We often talk about diversity at MTS.  It’s one of our hallmarks.  We understand its value and devote a good bit of attention to it.  That was very evident at graduation.  Picture the scene:

The pipe organ belting out Handel’s “Allegro” as a prelude and accompanying traditional hymns such as “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”

Jazzy contemporary music from Will Graves & Soul.  Their rendition of “How Great is Our God” had everyone spontaneously standing and singing along.

Welcome by stately president Dr. Earheart-Brown.  Invocation by deep-voiced dean Dr. Stan Wood.  Scripture reading by petite graduate and president of the student senate Dorothy Nichols.  The address by internationally renowned author and speaker Phyllis Tickle.

And in the middle of it all, the moderator of the Board of Trustees, Rev. Hill, stands up to pray and says, “Well.  I went to a graduation, and church broke out!”

The unique diversity of Memphis Theological Seminary is such a blessing for those who attend this institution and the communities they serve.  Through diversity, we are exposed to traditions beyond our own.  We see and hear and participate in worship that enriches our relationship with God.

Younger and older, male and female, black and white, we have seen through a glass darkly; but as we have studied and learned and shared face to face, we now know others better, “even as also I am known.”

Church did indeed break out at the MTS graduation ceremony on Saturday, May 18, 2013.  Perhaps it was a precursor to the next day – Pentecost – when the Holy Spirit moved among the early believers.  The Holy Spirit was with us on Saturday, and continues to move throughout the pulpits and congregations of our community, our city and our world.

Where will you be when church breaks out?  Perhaps it’ll be in a classroom at Memphis Theological Seminary.  If you are called to pulpit ministry or teaching ministry, need a Master of Divinity for ordination or a Master of Arts to enhance your teaching abilities, MTS is the place for you.  Let us show you how.

Dr. Wood’s prayer is shared with you below.

“God of New Beginning, Wisdom and Truth,

This day we celebrate the accomplishments of students who receive their degrees and now leave Memphis Theological Seminary to move on to new chapters in their lives. We invoke Your blessings upon them.

Empower these graduates, purify their intentions, and grant them strength to use the knowledge and skills they have acquired here — with confidence, but without arrogance, with serious determination and good humor, with rigorous intellect and loving hearts.  Let what they have learned here be a resource on which they draw, in whatever work they select.

Gather us as your people in this moment of worship.  On this eve of Pentecost, bless us with your presence and inspire us to serve you.  Breathe your life into our hearts. Wake our spirits to knowledge, wisdom, understanding, courage, and service.  Let your fire smolder in us and light up our path.

Paraclete, You are our inspiration.   From you come power, wisdom and truth. So, abide with us as we worship you in spirit and in truth.

We pray in the Name of Jesus the Christ. Amen”

As I reflect back over this semester, I find that once again I have learned tons more in
13 weeks than I ever learned in 13 years of attending church, Sunday School, Bible studies and
church functions.

I was introduced more closely to Paul of Tarsus. I’m more familiar now with his writing
style, beliefs about Judaism and Jesus as the Messiah, and failings as a human being. I was
reminded that the Book of Romans was a letter to a group of people who were having a specific
conflict in the mid-50s AD – and was not a theological treatise intended to shape the world as we
know it 2,000 years later.

I put on my 1st century sandals and stood in Rome, among a people cruelly subjugated
by Caesar, in a time where movement among classes did not exist and 2-3% of the people held
all the wealth and privilege, thus also health, plenty of food cooked by slaves, opulent homes. It
was a world of patronages, with everything leading back to Caeser.

Only 20 years after Jesus’ resurrection, new believers were still trying to figure it
out – trying to reconcile in their heads what they believed in their hearts. And there were
disagreements in the church (as Dr. Minor would say, “I know you’re shocked!”). Paul was
writing to these believers in far-off Rome, trying to get them to see past their differences for love
of one another.

I’ve listened to the lectures and taken copious notes for 13 weeks, smirking at the real
students who have to read all those books, write papers, take exams, care about grades and
graduation and such. Then today, for me, the doozy arrived. We read Chapter 14, and Paul says
to me, “Do not judge!”

Don’t judge the guy who smokes and has a bad haircut. Don’t judge the driver who isn’t
as efficient behind the wheel as I am. Don’t judge the colleague who hasn’t been on her game.
Don’t judge my brothers and sisters in Christ for … whatever. For as soon as we start patting
ourselves on our backs because we are so non-judgmental, the cycle returns to judgment. “I
don’t judge anymore; wish she wouldn’t judge me!” Bam! I’m judging her again.

