28 Spr i ng 13 29 www. gor donconwel l .

edu/ cont act magazi ne

As the Chief Tanker" at Gordon-Conwell, let me also tell
you just some of the many things for which we as a seminary
are grateful.
- We are grateful for the ,o: donors who have made both
large and small gifs to the seminary this year alone. And the
year is not over yet.
- ln these uncertain economic times, we are amazed and grate-
ful that lducation lund (Annual lund) giving is up over last
year by : percent, with a critical few weeks lef to go to our
hscal year end, June o.
- lt is no small mauer that we have received a cash gif of
s:,ooo,ooo to endow the Pastors for Africa Scholarship. We
are grateful for the sacrihcial donors, for the scholarship re-
cipients who are using these gifs wisely, and to God for mak-
ing this all possible.
- We are grateful for donors who have partnered with us through
commitments to our comprehensive campaign that is under-
way on all four of our campuses. Teir generosity is making
possible greatly needed improvements in our facilities, and
educational programs for the beneht of our students.
- We are grateful for a Lilly lndowment Grant to research
and study student debt and how the Partnership Program at
Gordon-Conwell can address and mitigate some of this debt.
An increasing number of students are leaving higher education
with an extraordinary amount of student debt, and seminary
graduates are no exception to this trend. We believe that as a
seminary we have a shared responsibility to address this issue,
and this grant is helping us to do so.
- We are grateful for dozens of people who have planned gifs
designated for Gordon-Conwell. Te contributions of these
partners are long-term, transformational commitments to our
educational ministry.
- We are grateful to God for our students, alumni, trustees,
administrators, faculty and stan united in a single vision "#$
oJ+once Cris's KingJo in e+ery sere o{ |i{e |y eqviing
Cvrd |eoJers o in| eo|ogico||y, engoge g|o|o||y onJ |i+e
|i||ico||y." Tis is not a marketing slogan or a brand position.
Tis is absolutely why we exist, and we are grateful for God`s
calling on us as an institution to live out this vision on our
campuses in Hamilton, Boston, Charloue and Jacksonville.
When we read familiar Psalms like the one that follows, it
reminds us again that part of being grateful is dehnitely con-
nected to our posture in relationship to God.

A psalm. lor giving grateful praise.
Sov {or joy o e LorJ, o|| e eor.
Vorsi e LorJ +i g|oJness,
coe |e{ore i +i joy{v| songs.
Kno+ o e LorJ is GoJ.
I is e +o oJe vs, onJ +e ore is,
+e ore is eo|e, e see o{ is osvre.
Fner is goes +i on|sgi+ing
onJ is covrs +i roise,
%&'( #)*+,- #$ )&. *+/ 01*&-( )&- +*.(2
For e LorJ is gooJ onJ is |o+e enJvres {ore+er,
)&- 3*&#)345+(-- 6$+#&+4(- #)1$4%) *55 %(+(1*#&$+-2
lf you have ever given a gif, or are even considering giving a
gif to Gordon-Conwell, large or small, please know that we
are deeply grateful. Countless people have and will continue
to beneht from Kingdom investments made in the educational
ministry of Gordon-Conwell. Your sacrihcial giving to Gordon-
Conwell has and will continue to advance the Kingdom, and
for that we are eternally grateful to our great God.
With sincere gratitude,
Kurt W. Drescher, Chief Tanker
Kurt W. Drescher is the Vice President of Advancement at
Gordon-Conwell. He is an active member of Grace Chapel,
where he serves as Vice Chair on the Board of Overseeing
Elders. Kurt, a graduate of Gordon College, lives with his
wife, Sharon, and their two daughters in Reading, MA.
!"#"$%&'"() ("+,
Yovr socri[cio| gi+ing o GorJonCon+e|| os onJ
+i|| coninve o oJ+once e KingJo, onJ {or o
+e ore eerno||y groe{v| o ovr greo GoJ.
-./0$)1 &2%-3$"
lt was inspiring that someone could be so wise and engaged
in a subject," Dr. Reeves recalls. During Oberman`s talk, l had a
liule epiphany. l realized that full-time education is not where
practitioners end up when they can`t practice ministry, but is
actually a place to go and engage in ministry.
Ten, when l was in seminary, one of the things l realized
is that seminaries are ofen shaped by the people who are
there, a good seminary is good because it has great people. l
started to have this growing passion to strive toward being
in a place where l could be one of those good people shaping
the seminary."
And shaped he has. When Dr. Reeves hrst joined Gordon-
Conwell in May :oo, the Jacksonville, lL, campus was just
starting as an extension of the Charloue, N.C., campus and
consisted of approximately o students. Tree years later, the
Jacksonville campus is its own entity with total enrollment
soaring to oo.
Coming straight to Gordon-Conwell from his Ph.D. program
in church history (Tudor evangelicalism) at the University of
Cambridge, lngland, Dr. Reeves occupied a single omce in the
back of lirst Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, as Assistant to
the Dean. Now, he leads a stan of eight as Assistant Dean of
the Jacksonville Campus and Assistant Professor of Historical
Teology.
Te Charloue campus laid the foundation, l just came in
and put the shingles on it," he comments.
lor Dr. Reeves, a llorida native, joining Gordon-Conwell
Jacksonville felt like home. Being born and raised in llorida,
l know the llorida context well," he says, Gordon-Conwell
is striving to shape Northern llorida with a serious brand of
education.
With llorida being the Disney state, people tend to gravi-
tate towards `light` education, meaning, `How fast can l get
to the beach`` `What is the minimum number of courses that
l need to take`` We want to redehne that.
Gordon-Conwell can be an example that you don`t have
to check your mind at the door. When you do serious study, it
doesn`t have to kill your heart. We`re about serious study and
serious vitality. lf we are faithful with the education compo-
nent, God will lead us."
As Dr. Reeves faithfully guides the Jacksonville campus in
providing quality theological education in the eighth largest
city in the U.S., his passion for the students, he says, is what
keeps him going. My greatest passion is the everyday hallway
moments with students. l purposely put the student lounge next
to my omce, so they have to come by for conee and snacks. l
love talking with them about life.
l wanted to teach and have the academic chops to be a se-
rious scholaras a means of engaging with students. lf l were
buried away in the lvory Tower working on another book and
trying to escape students, l would go crazy. As my colleague
says, `ministry happens in the in-between moments.`"
And as for his academic chops, Dr. Reeves earned his B.A.
from Samford College, and M.A. and M.Div. from Reformed
Teological Seminary. His doctoral dissertation, 7+%5&-)
F+onge|ico|s onJ O|eJience, will be published in summer :o.
Te book looks to the Tudor period to examine a real conver-
sation happening in the world today What do you do when
the king wants to kill you for your faith` light back or kneel
down` Can you ever overthrow the monarchy/government
for the sake of the gospel`"
Dr. Reeves has also published several book reviews, been
a guest lecturer at Cambridge University and Reformed
Teological Seminary, served as the graduate representative
to the Church History Subject Commiuee at Cambridge, and
was a Research lellow and lditor at Teleios Research lnstitute.
When Dr. Reeves is not engaging with students, teaching
courses or running a campus, he can be found cheering on the
Tampa Bay Bucs, playing his guitar, and spending time with
his wife, Charloue, and two young children, Zo and Owen.
Dr. Ryan Reeves always had a hunch that he would teach
at a seminary. But it was a speech during his senior year in
college by the great historian Heiko Augustinus Oberman
that solidihed Ryan`s calling.
Ryan Reeves, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of the Jacksonville Campus
& Assistant Professor of Historical Teology
28 Spr i ng 13