WESLEY BIBLICAL SEMINARY COM PASS (kum pəs), n. An instrument for determining directions (Webster s College Dictionary) As a compass helps the traveler navigate the unknown, we hope this publication will chart for you the new ground WBS is breaking in our endeavor to be loyal to God s call to serve the present age. page 2 WBS IN THE CHURCH JUST LAUNCHED page 6 OUR MISSION Wesley Biblical Seminary exists to advance Christ s Kingdom through the Church and make disciples of Jesus by offering life-transforming theological education producing Spirit-filled shepherd-theologians and leaders for the 21st century, who demonstrate an unwavering commitment to trinitarian faith, Christ-centered holiness, biblical authority, and personal accountability. COMPASS STAFF GRAPHIC DESIGNER: STEPHEN FAIRCHILD CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: DR. JOHN E. NEIHOF DR. BECKY LUMAN LEAH GEYER REV. ROB POCAI WBS ALUMNI CONTACT INFORMATION P. O. BOX 9938 JACKSON, MS 39286 WWW.WBS.EDU 601.366.8880 LEARN@WBS.EDU SAME SITE. NEW LOOK. WESLEY BIBLICAL S E M I N A R Y I will never forget the birth of my children. Katie and Nathan were born in an era when only a few parents knew the sex of their babies before they were born. The moment of birth was, You have a baby girl! on August 4, 1986. On December 9, 1988, the proclamation was, You have a baby boy! The miracle of birth is one of the premier soulstirring experiences of life. Holding my newborn babies! Meeting them for the first time! Miraculous! An unparalleled gift of Creator God! God s gift to us at Christmas was a baby. Jesus. Emmanuel God with us! Imagine Mary s wonder: This is the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! My baby, lying in a manger staring up at a stable full of livestock! Emmanuel. God made flesh came to dwell with us. John Wesley s famous last words captured it well: The best of all is, God is with us. Indeed, He is our Emmanuel. Christmas in a nutshell. Life and salvation summed up: God with us. Anticipate Him. Sense a fresh awareness of His being born anew in you this Christmas season. COME, THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hearts alone; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne. Charles Wesley, 1744 BACK TO INDEX COMPASS 1
The lyrics vary as different artists sing it, but a popular version of the opening verse is below: O ne song that I cherish and often sing under my breath during the Christmas season is Sweet Little Jesus Boy. I enjoy this carol because it reflects much of the realistic pathos of Jesus birth, life, and mission. The choice of Father, Son, and Spirit to save the world in such a self-giving, vulnerable way is astonishing. The very Son of God was born into unfavorable circumstances, amidst misunderstanding and shame, poverty and peril. Throughout His life, even during his public years of fame, the majority of folk, including his disciples, really didn t know who [He] was. By: Dr. Rebecca Luman TO INDEX COMPASS 2 2BACK COMPASS Sweet little Jesus Boy, they made you be born in a manger Sweet little holy Child, we didn t know who you were Didn t know you come to save us, Lord, to take our sins away Our eyes was blind; we could not see. We didn t know who you were. In the style of a traditional spiritual, this song was composed both lyrics and music by American Robert MacGimsey in 1934. According to the account in Our Daily Bread, the composer was walking in New York City on Christmas Eve and passed by many noisy night clubs where the so called celebration of Christmas had no connection with who Jesus Christ is and why he came. As an apology to Jesus, MacGimsey wrote Sweet Little Jesus Boy with the repeated refrain We didn t know who you was. KNOW THE STORY. We assume that in the United States most people know at least the story of Christ s birth and identity. In my former role as a children s pastor, I did encounter a few children who didn t know the story at all. Christmas to them had always and only been about Santa, the tree, the presents. What a thrill to tell the Christmas story Mary, Joseph, Jesus, stable, manger, angels, shepherds, star, wise men to a sweet six-year-old girl from a poor, unchurched, broken family for the first time. Her eyes were wide; she had lots of questions. It is an amazing narrative full of surprising twists and turns, joy and danger, ironic juxtaposition of awesome greatness wrapped in humble poverty. God breaking into human history in a wildly unexpected way to rescue us. The mission of the church to Go into all the world and preach the good news remains unfinished. Ministers of the gospel, including WBS graduates, are on the front lines around the world telling the incredible, almost unbelievable story to those who have not yet heard. One of our alumni from India is involved by means of Vacation Bible School and Operation Christmas Child. The latter ministry has spread the Christmas good news through small boxes of gifts given over to 124 million children. Enclosed in each box is the gospel message in each person s language. Through such ministries, people can know the