Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

special edition
inaugurating
gordon-conwell’s
fourth president w i nte r 06/07 1
WINTER 06/07 VO L .36 N O .1
 CONTENTS
T H E M I N I S T RY MAGAZINE
O F G O R D O N - C O NWELL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
W I N T E R 0 6 / 0 7 VOL . 3 6 NO. 1

3 The Inaugural Address Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has in-

*AMES%MERY7HITE0H$ augurated four presidents since its founding in
1969: Dr. Harold John Ockenga, Dr. Robert E.
11 The Time is Short
Cooley, Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., and on October
4IMOTHY'EORGE4H$
6, 2006, Dr. James Emery White.
19 Words of Welcome
Inaugurating a new president is a significant
21 Congratulatory Letters
event in the life of our seminary—significant

22 Meet the White Family for the 190 distinguished faculty and staff who
!NNE"$OLL serve on our three campuses in South Hamilton
and Boston, Massachusetts, and Charlotte, North
26 A Godly Heritage
Carolina, and our extension site in Jacksonville,
'ARTH-2OSELL0H$
Florida; for our more than 6000 graduates min-
30 Honoring Our Third President istering across the globe; for the 2200-plus Gor-
!NNE"$OLL
don-Conwell students now preparing for future

33 Trustee Profile: George F. Bennett ministry, and those who will follow after them;
for the thousands of faithful supporters who have
34 Seminary News
helped make possible our educational mission;
and for individuals, churches and institutions
worldwide who look to Gordon-Conwell as a stan-
dard bearer for biblical truth.

In this special Presidential Inauguration edition

Board of Trustees
Mr. Joel B. Aarsvold
Mrs. Linda Schultz Anderson
Dr. Richard A. Armstrong
Dr. George F. Bennett
Rev. Dr. Garth T. Bolinder
Rev. Dr. Richard P. Camp, Jr.
Mr. Thomas J. Colatosti,
Chair
Mr. Charles W. Colson
Rev. Dr. Leighton Ford
Mrs. Joyce A. Godwin
Dr. William F. Graham
Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes
Mr. Herbert P. Hess,
Treasurer
Mr. Ivan C. Hinrichs
Rev. Dr. John A. Huffman, Jr.
Mr. Caleb Loring III
Mrs. Anne Graham Lotz
Rev. Dr. Christopher A. Lyons
Mrs. Joanna S. Mockler
Fred L. Potter, Esq.
Shirley A. Redd, M.D.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr.
David M. Rogers, Esq.
Mr. John Schoenherr
2 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
Rev. Ken Shigematsu
Mrs. Virginia M. Snoddy
Mr. John G. Talcott, Jr.
Joseph W. Viola, M.D.,
Secretary
J. Christy Wilson III, Esq.
Rev. Dr. John H. Womack
William C. Wood, M.D.
Dr. James Emery White,
President
Emeriti Members
Dr. Allan C. Emery, Jr.
Mr. Roland S. Hinz
Rev. Dr. Robert J. Lamont
Mr. Richard D. Phippen
Rev. Dr. Paul E. Toms
Dr. Robert E. Cooley,
President Emeritus
President Emeritus
Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
Editorial Advisory
Committee
Dr. Sidney L. Bradley
Dr. Barry H. Corey
Dr. Alvin Padilla
Rev. C. Ronald Riley of Contact, you will meet our new president and
Dr. Haddon W. Robinson
Dr. Kenneth L. Swetland
Mrs. Nina L. Walters
his family, learn of his vision to advance Christ’s
Mr. David Zagunis
Dr. James Emery White, kingdom in all of life and culture, revisit with us
President
our Godly heritage, and experience highlights of
Chief Development Officer
Mr. Howard F. Freeman
our two-day inaugural observance.
Director of
Communications
and Editor of Contact
Mrs. Anne B. Doll
Assistant Director of
Communications
and Assistant Editor
of Contact
Mr. Michael L. Colaneri
Graphic Designer
Ms. Nicole S. Rim
 ON THE FRONT LINES

james emery white, ph.d.

the inaugural address

I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big,

because he’s a big God who wants to do big things,

and He wants to do them through us.

I want you to pick a number–any number–just get one in your head.

Got it? Okay, how many of you picked a number that was larger than a million? Not many. For the rest
of you, you might want to ask yourself WHY, because the kind of numbers we pick, when we can pick any
number, can matter.
In 1998, two graduate students at Stanford picked a number. It was the number Googol, which is a
one followed by 100 zeroes. That was how much information they dreamed of cataloguing for their Internet
search engine. To keep that dream in front of them, they named their company “Google.” And now there
are tens of millions of searches through Google every day, accessing billions of pages in nearly 100 languages.
And the term “Googling” has become synonymous with Web surfing.
Google has now announced arrangements with the New York Public Library, along with the libraries of
Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and the University of Michigan to digitize
virtually every holding.
While Google is a great search engine, that isn’t what made the difference. It’s not why they’ve become
such a big part of our culture. It was the number they picked, because that number wasn’t just a number.
It was a dream, and they decided to make it a big one.
I believe God wants us to dream, and to dream big, because He’s a big God who wants to do big things,
and He wants to do them through us.
w i nte r 06/07 3
 1 Trustee Dr. Michael Haynes gave the invocation. 2 Dr. James Emery White delivering Inaugural Address. 3 Front:
Dr. Gwenfair Adams, Associate Professor of Church History; Back: Board Chair, Thomas Colatosti, President Emeritus
Dr. Robert E Cooley, Dr. White, President Emeritus Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. 4 Dr. White during inaugural ceremony

1 2 3

This was certainly a part of the teaching of Jesus. them, help them take it. Imagine the impact; imagine
For example, He said: “9OUARETHELIGHTOFTHEWORLD” the possibilities!
(Matthew 5:13-14, NIV). Now think about that: the That’s what Jesus is saying: The world is dancing in
light of the world. Light is about revealing what is real; the dark. You can be the light.
it’s about showing the way. It’s about helping people
see beyond the shadows.
Jesus said that He was the light of the world, that He
came to show us the way to live, the way to a relation-
ship with God. Here He says, “Now you are to be that
light.”
A world that is searching for truth, searching for
meaning, searching for purpose, searching for God–you
can show them. You can reveal it to them.
Imagine a world full of people who were dying of a
form of cancer for which there was no known cure.
Imagine you suddenly realized that you had it, and you
could give it to them. You could save each and every
one of them. You could introduce them to it, bring it to
DR. JAMES EMERY WHITE
Dr. James Emery White became
Gordon-Conwell’s fourth president and
Professor of Theology and Culture on
July 1, 2006.
Dr. White was formerly found-
ing and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in
Charlotte, North Carolina, a church plant that grew to more than
3,000 families with over 5,000 active attenders.
During his tenure, Mecklenburg experienced more than 70
percent of its growth from the unchurched, was cited in a
study by the Lilly Endowment as one of the top 300 Protestant
churches in the United States, and during its formative years
4 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
And then He said, “)WILLPUTTOGETHERMYCHURCHA
CHURCHSOEXPANSIVEWITHENERGYTHATNOTEVENTHEGATES
OFHELLWILLBEABLETOKEEPITOUT” (Matthew 16:18, Msg).
We have this light; we have this truth; we have this
message...and we have this thing called the church.
Not church as you might think of it. This wasn’t some
manmade organization.
This wasn’t some country club. This wasn’t some
dead, stagnant, lifeless, irrelevant, outdated, archaic, bor-
ing little enterprise. Jesus was talking about the church as
the gathering of those who are the light of the world in
order to be that light.
You know how the power of light works. The more
it’s brought together, the more it’s focused, the more it’s
was often cited as one of the fastest growing church starts in the
United States.
He is also founder of Serious Times, an organization that is
devoted to understanding the intersection of church and
culture, and sponsors the annual Serious Times Church and
Culture Conference.
Dr. White has served in pastoral capacities at churches in
North Carolina and Indiana; has been an adjunct faculty member
of several seminaries and universities, including the Gordon-
Conwell–Charlotte campus, where he was adjunct professor of
Christian Theology, Culture and Apologetics; and has been a visit-
ing professor and guest lecturer at a number of seminaries and
 Light that is diffused doesn’t make that much
of an impact. But focus that light through a
magnifying glass and set something on fire.
4

concentrated, the stronger it becomes. Light that is diffused
doesn’t make that much of an impact. But focus that light
through a magnifying glass and set something on fire. Con-
centrate it as much as possible and you have a laser that
can cut through sheet metal.
Jesus said, “I am bringing together my church to
demonstrate power and potency, focus and impact. A
church so filled with energy, and focused as the Light of
the world, that not even hell itself can stand up under its
onslaught.”
YOUWOULDTELLTHISMOUNTAIN@-OVE
ANDITWOULDMOVE
4HEREISNOTHINGYOUWOULDNTBEABLETOTACKLE” (Mat-
thew 17:20-21, Msg).
And then, two chapters later, He would add these
unforgettable words: “...with God all things are possible”
(Matthew 19:26, NIV).
And as if there was any doubt what Jesus wanted
to get across, two chapters later, we encounter one of
the most provocative scenes in the New Testament. The
Scriptures tell us: “*ESUSWASRETURNINGTOTHECITY(EWAS
So why isn’t that happening? Did you know Jesus HUNGRY3EEINGALONElGTREEALONGSIDETHEROADHEAP

was actually asked that question? His first followers tried PROACHEDITANTICIPATINGABREAKFASTOFlGS7HENHEGOT
to make the impact Jesus made, tried to do the wonder- TOTHETREETHEREWASNOTHINGBUTlGLEAVES
ful works He achieved, tried to be the light He called (ESAID@.OMORElGSFROMTHISTREEˆEVER
4HElG
them to be, and failed. So they asked Him why, and He TREEWITHEREDONTHESPOTADRYSTICK4HEDISCIPLESSAWIT
told them. In Matthew 17, it’s recorded that He said: “... HAPPEN4HEYRUBBEDTHEIREYESSAYING@$IDWEREALLYSEE
YOURENOTYETTAKING'ODSERIOUSLY4HESIMPLETRUTHIS THIS!LEAFYTREEONEMINUTEADRYSTICKTHENEXT
THATIFYOUHAVEAMEREKERNELOFFAITHAPOPPYSEEDSAY h"UT*ESUSWASMATTERnOF
FACT@9ESˆANDIFYOU
theological schools in the U.S., Russia and England.
He is a graduate of Appalachian State University, holds Master
of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees in theology, history and biblical
studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and
pursued advanced study at Vanderbilt University and continuing
education at Oxford University, Oxford, England. While in gradu-
ate school, he was awarded a rare double Garrett teaching fellow-
ship in both New Testament and theology.
He is the author of 14 books, including the recently released
A Mind for God; Serious Times, a Gold Medallion finalist;
Embracing the Mysterious God, a Christianity Today book-of-
the-year award winner; The Prayer God Longs For; Rethinking
the Church; and A Search for the Spiritual, also a Gold Medal-
lion nominee. In addition, he has been a contributing author
to nine books and was consulting editor for The Holman Bible
Handbook. His articles have appeared in numerous newspapers,
as well as in leading Christian magazines and journals such as
Leadership Journal and Decision.
A frequent speaker nationally and internationally, he is a mem-
ber of organizations such as the American Academy of Religion,
Evangelical Theological Society, Society of Biblical Literature and
the Willow Creek Association.
He and his wife, Susan, have four children: Rebecca, Rachel,
Jonathan and Zachary.
w i nte r 06/07 5
 EMBRACETHISKINGDOMLIFEANDDONTDOUBT'ODYOULL When we pray to God, or join with Him on an en-
NOTONLYDOMINORFEATSLIKE)DIDTOTHElGTREEBUTALSO deavor clearly aligned with His kingdom, His agenda,
TRIUMPHOVERHUGEOBSTACLES His purposes, we don’t really expect Him to show up—at
h4HISMOUNTAINFORINSTANCEYOULLTELL@'OJUMPIN least not in ways that are unmistakable. We don’t really
THELAKEANDITWILLJUMP expect God to act like God. Or even that He can. So
h!BSOLUTELYEVERYTHINGRANGINGFROMSMALLTO guess what. He doesn’t.
LARGEASYOUMAKEITAPARTOFYOURBELIEVINGPRAYER Jesus tells us that with God, all things are possible–
GETSINCLUDEDASYOULAYHOLDOF'ODv(Matthew 21:18- anything can happen. But it takes two things: Did you
22, Msg). catch them in what Jesus said? First, take God seriously.
And if that doesn’t move you out of your comfort Have faith that He is God, and can act like God. Believe,
zone, we have these words of Jesus recorded by the trust, that you are not praying to a stone idol, or some
apostle John: h4HEPERSONWHOTRUSTSMEWILLNOTONLY mental idea, or some vague emotion, but that you are
DOWHAT)MDOINGBUTEVENGREATERTHINGSBECAUSE) praying to, calling on, and joining with Someone real.
AMGIVINGYOUTHESAMEWORKTODOTHAT)VEBEENDOING And that Someone is the God of wonders, the Lord of all
9OUCANCOUNTONIT&ROMNOWONWHATEVERYOUREQUEST creation, of water, earth and sky. The universe declares
ALONGTHELINESOFWHO)AMANDWHAT)AMDOING)LLDO His majesty.
IT)MEANIT7HATEVERYOUREQUESTINTHISWAY)LLDOv
(John 14:12-14, Msg).
What’s the headline here? It’s simply: There is a God
on the loose. When we align ourselves with Him, pray to
Him, join with Him in what He is doing, stand back. All
bets are off, because all things are possible.
C.S. Lewis once observed that the New Testament
contains what can only be called embarrassing promises
But then second, Jesus said you have to have what
you’re doing be what God is wanting to do, because this
isn’t some kind of “name it, claim it” thing. This isn’t
about working up enough belief, and then you call on
God like He’s some kind of cosmic errand boy or genie
who has to do your will because you rubbed the bottle
just right.
Jesus was very clear. He said: “7HATEVERYOUREQUEST
of what prayer can unleash. It’s true. They border on the
scandalous. But most of us don’t believe in that God. We
don’t pray to that God. We aren’t in relationship with
that God. And that, Jesus said, is the problem.
As J.B. Phillips once wrote, our God is too small. But
He’s not small. This is the God who brought the universe
into being with a sweep of His hand, and who holds the
cosmos together with a mere thought...and acts in ways
that only God can, which means supernaturally.
Many who explore Christ, and even those of us who
follow Him, have an odd relationship with the supernatu-
ral. We believe in it, but never expect to experience it.
1 Members of the faculty 2 Dr. Haddon Robinson, Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of
Preaching, offered Old Testament reading. 3 President Emeritus Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. giving dedicatory prayer.
6 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
ALONGTHELINESOFWHO)AMANDWHAT)AMDOING)LLDOITv
You want to experience God–raw, unfiltered, miracu-
lous, supernatural? You want to see mountains move?
Then find out what God is doing, and join Him.
...[T]hink about what God is doing. First and fore-
most, He’s reclaiming a lost world back to Himself. He
sees lives lost in the darkness, apart from a relationship
with Him [that is] built on grace and forgiveness, restora-
tion and reconciliation, new beginnings and new identi-
ties, and wants to reach out and bring health and healing,
wholeness and meaning...and from that, restore a mar-
riage, strengthen a family, infuse a sense of calling. God is
2 3
about saving people from the darkness of this life, and the
peril of a darkness that would last for eternity.
But that’s not all. Within the Great Commission,
rooted in the creation narrative itself, is a cultural com-
mission: to see the kingdom of God advanced in all of life
and culture—in our educational system, judicial system,
the media.
But that’s not all. He’s on the march against poverty
and disease, homelessness and crime. He’s declared
war on racism and abuse, oppression and injustice.
There is a culture of life written on every page of the
Bible, which tells us that God is on the side of the weak
and the unprotected, the widow and the orphan, the
unborn and infirm.
So add all this up: We are the light of the world. That
light has been brought together as the church—focus-
ing that light with unbridled energy. And as that light
is brought to bear on this world in ways that align with
the extension of the Kingdom of God, and we believe in
the God of that Kingdom, God shows up, infusing what
we do with nothing less than His power, His might, His
strength, His ability...
...Which is why I am committed so passionately to a
vision of what God can do–wants to do–through a semi-
nary like Gordon-Conwell. To impact the culture, you
have to impact the church. To impact the church, you
have to impact her leaders. !NDNOOTHERINSTITUTIONIS
POSITIONEDTODOTHISLIKEASEMINARY that which is not seen.” In the context of Christian life
So what would Jesus say to Gordon-Conwell? Dream
big. We can be part of what God is doing in this world
in ways that are mind-boggling, revolutionary, because
we can be engaged in shaping the heart, mind, soul and
UÊ-iVœ˜`]ÊLÞÊ`iÛiœ«ˆ˜}Ê̅iˆÀÊÜՏÃ]ʅi«ˆ˜}Ê̅i“ÊLiVœ“iÊ
so formed in Christ that they truly have something to of-
fer the world that it does not already have;
UÊ/…ˆÀ`]ÊLÞÊ`ii«i˜ˆ˜}Ê̅iˆÀʓˆ˜`Ã]ʅi«ˆ˜}Ê̅i“ÊvœÀ}iÊ>ÊLˆL-
lical worldview that is then wielded by a Christian mind;
UÊ
˜`Êw˜>Þ]ÊÃÌÀ>Ìi}ˆV>ÞÊ>ˆ}˜ˆ˜}Ê̅i“Ê܈̅Ê̅iÊV…ÕÀV…Ê
whose enterprise is the great revolution set in motion
through Christ for the reclaiming of the world—and not
just as an equipping agency, but as an institution that is,
itself, on the front lines of those very same things.
That has been my lifelong passion. It’s what drives
me. I depend on it, because assuming the presidency of
Gordon-Conwell has been a humbling experience. No one
knows better than I do how inadequate I am for the task.
When I think of the founders of the school, men like
Billy Graham and Harold Ockenga...when I think of the
presidents who have gone before, such as Bob Cooley and
Walt Kaiser...when I think of the trustees currently invest-
ing their time and leadership, such as Charles Colson,
Anne Graham Lotz, and Leighton Ford...when I think of
the stellar faculty, and particularly those who have given
so many years of their life to this institution, I realize that
God has called together a very special group of leaders
for a very special cause. But as heralded as the past has
been, and as much as it should be honored, today we are
not about the past. Today, we are about the future.
The dictionary defines vision as “the ability to perceive
and leadership, vision is a DREAMof what God wants you
to do, and to be that is then used to set goals in order to
see that dream become REALITY.
And that matters.
strength of leaders: In Proverbs, the Bible says: “7HERETHEREISNOVISION
UʈÀÃÌ]ÊLÞʅi«ˆ˜}Ê̅i“Ê>˜ÃÜiÀÊ̅iˆÀÊV>]ʅi«ˆ˜}Ê̅i“Ê THEPEOPLEPERISH” (Proverbs 29:18, NIV). You may know
follow God out on the adventure of faith, and taking that the Hebrew translation of the word “perish” actu-
their place on the stage of the great redemptive drama; ally doesn’t mean death in the physical sense, but literally

