IWU’s Seminary and Accreditation

As a fellow Wesleyan, I am excited about IWU's seminary and fully affirm that accreditation is important. In having worked in academics at a Christian institution and a state institution and having done/am doing advanced degrees at both, I think that regional accreditation is superior to ATS accreditation.

In pursuing another master's degree at a state institution, I was never able to get the institution to recognize my ATS accredited master's degree. We discussed it a few times, but it was obvious that I was getting nowhere with it, so I ended up dropping it because I was pursuing another master's anyway.

Here's why regional is superior to ATS accreditation? ATS is recognized within the church and by other ATS schools, but regional accreditation is more broadly recognized outside of those contexts AND allows more flexibility for IWU's program than ATS. If you wish to earn a degree that possesses the maximum degree of recognition, then I would earn a regionally accredited master's or doctorate over an ATS degree.

Also, ATS is taking too much time to recognize online programs while most regional associations are working to maintain high academic standards AND offer online degrees. Because of ATS lack of innovation, I believe that it will hold IWU back in developing its seminary.

Just something to consider...

Walhalla Wesleyan Church History

NOTE: This is a brief history of Walhalla Wesleyan Church that I wrote for the church website. If you would like to see it with pics, then please visit http://www.walhallawesleyan.com/.

HOLINESS WORK IN THE UPSTATE

The Wesleyan Methodist work began in South Carolina as early as the 1880s by Miss Emma Talbert and Rev. M. Elliot, but the work resulting in lasting fruit began in 1892 by the Rev. Warren Parker, who had been sent by the Texas Conference of the Free Methodist Church (Hilson, 1950). In the Flat Shoals schoolhouse in Oconee County, he founded the Salem Free Methodist Church with six members the first Sunday and adding eight more the next Sunday (Hilson, 1950).

There is some question if the Rev. H. S. Abbott and his wife may have begun a work earlier in 1890 at Nevel schoolhouse near Walhalla (Hilson, 1950). They may have organized a Free Methodist church, and then turned it over to the Rev. Warren Parker, who established the Salem Free Methodist Church (Hilson, 1950). Through the later influence of Rev. Abbott, who by this time had joined the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Rev. Parker and the Salem church joined the Wesleyans in 1892 or 1893 and renamed the church, Salem Wesleyan Methodist Church, now known as Mountain View Wesleyan Church (Hilson, 1950).

The Abbotts continued doing evangelistic work in the South Carolina upstate. As a result, Rev. Parker pastored churches at Townville, Seneca, Salem, and Oakway while another church in Central was pastored by S. J. McElroy (Hilson, 1950). After the 1896 district conference, Welcome Church was founded, and in 1901, Good Hope Church was founded near Walhalla and added to the Mountain View circuit (Hilson, 1950).

WALHALLA WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH

Hilson says, "When the conference convened at Greer in its eleventh session, November 18, 1903… There were also four new churches reported at this session. These were Walhalla with a membership of fifty… all of which were organized by the conference evangelist, B. L. Padgett" (1950). Padgett would go on to serve in several important capacities in the South Carolina District of the Wesleyan Church.

Although several works in the Walhalla area preceded this one, this is the first recorded mention of what would become Walhalla Wesleyan Church. At the same conference, it was reported that the Good Hope Church was discontinued (Hilson, 1950).

WALHALLA WESLEYAN PEOPLE

In the one-hundred plus years of Walhalla Wesleyan's existence, many people and events could be mentioned. Two very distinguished Wesleyan leaders have connections to Walhalla Wesleyan Church.

Dr. Roy Nicholson (1903-1993) was from Walhalla Wesleyan Church. Concerning the history of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Haines and Thomas give tribute to him by saying, "…the fourth and final period was dominated by the person and ministry of Roy S. Nicholson" (2005). Roy was born in Walhalla, attended Wesleyan Methodist College (now, Southern Wesleyan University), pastored, and held various leadership positions in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. From 1947 until 1959, he served as the first and only full-time General Conference President of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In 1968, he served as one of the co-conveners of the merger with the Pilgrim Holiness Church. He was elected in 1972 as a General Superintendant Emeritus. His imprint can still be seen in the Wesleyan Church today (Haines & Thomas, 2005).

Another important servant in the Wesleyan Church also had connections with Walhalla Wesleyan Church. Dr. Virgil Mitchell (1914-2006), who was born in Six Mile, SC, pastored Walhalla Wesleyan Church from 1939 to 1941 (Wilcox, 1994). Dr. Mitchell graduated from Wesleyan Methodist College (now, SWU) and served as a pastor, district, and denominational leader in the Wesleyan Church for many years, including serving as a General Superintendant from 1968 to 1984 (Haines & Thomas, 2005). In his "retirement," he continued to contribute in many valuable ways to the work of Southern Wesleyan University.