Paul knew that the believers in Rome were having a hard time reconciling their
differences. He spent a lot of time on this lengthy letter, explaining some awesome truths.
Maybe they got it back then – maybe they didn’t. But we can certainly try to rectify that today.

If you have a hunger for meeting Paul where he stood, take a class on New Testament at
Memphis Theological Seminary. In the Fall semester 2013, Dr. Minor will teach her Intro class
– a must for every new “good reader of the New Testament.”

Has God called you to work with people of all ages who are struggling against overpowering addictions?  Do you feel a sense of urgency to guide them to sobriety?

Is your heart set on being a counselor for those with drug and alcohol addictions?

Well, you’ll need proper certification to take that step.  And you can get it right here, in your own backyard, at Memphis Theological Seminary.

MTS has a special program to prepare you academically to take the state certification exam.  In fact, MTS is the only seminary that has been approved by the NAADAC* to offer a Drug & Alcohol Addiction Counseling Certificate.

It’s a unique certificate program.  You’ll be immersed with a small group of like-minded students, all aiming for the same goal.  You’ll take three sessions, each consisting of two classes held on Fridays/Saturdays for 10 weeks.  All classes meet on the MTS campus or on-line.

You can begin with Session 1 or Session 2.  Click here to find dates and schedules.  But don’t delay!  Applications are limited because of the intimate nature of the courses.  Start your application process today!

God has given you a special gift.  Counseling those in deepest despair is not for everyone.  These fragile people need you – they need an educated confidante who will show them Christ in the world and in their future.

Don’t delay answering your call to Drug & Alcohol Addiction Counseling.

* Memphis Theological Seminary is one of only 20 institutions nationwide and the only seminary that is currently listed as an approved academic education provider by the National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC).  Courses offered by NAADAC Approved Education Providers meet the requirements of the National Certification Commission for applicants seeking initial certification as addiction counselors, or those recertifying.  In addition, many states automatically accept training hours from NAADAC approved Education Providers towards state certification or re-certification requirements.

I was astounded at the diversity in a room of seven people.

Lisa Nelson is a Licensed Evangelist in the Pentecostal tradition who has recently been
appointed at her large church as Protocol Director for High Holy Days, a position of much
significance. She also supervises dozens of Sunday School classes and New Member
Orientation.

Milton Craft is an African American man working in a traditionally white United Methodist
Church – a CME who recently joined a Baptist church. His role with the United Methodists is to
help them with community outreach and their local “mission field.” His gift is bringing folks of
different traditions together to worship as one.

Felicia Williams is a charismatic woman with a gift for preaching. Sunday mornings at a Baptist
Church provide the formal platform, but she takes every opportunity to “preach it.” She is also
Women’s Ministry Coordinator and Associate Minister.  And the very first time they met, her
private words of strength and support to Milton at a time of crisis led him to join her church.

Ann Price is a United Methodist serving in the North Alabama Conference, moved this
appointment season from a church plant she joined just two years ago to another church plant
that needs her now. Leading church growth at a time when most denominations are reporting
declines. That is a special gift.

The representatives of the Kemmons Wilson Family Foundation were Lee Morris, Catholic, and
Carole West, United Methodist. The event was the Wilson Scholars Luncheon, where the four
Wilson Scholars were given the opportunity to share about their current ministry, future goals,
and how the education provided by Memphis Theological Seminary has impacted both. For each
of them, the generous scholarship provided by the Foundation enabled them to enter seminary in
answer to God’s call on their lives.

Pentecostal, Methodist, Baptist and Catholic. A spectrum of beliefs and traditions that mirrors
the classroom and board room. MTS provides a practical, spiritual, theological education to
seminary students representing over 30 denominations.

And as the Church becomes more diverse, perhaps it also mirrors the congregations each Wilson
Scholar will serve. Preparing faith leaders for the future. Important work, don’t you agree?

You can be a part of it. Support theological education for those who will one day serve you,
your family and church. Make a gift today by clicking the Donate Now button. Your gift will be
put to work immediately as, together, we fulfill the mission.

Are you called to Youth Ministry?

Do you believe your future is to work with youth in a church setting, but have no idea where to go from here?

Memphis Theological Seminary introduces a new Master of Arts in Youth Ministry – just what you are looking for.

It’s a unique degree program.  No boring classes week after week.  Instead, you’ll be immersed with a small group of like-minded students, all aiming for the same goal.

You’ll go on retreats.

You’ll work at a church, “getting your hands dirty” as you are immersed in youth culture and learn how your leadership style will help lead youth to Christ.

