President Gene Wilkes presenting the President’s Award to Mr. Fred Propst.
June is for me a time of looking back at the previous month or so and looking forward to the next academic year to see what God has done. (I also find time in the summer to get away to the hills or some adventure for a time of re-creation, but that’s not the point of this post.) As I look back at the last month or so, I am impressed once again by the quality of our faculty and staff, students, and graduates and God’s hand upon what we are doing.
The Frank and Pauline Patterson Colloquy featured Dr. Eric Johnson as our plenary speaker. He is an author, professor and practitioner of Christian Psychology. Dr. Johnson’s latest book, God and Soul Care: The Therapeutic Resources of the Christian Faith, is as much a book of theology as it is one of psychology. I was impressed with his commitment to Christ and his integration of what we have learned about the human condition through the discipline of psychology and from solid biblical interpretation. I know our doctoral students and guests benefited from his insights and understanding how one can properly integrate psychology and faith. We extend our continued gratitude to the Burton Patterson family for their gift to make these lectures possible year after year. I am most grateful to our faculty, staff and supervisors who deliver the highest quality of accredited doctoral studies for our students.
Our first B. H. Carroll Giving Day on Sunday, May 20 was the beginning of an annual tradition to give churches and individuals an opportunity to give to the mission of Carroll as part of their gathered worship as a church. A gift to Carroll is a gift to missions because our students live, serve and study all around the world—and in regions there is no other access to accredited theological education. To learn more about this day and how you can still give to Carroll, GO HERE.
Our Convocation on May 25 marked another high water mark to train church leaders. One D.Min, three Ph.D., twenty-seven Master of Arts, one Advanced Diploma and one Diploma degrees were awarded this past year. We now have 197 graduates serving around the world in local church and teaching ministries. We are grateful to Dr. Danny Howe, Carroll Resident Fellow and pastor of First Baptist Church, Saginaw, Texas, a Carroll Teaching Church, who hosted our Convocation service this year. The Singing Men of North Texas and Carroll alumni and Governor, Dr. David Ritsema, Pastor First Baptist Church, Waxahachie, Texas highlighted our worship time. We also awarded the President’s Award to Mr. Fred Propst, who along with his wife, Ruby who has gone before him to meet the Lord, established the Fred and Ruby Propst Endowment Fund for scholarships. You can view the entire Convocation service here.
As I look ahead to the fall, I am most excited about our initiative to grow the number of our active Teaching Churches. These churches are the global delivery points of our courses and shared mission to make disciples and develop leaders. We plan to onboard five new Teaching Churches for the fall. One is in Germany and a course will be offered as an experimental site. We will host training sessions throughout the summer for our new and existing Teaching Churches. If you are interested in your church supporting the mission of B. H. Carroll through missions giving or as a Teaching Church, please let us know.
We continue to depend on the donations of individuals, churches and foundations to meet our needs and expand the ministry of Carroll. Summer months are always light in tuition payments by students, and we are especially in need of the faithful giving by our friends and donors this month. As we enter the summer season, please take time to prayerfully give to the mission of Carroll. You will impact the life of a man or woman called to serve Christ and his church.
Finally, I also want to thank those of you who sent cards, emails, texts and prayers regarding my father’s Home Going last month. He was a wonderful husband of 68 years to my mother, father of five children, nine grandchildren and twenty-four great grandchildren, and a deacon in the church—the kind you want in your deacon body. He led me to the Lord and modeled servant leadership for me. God blessed my life and family with his life and family, and I share with you the certain hope of the Resurrection, which will reunite us for eternity. Thank you for your continued prayers for my mother and family as we walk through these days.
Serving Him With You,