WALHALLA WESLEYAN EVENTS

A key event in the history of Walhalla Wesleyan Church was the tragic death of the Rev. J. C. Lackey during his pastoral tenure (1950-1953). He died in an automobile accident in 1953. His wife, Rev. Mrs. J. C. Lackey, continued as pastor (1953-1957) through the completion of a major building project. At the dedication of the "Stone Church" on May 22, 1955, the church was renamed Lackey Memorial Wesleyan Church in honor of the Rev. J. C. Lackey (Wilcox, 1994).

Walhalla Wesleyan Church has gone through several name changes. It was founded as Walhalla Wesleyan Methodist Church (1903) then Lackey Memorial Wesleyan Church (1955), Shepherd's Home Wesleyan Church (1997), and changed back to Walhalla Wesleyan Church (2008).

In addition to the name changes, Walhalla Wesleyan has met in several different buildings throughout their history. The church had a couple of stick built, "shoebox" buildings, but then built the beautiful "Stone Church" building in Walhalla, SC in 1955, and in 1997 sold the stone church to relocate and build a new building in 1999 at the present location. They met in temporary locations from 1997 to 1999.

Through changes and challenges, personalities and pastors, buildings and name changes, the core of Walhalla Wesleyan Church has remained focused on Jesus Christ, His church, and their community. The ministry of Walhalla Wesleyan Church continues to seek God's mission and vision for this church in this community during these changing times.

May God generously bless the future of Walhalla Wesleyan Church!
Former Pastor Chris Gibson

Practicing the Divine Hours

***NOTE: I wrote this paper as a personal development project for my Human Growth and Development course at Clemson. It was well received by Dr. Weatherford who asked for my permission to share it with the Spiritual Formation committee at her church. Since writing this paper, I continue to make a daily attempt at Practicing the Divine Hours.

In order to understand the nature of this project, it is important to comprehend two things. First, my personal history does not include this type of Christian spiritual observance. I was raised in the Southern Baptist tradition and am currently in the Wesleyan Church. The Southern Baptists are considered a part of the Revivalistic tradition and the Wesleyan Church is a part of the Holiness tradition. The Revivalistic tradition and the Holiness tradition both worship in a non-liturgical fashion without responsive readings, the Apostle's Creed, read prayers, or the Lord's Prayer. Generally, spontaneity is valued over structure and the immediacy of an individual's relationship to God is stressed. These general characteristics of the Revivalistic and Holiness traditions are a strong part of my heritage. Because of my personal history, I desired to go outside of these traditions and explore the spiritual practices of another Christian tradition.

A second prerequisite to understanding my self-development project is to have some understanding of the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Hours (Tickle, 2001). A brief history of this Christian practice will be valuable to understanding this practice. It is a form of fixed-hour prayer that was adapted from the Judaism going back to the beginning of Christianity. The earliest Christians were Jews, who practiced the Jewish version of the fixed-hour prayers, and incorporated it into Christianity. In the order of the ancient Roman Empire, the forum bells would ring at six in the morning, nine, noon for lunch, three to signal a return to work, and at six to close the day. The order of Jewish, and eventually, Christian fixed-hour prayer followed this pattern. These practices were further developed throughout the history of the church, especially by St. Benedict and the Book of Common Prayer. From the earliest times, Christian fixed-hour prayer included the Psalms and the Lord's Prayer. Morning and evening prayer are considered the major hours, and the hours in-between are considered the little hours. Fixed-hour prayer is observed individually or in a small group (Tickle, 2001). In having discovered this ancient Christian practice outside of my tradition, I wanted to attempt to practice it for this project.

In order to practice the daily office, I needed to identify a resource or resources to aid me. In researching resources to help me, I found Phyllis Tickle's book, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime (2001). While there are a wide variety of resources on the market, most were too complex for me to use, but Phyllis Tickle has assimilated a wide variety of resources from the Christian tradition and slightly contemporized aspects of the practice for current use. My goal is to use her book as my guide and observe the daily office three times a day for seven days. I will keep a log of the days and time to ensure that I observe this practice. Also, I will journal to record what I learn from practicing the daily office.

