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Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan
Spring 2016
ROY LAWSON IS RETIRING...AGAIN. Yes, he retired from Central Christian Church in Mesa, Arizona, in 1999. Then he retired from Hope International University in Fullerton, California, in 2003. Now, in 2016, he is actually retiring, this time from an appointment as Emmanuel Christian Seminary’s Distinguished Professor of Christian Ministries and director of the doctor of ministry program, as well as the position of international senior minister at First Christian Church in Johnson City, Tennessee. He also is transitioning from the position of international consultant to volunteer with Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMFI). In January 2012, Lawson joined the full-time faculty of Emmanuel after an association with the seminary that goes back to its first year of classes on the Milligan College campus in 1965. Prior to his current position, he served as trustee, adjunct professor, and visiting lecturer. In 2004, Lawson returned to CMFI, a leading mission organization associated with Christian Churches and Churches of Christ. He had been candidate secretary for the agency in 1964-1968 and then a long-time board member. As international consultant, he speaks and writes on behalf of CMFI, advises churches regarding their outreach programs, represents CMFI in national and international Christian leadership meetings, regularly visits mission fields to conduct seminars and encourage missionaries, and acts as consultant to the executive director and staff. Lawson served as president of Hope International University from 1990 to 2003. During the first nine years there, he also was the senior minister of Central Christian Church in Mesa, a position he held from 1979 to 1999, while the congregation grew from an average of 490 in 1978 to around 4,500 in 1999. Lawson accepted the additional call to lead Pacific Christian College in 1990, which in 1997 became Hope International University.
Earlier ministries included the following: youth director with the St. Johns Christian Church in Portland, Oregon; founding pastor of the Tigard Christian Church in Tigard, Oregon; teacher at Tigard Union High School; assistant professor of English, department chairman, director of humanities program, administrative assistant to the president, vice president of Milligan College; and senior pastor of East 38th Street Christian Church, Indianapolis. After six decades of work in vocational ministry and Christian higher education, the Lawsons decided that it was finally time to travel the world together, something they have long desired to do. Over the Thanksgiving holiday last year, they divvied up most of their worldly possessions among family members so that they could be “tramps abroad.” Shortly after commencement ceremonies end, a moving truck will be loaded and house keys turned in. Then Roy and Joy will hit the road. “We feel like teenagers running away from home,” Roy Lawson said with a gleeful laugh. The first eight months of retirement will begin in the western United States and end in Melbourne, Australia. In between, the Lawsons will spend time in Mexico; Britain; Ireland, where Joy will be doing an artist residency; France; and northern Europe. Along the way, they will visit various Globalscope campus ministries for CMFI. London, England, and Melbourne will serve as their home bases. As for Emmanuel and the position Lawson is leaving, a faculty search is well underway.
“His
background and
expertise will provide area
leaders and church communities an to think about race in a transformative way.”
