Erskine Action

David & K.D. Norman

Dr. David A. Norman was chosen Friday as the 15th president of Erskine College and Seminary by unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees.

Norman, 34, was presented with unanimous support for election by the Presidential Search Committee, which was appointed in August when current President Dr. Randall T. Ruble announced his plans to retire on June 30.

“I am very pleased to be joining the Erskine College and Seminary family and I’d like to thank the search committee and the Board of Trustees for putting their confidence in me,” Norman said. “My wife K.D. and I have been eagerly anticipating this moment.” The Normans have three children — Noah, Asher and Ezra.

“We’re overjoyed!” K.D. Norman said. “I look forward to serving the students and the community.”

David Norman grew up in Georgia and Alabama as part of a Christian family and during that time, he and his brother attended soccer camp at Erskine. “I have fond memories of the campus and the people from when I visited here as a youth,” he said.

The new president received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University. While Norman was a student at Auburn, he married K.D., his high school sweetheart. They will be celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary on June 14.

After earning his master’s degree in Christian Thought from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Norman went to the University of Edinburgh and was awarded the Ph.D. for his work in Philosophical Theology.

Norman served several years as a professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of South Carolina in Lancaster. The Normans became members of First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Lancaster. Their two oldest sons were baptized in that church and Norman was ordained as a deacon there.

He then became executive director of the prestigious Trinity Forum Academy, a highly selective graduate program in Applied Philosophy and Theology. In his role, Norman was responsible for recruitment, finances, board relations, student development, managing staff, teaching, fund-raising and all operational responsibilities.

Norman stayed at Trinity Forum until he was recruited to join Best and Associates, a Dallas-based higher education consulting and service organization. During his association with Best, Norman has continued to develop his experience and knowledge in the business and best practices of higher education.

“Our entire family looks forward to putting down roots in Due West when we move here this summer,” Norman said. The family will live in the now vacant President’s Home on Main Street.

Gordon Query, a member of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the search committee, said Norman was the unanimous choice of the group. Query brought the Normans to Due West earlier this month to meet briefly with the faculty, key administrative officials and student leaders.

“He is an ideal choice for the institution at this moment in time,” Query said. “He brings enthusiasm, energy and a vision to unite Erskine during one of its most challenging periods.”

Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Mitchell said he is thankful to the search committee for its work. “Finding a successor to Randy Ruble was an arduous challenge from the outset,” Mitchell said. “The committee has remained steadfast in its charge of finding the best person to lead Erskine into the future.”

Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Joe Patrick said, “I’m excited and grateful to our Sovereign God who has allowed us to see how Dr. Norman can bring academic rigor, sincerity, creativity, trust and trustworthiness to the mission and vision of Erskine College and Seminary.”

Norman said he has already started making plans for the transition.

“I’ve got a lot to learn about Erskine, but I’m quickly learning there are a number of very capable people who have surrounded Dr. Ruble and who I hope will support me as we begin this new chapter in Erskine’s history,” the new president said. “I love the Erskine campus and am excited by the passion currently being expressed for the institution by the ARP Church, as well as Erskine’s students, alumni, faculty, staff and Board of Trustees. We have a bright future ahead of us.”

Dr. Charles S. MacKenzie, distinguished professor of philosophy and theology and one of Norman’s mentors at Reformed Theological Seminary, endorses the selection of Norman as Erskine’s next president.

MacKenzie, who joined the RTS faculty after teaching at Columbia University, Princeton and Stanford, as well as having served as president and chancellor of Grove City College for 21 years, said Norman is “top quality and a deeply committed Christian.”

“You folks are going to love him,” MacKenzie said. “He’s going to be a real star in higher education.”

MacKenzie said Norman’s academic training is impressive.

“I predict he’ll have a great future in higher education,” MacKenzie said. “He’ll help Erskine. He has the ability to think well and has a clear sense of reality. He’ll listen before he makes up his mind, but once he makes up his mind, he’ll make a decision.”

Norman will take office July 1 and his inauguration will take place this fall.

“This is going to be an exciting time for Erskine, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Norman family,” the new president said. “I look forward to beginning that journey together.”

Are Christians never to seek civil litigation? Is the regulation inter-Christian only? If civil litigation is allowed, under what circumstances might it be invoked? Are Christians forbidden to protect their interests? The following brief investigation offers clues from the text which may be of help in defining the limits of the Pauline regulation.

In response to questions about appropriate Christian uses of the secular courts, Professor James Hering of Erskine Theological Seminary has written an exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 6. Click here to download Dr. Hering’s paper in PDF format.

Before earning a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Dr. Hering was a World Witness missionary in Europe for thirteen years. He joined the Erskine Seminary faculty in 2005.