To impact the culture, you have to impact the church.

To impact the church, you have to impact her leaders. And
no other institution is positioned to do this like a seminary.

w i nte r 06/07 7
 Part of the vision of Gordon-Conwell, beyond a seminary
that would be a school for evangelicals that would hold
high the banner of orthodoxy, was to be a place that
would bring evangelicals together from all over the world...

means to become purposeless, to run wild, to not be
focused; in other words, a life of no goals, no values,
no priorities and no direction.
Helen Keller was once asked what would be worse
than being born blind. She said, “To have sight with-
out vision.”
So what is the vision for Gordon-Conwell, the one
that will build on the past, but carry us forward to
the future? It’s simple, but profound: The vision is to
advance Christ’s Kingdom in all of life and culture by
being a biblical seminary of global influence.
I think I can unpack what that means by telling
you about a conversation I had with someone dear
to all of us. Right after my appointment as president,
Billy Graham invited my wife, Susan, and me to his
home in Montreat, North Carolina, for an afternoon.
He felt particularly good that day, and showed us
around the house, and then began to reminisce and
story-tell. I asked him for advice, and he told me to
be sure to stay true to Scripture, and to be a person of
prayer. He told me that for whatever reason, educa-
tional institutions have a tendency to go liberal, and
he told me to stand firm for orthodoxy.
Then I asked him about the founding of the school,
and specifically, I asked him about the founding vi-
sion, because, as you may know, he was one of the
three founders, and sits on the board to this day. He
told me that when his ministry was just beginning to
take off and he began to travel around the world, he
found that evangelicals didn’t know one another. He
began to see that his greatest legacy might not be the
crusades as much as the organizations, the networks,
the relationships he could help create among evangeli-
cals so that they could do together what none of them
could do as individuals, or as pockets of individuals in
various parts of the world.
Part of the vision of Gordon-Conwell, beyond a
seminary that would be a school for evangelicals that
would hold high the banner of orthodoxy, was to be
a place that would bring evangelicals together from all
over the world...
And that Gordon-Conwell would become the
thought leader, the equipper, the touchstone for the
movement...
That Gordon-Conwell would be the leader of the
evangelical world by being the leader of the leaders,
not just during their seminary years, but throughout
their life—and in every area: media, politics, educa-
tion, the arts, the judicial system.
So now you may understand a vision that declares
our desire to advance Christ’s kingdom in all of life
and culture by being a biblical seminary of global
influence. How could we strive for anything less?
The temptation will be to rest on our laurels, to

1 2 3

1 Guests at the Inauguration, held at Grace Chapel, Lexington, MA 2 Trustee Joyce A. Godwin
8 w i n t e r 06 /0 7 3 L. to r. Andy Gullahorn and Christian recording artist Jill Phillips
 A Charge by Trustee
bask in past, or even present, success. The natural flow
of any organization, left to itself, is away from expan-
C harl es C ol s on
sion, away from growth, away from outreach, away from
change. And that is what must not be allowed. The need
is too great.
When John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the entire
world knew about it in two hours. It’s been 2,000 years
since the death of Jesus, and yet half the world hasn’t
heard.
Of 6 billion people in the world, only 2 billion are
Christians. And the lost in the world are growing 10 times
faster than churches. This must captivate us, consume us,
compel us.
It must drive us to do all that we can, to leave noth-
ing out on the field at the end of the contest, because one
day, we will stand before God and give an account of
President White, I have the happy task of charging
how we stewarded not only our lives, but our opportuni-
ties; not only our resources but our will; not only our you on behalf of the Board, the seminary, the fac-
time, but our courage. ulty, the entire Gordon-Conwell community. I was
We will stand before Him and be asked, “Did your honored when I was asked to do this. I was a little
eyes not see? Did your heart not break?” We will be bit surprised because the last president I helped to
asked, “Did you do all that you could?” inaugurate got run out of town on the rails! This is
There is an obscure little passage in the Old Testament a much different kind of president. I know because
tucked away in the book of II Kings that tells of the death
God’s hand has been on you for a long time. And
of the great prophet Elisha. Between the last reference to
God’s hand has been on us as we’ve gone through
the life of Elisha, and this story of his death, there is a
43-year period of silence. So the events surrounding his this process [of selecting a president.]
death were apparently deemed important enough to God
to ensure that they were recorded. I say this with a great deal of personal joy because
Elisha was suffering from an illness, and the King of I’m at that time in my life when I begin to look at
Israel went to see him. Seeing Elisha on his deathbed, the my own legacy, and realize how many people have
king suddenly realizes that Elisha, as a prophet of God,
been calling me a prophet, which is not...a job that
has been the key to Israel’s military success, over and over
you sign up for, but one [to which] God has called
again—even more so than the military itself! He suddenly
sees that without God involved, there could be no hope of me—to speak prophetically to the culture about the
gaining ground, of going further. need for truth and moral values, and for the resto-
In response, Elisha gives the king a final opportunity ration of righteousness and justice in our culture. I
for his blessing in relation to building the kingdom. He feel tonight that not only is there a transition taking
tells the king to get a bow and some arrows, and has him place from Walt Kaiser, Bob Cooley and Harold
take the bow and arrows in his hand. Then Elisha put his Ockenga into your hands—a great holy trust for
hands on the king’s hands.
the seminary—but a transition personally, because
By doing this, he is making it clear that what he is
for a number of years I’ve read your writings and
about to do will be full of spiritual symbolism and
significance. Then he tells the king to open up a window, thought, there’s a man who...could do what God
and shoot. has called me to do, and I feel a little bit tonight
The king does, and Elisha proclaims that the arrow like Elijah and Elisha.
was the arrow of victory.
But in order to make sure that the king knew that Don’t expect the chariots of fire to come down
what God would do would be linked to what he was will-
ing to do, he then said, “.OWTAKETHEARROWSANDSTRIKE Cont’d on next page g
THEGROUND,” meaning that he was to take the remaining

w i nte r 06/07 9

upon us, but I really feel like I’m passing a mantle
off to one who will be able to address the culture
lovingly and winsomely with a wonderfully appealing
proposal to come to the table and join the feast with
those of us who follow the Lamb who was crucified
for us....
arrows and shoot them, not out the window as a sign of
calling on what God would do, but at the ground, reflect-
ing what he was willing to do.
The king took the arrows, and struck the ground.
But only three times, and then he stopped. He decided
that it was enough. Then Elisha looked at him, and be-
came angry.
He said, “9OUSHOULDHAVESTRUCKTHEGROUNDlVEOR
God laid the foundation for this some six years ago
when our farsighted Chairman of the Board then,
Dick Armstrong, brought us all together...and said,
“Lets put up all the things that will be important to
the future of this seminary if it can be one of the
truly great seminaries in the world” (which is why I
came on the board, because I really believed Gor-
don-Conwell could become that). And when we laid
out the mission, it was to not only fulfill the Great
Commission but to fulfill the cultural one.
...the profile of the man we believed God would lead
us to was someone who had a sensitivity to that...
who had a heart not only for the lost and the least
and the suffering and those who had been passed
by in life, but cared about speaking truth to power
and defending truth and overcoming the evil of life
with good. I’ve seen since then the most wonderful
illustration of the providence of God as he’s pre-
pared you for this position and he’s prepared the
seminary...
Remember always...that we are the mules that carry
Jesus into the marketplace...How silly it would have
been if the mule carrying Jesus into Jerusalem
would have thought the crowd cheering was for him.
They weren’t, of course, and they cheer for the one
we carry, not for us. So you do this with a great deal
of humility, but as a sacred trust from God. We now
charge you with taking the presidency, and the re-
sponsibility for leading this seminary in a vision that
will make it one of the most influential in the world,
as we find new ways to communicate and raise men
and women up who can fulfill the Great Commis-
sion and the cultural commission to defend truth in
an age which has disregarded truth and reason. I
charge you...to take this trust and to give it every-
thing you’ve got with your life. God bless you.
10 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
EVENSIXTIMESTHENYOURVICTORYWOULDHAVEBEENCOM
PLETE
"UTNOWYOUWILLONLYWINTHREEBATTLES” Then
Elisha died and was buried.
That little story has stuck with me for a very long
time. The king was given an opportunity for blessing,
a chance to join with what God was willing to do. But
he was only moderately enthusiastic about it. He was
only willing to go so far, to extend himself so much, to
invest in what it would take to move forward in a limited
amount. He had more arrows that could have been shot,
but he took it upon himself to only shoot three.
Three, he thought, was enough.
But by only shooting the ground three times, not even
using everything at his disposal, he revealed the lack of
zeal, the lack of commitment, he had for giving everything
he had to the accomplishment of the mission. He didn’t
do everything he could. And that caused God to withhold
His full hand of blessing, the full measure of what He
was willing and able to do.
I don’t think there’s a single person here who wants to
face God one day, and have Him say, “I gave you a fistful
of arrows. Why didn’t you strike the ground more times?
Why didn’t you give it your all? Why didn’t you aggres-
sively do all that you could do?
No. We want to hear, “Well done.” We want to hear,
“You gave it all you had.” We want to hear, “You laid
down your life, like I laid down mine.” Satan would love
nothing more than for the founding vision of this place to
be lost, along with our sense of mission. Well, we’re not
going to do it. We’re going to shoot every arrow.
Throughout the years, Gordon-Conwell has pursued
its mission with a clear commitment to academic excel-
lence, biblical orthodoxy, the best of mainstream evangeli-
cal moorings, and a passionate desire to serve the church
at her point of greatest need. We have a founding vision,
and an ongoing vision: to change the world by leading the
leaders. I will do all in my power to uphold this heritage,
and more importantly, in dependence on God’s power.
I want to invite you into this great adventure. I want
to invite you into this vision.
I want you to be a part of what Gordon-Conwell is
going to be a part of during this critical juncture in world
history. I hope, and I pray, that you’re with me.
So pick a number–any number.
I know I have mine.
THETIME
IS SHORT timothy george, th.d.
founding dean

.
beeson divinity school

.
.
.
.
.

Dr. Timothy George delivered the

.
following lecture during an Inauguration
Chapel Service October 6, 2006, on the
South Hamilton, Massachusetts campus
.

.
of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

“but this i say, brethren, the time is short:

.

. . it remaineth, that both they that have wives

be as though they had none; and they that

weep, as though they wept not; and they that

rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they

that buy, as though they possessed not; and

they that use this world, as not abusing it: for

the fashion of this world passeth away.”

