Alumni Testimony: Rev. Dr. Tom Harrison
After my 1979 graduation, ATS had been “out of sight, out of mind.” When I became the senior pastor of Asbury UMC in Tulsa in 1993, my friend, Dr. Wade Paschal, invited me to serve on the ATS Beeson Clergy Council. Wade helped shape The Beeson Center and knew connecting with the members of the Clergy Council would help me. I was out of my element with Maxie Dunnam, Bill Hinson, Ellsworth Kalas, Dale Galloway, Jim Garlow, Jim Jackson, Jeff Spiller, George Morris, and Clayton Smith. As is said, “Show me your friends and I’ll show you your future.” Wade’s friendship led to a new future for me. These mentors changed my life. Even though I had little to offer, serving on the Beeson Clergy Council became the most significant ministry experience of my life.
I heard President Maxie Dunnam say: “As the seminary goes, so goes the pastor. As the pastor goes, so goes the church. As the church goes, so goes the world.” That’s when I realized helping others attend a theologically orthodox, Wesleyan seminary would be the most significant investment I could make to impact Christian leaders over the next 40-50 years. Helping equip the pastor with a high view of the Bible and a high Christology became a passion for me. I started inviting others to make generous contributions of their time and treasure to ATS, too. The laity in our church (even my own mom) became avid supporters.
I loved ATS but I was busy elsewhere. ATS still had my affection, but it had lost my attention. Coming back home to Wilmore led me to financially support ATS. Our Church’s budget began to reflect that, too. Furthermore, we became active in recruiting students to ATS. Returning to campus opened a new door of ministry. I became friends with Mike Voigt and later, Tammy Cessna, our Alumni Directors. We helped recruit others to serve on our Alumni Council. A few of us paid an ATS professor to help us craft sermon series. ATS wasn’t finished with me just because I had graduated. Furthermore, Asbury Church created an endowment and raised support to help students from our congregation in Oklahoma attend ATS. For years our church honored my Halloween birthday with a check made out to ATS in my name. We also became ATS’s first extension site west of the Mississippi River.
Maxie’s quote changed my life and became a personal vision statement. I think about it all the time. I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
This is my testimony to the power of reconnecting to ATS after graduation. “Commencement” is not “The End” of the relationship but “The Beginning” (Acts 1:6-11 is Jesus’ commencement speech). Maybe I can be a friendly voice for you like Wade was for me and help bring your heart, soul, mind, finances, and students to ATS.
I close with a quote from author Jim Stovall: “For us to be happy in life, we need three things. We need something to do, someone to love, and something to look forward to.” And Jim added, “If you have Jesus, you have all three.” Supporting ATS is a great way to help others follow Jesus.
Thank you Tom for your faithful friendship to ATS and diligent efforts on behalf of your colleagues in ministry.