In connecting this to our study of Human Growth and Development, this would be considered leisure activity. Since I am not doing this with a group, it would be a solitary leisure activity (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007). This is an interest that I have about this particular Christian practice that is outside of the Christian tradition that I am familiar with. I do feel curious about it and want to experience it firsthand for myself. Over the Winter break, I read a book by Karen Sloan called Flirting with Monasticism (2006). This continued to energize my interest in spiritual practices such as the daily office. Leisure activities are directed by personal interests and the meaning that one attaches to it, and typically, remain stable over the lifespan with the exception of having to adjust the activity because of the level of physical intensity (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007). Christian spiritual practices have long been an interest of mine, and this practice has been an interest since reading about it in various books and articles over a period of several years. I attach great value to this interest and wish to pursue it. I feel that it may generate insights into my Christian faith that I might not otherwise acquire.

Considering my personality in light of Costa and McCrae's research, I am open to new experiences, and this project was definitely a new learning experience for me (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2007). It began awkwardly for me. In my first few attempts, I kept wondering if I was doing things correctly. I found myself thinking that I should review the instructions again. Incorporating written prayers and praying Scripture in this way was a new experience for me. The first couple of days were used to adjust to the format of the observance. I was very self-aware of every little thing that I was doing and trying to get familiar with this new format for my devotional time.

Also, with my schedule, I found it difficult to maintain the same exact times each day. A devotional time three times a day takes more energy and effort to maintain, and I found that if it is not a priority then it will not happen. Ideally, I would have like to observe the daily office at 9 in the morning, 1 after lunch, and 5 in the late afternoon, but the times were generally somewhere between 7 to 8:30, 1 to 3, and 8:30 to 10:30. This lack of a consistent time bothered me, but even with effort, I found it difficult to maintain a specific time each day. I think that the exercise would have been more productive if I would have been able to maintain specific times over the course of the seven days. For most of the times, I was able to take adequate time to pause and reflect on the intent of the Scripture readings and prayers. With the format of the Divine Hours, each prayer and Scripture reading has an intended purpose. I found that it helps to think about the intended purpose for what I was doing. Often, it would make sense of what I was reading (Tickle, 2001). This was a new experience for me, and I encountered the difficulties and rewards of having done it.

I would like to continue practicing the daily office. While I initially did this for my self-development project, it is something that I would like to continue and develop as a part of my Christian spiritual experience. With time and continual effort, I feel that this is a practice that could be beneficial to me spiritually. I do not think that the benefits will be immediate. The benefits of observing the daily office will take time because it will take time to gain understanding of the practice and really to be able to enter into it as a spiritual activity. I find myself seeking to master the cognitive aspect of it before I really engage my heart in it. This will take time, but I have already continued to practice the divine office beyond the seven days that I originally planned. Since my book continues through the month of May, I plan on continuing it until the end of May, but before the end of May, I will evaluate to see if I want to continue the practice and buy the next book for summer.

Bibliography
Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C. (2007). Human Development: a Life-Span View (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Sloan, K. E. (2006). Flirting with Monasticism: Finding God on Ancient Paths. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Tickle, P. (2001). The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime: A Manual for Prayer. New York: Image Books.

Whatever Became of Holiness 3

In chapter three, DeNeff speaks concerning the psychologizing of sin. Sin assumes a God and a confrontation with him. Why has the concept of sin disappeared? First, we have diminished the holiness of God. Second, we have eliminated guilt. Third, we "define deviancy down". We "normalize" sin. Instead of addressing these, "the church has shifted from repentance to recruitment". We have lowered the standard of sin.

Next, he asks, "What is Sin?" We commit sins because of our sinful nature (Mark 7.21-23; Romans 8.5-6; Galatians 5.17; Romans 7.19). We sin out of our nature. So, our sin nature must be dealt with, and this is the focus of holiness. There are three layers of sinfulness: the act, the mind or desire, and the nature or will. In conversion, the will is changed and the power of sin is broken. Too much of the modern church ignores the reality of sin.

Whatever Became of Holiness 2

In chapter two, DeNeff addresses our view of God. Statistics show that the God Americans most often believe in is not the God of Scripture. There are six effects of our lower view of God. First, there is no law because natural law based in the holiness of God no longer exists. Second, there is no sin because God is not better than we are. Third, there is little reason to change. My opinion is as good as any other. Fourth, if the previous three are true, there is no gospel. Fifth, there is a lower level of commitment among Christians. Lastly, the whole doctrine of God falls apart.

