Barnabas File

A friend is currently pursuing a course in Spiritual Direction using the practices of Ignatian Spirituality developed by Ignatius of Loyola.     It occurred to me that it might be appropriate to share with him an icon of the saint. So where did that idea come from?    Baptists have traditionally criticized the use of images as a part of worship linking the practice as idolatry.   Icons have a long history in Christian tradition.  An icon is a religious work of art, usually a painting, often created in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches.   Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the production of Christian images dates to the earliest days of Christianity, but most modern art scholars believe the earliest religious icons were created in the third century.     Widespread destruction of images occurred in the Eastern Orthodox Church during the Byzantine iconoclasm (destruction of icons) of 726–842, although this confli...

As a good Baptist, I didn’t have anything to do with religious images growing up.  We had no images in our place of worship, not even a cross.  I think we were afraid that we might violate the “graven image” commandment (Exodus 20:4, KJV).     When I was a student at Southwestern Seminary, I had missions class in a large, ornate room next to  the Chapel.  During our time in Fort Worth, we would take visitors downtown to a storefront building to see a display of wax figures depicting DaVinci’s Last Supper.  Only later was I told that a wealthy benefactor had commissioned this as a gift to the seminary to be displayed in that large room adjacent to the Chapel.  It was meant to attract visitors to the seminary; however, the more conservative brethren in Texas objected to these “graven images” so they went into the exile downtown. (If this story is apocryphal, someone please correct me.)   I think Jesus and the ...

Dr. Molly Marshall My association with Central Seminary began while I was Coordinator of Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.     The seminary offered an “alumni by choice” certificate to invite those who had attended other seminaries to show their support and I readily signed on.     Due to our previous contacts through campus ministry activities, I was pleased when Molly Marshall became the president.     She was a popular speaker both in Baptist Collegiate Ministry events in Tennessee and on campuses where I served. My more official relationship with seminary began in 2005 when I became the volunteer site coordinator for Central’s teaching church site at First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro.  (By the way, I now teach a Bible study class each week in the room we used for a seminary classroom.)  As I have continued to relate to CBTS in various ways, I have observed and benefitted from the effective leadership of Dr. Marsha...

Ircel Harrison, Molly Marshall, and Rita Harrison at 2018  commencement in Shawnee, KS Thanks to the reminder from LinkedIn, friends started sending me congratulations on my work anniversary last week.  I had to think for a few minutes but realized that these messages were in connection with my tenure at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. In 2004, I was serving as the coordinator of the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  Mike Smith, my pastor at First Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, and I began talking about the challenges of theological education for those who were called to ministry but had families, jobs, and were already serving churches. They couldn’t easily pull up roots and go elsewhere. He mentioned specifically Beth Duke, someone I knew but he was more aware of her desire for a theological degree. She certainly fit the profile. She was a nurse at Southern Hills in Nashville, living in Smithville, Tennessee, where her ...

Last summer, Dr. Molly Marshall, president of Central Seminary, was asked to speak to a Doctor of Ministry seminar on “Entrepreneurial Leadership” and share some of the things she has learned in leading a “new generation seminary.” One of the learnings she identified is a key leadership lesson: “Seek wise counsel. An isolated leader cannot impose vision; rather, vision arises out of thoughtful collaboration. Leadership entails being a ‘keeper’ of the vision, however.” Dr. Marshall shared two ideas here that are very important in the development of a vision. First, the most effective vision arises from a process of collaboration. In a church, it rises up among the people of God as they engage their missional context.  In a judicatory, vision is birthed by the shared experiences of congregations.  In an organization, vision comes from the experience and abilities of the members of the team as they respond to opportunity. Second, once visio...

After a year’s hiatus from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship  General Assembly , I was able to attend the recent meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina.   Over the next several days, I will post some observations about the meeting. Of course, these are personal responses and reflect only my own opinions.   Today, I will comment on the people present. I continue to be pleased with the rich diversity of those attending the General Assembly.  There are still some gray hairs like myself, but I was impressed by the youth of the group—both single and married young adults.  Someone commented that one of the biggest challenges was finding stroller parking spaces!  There were many present with young children and babies, a sure way to grow the Fellowship. The diversity also extended to the racial and ethnic mix.  There were a number of African-American and Hispanic members of the Fellowship present and many are in leadership roles.  The ...