Covenant Magazine - [Fall 2008] by Covenant Theological Seminary

COVENANT The magazine of Covenant Theological Seminary

Fall 2008

THE THE

Aroma OFOFTHE THE

GOSPEL

FROM THE PRESIDENT

FALL 2008

THE AROMA OF THE GOSPEL

Last spring, we began construction of a new building on our campus. By the time you read this, that building—named Founders Hall in honor of the Seminary’s founding leaders— will be almost ready. It will serve as the home for several new classrooms, faculty offices, and most of our administrative and support staff. Founders Hall stands as the capstone of our nearly completed and greatly blessed By His Grace, For His Glory capital campaign. The majestic building rises as a monument to the generous spirit of God’s people, who have supported this endeavor prayerfully and financially to a degree that we could not have imagined possible. Yet, more than that, the building testifies to the glory, majesty, and faithfulness of our Lord, whose work it really is and in whose name it will be used to prepare generations of future pastors and ministry leaders. This great blessing calls to mind the words of the psalmist, who said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Ps. 127:1). For out of all our human striving—no matter how purposeful or well-intentioned—nothing good can come unless the Lord’s hand is upon it. He made us and sustains us, and in spite of our fallen, sinful nature, he redeemed us by the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ. He alone deserves to be called good, and he alone deserves our praise, our gratitude, our devotion, and our undying worship. By grace, our Father in heaven grants us the faith to trust in his Son; by grace, he attributes Christ’s righteousness to us; and by grace, he accepts the paltry deeds of those who bear the name of Christian—weak and ineffectual though they be on their own merits—as if they were done by Christ himself. And so he builds his house—and his Kingdom—one redeemed soul at a time. We at Covenant Seminary are both honored and humbled to be part of such work, not only through our primary ministry of training church leaders, but also through the many ways in which students, alumni, faculty, and staff live out the gospel of grace in our interactions with one another and with the larger world around us. This issue of Covenant provides many examples of how lives transformed by the power of grace can make an impact for Christ in every field of human endeavor—thus fostering even more the growth of the Kingdom. For when those who believe the gospel truly live by it, we become, as the apostle Paul so beautifully puts it, “the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (2 Cor. 2:15–16). Rejoice with us, therefore, at the goodness of God in providing for the needs of the Seminary—but rejoice even more that he chooses to use such feeble, insignificant creatures as you and me to do the mighty work of constructing a Kingdom of peace and love that will last forever and ever. May his name be praised in all things!

Bryan Chapell, President PS: Our capital campaign continues through December. Contributions of any size are still most welcome as we seek to complete the funding for some of our additional campaign needs (see page 8 for details on how you can help).

FEATURES

Rev. Scotty Smith challenges the church to rethink the gospel as it pertains to God’s work of renewal throughout all of creation.

5 Church Planting: A Reformed View Understanding the gospel of grace

today compels evangelism and church planting—just as it did for Christians in the historical church in Jerusalem.

I n Memoriam: Dr. R. Laird Harris

We remember one of the Seminary’s founding fathers for his life of faith and his contributions to the Christian academic world.

The Beauties of the Law Rather than seeing biblical Law as a burden, Professor Jerram Barrs unfolds the beauty and freedom found in this treasure trove of godly wisdom.

Making the Move

Volunteer move crews welcome new students and families into the seminary community as they arrive at the start of each summer and fall term.

DEPARTMENTS

10 15 19

Hither by Thy Help I’m Come

SEMINARY NEWS & EVENTS

DONOR PROFILE

Jack and JoAnne Reed ALUMNUS PROFILE

Chuck Garriott IN A STUDENT’S WORDS

ALUMNI NEWS

B AC K

STUDENT PROFILE

COVENANT | Fall 2008

ur Gospel is O Too Small

COVER

Derek McCollum

VOL. 23, NO. 3

OUR GOSPEL IS TOO small

We need to realize how much more there is to the gospel than the glory of personal redemption.

GOD HAS A MUCH BIGGER GOSPEL AGENDA.

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ne of my favorite things that I get to do in ministry is to teach a course at Covenant Theological Seminary called The Disciplines of Grace. This class exists as a mining excursion into the limitless treasures and radical implications of the gospel of God’s grace.

Every time the Seminary offers this class, I show up as both adjunct faculty member and hungry student. To this day I still feel like I’m standing at the base of the Swiss Alps of the gospel wearing lederhosen, holding a gallon bucket in one hand and a teaspoon in the other trying to take it all in.

The gospel just seems to keep getting bigger and bigger. I believe this expedition will continue with joy forever in the new heaven and new earth—for it will be impossible to excavate exhaustively “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). I understand now more than ever why Paul tells us we need God’s power to “comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth” of the love of Christ revealed in the gospel (Eph. 3:18–19). Only the Holy Spirit can free us from the ravaging disease of unbelief, and only in an authentic community of brothers and sisters in Christ can we hope to know more of the love “that surpasses knowledge” (Eph. 3:19). What is my gospel genealogy, and where is this story currently taking me? In the fall of 1968, I walked onto the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) a new man in Christ toting very old baggage about God and his gospel. I was given faith to trust in Jesus as God’s Messiah and my savior as a high school senior at a viewing of a Billy Graham movie titled The Restless Ones. Then, God began relentlessly exposing and deconstructing the incomplete and outright destructive notions I had about him. The first book

glimpse of the gospel of God’s grace. Never would I have dreamt that a class in Greek at a state university would prove to be such a Trojan horse of redemption. That class freed me from a fear of languages and opened the floodgates of gospel paradise. After the semester, my teacher, G. Wright Doyle, invited me to read through the Greek text of Ephesians with him. Moving through the first two chapters of Ephesians at a snail’s pace was more than my proud heart, man-centered theology, and performance-based spirituality could withstand. The Scriptures persuaded me that the gospel is Jesus plus nothing—grace through faith sovereignly given to people dead in their sins and trespasses by the God who chose them in Christ even before the creation of the world. Because of what Jesus accomplished by his life of perfect obedience and his substitutionary death on the cross, my efforts at trying to merit God’s favor were not only futile, they were fatal. I was finally able to affirm the good news of personal redemption as summarized and celebrated in the sixtieth question and answer of the Heidelberg Catechism: Q. How are you right with God? A. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my conscience accuses me of having grievously sinned against all God’s commandments and of never having kept any of them, and even though I am still inclined toward all evil, nevertheless, without my deserving it at all, out of sheer grace, God grants and credits to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner, as if I had been as perfectly obedient as Christ was obedient for me. All I need to do is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart.

MINISTRY OF “THIS” GOSPEL WILL COMPEL US TO LIVE AND LOVE WITH HOPE, IN EVERY SPHERE OF OUR BROKEN WORLD. I read as a new Christian was Your God Is Too Small, by J.B. Phillips, a masterful exposé of the 10 most obvious false views of God the author had recognized among his contemporaries in Great Britain. I wish I could say that I immediately replaced bad images of God with only those shaped by a good understanding of the gospel. That didn’t happen for a while. Like many Christians converted during the Jesus people movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, my understanding and experience of the gospel was shaped primarily by three things: (1) do-more-try-harder models of discipleship, (2) pragmatic campus ministries, and (3) a fear-based eschatology. Thankfully, during my last semester at UNC I got my first clear COVENANT | Fall 2008

While studying Ephesians with Wright, I became “Reformed” before I had any clue about what Reformed theology is. When I went to seminary three years later, I learned the words, but I already knew the wonder. Though I was satisfied for years with seeing and savoring the legal rights and personal delights of the

gospel for individual believers, I needed to see that there is so much more to the gospel than the glory of personal redemption. God has a bigger gospel agenda than simply filling heaven with souls dressed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Just listen to the opening words of Paul’s letter to believers in Colossae: “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col. 1:6 niv). I’m both enticed and challenged by the scope and hope of Paul’s vision of the gospel in this one verse. The apostle likens the gospel to a great horticultural presence which is spreading throughout the entire cosmos like fertilized kudzu. But unlike kudzu, the gospel doesn’t rob life—it redeems life, and thereby provides luscious, life-giving nourishment everywhere it grows and bears the fruit of the grace of God “in all its truth.” Paul’s gospel is certainly a lot bigger than the abridged, privatized version I championed for so many years. He makes it clear that matters of the gospel include everything that matters to Jesus himself. Thus, still in the first chapter of Colossians, Paul writes of Jesus: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Col. 1:15–20 niv)