1 corinthians 7:29-31 (kjv)

w i nte r 06/07 11
...I bring to this service what an
old Puritan divine once called a mixture of
terror and joy, of awful reverence and holy plea-
sure. I am here to celebrate with you the stewardship of a
new beginning with the inauguration of Dr. James Emery
White, my student from days gone by, my friend of long
standing, and now my colleague in the work of theologi-
cal education. This is a day of rejoicing, thanksgiving and
great expectation.
A few years ago I learned a new word. Do you know
it? Ecotone. It is a word derived from the worlds of biol-
ogy and ecology. An ecotone is a place where two or
more ecosystems come together, the point of transition
between two communities or ecosystems that blend into
one another where they meet. A good example of an eco-
tone is an estuary, where the river flows into the ocean,
where the tide meets the current. Or when you are flying
out West across Nebraska and Kansas, you fly across a
thousand miles of flat prairie land until, almost suddenly,
the plains are interrupted by the rise of the Rockies. That
is an ecotone, where the plains meet the mountains. An
ecotonic space is inherently unstable, shifting and fragile.
But it is also highly fertile, characterized by diversity,
fluidity and transformation; a place of enormous risk and
danger, but also of generativity and fecundity, a space
where new life is spawned and new beginnings are made.
Now to extrapolate from the world of
geography to that of history...we are living
in the third great ecotonic moment in the history of the
Christian faith. The first witnessed the end of classi-
cal antiquity and the beginning of the medieval era. It
was symbolized...by the pillage and burning of Rome on
August 24, 410 by Alaric and the Visigoths, the so-called
barbarians, and...by St. Augustine and his articulation of
the first, and perhaps still only great Christian philosophy
of history in 4HE#ITYOF'OD great spectacle of disaster, fire, decomposition.” Is there
The second ecotonic moment was the age of the Refor-
mation, a time of great change and transition marked by
the death throes of the Middle Ages...and the birth pangs
of the modern age...In that perilous age, Martin Luther
stood with courage, a prophet of judgment, like Jeremiah,
12 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
and a preacher of divine grace, like St. Paul; while in the
East, in 1453, Constantinople, the second Rome, fell to
the armies of Islam, the shockwaves of which we still feel
today. As Ernst Troeltsch argued 100 years ago, the Ref-
ormation belongs perhaps more to the medieval age that
preceded it than to the modern world that followed it, for
the modern project, as we call it, only took flight some
two centuries later in that movement of spiritual and
ideological darkness which we call the Enlightenment.
Now we are in the midst of the third
great ecotonic moment, the intersection of
modernity and postmodernity, a word which by defini-
tion is indefinable. We can say what it is not better than
what it is—a mentality marked by a new hedonism which
places pleasure above identity; a loss of confidence in the
ability to make rational truth claims supported by logical
argument; the evaporation of an overarching story line or
metanarrative with absolute or universal implications; a
penchant for the visual, the affective, the instantaneous,
the dramatic, the disconnected. It is an ecotone...symbol-
ized for all of us, forever, by the flaming inferno of 9/11,
but rooted much earlier in the writings of Freud and
Nietzsche. The two authors every seminary student should
read are John Calvin and Friedrich Nietzsche. I would
like to see every student with a copy of the Institutes in
one hand and 4HUS3POKE:ARATHUSTRA in the other!
It is a cultural moment presaged already at the end of
World War I in the artistic movement known as Dadaism.
Now don’t go to a biographical dictionary and try to look
up an artist named Dada. You will find Mr. Derrida there
but not Mr. Dada. “Dada” is a nonsense word...chosen
at random to express the inherent meaninglessness of the
human project, nihilistic to the core. Listen to how the
Dada Manifesto, published at Zurich in 1918, described
this artistic movement. “We are a furious wind, tear-
ing the dirty linen of clouds and prayers, preparing the
a better description of 9/11 than that? A great spectacle
of disaster, fire, decomposition. This mood was captured
precisely in a drama of the period where there are only
two people on stage. One is writing meaningless words on
a blackboard, the second person following along erasing
 A Charge by Timothy George, T h . D .
A Summons from Beyond Your s e l f

them. This is our moment: An ecotonic age that has yet

to find its Augustine, its Luther. Perhaps he or she has
just enrolled as a first-year student at Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary?
...To quote James EmeryWhite quot-
ing John Adams, we live in “serious times.” Or, as
Saint Paul put it to us in 1 Corinthians 7: “The time is
short,”...squeezed, compressed, foreshortened by apoca-
lyptic urgency. Those who follow Jesus Christ, he says Following are excerpts of an inauguration charge to
somewhere else, are those upon whom the ends of the Dr. James Emery White.
world have come, the ends of the age have come.
If I understand him aright, Paul is saying here that
...I want to speak some personal words to Jim as his
Christian existence itself is an ecotone. We are called to
former teacher and long-time friend and now colleague
live in what Paul refers to in Romans as HONUNKAIROS,
the now age, between the no longer and the not yet, in the enterprise of theological education. I want to
between Calvary and Easter on the one hand and the remind you, Jim, that inauguration, like graduation, is
Parousia on the other. And this eschatological fact has something done to you. Students do not graduate; they
upset all our priorities. So, as he says here, “they who are graduated. And leaders do not inaugurate; they are
have wives should be as though they had none.” Try to inaugurated. The same is true of baptism, which is a
use that as a text for your marriage enrichment week-
kind of inauguration into the Christian life. Baptism,
end! “Those that weep as though they wept not.” Does
St. Paul says, is the place where we rise to walk in a
that sound like a well-adjusted personality? “Those that
buy as though they possessed not.” Will this fly at the newness of life, having put on Christ. And becoming a
local Chamber of Commerce? What is he saying here? new president is something like that. It is, of course,
Not that God is unconcerned with our family life, or in strange and mysterious and different ways that God
our business life, or our social life. No, but that all of calls those who will lead His Church. Augustine was
these priorities must be reordered in light of the immi- happy to spend his life chanting psalms in the mon-
nent coming again in glory of Jesus Christ. It is a pro- astery, but the people of Hippo rushed to him, placed
test against the heresy of an overly-realized eschatology.
him on their shoulders, carried him to the cathedral,
Because these are serious times, and the time is short,
and began to say, “Episcopus, Episcopus, Our Bishop,
we cannot simply go on doing business as usual.
Our Bishop.” Calvin was going to spend only one night
“How then shall we live?” as Chuck in smelly Geneva, as he said, when he was confronted
Colson echoing Francis Schaeffer has asked us. How
with a booming voice and fiery eyes of that Frenchman
shall you as a theological seminary dedicated to prepar-
ing men and women for ministry at home and abroad, Gionne Farrell, who thundered, “Unless you stay with
as your mission statement says, how shall you do your us in this work, God will condemn you.” John Wesley
work in these serious times? Well, I have no new ideas went, he says, unwillingly to a Moravian prayer chapel
to give you today and no new plans to set before you. at Aldersgate and his heart was strangely warmed and
There will be a time for new ideas and new plans to be soon the whole world was ablaze.
sure, but today I simply want to remind you of what
you already know. I want to remind you of three things Cont’d on next page g
that have shaped you in the past and which, I pray, you

w i nte r 06/07 13

Now, Jim, we’re not going to put you on our shoulders nor
wag our fingers in your face tonight, but here I am in the
presence of God Almighty and the holy angels and this
august assembly, to remind you of the summons that has
come to you from beyond yourself. There will be times when
you will need to remember that when budgets are hard to
meet and difficulties arise, and the nights are long, and the
pain is deep, and howling nor’easters roar across Beverly
Farms. Remember, Jim, this night you have been inaugurat-
ed. You have been summoned. This is a call that has come
to you from beyond yourself.
In your wonderful book, Serious Times, you have a chap-
ter, “Answering the Call,” which is an exposition of the
Latin word vocotsio. I want to give you another Latin word
tonight, perigranatsio. It means pilgrimage. It was one of St.
Augustine’s favorite words. Christian life is itself a pilgrim-
age toward that city which hath foundations whose builder
and maker is God. And your presidency will be a kind of
pilgrimage, too. Like Abraham and Sarah setting out on a
journey to a place they had never been, so you and Susan,
your Sarah, are undertaking such a journey tonight. It is a
journey from certainty to trust, and from stability to vulner-
ability; it is a journey from the temporal toward the eternal.
And as we know from Chaucer and Bunyan, pilgrims do
not travel alone but in the company of other pilgrims, and
you will need the love, support and prayers of this board,
faculty, staff, students, alumni, family, colleagues and
friends you have met along the way. Tonight, I pledge you,
unreservedly, mine.
Pilgrims are not building an empire; they are looking for a
city, one already built by The Great Architect of eternity.
And I want to remind you...of some words, sage words,
from another generation, from Reinhold Niebuhr, that have
meant much to me in my pilgrimage. He said, “Nothing that
is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime and therefore
we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beauti-
ful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context
of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we
do, however virtuous can be accomplished alone, there-
fore, we are saved by love.” This, I submit as a summons to
humility; it is also the implicit covenant of all our dialogues
and, in the fullest sense, it is the vocation of theological
education. Welcome to the journey.
14 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
will never forget. They are the basics—your heri-
tage, your message, and your mission.
So first, then, heritage. By heritage I
mean, in the first instance, the values, the his-
tory, and the mission of this particular institu-
tion..., a school which is soon approaching its
40th birthday. Forty is a good age to take stock
of who you are, to consider where you have
come from and to ask where you are going. The
identity of Gordon-Conwell as a free standing,
interdenominational, yet explicitly evangelical
theological institution with more than 2000 stu-
dents in some 20 degree programs spread now
across four locations stretching almost from Key
West to Bar Harbor is, well, if not unique, at
least quite rare within the family of theologi-
cal schools...Like any ecotone, it presents great
challenges as well as unprecedented opportuni-
ties for Kingdom growth.
The heritage, of course, goes deeper still to
Adoniram Judson Gordon and Russell Conwell
and the schools that emerged from their remark-
able ministries in Boston and Philadelphia in the
19th Century. And back further still to those Pu-
ritan forbears who determined to establish what
they called “a seminary in the wilderness” here
in New England. For, as they said in words that
can still be read on Harvard’s Johnson Gate: We
“dreaded to leave an illiterate ministry to the
churches when our present ministers shall lie in
the dust.” The Puritan founders of Harvard Col-
lege assumed as something inherent within the
plausibility structure of civil and humane society
itself that education and reformation belonged
invariably together.
If you are as true to that heritage
in the future, as you have been in the past,
you will graduate students who have more than
a passing acquaintance with the classical theo-
logical disciplines that constitute the body of di-
vinity. How-to courses and church management
seminars are available anywhere, and some of
them are actually useful. But where, except in a
place like this, will your students learn the deep
wisdom of the Holy Scriptures because they
have had to struggle with Greek and Hebrew
and hermeneutics? Where else will they learn
what was at stake at the Council of Nicaea
when Athanasius stood CONTRAMUNDUM for the
sake of the one God who has forever known
himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, the one triune God of holiness and love?
But it is a part of this heritage to emphasize
not only intellectual rigor, but also spiritual
nurture. Cotton Mather reported that when his famous
grandfather, John Cotton, was a student back in Eng-
land, at Cambridge, he was worried that “if he became
a godly man, t’would spoil him in being a learned one.”
Sadly, the opposite is also true. We can all think of
students whom we have known that in the process of
becoming learned have forgotten to be godly. But in a
school committed to the coherence of intellect and piety,
spiritual formation is not an option. When Gordon-
Conwell was founded in 1969, few if any Protestant or
evangelical seminaries paid much attention to spiritual
formation. That was something the Catholics did! Now,
our accreditation standards hold us all accountable
for the spiritual nurture of our students. As I tell our
students at Beeson: If theological education were merely
If theological education were merely about the
tranfer of cognitive data from one mind to another you
would not need to go to anyone’s seminary. It is all on the Internet!
about the transfer of cognitive data from one mind to
another you would not need to go to anyone’s seminary.
It is all on the Internet! It is all in the library!... But, as I
say to them, we are like Dracula; we are after your soul!
Head and heart together, neither rigid intellectualism nor
sloppy sentimentalism, but Puritanism and pietism both,
as Richard Lovelace taught us to say, both together at
their best. As Thomas Aquinas said so beautifully: “The-
ology is taught by God, teaches God, and takes us to
God.” And if it does not do that, it is a mind game we
could just as well do without.
Your heritage, yes, but what about
your MESSAGE? A few years ago, my dear friend,
now among the blessed departed, John Leith, a great
Presbyterian theologian, wrote a book with a fascinating
subtitle...: “What the church has to say that no one else
can say.” Think about it. Does the church of Jesus
Christ have anything to say that no one else can say?
Does the theological seminary have anything to say that
no one else can say? Your message grows out of your
heritage and reflects your identity as a school committed
to the evangelical faith. Who are evangelicals? The great
John Stott once gave the shortest and, I believe, the best
answer to that question I have ever heard. Evangelicals,
he said, are Bible people and Gospel people. That, of
course, is a shorthand way of stating the formal and
material principles of the Reformation:SOLASCRIPTURA
andSOLAGRATIA
When Harold John Okenga presented his inaugural
address as the first president of this seminary, he spoke
of the desire to establish an “overarching, great theologi-
cal institution dedicated to revealed Christianity.” Since
its inception, Gordon-Conwell has ever stood for the
total truthfulness of Holy Scripture, the only infallible
guide to faith and practice. It is there in your statement
of faith; it is there in your community life statement; it
is there in your history and the controversies that have
swirled around you.
In 1988, the late Dr. Carl F. H. Henry spoke at my
own installation as Dean of Beeson Divinity School.
What he said then bears repeating on this occasion. “My
own convictions about Scripture,” he said, “are these:
First, that no movement can impact influentially upon
society in general if its leaders continually undermine
its charter documents. Second, that no movement can
impact influentially upon culture if its scholars exhaust
their energy in defending Scripture and fail to unleash
it in society at large for which it was intended. And
third, that the effort by historical scholars to dis-
tinguish trustworthy and supposedly untrustworthy
segments of the Bible lacks consensus and poses a
greater crisis for critical authority than it does a crisis
of biblical authority.” We need not fight the inerrancy
battles of the past generation all over again, but we do
not back away from the truth claims of God’s Word
written. Its history is historical and its miracles are mi-
raculous. Because of this commitment, we will not only
encourage our students to preach about the Bible but
also from the Bible. We will guide them to become,
Professor Donna Petter, Dr. Timothy George
w i nte r 06/07 15

