Asbury Theological Seminary

Asbury Theological Seminary student Michael Halcomb, who is working on his Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Studies, has recently published People of the Book: Inviting Communities Into Biblical Interpretation, with Wipf and Stock. Halcomb co-wrote the book with Tim McNinch, who pastors a Vineyard church-plant in Michigan.

Halcomb says that People of the Book is deeply rooted in the IBS (Inductive Bible Study) tradition, which features so prominently at Asbury Seminary. He readily admits that he is especially indebted to Drs. David Bauer, Lawson Stone, and Fred Long for repeatedly showing him what good IBS looks like. He notes, “For several years it has been one of my passions to bring IBS to the church level, that is, to the pastor, to the average lay person, to youth ministers and to Bible study leaders.  That’s what this book does! However, it does not bring each of them to the interpretive process alone. Instead, People of the Book invites communities to take a walk through the interpretive process together in a live, on-the-spot fashion.”

A couple of years ago, Halcomb invited Pastor Tim McNinch, who spent a number of years with InterVarsity, to write this book with him. “Like Asbury Seminary, InterVarsity is big on IBS. So, when Tim and I began studying the Bible together, things just clicked,” Halcomb explained. “Along the way, we started dreaming and brainstorming together about how to get interpretive communities all over the world interested in what we were doing. That’s where People of the Book came in.” Halcomb notes that the book is already getting some great reviews, including feedback from several respected authors, including Ken Wilson and Gary Dorrien.

Ken Wilson, author of Mystically Wired: Exploring New Realms in Prayer, has commented, “For too long we’ve seen ourselves as culture warriors engaged in a ‘battle for the Bible.’ Halcomb and McNinch propose a new way through the misery this metaphor makes. What if instead we are conversation partners engaged in a communal search for the meaning and implications of a text that can transform us together? What if this is what it really means to be ‘a people of the book’?”

Gary Dorrien, author of Economy, Difference, Empire: Social Ethics for Social Justice, has noted, “Too many Christian communities cultivate an innocuous church-talk that isn’t really about anything and that does not wrestle with Scriptural text. People of the Book offers a rich and compelling alternative in which Christian communities allow themselves to be shaped by their open-ended, holistic, and conversational grappling with the church’s book.”

You can get your copy of People of the Book by visiting the book’s companion website at http://MichaelHalcomb.com/PeopleOfTheBook.html. On the website there is also a link to a free companion application, videos, handouts, a sample chapter, photos and more.

In the United States, Christians can choose from over a hundred different study Bibles in modern, easy-to-understand translations. But now for the first time, African Christians are looking forward to their first modern-translation study Bible. It features notes and commentary by leading African pastors and scholars, including several from Asbury Theological Seminary.

Set for release in 2013, the Africa Study Bible will be the first complete study Bible that ministers specifically to the needs of Africa’s Protestant Christians. Using the clear, accurate, and accessible language of the New Living Translation—it is targeted to the 17-plus English-speaking African countries and the nearly 200 million English-reading Christians.

Several African Doctor of Philosophy students at Asbury Seminary were asked to join the team of writers contributing to the project. Asbury Seminary Professors, Dr. Gregg Okesson and Dr. Craig Keener, are Consulting Editors for the project. Additionally, Dr. Medine Keener, who is from Africa and is currently the Coordinator of Family Formation at Asbury Seminary, is contributing some notes.

“I have worked with Oasis and Tyndale Publishers for years andreally believe that such a project can have wide-sweeping and lasting influence to Christianity on the continent.” Explains Dr. Okesson. “The overall goal is promote biblical and theological literacy, but to do so in a way that is sensitive to the unique contexts of contemporary Africa believers.”

The project is a collaboration between Oasis International and Tyndale House Publishers. Oasis is a catalytic publisher serving areas of the English-speaking world where people lack access to affordable Christian literature and Bibles. Tyndale is one of the world’s largest Christian publishers.

From the outset, the concept of a Study Bible created for the specific needs of African Christians has been met with enthusiasm. Scholars believe a study Bible that reflects the knowledge, culture, and wisdom of Africa for the world will bring growth and insight to the global Christian community.

“Millions of English-speaking Africans know and love Christ, but they are using the King James or other versions that are difficult to understand,” says Dr. Matthew Elliott, the Project Manager for the Africa Study Bible and President of Oasis, International. “We are thrilled to be playing a coordinating role in publishing a Bible that’s readable, relevant, and that reveals the truth and beauty of Scripture through the African experience.”

For more information on the Africa Study Bible project, go to africastudybible.com.

