wfn.org | United Methodist officials deny bias against evangelicals

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 21, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.    10-21-71B{495}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Charges by a group of United Methodist
evangelicals that the church's University Senate has a theological bias
against evangelical seminaries has been called "unfounded."

The senate has responsibility for approving non-United Methodist schools
of theology which may be attended by United Methodist ministerial
students. Forty board members of Good News, an unofficial, evangelical
renewal movement, met recently in Wilmore, Ky., and charged the senate
with a liberal bias in its approval of seminaries. They cited the
senate's refusal in January to approve Gordon-Conwell Seminary in
Wenham, Mass., and its earlier decisions to drop Bethel Seminary, St.
Paul, Minn.; Oral Roberts University School of Theology, Tulsa, Okla.;
and Trinity Evangelical Seminary, Deerfield, Ill. The Good News board
noted that all the schools are approved by the Association of
Theological Schools (ATS), a national body that accredits seminaries.

"To assume a theological bias based on four examples is a stretch," said
the Rev. John Harnish, a staff executive of the churchwide Board of
Higher Education and Ministry, to which the University Senate is
related.

"Approval by ATS alone is not sufficient for approval by the University
Senate," he explained. "There are 250 seminaries in the United States
accredited by the ATS.  Of that number, about 60 are approved by the
University Senate for United Methodist students."

Harnish also noted that while Gordon-Conwell's Massachusetts campus was
not approved by the senate in January, its campus in Charlotte, N.C.,
was. "Each school is evaluated independently."  

At the same January meeting, he said,  evangelical schools such as the
Fuller extension program in Seattle and Asbury Theological Seminary in
Wilmore, Ky., were approved.  He also said the list of 60 approved
schools includes many that would identify themselves as "evangelical."

"I don't think the evidence supports the claim that there is a
theological bias," Harnish declared.  "All schools must meet the
criteria established by the senate." 

The criteria are: freedom of academic inquiry; opportunity for growth in
the United Methodist Tradition; compatibility with the Social Principles
of the United Methodist Church; the ethnic and gender profile of the
faculty and student body; and academic quality.

For example, Harnish explained how the criteria regarding freedom of
academic inquiry is applied in all situations. "A school is not told it
cannot have a confession of a particular theological point of view.
However, since the senate believes it is best for United Methodist
students to be exposed to broad theological reflection, schools with
confessional statements must demonstrate how they provide for a freedom
of inquiry in that context."  Harnish said this applies to any school,
evangelical or not.

"Clearly, some of the more rigidly conservative schools will have a
difficult time meeting that criteria, not because they are evangelical,
but because of the way in which they approach theological reflection,"
he continued.  

If the senate has a bias, Harnish said, it is not against a school that
has an evangelical perspective. "Rather, it is a bias in favor of open
inquiry and exposure to the breadth of theological reflection present in
the United Methodist Church today. We believe this is in the best
interest of the students and the church, and is in keeping with the
United Methodist tradition."

The United Methodist Church is one of the very few denominations that do
not require their ministerial students to attend their own seminaries,
for at least a part of their theological education, Harnish said. "We
are the exception. Given that we allow our students to go to seminaries
of other denominations, we think it important that they be exposed to
what it is to be a United Methodist."

To illustrate, he pointed to infant baptism celebrated in the United
Methodist Church. "If a student attended a seminary that is narrowly and
rigidly Baptist, where there is no reflection on the possible merits of
infant baptism, what does that do to our tradition?" 

When the senate reviews a Baptist seminary, Harnish said, the school is
asked, "In light of your confession and tradition, what opportunities
are there for United Methodist students to grow in their tradition?"
Several Baptist schools meet the criteria and are approved, he noted.

Some schools are denied but are later approved, based on their response
to the criteria, he said.  "Schools that would not describe themselves
as evangelical have also been denied."

Like other accrediting agencies, the University Senate functions on the
basis of peer review.  "The content of a review is confidential, but the
decision is public,"  Harnish said. He also noted that the senate
receives input from the United Methodist bishop and Board of Ordained
Ministry of the annual conference in which a school is located.

The president of the 26-member University Senate is the Rev. Dennis
Campbell, former dean at Duke University Divinity School, Durham, N.C.,
and now headmaster at Woodberry Forest  (Va.) School. Seven members of
the Senate form the Commission on Theological Education, which reviews
the schools and makes recommendations to the entire body. Chairman of
that group is Bishop Neil Irons of the church's Harrisburg (Pa.) Area.

