|
Encouraging scholarship, strengthening faith identity, and interpreting contemporary issues in Baptist life. |
||
 |
|
Newman Scholar: |
|
Home • Staff • Local Church • News & Views • Issues • Bulletin • Conferences / Seminars • Sabbaticals • Certificate • Links |
||
|
by Robert Mulkey Pastor of First Baptist Church, Deland, Florida, Former CBF-Florida Moderator, Member National CBF Coordinating Council
Return to Sabbaticals Homepage
A few months ago I read about a new “mini-sabbatical” for ministers on staffs of Baptist churches. It is at Mercer University’s Center for Baptist Studies which is directed by Dr. Walter Shurden and ably assisted by his helpful colleague, Mr. Greg Thompson. I sent Dr. Shurden my proposal and biographical information and asked to be invited to spend a week on the Mercer campus reading in the area of Baptist principles under his guidance. Much to my delight, I soon received an invitation to be the first A. H. Newman Scholar of the Center for Baptist Studies. When I arrived on the campus I was given a key to a spacious room in the Lee Alumni House. The next day I received a guest card which provided three meals a day at the cafeteria and a library card, valid for the week. Dr. Shurden prepared a reading assignment sheet tailored to fit my needs. The agreement I had made with him prior to my arrival on campus was that I would endeavor to make the week of reading benefit my church. I had proposed that a series of sermons on Baptist principles would come from my reading and his guidance. He assigned me readings in “The Baptist Identity” and in “the Baptist Vision of Religious Authority, the Church, the State, and the Individual.” The authors I read included Leon McBeth, Charles DeWeese, H. Wheeler Robinson, Glenn Hinson, Walter Shurden, and Cecil Sherman. It is hard for me to imagine a better way to grow in my understanding of Baptist history and principles than to spend five days reading some of the best writers in Baptist life and then to have some discussions on my reading with Buddy Shurden. Extended time alone to think and pray helped make the week at Mercer truly a time of renewal. I want my pastor friend to know of the availability of this program. You will find all the information you need at the Center for Baptist Studies’ excellent website: www.mercer.edu/baptiststudies. I am deeply grateful to my church, First Baptist DeLand, for granting me time for a sabbatical, to Mercer University for providing such a great program for ministers, and to Dr. Walter Shurden for creating and directing the Center for Baptist Studies and its mini-sabbatical. |
||
|
The Center for Baptist Studies, Mercer University, 1400 Coleman Avenue, Macon, GA 31207 Phone (478) 301-5457 |
||
A Mini-Sabbatical at the Center for