Covenant Magazine [Fall-Winter 2011]

COVENANT The magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary Fall 路 Winter 2011

fall · winter 2011

FROM THE PRESIDENT

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

— Revelation 21:22–27

FEATURES

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Place of Grace in the Story of Glory

Hope Amid the Ruins

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The Importance of Story

13 S TUDENT PROFILE:

A Tale of a Table and the God who Fights for His Children

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18 Covenant

Distinctive: Biblical Authority

19 Redemption

Through

Words

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What Good am I?

The Ministry of Presence

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27 ALUMNUS PROFILE: Mystics and Moralists 30 Faculty & Staff In Their Own Words 32 Alumni News

VOL. 26, NO. 2

Who doesn’t love a good story? The Bible is full of good ones. In fact, it is one amazing story from beginning to end, and it is the one in which all of our own personal stories are just a small—but never insignificant—part.

And the most amazing thing is that it’s all true!

How does your story fit into God’s larger ongoing one? In one sense, God’s story is already finished, completed through Christ’s redeeming work on the cross on our behalf—an historical event that changed the world, and us, forever. But there is another sense in which that story continues even now, and will continue until Christ comes again. Until then, God invites all believers to participate in his continuing story of the redemption of the world.

As Christians, we are meant to be living embodiments of the gospel. As we interact with others, we influence one another in ways that can, by God’s grace, have an eternal impact on their and our souls. This stunning thought ought to inspire us to share our stories more freely with one another—even the darker and less savory aspects of them—because the more we see how God has been and still is at work in our stories, the more we can help others see what he is doing in theirs. And the more we can do that, the more we can help them see the glory that awaits at the end of all stories, which is really the beginning of a new and even more exciting— and everlasting!—story.

In this issue of Covenant, we explore some of the implications of this idea as we see how the theology we profess is lived out by real people in a real world that is both devastated by sin and redeemed by grace.

This Christmas season many of us will tell and retell the story of the birth of our Savior, reliving again the wonder of that amazing but true tale. As we do so, let us also remember how important our own stories are and how God works in the details of them to bring about his purposes for all of creation. May we never cease to marvel at the wonder of his gospel story, at the place we have in it, and at the love of the God who allows—and invites!—us to be part of it with him.

Bryan Chapell, President

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The Place of Grace in the Story of Glory From stories rife with pain or shame—or worse—the Lord writes powerful epics that speak of the glory of the gospel.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

— 2 Corinthians 4:7–10

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n my role as president of Covenant Seminary, I travel frequently to preach at churches and speak at conferences across the country and around the world. One of the things I enjoy most about this part of my job—aside from the opportunity to share the gospel with others—is getting to meet many interesting people and hear their stories. Some of these stories are full of heartbreak and difficulty. Some are tinged with tragedy or sorrow.

But even amid such tales, I also find the subtle tints or bright hues of the gospel of grace as the joy and hope of knowing Jesus shines through darkness and despair. I am constantly amazed at the things God has done or is doing in the lives of the people I meet.

In a world broken by the fall, many stories do not have happy endings. When the gospel touches us, however—even when it does not change our circumstances or remove the obstacles or difficulties that trouble us—it transforms the way our stories ultimately end. We know the glory to which we are called. We have seen how God’s big story ends, and we can rejoice that we will be there in the throne room of heaven for the finale that will bring joy and peace forever to those who have been called by Christ.

But for now, in the time between Jesus’ first coming and his second, many of us struggle with the thorns and brambles and sometimes worse of life. We stumble along like John Bunyan’s Pilgrim, bound for the Celestial City but not quite there yet, in constant need of repentance and the Lord’s redeeming grace. Yet even as we move through this world of woe, we sometimes catch glimpses of the glory that creation was meant to have, we see

glimmers of the greatness to come in ourselves and in others, and we hunger and thirst for more of it.

For this reason, the sharing of our stories with one another is an important part of what it means to be a Christian. As our stories overlap and intertwine, we influence each other for Christ in ways we may not even be aware of—and the Lord uses these interactions to build up his Kingdom and to continue writing the amazing and true story that began with the creation of the world and will end with its rebirth into the new heavens and new earth.

As students come to Covenant Seminary to prepare for ministry, they learn far more than simply how to understand, interpret, and communicate the Bible, important as that is.

They learn—both individually and together—the importance of their own particular stories and how they fit into the larger gospel narrative. In their classroom studies, in their personal interactions with peers and professors, in the opportunities God provides for them to minister to others both “officially” as part of their seminary training and “unofficially” as part of daily life, the Lord works powerfully through their time here to root out sin, expose weaknesses, confront brokenness, and heal spiritual wounds that have festered for far too long. In the process of tearing down the barriers that so many of us put up to hide from ourselves and from others (and from him!), God builds up new creations in Christ, bit by glorious bit, as the gospel of grace works its way deeper and deeper into hearts transformed by the love of the One who gave his only Son that we might truly live.

As with the people I meet in other parts of the world, the stories our students and alumni tell of what the Lord has done in their lives during their time here speak volumes about the grace of God and the power of the gospel to bring light out of darkness, restoration out of brokenness, and joy out of sorrow. On the next few pages you’ll read snippets of a few of these stories.

May the Lord bless you through these stories, and may you see his grace working in you and in others as you share your own story with them.

DR. BRYAN CHAPELL Dr. Bryan Chapell is president and professor of practical theology at Covenant Theological Seminary and is much in demand as a preacher and teacher. He is the author of several books, including his most recent, The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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grew up in church and was raised spiritually by my mother. I knew that leadership and ministry were going to be in my future from a fairly young age.

Once I graduated college, I tried to do ministry as a side job so that I had the stability of a teaching job with the emotional fulfillment of a ministry job.

I realized that I was not focusing on my ministry enough and that part-time ministry work was not the way that God had designed me. I felt a calling to full-time ministry that was supported by members of the local church. My wife and I decided to come to seminary without knowing how we were going to pay for it or having any idea of what we would do afterwards. The process of coming to Seminary itself grew our faith tremendously, both through the sale of our house and the awarding of my scholarship. God has been showing us on a regular basis that we are here for his glory and that he is with us.

Whenever we have been low on money, he has provided a way without us asking the source that the money ended up coming from. The love and support of our home church has helped us grow in our understanding of the body of Christ. We are more thankful and faithful now than we ever would have been if we had decided to stay in our jobs and trust those to provide for us instead of the Lord.

— James Nichols (MDiv ’11) serves as pastoral intern of outreach and assimilation at Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church in Tampa, Florida. He hopes to plant a church within the next three to five years.

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ne of my weaknesses is my ability to reflect on what is going on inside of me, which affects my ability to relate with the Lord in an honest and open manner. My experience at Covenant Seminary has opened my eyes to this reality and has led me slowly to repent of the walls that I put up against the Lord.

— Joseph Choi (MDiv ’13) serves as the worship director and a church planter’s assistant at New Creation Presbyterian Church. After graduation he hopes to serve as an associate pastor.

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his might sound strange, but my marriage has greatly improved since we’ve been here. My husband and I have never struggled beyond normal issues—finances, family visits, etc.—but we have been greatly encouraged by the heavily corporate aspect of learning and ministry we’ve seen here. Sean attended some classes with me, and he found that he learned much from visiting Covenant Theology and a great deal from, of all things, Greek! He saw the pastoral care with which Dr. Perry instructed our class and his patience in answering questions no matter how seemingly small.

The lectures he heard encouraged Sean in his own work as a teacher. At home, we strive more intently to help each other in our vocations and to understand the other’s ambitions and calling. We are experiencing the effects of hospitality on our marriage as well. When people feel welcome in our home, we feel our marriage strengthened by that fellowship. The Holy Spirit is using Covenant Seminary, our church, our families, and the people we have met to sanctify us together, not individually.

— Michelle Higgins (MDiv ’13) currently serves as assistant worship leader at New City Fellowship in the South City neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.

She is also the songwriter for The Distribution, a gospel-funk band touring the southeast. Upon graduation, Michelle hopes to continue to serve in the worship arts ministry as well as mentor and encourage women and African-Americans in church leadership.

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he Lord has done a lot for me during my time at Covenant Seminary. My year before coming to seminary was a year of heartache and serial loss.

I had lost family members and several dear friends that year, one of whom was the man who had ministered to me as a college student, who had seen my conversion, who had prepared me for my internship and for seminary, and who had been a constant support as a brother, father-figure, friend, coworker, and co-laborer in Christ. . . . I only had acquaintances at Covenant, and I was suffering through many losses “all by myself.” Through the free counseling that Covenant offers students and through the community here, God graciously began to break down the barriers that I used to separate myself from other people in order to not get hurt. He showed me that people were trustworthy and that there were safe men and women on campus who only wanted to serve as brothers and sisters to me. He used this wonderful community to free me from struggles I was enslaved to and show me what healing is. And finally, God blessed me with my very best friend and husband, whom I met in classes, who was patient with me through all of my hurt and fear, and who has shown me more of Christ’s love than any other person in my life. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

— Sarah Viggiano Wright (MDiv/MAC ’12) wants to serve the Lord as a conference speaker/teacher and through hospitality ministry after graduation.

For the past four years, Sarah has worked at The Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, Missouri, as the college ministry coordinator. She currently works as a personal trainer and does event planning on the side.

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oon after my wife and I became Christians, we began leading a small group for unbelievers. We saw many come to Christ in our time of leadership. This led to my involvement in youth ministry, which soon led to a full-time position as a youth director in our church in Alexandria, Virginia. Through that experience and watching a few kids come to a deeper faith in Christ and live it out to this day, I felt called to come to Covenant Seminary to get formal pastoral, theological, and biblical training. Little did I know that coming here would be the beginning of the best friendships I have ever known. I have four friends here that challenge me, love me, and listen to me. Through God’s grace, these men have shaped the way in which I will pastor as much, if not more so, than the classes I have taken. We have wept over our sin together, affirmed each others gifts, and have been there for one another in times of deep need. Suffice it to say, when our time here is done, I will be in regular contact with each one of them. These are men that I desire to meet with once per year, if not more so depending on geography, so that we can continue to encourage one another long after our time here is complete.

— Justin Sembler (MDiv ’11) serves as pastor of First Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), Cedar Grove, Wisconsin.

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he most concrete event I can point to in my call to the ministry of counseling was when I found myself in need of counseling. I was blessed with an incredibly gifted counselor whose heart and mission was clearly centered on Christ. She was integral in revealing my mind-set of unbiblical self-love and selffocus. She was gracious and compassionate but fearless in speaking the truth into the situations I brought to her. I believe God used her not only to reveal those things in my life, but also to point me in the direction of counseling as a ministry calling. I feel very blessed by the way in which the Lord led me to this calling.

Though he took his time, he thereby gave me the blessing of certainty through opportunities to explore other areas of work and to encounter and engage with a wide variety of people. I believe I have come to see a bit more of the complexity of human nature, of living simultaneously in depravity and grace, and I have had the experience of witnessing what a true heart change looks like.

However, I have much more to learn. Covenant Seminary has been an incredible blessing, and I am convinced will be one of the most profound experiences of my life.

— Lindsey De Jong (MAC ’12) is currently a counseling intern at BJC Behavioral Health. She also works part time at a retirement community, where she enjoys ministering to the elderly. Lindsey plans to pursue an LPC certification in the state of Missouri.