What a vision of the very personal and yet very cosmic Christ—a gospel that is about people, but also about so much more! Jesus is creator, sustainer, and redeemer of all things! Where is “this gospel” bearing fruit and growing? Not just everywhere there are people, but everywhere—period! In fact, as Paul begins the Colossian epistle, I hear a clear echo of the charge given to Adam and Eve, our first parents: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…’ ” (Gen. 1:28 niv). In Reformed theology, we call this the creation (or cultural) mandate. Though Adam and Eve didn’t even make it out of the garden before sabotaging their calling, Paul seems to be implying that we—their sons and daughters—are those through whom “this gospel” will eventually fulfill God’s original plan for this earth, which will be redeemed and restored and will be filled with the knowledge of his glory as the waters cover the

sea (Hab. 2:14). Because the gospel is true, God will one day delight in a people who are gathered from every single race, tribe, and people group and taken from every period of history as they live forever to his glory in the perfect society, culture, relationships, and worship of the new heaven and new earth. This will occur right here where we live today. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 nkjv). Nathan L. K. Bierma captures the scope and hope of “this gospel” in his book Bringing Heaven Down to Earth. He writes: When we consider the full story of the gospel…we see a larger picture of the redemption Christ brought about, and we starve for the completion of it. The gospel stands on three legs, not one; Christ’s redeeming work was done to restore nature, culture, and human beings. Now that’s good news.... When we live in the hope of a big gospel, we see Jesus Christ not just as a serial intruder on people’s souls but the one in whom “all things hold together,” in the words of Colossians 1. All things—not just people’s hearts but the infrastructure of nature, culture, and relationships. So the hope of a big gospel is not just going to heaven to be with God, but a vision of the new earth and the heavenly city as the place where God’s authority over all of life is made complete. Living in the hope of heaven means seeing glimpses of such a place already, and wanting more.

What are some implications of a bigger, three-legged gospel? It means that the ministry of “this gospel” will compel us to live and love with hope in every sphere of our broken world

IF REFORMED THEOLOGY HAS SIMPLY GIVEN US NEW WORDS BUT NO WONDER, THEN WE AREN’T REALLY REFORMED, WE’RE JUST INFORMED. because Jesus has come to make all things new, not simply to make all new things. It means that if Reformed theology has simply given us new words but no wonder, then we aren’t really Reformed, we’re just informed. It means preaching the gospel of personal deliverance and living the gospel of community development. It means thinking less about going to heaven when we die and more about living before we die as those offering the first fruits of a new heaven and new earth here and now. It means this and much more. Indeed, is your gospel as big as this gospel?

REV. SCOTTY SMITH Scotty Smith is an adjunct professor at Covenant Seminary and the founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville. Professor Smith is the author of Objects of His Affection: Coming Alive to the Compelling Love of God, Reign of Grace: Restoring Broken Things, and coauthor (with singer-songwriter Michael Card) of Unveiled Hope.

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Church Planting : A Reformed View COVENANT | Fall 2008

hat is it about the teaching and training provided at Covenant Theological Seminary that compels 29% of our Master of Divinity (MDiv) graduates to plant PCA churches (24% in North America and 5% overseas)? It is the same theology that, in the 1500s, empowered graduates of theologian John Calvin’s seminary in Geneva, Switzerland, to plant thousands of churches in France, Holland, Scotland and throughout the rest of Europe. It is the grace-centeredness of our Reformed perspective. Most of Calvin’s students came to Geneva during the mid1500s as refugees fleeing religious persecution. Yet, after Calvin equipped them by teaching them how to study the Scriptures, grow in godly character, and proclaim the gospel, they returned to the same hostile countries from which they had fled to plant churches. In 1555, there were five Reformed churches in France (in Paris, Meaux, Angers, Poitiers, and Loudun); in 1559, there were almost 100 planted. In 1562, the number of church plants reached 2,150. The total membership of these churches in 1562 was 3 million (out of a total French population of 20 million). By any historical comparison, these churches mark an astounding evangelistic and church-planting effort. What did Calvin teach his students that compelled them to face great dangers and deprivations? It was the same timeless message we teach our students at Covenant Seminary today—the gospel of grace. A primary way we communicate these grace distinctives to our students is through our focus on the “indicatives” and the “imperatives” found in almost every passage of Scripture. As taught by the great Reformed theologian Herman Ridderbos, the indicatives are a declaration of God’s nature, of what he has done for us in Christ, and who he has made us to be in union with Christ. The indicatives empower the imperatives of Scripture,

to others through obeying his imperatives. In Sin and Temptation, John Owen, the great Puritan theologian, explains that we need to keep the heart full of a sense of the love of God in Christ: this is the greatest preservative against the power of temptation in the world…. Fill your heart with a sense of the love of God in Christ, and apply the eternal design of grace and shed blood to yourselves. Accept all the privileges of adoption, justification, and acceptance with God.

Because Calvin’s church planters were so impacted by the blood Jesus shed for them, they too were willing to shed their blood for others. Perhaps the most famous example of the indicatives empowering the imperatives of church planting is Matthew 16:15–19. Jesus said to his disciples, “ ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God [an indicative]. And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven [an indicative]. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock [of the two indicatives] I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [indicative], and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven [imperative].” Jesus plants his church through the power of the Father’s revelation of him as the Christ—the one who raises people from spiritual and physical death. These grace-oriented indicatives serve as the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. In other words, people enter into heaven through the Spirit of

BECAUSE OF THE GOSPEL PATTERN, WE SEND OUR GRADUATES OUT TO PLANT CHURCHES WITH THE CONFIDENCE THAT AS MANY AS ARE APPOINTED TO ETERNAL LIFE WILL BELIEVE. which challenge and guide us in responding to the ways God has blessed us in Christ. The indicatives are the basic theological truths of a biblical passage; the imperatives are the “therefores” that command us to act in like manner toward others. This scriptural pattern communicates what I call the “platinum rule”: “Do unto others as the Father has so graciously and lovingly done unto you in Christ.” And the corollary to this rule is: “To the same degree that your heart is gripped by the Lord’s gracious and loving work done on your behalf, you will be motivated and empowered by the Holy Spirit to go and do likewise unto others.” This is why the apostle John tells us, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). In other words, if we truly know God in the ways he blesses us, then we will relate with the same sacrificial love

the Father bringing them into union with the resurrected Christ through opening the eyes of their hearts to believe that Christ was crucified for them. Through evangelism and church planting, Peter and the apostles responded to Jesus’ imperative instructions by setting “loose” this gospel unto others as the Father had graciously set it loose in their hearts by revealing Christ to them. As a result, we see in the book of Acts an outburst of evangelism and church planting in Jerusalem: Acts 2:41: “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Acts 4:4: “But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”

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students and graduates. Recently, my heart was warmed when one of our students remarked that he consistently hears the message of grace from all of our faculty members in ways he never previously understood. Then, as the associate pastor at our church administered communion at a recent service, I heard him communicate the scriptural indicatives as empowering the imperatives. This man helped me plant a church in St. Louis when he was an MDiv student intern; he is now a key church-planting leader in our presbytery. Jesus continues to build his church through the grace-centered gospel taught at Covenant Seminary.

Acts 5:14: “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women….”

It is estimated that within a just few years, the number of believers in Jerusalem grew to 20,000 men, women, and children. Because the average home at that time could hold no more than 40 people, this means that approximately 500 churches would have been planted. Jesus plants his church today in the same way he built the first-century church and the churches of the Reformation—through the Father granting faith to spiritually dead people to see Jesus as the Christ, raising them from spiritual death, and baptizing them into union with Christ. Because of this gospel pattern, we send our graduates out to plant churches with the confidence that as many as are appointed to eternal life will believe (Acts 13:48). I am often encouraged by the grace-centeredness of our

DR. PHILIP D. DOUGLASS Dr. Douglass came to Covenant Seminary in 1986 after 14 years of pastoring in the Washington, DC area, where he planted three churches. Since coming to St. Louis, he has started two curches and also recently served for six years as pastor of a local church. He is a member of Mission to North America (the church planting agency of the PCA) on the national and presbytery levels and as an advisor to Midwest MNA. Dr. Douglass is known for taking time to mentor and assist students in clarifying their sense of calling.

COVENANT SEMINARY MDIV ALUMNI PCA CHURCH PLANTS 1958–2005

Number of Churches

COVENANT | Fall 2008

1-3

4-6

7-9

10-12

COVENANT THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

HELPING YOU TO GROW IN For more than 50 years, Covenant Seminary has remained steadfast in its commitment to train servants of the triune God to walk with God, to interpret and communicate Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Word, and to lead Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s people.

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Not only are we witnesses to the wonderful things the Lord is doing through our graduates as they impact the worldwide church, but we are overjoyed at what the Lord has done through our main Covenant Seminary Web site and our Worldwide Free Resources ministry (formerly known as Covenant Worldwide).