The executive secretary/publisher of the Good News movement, with
offices in Wilmore, is the Rev. James V. Heidinger II. The president of
its board is the Rev. William A. Hines, Findley, Ohio.

# # #

University Senate members:

David L. Beckley,  president, Rust College; Shirley A.R. Lewis,
president, Paine College; Robert W. Edgar, dean, Claremont School of
Theology; R. Kevin LaGree, dean, Candler School of Theology at Emory
University; Wanda Durrett Bigham, president, Huntingdon College; Lovett
H. Weems Jr., president, Saint Paul School of Theology; Justo Gonzales,
executive director, Hispanic Initiative, Candler School of Theology at
Emory University; Willia B. Harris, associate professor and coordinator
for special education, Alabama State University; Jerry M. Boone,
president, Ferrum College; James A. Davis, president, Shenandoah
University; Ann H. Die, president, Hendrix College; George D. Fields
Jr., president, Spartanburg Methodist College; George M. Harmon,
president, Millsaps College; Harold M. Kolenbrander, president, Mount
Union College; Peter T. Mitchell, president, Columbia College of South
Carolina; John R. Eidam, director of admissions, Wyoming Seminary;
Dennis M. Campbell, dean, Duke University Divinity School; Thomas W.
Cole Jr., president, Clark Atlanta University; Ellen S. Hurwitz,
president, Albright College; Neil L.Irons, resident bishop, Harrisburg
Area; Marshall (Jack) L. Meadors Jr., resident bishop, Mississippi Area;
William Haden, president, West Virginia Wesleyan College; Mark Collier,
vice president for academic affairs, Baldwin-Wallace College; Robert
Griffith, professor of history, American University; Kirk Treible,
president, Andrew College. Ex-officio members are: Jimmy Carr, John E.
Harnish, Roger W. Ireson and Ken Yamada of the Board of Higher Education
and Ministry staff in Nashville, Tenn., and Deborah Bass, of the Board
of Global Ministries staff in New York.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING NON-UNITED METHODIST SCHOOLS OF THEOLOGY 

Under the provisions of The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist
Church, the University Senate has responsibility for reviewing
non-United Methodist related institutions approved by the senate for the
education of United Methodist ministers (Paragraph 1520.2, 1992 Book of
Discipline). To exercise this responsibility the Senate has established
a Commission on Theological Education. In a quadrennial review of
non-United Methodist related institutions, the commission employs the
following criteria: 

I.	Freedom of academic inquiry
II.	Opportunity for growth in the United Methodist Tradition      	
III.	Compatibility with the Social Principles of the United
Methodist Church
IV.	Ethnic and gender profile of faculty and student body 
  	V.	Academic quality

I.	FREEDOM OF ACADEMIC INQUIRY

		An uninhibited opportunity to address openly and
seriously theological issues being addressed in United Methodist
institutions and other seminaries requires that freedom of academic
inquiry be guaranteed for faculty and students. Any non-United Methodist
seminary may reserve for itself the right  to require allegiance to
principles and doctrinal or confessional  affirmations which are
integral or indispensable parts of its institutional life. However, if
it wishes to be approved for the  education of the clergy of the United
Methodist Church, it must demonstrate that such requirements neither
inhibit nor abrogate free inquiry for faculty and students and are
compatible with United Methodist traditions.

 II.  OPPORTUNITY FOR GROWTH IN THE UNITED METHODIST TRADITION 

		Opportunity for growth in the United Methodist tradition
requires:
		1.	Exposure to contemporary expressions of that
tradition: The United Methodist Church is theologically diverse. There
is an expectation that UMC seminarians will be exposed to a variety of
theological positions current within Methodism.
		2.	Effective instruction in the history, doctrine,
and polity of TheUnited Methodist Church:  The Board of Higher Education
and Ministry provides seminaries with guidance for constructing courses
appropriate to this goal. Such study is a minimal requirement in order
to insure that the seminarians will increase in their knowledge of the
church in which they will serve.
		3.	Careful study of the life and thought of those
contributing to that tradition:  It is expected that the ecumenical
experience gained by UMC seminarians through their study in a non-UMC
institution shall be supplemented by significant opportunities to study
the works of Methodist theologians in depth.