Covenant Seminary’s Counseling Program Helps Students and Others Understand Their Stories Though Covenant Seminary’s primary purpose is training pastors to minister the gospel, a strong secondary emphasis is on preparing Christian counselors whose biblical perspective can help people sort through the sometimes confusing details of their personal stories to get at the truth of who they really are in Christ. Many of our Master of Divinity (MDiv) students choose to add a Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) degree to their spiritual toolbox so that they can be better prepared to serve God’s people.

The MAC program is recognized by the Missouri Committee for Professional Counselors and uniquely prepares students to serve as counselors in church-related contexts.

It also provides excellent preparation for students planning on advanced graduate study, state licensure, and work in other counseling agencies. Rather than either dehumanizing or deifying human beings, the Seminary’s counseling program seeks to train students to see every human being as a person made in the image of God, yet affected by the Fall—living both in dignity and depravity. With this scriptural perspective as a foundation and framework, students are equipped to demonstrate God’s grace and to help hurting people grow and change. The curriculum does more than just provide theory and practice; it helps students to discern what is true and apply that discernment to the counseling setting.

Learn more at www.covenantseminary.edu/academics/ degreeprograms.

Free counseling is available at Covenant Seminary for students and members of the community. This service is provided by MAC students who are in the internship portion of their degree program, under the supervision of counseling faculty, and is offered from June through May of each year. Call the Counseling Center at 314.434.4044, ext. 4240, for details or to arrange an appointment.

Other Resources to Help You Understand Your Story Check out these books by Covenant Seminary faculty: Being Human, by Jerram Barrs and Ranald Macauley The Promises of Grace, by Bryan Chapell Perfecting Ourselves to Death, by Richard Winter The Roots of Sorrow, by Richard Winter To find more helpful resources, visit www.resourcesforlifeonline.com.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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Amid the Ruins God is impacting lives in tsunami-devastated Japan through the redirected church-planting efforts of a Covenant Seminary graduate.

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n May 2011, Rev. Seima Aoyagi (MDiv ’08) was talking with a survivor of Japan’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in the northern province of Tohoku. The conversation happened during one of the weekly trips Grace City Church Tokyo (GCCT) makes to Tohoku to deliver meals and relief to survivors. In this particular conversation, Seima asked the man about what worries him. His answer was telling: “What worries me most is that we will be lost, forgotten by the world, even by Japan,” the man shared.

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Seima believes these concerns were well founded and that even two months after a disaster that has killed more than 23,000 people, left more than 110,000 homeless, and caused the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, Tokyo was beginning to leave behind its countrymen to the north. “Economic competition is so strong; Tokyo is moving on,” he says.

That conversation made Seima think. “I was very convinced that if God is the God who comes to his people and says, ‘Do not be afraid; I will be with you,’ and shows his love this way, I want to explain to the survivors that we will be with them for a year, two years, three years, even for five years,” Seima shares. “We will come back again and again until the time when we will finally be able to say, ‘Look how far we came together.’ ”

“What worries me most is that we will be lost, forgotten by the world, even by Japan.”

Our Ways are Not His Ways

Since March, Seima has led GCCT’s relief efforts in Tohoku, specifically to the Kogenehama neighborhood in the city of Ishinomaki.

Seima’s work began with simply bringing food and water to residents.

Soon, however, he realized that the survivors needed something more substantial. They needed a place to rest, catch their breath, and begin to process what they had endured. GCCT started staging a soup kitchen with an outdoor dining area so that people could connect with each other. The soup kitchen idea grew to include live music and the occasional event for children—anything to help residents rebuild a sense of dignity and forget about the tsunami, even for a moment. “We tried to help them recover the humane lifestyle,” Seima says. “I was made to rethink what makes human beings humane and what it means to be created in God’s image.”

Though his relief efforts through GCCT are having an impact on many lives, this kind of work was not exactly what Seima had in mind when he and his family returned to his native Japan. Seima originally wanted to plant churches, but the Lord apparently had other plans for him. The road to his present ministry took some interesting turns. Like roughly 98 percent of Japan, Seima grew up in a non-Christian home. In his testimony on his family blog, he says that he had never met a Christian until he was 17, and, even then, he was convinced his Christian friend was brainwashed and that by finding the Bible’s errors he could help her.

What he discovered instead was the truth of the Bible and the sense that Christianity could satisfy his deepest longings for acceptance. The joy of trusting Christ as his savior filled Seima with a desire to spend his life sharing the gospel with others. He says he remembers praying, “Lord, make me an overseas missionary.”

After college Seima started working with Mission to the World’s college ministry in Japan. Seven years later, he sensed that he needed formal theological training, and the Lord opened the door for his family to move to St. Louis to study at Covenant Seminary. “It was hard in many ways for our family to leave our home,” Seima wrote on his blog.

“But at the same time, we felt that it is our privilege to get such rich theological training. As I expected, God has used this time to transform me. He has shown how my ministry motivation has been self-centered and yet how graciously God has used me and will use me.”

After graduating from Covenant in 2008, Seima and his family spent two years in San Diego where he worked as a church-planting intern for Harbor Presbyterian Church. Though he once prayed that the Lord would make him an overseas missionary, Seima knew that his true calling was to his own people in Japan, a country that the Joshua Project (a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups with the least followers of Jesus Christ) considers one of the least reached.

Of course Seima’s original plan for church planting in Japan did not include disaster relief. He expected to work with GCCT, a church plant in the Redeemer City to City movement that began in 2010, and prepare to plant one of the three churches GCCT hopes to start by 2014.

“My role was to be part of the church plant and help them to get going as I prepare myself for the second church plant,” Seima explains.

Seima brought his wife, Naoko, and four children back to Japan in January 2011 and spent the month of February living with his parents while he looked for an apartment in Tokyo. “I was preparing for restful transition time followed by research time and getting to know the church people to prepare for the second church plant,” he says. www.covenantseminary.edu

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2011 TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE FAST FACTS1: •

One of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.

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Triggered the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years.

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Was followed by more than 800 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater.

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Shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of 4 to 10 inches.

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The overall cost of the damage could exceed $300 billion, making it the most expensive natural disaster on record.

“That was my plan.” He signed a contract for an apartment in Tokyo on March 9, just two days before the tsunami.

Though he does not spend his days researching and planning for a second church, Seima still sees the work in Tohoku (six hours north of Tokyo) as intimately connected with church planting. “The relief work broadened our network; I have gotten to know people faster than I ever thought. I have met a lot of non-Christians with whom I would never be connected unless the earthquake and tsunami happened,” he says.

GCCT is too small to continue the relief work on its own, so non-Christians in Tokyo are eager to partner with the church to help.

“It is good to ask questions like, ‘Do you care about what we care about?’ rather than ‘Do you believe what we believe?’ It has been a great blessing for us to get connected to locals in Tokyo,” Seima says.

Sitting With Survivors in Their Stories

For members of GCCT and those who help them, the first order of business up north has been to listen to survivors share their stories of loss and heartache. Although the Japanese are traditionally stoic in their expressions of grief, the magnitude of the tsunami has washed away hard facades. “People were not so open at the initial stage,” Seima explains.

“They were very reserved, but I saw them grieving.”

Seima was surprised when one woman shared with him, rather unemotionally, that she lost her three sons in the tsunami. Her sons were roughly the same ages as Seima’s sons. But when the woman was reunited with some relatives a few minutes later and had to inform them of her loss, Seima says she began to wail in grief while her relatives screamed in horror and disbelief at the news. “That was a very un-Japanese response,” he says. “That made me realize the strong grief they were going through.”

Another woman who frequented the soup kitchen took the initiative to share with Seima that she had lost her house and several family members in the tsunami. Even three months after the storm, the woman says she could not return to her home because she remembered the screams she heard through the night as the water rose about her. “She couldn’t go back to that,” Seima says.

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Because GCCT has sent supplies and workers every week and spent time listening to the residents, community members in Tohoku have begun to show them hospitality, even from their meager resources. One night Seima was invited to dinner with 10 to 15 community leaders, and he had the opportunity to share with them that GCCT would continue coming back to the area for years to come. Seima says he explained to the leaders that although his group was from a church, the group was there to serve and love the community, not just to evangelize. “I said to them, ‘If you know how we can better serve you, please let us know,’ ” he says. “That conversation really united us. They really appreciated our attitude and what we said. We really feel like we are building this community together.”

Seima says that as the church assists in rebuilding the community, he wants to leave the community with something much better than just new houses. “I think an established church would be the greatest gift we could give to them,” he shares.

Indeed, Seima sees the work in Tohoku as nothing short of church planting, and he believes the relationships that the church members have developed will bring forth fruit. “It appears that we are just doing this relief work, but in reality it is a matter of perspective on how you’re viewing the relief work,” Seima says. “I like to say that we are building a church in Tohoku, and through that we are building a church in Tokyo.”

Despite his change of focus, Seima feels that his time at Covenant Seminary prepared him well to face the challenges he now finds before him. He believes God will use the feeding, listening, and loving that Seima and others like him provide to bring about heart change. It might not be the kind of mission work he expected when he felt the Lord calling him back to Japan, but he knows the Lord is using him nonetheless.

“When you commit yourself to Kingdom work, the Kingdom expands beyond your imagination and outside your calculations, “ Seima reflects.

“I am excited for how God is going to bring this church planting vision in Tokyo to be in place in his time.”

Seima says GCCT always needs workers to come to Japan to help, but he also covets the prayers of his brothers and sisters around the world. “Pray that God really opens up people’s hearts. We can give people time together and food and supplies, but the gospel is something that only God can bring.”

MEGAN FOWLER Megan Fowler is a freelance writer based in St. Louis. She loves to share stories of real people doing extraordinary things for the Kingdom in everyday situations.

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Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami and http://www.infoplease.com/science/

weather/japan-tsunami-2011.html

In March 2011, Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said, “I think that the earthquake, tsunami, and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the war. If the nation works together, we will overcome.” Hope and healing is slowly returning to some of the survivors through efforts of people like Covenant Seminary alumnus Seima Aoyagi (pictured below), who is committed to long-term relief work and investing in relationships as part of his refocused church planting efforts.

“It is good to ask questions like, ‘Do you care about what we care about?’ rather than ‘Do you believe what we believe?’”

—Seima Aoyagi on the church’s need to partner with non-Christians for long-term relief work

www.covenantseminary.edu

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The greatest stories not only entertain and enlighten us, but also teach us something about who we are—and how we fit into God’s True Story of a redeemed creation.

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n his Word God has told us a story, the true story of who he is, who we are, why we are here in this world he made for us, where we have gone wrong and, above all, what he has done in the coming of his Son to set everything right. This story that the Bible tells is the most wonderful story imaginable because it is the true history of our situation, and, though we most certainly do not deserve such an ending, this story has an ending full of joy. We will indeed “live happily ever after.”

Each of our personal stories is a part of this big story that God has made known to us. Our calling in this world is to live our days seeking to join in the true story of the Lord’s purposes for us. As we go about our

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daily tasks, one question we need constantly to ask ourselves is: “Am I living today in God’s story, or am I living in another story that is not the right story but a false story?” For example: if I spend my days living to please myself or seeking personal happiness by doing whatever I wish, then I am living the false story that is our culture’s primary alternative to the true story. This true story calls me to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness; it calls me to have the mind of Christ and so spend my days thinking more highly of others than I do of myself and my desires.