Erskine Theological Seminary is pleased to announce that our Columbia campus is fully accredited.

The Association of Theological Schools Board of Commissioners has voted to grant approval for Erskine to offer the complete Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Practical Ministry, and Doctor of Ministry degree programs in Columbia.

For Erskine’s students, this means it is now possible to earn these degrees entirely in Columbia. Beginning in the summer term 2010, students based in Columbia will no longer be required to take half their courses at the Due West campus.

The Columbia campus is hosted in the facilities of Columbia’s First Presbyterian Church.

Dr. Neely Gaston, Executive Vice President of the Seminary, had this to say in announcing the accreditation:

The joint vision set forth in 2003 by First Presbyterian Church and Erskine Theological Seminary is now poised to bear fruit for Christ and His Church. The future is bright for many denominations as the Columbia campus will provide training for the next generation of church leaders and pastors. The central location of the Columbia campus will make theological education more readily available to students from the many constituencies represented in the state. We give thanks to God for his continued blessings on Erskine Theological Seminary!

At the same time, the ATS Board of Commissioners granted ongoing approval for the Seminary’s Master of Theology (Th.M.) program.

You can follow news and information from Erskine Seminary on Facebook. The official profile is here. A group created by a graduate is here.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of our dear friend, colleague, mentor, and professor emerita, Dr. Mary-Ruth Marshall.  Dr. Marshall suffered a fall in her home that resulted in a closed head injury.  Emergency surgery was unsuccessful and she died on the evening of January 12th. Funeral services were held on January 15th at the Greenville Presbyterian Church in Donalds, SC.

Dr. Marshall, 76, was born in Worcester, Massachusetts to the late Robert Leonard and Agnes Bigham Marshall.  She graduated from high school in Summerville, SC in 1950 and Montreat College in Montreat, NC in 1954.  In 1958 she earned her MRE degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education.  She entered the doctoral program at Presbyterian School of Christian Education in 1984.  She came to Erskine Theological Seminary in 1988, teaching courses in Christian Education and developing the Master of Arts in Christian Education degree program.

Dr. Marshall’s family is requesting that memorial gifts be made to:

Greenville Presbyterian Church
PO Box 157
Donalds, SC  29638
Or
The Mary-Ruth Marshall Seminary Scholarship Fund
Erskine Theological Seminary
PO Box 44
Due West, SC  29639

Please remember Dr. Marshall’s family in your prayers.

On August 19th, twenty pilgrims, most of them Associate Reformed Presbyterian pastors, departed our shores for a 2-week Holy Land tour. Unlike many Holy Land excursions, this particular trip was designed for pastors, with an intentional emphasis placed upon their retreat and renewal. Participants were mid-career pastors who had never had the opportunity to visit Israel before.

The itinerary included a week in the region of Galilee, with the balance of the days spent in and around Jerusalem. The daily program: to walk in the steps of Jesus. This included day trips to sites such as Nazareth, Caesarea and Bethlehem. Late afternoons were spent in reflection and retreat; each evening, after worship, we heard a message touching upon the life and words of Jesus.

Those of us on the trip will tell you that seeing the world of our Lord first hand (whether Capernaum or the Via Dolorosa) brought forth various responses from the pilgrims, sometimes sadness, then wonder and joy. There was much laughter, and a few tears, as well. We were often struck with surprise at the scale of places, or how our imagination had construed a decidedly false picture of Jesus’ daily life. The learning for each participant was varied, yet uniformly “overwhelming.” One thing I can safely say about our pilgrimage: we all left with a deeper love for the Lord, and an unspeakable gratefulness for the Incarnation.

How did Erskine Seminary fund such a trip? The entire Pilgrimage, including pre- and post-trip retreats, was made possible by a grant from the Cousins Foundation of Atlanta, Georgia. The Foundation has a deep commitment to the care of pastors, and I thank the Lord that this commitment will now bear fruit in Erskine graduates.

We have been unable to edit Erskine Action for some time now, due to a software problem. The problem appears to be fixed, so we expect to begin posting news and information from Erskine Seminary in this space again on Wednesday, January 20.

The Calvin Quincentenary is an international, interdenominational and interdisciplinary celebration of the life and work of John Calvin, the great reformer who left such an indelible impression on the modern world.  If you plan to be in Geneva this summer, please accept this invitation to be part of one of the most significant gatherings of Calvinists in history!

