: Why a Thinking Faith
Still Matters.” Two recent essays
were published on the
“ResourcingChristianity” website of
Union Presbyterian Seminary and
in The Association of Theological
Schools’ Colloquy.
David Jones, director of the
Doctor of Ministry program, spoke
on March 30 to the Capital Area
Psychological Association at their
monthly meeting on “Revisiting
Bowen Family Systems Theory: Its
Therapeutic and Didactic Utility
and Challenges.”
Janet Maykus, principal of the
College of Pastoral Leaders, was
one of the speakers at the first
Austin TEDx (a nonprofit organiza-
tion devoted to “Ideas Worth
Spreading”) Conference. She was
the keynote speaker at the annual
Society for the Advancement of
Continuing Education in Ministry
conference in Nashville; she also
serves as president. Her article,
“You’ve Come to the Right Place,”
appeared on Duke University’s
Faith and Leadership website. She
also continues to study improv.
W.C. Brown Professor of Theology
Cynthia Rigby discussed the theol-
Continued on page 23
WINDOWS / Spring 2010
Allan Cole installed to the Nancy Taylor
Williamson Chair of Pastoral Care
O n March 24, 2010, Associate Pro-
fessor Allan Hugh Cole Jr. was
installed in the Nancy Taylor
Williamson Distinguished Chair of
Pastoral Care at Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary. Cole is the first
occupant of the chair which was estab-
lished by the Board of Trustees in 2004.
The ceremony was held in the Shelton
Chapel on the Austin Seminary campus
with Trustee Elizabeth Christian pre-
siding. Also included in the service
were Seminary President Theodore J.
Wardlaw, Academic Dean Michael
Jinkins, and Professors John Alsup,
Lewis Donelson, Arun Jones, David Jensen, and Jennifer Lord.
Nancy Williamson, for whom the chair is named, and her husband,
Hugh Williamson, former member of the Austin Seminary Board of Trustees,
were unable to attend because a sudden spring snow stranded them in their
home city of Denver, Colorado. Nevertheless, President Wardlaw read
remarks prepared by Mrs. Williamson, which spoke of her vision for the chair
and her confidence in Dr. Cole as the first person to hold the position.
Dr. Cole joined the faculty of Austin Seminary in 2003 and also serves as
the Associate Dean for Masters Programs. An ordained minister in the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), he previously served pastorates in upstate New
York and on Long Island. He was a visiting lecturer in pastoral theology at
Princeton Theological Seminary and a scholar-in-residence at the Center of
Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. He holds the PhD and MDiv
from Princeton Theological Seminary, an MS from Columbia University, and
a BA from Davidson College.
Cole is a member of the Society for Pastoral Theology, The American
Academy of Religion, and he is also a Licensed Social Worker. His teaching
and research interests include pastoral theology, loss and bereavement, anxiety,
prayer and other faith practices, the psychology of religion, and congregation-
al care. Cole serves as editor of the Journal of Childhood and Religion and serves
on the editorial boards of two journals, Pastoral Psychology and Insights: The
Faculty Journal of Austin Seminary. He also chairs the committee that oversees
the Seminary’s dual degree program in social work with The University of
Texas.
Cole is author or editor of five books, including: The Life of Prayer: Mind,
Body, and Soul (Westminster John Knox, 2009); Good Mourning: Getting
through Your Grief (WJK, 2008); Be Not Anxious: Pastoral Care of Disquieted
Souls (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2008); an edited volume, From Midterms to
Ministry: Practical Theologians on Pastoral Beginnings (Eerdmans, 2008); and
Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys (WJK, 2007; co-
Continued on page 23
21
FACULTY NEWS CONTINUING EDUCATION NEWS

The Dean’s Bookshelf Professors publish

and contribute to
T he College of Pastoral Leaders has awarded grants to sixty-nine clergy
forming sixteen cohort groups to pursue renewal projects during 2010-
2012. A partial list appears below; the remainder will appear in the Summer
What’s the faculty reading? new volumes issue of Windows. The next grant application deadline is October 31, 2010.