The holiness of God ties together all of the other attributes of God and makes sense of them. From the scenes in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, DeNeff says that "the epicenter of heaven is the holiness of God and shows the implications of Isaiah's encounter with God's holiness (Isaiah 6.1-8). First, where the Lord is exalted, people believe Him (vv. 1-3). Second, we are humbled (vv.1-3). Third, we have a strong sense of our own sinfulness (v.5). Fourth, those who grasp the holiness of God receive cleansing (vv.6-7). Fifth, we are called into service (v.8).

How do we rediscover God's holiness? The uncomfortable answer is solitude (Luke 5.16).

Overcoming Sin – From a Physiological Viewpoint

Just continuing the thought on Overcoming Sin… another idea that has risen to the surface of my mind recently is that our bodies matter. Well, that's nothing new… brilliant thought! BUT, I am not sure that Christians appreciate the full meaning of that statement. Do we realize that our bodies were affected by the Fall? They do not work exactly right… I have issues with arthritis and will be taking medicine for it for the rest of my life. My body does not function properly. We suffer from various diseases. Could the general affects of sin on our bodies make overcoming sin more difficult?

Let me take this somewhere instead of nowhere. Once again, we generally conceive of sin as an act of the will. We chose to sin, and it requires confession, repentance, and forgiveness, which is true. I don't know of any evangelicals who will deny this point. So, we have the sincere believer who struggles with a particular sin and find himself in that cycle of sin, confession, repentance, forgiveness, etc. They are stuck in their sin.

We believe that sin is committed through our bodies, which were affected by the Fall. It is hard to commit sin without a body. The Fall affects more than just spiritual death and social separation from God and one another. There were psychological and physical affects as well. Even as Christians, we are alive, but weakened by sin. In my previous post, I have already mentioned one way in which bondage to sin may be psychological. Here, I want to suggest that our bondage to sin may be more than just spiritual or psychological, but it may be physiological as well.

I was speaking to a friend of mine who is a sincere believer and struggles with a specific, habitual sin in their life (yes, I am purposely using the plural pronoun). The friend was very excited that since the doctor had placed them (no, not multiple personality disorder) on an anti-depressant the temptation to this particular sin was no longer an issue. This medicine also helped them overcome sin. The physiological makes a difference in our ability to overcome sin in our lives! This person's issues were mainly of a physical nature, not psychological.

Side note: I am not convinced that all depression is physiological. It is hard to determine which comes first the psychological state or the physiological. At least in some cases, I do think that the person's body is not functioning correctly and the physiological comes first.

Previously, this individual did the sin, confession, repentance, forgiveness cycle, but could not break out of it. They even sought Christian counseling from multiple sources using multiple methods for help to overcome this sin, but they could never seem to overcome it. With the antidepressant, they can overcome the sin and walk in victory. Sin affects our bodies and at times makes us prone to sin. Our bodies are damaged, and sometimes, the medical world can provide a solution which not only helps us physically, but spiritually.

While Scripture does speak of body, soul, and spirit (and sometimes, mind), we are an integrated whole. One affects the other which affects the other. In pastoral ministry, I would often see an individual who had a major surgery, and inevitably, they would experience depression after surgery, and sometimes, they would experience a spiritual depression as well. Our body affects our soul and spirit. When our body is not functioning properly, it does have psychological and spiritual consequences.

My purpose is not to excuse sin. Sin is serious, and we must deal with it. Confession, repentance, and forgiveness are important, BUT I have to wonder if we are doing enough to help the whole person? Are we so focused on the sin itself that we miss the psychological and physiological? When we or someone we know has persistent sin in their lives, and we know that they love God and doing all that they can to overcome it, should we not look further into their lives for issues? These conversations have been enlightening to me about the need to do more.

Overcoming Sin – From a Psychological Viewpoint

This has been rolling around in my head for some time and has become a topic of conversation with others. My thoughts are still in a seminal form. At this point, I am not quoting Scripture, nor psychology texts. In speaking of sincere believers who truly want to overcome sin in their lives, I am becoming more convinced that persistent sin is a multi-causal issue, requires a holistic look at the person's life, and may need multiple solutions.

We generally conceive of sin as being a spiritual matter requiring confession, repentance, and receiving forgiveness. This is TRUE! But, I am wondering aloud if it is NOT the whole truth. Often, when a sincere believer struggles with sin, they confess, repent, and receive forgiveness many times, but it does not solve the problem!!! They still struggle with sin. It becomes a cycle of sin, confession, repentance, forgiveness, sin, confession, repentance, forgiveness…

At this point, many Christians might take the spiritual solution to the next level. It becomes a matter of spiritual warfare which requires intense confession and repentance session of every sin that you've ever committed and a renunciation of them. "Deep Repentance" is a possible solution. Once again, I do not disagree with this either, but my concern is that we may be looking in the wrong direction. We need to take a broader view of the individual's life.