We are to raise our children to delight in the true story of God’s good creation, of our rebellion, and of Christ’s coming into this world to deliver us. There are many ways in which parents are to be obedient to this task. We pray that the Lord will write the true story on our children’s and grandchildren’s hearts. We tell them the story over and over

again. We seek to live as examples of the story. We tell them our own stories, the stories of how the Lord has been at work in our lives and in the lives of family members and friends. My wife, Vicki, and I love to tell the stories of her mother and father and the beauty of the way their lives conformed to God’s story.

Additionally we tell and read other stories to our children and grandchildren; some of these may be true stories and others are made-up.

One of the lovely things about being human is that God has made us in his image, made us like himself in all kinds of ways. One of these ways we are like our Creator is that we are storytellers; we use our imaginations to make stories. In his famous essay “On Fairy Stories” author J. R. R. Tolkien wrote: “Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”

If you watch small children at play you will observe that the creation of fantasy is at the heart of all their games. A child will take things such as family pets, stuffed animals, dolls, action figures, toy machines, LEGO® pieces, and building blocks and make a new world in his or her imagination, a world in which inanimate objects come to life and animals (real or manufactured) become human. One of the key elements of all such play is that children have dominion over this world that is coming into existence in their play. The child is the ruler of the story that he or she creates and of all the creatures in that world. The child decides on names, actions, and outcomes. Such fantasy play, such storymaking, is essential in child development because being a sub-creator is at the heart of being human.

We should notice too, that children are completely capable of distinguishing between “the real world” and the world of their making.

Children are capable, of course, of literary belief, when the storymaker’s art is good enough to produce it. That state of mind has been called “willing suspension of disbelief.” But this does not seem to me a good description of what happens. What really happens is that the story-maker proves a successful “subcreator.”

He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is “true”: it accords with the laws of that world.

You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside.

—Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories”

The story world has its own reality, its own rules, its own “truth.” At the same time, the child knows that the world of the story being read or told or the story the child is creating for the imaginary world of play is not reality itself.

Yet, even though children know that stories read to them or that they create for their play are not reality, they are not unrelated to the real world; rather, stories provide all kinds of means of thinking about this world and our life in it and about understanding the true story more deeply. This is so with all good stories, whether they are written by believers or by unbelievers. (For more on this topic, see my essay “Children’s Books by Christian and Non-Christian Authors” online at www.resourcesforlifeonline.com; search for “children’s book list”).

Great stories even contain within them an echo of the gospel of redemption. Again, this is so with stories written by both believers and

unbelievers. The Runaway Bunny, by Margaret Wise Brown, is a lovely example of this. At first sight this classic book is a simple and clearly told story which is comforting and holds out to the child hearing or reading it a whimsical account of the stability and security of love. It is also a highly imaginative reflection on a child’s longing to fantasize about life and to explore our inner and outer world.

The mother encourages the bunny’s creativity. She does not try to rationalize the anxiety the young one feels; she allows him to express himself with patience and encouragement. It has the recurring theme of the mother’s enduring love and faithful following of her wandering child.

The child’s rebellion is pictured in black-and-white line drawings, whilst the mother’s pursuit is pictured with vividly colorful paintings. This is a book that is simple enough to be read to young babies—and profound enough to give pleasure at deeper levels throughout one’s life. My colleague David Calhoun, professor emeritus of church history, once read The Runaway Bunny as a devotional at a weekly faculty meeting; and this book is used in the crowning moment of the excellent film Wit, a story of an academic dying of incurable cancer who is played with remarkable power by Emma Thompson.

Another example is Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.

This beautiful book is one of the clearest stories of redemption, renewal, reconciliation, and deliverance from evil that one could ever find, and it is consequently filled with echoes of the gospel that fill the reader and listener with gladness. Tolkien has written about this element of eucatastrophe (the good ending) in “On Fairy Stories;” but what he writes is true of all great stories, including those our own children create in their daily play.

The consolation of fairy-stories, the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous “turn” (for there is no true end to any fairytale): this joy, which is one of the things which fairy-stories can produce supremely well, is not essentially “escapist,” nor “fugitive.” In its fairytale—or otherworld—setting, it is a sudden and miraculous grace: never to be counted on to recur. It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief. The peculiar quality of the “joy” in successful fantasy can then be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is … a “consolation” for the sorrow of this world … But in the “eucatastrophe” we see in a brief vision that the answer may be greater—it may be a faroff gleam or echo of evangelium in the real world.

This holiday season, I urge you to read the gospel story to yourself and to your family and friends—and to read many other stories as well that echo its joy and hope.

JERRAM BARRS Jerram Barrs is professor of Christian studies and contemporary culture and resident scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute at Covenant Seminary. In addition to courses on apologetics and cultural engagement, he loves to teach on how the gospel interacts with and informs our understanding of the arts. He is the author of several books, including The Heart of Evangelism, The Heart of Prayer, and most recently, Through His Eyes: God’s Perspective on Women in the Bible.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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Book List for Children These are books I read to our sons, and/or which I or they read as children or teens. A few are more recently published books that I am discovering for myself, for our sons, and for our grandchildren. I love to read good children’s books because some of the most creative writing and illustrating is done for children. The test of a well-written book is whether it is a pleasure to read it aloud. All children are different, and this is good—one may be ready to hear The Chronicles of Narnia at 3, another not until 6 or 7, so don’t be bothered by this. Especially with young children, try to find editions with good illustrations. Also, all children like the rhymes, rhythms, and sounds of verse. Make reading to them a habit at an early age and they will learn to love to read themselves. Many good books have filmed versions; a movie or TV series may be a helpful way to introduce children to a new level of literature. I have omitted many delightful books like those by Dr. Seuss with which most people are familiar. Happy reading!

Richard Adams

Lloyd Alexander

Shardik Watership Down The Black Cauldron The Book of Three

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

H. F. Brinsmead

Pastures of the Blue Crane

Margaret Wise Brown

John Bunyan

Goodnight Moon The Runaway Bunny

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Little Lord Fauntleroy A Little Princess The Lost Prince The Secret Garden

Nick Butterworth

Percy’s Bumpy Ride The Treasure Hunt

Lewis Carroll

Alice in Wonderland Through the Looking Glass Jabberwocky and Other Poems

Collections

The Adventures of Robin Hood Aesop’s Fables Tales from the Arabian Nights Tales of King Arthur and His Knights

Concordia Publishing

Arch® Book Series

Pilgrim’s Progress

Sara & Stephen Corrin, Eds. Stories for Under-Five-Year-Olds Richmal Crompton

Just William Series

Roald Dahl

Meindert DeJong

Julia Donaldson

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Danny the Champion of the World George’s Marvelous Medicine Matilda

B. B.

The Wizard of Boland

Enid Bagnold

National Velvet

R. M. Ballantyne

The Coral Island

Owen Barfield

The Silver Trumpet

J. M. Barrie

Peter Pan

R. D. Blackmore

Lorna Doone

Quentin Blake

Clown Nursery Rhyme Book

Jacquie Durrell

Beasts in my Bed

Michael Bond

A Bear Called Paddington

Gerald Durrell

The Bafut Beagles My Family and Other Animals

Jan Brett

Annie and the Wild Animals Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury Trouble with Trolls The Twelve Days of Christmas The Umbrella

J. Meade Falkner

Moonfleet

Alan Garner

Elidor

Fred Gipson

Old Yeller

10 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

Dirks’ Dog, Bello The Easter Cat The House of Sixty Fathers The Wheel on the School The Gruffalo The Gruffalo’s Child

Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows

Madeleine L’Engle cont.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet

Roger Lancelyn Green

Myths of the Norsemen The Tale of Troy Tales of Ancient Egypt

C. S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia

Arnold Lobel

Frog and Toad Are Friends Mouse Tales

The Brothers Grimm

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Kevin Henkes

Jane Hissey

Chrysanthemum Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse

George MacDonald

Michelle Magorian

The Gifts of the Child Christ (2-volume set) The Princess and Curdie The Princess and the Goblin

Anne Holm

The Hostage I Am David

Captain Marryat

Children of the New Forest

William Horwood

Duncton Wood

John Masefield

The Box of Delights The Midnight Folk

Shirley Hughes

Ted Hughes

Alfie Gives a Hand The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook

A. A. Milne

The House at Pooh Corner When We Were Very Young Now We Are Six

Thomas Hughes

Tom Brown’s School Days

Norman Hunter

Count Bakwerdz on the Carpet

Michael Morpurgo

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips The Butterfly Lion Kensuke’s Kingdom Waiting for Anya

Brian Jacques

The Bellmaker Lord Brocktree Mossflower

Mother Goose

Nursery Rhymes

Tove Jansson

Moominland Midwinter Moominsummer Madness

Jill Murphy

The Large Family Books: Five Minutes Peace; Mr. Large in Charge; All in One Piece; A Piece of Cake; A Quiet Night In

Judith Kerr

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

Edith Nesbitt

Five Children and It The Railway Children The Story of the Treasure Seekers

Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book The Second Jungle Book Just So Stories

Mary Norton

The Borrowers

Scott O’Dell

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Charles and Mary Lamb

Tales from Shakespeare Baroness Orczy

The Scarlet Pimpernel

Andrew Lang

The Blue Fairy Book The Violet Fairy Book

Jean Lee Latham

Carry On Mr. Bowditch

Christopher Paolini

Eragon Eldest Brisinger

Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat

Ursula Le Guin

A Wizard of Earthsea

Bread and Roses, Too The Bridge to Terabithia The Day of the Pelican The Great Gilly Hopkins

Madeleine L’Engle

A Wrinkle in Time A Wind in the Door

Katherine Paterson

Beatrix Potter

Old Bear Tales

Goodnight, Mr. Tom

How the Whale Became and Other Stories

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

www.covenantseminary.edu

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Book List for Children, Continued Beatrix Potter cont.

Arthur Ransome

The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck The Tale of Peter Rabbit Old Peter’s Russian Tales Swallows and Amazons

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings The Yearling Wilson Rawls

Where the Red Fern Grows

Mary Rayner

Garth Pig and the Icecream Lady

Margaret and H. A. Rey

The Complete Adventures of Curious George

Patricia St. John

Ian Seraillier

The Mystery of Pheasant Cottage The Runaway Star of Light The Tanglewoods’ Secret Treasures of the Snow Twice Freed

Anna Sewell

Black Beauty

Robert Siegel

Alpha Centauri

Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree Lafcadio, the Lion who Shot Back Where the Sidewalk Ends

Barbara Sleigh

Noel Streatfeild

Theater Shoes

Thursday’s Child

White Boots

Rosemary Sutcliff

The Eagle of the Ninth

The Rider of the White Horse

Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels

Barbara Euphan Todd

Worzel Gummidge

J. R. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings

The Silmarillion

Farmer Giles of Ham

Letters from Father Christmas

Roverandom

Henry Treece

The Road to Miklagard

Viking’s Dawn

A. Rutgers van Loeff

Children of the Oregon Trail

Catherine Vos

Children’s Story Bible

E. B. White

Charlotte’s Web

Stuart Little

The Trumpet of the Swan

John White

The Tower of Geburah

T. H. White

Mistress Masham’s Repose

The Sword in the Stone

Carbonel

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Little House on the Prairie and the series

Dick King-Smith

The Fox Busters The Mouse Butcher A Mouse Called Wolf The Sheep-Pig The Water Horse

Margery Williams

The Velveteen Rabbit

Henry Williamson

Tarka the Otter

Johann David Wyss

The Swiss Family Robinson

Elizabeth George Speare

Robert Louis Stevenson

The Bronze Bow The Witch of Blackbird Pond

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The Silver Sword There’s No Escape

The Black Arrow Kidnapped Treasure Island

For an annotated book list as well as a specific book list for teenagers, please visit our resource website www.resourcesforlifeonline.com and search for “children’s book list.” On the annotated book list, Jerram suggests particular versions of stories and offers many personal thoughts and other suggestions related to the books.