Asbury Theological Seminary would like to announce the appointment of Dr. Douglas K. Matthews as the next Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Matthews has nearly 25 years experience in Christian higher education. His leadership and experience includes a wide range of areas in Christian higher education, including student development, residence life, accreditation, strategic planning, financial aid, multi-cultural affairs, radio ministry, enrollment, academic records and registration, chaplaincy, traditional and non-traditional graduate education models.

He is a seasoned administrator of higher education, serving as the Assistant to the Vice President and, later, on the President’s Cabinet as Vice President of Enrollment and Student Development at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, a school of nearly 2,600 students, about half of whom are in graduate and professional studies (which includes the Masters of Ministry and Master of Divinity Degrees). He currently serves as Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Mount Vernon and teaches in the School of Theology and Philosophy’s traditional undergraduate and Graduate and Professional Studies programs. He has also dedicated over two decades of his life as a classroom professor and earned 14 teaching awards. He also has a vibrant love for the local church having served for several years in various positions, including the Southern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church. He was a licensed worker in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Texas and Georgia, and he is currently on educational assignment at MVNU as an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene.

Matthews was a guest editor and contributing author for a series of articles on natural theology with internationally distinguished scholars William Lane Craig, Millard Erickson, J. P. Moreland, Hugh Ross and Thomas Oden in one of the leading evangelical academic journals of philosophy, Philosophia Christi. His writing and research interests include “eschatological Holiness or Relational Holiness?” (forthcoming), “Approximating the Millennium: Premillenial Evangelicalism and Racial Reconciliation (Alliance Academic Review), and he is currently co-authoring (with Dr. Carol Matthews) a work entitled, Eschatological Holiness which demonstrates the interface between eschatology, personal and social holiness and psychology and spiritual formation. He is also the author of the Graduate and Professional Studies curriculum Christian Beliefs and he is the co-author of Business Ethics (curriculum with John Washatka).

Dr. Matthews will begin serving at Asbury Theological Seminary as the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs elect on September 1, 2012, serving with our current Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Leslie Andrews. On January 1, 2013, Dr. Andrews will go on sabbatical and Dr. Matthews will assume the full responsibilities of the day to day operations of the Office of the Provost/VP for Academic Affairs.

Dr. Timothy C. Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary, said, “I set up an interview team which included Trustees and Faculty from both campuses to assist me in finding the right Provost. I am delighted that this process helped all of us see that Dr. Matthews was the right choice for Asbury Seminary at this historic juncture in our history. Dr. Matthews brings to Asbury Seminary decades of experience in higher education which will make him an effective leader. His breadth of knowledge across all the key systems of higher education is remarkable. His deep commitment to Wesleyan theology, his excellent communication skills, his grounding in apologetics, and his remarkable understanding of the challenges facing 21st America make him an excellent choice as we seek, by God’s grace, to be faithful to our 2023 Strategic Plan."

Asbury Theological Seminary is teaming up with the Asia Graduate School of Theology (AGST) in a recently affirmed agreement. It is Asbury Seminary’s sixth global partnership, but this one opens the door to a large, previously established theological network in Asia.

On Monday afternoon about a dozen people gathered for lunch and the formal signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. “This is really an answered prayer,” smiled Dr. Theresa Roco Lua. “We are so excited and we want to extend our thanks to you.” Lua is the Dean of the AGST and a Board Member of the Asia Theological Association. Lua explained that she had observed a growing need for doctoral students to have international exposure and engage with scholars across the world. Before signing her name, Lua smiled, “This [partnership] feels so natural.”

The mutual benefits of the partnership became evident to Mark Royster, Director of Global Partnerships at Asbury Seminary, after a visit in February. “I was fascinated to know that there was already a well-established consortium of seminaries working in cooperation rather than competition.” AGST already has strong connections to other educational institutions because of The Asia Theological Association. It’s a network of theological educational institutions committed to enhancing scholarship and fulfilling God’s global mission. AGST’s connections open the door for Asbury Seminary. “By partnering with AGST we have access to nine seminaries immediately, under a wise and competent guide.” Royster continued, “Also, we gain almost instant credibility in Asia by working with a person of Theresa's stature and reputation.”

These partnerships will facilitate travel courses, professor exchanges, and student exchanges to allow members of both communities to experience cross-cultural expressions of Christian life. Additionally it means the exchange of resources. President Timothy C. Tennent says he is already seeing the fruit from these partnerships. “One of our senior professors, Dr. David Bauer, went to Costa Rica, and said that it was a very enriching experience for his own teaching. That says a lot… Two of our librarians are in Africa as we speak, working to strengthen the library holdings of our African partnerships.” Dr. Tennent continued, “This is enormous. I don’t think anyone is doing this level of partnerships in theological education.”

Asbury Seminary is also making arrangements with three other seminaries to form global partnerships in the near future. The Seminary plans to sign an MOU with New Theological Seminary in India in July. The two other agreements are still in the works.