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If you are a pastor, alumnus, donor, ministry leader, youth worker, future seminarian, partner church, missionry, small-group leader, or any other friend of Covenant Seminary, please keep watching our Web sites throughout September for some exciting changes as we remain committed to your personal and spiritual growth and ministry and to the strengthening of the church.

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We are also excited to announce that we will continue to provide Christ-centered, grace-oriented, encouragement for your life and ministry, now through Living Christ 360, a new ministry featuring Dr. Bryan Chapell and friends.

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We are thankful for your partnership and pray that your ministry will be strengthened by these exciting new efforts!

Grace

ENHANCED PLACEMENT SERVICES

New Worldwide courses on iTunes 8

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In M emoriam:

Dr. R. Laird Harris (1911–2008)

he seminary community was grieved last spring to learn of the death of one of our founding fathers and a great man of faith: Dr. R. Laird Harris, who went to be with the Lord on April 25, 2008, at the age of 97. Dr. Harris died peacefully at the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community in Quarryville, Pennsylvania, where he had lived for many years. He was a wonderful example of how God’s grace flows through his servants to bless and build up his people. Though trained as a chemical engineer, Dr. Harris was called into ministry in his early twenties. He studied under J. Gresham Machen at Westminster Theological Seminary before a long and distinguished career as a Christian educator. He taught first at Faith Theological Seminary, where he served from 1937 to 1956, and was as a founding faculty member of Covenant Seminary, where he taught in the Old Testament department from 1956 until his retirement in 1981. From 1964 to 1971 he also served as dean of the Seminary. Upon his retirement he was granted the title professor emeritus. In honor of Dr. Harris’s outstanding contribution to biblical scholarship, each year the Seminary presents a graduating student with the R. Laird Harris Award in Exegesis (the textual study of Scripture). Dr. Harris’s influence stretched far beyond the Seminary campus and even outside the US. He often served as a visiting instructor in many other nations. A dedicated churchman, Dr. Harris served as moderator for both the 1956 General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church and the 1982 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). He was chairman of the Committee on Bible Translation for the COVENANT | Fall 2008

New International Version (NIV) and translated key sections of the NIV Old Testament. He also contributed to or authored several books, including the five-volume Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Scriptures, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Inspiration and Canonicity of the Bible, Introductory Hebrew Grammar, Man—God’s Eternal Creation, and a commentary on Leviticus in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary series. Dr. Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Seminary and a former student of Dr. Harris, noted, “Dr. Harris was a man of great curiosity whose wide-ranging interests led him to explore with eagerness science, theology, people, and the world around him in his quest to better understand and appreciate God’s creation. His love for God’s Word and the goodness of the gospel made him a great teacher who demonstrated that brilliant thought and simple faith were not contradictory. His humble and fun-loving heart was a great gift to the two generations of church leaders he helped to train.” Dr. Harris’s first wife, Elizabeth Nelson Harris, passed away in 1980. He is survived by his second wife, Anne P. Kraus Harris (a long-term missionary in Japan), his three children—Grace Sears, Allegra Smick, and Robert Harris—10 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Though he will be missed by all who knew and loved him, we celebrate Dr. Harris’s life of faithful service and look forward to being reunited with him in glory. RICK MATT Rick Matt (MATS ’05) serves as associate director of public relations for Covenant Seminary, where he writes and edits a variety of print and electronic materials to support the Seminary’s mission of training pastors and ministry leaders for Christ’s church.

DONOR PROFILE left: Jack Reed (right) is the founder of the Seminary’s Men’s Leadership Breakfast. right: JoAnne and Jack Reed value Covenant Seminary’s pastoral training mission and have been part of the Seminary community for more than 20 years.

Blessed by Stewardship

hen I think about the specific dimensions affecting the decisions that I make as a Christian, perhaps one of the most important ones concerns my stewardship. Life itself is God’s gift, and I have come to learn that our stewardship of it should demonstrate that we are owned by our Creator. Scripture has taught me that where my family and I regularly fellowship and celebrate life in the body of Christ— the local church where we are members—is the first and most important recipient of our financial stewardship. It is an act commanded by God. In addition, there are many other causes and institutions that are glorifying his Kingdom effectively and bringing honor to his name. My wife, JoAnne, and I have found that one such institution that is vital to the life of his Kingdom is Covenant Theological Seminary. Our family’s and my personal love for Covenant Seminary began in 1985 when I met Dr. Paul Kooistra. Paul had just become the president of Covenant Seminary and also served as a moderator of the session of our church, which was searching for a new senior pastor at that time. I am grateful to Paul for introducing me to Covenant Seminary, and I thank the Lord for the blessings he has bestowed on us as a result of our involvement with the institution. After receiving the honor of being chosen as a trustee and board member for Covenant Seminary, I had the opportunity to see many of the professors in their daily work. Through various activities, I have been blessed to listen to the professors teach and preach. I have watched how they convincingly and lovingly teach young students the reality of the truth of Scripture. It continues to excite my heart to think about how this teaching of truth eventually works its way into the world to spread the Word of God to people today and for years to come. Because the gospel message of God’s grace changes hearts in our country and around the world, the teaching and preaching of the Word to us is critical. Since our initial contact with Covenant Seminary, my wife and I have seen its powerful multiplying effect that carries God’s Word to future generations, and we desire to help support this mission. We

are thankful that the Lord has given us the means to assist financially as the Seminary has continued to grow and expand its ministry. What struck me most in our early contact was the Seminary’s strong, vibrant, convincing teaching of the truth of Scripture. To this day, the professors are men who not only love the Lord and delight in teaching his Word, but they also are men of character and grace and love. The professors embody so many of the attributes of Christ himself as they

IT CONTINUES TO EXCITE MY HEART TO THINK ABOUT HOW THIS TEACHING OF TRUTH EVENTUALLY WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE WORLD TO SPREAD THE WORD OF GOD TO PEOPLE TODAY AND FOR YEARS TO COME. reach out and make God’s Word understandable to students who will be future pastors and ministry leaders in the US and around the world. This dedication to purpose is evident in every aspect of the Seminary’s life. As a place where God’s true Word is taught and absorbed and preached convincingly throughout the world, the Seminary continues to be a wonderful blessing. My wife and I and our son, Jeff, and his family have benefited greatly because of our association with Covenant Seminary. Not only has it enhanced our Christian understanding and our individual walks with the Savior, but it also has affected our outlook on what Covenant Seminary can do for the world. Being a part of the local, national, and worldly outreach of the Seminary’s ministry of thoroughly educating, training, and equipping Reformed leaders and preachers is a great source of satisfaction to me. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this and to be blessed by it. JACK REED

(WITH FORMER BOARD MEMBER JACK HUGHES )

Jack Reed, a retired investments analyst, has served on the board of Covenant Seminary since 1991. He is the founder and sponsor of the Seminary’s Men’s Leadership Breakfast—a Bible study for men in the St. Louis area taught by a Covenant Seminary professor. Jack Hughes is a longtime friend of the Seminary and has served on several boards over the years..

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the

of the

How does God call us to think about his law, and how can we teach the law as an introduction to the gospel of

COVENANT | Fall 2008

Christ?

ecently my colleague Anthony Bradley, assistant professor of apologetics and systematic theology at Covenant Seminary, said, “At this time in our culture apologetics is ethics.” I agree thoroughly with this statement, for we live in a culture that has lost its moral compass. In such a time as this, God’s moral commandments are one of his most comforting and challenging gifts to us as believers. They are also one of the most significant ways by which we can introduce unbelievers to the good news that comes to us from the Lord. In this time of moral uncertainty and confusion, we can be glad that the Lord has given us a sure moral word for every generation and for every time.

between good and evil, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice, mercy and oppression, graciousness and indifference. Such knowledge is a great blessing, for where human religion denies the existence of the personal and infinite God, as, for example, in Hindu pantheism, then it is acknowledged that there is no foundation for any ultimate distinction between light and darkness, good and evil, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice. In professor and mythologist Joseph Campbell’s interviews with broadcast journalist Bill Moyers (published as Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth), Campbell declared: Heraclitus said that for God all things are good and right and just, but for man some things are right and others are not. When you are a man, you are in the field of time and decisions. One of the problems of life is to live with the realization of both terms, to say, “I know the center, and I know that good and evil are simply temporal aberrations and that, in God’s view, there is no difference. . . .” Since in Hindu thinking everything in the universe is a manifestation of divinity itself, how should we say no to anything in the world? How should we say no to brutality, to stupidity, to vulgarity, to thoughtlessness? . . . For you and for me—the way is to say yes.