story of Christmas. Knowing the story, however, is only the beginning. KNOW THE SAVIOR. Those of us who know the story well do not always know the Savior. We may know in a general way that He came to save us, to take our sins away, but we aren t personally connected to our great Rescuer; we haven t allowed Him to forgive us and make us a child of God. John Wesley was such a person until the heart-warming experience in his adult years. A preacher s son and ordained for ministry in the Church of England, he knew all about Christ but did not yet have a personal and saving relationship with Him. As the song says, our eyes was blind, we could not see. Though God s prevenient and eye-opening grace, I came to see as a teenager just weeks after Christmas in 1969 that I knew but did not know Jesus. To me, He was THE Savior, but not MY Savior. So many church people have yet to make this life-changing discovery. What a fertile time the Advent season is for the Church to proclaim the Bethlehem story of how far God was willing to go to reach and rescue us. What an opportunity to publicly press the invitation for a personal transformational relationship with Jesus Christ. KNOW AND SHARE Because we know the story and Savior, we have an urgent and joyful responsibility: to share Christ s message and mission with others. Advent and Christmas is a prime BACK TO INDEX COMPASS 3
occasion to do this. Here are a few very user-friendly ideas: Share your testimony about how you became a believer with children and grandchildren, either at a family holiday gathering or in a Christmas letter. I know my parents specific conversion stories at what age, when, where, how, the lasting effects of their experience. This gift has been a timeless treasure to me. Honor Christ at the present-opening time by reading a nativity account and recounting what God has done for the family since the last Christmas celebration. Take (not just invite but actually take) friends and family members to an engaging, creative Christmas event that emphasizes the timeless message of Christmas and specifically urges personal commitment. Participate in spreading the gospel by generously helping strangers, both near and far. Gather several Operation Christmas Child boxes. Be involved with the Salvation Army s Angel Tree. Give a specific gift to Jesus every year and encourage the tradition in your family. Why should Jesus himself be the only person who doesn t get a gift on HIS birthday? Develop a family practice of helping someone in secret as a birthday present for Christ. He said, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40 NIV). On this side of the Cross and Resurrection, through the Scripture and through His saving presence in our lives, we can in every sense of the word know who Jesus is. The Charles Wesley classic carol Hark the Herald Angels Sing celebrates him as the newborn King, Everlasting Lord, the incarnate Deity, our Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, and proclaims His mission: born that man no more may die, born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth. The purpose of this program is to provide a Biblical and theological foundation for persons already involved in or anticipating missionary service in a cross-cultural setting. 24 Credit hours Rebecca R. Luman, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation and Instruction and the Director of Distance Learning. She is a 1989 WBS alum and joined the faculty in 2001. Her passion as an educator is to equip spiritual leaders to model and teach orthodox Christian faith. She teaches such courses as Research Techniques, Personal Spiritual Formation, The Discipling Church, and educational courses for future college/ graduate-level teachers. She has taught children through adults in various settings, including being a children's pastor for 10 years. She has written adult Sunday School curriculum and leads weekly Bible studies at a local women s prison. Available on campus and fully online. All suggested courses are also applicable to the M.Div. or M.A. Christian Studies degrees. Please email Dr. Gareth Cockerill for more info at: gcockerill@wbs.edu 4 COMPASS COMPASS 5
WBS IN THE CHURCH MARSHALL DAIGRE (M.DIV. 07) Harvest Pointe prepares souls for Heaven and plants seeds of the Gospel so that we produce fruit in the Kingdom. We strive to create an atmosphere where the whole person can be entirely converted to Jesus and grow something to share with others. Our name, Harvest Pointe, points to that growing reality. What we plant we will harvest. A fruit tree doesn t eat fruit! We exist to grow lasting Kingdom fruit to share with the world around us. I graduated from WBS in May 2007, and my wife and I started Harvest Pointe that June. We currently rent space from Inside-Out Ministries in Madison, AL. For us, it s never been about the building but the people! We find many in our city who are not anti-church or anti-jesus but just disconnected. Ryan and Jessica are a great example. They hadn t been connected to a church in years. Last year during our Team Sunday, they visited upon the