Second-century anti-Christian graffiti showing a man worshiping a donkey on
a cross.
as the first article of your mission statement says it so
well, “knowledgeable of the Bible’s content, competent
it its interpretation, proclamation, and application in
the contemporary world.”
Evangelicals are Bible people and we are also Gos-
pel people. For God’s truth is not only propositional,
it is also incarnational. Unlike the Quran in Islam, the
Word Christians proclaim did not become a text. God
did not send us an email or make a video for us. (O
LOGOSEGENETOSARX (John 1:14). The Word became flesh:
real, pulsating, corpuscular, human flesh; flesh that
could be buffeted and bruised and finally strung up on
a tree to die as an object of ridicule and shame. The
earliest artistic depiction of the crucifixion we have is a
drawing on a catacomb in Rome. It shows Jesus as a don-
key hanging on a cross with the inscription: “Christians
worship an ass.” That is why Paul said it was a scand-
alon. It was in his day and it is still in ours.
In the days of Martin Luther there was a story about
Martin of Tours...The story was that once upon a time,
Satan had appeared to Saint Martin of Tours, but he ap-
peared to him, not as we picture the devil, with smoke
coming out his ears, pitchforks, all of that. No, he ap-
peared to him as Christ, as the Redeemer. And, of course,
Martin of Tours fell prostrate at his feet and began to
worship and adore. But then a few minutes later he looked
up, and he asked as he looked at the figure, “Where are
the nail prints?” There were none. As soon as he asked
16 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
that question, the apparition vanished. That is a question
we must ask of every course in the curriculum, of every
lecture that we give, of every book we write: Where are
the nail prints? “In my hands no price I bring, simply to
thy cross I cling.” Make this central in your message and
your methodology, you Gospel people. “The Lord hath
reigned from the tree,” said the ancient Syrian liturgy. And
so he did, and so he does. Make it the heart of your mes-
sage.
And your MISSION? Gordon-Conwell is a semi-
nary charged with the task of preparing God-called men
and women for the service of Jesus Christ. Never, never,
never forget that you are a school of the Church and for
the Church. I agree with those who say that ecclesiology
may be the most important theological issue for the com-
ing generation. You are poised to make a deep and lasting
contribution to that development. Lesslie Newbigin re-
minded us that the church of Jesus Christ is the embodi-
ment of Gospel truth made alive in the power of the Holy
Spirit. The Church is not only the most effective apolo-
getic for the Christian message in our postmodern world; it
is the only one likely to get a hearing in such a world.
The Church has always existed in
tension between the poles of identity and adaptability.
At times it has gone to seed on identity and become a
holy huddle, in quarantine, as it were, sequestered from the
world and its pain. The neoevangelicalism of Harold John
Okenga and Carl Henry and Billy Graham was precisely
a protest against such a false emphasis on identity. But
the Church can also go to seed on adaptability and lose
the Gospel. Our challenge is to stand, committedly, not at
the center—that is an inherently relativistic term—but at
the core. Let us be advocates of CORAL#HRISTIANITY. Mere
Christians, yes, but not mere in the weak, attenuated sense
of that word. There are two words in Latin which can
be translated “mere.” One is VIX and it means barely,
hardly, minimally. This is the meaning we usually attach
to the words mere or merely. But we need to recover
that word in the older, stronger, deeper sense, corre-
sponding to the Latin word VERE, which means really,
truly, surely, authentically. This is what I mean by CORAL
#HRISTIANITY. Core is the Latin word for heart. When we
core an apple, what do we find there but the seeds from
which new trees will grow? The core is always fecund
and generative.
At its best, evangelicalism is a renewal movement
within historic Christian orthodoxy. It takes its stand
with the reformers of the 16th Century on the sufficien-
cy of Holy Scripture and the doctrines of grace, includ-
ing justification by faith alone. But its adherence to the
Reformation is not an end in itself. It is rather a call
for the renewal of the entire Church on the basis of the
Word of God. In the 1950s, E.J. Carnell, who once
taught at Gordon Divinity School, referred to fun-
damentalism as “Christianity gone cultic.” We must
beware lest evangelicalism become a form of Protes-
tantism gone myopic. Instead, we take our place in the
Church as the Body of Christ extended throughout time
as well as space.
Because we are committed to mission
and evangelism, we also pray and work for that
unity for which Jesus prayed to the Heavenly Father,
“Oh may they be one, Heavenly Father, as you and I are
one, so that the world might believe.” The modern ecu-
menical movement may well have drifted away from its
evangelical moorings, pretty far away, some of us might
think. But we must never forget that it was born on the
mission field and that evangelicalism was its midwife. We
are preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
great ecumenical missionary conference at Edinburgh in
1910. That event would have been unthinkable without
the witness and labors of Carey, Livingstone, and Moffat,
of A.J. Gordon and D.L. Moody and many others. These
streams were brought together again at the 1966 World
Conference on Evangelism in Berlin, and further strength-
ened at Lausanne in 1974, Manila in 1989 and the various
Amsterdam conferences convened by Dr. Billy Graham.
We care about Christian unity because we care about the
Gospel, because we are committed to mission and evan-
gelism. We practice an ecumenism of conviction not an
ecumenism of accommodation, for the only unity worth
having is a unity in the truth, in the truth of the Holy
Scriptures and the truth of the Gospel, in the truth of him
who is the Truth as well as the Way and the Life.
The Church is the Body of Christ
extended throughout time as well as space. But it is
also the Body of Christ extended throughout space as
well as time. You are a seminary of the Church and for
the Church and because that is true you must also be a
The Church is not only the most effective
apologetic for the Christian message in our postmodern
world, it is the only one likely to get a hearing in such a world.
seminary for the world: not of the world, and certainly
not from the world but for the world—the world for
which Christ died. One of the most important books I
have read over the past decade is Philip Jenkins’ 4HE
.EXT#HRISTENDOM, which has presented to us the new
faces of Christianity in the Global South. If present
trends continue, he says, by 2025, less than two decades
from now, the great majority of those professing faith
in Jesus Christ around the world will be Latino, African
and Asian. This has profound implications for how we
understand the mission of the Church in North America.
The rising Christianity of the Global South is likely to
be poorer, less acculturated to both the virtues and vices
of democratic capitalism, more conservative in lifestyle
and theology, more charismatic, more supernaturalist,
than most of us even in the conservative wing of the
evangelical church in the Northern hemisphere know
anything about.
This fact was driven home to me several
years ago when I was chairing a theological conference
in Seville, Spain. Those of us from Western Europe and
North America who dominated the program, as usual,
were obsessed with postmodernism and its aftereffects,
while our brothers and sisters from the Global South
wanted to talk about how to cast out demons and deal
with witchcraft and, in some cases, how to deal with
the assault and persecution from militant Islam. While
some of us Euro-Americans seemed to be suffocat-
ing from the exhaust fumes of ultramodernism, our
colleagues were breathing the fresher air of a kind of
Christianity that sure seemed closer to the age of the
apostles and martyrs, of Peter and Paul, of Polycarp and
Perpetua, than anything the rest of us knew.
Earlier this year we lost one of the
great scholars of the Christian tradition, Professor
Jaroslav Pelikan. One of his last published writings was
a three-volume, critical edition of the creeds and confes-
sions of the Christian faith through the centuries. He
included there, of course, the great classic creeds of the
early Church as well as the confessions of the Refor-
mation. But he also published some of the more recent
statements of faith from the majority world, including
one written by the Masai people of Nigeria in 1960. The
Masai Creed of 1960 is a version on the Apostles’ Creed,
but it differs somewhat from the Apostles’ Creed which
moves very quickly from “we believe in Jesus Christ his
only Son who was born of the Virgin Mary” to “suf-
fered under Pontius Pilate.” Sometimes there is a little
comma separating those clauses, and the whole life, min-
istry, teachings of Jesus, gets kind of elided in that little
comma. Well, the Masai tribe in Africa put it this way:
“Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and was always on
safari doing good.” Isn’t that great? You get Matthew,
w i nte r 06/07 17
 Mark, and Luke in there “on safari doing good.” And
then it goes on to describe the events of Holy Week.
Jesus, it says, had been “tortured and nailed hands and
feet to the cross and he died and he laid buried in the
grave, but the hyenas did not touch him and on the
third day he rose from the grave. He ascended to the
skies. He is the Lord, ‘Hallelujah!”’ What a great creed!
he is coming again in power and glory to receive unto
himself all those who through faith in Jesus Christ have
moved from darkness into light, from death into life,
from the old world into a brand new one.
Mr. Graham was not able to come to that meeting at
Amsterdam in 2000 for he was in the hospital in Min-
neapolis at the time. But we received a video message

As we ate the bread and drank the cup, it was a foretaste

of that heavenly banquet which is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

The hyenas didn’t touch him! Those of us in the North- from him. This is what he said to close out that
ern hemisphere need to remember that. The task for conference:
the future will not be so much to Christianize Africa— “The story is told of two Christian martyrs in the
that is happening by God’s Spirit—but to Africanize 16th Century who were burned at the stake. As the fire
Christianity. And Gordon-Conwell, I believe, will have a was being lit, one of them said to the other, ‘Be of good
critical role to play in that transformation. cheer; we shall light a fire that by God’s grace shall
never be put out.’ Their bodies were consumed but their
At the dawn of this new millennium, message of Christ’s saving grace lives on to this day. I
some 12,000 delegates from 210 countries, more than be-
do not believe that we should spend our time cursing the
longed to the United Nations at that time, came together
darkness. I do not believe that we should spend our time
for the great Amsterdam conference in 2000 convened
in useless controversies trying to root out the tares while
by Billy Graham. I shall never forget two experiences
harming the wheat. I do not believe that we should give
we shared at that conference. On the first night after
in to the forces of evil and violence and indifference.
Cliff Barrows had led us in an opening hymn of praise...
Instead, let us light a fire. Let us light a fire that will
he directed us all to get down on our knees and offer a
banish moral and spiritual blight wherever we go. Let us
prayer out loud in our own language. And so we did. In
light a fire that will guide men and women into tomor-
that vast arena we began to pray in Spanish and Swahili,
row and eternity. Let us light a fire that will roll back
and Korean, and German, and Arabic and English, and
the poisons of racism and injustice. Let us light a fire of
Russian, and Italian, in Polish and Farsi, and on and on.
renewed faith in Scriptures as the Word of God and in
It was an amazing experience. No chaos or cacophony,
worship and evangelism as the priority of the Church.
but the most amazing harmony and unity as God’s peo-
Let us light a fire of commitment to proclaim the Gospel
ple from all over the world lifted their hearts in prayer
of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit to the
to the Lord. I shall never forget it. And then on the very
ends of the earth, using every resource at our command
last day of the conference, my dear friend Richard
and every ounce of our strength. Let us light a fire in
Bewes led us again to the throne of heaven in a closing
this generation that by God’s grace will never be put
service of communion. I do not know how you serve
out.”
communion to 12,000 people, but we did. “This is my
body broken for you. This is my blood poured out for
May it happen. And may it happen here at Gordon-Con-
you.” There we were from just about every nation and
well Theological Seminary!
kindred and tribe and people group and language fam-
ily on earth adoring the Lamb who was slain and now
Timothy George is founding dean of Beeson
reigns in glory, the One who was and is and is to come. Divinity School at Samford University and an
As we ate the bread and drank the cup, it was a fore- executive editor for Christianity Today.
taste of that heavenly banquet which is the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb.
The time is short. These are serious times. Sober
times. But they are not somber times, because the Lord
who is the Lamb reigns. He reigns from the tree and he
reigns in heaven at the right hand of the Father. And

18 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
 Words of Welcome

Alec D. Hill President and Chief Executive Officer, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

Paul Little. And ...1981 Urbana [InterVarsity’s triennial stu-

dent mission convention] is when...his call to his vocation...
was confirmed.
Today, Jim is one of our best selling authors...In his lat-
est book, called A Mind for God, Jim quotes a comic-tragic
line from Bertrand Russell...: “Most Christians would rather
die than think. In fact, they do.”...It says a lot about Rus-
sell, but also something about Jim’s sense of humor and
his sense of insightfulness. But then Jim goes on to write,
“This is a moment of peril. The peril is that when the public
square is uniquely open to spirituality and hungry for vision-
ary ideas..., the mind of the Christian is often found empty,
passive, and more reflective on the world at hand than on
...Whenever I speak about InterVarsity and our vision, and
the world to come.”
what we want our students to be like when they grow up, I
So...to the members of the Gordon-Conwell community, I
inevitably mention Jim White...Our history together, Inter-
want to commend you for selecting a leader that models the
varsity and Jim, goes back to his freshman year of college.
discipleship of the mind, a leader who has crafted an effec-
Jim was not a believer, and, as he says, there were two
tive apologetic to this generation, a leader who has a deep,
influences on his life that led him to Jesus. First was C.S.
deep love for the Church. And Jim, as a new president...I
Lewis, in whom he found an intellectual soul mate. And the
pray three things for you: first, courage, that you will always
second was a small group of Christian friends who led him,
do the right thing regardless of the personal cost. Second, I
befriended him and cared for him. They were part of the
pray for tenacity, that you will persist even during the hard
InterVarsity chapter on his campus. By his senior year, Jim
times. And third, I pray for hope, that you will regularly
was president of that group, a harbinger of things to come.
catch a glimpse of what the Lord has for this seminary and
And through the years he [has credited] InterVarsity Press
for you. Congratulations, Jim. God bless you all.
authors like Francis Schaeffer, Os Guinness, John Stott and

R. Judson Carlberg, Ph.D. President, Gordon College

...[T]onight, I welcome you to a partnership with me. Our

partnership is mandated by our mutual institutional history.
Over the years, two dynamic institutions under the hand of
God have grown from those humble beginnings in October
of 1889 when A. J. Gordon started the Boston Mission-
ary Training Institute in the basement of Clarendon Street
Baptist Church. At first, the institute required at most a two-
year course of study. But demand grew rapidly and soon the
undergraduate experience was elongated to four years and
a graduate divinity school was added. Today Gordon College
has grown into a leading Christian college of the arts and
Cont’d on next page g
w i nte r 06/07 19
 sciences, and Gordon-Conwell into a major force in theolog-
cal education worldwide. We will be stronger if we partner to
support one another as presidents and as learning commu-
nities, to pray for one another and to work regularly to fulfill
the biblical injunction to build each other up. Through the
years both institutions have remained true to the original
vision of A. J. Gordon...[T]he call to share the message of
Christ, and to bring love and care to persons throughout
the world were close to A. J. Gordon’s heart. Both schools
affirm Christ-like living and holy Scriptures as a foundation
for educational undertaking. Both are committed to an in-
clusive education available to women, to people of color, to
internationals and those from modest circumstances. Both
seek to grow leaders for church and society through creat-
ing vibrant educational communities known for embracing a
global perspective.
Rodney L. Peterson, Ph.D. Executive Director, Boston Theological Institute
Jim, welcome to the Boston area... an area of the world
that constitutes three nurseries that nurture our Christian
soul. There is, of course, the school of the prophets, or
the school of the preachers...There are nine schools of the
prophets in the Boston area and I stand here representing
those schools...and welcome you on their behalf... schools
that represent the Methodist, Episcopal Anglican, American
Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Jesuit and Diocesan,
and the Orthodox communities of faith...nine schools of
theology. Now I don’t know what that means to you, but it
means to me there had better be a fair amount of healthy
dialogue among these schools.
20 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
We are also institutions which live in tension between
stability and change. While remaining true to our heritage
and commitments, we must build bridges to our fast
changing culture which cries out for meaning and hope in
the midst of despair. May we not shirk from considering new
and innovative means to communicate the love of Christ
effectively to those who are desperate, lonely and media-
drenched. Jan and I welcome you, Jim and Susan, to work
with us, to build a relationship between our campuses that
will be recognized by all as rooted in Christ’s love. May we
create community by following Paul’s admonition to the
church at Colosse: “And now, just as you received Christ
Jesus as Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your
roots grow down into Him and let your lives be built up
on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you
were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
Welcome to the partnership.
...Boston is also the nursery for evangelicalism. I think...
of the wonderful heritage of this city...most particularly as
that heritage became focused on Harold Ockenga and Park
Street Church and the foundation of the evangelical move-
ment after 1948—a movement that was not to repeat the
errors of either fundamentalism or modernism, but to seek
to be a new and winsome theological movement in the 20th
Century. So not only are we challenged by what it means to
be an academic community, a school of the prophets, but
we’re also challenged by what it means to be this nursery of
piety as well, as we seek all that God intends for us...
...Boston is also, in many ways, a nursery for the 21st
Century. Not only is this the city from which airplanes flew
to wreck their devastation five years ago, but...also the
city that is exploring artificial intelligence, exploring the
boundaries of genethics and ...many other avenues in the
sciences in our time. I challenge you, Jim, to join this...
community of discourse, of piety, and this community that
is very much shaping the 21st Century in a variety of ways;
because just as surely as Bin Laden sought to divide us as
a people five years ago, so we must seek ways, grounded in
the integrity of God’s Word...to bind people together, to find
the way forward, that we may indeed be God’s people of the
21st Century...
 Congratulatory Letters

Billy Graham
Montreat, North Carolina

Congratulations at this special time of Inauguration of Dr. James Emery White as president of Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary.

My wife and I enjoyed a visit with Jim and Susan earlier this year. It was a joy to see their commitment to the Lord,
and to hear a little of his vision for the seminary. As we reminisced about the “past” history of Gordon-Conwell, and
praised God for all that He has done through the school during all these years, we also talked about the “future”
and it is certainly our prayer that God will continue to richly bless and use the school.

Dr. White has our support and prayers as he carries such a heavy leadership role.

May God bless you all.

Billy Graham

Byzantine Catholic Seminary From the Office of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole
of Saints Cyril and Methodius
Office of the Rector Dear Dr. White:

Dr. White: Heartiest congratulations upon your inauguration as the

I write on behalf of the faculty, staff and students of the Byzan-
tine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, PA, to congratulate you on
your appointment as President of Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary and to give you encouragement at the task you now
face.
fourth president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
While I wish I could be with you in person, I am delighted
to join your family, friends and colleagues in celebrating this
very special occasion. And I am so pleased that a North
Carolinian has been chosen to lead this well-respected
institution!