The First Beauty

God’s Law Reveals His Character Scripture teaches us that God’s glory is revealed in his goodness. See, for example, Exodus 33:18–19. In this passage Moses asks the Lord to reveal his glory to him. The Lord replies: “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ ” God’s character is the basis for affirming that this is a moral universe—a universe in which there is at the back of all things a final distinction

The Law teaches us to reveal the mercy, love, and grace of God in all our relationships with other people.

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The Third Beauty

Western secularism also has no foundation for making clear and permanent distinctions between good and evil. Therefore, we are left with four alternatives:

Even the law’s Exposure of Our Sin is a Loving Work Our teaching of the law must not begin with the law as the enemy that exposes sin, for this gives us a negative view of the law. In contrast, the apostle Paul declares that the law is “holy, and righteous, and good;” it is indeed “spiritual” and perfect (Rom. 7:12, 14). It is because the law is beautiful that it reveals the ugliness of my sin. Even this use of the law—what is often called the “first use of the law”—is actually a gracious work of the law, for my sin needs to be exposed and deserves to be revealed for what it is—the enemy of my life and eternal wellbeing. So the law is a gracious tutor leading me to Christ, the place I most need to go to find mercy and forgiveness.

the personal preferences of the individual seeking his or her own happiness n the will of the majority deciding what is right and wrong n the imposition of the views of some powerful elite (whether the elite are politicians with power, philosophers claiming superior knowledge, business interests with money and access to government, or scientific interests that impose their wishes on the people) n an ideology such as Marxism or radical Islam insisting that it knows what will bring about an ideal society n

The Fourth Beauty The law Calls Us Mercy to Others

In contrast to these options, the whole of Scripture affirms that the law is the expression of God’s righteous, just, kind, and loving nature. The law therefore is not arbitrary; rather, these decrees are righteous and wise because God has issued them (Deut. 4:5–8; see also Lev. 19:2, where God introduces his commandments by declaring: “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.’ ” Then, after each commandment he adds, “I am the Lord your God.”).

Show Grace, Love,

and

This calling is at the heart of the Sabbath laws; the laws about forgiving debts at sabbatical years; the laws about liberty from bond service in the jubilee years; the laws about rulers imitating God by being advocates for the poor, the needy, the widow, the orphan, the alien; the laws about agricultural and business practice that demand mercy and generosity to those in need. All these—and many more—mirror the goodness and kindness of God to Israel. The law teaches us to reveal the mercy, love, and grace of God in all our relationships with other people. The gleaning laws give us an example here: “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:9–10). Such case laws (and many others) give us the “floor” (a term used by Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham) of what God desires. The spiritual person who loves the law recognizes this and desires to fill up the room of the law rather than find satisfaction in obeying the mere letter. The story of Boaz’ kindness to Ruth (Ruth 2) is a wonderful example of this. Boaz understands that the intent of the gleaning laws is that he be generous like God, but he goes way beyond the letter of the law and fulfills the spirit of the law. His righteousness is consequently beautiful and inspiring. Some of the laws express the principles, intent, and spirit at the heart of the law rather than the “floor.’ This is true of Jesus’ saying that the law is about justice, mercy, and faithfulness. In similar fashion, Jesus teaches us that the whole law is about loving God and loving our neighbors; Paul tells us that every law has to do with loving our neighbors as ourselves (see Rom. 13:8–10).

The Second Beauty

God’s Commandments Set the Definition For Our Lives We are made in the image of God and are to walk in his ways. As human persons this is what we were created to do—to live as the one who made us lives. Leviticus 19 teaches us that we are created to live in imitation of God. We are to be holy, just, and merciful because this is who God is. Psalm 25:4–14 teaches

The truth is that righteousness is welcoming and inspiring. that we are to walk in God’s ways, following the pattern of life set by the covenant-giving and covenant-keeping God. This psalm declares: “good and upright is the Lord, therefore he instructs sinners in the way” (v.8; see also Deut. 10:12–13: “What does the Lord require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?”) Influential sixteenthcentury theologian John Calvin refers to what is commonly called the “third use of the law” as the principle and proper use of the law—it defines true humanness for us.

COVENANT | Fall 2008

The Fifth Beauty

We are to Treasure the law as a Source of Wisdom The law brings life, blessing, and freedom to us (see Rom. 7; Ps. 1; Ps. 19; Ps. 119; Jas. 1:25). Our culture teaches us that freedom is found in doing whatever I think will bring me vivid personal feelings and personal success (sociologist Robert Bellah’s summary of what we Americans hunger for in this moment of our history). But the Christian understands that true freedom is found not in doing what I choose for myself, but in walking in obedience to God’s commandments.

Your Partnership Can Still Impact the Next Generation of Pastors and Church Leaders

The Sixth Beauty

The law Provides a Treasure Trove of Material With Which to Serve Our Societies

Even though we’re approaching the end of our campaign, we still need your help to complete several special projects that will further enhance our ability to train the next generation of pastors and ministry leaders. Any gift, no matter the size, can help us in this mission.

As we urge those among whom we live to value human life, or to delight in chastity and fidelity, or to fight with passion for the protection of those who are most vulnerable, the law is a rich resource. This is traditionally termed the second use of the law. Reflecting on these six beauties of the law helps us to see that the exposition of the law is one of the most powerful apologetic weapons given to us by the Lord. This is to be true in our teaching: we should be giving sermons on work, sexuality, money, mercy, justice, kindness, deliverance from oppression, love for the alien, and every other aspect of the wisdom of God’s law. We do this not to attack people and make them feel worthless but to attract them with God’s vision for the well-being of human life. Above all, this beauty of the law is to be demonstrated in our lives, for, as the late theologian and pastor Francis Schaeffer used to say, “Our lives are our final apologetic.” The truth is that righteousness is inspiring and welcoming. This is so when we see the loveliness of the life of Jesus (sinners delighted in his company), and it is so when we read about the mercy of Boaz. This is why we love the parables of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10), the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), and the Good Shepherd (John 10). It was the kind and gracious heart and the warm hospitality of one of my fellow students at college that the Lord used to open my heart to the gospel. Paul challenges us to make the gospel of God our Savior attractive by our lives (Titus 2:10), and Peter urges us to live in such a manner that unbelievers will see our good deeds and glorify God (1 Peter 2:12).

Enhance Community Life •

Outdoor amphitheatre/ Community gathering space:

$35,000

•

Expand community center:

$60,000

Upgrade Academic Spaces •

Computers to centralize student registration and financial processes: $15,000

•

Audio-visual equipment:

$25,000

•

Storable furniture:

$25,000

Expand Maintenance Endowment •

Ensure institutional sustainability and ongoing maintenance of our growing campus: Our stretch goal is $2.5 million

For more information visit our Web site, or call 1.800.264.8064 and ask for John Ranheim or Pat Smith, our directors of development.

JERRAM BARRS A student of the late Francis A. Schaeffer, Professor Barrs joined the Seminary faculty in 1989 after 18 years with L’Abri Fellowship in England, where he also served as a pastor in the International Presbyterian Church. Professor Barrs brings to his teaching a special sensitivity toward those outside the Christian faith and is in great demand as a speaker in the United States and abroad. Other interests include the arts and literature. He is the author of numerous books, the most recent of which is The Heart of Prayer.

www.covenantseminary.edu

ALUMNUS PROFILE

left: Chuck Garriott (right) and Bret Bernhardt, chief of staff for Sen. Jim DeMint. center: Chuck (left) meets with Sekemia Mwonyonyi (center) and Michael Schwartz, both of whom work for Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. right: Chuck Garriott, MDiv ‘79.