STUDENT PROFILE

“You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.”

—Deuteronomy 3:22

A

s I sit with Ben and Emily* around their kitchen table while they laugh and joke together, I’m amazed. Over the course of two years, I’ve witnessed God’s grace and power drag these two back from the cliff of divorce. Not long ago, there were only tears as we sat at the same table wondering how their marriage could make it and if there was any chance of them finishing their degrees at the Seminary.

Finding the Truth in Our Stories

I’ve often heard people say, “Whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” I disagree. Wounds that come from our stories—our family of origin and our life surrounding it—have the power to inflict injury on our hearts and minds. They can and do teach us lies about God, ourselves, and others. These all need to be brought before the Savior so that healing can begin, walls can be broken down, and the truth can replace the embedded lies.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job as the Seminary’s director of Student Life involves meeting with nearly every incoming male MDiv student—including their wives when possible. That’s how I met Ben and Emily. Students come here to prepare for a lifetime of ministry, but, as is the case with this couple, what often obstructs this “lifetime” pursuit is individuals themselves, their stories. My own story nearly took me out of the battle and ultimately led me here to get my counseling degree.

I have a passion for hearing people’s stories and helping them discover how their pasts shape their present reality and how this may impact their future ministries in potentially negative ways. My hope is that Covenant is a place where it is okay to be broken.

In meeting with students, I find that many feel concerned about the idea of exploring their stories. I assure them that we only go backward so that we might move forward in our walks with Christ and others. We are not victims, nor are we pawns. God has ordained our personal stories.

Through honesty and willingness to explore the depths of our depravity, we invite Jesus to shine his healing light on these dark places. Like the Whac-A-Mole carnival game, issues will keep popping up no matter how hard we work to keep them down. This is where Ben and Emily found themselves just two short years ago. www.covenantseminary.edu

13

The Pain of Unpleasant Plot Twists

“I’m not coming home until you set up a counseling appointment for us,” Emily told Ben firmly. She was in Louisiana, and Ben was at their seminary apartment. The chaos began two weeks earlier when a creditor who had been trying to track down Ben for a year got hold of Emily instead.

The man on the phone said, “Your husband has $11,000 on this credit card and has defaulted on his payments.” Certain it was a mistake, Emily texted Ben at work and got the reply, “I’ll fix it.”

The following day, after a weekly Covenant Group meeting (small groups that meet to process life and encourage one another), Ben told the men he needed to tell his wife the truth about the credit card. We prayed, and Ben went home to tell Emily that the card was indeed his.

When I called later that day, he asked me to come speak with them. We sat around their kitchen table, and through her tears Emily talked about feeling betrayed and angry. “He’s been lying to me all this time,” she said with disbelief. With the truth supposedly disclosed, she was hopeful about moving forward.

That same day, Emily called the creditor and asked for a detailed printout of everything bought on the credit card that Ben had hidden from her for nearly four years. What she found out two weeks later nearly took her breath away. Ben had not given Emily the full truth as to what he had used the card for. She could stomach money spent on alcohol, movies, and eating out, but the charges she saw for pornography sent her into a tailspin.

For the first 29 years of his life—and after 6 years of working in youth ministry—Ben had no categories for emotions. He had been raised to be very independent and had learned to shut down anything he felt. As he grew older, instead of dealing with emotions directly Ben

14 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

chose to lose himself in alcohol, pornography, food, and buying things.

His life was spiraling out of control, but he didn’t know of any other way to make it work. As a husband, he took into his marriage these same ways of coping. For their first five years of marriage, Emily tried to elicit any emotional response from Ben, but to no avail. He was, as Emily says, “emotionally impenetrable,” and Emily bore the burden of paying for his inability to let her in on what was happening to him internally.

While growing up, Emily continually struggled with body image issues and her perception of feminine beauty due to the family environment in which she lived. She felt lost and defective as a woman.

Emily met Ben while they both worked at Ridge Haven, the PCA conference center. Ben was different; she felt safe with him and that he was someone she could trust. Ben, who was smitten with Emily, didn’t want her to compare him to men who did not honor women appropriately. However, he feared that Emily would leave if he disclosed his struggles and opened himself fully to her. With secrets intact, they eventually married. “I didn’t believe in safety in marriage or any other relationship due to the fear of rejection and criticism,” Ben confesses. As a pastor’s kid who grew up feeling like he had to be perfect so that his dad could keep his job, Ben felt constrained by the need to have the appearance of a perfect life. Ultimately Emily wanted more of her husband—faults and all; but Ben plunged deeper into hiding. Their stories created a perfect storm for their marriage.

The day after she saw the credit card charges, seven-monthspregnant Emily packed up their three-year-old daughter as if she was taking her to school. Later that day, Ben called me in a state of shock and said, “Emily left.” When I arrived, I saw Ben reading the note Emily left him stating that she and their daughter were headed to Louisiana to

stay with a friend. She couldn’t take the chaos any longer and had to get away. Emily cried during the entire 12-hour drive, hoping Ben would call and ask her to come home. He didn’t. He felt like a failure and that he deserved for Emily to leave.

The next day Emily called with the mandate that they needed to see a counselor if she was going to come back. She returned home to Ben two days later. Through the shepherding ministry of their church, which also provided funds to assist with counseling, and through the accountability of others at the Seminary walking with them in their struggles, the couple was able to begin their story of restoration. That story continues today. “Early on you told us that God was fighting for us,” Emily recalls. “I believe he was fighting for us in having the credit card issue come out.”

As they encountered their own stories, Ben and Emily began to see how their pasts daily impacted their present reality. What motivates them to share all this? “I want people to relate to some of the ugliness of our story,” Ben says. “Also, I see how healthy it is to get our story out there so that people might see the power of the gospel at work.”

As she reflects on their journey, Emily says, “It has all been worth it.

Ben wounded me deeply, and it has let me see a category of forgiveness that I’d never seen before. I always felt like Ben was the problem, and as soon as he could get his act together, we’d be fine. Yet, this process has shown me how I have contributed to the mess as well.”

This song was written by Emily’s close friend as an expression of the pain Emily experienced during this rough time in her marriage.

BETTER OFF ALONE You take to the bottle, you take to the road

Grace and Growth Amid the Pain

Students get a tremendous theological education at Covenant Seminary, no doubt. Yet, so much of their training to become ministry leaders happens outside the classroom—in their hearts, marriages, and relationships.

The Lord often uses the struggles and challenges they face in these areas to strengthen them and make them better able to minister his grace.

Ben and Emily’s powerful story of redemption enables them to look at the future with hope instead of despair. As we sit at the kitchen table where deceit and betrayal were first revealed, Emily says, “I still have fears—some of them irrational—as well as insecurities from my past that I project on Ben, but I now see these and am able to talk to him about them.”

Ben has had a similar experience. “I find myself in the same patterns and wanting to shut down, but the gospel is freeing me to be broken before Emily as well as other men.”

I pray that every student at Covenant Seminary has the opportunity to become more of who God has designed them to be. As we confront the pain in our own stories through the filter of the gospel, we find the freedom to go on, to find hope—and to bring the word of hope to others who are just as broken as us.

MARK MCELMURRY (MAC ’09) Before coming to Covenant Seminary, Mark was in vocational ministry with The Navigators for 12 years.

During a sabbatical where he processed his life and sought restoration, Mark dealt with struggles relating to abuse in his past, depression, and sexual brokenness. This enriching time allowed him to see how significantly the stories of our pasts affect our present and future—and how the grace of the God who fights for us can work amazing changes in us. Mark has been married to his amazing wife, Tracey, for nineteen years and has three very fun kids. They love spending time together at a lake and being outside in God’s creation.

Take to doing things, that nobody knows Take to telling tales ‘bout your misfortunate woes Am I better off alone?

I am not your pedal, I push back dirty and mean I jump right in that car, drive down to New Orleans I’ll keep up the trying, while you bend deceitful bones Am I better off alone?

I live in broad brush marks just to paint you a view Of all our love could be if you’d love anyone but you My hands are cramped from grasping this image on my own Am I better off alone?

I’ve gathered all my dreams up and packed them in a bag It’s sitting in the corner by the laundry and the rags One day maybe I’ll dust ’em off, hang them ’round my home But now they’re better off alone... ©

Karen Choi, 2011

This is the true story of the Lord’s work in the lives of a real Covenant Seminary couple, whose names have been changed in this article. *

www.covenantseminary.edu

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What does Covenant Seminary do?

Whom does it impact?

Why should I consider supporting it?

P

erhaps you have asked questions like these? In my role at the Seminary, I provide answers to such questions weekly, and at the heart of my response is this: Covenant Seminary is about training future pastors and other leaders for Christ’s church. It is a ministry that blesses generations upon generations. Our goal is to ensure that the church continues to thrive under the shepherding of well-equipped leaders.

At the heart of the Christian faith is a commitment to discipleship—to passing on to others what you have learned so that they are equipped to disciple others. Christ modeled this as he trained 12 men who then trained countless more, who changed the world with the power of the gospel. Likewise, Covenant Seminary’s mission is to continue this cycle of equipping disciples and developing new leaders whose ministries have an ever-growing impact for the sake of the gospel.

Each year, the Lord brings dozens of students to our campus to prepare them for his Kingdom work. Many have left homes, jobs, family, friends, and financial stability to invest themselves in such preparation. Your prayerful and financial support of Covenant Seminary—especially in this challenging economic climate—is an investment in these students, in their future ministries, and in the many others who will be influenced by them.

And so, my simple answer to questions about the Seminary is: We’re here to prepare church leaders to minister the gospel to you, to your children and grandchildren, and to those who will come after them—and we need your generous financial assistance to do that well. Your partnership with us in this mission has a tremendous impact now and for eternity.

For more information about how you can be part of this exciting Kingdom work, please contact me directly at john.ranheim@covenantseminary.edu or at 1.800.264.8064. May the blessings of Christ and the joy of the Christmas story be with you always.

Your fellow servant,

John Ranheim Senior Director of Development

The Covenant Distinctive Biblical Authority

This article is the third in a series of student-written reflections on the stated distinctives of Covenant Seminary and how students experience these core values during their time with us.

T

here are core values, and then there are core values. Covenant Seminary promulgates seven core values that provide focus and support for its mission. Although contextual to the Seminary’s focus of training leaders to serve alongside God’s people, these principles spotlight an ideology significant for all believers who desire to serve the King faithfully in this time of restoration. In terms of the Seminary, I wondered if there is one core value that I simply could not live without.

Where would Covenant Seminary be on the grid of theological education and life application apart from its understanding of biblical authority? For me personally, this core value is central and perhaps the foundation on which all others rest.

