The School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University

Winter 2011 Newsletter

Stretching the Mind, Stirring the Heart, Serving the Church

Graduation December 19, 2011
Eight Master of Divinity students will graduate on December 19, 2011. They will be serving across the states of North Carolina and South Carolina as chaplains, pastors, childrens ministers, and youth ministers. The School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University has a rich history of graduating students who are immediately placed in a variety of ministerial positions. Dates to Remember
January 1, 2012 Deadline to apply for Spring 2012 admission January 30, 2012 Racial Reconciliation Workshop at GWU March 6, 2012 Preview Day for Prospective Students April 1, 2012 Deadline to submit applications for the Charles B. Keesee Educational Fund, Inc. Scholarship April 10, 2012 Preview Day for Prospective Students May 28-31, 2012 Pastors School Dr. Walter Brueggemann August 1, 2012 Deadline to apply for Fall 2012 admission

Finding God in Unexpected Places

(Reflections of M.Div. student, Amy Stickler)

It all started with an email. I was ready to dismiss it as junk mail until I recognized the sender as one of my professors, Dr. Gerald Keown. It was late October 2010, and his message told me to get ready for the summer of a lifetime, with an invitation to participate in an archaeological dig in central Jordan. At that point, my archaeological experience was nonexistent. However, not being one to pass up an opportunity for adventure, I decided to join Dr. Keown and the rest of the team during the 2011 dig season. I found adventure, but despite my best efforts at having a summer break, I also learned some things.

I learned something about biblical studies. From my first day at Khirbat al-Mudaybi, I was an integral part September 24, 2012 of the dig team. There I was, a grad student with no Elevating Preaching experience, rubbing shoulders with brilliant scholars as we Conference crouched side by side, trowels in hand, waiting to make our next discovery. My supervisors in the field could fill hours explaining the history of Jordan and its people groups; they recognized with a mere glance what kind of pottery or bone I unearthed. Moreover, they started to teach me how to do these things, and gave me the chance to offer theories on the construction of our site, and valued my input on its occupation or use.

I learned something about myself. Though I am accustomed to intellectual work (and we did do quite a bit of it), nothing prepared me for spending my summer in Jordan. The mornings were early, the days were long, the sun was hot, and the labor was hard. Several times, the rest house ran out of water and we waited hours or days to take a shower after digging in the desert. I was, in a word, uncomfortable. Yet I learned that, despite tiredness, soreness, and irritability, I was able to find great joy in trying something new with new people and in experiencing a new world. I learned something about God. While starting my archaeological education, and living in total discomfort, I continued to learn a lesson that Ive been re-learning for yearsGod shows up in the most unexpected places. I found God in the quiet sunrise over the desert each morning and in the lavish hospitality of my new Muslim friends. I found God in some late-night card games with the rest house staff, in sharing tea with a merchant, and in simple prayer services with the dig team. Though I left home and comfort, I found that God was right there waiting for me. It was all because of an email that I almost deleted.

Josh Lovelace, M.Div./M.A. in Religion student, successfully defended his thesis, which is titled Yahweh as Father: The Image in Ancient Israelite Context and Modern Appropriation. He will graduate in 2012.

The Churches of Revelation and Pauls Missionary Journey: Study Tour

Journey with us to Turkey and Greece and walk in the footsteps of the patriarchs of our faith! The study tour will be May 15-27, 2012, and academic credit may be earned for enrolled students. Scholarship opportunities are available to assistant students with the costs associated with the tour.

Healing Communities: Conversations Toward Shalom

Three representatives from Gardner-Webb Universitys School of Divinity participated in a conference focused on the intersection of physical health and spiritual wellbeing in the community. The conference, titled Healing Communities: Conversations Toward Shalom, was held on September 30, 2011 at Wake Forest University. Divinity Professors Dr. Jim McConnell and Dr. Sheri Adams helped plan the conference, and McConnell gave a presentation focused on the communal nature of peace and wholeness in the biblical story. Barbara Massey, a longtime nurse and current divinity student, presented a spiritual care ministry she designed to train churches to meet community members holistic health needs. McConnell said the purposes of the Healing Communities conversations are best expressed in the events title. The main definition people think of with Shalom is peace, he said, but the definition also includes the idea of wholeness. We really want to explore the way peace and wholeness are community ideas, not just individual ideas. Were trying to promote the idea that, if a person is a member of the community, and that person is suffering, then thats not just the persons problemthats everybodys problem, he said. (Written by Matt Walters, GWU Staff Writer)