Alumni Bibles Given to Graduates
by Sandra Blumanhourst, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore Campus, Alumni Office
On May 24, 2014, I walked across the stage and accepted my degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. I shook hands with President Tennent and posed for a picture. As I came down from the platform, I was welcomed into the the fold of over 10,000 alumni by Tammy Cessna, Director of Alumni and Church Relations (2013, MA), and Alumni Council member Rev. Dr. Steve Elliott (1998, DMin). Along with my fellow graduates, as we were received we were given ATS Alumni Bibles.
During my time in Wilmore I have had the privilege of working in the Alumni office. I remember when I first learned that graduates are given these Bibles. I thought it was just a nice gift. But as I neared my own graduation, it began to be more than “just a nice gift.” Perhaps it is sentimentality, but I believe it is much more. Prior to beginning my degree, I was starving for Scripture in what I now know as Inductive Biblical Studies and exegesis. I wanted to know what the word of God said and not just what a translator told me it said. I yearned for Scripture in deeper ways and that is exactly what I found in my courses at Asbury. I found this not only in the New and Old Testament courses, but in christian leadership, discipleship, mission, philosophy, theology, and church history. No matter the discipline, Scripture was one of the key course readings as we learned about pastoral counseling or ethics from a biblical perspective. For me, a core of my education at Asbury was dry bones living again. Subject matters which were dry and dead to me suddenly had life and were singing because of the Scripture being breathed in to them.
As I will leave the comforts of the classroom at Asbury, I know there will be days in which I will doubt that I learned enough or paid close enough attention to what my professors were saying. I will have days in which I feel like a ship blown from its mooring. There will be times when I may feel like a dry bone myself in a desert alone. But it is in those times which I will cling closer to God. One way I will do that is by picking up my ATS Alumni Bible and reading the Word of God as I could not have done three years ago. As I begin this new leg of my journey as an alumna, I asked some recent alumni how the ATS Alumni Bible has impacted their first year out of Seminary.
“I later discovered Tammy Cessna locked herself in her office, praying over each Bible and writing in it. She said, ” It was an honor to be able to touch and handle the Word that possibly would accompany that particular graduate on a hospital visitation, at the altar as someone was accepting Christ into their heart, at the bedside of a saint as they were entering into glory, at a desperately needed pastoral retreat, when a passage of encouragement was needed to fight the good fight, etc…” Knowing the prayer that accompanies this Bible, I have since begun to carry it with me to those tough places, knowing with God’s Word is the supportive worldwide community of Asbury Theological Seminary.” – Katie Grover (2013, MDiv)
“The inspirational passage referenced on the presentation page (Col 2:6-7) is an awesome reminder of the very biblically rooted teachings I received from Asbury. I love Paul’s exhortation to live into the strong teachings we receive in Christ and to remain thankful for the overflow of God’s blessings. I need such reminders as I face the tough challenges of leading others into revival and renewal in the Wesleyan tradition. In dark days and light, one of the things I hold onto and cherish is the time I spent at Asbury and the many friends and lessons I gained as a result. Amazingly enough, something as innocuous as a gift bible sitting in the center of my desk is enough to regularly remind me of those things. Thank you ATS for all you offer the world, and thank you ATS Alumni for your continued encouragement and support.” – Ted Find (2013, MDiv)
“As a young pastor, I am certain that I will accumulate an embarrassing number of Bibles over the years. What makes the Bible I received from Asbury special is that I received it the moment I graduated. I’ll always remember that day as the one that I was given the go-ahead to set down the textbooks and lean on the formation that I had received over the last four years and to GO, and proclaim the word of God.” – David Lyell (2013, MDiv)
The gift of a Bible from the Asbury alumni is no longer “just a nice gift,” but the summation of my learning both in and out of the classroom while a student at Asbury. It is a constant reminder of the family I have joined as an Asbury alumna. As I transition from the academic world, I go with my new ATS Alumni Bible and the words of Solomon, “Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day” (1 Kings 8:61).
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