The Seminary’s declaration on biblical authority drips with confessional language rarely found in the coffee shop or on the campus playground. Phrases such as “infallible rule,” “plenary, verbal inspiration,” and “inerrancy of the original manuscripts” may be a feeding frenzy for systematics scholars, but they have real import for the work-a-day life and study at Covenant Seminary. The Scriptures are an extension of God’s own character, uniquely transmitted by his chosen servants in the power of the Holy Spirit. As such, every word in both the Old and New Testaments is intentioned by God and matters for our understanding of his purpose and plan for creation.

During my first semester at Covenant Seminary, visiting instructor Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer (Blanchard Professor of Theology at Wheaton College), made a quick stop in St. Louis to share his perspective on the drama of redemption and the role of the church as a “company of actors on stage, a theater to the world.” One phrase that I will always remember is his reference to “canon sense,” which describes our need to learn and think the script of the Bible. I believe there is and continues to be a

18 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

thirst for “canon sense” at Covenant Seminary. Although the authority of the Script must be articulated, it has been absorbed into the perspective and speech of the pastor-scholars who stand alongside brothers and sisters in training. It’s ingrained through Dr. Jay Sklar’s (associate professor of Old Testament) familiar exhortation, “Start with the Bible, not with the commentary,” and the importance placed on studying the Bible in its original languages. The authoritative “It is written” of God’s Word unites us as a believing community and allows us to converse with confidence and joy.

As a chaplain intern to senior residents at a retirement community, I’m learning (far too slowly) to let God do the talking. His Word, made effective by the Holy Spirit, is the power that pierces hearts, and I must trust in this. He is the authority on all matters of the heart, and if I can be a conduit for his Word in a 30-second chat or 30-minute dialogue, then it has been a healthy visit. At Covenant Seminary, we don’t worship and glorify the Bible; we worship and glorify the God of the Bible. We don’t make much of the biblical story because we like it (which we may) or because it makes sense all the time (which it may not); we make much of the God whose story it is and who has graciously called us to be a part of it. God has given us his Word definitively through the Lord Jesus, the One of whom all the Scriptures speak, and it is Jesus we value above all.

BRAD DEVRIES Brad is a third-year MDiv student who wants to pursue pastoral ministry in the local church or institutional chaplaincy after graduation. In the few minutes he’s not in class, he serves as an Air Force reserve officer and as a chaplain associate at Friendship Village Sunset Hills (a retirement community). He and his wife, Katie, and their three children, live on campus and enjoy the proximity of neighbors, swing sets, and free parks around St. Louis.

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

All the remnant of the house of Israel,

Who have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

Even to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.”

T

he words of Isaiah 46:3–4 buoyed me through the years when my memory carried me down the churning rapids of my past.

Confronting the truth of abuse requires enormous amounts of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy. Many times I begged for mercy from the demons of the past but felt that my request for respite was refused. And yet—even in the darkest of days when hope all but disappeared and the promise of healing seemed like a sick joke—I found myself groping for words that are true.

I fell in love with words almost before anything else. Words are powerful. God brought all of creation into being through the power of his Word; sin and suffering came into the world when Satan twisted God’s Word to deceive; and much of the great harm we do to one another involves the manipulation and misuse of words.

When the black curtain of abuse fell upon me, it was the stories I told myself through the night that kept my heart from dissolving. I read Psalm 139 over and over, and memorized verse 12, which reads:

even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

I clung to the poetry of lament, such as these words from Psalm 88:

But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. . . .

Why do you hide your face from me?

Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. . . .

My companions have become darkness.

words in Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Shining the light of words into the hidden places in our hearts requires a two-fold work. First, the light illuminates wounds that fester, for many of us, long-ignored and denied. This neglect of pain causes infection that breeds further shame and hatred for self and others. Second, the light of words reveals how we have hidden those wounds from ourselves and others. In other words, the light reveals how we respond to the inevitable pain that comes as a result of living in a world sullied by sin and death. We are not who we were meant to be, and the light reveals this in irrefutable ways.

It occurs to me that we fulfill a piece of what it means to be human, made in the image of God, when we allow both God’s Word and our words to name our brokenness and beauty. As we learn the words to our life—to “remember on purpose” as one religious writer eloquently put it—we enter more fully into the hope of glory promised to us in Christ. That is, we become more truly ourselves and alive to our hope in the Word made flesh in the world.

It is significant that God places such importance on words.

Redemption comes through the power of his words and ours. What was easily minimized or denied becomes tangible and alive when it is named and owned. Naming is a process whereby we become creatively involved, engaging both mind and heart in an effort to know and be known. In naming and knowing we begin to participate in the redemption of all things.

God knows all of this better than we do, providing us with a rich language for expressing our deepest and most urgent needs in the language of poetry and narrative. Psalms, Jeremiah, and Job, to name a few, are filled with the words of people who suffered in profound ways, who searched for the mercy and justice of God, who wept when they felt pain, and celebrated when they felt God’s hand upon them.

I add my voice to theirs, longing for the promise of healing to be fulfilled, joining the community of believers who cry out, “How long, O Lord?”

God responds to you and me with a promise from Isaiah 60:15,

Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,

with no one passing through,

I will make you majestic forever,

a joy from age to age.

ABIGAIL MATTHEWS, MA, LPC Abigail Matthews is a licensed professional counselor in St. Louis, Missouri. Her husband, Brad, is assis-

Putting words to our lives is an integral piece to discovering truth, and darkness dominates without words. Recall the psalmist’s

tant professor of New Testament at Covenant Seminary. She loves to read and write poetry, considers pulling weeds to be an act of meditation, and believes her cats, Baz and Clementine, help her to love God better.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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WHAT GOOD AM I?

Visiting Instructor Denis Haack examines how musician Bob Dylan has established himself as a troubadour of our times.

20 COVENANT Fall 路 Winter 2011

WHY ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING? DYLAN: [Pause] Because I don’t know anything else to do. I’m good at it.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE “IT”?

DYLAN: I’m an artist. I try to create art.

F

or more than five decades, Bob Dylan (who turned 70 in May 2011) has been a force, a major presence in popular music. He’s certainly been significant in my own spiritual journey. (We are almost the same age.) Yet, if we examine some of the standard measures for pop music success, Dylan falls short. In total album sales, for example, The Beatles, his close contemporaries, far outsold him. Even Ozzy Osbourne and the Carpenters sold more. He has never once had a single song hit number one on the charts. And though his constant touring over so many years means that millions have heard him in concert, none of his tours have broken records for attendance. U2 has consistently racked up far more impressive numbers on tour.

We get closer to Dylan’s true significance, I think, by noting the 2004 issue of Rolling Stone magazine, in which the editors listed what they called the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” Dylan had several songs in that list, and the number one song was his “Like a Rolling Stone.” His significance as a musician has been on a far deeper level than number one hits or impressive album sales. I think his legacy as an artist is so rich I can only touch on a few highlights here. But if we scan over his life, we can see some of the ways his creativity and commitment have sent ripples out across not only popular music, but also our entire culture and world.

Dylan was born on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota. In 1957, while in high school, he formed his first band, The Golden Chords. He graduated from high school in 1959 and enrolled at the University of Minnesota, although he never really attended. The next year he moved to Greenwich Village in New York, which was the heart of the American music scene. From the moment he arrived, Dylan hung out with musicians, jammed with them, and listened, hungry to learn. Within a year he went from being an unknown to recording his first album. Bob Dylan (1961) didn’t sell well, but it is a milestone in Dylan’s career which has been characterized by his extraordinary ability to effortlessly assimilate the heart and soul of the folk, gospel, blues, and rock traditions, and make them his own. And as he matured musically, he transcended them instead of simply copying.

In 1962 Dylan wrote one of his best-known songs, “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and I began college. I had been raised in a fundamentalist home where popular music was forbidden. And because my parents were missionaries, living overseas kept me almost entirely isolated from “the devil’s music.” In 1962, though, I came back to the States to attend college. I can still remember the first time I heard “Blowin’ in the Wind” on the radio. I suppose one reason it sticks in my mind is that I knew my parents would have disapproved, and that felt delicious. But mostly it was the song itself. A compelling voice grabbed my attention, and then

as I listened, it grabbed my heart in a way that took my breath away. For one thing, the chorus resonated with the words of the New Testament about God’s Spirit being like an irresistible wind that we can not control or predict. More remarkable to me, though, were the questions woven in the lyrics.

How many years can a mountain exist Before it’s washed to the sea?

Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist Before they’re allowed to be free?

How many times can a man turn his head pretending he just

doesn’t see?

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.

This forbidden music was asking precisely the same questions that had been echoing in my soul, relentlessly yearning for something I did not have and could not name. Breaking out of the sheltered environment I had grown up in was exciting, but it left questions for which I had no answers. Was it possible to find true freedom in this broken world—freedom not just from a relentless set of endless rules but also from one that spirals down into meaninglessness? Dylan’s beautiful and haunting song opened my eyes to beauty and gave voice to what had been an inarticulate cry of my heart. It felt like a stab of grace.

Dylan’s significance in the world of music came to a head two years later at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. At the time, folk music was hugely popular. This was the music of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan. Acoustic music with a conscience, it cared about suffering and social justice; its lyrics were serious poetry about things that mattered. Then there was rock ’n’ roll, which was loud, shallow, sentimental, and electronic. To get a feel for it, imagine fans leaving two concerts: an Elvis Presley concert and a Woody Guthrie concert. It isn’t hard to guess which group left the concert discussing politics. Pete Seeger was elder-statesman of the folk tradition, following in the revered footsteps of Woody Guthrie; many thought Dylan was next in line. But at Newport, Dylan did the unthinkable: he used electronic music, and the crowd booed. (For better insight into what happened at Newport, watch Martin Scorsese’s wonderful documentary on Dylan, No Direction Home.)

I think that Dylan appreciated the deep roots and rich tradition of folk but understood that the political agenda and stylistic constraints of the movement were too limiting. So he took the electronic, which was www.covenantseminary.edu

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shallow and sentimental but full of musical potential, and fused it with the thoughtful rootedness of the folk tradition. Taking the best of both streams, the music which flowed out had a rebirth of creativity. “The folk scene never recovered,” Rolling Stone says. “Rock and roll was never the same, and Dylan knew he was responsible.” After the Festival he began touring with The Hawks, who later changed their name to The Band.

Dylan’s music—and the music his creativity provoked—increasingly became a benchmark for the times, a way to begin to make sense of the chaos, brokenness, and disappointment that pressed in on anyone who bothered to pay attention.

In 1966, Dylan had a motorcycle accident and did not tour for eight years. After nearly a decade of music in a variety of styles and quality, he then released three albums which thrilled a few people and confused even more: Slow Train Coming (1979), Saved (1980), and Shot of Love (1981).

All three albums were not simply Christian, but actually evangelical. Many fans felt betrayed by the explicitly religious content, while many Christians thought he was one of them. Then he stopped recording songs like these, and once again many fans were confused, and many Christians felt betrayed.

As someone who believes that there are good and sufficient reasons to follow Christ, I liked those three albums. I was pleased when “Gotta Serve Somebody” (Slow Train Coming) won a Grammy. But I am also pleased he stopped making explicitly religious albums. Just as Dylan appreciated the richness of the folk tradition while recognizing how the tradition could constrain his creativity, I believe he recognized, correctly, that explicitly religious music would also be too constraining.