opportunity
Emmanuel welcomes
Princeton Seminary professor SPEAKING ON RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE BIBLE Emmanuel welcomes Dr. Eric Barreto, the Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, to speak on race and ethnicity in the Bible. Sponsored by the Westwood Christian Foundation’s Myron Taylor Lectureship, the lecture will be held on Monday, May 23, from 6-7 p.m. in Milligan’s McGlothlin-Street Theatre located in the Gregory Center and is free and open to the public. His lecture, “A People for God’s Name: Race, Ethnicity and the Bible Today,” will address issues of diversity in many churches, turn to the Gospel of Luke and Acts for answers, and ask the question: “What might a church that invites diversity look like?” The lectureship is named after Dr. Myron Taylor, a long-time friend and adjunct professor at Emmanuel, who was an advocate for biblical and theological understanding in all facets of human understanding and societal consequences. The event is part of Emmanuel’s May term class, “Race in Biblical, Cultural and Theological Perspective,” which will examine racism within a theological, sociological, and cultural context. The course will address past and present manifestations of racial inequity and share expertise with concern for current political and social tensions around race. Led by Dr. Jason Bembry, professor of Old Testament, the class will feature contributing faculty Dr. S. Kip Elolia, professor of theology and world Christianity; Dr. Jeffery Smith, director of Milligan’s Office of Multicultural
Engagement; Dr. Miriam Perkins, associate professor of theology; and Dr. Elwood Watson, professor of history at East Tennessee State University. “Dr. Barreto is an exceptional speaker and scholar on race and ethnicity,” said Perkins. “His background and expertise will provide area leaders and church communities an opportunity to think about race in a transformative way.” Barreto, an ordained Baptist minister, has written books such as Ethnic Negotiations: The Function of Race and Ethnicity in Acts 16”; co-written “New Proclamation Year C 2013: Easter through Christ the King”; and edited “Reading Theologically. He also is a regular contributor to ONScripture.org, the Huffington Post, WorkingPreacher.org, and EntertheBible.org. For more information, visit www.ericbarreto.com and follow him on Twitter, @ericbarreto.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON EMMANUEL CHRISTIAN SEMINARY, VISIT ECS.MILLIGAN.EDU
PO Box 550, Milligan College, TN 37682 | 423.926.1186 | ecs.milligan.edu Dr. Bill Greer, President, Milligan College • Rollin A. Ramsaran, Dean • Dan R. Lawson, Director of Seminary Development Emmanuel Christian Seminary at Milligan is supported by the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ and provides theological education for men and women from across the United States and around the world. Emmanuel is accredited by the Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools, 10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15275-1110, phone: 412.788.6505. The following degree programs are approved by ATS: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion, Master of Christian Ministries, and Doctor of Ministry.
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Western Student Scholarship Emmanuel has a long history of attracting students from the West, in large part thanks to the Western Student Scholarship. For four decades, an active, supportive group of Emmanuel alumni and friends have organized and hosted scholarship-raising events in the West. In early March of this year, friends of the seminary hosted events throughout Oregon and Washington, and in mid-April, another loyal group of supporters is doing the same in Idaho and parts of Oregon and Washington. Students come to Emmanuel to be deeply prepared to serve Christ as preachers, missionaries, chaplains, campus ministers, youth ministers, Christian educators, counselors, Bible translators, and a host of other servant-leader vocations. If you are interested in attending one of these events or in learning how you can support student scholarships at Emmanuel, contact Jack Simpson, VP for Institutional Advancement, at 800.447.5922 or jasimpson@milligan.edu. For detailed information about the April dinners, visit ecs.milligan.edu/wss.
APRIL 17 : BUHL CHRISTIAN CHURCH BUHL, ID
APRIL 18 : TEN MILE CHRISTIAN CHURCH MERIDIAN,ID
APRIL 19 : ENTERPRISE CHRISTIAN CHURCH ENTERPRISE, OR
APRIL 20 : NEZPERCE CHRISTIAN CHURCH NEZPERCE,ID
APRIL 21 : POMEROY CHRISTIAN CHURCH POMEROY, WA
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Non-Profit Organization U.S. POSTAGE
P A I D
Johnson City, TN Permit Number 3
Spring 2016
PO Box 550 Milligan College, TN 37682
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As a minister you are asked tough questions.
OREGON CHRISTIAN CONVENTION
The Master of Christian Ministries degree can help you answer them.
The best of both worlds: online program with periodic on-campus classes
JUNE 28-JULY 3 TURNER, OREGON
Leading in Ministry through Scholarship, Community, and Faith.
Commencement
ecs.milligan.edu
M A RY B . M A RT I N A U D I T O R I U M , S E E G E R C H A P E L M I L L I G A N C O L L E G E • S a t u r d ay, M a y 7 • 1 0 : 0 0 a m For those who cannot participate in-person, the ceremony can be viewed live, online at www.milligan.edu/streaming
Visit DAN LAWSON at the EMMANUEL BOOTH! For more information: WWW.OREGONCHRISTIANCONVENTION.ORG