Pastors in El Paso learned about Belhar Confession

S ometimes we are asked, “What’s the

faculty reading?” So I asked them.
Their responses are all over the map.
T wo Austin Seminary professors
have seen their research ener-
“Living the Kingdom: A Theology of
Play” from Professor Rigby, center.
Robert A. Arbogast, Olentangy Christian Reformed Church, Columbus, OH
G. David Daley, West Park Christian Reformed Church, Cleveland, OH
Edson Lewis Jr., Olentangy Christian Reformed Church, Emeritus, Columbus, OH
gies come to fruition in the publica- Thea Lunk, Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Some professors are reading (perhaps tion of new books for the church. ogy in the works of author Marilyn Jung Un Park, All Nations Community Church-Christian Reformed, Toledo, OH
predictably) books related to their teach- W. C. Brown Professor of Theology Robinson on a radio broadcast George Vander Weit, Han-Bit Korean Church, Emeritus-Christian Reformed, Rochester Hills, MI
ing and research interests. Cindy Rigby, Cynthia L. Rigby has written which aired in Australia. In March Harry R. Winters, Akron Christian Reformed Church, Akron, OH
professor of theology, for example, is Promotion of Social Righteousness she appeared on a podcast for Empire Slayers
reading Daniel Migliore’s The Power of (Witherspoon Press, 2010), and “God Complex Radio” and gave a David W. Collins III, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Karnes City, TX
God and the gods of Power. She says that presentation for an ecumenical Philip C. Holck, Good News Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX
Jennifer Lord, associate professor Laura Holck, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Adkins, TX
the book reflects in new ways on the sovereignty of God, of homiletics, is the author of group of pastors in El Paso.
Michael C.Lawrence-Weden, Peace and Lord of Life Lutheran Churches, San Antonio, TX
especially in the midst of an increasingly pluralistic culture. Finding Language and Imagery: Hardcore Christianity
Jennifer Lord teaches homiletics, and her interest in matters litur- Words for Holy Speech (Fortress Ryan Kemp-Pappan, Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, Louisville, KY
gical has led her to David Mellot’s book, I Was Dust and I Am Dust: Adele L. Sakler, Non-Denominational ministry, Citrus Heights, CA
Press, 2010, part of the “Elements
Penitente Practices as a Way of Knowing. She says that she has long been Jensen Andrew Tatusko, Mount Aloysius College-Presbyterian, Duncansville, PA
of Preaching” series).
curious about particular Roman Catholic Christians “whose Holy Week Continued from page 20 Meredith White-Zeager, Presbytery of the Western Reserve, Lakewood, OH
practices include private rituals of flagellation and other acts of Lemmings
semester while Michael Jinkins is on
penance.” The author of this book, she continues, “was welcomed into Joseph F. Hastings, Catholic Relief Services-Western Region, Seattle, WA
sabbatical. Linda Lopez Liang, St. Peter R.C. Parish, Seattle, WA
one Penitente community, the Northern New Mexico village of Arroyo
Jensen’s experience in ministry Helen West Osterle, St. James R. C. Cathedral Parish, Seattle, WA
Seco, and was granted great access” to this community’s practices.