One of the beauties of the Christian faith is that it tells a story in Scripture that embraces all of life. Music formed and informed by the Christian worldview won’t be restricted to merely religious songs or sacred music because all of life is sacred when lived before God. In fact, one of the greatest love songs in the Christian tradition is the Song of Songs in the Old Testament. It is sensual and real and delightful—and never once mentions the word “God.” So, I’m glad Dylan has continued to write music that celebrates all of life, which is precisely what a Christian musician should do. “I suspect,” novelist Larry Woiwode says of Dylan, “he found the liberty of serving his Savior in his art rather than through churchy confession.”

In 1991, Dylan was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and his 1997 album, Time Out of Mind, attracted a new generation of fans. His popularity expanded more in 2001 when he performed an original song for the film Wonder Boys and won an Oscar for it.

Then, on 9/11/2001, Dylan released his forty-third studio album, Love and Theft. The date is significant. That week I was in Jackson, Mississippi, teaching a course at Belhaven College. The morning of 9/11 I was preparing for that days’ class and looking forward to flying home the next day. Someone pounded on my door, telling me to turn on the television, and I watched, as you likely did, the tragic horror that unfolded as two airliners crashed into the Twin Towers in New York. All airports were closed, so my flight was canceled; and because the rental car companies were located at the airport, I could not rent a car either.

A day later the Federal Aviation Administration allowed the Jackson airport to open for a brief period for car rentals, so I quickly got one and started driving home to Minnesota. I had been anticipating the release of Love and Theft, so on the way out of Jackson I stopped at a music store 22 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

and bought a copy. As I drove north through the kudzu-choked hills of Mississippi, I slipped the CD into the player. When the second song on the album, “Mississippi,” played, I almost drove off the road.

Every step of the way we walk the line Your days are numbered, so are mine Time is pilin’ up, we struggle and we stray We’re all boxed in, nowhere to escape City’s just a jungle; more games to play Trapped in the heart of it, tryin’ to get away I was raised in the country, I been working in the town I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down Got nothin’ for you, I had nothin’ before Don’t even have anything for myself anymore Sky full of fire, Pain pourin’ down Nothing you can sell me, I’ll see you around All my powers of expression and thoughts so sublime Could never do you justice in reason or rhyme Only one thing I did wrong Stayed in Mississippi a day too long

(From “Mississippi,” Love and Theft)

I am not suggesting that Dylan anticipated the events of 9/11. I would argue, however, that this song helps us see his significance. Over all these years he has looked at life with a clarity and honesty that most of us lack. And he has written music that is timeless and relevant because he has consistently written about the human condition with deep authenticity. Rolling Stone commented that “Love and Theft feels like a work made specifically from inside an American temperament.” Dylan responded: “You’re talking to a person that feels like he’s walking around in the ruins of Pompeii all the time…. Every one of the records I have made has emanated from the entire panorama of what America is to me…. A song is a reflection of what I see all around me all the time.”

“The first sound of his voice entered me like electricity,” Larry Woiwode says. “I didn’t think of him as a great poet, as academics have, but a troubadour, a newsbringer in touch with his and the world’s makeup and not about to falsify his report for any favored political group or audience. He has sung with eloquence about so many issues at times when the news about them was needed, and has so often hit the target dead center, I often wonder if he isn’t hot-wired to a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.” The late Francis Schaeffer, well-known theologian and pastor, taught us that often it is artists who best have their finger on the pulse of the culture. They are the ones who can peer through the spin and rationalizations and distractions to give us a glimpse of the reality of things and ask the right questions, if only we have ears to hear. This, I believe, is the true significance of Bob Dylan and his music.

“Dylan’s is an art in which sins are laid bare (and resisted), virtues are valued (and manifested), and the graces brought home,” writes professor and literary critic Christopher Ricks. “The seven deadly sins, the four cardinal virtues, and the three heavenly graces: these make up

A poem is a naked person . . . Some people say that I am a poet. —BOB DYLAN

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YOU ALWAYS SAID PEOPLE DON’T DO

WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN, CONVENIENT, THEY JUST DO WHAT’S MOST

THEN THEY REPENT.

—BOB DYLAN, FROM “BROWNSVILLE GIRL”

everybody’s world—but Dylan’s in particular.” Ricks is a professor at Boston University who has authored books on famed authors and poets Milton, Keats, and T. S. Eliot. In Dylan’s Vision of Sin, he identifies himself as an atheist and notes that were he to become a Christian, it would be because of the poetry of George Herbert and Bob Dylan.

A few years ago, my wife and I went to a U2 concert and were impressed both by the beauty of the music and the intimacy with which lead singer Bono communicated with his audience. I’ve always loved Dylan’s music, but he is very different from Bono in concert. Dylan seems to concentrate on his music so intently that he may not be aware anyone is listening. During one concert he played an entire song with his back to us. I don’t think he was intentionally snubbing us; it was the music that mattered.

The danger for anyone who truly faces the fragmentation and fallenness of the world is either despair or cynicism, the twin temptations of our postmodern age. For all his gritty honesty, Dylan has never succumbed to either. Often, as on Oh, Mercy, he has sung of grace. Often, as on Love and Theft, he makes us cry and laugh, not with frivolous wit that ignores the horror but with humor that is redemptive and gives glimpses of hope in the midst of pain.

Dylan has a haunting voice; it’s not smooth and trained and controlled. It’s variable, earthy, on edge, and compelling. Over the years 24 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

Dylan has sung as if his voice is another instrument, never predictable and always very much alive. Listen to him sing and the impression is not of something nice flowing over you but of deep truths made painfully beautiful, firmly planted so as not to be easily forgotten.

What good am I if I say foolish things And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings If I just turn my back while you silently die What good am I?

(From “What Good am I?” on Oh Mercy) This article is adapted from a talk given several years ago as part of a ministry of Covenant Seminary’s Francis A. Schaeffer Institute, which seeks to enable God’s servants to demonstrate compassionately and defend reasonably the claims of Christ on the whole of life.

DENIS HAACK Denis Haack (MATS ’10) is the director of Ransom Fellowship, a ministry designed to help Christians develop skill in discernment (www.ransomfellowship.org). He is a ruling elder in the PCA, a Covenant Seminary graduate, and a visiting instructor in practical theology at Covenant Seminary.

P astors T raining P astors for the

L ocal C hurch — and

the

W orld

“And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

— 2 Timothy 2:2

For 55

years,

Covenant Seminary

has been preparing church leaders who are faithful

to the Scriptures, true to our Confession, and rooted in grace for a lifetime of fruitful ministry. Our graduates now serve in local churches throughout the PCA and in many other denominations in

all 50 states and

40 countries.

Join us in Interceding for, Investing in, and Influencing the future of Christ’s church by helping to: • Pray for future pastors and their families.

• Provide more than $2 million annually in scholarships.

• Identify and recruit a new generation of gospel ministers.

To request more information or support this ministry, call 1.800.264.8064. www.covenantseminary.edu

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Sometimes the most powerful experiences of the gospel among us come simply through being with others in their pain. In these times, we see the truth of the popular quote, “Preach the gospel always, and if necessary, use words.”

A

s the St. Louis Arch appeared on the horizon, it suddenly hit me–I was finally going to seminary! I wondered what amazing things I would I learn from my professors. How would the Lord use my classes to change me? Little did I know that one of my most precious lessons would be learned in a restaurant parking lot.

Christine and I had already been on a few dates, and this time we were enjoying burgers at a nearby restaurant. When it came time to pay the bill, I reached for my wallet only to find an empty pocket. “Unbelievable!” I exclaimed. “Forgot it again!” As I left to retrieve my wallet from the car, Christine went to wash her hands.

These seemingly insignificant details led to an encounter that impacted us both greatly. Isn’t it amazing how the accumulation of splitsecond decisions can shape our lives? On this night, it included me picking Christine up late and taking lots of pictures. What if we had taken one less? What would be different if I had remembered my wallet? Any little change in God’s mysterious and glorious sovereignty and Christine probably would never have seen “her.”

When I returned to the table, I wasn’t prepared for what I found.

Instead of the gregarious, fun-loving Christine, I found a pale, shaking shell of a woman whose only words were: “I could have sworn I just saw Rachel.”

We had barely made it to the car when Christine began shaking and weeping in the passenger seat. My brain raced as I tried to find something to say or do. Should I share a Scripture verse? Should I pray out

26 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

loud for Christine? This was a big deal, so what if I blew it? If I messed up, would this relationship be over?

Amid my own powerlessness and helplessness, I found myself reflecting upon Christine’s story. Rachel was a girl that Christine had met while doing youth ministry at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the one Christine had led to the Lord and then discipled. Rachel was also the 16-year-old whom Christine watched slowly die from the ravages of cancer. Now, years later at a St. Louis restaurant, it was Rachel whom Christine had seen in another young teenage face.

As I entered into Christine’s story, my own heart began to break. I was overwhelmed by the pain and sorrow she was feeling. What could I possibly say to her in this moment? What could come out of my mouth that could take away her pain or bring her healing? Only the Holy Spirit could warm the bitter chill of the winds of past wounds. So I said absolutely nothing. Instead, I quietly and gently held her hand and simply wept with her.

That’s where one of my most important lessons at Covenant Seminary took place —in a Toyota Camry in the Elephant Bar parking lot. It was there that I learned that caring for a broken heart sometimes means opening my mouth less and my heart more, that gospel ministry can simply be taking someone’s hand and mourning with the person. That night, I learned the power of the ministry of presence.

THOMAS RUBINO (MDIV, MAC ‘10) After meeting and marrying the love of his life, Tom graduated from Covenant Seminary in 2010. He recently accepted the position of assistant pastor at Potomac Hills Presbyterian Church in Leesburg, Virginia. Tom, Christine, and their daughter, Bella, will transition to their new church home in January 2012.

ALUMNUS PROFILE

MYSTICS AND MORALISTS In Salt Lake City, alumnus Mark Peach offers a safe place to ask honest questions about faith.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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ticism of most former LDS followers/adherents. Many are atheists, along with many other SLC residents—such as Jeremy, who has that word tattooed across his chest. The owner considers himself agnostic.” Mark decided that one way to openly engage the skepticism was to open up the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of worship: What is a sermon? What is sin, and why do we confess it? There’s nowhere better than a coffee shop to invite skeptics to peer behind the scenes of evangelical Christianity.

This move was a costly one for the coffee shop. It meant finding baristas to work on Sunday evenings. And more than a few customers took offense at the presence of a religious group. But Joe—agnostic to Christ—became the most ardent defender of Christ’s followers. “Joe has said that he might be the first agnostic business owner in Salt Lake City to house a Christian worship service,” Mark remembers.

D

owntown Salt Lake City (SLC) is set to be remade. Glossy, computer-generated images trade places with brightly painted watercolor images on the scrolling banner at www.downtown rising.com. “Just when you thought things were great . . . they got better,” the video promises. The massive renovations—taking place in the shadow of the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS)—is an attempt by the Mormon Church to reinvigorate declining church participation among city dwellers. When all is finished, nearly 10 blocks will have been converted into housing, retail space, and more. Until then, cranes stretch skyward over currently unnamed streets and against the backdrop of the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountain ranges.