For instance, I have a friend who struggles with a particular sin. This friend is a sincere believer who loves God and desires to serve Him, but they have had a difficult time "rooting out" this sin. Interestingly enough, my friend decided to lighten their schedule and reduce the stress in their life. When they did this, the temptation to this particular sin disappeared. What had almost been an obsession is now gone. (By the way, I am purposely using the plural pronouns)

An intense struggle that had continued for several months disappeared! Of course, we could still say that sin was involved because of their over scheduling themselves. Yet, the activities that were causing the overload were not specific, moral sins. When this area of the person's life was brought under control, the result was freedom from that particular sin.

One last thought that needs further exploration: SIN has affected ALL of creation! We are affected body, soul, and spirit. We are tempted by the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Too often, we underestimate the pervasiveness of SIN, and we do not examine the modes of temptation thoroughly. If we only focus on the sin itself, we may be missing the real problem.

The sinful act may only be a symptom, but the disease. In the struggle with sin, we need to examine the BIG picture. This struggle may be caused by something other than the obvious… Next, I want to address the physiological aspect of overcoming sin.

Whatever Became of Holiness 1

This set of posts covers Steve DeNeff's book, Whatever Became of Holiness. In chapter one, DeNeff discusses "Virtual Holiness". Cyberspace "offers us a very convincing substitute to real relationships and experiences". Just like cyberspace love is lacking, so is grand causes without personal holiness.

If we are not careful, morality may replace religion. When this happens, we become more concerned with humanity's actions, rather than humanity itself. He says that the message of holiness is "that a man's conscience can be as undefiled as his reputation and his heart as pure as his passion is strong".

Our holiness needs to exceed a virtual revivalistic reality of all style and no substance. Only true holiness can change us.

Birthday Wishes

So, I had a birthday this past week and received a lot of birthday wishes. While I appreciate ALL of the well-wishing, there were some that stood out. Here's a small selection.

My friend and pastor, Steve, gave me this healthy B-day wish, "Hope you have a blessed Birthday! eat lots of junk food! (Calories don't count on Birthdays!)." Of course, I did it!!! Cindy bought a great DQ Ice Cream Cake!

Tammy had this say, "Will be at a Women's Retreat in Charleston over the weekend...so, HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY! Did you get to do your "textbook delivery Happy Dance"?" Oh yeah! I did the Happy Dance!

My friend from the Registrar's Office, Jenilee, said, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you are really blessed. Come back to the Registrar's Office so we can have an excuse to eat cake! :)" I miss my friends at the Registrar's Office! Of course, any excuse to eat became a good reason to eat!

As Jody reminded me, "Happy Birthday my hero, or former hero!" It was fun to be a hero… for a time…

My cousins chimed in: No one but family can get to the heart of the matter! "Old Man" AND "ZOO" hummm…

Kelly added: "Happy b-day, Old Man! My turn next--the big 4-0!"

Sherri sang: "♫ ♪ Happy Birthday to you. You live in a ... ♫ ♪ Oh sorry, wrong song. Ha! Ha! Hope you have a good one!!!"

On a theological note:

Dustin said, "Happy Birthday, you lover of patristics you." Yes, its' true… I like Patristics. The good thing about them… they can't change their minds!!!

Brian contributed, "Happy Birthday! May entire sanctification be a b-day present for you." AHHH! He knows my Wesleyan view well… may it be!

Resignation

Hello all!

I submitted my resignation to Walhalla Wesleyan Church. Why? Over the past year, I have felt that I was not able to give adequate time to the church. I was working part-time at the church and working as a full-time graduate student at Clemson University and doing an assistantship. In all honesty, I was trying to do too much.

If I am going to be able to complete my degree at Clemson in the next year then I need to be able to focus more fully on it. Over the next year, I will be doing my practicum and 2 semesters of internship. It was going to be more than I could do.

Also, I found it increasingly difficult to focus on school and church at the same time. My family and I felt that I was working 7 days a week. With school during the week and church on Wednesday and Sunday, I was constantly doing either school or church related work. This did not allow me time for family and others. When you do too much, you end up not doing anything very well. This was happening...

It is hard to leave... I still feel that Walhalla Wesleyan has an incredible amount of potential for ministry. I pray that God will lead the right pastor to the church, and that it will be able to go forward under his leadership.

Blessings,
Chris