includes serving as director of chil- Michael Ramos, Church Council of Greater Seattle (R.C.), Seattle, WA
Our professor of Christian education, David White, is reading Patricia C. Repikoff, Hispanic Services-Eastside Catholic Deanery, Shoreline, WA
dren’s programs at Nancy Webb
Gordon Mikoski’s, Baptism and Christian Identity: Teaching in the Triune Ronald L. Ryan, St. Anne R.C. Parish, Seattle, WA
Kelly United Methodist Church in
Name. David notes Mikoski’s remarkable ability to understand the deep Patricia Wittman-Todd, St. Mary R.C. Parish, Seattle, WA
inner city Nashville, Tennessee. In
connections between Christian education and Christian worship. Liminality
1990-91, he spent a year teaching William J. Christman, Oxford Hospice and First Presbyterian Church , Baxter Springs, KS
I certainly don’t want to give the impression that our professors are
John J. Ahn, assistant English in the mountains of James Mitchell Fisher, Oxford Hospice and Center Baptist Church, Ash Grove, MO
only reading books in their scholarly fields, as important as this is. John
professor of Old Testament, is co- Austria. A native of Oregon, Jensen Buddy L. Horn, Oxford Health Care Hospice-Unity Church, Lampe, MO
Alsup, long-time professor of New Testament, reports that he has been Clifford B.Rawley, Oxford Health Care Hospice-United Methodist , Springfield, MO
editor with Stephen L. Cook of a is a member of University
reading Patrick Taylor’s trilogy, An Irish Country Doctor, An Irish Franklin D. Regan Jr., Oxford Health Care Hospice-Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO
new book, Thus Says the Lord: Essays Presbyterian Church in Austin and
Country Village, and An Irish Country Christmas, which were recom- Spirituality of Terroir
on the Former and Latter Prophets in says he is happiest when spending
mended to him by Kay Lewis, widow of our late colleague and friend David J. Clark, Ankeny Christian Church, Ankeny, IA
Honor of Robert R. Wilson (T & T time outside with his wife, Molly,
Alan Lewis. Timothy C. Diebel, First Christian Church, Des Moines, IA
Clark, 2009). Ahn also contributed and their children, Grace and Finn. Alan Lobaugh, University Christian Church, Fort Worth, TX
Timothy Lincoln, our librarian, has been reading John LeCarre’s
Mission Song (as well as Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science, an essay to the book, “Zephaniah, A William H. Steward, Grace United Methodist Church, Des Moines, IA
Hermeneutics and Praxis by Richard Berstein, a book that—you guessed Disciple of Isaiah?” Soul Friends
it!—Bill Greenway, our professor of philosophical theology, suggested David H. Jensen, professor of Cole Virgil M. Fry, Lifeline Chaplaincy-United Church of Christ, Houston, TX
constructive theology, has published Continued from page 21 David Martin, Lifeline Chaplaincy-United Church of Christ, Fort Worth, TX
to him). And Lewie Donelson, our other long-time professor of New Tommy D. Nuckles, Lifeline Chaplaincy-United Church of Christ, Austin, TX
Testament and a devoted reader of contemporary poetry, is reading The a chapter, “The Bible and Sex,” in authored with Robert C. Dykstra Paul W. Riddle, Lifeline Chaplaincy-United Church of Christ, Houston, TX
Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni as well as the private orations of the book The Embrace of Eros: and Donald Capps). Jesse R. Stroup, Lifeline Chaplaincy-United Church of Christ, Dallas, TX
Demosthenes, in Greek. But, then, Lewie is the only person I know who Bodies, Desires, and Sexuality in Professor Cole is also author of Transformers: Pastors in Disguise
reads Jacques Derrida in French for fun. Christianity (Margaret Kamitsuka, numerous chapters in edited vol- Patricia R. Case, General Assembly of the Christian Church (DOC), Indianapolis, IN
Also just for the fun of it, I’ll mention two great new books from ed., Fortress Press, 2010), and Janet umes and reference books in the Rebecca L. Hale, General Office of the Christian Church (DOC), Indianapolis, IN
Maykus, principal of the College of Gene Lawson, Real Faith Christian Church, Clarksdale, MS
my bedside table: Rebecca Skloot’s moving and fascinating, The fields of pastoral theology, the psy- Dawn D. Weaks, Raytown Christian Church, Raytown, MO
Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; and Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Pastoral Leaders, has a chapter in A chology of religion, preaching
Voice Lessons
Smith’s Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life. Lifelong Call to Learn Continuing (commentaries), and social work. Katheryn Barlow-Williams, Oak Hills Presbyterian Church, San Antonio, TX
Michael Jinkins (DMin’83) Education for Religious Leaders, Cole is married to Tracey Cole Sue A. Ebersberger, Norriton Presbyterian Church, Fairview Village, PA
Academic Dean Bruce Roberts and Robert Reber, and they are parents to two little Linda E. Owens, Bound Brook Presbyterian Church, Bound Brook, NJ
eds., published by Alban Institute. girls, Meredith and Holly. Ann Marie Quigley-Swanson, Northwoods Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX
Heather Parkinson Wright, Greenwich Chaplaincy Services-Presbyterian, Greenwich, CT
22 WINDOWS / Spring 2010 23
ALUMNI/AE NEWS
Lana Russell to serve
as liaison to graduates
and congregations
T he Reverend Lana E. Russell is
Austin Seminary’s director of
church and alumni/ae relations. She
joined the
staff in Janu-
ary after five
years as asso-
ciate pastor
at Kirk in the
Hills Presby-
t e r i a n
Church in
Bloomfield
Hills, Michigan.