Ministry to State: Modern-Day Daniel

any people in the evangelical community are really nervous about the upcoming election—worried about who will be our next president—and not just for the next four years but for the next eight,” says Chuck Garriott (MDiv ’79). “Christians have a responsibility to enter the politcal arena and even vote for the candidate of their choice. But at the end of the day, if the winner ends up being someone who is ideologically on the other end of the spectrum from where we are as evangelical Christians, there is no reason to despair. This is how history has always played out.” More than 30 years ago, Chuck Garriott was self-confessedly uninterested in government, politics, and the political system. This makes it all the more remarkable that he now finds himself spearheading Ministry to State (MTS), a ministry focused on serving people in the political realm. Chuck and his wife, Debby, began MTS—now a part of the Presbyterian Church in Amercia’s (PCA) Mission to North America—after 25 years of pastoral ministry. “The purpose of MTS is to develop greater awareness of the gospel among people in government, both domestically and internationally. We do this primarily by utilizing the network of the PCA here in the US and throughout the world,” explains Chuck. MTS has five major emphases. “First, we are looking to bring the gospel to bear in the government center. There is a huge need to reach people who are governing with the simplicity of the gospel message. Second, there is a need to develop a biblical world- and life view among those who govern. Third, we believe that there is a need to develop a biblical conscience in the government center. Fourth, this approach is an appropriate way for the church to relate to the state and government. And fifth, we strive to encourage more COVENANT | Fall 2008

intelligent prayer for and about people in politics.” Historically, the involvement of the church in the political realm has been both sporadic and extreme. After the Scopes Trial in 1925 (when a biology teacher was arrested for teaching evolution even though many believe the defense attorney successfully exposed the flaws in the arguments of the renowned orator representing the prosectution), the reaction of the American church was largely to withdraw from the political arena. This continued until the rise of the Moral Majority Coalition in the late 1970s and early 1980s—an organization focused on effecting societal change through political endorsement. Chuck says, “In essence, the church has either pulled back completely, or it has become a lobbying group that tries to change the world through politics, with a mentality that thinks if we get the right people in office and employ the politcal

[WHEN] PEOPLE NO LONGER SEE ME AS WANTING SOMETHING POLITICALLY BUT INSTEAD SEE ME AS ONE WHO OFFERS ENCOURAGEMENT AND SERVICE—THEN THE DOORS OPEN UP. machinery to get done what we want to get done we can change the morals and direction of our country.” For evangelical Christians, neither extreme has had the desired effect. “Just getting the right people in office isn’t the answer,” Chuck states. “If you aren’t going after the heart and nature of man, then all the political manipulation in the world isn’t going to make the difference. The nature of man is so evil and dishonoring to God that the gospel is constantly needed in a fresh way every day. Sin is there; it is within the heart.” Another consequence of the church’s reactive interaction

with government is that many Christians refuse to enter that realm at all. And yet, the absence of the Christian presence actually results in the further deterioration of morals and biblical awareness. Chuck points to World War II Germany—a country that had once been deeply influenced by the Reformation. How could it happen that the majority of people in a nation would fall in line with a government and policies that resulted in the

THERE IS A HUGE NEED TO REACH PEOPLE WHO ARE GOVERNING WITH THE SIMPLICITY OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE. murder of millions of Jews in the Holocaust? “It happens when the church loses its grip theologically,” Chuck answers. “It happens when the church no longer becomes salt and light to the world, is no longer influencing the world with the gospel, and is not helping to develop a biblical conscience in society.” Not surprisingly, when Christians withdraw from realms of culture and society and refuse to engage, the consequences are severe. Remember, for instance, what happened with Sodom and Gomorrah. Despite the great evil in those cities, their final destruction hinged on the presence or absence of believers—“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city?” (Gen. 18:23–24). Regarding the upcoming elections, the war in Iraq, tensions with Iran and Korea, Chuck says, “These are all just other opportunities for us to engage government with a set of values that God has given us and to do so in a way that reaches people with the gospel—without feeling that if we don’t get our way all the time, we can just take our toys and go home.” At the end of the day, such political engagement looks a lot like Daniel’s interactions with his Babylonian captors (Dan. 1–2). “The story of Daniel is a perfect example of what we are looking for in regards to a church that exists amid and has to work within a secular society,” explains Chuck. “If you consider where society is now, you see that it is very pluralistic and secular. The gospel is foreign in this environment. Can we really afford to say to people in office, ‘If you aren’t working things in conjunction with the values of the Bible, you have to leave’?” Continuing his explanation, Chuck says, “Daniel came in to a secular society and was confronted with the demands to look a certain way, eat certain food, and be something very different than he was—and immediately he was faced with idolatry. However, he didn’t go to Ashpenaz, Nebuchadnezzar’s assistant, and refuse to participate. He didn’t have that choice. Instead, he appealed to Ashpenaz on an experiential basis, asking him to observe what happened when Daniel and his friends lived on only vegetables and water [instead of eating meat sacrificed to idols]. Daniel basically said to him: ‘Give us the opportunity to show we can do this; you won’t lose your head, you’ll please the king, and we’ll have what we need, which is an absence of idola

try in our lives.’ And the experiment worked!” In light of this, “We need to be more like Daniel,” Chuck suggests. As believers interact in a gracious, non-subversive, respectful way, God honors that in ways that may surprise and astound us. For example, Chuck works biannually with chief of staff members from Oklahoma and South Carolina to host a prayer breakfast led by congressmen and senators from those states. “In the political realm there are significant opportunities for people to be exposed to the gospel,” Chuck notes. “When I sit down with a member of Congress, I continue to see an amazing amount of interest in the gospel. When I finally cross that perceived boundary—where people no longer see me as just wanting something politically but instead see me as one who offers encouragement and service—then the doors open up. I see an amazing amount of humility. There is a great openness to seeing the gospel impact political leaders’ lives and work.” Even so, there are Christians who see politics as evil and political interaction as somehow unclean. To such thinking Chuck responds, “It is true to say that politics has an evil side—but so does the corporate world, the medical field, and the educational field. The church has one as well, only we don’t want to recognize that. It’s one of the reasons we aren’t as effective as we could be; we have an unrealistic view of ourselves. We constantly try to present the picture that we are better than the world, when this simply isn’t true. Our goal with MTS is for the world to become enamored with Christ.” “At the end of the day,” Chuck concludes, “Christians must be involved with people in politics. We do want to be top: Chuck spends much of his time on Capitol Hill. above: Chuck and Debby instruments of change—but Garriott began Ministry to State more we aren’t there simply to see than 30 years ago. some law enacted or a particular individual elected. Those aren’t the measuring rods of whether the church has failed or succeeded. Understanding the church as the body of Christ and her purpose on this earth is critical if we are to be effective.” JOEL HATHAWAY Joel Hathaway (MDiv ’04), director of alumni and church relations, serves to encourage and sustain pastors and ministry leaders in their first five years of ministry and beyond. Graduates of the Seminary are invited to contact Joel for matters of prayer by e-mail at joel.hathaway@ covenantseminary.edu.

www.covenantseminary.edu

et’s face it: when it’s 100 degrees outside, who wants to hear, “I’m moving. Can you help?” Even less appealing can be the thought of lugging boxes of books and heavy furniture for a total stranger. Yet every year, groups of Covenant Theological Seminary students willingly assist people they don’t know in this way to help new students and their families settle in and welcome them to the Seminary, giving them a foretaste of the communal life that exists here. “Last summer we had 175 new students, which translated to about 75 moves,” says Admissions Events Coordinator Melynda Boyce. Whether new students relocated into one of the 48 campus apartments, 3 campus houses, an apartment in an off-campus cluster community, or a home or apartment somewhere else, groups of current students ready to work provided the first “welcome home” to Covenant Seminary. This activity helps build the sense of community that is so highly praised here. “I generally let the neighbors of new people know when they will arrive so they can help them and say hello,” says Melynda. Halfway through a move, the scene often looks like this: with the ramp down, a partially unloaded truck sits outside a home while packed boxes are strewn in piles around a living room. When the movers are ready for a break, a group of exhausted and perspiring students plant themselves on a living room floor and guzzle bottles of sports drinks provided by Student Services. Later in the evening, a knock on the door from a neighbor or someone else in the seminary community yields a pan of hot lasagna. “Hopefully we can work closely with Student Services to coordinate these details,” says Melynda. “It doesn’t always happen this way, but it is a living sign of a community of grace when it does.” Stephen Leung (MDiv ’08) remembers how welcoming it was when a group congregated at his family’s apartment to help them move in. “We had at least six guys descend on our truck. It was amazing,” he says. A friend traveling with the Leungs was rather impressed as well. “He had attended another seminary,” explains Stephen, “and he commented how this sort of thing would never have taken place where he went.” In order to help others experience the embrace of the Covenant community, Stephen participated in numerous move crews. When a crew organizes easily, everyone scheduled to help arrvies, new tenants pull in on time, food and drinks show up as planned, and the whole moving process runs smoothly, it makes the entrance into Covenant Seminary feel like stepping into a storybook community. However, reality is where we all live, and sometimes the initial welcome looks a bit different than the Seminary’s desire. Stephen recalls one instance when a family, who was arriving from California, rolled in much later than planned. “The move crew waited and waited, but several of us had tickets for a Cardinals baseball game,” shared Stephen. Just as the group decided to disband and move on to other obligations, the new family and their moving truck arrived. “It

MAKING THE

MOVE

Teams of volunteers offer a warm welcome to new students and families as they arrive and settle into the Covenant Seminary community.