The Calvin 500 planning committee has released the following revised schedule:

JULY 5, 2009 (SUNDAY)

11:30 Greetings for Opening Convocation of Calvin500 in St. Pierre Cathedral
Worship and Sermon by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson, “In Christ Alone” Phil. 3:8-12.
6:00 PM Joint Worship, with Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda

Psalm Sing and worship
Sermon by Dr. Bryan Chapell (President, Covenant Sem.): “In Praise of Predestination,” Eph. 1:3-6

JULY 6, 2009 (MONDAY)

Paper: Dr. Douglas Kelly (RTS): “The Catholicity of the Theology of John Calvin”
Paper: Dr. Richard Gamble (RPTS): “Recent Research in Calvin Studies”
Paper: Dr. Darryl Hart: “Calvin among Nineteenth-Century Reformed Protestants in the United States”

Keynote Address: Dr. John Witte (Emory), “Reading Calvin as a Lawyer,”
Sermon by Rev. Geoffrey Thomas (Wales, Alfred Place Baptist Church), “Election” Eph. 1:3-14
Sermon by Dr. Peter Lillback (Pres., Westminster Sem., “All the Glorious Offices of Christ,
“1 Cor. 1:29-31
Sermon Dr. Robert Godfrey (Pres., Westminster Sem California), “Calvin’s Cherished Text,” Jn 17:1- 5

JULY 7, 2009 (TUESDAY)

Paper: Dr. Richard Burnett (Erskine Theological Seminary): “Calvin on Secular and Sacred History”
Paper: Dr. William Edgar (Westminster Theological Seminary): “Calvin’s Impact on the Arts”
Paper: Dr. Anthony Lane (London School of Theology): “Calvin’s Doctrine of Assurance Revisited”

Keynote Address: Dr. Bruce McCormack (Princeton): “Union with Christ in Calvin’s Theology:
Grounds for a Divinisation Theory?”

Address: Dr. Henry Krabbendam: “Reformation and Revival”
Dr. Steven Lawson (Christ Fellowship Baptist, Mobile, AL): “Calvin, the Expository Preacher”
Dr. Iain D. Campbell (Back Free Church, Scotland) “Three Great Intercessions” (Romans 8:26, 34).
Sermon by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan

JULY 8, 2009 (WEDNESDAY)

Paper: Dr. R. Scott Clark (Westminster Sem California): “Calvin’s Principle of Worship”
Paper: Dr. Hughes Old/Dr. Terry Johnson (Erskine): “Calvin’s Worship Reforms”
Paper: Dr. Henri Blocher, “Calvin, the Frenchman”

Keynote Address: Dr. William McComish, Emeritus Dean, St. Pierre Cathedral, “Calvin’s Children”
Afternoon: Young Calvin Scholars Symposium
Paper: Dr. Jae Sung Kim: “Calvinism in Asia”
Sermon by Dr. Philip Ryken (Tenth Pres, Philadelphia): “A Wide Door for Spreading the Gospel,” 1Cor. 16:5-11
Sermon by Dr. Joel Beeke (President, Puritan Ref Theo Sem): “Cherishing the Church,” Mt. 16:18b
Dr. Martin Holdt, “Psalm 100 Then and Now,” Psalm 110

JULY 9, 2009 (THURSDAY)

Paper: Dr. James McGoldrick (GPTS): “Calvin and Luther: Comrades in Christ”
Paper: Dr. Michael Horton (Westminster Seminary California): “Union and Communion:Rediscovering Calvin’s Eucharistic Theology.”
Paper: Dr. Andrew McGowan (Scotland): “John Calvin’s Doctrine of Scripture”

Keynote Address: Dr. Herman Selderhuis:
Paper: Dr. George Knight: “Calvin as New Testament Exegete”
Dr. Henri Blocher: “Calvin on Divine Election”
Sermon: Rev. Ted Donnelly (Principal, Reformed Theological College, Belfast): “More Than Conquerors,” Rom. 8:37

Dr. Hywel Jones (Wales/USA): “One of a Thousand,” Job 36:1-4
Dr. Derek Thomas (RTS) “Adoring the Majesty of God,”Rom. 11:33-36

Some of Erskine Seminary’s faculty have been involved in the renewal movement in the Presbyterian Church (USA), calling the PC(USA) to repentance and a return to its historic faith. We are pleased that a majority of presbyteries have now reaffirmed the constitutional standard that requires faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness of all ordained officers.

Read an announcement from the Presbyterian Coalition here.

David Howell, a student in the Master of Divinity degree program at Erskine, appears in a special section of the current Christianity Today. The “Rediscovering the Book” section includes an article on distance learning, in which David and  his family are featured in a sidebar.

David is a candidate for the ministry in Foothills Presbytery of the PC(USA). Last year the faculty awarded him the Zondervan Publishing House Award in Biblical Hebrew at commencement.