Russell formed early ties to
Austin Seminary when she took
classes as a Special Student from
1988-1993—both at the Seminary’s
West Texas extension, where she
served on the board, and on the
Austin campus. Before entering
seminary full time, she served on the
board of St. Andrew’s Mission of
Tres Rios Presbytery and the Mid-
land Association of Churches; she
was executive director for the Mid-
land affiliate of Habitat for Human-
ity. She earned Master of Divinity
(2003) and Master of Theology
(2004) degrees from Princeton Sem-
inary where she received the Charles
H. Jagow Preaching Prize and the
Charles H. Jagow Prize in Homilet-
ics and Speech. She is a fellow in the
inaugural class of the Institute for
Pastoral Leadership at Princeton.
“Building and maintaining
strong relationships with our alum-
ni/ae and Synod congregations are
an institutional priority,” says
Donna Scott, vice president for
Institutional Advancement. “I am
thrilled to have Lana at Austin
Seminary and serving in this role. I
am confident she will represent both
of these constituencies well.”
24
Classes reunions for 1960 and 1970 brought several folks back to campus during
the 2010 MidWinters. On hand for the reunion luncheon were Fred Morgan
(MDiv’71), J Carter King (MDiv’70), Gene March (MDiv’60), Ken Altfather
(MDiv’70), Barbara Altfather, and Ralph Bucy (MDiv’52).
New ASA Board
members announced
During the ASA Banquet and
Annual Meeting the following
alumni/ae were elected to the serve
on the ASA Board: Belinda Wind-
ham (MDiv’91), president;
Richard Culp (MDiv’93,
DMin’01), president-elect; along
with new members Judy Baskin
(MDiv’02), Aquanetta Hicks
(MDiv’08), Kathleen Hignight
(MDiv’95), Ryan Kemp-Pappan
(MDiv’08), and Catherine Robin-
son (MDiv’86).
Outgoing ASA President Patty
Hernden (MDiv’93) presides over the
business meeting at the ASA Banquet.
CLASS NOTES
1950s
Corrine “Sis” Smith McGehee, wife
of Bob McGehee (MDiv ’57), died
in Decatur, Alabama, April 25,
2009.*
Fred H. Babb (MDiv’59) is serv-
ing as Interim Pastor of First
Presbyterian Church of Hillsboro,
Texas.
1980s
Carol S. Wood (MDiv ’80) recent-
ly retired from Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Las Vegas,
Nevada.
Anne E. Clifton (MDiv’87) mar-
ried David E. Hébert on January
30, 2010, at First Presbyterian
Church in Garland, Texas, where
she is the pastor.
Sallie Watson (MDiv’87) has been
called as Regional Presbyter/Stated
Clerk of two governing bodies in
* For more from Austin
www.austinseminary.edu/alumwords
Seminary alumni/ae go to
WELCOME…
to Rachel Doris Smith, daughter
of Monica T. Smith (MDiv’99)
and Andy Smith (MDiv’99),
born on January 25, 2010.
to Caroline Moses, daughter of
Alex Moses (MDiv’01) and
Jennifer K. Moses, born in
December 2009.