As you well know, the challenges of leading a theological semi-
nary in this moment of our history are great. You will be called
upon to use great judgment, patience and understanding as you
sift through the educational, operational and funding issues that
confront institutions of higher learning.
You can be assured, however, as you meet these challenges in
God’s name that the prayers of many will be a strong sense of
support for you. You will find faculty, staff and volunteers whose
energy and commitment astound you. You will find students
whose desire to learn encourages you. You will find donors to
support you at the moments of your greatest need. Lastly, you
will find colleagues who will openly share and empathize with
you.
To that final point, although I am unable to attend your investi-
ture, I offer you, not just my sincerest best wishes, but also my
prayers and support at any time during your tenure.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
I have long admired and followed the good work of Gordon-
Conwell. I have great appreciation for its committed stand
on Biblical issues and I am grateful for its strong dedication
to proclaiming the name and love of Christ in the world.
Dr. White, Gordon-Conwell will benefit richly from your
experience as a profound pastor, author, international
speaker and leader. As a result of your nurturing and com-
mitment, the Mecklenburg Community Church flourished
and became one of the nation’s fastest growing churches.
Your dynamic ministry has significantly impacted thou-
sands of lives and has helped to spread hope and optimism
through faith. I am certain your new partnership will serve
as another marvelous channel to make a positive difference
in the lives of others, and that Gordon-Conwell Seminary
will continue to build upon its successful tradition under
your leadership.
With congratulations again and my warmest best wishes,

(Very Reverend Archpriest) John G. Petro Elizabeth Dole

Rector

w i nte r 06/07 21
 1 Dr. and Mrs. James Emery White at Inauguration 2 Zack White at church 3 Rachel
White singing with worship team 4 Zachary (Zack) White helping with Meckidz 5 Susan
White directs Children’s Ministry 6 Jonathan in MecKidz acting team drama 7 Rebecca
teaching weekly lesson 8 Susan and Jonathan at Inauguration 9 Jonathan and Rebecca
leading MecKidz 10 Rebecca White 11 Rachel White 12 Jonathan White

MeettheWhiteFamily
S u s a n W h i t e’s love for children and passion for children’s ministry show u p

i n b r i g h t , k i d-friendly splashes of color in the classrooms and corridors of

Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Anne B . D oll

Life-size cutouts on the walls, picket fences cordoning
off hallway spaces, a stage on which dramas and puppet
shows regularly take place—all testify to her enthusiasm
for creating a fun and captivating MecKidz environment
in which some 500 infants to fifth graders each Sunday
can learn about the love of Jesus.
Susan, the wife of Gordon-Conwell’s new president,
Dr. James Emery White, is Director of Children’s Minis-
try at the church she helped her husband found in 1992.
Leadership of the ministry is a role she assumed in the
early months of the church, gave up with some tears dur-
ing the years her children were young, and joyfully reas-
sumed some years later.
“I knew I would need to help Jim in his ministry, help
him build the church,” she says of her initial development
of children’s programming for the fledgling church plant.
“The most natural area for me was with the kids. We had
three kids at the time and we had to have something for
them. I’m not a singer, I don’t play beautiful music and
I’m not a speaker. But I love kids, so it was a good fit. I
just thoroughly enjoyed teaching the children, investing in
their lives.” Moreover, she brought academic preparation
to the role, having majored in education at Appalachian
State University.
Susan was born in Henderson, North Carolina, and
moved a number of times with her family before land-
ing in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the eighth grade.
In Charlotte she was soon active in Young Life at South
Mecklenburg High School and was led to Christ by a
Young Life leader. Through a small group at the high
school, she was also discipled by a woman whom Susan
says was “very strategic” in taking a young Christian and
helping her grow in faith.
“I grew up in the Methodist church and we were very
faithful churchgoers, but it really didn’t click—that whole
relationship of having Christ be lord of my life—until I was
in high school. That’s when I gave myself fully to the Lord.”
She met Jim through the leadership team of InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship at Appalachian State. She was active
in the prayer ministry; he was, as she recounts, “doing a
little of everything”—singing, playing guitar and serving as
the chapter’s leader. They dated for a year; got engaged in
a beautiful chapel where they had often talked and prayed
together; were married six months later at the church in
Boone, North Carolina, where Jim was serving as direc-
tor of the church’s youth ministry; and lived in a little log
cabin while he completed a double major.
A year later, they moved to Louisville, Kentucky,
where Jim pursued a Master of Divinity degree and
ultimately, a Ph.D. at The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. Susan recalls the seminary years with much
fondness—a busy time during which, to make ends meet,
she worked at a bank and waited tables at a restaurant,
he coached basketball, served as Assistant Director of
Prospective Student Services at the seminary, and was
interim and then senior pastor of a church in nearby

22 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
 1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

w i nte r 06/07 23
 Charlestown, Indiana. In 1987, two years into seminary,
their eldest daughter, Rebecca, was born, and 19 months
later, Rachel joined their family.
“We look back and God’s hand on our lives has been
so present,” Susan observes. “Doors will open, and you
don’t realize what you’re learning until much further
down the road. Even some of the relationships we built
are still with us. There were hard times, but great times.”
It was during those years that their vision for the
church began to take shape. “We would sit and dream,
‘What would it be like if the church could be like this...?’ We
spent a lot of time just dreaming and cementing the vision.”
In 1990, about the time their first son, Jonathan, was
born, the Whites moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where
Susan White “thoroughly enjoys teaching the children” in the MecKidz program she directs.
Jim became Pastoral Leadership Consultant for Preaching
and Worship for the Sunday School Board of the Southern
Baptist Convention. “That was a good experience,” Susan
recounts. “Jim would go around teaching, and that’s
when he began thinking, ‘I want to be on the frontlines.’
We just began sensing this overwhelming calling to plant
a church.
“We were in a nice home there, but we thought that
we needed to get out of debt and get prepared to plant
a church, so we moved into a little apartment. Then in
1992, we loaded all our belongings into a U-Haul and
drove down to Charlotte. That was an adventure. There
were some really significant moments of God just speak-
ing to us through that whole time. That’s where the fam-
ily really took root in our lives. Zack was born there...
and we started home schooling and building the church.
Those were beautiful years.”
A less than beautiful moment was the weekend their
new church was scheduled to launch in a Charlotte hotel.
A tropical storm with pelting rain hit the city, knocking
down power lines and shutting down electricity. “We had
prepared so much so we could have a good crowd, and it
was so discouraging. But God brought about 100 people,
24 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
probably half of them family and friends. The next Sun-
day we had about 50, and that’s where we started.
“We plugged away and for about a year, we were at
the hotel, which was very expensive. About the time we
had no more money, a brand new school opened up and
we were able to get into that area, which was a wonder-
ful location. We spent about four years there.”
It was during this time that Susan experienced a defin-
ing moment in her spiritual journey. The church was
growing; the children’s ministry was growing; and she
was home schooling four young children. “I was trying
to do everything, and one night it hit me very hard. I was
totally overwhelmed. And God said, ‘You’ve got to let go
of the ministry. In 10 years, that will still be around, but
your kids won’t be. What you have now is an opportunity
to invest 10 years in an area you will never get again.’...
“To the core of my being, I heard God say ‘...Let
go of the ministry.’ And that was very hard...because I
loved it. I had been with it from the beginning. It was
my ministry. I think it was God’s way of saying, ‘Susan,
this is not your ministry. It’s my ministry and I’m going
to have someone else lead it for awhile because you need
to be focused on your husband and your home.’ I needed
to hold it with an open hand and that wasn’t something I
was doing at the time.”
While Susan was wrestling with the prospect of laying
down the ministry, she experienced a poignant moment
during a retreat Jim held for the church leadership team.
He asked members of the group to think about what each
could do that no one else could do, and then challenged
them to commit most of their time to that. Susan says she
walked away thinking that she couldn’t think of anything
that no one else could do. Jim’s response was, “Sure you
can. You’re the only person who can be a mom to our
children; you’re the only one who can be my wife.”
“He was not saying ‘Give up your dream to be my
wife,’” Susan explains. “What he helped me understand
was that being a mother is a ministry...and that my min- communicator. Susan says he loves children and thinks he
istry to him was a ministry to the church...So I let it go, wants to be a pediatrician.
and for about six months I was devastated...I didn’t want Zachary, 13, Susan’s remaining home schooling stu-
to just home school—I was fighting that. Ministry in the dent, is in the eighth grade. He’s a drummer, loves to play
church is fun; mothering is hard work. But I began really golf and read, serves on the MecKidz worship team and
focusing on the family and that was wonderful. It was helps out in first and second grade classrooms.
exactly what I needed to do as a mom and a wife.” The lessons Susan learned during her full-time days at
Early on in this new phase of her life, Susan read Edith home formed one of her passions for children’s ministry—
Schaeffer’s book, 7HAT)SA&AMILY, that gave her a vision to reach families. “God gave parents the responsibility of
of what she wanted for her own family, and the steps she raising children to love the Lord,” she notes. “He is not nec-
could take toward that end. She also kept returning to 2 essarily saying, ‘Churches, you train up your children.’ And
Corinthians 4:16: “Therefore, do not lose heart. Though so helping moms and dads take seriously the responsibility
outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being of investing in their children spiritually and spending the
renewed day by day. For our light and momentary trou- time to read the scriptures and pray together is something
bles are achieving for us an eternal we hold very highly at the church.”
glory that far outweighs them all. Because 70 percent of the
So we fix our eyes not on what is I think it was God’s way of saying, church’s more than 5000 active at-
seen, but what is unseen. For what tenders were previously unchurched,
is seen is temporary, and what is ‘Susan, this is not your ministry. It’s Susan says many parents indicate
unseen is eternal.” they don’t know to train their
Susan says she went back to children spiritually. To help them,
that verse “over and over and over my ministry and I’m going to have teachers give parents tools each week
again,” reminding herself that “a that describe what children have
mother can see how reading sto- someone else lead it for awhile been learning, offer suggestions on
ries, washing dishes, long nights what they can discuss as a family,
with sick children, family dinners,
because you need to be focused on and provide topics youngsters can
climbing trees and all those things use during quiet times. A monthly
you do as a mom are setting your Family Night brings parents and
eyes on the vision—what is un- your husband and your home.’ children together for worship and
seen. Then you can see that you’re a lesson.
allowing God to build the family. That was a vision “If we can give them examples of how we’re doing it
for my family that was crucial during those years.” in all our struggles and imperfections,” Susan adds, “if we
In the decade-plus years since Susan made that piv- can show them what it looks like, that’s one of the great-
otal decision, the White children have grown and flour- est ministries a church can have.”
ished, and all have been actively involved at the church. Susan says she has come full circle since she gave up
“Church has been huge in our family,” Susan says. “Part the children’s ministry. When the former director resigned
of that was because we were church planters; we needed in order to spend more time with her young family, she
help! But children can get involved in ministry, too.” returned as interim director and eventually, she laughs,
Nineteen-year-old Rebecca, a sophomore journalism “the interim label came off!” Moreover, the position af-
and communications major at the University of North fords her flexibility to complete Zack’s home schooling.
Carolina—Chapel Hill, was a children’s ministry team “God was so right in saying that in 10 years, the ministry
leader for the large group communicators who teach the will still be here. Right now, I hold the ministry with
weekly lesson. At Chapel Hill, she is on the InterVarsity open hands, because I know it’s probably not going to be
leadership team, and also volunteers at a nearby children’s me who takes it to the next level.
hospital. “I think so many times with decisions we have to
Rachel, now 17, is a talented vocalist who sings with make, it’s hard. I don’t want to sugarcoat that. It’s sad
the church worship team and is being mentored to lead sometimes. But God always blesses that, even if it’s
worship. A senior at Charlotte Christian High School, changing your heart to have a passion for what He’s
she sings with the praise band, and has acted in theater called you to. You have a choice to be happy and find the
productions of "EAUTYANDTHE"EAST and &OOTLOOSE. She is good in it. There are always blessings in that. God blesses
currently applying to colleges, and wants to major in the arts. our obedience.”
Fifteen-year-old Jonathan is a sophomore at Charlotte
Christian and a member of the cross-country team. At the Anne B. Doll is Director of Communications at Gordon-Conwell.
church, he is on the MecKidz acting team, performing for
Family Night dramas, and also serves as a large group