The urban flight from the Mormon Church goes back to the inability, or, in many cases, unwillingness of “the church” to answer the nagging questions of its members. Rev. Mark Peach (MDiv ’09), assistant pastor of New Song Presbyterian Church and leader of New Song @ Nobrow (a community of New Song Church that meets for a worship service on Sunday nights) says, “It’s amazing how many people I come across who, when reflecting on their LDS upbringing, never embraced it or else felt like it was irrational. The majority of people who left the LDS church felt like their questions were never addressed. Whenever they sought answers, they were quickly dismissed. A woman once told me: ‘The Mormon Church is no place for questions.’ ” Demystifying Religion

After graduating from Covenant Theological Seminary, Mark; his wife, Melissa; and their daughter, Noelle, returned to Salt Lake City where they had lived before seminary. Mark then came across Nobrow Coffee and Tea. “After a couple of months, I started keeping regular ‘office hours’ there—Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Mark says. During these frequent visits, he got to know the owner, Joe. The development of this relationship gave birth to a unique opportunity—holding a worship service in the coffee shop.

Mark first began feeling out the idea of a service at Nobrow by asking questions of the baristas. “It all started when I asked Jeremy, a barista at Nobrow, what ideas he had for bringing people in to what the group was doing and what he thought would serve the community well,” Mark recounts.

Mark notes, “One day, I was giving a lot of thought to the deep skep28 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

The Willingness to Question

The remarkable difference between the gospel and false religions is here shown pointedly. The Christian faith is not afraid of questions; rather, proponents are to be bold enough—and humble enough—to ask them.

This shift in Mark’s approach to evangelism and outreach is reflective of his training at Covenant Seminary.

Mark says, “When I began seminary I was only propositionally oriented—big into arguing systematic theology. Then the idea that we can participate in God’s story became huge for me. It’s not that propositions aren’t important, but I found understanding the narrative of the Bible was so much more helpful in terms of evangelism with the kinds of people with whom I interact. Really, it still confronts a person on a level of sin and their need for Jesus, but it also shows them what Jesus can do in a very practical sense. When you receive Jesus, all your sins are forgiven, yes, but you also become a participant in what God is doing in the world. When people see that their lives can thrive and be changed and that they are dignified by being incorporated with the body of Christ, they are encouraged and find hope. The story of the Bible is so inviting.”

Propositional dialogue requires agreement on the accuracy and progression of propositions and the conclusions that derive from them.

Explaining the Bible as a narrative—in terms of God’s story and our part in it—is more winsome and less rigid but no less orthodox. Both have their appropriate uses, and both are necessary for a full understanding of the gospel. By focusing more on the dignity of humankind—even in its brokenness—and on the divine redemption offered in Christ, the Godman, the biblical theological approach can have a powerful impact with people who might otherwise be turned off by a more propositional tack.

“The main thing that I use daily in a clear way from my training at Covenant Seminary is the idea of the Bible as a story—God’s overall story that is headed somewhere,” Mark says. “Our lives as humans can flourish and they can really thrive when we embrace the grace of God and understand that our call is to be participants in the renewal of people and the cosmos. It brings about a certain motivation that I have never experienced in any other way.”

The “Test” in Testimony

For Mark and Melissa, this shift has not simply been a matter of better

“God is making all things new . . . . . . where we’re living now is not the end of the story.”

evangelism. It grows, instead, out of their personal testimony of God’s provision in the face of struggle. Throughout seminary, the Peaches struggled to pay for tuition and bills. “We experienced some dark times,” Mark remembers. “As we were entering our last year of seminary, we found out that Melissa was pregnant with our first child, Noelle. We looked at each other and asked, ‘How are we going to pull this off?’ It was more than we could plan for.”

Within just a few weeks of that, they received a call from a financial aid officer. “Melinda [the director], told us that a donor had provided resources for a full scholarship for our last year through a Founders Scholarship.” (The Founders Scholarship program partners individual donors with select Master of Divinity students in their final year of seminary.)

Recipients are encouraged in their ministry preparation, while donors get to see the impact of investing in a single family for God’s Kingdom.

“We were blown away,” Mark shares. “We wept together right in front of Melinda. Because we saw God pour out his grace in such a mighty way, we were emboldened to continue stepping forward by faith.

It was a hard three years that we were there. To hear about this scholarship and then receive it was a huge glimpse of grace that propelled us into ministry.” Such grace now marks his ministry indelibly.

“I see my daily pastoral role as a shepherd and guide helping people see themselves live out the story of their lives in light of this bigger story,” Mark reflects. “I see my role as helping people see that God is making all things new, that where we’re living now is not the end of the

story, that I can now come alongside people wherever they’re at—in the midst of their deepest pain or excitement of their lives—and help them see the ways that their stories fit into this overall story.”

From Coffee Shop to Church Plant

Mission: Utah—the local PCA church planting movement—approved Mark as church planting apprentice in the central corridor of Salt Lake City, where they are working toward planting City Presbyterian Church.

The area includes several neighborhoods as well as the 10 blocks currently under or designated for renovation. The area has grown by 80% in the past 15 years and is anticipated to double again in the next decade.

Driven by the message of God’s narrative kindness, Mark says, “When I see myself in light of God inviting me into this story, it shapes me. He has called me to be part of the story and ordained the particulars of my experience and the people that I meet.” Some of the streets where Mark ministers may not have names, but the people in the area and the nearby apartments and the coffee shops do. And through the gospelcentered ministry of Mark Peach, they are being invited to participate in the story of God. JOEL HATHAWAY As the director of alumni and career services, Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04) consults with churches, advises ministerial candidates, and serves the alumni of the Covenant Seminary family. His encouragement of alumni is rooted in his years as a PCA pastor’s son and his experience in two previous ministry positions.

www.covenantseminary.edu

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FACULTY & STAFF

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

HANS BAYER Professor of New Testament March 12–16, 2012—I will be teaching on the Gospels at the Ukraine Biblical Seminary in Kiev, Ukraine.

Spring 2012—My book A Theology of Mark: The Dynamic Between Christology and Authentic Discipleship will be published by P&R Publishing as part of the Explorations in Biblical Theology series (edited by my esteemed colleague Dr. Robert A. Peterson).

BRYAN CHAPELL President and Professor of Practical Theology August—My most recent book, The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach, was published

by Zondervan. The book contains more than 20 sermons for difficult circumstances from several leading evangelical preachers, including Jerram Barrs, Tim Keller, John Piper, George Robertson, and others.

Oct. 5, 2011—I was privileged to preach in chapel at our sister institution, Covenant College, in Lookout Mountain, GA. Oct. 9, 2011—Preached a Sunday morning worship service at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Plano, TX. Nov. 11–12, 2011—Spoke at the Regional Conference on Reformed Theology in Quakertown, PA. Nov. 13, 2011—Preached for Sunday worship at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, PA. Jan. 29–31, 2012—Will speak at the 2012 Carter Biblical Lectureship at First Evangelical Free Church in Memphis, TN. Feb. 24, 2012—Will be in Atlanta, GA, at the Women in the Church (WIC) Leadership Training Conference to receive the 2011 WIC Love Gift for Covenant Seminary. We are so grateful to WIC for blessing the Seminary in this way.

March 5–6, 2012—Will serve as guest speaker at the 2012 Expository Preaching Workshop at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX. March 30–April 9, 2012—Will teach and preach in Australia, ending at the Katoomba Conference.

May 22–24, 2012—Will participate in the Council for the Gospel Coalition in Chicago, IL. May 29–31, 2012—Will attend the Lausanne Consultation on the Changing Role of American Seminaries in Global Theological Education in South Hamilton, MA. June 11–15, 2012—Will lecture at Bible Study Fellowship for Summer Institute Leadership Training in San Antonio, TX. 30 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

C. JOHN “JACK” COLLINS Professor of Old Testament Recently, Dr. Bryan Chapell sent the following message to members of the Covenant Seminary community regarding Diane Collins, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. We ask your continued prayers for the Collins family.

Dear Friends, At the request of Dr. and Mrs. Jack Collins, I want to let you know how you can pray regarding Diane’s treatment for her recently diagnosed breast cancer. Since the initial diagnosis this fall, Diane has undergone further tests and consulted with a number of specialists. The cancer was detected early, so the long-term prognosis is excellent, and the particular kind of cancer is one that responds effectively to treatment. However, the surgery, treatment, and recovery will be tough.

Diane and Jack asked for prayer for her surgery on Tuesday, October 11. The doctors do not expect that Diane’s cancer has spread, but she will undergo tests to verify this. Please pray with the Collins family that Diane will have no cancer anywhere else.

Please pray also for Diane’s strength in the physical trials she is soon to undergo and for the peace that passes understanding for both Jack and Diane in this time of trial. Diane recently reflected on a dear friend of theirs who is now with the Lord, cancer-free. Diane said, “My friend has always been a beautiful person, and she is now that same person in heaven. Her cancer is no longer with her. We are immortal, but our diseases are not. This has helped me realize that I am the person that God made me to be; the cancer is not me.” I take strength from such faith and know that our whole seminary family does as well.

The letters of seventeenth-century Scottish pastor Samuel Rutherford have been dear to the Collins family for many years. So also has been the ministry of Dr. Rob Rayburn, pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, WA. Because Rob is so precious to Jack and Diane, I want to include words Rob once preached using Rutherford’s letters:

“In one of those letters, Rutherford wrote to a much afflicted woman these glorious words: Madam, when ye are come to the other side of the water, and have set down your foot on the shore of glorious eternity, and look back again to the waters and to your wearisome journey, and shall see, in that clear glass of endless glory, nearer to the bottom of God’s wisdom, ye shall then be forced to say, ‘If God had done otherwise with me than He hath done, I had never come to the enjoying of this crown of glory.’

“When I read that God loves us with

an everlasting love, that his people are always upon his heart, that he weeps with those who weep, that we never pass through a trial but that he passes through it with us, I am persuaded that Rutherford must be right.”

The Lord who provided Jesus for us does not abandon us in our trials but assures us by the cross that his care and purposes are sure. We pray his care for Diane, Jack, and all who love them, knowing that the Good Shepherd will carry them through whatever valleys they must travel in this life, which is but a prelude to the glories of the Savior.

MARK DALBEY Vice President of Academics and Faculty Development, Assistant Professor of Practical Theology Jan. 10–13, 2012—I will speak on “Contextual Christ-Centered Worship” at the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Planters Retreat near Asheville, NC. Also speaking will be Dr. R. J. Gore of Erskine Seminary. My wife, Beth (MATS ’08, MAC ’11), will be leading some breakout sessions for the pastors’ wives.

Jan. 20–21, 2012—Beth and I will be speaking on the topic “Gospel-Centered Parenting” at the Evangelical Community Church in Bloomington, IN.

ROBERT PETERSON Professor of Systematic Theology July, 2011—My book Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven?, co-edited with Christopher W. Morgan, was released in mid-July by Zondervan in response to the controversy over Rob Bell’s Love Wins. It is now on its second printing.

Nov. 7, 2011—My book Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ is due out from Crossway.

Spring 2012—A Theology of Mark: The Dynamic Between Christology and Authentic Discipleship, by my colleague Hans Bayer, will be published by P&R Publishing as part of the Explorations in Biblical Theology series for which I serve as editor.

June, 2012—The Kingdom of God, the fourth volume in the Theology in Community Series, which I co-edit with Christopher W. Morgan, will be published by Crossway.

July, 2012—My book Life Everlasting: The Unfolding Story of Heaven, co-authored with alumnus Dan Barber, is due out from P&R Publishing.