New Mexico, Sierra Blanca
Presbytery and Santa Fe Presbytery.
Derek Forbes (MDiv’08), above left, puts the
1990s finishing touches on the communion table he
Phillip Faris (MDiv’93) was handcrafted for the Stanley R. Hall Liturgy
installed as pastor of Graceminster Lab, dedicated during MidWinters. Monica
Presbyterian Church in Monroe, Hall (MDiv’08), right, offers encouragement.
Louisiana, on February 28, 2010.
2000s
ORDINATIONS
W. Alexander Moses (MDiv’01)
was called to serve as senior pastor Juan I. Herrera Ortegon (MDiv’07) to serve First Presbyterian Church
of Fayette Presbyterian Church in in St. Petersburg, Florida
Fayetteville, Georgia (Atlanta).
Mitchell S. Holley (MDiv’08) to Air Force chaplaincy in Irving, Texas
Melani Longoni (MDiv’03) direct-
Teresa L. Summers-Minette (MDiv’08) to serve Grace Presbyterian
ed the Third Annual Retreat for the
Church in Grove, Oklahoma
Arizona Association of Independent
Catholic Clergy. The theme for the Christopher J. Kirwan (MDiv’09) to serve Williamston Presbyterian
day was “exploring the use of femi- Church in Williamston, North Carolina
nine imagery to point toward the
Joseph M. Moore (MDiv’09) to serve Central Presbyterian Church in
mystery that is God.”
Austin, Texas
Jennifer J. Rogers (MDiv’04) wed
Matthew L. Thompson (MDiv’09) to serve First Presbyterian Church in
Adam C. Cooper on January 2,
Lamesa, Texas
2010, in Germany.
Rick Brooks (MDiv’05) and his
wife, Teri, suffered two recent loss-
NECROLOGY
es: their son, Adam, died on April Jack K. Bennett (ThM’58) New Braunfels, Texas, January 21, 2010*
4 and Teri’s mother, Jane Brown,
Reynaldo N. Suarez (MDiv’66) Houston, Texas, January 7, 2010
died on April 7.
Toney D. McMillan (MDiv’67) Arkadelphia, Arkansas, November 22,
Ryan Kemp-Pappan (MDiv’09)
2009
made an appearance on “God
Complex Radio,” March 12, dis- Clinton C. Rabb (MDiv’74) Hawthorne, New York, January 17, 2010
cussing the recently deceased the-
J. Michael Chadwick (MDiv’76) Fort Worth, Texas, October 20, 2009
ologian Mary Daly. The program is
co-founded by Austin alumnus James M. Davis (MDiv’80) Carrollton, Texas, December 8, 2009
Carol Howard Merritt (MDiv Leslie G. Andrew (MDiv’81) January 22, 2010, Bella Vista, Arkansas
’05).
 2010 Commencement WINDOWS Non Profit Org.
Sunday, May 30 at 2:30 p.m. Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary U.S. Postage
100 East 27th Street, Austin, Texas 78705-5797 PAID
University Presbyterian Church
Austin, Texas
The Reverend Thomas L. Are Jr.
Permit No. 2473
Commencement Speaker
Baccalaureate
Saturday, May 20
The Rev. Dr. Arun Jones and
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia L. Rigby
Preaching and Presiding at Table
All Are Invited! Spring 2010

Stitt Library receives rare book

Mrs. Lu Brannon (seated),

widow of John Brannon
(MDiv’52), and Phil and
Kathy McLarty (standing
at left) donated a 1655
edition of The History of
the Church of Scotland
by John Spotswood, to the
Stitt Library in March.
Paul (who was born while
his father was a Seminary
student) and Peggy
Brannon joined their
mother. Stitt Library
Director Timothy Lincoln
gave the Brannons a tour
of the campus. “I knew
everyone the buildings are
named after!” said Mrs.
Brannon.