COVENANT | Fall 2008

probably didn’t look so welcoming then,” says Stephen, imitating the helloand-goodbye wave given from the car. He laughs at the memory because of the bond he currently has with that student. “He became one of my closest friends at the Seminary,” says Stephen. Even if someone does experience a not-so-picture-perfect move, the assimilation into the seminary community remains strong, affirming that people here care deeply about more than the first impression—they ultimately want to share their lives with one another. Erich Rose (MDiv ’08), another frequent move crew volunteer, enjoys helping new students move partly because of the opportunity to talk to people—those he knows and those he doesn’t—in small group settings. “Next to sharing a meal with others, rallying around a family to help them move in is a great fellowship activity,” Erich shares. For some, the move crews have provided more than just easy conversation and a friendly introduction to seminary life—it has helped them find a church home in St. Louis. “I encouraged each of the couples I helped move to try out the church I attend,” says Erich. “Now a couple of those people go there too and are in my weekly Bible study group.” Erich not only likes welcoming people, he sympathizes with their situation of being in the vulnerable position of needing help but not having friends and family around to assist. “I know what the burden feels like to move into a new place and how much I appreciate when someone helps me, so I like to help—it’s kind of like transitive reciprocity,” he says, then adds with a smile, “That’s a little applied Christian ethics from Professor Bradley’s class.” By August of last year, after many early summer moves, Melynda called on students who were new in the beginning of the summer to help fall students move in. Encouraged by this act of love and service which they received, many gladly turned around to lighten the loads of other brothers and sisters in Christ with whom they looked forward to sharing their lives. JACKIE FOGAS Jackie Fogas serves as the senior copy editor and special projects coordinator in the Public Relations office at Covenant Seminary. Her husband, Michael, is pursuing an MDiv and will graduate in May 2009.

Housing Quick Facts Community life remains a highly valued aspect of Covenant Theological Seminary—a natural outflow of people with common interests and goals living next door to one another. n

45 single students and more than 40 families (mainly those with children) reside in campus housing.

In addition to campus housing, the Admissions staff encourages students to live in the four other cluster communities: Gulf Drive, Atherton, Oxford Hills, and Madison at Seven Trails.

The Seminary owns the Gulf Drive apartments, a complex of 44 units that is 12 miles from campus.

Right next to Gulf Drive is Atherton, another complex that provides housing for nearly 20 couples and families

Oxford Hills and Madison at Seven Trails are complexes that are closer to the Seminary.

Students and families who moved in to Oxford Hills last year had the unique experience of all being new together. Because of this, everyone needed friends at the same time, and a special bond easily formed among the students and families. They held a pool party in the summer and a Christmas party in the winter.

www.covenantseminary.edu

IN A STUDENT’S WORDS

above: By God’s grace, the Fowlers’ home in Montgomery, Alabama sold quickly. right: The Fowlers head toward St. Louis.

Hither By Thy Help I’m Come

n July 31, 2006, I sat on the floor of our empty house and cried. All of our belongings were packed into a 26-foot truck, save for a few odds and ends corralled into the living room, and I was waiting for the new owners to bring their trucks and claim our Hallwood Lane home in Montgomery, Alabama, as their own. As for us, my husband, Lindon, and I (along with our faithful dog, Nash) were leaving Montgomery for St. Louis, Missouri, to start the new chapter of our lives opening at Covenant Theological Seminary. We had built that house together, carefully choosing the paint, tile, counters, and even the bricks so that everything was just how we wanted it. That house had been our home, our very first home, and I wept to leave it. Though my tears were plentiful, I realized that just as God had clearly brought us to that house, he was clearly guiding us on to a new adventure, coordinating the events in our lives to come together like the facets of the house that we had planned. Our journey to Covenant Seminary began in January 1999 when Lindon Fowler heard the gospel presented at an outreach event by a bodybuilder named Thad. Lindon renewed his commitment to live for Christ, and as he grew in his love for the Lord, his heart for ministry also grew. Fast-forward seven years, and Lindon is married to me, living in that nice house, and serving as the youth director at a church in Montgomery where the pastor has recently left. With the absence of a pastor, Lindon stepped in to assist, and rekindled his fire for pastoral ministry in the process. After months of prayer we decided to apply to Covenant Seminary, asking God to make his will abundantly clear. We sent off the applications for admission and financial aid on COVENANT | Fall 2008

May 3, and on May 15 we were notified of our acceptance. On May 16 we learned that we had received a scholarship. It seemed that God had spoken, so we set our eyes westward. Only after learning of our acceptance and scholarship did we really examine the financial aid handbook and see that all applications should have been turned in by March 1. We had been accepted after missing the deadline by two months! We took these experiences and layered them like stones, crafting an ever-growing monument to God’s faithfulness. Within two weeks of acceptance we learned that an apartment awaited us on Gulf Drive. One week later, a couple came to look at our house in Montgomery to determine if it would be their first home. Within days our little house had a “sold” sign in the front yard without us ever having put it on the market. These events—and the dozens more that occurred in the subsequent weeks—added more stones to our monument of God’s faithfulness. I can’t think of our journey to Covenant Seminary without thinking of the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” wherein the hymnist writes, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come.” One day we will pack our belongings into another moving truck and leave our place for another home, and I will probably sit on the floor and cry. But no matter where we go, I will take with me these reminders of God’s faithfulness, and my heart will rest in the shadow of this Ebenezer. He is the great Architect—our hiding place and our home. MEGAN FOWLER Megan Fowler is a freelance writer, legal assistant, and wife to third-year MDiv student Lindon Fowler. They own a house in University City, Missouri, where Megan attempts to grow hydrangeas and show her neighbors the love of Christ.

SEMINARY news & events PROFESSORS’ SPEAKING SCHEDULES Jerram Barrs Professor of Christian Studies and Contemporary Culture; Resident Scholar of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute SEPT. 22–24 Nagoya, Japan. Tokai

congress on Missions and Evangelism. TOPIC: “Missions as the Restoration of the Image of God in Humans.” OCT. 18–19 Intown Community

Church; Atlanta, GA. Preaching at twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. NOV. 7–8 Southeastern Baptist

Theological Seminary; Wake Forest, NC. TOPIC: “Francis Schaeffer—A Mind and Heart for God: Engaging the Culture with the Message of Christ.”

Bryan Chapell President and Professor of Practical Theology SEPT. 7 The Kirk of the Hills (PCA)

morning worship service at Rayburn Chapel at Covenant Seminary; St. Louis, MO.

SEPT. 14 Redeemer Presbyterian

Church; Overland Park, KS. Preaching. OCT. 3–5 Carriage Lane

Presbyterian Church; Peachtree City, GA. Bible conference. OCT. 11–12 Memphis, TN. RUF fall

conference. OCT. 17–19 Chestnut Mountain

Presbyterian Church; Chestnut Mountain, GA. Marriage conference. OCT. 26 Tenth Presbyterian

Church; Philadelphia, PA. Preaching at morning service; Reformation Hymn Festival in evening. NOV. 2 Covenant of Grace

Presbyterian Church; Reisterstown, MD. Morning service. Church’s twenty-fifth anniversary celebration. NOV. 5–6 Westminster Theological

Seminary; Philadelphia, PA. Preaching conference. NOV. 9 First Evangelical Free

Church; St. Louis, MO.

Faculty News Preaching. NOV. 13–14 Grove City College;

Grove City, PA. Lectures. NOV. 16 Faith Reformed

Presbyterian Church; Quarryville, PA. Preaching.

Philip D. Douglass Professor of Practical Theology SEPT. 2, OCT. 7, NOV. 4 Chairing

the Mission to North America Committee of the Missouri Presbytery. SEPT. 18–19 Atlanta, GA. National

Mission to North America Committee meeting. OCT. 17–18 Chicago, IL. Church-

planting field trip (hosted by Naperville Presbyterian Church and City Church).

Robert Peterson Professor of Systematic Theology SUNDAYS, AUG.–NOV.

Redeemer Presbyterian Church; Columbia, MO. Preaching.

Professors and Alumni Involved in New ESV Study Bible In October the new English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible will be released, a significant portion of the Bible’s study notes and articles were contributed by current or former Covenant Theological Seminary professors or graduates. Current professors involved include Drs. Brian Aucker, Hans Bayer, David Chapman, Daniel Doriani (adjunct professor), C. John Collins, Kenneth Laing Harris (Covenant Seminary graduate and visiting instructor), Greg Perry (timeline and chart consultant), Jay Sklar, Robert Vasholz (professor emeritus). Former professor Dr. V. Philips Long and graduates Dr. Max F. Rogland and Andrew Stewart were also contributors.