w i nte r 06/07 25
 garth m. rosell, ph.d.
A>f[cpHeritage The Historical Roots of
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
a.j. russell j. howard harold john
gordon conwell pew ockenga
S ince its founding in 1969, Gordon-Conwell Theological
Seminary has been led by four presidents: Harold John
Ockenga, Robert E. Cooley, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. and
James Emery White. I feel privileged to have worked un-
der the leadership of the first two presidents as Academic
Dean and the third as a member of the faculty. Now at
the beginning of President White’s presidential leader-
ship, I anticipate God’s continued blessing upon this very
special institution.
There is a sense, of course, in which our seminary is
much older than its formal beginnings at the end of the
1960s. The 1969 merger that created Gordon-Conwell
Theological Seminary brought together two much older
schools: Conwell School of Theology and Gordon Divin-
ity School. Both of these institutions had been founded
in the 1880s. Both had been started by Baptist ministers.
Both were rooted in the city (Philadelphia and Boston).
Both offered classes at night so that working folk could
attend. Both were open to men and women. Both were
Bible centered. Both were built upon the vision, as Russell
Conwell phrased it, of making “an education available for all
young men and women who have good minds and the will to
work” or as Adoniram Judson Gordon phrased it, “of equip-
ping men and women in practical religious work and furnish-
ing them with a thoroughly Biblical training.”
26 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
billy robert e. walter c. james emery
graham cooley kaiser, jr. white
The need for such education was obvious. The late
19th Century was a time of enormous change within
America and around the world. Urbanization, industrial-
ization and immigration were transforming the landscape
of American life. Indeed, with the explosive growth of
Philadelphia and Boston, for example, urban pastors such
as Conwell and Gordon were faced with a whole set of
new problems and new opportunities. “Into our doors,”
observed A. J. Gordon in his 1887 address to the Evan-
gelical Alliance at its Washington, D.C. gathering, “the
untaught and unregenerated populations of the Old World
are pouring by the hundreds of thousands every year,
while through our doors we can look out upon every na-
tion of the globe as a field ripe for missionary harvest.
“The church according to its primitive ideal,” Gordon
continued, “is the one institution in which every man’s
wealth is under mortgage to every man’s [need], every
man’s success to every man’s service; so that no laborer in
any part of the field should lack the means for prosecut-
ing his work so long as any fellow-disciple in any other
part of the field has ability to supply his lack.” Conse-
quently, he continued, “as surely as darkness follows
sunset will the alienation of the masses follow sancti-
monious selfishness in the church. If a Christian’s motto
is, ‘Look out for number one,’ then let him look out
 for estrangement and coldness on the
part of number two.” Indeed, Gordon
concluded, “it is not an orthodox creed
which repels the masses, but an ortho-
In a u g u r a t i on 2 0 0 6 : T h e D ed icat ion Pr ay er
dox greed.”
Wa l t e r C . Kaiser, Ph.D. President Emeritus and Coleman M. In Philadelphia, to the south, Rus-
Mockler Distinguished Professor of Old Testament sell Conwell was expressing similar
sentiments. Troubled by the growing
...To you, O Lord, we come this night problems of poverty, hunger, unem-
to dedicate Dr. James Emery White, ployment and despair he observed all
Susan, and each of the family... For you around him, he could see “but one gen-
eral remedy for all these ills”—namely,
are from everlasting to everlasting and
the provision of “a more useful educa-
you are the One who sets apart. And
tion” for those who were in need. So it
therefore, we call upon the help of all was, in 1884, that what Conwell came
heaven and the great resources that to call the “Temple College Idea” was
are ours and theirs in Christ Jesus, our born—and the tuition-free, Bible-cen-
Lord. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the majesty, the tered, night school for working adults
splendor. All that is in heaven or on earth belongs to you. And yours is the (eventually to be known as Temple
kingdom and you are exalted as head over all. All honor and all promotion
University) was launched in the base-
ment of the Temple Baptist Church in
come directly from your hand. Therefore, we pray that you will, by your Holy
Philadelphia. Within five years, it had a
Spirit, set apart President Jim, Susan, and their family, and this faculty and student population of over a thousand.
this Board of Trustees and this student body, and all those who will come, Meanwhile in Boston, plans for a
and for all those in the church of Jesus Christ...who are part of your family similar school were being laid. Thirty
and to whom we are presently ministering, and for many who have not yet students (20 men and 10 women)
come but will be part of that great company. We pray, Heavenly Father, for gathered in the vestry of the Clarendon
your blessing from heaven above. Grant your grace, grant your wisdom, your Street Church early in October of 1889,
to help launch the Boston Mission-
discernment, to our president to lead Gordon Conwell, to lead his family, to
ary Training School. Established, as
lead in the church of Jesus Christ, and to lead with all his heart and the pas-
Gordon phrased it, to help “meet the
sion of his soul in the kingdom of your wonderful name. demand for a large increase of our mis-
sionary force,” the new school was to
...[G]ive to him a vision that is as big as all outdoors. Give to him also skills provide the early foundations for our
as sensitive as those of your servant Solomon, a joy for the work, joy for your seminary.
presence, and a joy for your commendation, above all other commendations, The stories of these two schools—
that is so contagious it will be the joy of his life and the strength of all that
while different in many respects—are
remarkably similar when it comes to
he does. Grant to Jim an insatiable desire to daily enter into your presence,
the core convictions that gave shape
to pray without ceasing for the task of the seminary. May he have a passion and direction to their histories: namely,
to bring help to your church by the wonderful work of bringing an end to the their commitment to Jesus Christ, to
famine for the Word of God that is so rampant throughout the land. the importance of the church, to the
authority of the Bible, to the need for
And most of all, may you, our Heavenly Father, be pleased with what he education, to the necessity of social
does and all that he says, and all that he hopes to be, and all that he hopes reform and to the task of spreading the
glorious Gospel around the world.
for everyone into whose care you have placed an enormous flock: this board,
this faculty, this student body, and the church of Jesus Christ around the
The Roots of Gordon-Conwell
world in this day and age. And may it be done to the honor and glory of your Theological Seminary
great and excellent name, for your name is matchless above every other
name...What a joy, what a privilege, what an honor to serve together for such So it was, in 1969—under the leader-
a magnificent Lord. Grant, Heavenly Father, your special anointing from ship of Billy Graham, Harold John
above. Come Holy Spirit, come Heavenly Dove, touch Jim’s life, touch all of Ockenga and J. Howard Pew—that
our lives, for we shall soon see the King. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that
the two institutions were combined
to form Gordon-Conwell Theological
you may be pleased, for it’s in your name we ask it. Amen.

w i nte r 06/07 27
 Seminary. Harold Ockenga was appointed as its first
president, a post he served with great distinction for
nearly a decade.
Harold John Ockenga was, of course, no newcomer
to institutional leadership. For nearly half a century,
from the mid-1930s until his death in the mid-1980s, he
was one of evangelicalism’s most recognized and trust-
ed leaders, serving as founder and first president of the
National Association of Evangelicals; as president of
the American Board of the World Evangelical Fellow-
ship; as president, co-founder and later Chairman of
the Board of Fuller Theological Seminary; as Chairman
of the Board of #HRISTIANITY4ODAY; as a member of
the board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association;
as pastor for more than three decades of historic Park
Street Church in Boston; and as the founding president
of our seminary. Harold John Ockenga’s name, in fact,
became virtually synonymous with the burgeoning and
increasingly-worldwide movement known as evangeli-
calism.
“He was a giant among giants,” observed Billy Gra-
ham in describing his old friend. “Nobody outside of
my family influenced me more than he did.” “I never
made a major decision,” remarked Dr. Graham, “with-
out first calling and asking his advice and counsel. I
thank God for his friendship and for his life.”
Institutional Characteristics
Under Ockenga’s leadership, throughout the 1970s,
Gordon-Conwell grew and prospered. While programs
have come and gone and only a handful of the original
faculty, staff, administration and Board of Trustees
remain, the core values of the seminary have remained
remarkably steadfast and sure. Like the American
evangelical movement itself, from its beginnings in the
Great Awakening of the 18th century and throughout
its nearly three centuries of history, Gordon-Conwell
has continued in its best moments to draw its strength
and direction from its commitment to the authority of
the Bible, its loyalty to historic orthodoxy, its love for
the church, its passion for worldwide evangelization,
its commitment to justice, its absolute certainty that
there is no salvation outside of Christ’s atoning death
on the cross, and its conviction that all of creation
belongs to the sovereign, triune Lord of the universe.
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of
our human existence,” to borrow the stirring words
with which Abraham Kuyper concluded his inaugural
address at the Free University of Amsterdam, “over
which Christ, who is Sovereign over ALL, does not cry:
‘Mine!’”
This great evangelical vision, articulated so power-
fully by Harold John Ockenga and his colleagues, has
continued to shape and guide the seminary down to
28 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
Inauguration 2006: The Presentation of the
P re si d e n t Robert E. Cooley, Ph.D. President Emeritus
...There are over 250
seminaries in the
U.S. and Canada, and
at the core of each
of these theological
communities stands a
president or a dean or
a rector. The position
of president has been
called “splendid agony,” splendid in the sense that is a
calling; it is a vocation. It is not a job; it is not an individual
position; but it is a gatekeeper of joint effort to fulfill the
mission of the community. Indeed that is a splendid calling.
But there is also agony. It comes in the daily struggle to
fulfill the mission of the institution with economic vital-
ity in the service of the church. Today we have celebrated
the calling of Dr. White to our seminary community, and
he has responded to that call out of experience and with
achievement, and now prepared to enter into the mysteries
of presidential leadership. He is joined by his family in this
calling: his wife, Susan, and their four children: Rebecca,
Rachel, Jonathan, and Zachary...
The resume of Dr. White is narrated for you (see page 4-
5).... In all of his experience and achievement in ministry,
he has had time to author 14 books, several of which have
been recognized with Silver and Gold Medallion awards.
Most notable amongst his listing is the book Serious Times,
in which Dr. White seeks to express the great burden for
the intersection between faith and society. Indeed, these
are serious times. Dr. White has accepted the summons
of the trustees of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
to come to our community and to serve as our leader. He
comes to lead in the context of our community, to help us,
to join with us in fulfilling the educational mission of
preparing men and women for ministry wherever God will
call them. And so it is with great joy that I present to
you today the fourth president of the seminary: Dr. James
Emery White.
now with the coming of james emery white as our new president we are

confident that gordon-conwell will remain absolutely faithful—

as individuals and as an institution—to those biblical principles that

have given us life, zest and stability throughout our history.

the present day. His successors, Robert E. Cooley and

Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., each with unique gifts, have re-
mained faithful stewards of the core values on which the
seminary was founded. In an era in which educational
institutions have often drifted quietly away from their
founding principles, a good case can be made for the fact
that Gordon-Conwell is even more closely bound to bibli-
cal orthodoxy today than it was during the early years of
its existence.

Future Prospects

The future of our seminary, I am convinced, depends

largely on what answers those of us who are part of this
institution are prepared to give to seven important ques-
Three presidents, l. to r.: Robert E. Cooley, James Emery White, Water C. Kaiser, Jr.
tions: (1) What is our ultimate authority?; (2) What is
our primary purpose?; (3) What are our most important
biblical principles that have given us life, zest and stability
goals?; (4) In whom do we place our ultimate loyalty?; (5)
throughout our history.
What is the foundation of our hope?; (6) To what theol-
“The Christian vision of the future now seems increas-
ogy do we subscribe?; and (7) Into what community have
ingly to belong to evangelicalism,” wrote Alister Mc-
we been called?
Grath in 1995. Yet, “evangelicalism,” and we could add
For most evangelicals, the answers to these questions
our own seminary, “can never afford to take its recent
are absolutely clear and unequivocal: (1) Our ultimate
successes and achievements for granted. Evangelicalism
authority is the Bible; (2) Our primary purpose is to bring
stands under the judgment of God,” McGrath warned,
glory to God and to serve the common good; (3) Our
“as a movement to which much has been given and from
most important goals are worldwide evangelization and
which much is demanded.” If we have ears to hear,
the spiritual renewal of the church and the culture; (4)
McGrath’s warning can challenge us once again to root
Our ultimate loyalty is to the Sovereign and triune Lord
ourselves deeply in historic orthodoxy, to live in obedi-
of the universe; (5) The foundation of our hope is Jesus
ence to the Scriptures, to seek to be “salt and light” in a
Christ—His virgin birth, spotless life and atoning death
decaying world, and to give ourselves, without reserva-
on the cross, His glorious resurrection and ascension into
tion, to spreading the life-giving Gospel throughout the
heaven and the blessed hope of His coming again; (6) Our
world. As one of the “old-timers” at the seminary, I can
theology is “historic orthodoxy,” the faith once deliv-
only add: “May it ever be so!”
ered to the saints (as reflected, albeit imperfectly, in the
historic creeds and confessions but taught perfectly in the
Dr. Garth Rosell, Ph.D., Professor of Church History, is
Scriptures); and (7) The community into which we have well-known as a church historian and leader of theological
been called is the Christian church. education. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he
Under the superb leadership of Presidents Ockenga, has ministered in local congregations and served on national
Cooley and Kaiser, these commitments have remained boards and agencies.
He has been active in a wide variety of professional societies;
central to the seminary’s life and work. Now with the
has chaired accreditation teams for the Association of
coming of James Emery White as our new president we Theological Schools; has served on a number of educational,
are confident that Gordon-Conwell will remain absolutely editorial and missionary boards; has chaired the Boston Theological Institute; has
faithful—as individuals and as an institution—to those served as a national consultant for Globalization in Theological Education; and has
lectured on a variety of university and seminary campuses. He also served as Vice
President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the seminary from 1978-1987.
w i nte r 06/07 29


h onoring our third president

The Gordon-Conwell INGFROMTHE/LD4ESTAMENT (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
community and a 2006), edited in honor of Dr. Kaiser by Dr. Scott Gibson,
host of family mem- Haddon W. Robinson Professor of Preaching. Trustees also
bers and professional surprised them with the announcement that the many gifts
colleagues paid an given in their honor would fund an endowment for the
affectionate tribute to chapel on the South Hamilton campus, and that it would be
Dr. and Mrs. Walter named the Walter C. and Majorie R. Kaiser Chapel.
C. Kaiser, Jr. in May Under Dr. Kaiser’s leadership, the seminary grew from
at a retirement gala 900 to nearly 2100 students from 44 nations, to become the
celebrating their many 5th largest seminary in North America. Thirty new profes-
contributions to the sors joined the faculty, and scholarship funding increased by
seminary. more than 300 percent.
Dr. Kaiser, now Gordon-Conwell developed a new state-of-the art cam-
President Emeritus and pus in Charlotte, North Carolina; retrofitted a spacious new
Colman M. Mockler headquarters for the Boston campus in Roxbury, Massa-
Distinguished Profes- chusetts; and launched a new extension site in Jacksonville,
sor of Old Testament, Florida. At the Hamilton campus, facilities improvements
retired June 30, 2006, included development of Phippen, Gray and Lamont Halls
following 13 years of in the Kerr Building; and renovation of the Dining Com-
service to the seminary, mons, Great Room and Student Center, Goddard Library,
the last nine as Student Life offices, the Kerr Building Patio, and the Wilson
president, and 48 years House for mission events and scholars-in-residence.
in theological education.
The event included tributes by trustees, faculty
members and professional colleagues from throughout
the U.S.; special music by recognized Boston musicians
Rev. Randy Haynes and Elizabeth Printy; and a faculty
quartet performing a song written for the occasion by
Dr. Gary A. Parrett, Associate Professor of Educational
Ministries and Worship. The program also featured
two videos: 4HATSA-ARGINAL2EADING, a retrospective
of classic Kaiser witticisms, and 3TANDINGONTHE0ROM
ISES, recounting the growth of the seminary during Dr.
Kaiser’s leadership.
Among the gifts presented to the Kaisers were
paintings of each of the campuses and the Jacksonville
extension site, and a multi-author volume, 0REACH
1