request of a member of our church. Currently their whole family is involved in our church and mission. What a joy to see people converted to Jesus and connected to others! Please continue to pray that Harvest Pointe abides in Jesus and his mission. Wesley Biblical Seminary trains men and women to become effective ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Discover who we are, what we stand for, and the difference that Wesley Biblical Seminary is making in the world today. JEFF WOLHETER (M.DIV. 06) A week after I graduated we moved to Kendallville, IN, to plant what would become Bridgeway Evangelical Church. After a year a half of small groups, we publicly launched Bridgeway at the Kendallville Youth Center in March 2008. God brought us many unchurched 20-30-somethings. We have always been about serving the community for the sake of the Kingdom. For example, twice a year we have be the church Sundays. Instead of going to church to worship, we serve the community and worship by being the church. We ve done home projects and laundry, raked leaves, shoveled snow, visited nursing homes, etc. We have found that while it is a great way to serve the community for the sake of the Gospel, its greater impact is the discipleship of the people of Bridgeway. In March 2013, Bridgeway moved into a more permanent location. Since that time we have grown from 50 people to around 115 on Sunday mornings. Please pray that we will continue to reach the unchurched of the extended Kendallville community! 6 COMPASS COMPASS 7
FALL RESIDENCY 2015 Eight online students traveled to our Jackson campus for a spiritually and academically rich Residency this October 5-15. Several commented that it was the best Residency yet! Highlights included meals and fellowship with faculty in their homes, faculty specialty lectures, and an outstanding Transform:ED conference on the 6th-8th. Transform:ED is our annual Christian education and spiritual formation conference. We are grateful for this extra busy time in the life of our community. This year s conference speaker, Dr. Joseph Dongell of Asbury Theological Seminary, challenged our conceptions of love using Wesley as a springboard for delving deep into scripture. His lectures were uniquely challenging both theologically and practically, leaving a lasting impression on students, staff, and the local church leaders in attendance. One Residency student commented that It brought something that I thought was familiar into the unfamiliar. Thank you to everyone who made Residency and Transform:ED possible. Dr. Dongell speaks at our T:ED Conference. This Christmas season, we celebrate Emmanuel. God with us. The best gift ever. The trustees, administration, staff, and faculty of Wesley Biblical Seminary are committed to equipping a generation of pastors and Christian leaders with biblical education. We are building disciple-makers for Jesus Christ. Why? Because we have received the best gift ever! Emmanuel. God with us. WESLEY BIBLICAL SEMINARY ANNUAL FUND Thank you for your continued generosity to fund the mission of WBS. Together we can touch our nation and our world with the message of Christian holiness and the eternal truth of scripture. This Christmas season, give one of your best gifts ever to support Wesley Biblical Seminary through the WBS Annual Fund. Your best gift to WBS helps us share the best of all Emmanuel. God with us. WESLEY BIBLICAL SEMINARY IS ON THE MOVE It is with great joy that we announce that on October 6, 2015, we sold our current location at 787 E. Northside Drive, Jackson, MS. The buyer offered WBS a 36 month, rent-free lease under the same roof where we have operated since 1999. Over the next few months, WBS will be moving to the east wing of our current site. This move will allow us to be more efficient stewards of the trust placed upon us. Our address and phone number are unchanged. Although our transition will be gradual, we will be operating out of the east wing completely by Fall 2016. Aaron Williams (L) chats with fellow Residency student Johnny Friday (R). WBS East Wing Our contact info remains the same: 787 E. Northside Drive Jackson, MS 39286 www.wbs.edu 601.366.8880 Learn@wbs.edu Please be in focused prayer that: We would find a good permanent location in the area. We would be able to raise the funds necessary for operation and advancement. We would keep our eyes on God with every decision we make. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. 8 COMPASS COMPASS 9
Wesley Biblical Seminary in partnership with the Lilias Trotter Center presents: ISLAMIC FOUNDATIONS A Christian Analysis of Islam s Source Documents MS 620 Islamic Foundations: A Christian Analysis of Islam s Source Documents Through this course you will come to understand the Qu ran and be introduced to Islamic tradition and its importance in Muslim society and life. Online master s course Taught by Professor Benjamin Hegeman, Ph.D. (University of Utrecht). Spring 2016 (January 19-May 13) For more information, visit wbs.edu or email academics@wbs.edu. Apply online at wbs.edu. WESLEY BIBLICAL SEMINARY 10 COMPASS