DAN ZINK Associate Professor of Practical Theology Sept. 21, 2011—I was in Dallas, TX, to help my mother celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday. She lives with my brother, Dave, and his wife, Donna. A highlight for Mom, since her birthday fell on a Wednesday, was that Dave and I were able to attend with her the mid-week prayer meeting service at her church.

Jan. 7–22, 2012—I will again lead a group of local doctors and some of our students to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to work with the Mission to the World (MTW) AIDS Care and Treatment Project there. This is one of the partnerships the Seminary has developed, and it will be our fourth such trip in the last four and a half years. Leaders of previous trips have included former professor Nelson Jennings, fellow counseling professor Richard Winter, and me.

MIKE HIGGINS Dean of Students Oct. 7–9, 2011—Attended Amazing Grace 360, the Women in the Church International Conference in Atlanta, GA. Oct. 9, 2011—I was privileged to preach at Fort Gillem Community Church in Atlanta, GA. Oct. 13, 2011—Served as speaker for Young Life St. Louis at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO. Oct. 23, 2011—Preached at Pinelands Presbyterian Church in Miami, FL. Nov. 28–Dec. 2, 2011—On chaplain duty at Fort Knox, KY. Dec. 19–30, 2011—On duty at the Office of the Chief of Army Chaplains in the Pentagon, Washington, DC.

These are lightly edited conversational updates from faculty and staff members. We hope you will enjoy getting to know their passions on a more personal level.

One of Covenant Seminary’s greatest assets is its faculty of dedicated pastor-scholars, and one of their greatest strengths is the sense of unity they have as colleagues and brothers in Christ. Dr. Mark Dalbey, vice president of academics and faculty development and assistant professor of practical theology, here shares his personal perspective on the men he has worked with for the past 12 years and feels blessed to call his friends.

FACULTY AS COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

– JOHN 15:15 What an amazing privilege I have to be a pastor-leader to a faculty of pastor-scholars at Covenant Seminary! The solidarity of this group of men who, as the apostle Peter exhorts, “love one another deeply and from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22), is both a contributing factor to and a fruit of the Seminary’s emphasis on the gospel of grace over the past 25 years. I have experienced the power of this amazing gift of brotherhood firsthand during my more than 12 years here.

When I first arrived as dean of students and adjunct professor, I discovered a group of men who were humble before God and each other, who had a passion for the transforming power of the gospel in their lives and in the lives of their students, who had expertise in their respective areas yet a willingness to defer to one another in love as various important topics were discussed, and who cared for one another as friends.

That sense has only been confirmed and strengthened over the years as I have seen them live out the gospel of grace among themselves, in their family relationships, and with our students in ways that have made a real and lasting impact on others and on me. And their growing passion for teaming together innovatively as we seek to integrate students’ learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom has helped to make our graduates better, more fully rounded pastors and ministry leaders.

I greatly appreciate the support and encouragement my colleagues have shown me personally over the years. When I was named Dean of Faculty a little over two years ago, it was gratifying to hear one of them exhort me to bring my Student Services nickname—“Dean of Fun”—with me to my new role as, what he called, “Dean of Faculty Fun.” And when I became Academic Dean, the faculty’s gracious acceptance of me in this role, even though on paper I did not have all of the usual qualifications, meant a lot to me. Though I hadn’t aspired to such a position, I have never felt a stronger sense of calling to a specific job at any other time in my life. This has only been confirmed for me as I continue to enjoy the unbelievable support, encouragement, and friendship of the faculty.

It is a delight to walk together with these men through the ups and downs and joys and challenges of life. As we work together to make the Seminary an even better place for the training of future pastors, I believe that the love we have for one another is only growing deeper. God has brought us all here according to his will to accomplish his purposes for Covenant Seminary. We are called by his grace to steward these relationships well and to move forward in humility and unity for the sake of his Kingdom.

I am so thankful to God for such an incredible faculty of colleagues and friends! I look forward to walking together with them wherever the Lord chooses to lead us.

—MARK DALBEY Vice President of Academics and Faculty Development Assistant Professor of Practical Theology

www.covenantseminary.edu

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Tim Burden (MDiv ’04), solo pastor, Eau Claire Presbyterian Church; Columbia, SC.

When reading these updates about friends and fellow alumni, I hope you glimpse the glory of our common histories. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, and hold tight to the unwavering hope of eternity that presses in on the curtains of this present moment. And where the encouragement of fellow travelers pours light upon your path, drink deeply, for there is life in the light.

Ray Call (MDiv ’06), Border Evangelism and Mercy Ministries (BEAMM); San Diego, CA and Tijuana, Mexico.

Amy Davis (MAC ’97), private counseling practice; Denver, CO. Craig Dunham (MATS ’09, MAEM ’10), head of school, Veritas Classical Academy; Oklahoma City, OK. Jonathan Entrekin (MDiv ’07), chaplain, Warrior Transition Battalion, Joint Base Lewis-McChord; Tacoma, WA. Alan Fiol (MDiv ’97) marketplace employment; Taichung City, Taiwan.

Your servant,

Alex Ford (MDiv ’10), director of family and youth ministry, Westminster Presbyterian Church; Sumter, SC. Carrey Hammett (MDiv ’09), pastor, Lagniappe Presbyterian Church; Bay St. Louis, MS.

Joel D. Hathaway Director of Alumni and Career Services

PS: Please let us rejoice and grieve (when necessary) with you through sharing updates on your life, family, and ministry.

Brent Lauder (MDiv ’05), senior pastor, Evangelical Presbyterian Church; Cape Coral, FL. Alan Mills (MATS, MDiv ’95), Air Force chaplain, Canadian Forces; Ottawa, Ontario.

Mari Ellen Reeser (MAC ’05), to Black Forest Academy; Kandern, Germany.

Joab Rico (MDiv ’05), church planter, Christ Church; Gainesville, GA. Brad Rogers (MDiv ’04), assistant pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church; Raleigh, NC.

Let us know how we can serve you through this publication.

E-mail your suggestions for Covenant magazine to Joel: joel.hathaway@covenantseminary.edu.

STAY CONNECTED! Search Covenant Theological Seminary Alumni on Facebook.

32 COVENANT Fall · Winter 2011

Corrin (Ranney) Schlecht (MDiv ’05), lead staff, adoption specialist, Bethany Christian Services; Hartford, CT. Jamie Sellers (MDiv ’10), church planting, River Oaks Community Church; St. Augustine, FL. Tom Stein (MDiv ’91), director of alumni relations, Geneva College; Beaver Falls, PA. Greg Volpitto (MDiv ’06), chaplain and bereavement coordinator, Crossroads Hospice; St. Louis, MO.

ALUMNI NEWS Molly Joy born to Emily and Matt Loveall (MDiv ’09), July 27, 2010.

Danelle Misch (MAC ’07) married Andrew Rottner, April 10, 2010.

Judah Rayburn adopted by Bryonie and Joshua Moon (MDiv ’04), Dec. 30, 2010.

Walt Kendall (DMin ’09), called to glory, Sept.

12, 2011.

Richard Schumacher (MDiv ’08), called to glory, May 21, 2011.

Marshall St. John (DMin ’87), called to glory, Sept. 2, 2011.

Eulice Thomas (MATS ’67), called to glory, May 12, 2011.

Molly Reese born to Becky and Patrick Allen (MDiv ’07), July 19, 2011.

Editors Jackie Fogas Rick Matt

Gunnar John born to John (MDiv ’06) and Elizabeth (Ouimette) Ranheim (MAC ’05), April 25, 2011.

Design and Production Allison Dowlen

Labelle Grace born to Tom (MDiv and MAC ’10) and Christine Rubino (MAC and MAEM ’09), March 20, 2011.

Elizabeth Grace born to Dawn and Brad Simms (MDiv ’04), July 1, 2011.

Annie Joy born to Jared (MDiv ’10) and Blythe (Williams) Sizemore (MAEM, MATS ’09), June 7.

Jane Jesbit born to Emily and Mike Sloan (MDiv ’08), June 22, 2011.

Leif Allen born to Seth (MDiv ‘10) and Becky Bakke (MAC ‘08), April 30, 2011.

Harold “Hal” Ames born to Greg (MDiv ’00) and Courtney Thompson (MATS ’00), July 29, 2010.

Elisa Anne born to Jess and Sara (Mersfelder) Bartley (MDiv ’03), June 2, 2011.

Sadie Jane born to Amy and Andy Wood (MDiv ’07), Aug. 3, 2011.

Samuel James born to Melynda (Adams) (MDiv ’11) and Billy Boyce (MDiv ’11), Feb. 4, 2011.

Joel Justice born to Julia and Luke Wynja (MDiv ’03), July 14, 2011.

James Campbell born to Alex and Sara (Allen) Brown (MATS ’03), July 22, 2011.

Rebekah Caldwell (MAEM ’06) married Junius Johnson, Aug. 8, 2009.

Althea Deckrosh (MAC ’02) married John Wilson, May 29, 2010.

Ezra Alton Amir adopted by Michael (MDiv ’01) and Christine (Burkley) Gordon (MATS ’02), Dec. 17, 2010.

Daniel Henry (MDiv ’08) married Emily Christensen (MAC ’11), Aug. 20, 2011.

Brooklyn Mae born to Olivia and Zac Howard (MAEM ’10), April 12, 2011.

Photographers and Photo Contributors Seima Aoyagi Mike Bonner David Cerven Brad DeVries Chris Hilton iStock OrangeBlock Veer Covenant Theological Seminary 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63141 Tel: 314.434.4044 Fax: 314.434.4819 covenantmagazine@covenantseminary.edu

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

Joel Hamilton born to Meriel and Stuart Cashman (MDiv ’10), June 16, 2011.

Thomas Patrick born to Kristin and Tom Franklin (MDiv ’05), Feb. 22, 2011.

Editorial Contributors Jerram Barrs Brad DeVries Megan Fowler Denis Haack Joel Hathaway Rick Matt Abigail Matthews Mark McElmurry Thomas Rubino

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News publishers.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesse Hosea born to Ali and Josh Brumbaugh (MDiv ’06), Aug. 20, 2011.

Noelle Maria born to Alicia and Justin Donathan (MDiv ’10), March 9, 2011.

Managing Editor Allison Dowlen

Luke Justice born to Melissa and Mark Peach (MDiv ’09), May 16, 2011.

Caleb Logan born to Logan (MDiv ’08) and Natalie Almy (MAC ’10), May 31, 2011.

Peyton Sullivan born to Steven (MAC ’08) and Katrina Dalbey (MATS ’05), March 17, 2011.

Executive Editor Al Li

Volume 26, Number 2. ©2011

Luke Bobo (MDiv ’03), awarded PhD in adult education, University of Missouri-St Louis.

Dru Johnson (MDiv ’03), awarded PhD in Theology, University of St Andrews, Scotland.

James Perry (MDiv ’72) self-published Consider These Things With Me; Practical Awareness of Living in the Presence of God; and The Right Course and the Only Right Choice.

Stephen Stout (DMin ’88) published The “Man Christ Jesus”: The Humanity of Jesus in the Teaching of the Apostle Paul (Wipf and Stock, 2011).

Covenant is published by Covenant Theological Seminary (Presbyterian Church in America).

The purpose of Covenant Seminary is to glorify the triune God by training his servants to walk in God’s grace, minister God’s word, and equip God’s people ~all for God’s mission.

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