Retirement of Cosgrove and Schmidt

Dr. Charles H. Cosgrove, professor of early Christian literature and director of the PhD program, retired on July 1, 2021. Upon his retirement he was officially named faculty emeritus, and having mastered the “triple threat” of the classical education—language, rhetoric, and music—he received the title, “a true renaissance man,” from his faculty colleagues.

Cosgrove joined the faculty in 2011. Prior to coming to Garrett-Evangelical, he was professor of New Testament studies and Christian ethics at Northern Seminary, Lombard, Illinois, from 1984 to 2011. In addition, he taught in the Association of Chicago Theological Schools’ Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program for more than a decade. It was Cosgrove’s expertise in incarnational translation for preaching that initiated and empowered the first course in the ACTS DMin in Preaching program entitled, “Preaching as Interpretation.”

Over the course of his career, Cosgrove has coauthored and edited more than 11 books and more than 40 essays in peer-reviewed academic journals, making indelible marks in the fields of New Testament and Early Christian Studies and contributing to numerous professional societies.

In 2011, he produced the definitive study of the earliest Christian hymn to have been preserved with its original tune in ancient musical notation, and his current project—a book on music at social meals in Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian social meals—will be published next year by Cambridge University Press. His double biography of Augustus Garrett and Eliza Clark Garrett, Fortune and Faith in Old Chicago (2020), received an “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Illinois State Historical Society in 2021.

For his dedication, collegiality, professionalism, and constant enthusiasm in the classroom, Cosgrove earned the admiration and respect of countless students. He was an advocate and mentor to numerous doctoral students as degree director from 2016 to 2021, in particular those of color. Rev. Dr. Frederick Schmidt, Rueben P. Job Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation, retired on December 31, 2020, after more than seven years as a faculty member. In addition to his regular teaching duties, Schmidt was director of the Rueben P. Job Institute for Spiritual Formation (Job Institute), director of the master of arts in spiritual formation and direction, and supervisor of the doctor of ministry in spiritual direction track. Upon his retirement, Schmidt was named a senior scholar.

Schmidt was the first person to hold the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation — a first among Protestant seminaries in North America — when it was endowed in 2013. He oversaw the design and implementation of the master of arts in spiritual formation and direction program and the doctor of ministry in spiritual direction track, both of which also led to a certificate in spiritual direction.

Prior to coming to Garrett-Evangelical, Schmidt served as the director of spiritual formation and Anglican studies, as well as associate professor of Christian spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He has also served as canon educator and director of programs in spirituality and religious education at Washington National Cathedral; as special assistant to the president and provost of La Salle University in Philadelphia; as a fellow of the American Council on Education; and as dean of St. George’s College, Jerusalem.

His published work includes numerous articles appearing in The Heythrop Journal, The Scottish Journal of Theology, The Journal for Preachers, Feminist Theology, Time Magazine, and United Methodist Insight (among others). His books include Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Luke (Morehouse, 2009), What God Wants for Your Life (Harper One, 2005), and The Dave Test: A Raw Look at Real Faith in Hard Times (Abingdon Press, 2013). Schmidt’s column, “What God Wants for Your Life,” is published on the Patheos website.