The youth of today need you – they need an educated leader who will show them Christ in the world and in their future.

Don’t delay answering your call to Youth Ministry.

Click here to learn more about the Master of Arts in Youth Ministry program here at MTS.

Who’s Got Your Blues? Kirk Whalum with John Kilzer from Beale Street Caravan on Vimeo.

I didn’t know Jimmy well, but his wife Sheila and I are long-time friends from way back in our very early 20s.  Along with Laurie, Kim, CJ, Debbie and Jackie, we have gathered together over the past 30 years for weddings, births, deaths and gossip sessions over dinner.  We all feel relatively young in our 50s.

So it was a shock that one of our husbands would die suddenly.  We gathered together in support of our friend, to participate in Jimmy’s “celebration of life” funeral mass.

Sitting on a back row in the Catholic Church were an Episcopal, United Methodist and Baptist, clutching our programs for direction, uncertain of what was to come.

I found myself opening up to the strange rituals and visuals.  Jesus still on the cross.  Statuary in the sanctuary.  Acolytes holding a large book from which the priest read.  What appeared to be a tabernacle on a platform, which played a part in communion to come later.

When the priest said, “The peace of the Lord be with you,” we automatically said, “And also with you.”  We quickly learned that the Catholic response is, “And with your spirit.”  (Later, Sheila told me this is a new response instituted by now-retired Pope Benedict.)  The music was more chanting than hymn-singing, with parts sung by a music leader and responses repeated by the congregation.  I found comfort in the repetition of sacred words.

We passed the peace.  Sang the Lord’s Prayer – though the traditional ending for Protestants came a bit later.  Sat and stood and knelt.

Communion was so familiar, yet so different.  Much more attention was paid to it than we do in the Protestant Church.  The rituals and blessings were lengthy and involved several acolytes (interestingly, all girls!).  In many Protestant churches, we are used to hearing that the Lord’s Table is open to all who are right with God, but in the Catholic Church, only Catholics are able to take communion.  Before we entered the sanctuary, I had asked the priest if non-Catholics can come forward to receive a blessing.  He said he alone could give us the blessing, but in the end, I kept my seat and listened to the soloist sing Ave Maria.

In his homily, the priest said, “When we have grief in our life, we are open to accepting comfort,” and “Jesus brings us into the presence of God in a way that even Moses did not enjoy.”  I felt the Holy Spirit bringing comfort to all those who knew Jimmy well and were deeply grieved at his passing.  I prayed that God would give Sheila and her teenage son Layne an extra measure of comfort as she celebrated the life of her husband with hundreds of family and friends in that Holy place.

And while it was very different, it was also familiar.  Accepting different worship styles and communion rituals and rules comes more easily to me now than in the past.  I credit the inclusive yet diverse entity of Memphis Theological Seminary for showing me, again and again, how big God is.  Thanks be to God.

There was the time a watering golf-cart had lost the cap to the water thingamajig, and I was envisioning hiring a welder to make a new screw-on cap. The next week, I saw a man had taken an empty water bottle and simply plugged in the hole. Problem solved!

Then there was the time my husband and I took our CJ-5 Jeep off-roading, and at the bottom of a hill, the carburetor wouldn’t do its thing, causing the engine to shut down. There we were, lost in the vast wilderness of this off-road park, waiting for someone, anyone to come by and help us out. Suddenly, at the top of the hill, appeared 6 teenage boys on 4-wheelers. When they reached us, a definite sparkle was in their eyes. Oh, goodie – a vehicle that needs fixin’! With me standing by helplessly, they and my husband poured over and talked about the engine for a while, and to keep a long, long story blessedly short, eventually we made it to the top.

But the ending isn’t always this good or this easy.

Why do men want to rush in headlong when all women want them to do is listen? Why are they from Mars when Venus is so much more appealing?

And just how do these differences play out in the local church, where both men and women roam, where conflicts arise in committee meetings and marriages?

At church, the pastor – whether male or female – must know to expect and how to handle the interesting concerns, discussions and conflicts that will arise when men and women get together. It’s not always a pastoral gift, if you know what I mean!

At Memphis Theological Seminary, we teach practical and effective church leadership. We teach everything from conflict resolution to how to moderate a finance committee meeting. We teach pastoral care and working with families, teenagers and children.

Your gifts to Memphis Theological Seminary ensure that when Mars and Venus align, the outcome can be a positive one! Please continue to support this worthy ministry. One day you may find yourself at the bottom of a hill, looking up for help.