30 w i n t e r 06 /0 7




In addition, students on all campuses now
benefit from numerous new academic and
spiritual life programs, such as the Center for
Preaching, Pierce Center for Disciple-Building,
Compass for high school youth, the J. Christy
Wilson, Jr. Center for World Missions, the
Center for the Study of Global Christianity,
Semlink distance learning now available in
Chinese, and free Dimensions of the Faith
courses used by churches and missionaries
across the globe.
Many of these advances were funded by
a successful $54 million capital campaign led
by Dr. Kaiser. He also served as senior editor
for the !RCHAEOLOGICAL3TUDY"IBLE published
through a Gordon-Conwell-Zondervan part-
nership. Released in February 2006, the Bible
is now in its sixth printing.
1 L. to r.: Dr Scott Gibson, Trustees Dr. Shirley Redd and Thomas
Colatosti present campus paintings to the Kaisers 2 L. to r.: Drs. Gary
Parrett, Linda Cannell, Gordon Isaac and Steve Kang in faculty quartet
2 of it. Our Thursday morning Bible study group was also a very special time.
“T h e b e s t y e a r s o f m y life.”
Reflections on Nine Years as Pre s i d e n t
When Dr. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. retired in June 2006 as the seminary’s third
president, he and his wife, Marge, moved back to their farm in Wisconsin.
During the summer, he tackled so many “fix-up” projects that his son-in-
law asked if he was “trying to run the place like Gordon-Conwell.” Now he’s
joyfully at his computer eight to nine hours a day writing articles and books.
Currently, he’s working on second editions of two of his books: Toward an
Old Testament Theology, which has been in continuous print since 1978,
including editions in five languages, and will be renamed Biblical Theology:
Old and New Testament; and Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: Search
for Meaning, for which he is writing four new chapters. He has already
completed two Festschriften chapters for academic colleagues, four chap-
ters for multiple author volumes, and several articles, including one which
appeared in the December 2006 edition of Decision magazine.
When he “gets a little breathing space,” he’ll be writing commentaries
on Ecclesiastes and Jeremiah for a new 45-volume Old Testament series
for which he’s serving as editor—a project prompting Marge to retort, “And
he’s going to live until he’s 99!”
Marge has unpacked the last boxes, is accompanying her husband on
the preaching and teaching junkets throughout the country that fill most of
their weekends, and is busy being a grandmother.
Director of Communications Anne Doll recently interviewed the Kaisers
about their 13 years at Gordon-Conwell.
As you look back, what are your fondest recollections of being at
the seminary?
Dr. Kaiser: “From my standpoint, it was the sheer joy of working with people
who really had a mind to work together and wanted to see things accom-
plished for the Lord. I’ve told everyone that the nine years I was president
were by all odds the best years of my life. They were the happiest years.
There was a lot of work, but it was fun work and it was fun all the way
through.”
Marge: “For me, it would be the people. We made such good friends...
Everyone was very special and very spiritual in the way they went about
everything, and I just appreciated them thoroughly. Whether it was mentor-
ing student wives or working with the Women’s Council, the Partners in
Ministry group, the students or the faculty wives—I enjoyed every aspect
w i nte r 06/07 31
 We had about 20 students each year...and we just got very close
to them. We’re now enjoying getting Christmas cards from various
ones, catching up on the growth of their families, and the ministries
God has given them to do. These are all very cherished, special
friendships.”
What do you consider the biggest challenge of leading a seminary?
Dr. Kaiser: “I think the biggest challenge still is the economic one—
how to produce quality education that will be a great help and bless-
ing to the church, but yet will not put the church and the student
into enormous debt...We tried to address that when we came up
with the various scholarship programs and saw over 300 students go
on a scholarship that helped them up to $4500 a year. That, I think,
was an enormous help and great blessing to them.”
What do think are today’s greatest challenges to theological educa-
tion and to the church?
Dr. Kaiser: “To continue to have a group of men and women who
really sense the call of God and are the best of what we can get from
our sons and daughters and grandchildren. I think more and more,
there is a de-emphasis on the call of God. Thinking of the ministry
only as a back-up plan rather than the highest and best calling has
2 3
really turned away many, many candidates from the ministry of the
church. By contrast, in South Korea, it is the number two profession
among all the professions they have in that country.
“Gordon-Conwell has been blessed in that our Master of Divinity
program, which is the main program
producing leaders for the church,
has still remained very, very high
percentage-wise...In many seminar-
ies, the Master of Arts program, and
in other programs, the Ph.D., are
overtaking the M. Div. program. Yet
on the American scene alone, we
have 350,000 churches...It’s not un-
usual for some of the denominations
to have 15 or 20 percent of pastoral
positions unfilled.
6
32 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
“I really wish (and I tried to encour-
age this while I was leading the
school), that churches would have
a goal not only for missionaries and
missionary budgets, but also a goal
that God will call some of their own
sons and daughters out into min-
istry. And then to have a group of
people be the encouragers of these
people through junior high school,
high school and college—be prayer
partners for them—and to have a 1
special recognition time set apart
where, as a church, to say, ‘Thank
God that He’s calling this contingent into ministry here or abroad.
It’s a wonderful thing.’”
Do you have other reflections you want to share?
Dr. Kaiser: “The retirement party boggled our minds. I had no idea
what people were up to. I thought they might have invited faculty
and staff. We arrived and there were 400 people present. We were
very surprised and honored that they named the chapel the Walter
C. and Marjorie R. Kaiser Chapel.
4 5
“They also gave us four oil paintings of the campuses, which
are now up in our fireplace room. As I look at them, every one has a
memory. I look at the Jacksonville painting and remember how just
a year ago that came together, after two years of praying and work-
ing. I look at the building in Charlotte and remember thinking, ‘How
in the world do you raise six and a half million dollars?’ And you’re
supposed to pray believingly, so I had to ask the Lord for, ‘How in
the world do you believe?’
“I look at the CUME building and there are a host of memories
associated with that building, too. And there are a lot of rooms and a
lot of paint all around the main campus—every one has a wonderful
memory for us. And you could put over the top of every one of them
the verse from Genesis 18:14: ‘Is anything too hard for the Lord?’”
1 New CUME facility in Roxbury 2 Fresco in Charlotte campus Chapel 3 Lamont Hall
women’s dormitory 4 Jacksonville Extension site headquarters 5 Kerr Patio
6 Archaeological Study Bible

George F. Bennett Michael L. Colaneri
The resume of Gordon-Conwell
Trustee George F. Bennett is
replete with remarkable ac-
complishments in the financial
world, and distinguished board
service for some of the nation’s
premier corporations.
Yet, when asked as he looks
back on his long life what he is
proudest of, he replies without
hesitation: “South Shore Baptist
Dr. George F. Bennett receiving Church, Camp Brookwoods, and
honorary doctorate at 2004 the fact that all my children,
Commencement.
grandchildren and great-grand-
children are Christians.”
George F. Bennett was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in
1911. His family moved to Hingham, Massachusetts, when he
was four years old, and he has lived there ever since. His moth-
er, who was very involved in Children’s Sunday School, led him
to Christ at an early age. Some years later, he would also teach
Sunday School, and then spend his afternoons playing semi-
pro football. His mother, he adds, “wasn’t too happy about that.”
In 1998, he honored his mother’s many years of devotion
to teaching children the truths of the Gospel by establishing the
Lois W. Bennett chair of Educational Ministries at Gordon-
Conwell.
After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in eco-
nomics in 1933, at the bottom of the Great Depression, his first
job was with what was then known as the First Boston Corpora-
tion, an investment banking firm. The job was acceptable, but
his real goal was a career in the money management business.
In 1943, his aspiration was realized when he began working
with the State Street Management and Research Corporation. He
would stay with that firm for the remainder of his career, becom-
ing a partner in 1948 and managing partner in 1958.
Dr. Bennett’s business acumen brought him a host of other
professional opportunities. He was on the Board of Harvard Col-
lege, serving as treasurer for a number of years. He was a Direc-
tor for Ford Motor Company, the Hewlett-Packard Corporation,
Commonwealth Oil Refining Company, John Hancock Mutual
Life Insurance, New England Electric Systems and the Florida
Light and Power Company. In 1982, the Boston Globe noted
that he may have been “the most established figure in the Bos-
ton money management world.”
In addition to Harvard College, he served on a number of
non-profit boards, including Wheaton College, the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and, of course, Gordon-Conwell.
How he came to the Gordon-Conwell board in 1974, though, is
an interesting story. It is one that Bennett cannot tell without
smiling.
“Harold Ockenga had asked me to be on the Gordon-Conwell
board, and I told him, ‘Thanks, but no, I’m already spread too
TRUS TE E P ROFI LE
thin.’ Not too long after, I was asked to be on the BGEA board,
and I just couldn’t turn that down. Well, I had forgotten that
Ockenga was on that board, too. So, after I was elected, he
came up to me and said, ‘You told me that you didn’t have the
time. Now you have to join the Gordon-Conwell board.’ I told
him, ‘You got me in a corner.’ I’ve been a member of the board
ever since.”
Bennett has served as Chair of the seminary Board and sat on
all three presidential search committees. Both the seminary and
Harvard have awarded him honorary doctorates.
But his greatest satisfactions are still his family of Christians,
his church, and his involvement with Brookwoods Camp. “My
three boys, all my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, those
who have reached the age of accountability, have all made a
profession of faith in Christ.” Pausing, he says, “The Lord has
been good.”
South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham, a church he helped
found, started out as a few families, and has today grown into a
church of several hundred families. Its senior pastor is a Gordon-
Conwell graduate.
Camp Brookwoods, a Christian Boys and Girls Camp in New
Hampshire, was actually sold to developers about 25 years
ago. Bennett recounts, “The camp had fallen on hard times,
the owner needed to sell and a real estate development group
had bought it. At that time, my youngest son was a missionary
in Costa Rica, and he had training in camp management. We
thought that if we could buy the camp, there would be a good
combination with him coming back and running it.
“I talked with the developer and asked if there was any way
that he would sell it to us. He said that he had partners and that
they had spent a lot of money on planning. I asked if he would
be willing to meet with us in Hartford, after he spoke with his
partners, to see if there would be any way that we could work
something out. He agreed, but added that he didn’t have much
hope that they would sell.
“So we prayed about it, and the next week, my oldest son,
Peter, and I drove down to meet him. When we arrived, he was a
changed person. His attitude was completely different. He told
us that he had had a dream that he was walking through the
Camp. As he walked, he noticed that someone was walking with
him. Suddenly, he realized that it was the Lord Jesus Christ, who
told him that this Camp must stay a Christian Camp. He told us
that he didn’t want to be ‘struck down by lightning,’ so we could
have it. We bought it, my son, Bob, came up from Costa Rica,
we refurbished it and opened a year later. It has operated suc-
cessfully ever since.”
Gordon-Conwell is blessed to have trustees like George Ben-
nett, whose exceptional talents and generosity have contributed
significantly to its strength and growth, and whose priorities are
on those things of eternal value.
Michael L. Colaneri is Assistant Director of Communications at w i nte r 06/07 33
Gordon-Conwell
SEM I N A RY N E W S
Gordon-Conwell Welcomes New Faculty Members
Five new professors have joined the Gordon-Conwell faculty. Now
teaching at the South Hamilton campus are Moonjang Lee, Associ-
ate Professor of World Christianity; Karen Mason, Assistant Profes-
sor of Counseling; and Thomas and Donna Petter, both as Assistant
Professor of Old Testament. We also welcome back to the Charlotte
faculty Rollin Grams, Associate Professor of New Testament.
Rollin G. Grams, Ph.D. came to America at the
age of 16 from South Africa, where his parents
were missionaries with the Assemblies of God.
He studied philosophy and psychology at the
University of Michigan and New Testament Stud-
ies at both Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
and Duke University. His research interests are in Biblical ethics,
hermeneutics, Paul, Matthew and mission studies. In addition to
articles published in these areas, Dr. Grams has written Rival Ver-
sions of Theological Enquiry and co-edited Church and Context
Survey, Part 1: Baptists in Armenia, Bulgaria, Central Asia, Mol-
dova, North Caucasus, Omsk and Poland (both published by the
International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague). Dr. Grams
is a member of Tyndale Fellowship in the UK, Serving in Mission
(SIM) and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North
Carolina. Rollin and his wife, Wendy, live in Charlotte with their
three children, David, James and Rachel.
Moonjang Lee, Ph.D. taught at Trinity Theological
College, Singapore, and at the University of Edin-
burgh, Scotland, before coming to Gordon-Con-
well. As the Christian center of gravity shifts to the
South, Dr. Lee endeavors to articulate an authentic
Asian understanding of Christianity from within
the Asian epistemological framework that will be
both faithful to the Bible and relevant to the multi-religious Asian
context. His research areas include examining the issues related to
the interface between the Gospel and Asian cultures, working out
a viable methodology for Christian studies in the Asian religious mi-
lieu, articulating a new approach in the world mission, and finding a
way to utilize the traditional Asian reading method(s) in the study of
the Bible. Dr. Lee holds a bachelor’s degree from Korea University,
master’s degrees from Korea University Graduate School, Gordon-
Conwell Theological Seminary and Yale University Divinity School,
and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh.
Karen Mason, Ph.D., has both taught and prac-
ticed psychology for over a decade. In addition to
teaching, Dr. Mason has practiced in community
mental health and managed suicide prevention
activities at the state level. She is a member of
the American Psychological Association. Dr.
Mason holds a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton
34 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
College, an M.A. degree in Old Testament from Denver Seminary,
and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Counseling Psychology from the
University of Denver. She and her husband of 28 years, Paul, have
two sons, Chris and Randall.
Donna Petter, Ph.D. (candidate) brings to Gordon-
Conwell more than 20 years of extensive classroom
experience, having taught biblical studies across
four different continents. She has also contributed to
various Old Testament publications including Vetus
Testamentum and the Dictionary of the Old Testa-
ment Historical Books (IVP). Her research interests include Biblical
Hebrew Grammar and Syntax, Hebrew Exegesis, Women in the
Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Religions.
Professor Petter studied at the University for the Nations, earning
a bachelor’s degree; holds three master’s degrees, from Gordon-
Conwell Theological Seminary and the University of Toronto, and
is currently finishing her doctoral dissertation at the University of
Toronto, Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. Her
dissertation compares the book of Ezekiel with ancient Mesopota-
mian lament literature. She and Dr. Thomas Petter have one son,
Marcus, and they live in Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Thomas D. Petter, Ph.D., has primary areas of
expertise in Biblical Hebrew grammar and exegesis,
Old Testament history and Near Eastern archaeol-
ogy. Since 1987, he has taught on the mission field,
in church settings and at several academic institu-
tions in the US and Canada, and is a contributor to
the Archaeological Study Bible (Zondervan) and the
Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (IVP). He holds a
bachelor’s degree from the University for the Nations, master’s de-
grees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Univer-
sity of Toronto, and earned his Ph.D from the University of Toronto,
Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. Dr. Petter is
preparing his dissertation on the emergence of Israel in Transjordan
for publication. He is also actively involved in the publication project
of Tell Dothan’s Western Cemetery (cf. www.gcts.edu/dothan). Born
and raised in French-speaking Switzerland, Dr. Petter first came to
the US in 1986. His passion is for the expository preaching of the
biblical text and the promotion of theological education in sub-
Saharan Africa. His ministerial affiliation is with the Conservative
Congregational Christian Conference.
 S E M I N A RY N E W S

Board Installs New Trustees

Two new trustees, Rev. Dr. Garth Mexico. Dr. Bolinder is on the board of Bible Study Fellowship. He
Bolinder and Ivan Hinrichs, have has been married to his wife, Dixie, for 34 years and has two grown
joined the Gordon-Conwell Board daughters.
of Trustees. Mr. Hinrichs leads the Hinrichs Financial Group and Hinrichs
Garth T. Bolinder was born Financial Corporate Benefits in Charlotte, North Carolina. He joined
in Englewood, New Jersey, on the firm in 1965, and was appointed General Agent in 1983. He
January 19, 1949. He graduated received the coveted President’s Organization Awards from Con-
from Wheaton College in 1971, necticut Mutual and the Gold Bowl from MassMutual. Mr. Hinrichs
Ivan Hinricks Garth T. Bolinder
and attended Gordon-Conwell for is a member and past president of the Charlotte Estate Planning
two years before transferring to North Park Seminary where he Council and the Charlotte Association of Insurance and Financial
completed his Master of Divinity degree. He earned a Doctor of Advisors. He is also a Top of the Table member of the Million Dollar
Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell in 1999. Round Table.
Dr. Bolinder was ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church in Mr. Hinrichs serves on the Board of Advisors of Gordon-Conwell–
1976 and has pastored churches in that denomination in Illinois, Charlotte and Belk College of Business at the University of North
Michigan, Connecticut, California and Kansas. In 2000, he was Carolina-Charlotte. He is former President of Charlotte’s Habitat
installed as the founding superintendent of the Midsouth Confer- for Humanity, and is an elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church,
ence of the Evangelical Covenant Church. The purpose of this where he serves as Chairman of the Stewardship Committee. He
conference is to plant, nourish, and network vital churches in the and his wife, Evelyn, have two children and seven grandchildren.
five-state region of Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and New

Thomas Colatosti Assumes Leadership Gordon-Conwell Launches New M.Div.