		4.	Active participation in the life of The United
Methodist Church today:  Seminarians must incorporate field learning
within a United Methodist congregation into their study programs.  They
must also have the opportunity to participate regularly within the
worship life of The United Methodist Church, and to have some experience
of typical forms of United Methodist worship within the seminary chapel
program.
		5.	Encounters with ministerial leadership
consistent with the United Methodist tradition:  Seminarians preparing
for leadership in the church,  need opportunities to know mentors who
demonstrate the commitments of the UMC, its connectional nature, its
distinctive piety, its social principles, and its methods and materials
for Christian education.
  	
         6.	A community of inquiry and formation: Discussion and
mutual inquiry into the sources of the tradition, supported by a common
commitment to United Methodist history, tradition, and theology are
essential. The commission measures institutions on their ability to
provide United Methodist students with an opportunity for growth in the
United Methodist tradition. If a tradition or ethos is to be nurtured,
there must be a critical mass of persons who claim it and an environment
in which such an ethos can flourish. We assume that a sufficient number
of United Methodist students must be enrolled in M. Div. courses to
warrant an institution's providing faculty guidance, financial support
and library resources. Schools and extension centers must demonstrate
that these resources will be available for United Methodist students. 
		  	If a school participates in a cluster or
consortium with other seminaries, it is still expected that the school
seeking approval will demonstrate an intentional effort to meet the
needs of United Methodist students for exposure to and nurture in the
United Methodist tradition. Reliance upon other schools within the
consortium to provide for the United Methodist students is not
sufficient for approval by the Commission.  
  
III.	COMPATIBILITY WITH THE SOCIAL PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED METHODIST
CHURCH 

		The United Methodist Church seeks to be responsive to
the needs of people, the demands of justice, the challenges of love, and
the obligations of power and influence.  These responsibilities are set
forth in its historic Social Principles, see attached.

 IV.	ETHNIC AND GENDER INCLUSIVENESS OF FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENT
BODY 
      
		The United Methodist Church is committed to affirmative
actions and initiatives intended to promote justice and equality among
all people regardless of ethnicity, gender, or national origin. The
community of faith it strives to maintain is an ecumenical and inclusive
community which seeks and welcomes persons of every race, both male and
female, without reservation. This inclusiveness should be reflected in
its faculty, administration and student body.
 
 V.  ACADEMIC QUALITY

		One of the tasks of the Commission on Theological
Education is to enhance the quality of the education of United Methodist
clergy. While the commission is not an accrediting agency, it considers
the accreditation status and the overall academic quality of those
institutions seeking University Senate approval for the education of
United Methodist ministers. In so doing, the commission evaluates:
		1)	The quality of the faculty including the number
of faculty with terminal degrees;
2)	Scholarly activity including publications of faculty;
3)	Curriculum and academic resources;
		4)	Evidence of exposure to a variety of theological
positions represented within United Methodism;
5)	Academic quality of the entering student class.

Graduate Theological Seminaries Approved by the University Senate (July
1, 1998 - June 30, 1999):

American Baptist Seminary of the West, Berkeley, Calif. 
Anderson (Ind.) University School of Theology
Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Mass.
Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Ky.
Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.
Austin (Texas) Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Bangor (Maine) Theological Seminary
Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond,  Ind.
Bexley Hall (Colgate Rochester/Crozer), Rochester, N.Y.
Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas
Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis
Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological
Seminary, Rochester, N.Y.
Earlham School of Religion, Richmond, Ind.
Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Philadelphia
Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va.
Eden Theological Seminary, St. Louis
Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, S.C.
Erskine Extension Center, Augusta, Ga.
Evangelical School of Theology, Myerstown, Pa.
Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico
Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif.
Fuller Extension Center, Seattle
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, N.C.
Harvard University Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.
Howard University Divinity School, Washington
Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta
Lancaster (Pa.) Theological Seminary
Lexington (Ky.) Theological Seminary
Louisville (Ky.) Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia
Lutheran Theological Seminary, Columbia, S.C.
Memphis (Tenn.) Theological Seminary
Mennonite Biblical Seminary (now Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary)
Moravian Theological Seminary
New Brunswick Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
North American Baptist Seminary, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lombard, Ill.
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, Calif.
Phillips University Graduate Seminary, Enid, Okla.
Phillips University Graduate Seminary, Tulsa, Okla., Extension Center
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Va.
Princeton (N.J.) Theological Seminary
San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, Calif.
The School of Theology, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.
Union Theological Seminary, New York
Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, Richmond, Va.
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, Minn.
University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Dubuque (Iowa) Theological Seminary
Vancouver School of Theology, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Nashville, Tenn.
Virginia Union University School of Theology, Richmond, Va.
Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, Conn.

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