Fall Lifetime of Ministry Weekend Courses • • • • • • • •

FREE for ALUM NI!

Movies and Madness, Sept. 5–6 Revival and Renewal in a Global Perspective, Sept. 5–6 Music for the Local Church, Sept. 19–20 Strategies for Urban and City Center Church Planting, Sept. 19–20 Preaching Lectures with Dr. George Robertson, Oct. 7–8 Gospel-Centered Parenting, Oct. 10–11 The Church in Context: The Gospel in the City, Oct. 31–Nov.1 Ancient Near Eastern Background of the Old Testament, Nov. 7–8

Associate Professor of New Testament Dr. Clarence Dewitt “Jimmy” Agan III has been named dean of faculty. As such, he will focus on pastoring the faculty and serving as the primary interface for the faculty on the President’s Cabinet.

Dr. Anthony Bradley, assistant professor of apologetics and systematic theology, has been named director of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute. He brings a great deal of energy and experience to this role, and will draw on his time at the Acton Institute to provide vision for the Institute. Dr. Bob Burns, associate professor of educational ministries and director of the Center for Ministry Leadership and the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program, has been named dean of lifelong learning. In line with this, the DMin program is in the process of being reshaped into a “cohort” style—meaning pastors will be grouped together as they move through particular concentrations. This change will take place beginning in 2009. Associate Professor of Old Testament Dr. Jay Sklar has accepted responsibilities as associate dean of academics. Coupling these responsibilities with oversight of the ThM program, Dr. Sklar will focus on faculty pedagogy, degree program assessment, and curricular development.

Francis A. Schaeffer Lectures: “Taking Citizenship Seriously” Join us October 3–4 as Dr. Jim Skillen, president of the Center for Public Justice, examines some of the deep and wide-ranging questions that Christians need to be asking during this election season. Criteria for sound decisionmaking are far more important in this quest than simply choosing a preferred slogan or personality. The Center for Public Justice is located in Annapolis, Maryland. www.covenantseminary.edu

ALUMNI On January 27, Kevin Ball (MDiv ’04) was installed as assistant pastor of discipleship at Grace Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Davidsonville, Maryland. Kevin and his wife, Erin (Kelly) (MATS ’06), look forward to this new calling with their children, Doran (age 3) and Marilla (age 1). Bill Bauerle (MATS ’99) and Dr. Lawrence Bray of the North American Reformed Seminary in Flagstaff, Arizona, have teamed up with Ken Aull and Equipping Pastors International (EPI) for the development of a Master of Divinity curriculum for pastors in Africa. EPI targets national pastors and their spouses in developing countries who cannot afford formal training and provides them with training at little or no cost. David Boxerman (MDiv ’81) celebrated his tenth anniversary as pastor of Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Southlake, Texas. David and his wife, Donna Joy, recently celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary; daughter Lydia’s (age 18) high school graduation; the marriage of daughter Ariel (age 20), which David co-officiated; and the departure of daughter Tabitha (age 22) to graduate school in New York. Son John-David (age 11) is an avid chess player and baseball fanatic. Tim Burden (MDiv ’04) was ordained and installed as the assistant pastor of Peace Presbyterian Church in Cary, North Carolina, on August 19, 2007. Kurt Lutjens (MDiv ’82), pastor of Grace and Peace Fellowship in St. Louis, Missouri, preached the sermon. Tim’s ministry focus is on college- and careerage attenders, adult education, and outreach. Dani Kim Butler (MATS ’99) praises God for the changes in her life since graduation. Married shortly after graduation, Dani and her husband, Jim, have two daughters: Kaitlyn (age 3) and Madelyn, (born October 3, 2007). Dani currently works at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, as the international student advisor and with the ESL program and international admissions. Chris Clark (MDiv ’98) began teaching in the Communications department at Bryan College. Chris married Carol Bilbo (MATS ’98) in 1999, and the Clarks spent several years at Rockport College, where Chris studied film. Chris nears completion of his MFA in scriptwriting and film studies at Hollins University. The Clarks have three children. Jim Coad III (MDiv ’79)—along with his wife, Galita, and three daughters—marks his twentyfourth anniversary at Ciudad Valles in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, where he serves with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The Coads help train leaders in the La Huasteca region—

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where inhabitants speaks the native language of Wastek (Huastec). Ed Eubanks (MDiv ’05) was ordained as the pastor of Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church in Eads, Tennessee, on February 17. Covenant Seminary professor Dr. Phil Douglass gave the charge. Ed and his wife, Marcie, have two children: Jack (age 5) and Molly (age 3). After five years as an associate pastor at Grace and Peace Fellowship in St. Louis, Missouri, Michael (MDiv ’02) and Chris (MATS ’03) Gordon have transitioned to Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, where Michael serves as the Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) campus minister. Michael and Chris have two children, Elliot (age 3) and Elsie (age 1). Brian Habig (MDiv ’95) pastors Downtown Presbyterian in Greenville, South Carolina, which was established as a church on March 30. David Sinclair (MDiv ’84) and Toby Woodard (MDiv ’97) served on the presbytery commission that led the service. Hal Farnsworth (MDiv ’85) also preached at the service. Brian and his wife, Dana, have three children and have been in Greenville since 2005. David Hall (MDiv ’05) has joined the Mission to the World (MTW) partner relations team. David lives in Athens, Georgia, with wife Michelle and children Asher (age 8), Cherith (age 6), and Levi (age 4). In addition to being a mother, Michelle also works part time at a pain-management clinic. Upon completion of his degree, Scott Herron (MATS ’07) accepted a job teaching economics and psychology at Bentonville High School in Bentonville, Arkansas. In addition, Scott has started a lawn care business—which grew out of his love for working in the garden of Covenant Seminary professor Jerram Barrs. Scott and his wife, Alison, have one son, Brady (age 2). Michael Langer (MDiv ’07) and Jason Polk (MDiv ’07) were ordained in a joint service November 3, 2007, at Grace Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Missouri. Jason was installed as the assistant pastor of worship and discipleship. Michael was installed as assistant pastor of church planting and evangelism. Covenant Seminary professor Dr. Greg Perry gave the sermon, and colleague Dr. Phil Douglass gave the charge to the ordinands. After serving for two-and-a-half years in Minco, Oklahoma, Brent Lauder (MDiv ’05) transitioned to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hammond, Indiana. Brent and wife Jennifer have three children: Job (age 7), Miriam (age 5), and Ethan (age 3).

In December 2007, Pamela Lucas (MAEM ’07) joined The Gathering—the young adult ministry of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She is serving as director for young women in the ministry— shepherding the hearts of women through speaking, informal counseling, discipleship, and mentoring. Clarence “Monte” Miller (MDiv ’03) and wife Andrea now reside in Mesa, Arizona, and work as software engineers. Monte’s ministry experience and passion is institutional chaplaincy. Their two sons are both Marines who have served in Iraq. Grandchildren Chloe (age 11), Elijah (age 8), Lucas (age 5), and Andrea (age 1) live in nearby Yuma, Arizona. Elijah’s prayer is for Jesus to restore his body and heal him from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Tom Mirabella (MDiv ’05) was ordained and installed on December 9, 2007, as an assistant pastor of outreach and church growth at Faith Presbyterian Church, Wauchula, Florida. Keith Kneeshaw (MDiv ’00) preached and gave the charge. Tom and his wife, Karen, also were blessed with a set of boy and girl twins, Matthias and Leighton, welcomed by big sisters Kylie and AJ, and big brother Josiah. Covenant Seminary celebrates with Josh Moon (MDiv ’04) on the successful defense of his PhD. Josh’s dissertation, titled “Restitutio ad Integrum: An Augustinian Reading of Jeremiah’s New Covenant in Dialogue with the Christian Tradition,” was completed at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). Josh and his wife, Bryonie, have moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Josh serves as the pastor of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Minnetonka. Dane Ortlund (MDiv ’05, ThM ’07) recently published A New Inner Relish: Christian Motivation in the Thought of Jonathan Edwards (Christian Focus Publications). Dane is currently studying biblical theology with a New Testament emphasis at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where he lives with wife Stacey and son Zachary (age 2). Rene (MDiv ’00) and Lani (MATS ’00) Quimbo report the blessings of a fruitful summer of ministry last year. Fifty-two youth and young children participated in the two-week Summer Bible Class where the Quimbos taught Church History and Life and Teachings of Jesus. The Quimbos serve as missionaries in Cagayan do Oro City, Philippians. After four years as an associate pastor at Valley Springs Presbyterian Church in Roseville, California, Tom Savage (MDiv, MAC ’03) became the senior pastor of Ridge Presbyterian Church in Paradise, California. He accepted the call in June 2007 and was installed in September 2007. Tom and Wendy have been married for 16 years and