of Gordon-Conwell Board
Thomas J. Colatosti was installed as Chair of
the Board of Trustees in May 2006, succeeding
Richard A. Armstrong, who served as Board
Chair for seven years.
Mr. Colatosti is CEO and founder of American
Security Ventures, a firm specializing in assist-
ing emerging and developing companies in the
Homeland Security industry with marketing,
operations, and merger and acquisition strate-
gies, and by providing private equity resources
to accelerate growth and enhance shareholder
value. Prior to starting ASV, he was President
and CEO of Viisage Technology, a leader in biometric face-recognition technol-
ogy and in the delivery of highly secure, high-quality identification documents
and systems. His career has also included leadership positions with Digital
Equipment Corporation.
Mr. Colatosti holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and
Finance, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Suffolk
University. He currently is on the Board of Directors for Vision New England, is
Chairperson of the Board of Elders at Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts,
and is a member of the Board of Advisors of Syracuse University. Mr. Colatosti
previously served as an Executive Council Member for the American Red Cross
of Massachusetts Bay and was a director of the National Center for Manufac-
turing Sciences. He is a Vietnam veteran, having served with the First Infantry
Division, and was decorated with the Army Commendation Medal, the Purple
Heart, and the Bronze Star.
He and his wife, Nancy, live in Lexington, Massachusetts, and have two sons.
Track for Anglican/Episcopal Students
Gordon-Conwell now offers a Master of Divinity track tai-
lored to the needs of Anglican and Episcopal students.
Barry H. Corey, Ph.D., Vice President for Education
and Academic Dean of the South Hamilton campus, said
the track “is designed to provide the next generation of lay
leaders and priests with an education that is both ortho-
dox and Anglican, and will prepare them to fill leadership
roles in North American and global Anglican/Episcopalian
parishes.
“The new concentration, woven into our existing
M.Div. degree program, meets the rigorous academic
standards for which Gordon-Conwell is known, while ap-
propriately training students for ministry in Episcopal and
Anglican parishes. We are making it available at our
three campuses in South Hamilton, Boston and Charlotte,
North Carolina, and we hope, in time, at our recently-
opened extension site in Jacksonville, Florida.”
The Anglican-Episcopal track plans to add six courses
that students can take by using allowable electives or
approved courses which fulfill degree requirements. Gor-
don-Conwell faculty members are currently completing
details related to these courses, which will be available
by Fall 2007. Students already enrolled in the program
are completing other degree requirements in advance of
the introduction of the new courses.
Exploration of a Gordon-Conwell academic option for
Anglican and Episcopal students began at the impetus
of alumni/ae in the Anglican Communion and other ortho-
dox clergy from parishes throughout the U.S.

w i nte r 06/07 35
 Joint Doctoral Program in Missiology Launching in Fall 2007
Gordon-Conwell and the Boston University School of Theology
are partnering to offer a joint Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) program
in Missiology, with the first students to be admitted for the fall
2007 semester.
The new program combines the Boston University School of
Theology’s broad academic resources as a mainline theological
institution with a respected, university-based doctoral degree; and
Gordon-Conwell’s recognized faculty, research facilities and world-
wide contacts as one of the largest evangelical seminaries in North
America. Not only is Boston University the largest private research
university in New England, it also has one of the largest international
student populations in the United States.
According to Barry H. Corey, Ph.D., Vice President for Education
and Academic Dean of Gordon-Conwell’s South Hamilton campus,
“While several evangelical schools have initiated such programs,
none offers a university-based research degree. The joint academic
program expands opportunities for students from around the world
to pursue excellent doctoral level study in a partnership between
an evangelical seminary and a research institution. It is the best of
both worlds.”
“Missiology provides an academic locus for the interdisciplin-
ary study of the mission of God and the Church,” says Timothy C.
Tennent, Ph.D., Professor of World Missions and Indian Studies
and Director of Missions Programs at Gordon-Conwell. “Employing
the methodologies of theology, anthropology, history, intercultural
relations and communications, missiologists address issues raised
at places where the Gospel encounters unbelief. The new program
promises to stimulate fresh thinking on the mission of the Church.”
The program’s core faculty, representing the disciplines of mis-
Pulpit Talk Features President White
Listen to a sermon and exclusive interview with President James Emery White in
the winter issue of PulpitTalk as he shares about “Preaching in Serious Times.”
This quarterly audiojournal gives preachers fresh insights into communicating
God’s Word. For only $19.95, you can order the complete volume (4 CD’s) by
visiting www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/cfp, emailing the Center for Preaching
at preaching@gcts.edu, or calling 978.646.4190.
36 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
sion history, missiology, evangelism, world religions and the social
sciences, draws from both schools. Students enrolled in the program
may take courses at the appropriate academic level from all faculty
at the two institutions, and have access to the libraries, specialized
centers and research facilities of both schools. Boston University is
the degree-granting institution.
Also available to doctoral students are the scholarly resources of all
the theological institutions in the Boston Theological Institute (BTI),
including those in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Strong
relationships the two partnering institutions have with the World Coun-
cil of Churches and the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
further extend resources for doctoral candidates.
“The new program is a unique and innovative model of mission
education that brings together the flexibility and entrepreneurial
vision of a leading freestanding multi-denominational seminary with
the institutional and academic depth of a university-based theologi-
cal school,” says Boston University School of Theology Dean Dr.
Ray Hart. “The two organizations have broad and complementary
strengths of significant value to missiology students in their prepara-
tion for leadership worldwide.”
Gordon-Conwell faculty serving as mentors for the new program
include Dr. Tennent; Peter Kuzmic, D. theol., Eva B. and Paul E.
Toms Distinguished Professor of World Missions and European
Studies; Robert E. Coleman, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of
Evangelism and Discipleship; David F. Wells, Ph.D., Andrew Mutch
Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology; Garth
M. Rosell, Ph.D., Professor of Church History; Moonjang Lee, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor of World Christianity; and Todd Johnson, Ph.D.,
Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity.
Boston University faculty mentors include Nancy T. Ammerman,
Ph.D., Professor of Sociology of Religion; John Berthrong, Ph.D.,
Associate Dean for Academic and Administrative Affairs, Associ-
ate Professor of Comparative Theology and Director, Institute for
Dialogue Among Religious Traditions; Chai-Sik Chung, Ph.D., Walter
G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics; Marthinus Daneel, Th.D.,
Professor of Missiology, and Dana L. Robert, Ph.D., Truman Col-
lins Professor of World Mission, both Co-Directors of the Center for
Global Christianity and Mission; and Bryan Stone, Ph.D., E. Stanley
Jones Professor of Evangelism
For information about enrollment, eligibility and an application, con-
tact the Boston University School of Theology at 617.353.3050.
P U L P I T TA L K
An audio journal on developing preaching excellence
Seminary Contingent Joins Lausanne Younger Leaders in Malaysia
When nearly 500 young men and women recently gathered in
Malaysia for the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG-06),
Gordon-Conwell was well represented.
Participating in the international missions event were student
Michelle Sanchez; alumna Wendy Der and Sandy Kim; Dr. Peter
Kuzmic, Paul E. and Eva B. Toms Distinguished Professor of World
Missions and European Studies; and Rev. Doug Birdsall, Director of
the seminary’s J. Christy Wilson Center for World Missions.
A strong Gordon-Conwell presence at Lausanne is nothing
new. The first congress was convened in 1974 by one of Gor-
don-Conwell’s founders, Rev. Billy Graham. The committee’s first
chairman was longtime seminary Trustee, Dr. Leighton Ford. Also
at that meeting were Distinguished Professor of Evangelism and
Discipleship, Dr. Robert Coleman; Dr. David Wells, Andrew Mutch
Distinguished Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology; Dr.
Kuzmic, and the late Dr. J Christy Wilson, Jr.
Dr. Kuzmic continued his long relationship with the Lausanne
movement with a keynote address this year entitled, “Ich bin ein
Lausanner.” He told the audience, “Lausanne ’74 changed my
life. It was at Lausanne that I learned that theology must serve the
Kingdom of God, or else it is a selfish, academic enterprise.”
Rev. Birdsall (’84), who currently serves as International Chair-
man of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, also
spoke in Malaysia, providing an overview of the Lausanne move-
New Outreach and Discipleship D. Min Track offered at Charlotte campus
Jesus’ final set of instructions, “Go and make disciples of all na-
tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20), remains as operative for his
21st Century followers as it was for his 1st Century followers. Yet the
challenges involved in fulfilling Christ’s words in today’s complex
world can overwhelm those in ministry, leading to ineffectiveness
and inaction.
Fully aware that theory without personal application is fruitless,
a new Gordon-Conwell Doctor of Ministry track, Outreach and
Discipleship, will help each person work through the practical impli-
cations of living in fulfillment of the Great Commission of Christ and
multiply such leadership. The basic topics of this track, scheduled
to begin in June 2007, will roughly follow the outline of the Great
Commission from Acts 1:8: “But you will receive power when the
Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusa-
Michael L. Colaneri
Assistant Director of Communications
ment. Birdsall himself attended the Younger Leaders event in 1987,
and recounts, “The gathering gave me a window on the world.
Although I was doing my little thing in my part of the world, I real-
ized I was part of something bigger.”
Current M.Div. student Michelle Sanchez relates that “the most
significant part of this experience for me was that the people at this
gathering are all people who, like me, are incredibly passionate
about seeing God’s Great Commission fulfilled in our generation.
It was so energizing and encouraging to be with so many kindred
spirits. In addition to the younger leaders, there were also scores of
older leaders who were there as mentors and teachers.”
Wendy Der (’05), Coordinator of Global Programs at the ser-
minary’s J Christy Wilson Center for World Missions, says, “it was
like a piece of heaven—worshiping with brothers and sisters from
all around the world, meeting believers from ‘restricted access’
countries ... hearing inspiring international speakers and meeting
regularly with my small group of women from Germany, Australia,
China, Japan, Thailand and South Africa.”
Gordon-Conwell looks forward to continued cooperation with the
Lausanne Committee, as we work toward “the whole church taking
the whole gospel to the whole world.”
lem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Dr. Robert Coleman, Distinguished Professor of Evangelism and
Discipleship and a mentor of this track notes, “Concentrating on
the pattern set by Jesus and His disciples, Christian leaders can
make sure that their own course of action fits into God’s overall plan
for the Great Commission, gaining His blessing and His power.
By bringing together the dynamics of evangelism, discipleship and
revival in the context of the Great Commission lifestyle, I believe
this track answers the greatest yearning for leadership in the
church today!”
Dr. David Currie, Director of the Doctor of Ministry program, will
also serve as a mentor for this track. Residencies will be held at the
Gordon-Conwell—Charlotte campus.
To learn more, contact the Doctor of Ministry office at
1.800.816.1837 or simply request a packet of information from
dmininfo@gcts.edu.
w i nte r 06/07 37
 Development Seminary Receives Major Lilly Endowment Grant
Update Gordon-Conwell has been awarded a
by Howard F. Freeman, $411,466 grant from the Lilly Endowment to
Chief Development Officer help fund the Ministry Center for Christian
Youth’s Compass program.
The opening of Luke 8 has always intrigued
Created in 2001, Compass is an in-
me as it relates to giving: “After this, Jesus
novative program that, in partnership with
traveled about from one town and village to
churches around the country, identifies
another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The
high school juniors with a passion for God
Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been
and a sense of calling. Selected students
cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdelene) from
experience 30 days with seminary staff and
whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza,
faculty in the wilderness, at the Gordon-
the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many oth-
Conwell Hamilton, Massachusetts campus
ers. These women were helping to support them out of their own
and on the mission field in Mexico. Each is mentored for four years
means” (vv. 1-3, NIV).
by a pastor or lay leader at the recommending church.
There is much more to be said about this than can be fit into
Suyeng Quant Diaz, Compass ‘04, plans to build schools in her
half a column here. However, let me point to one obvious aspect
native Nicaragua after college. She states, “This program for me has
and then make an invitation.
been an amazing and transforming experience at such a young age
Beyond the financial support that these followers provided–
in life. It has set my mind to obey God’s calling and to be a living
which is just as essential today as it was then–they came along-
sacrifice to him.”
side Jesus and the Twelve. They no doubt shared in the meals
“Most of us do not have anyone who acts as a coach or a
and laughter, the prayers and the tears. They also witnessed Jesus
confidant, and these students gain an outside voice to help them ex-
bringing many souls to himself. They were an integral part of the
amine their lives, their faith, and their future decisions,” says Kevin
success of the ministry through their presence and no doubt
Baird, youth pastor and Compass mentor for four years. “Compass
played a part in spreading the Good News themselves. What an
has reinforced my belief in the power of mentoring.”
awesome privilege!
The grant from Lilly was awarded to seminaries with programs like
Notice, too, that Mary–a direct beneficiary of the ministry–
Compass that have proven success in helping participants focus on
traveled with them. If you are an alumnus/a, our direct
ministry as a vocation. The grant monies will fund 50 percent of the
beneficiary, you also have a special role to play in the future
program’s annual budget for the next four years.
of Gordon-Conwell.
For more information, contact Julie Dillard, Compass Program
My invitation to you, then, is to come alongside us at Gordon-
Director, at 978.646.4167.
Conwell. Get involved beyond giving. For while we are grateful
for your treasures, we also want your hearts. We need your
prayers, and we need your perspective on how Gordon-Conwell
can serve the Church of Jesus Christ.

Join us along the way.

Want to get more involved? Call or email Howard Freeman at

978.646.4033 or hfreeman@gcts.edu.

Compass students during wilderness experience and missions outreach.

38 w i n t e r 06 /0 7
 CUME Returns to Roxbury Mark Your Calendar

Gordon-Conwell will dedicate its new Bos-

The Boston campus of Gordon-
ton campus headquarters during a two-day
Conwell Theological Seminary has
celebration April 28-29, 2007.
moved to a sparkling new
headquarters.
The event will celebrate God’s faithfulness to
CUME during its 30-year service to Boston’s
Following major renovation of a
urban communities, and honor Gordon-Con-
15,511 square foot building in the
well trustee, Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes, who
heart of Roxbury, Massachusetts,
played a major role in the campus’ founding
the Center for Urban Ministerial Ed-
and has faithfully supported its growth.
ucation (CUME) in 2006 relocated
from Jamiaca Plain to 90 Warren
A festive outdoor block celebration on Satur-
Street—a block from historic Twelfth
day, April 28, will include the dedication
Baptist Church where the campus
ceremony, music, refreshments and tours
opened in 1976.
of the new building. A convocation worship
service at Twelfth Baptist Church on Sunday,
The new facility has also been
April 29 will include a message by Gordon-
named The Michael E. Haynes Aca-
Conwell President Dr. James Emery White,
demic Building–Center for Urban
an audiovisual presentation on CUME, tes-
Ministerial Education (CUME), in
timonials from graduates, and inspirational
honor of longtime seminary trustee,
music. A reception will follow the service.
Rev. Dr. Michael E. Haynes, who
served for 53 years on the ministerial staff of Twelfth Baptist, including 40 years
For more information, call 617.427.7293,
as Senior Minister. Dr. Haynes was a leader in the development of CUME, and the
ext. 6213.
church has been a continuous site for classes since its founding.

The new building triples the space available to serve Hispanic/Latino, African Ameri-
can, Caribbean-American, Asian and other ethnic minority students preparing for
ministry in urban settings. New facilities include a significantly expanded urbanology
library and adjacent study room, a small prayer room, several classrooms, faculty
and staff offices, and a large seminar and conference room equipped for videocon-
ferences.

The new videoconferencing capability enables students to take classes from the
South Hamilton and Charlotte campuses, and for students from those locations to
enroll in urban ministry courses offered at CUME.

The seminary purchased the former Metlife

building in September of 2004, and has exten-
sively remodeled the interior. CUME was formerly
located in Jamaica Plain.

Annually, CUME serves more than 300 students,

preparing men and women in six languages
for careers as pastors, teachers, missionaries,
evangelists and urban street workers. Numer-
ous CUME graduates and current students are
serving in Boston churches. CUME has been
credited by the Emmanuel Gospel Center for its
significant role in Boston’s Quiet Revival.

w i nte r 06/07 39
 FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DEGREES I CAMPUS LOCATIONS I DISTANCE LEARNING: WWW.GORDONCONWELL.EDU

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 50243
Boston, MA 02130
130 Essex Street
South Hamilton, MA 01982

Address Service Requested

40 w i n t e r 06 /0 7