have three children: Jeannette (age 13), Garrison (age 10), and Nathaniel (age 3). Bryan Thomas Schmidt (MATS ’01) married Bianca Vivian Condado Cleto De Sousa of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, on April 14, 2007. Bryan serves as the founder/executive director of Anchored Music Ministries in St. Louis, Missouri. It provides culturally relevant, high-quality leadership and development training in worship arts worldwide. The Schmidts live in Manchester, Missouri. Cordell Schulten (MATS ’04) serves as chaplain for the Christian Legal Society chapter in St. Louis, Missouri, and as an associate pastor of discipleship at West Hills Community Church. Cordell is a PhD candidate in theology and culture at Concordia Seminary. His wife, Sandy, is a physical therapist assistant and a nursing student. They have four grown children and two beautiful granddaughters. David P. Smith (MDiv ’95) successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in historical theology titled “B. B. Warfield’s Scientifically Constructive Theological Scholarship,” completed at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. David works with the Delaware County Christian School as Bible department chair and director of the chapel program. John and wife Tracy have three children: Gresham (age 7), Isaac (age 4), and Katie (age 2). Congratulations to Graham Waterhouse (MATS ’01, MDiv ’03 ) on her marriage to Barry Behnke on March 29.The wedding party included Patricia Waterhouse (Graham’s sister, a current MAC student) and Gregory Baney (current MDiv student). Jon Medlock (MDiv ’05) helped officiate. Graham continues to serve at The Kirk of the Hills—the couple’s church home in St. Louis, Missouri—as director of children’s ministries.

Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Paul serves as the Reformed University Fellowship campus minster at Middle Tennessee State University. Carolyn (Lacy) Cook (MAC ’03) and husband Matthew celebrate the birth of their twin boys, Carson William and Caden Matthew, on January 18. Both were 5 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 inches long. Carolyn has been with BJC Behavioral Health in St. Louis, Missouri, as a clinical case manager for four years and last fall was promoted to be a team clinical supervisor.

Managing Editor Stacey Fitzgerald Editor Jackie Fogas Assistant Copy Editors Rick Matt Nicolle Olivastro

DEATHS

Design and Production Libby Lothman

Hilarion A. Gusto (MDiv ’74) went to be with the Lord on January 31. After retiring from FEBISA College of Bible in Valenzuela City, Philippines, in 2002, he became president of Grace Evangelical Mission until 2006. He is survived by his wife, Esther Gusto (MATS ’73). Hilarion was 79 years old.

Circulation Nicolle Olivastro

Covenant Theological Seminary extends its condolences to former Covenant Seminary president Dr. Paul Kooistra and his family on the death of Dr. Kooistra’s wife, Jan, on April 6. Dr. Kooistra served as president of the Seminary from 1985 to 1994, when he became coordinator of Mission to the World (MTW).

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Alumni may now post family, life, and ministry updates to the Alumni Portal. Some of these updates will continue to appear in future issues of Covenant magazine. For more information on accessing the Alumni Portal, please contact alumni@covenantseminary.edu.

BIRTHS CORRECTIONS FROM SUMMER 2008

Congratulations to Paul Boyd (MDiv ’02) and wife Rachel on the birth of their son Jake, born March 25. He was 5 lbs. 15 oz. and 20 inches long. Jake underwent heart surgery immediately after birth and is recovering well. Jake joins big brothers Drew (age 3) and Josh (22 months). The Boyds live in

Executive Editor David Wicker

Bob Burnham’s photographs were featured in the Paul Alexander Alumni Profile story on pages 19–20. Kelly Park contributed the photo of Drs. Calhoun and Chapell on page 3.

Editorial Contributors Jerram Barrs Philip Douglass Jackie Fogas Megan Fowler

Joel Hathaway Rick Matt Jack Reed Scotty Smith

Photo Contributors Megan Fowler Chuck Garriott Joel Hathaway Lisa Hessel

Libby Lothman Kelly Park PCA Historical Center Jack Reed

Covenant Theological Seminary 12330 Conway Road St. Louis, Missouri 63141 Tel: 314.434.4044 Fax: 314.434.4819 E-mail: covenantmagazine@covenantseminary.edu 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. 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. Volume 23, Number 3. ©2008

New Faculty Publications Dr. Robert Peterson, professor of systematic theology, co-edited and contributed to Suffering and the Goodness of God, the first volume in the Theology in Community series published by Crossway. It is scheduled for release in October. Dr. Hans Bayer, professor of New Testament, has written Das Evangelium des Markus, a commentary on the book of Mark. It was jointly published by leading German evangelical publishers R. Brockhaus Verlag (Wuppertal) and Brunnen Verlag (Giessen). The New Testament series in which the commentary appears is Historisch-Theologische Auslegung, or “historicaltheological interpretation and exposition,” which focuses on historical, literary, and theological issues, and seeks to relate the biblical message to today’s challenges.

Covenant is published by Covenant Theological Seminary, the Seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America. The purpose of Covenant Seminary is to train servants of the triune God to walk with God, to interpret and communicate God’s Word, and to lead God’s people.

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STUDENT PROFILE

Following the Road to Ministry—One Step at a Time

or some people, the call to ministry is clear and obvious. For others, it’s more of a slow process of growth and development—less dramatic perhaps, but just as definitely the work of God. Such has been the experience of Derek McCollum (MDiv ’09). Derek came to Covenant Seminary after working for a decade in the advertising and marketing field in Austin, Texas. A lifelong Christian, Derek was active in his church youth program while growing up in his hometown of Houston, then served as a music leader with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), a campus ministry, while in college. Up until a few years ago, however, he had no thought of going into ministry himself. What happened to change his mind? “The trigger was helping my RUF pastor plant a church about five years ago,” Derek says. “I helped out with the music, and my role slowly grew. My pastor talked with me about my future, and I thought about ministry a bit but still kind of resisted the idea. Over time, though, my desire to do it increased. He asked me about it several times before I finally admitted that, yes, I like this, I enjoy it. I love ministering to people!” Even so, Derek knew he needed more training if he was going to serve God’s people effectively. He checked out several seminaries—again, a slow process of prayer and seeking advice from his pastor and friends—but Covenant Theological Seminary was the only one he actually visited. “I felt good about Covenant when I saw the Web site,” Derek notes. “I liked the focus on training pastors and the intentionality of connecting with contemporary culture. That was a big draw for me.” Meeting with faculty members and sitting in on a class at Covenant Seminary convinced Derek and his wife, Joy, that this was the place for them. “My first meeting was with Dr. Dalbey [assistant professor of practical theology],” Derek recalls. “You can’t get much more pastoral than him. Joy and I really felt cared for during that visit. And seeing how the students enjoyed being with each other in class—they weren’t competing with one another like in my undergrad days—made us very comfortable.” Though initially attracted by the possibility of doing a concentration in music, Derek soon discovered that he liked other aspects of ministry much more than he thought he would. “I had never preached a sermon in my life before taking Elementary Homiletics,” he says. “I found I really liked it. And

L to R: Hampton (6), Derek, Anderson (1), Virginia (7) and Joy

I began to see that my ability to understand how instruments work together to create good music was very similar to the ability a good pastor needs to understand life and people and how they fit together. That got me thinking that maybe the Lord was moving me more toward pastoral ministry—maybe still with an art or cultural aspect to it, but definitely more pastoral than I had originally thought.” Derek’s gifts and skills for ministry have been confirmed many times during the past few years by peers, professors, and his service as the worship leader in a local church. As of this writing, he was planning to spend the summer further testing his ministry wings by doing an internship with a new church in Colorado. Though he’s not entirely sure of what the future holds for him and his family, Derek knows that the Lord has led him to Covenant Seminary for a reason and continues to mold him for future service. “I feel sent here in many ways,” he says. “I’m not sure where we’ll end up, but I feel drawn to settings where I can engage unchurched people and help them ask the big questions. I want to help them think about their lives in ways they maybe haven’t before and see how belief and practice tie together. Covenant Semianry has been a good place to prepare for that. It’s been less about learning and more about being changed. I’m different now than before I came here.” And so God works to raise up new leaders for his church— sometimes in dramatic ways and sometimes through a steady process of discovery and growth. RICK MATT Rick Matt (MATS ’05) serves as associate director of public relations for Covenant Seminary, where he writes and edits a variety of print and electronic materials to support the Seminary’s mission of training pastors and ministry leaders for Christ’s church.